| Palæmon |  | |
| Mullus.... | Chrysophrys | |
| Torpedo ocellata | ||
| Mugil.... | Scorpæna | |
| Labrus.... | Scyllium Catulus | |
| ....Lolligo vulgaris | ||
| Octopus vulgaris | Murex | |
| Palinurus vulgaris.... | ||
| Balanus ut videtur.... | ....Serranus scriba | |
| Coris julis | Murena belena | |
| Scyllium canicula.... | ....Engraulis encrasicholus | |
| Chrysophrys | Labrax lupus | |
| ....Tritonium | ||
| Mullus | ....Serranus | |
| FISH ON A POMPEIAN MOSAIC IN THE NAPLES MUSEUM. | ||
| From O. Keller, Die Antike Tierwelt, Fig. 124. | ||
For these reasons, discount as we may the personal predilections of an author like Ennius, of a gourmet like Apicius, of a bon vivant like Vitellius, any list is perforce approximate, not absolute. It must be governed by the dictum of the great Greek epicure, χαίρει γὰρ ὁ μὲν τούτοις, ὁ δ’ ἐκείνοις.
But if our opsophagists disagreed as to which was the best fish, they were fairly unanimous as to which part of a fish was best. Setting aside the peculiar partiality of the Greeks for the head of the Conger, the part near the tail afforded the most savour, and found the most favour with ancient (and modern) gourmets.
Three reasons for this preference have been suggested:
(A) That from Xenocrates. After laying down that fish roasted are more nutritious than fish boiled, that sea fish are easy of digestion and by their formation of blood impart a good colour to the skin, that fish from lakes and rivers are generally bad for the stomach, form thick juices, and are difficult of evacuation, this great physician affirms emphatically that the part near the tail of all kinds of fish (Nonnius excepts the Tunny) are the most wholesome, on account of it being most frequently exercised.[626]
(B) That from Pliny. Writing of the Muræna, he says that it is quite clear that in its tail abides its anima (‘life’ or ‘being’), because a blow on that part swiftly kills it, while one on the head is more tedious in effect.[627]
(C) That alleged in Scandinavia. To the Norseman the most delicate part of the salmon was its tail. His choice, nowadays by no means exceptional, was explained by a pretty piece of ætiological tradition. Loki, fleeing from the pursuit of the gods whose anger he had provoked, had the wit and the time to transform himself into a salmon. Then and in this guise would he have surely escaped, had not Thor caught him by the tail, “and this is the reason why salmon have had the tails so fine and so thin ever since.”[628]
In my list, which excludes the Echineis, despite its being according to Cassiodorus[629] “that honey of flesh, that dainty of the deep,” in precedence comes 1 the Mullus, 2 the Scarus, 3 the Acipenser, 4 the Rhombus, 5 the Lupus, 6 the Asellus, 7 the Eel and the Muræna, 8 the κάπρος, 9 the Sole.
1. Mullus (M. barbatus), the “Red Mullet.” The passages already quoted as regards the huge prices sometimes given for it establish the extreme esteem with which this fish was regarded. But if need be, witness after witness to credit can easily be called. Perhaps, as regards the Latins, Nonnius will suffice: “Inter omnes pisces prærogativa quadam omniumque consensu Mullus sibi imperium occupavit, nec alius unquam majori in honore aut gratia apud Romanos fuit.”[630]
Among the Greeks, if, as seems acknowledged, the τρίγλη corresponds to the Mullet, its place must be accounted high from the number of its devotees. Matron[631] goes into raptures even over its mere head when steeped in brine, irrespective of whether it came from an autumn (as recommended by Aristotle) or a spring fish (the choice of Xenocrates).