PDF Swift 3 Object Oriented Programming Gaston C. Hillar download
PDF Swift 3 Object Oriented Programming Gaston C. Hillar download
com
https://textbookfull.com/product/swift-3-object-
oriented-programming-gaston-c-hillar/
https://textbookfull.com/product/hands-on-mqtt-programming-with-
python-gaston-c-hillar/
textbookfull.com
https://textbookfull.com/product/programming-in-c-object-oriented-
features-1st-edition-laxmisha-rai/
textbookfull.com
https://textbookfull.com/product/python-3-object-oriented-
programming-3rd-edition-dusty-phillips-dusty-phillips/
textbookfull.com
https://textbookfull.com/product/data-analysis-with-microsoft-power-
bi-brian-larson/
textbookfull.com
Adaptive Strategies for Small-Handed Pianists 1st Edition
Lora Deahl
https://textbookfull.com/product/adaptive-strategies-for-small-handed-
pianists-1st-edition-lora-deahl/
textbookfull.com
https://textbookfull.com/product/coastal-and-marine-environmental-
education-natalia-pirani-ghilardi-lopes/
textbookfull.com
https://textbookfull.com/product/computer-vision-and-image-analysis-
digital-image-processing-and-analysis-4th-edition-scott-e-umbaugh/
textbookfull.com
https://textbookfull.com/product/frontiers-in-spiritual-leadership-
discovering-the-better-angels-of-our-nature-1st-edition-scott-t-
allison/
textbookfull.com
https://textbookfull.com/product/traditional-chinese-medicine-
heritage-and-adaptation-1st-edition-paul-u-unschuld/
textbookfull.com
From Party Politics to Personalized Politics?: Party
Change and Political Personalization in Democracies Gideon
Rahat
https://textbookfull.com/product/from-party-politics-to-personalized-
politics-party-change-and-political-personalization-in-democracies-
gideon-rahat/
textbookfull.com
Swift 3 Object-Oriented Programming
Second Edition
Copyright © 2017 Packt Publishing
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or
transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the
publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embedded in critical articles or reviews.
Every effort has been made in the preparation of this book to ensure the accuracy of the
information presented. However, the information contained in this book is sold without
warranty, either express or implied. Neither the author, nor Packt Publishing, and its
dealers and distributors will be held liable for any damages caused or alleged to be caused
directly or indirectly by this book.
Packt Publishing has endeavored to provide trademark information about all of the
companies and products mentioned in this book by the appropriate use of capitals.
However, Packt Publishing cannot guarantee the accuracy of this information.
He has been a senior contributing editor at Dr. Dobb’s and has written more than a hundred
articles on software development topics. Gastón was also a former Microsoft MVP in
technical computing. He has received the prestigious Intel® Black Belt Software Developer
award eight times.
He lives with his wife, Vanesa, and his two sons, Kevin and Brandon.
Acknowledgement
At the time of writing this book, I was fortunate to work with an excellent team at Packt
Publishing, whose contributions vastly improved the presentation of this book. Reshma
Raman allowed me to provide her with ideas to write an updated edition of Object-
Oriented Programming with Swift 2 to cover Swift 3, and I jumped into the exciting project
of teaching Object-Oriented Programming in the most promising programming language
developed by Apple: Swift 3.
Vikas Tiwari helped me realize my vision for this book and provided many sensible
suggestions regarding the text, format, and flow. The reader will notice his great work.
Vikas took the great work Divij Kotian had done in the previous edition and helped me in
this new edition. It’s been great working with Reshma and Vikas in another project and I
can’t wait to work with them again. I would like to thank my technical reviewers and
proofreaders for their thorough reviews and insightful comments. I was able to incorporate
some of the knowledge and wisdom they have gained in their many years in the software
development industry. This book was possible because they gave valuable feedback. The
entire process of writing a book requires a huge amount of lonely hours. I wouldn’t be able
to write an entire book without dedicating some time to play soccer against my sons, Kevin
and Brandon, and my nephew, Nicolas. Of course, I never won a match; however, I did
score a few goals.
About the Reviewer
Cecil Costa, also know as Eduardo Campos in Latin countries, is a Euro-Brazilian freelance
developer who has been learning about computers since getting his first 286 in 1990. From
then on, he kept learning about programming languages, computer architecture, and
computer science theory. Learning and teaching are his passions; this is the reason why he
worked as a trainer and an author. He has been giving on-site courses for companies such
as Ericsson, Roche, TVE (a Spanish television channel), and lots of others. He is also the
author of Swift Cookbook First Edition and Swift 2 Blueprints, both by Packt Publishing. He
will soon publish an iOS 10 programming video course. Nowadays, Cecil Costa teaches
through online platforms, helping people from across the world. In 2008, he founded his
own company, Conglomo Limited (http://www.conglomo.es), which offers development
and training programs both on-site and online. Throughout his professional career, he has
created projects by himself and also worked for different companies from small to big ones,
such as IBM, Qualcomm, Spanish Lottery, and Dia%. He develops a variety of computer
languages (such as Swift, C++, Java, Objective-C, JavaScript, Python, and so on) in different
environments (iOS, Android, Web, Mac OS X, Linux, Unity, and so on), because he thinks
that good developers needs to learn all kinds of programming languages to open their
mind; only after this will they really understand what development is. Nowadays, Cecil is
based in the UK, where he is progressing in his professional career as an iOS developer.
I’d like to thank Rahul Nair for being a such professional and good person.
www.PacktPub.com
For support files and downloads related to your book, please visit www.PacktPub.com.
Did you know that Packt offers eBook versions of every book published, with PDF and
ePub files available? You can upgrade to the eBook version at www.PacktPub.com and as a
print book customer, you are entitled to a discount on the eBook copy. Get in touch with us
at service@packtpub.com for more details.
At www.PacktPub.com, you can also read a collection of free technical articles, sign up for a
range of free newsletters and receive exclusive discounts and offers on Packt books and
eBooks.
https://www.packtpub.com/mapt
Get the most in-demand software skills with Mapt. Mapt gives you full access to all Packt
books and video courses, as well as industry-leading tools to help you plan your personal
development and advance your career.
Why subscribe?
Fully searchable across every book published by Packt
Copy and paste, print, and bookmark content
On demand and accessible via a web browser
Customer Feedback
Thanks for purchasing this Packt book. At Packt, quality is at the heart of our editorial
process. To help us improve, please leave us an honest review on this book's Amazon page
at https://www.amazon.com/Swift-Object-Oriented-Programming-Second/dp
/1787120392.
If you'd like to join our team of regular reviewers, you can e-mail us at
customerreviews@packtpub.com. We award our regular reviewers with free eBooks and
videos in exchange for their valuable feedback. Help us be relentless in improving our
products!
Table of Contents
Preface 1
Chapter 1: Objects from the Real World to the Playground 7
Installing the required software on Mac OS 7
Installing the required software on Ubuntu Linux 11
Working with Swift 3 on the web 12
Capturing objects from the real world 13
Generating classes to create objects 20
Recognizing variables and constants to create properties 22
Recognizing actions to create methods 25
Organizing classes with UML diagrams 28
Working with API objects in the Xcode Playground 34
Exercises 41
Test your knowledge 42
Summary 43
Chapter 2: Structures, Classes, and Instances 44
Understanding structures, classes, and instances 44
Understanding initialization and its customization 46
Understanding deinitialization and its customization 47
Understanding automatic reference counting 48
Declaring classes 48
Customizing initialization 49
Customizing deinitialization 56
Creating the instances of classes 63
Exercises 65
Test your knowledge 65
Summary 66
Chapter 3: Encapsulation of Data with Properties 67
Understanding elements that compose a class 67
Declaring stored properties 69
Generating computed properties with setters and getters 74
Combining setters, getters, and a related property 83
Understanding property observers 88
Transforming values with setters and getters 93
Creating values shared by all the instances of a class with type
properties 94
Creating mutable classes 99
Building immutable classes 102
Exercises 106
Test your knowledge 106
Summary 108
Chapter 4: Inheritance, Abstraction, and Specialization 109
Creating class hierarchies to abstract and specialize behavior 109
Understanding inheritance 114
Declaring classes that inherit from another class 117
Overriding and overloading methods 122
Overriding properties 126
Controlling whether subclasses can or cannot override members 129
Working with typecasting and polymorphism 134
Taking advantage of operator overloading 146
Declaring compound assignment operator functions 149
Declaring unary operator functions 151
Declaring operator functions for specific subclasses 152
Exercises 154
Test your knowledge 155
Summary 156
Chapter 5: Contract Programming with Protocols 157
Understanding how protocols work in combination with classes 157
Declaring protocols 160
Declaring classes that adopt protocols 164
Taking advantage of the multiple inheritance of protocols 169
Combining inheritance and protocols 172
Working with methods that receive protocols as arguments 180
Downcasting with protocols and classes 184
Treating instances of a protocol type as a different subclass 189
Specifying requirements for properties 192
Specifying requirements for methods 195
Combining class inheritance with protocol inheritance 197
Exercises 208
Test your knowledge 209
Summary 210
Chapter 6: Maximization of Code Reuse with Generic Code 211
[ ii ]
Visit https://textbookfull.com
now to explore a rich
collection of eBooks, textbook
and enjoy exciting offers!
Understanding parametric polymorphism and generic code 211
Declaring a protocol to be used as a constraint 212
Declaring a class that conforms to multiple protocols 214
Declaring subclasses that inherit the conformance to protocols 218
Declaring a class that works with a constrained generic type 220
Using a generic class for multiple types 225
Combining initializer requirements in protocols with generic types 234
Declaring associated types in protocols 235
Creating shortcuts with subscripts 236
Declaring a class that works with two constrained generic types 239
Using a generic class with two generic type parameters 243
Inheriting and adding associated types in protocols 246
Generalizing existing classes with generics 248
Extending base types to conform to custom protocols 253
Test your knowledge 261
Exercises 261
Summary 263
Chapter 7: Object-Oriented and Functional Programming 264
Refactoring code to take advantage of object-oriented programming 264
Understanding functions as first-class citizens 277
Working with function types within classes 279
Creating a functional version of array filtering 282
Writing equivalent closures with simplified code 284
Creating a data repository with generics and protocols 286
Filtering arrays with complex conditions 291
Using map to transform values 295
Combining map with reduce 298
Chaining filter, map, and reduce 301
Solving algorithms with reduce 302
Exercises 304
Test your knowledge 305
Summary 306
Chapter 8: Extending and Building Object-Oriented Code 307
Putting together all the pieces of the object-oriented puzzle 307
Adding methods with extensions 309
Adding computed properties to a base type with extensions 313
Declaring new convenience initializers with extensions 318
Defining subscripts with extensions 320
[ iii ]
Working with object-oriented code in iOS apps 321
Adding an object-oriented data repository to a project 330
Interacting with an object-oriented data repository through Picker
View 335
Exercises 340
Test your knowledge 340
Summary 342
Chapter 9: Exercise Answers 343
Chapter 1, Objects from the Real World to the Playground 343
Chapter 2, Structures, Classes, and Instances 344
Chapter 3, Encapsulation of Data with Properties 344
Chapter 4, Inheritance, Abstraction, and Specialization 345
Chapter 5, Contract Programming with Protocols 345
Chapter 6, Maximization of Code Reuse with Generic Code 346
Chapter 7, Object-Oriented and Functional Programming 346
Chapter 8, Extending and Building Object-Oriented Code 347
Index 348
[ iv ]
Preface
Object-oriented programming, also known as OOP, is a required skill in absolutely any
modern software developer job. It makes a lot of sense because object-oriented
programming allows you to maximize code reuse and minimize maintenance costs.
However, learning object-oriented programming is challenging because it includes too
many abstract concepts that require real-life examples to be easy to understand. In addition,
object-oriented code that doesn’t follow best practices can easily become a maintenance
nightmare.
Swift is a multiparadigm programming language and one of its most important paradigms
is OOP. If you want to create great applications and apps for Mac, iPhone, iPad, Apple TV,
and Apple Watch (Mac OS, iOS, tvOS, and watchOS operating systems) you need to master
OOP in Swift 3. However, Swift 3 is not limited to Apple platforms and you can take
advantage of your Swift 3 knowledge to develop applications that target other platforms
and use it for server-side code. In addition, as Swift also grabs nice features found in
functional programming languages, it is convenient to know how to mix OOP code with
functional programming code.
This book will allow you to develop high-quality reusable object-oriented code in Swift 3.
You will learn the OOP principles and how Swift implements them. You will learn how to
capture objects from real-world elements and create object-oriented code that represents
them. You will understand Swift’s approach towards object-oriented code. You will
maximize code reuse and reduce maintenance costs. Your code will be easy to understand
and it will work with representations of real-life elements.
Chapter 2, Structures, Classes, and Instances, explains generating blueprints to create objects.
You will learn about an object’s life cycle and work with many examples to understand how
object initializers and deinitializers work.
Preface
Chapter 3 ,Encapsulation of Data with Properties, explains organizing data in the blueprints
that generate objects. You will understand the different members of a class and how its
different members are reflected in members of the instances generated from a class. We will
learn the difference between mutable and immutable classes.
Chapter 5, Contract Programming with Protocols, delves into how Swift works with protocols
in combination with classes. We will declare and combine multiple blueprints to generate a
single instance. We will declare protocols with different types of requirements, and then, we
will create classes that conform to these protocols.
Chapter 6, Maximization of Code Reuse with Generic Code, covers how to maximize code reuse
by writing code capable of working with objects of different types, that is, instances of
classes that conform to specific protocols or whose class hierarchy includes specific
superclasses. We will work with protocols and generics.
Chapter 8, Protection and Organization of Code, puts together all the pieces of the object-
oriented puzzle. We will take advantage of extensions to add features to types, classes, and
protocols to which we don’t have access to the source code. We will make sure that the code
exposes only the things that it has to expose, and we will learn how everything we learned
about object-oriented programming is useful in any kind of apps we might create.
[2]
Preface
In order to work with Swift 3.x open source version in the Linux platform, you will need
any computer capable of running Ubuntu 14.04 or later, or Ubuntu 15.10 or later. These are
the Linux distributions where the Swift open source binaries have been built and tested. It it
also possible to run the Swift compiler and utilities on other Linux distributions. You must
check the latest available documentation at the Swift open source website: https://swift.
org.
In order to work with the web-based IBM Swift Sandbox, you will need any device capable
of executing a modern web browser.
Conventions
In this book, you will find a number of text styles that distinguish between different kinds
of information. Here are some examples of these styles and an explanation of their meaning.
Code words in text, database table names, folder names, filenames, file extensions,
pathnames, dummy URLs, user input, and Twitter handles are shown as follows: "We just
need to enter :help to list all the available debugger commands."
When we wish to draw your attention to a particular part of a code block, the relevant lines
or items are set in bold:
open func filteredBy(condition: (Int) -> Bool) -> [Int] {
return numbersList.filter({ condition($0) })
}
[3]
Preface
New terms and important words are shown in bold. Words that you see on the screen, for
example, in menus or dialog boxes, appear in the text like this: "Clicking the Next button
moves you to the next screen."
Reader feedback
Feedback from our readers is always welcome. Let us know what you think about this
book-what you liked or disliked. Reader feedback is important for us as it helps us develop
titles that you will really get the most out of. To send us general feedback, simply e-
mail feedback@packtpub.com, and mention the book's title in the subject of your
message. If there is a topic that you have expertise in and you are interested in either
writing or contributing to a book, see our author guide at www.packtpub.com/authors.
Customer support
Now that you are the proud owner of a Packt book, we have a number of things to help you
to get the most from your purchase.
[4]
Preface
1. Log in or register to our website using your e-mail address and password.
2. Hover the mouse pointer on the SUPPORT tab at the top.
3. Click on Code Downloads & Errata.
4. Enter the name of the book in the Search box.
5. Select the book for which you're looking to download the code files.
6. Choose from the drop-down menu where you purchased this book from.
7. Click on Code Download.
Once the file is downloaded, please make sure that you unzip or extract the folder using the
latest version of:
The code bundle for the book is also hosted on GitHub at https://github.com/PacktPubl
ishing/Swift-3-Object-Oriented-Programming. We also have other code bundles from
our rich catalog of books and videos available at https://github.com/PacktPublishing/.
Check them out!
Errata
Although we have taken every care to ensure the accuracy of our content, mistakes do
happen. If you find a mistake in one of our books-maybe a mistake in the text or the code-
we would be grateful if you could report this to us. By doing so, you can save other readers
from frustration and help us improve subsequent versions of this book. If you find any
errata, please report them by visiting http://www.packtpub.com/submit-errata, selecting
your book, clicking on the Errata Submission Form link, and entering the details of your
errata. Once your errata are verified, your submission will be accepted and the errata will
be uploaded to our website or added to any list of existing errata under the Errata section of
that title.
[5]
Preface
Piracy
Piracy of copyrighted material on the Internet is an ongoing problem across all media. At
Packt, we take the protection of our copyright and licenses very seriously. If you come
across any illegal copies of our works in any form on the Internet, please provide us with
the location address or website name immediately so that we can pursue a remedy.
We appreciate your help in protecting our authors and our ability to bring you valuable
content.
Questions
If you have a problem with any aspect of this book, you can contact us
at questions@packtpub.com, and we will do our best to address the problem.
[6]
Objects from the Real World to
1
the Playground
Whenever you have to solve a problem in the real world, you use elements and interact
with them. For example, when you are thirsty, you take a glass, you fill it up with water,
soda, or your favorite juice, and then you drink. Similarly, you can easily recognize
elements, known as objects, from real-world actions and then translate them into object-
oriented code. In this chapter, we will start learning the principles of object-oriented
programming to use them in Swift 3 to develop apps and applications.
We will use Xcode as our Integrated Development Environment (IDE). All the examples
work with Xcode version 8 or higher. The latest versions of the IDE include Swift 3 as one of
the supported programming languages to build iOS apps, watchOS apps, tvOS apps, and
Mac OS applications. It is important to note that Xcode only runs on Mac OS, and all the
instructions provided in this chapter consider that we are running this operating system on
a Mac computer. However, after Apple launched Swift 2.2, it made the language open
source and added a port to Linux, specifically to Ubuntu. Swift 3 is also available on
Ubuntu. Thus, we can apply everything we learn about object-oriented programming with
Swift when targeting other platforms to which the language is ported.
Objects from the Real World to the Playground
In case you want to work with the Swift open source release on Mac OS,
you can download the latest release in the Downloads section at
http://swift.org. You can run all the code examples included in this
book in the Swift Read Evaluate Print Loop command-line environment
instead of working with Xcode Playground. The Swift Read Evaluate Print
Loop command-line environment is also known as Swift REPL.
It is also possible to use the Swift Playgrounds app on iOS 10.0 or later in the iPad models
that are compatible with this app. You can work with this app to run the examples.
However, our main IDE will be Xcode.
In order to install Xcode, you just need to launch the Mac App Store, enter Xcode in the
search box, click on the Xcode application icon shown in the results, and make sure that it is
the application developed by Apple and not an Xcode helper application. The following
screenshot shows the details of the Xcode application in the Mac App Store:
[8]
Visit https://textbookfull.com
now to explore a rich
collection of eBooks, textbook
and enjoy exciting offers!
Objects from the Real World to the Playground
Then, click on Get and wait until the Mac App Store downloads Xcode. Note that it is
necessary to download a few GBs and therefore it may take some time to finish the
download process. Once the download is finished, click on Install and follow the necessary
steps to complete the application's installation process. Finally, you will be able to launch
the Xcode application as you would execute any other application in your Mac OS
operating system. It is also possible to download and install Xcode from
http://developer.apple.com/xcode/.
Apple usually launches Xcode beta versions before releasing the final stable versions. It is
highly recommended to avoid working with beta versions to test the examples included in
this book because beta versions are unstable and some examples might crash or generate
unexpected outputs. The Mac App Store only offers the latest stable version of Xcode, and
therefore, there is no risk of installing a beta version by mistake when following the
previously explained steps.
In case we have any Xcode beta version installed on the same computer in which we will
run the book samples, we have to make sure that the configuration for the stable Xcode
version uses the appropriate command-line tools. We won't work with the command-line
tools, but we will take advantage of Playground, and this feature uses the command-line
tools under the hood.
Launch Xcode, navigate to Xcode | Preferences…, and click on Locations. Make sure that
the Command Line Tools drop-down menu displays the stable Xcode version that you
installed as the selected option. The following screenshot shows Xcode 8.0 (8A218a) as the
selected version for Command Line Tools.
[9]
Objects from the Real World to the Playground
However, you will definitely see a higher version number because Xcode is updated
frequently:
You don't need any previous experience with the Swift programming language to work
with the examples in this book and learn how to model and create object-oriented code with
Swift 3. If you have some experience with Objective-C, Java, C#, Python, Ruby, or
JavaScript, you will be able to easily learn Swift's syntax and understand the examples.
Swift borrows many features from these and other modern programming languages, and
therefore, any knowledge of these languages will be extremely useful.
[ 10 ]
Objects from the Real World to the Playground
We can download the latest release for our Ubuntu version in the DOWNLOAD section at
http://swift.org. This page includes all the instructions to install the required
dependencies (clang and libicu-dev) and to execute the Swift REPL command-line
environment.
Once we have completed the installation, we can execute the swift command to run the
REPL in a Terminal. After we see a welcome message, we can enter Swift code and the
REPL will display the results of executing each code block. We can also take advantage of a
set of LLDB debugging commands. We just need to enter :help to list all the available
debugger commands.
The following screenshot shows the Terminal application in Ubuntu running the swift
command and displaying the results after entering two lines of Swift code:
[ 11 ]
Objects from the Real World to the Playground
The IBM Swift Sandbox mimics the Playground with a text-based UI and it allows you to
enter the code on the left-hand side and watch the results of the execution on the right-hand
side. The sandbox is simple and not as powerful as the Xcode Playground. As it happens
with Swift in Ubuntu Linux, we won't be able to run the examples that interact with any
iOS API. However, we will be able to run a big percentage of the sample code included in
this book, and we will be able to learn the most important object-oriented principles with
any compatible web browser.
The following screenshot shows IBM Swift Sandbox displaying the results of executing two
lines of Swift code in Chrome under Windows 10. We just need to enter the Swift code on
the left-hand side and click on the Execute button (play icon) to see the results of compiling
and executing the code on the right-hand side:
[ 12 ]
Objects from the Real World to the Playground
Imagine that Vanessa is a very popular YouTuber, painter, and craftswoman who usually
uploads videos on a YouTube channel. She has more than a million followers, and one of
her latest videos had a huge impact on social networking sites. In this video, she sketched
basic shapes and then painted them with acrylic paint to build patterns. She worked with
very attractive colors, and many famous Hollywood actresses uploaded pictures on
Instagram sharing their creations with the technique demonstrated by Vanessa and with the
revolutionary special colors developed by a specific acrylic paint manufacturer.
Obviously, the acrylic paint manufacturer wants to take full advantage of this situation, so
he specifies the requirements for an app. The app must provide a set of predefined 2D
shapes that the users can drag and drop in a document to build a pattern so that they can
change both the 2D position and size. It is important to note that the shapes cannot
intersect, and users cannot change the line widths because these are the basic requirements
of the technique introduced by Vanessa. A user can select the desired line and fill colors for
each shape. At any time, the user can tap a button, and the app must display a list of the
acrylic paint tubes, bottles, or jars that the user must buy to paint the drawn pattern.
Finally, the user can easily place an online order to request the suggested acrylic paint
tubes, bottles, or jars. The app also generates a tutorial to explain to the user how to
generate each of the final colors for the lines and fills by thinning the appropriate amount of
acrylic paint with water, based on the colors that the user has specified.
[ 13 ]
Random documents with unrelated
content Scribd suggests to you:
You are my pupil, I am your preceptor,
Remember this, and come along with me.
28. And so when we had all praised the cook for the readiness of his discourse, and for
the exceeding perfection of his skill, our excellent entertainer Laurentius said—And
how much better it is for cooks to learn such things as these, than as they do with one
whom I could mention of our fellow-citizens, who having had his head turned by riches
and luxury, compelled his cooks to learn the dialogues of the incomparable Plato, and
when they were bringing in dishes to say, "One, two, three, but where is the fourth, O
most excellent Timæus, of those who were guests yesterday, but who are hosts to-
day?" Then another made answer, "An illness has overtaken him, O Socrates,"—and so
they went through the whole dialogue in this manner, so that those who were at the
feast were very indignant, and so that that all-accomplished man was laughed at and
insulted every day, and that on this account many most respectable men refused all
invitations to his entertainments. But these cooks of ours, who are perhaps just as well
instructed in these things as he was, give us no little pleasure. And then the slave who
had been praised for his cleverness as a cook, said,—Now what have my predecessors
ever devised or told us of a similar kind to this? and is not my behaviour moderate
enough, since I do not boast myself? And yet Coroebus the Elean, who was the first
man who ever was crowned as victor in the Olympic games, was a cook; and yet he
was not as proud of his skill and of his art as the cook in Straton in the Phœnicides,
concerning whom the man who had hired him speaks thus—
29. 'Tis a male sphinx, and not a cook, that I
Seem to have introduced into my house.
For by the gods I swear there's not one thing
Of all he says that I can understand,
So full is he of fine new-fangled words.
For when he first came in, he, looking big,
Ask'd me this question—"How many μέροπες[28] now
Have you invited here to dinner? Tell me."—
"How many μέροπες have I ask'd to dinner?"—
"You're angry."—"Do you think that I'm a man
To have acquaintance with your μέροπες̣?
It is a fine idea, to make a banquet
And ask a lot of μέροπες to eat it."
"Then do you mean there'll be no δαιτύμων (guest)?"
"No Dætymon that I know of."—Then I counted—
There'll be Philinus, and Niceratus,
And Moschion, and this man too, and that—
And so I counted them all name by name;
But there was not a Dætymon among them.
"No Dætymon will come," said I. "What! no one?"
Replied he in a rage, as though insulted
That not a Dætymon had been invited.
"Do you not slay that tearer up of th' earth,"
Said he, "the broad-brow'd ox?" "In truth, not I;
I've got no ox to kill, you stupid fellow."
"Then you will immolate some sheep?" "Not I,
By Jove; nor ox, nor sheep, but there's a lamb."
"What! don't you know, said he, that lambs are sheep?"
"Indeed," said I, "I neither know nor care
For all this nonsense. I'm but country bred;
So speak more plainly, if you speak at all."
"Why, don't you know that this is Homer's language?"
"My good cook, Homer was a man who had
A right to call things any names he pleased;
But what, in Vesta's name, is that to us?"
"At least you can't object when I quote him."
"Why, do you mean to kill me with your Homer?"
"No, but it is my usual way of talking."
"Then get another way, while here with me."
"Shall I," says he, "for your four dirty drachmas,
Give up my eloquence and usual habits?
Well, bring me here the οὐλόχυται." "Oh me!
What are οὐλόχυται̣?" "Those barley-cakes."
"You madman, why such roundabout expressions?"
"Is there no sediment of the sea at hand?"
"Sediment? Speak plain; do tell me what you want
In words I understand." "Old man," says he,
"You are most wondrous dull; have you no salt?
That's sediment, and that you ought to know;
Bring me the basin."—So they brought it. He
Then slew the animals, adding heaps of words
Which not a soul of us could understand,
μίστυλλα, μοίρας, σίπτυχ᾽, ὀβελούς[29]—
So that I took Philetas' Lexicon down,
To see what each of all these words did mean.
And then once more I pray'd of him to change,
And speak like other men; by earth I swear,
Persuasion's self could not have work'd on him.
30. But the race of cooks are really very curious for the most part about the histories
and names of things. Accordingly the most learned of them say, "The knee is nearer
than the leg,"—and, "I have travelled over Asia and Europe:" and when they are
finding fault with any one they say, "It is impossible to make a Peleus out of an
Œneus."—And I once marvelled at one of the old cooks, after I had enjoyed his skill
and the specimens of his art which he had invented. And Alexis, in his Caldron,
introduces one speaking in the following manner—
A. He boil'd, it seem'd to me, some pork, from off
A pig who died by suffocation.
B. That's nice.
A. And then he scorch'd it at the fire.
B. Never mind that; that can be remedied.
A. How so?
B. Take some cold vinegar, and pour it
Into a plate. Dost heed me? Then take up
The dish while hot and put it in the vinegar;
For while 'tis hot 'twill draw the moisture up
Through its material, which is porous all;
And so fermenting, like a pumice-stone,
'Twill open all its spongy passages,
Through which it will imbibe new moisture thoroughly.
And so the meat will cease to seem dried up,
But will be moist and succulent again.
A. O Phoebus, what a great physician's here!
O Glaucias!—I will do all you tell me.
B. And serve them, when you do serve them up,
(Dost mark me?) cold; for so no smell too strong
Will strike the nostrils; but rise high above them.
A. It seems to me you're fitter to write books
Than to cook dinners; since you quibble much
In all your speeches, jesting on your art.
31. And now we have had enough of cooks, my feasters; lest perhaps some one of
them, pluming himself and quoting the Morose Man of Menander, may spout such lines
as these—
No one who does a cook an injury
Ever escapes unpunish'd; for our art
Is a divine and noble one.
But I say to you, in the words of the tuneful Diphilus—
I place before you now a lamb entire,
Well skewer'd, and well cook'd and season'd;
Some porkers in their skins, and roasted whole;
And a fine goose stuff'd full, like Dureus.
32. We must now speak of the goose. For as many geese were served up very
excellently dressed, some one said, Look at the fat geese (σιτευτοὶ χῆνες). And Ulpian
said, Where do you ever find the expression σιτευτὸς χήν̣? And Plutarch answered
him:—Theopompus the Chian, in his History of Greece, and in the thirteenth book of
his History of the Affairs and Exploits of Philip, says that the Egyptians sent to
Agesilaus the Lacedæmonian, when he arrived in Egypt, some fatted (σιτευτοὺς)
calves and geese (χῆνας). And Epigenes the comic poet says in his Bacchanalian
Women—
But if a person were to take me like
A fatted goose (χῆνα σιτευτόν).
And Archestratus, in that celebrated poem of his, says—
And at the same time dress the young of one
Fat goose (σιτευτοῦ χῆνος), and let him too be roasted
thoroughly.
But we have a right now, O Ulpian, to expect you to tell us, you who question
everybody about everything, where this very costly dish of the livers of geese has been
mentioned by any ancient writer. For Cratinus is a witness that they were acquainted
with people whose business it was to feed geese, in his Dionysalexander, where he
says—
Geese-feeders, cow-herds . . . .
And Homer uses the word χὴν in both the masculine and feminine gender; for he says
—
Αἰετὸς ἀργὴν χῆνα φέρων—An eagle carrying off a lazy
goose.
And again he says—
And as he seized a fine home-fatten'd goose (χῆνα
ἀτιταλλομένην).
And in another place he says—
I've twenty geese, fond of the lucid stream,
Who in my house eat wheat, and fatten fast.
And Eupolis mentions the livers of geese (and they are thought an excessive delicacy
at Rome), in his Women Selling Garlands, where he says—
If you have not a goose's liver or heart.
33. There were also heads of pigs split in half and served up as a dish. And this dish is
mentioned by Crobylus, in his Son falsely held to be Supposititious—
There came in half a head of a young pig,
A tender dish; and I did stick to it
So close, by Jove, that I left none of it.
After these things there was served up a haricot, called κρεωκάκκαβος. And this dish
consists of meat chopped up with blood and fat, in a sauce richly sweetened; and
Aristophanes the Grammarian says that it was the Achæans who gave this name to the
dish. But Anticlides, in the seventy-eighth book of his Returns, says, "Once when there
was a design on the part of the Erythreans to put the Chians to death by treachery at
a banquet, one of them having learnt what was intended to be done, said—
O Chians, wondrous is the insolence
Which now has seized the Erythreans' hearts.
Flee when you've done your pork—don't wait for beef.
And Aristomenes, in his Jugglers, makes mention in the following terms of boiled meat,
which he calls ἀναβραστὰ κρέα—
* * *
* *
They used also to eat the testicles of animals, which they called νέφροι.—Philippodes,
in his Renovation, speaking of the gluttony of Gnathæna the courtesan, says—
Then, after all these things, a slave came in,
Bearing a large dish full of testicles;
And all the rest of the girls made prudish faces,
But fair Gnathæna, that undoer of men,
Laughed, and said, "Capital things are testicles,
I swear by Ceres." So she took a pair
And ate them up: so that the guests around
Fell back upon their chairs from laughing greatly.
34. And when some one said that a cock dressed with a sauce of oil and vinegar
(ὀξυλίπαρον) was a very good bird, Ulpian, who was fond of finding fault, and who
was reclining on a couch by himself, eating little, but watching the rest of the guests,
said—What is that ὀξυλίπαρον you speak of? unless indeed you give that name to the
small figs called κόττανα and lepidium, which are both national food of mine.—But
Timocles, he replied, the comic poet, in his play called The Ring, mentions ὀξυλίπαρον,
saying—
And sharks and rays and all the other fish,
Which may be dressed in sauce of ὀξυλίπαρον.
And Alexis has called some men ἀκρολίπαροι, fat on the surface, in his Wicked
Woman, saying—
Fat on the surface, but the rest of their body
Is all as dry as wood.
And once when a large fish was served up in sour pickle (ὀξάλμν), and somebody said
that every fish (ὀψάριον) was best when dressed in this kind of pickle, Ulpian, picking
out the small bones, and contracting his brows, said,—here do you find the word
ὀξάλμη̣ And as to ὀψάριον, I am quite sure that that is a word used by no living
author. However, at that time the guests all desired him to settle that as he pleased,
and themselves preferred eating; while Cynulcus quoted these lines out of the Breezes
of Metagenes—
But, my friend, now let us dine,
After that ask what you choose;
For at present I'm so hungry,
I can't recollect a thing.
But Myrtilus in a pleasant manner declared that he subscribed to Ulpian's sentiments,
so as to be willing to have nothing to eat, as long as he might talk; and said;—
Cratinus, in his Ulysseses, has mentioned ὀξάλμη, in the following lines—
And in return for this I now will take
All you my brave companions; and will pound,
And boil, and broil, and roast you thoroughly,
n pickle, sour pickle (ὀξάλμη), garlic pickle,
Soaking you thoroughly in each by turns.
And that one which does seem most fairly roasted
I'll do the honour to devour myself.
And Aristophanes, in his Wasps,—
Breathe on me, and then put me in hot pickle (ὀξάλμη).
35. And of living people we ourselves use the word ὀψάριον. Plato does so too;
speaking of fish in his Pisander, he says—
A. Now eating . . . .
B. What on earth? . . .
A. Why, all there is;
Fish (ὀψάριον).
B. You were sick, and did they give
you this?
A. But I, the other day, eating a crab . . . .
And Pherecrates, in his Deserters, says—
Some one has served us up this dish of fish (τ᾽ ὀψάριον).
And Philemon, in his Treasure, says—
It is not right to cheat us in this way,
Nor to have worthless fish (ὀψάρια).
And Menander, in his Carthaginian, says—
I offered Boreas much frankincense,
And yet I did not catch one single fish (ὀψάριον),
So I must now cook lentils for my supper.
And in his Ephesian he says—
Having some fish (ὀψάριον) for breakfast.
And then he goes on to say—
Some fishmonger
Sold me some tench for four drachmas a-piece.
And Anaxilas, in his Hyacinthus the Pander, says—
I now, O Dion, will buy you some fish (ὀψάριον).
And a few lines afterwards he writes—
Now dress, O boy, the fish (τοὐψάριον) for us.
And in the Anagyrus of Aristophanes we read—
Unless on all occasions you do soothe me
With dainty dishes of fish (ὀψαρίου).
Where, however, perhaps we must take ὀψάρια as used synonymously with
προσψωήματα, for made dishes in general. For Alexis, in his Woman Sitting up all
Night, represents a cook as speaking in the following terms:—
A. Do you prefer your high made dishes hot,
Or cold, or something just between the two?
B. Cold.
A. Are you sure, my master? only think;
The man has not one notion how to live?
Am I to serve you everything up cold?
B. By no means.
A. Will you, then, have all things hot?
B. O Phoebus!
A. Then, if neither hot nor cold,
They surely must be just between the two;
And none of all my fellows can do this.
B. I dare say not, nor many other things
Which you can do.
A. I'll tell you now, for I
Give all the guests an opportunity
To practise a wise mixture of their food.
Have you not, I adjure you by the gods,
Just slain a kid?
B. Don't cut me, cut the meat:—
Boys, bring the kid.
A. Is there a kitchen near?
B. There is.
A. And has it got a chimney too?
For this you do not say.
B. It has a chimney.
A. But if it smokes, it will be worse than none.
B. The man will kill me with his endless questions.
36. These passages I have quoted to you on the part of us who are still alive, my well-
fed friend Ulpian. For you too, as it seems to me, agree so far with Alexis as to eat no
living animals. And Alexis, in his Attic Woman, speaks in the following manner—
The man who first did say that no philosopher
Would eat of living things, was truly wise.
For I am just come home, and have not bought
A living thing of any kind. I've bought
Some fish, but they were dead, and splendid fish.
Then here are joints of well-fed household lamb,
But he was kill'd last week. What else have I?
Oh, here's some roasted liver. If there be
A man who can this liver prove to have
Or soul or voice or animation,
I will confess I've err'd and broken the law.
So now after all this let us have some supper. For just see, while I am talking to you,
all the pheasants have flown by me, and are gone out of reach, disregarding me,
because of your unseasonable chattering. But I should like you to tell me, my master
Myrtilus, said Ulpian, where you got that word ὀλβιογάστωρ, and also whether any
ancient author mentions the pheasant, and I—
Rising at early morn to sail . . . .
not through the Hellespont, but into the market-place, will buy a pheasant which you
and I may eat together.
37. And Myrtilus said,—On this condition I will tell you. Amphis uses the word
ὀλβιογάστωρ in his Gynæcomania, where he speaks as follows:—
Eurybates, you hunter of rich smells,
You surely are the most well-fed (ὀλβιογάστωρ) of men.
And as for the bird called the pheasant, that delicious writer Aristophanes mentions it
in his play called The Birds. There are in that play two old Athenians, who, from their
love of idleness, are looking for a city where there is nothing to do, that they may live
there; and so they take a fancy to the life among the birds. And accordingly they come
to the birds: and when all of a sudden some wild bird flies towards them, they,
alarmed at the sight, comfort one another, and say a great many things, and among
them they say this—
A. What now is this bird which we here behold?
Will you not say?
B. I think it is a pheasant.
And I also understand the passage in the Clouds to refer to birds, and not to horses as
many people take it—
The Phasian flocks, bred by Leogoras.
For it is very possible that Leogoras may have bred horses and pheasants too. And
Leogoras is also turned into ridicule as a gourmand by Plato in his Very Miserable Man.
And Mnesimachus, in his play called Philip, (and Mnesimachus is one of the poets of
the Middle Comedy,) says—
And as the proverb runs, it is more rare
Than milk of birds, or than a splendid pheasant
Artistically pluck'd.
And Theophrastus the Eresian, a pupil of Aristotle, mentions them in the third book of
his Treatise on Animals, speaking nearly as follows—"There is also some such
difference as this in birds. For the heavy birds which are not so well-suited for flying,
such as the woodcock, the partridge, the cock, and the pheasant, are very well
adapted for walking and have thick plumage." And Aristotle, in the eighth book of his
History of Animals, writes thus:—"Now of birds there are some which are fond of
dusting themselves, and some which are fond of washing, and some which neither
dust nor wash themselves. And those which are not good flyers, but which keep chiefly
on the ground, are fond of dusting themselves; such as the common fowl, the
partridge, the woodcock, the pheasant, the lark." Speusippus also mentions them in
the second book of his treatise on Things Resembling one another. And the name
these men give the pheasant is φασιανὸς, not φασιανικός.
38. But Agatharchides of Cnidos, in the thirty-fourth book of his History of the Affairs
of Europe, speaking of the river Phasis, writes as follows:—"But the great multitude of
the birds called pheasants (φασιανοι) come for the sake of food to the places where
the mouths of the rivers fall into the sea." And Callixenus the Rhodian, in the fourth
book of his Account of Alexandria, describing a procession which took place in
Alexandria, when Ptolemy who was surnamed Philadelphus was king, mentions, as a
very extraordinary circumstance connected with these birds—"Then there were
brought on in cases parrots, and peacocks, and guinea-fowl, and pheasants, and an
immense number of Æthiopian birds." And Artemidorus the pupil of Aristophanes, in
his book entitled The Glossary of Cookery, and Pamphilus the Alexandrian, in his
treatise on Names and Words, represents Epænetus as saying in his Cookery Book that
the pheasant is also called τατύρας. But Ptolemy Euergetes, in the second book of his
Commentaries, says that the pheasant is called τατύρας. Now this is what I am able to
tell you about the pheasant, which I have seen brought up on your account, as if we
all had fevers. But you, if you do not, according to your agreement, give me to-morrow
what you have covenanted to, I do not say that I will prosecute you in the public
courts for deceit, but I will send you away to live near the Phasi, as Polemon, the
Describer of the World, wished to drown Ister the pupil of Callimachus, the historian,
in the river of the same name.
39. The next thing to be mentioned is the woodcock. Aristophanes, in his Storks, says
—
The woodcock, most delicious meat to boil,
Fit dish for conqueror's triumphal feast.
And Alexander the Myndian says that it is a bird a little larger than a partridge, and
spotted all over the back, about the colour of earthenware, but a little more ruddy. And
it is caught by the hunters, because it is a heavy flyer in consequence of the shortness
of its wings; and it is a bird fond of dusting itself, and very prolific, and it feeds on
seeds.[30] But Socrates, in his treatise on Boundaries, and Places, and Fire, and
Stones, says,—"The woodcock having been transported into Egypt from Lydia, and
having been let loose in the woods there, for some time uttered a sound like a quail:
but after the river got low, and a great scarcity arose, in which a great many of the
natives of the country died, they never ceased uttering, as they do to this day, in a
voice more distinct than that of the very clearest speaking children, 'Threefold evils to
the wicked doers.' But when they are caught it is not only impossible to tame them,
but they even cease to utter any sound at all; but if they are let go again, they recover
their voice." And Hipponax mentions them thus—
Not eating woodcocks or the timid hare.
And Aristophanes, in his Birds, mentions them also. And in his Acharnians he speaks of
them as being very common in the district about Megara.And the Attic writers
circumflex the noun in a manner quite contrary to analogy. For words of more than
two syllables ending in ας, when the final α is long, are barytones; as for instance,
ἀκάμας, Σακάδας, ἀδάμας. And we ought also to read the plural ἀττάγαι, and not
ἀτταγῆνες.
40. There is also a bird called the porphyrion. And it is well known that this bird is
mentioned by Aristophanes. And Polemo, in the fifth book of his treatise addressed to
Antigonus and Adæus, says that the bird called the porphyrion, when it is kept in a
house, watches those women who have husbands very closely; and has such
instantaneous perception of any one who commits adultery, that, when it perceives it,
it gives notice of it to the master of the house, cutting its own existence short by
hanging itself. And, says he, it never partakes of food before it has walked all round
the place seeking for some spot which may suit it; and then it dusts itself there, and
washes itself, and after that it feeds. And Aristotle says that it has cloven feet, and that
it is of a dark blue colour, with long legs, with a beak of a scarlet colour beginning at
its very head; of about the size of a cock of the common poultry breed; and it has a
small gullet, on which account it seizes its food with its foot, and divides it into
diminutive morsels. And it drinks greedily; and it has five toes on each foot, of which
the middle one is the largest. But Alexander the Myndian, in the second book of his
treatise on the History of Birds, says that the bird comes originally from Libya, and that
it is sacred to the gods of Libya.
There is also another bird called the porphyris. Callimachus, in his treatise on Birds,
says that the porphyris is different from the porphyrion, and enumerates the two birds
separately. And he says that the porphyrion takes its food while hiding itself in
darkness, so that no one may see it; for it hates those who come near its food. And
Aristophanes also mentions the porphyris in his drama entitled The Birds. And Ibycus
speaks of some birds which he calls lathiporphyrides, and says; "There are some
variegated ducks with purple necks which frequent the highest branches of the trees;
and the birds called lathiporphyrides with variegated necks, and king-fishers with
extended wings." And in another place he says—
You're always bearing me aloft, my mind,
Like some bold porphyris, with out-stretch'd wings.
41. The next bird is the partridge. A great many authors mention this bird, as also
does Aristophanes. And some of them in the oblique cases shorten the penultima of
the noun; as Archilochus does where he writes—
πτώσσουσαν ὥς τε πέρδῖκα,
in the same way as ὄρτῦγα and χοίνῖκα have the penultima short. But it is usually
made long by the Attic writers. Sophocles, in his Camici, says—
A man arrived, who in the famous hills
Of Attica is a namesake of the partridge (πέρδι:κος).
And Pherecrates, or whoever it was who wrote the Chiron, says—
He goes against his will, like any partridge (πέρδικος
τρόπον).
And Phrynichus, in his Tragedians, says—
And Cleombrotus the son of Perdix (Πέρδικος),
(for the bird is sometimes cited as a model of lasciviousness).
Nicophon, in his Handicraftsmen, says—
The hepseti, and all those partridges (περδι:κας).
But Epicharmus, in his Revellers, uses the word with the penultima short, where he
says—
They brought in cuttle-fish, who swim the deep,
And partridges (πέρδικας) who fly in lofty air.
And Aristotle gives the following account of the bird—"The partridge is a land bird,
with cloven feet; and he lives fifteen years: but the female lives even more. For among
all birds the female lives longer than the male. It lays eggs, and hatches its young
itself, as the common hen does. And when it is aware that it is being hunted, it comes
away from its nest, and rolls near the legs of the huntsman, giving him a hope that he
may catch it; and so it deceives him, until its young have flown away, and then it flies
away itself also.
42. "But it is a very ill-disposed and cunning animal; and moreover it is much devoted
to amatory enjoyments; on which account it breaks the eggs of its hen, that it may not
be deprived of her while she is hatching them; and therefore the hen, knowing this,
runs away and hides her eggs." And Callimachus gives the same account in his treatise
on Birds. And the single birds fight with one another, and the one which is defeated
becomes the mate of the conqueror. But Aristotle says that they all in turn use the bird
which has been defeated as their mate, and that the tame birds also take the wild
ones for their mates. And the bird which is defeated by the other patiently allows itself
to be treated by him as his mate. And this happens at a particular time of the year, as
is also stated by Alexander the Myndian. And they lay their eggs on the ground, both
the cocks and the hens making themselves separate nests. And the leader of the wild
birds attacks the decoy partridge, and when he is taken another comes forward to
fight the decoy bird; and this is done whenever the bird used for the decoy is a cock
bird; but when a hen is employed for the purpose, then she crows till the leader of the
wild birds meets her, and the rest of the wild birds assemble and drive him away from
the hen, because he is attending to her and not to them; on which account sometimes
he advances without making any noise, in order that no other bird may hear his voice
and come to fight him. And sometimes the hen also checks the crowing of the cock as
he comes up:[31] and very often when she is sitting on her nest she gets off it on
perceiving the cock approaching the decoy bird, and remains there to receive his
embraces in order to draw him away from the decoy bird. And so very eager to
propagate their species are both quails and partridges, that they fall into the hands of
the hunters on that account, sitting on the tiles. They say, too, that when hen
partridges are taken out to hunt, even when they see or smell a cock standing or flying
down the wind, become pregnant, and some say that they immediately begin to lay
eggs. And about breeding time they fly about with their mouths open, putting out their
tongues, both hens and cocks. And Clearchus says, in his treatise on Panic Fear,
—"Sparrows and partridges, and also the common barn-door fowl and the quail, are
eager to propagate their species, not only the moment that they see the hen, but even
as soon as they hear her voice. And the cause of this is the excessive impression made
on their minds by amatory pleasures and proximity. And you may see more easily all
that takes place with respect to the propagation of their species if you put a looking-
glass opposite to them. For they run forward, being deceived by the appearance, and
behave as if they saw a hen, and so are caught. Only the common poultry cock does
not do so. But the perception of the reflected image operates on them only so far as to
make them wish to fight." And this is the statement of Clearchus.
43. Partridges are by some people called κάκκαβαι, as, for instance, by Alcman, who
speaks as follows—
Alcman, too, began the strain;
And he introduced into the language
The compound name of κακκαβίδες:
showing plainly enough that he had learnt to compound the word from the noise made
by partridges. On which account also Chamæleon of Pontus said that the discovery of
music was originally made by the ancients from the birds singing in desert places; by
imitation of whom they arrived at the art of music; but it is not all partridges who
make the noise called κακκαβίζειν, or cackling. At all events, Theophrastus, in his
treatise on the Different Noises made by Animals of the same Species, says—"The
partridges in Attica, near Corydallus, on the side towards the city, cackle; but those on
the other side twitter." And Basilis, in the second book of his History of India, says
—"The diminutive men in those countries which fight with cranes are often carried by
partridges." And Menecles, in the first book of his Collectanea, says—"The pygmies
fight both with partridges and with cranes." But there is a different kind of partridge
found in Italy, of a dark colour on its wings, and smaller in size, with a beak inclining in
the smallest possible degree to a red colour. But the partridges about Cirrha are not at
all nice to eat as to their flesh, on account of the nature of their food. But the
partridges in Boeotia either do not cross into Attica at all, or else, whenever they do,
they are easily recognised by their voices, as we have previously mentioned. But the
partridges which are found in Paphlagonia, Theophrastus says, have two hearts. But
those in the island of Sciathos feed on cockles. And sometimes they have as many as
fifteen or sixteen young at a time; and they can only fly short distances, as Xenophon
tells us in the first book of his Anabasis, where he writes,—"But if any one rouses the
bustard suddenly it is easy to catch him; for they can only fly a short distance, like
partridges, and they very soon tire; but their flesh is very delicious."
44. And Plutarch says that Xenophon is quite correct about the bustard; for that great
numbers of these birds are brought to Alexandria from the adjacent parts of Libya;
being hunted and caught in this manner. The animal is a very imitative one, the
bustard; being especially fond of imitating whatever it sees a man do; and accordingly
it does whatever it sees the hunters do. And they, standing opposite to it, anoint
themselves under the eyes with some unguent, having prepared other different
unguents calculated to close up the eyes and eyelids; and these other unguents they
place in shallow dishes near the bustards. And so the bustards, seeing the men anoint
themselves under the eyes, do the same thing also themselves, taking the unguents
out of these dishes; and by this means they are quickly caught. And Aristotle writes
the following account of them:—"It is a migratory bird, with cloven feet, and three
toes; of about the size of a large cock, of the colour of a quail, with a long head, a
sharp beak, a thin neck, large eyes, a bony tongue, and it has no crop." But Alexander
the Myndian says that it is also called also called λαγωδίας. And he says, also, that it
ruminates, and that it is very fond of the horse; and that if any one puts on a horse's
skin he can catch as many as he pleases; for they come up to him then of their own
accord. And presently, in another passage, Aristotle tells us, "The bustard is something
like the owl, but it is not a bird which flies by night; and it has large feathers about its
ears, on which account it is called ὦτος, from ὦτα; and it is about the size of a pigeon,
and a great imitator of mankind; and accordingly it is caught by dancing opposite to
them." And it is in shape something like a man, and it is an imitator of whatever man
does. On which account the comic poets call those people who are easily taken in by
any one whom they chance to meet, a bustard. Accordingly, in hunting them, the man
who is cleverest at it, stands opposite to them and dances; and the birds, looking at
the man dancing, move like puppets pulled by strings; and then some one comes
behind them, and, without being perceived, seizes on them while they are wholly
occupied with the delight they derive from the imitation.
45. They say, also, that the screech-owl does the same thing: for it is said that they
also are caught by dancing. And Homer mentions them. And there is a kind of dance,
which is called σκὼψ, or the screech-owl, from them; deriving its name from the
variety of motion displayed by this animal. And the screech-owls also delight in
imitation, and it is from their name that we say that those men σκώπτουσι, who keep
looking at the person whom they wish to turn into ridicule, and mock all his conduct by
an exact imitation, copying the conduct of those birds. But all the birds whose tongues
are properly formed, and who are capable of uttering articulate sounds, imitate the
voices of men and of other birds; as the parrot and the jay. The screech-owl, as
Alexander the Myndian says, is smaller than the common owl, and he has whitish
spots on a leaden-coloured plumage; and he puts out two tufts of feathers from his
eyebrows on each temple. Now Callimachus says that there are two kinds of screech-
owls, and that one kind does screech, and the other does not—on which account one
kind is called σκῶπες, and the other kind is called ἀείσκωπες, and these last are of a
grey colour.
But Alexander the Myndian says that the name is written in Homer, κῶπες without the
ς, and that that was the name which Aristotle gave them; and that they are constantly
seen, and that they are not eatable; but that those which are only seen about the end
of autumn for a day or two are eatable. And they differ from the ἀείσκωπες in their
speed, and they are something like the turtle-dove and the pigeon in pace. And
Speusippus, in the second book of his treatise on Things Resembling one another, also
calls them κῶπες without the ς. But Epicharmus writes σκῶπας, epopses and owls. And
Metrodorus, in his treatise on Custom and Habituation, says, that the screech-owl is
caught by dancing opposite to it.
46. But since, when we were talking of partridges, we mentioned that they were
exceedingly amorous birds, we ought also to add, that the cock of the common poultry
fowl is a very amorous bird too; at all events Aristotle says, that when cocks are kept
in the temples as being dedicated to the Gods, the cocks who were there before treat
any new comer as a hen until another is dedicated in a similar manner. And if none are
dedicated, then they fight together, and the one which has defeated the other works
his will on the one which he has defeated. It is related, also, that a cock, whenever he
goes in at any door whatever, always stoops his crest, and that one cock never yields
to another without a battle; but Theophrastus says, that the wild cocks are still more
amorous than the tame ones, he says, also, that the cocks are most inclined to pursue
the hens the moment they leave their perch in the morning, but the hens prefer it as
the day advances.
Sparrows, also, are very amorous birds; on which account Terpsicles says, that those
who eat sparrows are rendered exceedingly prone to amorous indulgences; and
perhaps it is from such an idea that Sappho represents Venus as being drawn by
sparrows yoked in her chariot; for they are very amorous birds, and very prolific. The
sparrow has about eight young ones at one hatching, according to the statement of
Aristotle. And Alexander the Myndian says that there are two kinds of sparrows, the
one a tame species, and the other a wild one; and he adds that the hen-sparrow is
weaker in other respects, and also that their beaks are of a more horny colour, and
that their faces are not very white, nor very black; but Aristotle says that the cock-
sparrow never appears in the winter, but that the hen-sparrows remain, drawing his
conclusions as to what he thinks probable from their colour; for their colour changes,
as the colour of blackbirds and of coots does, who get whiter at certain seasons. But
the people of Elis call sparrows δείρηται, as Nicander the Colophonian tells us in the
third book of his treatise on Different Dialects.
47. We must also speak of the quail; they are called ὄρτυγες. And here there arises a
general question about words ending in υξ, why the words with this termination do not
all have the same letter as the characteristic of the genitive case. I allude to ὄρτυξ and
ὄνυξ. For the masculine simple nouns ending in ξ when the vowel υ precedes ξ, and
when the last syllable begins with any one of the immutable consonants or those
which are characteristic of the first[32] conjugation of barytone verbs, make the
genitive with κ; as κῆρυξ κήρυκος, πέλυξ πέλυκος, Ἔρυξ ἔρυκος, Βέβρυξ, Βέβρυκος;
but those which have not this characteristic make the genitive with a γ, as ὄρτυξ
ὄρτυγος, κόκκυξ κόκκυγος, ὄρυξ ὄρυγος; and there is one word with a peculiar
inflexion, ὄνυξ ὄνυχος; and as a general rule, in the nominative case plural, they follow
the genitive case singular in having the same characteristic of the last syllable. And the
case is the same if the last syllable does not begin with a consonant at all.
But with respect to the quail Aristotle says, "The quail is a migratory bird, with cloven
feet, and he does not make a nest, but lies in the dust; and he covers over his hole
with sticks for fear of hawks; and then the hen lays her eggs in the hole." But
Alexander the Myndian says, in the second book of his treatise on Animals, "The
female quail has a thin neck, not having under its chin the same black feathers which
the male has. And when it is dissected it is found not to have a large crop, but it has a
large heart with three lobes; it has also its liver and its gall-bladder united in its
intestines, but it has but a small spleen, and one which is not easily perceived; and its
testicles are under its liver, like those of the common fowl." And concerning their
origin, Phanodemus, in the second book of his History of Attica, says:—"When
Erysichthon saw the island of Delos, which was by the ancients called Ortygia, because
of the numerous flocks of quails which came over the sea and settled in that island as
one which afforded them good shelter . . . ." And Eudoxus the Cnidian, in the first
book of his Description of the Circuit of the Earth, says that the Phoenicians sacrifice
quails to Hercules, because Hercules, the son of Asteria and Jupiter, when on his way
towards Libya, was slain by Typhon and restored to life by Iolaus, who brought a quail
to him and put it to his nose, and the smell revived him. For when he was alive he
was, says Eudoxus, very partial to that bird.
48. But Eupolis uses the word in its diminutive form, and in his play called Cities, calls
them ὀρτύγια, speaking as follows:—
A. Tell me now, have you ever bred any ὄρτυγες̣?
B. I've bred some small ὀρτύγια. What of that?
And Antiphanes, in his play called The Countryman, speaks as follows, using also the
form ὀρτύγιον:—
For what now could a man like you perform,
Having the soul of a quail (ὀρτυγίου)?
It is an odd expression that Pratinas uses, who in his Dymænæ, or the Caryatides,
calls the quail a bird with a sweet voice, unless indeed quails have voices in the
Phliasian or Lacedæmonian country as partridges have; and perhaps it is from this,
also, that the bird called σίαλις has its name, as Didymus says. For nearly all birds
derive their names from the sounds which they make.
There is also a bird called the ὀρτυγομήτρα (which is mentioned by Crates in his
Chirons, where he says,
The ὀρτυγομήτρα came from Ithaca.)
And Alexander the Myndian also mentions it, and says that in size it is nearly equal to
a turtle-dove; that it has long legs, a slender body, and is very timid. And with respect
to the hunting for quails, Clearchus the Solensian mentions some very singular
circumstances, in his book which is entitled "A Treatise on those things which have
been asserted on Mathematical Principles in Plato's Polity," where he writes as follows
—"Quails, about breeding time, if any one puts a looking-glass opposite to them, and a
noose in front of it, run towards the bird which is seen in the looking-glass; and so fall
into the noose." And about the birds called jackdaws he makes a similar statement,
saying—"And a very similar thing happens to the jackdaws, on account of their
naturally affectionate disposition towards each other. For they are a most exceedingly
cunning bird; nevertheless when a bowl full of oil is placed near them, they stand on
the edge of the bowl, and look down, and then rush down towards the bird which
appears visible in the liquid. In consequence of which, when they are soaked through
with the oil, their wings stick together and cause them to be easily captured." And the
Attic writers make the middle syllable of the oblique cases of ὄρτυξ long, like δοίδῦκα,
and κήρῦκα; as Demetrius Ixion tells us, in his treatise on the Dialect of the
Alexandrians. But Aristophanes, in his Peace, has used the word with the penultima
short for the sake of the metre, writing—
The tame domestic quails (ὄρτῦγες οἰκογενεῖς).
There is also a bird called χέννιον, which is a small kind of quail, which is mentioned
by Cleomenes, in his letter to Alexander, where he expresses himself in the following
manner—"Ten thousand preserved coots, and five thousand of the kind of thrush
called tylas, and ten thousand preserved χέννια." And Hipparchus, in his Egyptian Iliad,
says—
I cannot fancy the Egyptian life,
Plucking the chennia, which they salt and eat.
49. And even swans in great plenty were not wanting to our banquets. And Aristotle
speaks in the following manner of this bird—"The swan is a prolific bird, and a
quarrelsome one. And, indeed, they are so fond of fighting that they often kill one
another. And the swan will fight even the eagle; though he does not begin the battle
himself. And they are tuneful birds, especially towards the time of their death. And
they also cross the seas singing. And they are web-footed, and feed on herbage." But
Alexander the Myndian says, that though he followed a great many swans when they
were dying, he never heard one sing. And Hegesianax of Alexandria, who arranged the
book of Cephalion, called the History of Troy, says that the Cycnus who fought with
Achilles in single combat, was fed in Leucophrys by the bird of the same name, that is,
by the swan. But Boius, or Boio, which Philochorus says was his proper name, in his
book on the Origin of Birds, says that Cycnus was turned into a bird by Mars, and that
when he came to the river Sybaris he was cooped with a crane. And he says, also, that
the swan lines his nest with that particular grass which is called lygæa.
And concerning the crane (γέρανος), Boius says that there was among the Pygmies a
very well known woman whose name was Gerana. And she, being honoured as a god
by her fellow-countrymen, thought lightly of those who were really gods, and
especially of Juno and Diana. And accordingly Juno, being indignant, metamorphosed
her into an unsightly bird, and made her hostile to and hated by the Pygmies who had
been used to honour her. And he says, also, that of her and Nicodamas was born the
land tortoise. And as a general rule, the man who composed all these fables asserts
that all the birds were formerly men.
50. The next bird to be mentioned is the pigeon. Aristotle says, that there is but one
genus of the pigeon, but five subordinate species; writing thus—"The pigeon, the
œnas, the phaps, the dove, and the turtle-dove." But in the fifth book of his treatise
on the Parts of Animals, he makes no mention of the phaps, though Æschylus, in his
tragedy called Proteus, does mention that bird in the following line—
Feeding the wretched miserable phaps,
Entangled as to its poor broken sides
Within the winnowing spokes.
And in his Philoctetes he uses the word in the genitive case plural, φαβῶν. "The œnas,
then," says Aristotle, "is something larger than the pigeon, and it has a puce-coloured
plumage; but the phaps is something between the pigeon and the œnas. And the
species called phassa is about as large as the common cock, but of the colour of
ashes; and the turtle-dove is less than all the other species, and is of a cinder-colour.
And this last is only seen in the summer, and during the winter it keeps in its hole.
Now, the phaps and the common pigeon are always to be seen, but the œnas is only
visible in the autumn. And the species called the phassa is said to be longer lived than
any of the others; for it lives thirty or forty years. And the cock birds never leave the
hens to the day of their death, nor do the hens ever desert the cock: but when one
dies the other remains solitary: and crows, and ravens, and jackdaws all do the same
thing. And in every kind of the genus pigeon, both male and female sit on the eggs in
turn; and when the chickens are hatched, the cock bird spits upon them to prevent
their being fascinated. And the hen lays two eggs, the first of which produces a cock
and the second a hen. And they lay at every season of the year; so that they lay ten or
eleven times a-year; and in Egypt they lay twelve times; for the hen conceives again
the very next day to that in which it lays." And further on, in the same book, Aristotle
says that the kind called περιστερὰ differs from the πελειὰς, and the πελειὰς is the
least of the two. And the πελειὰς is easily tamed; but the περιστερὰ is black, and
small, and has red rough legs; on which account no one keeps them. But he mentions
a peculiarity of the species called περιστερὰ, that they kiss one another when courting,
and that if the males neglect this, the hens do not admit their embraces. However, old
doves do not go through this formality; but omit the kisses and still succeed in their
suit, but the younger ones always kiss before they proceed to action. And the hens,
too, make love to one another, when there is no cock at hand, kissing one another
beforehand. But still, as there are no real results, the eggs which they lay never
produce chickens. The Dorians, however, consider the πελειὰς and the περιστερὰ as
identical; and Sophron uses the two words as synonymous in his Female Actresses.
But Callimachus, in his treatise on Birds, speaks of the pyrallis, the dove, the wood-
pigeon, and the turtle-dove, as all different from one another.
51. But Alexander the Myndian says, that the pigeon never lifts up his head when it
drinks, as the turtle-dove does; and that it never utters any sound in the winter except
when it is very fine weather. It is said, also, that when the species called œnas has
eaten the seed of the mistletoe, and then leaves its droppings on any tree, mistletoe
after that grows upon that tree. But Daïmachus, in his history of India, says that
pigeons of an apple-green colour are found in India. And Charon of Lampsacus, in his
history of Persia, speaking of Mardonius, and of the losses which the Persian army
sustained off Mount Athos, writes as follows—"And that was the first time that white
pigeons were ever seen by the Greeks; as they had never existed in that country." And
Aristotle says, that the pigeons, when their young are born, eat a lot of earth
impregnated with salt, and then open the mouths of their young and spit the salt into
them; and by this means prepare them to swallow and digest their food.
And at Eryx in Sicily, there is a certain time which the Sicilians call The Departure, at
which time they say that the Goddess is departing into Africa: and at this time all the
pigeons about the place disappear, as if they had accompanied the Goddess on her
journey.And after nine days, when the festival called καταγώγια, that is to say The
Return, is celebrated, after one pigeon has first arrived, flying across the sea like an
avant-courier, and has flown into the temple, the rest follow speedily. And on this, all
the inhabitants around, who are comfortably off, feast; and the rest clap their hands
for joy. And at that time the whole place smells of butter, which they use as a sort of
token of the return of the Goddess. But Autocrates, in his history of Achaia, says that
Jupiter once changed his form into that of a pigeon, when he was in love with a
maiden in Ægium, whose name was Phthia. But the Attic writers use the word also in
the masculine gender, περιστερός. Alexis, in his People Running together, says—
For I am the white pigeon (περιστερὸς) of Venus;
But as for Bacchus, he knows nothing more
Than how to get well drunk; and nothing cares
Whether 'tis new wine that he drinks or old.
But in his play of the Rhodian, or the Woman Caressing, he uses the word in the
feminine gender; and says in that passage that the Sicilian pigeons are superior to all
others—
Breeding within some pigeons from Sicily,
The fairest shaped of all their species.
And Pherecrates, in his Painters, says—
Send off a pigeon (περιστερὸν) as a messenger.
And in his Petale he uses the diminutive form περιστέριον, where he says,—
But now, my pigeon, fly thou like Callisthenes,
And bear me to Cythera and to Cyprus.
And Nicander, in the second book of his Georgics, mentions the Sicilian doves and
pigeons, and says,—
And do you in your hall preserve a flock
Of fruitful doves from Sicily or Dracontium,
For it is said that neither kites nor hawks
Incline to hurt those choice and sacred birds.
52. We must also mention ducks. The male of these birds, as Alexander the Myndian
says, is larger than the female, and has a more richly coloured plumage: but the bird
which is called the glaucion, from the colour of its eyes, is a little smaller than the
duck. And of the species called boscades the male is marked all over with lines, and he
also is less than the duck; and the males have short beaks, too small to be in fair
proportion to their size: but the small diver is the least of all aquatic birds, being of a
dirty black plumage, and it has a sharp beak, turning upwards towards the eyes, and it
goes a great deal under water. There is also another species of the boscades, larger
than the duck, but smaller than the chenalopex: but the species which are called
phascades are a little larger than the small divers, but in all other respects they
resemble the ducks. And the kind called uria are not much smaller than the duck, but
as to its plumage it is of a dirty earthenware colour, and it has a long and narrow
beak: but the coot, which also has a narrow beak, is of a rounder shape, and is of an
ash colour about the stomach, and rather blacker on the back. But Aristophanes, in his
Acharnians, in the following lines, mentions the duck and the diver, from whose names
(νῆττα and κολυμβὰς) we get the verbs νήχομαι, to swim, and κολυμβάω, to dive, with
a great many other water birds—
Ducks too, and jackdaws, woodcocks too, and coots,
And wrens, and divers.