let us now pass on to the murex and other kinds of shell-fish, which have a stronger shell, and in which nature, in her sportive mood, has displayed a great variety—so many are the hues of their tints, so numerous are their shapes, flat, concave, long, crescent-shaped, rounded into a globe, cut through into a semi-globe, arched in the back, smooth, rough, indented, streaked, the upper part spirally wreathed, the edge projecting in a sharp point, the edge wreathed outwards, or else folding inwards. and then, too, there are the various distinctions of rayed shells, long-haired shells, wavy-haired shells, channelled shells, pectinated shells, imbricated shells, reticulated shells, shells with lines oblique or rectilinear, thickset shells, expanded shells, tortuous shells, shells the valves of which are united by one small knot, shells which are held together all along one side, shells which are open as if in the very act of applauding, and shells which wind, resembling a 152 conch. the fish of this class, known as the shells of venus, are able to navigate the surface of the deep, and, presenting to the wind their concave side, catch the breeze, and sail along on the surface of the sea. scallops are also able to leap and fly above the surface of the water, and they sometimes employ their shell by way of a bark.
but why mention such trifles as these, when i am sensible that no greater inroads have been made upon our morals, and no more rapid advances have been made by luxury, than those effected through the medium of shell-fish? of all the elements that exist, the sea is the one that costs the dearest to the stomach; seeing that it provides so many kinds of meats, so many dishes, so many exquisite flavors derived from fish, all of which are valued in proportion to the danger undergone by those who have caught them.
but how insignificant is all this when we come to think of our purple, our azure, and our pearls; it was not enough, forsooth, for the spoils of the sea to be thrust down the gullet—but they must be employed as well to adorn the hands, the ears, the head, the whole body, in fact, and that of the men pretty nearly as much as the women. what has the sea to do with our clothes? what is there in common between waves and billows and a sheep’s fleece? this one element ought not to receive us, according to ordinary notions, except in a state of nakedness. let there be ever so strong an alliance between it and the stomach, on the score of gluttony, still, what can it possibly have to do with the back? it is not enough, forsooth, that we are fed upon what is acquired by perils, but we must be clothed, too, in a similar way; so true it is, that for all the wants of the body, that which is sought at the expense of human life is sure to please us the most.
