A pleasant browsing of Pliny's " Natural History " ( following his ancient Latin in the Loeb Classical Library )

Last night in the Loeb Classical Library book on Pliny's " Natural History ' I read a touching description of VERY friendly sea dolphins : " The dolphin is a animal that is not only friendly to mankind but also a lover of music ... " A dolphin that had been brought into Lucerne Lake fell marvellously in love with a certain boy ... A similar story is told about a boy in the city of Iasus , with whom a dolphin was observed for a long time to be in love and while eagerly following him to the shore when he was going away it grounded on the sand and expired . Alexander the Great made the boy head of the priesthood of Poseidon at Babylon, interpreting the the dolphin's affection as a sign of the deity's favor.. In the region of Nismes in the Province of Narbonne there is a marsh named Latera where dolphins catch fish in partnership with human fishermen. " [ Book IX viii 27-ix. 30 ]