| Author: | Norman Douglas | ISBN: | 1230000156268 |
| Publisher: | WDS Publishing | Publication: | July 30, 2013 |
| Imprint: | Language: | English |
| Author: | Norman Douglas |
| ISBN: | 1230000156268 |
| Publisher: | WDS Publishing |
| Publication: | July 30, 2013 |
| Imprint: | |
| Language: | English |
It was the Emperor Tiberius who startled his grammarians with the
question, what songs the Sirens sang? I suspect he knew more about the
matter than they did, for he was a Siren-worshipper all his life,
though fate did not allow him to indulge his genius till those last
few years which he spent among them on the rock-islet of Capri. The
grammarians, if they were prudent, doubtless referred him to Homer,
who has preserved a portion of their lay.
Whether Sirens of this true kind are in existence at the present day
is rather questionable, for the waste places of earth have been
reclaimed, and the sea's untrampled floor is examined and officially
reported upon. Not so long ago some such creatures were still found.
Jacobus Noierus relates that in 1403 a Siren was captured in the
Zuider Sea. She was brought to Haarlem and, being naked, allowed
herself to be clothed; she learned to eat like a Dutchman; she could
spin thread and take pleasure in other maidenly occupations; she was
gentle and lived to a great age. But she never spoke. The honest
burghers had no knowledge of the language of the sea-folk to enable
them to teach her their own tongue, so she remained mute to the end of
her days--a circumstance to be regretted, since, excepting in the Arab
tale of "Julnar the Sea-born," little information has been handed down
to us regarding the conversational and domestic habits of mediaeval
Sirens.
It was the Emperor Tiberius who startled his grammarians with the
question, what songs the Sirens sang? I suspect he knew more about the
matter than they did, for he was a Siren-worshipper all his life,
though fate did not allow him to indulge his genius till those last
few years which he spent among them on the rock-islet of Capri. The
grammarians, if they were prudent, doubtless referred him to Homer,
who has preserved a portion of their lay.
Whether Sirens of this true kind are in existence at the present day
is rather questionable, for the waste places of earth have been
reclaimed, and the sea's untrampled floor is examined and officially
reported upon. Not so long ago some such creatures were still found.
Jacobus Noierus relates that in 1403 a Siren was captured in the
Zuider Sea. She was brought to Haarlem and, being naked, allowed
herself to be clothed; she learned to eat like a Dutchman; she could
spin thread and take pleasure in other maidenly occupations; she was
gentle and lived to a great age. But she never spoke. The honest
burghers had no knowledge of the language of the sea-folk to enable
them to teach her their own tongue, so she remained mute to the end of
her days--a circumstance to be regretted, since, excepting in the Arab
tale of "Julnar the Sea-born," little information has been handed down
to us regarding the conversational and domestic habits of mediaeval
Sirens.
