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That the shield of Odysseus had a dolphin emblazoned on it, StesichorusEdmonds, Lyra Graeca, ii, p. 66, frag. 71. also has related; and the Zacynthians perpetuate the reason for it, as CritheusNothing whatever is known about this author, whose name may be given incorrectly in our mss. testifies. For when Telemachus was a small boy, so they say, he fell into the deep inshore water and was saved by dolphins who came to his aid and swam with him to the beach; and that was the reason why his father had a dolphin engraved on his ring and emblazoned on his shield, making this requital to the animal.
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Yet since I began by saying that I would not tell you any tall tales and since, without observing what I was up to, I have now, besides the dolphins, run aground on both Odysseus and Coeranus to a point beyond belief, I lay this penalty upon myself: to conclude here and now.
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ARISTOTIMUS.Perhaps rather Heracleon (975 c) or Optatus (965 d). So, gentlemen of the jury, you may now cast your votes.
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SOCLARUS. As for us, we have for some time held the view of SophoclesNauck, Trag. Graec. Frag. p. 314, frag. 783; Pearson, iii, p. 69, frag. 867.: It is a marvel how of rival sides The strife of tongues welds both so close together. For by combining what you have said against each other, you will together put up a good fight against thoseThe Stoics, as always in this essay. who would deprive animals of reason and understanding.To some critics the ending is suspicious because of its brevity and vagueness; they regard it as added by an ancient editor who could not find the original termination. But the sudden turn at the end may merely indicate that the whole debate is in reality a single argument to prove the thesis that animals do have some degree of rationality (see also the Introduction to this dialogue).
APPENDIX: CLASSIFIED ZOOLOGICAL INDEX
