of erudition, out of place, but never pedantic; futile, yet diverting;
erroneous, but not dull.

'God is said to have spoken to a fish, but never to a beast.' There is a
modern Greek phrase, 'By the first word of God, and the second of the
fish.' As for angling, 'it is somewhat like poetry: men are to be born
so'; and many are born to be both rhymers and anglers. But, unlike many
poets, the angler resembles 'the Adonis, or Darling of the Sea, so called
because it is a loving and innocent fish,' and a peaceful; 'and truly, I
think most anglers are so disposed to most of mankind.'

Our Saviour's peculiar affection for fishermen is, of course, a powerful
argument. And it is certain that Peter, James, and John made converts
among the twelve, for 'the greater number of them were found together,
fishing, by Jesus after His Resurrection.' That Amos was 'a
good-natured, plain fisherman,' only Walton had faith enough to believe.
He fixes gladly on mentions of hooks in the Bible, omitting Homer, and
that excellent Theocritean dialogue of the two old anglers and the fish
of gold, which would have delighted Izaak, had he known it; but he was no
great scholar. 'And let me tell you that in the Scripture, angling is
always taken in the best sense,' though Izaak does not dwell on Tobias's
enormous capture. So he ends with commendations of angling by Wotton,
and Davors (Dennys, more probably) author of _The Secrets of Angling_
(1613). To these we may add Wordsworth, Thomson, Scott, Hogg, Stoddart,
and many minor poets who loved the music of the reel.

Izaak next illustrates his idea of becoming mirth, which excludes
'Scripture jests and lascivious jests,' both of them highly distasteful
to anglers. Then he comes to practice, beginning with chub, for which I
have never angled, but have taken them by misadventure, with a salmon