{"product_id":"2940013696617","title":"Siren Land","description":"It was the Emperor Tiberius who startled his grammarians with the\u003cbr\u003equestion, what songs the Sirens sang? I suspect he knew more about the\u003cbr\u003ematter than they did, for he was a Siren-worshipper all his life,\u003cbr\u003ethough fate did not allow him to indulge his genius till those last\u003cbr\u003efew years which he spent among them on the rock-islet of Capri. The\u003cbr\u003egrammarians, if they were prudent, doubtless referred him to Homer,\u003cbr\u003ewho has preserved a portion of their lay.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWhether Sirens of this true kind are in existence at the present day\u003cbr\u003eis rather questionable, for the waste places of earth have been\u003cbr\u003ereclaimed, and the sea's untrampled floor is examined and officially\u003cbr\u003ereported upon. Not so long ago some such creatures were still found.\u003cbr\u003eJacobus Noierus relates that in 1403 a Siren was captured in the\u003cbr\u003eZuider Sea.  She was brought to Haarlem and, being naked, allowed\u003cbr\u003eherself to be clothed; she learned to eat like a Dutchman; she could\u003cbr\u003espin thread and take pleasure in other maidenly occupations; she was\u003cbr\u003egentle and lived to a great age. But she never spoke. The honest\u003cbr\u003eburghers had no knowledge of the language of the sea-folk to enable\u003cbr\u003ethem to teach her their own tongue, so she remained mute to the end of\u003cbr\u003eher days--a circumstance to be regretted, since, excepting in the Arab\u003cbr\u003etale of \"Julnar the Sea-born,\" little information has been handed down\u003cbr\u003eto us regarding the conversational and domestic habits of mediaeval\u003cbr\u003eSirens.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn the royal archives of Portugal are preserved the records of a\u003cbr\u003ecostly litigation between the Crown and the Grand Master of the Order\u003cbr\u003eof Saint James, as to who should possess the Sirens cast up by the sea\u003cbr\u003eon the Grand Master's shores. The suit ended in the ting's favour: BE\u003cbr\u003eIT ENACTED--THAT SIRENS AND OTHER MARINE MONSTERS EJECTED BY THE WAVES\u003cbr\u003eUPON LAND OWNED BY THE GRAND MASTER SHALL PASS INTO THE POSSESSION OF\u003cbr\u003eTHE KING.  This would show that Sirens were then fairly plentiful. And\u003cbr\u003eone of the best authenticated cases is that recorded by the veracious\u003cbr\u003eCaptain John Smith--he of Pocahontas fame. \"I cannot here omit to\u003cbr\u003emention,\" says he, \"the admirable creature of God which in the year\u003cbr\u003e1610 I saw with these my own eyes. I happened to be standing, at\u003cbr\u003edaybreak, on the shore not far from the harbour of St. John, when I\u003cbr\u003eobserved a marine monster swiftly swimming towards me. Lovely was her\u003cbr\u003eshape; eyes, nose, ears, cheeks, mouth, neck, forehead, and the whole\u003cbr\u003eface was as that of the fairest maiden; her hair, of azure hue, fell\u003cbr\u003eover her shoulders....\" Altogether, a strange fish. The rest of the\u003cbr\u003equotation will be found in Gottfried's _Historia Antipodum_.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eConsult also Gessner, Rondeletius, Scaliger, and other good folks,\u003cbr\u003efrom whose relations it appears evident that Sirens were common enough\u003cbr\u003ein their days and, doubtless for that reason, of little repute; for\u003cbr\u003ewhatever is common becomes debased, as the very word \"vulgar\" proves.\u003cbr\u003eThis perhaps helps to explain their fishy termination, for the oldest\u003cbr\u003eSirens were of bird kind. The change took place, I imagine, about the\u003cbr\u003etime of Saint Augustine, when so many pagan shapes began to affect new\u003cbr\u003evestments and characters, not always to their advantage. It influenced\u003cbr\u003eeven those born in Hellenic waters, whom we might have supposed to\u003cbr\u003ehave remained more respectable and conservative than the others.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThus Theodorus Gaza, whose name is a guarantee of good faith and\u003cbr\u003eintelligence--did he not write the first Greek grammar?--once related\u003cbr\u003ein a large and distinguished company (Pontanus was also present) how\u003cbr\u003ethat, after a great storm in the Peloponnesus, a sea-lady was cast up\u003cbr\u003ewith other jetsam on the beach. She was still alive and breathing\u003cbr\u003ehard; her face and body were \"absolutely human\" and not uncomely.\u003cbr\u003eImmediately a large concourse of people gathered round, but her sighs\u003cbr\u003eand heaving breast plainly showed how embarrassed she was by their\u003cbr\u003evulgar curiosity.  Presently she began to cry outright. The\u003cbr\u003ecompassionate scholar ordered the crowd to move away and escorted her,\u003cbr\u003eas best he could, to the water's edge. There, throwing herself into\u003cbr\u003ethe waves with a mighty splash, she vanished from sight.  This one,\u003cbr\u003eagain, partook rather of the nature of a fish than of a bird.","brand":"WDS Publishing","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47152654549232,"sku":"2940013696617","price":3.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/2940013696617_p0.jpg?v=1763584389","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/2940013696617","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}