Who can discover the face of his garment?.... Or rather uncover it? Not the sea, which Mr. Broughton represents as the garment of the whale; who can strip him of it, or take him out of that, and bring him to land?
which, though not impossible, is difficult: but either the garment of his face, the large bulk or prominence that hangs over his eyes; or rather his skin. Who dare venture to take off his skin, or flay him alive?
or take off the scaly coat of the crocodile, which is like a coat of mail to him, and which he never of himself casts off, as serpents do?[or] who can come [to him] with his double bridle? either go within his jaws, which, when opened, are like a double bridle; or go near and open his jaws, and put a curb bridle into them, and lead, direct, and rule him at pleasure.
This is not to be done either to the whale or crocodile; yet the Tentyritae had a way of getting upon the back of the crocodile; and by putting a stick across its mouth, as it opened it to bite them, and so holding both the ends of it with the right and left hands, as with a bridle, brought them to land, as Pliny relates; and so the Nereides are represented as sitting on the backs of whales by Theocritus .
Ut supra. (Plin. l. 8. c. 25.) Idyll.