POLITICIAN, n. An eel in the fundamental mud upon which the superstructure of organized society is reared. When he wriggles he mis...takes the agitation of his tail for the trembling of the edifice. As compared with the statesman, he suffers the disadvantage of being alive.LESSATTRIBUTION DETAIL »
In mind, she was of a strong and vigorous turn, having from her earliest youth devoted herself with uncommon ardour to the study o...f the law; not wasting her speculations upon its eagle flights, which are rare, but tracing it attentively through all the slippery and eel-like crawlings in which it commonly pursues its way.LESSATTRIBUTION DETAIL »
What, is the jay more precious than the lark Because his feathers are more beautiful?... Or is the adder better than the eel Because his painted skin contents the eye?LESSATTRIBUTION DETAIL »
The horned pout (Pimelodus nebulosus), sometimes called Minister, from the peculiar squeaking noise it makes when drawn out of the... water, is a dull and blundering fellow, and, like the eel, vespertinal in his habits and fond of the mud. It bites deliberately, as if about its business.... They are extremely tenacious of life, opening and shutting their mouths for half an hour after their heads have been cut off; a bloodthirsty and bullying race of rangers, inhabiting the fertile river bottoms, with ever a lance in rest, and ready to do battle with their nearest neighbor.LESSATTRIBUTION DETAIL »
he changed and ran Through many shapes; I lunged at the smooth throat... Of a great eel; it changed, and I but smote A fir-tree roaring in its leafless top; And thereupon I drew the livid chop Of a drowned dripping body to my breast....LESSATTRIBUTION DETAIL »