And the same man includes the Mendesian in his list—

And all those who have tried, know that these dishes are by far more delicate and agreeable than the vegetables and figs which you make such a fuss about. Tell us now also, whether the word τάριχος is used in the masculine gender by the Attic writers; for we know it is by Epicharmus.

89. And while Ulpian was thinking this over with himself, Myrtilus, anticipating him, said,—Cratinus, in his Dionysalexander, has—

(where he uses τάριχοι as masculine;) and Plato, in his Jupiter Illtreated, says—

And Aristophanes says, in his Daitaleis—

And Crates says, in his Beasts—

But the noun is formed in a very singular manner by Hermippus, in his Female Bread-Sellers—

And Sophocles says, in his Phineus—

Aristophanes has also treated us to a diminutive form of the word, in his Peace—

And Cephisodorus says, in his Pig—

And Pherecrates, in his Deserters, has—

Epicharmus also uses the word in the masculine gender, ὁ τάριχος. And Herodotus does the same in his ninth book; where he says—"The salt-fish (οἱ τάριχοι) lying on the fire, leaped about and quivered." And the proverbs, too, in which the word occurs, have it in the masculine gender:—

But the Attic writers often use it as a neuter word; and the genitive case, as they use it, is τοῦ ταρίχους. Chionides says, in his Beggars—

And the dative is ταρίχει, like ξίφει—

And Menander uses it τάριχος, in the accusative case, in his Man selecting an Arbitrator—

[198] But when the word is masculine the genitive case does not end with σ.

90. The Athenians were so fond of pickled fish that they enrolled as citizens the sons of Chærephilus the seller of salt-fish; as Alexis tells us, in his Epidaurus, when he says—

And when Timocles once saw them on horseback, he said that two tunny-fish were among the Satyrs. And Hyperides the orator mentions them too. And Antiphanes speaks of Euthynus the seller of pickled fish, in his Couris, in these terms:—

And Alexis, in his Hippiscus, and again in his Soraci, makes mention of Phidippus; and he too was a dealer in salt-fish—

91. And while we were eating the salt-fish and getting very anxious to drink, Daphnus said, holding up both his hands,—Heraclides of Tarentum, my friends, in his treatise entitled The Banquet, says, "It is good to take a moderate quantity of food before drinking, and especially to eat such dishes as one is accustomed to; for from the eating of things which have not been eaten for a long time the wine is apt to be turned sour, so as not to sit on the stomach, and many twinges and spasms are often originated. But some people think that these also are bad for the stomach; I mean, all kinds of vegetables and salted fish, since they possess qualities apt to cause pangs; but that glutinous and invigorating food is the most wholesome,—being ignorant that a great many of the things which assist the secretions are, on the contrary, very good for the stomach; among which is the plant called sisarum, (which Epicharmus speaks of, in his Agrostinus, and also in his Earth and Sea; and so does Diocles, in the first book of his treatise on the Wholesomes;) and asparagus and white beet, (for the black beet is apt to check the secretions,) and cockles, and solens, and sea mussels, and chemæ, and periwinkles, and perfect pickles, and salt-fish, which are void of [199]smell, and many kinds of juicy fishes. And it is good that, before the main dinner, there should be served up what is called salad, and beet-root, and salt-fish, in order that by having the edge of our appetite taken off we may go with less eagerness to what is not equally nutritious. But at the beginning of dinner it is best to avoid abundant draughts; for they are bad as generating too great a secretion of humours in the body.

"But the Macedonians, according to the statement of Ephippus the Olynthian, in his treatise Concerning the Burial of Alexander and Hephæstion, had no notion of moderation in drinking, but started off at once with enormous draughts before eating, so as to be drunk before the first course was off the table, and to be unable to enjoy the rest of the banquet."

92. But Diphilus the Siphnian says, "The salt pickles which are made of fish, whether caught in the sea, or in the lake, or in the river, are not very nourishing, nor very juicy, but are inflammatory, and act strongly on the bowels, and are provocative of desire. But the best of them are those which are made of animals devoid of fat, such as cybia, and horæa, and other kinds like them. And of fat fish, the best are the different kinds of tunny, and the young of the tunny; for the old ones are larger and harsher to the taste; and above all, the Byzantine tunnies are so. But the tunny, says he, is the same as the larger pelamys, the small kind of which is the same as the cybium, to which species the horæum also belongs. But the sarda is of very nearly the same size as the colias. And the scombrus is a light fish, and one which the stomach easily gets rid of; but the colias is a glutinous fish, very like a squill, and apt to give twinges, and has an inferior juice, but nevertheless is nutritious. And the best are those which are called the Amyclæan, and the Spanish, which is also called the Saxitan; for they are lighter and sweeter."

But Strabo, in the third book of his work on Geography, says that near the Islands of Hercules,[199:1] and off the city of Carthagena, is a city named Sexitania, from which the salt-fish above-mentioned derive their name; and there is another city called Scombroaria, so called from the scombri which are caught in its neighbourhood, and of them the best sauce is made. But there are also fish which are called melandryæ, [200]which are mentioned by Epicharmus also, in his Ulysses the Deserter, in this way—

But the melandrys is the largest description of tunny, as Pamphilus explains in his treatise on Names; and that when preserved is very rich and oily.

93. "But the raw pickle called omotarichum," says Diphilus, "is called by some people cetema. It is a heavy sticky food, and moreover very indigestible. But the river coracinus, which some people call the peltes, the one from the Nile, I mean, which the people at Alexandria have a peculiar name for, and call the heminerus, is rather fat, and has a juice which is far from disagreeable; it is fleshy, nutritious, easily digestible, not apt to disagree with one, and in every respect superior to the mullet. Now the roe of every fish, whether fresh or dried and salted, is indigestible and apt to disagree. And the most so of all is the roe of the more oily and larger fish; for that remains harder for a long time, and is not decomposed. But it is not disagreeable to the taste when seasoned with salt and roasted. Every one, however, ought to soak dried and salted fish until the water becomes free from smell, and sweet. But dried sea-fish when boiled becomes sweeter; and they are sweeter too when eaten hot than cold." And Mnesitheus the Athenian, in his treatise on Comestibles, says, "Those juices which are salt, and those which are sweet, all have an effect in relaxing the bowels; but those which are sharp and harsh are strongly diuretic. Those too which are bitter are generally diuretic, but some of them also relax the bowels. Those which are sour, however, check the secretions."

And Xenophon, that most accomplished of writers, in his treatise entitled Hiero, or the Tyrant, abuses all such food, and says, "For what, said Hiero, have you never noticed all the multitudinous contrivances which are set before tyrants, acid, and harsh, and sour; and whatever else there can be of the same kind?—To be sure I have, said Simonides, and all those things appeared to me to be very contrary to the natural taste of any man. And do you think, said Hiero, that these dishes are anything else but the fancies of a diseased and vitiated taste; since those who eat with appetite, you [201]well know, have no need of these contrivances and provocatives?"

94. After this had been said, Cynulcus asked for some spiced and boiled water to drink; saying that he must wash down all those salt arguments with sweet drink. And Ulpian said to him with some indignation, and slapping his pillow with his hand,—How long will it be before you leave off your barbarian tricks? Will you never stop till I am forced to leave the party and go away, being unable to digest all your absurd speeches? And he replied,—Now that I am at Rome, the Sovereign City, I use the language of the natives habitually; for among the ancient poets, and among those prose writers who pique themselves on the purity of their Greek, you may find some Persian nouns, because of their having got into a habit of using them in conversation. As for instance, one finds mention made of parasangs, and astandæ, and angari (couriers), and a schœnus or perch, which last word is used either as a masculine or feminine noun, and it is a measure on the road, which retains even to this day that Persian name with many people. I know, too, that many of the Attic writers affect to imitate Macedonian expressions, on account of the great intercourse that there was between Attica and Macedonia. But it would be better, in my opinion,

than to fall into your power. For I could not say, to drink the water of bulls; as to which you do not know what it is. Nor do you know that even among the very best poets and prose writers there are some things said which are not quite allowable. Accordingly Cephisodorus, the pupil of Isocrates the orator, in the third of his treatises addressed to Aristotle, says that a man might find several things expressed incorrectly by the other poets and sophists; as for instance, the expression used by Archilochus, That every man was immodest; and that apophthegm of Theodorus, That a man ought to get all he can, but to praise equality and moderation; and also, the celebrated line of Euripides about the tongue[201:1] having spoken; and even, by Sophocles, the lines which occur in the Æthiopians—

And in another place the same poet says—

And in Homer, we find Juno represented as plotting against Jupiter, and Mars committing adultery. And for these sentiments and speeches those writers are universally blamed.

95. If therefore I have committed any errors, O you hunter of fine names and words, do not be too angry with me; for, according to Timotheus of Miletus, the poet,—

And Antiphanes says, in his Alcestis—

And I will prove to you, that the ancients were acquainted with the water which is called dicoctas, in order that you may not be indignant again, when I speak of boiled and spiced water. For, according to the Pseudheracles of Pherecrates—

But do not grudge, I entreat you, said Ulpian, to explain to me what is the nature of that Bull's water which you spoke of; for I have a great thirst for such words. And Cynulcus said,—But I pledge you, according to your fancy; you thirst for words, taking a desire from Alexis, out of his Female Pythagorean,

But it was Sophocles, my friend, who spoke of Bull's water, in his Ægeus, from the river Taurus near Trœzen, in the neighbourhood of which there is a fountain called Hyoëssa.

[203] 96. But the ancients did also at times use very cold water in their draughts before dinner. But I will not tell you, unless you first teach me, whether the ancients were in the habit of drinking warm water at their banquets. For if their cups got their name[203:1] from what took place in reference to them, and if they were set before the guests full of mixed liquors, then they certainly did not contain warm drink, and were not put on the fire like kettles. For that they were in the habit of drinking warm water Eupolis proves, in his Demi—

And Antiphanes says, in his Omphale—

And, in his Anointing Woman, (but this play is attributed to Alexis also,) he says—

And Plato, in the fourth book of his Polity, says—"Desire in the mind must be much the same as thirst is in the body. Now, a man feels thirst for hot water or for cold; or for much water or for a little; or perhaps, in a word, for some particular drink. And if there be any heat combined with the thirst, then that will give a desire for cold water; but if a sensation of cold be united with it, that will engender a wish for warm water. And if by reason of the violence of the cause the thirst be great, that will give a desire for an abundant draught; but if the thirst be small, then the man will wish for but a small draught. But the thirst itself is not a desire of anything except of the thing itself, namely, drinking. And hunger, again, is not a desire of anything else except food."

And Semus the Delian, in the second book of his Nesias, or treatise on Islands, says that in the island of Cimolus, cold [204]places are prepared by being dug out against the summer, where people may put down vessels full of warm water, and then draw them up again in no respect different from snow. But warm water is called by the Athenians metaceras, a word used by Sophilus, in his Androcles. And Alexis says, in his Locrians—

And Philemon, in his Corinthian Women, uses the same word. And Amphis says, in his Bath—

97. And as the Cynic was proceeding to heap other proofs on these, Pontianus said,—The ancients, my friends, were in the habit also of drinking very cold water. At all events Alexis says, in his Parasite—

And Hermippus, in his Cercopes, calls water drawn from wells φρεατιαῖον ὕδωρ. Moreover, that men used to drink melted snow too, is shown by Alexis, in his Woman eating Mandragora—

And Dexicrates, in the play entitled The Men deceived by Themselves, says—

[205] And Euthycles, in his Prodigal Men, or The Letter, says—

And that excellent writer Xenophon, in his Memorabilia, shows that he was acquainted with the fashion of drinking snow. But Chares of Mitylene, in his History of Alexander, has told us how we are to proceed in order to keep snow, when he is relating the siege of the Indian city Petra. For he says that Alexander dug thirty large trenches close to one another, and filled them with snow, and then he heaped on the snow branches of oak; for that in that way snow would last a long time.

98. And that they used to cool wine, for the sake of drinking it in a colder state, is asserted by Strattis, in his Psychastæ, or Cold Hunters—

And Lysippus says, in his Bacchæ—

And Diphilus says, in his Little Monument—

And Protagoras in the second book of his Comic Histories, relating the voyage of king Antiochus down the river, says something about the contrivances for procuring cold water, in these terms:—"For during the day they expose it to the sun, and then at night they skim off the thickest part which rises to the surface, and expose the rest to the air, in large earthen ewers, on the highest parts of the house, and two slaves are kept sprinkling the vessels with water the whole night. And at daybreak they bring them down, and again they skim off the sediment, making the water very thin, and exceedingly wholesome, and then they immerse the ewers in straw, and after that they use the water, which has become so cold as not to require snow to cool it." And Anaxilas speaks of water from cisterns, in his Flute Player, using the following expressions:—

[206] And, in a subsequent passage, he says—

But Apollodorus of Gela mentions the cistern itself, λακκος, as we call it, in his Female Deserter, saying—

99. Myrtilus, hearing this conversation, said,—And I too, being very fond of salt-fish, my friends, wish to drink snow, according to the practice of Simonides. And Ulpian said,—The word φιλοτάριχος, fond of salt-fish, is used by Antiphanes, in his Omphale, where he says—

But Alexis, in his Gynæcocracy, speaks of one man as ζωμοτάριχος, or fond of sauce made from salt-fish, saying—

But what you mean by "according to the practice of Simonides," I do not know. No; for you do not care, said Myrtilus, to know anything about history, you glutton; for you are a mere lickplatter; and as the Samian poet Asius, that ancient bard, would call you, a flatterer of fat. But Callistratus, in the seventh book of his Miscellanies, says that Simonides the poet, when feasting with a party at a season of violently hot weather, while the cup-bearers were pouring out for the rest of the guests snow into their liquor, and did not do so for him, extemporised this epigram:—

So when he had drunk, Ulpian asked him again where the word κνισολοῖχος is used, and also, what are the lines of Asius in which he uses the word κνισοκόλαξ? These, said Myrtilus, are the verses of Asius, to which I alluded:—

[207] And the word κνισολοῖχος is used by Sophilus, in his Philarchus, in this passage,—

And in the play which is entitled, The Men running together, he has used the word κνισολοιχία, in the following lines:—

Antiphanes too uses the word κνισολοῖχος, in his Bombylium.

Now that men drank also sweet wine while eating is proved by what Alexis says in his Dropidas—

100. After this a cheesecake was served up, made of milk and sesame and honey, which the Romans call libum. And Cynulcus said,—Fill yourself now, O Ulpian, with your native Chthorodlapsus; a word which is not, I swear by Ceres, used by any one of the ancient writers, unless, indeed, it should chance to be found in those who have compiled histories of the affairs of Phœnicia, such as Sanchoniatho and Mochus, your own fellow-countrymen. And Ulpian said,—But it seems to me, you dog-fly, that we have had quite enough of honey-cakes: but I should like to eat some groats, with a sufficient admixture of the husks and kernels of pine-cones. And when that dish was brought—Give me, said he, some crust of bread hollowed out like a spoon; for I will not say, give me a spoon (μύστρον); since that word is not used by any of the writers previous to our own time. You have a very bad memory, my friend, quoth Æmilianus; have you not always admired Nicander the Colophonian, the Epic poet, as a man very fond of ancient authors, and a man too of very extensive learning himself? And indeed, you have already quoted him as having used the word πεπέριον, for pepper. And this same poet, in the first book of his Georgics, speaking of this use of groats, has used also the word μύστρον, saying—

In these words, my fine fellow, Nicander describes to us the way in which they ate groats and peeled barley; bidding the eater pour on it soup made of kid or lamb, or of some poultry or other. Then, says he, pound the grains in a mortar, and having mingled oil with them, stir them up till they boil; and mix in the broth made after this recipe as it gets warm, making it thicker with the spoon; and do not pour in anything else; but take the broth out of the dish before you, so as to guard against any of the more fatty parts boiling over. And it is for this reason, too, that he charges us to keep it close while it is boiling, by putting the lid on the dish; for that barley grains when roasted or heated swell very much. And at last, when it is moderately warm we are to eat it, taking it up in hollow spoons.

And Hippolochus the Macedonian, in his letter to Lynceus, in which he gives an account of some Macedonian banquet which surpassed all the feasts which had ever been heard of in extravagance, speaks of golden spoons (which he also calls μύστρα) having been given to each of the guests. But since you, my friend, wish to set up for a great admirer of the ancients, and say that you never use any expressions which are not the purest Attic, what is it that Nicophon says, the poet I mean of the old comedy, in his Cherogastores, or the Men who feed themselves by manual Labour? For I find him too speaking of spoons, and using the word μύστρον, when he says—

For who can the μυστριοπῶλαι be, but the men who sell μύστρα? So learning from them, my fine Syrian-Atticist, the use of the spoon, pray eat your groats, that you may not say—

101. And I have been surprised at your not asking where [209]the word χόνδρος, groats, comes from. Whether it is a Megarian word, or whether it comes from Thessaly, as Myrtilus does. And Ulpian said,—I will stop eating if you will tell me by whom these Megarian, or Thessalian groats are spoken of. And Æmilianus said,—But I will not refuse you; for seeing a very splendid preparation for supper, I wish that you should arm yourself for the fray, being filled with barley like a game cock; and I wish you to instruct us about the dishes which we are going to partake of. And he, getting out of temper, said,—Whence do you get this word ἐδέσματα? for one has no breathing time allowed one while constantly forced to ask these questions of these late-learned sophists. But, says Æmilianus, I can easily answer you this question; but I will first speak of the word χόνδρος, quoting you these lines of Antiphanes, out of his Antea,—

But the same play is also attributed to Alexis, though in some few places the text is a little different. And, again, Alexis says, in his play called The Wicked Woman—

But Aristophanes, in his Daitaleis, calls soup χόνδρος, saying—

He also speaks of similago; and so, though I do not remember his exact words, does Strattis, in his Anthroporaistes, or Man-destroyer. And so does Alexis, in his Isostasium. But Strattis uses σεμιδάλιδος as the genitive case, in these words—

The word ἐδέσματα is used by Antiphanes, in his Twins, where he says—

So now we may bring this book to an end, and let it have its [210] termination with the discussions about eatables; and the next book shall begin the description of the Banquet.

Do not do so, O Athenæus, before you have told us of the Macedonian banquet of Hippolochus.—Well, if this is your wish; O Timocrates, we will prepare to gratify it.

FOOTNOTES: