All excellent! the water too so pure

took particular care to send the water of the Nile to this princess, that she should not be obliged to drink any other."

"Possidonius says, that we should not drink healths after the manner of the Carmanians. To show a particular and friendly attachment to any one at their entertainments, it was their custom to open a vein in the forehead, then to mingle the blood with whatthe person they intended to honour. ever liquor they drank, and offer it to Thus reciprocally to drink of each other's blood was considered as the greatest proof of friendship. After this potation they rubbed their head

nounce,

That Attica alone could furnish it."

"Phylarchus writes, that, in the neighbourhood of Clitorus there is a fountain or spring, which, when drunk, creates an aversion to the very odour of wine."

"Eubulus adds, that the drinkers of water have quick inventions, but

that wine dulls and obscures the imagination*."

"Mago of Carthage is said to have three times crossed the sandy desert of Africa, without drinking, living solely upon barley cakest."

66

"that

Euphorion of Chalcedon gives the following anecdote: he says, Lasyrtas of Lacyonium did not feel, in common with other men, the necessity of drinking to support life, though in this, as in other respects, his evacuations were similar. Certain curious persons, who would not believe this fact on the evidence of others, undertook to watch him. They passed thirty days in continual observation; they found that he did not abstain even from salted meats; that his evacuations were regular; and, in consequence, no longer doubted the truth of what had been related. He would sometimes drink, but he did not feel any necessity to do so.

"Ptolemy II. surnamed Philadelphus, having married his daughter Berenice to Antiochus, king of Syria,

such as that of roses, to prevent the fumes of the wine from being offensive."

"It is said, that Democritus, being of a great age, thought it proper to die, for which purpose he every day lessened the quantity of his food; the feast of Ceres happening at this time, the females in his house wished to assist at the celebration of them, and begged him to delay his purpose, and to live for a few days. He consented to their desire, telling them to he lived for some time on the smell of place a pot of honey near him, and this honey. The feast being over, the pot of honey was removed, and him one day, what was the best meSome person inquired of "moisten," said he, " thod of enjoying good health ?— your inside with honey, and your outside with oil."

he died.

live to a great age from their continual "Lycus says, that the Corsicans use of honey."

"After some further discourse, the guests rise, and, without any order, throw themselves on the couches or beds at the table, not waiting for the master of the ceremonies to assign them their respective places."

"The following passage from Anaxandrides gives a pleasant picture of domestic comfort:

"Let the Triclinium be at once prepar'd, And the musicians call'd, to sooth the cares Of reverend age: throw open wide the doors Of the guest-chamber, let it be swept clean, Spread well the couches, make a cheerful fire,

Then fill the goblet with the choicest wine."

"One of the Cynics, speaking of maple tables, makes use of the word

proda. Ulpian, who sat near, was displeased with the term, and requested to know on what authority he used it, and supposed it was from the staff of Diogenes with his two legs, which might with propriety be called a tripod, but that the proper term was gara, a table. The Cynic answered, "That Hesiod, in the marriage of Ceyx (which is a genuine ancient poem, notwithstanding you grammarians consider it as spurious), calls tables tripods; and the elegant Xenophon uses the same term in the 7th book of his Anabasis, thus-" They placed tripods, Terodas, before the guests, and there were in the whole about twenty laden with delicacies."

"He (Xenophon), adds soon after, "that it was to strangers that reaTIČNI, or tables with four legs, were brought."

"It was the custom when the guests were seated at table, that a bill of fare should be brought to the master of the feast, that he might know what was to be served up."

An account follows, of damsons, cherries, the fruit of the lote tree, the dwarf cherry, the berry of the arbutus, the mulberry, nuts, almonds, and chick-pease.

"On the subject of cherries Laurentius speaks; he says, that Lucullus, after having conquered Mithridates and Tigranes, first brought this fruit into Italy from Cerasontum, a town in Pontus, and gave it the name of

nega, cerasum.'

Daphnus replies;" but Diphilus of Siphnium, a man very famous in his time, and who lived many years before Lucullus, under Lysimachus, one of the successors of Alexander, speaks of cherries thus-" cherries are grateful to the stomach, of good juice, but not very nourishing. When dipped in cold water they have an agreeable flavour. Those of the deepest red are preferred, as well as those of Milesia, because they have a diuretic quality."

"Pythermus, according to Hegesander, says, that in his time the mulberry trees bore no fruit for twenty years, and that the gout became so epidemical, as to attack not only grown persons, but children male and female, women, eunuchs, and even the beasts of the field were not spared, particularly the sheep, two-thirds of them being affected by this disorder." VOL. IV.

*

"Plutarch of Charonea says, that Drusus, the Emperor Tiberius' son, had a physician, who exceeded all the drinkers of his time. It was observed, that before he sat down to table, he eat five or six bitter almonds; forbidden to eat these, he was incapable of bearing the smallest quantity of wine. We must look, therefore, for the cause in the desiccative quality of the bitter almonds."+

"On the subject of chick-pease, we have the following lines from the parodies of Xenophanes of Colophon:+ "Such questions would best suit a winter's night,

Reclin'd at ease on the soft couch, full fed, Quaffing sweet wine, and gaily munching Who are you, friend? What aye? from chick-pease ;§

whence arriv'd?

And of what size, when the modes took their flight?"

N. B.-In the above passage, the chick-pease seem to have been taken in a kind of luxurious indolence, an indulgence of the rich, somewhat similar to the use of olives or chesnuts with us; but in the following beautiful and pathetic lines from Alexis, they are spoken of as making part of the hard and scanty sustenance of the poor.

"My husband, a poor man, myself advanc'd
In years, a son and daughter, and this girl,
A good kind creature, make up five in all.
Three only sup; the other two partake,
For their scant fare, a mouldy wheaten cake.
Sometimes, indeed, there's nothing left to eat,
And then we sit and weep in silent sadness;
While on each cheek a sickly paleness hangs,

Symph. 1. 1. q. 6.

+It is said that our lusty tosse-pots and swil-bols, if they eate four or five bitter almonds before they sit them down to drink, shall beare their liquor well, and never be drunk, quaffe they and poure they downe as much as they will." Pliny's Nat. Hist by Philemon Holland, b. 23. c. 18.

This circumstance is well understood at

the present day, and I believe the effect is certain, but did not think the practice was of such antiquity.

Xenophanes of Colophon, a philoso phical poet, or rather poetical philosopher, about the time of Pythagoras. He wrote against the theology of Homer and Hesiod, vid. Diag. Laert. ix. 18. Bayle art. Xenophanes.

§ Chick pease were generally roasted over the fire, as we do chesnuts. Phesecrates says, τρώγων έρεβινδος ἀπεπνιγη πεφραγμένοις. He was choked eating roasted chick-pease.

4 Q

Wild pears and grasshoppers.-For dainty fare,

Dried lenten Phrygian figs-food for the gods."

Under the article of lupines, the following passage from Diphilus is given:

"I know not under heaven a worse employment,

Than to hold commerce with a set of vixens;
I'd rather daily trudge the streets, and cry
My wares for sale, sweet roses, or fresh lu-
pines.

Nay, e'en stale radishes, or the dry coats
Of well press'd olives; any thing, in fact,
Rather than serve such slippery jades as
these.'

"Zeno of Citium (the founder of the Stoics), naturally morose and passionate with his friends, became a most agreeable companion after he had taken a certain quantity of wine; being asked the reason of this alteration in his character, he replied, that in this respect he resembled lupines, which were always sour before they were well soaked, but then became mild and sweet."

"That part of the house which we now call the upper story (or garret) was formerly by the Greeks named wia, or the egg, as Clearchus mentions in his amatory poems. From hence the fable, that Helen, who was brought up in these upper apartments (or literally born in a garret), was produced from an egg. Neocles of Crotona therefore embellishes, when he says, that Helen was produced from an egg which fell from the moon. The same Neocles declares, that the women in the moon lay eggs, and that the men produced from them are five times the size of us mortals; which is likewise affirmed by Herodotus of Heracleum."

"Nicomachus, speaking of eggs,

says,

"My father left me a snug property, Which, like an egg, I soon contriv'd to bring Within a narrow compass; then at once, Breaking the shell, I swallowed it outright." The grua was a beverage composed of wine and honey, eggs, oysters, &c. usually handed round to the guests immediately before supper. Speaking of the nožovin, or gourd, we have the following passage from the

comic poet, Epicrates, which gives a ludicrous description of the frivolous discussions at the academy, very similar to the employment of the scholars of Socrates in the clouds of Aristophanes.

"A. Then Plato, Menedemus, and Speusippus,

Say how were they employed? with whom?

and what

Was then the subject of their grave discussion? The object of inquiry? You are just Return'd from Athens, pr'ythee tell us all You've heard or seen of these same wiseacres? By Ceres, I beseech you let us know—

B. I soon can tell you all you wish to hear,
For I was lately present at the feasts
In honour of Minerva, where I saw,
In the gymnasium of th' academy,
The youths collected, and I heard such strange
And such inexplicable nonsense, that
You scarcely will believe what I relate.
Th' economy of nature in the lives
With grave and solemn accent they discuss
Of animals, the use and properties
Of various trees, of herbs, and fruits, and
plants;

Which ended in the question, to what genus
The gourd should properly belong?
A. And how

Did they determine? what was the result
Have they assign'd the gourd? Ipr'ythee say?
Of this most grave inquiry? to what genus

B. They first preserv'd a kind of solemn

silence,

Held down their heads, as if absorb'd in deep
And abstract speculation; on a sudden,
One of the students, while the rest remain'd
Wrapp'd up in meditation, gravely said,
The gourd was certainly a plant, whose fruit
A
Was round. Another said it was an herb;
On this

third assur'd us 'twas a tree.

A certain medical practitioner,
From Sicily, no longer could contain
His spleen, but laugh'd aloud, and some-
what rudely,

By other signs, express'd his sharp contempt.
Our wise men grew outrageous and provok'd
At such an insult to their wisdom-ships,
And keen derision at their learn'd debates.
Plato
The youths were nothing mov'd.
stepp'd forth
Recall'd their strict attention to the question,
With graceful air, and in smooth gentle terms
Which they at once obey'd."+

It is to be observed, that the supper was the principal meal among the Greeks. It had usually three distinct parts, the Δειπνε προοιμιον, οι Προπομα, being the antecœnium, or coena-præfatio, which usually consisted of herbs, coleworts, eggs, oysters, and wine mixed with honey, and other things likely to create an appetite; Aervo, the supper itself, when the table was more plentifully furnished; Aulega garia, the second course, which consisted of sweet things, and was furnished with the greatest splendour.

Alexis is quite lavish in his praises

of the προπομα.

Pisces and Capricorn; and each bright star
That decks the hemisphere, replete with nice
And delicate refreshments. We began
To lay our hands upon these vagrant stars:
But at my side the master of the feast
Attended, to explain, by words and signs,
The order of the whole. This for a time
Perplex'd me sadly. I escap'd, at length,
And soon made up for my lost time, nor left
A thing untouch'd, till we had emptied all,
And what remain'd appear'd a hollow sieve."
Speaking of mushrooms, Poliochus

Of wholesome quality; but pluck not those Which spring from roots that creep along the ground."

Speaking of the xan, or thrush, it is said that a small poem, entitled, Exixixides, was, according to Menæchmus, attributed to Homer, and had that title given to it, because he usually sung it to children, and received from them thrushes as a recompence.

Under the word Evo, or chaffinches, we have the following passage from Eubulus:

""Twas at the feast of Amphidromia,' When, asold custom warrants,our kind guests

Were plentifully serv'd with toasted cheese,

Brought from the Chersonesus; and to this Was added cabbage stew'd with oil; lambs' fry,

And pigeons nicely pluck'd, finches and larks,
Herrings and cuttle-fish, and from his cave
The polypus with many feet, dragg'd forth
Unwillingly, with plenty of good wine
To crown the feast."

Nicostratus, or Philetærus, says, "A. What shall I buy?

B. Be cautious to avoid Needless expense, but mind, let all be good. And ducklings too, as many as you please; If you should see a hare, why, purchase that, Blackbirds and larks, and other dainty birds, That haunt the woods-farewell!"

"The philosophers forbid the eating of the brains of the pig, as they did beans; saying, that you might as well feast on your father or mother's head, or any other execrable thing. They added, that the ancients never eat the brains of animals, considering that part as the source and seat of all sensation."

ΑΜΦΙΔΡΟΜΙΑ, a festival observed by private families, at Athens, upon the fifth day after the birth of every child. It was so called, απο το αμφιδαμειν, from running round, because it was customary for the midwives to run round the fire with the infant in their arms, thereby, as it were, entering it into the family, and putting it under the protection of the household gods, to whom the hearth served instead of an altar. It was celebrated with great expressions of joy; they received gifts from their friends. If the child was a male, their doors were deck'd with an olive garland; if a female, with wool, in token of the work women were to be employed about.-Potter.