Vinea submittit capreas non semper edulis. fecundae1 leporis sapiens sectabitur armos. piscibus atque avibus2 quae natura et foret aetas, 45 ante meum nulli patuit quaesita palatum. Sunt quorum ingenium nova tantum3 crustula promit. nequaquam satis in re una consumere curam ; ut si quis solum hoc, mala ne sint vina, laboret, quali perfundat4 piscis securus olivo. Massica si caelo suppones vina sereno, nocturna, si quid crassi est, tenuabitur aura, et decedet odor nervis inimicus; at illa integrum perdunt lino vitiata saporem. Surrentina vafer qui miscet faece Falerna vina,5 columbino limum bene colligit ovo, quatenus ima petit volvens aliena vitellus. Tostis marcentem squillis recreabis et Afra potorem coclea; nam lactuca innatat acri 50 35 55 post vinum stomacho; perna magis et magis hillis 60 flagitat immorsus refici, quin omnia malit quaecumque immundis fervent allata popinis. Est operae pretium duplicis pernoscere iuris naturam. simplex e dulci constat olivo, quod pingui miscere mero muriaque decebit non alia quam qua? Byzantia putuit orca. 65 a The ius duplex, or compound sauce, consists of (1) the simplex, viz. sweet olive oil, and (2) the other ingredients named in l. 65 ff. The passage, however, is not clear. Some prefer to take ius duplex as meaning two kinds of sauce, one of which, the simplex, described in l. 64-66, Roes bred in a vineyard are not always eatable. The connoisseur will crave the wings of a hare when in young. As to fish and fowl, what their qualities and age should be is a question never made clear to any palate before mine. Some there are whose talent lies only in finding new sweets; 'tis by no means enough to spend all one's care on a single point—just as if someone were anxious only that his wines be good, but cared not what oil he poured upon his fish. If you set Massic wine beneath a cloudless sky, all its coarseness will be toned down by the night air, and the scent, unfriendly to the nerves, will pass off; but the same wine, when strained through linen, is spoiled, losing its full flavour. Surrentine wine a knowing man mixes with lees of Falernian, and carefully collects the sediment with pigeons' eggs, for the yolk sinks to the bottom, carrying with it all foreign matter. A jaded drinker you will rouse afresh by fried prawns and African snails; for after wine lettuce rises on the acid stomach. By ham and by sausages rather does it crave to be pricked and freshened. Nay, it would prefer any viands brought smoking hot from untidy cookshops. It is worth while to study well the nature of the compound sauce." The simple consists of sweet olive oil, which should be mixed with thick wine and with brine, such as that of which your Byzantine jar consists of oil, wine, and brine, while the compound adds to these the chopped herbs, saffron, and Venafran oil of 11. 67-69. hoc ubi confusum sectis inferbuit herbis Corycioque croco sparsum stetit, insuper addes1 pressa Venafranae quod baca remisit olivae. Picenis cedunt pomis Tiburtia suco ; nam facie praestant. Venucula convenit ollis ; rectius Albanam fumo duraveris uvam. 75 80 hanc ego cum malis, ego faecem primus et allec, primus et invenior2 piper album cum sale nigro incretum puris circumposuisse catillis. immane est vitium dare milia terna macello angustoque vagos piscis urgere catino. magna movet3 stomacho fastidia, seu puer unctis tractavit calicem manibus, dum furta ligurrit, sive gravis veteri craterae1 limus adhaesit. vilibus in scopis, in mappis, in scobe quantus consistit sumptus? neglectis, flagitium ingens. ten lapides varios lutulenta radere palma et Tyrias dare circum illuta toralia vestis, oblitum, quanto curam sumptumque minorem haec habeant, tanto reprehendi iustius illis, quae nisi divitibus nequeunt contingere mensis ! Docte Cati, per amicitiam divosque rogatus, ducere me auditum, perges quocumque, memento. nam quamvis memori referas mihi pectore cuncta, 90 non tamen interpres tantundem iuveris. adde voltum habitumque hominis, quem tu vidisse beatus 1 addens, II. 5 luculenta, pyl. 2 inveni a M: inventor E. 6 nequeant Bentley. 85 a Byzantium was an important centre for the fishing industry of the Black Sea, and the brine in which the fish were sent was held in high esteem. smells so strong." When this, mixed with chopped herbs, has been boiled, and, after being sprinkled with Corycian saffron, has been left to stand, you are to add besides some of the juice yielded by the pressed berry of the Venafran olive. Apples from Tibur yield to the Picenian in flavour, but in look are finer. The Venuculan grape suits the preserving jar; the Alban you had better dry in the smoke. This last you will find that I was the first to serve round the board with apples, as I was the first to serve up wine-lees and caviare, white pepper and black salt sifted on to dainty little dishes. It is a monstrous sin to spend three thousand on the fish market, and then to cramp those roving fishes in a narrow dish. It strongly turns the stomach, if a slave has handled the drinking cup with hands greasy from licking stolen snacks; or if vile mould clings to your ancient bowl. Common brooms, napkins, and sawdust, how little do they cost! But if neglected, how shocking is the scandal! To think of your sweeping mosaic pavements with a dirty palm-broom, or putting unwashed coverlets over Tyrian tapestries, forgetting that the less care and cost these things involve, the more just is blame for their neglect than for things which belong only to the tables of the rich! HOR. O learned Catius, by our friendship and by the gods I beg you, remember to take me to a lecture, wherever you go to one. For however faithful the memory with which you tell me all, yet as merely reporting you cannot give me the same pleasure. And there is the man's look and bearing! If the bowl was an antique and therefore valuable, there was all the more reason for its being kept clean. |