Deipnosophistae

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 pinecones. And when that dish was brought-Give me, said he, come 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 Aemilianus; 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—

1. But when you seek to dress a dainty dish
2. Of new-slain kid, or tender house-fed lamb,
3. Or poultry, take some unripe grains, and pound the
4. And strew them all in hollow plates, and stir them,
v.1.p.208
5. Mingled with fragrant oil. Then pour thereon
6. Warm broth, which take from out the dish before you,
7. That it be not too hot, and so boil over.
8. Then put thereon a lid, for when they're roasted,
9. The grains swell mightily; then slowly eat them,
10. Putting them to your mouth with hollow spoon.

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—

1. Dealers in anchovies, dealers in wine;
2. Dealers in figs, and dealers in hides;
3. Dealers in meal, and dealers in spoons (μυστριοπώλης);
4. Dealers in books, and dealers in sieves;
5. Dealers in cheesecakes, and dealers in seeds.

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—

1. But I am languid, weak for want of food.

And I have been surprised at your not asking where

The word χόνδρος, groats, comes from. Whether it is a Me- garian 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 Aemilianus 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 Aemilianus, 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,—

1. A. What have you in your baskets there, my friend?
2. B. In three of them I've good Megarian groats.
3. A. Do they not say Thessalian are the best?
4. B. I also have some similago fetch'd
5. From the far distant land Phœnicia.

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—

1. There's a large parcel of Thessalian groats.

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

1. He would boil soup, and then put in a fly,
2. And so would give it you to drink.

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 Isostasiu. But Strattis uses σεμιδάλιδος as the genitive case, in these words—

1. Of these two sorts of gentle semidalis.

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

1. Many nice eatables I have enjoy'd,
2. And had now three or four most pleasant draughts;
3. And feel quite frisky, eating as much food
4. As a whole troop of elephants.

So now we may bring this book to an end, and let it have its 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.