Sympotica graecolatina

How to conserve verjuice and other sour juices: Tuesday's food quotation

Agrestae succus: eligitur ex ea & ex succo uvae ... et ... de lemoncellorum succo ... et de succo sumach ... et de succo granatorum ... vasa vitrea, quibus recondi debent, laventur cum vitro trito & foliis scariolae vel foliis persicorum.

1531 Tacuini sanitatis [translated from the Arabic of Ibn Butlan]

When it comes to cabbage, the qunnabit of the Arabs is just like the cappuccio of the Italians: Monday's Latin quotation

Canabit est species caulis nota in Syria, et est habens folia et thyrsos sicut caules, et inter folia ipsius est globus medullaris albus, in cuius [...] sunt sicut semina alba plurima aggregata, et globus praedictus est flos canabit ... et habet similitudinem aliqualem cum specie caulium quae Venetis dicitur capuzzi.

1555 Andreas Alpagus Bellunensis, Glossary to the Canon of Avicenna

Favourite diet of the Caribes or Canibales: Sunday's Latin quotation

Earum terrarum incolae Canibales esse affirmant sive Caribes, humanarum carnium edaces.

Peter Martyr of Anghiera, Decades 8.6

Recipe for eggnog: Saturday's Latin quotation

Sorbitium bonum: conquassa ovorum vitella in paraside, de vino modicum apponendo, post bullias aquam et vinum vel cervesia in aqua et ab igne remove, et impone cum cocleari predicta vitella ovorum, bene movendo.

Tractatus de modo preparandi et condiendi omnia cibaria (ed. Marianne Mulon)

Where to bathe in Rome: Friday's non-foodie Latin quotation

Etrusci nisi thermulis lavaris,
Inlotus morieris, Oppiane.
Nullae sic tibi blandientur undae,
Nec fontes Aponi rudes puellis,
Non mollis Sinuessa fervidique
Fluctus Passeris aut superbus Anxur,
Non Phoebi vada principesque Baiae.
Nusquam tam nitidum vacat serenum:
Lux ipsa est ibi longior, diesque
Nullo tardius a loco recedit.
Illic Taygeti virent metalla
Et certant vario decore saxa,
Quae Phryx et Libys altius cecidit.
Siccos pinguis onyx anhelat aestus
Et flamma tenui calent ophitae:
Ritus si placeant tibi Laconum,
Contentus potes arido vapore
Cruda Virgine Marciave mergi;
Quae tam candida, tam serena lucet,
Ut nullas ibi suspiceris undas
Et credas vacuam nitere lygdon.
Non adtendis, et aure me supina
Iam dudum quasi neglegenter audis.
Inlotus morieris, Oppiane.

Martial, Epigrams 6.42. For the abridged English translation first published in Andrew Dalby's Empire of Pleasures click here

How to prepare caviare: Thursday's Latin quotation

Conditum quod caviare vocant. Ova stirionis exemptis quibusdam nervis qui haec inter erant lota ex aceto aut vino albo in tabulam extendes ut exsiccent.

1475 Platina, De Honesta Voluptate et Valetudine

Tiberius's parsimony: Wednesday's Latin quotation

et ut parsimoniam publicam exemplo quoque iuuaret, sollemnibus ipse cenis pridiana saepe ac semesa obsonia apposuit dimidiatumque aprum, affirmans omnia eadem habere, quae totum.

c. 130 Suetonius, Lives of the Caesars Tiberius 34. English translation by Robert Graves: And to set an example in his campaign against waste he often served, at formal dinner parties, half-eaten dishes left over from the day before - or only one side of a wild boar, sliced down the backbone - which, he said, contained everything that the other side did.

Why are mullets so called?

Go straight to sci.lang.sanskrit for a discussion of the etymology of the Sanskrit and Tamil words for 'pearl', which leads on, in the way that these threads do, to the etymology of Latin mugil 'grey mullet'.

The varieties of gum guggul: Tuesday's Latin quotation

... Bactriana, in qua bdellium laudatissimum: alii brochon appellant, alii malacham, alii maldacon, nigrum vero hadrobolon. nascitur et in Arabia Indiaque et Media ac Babylone. aliqui peraticum vocant ex Media.

c. 79 Pliny, Natural History 12.35.

Sabine cheesecakes: Monday's food quotation

circuli, quod mixta farina et caseo et aqua circuitum aequabiliter fundebant. hos quidam qui magis incondite faciebant vocabant lixulas et similixulas vocabulo sabino: itaque frequentia Sabinis.

Varo, On the Latin Language 5.106

A walking tour of ancient Rome

You can do anything on the Web. you can even take a walking tour through Rome at the time of Augustus. This itinerary omits the Suburra for some reason ...

The three kinds of aloeswood: Sunday's Latin quotation

Illud etiam noueritis triplex esse aloes genus. Aliud est longe perfectius (huic calampat nomen est): hoc ... ex urbe Sarnau aduehitur ... Est et aliud genus aloes lubam nomine: hoc flumine nescioquo huc comportatur. nouissimo autem bochor nomen est.

1511 Ludovico Varthema, Itinerarium (Latin translation by Archangelus Madrignanus)

Where and from what grapes raisin wine is made: Saturday's Latin quotation

passum a [C]ret[i]co Cilicium probatur et Africum. et in Italia finitimisque provinciis fieri certum est ex uva quam Graeci psithiam vocant, nos apianam, item scripulam, diutius [uvis] in vite sole adustis aut ferventi oleo.

c. 79 Pliny, Natural History 14.81.

Liquor, administered by a lady, calms a Puritan's brain: Friday's lexical quotation

Some time the spirit is so strong with him, it gets quite out of him, and then my mother, or Win, are faine to fetch it againe with Malmesey, or Aqua cœlestis.

1631 Ben Jonson, Bartholmew Fair act 1 scene 3

The Spaniards drink beer before battle: Thursday's Latin quotation

... ut destinata morte in proelium ruerent, cum se prius epulis quasi inferiis impleuissent carnis semicrudae et celiae (sic uocant indigenam ex frumento potionem).

Florus, Short History of Roman Wars 1.34

Poitevin gastronomy: Wednesday's Latin quotation

Itaque Pictavienses in vulgarium esu carnium bovinam avidius amplectuntur ... Caro recens nunc succum exigit pomorum silvestrium, nunc a viminibus pampino coaetaneis ius deposcit extortum, nunc uvarum liquorem desiderat primitivorum.

1198 Radulphus de Diceto, Ymagines historiarum anno 1151

Laganum = crumpet: Tuesday's Latin quotation

... tortamque panis unius, crustulam conspersam oleo; laganum de canistro azymorum.

Exodus [Vulgate translation] 29.23. Wyclif's English translation of 1382: a cake of a loof, a crusted cake spreynde with oyle, a crompid cake, of the leepe of therf looues. Wyclif's revised version, 1388: a tender cake of o loof, spreynde with oile, paast sodun in watir and after fried in oile, of the panyer of therf looues.

The marine fauna of Britain: Monday's food quotation

Et quidem praecipue issicio abundat et anguilla. Capiuntur autem saepissime et uituli marini et delphines nec non et balenae.

731 Bede, Ecclesiastical History of the British People 1.1

Sensuality in the Roman kitchen (2): Saturday-Sunday's Latin quotation

Et tandem ad illam: 'Quam pulchre quamque festiue,' inquam 'Photis mea, ollulam istam cum nati- bus intorques! Quam mellitum pulmentum apparas! Felix et [certo] certius beatus cui permiseris illuc di- gitum intingere.'
Tunc illa lepida alioquin et dicacula puella: 'Dis- cede,' inquit 'miselle, quam procul a meo foculo, discede. Nam si te uel modice meus igniculus afflaue- rit, ureris intime nec ullus extinguet ardorem tuum nisi ego, quae dulce condiens et ollam et lectulum suaue quatere noui.'

Apuleius, Metamorphoses 2.7.3. Translation by Robert Graves (Apuleius, The Golden Ass [Penguin Books, 1950] p. 52): At last I found my voice. 'Dear Fotis,' I said, 'how daintily, how charmingly you stir that casserole: I love watching you wriggle your hips. And what a wonderful cook you are! The man whom you allow to poke his finger into your little casserole is the luckiest fellow alive. That sort of stew would tickle the most jaded palate.'
She retorted over her shoulder: 'Go away, you scoundrel; keep clear of my little cooking stove! If you come too near even when the fire is low, a spark may fly out and set you on fire; and when that happens nobody but myself will be capable of putting the flames out. A wonderful cook, am I? Yes, I certainly know how to tickle a man's ... well, his palate, if you care to call it that, and how to keep things nicely on the boil -- between the sheets as well as on a kitchen-stove.'

Sensuality in the Roman kitchen (1): Thursday-Friday's Latin quotation

Nec tamen domi Milonem uel uxorem eius offendo, sed tantum caram meam Photidem: suis parabat isicium fartim concisum et pulpam frustatim consectam ambacupascuae (?) iurulenta et quod naribus iam inde ariolabar, tuccetum perquam sapidissimum. Ipsa linea tunica mundule amicta et russea fasceola praenitente altiuscule sub ipsas papillas succinctula illud cibarium uasculum floridis palmulis rotabat in circulum, et in orbis flexibus crebra succutiens et simul membra sua leniter inlubricans, lumbis sensim uibrantibus, spinam mobilem quatiens placide decenter undabat. Isto aspectu defixus obstupui et mirabundus steti, steterunt et membra quae iacebant ante.

Apuleius, Metamorphoses 2.7.3. Translation by Robert Graves (Apuleius, The Golden Ass [Penguin Books, 1950] p. 52): I found nobody at home but my charming Fotis who was preparing pork-rissoles for her master and mistress, while the appetising smell of haggis-stew drifted to my nostrils from an earthenware casserole on the stove. She wore a neat white house-dress, gathered in below the breasts with a red silk band, and as she alternately stirred the casserole and shaped the rissoles with her pretty hands, the twisting and turning made her whole body quiver seductively.
The sight had so powerful an effect on me that for awhile I stood rooted in admiration; and so did something else.

The wild foods of Sicily: Wednesday's neo-Latin quotation

Abonda tutta l'isola di bestiame; cioè di boi, uacche, pecore, capre, porci, & di molta caccia di cenghiali, daini, capreoli, lepri, conigli,coturnici, pernici, francolini, & altre specie.

1546 Descrittione dell'isola di Sicilia

Google in Latin

Search Google in Latin? Of course you can !

(acknowledgments to Viggen at the UNRV Roman Empire forums)

Diasatyrion, a Byzantine aphrodisiac: Tuesday's Latin quotation

Diasatyrion: antidotus e satyrio. Valet ad liberorum procreationem venereorumque frequentiorem vsum; imbecillitati renum succurrit & iis qui rem veneream agere haud possunt auxilio est; voluptatem quoque excitat ... Recipit satyrii viridis, dauci satiui radicis, nucis Indicae, pistaciorum eryngii radicis, nucum pinearum, singul. 3.xii; zingiberis, anisi, sinapi albi, linguae auis seminis, sing. 3.v; cinamomi, bulbi seminis, sing. 3.ii.s; moschi grana vii. Satyrii, dauci & eryngii radices in aqua feruefactas & probe fractas ac tandem valde tritas melli immitte, deinde pistacia & nuces pineas repurgatas. Vbi cum melle simul bullierint, postea impone odoramenta, & sublato ab igne lebete, vbi iam melle probe rigata fuerint odoramenta, moschum leuigatum insere. Et rursum iis probe subactis in vasculum ad vsum repone. Datur cum vetere vino aut condito vesperi dormituro.

1623 Leonhart Fuchs, Nicolai Myrepsi Compositiones p. 40

Nux indica = coconut. Lingua avis = ash-tree seed

More Roman luxuries: additions to Empire of Pleasures

Amyclaean mackerel and Fundan wine

[page 46] The traveller followed the shore of the Bay of Amunclae, named after a deserted city (often the spelling is Amyclae, with an attractively classical echo of the name of a town near Sparta; the epithet tacitae Amyclae 'quiet Amyclae' truly belongs to its namesake). Its place was taken by Fundi, scarcely noisier, its only economic role having been to ship the local wine of the Ager Caecubum.

I might have mentioned the mackerel of Amyclae, and the modest fame of Fundan wine (four literary references and four inscriptions: details now in my Food in the Ancient World from A to Z).

The prawns of the river Liris

[page 47] ... the clear waters of shady Liris ... meandered through the realm of the goddess Marica, silva Maricae 'the wood of Marica', palus Maricae 'the marsh of Marica' ... and just here was the market town of Minturnae.

I now see that the squillae of the Liris mouth (Martial 13.83) must be the very karides of Minturnae so beloved of Apicius (Epitome of Athenaios, 7a). The Latin and Greek words both mean 'prawn'; I wonder if a particular species is identified nowadays as typical of the mouth of the Garigliano?

Here's the full set of updates to Empire of Pleasures.

The use and choice of wine: Monday's Latin quotation

Vinum tibi temperabis et te vino, quod non erit acetosum, turbidum, nouum, acerbum, nigrum, grossum, sed bene digestum, desecatum, aureum, odoriferum et vetustum. Bibe cum sitis et cum cibo. Si fatigatus fueris, non statim bibas, et si necesse fuerit, vinum aqua calida temperatum sumes.

Theodorus Philosophus, Letter to the Emperor Frederick II on Diet (electronic text from Thomas Gloning)

Latin antiquarian texts

Here's a useful collection of online Latin texts, including Macrobius, Isidore of Seville and some topographical material.

The penance for a wet dream depends on the nutritional state of the offender: Sunday's Latin quotation

Qui uoluntate obsceno liquore maculatus fuerit dormiendo, si ceruisa et carne habundat coenubium, iii noctis horis stando uigilet si sane uirtutis est. Si uero pauperem uictum habet, xxviii. aut xxx. psalmos canet stando suplex aut opere extraordinario pendet.

c. 550 Gildas, De Poenitentia 22. English translation after Ludwig Bieler: One who willingly has been stained by the sexual fluid while sleeping, if the monastery is abundantly supplied with beer and meat, shall perform a standing vigil for three hours of the night if his health is strong; but if it has poor food he shall sing 28 or 30 psalms standing as supplicant, or make it up with extra work.

Augustus liked Valpolicella, but not too much of it: Saturday's Latin quotation

Quotiens largissime se inuitaret, senos sextantes non excessit, aut si excessisset, reiciebat; et maxime delectatus est Raetico.

c. 130 Suetonius, Lives of the Caesars Augustus 77. English translation: He would not go beyond a pint -- if he did, he would throw up. He particularly liked Raetian.

Where, when and why to gather licorice: Friday's Latin quotation

[Glycyrriza] praestantissima in Cilicia, secunda Ponto, radice dulci et hac tantum in usu. capitur ea vergiliarum occasu ... hac diximus sitim famemque sedari; ob id quidam adipson appellavere eam.

c. 79 Pliny the Elder, Natural History 22.24. English translation: The finest licorice grows in Cilicia, the next best in Pontus. The sweet root is the only part that is used. It is gathered at the setting of the Vergiliae [Pleiades, 11 November] ... As said earlier, it alleviates thirst and hunger, whence some call it adipson 'no thirst'.

Ancient Pucinum, modern Prosecco? Thursday's neo-Latin quotation

Et però dirò io che dotato d'eccellentissimi vini è il contado di Goritia, dove si ha ... quel Pucino antico che nasce in Prosecco non molto lontano dal Timavo.

1585 Matthioli, Commentary on Dioscorides p. 821.