Delphi Complete Works of Pliny the Elder

by Pliny the Elder

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  CHAP. 21.

  OXYMELI.

  Vinegar even has been mixed with honey; nothing, in fact, has been left untried by man. To this mixture the name of oxymeli has been given; it is compounded of ten pounds of honey, five semi-sextarii of old vinegar, one pound of sea-salt, and five sextarii of rain-water. This is boiled gently till the mixture has bubbled in the pot some ten times, after which it is drawn off, and kept till it is old; all these wines, however, are condemned by Themison, an author of high authority. And really, by Hercules! the use of them does appear to be somewhat forced, unless, indeed, we are ready to maintain that these aromatic wines are so many compounds taught us by Nature, as well as those that are manufactured of perfumes, or that shrubs and plants have been generated only for the purpose of being swallowed in drink. However, all these particulars, when known, are curious and interesting, and show how successfully the human intellect has pried into every secret.

  None of these wines, however, will keep beyond a year, with the sole exception of those which we have spoken of as requiring age; many of these, indeed, there can be no doubt, do not improve after being kept so little as thirty days.

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  CHAP. 22. (18.)

  TWELVE KINDS OF WINE WITH MIRACULOUS PROPERTIES.

  There are some miraculous properties, too, in certain wines. It is said that in Arcadia there is a wine grown which is productive of fruitfulness in women, and of madness in men; while in Achaia, and more especially in the vicinity of Carynia, there is a wine which causes abortion; an effect which is equally produced if a woman in a state of pregnancy happens only to eat a grape of the vine from which it is grown, although in taste it is in no way different from ordinary grapes: again, it is confidently asserted that those who drink the wine of Trœzen never bear children. Thasos, it is said, produces two varieties of wine with quite opposite properties. By one kind sleep is produced, by the other it is prevented. There is also in the same island a vine known as the “theriaca,” the wine and grapes of which are a cure for the bites of serpents. The libanian vine also produces a wine with the smell of frankincense, with which they make libations to the gods, while, on the other hand, the produce of that known as “aspendios,” is banished from all the altars: it is said, too, that this last vine is never touched by any bird.

  The Egyptians call by the name of “Thasian,” a certain grape of that country, remarkable for its sweetness and its laxative qualities. On the other hand, there is in Lycia a certain grape which proves astringent to the stomach when relaxed. Egypt has a wine, too, known as “ecbolas,” which is productive of abortion. There are some wines, which at the rising of the Dog-star change their nature in the wine-lofts where they are kept, and afterwards recover their original quality. The same is the case, too, with wines when carried across the seas: those that are able to withstand the motion of the waves, appear afterwards to be twice as old as they really are.

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  CHAP. 23. (19.)

  WHAT WINES IT IS NOT LAWFUL TO USE IN THE SACRED RITES.

  As religion is the great basis of the ordinary usages of life, I shall here remark that it is considered improper to offer libations to the gods with any wines which are the produce of an unpruned vine, or of one that has been struck by lightning or near to which a dead man has been hung, or of grapes that have been trodden out by sore Feet, or made of must from husks that have been cut, or from grapes that have been polluted by the fall of any unclean thing upon them. The Greek wines are excluded also from the sacred ministrations, because they contain a portion of water.

  The vine itself is sometimes eaten; the tops of the shoots are taken off and boiled, and are then pickled in vinegar and brine.

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  CHAP. 24.

  How MUST IS USUALLY PREPARED.

  It will be as well now to make some mention of the methods used in preparing wines; indeed, several of the Greeks have written separate treatises on this subject, and have made a complete art of it, such, for instance, as Euphronius, Aristomachus, Commiades, and Hicesius. The people of Africa are in the habit of neutralizing such acidity as may be found with gypsum, and in some parts with lime. The people of Greece, on the other hand, impart briskness to their wines when too flat, with potters’ earth, pounded marble, salt, or sea-water; while in Italy, again, brown pitch is used for that purpose in some parts, and it is the universal practice both there as well as in the adjoining provinces to season their new wines with resin: sometimes, too, they season them with old wine-lees or vinegar They make various medicaments, also, for this purpose with the must itself. They boil it down till it becomes quite sweet, and has lost a considerable portion of its strength; though thus prepared, they say it will never last beyond a single year. In some places they boil down the must till it becomes sapa, and then mix it with their wines for the purpose of modifying their harshness. Both for these kinds of wines, as, indeed, all others, they always employ vessels which have themselves received an inner coat of pitch; the method of preparing them will be set forth in a succeeding Book.

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  CHAP. 25. (20.)

  PITH AND RESIN.

  Of the trees from which pitch and resin distil, there are some which grow in the East, and others in Europe: the province of Asia, which lies between the two, has also some of both kinds. In the East, the very best commodity of this kind, and of the finest quality, is that produced by the terebinth, and, next to it, that from the lentisk, which is also known as the mastich. The next in quality to these is the juice of the cypress, being of a more acrid flavour than any other. All the above juices are liquid and of a resinous nature only, but that of the cedar is comparatively thick, and of a proper consistency for making pitch. The Arabian resin is of a pale colour, has an acrid smell, and its fumes are stifling to those employed in boiling it. That of Judæa is of a harder nature, and has a stronger smell than that from the terebinth even. The Syrian resin has all the appearance of Attic honey, but that of Cyprus is superior to any other; it is the colour of honey, and is of a soft, fleshy nature. The resin of Colophon is yellower than the other varieties, but when pounded it turns white; it has a stifling smell, for which reason the perfumers do not employ it. That prepared in Asia from the produce of the pitch-tree is very white, and is known by the name of “spagas.”

  All the resins are soluble in oil; some persons are of opinion also that potters’ chalk may be so dissolved: I feel ashamed to avow that the principal esteem in which the resins are held among us is as depilatories for taking the hair off men’s bodies.

  The method used for seasoning wines is to sprinkle pitch in the must during the first fermentation, which never lasts beyond nine days at the most, so that a bouquet is imparted to the wine, with, in some degree, its own peculiar piquancy of flavour. It is generally considered, that this is done most effectually by the use of raw flower of resin, which imparts a considerable degree of briskness to wine: while, on the other hand, it is thought that crapula itself, if mixed, tends to mitigate the harshness of the wine and subdue its asperity, and when the wine is thin and flat, to give it additional strength and body. It is in Liguria more particularly, and the districts in the vicinity of the Padus, that the utility is recognized of mixing crapula with the must, in doing which the following rule is adopted: with wines of a strong and generous nature they mix a larger quantity, while with those that are poor and thin they use it more sparingly. There are some who would have the wine seasoned with both crapula and flower of resin at the same time. Pitch too, when used for this purpose, has much the same properties as must when so employed.

  In some places, the must is subject to a spontaneous fermentation a second time: when this unfortunately happens it loses all its flavour, and then receives the name of “vappa,” a word which is applied as an opprobrious appellation even to worthless men of degenerate spirit: in vinegar, on the other hand
, notwithstanding its tart and acrid taste, there are very considerable virtues, and without it we should miss many of the comforts of civilized life.

  In addition to what we have already stated, the treatment and preparation of wines are the object of such remarkable attention, that we find some persons employing ashes, and others gypsum and other substances of which we have already spoken, for the purpose of improving its condition: the ashes, however, of the shoots of vines or of the wood of the quercus, are in general preferred for this purpose. It is recommended also, to take sea-water far out at sea, and to keep it in reserve, to be employed for this purpose: at all events, it ought to be taken up in the night and during the summer solstice, while the north-east wind is blowing; but if taken at the time of the vintage, it should be boiled before being used.

  The pitch most highly esteemed in Italy for preparing vessels for storing wine, is that which comes from Bruttium. It is made from the resin that distils from the pitch-tree; that which is used in Spain is held in but little esteem, being the produce of the wild pine; it is bitter, dry, and of a disagreeable smell. While speaking of the wild trees in a succeeding Book, we shall make mention of the different varieties of pitch, and the methods used in preparing it. The defects in resin, besides those which we have already mentioned, are a certain degree of acridity, or a peculiar smoky flavour, while the great fault in pitch is the being over-burnt. The ordinary test of its goodness is a certain luminous appearance when broken to pieces; it ought to stick, too, to the teeth, with a pleasant, tart flavour.

  In Asia, the pitch which is most esteemed is that of Mount Ida, in Greece of Pieria; but Virgil gives the preference to the Narycian pitch. The more careful makers mix with the wine black mastich, which comes from Pontus, and resembles bitumen in appearance, as also iris-root and oil. As to coating the vessels with wax, it has been found that the wine is apt to turn acid: it is a better plan to put wine in vessels that have held vinegar, than in those which have previously contained sweet wine or mulsum. Cato recommends that wines should be got up — concinnari is his word — by putting of lie-ashes boiled down with defrutum, one-fortieth part to the culeus, or else a pound and a half of salt, with pounded marble as well: he makes mention of sulphur also, but only gives the very last place to resin. When the fermentation of the wine is coming to an end, he recommends the addition of the must to which he gives the name of “tortivum,” meaning that which is pressed out the very last of all. For the purpose of colouring wine we also add certain substances as a sort of pigment, and these have a tendency to give it a body as well. By such poisonous sophistications is this beverage compelled to suit our tastes, and then we are surprised that it is inju- rious in its effects!

  It is a proof that wine is beginning to turn bad, if a plate of lead, on being put in it, changes its colour.

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  CHAP. 26.

  VINEGAR-LEES OF WINE.

  It is a peculiarity of wine, among the liquids, to become mouldy, or else to turn to vinegar. There are whole volumes which treat of the various methods of preventing this.

  The lees of wine when dried will take fire and burn without the addition of fuel: the ashes so produced have very much the nature of nitre, and similar virtues; the more so, indeed, the more unctuous they are to the touch.

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  CHAP. 27. (21.)

  WINE-VESSELS — WINE-CELLARS.

  The various methods of keeping and storing wines in the cellar are very different. In the vicinity of the Alps, they put their wines in wooden vessels hooped around; during their cold winters, they even keep lighted fires, to protect the wines from the effects of the cold. It is a singular thing to mention, but still it has been occasionally seen, that these vessels have burst asunder, and there has stood the wine in frozen masses; a miracle almost, as it is not ordinarily the nature of wine to freeze, cold having only the effect of benumbing it. In more temperate climates, they place their wines in dolia, which they bury in the earth, either covering them entirely or in part, according to the temperature. Sometimes, again, they expose their wines in the open air, while at others they are placed beneath sheds for protection from the atmosphere.

  The following are among the rules given for the proper management of wines: — One side of the wine-cellar, or, at all events, the windows, ought to face the north-east, or at least due east. All dunghills and roots of trees, and everything of a repulsive smell, ought to be kept at as great a distance as possible, wine being very apt to contract an odour. Fig-trees too, either wild or cultivated, ought not to be planted in the vicinity. Intervals should also be left between the vessels, in order to prevent infection, in case of any of them turning bad, wine being remarkably apt to become tainted. The shape, too, of the vessels is of considerable importance: those that are broad and bellying are not so good. We find it recommended too, to pitch them immediately after the rising of the Dog-star, and then to wash them either with sea or salt water, after which they should be sprinkled with the ashes of tree-shoots or else with potters’ earth; they ought then to be cleaned out, and perfumed with myrrh, a thing which ought to be frequently done to the wine-cellars as well. Weak, thin wines should be kept in dolia sunk in the ground, while those in which the stronger ones are kept should be more exposed to the air. The vessels ought on no account to be entirely filled, room being left for seasoning, by mixing either raisin wine or else defrutum flavoured with saffron; old pitch and sapa are sometimes used for the same purpose. The lids, too, of the dolia ought to be seasoned in a similar manner, with the addition of mastich and Bruttian pitch.

  It is strongly recommended never to open the vessels, except in fine weather; nor yet while a south wind is blowing, or at a full moon.

  The flower of wine when white is looked upon as a good sign; but when it is red, it is bad, unless that should happen to be the colour of the wine. The vessels, too, should not be hot to the touch, nor should the covers throw out a sort of sweat. When wine very soon flowers on the surface and emits an odour, it is a sign that it will not keep.

  As to defrutum and sapa, it is recommended to commence boiling them when there is no moon to be seen, or, in other words, at the conjunction of that planet, and at no other time. Leaden vessels should be used for this purpose, and not copper ones, and walnuts are generally thrown into them, from a notion that they absorb the smoke. In Campania they expose the very finest wines in casks in the open air, it being the opinion that it tends to improve the wine if it is exposed to the action of the sun and moon, the rain and the winds.

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  CHAP. 28. (22.)

  DRUNKENNESS.

  If any one will take the trouble duly to consider the matter, he will find that upon no one subject is the industry of man kept more constantly on the alert than upon the making of wine; as if Nature had not given us water as a beverage, the one, in fact, of which all other animals make use. We, on the other hand, even go so far as to make our very beasts of burden drink wine: so vast are our efforts, so vast our labours, and so boundless the cost which we thus lavish upon a liquid which deprives man of his reason and drives him to frenzy and to the commission of a thousand crimes! So great, however, are its attractions, that a great part of mankind are of opinion that there is nothing else in life worth living for. Nay, what is even more than this, that we may be enabled to swallow all the more, we have adopted the plan of diminishing its strength by pressing it through filters of cloth, and have devised numerous inventions whereby to create an artificial thirst. To promote drinking, we find that even poisonous mixtures have been invented, and some men are known to take a dose of hemlock before they begin to drink, that they may have the fear of death before them to make them take their wine: others, again, take powdered pumice for the same purpose, and various other mixtures, which I should Feel quite ashamed any further to enlarge upon.

  We see the more prudent among those who are given to this habit have themselves parboiled in hot
-baths, from whence they are carried away half dead. Others there are, again, who cannot wait till they have got to the banqueting couch, no, not so much as till they have got their shirt on, but all naked and panting as they are, the instant they leave the bath they seize hold of large vessels filled with wine, to show of, as it were, their mighty powers, and so gulp down the whole of the contents only to vomit them up again the very next moment. This they will repeat, too, a second and even a third time, just as though they had only been begotten for the purpose of wasting wine, and as if that liquor could not be thrown away without having first passed through the human body. It is to encourage habits such as these that we have introduced the athletic exercises of other countries, such as rolling in the mud, for instance, and throwing the arms back to show off a brawny neck and chest. Of all these exercises, thirst, it is said, is the chief and primary object.

  And then, too, what vessels are employed for holding wine! carved all over with the representations of adulterous intrigues, as if, in fact, drunkenness itself was not sufficiently capable of teaching us lessons of lustfulness. Thus we see wines quaffed out of impurities, and inebriety invited even by the hope of a reward, — invited, did I say? — may the gods forgive me for saying so, purchased outright. We find one person induced to drink upon the condition that he shall have as much to eat as he has previously drunk, while another has to quaff as many cups as he has thrown points on the dice. Then it is that the roving, insatiate eyes are setting a price upon the matron’s chastity; and yet, heavy as they are with wine, they do not fail to betray their designs to her husband. Then it is that all the secrets of the mind are revealed; one man is heard to disclose the provisions of his will, another lets fall some expression of fatal import, and so fails to keep to himself words which will be sure to come home to him with a cut throat. And how many a man has met his death in this fashion! Indeed, it has become quite a common proverb, that “in wine there is truth.”