Our viands

In Attica the common people lived almost entirely upon vegetables, but among the wealthy there was great profusion as soon as luxuries began to be introduced from abroad. At entertainments a king of the feast was chosen by lot, whose duty it was to fix the quantity of wine to be drunk by the guests, and to determine in what manner they were to pass the evening ; this was often by music and singing patriotic songs, although the king of the feast frequently proposed a subject which all present were expected to discuss. The guests at the dinner parties of the Athenians seem to have been limited to nine, for it was an Athenian saying that a convivial meeting should not consist of fewer than the Graces or more than the Muses, and before sitting down 14 OUR VIANDS they were accustomed to use the warm bath, and to anoint themselves with oil. The institution of ' King of the Feast ' appears to have descended to the Romans, for this functionary is mentioned with approbation both by Plutarch and Cato. His office somewhat resembled that of the chairman or president of to-day, although he would appear to have had more to do with the general conduct of the feast, regulating the quantity of wine to be drunk, and who should sing or tell a story, or in any other way amuse the guests. The Romans in Republican times were as frugal in their diet as the Spartans, seldom tasting meat, but living chiefly upon milk, eggs, and vegetables, and a kind of pudding somewhat resembling our batter pudding ; but this simple mode of life was quickly abandoned, and the luxury of the wealthy Romans exceeded anything known in the present day. Nero's banqueting-room was wainscotted with ivory, and the panels were so constructed as to turn on pivots and shower down flowers and perfumes on the guests, whilst the circular roof imitated the movements of the spheres, repre- senting a different season of the year as each course was placed on the table. 'The supper-rooms of Elagabalus,' we are told, 'were hung with cloth of gold and silver, enriched with jewellery ; the frames of the couches were of massive silver, with mattresses covered with the richest embroidery ; and the tables and table services were of pure gold ;* whilst even of private individuals Horace writes — ' Where ivory couches overspread With Tyrian carpets glowing, fed The dazzled eye.' * ' Sketches of Manners and Institutions of the Romans,' p. 164. INTRODUCTION 15 The guests reposed upon elegant couches placed round the tables, and only sat in sign of mourning; each was provided with a special robe, generally white, by the host, a custom alluded to in the New Testament ; whilst a bill of fare, or, as we should say now, a menu was placed before every guest. As for plate, Crassus is said to have possessed some, of which the workmanship alone cost about fifty-two shillings the ounce. Sylla had silver dishes of sixteen hundred ounces ; and a freedman of the Emperor Claudius had one which weighed five hundred pounds, forming the centre dish of eight others, each weighing fifty pounds. But in the midst of all this luxury it is amusing to read that every guest was expected to bring his own napkin, which he generally sent home by a slave filled with some of the good things from the table* — a custom which, perhaps, some of us would not be sorry to see revived.