Moreover, Mnesitheus the Athenian, in his book on Comestibles, says, “The digestion of Eubœan nuts or chestnuts (for they are called by both names) is very difficult for the stomach, and is attended with a great deal of flatulence. And they are apt to thicken the juice, and to make people fat, unless their constitution is strong enough to neutralise them. But almonds, and likewise the nuts of Heraclea, and the Persian nuts, and all others of the same sort, are still worse than these: and it is desirable to touch absolutely none whatever of these things unless they are first cooked by fire; with the exception of, perhaps, the green almonds. But one should boil some of them, and roast others; for some of them are of an oily nature, as the dry almonds and the acorns of Jupiter; but some are hard and harsh, as the nuts of the beech and all that kind. And from the oily sorts the action of the fire extracts the oil, which is the worst part of them: but those which are hard and harsh are softened, and, so to say, ripened, if any one cooks them over a small and gentle fire.” But Diphilus calls chestnuts also Sardinian acorn, saying that they are very nutritious, and full of excellent juice; but not very easy of digestion, because they remain a long time in the stomach; that, however, when they are roasted they are less nutritious, but more digestible; and that when boiled they are less apt to produce flatulence than the others, and more nutritious.It is easily peel'd, and the EubœansCall it a nut, but some people have call'd it an acorn,says Nicander the Colophonian, in his Georgics. But Agelochus calls chestnuts ἄμωτα, and says, “Where the Sinopean nuts are produced the natives call the trees which produce them ἄμωτα.” With respect to Vetches.—Crobylus says—They took a green vetch,And toss'd it empty, as if playing cottabus.These are the sweetmeats of the wretched monkey.And Homer says—Black beans spring up, or vetches.Xenophanes the Colophonian says, in his Parodies—These are what one should talk of near the fire,In winter season, on soft couch reclined,After a plenteous meal, drinking rich wine,And eating vetches. Then a man may ask,"Who are you? How old are you, my friend?How many years old were you when the Mede came"And Sappho says—Golden vetches on the sea-shore grew.But Theophrastus, in his book on Plants, calls some kinds of vetches κρεῖοι. And Sophilus says—This maiden's sire is far the greatest man,A regular κρεῖος vetch.And Phenias says, in his book about Plants,—“While they are green and tender, the bean and vetch take the place of sweetmeats; but when they are dry they are usually eaten boiled or roasted.” Alexis says—My husband is a poor old man, and IAm an old woman, and I have a daughterAnd a young son,And this good girl besides—we're five in all—And three of them are now at supper,And we two who here remain share with themA little maize; and when we have nothingTo eat, we utter a wail unsuited to the lyre.And as we never have any meat for dinner,Our countenance is become pale. These are the parts,And this is the arrangement of our life:Beans, lupins, cabbages, rape,Pulse, morepulse, mastnuts, onions.Grasshoppers, vetches, wild pears,And that which was given by my motherAs an object of devout care, the fig,The great invention of the Phrygian fig.Pherecrates says—You must at once take care and make the vetches tender.And in another place he says—He was choked eating roasted vetches.And Diphilus says—“Vetches are very indigestible, create moisture, they are also diuretic, and apt to cause flatulence.” And according to Diocles, they produce a sort of fermentation in the body. The white vetches are better than the black; and so also are the yellow or box-coloured. And the Milesian are better than those called κρεῖοι; and the green are better than the dry, and those which have been soaked are better than those which have not been. The discoverer of the vetch is said to have been Neptune.
Μνησίθεος δ’ ὁ Ἀθηναῖος ἐν τῷ περὶ ἐδεστῶν τῶν Εὐβοικῶν, φησί, καρύων ἢ καστάνων ἀμφοτέρως γὰρ καλεῖται δύσπεπτος μὲν ἡ κατεργασία τῇ κοιλίᾳ καὶ φυσώδης ἡ πέψις γίνεται, παχύνει δὲ τὰς ἕξεις, ἐάν τις αὐτῶν κρατήσῃ, τὰ δὲ ἀμύγδαλα καὶ τὰ Ἡρακλεωτικὰ καὶ τὰ Περσικὰ κάρυα καὶ τἄλλα τὰ τοιαῦτα χείρω ἐστὶ τούτων, χρὴ δὲ μηδὲν ὅλως τῆς τοιαύτης ἰδέας ἄπυρον ἐσθίειν ἔξω τῶν χλωρῶν ἀμυγδάλων, ἀλλὰ τὰ μὲν ἕψειν, τὰ δὲ φρύγειν. τὰ μὲν γὰρ αὐτῶν ἐστι λιπαρὰ τῇ φύσει, καθάπερ ἀμυγδάλαι τε αἱ ξηραὶ καὶ Διὸς βάλανοι, τὰ δὲ σκληρὰ καὶ στρυφνά, καθάπερ αἵ τε φηγοὶ καὶ πᾶν τὸ τοιοῦτον γένος, τῶν οὖν λιπαρῶν ἀφαιρεῖται τὸ λίπος ἡ πύρωσις· ἐστὶ γὰρ τοῦτο τὸ χείριστον τὰ δὲ σκληρὰ καὶ στρυφνὰ πεπαίνεται, ἐάν τις ὀλίγῳ καὶ μαλακῷ πυρὶ χρῆται. ὁ δὲ Δίφιλος τὰ κάστανα καὶ Σαρδιανὰς βαλάνους καλεῖ, εἶναι λέγων αὐτὰς καὶ πολυτρόφους καὶ εὐχύλους, δυσοικονομήτους δὲ διὰ τὸ ἐπιμένειν τῷ στομάχῳ· τὰς δὲ φρυγείσας ἀτροφωτέρας μὲν γίνεσθαι, εὐοικονομήτους δέ· τὰς δὲ ἑψομένας ἐμπνευματοῦν μὲν ἧττον, τρέφειν δὲ τούτων μᾶλλον. λόπιμον κάρυόν τε Εὐβοέες, βάλανον δὲ μετεξέτεροι καλέσαντο, Νίκανδρός φησιν ὁ Κολοφώνιος ἐν Γεωργικοῖς, Ἀγέλοχος δὲ ἄμωτα καλεῖ τὰ καστάνεια· ὅπου δὲ γίνεται τὰ κάρυα τὰ Σινωπικά, ἐνταῦθα τὰ δένδρα ἐκάλουν ἄμωτα. ἐρέβινθοι. Κρώβυλος· φαγόντες χλωρὸν ἐρέβινθόν τινα ἐκοττάβιζον, κενὸν ὅλως. β. τράγημα δέ ἐστιν πιθήκου τοῦτο δήπου δυστυχοῦς. Ὅμηρος· θρώσκουσιν κύαμοι μελανόχροες ἢ ἐρέβινθοι. Ξενοφάνης ὁ Κολοφώνιος ἐν παρῳδίαις· πὰρ πυρὶ χρὴ τοιαῦτα λέγειν χειμῶνος ἐν ὥρῃ ἐν κλίνῃ μαλακῇ κατακείμενον, ἔμπλεον ὄντα, πίνοντα γλυκὺν οἶνον, ὑποτρώγοντ’ ἐρεβίνθους· τίς πόθεν εἶς ἀνδρῶν, πόσα τοι ἔτη ἐστί, φέριστε; πηλίκος ἦσθ’ ὅθ’ ὁ Μῆδος ἀφίκετο; Σαπφώ· χρύσειοι ἐρέβινθοι ἐπ’ ἀιόνων ἐφύοντο. Θεόφραστος δ’ ἐν φυτικοῖς τῶν ἐρεβίνθων τινὰς καλεῖ κριούς, καὶ Σώφιλος· ὁ πατήρ ὁ ταύτης πολὺ μέγιστός ἐστι κριὸς ἐρέβινθος. Φαινίας δ’ ἐν τοῖς περὶ φυτῶν φησι· τραγήματος ἔχει χώραν ἁπαλὰ μὲν ὦχρος, κύαμος, ἐρέβινθος, ξηρὰ δὲ ἑφθὰ καὶ φρυκτὰ σχεδὸν τὰ πλεῖστα. Ἄλεξις· ἔστιν ἀνήρ μοι πτωχὸς κἀγὼ γραῦς καὶ θυγάτηρ καὶ παῖς υἱὸς χἤδ’ ἡ χρηστή, πένθ’ οἱ πάντες, τούτων οἱ τρεῖς δειπνοῦμεν, δύο δ’ αὐτοῖς συγκοινωνοῦμεν μάζης μικρᾶς. φθόγγους δ’ ἀλύρους θρηνοῦμεν ἐπὰν μηδὲν ἔχωμεν χρῶμα δ’ ἀσίτων ἡμῶν ὄντων γίνεται ὠχρόν. τὰ μέρη δ’ ἡμῶν χἠ σύνταξις τοῦ βίου ἐστὶν κύαμος, θέρμος, λάχανον, … γογγυλίς, ὦχρος, λάθυρος, φηγός, βολβός, τέττιξ, ἐρέβινθος, ἀχράς, τό τε θειοφανὲς μητρῷον ἐμοὶ μελέδημ’ ἰσχάς, Φρυγίας εὑρήματα συκῆς. Φερεκράτης τακεροὺς ποιήσεις τοὺς ἐρεβίνθους αὐτόθεν. πάλιν τρώγων ἐρεβίνθους ἀπεπνίγη πεφρυγμένους, Δίφιλος δέ φησιν οἱ ἐρέβινθοι δύσπεπτοι, σμηκτικοί, οὐρητικοί, πνευματικοί. κατὰ δὲ Διοκλέα ζυμωτικοὶ τῆς σαρκός· κρείττους δ’ οἱ λευκοὶ τῶν μελάνων καὶ πυξοειδεῖς καὶ οἱ Μιλήσιοι τῶν λεγομένων κριῶν οἵ τε χλωροὶ τῶν ξηρῶν καὶ οἱ βεβρεγμένοι τῶν ἀβρόχων. ὅτι Ποσειδῶνος εὕρημα οἱ ἐρέβινθοι.
With respect to Lupins. Alexis says—A curse upon the man;Let him not come near me, who eats lupins in season,And then leaves the husks and shells in the vestibulesWhy was he not choked while eating them I know,I know most certainly, that Cleænetus the tragedianDid not eat them. For CleænetusNever threw away the husk of a single vegetable,So exceedingly economical is that man.And Lycophron of Chalcis, in a satiric drama which he wrote against Menedemus the philosopher, for the purpose of turn- ing him into ridicule, (it was from Menedemus that the sect of the Eretrians derived its name,) laughs at the suppers of the philosophers, and says—The lupin, common to all the people, in great plentyDanced upon the board, the companion of poor couches.And Diphilus says—There is no business more mischievous or degradingThan that of the pander.I would rather walk along the streets sellingRoses, and radishes, and lupin-beans, and press'd olives,And anything else in the world, rather than give encouragementTo such a miserable trade.And you may observe, that he then uses the expression θερμοκύαμοι, lupin-beans, as they are called even now. Polemo says, that the Lacedæmonians call lupins λυσιλαΐδες. And Theophrastus, in his book about The Causes of Plants, tells us that the lupin, and the bitter vetch, and the common vetch, are the only kinds of green vegetable which do not produce animal life, because of their harshness and bitterness. But the vetch, says he, turns black as it decays. He says, also, that caterpillars come in vetches, and it is in the fourth book of the same treatise that he states this. Diphilus the Siphnian writer says that lupins are very apt to create moisture, and are very nutritious, especially those kinds Which are rendered sweet by being soaked. On which account Zeno the Citiæan, a man of harsh disposition and very apt to get in a passion with his friends, when he had taken a good deal of wine, became sweet-tempered and gentle; and when people asked him what produced this difference in his disposition, he said, that he was subject to the same influences as lupins: for that they before they were cooked were very bitter; but that when they had been steeped in liquor they were sweet and wholesome.
θερμοί. μὴ ὥρασι μετὰ τῶν κακῶν ἵκοιθ’ ὁ τοὺς θέρμους φαγών, ἐν τῷ προθύρῳ τὰ λέμμαθ’ ὁτιὴ κατέλιπε, ἀλλ’ οὐκ ἀπεπνίγη καταφαγών. μάλιστα δὲ … β. Κλεαίνετος μὲν οὐκ ἐδήδοκ’ οἶδ’ ὅτι ὁ τραγικὸς αὐτούς οὐδενὸς γὰρ πώποτε ἀπέβαλεν … ὀσπρίου λέπος· οὕτως ἐκεῖνός ἐστιν εὐχερὴς ἀνήρ. Λυκόφρων δ’ ὁ Χαλκιδεὺς ἐν σατυρικῷ δράματι ὃ ἐπὶ καταμωκήσει ἔγραψεν εἰς Μενέδημον τὸν φιλόσοφον, ἀφ’ οὗ ἡ τῶν Ἐρετρικῶν ὠνομάσθη αἵρεσις, διασκώπτων τῶν φιλοσόφων τὰ δεῖπνά φησι· καὶ δημόκοινος ἐπεχόρευσε δαψιλὴς θέρμος, πενήτων καὶ τρικλίνου συμπότης. Δίφιλος· οὐκ ἔστιν οὐδὲν τεχνίον ἐξωλέστερον τοῦ πορνοβοσκοῦ … κατὰ τὴν ὁδὸν πωλεῖν περιπατῶν βούλομαι ῥόδα, ῥαφανῖδας, θερμοκυάμους, στέμφυλα, ἁπλῶς ἅπαντα μᾶλλον ἢ ταύτας τρέφειν. καὶ σημειωτέον, φησί, τὸ θερμοκυάμους, ἐπεὶ καὶ νῦν οὕτω λέγεται. πολέμων δέ φησι τοὺς Λακεδαιμονίους τοὺς θέρμους λυσιλαίδας καλεῖν. Θεόφραστος δὲ ἱστορεῖ ἐν αἰτίοις φυτικοῖς ὅτι θέρμος καὶ ὄροβος καὶ ἐρέβινθος μόνα οὐ ζῳοῦται τῶν χεδροπῶν διὰ τὴν δριμύτητα καὶ πικρότητα. ὁ δ’ ἐρέβινθος, φησί, μέλας γίνεται διαφθειρόμενος. γίνεσθαι δὲ λέγει κάμπας ἐν τοῖς ἐρεβίνθοις ὁ αὐτὸς ἐν τῷ τρίτῳ τῆς αὐτῆς πραγματείας. Δίφιλος δ’ ὁ Σίφνιος τοὺς θέρμους φησὶν εἶναι σμηκτικοὺς καὶ πολυτρόφους, μάλιστα δὲ τοὺς ἐπὶ πλεῖον ἀπεγλυκασμένους. διὸ καὶ Ζήνων ὁ Κιτιεύς, σκληρὸς ὢν καὶ πάνυ θυμικὸς πρὸς τοὺς γνωρίμους, ἐπὶ πλεῖον τοῦ οἴνου σπάσας ἡδὺς ἐγίνετο καὶ μείλιχος. πρὸς τοὺς πυνθανομένους οὖν τοῦ τρόπου τὴν διαφορὰν ἔλεγε τὸ αὐτὸ τοῖς θέρμοις πάσχειν καὶ γὰρ ἐκείνους πρὶν διαβραχῆναι πικροτάτους εἶναι, ποτισθέντας δὲ γλυκεῖς καὶ προσηνεστάτους.
With respect to Kidney Beans.—The Lacedæmonians in those suppers of theirs, which they call κοπίδες, give as sweetmeats, dry figs and beans, and green kidney beans. At least this is the statement of Polemo; and Epicharmus says—Roast some kidney beans quickly, for Bacchus is fond of them.And Demetrius says—A fig, or kidney bean, or some such thing.
φάσηλοι. Λακεδαιμόνιοι ἐν τοῖς δείπνοις τοῖς καλουμένοις κοπίσι διδόασι τραγήματα σῦκά τε ξηρὰ καὶ κυάμους καὶ φασήλους χλωρούς· ἱστορεῖ Πολέμων. Ἐπίχαρμος· … φασήλους φῶγε θᾶσσον, αἴ χ’ ὁ Διόνυσος φιλῇ. Δημήτριος· ἢ σῦκον ἢ φάσηλον ἢ τοιοῦτό τι.
With respect to Olives. Eupolis says—Cuttle-fish, and olives fallen from the tree.And these the Romans call dryptæ. But Diphilus the Siphnian writer says that olives contain very little nourishment, and are apt to give headaches; and that the black ones are still worse for the stomach, and make the head feel heavy; but that those which we call κολυμβάδες, that is to say, preserved in pickle, are better for the stomach, and give strength to the bowels. But that the black when crushed are better for the stomach. Aristophanes too makes mention of crushed olives in “The Islands,” saying—Bring some crushed olives;and in another place he says—Crush'd olives and pickled olives are not the same thing;and a few lines after—For it is better that they should be crush'd than pickled.And Archestratus says, in his Gastronomy—Let wrinkled olives, fallen from the tree,Be placed before you.And Hermippus says—Be sure that for the future you rememberThe ever-glorious Marathon for good,When you do all from time to time add μάραθον (that is to say, fennel) to your pickled olives.And Philemon says—“The inferior olives are called πιτυρίδες, and the dark-coloured are called στεμφυλίδες.” And Callimachus, in his “Hecale,” gives a regular catalogue of the different kinds of olive—γεργέριμος and πίτυρις, and the white olive, which does notBecome ripe till autumn, which is to float in wine.And according to Didymus, they called both olives and figs which had fallen to the ground of their own accord, γεργέριμοι. Besides, without mentioning the name “olive,” the fruit itself was called by that name δρυπετὴς, without any explanatory addition. Teleclides says—He urged me to remain, and eat with himSome δρυπετεῖς, and some maize, and have a chat with him.But the Athenians called bruised olives στέμφυλα; and what we call στέμφυλα they called βρύτεα, that is to say, the dregs of the grapes after they have been pressed. And the word βρῦτος is derived from βότρυς, a bunch of grapes.
ἐλάαι. Εὔπολις· σηπίαι δρυπεπεῖς τ’ ἐλᾶαι. ταύτας Ῥωμαῖοι δρύππας λέγουσι. Δίφιλος δὲ φησιν ὁ Σίφνιος τὰς ἐλάας ὀλιγοτρόφους εἶναι καὶ κεφαλαλγεῖς, τὰς δὲ μελαίνας καὶ κακοστομαχωτέρας καὶ βαρύνειν τὴν κεφαλήν, τὰς δὲ κολυμβάδας καλουμένας εὐστομαχωτέρας εἶναι καὶ κοιλίας στατικάς, τὰς δὲ θλαστὰς μελαίνας εὐστομαχωτέρας εἶναι. μνημονεύει τῶν θλαστῶν ἐλαιῶν Ἀριστοφάνης· θλαστὰς ποιεῖν ἐλαίας. πάλιν οὐ ταὐτόν ἐστιν ἁλμάδες καὶ στέμφυλα. καὶ μετ’ ὀλίγα· θλαστὰς γάρ εἶναι κρεῖσσόν ἐστιν ἁλμάδος. Ἀρχέστρατος ἐν τῇ Γαστρονομίᾳ· ῥυσαὶ καὶ δρυπεπεῖς παρακείσθωσάν σοι ἐλαῖαι. ὥστε Μαραθῶνος τὸ λοιπὸν ἐπ’ ἀγαθῷ μεμνημένοι πάντες ἐμβάλλουσιν ἀεὶ μάραθον ἐς τὰς ἁλμάδας, φησὶν Ἕρμιππος. Φιλήμων φησίν πιτυρίδες καλοῦνται αἱ φαυλίαι ἐλᾶαι, στεμφυλίδες δὲ αἱ μέλαιναι. Καλλίμαχος δ’ ἐν τῇ ʽ Ἑκάλῃ γένη ἐλαῶν καταλέγει· γεργέριμον πίτυρίν τε καὶ ἣν ἀπεθήκατο λευκὴν εἰν ἁλὶ νήχεσθαι φθινοπωρίδα. ἔλεγον δὲ τὰς δρυπεπεῖς ἐλάας καὶ ἰσχάδας καὶ γεργερίμους, ὥς φησι Δίδυμος, καὶ χωρὶς δὲ τοῦ φάσκειν ἐλάας αὐτὸ καθ’ ἑαυτὸ ἔλεγον μόνον δρυπεπεῖς. Τηλεκλείδης· … ξυγγενέσθαι διὰ χρόνου λιπαρείτω με δρυπεπέσι, μάζαις καὶ διασκανδικίσαι. Ἀθηναῖοι δὲ τὰς τετριμμένας ἐλαίας στέμφυλα ἐκάλουν, βρύτεα δὲ τὰ ὑφ’ ἡμῶν στέμφυλα, τὰ ἐκπιέσματα τῆς σταφυλῆς, παρὰ δὲ τοὺς βότρυς γέγονεν ἡ φωνή.
With respect to Radishes.—The Greek name ῥαφανὶς is derived from ῥᾳδίως φαίνεσθαι, because they quickly appear above ground; and in the plural the Attic writers either shorten or lengthen the penultima at pleasure. Cratinus writes—ταῖς ῥαφανῖσι δοκεῖ, it is like radishes, but not like other vegetables;and Eupolis, on the other hand, says—ʽῥαφανίδες ἄπλυτοι, unwashed radishes and cuttle-fish.For the word ἄπλυτοι, unwashed, must clearly refer to the radishes, and not to the cuttle-fish; as is shown by Antiphanes, in whom we find these lines:—To eat ducks, and honeycombs of wild bees, and eggs,And cheese-cakes, and unwash'd radishes,And rape, and oatmeal-groats, and honey.So that radishes appear to have been particularly called un- washed radishes; being probably the same as those called Thasian. Pherecrates says—There one may have the unwash'd radish, and the warmBath, and closely stewed pickles, and nuts.And Plato, in his Hyperbolus, says, using the diminutive termination, φύλλιον ἤ ῥαφανίδιον, “a leaflet, or a little radish.” But Theophrastes, in his book on Plants, says that there are five kinds of radishes: the Corinthian, the Leiothasian, the Cleonæan, the Amorean, and the Bœotian; and that the Bœotian, which is of a round form, is the sweetest. And he says that, as a general rule, those the leaves of which are smooth, are the sweetest. But Callias used the form ῥάφανος for ῥάφανις; at all events, when discussing the antiquity of comedy, he says, “Broth, and sausages, and radishes (ῥάφανοι), and fallen olives, and cheese-cakes.” And indeed that he meant the same as what we call ῥαφανίδες, is plainly sown by Aristophanes, who in the Danaïdes alludes to such old forms, and says—And then the chorus used to dance,Clad in worsted-work and fine clothes;And bearing under their arms ribs of beef,And sausages, and radishes.And the radish is a very economical kind of food. Amphis says—Whoever, when purchasing food,When it is in his power, O Apollo, to buy genuine fish,Prefers buying radishes, is downright mad!
ῥαφανίδες. αὗται κέκληνται διὰ τὸ ῥᾳδίως φαίνεσθαι. καὶ ἐκτεταμένως δὲ καὶ κατὰ συστολὴν λέγεται παρὰ Ἀττικοῖς. Κρατῖνος· ταῖς ῥαφανῖσι δοκεῖ, τοῖς δ’ ἄλλοις οὐ λαχάνοισιν. Εὔπολις· ῥαφανίδες ἄπλυτοι, σηπίαι. ὅτι δὲ τὸ ἄπλυτοι ἐπὶ τῶν ῥαφανίδων ἀκούειν δεῖ, οὐκ ἐπὶ τῶν σηπιῶν, δηλοῖ Ἀντιφάνης γράφων νήττας, σχαδόνας, κάρυ’ ἐντραγεῖν, ᾤ᾽, ἐγκρίδας, ῥαφανῖδας ἀπλύτους, γογγυλίδας, χόνδρον, μέλι. ἰδίως δ’ οὕτως ἐκαλοῦντο ἄπλυτοι ῥαφανίδες ἃς καὶ Θασίας ὠνόμαζον. Φερεκράτης· ῥαφανὶς τ’ ἄπλυτος ὑπάρχει καὶ θερμὰ λουτρὰ καὶ ταρίχη πνικτὰ καὶ κάρυα. ὑποκοριστικῶς δ’ εἴρηκε Πλάτων ἐν Ὑπερβόλῳ· φύλλιον ἢ ῥαφανίδιον. Θεόφραστος δ’ ἐν τοῖς περὶ φυτῶν γένη ῥαφανίδων φησὶν εἶναι πέντε, Κορινθίαν, Λειοθασίαν, Κλεωναίαν, Ἀμωρέαν, Βοιωτίαν. καλεῖσθαι δὲ ὑπό τινων τὴν Λειοθασίαν Θρᾳκίαν γλυκυτάτην δὲ εἶναι τὴν Βοιωτίαν καὶ τῷ σχήματι στρογγύλην. ἁπλῶς δέ, φησίν, ὧν ἐστι λεῖα τὰ φύλλα, γλυκύτεραί εἰσι. Καλλίας δ’ ἐπὶ τῆς ῥαφανίδος εἴρηκε τὴν ῥάφανον. περὶ γοῦν τῆς ἀρχαιότητος τῆς κωμῳδίας διεξιών φησιν … ἔτνος, πῦρ, γογγυλίδες, ῥάφανοι, δρυπεπεῖς, ἐλατῆρες. ὅτι δ’ οὕτω τὰς ῥαφανῖδας εἴρηκε δῆλον Ἀριστοφάνης ποιεῖ περὶ τῆς τοιαύτης ἀρχαιότητος ἐν Δαναίσι γράφων καὶ αὐτὸς καὶ λέγων ὁ χορὸς δ’ ὠρχεῖτ’ ἂν ἐναψάμενος δάπιδας καὶ στρωματόδεσμα, διαμασχαλίσας αὑτὸν σχελίσιν καὶ φύσκαις καὶ ῥαφανῖσιν. εὐτελὲς δὲ σφόδρα ἔδεσμα ἡ ῥαφανίς. Ἄμφις· ὅστις ἀγοράζων ὄψον … ἐξὸν ἀπολαύειν ἰχθύων ἀληθινῶν ῥαφανῖδας ἐπιθυμεῖ πρίασθαι, μαίνεται.
With respect to Pine-cones.—Mnesitheus, the Athenian physician, in his book on Comestibles, calls the husks of the pine-cones ὀστρακίδες, and in another place he calls them κῶνοι. But Diocles of Carystus calls them πιτϋίνα κάρυα, nuts of the pine-tree. And Alexander the Myndian calls them πιτυΐνὸυς κώνους. And Theophrastus calls the tree πεύκη, and the fruit κῶνος. But Hippocrates, in his book on Barley-water,— (one half of which is considered spurious by everybody, and some people reckon the whole so,)—calls the fruit κόκκαλοι; but most people call it πυρῆνες: as Herodotus does, in speaking of the Pontic nut. For he says, “And this has πυρῆνα (a kernel), when it becomes ripe.” But Diphilus the Siphnian says, “Pine-cones” (which he calls στρόβιλοι “are very nutritious, and have a tendency to soften the arteries, and to relieve the chest, because they have some resinous qualities contained in them.” While Mnesitheus says that they fill the body with fat, and are very free from all hindrances to the digestion; and, moreover, that they are diuretic, and that they are free from all astringent tendencies.
κῶνοι. Μνησίθεος ὁ Ἀθηναῖος ἰατρὸς ἐν τῷ περὶ ἐδεστῶν ὀστρακίδας καλεῖ τῶν κώνων τοὺς πυρῆνας, ἔτι δὲ κώνους. Διοκλῆς δ’ ὁ Καρύστιος πιτύινα κάρυα. ὁ δὲ Μύνδιος Ἀλέξανδρος πιτυίνους κώνους. Θεόφραστος δὲ τὸ μὲν δένδρον.᾽ πεύκην ὀνομάζει, τὸν δὲ καρπὸν κῶνον. Ἱπποκράτης δὲ ἐν τῷ περὶ πτισάνης, ὃ ἐκ τοῦ ἡμίσους μὲν νοθεύεται, ὑπ’ ἐνίων δὲ καὶ ὅλον, κοκκάλους· οἱ πολλοὶ δὲ πυρῆνας, ὡς καὶ Ἡρόδοτος ὅταν περὶ τοῦ Ποντικοῦ καρύου λέγῃ. φησὶ γάρ; πυρῆνα δ’ ἔχει τοῦτο ἐπὰν γένηται πέπον. Δίφιλος δ’ ὁ Σίφνιός φησιν οἱ στρόβιλοι πολύτροφοι μέν εἰσι, λεαντικοὶ δὲ ἀρτηρίας καὶ θώρακος καθαρτικοὶ διὰ τὸ ἔχειν παρεμπεπλεγμένον τὸ ὁητινῶδες. Μνησίθεος δέ φησι πιαίνειν αὐτοὺς τὸ σῶμα καὶ πρὸς εὐπεψίαν ἀλύπους εἶναι, ὑπάρχειν δὲ καὶ οὐρητικοὺς καὶ οὐκ ἐφεκτικοὺς κοιλίας.
Now with respect to Eggs.—Anaxagoras, in his book on Natural Philosophy, says that what is called the milk of the bird is the white which is in the eggs. And Aristophanes says— In the first instance, night brings forth a wind egg. Sappho dissolves the word ὦον into a trisyllable, making it ὤϊον, when she says—They say that formerly Leda found an egg.And again she says—Far whiter than an egg:in each case writing ὤϊον. But Epicharmus spelt the word ὤεα; for so we find the line written—The eggs of geese and other poultry.And Simonides, in the second book of his Iambics, says—Like the egg of a Mæandrian goose;which he, too, writes ὤεον. But Alexandrides lengthens the word into a quadrisyllable, and calls it ὠάριον. And so does Ephippus, when he says—And little casks of good wine made of palms,And eggs, and all other trifles of that kind.And Alexis, somewhere or other, uses the expressidn, “hemispheres of eggs.” And wind eggs they called ἀνεμιαῖα, and also ὑπηνέμια. They called also the upper chambers of houses which we now call ὑπερῶον, ὦον; and accordingly Clearchus says, in his “Erotics,” that Helen, from having been born and brought up in a chamber of this sort, got the character, with a great many people, of having been born of an egg (ὠοῦ). And it was an ignorant statement of Neocles of Crotona, that the egg fell from the moon, from which Helen was born: for that women under the influence of the moon bring forth eggs, and that those who are born from such eggs are fifteen times as large as we are: as Herodotus of Heraclea also asserts. And Ibycus, in the fifth book of his Melodies, says of the Molionidœ—And they slew the two young Molions, youths alike in face,Borne on white horses; of the same age; andAlike, too, in all their limbs, for both were bornOn one day, from one single silver egg.And Ephippus says—Cakes made of sesame and honey, sweetmeats,Cheese-cakes, and cream-cakes, and a hecatombOf new-laid eggs, were all devour'd by us.And Nicomachus makes mention of such eggs—For when my father had left me a very little property,I scraped it so, and got the kernel out of itIn a few months, as if I had been a boy sucking an egg.And Eriphus makes mention of goose's eggs—Just see how white and how large these eggs are;These must be goose eggs, as far as I can see.And he says, that it was eggs like this which were laid by Leda. But Epænetus and Heraclides the Syracusan, in their book on Cookery, say that the best of all eggs are peacock's eggs; and that the next best are those of the foxgoose; and the third best are those of common poultry.
ᾦα. Ἀναξαγόρας ἐν τοῖς Φυσικοῖς τὸ καλούμενόν φησιν ὄρνιθος γάλα τὸ ἐν τοῖς ᾠοῖς εἶναι λευκόν. Ἀριστοφάνης· τίκτει πρῶτον ὑπηνέμιον ᾠὸν Νύξ. Σαπφὼ δ’ αὐτὸ τρισυλλάβως καλεῖ· φασὶ δή ποτε Λήδαν ὤιον εὑρεῖν. καὶ πάλιν ὠίου πολὺ λευκότερον. ὤεα δ’ ἔφη Ἐπίχαρμος· ὤεα χανὸς κἀλεκτορίδων πετεηνῶν. Σιμωνίδης ἐν δευτέρῳ ἰάμβων οἷόν τε χηνὸς ὤεον Μαιανδρίου. διὰ τεσσάρων δ’ αὐτὰ προενήνεκται Ἀναξανδρίδης ὠάρια εἰπών. καὶ Ἔφιππος· σταμνάριὰ τ’ οἴνου μικρὰ τοῦ Φοινικίνου, ᾠάρια, τοιαῦθ’ ἕτερα πολλὰ παίγνια. Ἄλεξις δὲ ἡμίτομά που ᾠῶν λέγει, ᾠὰ δὲ οὐ μόνον ἀνεμιαῖα ἐκάλουν, ἀλλὰ καὶ ὑπηνέμια. ἐκάλουν δὲ καὶ τὰ νῦν τῶν οἰκιῶν παρ’ ἡμῖν καλούμενα ὑπερῷα ᾠά, φησὶ Κλέαρχος ἐν Ἐρωτικοῖς, τὴν Ἑλένην φάσκων ἐν τοιούτοις οἰκήμασι τρεφομένην δόξαν ἀπενέγκασθαι παρὰ πολλοῖς ὡς ἐξ ᾠοῦ εἴη γεγεννημένη. οὐκ εὖ δὲ Νεοκλῆς ὁ Κροτωνιάτης ἔφη ἀπὸ τῆς σελήνης πεσεῖν τὸ ᾠὸν ἐξ οὗ τὴν ʽ Ἑλένην γεννηθῆναι· τὰς γὰρ σεληνίτιδας γυναῖκας ᾠοτοκεῖν καὶ τοὺς ἐκεῖ γεννωμένους πεντεκαιδεκαπλασίονας ἡμῶν εἶναι, ὡς Ἡρόδωρος ὁ Ἡρακλεώτης ἱστορεῖ. Ἴβυκος δὲ ἐν πέμπτῳ μελῶν περὶ Μολιονιδῶν φησι· τούς τε λευκίππους κόρους τέκνα Μολιόνας κτάνον, ἅλικας, ἰσοκεφάλους, ἑνιγυίους, ἀμφοτέρους γεγαῶτας ἐν ὠέῳ ἀργυρέῳ. Ἔφιππος· ἴτρια, τραγήματα..., πυραμοῦς, ἄμης, ᾠῶν ἑκατόμβη· πάντα ταῦτ’ ἐχναύομεν. ᾠῶν δὲ ῥοφητῶν μνημονεύει Νικόμαχος· οὐσίδιον μοι καταλιπόντος τοῦ πατρός, οὕτω συνεστρόγγυλα κἀξεκόκκισα ἐν μησὶν ὀλίγοις ὥσπερ ᾠόν τις ῥοφῶν. χηνείων δ’ ᾠῶν Ἔριφος· ᾠὰ λευκά γε καὶ μεγάλα· β. χήνει’ ἐστίν, ὥς γ’ ἐμοὶ δοκεῖ· οὗτος δέ φησι ταῦτα τὴν Λήδαν τεκεῖν. Ἐπαίνετος δὲ καὶ ʽ Ἡρακλείδης ὁ Συρακούσιος ἐν Ὀψαρτυτικῷ τῶν ᾠῶν φασι πρωτεύειν τὰ τῶν ταῶν μεθ’ ἃ εἶναι τὰ χηναλωπέκεια· τρίτα καταλέγοντες τὰ ὀρνίθεια.
Now let us speak of provocatives to appetite, called πρόπομα.—When they were brought round by the butler, Ulpian said, “Does the word πρόπομα occur in any ancient author in the sense in which we use it now?” and when every one joined in the question, “I will tell you,” said Athenæus; “Phylarchus the Athenian, (though some called him a native of Naucratis,) in the book where he speaks of Zelas the king of the Bithynians, who invited to supper all the leaders of the Galatians, and then plotted against them, and was killed himself also, says, if I recollect his words rightly, 'A certain πρόπομα was brought round before supper, as was the custom of antiquity.'” And when Ulpian had said this, he asked for something to drink from the wine-cooler, saying, that he was in good humour with himself for having been able to remember this so very à propos. But there were things of all sorts, says Athenæus, used in these προπόματα.
πρόπομα. τούτου, φησί, περιενεχθέντος ὁ τῶν δείπνων ταμίας Οὐλπιανὸς ἔφη εἰ κεῖται παρά τινι τὸ πρόπομα οὕτω καλούμενον ὡς νῦν ἡμεῖς φαμεν. καὶ ζητούντων πάντων αὐτός, ἔφη,ἐγὼ ἐρῶ, Φύλαρχος ὁ Ἀθηναῖος ἢ Ναυκρατίτης ἐν οἷς ὁ λόγος ἐστὶν αὐτῷ περὶ Ζηλᾶ τοῦ Βιθυνῶν βασιλέως, ὃς ἐπὶ ξένια καλέσας τοὺς τῶν Γαλατῶν ἡγεμόνας ἐπιβουλεύσας αὐτοῖς καὶ αὐτὸς διεφθάρη, φησὶν οὕτως, εἰ μνήμης εὐτυχῶ· πρόπομά τι πρὸ τοῦ δείπνου περιεφέρετο, καθὼς εἰώθει τὸ πρῶτον.καὶ ταῦτ’ εἰπὼν ὁ Οὐλπιανὸς ᾔτει πιεῖν ἐν ψυκτῆρι, ἀρέσκειν ἑαυτὸν φάσκων διὰ τὸ ἑτοίμως ἀπεμνημονευκέναι. ἦν δὲ τῶν ἐν τοῖς προπόμασι, φησί, παρασκευαζομένων ἄλλα τε καὶ δὴ καὶ ταῦτα.
With respect to Mallows, Hesiod says—Nor do men know how great may be the goodDerived from asphodel and mallow food.μαλάχη is the Attic name for mallow. But I, says Atheneus, have found in many of the copies of the Minos of Antiphanes the word spelt with an o; for instance, he speaks of men—Eating the root of mallow (μολόχης).And Epicharmus has—I am milder than the mallow (μολόχης).And Phanias says, in his book on Plants—“The seminal portions of the cultivated mallow are called 'the cheese-cake,' as being like a cheese-cake. For those pistils which are like the teeth of a comb have some resemblance to the edge of a cheese-cake; and there is a boss like centre, like that in the middle of a cheese-cake. And the whole circumference of the rim is like the sea-fish denominated the sea-urchin.” But Diphilus the Siphnian makes a statement, that the mallow is full of pleasant and wholesome juice; having a tendency to smooth the arteries, separating from them the harshnesses of the blood by bringing them to the surface. And he adds that the mallow is of great service in irritations of the kidneys and the bladder, and that it is very tolerably digestible and nutritious. And moreover, that the wild mallow is superior to that which grows in a garden. But Hermippus, the follower of Callimachus, in his treatise on the Seven Wise Men, says that mallows are put in what he calls the ἄλιμον, that is to say, the preventive against hunger, and into the ἄδιψον, that is, the preventive against thirst; and that it is a very useful ingredient in both.
μαλάχαι. Ἡσίοδος· οὐδ’ ὅσον ἐν μαλάχῃ τε καὶ ἀσφοδέλῳ μέγ’ ὄνειαρ. τοῦτο Ἀττικόν. ἐγὼ δέ, φησίν,ἐν πολλοῖς ἀντιγράφοις εὗρον τοῦ Ἀντιφάνους Μίνωος διὰ τοῦ ο γεγραμμένον τρώγοντες μολόχης ῥίζαν. καὶ Ἐπίχαρμος· … πραύτερος ἔγωγε μολόχας. Φαινίας δ’ ἐν τοῖς Φυτικοῖς φησι· τῆς ἡμέρου μαλάχης ὁ σπερματικὸς τύπος καλεῖται πλακοῦς, ἐμφερὴς ὢν αὐτῷ· τὸ μὲν γὰρ κτενῶδες ἀνάλογον καθάπερ ἡ τοῦ πλακοῦντος κρηπίς, κατὰ μέσον δὲ τοῦ πλακουντικοῦ ὄγκου τὸ κέντρον ὀμφαλικόν. καὶ περιληφθείσης τῆς κρηπῖδος ὅμοιον γίνεται τοῖς θαλαττίοις περιγεγραμμένοις ἐχίνοις. ὁ δὲ Σίφνιος Δίφιλος ἱστορεῖ ὡς ἡ μαλάχη ἐστὶν εὔχυλος, λεαντικὴ ἀρτηρίας, τὰς ἐπιπολαίους ἀποκρίνουσα δριμύτητας. ἐπιτήδειόν τε εἶναί φησιν αὐτὴν τοῖς τῶν νεφρῶν καὶ τῆς κύστεως ἐρεθισμοῖς εὐέκκριτόν τε εἶναι μετρίως καὶ τρόφιμον, κρείττω δὲ τὴν ἀγρίαν τῆς κηπευομένης. Ἕρμιππος δ’ ὁ Καλλιμάχειος καὶ εἰς τὴν καλουμένην φησὶν ἄλιμον προσέτι τε ἄδιψον ἐμβάλλεσθαι τὴν μαλάχην οὖσαν χρησιμωτάτην.
The next thing to be mentioned are Gourds.—Euthy- demus, the Athenian, in his book on Vegetables, calls the long gourd, known as κολοκύντη, the Indian gourd; and it is called Indian because the seed was originally introduced from India. But the people of Megalopolis call the same the Sicyonian gourd. Theophrastus however says, that of the kind called κολοκύντη, there is not one species or genus only, but several, some better, some worse. While Meodorus, the follower of Erasistratus, the friend of Icesius, says, “Of the long gourds there is the Indian, which is the same which we call σικύα, and which is vulgarly called the κολοκύντη. Now the Indian gourd is usually boiled, but that called κολοκύντη is usually roasted.” And even to the present day the κολόκυνται are called by the Cnidians Indian gourds; while the people of the Hellespont call the long gourds σίκυαι, and the round gourds κολόκυνται. But Diocles states that the best round gourds are those grown near Magnesia; and, moreover, that the rape grown in that district runs to an exceedingly large size, and is sweet, and good for the stomach. He says, at the same time, that the best cucumbers are grown at Antioch, the best lettuce at Smyrna and Galatea, and the best rue at Myra. Diphilus says, "The gourd is far from nutritious, easily digested, apt to produce moisture in the skin, promotes the secretions of the body, and is full of agreeable and wholesome juice; but it is still more juicy when cooked. Its alterative qualities are increased when it is eaten with mustard, but it is more digestible, and it promotes the secretions more, when boiled. Mnesitheus too says, "All the vegetables and fruits which are easily affected by the action of fire, such as the cucumber, and the gourd, and the quince, and the small quince, and everything else of the same sort, when they are eaten after having been roasted, afford nutriment to the body, in no great quantity indeed, but still such as is pleasant and promotes moisture. However all these vegetables and fruits have a tendency to produce constipation, and they ought to be eaten boiled rather than raw. But the Attic writers call the gourd by no other name but κολοκύντη. Hermippus says—What a huge head he has; it is as big as a gourd!And Phrynichus, using the diminutive, says—Will you have a little maize (μάζιον) or gourd (κολοκύντιον)?And Epicharmus says—That is much more wholesome than a gourd (κολοκύντη). And Epicrates the comic poet writes—A. What now is Plato doing'?The grave Speusippus too and Menedemus?In what are they now spending all their time?What care is theirs, and what their conversation?What is their subject of deliberation?Tell me, I beg of you, by the mighty Terra,In learned language, if at least you know.B. Indeed, I can inform you most exactly.For at the great Panathenaic feast,I saw a company of youths assembledWithin the schools of the old Academy,And heard some strange and marvellous assertions.For they were nature's mysteries discussing,Drawing distinctions subtle 'tween the lifeOf animated things, both men and beasts,And that of trees and all the race of herbs.And then, while occupied in these discussionsThey turned to gourds their deep investigations,Asking their species and their character.A. And to what sage conclusion did they come?What was their definition, of what genusDid they decide this plant to be, my friend?I pray you tell 'em, if you know at least.B. At first they all stood silent for a while,And gazed upon the ground and knit their browsIn profound solemn meditation:Then on a sudden, while the assembled youthsWere stooping still considering the matter,One said a gourd was a round vegetable;But others said it was a kind of grass;While others class'd it as a sort of tree.On hearing this, a certain old physicianComing from Sicily interrupted themAs but a pack of triflers. They were furious,Greatly enraged, and all most loudly criedWith one accord, that he insulted them;For that such sudden interruptionsTo philosophical discussionWere ill-bred and extremely unbecoming.And then the youths thought no more of the gourd.But Plato, who was present, mildly said,Not being at all excited by what pass'd,That the best thing that they could do would beThe question to resume of the gourd's nature.They would not hear him, and adjourn'd the meeting.
κολοκύνται. Εὐθύδημος ὁ Ἀθηναῖος ἐν τῷ περὶ λαχάνων σικύαν Ἰνδικὴν καλεῖ τὴν κολοκύντην διὰ τὸ κεκομίσθαι τὸ σπέρμα ἐκ τῆς Ἰνδικῆς. Μεγαλοπολῖται δὲ αὐτὴν σικυωνίαν ὀνομάζουσι. Θεόφραστος δὲ τῶν κολοκυντῶν φησιν οὐκ εἶναι ἐν μέρει ἰδέας, ἀλλ’ εἶναι τὰς μὲν βελτίους, τὰς δὲ χείρους. Μηνόδωρος δ’ ὁ Ἐρασιστράτειος, Ἱκεσίου φίλος, τῶν κολοκυντῶν, φησίν, ἡ μὲν Ἰνδική, ἡ καὶ αὐτὴ καὶ σικύα, ἡ δὲ κολοκύντη. καὶ ἡ μὲν Ἰνδικὴ κατὰ τὸ πλεῖστον ἕψεται, ἡ δὲ κολοκύντη καὶ ὀπτᾶται. ἄχρι δὲ τοῦ νῦν λέγεσθαι παρὰ Κνιδίοις τὰς κολοκύντας Ἰνδικάς. Ἑλλησπόντιοι δὲ σικύας μὲν τὰς μακρὰς καλοῦσι, κολοκύντας δὲ τὰς περιφερεῖς. Διοκλῆς δὲ κολοκύντας μὲν καλλίστας γίνεσθαι περὶ Μαγνησίαν, προσέτι τε γογγύλην ὑπερμεγέθη γλυκεῖαν καὶ εὐστόμαχον, ἐν Ἀντιοχείᾳ δὲ σικυόν, ἐν δὲ Σμύρνῃ καὶ Γαλατίᾳ θρίδακα, πήγανον δὲ ἐν Μύροις. Δίφιλος δέ φησιν ἡ δὲ κολοκύντη ὀλιγότροφός ἐστι καὶ εὔφθαρτος καὶ ὑγραντικὴ τῆς ἕξεως καὶ εὐέκκριτος, εὔχυλος. εὐστομαχωτέρα δ’ ἐστὶν ἡ δι’ ὕδατος καὶ ὄξους λαμβανομένη, εὐχυλοτέρα δὲ ἡ ἀρτυτή. λεπτυντικωτέρα δὲ ἐστὶν ἡ μετὰ νάπυος, εὐπεπτοτέρα δὲ καὶ εὐεκκριτωτέρα ἡ κάθεφθος. Μνησίθεος δέ φησιν ὅσα εὐφυῶς διάκειται πρὸς τὴν τοῦ πυρὸς κατεργασίαν, οἷον ὅ τε σικυὸς καὶ ἡ κολοκύντη καὶ μῆλα Κυδώνια καὶ στρουθία καὶ εἴ τι τοιοῦτον, ταῦθ’ ὅταν προσενεχθῇ πυρωθέντα, δίδωσι τῷ σώματι τροφὴν οὐ πολλὴν μέν, ἄλυπον δὲ καὶ μᾶλλον ὑγράν. ἐστὶ δὲ καὶ ταῦτα τῆς κοιλίας ἐφεκτικὰ πάντα, δεῖ δὲ αὐτὰ λαμβάνειν ἑφθὰ μᾶλλον. Ἀττικοὶ δὲ μόνως καλοῦσιν αὐτὴν κολοκύντην. Ἕρμιππος· τὴν κεφαλὴν ὅσην ἔχει· ὅσην κολοκύντην. Φρύνιχος ὑποκοριστικῶς ἢ μαζίου τι μικρὸν ἢ κολοκυντίου. Ἐπίχαρμος· ὑγιώτερόν θὴν ἐστι κολοκύντας πολύ, Ἐπικράτης ὁ κωμῳδιοποιός· τί Πλάτων καὶ Σπεύσιππος καὶ Μενέδημος; πρὸς τίσι νυνὶ διατρίβουσιν; ποία φροντίς, ποῖος δὲ λόγος διερευνᾶται παρὰ τούτοισιν; τάδε μοι πινυτῶς, εἴ τι κατειδὼς ἥκεις, λέξον, πρὸς Γᾶς … β. ἀλλ’ οἶδα λέγειν περὶ τῶνδε σαφῶς· Παναθηναίοις γὰρ ἰδὼν ἀγέλην μειρακίων … ἐν γυμνασίοις Ἀκαδημείας ἤκουσα λόγων ἀφάτων, ἀτόπων, περὶ γὰρ φύσεως ἀφοριζόμενοι διεχώριζον ζῴων τε βίον δένδρων τε φύσιν λαχάνων τε γένη. κᾆτ’ ἐν τούτοις τὴν κολοκύντην ἐξήταζον τίνος ἐστὶ γένους. α. καὶ τί ποτ’ ἄρ’ ὡρίσαντο καί τίνος γένους εἶναι τὸ φυτόν; δήλωσον, εἰ κάτοισθά τι. β. πρώτιστα μὲν οὖν πάντες ἄναυδοι τότ’ ἐπέστησαν καὶ κύψαντες χρόνον οὐκ ὀλίγον διεφρόντιζον. κᾆτ’ ἐξαίφνης, ἔτι κυπτόντων καὶ ζητούντων τῶν μειρακίων, λάχανόν τις ἔφη στρογγύλον εἶναι, ποίαν δ’ ἄλλος, δένδρον δ’ ἕτερος, ταῦτα δ’ ἀκούων ἰατρός τις Σικελᾶς ἀπὸ γᾶς κατέπαρδ’ αὐτῶν ὡς ληρούντων. α. ἦ που δεινῶς ὠργίσθησαν χλευάζεσθαὶ τ᾽ ἐβόησαν; τὸ γὰρ ἐν λέσχαις ταῖσδε τοιαῦτα ποιεῖν ἀπρεπές … β. οὐδ’ ἐμέλησεν τοῖς μειρακίοις. ὁ Πλάτων δὲ παρὼν καὶ μάλα πρᾴως, οὐδὲν ὀρινθείς, ἐπέταξ’ αὐτοῖς πάλιν ἐξ ἀρχῆς τὴν κολοκύντην ἀφορίζεσθαι τίνος ἐστὶ γένους, οἱ δὲ διῄρουν.
Alexis, that most witty poet, sets an entire course of πρόπομα before those who can understand him—I came without perceiving it on a placeWhich was exceedingly convenient.Water was given me; and then a servantEntered, and bore a table for my use;On which was laid, not cheese, or tawny olives,Or any dainty side-dishes and nonsense,Which fill the room with scent, but have no substance;But there was set before me a huge dishRedolent of the Seasons and the joyful Hours—A sort of hemisphere of the whole globe.Everything there was beautiful and good:Fish, goats' flesh, and a scorpion between them;Then there were eggs in half, looking like stars.On them we quickly laid our hands, and thenSpeaking to me, and giving me a nod,The host began to follow our example;So we'd a race, and never did I stopTill the whole dish was empty as a sieve.
Ἄλεξις ὁ χαρίεις πρόπομα ὅλον παρατίθησι τοῖς διακρίνειν δυναμένοις· ἔλαθον γενόμενος οὗ τὸ πρᾶγμ’ ἠβούλετο. κατὰ χειρὸς ἐδόθη· τὴν τράπεζαν ἧκ’ ἔχων, ἐφ’ ἧς ἐπέκειτ’ οὐ τυρὸς οὐδ’ ἐλαῶν γένη οὐδὲ παρέχουσαι κνῖσαν ἡμῖν πλείονα παροψίδες καὶ λῆρος, ἀλλὰ παρετέθη ὑπερηφάνως ὄζουσα τῶν ʽ Ὡρῶν λοπάς, τὸ τοῦ πόλου τοῦ παντὸς ἡμισφαίριον, ἅπαντ’ ἐνῆν τἀκεῖ γὰρ ἐν ταύτῃ καλά, ἰχθῦς, ἔριφοι, διέτρεχε τούτων σκορπίος, ὑπέφαινεν ᾠῶν ἡμίτομα τοὺς ἀστέρας. ἐπεβάλομεν τὰς χεῖρας, ὁ μὲν ἐμοὶ λαλῶν ἅμα καὶ διανεύων ἠσχολεῖθ’ ὁ πᾶς δ’ ἀγὼν ἐπ’ ἐμὲ κατήντα. τὸ πέρας οὐκ ἀνῆχ’ ἕως τὴν λοπάδ᾽ ὀρύττων ἀποδέδειχα κόσκινον.
With respect to Mushrooms.—Aristias says—The stony soil produced no mushrooms.And Poliochus has the following passage—Each of us twice a day received to eatSome small dark maize well winnow'd from the chaff,And carefully ground; and also some small figs.Meantime some of the party would beginAnd roast some mushrooms; and perhaps would catchSome delicate snails if 'twas a dewy morning,And vegetables which spontaneous grew.Then, too, we'd pounded olives; also wineOf no great strength, and no very famous vintage.And Antiphanes says—Our supper is but maize well fenced roundWith chaff, so as not to o'erstep the boundsOf well-devised economy. An onion,A few side-dishes, and a sow-thistle,A mushroom, or what wild and tasteless rootsThe place affords us in our poverty.Such is our life, not much exposed to feversFor no one, when there's meat, will eat of thyme,Not even the pupils of Pythagoras.And a few lines afterwards he goes on—For which of us can know the future, orThe fate that shall our various friends befallTake now these mushrooms and for dinner roast them,Which I've just picked beneath the maple shade.Cephisodorus, the pupil of Isocrates, in the treatise which he wrote against Aristotle (and there are four books of it), reproaches the philosopher for not having thought it worth his while to collect proverbs, though Antiphanes had made an entire play which was called Proverbs: from which play he produces these lines—For I, if I eat any of your dishes,Seem as if I was on raw mushrooms feeding,Or unripe apples, fit to choke a man.
μύκαι. Ἀριστίας· μύκαισι δ’ ὠρέχθει τὸ λάινον πέδον. Πολίοχος· μεμαγμένην μικρὰν μελαγχρῆ μᾶζαν ἠχυρωμένην ἑκάτερος ἡμῶν εἶχε δὶς τῆς ἡμέρας καὶ σῦκα βαιά· καὶ μύκης τις ἐνίοτ’ ἂν ὠπτᾶτο καὶ κοχλίας γενομένου ψακαδίου ἠγρεύετ’ ἂν καὶ λάχανα τῶν αὐτοχθόνων θλαστὴ τ᾽· ἐλαία, καὶ πιεῖν οἰνάριον ἦν ἀμφίβολον. Ἀντιφάνης τὸ δεῖπνόν ἐστι μᾶζα κεχαρακωμένη ἀχύροις, πρὸς εὐτέλειαν ἐξωπλισμένη, καὶ βολβὸς εἷς τις καὶ παροψίδες τινές, σόγχος τις ἢ μύκης τις ἢ τοιαῦθ’ ἃ δὴ δίδωσιν ἡμῖν ὁ τόπος ἄθλι’ ἀθλίοις. τοιοῦτος ὁ βίος, ἀπύρετος, φλέγμ’ οὐκ ἔχων, οὐδεὶς κρέως παρόντος ἐσθίει θύμον, οὐδ’ οἱ δοκοῦντες πυθαγορίζειν. καὶ προελθών τίς γὰρ οἶδ’ ἡμῶν τὸ μέλλον ὅ τι παθεῖν πέπρωθ’ ἑκάστῳ τῶν φίλων; ταχὺ δὴ λαβὼν ὄπτα μύκητας πρινίνους τουσδὶ δύο. ὅτι Κηφισόδωρος ὁ Ἰσοκράτους μαθητὴς ἐν τοῖς κατὰ Ἀριστοτέλους （τέσσαρα δ’ ἐστὶ ταῦτα βιβλία ἐπιτιμᾷ τῷ φιλοσόφῳ ὡς οὐ ποιήσαντι λόγου ἄξιον τὸ παροιμίας ἀθροῖσαι, Ἀντιφάνους ὅλον ποιήσαντος δρᾶμα τὸ ἐπιγραφόμενον Παροιμίαι· ἐξ οὗ καὶ παρατίθεται τάδε· ἐγὼ γὰρ εἰ τῶν ὑμετέρων φάγοιμί τι, μύκητας ὠμοὺς ἂν φαγεῖν ἐμοὶ δοκῶ καὶ στρυφνὰ μῆλα κεἴ τι πνίγει βρῶμά τι.
Mushrooms are produced by the earth itself. But there are not many sorts of them which are good to eat; for the greater part of them produce a sensation of choking: on which account Epicharmus, when jesting, said—You will be choked, like those who waste awayBy eating mushrooms, very heating food.And Nicander, in his Georgics, gives a list of which species are poisonous; and says—Terrible evils oftentimes ariseFrom eating olives, or pomegranates, or from the treesOf maple, or of oak; but worst of allAre the swelling sticky lumps of mushrooms.And he says in another place—Bury a fig-tree trunk deep in the ground,Then cover it with dung, and moisten itWith water from an ever flowing brook,Then there will grow at bottom harmless mushrooms;Select of them what's good for food, and notDeserving of contempt, and cut the root off.But all the rest of that passage is in a mutilated state. The same Nicander in the same play writes—And there, too, you may roast the mushrooms,Of the kind which we call ἀμάνιται.And Ephippus says—That I may choke you as a mushroom would. Eparchides says that Euripides the poet was once staying on a visit at Icarus, and that, when it had happened that a certain woman being with her children in the fields, two of them being full-grown sons and the other being an unmarried daughter, eat some poisonous mushrooms, and died with her children in consequence, he made this epigram upon them:—O Sun, whose path is through th' undying heaven,Have you e'er before seen a misery such as this?A mother, a maiden daughter, and two sons,All dying on one day by pitiless fate?Diodes the Carystian, in the first book of his treatise on the Wholesomes, says, "The following things which grow wild should be boiled,—beetroot, mallow, sorrel, nettes, spinach, onions, leeks, orach, and mushrooms.
φύονται δὲ οἱ μύκητες γηγενεῖς καὶ εἰσιν αὐτῶν ἐδώδιμοι ὀλίγοι· οἱ γὰρ πολλοὶ ἀποπνίγουσιν. διὸ καὶ Ἐπίχαρμος παίζων ἔφη· οἷον αἱ μύκαι γὰρ ἐξεσκληκότ’ ἀποπνιξεῖσθέ με. Νίκανδρος δ’ ἐν Γεωργικοῖς καταλέγει καὶ τίνες αὐτῶν εἰσιν οἱ θανάσιμοι, λέγων ἐχθρὰ δ’ ἐλαίης ῥοιῆς τε πρίνου τε δρυὸς τ’ ἄπο πήματα κεῖται, οἰδαλέων σύγκολλα βάρη πνιγόεντα μυκήτων. φησὶ δὲ καὶ ὅτι συκέης ὁπότε στέλεχος βαθὺ κόπρῳ κακκρύψας ὑδάτεσσιν ἀειναέεσσι νοτίζοις, φύσονται πυθμέσσιν ἀκήριοι· ὧν σὺ μύκητα θρεπτὸν μή τι χαμηλὸν ἀπὸ ῥίζης προτάμοιο. τὰ δ’ ἄλλα οὐκ ἦν ἀναγνῶναι. καί τε μύκητας ἀμανίτας τότ’ ἐφεύσεις, φησὶν ὁ αὐτὸς Νίκανδρος ἐν τῷ αὐτῷ. ἔφιππος· ἵν’ ὥσπερ οἱ μύκητες ἀποπνίξαιμί σε. Ἐπαρχίδης Εὐριπίδην φησὶ τὸν ποιητὴν ἐπιδημῆσαι τῇ Ἰκάρῳ καὶ γυναικός τινος μετὰ τέκνων κατὰ τοὺς ἀγρούς, δύο μὲν ἀρρένων τελείων, μιᾶς δὲ παρθένου, φαγούσης θανασίμους μύκητας καὶ ἀποπνιγείσης μετὰ τῶν τέκνων ποιῆσαι τουτὶ τὸ ἐπίγραμμα· ὦ τὸν ἀγήρατον πόλον αἰθέρος, Ἥλιε, τέμνων,, ἆρ’ εἶδες τοιόνδ’ ὄμματι πρόσθε πάθος; μητέρα παρθενικήν τε κόρην δισσούς τε συναίμους ἐν ταὐτῷ φέγγει μοιραδίῳ φθιμένους. Διοκλῆς ὁ Καρύστιος ἐν αʹ Ὑγιεινῶν φησιν ἄγρια ἑψήματα τεῦτλον, μαλάχη, λάπαθον, ἀκαλήφη, ἀνδράφαξυς, βολβοί, ὕδνα, μύκαι.
Then there is a plant called sium. And Speusippus, in the second book of his treatise on Things Similar, says that its leaf resembles the marsh parsley; on which account Ptolemy the Second, surnamed Euergetes, who was king of Egypt, insists upon it that the line in Homer ought to be written thus—And around were soft meadows of sium or parsley;for that it is σία which are usually found in company with parsley, and not ἴα (violets).
᾽ σία. Σπεύσιππος ἐν β’ Ὁμοίων φησὶ ἐν ὕδατι γίνεσθαι, σελίνῳ ἑλείῳ τὸ φύλλον ἐοικός. διὸ καὶ Πτολεμαῖος ὁ δεύτερος Εὐεργέτης Αἰγύπτου βασιλεύσας παρ’ Ὁμήρῳ ἀξιοῖ γράφειν ἀμφὶ δὲ λειμῶνες μαλακοὶ σίου ἠδὲ σελίνου. σία γὰρ μετὰ σελίνου φύεσθαι, ἀλλὰ μὴ ἴα.
Diphilus says that mushrooms are good for the stomach, and pass easily through the bowels, and are very nutritious, but still that they are not very digestible, and that they are apt to produce flatulence. And that especially those from the island of Ceos have this character. "Many are even poisonous to a fatal degree. But those which seem to be wholesome are those with the smoothest rinds, which are tender and easily crushed: such as grow close to elms and pine-trees. But those which are unwholesome are of a dark colour, or livid, or covered with hard coats; and those too which get hard after being boiled and placed on the table; for such are deadly to eat. But the best remedy for them when eaten unawares is drinking honey-water, and fresh mead, and vinegar. And after such a drink the patient should vomit. On which account, too, it is especially desirable to dress mushrooms with vinegar, or honey and vinegar, or honey, or salt: for by these means their choking properties are taken away. But Theophrastus, in his treatise about Plants, writes thus— “But plants of this kind grow both under the ground and on the ground, like those things which some people call fungi, which grow in company with mushrooms; for they too grow without having any roots; but the real mushrooms have, as the beginning by which they adhere to the ground, a stalk of some length, and they put forth fibres from that stalk.” He says also that in the sea which is around the Pillars of Her- cules, when there is a high tide, mushrooms grow on the shore close to high-water mark, which they say are left there by the sun. And Phænias says, in his first book about Plants —“But these things neither put forth any bloom, nor any trace of seminal germination; as, for instance, the mushroom, the truffle, groundivy, and fern.” And in another place he says, “πτερὶς (fern), which some people call βλάχνον.” But Theophrastus, in his book on Plants, says—“Plants with smooth rinds, as the truffle, the mushroom, the fungus, the geranium.”
Δίφιλός φησι τοὺς μύκητας εἶναι εὐστόμους, κοιλίας διαχωρητικούς, θρεπτικούς, δυσπέπτους δὲ καὶ φυσώδεις. τοιούτους δὲ εἶναι τοὺς ἐκ Κέω τῆς νήσου.πολλοὶ μέντοι καὶ κτείνουσι. δοκοῦσι δὲ οἰκεῖοι εἶναι οἱ λεπτότατοι καὶ ἁπαλοὶ καὶ ᾽εὔθρυπτοι οἱ ἐπὶ πτελέαις καὶ πεύκαις γινόμενοι ἀνοίκειοι δὲ οἱ μέλανες καὶ πελιοὶ καὶ σκληροὶ καὶ οἱ μετὰ τὸ ἑψηθῆναι καὶ τεθῆναι πησσόμενοι, οἵτινες λαμβανόμενοι κτείνουσι. βοηθοῦνται δ’ ἀπὸ ὑδρομέλιτος πόσεως καὶ ὀξυμέλιτος, νίτρου καὶ ὄξους, μετὰ τὴν πόσιν δὲ ἐμεῖν δεῖ. διόπερ καὶ δεῖ μάλιστα σκευάζειν αὐτοὺς μετὰ ὄξους καὶ ὀξυμέλιτος ἢ μέλιτος ἢ ἁλῶν οὕτω γὰρ αὐτῶν τὸ πνιγῶδες ἀφαιρεῖται. Θεόφραστος δὲ ἐν τῷ περὶ φυτῶν ἱστορίας γράφει· ὑπόγεια δὲ τὰ τοιαῦτά ἐστι καὶ ἐπίγεια, καθάπερ οὓς καλοῦσί τινες πέζιας, ἅμα τοῖς μύκησι γινομένους, ἄριζοι γὰρ καὶ αὐτοὶ τυγχάνουσιν. ὁ δὲ μύκης ἔχει προσφύσεως δίκην τὸν καυλὸν εἰς μῆκος, καὶ ἀποτείνουσιν ἀπ’ αὐτοῦ ῥίζαι. φησὶ δὲ καὶ ὅτι ἐν τῇ περὶ Ἡρακλέους στήλας θαλάσσῃ ὅταν ὕδατα πλείω γένηται, μύκητες φύονται πρὸς τῇ θαλάσσῃ, οὓς καὶ ἀπολιθοῦσθαι ὑπὸ τοῦ ἡλίου φησί. καὶ Φαινίας δὲ ἐν αʹ περὶ φυτῶν τὰ δὲ οὐδὲ φύει τὴν ἀνθήλην οὐδὲ τῆς σπερματικῆς ἴχνος κορυνήσεως οὐδὲ σπερματώσεως, οἷον μύκης, ὕδνον, πτέρις, ἕλιξ. ὁ αὐτός φησι· πτέρις, ἣν ἔνιοι βλάχνον καλοῦσι. Θεόφραστος ἐν Φυτικοῖς· λειόφλοια, καθάπερ ὕδνον, μύκης, πέζις, γεράνειον.
Now with respect to Truffles.—They too spring of their own accord out of the ground; especially in sandy places. And Theophrastus says of them—“The truffle, which some people call the geranium, and all other such plants which grow beneath the earth.” And in another place he says- "The generation and production of these things which seed beneath the earth; as, for instance, of the truffle, and of a plant which grows around Cyrene, which they call misy. And it appears to be exceedingly sweet, and to have a smell like that of meat; and so, too, has a plant called itum, which grows in Thrace. And a peculiarity is mentioned as incidental to these things; for men say that they appear when there is heavy rain in autumn and violent thunder; especially when there is thunder, as that is a more stimulating cause of them: however, they do not last more than a year, as they are only annuals; they are in the greatest perfection in the spring, when they are most plentiful. Not but what there are people who believe that they are or can be raised from seed. At all events, they say that they never appeared on the shore of the Mitylenæans, until after a heavy shower some seed was brought from Tiaræ; and that is the place where they are in the greatest numbers. But they are principally found on the sea-shore, and wherever the ground is sandy; and that is the character of the place called Tiaræ. They are also found near Lampsacus, and also in Acarnania, and Alopeconnesus, and in the district of the Eleans. Lynceus the Samian says—“The sea produces nettles, and the land produces truffles;” and Matron, the man who wrote parodies, says in his “Supper”—And he brought oysters, the truffles of Thetis the Nereid.Diphilus says that truffles are by nature indigestible, but that they are full of wholesome juice, and have lenitive qualities, and are very easily evacuated; though, like mushrooms, some of them are apt to produce suffocation. And Hegesander the Delphian says that no truffles are found in the Hellespont, and no fish of the kind called γλαυκίσκος, and no thyme. On which account Nausiclides said of the country, that it had no spring and no friends. But Pamphils says, in his “Languages,” that there is a plant called ὑδνόφυλλον, being a species of grass which grows on the top of the truffles, by which the truffle is discovered.
ὕδνα. γίνεται καὶ ταῦτα αὐτόματα ἀπὸ γῆς μάλιστα περὶ τοὺς ἀμμώδεις τόπους. λέγει δὲ περὶ αὐτῶν Θεόφραστος· τὸ ὕδνον ὃ καλοῦσί τινες γεράνειον καὶ εἴ τι ἄλλο ὑπόγειον. καὶ πάλιν καὶ ἡ τῶν ἐγγεοτόκων τούτων γένεσις ἅμα καὶ φύσις, οἷον τοῦ τε ὕδνου καὶ τοῦ φυομένου περὶ Κυρήνην ὃ καλοῦσι μίσυ. δοκεῖ δ’ ἡδὺ σφόδρα τοῦτ’ εἶναι καὶ τὴν ὀσμὴν ἔχειν κρεώδη, καὶ τὸ ἐν τῇ Θρᾴκῃ δὲ γινόμενον οἰτόν. περὶ δὲ τούτων ἴδιόν τι λέγεται· φασὶ γάρ, ὅταν ὕδατα μετοπωρινὰ καὶ βρονταὶ γίνωνται σκληραί, τότε γίνεσθαι, καὶ μᾶλλον ὅταν αἱ βρονταί, ὡς ταύτης αἰτιωτέρας οὔσης, οὐ διετίζειν δέ, ἀλλ’ ἐπέτειον εἶναι· τὴν δὲ χρείαν καὶ τὴν ἀκμὴν ἔχειν τοῦ ἦρος. οὐ μὴν ἀλλ’ ἔνιοί γε ὡς σπερματικῆς οὔσης τῆς ἀρχῆς ὑπολαμβάνουσιν. ἐν γοῦν τῷ αἰγιαλῷ τῶν Μιτυληναίων οὔ φασι πρότερον εἶναι πρὶν ἢ γενομένης ἐπομβρίας τὸ σπέρμα κατενεχθῇ ἀπὸ Τιαρῶν τοῦτο δ’ ἐστὶ χωρίον ἐν ᾧ πολλὰ γίνεται, γίνεται δὲ ἔν τε τοῖς αἰγιαλοῖς μάλιστα καὶ ὅπου χώρα ὕπαμμος· καὶ γὰρ αἱ Τιάραι τοιαῦται. φύεται δὲ καὶ περὶ Λάμψακον ἐν τῇ Ἀβαρνίδι καὶ ἐν Ἀλωπεκοννήσῳ κἀν τῇ Ἠλείων. Λυγκεὺς ὁ Σάμιός φησιν ἀκαλήφην ἡ θάλασσα ἀνίησιν, ἡ δὲ γῆ ὕδνα. καὶ Μάτρων ὁ παρῳδὸς ἐν τῷ Δείπνῳ· ὄστρεὰ τ’ ἤνεικεν, Θέτιδος Νηρηίδος ὕδνα. Δίφιλος δὲ δύσπεπτά φησιν εἶναι τὰ ὕδνα, εὔχυλα δὲ καὶ παραλεαντικά, προσέτι δὲ διαχωρητικά, καὶ ἔνια αὐτῶν ὁμοίως τοῖς μύκαις πνιγώδη εἶναι. Ἡγήσανδρος δ’ ὁ Δελφὸς ἐν Ἑλλησπόντῳ φησὶν οὔτε ὕδνον γίνεσθαι οὔτε γλαυκίσκον οὔτε θύμον διὸ Ναυσικλείδην εἰρηκέναι μήτε ἔαρ μήτε φίλους, ὑδνόφυλλον δέ φησι Πάμφιλος ἐν Γλώσσαις τὴν φυομένην τῶν ὕδνων ὕπερθε πόαν, ἀφ’ ἧς τὸ ὕδνον γινώσκεσθαι.
With respect to Nettles—Ἀκαλήφη is the name given by the Attic writers to a plant which is herbaceous and which produces itching. Aristophanes says, in his Phœnissæ, “that pot-herbs were the first things which grew out of the earth; and after them the rough stinging-nettles.”
ἀκαλήφη. λέγεται παρὰ τοῖς Ἀττικοῖς οὕτως καὶ τὸ βοτανῶδες καὶ τὸ κνησμοῦ αἴτιον, Ἀριστοφάνης Φοινίσσαις· πρῶτον πάντων ἴφυα φῦναι, εἶθ’ ἑξῆς τὰς κραναὰς ἀκαλήφας.
The next thing to be considered is Asparagus—which is divided into mountain asparagus and marsh asparagus; the best kinds of which are not raised from seed; but they are remedies for every kind of internal disorder. But those which are raised from seed grow to an immense size. And they say that in Libya, among the Gætuli, they grow of the thickness of a Cyprian reed, and twelve feet long; but that on the mountain land and on land near the sea they grow to the thickness of large canes, and twenty cubits long. But Cratinus writes the word, not ἀσπάραγος, but ἀσφάραγος, with a φ. And Theopompus says—And then seeing the aspharagus in a thicket.And Ameipsias says—No squills, no aspharagus, no branches of bay-tree.But Diphilus says, that of all greens, that sort of which is especially called the bursting asparagus, is better for the stomach, and is more easily digested; but that it is not very good for the eyes: and it is harsh-flavoured and diuretic, and injurious to the kidneys and bladder. But it is the Athenians who give it the name of bursting; and they also give the flowering cabbage, or cauliflower, the same name. Sophocles says, in The Huntsmen—Then it puts forth a stalk, and never ceasesThe germnination;because it is continually bursting out and putting forth shoots. However, Antiphanes always spells the word ἀσπάραγος, with a π; and he writes thus—The asparagus was shining; the pale vetches had faded.And Aristophon says—“Capers, pennyroyal, thyme, asparagus, garlic, radishes, sage, and rue.”
ἀσπάραγοι. οὗτοι καὶ ἕλειοι καὶ ὄρειοι καλοῦνται. ὧν οἱ κάλλιστοι οὐ σπείρονται, πάντων ὄντες τῶν ἐντὸς θεραπευτικοί, οἱ δὲ σπαρτοὶ καὶ σφόδρα ὑπερμεγέθεις γίνονται. ἐν Λιβύῃ δέ φασιν ἐν Γαιτουλίᾳ γίνεσθαι πάχος μὲν Κυπρίου καλάμου, μῆκος δὲ ποδῶν δώδεκα· ἐν δὲ τῇ ὀρεινῇ, καὶ παρωκεανίτιδι πάχος μὲν μεγάλων ναρθήκων, μῆκος δὲ περὶ τοὺς εἴκοσι πήχεις. Κρατῖνος δὲ διὰ τοῦ ἀσφάραγον ὀνομάζει. καὶ Θεόπομπος κἄπειτ’ ἰδὼν ἀσφάραγον ἐν θάμνῳ τινί. Ἀμειψίας· οὐ σχῖνος οὐδ᾽ ἀσφάραγος, οὐ δάφνης κλάδοι. Δίφιλος δέ φησιν ὡς ὁ τῆς κράμβης ἀσφάραγος λεγόμενος ἰδίως ὄρμενος εὐστομαχώτερός ἐστι καὶ εὐεκκριτώτερος, ὄψεων δὲ βλαπτικός, ἐστὶ δὲ δριμὺς καὶ οὐρητικὸς καὶ ἀδικεῖ νεφροὺς καὶ κύστιν. Ἀττικοὶ δ’ εἰσὶν οἱ λέγοντες ὄρμενον τὸν ἀπὸ τῆς κράμβης ἐξηνθηκότα. Σοφοκλῆς Ἰχνευταῖς· κἀξορμενίζει κοὐκ ἔτι σχολάζεται βλάστη. παρὰ τὸ ἐξορούειν καὶ βλαστάνειν. Ἀντιφάνης δὲ διὰ τοῦ π φησὶν ἀσπάραγον ἀσπάραγος ἠγλάιζεν, ὦχρος ἐξήνθηκέ τις. Ἀριστοφῶν κάππαριν, βληχώ, θύμον, ἀσπάραγον, πίτταν, ῥάμνον, σφακόν, πήγανον.
With respect to Snails.—Philyllius says—I am not a grasshopper, nor a snail, O woman.And in a subsequent passage he says—Sprats, tunny fish, and snails, and periwinkles.And Hesiod calls the snail,The hero that carries his house on his back.And Anaxilas says—You are e'en more distrustful than a snail;Who fears to leave even his house behind him.And Achæus speaks of them, and says—Can such a vapour strange produceThe snails, those horned monsters?And an enigma, like a fishing-net, having reference to the snail, is often proposed at banquets, in these terms—What is that spineless bloodless beast of the woods,Who makes his path amid the humid waters.And Aristotle, in the fifth book of his treatise on the Parts of Animals, says—“Snails appear to become pregnant in the autumn and in spring, and they are the only animals with coverings of shells that have ever been detected in union.” But Theophrastus says, in his treatise about Animals which live in Holes—“Snails live in holes during the winter, and still more in the summer, on which account they are seen in the greatest numbers during the autumn rains. But their holes in the summer are made upon the ground, and in the trees.” There are some snails which are called σέσιλοι. Epicharmus says—Instead of all these animals, they have locusts;But I hate above all things the shell of the sesilus.And Apellas relates that the Lacedæmonians call the snail σέμελος. But Apollodorus, in the second book of his Etymologies, says that there are some snails which are called κωλυσιδειπνοι, interrupters of banquets.
κοχλίας. Φιλύλλιος· οὔκ εἰμι τέττιξ οὐδὲ κοχλίας, ὦ γύναι. καὶ πάλιν μαινίδες …, σκόμβροι, κοχλίαι, κορακῖνοι. Ἡσίοδος δὲ τὸν κοχλίαν φερέοικον καλεῖ. καὶ Ἀναξίλας δέ· ἀπιστότερος τῶν κοχλιῶν πολλῷ πάνυ, οἳ περιφέρουσ’ ὑπ’ ἀπιστίας τὰς οἰκίας. ᾽ Ἀχαιός· ἦ τοσούσδ’ Αἴτνη τρέφει κοχλίας κεράστας; προβάλλεται δὲ κἀν τοῖς συμποσίοις γρίφου τάξιν ἔχον περὶ τῶν κοχλιῶν οὕτως· ὑλογενής, ἀνάκανθος, ἀναίματος, ὑγροκέλευθος. Ἀριστοτέλης δὲ ἐν εʹ περὶ ζῴων μορίων φησὶν οἱ κοχλίαι φαίνονται κύοντες ἐν τῷ μετοπώρῳ καὶ τοῦ ἔαρος· μόνοι τε οὗτοι τῶν ὀστρακοδέρμων συνδυαζόμενοι ὤφθησαν. Θεόφραστος δὲ ἐν τῷ περὶ φωλευόντων οἱ κοχλίαι, φησί, φωλεύουσι μὲν καὶ τοῦ χειμῶνος, μᾶλλον δὲ τοῦ θέρους, διὸ καὶ πλεῖστοι φαίνονται τοῖς μετοπωρινοῖς ὕδασιν. ἡ δὲ φωλεία τοῦ θέρους καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν δένδρων. λέγονται δέ τινες τῶν κοχλιῶν καὶ σέσιλοι. Ἐπίχαρμος· τούτων ἁπάντων ἀκρίδας ἀνταλλάσσομαι, κόγχων δὲ τὸν σέσιλον. β. ἄπαγ’ ἐς τὸν φθόρον. ἀπολλᾶς δὲ Λακεδαιμονίους φησὶ σέμελον τὸν κοχλίαν λέγειν. Ἀπολλόδωρος δὲ ἐν β’ ἐτυμολογιῶν τῶν κοχλιῶν φησί τινας καλεῖσθαι κωλυσιδείπνους.
The next vegetable to be mentioned is Onions.—In the Amalthea of Eubulus, Hercules is represented as refusing to eat them; saying—Whether it's hot, or whether it is dry,Or whether it is something 'tween the two,Are points of more importance than old Troy.But I have not come here to fill myselfWith cabbages, or benjamin, or otherImpious and bitter danties, or with onions.But that which tends the most to vigorous strengthAnd health is food which I delight in chiefly.Meat of beef, boil'd and fresh, and plenty of it,And a large well-filled dish of oxen's feet,Three roasting pigs besides, sprinkled with salt.Alexis, while explaining the efficacy of onions in aphrodisiac matters, says—Pinnas, beetles, snails, muscles, eggs, calves'-feet,And many other philters, may be foundMore useful still to one who loves his mistress.Xenarchus, in the Butalion, says—A house is ruined which has a masterWhose fortune's gone, and whom the evil geniusHas struck. And so the once great house of the PelopsIs weak and nerveless. Nor can earth-born onion,Fair Ceres' handmaid, who contracts the neck,Even when boiled, assist to check this evil.Nor e'en the polypus, who swells the veins,Born in dark eddies of the deepest sea,When taken in the net of stern necessityBy hungry mortals, fill the broad deep bosomOf the large dish turn'd by the potter's wheel.And Archestratus says—I love not onions, nor yet cabbages,Nor the sweet barberry-tree, nor all the otherDainties and sweetmeats of the second course.
βολβοί. τούτων Ἡρακλῆς ἐσθίειν παραιτεῖται ἐν Ἀμαλθείᾳ Εὐβούλου λέγων θερμότερον ἢ κραυρότερον ἢ μέσως ἔχον, τοῦτ’ ἔσθ’ ἑκάστῳ μεῖζον ἢ Τροίαν ἑλεῖν. κἀγὼ γὰρ οὐ καυλοῖσιν οὐδὲ σιλφίῳ οὐδ’ ἱεροσύλοις καὶ πικραῖς παροψίσι βολβοῖς τ’ ἐμαυτὸν χορτάσων ἐλήλυθα. ἃ δ’ εἲς τ’ ἐδωδὴν πρῶτα καὶ ῥώμης ἀκμὴν καὶ πρὸς ὑγίειαν, πάντα ταῦτ’ ἐδαινύμην, κρέας βόειον ἑφθὸν ἀσόλοικον μέγα, ἀκροκώλιόν τε γεννικόν, ὀπτὰ δέλφακος ἁλίπαστα τρία. Ἄλεξις ἐμφανίζων τὴν τῶν βολβῶν πρὸς τὰ ἀφροδίσια δύναμίν φησι· πίννας, κάραβον, βολβούς, κοχλίας, κήρυκας, ᾤ᾽, ἀκροκώλια, τοσαῦτα· τούτων ἄν τις εὕρῃ φάρμακα ἐρῶν ἑταίρας ἕτερα χρησιμώτερα … Ξέναρχος ἐν Βουκολίωνι· φθίνει δόμος ἀσυντάτοισι δεσποτῶν κεχρημένος τύχαις, ἀλάστωρ τ’ εἰσπέπαικε Πελοπιδῶν. ἄστυτος οἶκος κοὐδὲ βυσαύχην θεᾶς Δηοῦς σύνοικος, γηγενὴς βολβός, φίλοις ἑφθὸς βοηθῶν δυνατὸς ἐστ’ ἐπαρκέσαι· μάτην δὲ πόντου κυανέαις δίναις τραφεὶς φλεβὸς τροπωτὴρ πουλύπους, ἁλοὺς βρόχων πλεκταῖς ἀνάγκαις, τῆς τροχηλάτου κόρης πίμπλησι λοπάδος στερροσώματον κύτος. ᾽ Ἀρχέστρατος· βολβῶν καὶ καυλῶν χαίρειν λέγω ὀξυβάφοισι ταῖς τ’ ἄλλαις πάσῃσι παροψίσι.