254 pliny's natural history. [Book XIV. 



the question ? He has myrrh wine, raisin wine, def rutum, 2 

 and honey;" from which it would appear that myrrh wine 

 was not only reckoned among the wines, but among the sweet 

 wines too. 



CHAr. 16. (14.) SOME REMARKABLE FACTS CONNECTED WITH 



WINE-LOFTS. THE OPIMIAN WINE. 



The fact of the existence of the Opimian wine gives un- 

 doubted proof that there were wine-lofts, 3 and that wine was 

 racked off in the year of Rome 633, Italy being already alive 

 to the blessings she enjoyed. Still, however, the several 

 varieties that are now so celebrated were not so in those days ; 

 and hence it is that all the wines that were grown at that 

 period have only the one general name of " Opimian" wines, 

 from the then consul Opimius. So, too, for a long time after- 

 wards, and, indeed, so late as the times of our grandfathers, the 

 wines from beyond sea were held in the highest esteem, even 

 though Falernian was already known, a fact which we learn 

 from the line of the Comic writer, 4 " I shall draw five cups of 

 Thasian and two of Falernian." 



P. Licinius Crassus, and L. Julius Caesar, who were Cen- 

 sors in the year from the Building of the City 665, issued an 

 edict forbidding the sale of either Greek or Aminean wine at 

 a higher price than eight asses the quadrantal 5 — for such, in 

 fact, are the exact words of the edict. Indeed, the Greek 

 wines were so highly valued, that not more than a single cup 

 was served to a guest during the repast. 



CHAP. 17. AT WHAT PERIOD FOUR KINDS OF WINE WERE FIRST 



SERVED AT TABLE. 



M. Varro gives us the following statement as to the wines 

 that were held in the highest esteem at table in his day: 

 "L, Lucullus, when a boy, never saw an entertainment at his 

 father's house, however sumptuous it might be, at which Greek 



2 Must boiled down to half its original quantity. 



3 Apothecas. The " apothecse" were rooms at the top of the house, in 

 which the wines were placed for the purpose of seasoning. Sometimes a 

 current of smoke was directed through them. They were quite distinct 

 from the " cella vinaria," or « wine-cellar." The Opimian wine is men- 

 tioned in c. 4. 



4 This writer is unknown. 5 Or amphora. 



