A HARD-WORKING DIET. 381 



studied their use from a dietetic point of view are 

 sure to have been a minority. It is so in every land. 



We know very little of fish eating among the The Romans. 

 Romans. It is probable that whether under kings ^ntylnfbr- 

 triumvirs emperors, or after the dismemberment of ^oTfishb* 



the nation, it was much used by the people of the ^ mass f 



the popula- 



land as it was plentiful, but what everybody did no tion. 

 one thought of recording. From the satires written 

 on the follies of the luxurious age, we know more of 

 occasional freaks of extravagance than we do from 

 history of the regular habits of the people. 



No Roman banquet was complete without its fish 

 course, and most lavish prices were paid for tur- 

 bot and mullet. As with the Greeks, the Romans 

 used oysters from Britain or from Lucrini Lake with 

 pickled tunny, similar to the scabeccio of modern Italy 

 as hors d'ceuvres, while turbot, mullet, sturgeon, char, 

 eels, lamprey, and pike, dressed with a skill probably 

 little, if at all, behind that of the chef of the present 

 day, were part of the first course. The taste of the 

 Romans for fish was so fine that not only were various 

 species of fish selected, but those from certain waters 

 or fed in certain pools were held to be especially 

 good. This attention to condition led to the con- 

 struction of stews or fish-ponds in which fish were 

 preserved and fed for the table, In the reign of 

 Domitian, Vedius Pollio is reported to have fed the 

 eels in his pools with the flesh of slaves put to death 

 for that purpose, but though strongly rebuked by the 

 emperor this act met with no serious punishment. 



In the main the use of fish among the Romans 



