BOOK XIV. XIV. 88-91 



gods with wine produccd from a vine that had not 

 been pruned, this being a plan devised for the purpose 

 of compelling people who were mainly engaged in 

 agriculture, and were slack about the dangers beset- 

 ting a plantation,*^ not to neglect pruning. We learn 

 from Marcus Varro that Mezentius, king of Etruria, 

 gave help to the RutuH against the Latins at the 

 price of receiving all the wine then in the territory of 

 Latium. At Rome women were not allowed to drink 

 wine. Among various instances we find that the 

 wife of Kgnatius \Lietennus was clubbed to death by 

 lier husband for drinking wine from the vat, and that 

 Romulus acquitted him on the charge of murder. 

 Fabius Pictor has written in his Annals that a matron 

 was starved to death by her relatives for having 

 broken open the casket containing the keys of the 

 wine-cellar ; and Cato says that the reason why 

 women are kissed by their male relations is to know 

 whether they smell of ' tipple ' — that was then the 

 word denoting wine, and also the word ' tipsy ' comes 

 from it. Judge Gnaeus Domitius once gave a ver- 

 dict that a certain woman appeared to have drunk 

 more wine that was required for the sake of her health 

 without her husband's knowledge, and he fined her 

 the amount of her dowry. And great economy in 

 the use of this commodity prevailed for a long time. 

 General Lucius Papirius* before his decisive action 

 against the Samnites vowed to give a small goblet of 

 wine to Jupiter if he were victorious. Lastly among 

 votive offerings we find mention of gifts of pints of 

 milk but nowhere of wine. Moreover Cato, when 

 saiHng on his expedition to Spain, whence he returned 

 with a triumph,'' drank no other wine than what was 

 drunk by the crew of his galley, so Httle did he 



247 



