BOOK XXIII. xxiii. 44 xxiv. 47 



a horn to beasts of burden it removes fatigue. Apes 

 and quadrupcds vvith fingers are said to stop growing 

 if they acquire the habit of drinking neat wine. 



XXIV. Now I shall discuss wines in relation to sick- Medicinai 

 ness. The most wholesome for gentry are the thinnest "*^* °^ '"'"' 

 wines of Campania ; the common sort however may 

 drink what each most fancies, provided that he is 

 in robust health. Wines are most beneflcial when all 

 their potency has been overcome by the strainer. 

 We must remember that wine is grape juice that has 

 acquired strength by fermentation. A mixture of 

 several sorts of wine is injurious to anybody. The 

 most wholesome wine is that to which nothing has 

 been added in the state of must, and it is better if not 

 even the wine-vessels have been touched by pitch. 

 As for wines treated with marble, gypsum or lime, 

 who woukl not dread to touch them, however robust 

 his health ? Wine therefore prepared with sea-water 

 is particularly injurious to the stomach, to the sinews 

 and to the bladder. Wines seasoned with resin are 

 supposed to be beneficial to cold stomachs but 

 unsuited to those inclined to vomit, just as boiled- * 

 down must, and raisin wine, so seasoned, are also 

 unsuitable. New wine seasoned with resin is good 

 for nobody, causing headache and fits of giddi- 

 ness. For this reason it has been named crapula." 

 The wines already mentioned are good for coughs 

 and catarrhs, as also for coeliac troubles and dysen- 

 tery, and for the menstruation of women. In this 

 class the red or dark wine is more astringent and 

 more heating. Less harmful is wine seasoned with 

 pitch and with nothing else, but we ought to 

 remember that pitch is nothing but the liquid from 

 burnt resin. This kind of wine heats, digests, 



445 



