Part 84 (1/2)
'The _cheese_, which retains in its pores the milk which has been collected there, recalls by its taste the fragrant herbs upon which the cattle have fed; by its texture it reminds us of the softness of oil, from which it differs in colour by its snowy whiteness. Having been carefully pressed into a wide cask and hardened therein, it retains permanently the beautiful round shape which has thus been given to it[833].
[Footnote 833: From the description of Ca.s.siodorus, it seems to have been a kind of cream cheese.]
'The _wine_, to which Antiquity gave the name of praise, Palmatiana, must be selected not of a rough but sweet kind[834]. Though last [in geographical position] among the wines of Bruttii, it is by general opinion accounted the best, equal to that of Gaza, similar to the Sabine, moderately thick, strong, brisk, of conspicuous whiteness, distinguished by the fine aroma, of which a pleasant after-taste is perceived by the drinker[835]. It constrains loosened bowels, dries up moist wounds, and refreshes the weary breast.
[Footnote 834: 'Non stipsi asperum sed gratum suavitate perquire.' The same peculiar word, _stipsis_, which we had in Letter xii. 4. What meaning are we to a.s.sign to the word?]
[Footnote 835: 'Magnis odoribus singulare:--quod ita redolet ore ructatum ut merito illi a palma nomen videatur impositum.']
'Let it be your care to provide as speedily as possible a stock of both these products of our country, and send them in s.h.i.+ps to the Royal residence. For a temporary supply we have drawn on our own cellars, but we look to you to choose specimens of the genuine quality for the King. We cannot be deceived, who retain the true taste in our patriotic memory; and at your peril will you provide any inferior article to that which our cellars will have supplied[836].'
[Footnote 836: Baronius (Ad Ann. 591) quotes this letter of Ca.s.siodorus to explain an allusion in the life of Pope Gregory the Great, who refused to receive a present of 'Palmatiana' from the Bishop of Messina, and insisted on paying for it.]
13. AN EDICT.
[Sidenote: Frauds committed by the revenue officers on the Churches of Bruttii and Lucania.]
'The generous gifts of Kings ought to be respected by their subjects.
'Long ago the const.i.tutions of the Emperors enriched the holy Churches of Bruttii and Lucania with certain gifts. But since the sacrilegious mind is not afraid of sinning against the Divine reverence, the Canonicarii (officers of the Exchequer) have robbed these ecclesiastical positions of a certain portion of their revenue in the name of the Numerarii of the Praetorian Praefect's staff; but these latter, with righteous indignation, declare that they have received no part of the spoils thus impiously collected in their name.
'Thus have the Canonicarii turned the property of the clergy into a _douceur_ for the laity[837]. Oh, audacity of man! what barriers can be erected against thee? Thou mightest have hoped to escape human observation, but why commit crimes which the Divinity cannot but notice?
[Footnote 837: 'Facientes laic.u.m commodum substantiam clericorum.']
'Therefore we ordain by this edict that anyone who shall hereafter commit this kind of fraud shall lose his own private gains, and shall forfeit his place in the public service[838].
[Footnote 838: 'Edictali programmate definimus, ut qui in hac fuerit ulterius fraude versatus et militia careat et compendium propriae facultatis amittat.' The last clause is perhaps purposely vague. We should have expected to hear something about rest.i.tution, but the words will not bear that meaning.]
'Let the poor keep the gifts which G.o.d has put it into the heart of Kings to bestow upon them. It is cruel above all other cruelty to wish to become rich by means of the scanty possessions of the mendicant.'
14. SENATOR, PRAETORIAN PRAEFECT, TO ANASTASIUS, CANCELLARIUS OF LUCANIA AND BRUTTII.
[Sidenote: Plea for gentle treatment for citizens of Rhegium.]
'The citizens of Rhegium (so called from the Greek word [Greek: rhegnumi], to break, because their island has been broken off from Sicily by the violence of the waves) complain that they are being unfairly hara.s.sed by the tax-gatherers. I, as an eyewitness, can confirm the truth of their statement that their territory does not bring forth the produce which is claimed at their hands. It is a rocky and mountainous country, too dry for pasture, though sufficiently undulating for vineyards; bad for grain-crops, though well suited for olives. The shade has to be all provided by the industry of man, who has planted there the tree of Pallas [the olive], which prospers in even the driest soil, because it sends its roots down into the very depths of the earth.
'The corn has to be watered by hand, like pot-herbs in a garden. You seldom see the husbandman bending beneath his load as he returns from the thres.h.i.+ng-floor. A few bushels full are all that he can boast of, even in an abundant harvest[839].
[Footnote 839: I do not understand the following sentences: 'In hortis autem rusticorum agmen habetur operosum: quia olus illic omne saporum est marina irroratione respersum. Quod humana industria fieri consuevit, hoc c.u.m nutriretur accepit.' Can they have watered any herbs with salt water?]
'Contrary to the opinion of Virgil [who speaks of the bitter roots of the endive[840]], the fibres of endive are here extremely sweet, and encircled by their twisting leaves are caked together with a certain callous tenderness[841].
[Footnote 840:
'Nec tamen, haec quum sint hominumque boumque labores Versando terram experti, nihil improbus anser, Strymoniaeque grues, et _amaris intuba fibris_ Officiunt.'--Georgic i. 118-121.]
[Footnote 841: I must renounce the attempt to translate the rest of the sentence: 'Unde in morem nitri aliquid decerptum frangitur, dum a fecundo cespite segregatur.' There is an alternative reading, _vitri_ for _nitri_; but I am still unable to understand the author's meaning.]
'In the treasures of the deep that region is certainly rich; for the Upper and Lower Sea meet there. The _exormiston_[842], a sort of king among fishes, with bristly nostrils and a milky delicacy of flavour, is found in these waters. In stormy weather it is tossed about on the top of the waves, and seems to be too tired or too indolent to seek a refuge in the deeper water[843]. No other fish can be compared to it in sweetness[844].