him, Mecaenas lounged, companioned by Varus, by Horace and the
mime Bathylle, all of whom he was accustomed to invite to that
lovely villa of his which overlooked the blue Sabinian hills, and
where suppers were given such as those which Petronius has
described so alertly and so well.

In the hall like that of Mecaenas', one divided against itself,
the upper half containing the couches and tables, the other
reserved for the service and the entertainments that follow, the
ceiling was met by columns, the walls hidden by panels of gems. On
a frieze twelve pictures, surmounted by the signs of the zodiac,
represented the dishes of the different months. Beneath the bronze
beds and silver tables mosaics were set in imitation of food that
had fallen and had not been swept away. And there, in white
ungirdled tunics, the head and neck circled with coils of
amaranth--the perfume of which in opening the pores neutralizes
the fumes of wine--the guests lay, fanned by boys, whose curly
hair they used for napkins. Under the supervision of butlers the
courses were served on platters so large that they covered the
tables; sows' breasts with Lybian truffles; dormice baked in
poppies and honey, peacock-tongues flavored with cinnamon; oysters
stewed in garum--a sauce made of the intestines of fish--sea-
wolves from the Baltic; sturgeons from Rhodes; fig-peckers from
Samos; African snails; pale beans in pink lard; and a yellow pig
cooked after the Troan fashion, from which, when carved, hot
sausages fell and live thrushes flew. Therewith was the mulsum, a
cup made of white wine, nard, roses, absinthe and honey; the
delicate sweet wines of Greece; and crusty Falernian of the year
six hundred and thirty-two. As the cups circulated, choirs
entered, chanting sedately the last erotic song; a clown danced on