Table manners are a
crucial matter of etiquette... but not it seems in Ancient Rome. Take this example from Petronius’s Satyricon. Trimalchio, the parvenu host, lets
his guests know exactly what he has been doing and invites them to do the
same.
Trimalchio waltzed in, mopped his brow, washed his hands in some
scented water, and, after pausing a moment said: “My friends, forgive me, but
my stomach had been unresponsive for many days. The doctors are lost.
Nonetheless, a concoction of pomegranate rind mixed with pine sap boiled in
vinegar has loosened things up a bit. I hope my stomach remembers its manners
now; otherwise it’s as noisy as a bull. And if anyone of you wants to relieve
himself, there’s nothing to be ashamed about. None of us was ever born solid
inside. I don’t think there’s any greater torment than holding yourself in.
This is the one thing Jove himself cannot deny us…
“I don’t object to your doing anything here in the dining room if it
makes you feel better. Even doctors forbid holding it in. And if more comes out
than you expected, well, there are facilities just outside – water, chamber
pots and little sponges. Believe me, those vapours go right into your brain and
upset the whole body. I personally know many, many men who’ve died because they
wouldn’t admit the truth to themselves.”
We complimented him on his enlightened attitude, and drowned our
laughter in our glasses.
(Gaius Petronius – The Satyricon c. mid 1st
century CE)
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Posted by: heba | July 10, 2010 at 09:50 PM