The antients, who fo well knew the excellency Anthe. of wine, were not ignorant of the dangers at-110.p.429 tending too free an use of it. I need not mention the law of Zaleucus, by which the Epizephyrian Locrians were univerfally forbid the ufe of wine upon pain of death, except in cafe of fickness. The inhabitants of Marseilles and Melitus fhewed more moderation and indulgence, and contented themselves with prohibiting it to women. At * Rome, in the early ages, young perfons of liberal condition were not permitted to drink wine till the age of thirty; but as for the women, the use of it was abfolutely forbid to them; and the reafon of that prohibition was, because intemperance of that kind might induce them to commit the moft exceffive crimes. Seneca complains bitterly, that this custom was almoft univerfally violated in his times. The weak and delicate complexion of the women, fays he, is not changed; but their manners are changed, and no longer the fame. They value themselves upon carrying excefs of wine to as great an height as the most robuft men, Like them they pafs whole nights at table, and with a full glafs of unmixed wine in their hands, they glory in vying with them, and, if they can, in overcoming them. The emperor Domitian paffed an edict in Sueton. in relation to wine, which feemed to have a juft Domit. foundation. One year having produced abun- c. 7. dance of wine and very little corn, he believed Vini ufus olim Romanis fæminis ignotus fuit, ne fcilicet in aliquod dedecus prolaberentur: quia proximus a Libero patre intemperantiæ gradus ad inconceffam vene rem effe confuevit. Val. Max. +Non minus, pervigilant, they they had more occafion for the one than the other, and therefore decreed, that no more vines fhould be planted in Italy; and that in the provinces, at least one half of the vines fhould be rooted up. Philoftratus expreffes vit. Apol- himself, as if the decree ordained, that they lon. 1. 6. should all be pulled up, at least in Afia; be Philoft. c. 7. caufe, fays he, the feditions, which arose in the cities of that province, were attributed to wine. All Afia deputed Scopelianus to Rome upon that occafion, who profeffed eloquence at Smyrna. He fucceeded fo well in his remonftrances, that he obtained not only, that vines should continue to be cultivated, but that those who neglected to do fo, fhould be laid under a Sueton. in fine. It is believed, that his principal motive Domitian. for abolishing his edict, was the difperfing of C. 14. papers with two Greek verfes in them, fignifying; that let him do what he would, there would still remain wine enough for the facrifice, in which an emperor fhould be the of fering. It seems, however, fays Mr. Tillemont, that his edict fubfifted throughout the greatest part of the Weft, to the reign of Probus ; that is almost two hundred years. That emperor, who after many wars had established a folid peace in the empire, employed the troops in many different works, ufeful to the publick; to prevent their growing enervate through floth, and that the foldier might not eat his pay without deferving it. So that as Hannibal had formerly planted the whole country of Africa with olive trees, left his foldiers, for want of fomething to do, fhould form feditions; Probus, in like manner, employed his troops in planting vines upon the hills of Gaul, Pannonia, Mæfia, and in many other coun tries. He permitted in general the Gauls, Pannonians, and Spaniards, to have as many vines as they thought fit, whereas, from the time of Domitian, that permiffion had not been granted to any nation of the world. SECT. II. Produce of the vines in Italy in Columella's time. BE EFORE I conclude this article upon vines, I cannot omit extracting a paffage of Columella, which explains what profit was made of them in his time. He enters, for this purpose, into a detail, which feemed fufficiently curious to me, and makes an exact calculation of the expence and produce of a vineyard of feven acres. His defign is to prove, that the cultivation of vines is more beneficial than any other kind of husbandry, and than that of corn itself. That might be true in his times, but it is not fo in ours, at least in the general opiniThis difference arifes, perhaps, from the various accidents, to which the vine is fubject in France; frofts, rains, blights, which are not so much to be apprehended in hot countries. To these may be added the high price of casks in plentiful years, which swallows up the greateft part of the vine-dreffer's profit; and the customs, which very much diminish the price of wines. Even amongst the antients, all were not of Columella's opinion. * Cato indeed gave vines the first rank, but those only on. *Cato quidem dicit [primum agrum effe] ubi vineæ poffunt effe bono vino & multo-Alii dant prima tum bonis pratis--Vineam funt qui putent fumptu fruc tum devorare. Varr. de re ruftic. 1. 1. c. 7, 8. which produced the most excellent liquor, and in great abundance. With the fame conditions we ftill think in the fame manner. Many gave the preference to pafture lands; and their principal reafon was, that the charges in the culture of vines were almoft equal to their produce. 1. The charges necessary for seven acres of vines. These are, 1. For the purchase of a flave, whose labour fufficed for the cultivation of feven acres of vines, eight thoufand feftercii 2. For a land of feven acres, feven thousand feftercii props 3. For the Thefe three fums added together, a- For the intereft of the aforefaid fum of twenty-nine thousand feftertii for two years, during which the land does not bear, and the money lies dead, three thoufand four hundred and fourfcore feftertii livres. 1000 875 1750 3625 The total of the expence amounts to thirty two thousand, four hundred and eighty feftertii 486 4060 : II. Produce of feven acres of vines. The yearly produce of feven acres of vines, is fix thousand three hundred fefterces; that is, feven hundred, fourfcore and feven livres, ten fols. Of which what follows is the proof. The Culeus is a meafure, which contains twenty amphora, or forty urna. The amphora contains twenty-fix quarts, and somewhat more. The Culeus, in confequence, contains five hundred and twenty quarts, which make two hogfheads of the Paris meafure, wanting fifty-fix quarts. The loweft value of the Culeus is three hundred feftertii; that is to fay, thirty feven livres, ten fols. The leaft produce of each acre was three Culei, which were worth nine hundred feftertii, *ór an hundred and twelve livres, ten fols. The feven acres therefore produced a profit of fix thousand three hundred feftertii, which make seven hundred, fourscore and seven livres, ten fols. The intereft of the total expence, which is thirty-two thousand, four hundred and fourfcore feftertii, that is, four thousand and fixty livres ; this intereft, I fay, at fix per. cent. per annum, amounts to one thoufand, nine hundred and forty-four feftertii, and fomething more, or two hundred and forty-three livres. The intereft of the fame fum, arifing from the annual produce of a vineyard of feven acres, is fix thoufand three hundred feftertii; that is, feven hundred, fourfcore and feven livres, ten pence. From whence may be feen, how much the latter intereft exceeds the former, which was, however, the common interest of money. This is what Columella would prove. *Columella observes, that each acre of Seneca's vineyards produced eight Culei. 1. 3. c. 3. And Varro, that in many places an acre produced from ten to fifteen. 1. 1. c. 2. Befides 2431 7871 |