GOLD FISH.

This fish, dear to the Greeks,[XXI_146] had the honour of giving its name to the celebrated icythyophagist, Sergius, who was passionately fond of it, and who took the name Orata (from Aurata—gold fish), to preserve in his family the remembrance of his gluttony or of his affection.[XXI_147] His compatriots, the Romans, highly valued the gold fish,[XXI_148] and sought with eagerness those which had fed on the shell fish of the lake of Lucrin [XXI_149]—that precious reservoir between Baiæ and Cumæ, which never deceived the hopes of the gastronomist, nor the greedy expectations of the fishermen.[XXI_150]

The gold fish was served with a gravy composed of pepper, alisander, carrots, wild marjoram, rue, mint, myrtle leaves, and yolk of eggs; mixed with honey, vinegar, oil, wine, and garum.[XXI_151] The slow cooking of these various ingredients gave them the required homogeneousness.