The preparation of Myrteta. Of the juice of myrtles, sext. iij; of honey, sext. j. Boil till the third is consumed.
Apomel from the works of Phalagrius. Of white honeycombs filled with honey, lb. j; of spring water, lb. iiiss; having broken down the comb and united them, boil the water with the honey until the scum of it and the waxy part swim on the top and is separated, then cool and cover it up carefully.
The composition of rhodostactum. Of the juice of roses without their nails, sext. ij; of honey, sext. j. Boil, scumming it, until the fourth part be consumed.
The preparation of rhætes. Of the juice of pomegranate, sext. iij; of honey, sext. j. Boil to a third part.
Commentary. We shall in the first place give some account of the Propoma. It was a draught generally containing wine, which was taken at the commencement of the supper, or principal meal of the ancients. Horace alludes to it in the following lines:
“Anfidius forti miscebat mella Falerno,
Mendose: quoniam vacuis committere venis
Nil nisi lene decet: leni præcordia mulso
Prolueris melius.”—(Lib. ii, Sat. 4.)
Catius here condemns the practice of using strong wine for the composition of the Propoma. Old Falernian wine was thought the best. Thus Macrobius says of it: “Mulsum quo probe temperes, miscendum esse novo Hymetto et Falerno vetulo.” (Saturn. vii, 12.) “To the Propoma,” says Athenæus, “were added pepper, Indian leaf, myrrh, cyperus, and Egyptian ointment.” (Deip. ii, 25.) A long list of receipts for Propomata is given by Myrepsus (§ 38.) Most of them contain wine, honey, and aromatics. See a learned Dissertation on the Propoma by Casaubon (in Athen. Deipnos. ii, 17); also Lister (in Apicii Op. i, 1.)