Which 'gainſt ſome Aile a Weapon does not bear.
We have ſaid how neceſſary it is, that in the Compoſure of a Sallet, every Plant ſhould come in to bear its part, without being over-power'd by ſome Herb of a ſtronger Taſte, ſo as to endanger the native Sapor and vertue of the reſt; but fall into their places, like the Notes in Muſic, in which there ſhould be nothing harſh or grating: And tho' admitting ſome Diſcords (to diſtinguiſh and illuſtrate the reſt) ſtriking in the more ſprightly, and ſometimes gentler Notes, reconcile all Diſſonancies, and melt them into an agreeable Compoſition. Thus the Comical Maſter-Cook, introduc'd by Damoxenus, when asked πως εσις αυτοις ονμφονια;
What Harmony there was in Meats? The very ſame (ſays he) that a Diateſſaron, Diapente, and Diapaſon have one to another in a Conſort of Muſic: And that there was as great care requir'd, not to mingle [53]Sapores minime conſentientes, jarring and repugnant Taſtes; looking upon him as a lamentable Ignorant, who ſhould be no better vers'd in Democritus. The whole Scene is very diverting, as Athenæus preſents it; and to the ſame ſenſe Macrobius, Saturn. lib. I. cap. I. In ſhort, the main Skill of the Artiſt lies in this:
What choice to chooſe, for delicacy beſt;
What Order ſo contriv'd, as not to mix
Taſtes not well join'd, inelegant, but bring
Taſte after Taſte, upheld by kindlieſt change.
As our [54]Paradiſian Bard introduces Eve, dreſſing of a Sallet for her Angelical Gueſt.
Thus, by the diſcreet choice and mixture of the Oxoleon (Oyl, Vinegar, Salt, &c.) the Compoſition is perfect; ſo as neither the Prodigal, Niggard, nor Inſipid, ſhould (according to the Italian Rule) preſcribe in my Opinion; ſince One may be too profuſe, the Other [55]over-ſaving, and the Third (like himſelf) give it no Reliſh at all: It may be too ſharp, if it exceed a grateful Acid; too Inſulſe and flat, if the Profuſion be extream. From all which it appears, that a Wiſe-Man is the proper Compoſer of an excellent Sallet, and how many Tranſcendences belong to an accompliſh'd Sallet-Dreſſer, ſo as to emerge an exact Critic indeed, He ſhould be skill'd in the Degrees, Terms, and various Species of Taſtes, according to the Scheme ſet us down in the Tables of the Learned [56]Dr. Grew, to which I refer the Curious.