[[106]] But those onions which are called the royal onions, really do stimulate the amatory propensities, for they are superior to the other kinds; and next to them are the red ones. But the white ones, and the Libyan onions, are something like squills. But the worst of all are the Egyptian.

66. But the white onions, called βόλβιναι, are fuller of good juice than the common onions; but they are not so good for the stomach, because the white portion of them has a certain thickness in it. Yet they are very tolerably wholesome, because they have a good deal of harshness in them, and because they promote the secretions. And Matron, in his Parodies, mentions the βολβίνη—

But sowthistles I will not even name,
Plants full of marrow, crown'd on th' heads with thorns;
Nor the white onions, minstrels of great Jove,
Which his dear Child, incessant rain, has nourish'd
Whiter than snow storms, and like meal to view,
Which, when they first appeared, my stomach loved.

67. Nicander extols the onions of Megara. But Theophrastus, in the seventh book of his treatise on Plants, says—"In some places the onions are so sweet, that they are eaten raw, as they are in the Tauric Chersonesus." And Phænias makes the same statement:—"There is," says he, "a kind of onion which bears wool, according to Theophrastus; and it is produced on the sea-shore. And it has the wool underneath its first coat, so as to be between the outer eatable parts and the inner ones. And from this wool socks and stockings and other articles of clothing are woven." And Phænias himself adopts the statement. "But the onion," he continues, "of the Indians is hairy." But concerning the dressing of onions, Philemon says—

Now if you want an onion, just consider
What great expense it takes to make it good:
You must have cheese, and honey, and sesame,
Oil, leeks, and vinegar, and assafœtida,
To dress it up with; for by itself the onion
Is bitter and unpleasant to the taste.

But Heraclides the Tarentine, limiting the use of onions at banquets, says—"One must set bounds to much eating, especially of such things as have anything glutinous or sticky about them; as, for instance, eggs, onions, calves' feet, snails, and such things as those: for they remain in the stomach a

[[107]]long time, and form a lump there, and check the natural moisture."

68. Thrushes, too, and crowds of other birds, formed part of the dishes in the propomata. Teleclides says—

But roasted thrushes with sweet cheese-cakes served
Flew of their own accord down the guests' throats.

But the Syracusans call thrushes, not κίχλαι, but κίχηλαι. Epicharmus says—