[[246]] the right hand and going on to the left; and this is the way in which they are waited on, and in which they worship the gods, always turning towards the right hand."

37. And Posidonius continuing, and relating the riches of Lyernius the father of Bityis, who was subdued by the Romans, says that "he, aiming at becoming a leader of the populace, used to drive in a chariot over the plains, and scatter gold and silver among the myriads of Celts who followed him; and that he enclosed a fenced space of twelve furlongs in length every way, square, in which he erected wine-presses, and filled them with expensive liquors; and that he prepared so vast a quantity of eatables that for very many days any one who chose was at liberty to go and enjoy what was there prepared, being waited on without interruption or cessation. And once, when he had issued beforehand invitations to a banquet, some poet from some barbarian tribe came too late and met him on the way, and sung a hymn in which he extolled his magnificence, and bewailed his own misfortune in having come too late: and Lyernius was pleased with his ode, and called for a bag of gold, and threw it to him as he was running by the side of his chariot; and that he picked it up, and then went on singing, saying that his very footprints upon the earth over which he drove produced benefits to men." These now are the accounts of the Celtæ given by Posidonius in the third and in the twentieth books of his History.

38. But in the fifth book, speaking of the Parthians, he says—"But a friend who is invited does not share the same table, but sitting on the ground while the king reclines near on a lofty couch, eats whatever is thrown to him from the king, like a dog. And very often he is torn away from his feast on the ground for some trifling cause, and is scourged with rods and knotted whips; and when he is all covered with blood he falls down on his face on the floor, and adores the man who has punished him as his benefactor."

And in his eleventh book, speaking of Seleucus the king, and relating how he came against Media, and warred against Arsaces, and was taken prisoner by the barbarian, and how he remained a long time in captivity to Arsaces, being treated like a king by him, he writes thus—"Among the Parthians, at their banquets, the king had a couch on which he reclined

[[247]] by himself higher than all the rest, and apart from them; and a table also was laid for him by himself, as for a hero, laden with all sorts of barbaric delicacies." And when he is speaking of Heracleon the Berœan, who was promoted to honour by that king Antiochus who was surnamed Grypus, and who very nearly turned his benefactor out of his kingdom, he writes as follows in the fourth book of his Histories: "He also gave entertainments to the soldiers, making them sit down on the ground in the open air by thousands: and the entertainment consisted of large loaves and meat; and their drink was any sort of wine that could be got, mingled with cold water. And they were waited on by men girded with swords, and there was an orderly silence throughout the whole company."

Again, in his second book, he says—"In the city of the Romans when they feast in the temple of Hercules, when a general who is celebrating a triumph furnishes the entertainment, the whole preparation of the banquet is of a Herculean character; for honey-wine is served out to the guests as wine, and the food consists of huge loaves, and smoked meat boiled, and also, great abundance of roast meat from the victims which have been lately slain. But among the Etruscans luxurious tables are spread twice a-day; and couches embroidered with flowers, and silver drinking cups of every sort. And a great number of well-appointed slaves is at hand, dressed in expensive garments." And Timæus, in the first book of his Histories, says that all the female servants in that nation always wait at table naked till they are quite grown up.

39. And Megasthenes, in the second book of his Indian History, says—"Among the Indians at a banquet a table is set before each individual; and it is like a sideboard or beaufet; and on the table is placed a golden dish, in which they throw first of all boiled rice, just as if a person were going to boil groats, and then they add many sorts of meat dressed after the Indian fashion."

But the Germans, as Posidonius relates in his thirtieth book, eat for dinner meat roasted in separate joints; and they drink milk and unmixed wine. And some of the tribes of the Campanians practise single combat at their drinking parties. But Nicolaus of Damascus, one of the philosophers of the

[[248]]Peripatetic school, in the hundred-and-tenth book of his History, relates that the Romans at their feasts practise single combats, writing as follows—"The Romans used to exhibit spectacles of single combats, not only in their public shows and in their theatres, having derived the custom from the Etruscans, but they did so also at their banquets. Accordingly, people often invited their friends to an entertainment, promising them, in addition to other things, that they should see two or three pairs of single combatants. And when they had had enough of meat and drink, they then called in the combatants: and as soon as one of them was killed, the guests clapped, being delighted at the exhibition. And in one instance a man left it in his will that some beautiful women, whom he had purchased as slaves, should engage in single combat: and in another case a man desired that some youthful boys whom he had loved should do so; but the people would not tolerate such notorious proceedings, and declared the will invalid." And Eratosthenes says, in the first book of his Catalogue of the Victors at Olympia, that the Etruscans used to box to the music of the flute.

40. But Posidonius, in the third, and also in the twentieth book of his Histories, says—"The Celtæ sometimes have single combats at their entertainments. For being collected in arms, they go through the exercise, and make feints at, and sometimes they even go so far as to wound one another. And being irritated by this, if the bystanders do not stop them, they will proceed even to kill one another. But in olden times," he continues, "there was a custom that a hind quarter of pork was put on the table, and the bravest man took it; and if any one else laid claim to it, then the two rose up to fight till one of them was slain. And other men in the theatre having received some silver or gold money, and some even for a number of earthen vessels full of wine, having taken pledges that the gifts promised shall really be given, and having distributed them among their nearest connexions, have laid themselves down on doors with their faces upwards, and then allowed some bystander to cut their throats with a sword."