It is hardly expected that many will follow Mr. Vehling in testing the Apician formulæ. Hazlitt in speaking of "The Young Cook's Monitor" which was printed in 1683, says: "Some of the ingredients proposed for sauces seem to our ears rather prodigious. In one place a contemporary peruser has inserted an ironical calculation in MS. to the effect that, whereas a cod's head could be bought for fourpence, the condiments recommended for it were not to be had for less than nine shillings." We shall close with a plagiarism oft repeated. It was a plagiarism as long ago as 1736, when it was admitted such in the preface of Smith's "The Compleat Housewife": "It being grown as fashionable for a book now to appear in public without a preface, as for a lady to appear at a ball without a hoop-petticoat, I shall conform to the custom for fashion-sake and not through any necessity. The subject being both common and universal, needs no argument to introduce it, and being so necessary for the gratification of the appetite, stands in need of no encomiums to allure persons to the practice of it; since there are but a few nowadays who love not good eating and drinking...." Old Apicius and Joseph Dommers Vehling really need no introduction. FREDERICK STARR Seattle, Washington, August 3, 1926. PREFACE The present first translation into English of the ancient cookery book dating back to Imperial Roman times known as the Apicius book is herewith presented to antiquarians, friends of the Antique as well as to gastronomers, friends of good cheer. Three of the most ancient manuscript books that exist today bearing the name of Apicius date back to the eighth and ninth century. Ever since the invention of printing Apicius has been edited chiefly in the Latin language. Details of the manuscript books and printed editions will be found under the heading of Apiciana on the following pages. The present version has been based chiefly upon three principal Latin editions, that of Albanus Torinus, 1541, who had for his authority a codex he found on the island of Megalona, on the editions of Martinus Lister, 1705-9, who based his work upon that of Humelbergius, 1542, and the Giarratano-Vollmer edition, 1922. We have also scrutinized various other editions forming part of our collection of Apiciana, and as shown by our "family tree of Apicius" have drawn either directly or indirectly upon every known source for our information. The reasons and raison d'être for this undertaking become sufficiently clear through Dr. Starr's introduction and through the following critical review. It has been often said that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach; so here is hoping that we may find a better way of knowing old Rome and antique private life through the study of this cookery book--Europe's oldest and Rome's only one in existence today.