The Natural History of Pliny, Volume 3 (of 6)Pliny, the Elder
History
The Natural History of Pliny, Volume 3 (of 6)
Pliny, the Elder
Natural history -- Pre-Linnean works
The late Emperor Augustus preferred the Setinum to all others, and
nearly all the emperors that have succeeded him have followed his
example, having learnt from actual experience that there is no danger
of indigestion and flatulence resulting from the use of this liquor:
this wine is grown in the country[1255] that lies just above Forum
Appii.[1256] In former times the Cæcubum enjoyed the reputation of
being the most generous of all the wines; it was grown in some marshy
swamps, planted with poplars, in the vicinity[1257] of the Gulf of
Amyclæ. This vineyard has, however, now disappeared, the result of the
carelessness of the cultivator, combined with its own limited extent,
and the works on the canal which Nero commenced, in order to provide a
navigation from Lake Avernus to Ostia.
The second rank belonged to the wine of the Falernian territory, of
which the Faustianum was the most choice variety; the result of the
care and skill employed upon its cultivation. This, however, has also
degenerated very considerably, in consequence of the growers being
more solicitous about quantity[1258] than quality. The Falernian[1259]
vineyards begin at the bridge of Campania, on the left-hand as you
journey towards the Urbana Colonia of Sylla, which was lately a
township of the city of Capua. As to the Faustian vineyards, they
extend about four miles from a village near Cædiciæ,[1260] the same
village being six miles from Sinuessa. There is now no wine known that
ranks higher than the Falernian; it is the only one, too, among all
the wines that takes fire on the application of flame.[1261] There are
three varieties of it—the rough, the sweet, and the thin. Some persons
make the following distinctions: the Caucinum, they say, grows on the
summit of this range of hills, the Faustianum on the middle slopes, and
the Falernum at the foot: the fact, too, should not be omitted, that
none of the grapes that produce these more famous wines have by any
means an agreeable flavour.
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