§305. Places of Honor.--The guest approached the couch from the rear and took his place upon it, lying on the left side, with his face to the table, and supported by his left elbow, which rested on the cushion or bolster mentioned above. The position of his body is indicated by the arrows in the cut above (Fig. 119). Each couch and each place on the couch had its own name according to its position with reference to the others. The couches were called respectively _lectus summus_, _lectus medius_, and _lectus īmus_, and it will be noticed that persons reclining on the _lectus medius_ had the _lectus summus_ on the left and the _lectus īmus_ on the right. Etiquette assigned the _lectus summus_ and the _lectus medius_ to guests, while the _lectus īmus_ was reserved for the host, his wife, and one other member of his family. If the host alone represented the family, the two places beside him on the _lectus īmus_ were given to the humblest of the guests. §306. The places on each couch were named in the same way, (_locus_) _summus_, _medius_, and _īmus_, denoted respectively by the figures _1_, _2_, and _3_ in the cut. The person who occupied the place numbered _1_ was said to be above (_super_, _suprā_) the person to his right, while the person occupying the middle place (_2_) was above the person on his right and below (_īnfrā_) the one on the left. The place of honor on the _lectus summus_ was that numbered _1_, and the corresponding place on the _lectus īmus_ was taken by the host. The most distinguished guest, however, was given the place on the _lectus medius_ marked _3_, and this place was called by the special name _locus cōnsulāris_, because if a consul was present it was always assigned to him. It will be noticed that it was next the place of the host, and besides was especially convenient for a public official; if he found it necessary to receive or send a message during the dinner he could communicate with the messenger without so much as turning on his elbow. [Illustration: FIGURE 122. SIDEBOARD] [Illustration: FIGURE 123. SIDEBOARD]