§308. Courses.--In classical times even the simplest dinner was divided into three parts, the _gustus_ ("appetizer"), the _cēna_ ("dinner proper"), and the _secunda mēnsa_[5] ("dessert"); the dinner was made elaborate by serving each of the parts in several courses. The _gustus_ consisted of those things only that were believed to excite the appetite or aid the digestion: oysters and other shell-fish fresh, sea-fish salted or pickled, certain vegetables that could be eaten uncooked, especially onions, and almost invariably lettuce and eggs, all with piquant sauces. With these appetizers _mulsum_ (§298) was drunk, wine being thought too heavy for an empty stomach, and from the drink the _gustus_ was also called the _prōmulsis_; another and more significant name for it was _antecēna_. Then followed the real dinner, the _cēna_, consisting of the more substantial viands, fish, flesh, fowl, and vegetables. With this part of the meal wine was drunk, but in moderation, for it was thought to dull the sense of taste, and the real drinking began only when the _cēna_ was over. The _cēna_ almost always consisted of several courses (_mēnsa prīma_, _altera_, _tertia_, etc.), three being thought neither niggardly nor extravagant; we are told that Augustus often dined on three courses and never went beyond six. The _secunda mēnsa_ closed the meal with all sorts of pastry, sweets, nuts, and fruits, fresh and preserved, with which wine was freely drunk. From the fact that eggs were eaten at the beginning of the meal and apples at the close came the proverbial expression, _ab ovō ad māla_. [Footnote 5: This is the most common form, but the plural also occurs, and the adjective may follow the noun.]