1.Disq. Biblic. Journ. des Sçavans.2.Jo. Chr. Becman. Annal. Hist.3.Torner de Ebriet. lib. i. c. 3.CHAP. IX.THAT THE PRIMITIVE CHRISTIANS GOT DRUNK.Thereis no one that has ever so little dipped into ecclesiastical history, but knows very well, that in the primitive church it was a custom to appoint solemn feasts on the festivals of martyrs. This appears by the harangue of Constantine, and from the works of St. Gregory Nazianzen, and St. Chrysostom. People generally got drunk at these feasts; and this excess was looked upon as a thing that might be permitted. This evidently appears by the pathetic complaints of St. Augustin and St. Cyprian: the former of these holy fathers expresses himself after this manner:——“Drunken debauches pass as permitted amongst us, so that people turn them into solemn feasts, to honour the memory of the martyrs; and that not only on those days which are particularly consecrated to them, (which would be a deplorable abuse to those, who look at these things with other eyes than those of the flesh,) but on every day of the year1.”St. Cyprian, in a treatise attributed to him, says much the same thing. “Drunkenness, says he, is so common with us in Africa, that it scarce passes for a crime. And do we not see Christians forcing one another to get drunk, to celebrate the memory of the martyrs2!”But it was not only at these repasts that the Christians got drunk, they did the same on several other occasions; and it was on this account that St. Augustin wrote to his dear Alipius in these terms: “However the corruption of manners, and the unhappiness of the times, have induced us to wish, I do not say that people should not get drunk in particular houses, butthat they should not get drunk any where else3.”Cardinal du Perron tells us, “That the Manichæans said, that the Catholicks were people much given to wine, but that they never drank any4.”Against this charge St. Augustin no otherwise defends them, than by recrimination. He answers, “That it was true, but that they (the Manichæans) drank the juice of apples, which was more delicious than all the wines and liquors in the world. And so does Tertullian, which liquor pressed from apples, he says, was most strong and vinous.” His words are,Succum ex pomis vinosissimum5.Here one may observe also, that the use of cider was very primitive and antient, but as strong and delicious as it was, the Catholicks stuck close to the juice of the grape, as what was entirely orthodox and no wise conversant with the heretics of those days.But to return to these feasts just now mentioned, it is certain, that it was not only customary for the Christians of Africa to get drunk. They had this custom in common with the Christians of Italy, where these kinds of repasts were forbidden by the Council of Laodicea, which was held in the fourth century. Paulinus, however, (and I do not wonder at it, being a poet,) has endeavoured to excuse the Christians, on pretence that they only got drunk out of a good intention, which, say the casuists, judges all human actions6. His words are,——“Ignoscenda tamen puto talia parvisGaudia quæ ducunt epulis, quia mentibus error.Irrepit rudibus, nec tantæ conscia culpæSimplicitas pietate cadit, male credula sanctosPerfusis halante mero gaudere sepulchris.6aBut yet that mirth in little feasts enjoy’d,I think should ready absolution find;Slight peccadillo of an erring mind,Artless and rude, of all disguises void,Their simple hearts too easy to believe(Conscious of nothing ill) that saints in tombsEnshrin’d should any happiness perceiveFrom quaffing cups, and wines ascending fumes,Must be excus’d, since what they did they meant,With piety ill plac’d, yet good intent.1.Ep. 22.2.Pamel. p. 416.3.Ep. 29.4.Perron, p. 64.5.Ibid.6.Quicquid agunt homines intentio judicat omne.6a.St. Paulinus of Nola (Paulinus Nolensis),possiblyCarmen IX. in St. Felicem.CHAP. X.OF CHURCHMEN.Ifone formed a judgment of the manner of Churchmen’s lives by their discourses, certainly one would take them for models of sobriety. But there is a great deal of difference between preaching and practising. This distinction is very solid, and daily experience confirms it. And if those gentlemen would do themselves justice, how many amongst them might say in particular,Alas! how can I ever dare pretend,From man this ancient error to remove,Which they, ev’n to distraction, fondly love:If I, who blame it, with such pain defendMyself from this contagious malady,This epidemic poison of the mind.Weak reason, feeble thing, of which mankindSo boasts, this we can only build on thee,Unjust continuing still, and false and vain,In our discourses loudly we complainAgainst the passions, weakness, vice, and yetThose things we still cry down, we still commit.One cannot, therefore, without indignation, hear Churchmen declaim against drunkenness, while they themselves are such ruddy examples of it.Quis tulerit Gracchos de seditionequærentes.1With patience who can hear west-country cuddenRail against roasted beef and good plum pudden?If the law of prescription take place, one cannot dispute with them that of fuddling with any colour of reason, for in St. Jerom’s time, the priests were very much given to wine. This we learn from an epistle of that father, in which he very severely reprehends them. They havebeen no changelings since. We read in the adages of Erasmus, that it was a proverb amongst the Germans, that the lives of the monks consisted in nothing but eating, drinking, and——Monachorum nunc nihil aliud est quam facere, esse, bibere. Besides, a vast number of councils, who made most severe canons against priests that should get drunk, evidently shew, that they used frequently to do so. Such were the Councils of Carthage, Agathon, the first of Tours, that of Worms, Treves, &c. To make this more clear, we shall copy a little of what H. Stephens says on this subject, in his apology for Herodotus:— “But to return, says he, to these proverbs, theologal wine, and the abbots, or prelates table. I say, that without these, one could never rightly understand this beautiful passage of Horace, viz.“Nunc est bibendum, nunc pede liberoPulsanda tellus: Nunc saliaribusOrnare pulvinar DeorumTempus erit dapibus sodales.”1a“Come, boys,letsput the flowing goblet round,Drink hard, and with brisk measures beat the ground.The tables of the gods now bright shall shineWith cheer luxurious, fit for mouths of priests,When holy epicures become your guests,And venerably quaff large cups of wine.”Northis other,“Absumet hæres cæcuba digniorServata centum clavibus: & meroTinget pavimentum superboPontificum potiore cænis.”1b“A worthy heir shall then with joy unbindCæcubian, by a hundred locks confin’d,And tinge with better wines the ground,Than e’er at feasts pontifical are found.”“You see how necessary these proverbs are, to let us into the true understanding of these two passages of this poet. Here follows, word for word, what a certain gloss says of the last of them,Mero dicit potiore (meliore) cænis pontificum, quam quo pontifices in cænis suis, quæ semper sumtuosissimæ fuerunt, unde nunc theologicum dicunt vinum, usi sunt. That is, with better wine than that which the chief priestsused at their suppers, which were always most sumptuous and expensive, and which sort of wine we call now theological.“By this you plainly see how much attached to divines and prelates those gentlemen are who make profession of being expositors of the poets. But in relation to this same theologal, or theological, I know very well that it is a great question if it should be calledvinum theologale, orvinum theologalis per appositionem; for the wicked laity, some of them will have it, that when these good men get tipsy they agree no otherwise than dogs and cats. But I shall leave this dispute to be decided by the readers. And as to these two proverbs, they put me in mind of another, and that is, an abbot’s face, which proverb being very ancient, makes me believe that formerly the abbots had their faces illuminated.—But without going any farther for witnesses, I shall content myself with presenting my readers with the following piece of antiquity, viz.“Sanctus Dominicus sit nobis semper amicus,Cui canimus rostro jugiter preconia nostroDe cordis venis siccatis ante lagenis.Ergo tuas laudes si tu nos pangere gaudesTempore paschali, fac ne potu putealiConveniat uti, quod si fit undique mutiSemper erunt fratres qui non curant nisi ventres.”“O good Saint Dominic, be ay propitious,Whose praise we daily chirp in notes deliciousFrom all the veins of all our hearts,Having toss’d up some double quarts.Therefore, if’t be thy true desire,We chaunt thy lauds at Easter quire.Let not thy saintship think it meetWe drink from well tho’ ne’er so sweet,Liquor unworthy priest or parson,If so, yourfrierswill hang an arse on,Who nothing mind, I need not tell ye,Most holy patron, but their belly.So used, they’ll ev’ry soul be dumb,Nodixit dominus, but————mum.”Not unlike this is what follows:—“O monachi, vestri stomachi sunt amphora Bacchi,Vos estis, Deus est testis, teterrima pestis!”“O monks, ye reverend drones, your gutsOf wine are but so many buts;You are, God knows (who can abide ye?)Of plagues the rankest,bona fide!”1.Juvenal.SatireII.24.1a.Horace,OdesI.xxxvii.1-4.1b.Horace,OdesII.xiv.25-28.CHAP. XI.OF POPES, SAINTS, AND BISHOPS, THAT USED TO GET DRUNK.Afterhaving spoken of the drunkenness of churchmen in general, it will not, perhaps, be a thing altogether needless, to put the whole in the clearest light, to confirm what has been said, by the example of Popes, Saints, and Bishops, who have practised that laudable custom of getting drunk.A little song, mentioned by H. Stephens, inhisapology for Herodotus, affords matter of speculation in relation to the sobriety of sovereign pontiffs.“Le Pape qui est a Rome,Boit du vin comme un autre hommeEt de l’Hypocras aussi.”The Pope at Rome, his holiness,Of wine drinks many a hearty glass,And pleasant Hypocras also,As any other man I trow.If one reads over the popes lives, we shall be fully convinced that these holy fathers were no enemies to wine. Alexander the Fifth was a great drinker, and that too of strong wines, says his own historian, Theoderic de Neim. If one may give any credit to the letters of the king of Spain’s ambassador to his master, Sixtus Quintus was a terrible drunkard1.And Pope Boniface instituted indulgencies for those who should drink a cup after grace (called since St. Boniface’s cup). A plain argument that his sanctity did not hate wine.This puts me in my mind of what I have formerly read, though the author’s name is now slipped out of my memory, that when cardinal Pignatelli, afterwards Innocent the Twelfth, was advanced to the papacy, his name signifying little pots or mugs, three of which he bore for hisarms; and whose mother was of the house of Caraffa, which signifies a jug, a Frenchman made these lines:—“Nous devons tousboireen reposSous le regne de ce saint pereSon nomses armes sont des potsUne Caraffe etoit sa mere.Celebrons donc avec eclatCet auguste Pontificat.”Under this holy father’s reignHang sorrow, let us ne’er complain;I think all of us should turn sots,And fuddle with one another,His name, and so his arms, are pots,And a gallon pot was his mother;Then let us brightly celebrateThis most august Pontificate.In the main, this is nothing but a little punning or playing with words, but it is one of those agreeable trifles that may now and then be worth our thinking on.One may add to the number of such popes as loved fuddling, all those who sat at Avignon;for if we believe Petrarch2, the long residence that the court of Rome made at Avignon, was only to taste the good French wines; and that it was merely on that account they stayed so long in Provence, and removed with so much reluctance.Let us now pass on to Saints and Bishops. I shall only instance one of each, because I hate prolixity. The first Saint that presents himself to me, is the renowned St. Augustin, who himself owns, that he used to get drunk sometimes.Crapula autem nonnunquam surrepit servo tuo misereberis ut longe fiat à me.Thy servant has been sometimes crop-sick through excess of wine, have mercy on me, that it may be ever far from me. It is true,3M. Cousin maintains against my author, M. Petit, the Journal des Sçavans, of the year 1689, 27th June, that St. Augustin, however, never got drunk. The arguments on both sides you may find in Bayle’s Dictionary, under the article Augustin. Butyet there are somewhere in St. Augustin these words, viz. My soul certainly being a spirit cannot dwell in a dry place.Anima mea certè quia spiritus est, in sicco habitare non potest.I shall make no comment upon these words, only insert one already made, which I take from M. Duchat in his Remarks on Rabelais4. On these words of Saint Augustin, says he, mentioned in the second part of the Decretals, caus. 32, q. 2, c. 9, the commentator says, “And this is an argument for the Normans, English, and Poles, that they may drink largely, that the soul may not live in the dry.Et est argumentum pro Normannis, Anglicis, et Polonis, ut possint fortiter bibere, ne anima habitet insicco.To which Peter Chatelain, a Flemish physician, made this pleasant addition,Itis very probable, that the commentator was an entire stranger to the nature of the Flemings.Verisimile est glossatorem ignorasse naturam Belgarum.”And, perhaps, this argument from St. Augustine’s words, is as just as one of a merry fellowI knew, who would prove, from St. Paul’s going to the Three Taverns5, That he loved a hearty bottle.Amongst the Bishops, I cannot instance a more illustrious example of a great drinker than that of Pontus de Thiard. We are told6, “That this gentleman, after having repented of the sins of his youth, came to be bishop of Chalons sur Soane; but, however, he did not renounce the power of drinking heartily, which seemed then inseparable from the quality of a good poet. He had a stomach big enough to empty the largest cellar; and the best wines of Burgundy were too gross for the subtility of the fire which devoured him. Every night, at going to bed, besides the ordinary doses of the day, in which he would not suffer the least drop of water, he used to drink a bottle before he slept. He enjoyed a strong, robust, and vigorous health; to the age of fourscore.1.Thuan. p. 447.2.Perron, p. 387.3.Petit Nepænth, p. 137.4.Liv. i. ch. 5.5.Acts, cap. xxviii. v. 15.6.Rep. des Lett. Febr. 1687, art. 7.CHAP. XII.A CATALOGUE OF SOME ILLUSTRIOUS TOPERS.Since, according to Horace’s observation, every one conforms himself to the example of the prince.“Regis ad exemplum totus componitur orbis.”aAnd that, according to Seneca’s maxim, one must regulate one’s conduct by illustrious models.“Vita est instituenda illustribus exemplis.”It must not be wondered at that people so generally get drunk, since in this they follow the examples of great kings, amongst whom are very few that this verse of Ovid, which Guy Patin applied to Naudæus and Gassendi, agrees with1.“Vina fugit gaudetque meris abstemius undis.”1aFlies wine abstemious, but the limpid stream,Pure and unmixed, his thirsty heat subdues.And, perhaps, this is the reason, why in comedies they bestow crowns to those that are drunk.—————Quid ego videoPS.Cum coronâ ebrium pseudolum meum2.And in Amphytrion, Mercury says,Ibo inter et capiam ornatum qui potius decet.2a“I’ll go in and take the ornament which better becomes me.” For he had said a little before,Capiam coronam in caput, assimulabo me esse ebrium.2aI’ll put a crown upon my head, and feign myself drunk.Lipsius3furnished me with these examples.But I should never have done, if I endeavoured to give a list of all the kings that got drunk.————“Quorum si nomina quærasPromptius expediam quot amaverat Hippiamæchos,Quot themison ægros autumno occiderat uno4.”————Whose names, if you require,With greater expedition could I tell,To Hippia’s lust how many prostrate fell;How many only in one autumn died,By doctors, and their slip-slops ill applied.I shall content myself, therefore, to instance some of the most illustrious, as they come into my mind, without observing any certain order.Alexander the Great first offers himself to my imagination. It will be sufficient to mention his name, without saying any more.Nomen non amplius addam.Cæsar, to make use of Balzac’s words, was not always the sober destroyer of the commonwealth, and he did not at all times hate the pleasure of drinking.Cambyses was also very much given to wine, as may be judged by what I am going to say. This prince, having been told by one of his courtiers, That the people took notice he got drunk too often, taking, some time after, his bow and arrow, shot the son of that courtier through the heart, saying no more than this to the father, Is this the act of a drunkard?Darius, the first king of Persia, had these words put upon his tomb:—Vinum multum bibere potui idque perferre.I could drink much wine and bear it well.King Antigonus may come in here. Ælian reports of this prince, That one day when he was much in drink, meeting Zeno the philosopher, whom he had a great kindness for, he kissed him, and promised to give him whatever he would desire. Zeno only answered very mildly, Go and ease your stomach by vomiting, that’s all I ask of you at present.Philip, king of Macedon, got drunk sometimes; witness what a woman, whom he had not donejustice to, said to him, viz. I appeal from Philip drunk, to Philip when sober.Dionysius5the younger, tyrant of Sicily, was sometimes drunk for nine days successively; he drank himself almost blind, and the lords of his court, to flatter him, pretended they themselves could scarce see, so that they neither eat nor drank but what he reached to them.Tiberius was called Biberius, because of his excessive attachment to drinking; and, in derision, they changed his surname of Nero into Mero.Bonosus was a terrible drinker, if one may give any credit to his own historian, Flavius Vopiscus. He used to make ambassadors, that came to him from foreign powers, drunk, in order, by that means, to discover their secret instructions.Maximin6, the father, drank very often a pot containing two gallons. One might very well, therefore, have given him this epitaph:—Hic jacet amphora vini.Trajan and Nerva, those excellent princes, took sometimes a pleasure in getting drunk.Galerius Maximinus, who, according to Aurelius Victor, was a prince of sweet temper, and loved men of probity and letters, had a very great passion for wine, and frequently got drunk. Having once given orders when he was in this condition, which he repented of when sober, he solemnly forbad any one to obey such orders that he should give when he should get drunk for the future.a.Claudian,De Quarto Consulatu Honorii Augusti(VIII) 300.1.Esprit de Pat. p. 22.1a.Ovid,MetamorphosesXV.323.2.Plautus.Pseudolus1286-87.2a.Plautus,Amphitryon1007;Amphitryon999.3.Ant. Lect. lib. iii.4.Juvenal, satire x. v. 220.i.e. 219-221.5.Ælian, chap. 6.6.J. Capitolin.CHAP. XIII.OF PHILOSOPHERS THAT USED TO GET DRUNK.Thoughthe example and authority of Philosophers prove nothing, yet one must not imagine with Boileau,“————————Que sans Aristote,La raison ne voit goute, et le bon sens redote.”That reason, void of Aristotle’s rule,Insipid grows, good sense a doating fool.It is, however, very true, that we shall find ourselves wonderfully disposed to get fuddled, when we consider that those of antiquity, for whom we have most respect and veneration, have made no manner of difficulty to get drunk sometimes, and have praised drunkenness not only by their actions but discourse. This I am going plainly to make appear. I begin with the Seven Sages of Greece, who were acknowledged as such by all antiquity. These philosophers did not look upon drunkenness as a thing incompatible with virtue, of which they made strict profession. History tells us, that they drank largely at the entertainment Periander the Tyrant, or king of Corinth, gave them.Solon, that famous, yet so rigid, legislator of the Athenians, composed a song in the praise of wine, in which he introduced Venus and the Muses. Seneca is of opinion, that he was suspected to be as much given to wine as Arcesilaus. And M. Chevreau1observes very well, that “Thewisdom of Solon was not of such an austerity as to frighten people, when he said, That the ladies, wine, and the Muses, were the pleasures of human life.”Zeno, whose philosophy was so severe, got, notwithstanding, drunk sometimes. Being one day at an entertainment, he was asked how he came to be so joyful, he answered, that he was like lupins, which were bitter naturally, but grew sweet after they were moistened.Socrates, whom the oracle declared the wisest man of Greece, was, in like manner, a very great drinker. M. Charpentier, in his Life, tells us, That though he did not love to drink, yet when he was forced to it, no one could come up to him; and that he had this wonderful happiness, as not afterwards to find himself incommoded by it.Cato, that hero of stoicism, got drunk sometimes, in order to relax his mind, fatigued with the cares of public employment. These are the very words of Seneca, Catovino laxabat animum curis publicis fatigatum. And the same author says elsewhere, that “People reproached Cato with drunkenness, but that reproach was rather an honour to him than otherwise.”Catoniebrietas objecta est, et facilius efficiet quisquis objecerit honestum quam turpem Catonem.Horace gives us the same idea of the great Cato, in these words:—“Narratur et prisci CatonisSæpe mero caluisse virtus.”1aTradition tells, that oftentimes with wine,Ev’n Cato’s virtue moisten’d, shone divine.If one knew the Scythian philosopher Anacharsis no otherwise than by his apophthegms against wine and drunkenness, one would take him for the soberest man in the world, but we know very well that his theory varied very much upon this point, and no way agreed with his practice. One day above the rest, having got drunk at an entertainment given by Lybis, brother to Pittacus, he demanded the prize that was to be given to the greatest drinker. With which action, when he was afterwards reproached, he replied, “Can a man better signalize himself in battle than by glorious wounds? and at table, than with that gaiety you call drunkenness? Did not Homer, thewisest of your poets, make not only Agamemnon drunk, but Jupiter too, and made nectar flow in full goblets at the table of the Gods2?” Ælian3also tells us, that this philosopher drank largely at Periander’s feasts, and alleged for an excuse, That to drink a great deal was essential to the Scythians.Plato, another hero of antiquity, not only permitted, but commanded, that people should get drunk at some certain times. To prove what I say, one has no more to do than to read his laws.Seneca, who was so severe a philosopher, at least his rigid precepts would make one think him so, thought it no harm now and then to get drunk, and ranges drunkenness amongst the means he prescribes to maintain the strength and vigour of the mind. I have quoted what he says in this respect in the first and second chapter of this work.The philosopher Arcesilaus, who lived about the 120th Olympiad, might be reckoned amongstthose who loved wine, since he died by drinking too much of it unmixed. A greater, and more convincing proof of his sincere love to the creature could not be given.For he that hangs, or beats out’s brains,The devil’s in him if he feigns4.Xenocrates5, one of the most illustrious philosophers of ancient Greece, and of a virtue very rigid and severe, got drunk sometimes. Ælian has put his name into the catalogue of those who loved drinking, and could bear a good deal of liquor. Athenæus, says this philosopher, gained the crown of gold which the tyrant of Syracuse had promised him that should empty a certain measure of wine. Diogenes Laertius confirms this last particular. “He had moreover acquired such an empire over his passions, that a very beautiful courtesan (Phryne) who had laid a wager she could subdue his virtue, lost it, though she had the liberty to lie with him, and use allher little toyings to incite him to enjoy her.” You see here (adds Mr. Bayle) a triumph as remarkable as that of S. Aldhelme, and some other canonized saints, who came off victorious on such attacks.Cicero6assures us, That Stilpo of Megera, the philosopher, a man of much wit and ability for the times he lived in, loved wine as well as women; and, that his friends wrote this of him in his praise, and not dishonour.Athenæus says, That the philosophers Lacides and Timon, once upon a time, past two whole days successively in drinking. Ælian puts their names into his catalogue of hard drinkers; to which he adds Amasis, the lawgiver of the Egyptians.Chrysippus the philosopher, native of Solos, a town of Cilicia, or of Tharsus, according to others, got drunk pretty often. It is said, That some of his disciples having prevailed upon him to come to a sacrifice, he drank so much pure wine, that he died five days afterwards. There are other authors, however, will have it, that hedied of immoderate laughter, seeing an ass eat figs out of a dish, and upon which he commanded they should give him drink.1.Solonem et Arcesilaum credunt indulsisse vino.1a.Horace,OdesIII.xxi.11-12.2.Hist. Sep. Sap.3.Lib. ii. 2.4.Hudibras.5.Bayle Dict. Art. Xenoc.6.Lib. de Fab.CHAP. XIV.OF POETS THAT USED TO GET DRUNK.Aswine is the poet’s great horse, so it must not be wondered at, that the major part of them fuddle their noses; for, in reality, they cannot properly be said to be mounted on their great horses, till they have drunk pretty heartily. These gentlemen speak then on horseback, for the discourse of poets is quite opposite to that of orators, which Horace says, is a discourse on foot1, but when they drink nothing we can only say, that they are mounted upon.The attachment that Homer had to wine, appearsin the frequent eulogiums he gives that liquor. And if we examine Anacreon never so little, we shall find his inclinations, as well as his verses, were divided between wine and love. As much delicacy and fine turns as one finds in his works, an honest man cannot see without indignation, but that they tend absolutely to debauch. One must drink, one must love. The moments that are not employed in the pleasures of the senses are lost. Pausanius tells us, that he saw at Athens the statue of Anacreon, which represented him drunk and singing.The poet Philoxenus wished he had a neck as long as a crane, that he might the longer have the pleasure of swallowing wine, and enjoy its delicious taste.Ion, the poet of Chios, was not much more sober in respect of wine, according to Ælian and Euripides.Horace must by no means be forgotten, whose satires derive from the grape their sprightfulness and gaiety.Timocreon of Rhodes, a comic poet in the 75th Olympiad, was a great drinker. Athenæus has given of him this epitaph:—Multa bibens et multa vorans, mala plurima dicensMultis hic jaceo Timocreon Rhodius.To these we may add Alceus and Eunius, of whom we have already made mention; but what signifies this enumeration, since it is most certain, that almost all the poets in the world, of all ages, got drunk, which puts them under the protection of Bacchus. This made them heretofore in Rome celebrate once a year, in the month of March, a festival in honour to this God with solemn sacrifices. What Ovid2has said on this point puts the matter out of all doubt:—“Illa dies hæc est, qua te celebrare poetæSi modo non fallunt tempora, Bacche, solent,Festaque odoratis innectunt tempora sertisEt dicunt laudes ad tua vina tuas.Inter quos memini, dum me mea fata sinebant,Non invisa tibi pars egosæpefui.”This is the day, unless the times are chang’d,That poets us’d to sing in merry lays,And with sweet garlands crown’d, promiscuous rang’d,To thy rich wines, great Bacchus, chaunt thy praise.With these gay chorists, when my fates were kind,Free, unreserv’d, to thee, immortal power!(The pleasing object fresh salutes my mind)Without disguise a part I often bore.1.Sermo pedestris.2.Trist. v. 3.CHAP. XV.OF FREE MASONS, AND OTHER LEARNED MEN, THAT USED TO GET DRUNK.Ifwhat brother Eugenius Philalethes, author of Long Livers, a book dedicated to the Free Masons, says in his Preface1to that treatise,be true, those mystical gentlemen very well deserve a place amongst the learned. But, without entering into their peculiar jargon, or whether a man can be sacrilegiously perjured for revealing secrets when he has none, I do assure my readers, they are very great friends to the vintners. An eye-witness of this was I myself, at their late general meeting at Stationers’ Hall, who having learned some of their catechism, passed my examination, paid my five shillings, and took my place accordingly.We had a good dinner, and, to their eternal honour, the brotherhood laid about them very valiantly. They saw then their high dignity; they saw what they were, acted accordingly, and shewed themselves (what they were) men2. The Westphalia hams and chickens, with good plum pudding, not forgetting the delicious salmon, were plentifully sacrificed, with copious libationsof wine for the consolation of the brotherhood. But whether, after a very disedifying manner their demolishing huge walls of venison pasty, be building up a spiritual house, I leave to brother Eugenius Philalethes to determine. However, to do them justice, I must own, there was no mention made of politics or religion, so well do they seem to follow the advice of that author3. And when the music began to play, “Let the king enjoy his own again,” they were immediately reprimanded by a person of great gravity and science.The bottle, in the mean while, went merrily about, and the following healths were begun by a great man, The King, Prince and Princess, and the Royal Family; the Church as by Law established; Prosperity to Old England under the present Administration; and Love, Liberty, and Science; which were unanimously pledged in full bumpers, attended with loud huzzas.The faces then of the most ancient and most honourable fraternity of the Free Masons, brightened with ruddy fires; their eyes illuminated, resplendent blazed.Well fare ye, merry hearts, thought I, hail ye illustrious topers, if liberty and freedom, ye free mortals, is your essential difference, richly distinguishes you from all others, and is, indeed, the very soul and spirit of the brotherhood, according to brother Eugenius Philalethes4. I know not who may be your alma mater, butundoubtedlyBacchus is your liber pater.
1.Disq. Biblic. Journ. des Sçavans.2.Jo. Chr. Becman. Annal. Hist.3.Torner de Ebriet. lib. i. c. 3.
1.Disq. Biblic. Journ. des Sçavans.
2.Jo. Chr. Becman. Annal. Hist.
3.Torner de Ebriet. lib. i. c. 3.
Thereis no one that has ever so little dipped into ecclesiastical history, but knows very well, that in the primitive church it was a custom to appoint solemn feasts on the festivals of martyrs. This appears by the harangue of Constantine, and from the works of St. Gregory Nazianzen, and St. Chrysostom. People generally got drunk at these feasts; and this excess was looked upon as a thing that might be permitted. This evidently appears by the pathetic complaints of St. Augustin and St. Cyprian: the former of these holy fathers expresses himself after this manner:——“Drunken debauches pass as permitted amongst us, so that people turn them into solemn feasts, to honour the memory of the martyrs; and that not only on those days which are particularly consecrated to them, (which would be a deplorable abuse to those, who look at these things with other eyes than those of the flesh,) but on every day of the year1.”
St. Cyprian, in a treatise attributed to him, says much the same thing. “Drunkenness, says he, is so common with us in Africa, that it scarce passes for a crime. And do we not see Christians forcing one another to get drunk, to celebrate the memory of the martyrs2!”
But it was not only at these repasts that the Christians got drunk, they did the same on several other occasions; and it was on this account that St. Augustin wrote to his dear Alipius in these terms: “However the corruption of manners, and the unhappiness of the times, have induced us to wish, I do not say that people should not get drunk in particular houses, butthat they should not get drunk any where else3.”
Cardinal du Perron tells us, “That the Manichæans said, that the Catholicks were people much given to wine, but that they never drank any4.”
Against this charge St. Augustin no otherwise defends them, than by recrimination. He answers, “That it was true, but that they (the Manichæans) drank the juice of apples, which was more delicious than all the wines and liquors in the world. And so does Tertullian, which liquor pressed from apples, he says, was most strong and vinous.” His words are,Succum ex pomis vinosissimum5.
Here one may observe also, that the use of cider was very primitive and antient, but as strong and delicious as it was, the Catholicks stuck close to the juice of the grape, as what was entirely orthodox and no wise conversant with the heretics of those days.
But to return to these feasts just now mentioned, it is certain, that it was not only customary for the Christians of Africa to get drunk. They had this custom in common with the Christians of Italy, where these kinds of repasts were forbidden by the Council of Laodicea, which was held in the fourth century. Paulinus, however, (and I do not wonder at it, being a poet,) has endeavoured to excuse the Christians, on pretence that they only got drunk out of a good intention, which, say the casuists, judges all human actions6. His words are,
——“Ignoscenda tamen puto talia parvisGaudia quæ ducunt epulis, quia mentibus error.Irrepit rudibus, nec tantæ conscia culpæSimplicitas pietate cadit, male credula sanctosPerfusis halante mero gaudere sepulchris.6a
——“Ignoscenda tamen puto talia parvis
Gaudia quæ ducunt epulis, quia mentibus error.
Irrepit rudibus, nec tantæ conscia culpæ
Simplicitas pietate cadit, male credula sanctos
Perfusis halante mero gaudere sepulchris.6a
But yet that mirth in little feasts enjoy’d,I think should ready absolution find;Slight peccadillo of an erring mind,Artless and rude, of all disguises void,Their simple hearts too easy to believe(Conscious of nothing ill) that saints in tombsEnshrin’d should any happiness perceiveFrom quaffing cups, and wines ascending fumes,Must be excus’d, since what they did they meant,With piety ill plac’d, yet good intent.
But yet that mirth in little feasts enjoy’d,
I think should ready absolution find;
Slight peccadillo of an erring mind,
Artless and rude, of all disguises void,
Their simple hearts too easy to believe
(Conscious of nothing ill) that saints in tombs
Enshrin’d should any happiness perceive
From quaffing cups, and wines ascending fumes,
Must be excus’d, since what they did they meant,
With piety ill plac’d, yet good intent.
1.Ep. 22.2.Pamel. p. 416.3.Ep. 29.4.Perron, p. 64.5.Ibid.6.Quicquid agunt homines intentio judicat omne.6a.St. Paulinus of Nola (Paulinus Nolensis),possiblyCarmen IX. in St. Felicem.
1.Ep. 22.
2.Pamel. p. 416.
3.Ep. 29.
4.Perron, p. 64.
5.Ibid.
6.Quicquid agunt homines intentio judicat omne.
6a.St. Paulinus of Nola (Paulinus Nolensis),possiblyCarmen IX. in St. Felicem.
Ifone formed a judgment of the manner of Churchmen’s lives by their discourses, certainly one would take them for models of sobriety. But there is a great deal of difference between preaching and practising. This distinction is very solid, and daily experience confirms it. And if those gentlemen would do themselves justice, how many amongst them might say in particular,
Alas! how can I ever dare pretend,From man this ancient error to remove,Which they, ev’n to distraction, fondly love:If I, who blame it, with such pain defendMyself from this contagious malady,This epidemic poison of the mind.Weak reason, feeble thing, of which mankindSo boasts, this we can only build on thee,Unjust continuing still, and false and vain,In our discourses loudly we complainAgainst the passions, weakness, vice, and yetThose things we still cry down, we still commit.
Alas! how can I ever dare pretend,
From man this ancient error to remove,
Which they, ev’n to distraction, fondly love:
If I, who blame it, with such pain defend
Myself from this contagious malady,
This epidemic poison of the mind.
Weak reason, feeble thing, of which mankind
So boasts, this we can only build on thee,
Unjust continuing still, and false and vain,
In our discourses loudly we complain
Against the passions, weakness, vice, and yet
Those things we still cry down, we still commit.
One cannot, therefore, without indignation, hear Churchmen declaim against drunkenness, while they themselves are such ruddy examples of it.
Quis tulerit Gracchos de seditionequærentes.1
With patience who can hear west-country cuddenRail against roasted beef and good plum pudden?
With patience who can hear west-country cudden
Rail against roasted beef and good plum pudden?
If the law of prescription take place, one cannot dispute with them that of fuddling with any colour of reason, for in St. Jerom’s time, the priests were very much given to wine. This we learn from an epistle of that father, in which he very severely reprehends them. They havebeen no changelings since. We read in the adages of Erasmus, that it was a proverb amongst the Germans, that the lives of the monks consisted in nothing but eating, drinking, and——Monachorum nunc nihil aliud est quam facere, esse, bibere. Besides, a vast number of councils, who made most severe canons against priests that should get drunk, evidently shew, that they used frequently to do so. Such were the Councils of Carthage, Agathon, the first of Tours, that of Worms, Treves, &c. To make this more clear, we shall copy a little of what H. Stephens says on this subject, in his apology for Herodotus:— “But to return, says he, to these proverbs, theologal wine, and the abbots, or prelates table. I say, that without these, one could never rightly understand this beautiful passage of Horace, viz.
“Nunc est bibendum, nunc pede liberoPulsanda tellus: Nunc saliaribusOrnare pulvinar DeorumTempus erit dapibus sodales.”1a
“Nunc est bibendum, nunc pede libero
Pulsanda tellus: Nunc saliaribus
Ornare pulvinar Deorum
Tempus erit dapibus sodales.”1a
“Come, boys,letsput the flowing goblet round,Drink hard, and with brisk measures beat the ground.The tables of the gods now bright shall shineWith cheer luxurious, fit for mouths of priests,When holy epicures become your guests,And venerably quaff large cups of wine.”
“Come, boys,letsput the flowing goblet round,
Drink hard, and with brisk measures beat the ground.
The tables of the gods now bright shall shine
With cheer luxurious, fit for mouths of priests,
When holy epicures become your guests,
And venerably quaff large cups of wine.”
Northis other,
“Absumet hæres cæcuba digniorServata centum clavibus: & meroTinget pavimentum superboPontificum potiore cænis.”1b
“Absumet hæres cæcuba dignior
Servata centum clavibus: & mero
Tinget pavimentum superbo
Pontificum potiore cænis.”1b
“A worthy heir shall then with joy unbindCæcubian, by a hundred locks confin’d,And tinge with better wines the ground,Than e’er at feasts pontifical are found.”
“A worthy heir shall then with joy unbind
Cæcubian, by a hundred locks confin’d,
And tinge with better wines the ground,
Than e’er at feasts pontifical are found.”
“You see how necessary these proverbs are, to let us into the true understanding of these two passages of this poet. Here follows, word for word, what a certain gloss says of the last of them,Mero dicit potiore (meliore) cænis pontificum, quam quo pontifices in cænis suis, quæ semper sumtuosissimæ fuerunt, unde nunc theologicum dicunt vinum, usi sunt. That is, with better wine than that which the chief priestsused at their suppers, which were always most sumptuous and expensive, and which sort of wine we call now theological.
“By this you plainly see how much attached to divines and prelates those gentlemen are who make profession of being expositors of the poets. But in relation to this same theologal, or theological, I know very well that it is a great question if it should be calledvinum theologale, orvinum theologalis per appositionem; for the wicked laity, some of them will have it, that when these good men get tipsy they agree no otherwise than dogs and cats. But I shall leave this dispute to be decided by the readers. And as to these two proverbs, they put me in mind of another, and that is, an abbot’s face, which proverb being very ancient, makes me believe that formerly the abbots had their faces illuminated.—But without going any farther for witnesses, I shall content myself with presenting my readers with the following piece of antiquity, viz.
“Sanctus Dominicus sit nobis semper amicus,Cui canimus rostro jugiter preconia nostroDe cordis venis siccatis ante lagenis.Ergo tuas laudes si tu nos pangere gaudesTempore paschali, fac ne potu putealiConveniat uti, quod si fit undique mutiSemper erunt fratres qui non curant nisi ventres.”
“Sanctus Dominicus sit nobis semper amicus,
Cui canimus rostro jugiter preconia nostro
De cordis venis siccatis ante lagenis.
Ergo tuas laudes si tu nos pangere gaudes
Tempore paschali, fac ne potu puteali
Conveniat uti, quod si fit undique muti
Semper erunt fratres qui non curant nisi ventres.”
“O good Saint Dominic, be ay propitious,Whose praise we daily chirp in notes deliciousFrom all the veins of all our hearts,Having toss’d up some double quarts.Therefore, if’t be thy true desire,We chaunt thy lauds at Easter quire.Let not thy saintship think it meetWe drink from well tho’ ne’er so sweet,Liquor unworthy priest or parson,If so, yourfrierswill hang an arse on,Who nothing mind, I need not tell ye,Most holy patron, but their belly.So used, they’ll ev’ry soul be dumb,Nodixit dominus, but————mum.”
“O good Saint Dominic, be ay propitious,
Whose praise we daily chirp in notes delicious
From all the veins of all our hearts,
Having toss’d up some double quarts.
Therefore, if’t be thy true desire,
We chaunt thy lauds at Easter quire.
Let not thy saintship think it meet
We drink from well tho’ ne’er so sweet,
Liquor unworthy priest or parson,
If so, yourfrierswill hang an arse on,
Who nothing mind, I need not tell ye,
Most holy patron, but their belly.
So used, they’ll ev’ry soul be dumb,
Nodixit dominus, but————mum.”
Not unlike this is what follows:—
“O monachi, vestri stomachi sunt amphora Bacchi,Vos estis, Deus est testis, teterrima pestis!”
“O monachi, vestri stomachi sunt amphora Bacchi,
Vos estis, Deus est testis, teterrima pestis!”
“O monks, ye reverend drones, your gutsOf wine are but so many buts;You are, God knows (who can abide ye?)Of plagues the rankest,bona fide!”
“O monks, ye reverend drones, your guts
Of wine are but so many buts;
You are, God knows (who can abide ye?)
Of plagues the rankest,bona fide!”
1.Juvenal.SatireII.24.1a.Horace,OdesI.xxxvii.1-4.1b.Horace,OdesII.xiv.25-28.
1.Juvenal.SatireII.24.
1a.Horace,OdesI.xxxvii.1-4.
1b.Horace,OdesII.xiv.25-28.
Afterhaving spoken of the drunkenness of churchmen in general, it will not, perhaps, be a thing altogether needless, to put the whole in the clearest light, to confirm what has been said, by the example of Popes, Saints, and Bishops, who have practised that laudable custom of getting drunk.
A little song, mentioned by H. Stephens, inhisapology for Herodotus, affords matter of speculation in relation to the sobriety of sovereign pontiffs.
“Le Pape qui est a Rome,Boit du vin comme un autre hommeEt de l’Hypocras aussi.”
“Le Pape qui est a Rome,
Boit du vin comme un autre homme
Et de l’Hypocras aussi.”
The Pope at Rome, his holiness,Of wine drinks many a hearty glass,And pleasant Hypocras also,As any other man I trow.
The Pope at Rome, his holiness,
Of wine drinks many a hearty glass,
And pleasant Hypocras also,
As any other man I trow.
If one reads over the popes lives, we shall be fully convinced that these holy fathers were no enemies to wine. Alexander the Fifth was a great drinker, and that too of strong wines, says his own historian, Theoderic de Neim. If one may give any credit to the letters of the king of Spain’s ambassador to his master, Sixtus Quintus was a terrible drunkard1.
And Pope Boniface instituted indulgencies for those who should drink a cup after grace (called since St. Boniface’s cup). A plain argument that his sanctity did not hate wine.
This puts me in my mind of what I have formerly read, though the author’s name is now slipped out of my memory, that when cardinal Pignatelli, afterwards Innocent the Twelfth, was advanced to the papacy, his name signifying little pots or mugs, three of which he bore for hisarms; and whose mother was of the house of Caraffa, which signifies a jug, a Frenchman made these lines:—
“Nous devons tousboireen reposSous le regne de ce saint pereSon nomses armes sont des potsUne Caraffe etoit sa mere.Celebrons donc avec eclatCet auguste Pontificat.”
“Nous devons tousboireen repos
Sous le regne de ce saint pere
Son nomses armes sont des pots
Une Caraffe etoit sa mere.
Celebrons donc avec eclat
Cet auguste Pontificat.”
Under this holy father’s reignHang sorrow, let us ne’er complain;I think all of us should turn sots,And fuddle with one another,His name, and so his arms, are pots,And a gallon pot was his mother;Then let us brightly celebrateThis most august Pontificate.
Under this holy father’s reign
Hang sorrow, let us ne’er complain;
I think all of us should turn sots,
And fuddle with one another,
His name, and so his arms, are pots,
And a gallon pot was his mother;
Then let us brightly celebrate
This most august Pontificate.
In the main, this is nothing but a little punning or playing with words, but it is one of those agreeable trifles that may now and then be worth our thinking on.
One may add to the number of such popes as loved fuddling, all those who sat at Avignon;for if we believe Petrarch2, the long residence that the court of Rome made at Avignon, was only to taste the good French wines; and that it was merely on that account they stayed so long in Provence, and removed with so much reluctance.
Let us now pass on to Saints and Bishops. I shall only instance one of each, because I hate prolixity. The first Saint that presents himself to me, is the renowned St. Augustin, who himself owns, that he used to get drunk sometimes.Crapula autem nonnunquam surrepit servo tuo misereberis ut longe fiat à me.Thy servant has been sometimes crop-sick through excess of wine, have mercy on me, that it may be ever far from me. It is true,3M. Cousin maintains against my author, M. Petit, the Journal des Sçavans, of the year 1689, 27th June, that St. Augustin, however, never got drunk. The arguments on both sides you may find in Bayle’s Dictionary, under the article Augustin. Butyet there are somewhere in St. Augustin these words, viz. My soul certainly being a spirit cannot dwell in a dry place.Anima mea certè quia spiritus est, in sicco habitare non potest.
I shall make no comment upon these words, only insert one already made, which I take from M. Duchat in his Remarks on Rabelais4. On these words of Saint Augustin, says he, mentioned in the second part of the Decretals, caus. 32, q. 2, c. 9, the commentator says, “And this is an argument for the Normans, English, and Poles, that they may drink largely, that the soul may not live in the dry.Et est argumentum pro Normannis, Anglicis, et Polonis, ut possint fortiter bibere, ne anima habitet insicco.To which Peter Chatelain, a Flemish physician, made this pleasant addition,Itis very probable, that the commentator was an entire stranger to the nature of the Flemings.Verisimile est glossatorem ignorasse naturam Belgarum.”
And, perhaps, this argument from St. Augustine’s words, is as just as one of a merry fellowI knew, who would prove, from St. Paul’s going to the Three Taverns5, That he loved a hearty bottle.
Amongst the Bishops, I cannot instance a more illustrious example of a great drinker than that of Pontus de Thiard. We are told6, “That this gentleman, after having repented of the sins of his youth, came to be bishop of Chalons sur Soane; but, however, he did not renounce the power of drinking heartily, which seemed then inseparable from the quality of a good poet. He had a stomach big enough to empty the largest cellar; and the best wines of Burgundy were too gross for the subtility of the fire which devoured him. Every night, at going to bed, besides the ordinary doses of the day, in which he would not suffer the least drop of water, he used to drink a bottle before he slept. He enjoyed a strong, robust, and vigorous health; to the age of fourscore.
1.Thuan. p. 447.2.Perron, p. 387.3.Petit Nepænth, p. 137.4.Liv. i. ch. 5.5.Acts, cap. xxviii. v. 15.6.Rep. des Lett. Febr. 1687, art. 7.
1.Thuan. p. 447.
2.Perron, p. 387.
3.Petit Nepænth, p. 137.
4.Liv. i. ch. 5.
5.Acts, cap. xxviii. v. 15.
6.Rep. des Lett. Febr. 1687, art. 7.
Since, according to Horace’s observation, every one conforms himself to the example of the prince.
“Regis ad exemplum totus componitur orbis.”a
And that, according to Seneca’s maxim, one must regulate one’s conduct by illustrious models.
“Vita est instituenda illustribus exemplis.”
It must not be wondered at that people so generally get drunk, since in this they follow the examples of great kings, amongst whom are very few that this verse of Ovid, which Guy Patin applied to Naudæus and Gassendi, agrees with1.
“Vina fugit gaudetque meris abstemius undis.”1a
Flies wine abstemious, but the limpid stream,Pure and unmixed, his thirsty heat subdues.
Flies wine abstemious, but the limpid stream,
Pure and unmixed, his thirsty heat subdues.
And, perhaps, this is the reason, why in comedies they bestow crowns to those that are drunk.
—————Quid ego videoPS.Cum coronâ ebrium pseudolum meum2.
—————Quid ego video
PS.Cum coronâ ebrium pseudolum meum2.
And in Amphytrion, Mercury says,
Ibo inter et capiam ornatum qui potius decet.2a
“I’ll go in and take the ornament which better becomes me.” For he had said a little before,
Capiam coronam in caput, assimulabo me esse ebrium.2a
I’ll put a crown upon my head, and feign myself drunk.
Lipsius3furnished me with these examples.
But I should never have done, if I endeavoured to give a list of all the kings that got drunk.
————“Quorum si nomina quærasPromptius expediam quot amaverat Hippiamæchos,Quot themison ægros autumno occiderat uno4.”
————“Quorum si nomina quæras
Promptius expediam quot amaverat Hippiamæchos,
Quot themison ægros autumno occiderat uno4.”
————Whose names, if you require,With greater expedition could I tell,To Hippia’s lust how many prostrate fell;How many only in one autumn died,By doctors, and their slip-slops ill applied.
————Whose names, if you require,
With greater expedition could I tell,
To Hippia’s lust how many prostrate fell;
How many only in one autumn died,
By doctors, and their slip-slops ill applied.
I shall content myself, therefore, to instance some of the most illustrious, as they come into my mind, without observing any certain order.
Alexander the Great first offers himself to my imagination. It will be sufficient to mention his name, without saying any more.Nomen non amplius addam.
Cæsar, to make use of Balzac’s words, was not always the sober destroyer of the commonwealth, and he did not at all times hate the pleasure of drinking.
Cambyses was also very much given to wine, as may be judged by what I am going to say. This prince, having been told by one of his courtiers, That the people took notice he got drunk too often, taking, some time after, his bow and arrow, shot the son of that courtier through the heart, saying no more than this to the father, Is this the act of a drunkard?
Darius, the first king of Persia, had these words put upon his tomb:—
Vinum multum bibere potui idque perferre.
I could drink much wine and bear it well.
King Antigonus may come in here. Ælian reports of this prince, That one day when he was much in drink, meeting Zeno the philosopher, whom he had a great kindness for, he kissed him, and promised to give him whatever he would desire. Zeno only answered very mildly, Go and ease your stomach by vomiting, that’s all I ask of you at present.
Philip, king of Macedon, got drunk sometimes; witness what a woman, whom he had not donejustice to, said to him, viz. I appeal from Philip drunk, to Philip when sober.
Dionysius5the younger, tyrant of Sicily, was sometimes drunk for nine days successively; he drank himself almost blind, and the lords of his court, to flatter him, pretended they themselves could scarce see, so that they neither eat nor drank but what he reached to them.
Tiberius was called Biberius, because of his excessive attachment to drinking; and, in derision, they changed his surname of Nero into Mero.
Bonosus was a terrible drinker, if one may give any credit to his own historian, Flavius Vopiscus. He used to make ambassadors, that came to him from foreign powers, drunk, in order, by that means, to discover their secret instructions.
Maximin6, the father, drank very often a pot containing two gallons. One might very well, therefore, have given him this epitaph:—
Hic jacet amphora vini.
Trajan and Nerva, those excellent princes, took sometimes a pleasure in getting drunk.
Galerius Maximinus, who, according to Aurelius Victor, was a prince of sweet temper, and loved men of probity and letters, had a very great passion for wine, and frequently got drunk. Having once given orders when he was in this condition, which he repented of when sober, he solemnly forbad any one to obey such orders that he should give when he should get drunk for the future.
a.Claudian,De Quarto Consulatu Honorii Augusti(VIII) 300.1.Esprit de Pat. p. 22.1a.Ovid,MetamorphosesXV.323.2.Plautus.Pseudolus1286-87.2a.Plautus,Amphitryon1007;Amphitryon999.3.Ant. Lect. lib. iii.4.Juvenal, satire x. v. 220.i.e. 219-221.5.Ælian, chap. 6.6.J. Capitolin.
a.Claudian,De Quarto Consulatu Honorii Augusti(VIII) 300.
1.Esprit de Pat. p. 22.
1a.Ovid,MetamorphosesXV.323.
2.Plautus.Pseudolus1286-87.
2a.Plautus,Amphitryon1007;Amphitryon999.
3.Ant. Lect. lib. iii.
4.Juvenal, satire x. v. 220.i.e. 219-221.
5.Ælian, chap. 6.
6.J. Capitolin.
Thoughthe example and authority of Philosophers prove nothing, yet one must not imagine with Boileau,
“————————Que sans Aristote,La raison ne voit goute, et le bon sens redote.”
“————————Que sans Aristote,
La raison ne voit goute, et le bon sens redote.”
That reason, void of Aristotle’s rule,Insipid grows, good sense a doating fool.
That reason, void of Aristotle’s rule,
Insipid grows, good sense a doating fool.
It is, however, very true, that we shall find ourselves wonderfully disposed to get fuddled, when we consider that those of antiquity, for whom we have most respect and veneration, have made no manner of difficulty to get drunk sometimes, and have praised drunkenness not only by their actions but discourse. This I am going plainly to make appear. I begin with the Seven Sages of Greece, who were acknowledged as such by all antiquity. These philosophers did not look upon drunkenness as a thing incompatible with virtue, of which they made strict profession. History tells us, that they drank largely at the entertainment Periander the Tyrant, or king of Corinth, gave them.
Solon, that famous, yet so rigid, legislator of the Athenians, composed a song in the praise of wine, in which he introduced Venus and the Muses. Seneca is of opinion, that he was suspected to be as much given to wine as Arcesilaus. And M. Chevreau1observes very well, that “Thewisdom of Solon was not of such an austerity as to frighten people, when he said, That the ladies, wine, and the Muses, were the pleasures of human life.”
Zeno, whose philosophy was so severe, got, notwithstanding, drunk sometimes. Being one day at an entertainment, he was asked how he came to be so joyful, he answered, that he was like lupins, which were bitter naturally, but grew sweet after they were moistened.
Socrates, whom the oracle declared the wisest man of Greece, was, in like manner, a very great drinker. M. Charpentier, in his Life, tells us, That though he did not love to drink, yet when he was forced to it, no one could come up to him; and that he had this wonderful happiness, as not afterwards to find himself incommoded by it.
Cato, that hero of stoicism, got drunk sometimes, in order to relax his mind, fatigued with the cares of public employment. These are the very words of Seneca, Catovino laxabat animum curis publicis fatigatum. And the same author says elsewhere, that “People reproached Cato with drunkenness, but that reproach was rather an honour to him than otherwise.”Catoniebrietas objecta est, et facilius efficiet quisquis objecerit honestum quam turpem Catonem.Horace gives us the same idea of the great Cato, in these words:—
“Narratur et prisci CatonisSæpe mero caluisse virtus.”1a
“Narratur et prisci Catonis
Sæpe mero caluisse virtus.”1a
Tradition tells, that oftentimes with wine,Ev’n Cato’s virtue moisten’d, shone divine.
Tradition tells, that oftentimes with wine,
Ev’n Cato’s virtue moisten’d, shone divine.
If one knew the Scythian philosopher Anacharsis no otherwise than by his apophthegms against wine and drunkenness, one would take him for the soberest man in the world, but we know very well that his theory varied very much upon this point, and no way agreed with his practice. One day above the rest, having got drunk at an entertainment given by Lybis, brother to Pittacus, he demanded the prize that was to be given to the greatest drinker. With which action, when he was afterwards reproached, he replied, “Can a man better signalize himself in battle than by glorious wounds? and at table, than with that gaiety you call drunkenness? Did not Homer, thewisest of your poets, make not only Agamemnon drunk, but Jupiter too, and made nectar flow in full goblets at the table of the Gods2?” Ælian3also tells us, that this philosopher drank largely at Periander’s feasts, and alleged for an excuse, That to drink a great deal was essential to the Scythians.
Plato, another hero of antiquity, not only permitted, but commanded, that people should get drunk at some certain times. To prove what I say, one has no more to do than to read his laws.
Seneca, who was so severe a philosopher, at least his rigid precepts would make one think him so, thought it no harm now and then to get drunk, and ranges drunkenness amongst the means he prescribes to maintain the strength and vigour of the mind. I have quoted what he says in this respect in the first and second chapter of this work.
The philosopher Arcesilaus, who lived about the 120th Olympiad, might be reckoned amongstthose who loved wine, since he died by drinking too much of it unmixed. A greater, and more convincing proof of his sincere love to the creature could not be given.
For he that hangs, or beats out’s brains,The devil’s in him if he feigns4.
For he that hangs, or beats out’s brains,
The devil’s in him if he feigns4.
Xenocrates5, one of the most illustrious philosophers of ancient Greece, and of a virtue very rigid and severe, got drunk sometimes. Ælian has put his name into the catalogue of those who loved drinking, and could bear a good deal of liquor. Athenæus, says this philosopher, gained the crown of gold which the tyrant of Syracuse had promised him that should empty a certain measure of wine. Diogenes Laertius confirms this last particular. “He had moreover acquired such an empire over his passions, that a very beautiful courtesan (Phryne) who had laid a wager she could subdue his virtue, lost it, though she had the liberty to lie with him, and use allher little toyings to incite him to enjoy her.” You see here (adds Mr. Bayle) a triumph as remarkable as that of S. Aldhelme, and some other canonized saints, who came off victorious on such attacks.
Cicero6assures us, That Stilpo of Megera, the philosopher, a man of much wit and ability for the times he lived in, loved wine as well as women; and, that his friends wrote this of him in his praise, and not dishonour.
Athenæus says, That the philosophers Lacides and Timon, once upon a time, past two whole days successively in drinking. Ælian puts their names into his catalogue of hard drinkers; to which he adds Amasis, the lawgiver of the Egyptians.
Chrysippus the philosopher, native of Solos, a town of Cilicia, or of Tharsus, according to others, got drunk pretty often. It is said, That some of his disciples having prevailed upon him to come to a sacrifice, he drank so much pure wine, that he died five days afterwards. There are other authors, however, will have it, that hedied of immoderate laughter, seeing an ass eat figs out of a dish, and upon which he commanded they should give him drink.
1.Solonem et Arcesilaum credunt indulsisse vino.1a.Horace,OdesIII.xxi.11-12.2.Hist. Sep. Sap.3.Lib. ii. 2.4.Hudibras.5.Bayle Dict. Art. Xenoc.6.Lib. de Fab.
1.Solonem et Arcesilaum credunt indulsisse vino.
1a.Horace,OdesIII.xxi.11-12.
2.Hist. Sep. Sap.
3.Lib. ii. 2.
4.Hudibras.
5.Bayle Dict. Art. Xenoc.
6.Lib. de Fab.
Aswine is the poet’s great horse, so it must not be wondered at, that the major part of them fuddle their noses; for, in reality, they cannot properly be said to be mounted on their great horses, till they have drunk pretty heartily. These gentlemen speak then on horseback, for the discourse of poets is quite opposite to that of orators, which Horace says, is a discourse on foot1, but when they drink nothing we can only say, that they are mounted upon.
The attachment that Homer had to wine, appearsin the frequent eulogiums he gives that liquor. And if we examine Anacreon never so little, we shall find his inclinations, as well as his verses, were divided between wine and love. As much delicacy and fine turns as one finds in his works, an honest man cannot see without indignation, but that they tend absolutely to debauch. One must drink, one must love. The moments that are not employed in the pleasures of the senses are lost. Pausanius tells us, that he saw at Athens the statue of Anacreon, which represented him drunk and singing.
The poet Philoxenus wished he had a neck as long as a crane, that he might the longer have the pleasure of swallowing wine, and enjoy its delicious taste.
Ion, the poet of Chios, was not much more sober in respect of wine, according to Ælian and Euripides.
Horace must by no means be forgotten, whose satires derive from the grape their sprightfulness and gaiety.
Timocreon of Rhodes, a comic poet in the 75th Olympiad, was a great drinker. Athenæus has given of him this epitaph:—
Multa bibens et multa vorans, mala plurima dicensMultis hic jaceo Timocreon Rhodius.
Multa bibens et multa vorans, mala plurima dicens
Multis hic jaceo Timocreon Rhodius.
To these we may add Alceus and Eunius, of whom we have already made mention; but what signifies this enumeration, since it is most certain, that almost all the poets in the world, of all ages, got drunk, which puts them under the protection of Bacchus. This made them heretofore in Rome celebrate once a year, in the month of March, a festival in honour to this God with solemn sacrifices. What Ovid2has said on this point puts the matter out of all doubt:—
“Illa dies hæc est, qua te celebrare poetæSi modo non fallunt tempora, Bacche, solent,Festaque odoratis innectunt tempora sertisEt dicunt laudes ad tua vina tuas.Inter quos memini, dum me mea fata sinebant,Non invisa tibi pars egosæpefui.”
“Illa dies hæc est, qua te celebrare poetæ
Si modo non fallunt tempora, Bacche, solent,
Festaque odoratis innectunt tempora sertis
Et dicunt laudes ad tua vina tuas.
Inter quos memini, dum me mea fata sinebant,
Non invisa tibi pars egosæpefui.”
This is the day, unless the times are chang’d,That poets us’d to sing in merry lays,And with sweet garlands crown’d, promiscuous rang’d,To thy rich wines, great Bacchus, chaunt thy praise.With these gay chorists, when my fates were kind,Free, unreserv’d, to thee, immortal power!(The pleasing object fresh salutes my mind)Without disguise a part I often bore.
This is the day, unless the times are chang’d,
That poets us’d to sing in merry lays,
And with sweet garlands crown’d, promiscuous rang’d,
To thy rich wines, great Bacchus, chaunt thy praise.
With these gay chorists, when my fates were kind,
Free, unreserv’d, to thee, immortal power!
(The pleasing object fresh salutes my mind)
Without disguise a part I often bore.
1.Sermo pedestris.2.Trist. v. 3.
1.Sermo pedestris.
2.Trist. v. 3.
Ifwhat brother Eugenius Philalethes, author of Long Livers, a book dedicated to the Free Masons, says in his Preface1to that treatise,be true, those mystical gentlemen very well deserve a place amongst the learned. But, without entering into their peculiar jargon, or whether a man can be sacrilegiously perjured for revealing secrets when he has none, I do assure my readers, they are very great friends to the vintners. An eye-witness of this was I myself, at their late general meeting at Stationers’ Hall, who having learned some of their catechism, passed my examination, paid my five shillings, and took my place accordingly.
We had a good dinner, and, to their eternal honour, the brotherhood laid about them very valiantly. They saw then their high dignity; they saw what they were, acted accordingly, and shewed themselves (what they were) men2. The Westphalia hams and chickens, with good plum pudding, not forgetting the delicious salmon, were plentifully sacrificed, with copious libationsof wine for the consolation of the brotherhood. But whether, after a very disedifying manner their demolishing huge walls of venison pasty, be building up a spiritual house, I leave to brother Eugenius Philalethes to determine. However, to do them justice, I must own, there was no mention made of politics or religion, so well do they seem to follow the advice of that author3. And when the music began to play, “Let the king enjoy his own again,” they were immediately reprimanded by a person of great gravity and science.
The bottle, in the mean while, went merrily about, and the following healths were begun by a great man, The King, Prince and Princess, and the Royal Family; the Church as by Law established; Prosperity to Old England under the present Administration; and Love, Liberty, and Science; which were unanimously pledged in full bumpers, attended with loud huzzas.
The faces then of the most ancient and most honourable fraternity of the Free Masons, brightened with ruddy fires; their eyes illuminated, resplendent blazed.
Well fare ye, merry hearts, thought I, hail ye illustrious topers, if liberty and freedom, ye free mortals, is your essential difference, richly distinguishes you from all others, and is, indeed, the very soul and spirit of the brotherhood, according to brother Eugenius Philalethes4. I know not who may be your alma mater, butundoubtedlyBacchus is your liber pater.