CHAP. 41.—THE VARIOUS PROPERTIES OF SALT: ONE HUNDRED
AND TWENTY HISTORICAL REMARKS RELATIVE THERETO.
Of the various kinds of sea-salt, the most esteemed is that of
Salamis, in Cyprus; and of the lake-salts, that of Tarentum,
and the salt known as Tattæan salt, which comes from Phrygia:
these last two are also good for the eyes. That of Capadocia,
which is imported in small cubes,
1 imparts a fine colour, it is
said, to the skin; but, for effacing wrinkles, that which we
have
2 already spoken of as the salt of Citium is the best:
hence it is that, in combination with gith,
3 it is used by females as a liniment for the abdomen after childbirth. The
drier the salt, the stronger it is in taste; but the most agreeable of all, and the whitest known, is that of Tarentun. In
addition to these particulars, we would remark also, that the
whiter salt is, the more friable it is. Rain-water deadens
every kind of salt, but dew-water makes it more deicate in
flavour. North-easterly winds render the formation of salt
more abundant, but, while south winds prevail, it never increases. It is only while north-easterly winds prevail, that
flower of salt
4 is formed. Neither the salt of Trgasa, nor
the Acanthian salt—so called from the town
5 where it is
found—will decrepitate or crackle in the fire; nor will the
froth of salt do so, or the outside scrapings, or refined salt.
The salt of Agrigentum
6 resists fire, but decrepitates in
water.
There are differences, too, in the colour of salt: at Memphis
it is deep red, russet-coloured in the vicinity of the Oxus,
purple at Centuripa, and so remarkably bright at Gela, situate
also
7 in Sicily, as to reflect the image of objects. In Cappadocia there is a saffron-coloured fossil salt, transparent and
remarkably odoriferous. For medicinal purposes, the ancients
esteemed the salt of Tarentum in particular, and next to that
all the marine salts, those collected from sea-foam more especially. For maladies of the eyes in cattle and beasts of burden,
the salt of Tragasa and that of Bætica are employed. For
made dishes
8 and ordinary food, the more easily a salt liquefies
and the moister it is, the more highly it is esteemed; there
being less bitterness in salt of this description, that of Attica
and of Eubœa, for example. For keeping meat, a pungent,
dry, salt, like that of Megara, is best. A conserve of salt is also
made, with the addition of various odoriferous substances,
which answers all the purpose of a choice sauce,
9 sharpening
the appetite, and imparting a relish to all kinds of food: indeed, among the innumerable condiments which we use, the
flavour of salt is always distinctly perceptible; and when
we take garum
10 with our food, it is its salt flavour that is
considered so exquisite. And not only this, but sheep even,
cattle, and beasts of burden, are induced to graze all the better
11 by giving them salt; it having the effect, also, of considerably augmenting the milk, and imparting a superior flavour
to the cheese.
We may conclude, then, by Hercules! that the higher enjoyments of life could not exist without the use of salt: indeed,
so highly necessary is this substance to mankind, that the
pleasures of the mind, even, can be expressed by no better
term than the word "salt,"
12 such being the name given to
all effusions of wit. All the amenities, in fact, of life, supreme
hilarity, and relaxation from toil, can find no word in our language to characterize them better than this. Even in the
very honours, too, that are bestowed upon successful warfare,
salt plays its part, and from it, our word "salarium"
13 is derived.
That salt was held in high esteem by the ancients, is evident
from the Salarian
14 Way, so named from the fact that, by
agreement, the Sabini carried all their salt by that road. King
Ancus Martius gave six hundred modii of salt as a largess
15
to the people, and was the first to establish salt-works. Varro
also informs us, that the ancients used salt by way of a relishing sauce; and we know, from an old proverb,
16 that it was
the practice with them to eat salt with their bread. But it is
in our sacred rites more particularly, that its high importance
is to be recognized, no offering ever being made unaccompanied
by the salted cake.
17