The Arvada enterprise., 1911-03-23
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RAPID PACE IN TEMPERANCE
-Ancients Spent Immense Sums
of Money on Wine.
CBy JOHN WATSON WHITE.

'DI oDiIN w ~ 4 oCN VIM EsD
The world is nearer real temper
ance today than at any time In It's his
tory.
Teetotalers may not believe this. but
II they read the following they will
realize that the world at least Is for
getting how to get really good and
drunk The men Of 60 or 10 years
ago were great drinkers. but for point
ers on how to get drunk and spend
money 1t is necessary to turn to the
ancients.
Caesar on a certain occasion while
drunk with wine is said to have given
Eutychus. his Charloteer. tip
amounting to $4,000. the largest
money tip on record.
Philip OF Macedon was drunkard
He always left the banquet table stag
gering. Alexander the Great, his son,
inherited his weakness for drink. 1t
took him two days and two nights to
sleep of banquet. He died Of drink
at the age of 32.
Dionysius, the younger, tyrant of 81
cily, went on sprees which lasted three
months at time. He lost his eyesight
through overindulgence.
Nero was in the habit of sitting at
noon and sticking there until midnight
eating and drinking all the time.
Tiberius was a sincere drunkard.
After becoming emperor of Rome he
was drunk so often that his army
nicknamed him "Biberius." meaning
"tippler" He had two boon compan-
ions. Flaccus and Piso, with whom he
went of sprees. At the weeping stage
they deplored the prevalence Of drunk
enness Tiberius was very fond OF
mushrooms, and died from eating the
wrong kind.
Nowhere in all the world today will
you find as many confirmed drunkards
as there were among the Thracians,
the Iberians. the Celts or the Scythi-
ans. The man who didn't get
drunk every day or two was consid-
cred queer.
Eat. drink and amuse yourself All
else is vanity" said Sardanapalus. the
last king of the Assyrians. and those
words were written on his tomb
The Greeks were moderate drinkers
until they began to copy the luxury of
the Persian feas.s. The Romans imi-
tated the Greeks. Then the whole
world went on saturnalia.
In the beginning no wrong was
thought of drinking. and the moralists
even advised drink to dispel melan-
choly. Hippocrates upheld drinking
and earnestly advised people to drown
their sorrows in wine.
The Romans carried over indulgence
to an extreme never equaled In an
other age. Gluttony and intemper-
ance reigned. and huge fortunes were
spent In single repasts
or the many feasts given by Vitelius
not one cost less than $1,000. and his
reign was an almost continuous de-
bauch. Commodus was notorious
drunkard. and Septimus Severus was
not much better. Several died of over
Indulgence in the flowing bowl.
When Meliogabalus ascended the
throne he had historiographer whose
special task was to record the orgies.
Forty courses day were served at his
feasts, each one OF which cost not less
than $4,000. He gave fortunes to new
inventors of drinks.
Apicius spent $3.OOO,OO0 on rare
wines and dishes. He went over his
books one day and found he had but
$3.50. 900 left. Rather than starye on
such a pittance he killed himself. Api-
cius discovered how to keep oysters
alive during long shipments. For this
he was revered rs demigod.
Many of the famous drunkards drank
$500 worth of wine at single meal.
Al a little luncheon given to Cicero
and Pompey by Lucullus, $4,000 worth
of wine was consumed by the three.
These facts leave no doubt that we
are comparatively sober nowadays.