nae ordered the master of the ship to sail
back the same way into Italy, without going near the
land....

"When the emperor Trajan [A.D. 52 or 53-117] was in
Parthia [a country in Asia, part of Persia?] at a
distance of many days from the sea, Apicius sent him
fresh oysters, which he had kept so by a clever
contrivance of his own; real oysters...."

(The instructions given in our Apicius book, Recipe 14, for the
keeping of oysters would hardly guarantee their safe arrival on such
a journey as described above.)

Athenaeus tells us further that many of the Apician recipes were
famous and that many dishes were named after him. This confirms the
theory that Apicius was not the author of the present book but that
the book was dedicated to him by an unknown author or compiler.
Athenaeus also mentions one Apion who wrote a book on luxurious
living. Whether this man is identical with the author or patron of our
book is problematic. Torinus, in his _epistola dedicatoria_ to the
1541 edition expresses the same doubt.

Marcus Gabius (or Gavius) Apicius lived during Rome's most interesting
epoch, when the empire had reached its highest point, when the seeds
of decline, not yet apparent, were in the ground, when in the quiet
villages of that far-off province, Palestine, the Saviour's doctrines
fascinated humble audiences--teachings that later reaching the very
heart of the world's mistress were destined to tarnish the splendor of
that autocrat.

According to the mention by various writers, this man, M. Gabius
Apicius, was one of the many ancient gastronomers who took the subject
of food seriously. Assuming a scientific attitude towards eating and
food they were criticised for paying too much attention to their
table. This was considered a superfluous and indeed wicked luxury when
frugality was a virtue. These men who knew by intuition the importance
of knowing something about nutrition are only now being vindicated by
the findings of modern science.

M. Gabius Apicius, this most famous of the celebrated and much
maligned bon-vivants, quite naturally took great interest in the
preparation of food. He is said to have originated many dishes
himself; he collected much material on the subject and he endowed a
school for the teaching of cookery and for the promotion of culinary
ideas. This very statement by his critics places him high in our
esteem, as it shows him up as a scientist and educator. He sp