as found in the Bible [2], I shall turn myself immediately, and
without further preamble, to a few cursory observations respecting
the Greeks, Romans, Britons, and those other nations, Saxons, Danes,
and Normans, with whom the people of this nation are more closely
connected.

The Greeks probably derived something of their skill from the East,
(from the Lydians principally, whose cooks are much celebrated, [3])
and something from Egypt. A few hints concerning Cookery may be
collected from Homer, Aristophanes, Aristotle, &c. but afterwards
they possessed many authors on the subject, as may be seen in
Athenaus [4]. And as Diatetics were esteemed a branch of the study of
medicine, as also they were afterwards [5], so many of those authors
were Physicians; and _the Cook_ was undoubtedly a character of high
reputation at Athens [6].

As to the Romans; they would of course borrow much of their culinary
arts from the Greeks, though the Cook with them, we are told, was one
of the lowest of their slaves [7]. In the latter times, however, they
had many authors on the subject as well as the Greeks, and the
practitioners were men of some Science [8], but, unhappily for us,
their compositions are all lost except that which goes under the name
of Apicius; concerning which work and its author, the prevailing
opinion now seems to be, that it was written about the time of
_Heliogabalus_ [9], by one _Calius_, (whether _Aurelianus_ is not so
certain) and that _Apicius_ is only the title of it [10]. However,
the compilation, though not in any great repute, has been several
times published by learned men.

The Aborigines of Britain, to come nearer home, could have no great