APICIUS, a name, famous in the animals of gluttony. There were three persons of this name, all of them re nowned in the same line of excellence. The first lived in the time of the republic, the second under Tiberius, and the third under Trajan. Of these the second was the most famous ; Pliny calls him, Wepotunz omnium al tissimus gorges ; and Seneca, who was his contempo rary, tells us, that he was a kind of professor of cook ery, and infected the whole age in which he lived. This Apicius was immensely rich ; and is said to have spent in his kitchen 807,291/. He searched every corner of the known world for luxuries ; and, in order to increase the expence of his entertainments, had dishes served up to him every day, composed entirely of the tongues of peacocks and nightingales. He was equally nice in his choice of fish ; and hearing that there was a particu lar species, of exquisite flavour, to be found on the coast of Africa, he equipped a vessel, and sailed from Min turnt-e, in Campania., that he might have the pleasure of tasting them when new caught ; finding, however, that they did not come up to his expectations, he re turned in a pet, refusing to land on a shore which had so cruelly disappointed his hopes. Great as his fortune
was, it was yet inadequate to answer the demands of his belly ; finding himself likely to run in debt, lie was forced to examine the state of his affairs : he saw with dismay, that, of his immense fortune, he had only re maining about 80,000/. ; and, after seriously calculating the consequences, lie poisoned himself, in a fit of des pai•, that he might not run the risque of starving on this pitiful sum. 'We cordially assent to the observation of Seneca, who relates this catastrophe : Ills tam pravie inentis homini,ultima patio salubcrrima fuit ; which may be thus translated : The last draught ("this wretch was the fittest for him of any that he ever swallosoed. See Seneca de Consol. ad Helviam., c. x. Bayle's Diet. Un. Hist. vol. xiv. p. 1;6, note. There is a book De Re Cu linaria, on Cookery, with the name of Apicius prefixed; but it is thought to be spurious. (g)