THE SCENE: You’re not likely to find a bigger fan of vinegar in the ancient world than Pliny the Elder, as the gushing passage below illustrates.
THE TEXT: Its most noted strength lies in its cooling properties, although it is no less effective in causing things to disintegrate. Thus earth fizzes when vinegar is poured on it. I have many times claimed, and will continue to make the claim, that vinegar is often beneficial in combination with other substances. It checks nausea and hiccoughs. Inhaling vinegar fumes stops sneezes, and holding vinegar in the mouth wards off the effects of too hot a bath. In the case of many convalescing people vinegar swallowed with water is good for the stomach. A gargle of vinegar and water helps in heat exhaustion, and the same mixture is a very good restorative for the eyes when used as a fomentation. Those who suck out poison rinse their mouths with vinegar. Its power is extensive; it is not limited to foods but applies to many other things. Vinegar poured on rocks splits them when fire has been of no avail. No other sauce seasons food so well or increases its flavor so much.
– Natural History, Pliny the Elder, 1st Century AD
