 |
Drinking Healths
was a Roman custom. Thus, in Plautus, we read of a man drinking
to his mistress with these words: “Bene vos, bene nos, bene te, bene
me, bene nostrum etiam Stephanium ” (Here's to you, here's to us all, here's to thee, here's to me, here's to our dear—). (Stich. v. 4.) Persius (v. l, 20) has a similar verse
“Bene mihi; bene vobis, bene amicæ nostræ ” (Here's to
myself, here's to you, and here's to I shan't say who). Martial, Ovid,
Horace, etc., refer to the same custom.
The ancient Greeks drank healths. Thus, when Theramenes was
condemned by the Thirty Tyrants to drink
hemlock, he said “Hoc pulcro Critiæ '”—the man who condemned
him to death. The ancient Saxons followed the same habit, and Geoffrey
of Monmouth says that Hengist invited King Vortigern to a banquet to
see his new levies. After the meats were removed, Rowena, the beautiful
daughter of Hengist, entered with a golden cup full of wine, and,
making obeisance, said, “Lauerd kining, wacht heil '”
(Lord King, your health). The king then drank and replied, “Drinc heil” ' (Here's to you). (Geoffrey of Monmouth, book vi. 12.)
Robert de Brunne refers to this custom:
This is ther custom and hev gest
When they are at the ale or fest;
Ilk man that levis gware him drink
Salle say `Wosseille' to him drink,
He that biddis sall say `Wassaile,'
The tother salle say again `Drinkaille.'
That says `Woisseille' drinks of the cup,
Kiss and his felaw he gives it up.
Robert de Brunne.
In drinking healths we hold our hands up towards the person toasted
and say, “Your health . .” The Greeks handed the cup to the person
toasted and said, “This to thee,” “Græci in epulis poculum alicui
tradituri, eum nominare solent.” Our holding out the wine-glass is
a relic of this Greek custom.
Source: Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, E. Cobham Brewer, 1894 More on Drinking Healths from Infoplease:
|
|
