We are told, that in the first ages of the world, men lived upon acorns,
berries, and such fruits as the earth spontaneously produced, and that
in the Shepherd state of society, milk, obtained from flocks and herds,
came into use. Soon afterwards the flesh of wild animals was added to
the food, and the juice of grape to the drink of the human species. Hogs
were the first animals, of the domestic kind, that were eaten by men,
for they held it ungrateful to eat the animals that assisted them in
their labour. “We are happy to find, (says the author of an elegant
poem[18]) that it was not on account of the solidity, wholesomeness,
delicacy, and other excellent qualities of his flesh, that the ox was
worshipped on the banks of the Nile, and in the gorgeous temples of
Memphis; for, although professedly friends to gastronomy, moderated by a
decided aversion to any thing like sensuality, we are of opinion that
man is less fit to feed upon _carnal_ than vegetable substance.”
[18] Tabella Cibaria, p. 33.
“The noble horse, fierce and unsubdued, was still roaming with all the
roughness and intractability of original freedom, in his native groves,
who already domesticated, the honest steer had willingly lent the
strength of his powerful shoulders to the laborious strife of the
plough. This had not only raised altars to him under the name of APIS,
but even placed him among the first constellations of the Zodiac above
the watchful eyes of the Chaldeans. In the reign of Erichtonius, fourth
king of Athens, Diomus was offering to Jupiter the first fruits of the
earth. Whilst the priests were busied apart in preparing some
necessaries to the solemnity, an ox, passing by, browsed of all that had
been gathered on the altar for the sacrifice. Diomus, in his
disappointment and passion, slew him on the spot. The Gods, instead of
countenancing his religious zeal, sent forth immediately all the horrors
of a pestilence upon the Athenians, which did not cease until they had
instituted a festival called “_The Death of the Ox_.”[19]
[19] Nonius de re Cibaria.
“Porphyrius traces the custom of eating meat to _Pygmalion_, king of
Tyre, in Phœnicia. Although the Jews were allowed to eat the flesh of
the immolated beasts, in the golden age, man had not found courage and
appetite enough to eat the flesh of an innocent animal; but soon after,
this cruelty extended to nearly all quadrupeds, except those who were
carnivorous. Tradition states, that _Prometheus_ was the first who
killed a bullock, _Ceres_ a pig, and _Bacchus_ a goat, for the uses of
their tables. It is obvious that pigs, by turning up the new-sown fields
for the sake of the grain, and goats browzing the tender sprouts of the
vine-tree, were respectively inimical to _Ceres_ and _Bacchus_. As for
the killing of the first bullock by _Prometheus_, we leave to other
commentators to explain.”