"_Cum Grano Salis_" (Vol. iii., pp. 88. 153.).--I venture to suggest, that
in this phrase the allusion is to a rich and unctuous morsel, which, when
assisted _by a little salt_, will be tolerated by the stomach, otherwise
will be rejected. In the same way an extravagant statement, when taken with
a slight qualification (_cum grano salis_) will be tolerated by the mind. I
should wish to be informed what writer first uses this phrase in a
metaphorical sense--not, I conceive, any classical author.