And all day at the table they all listened, and the Lord Zahead spoke of old and newer times, of the wars of Cossack, of the betrayal of Radziwił, of how he brought Sapieha upon men.
– I advised him – he said – that he would carry hemp seed in his pocket and eat it a small bit. That's how he got utilized to it, and now he's gonna take it out, throw it in his mouth, figure it out, eat it, spit it out. The night he wakes up, he does it too. From now on, his gag got so sharp that the closest ones wouldn't know him.
– How is that? – the old man asked.
– due to the fact that in hemp, oleum is found, and in the head of the eater it grows.
– Beware your Majesty! – So in the tummy oil arrives, not in the head.
- Est modus in rebus! [have their measure] – Zagloba says – you gotta drink the most wine: oleum, as lighter, will always be on top, and wine, which goes to head without it, will carry with it all virtuous substance. I have this secret from Lupuł, a peasant, after whom, as you know, the Volosi wanted me to plant for a hospodarstry, but the sultan, who prefers not to have offspring, put me in a condition that I could not agree to.
– You had to have the strength of a hemp seed and usage it yourself? – Mr Sobiepan said so.
– I didn't request your dignity, but with all my heart I advise! – Zahead answered.
When they heard these bold words, any feared that their master would not take the old man's groin to his heart, but he, whether he was average or not, simply smiled and asked:
– Can't sunflower seeds replace hemp seeds?
– They can – Zahead said – only due to the fact that sunflower oil is heavier, so you gotta drink wine stronger than the 1 we now drink.
HENRYK SIENKIEWICZ (1846 – 1916) Flood Volume III, Chapter II.
