20
DRINKS.
According-
to
the
Abodah
Zara/i,
sl
treatise
on
false
worship,
there
was
a
mixed
drink
used
in
Babylon
called
Cuttach,
which
possessed
marvellous
properties.
**
It
obstructs
the
heart,
blinds
the
eyes,
and
emaciates
the
body.
It
obstructs
the
heart,
because
it
contains
whey
of
milk
;
it
blinds
the
eyes,
because
it
contains
a
peculiar
salt
which
has
this
property
;
and
it
emaciates
the
body,
because
of
the
putrefied
bread
which
is
mixed
with
it.
If
poured
upon
stones,
it
breaks
them
;
and
of
it
is
a
proverb,
'
That
it
is
better
to
eat
a
stinking
fish
than
take
Cuttach!
"
The
same
treatise
also
mentions
..Median
beer
and
Edomite
vinegar.
The
Hittites
had
been
a
powerful
and
civilized
nation
when
the
Jews were
in
an
exceedingly
primitive
condition,
and
Abraham
found
thern
the
rightful
possessors
of
Hebron,
in
Southern
Palestine
(Gen.
xxiii.),
and
so
far
recognised
their
rights
to
the
soil,
as