Stein Collectors International
 
~ Tacitus am Rhein ~
 
This etched stein is marked "1465 Germany" and was probably made by S. P. Gerz, ca. 1900. This rhyming verse seems to tell an anecdote from the Roman historian, Tacitus, when he visited Germania and observed the Alte Germanen (early Germans) and experienced the effects of beer when one had had one-too-many and awoke with a hangover the next morning. However the early Germans did it all of the time and survived quite well which must have perplexed Tacitus.
 
Tacitus am Rhein

Als er am andern Morgen
sich seiner Jammer besah,
schrieh er aus Wut und Rache,
in die Germania:
Die alten Deutschen, sie wohnen
auf beiden Seiten des Rheins,
sie liegen auf Bärenhäuten
und trinken noch eins.
Tacitus on the Rhein

The next morning,
as he perceived his misery,
he screamed into the German land
with rage and vengeance:
The old Germans, they live
on both banks of the Rhine,
they lie on bear skins and
always drink one more.
 
 
Translation: Les Hopper compilation
Photo credit: Unknown