Onion

"We remember the fish, which we did eat in Egypt freely; the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlick: But now our soul is dried away: there is nothing at all, beside this manna, before our eyes."

"Among us there are two principal varieties known of the onion; the scallion, employed for seasonings, is one, known to the Greeks by the name of gethyon, and by us as the pallacana; it is sown in March, April, and May. The other kind is the bulbed or headed onion; it is sown just after the autumnal equinox, or else after the west winds have begun to prevail. The varieties of this last kind, ranged according to their relative degrees of pungency, are the African onion, the Gallic, the Tusculan, the Ascalonian, and the Amiternian: the roundest in shape are the best. The red onion, too, is more pungent than the white, the stored than the fresh, the raw than the cooked, and the dried than the preserved."

"Orrum et caepe nefas violare et frangere morsu; o sanctas gentes quibus haec nascuntur in hortis numina!"

"Wel loved he garleek, oynons, and eek lekes."

"And, most dear actors, eat no onions nor garlick, for we are to utter sweet breath."

"And if the boy have not a woman’s gift To rain a shower of commanded tears, An onion will do well for such a shift, Which, in a napkin being close convey’d, Shall in despite enforce a watery eye."

"Mine eyes smell onions; I shall weep anon."

"The tears live in an onion that should water this sorrow."

"Look, they weep, And I, an ass, am onion-eyed."

"Whoever has tasted onions in Egypt must allow that none can be had better in any other part of the universe: here they are sweet; in other countries they are nauseous and strong. They eat them roasted, cut into four pieces, with some bits of roasted meat which the Turks in Egypt call kebab; and with this dish they are so delighted that I have heard them wish they might enjoy it in Paradise. They likewise make a soup of them."

"Shrek: Ogres are like onions! Donkey: They stink? Shrek: No! Donkey: Oh, they make you cry? Shrek: No! Donkey: Oh, you leave 'em out in the sun and they start turnin' brown and start sproutin' little white hairs... Shrek: No! Layers! Onions have layers. Ogres have layers..."