QUOTE : Because he has bright white teeth, Egnatius whips out a tooth-flash on all possible (& impossible) occasions. You’re in court. Counsel for defence concludes a moving peroration. (Grin.) At a funeral, on all sides heart-broken mothers weep for only sons. (Grin.) Where, when, whatever the place or time – grin. It could be a sort of ‘tic’. If so, it’s a very vulgar tic, Egnatius, & one to be rid of. A Roman, a Tiburtine or Sabine, washes his teeth. Well-fed Umbrians & overfed Etruscans wash theirs daily. The dark Lanuvians (who don’t need to), & we Veronese, all wash our teeth.… But we keep them tucked in. We spare ourselves the nadir of inanity – inane laughter. You come from Spain. Spaniards use their morning urine for tooth-wash. To us that blinding mouthful means one thing & one only – the quantity of urine you have swallowed.