Final answer:
The word 'surfeit' means an excessive or overabundant amount of something, often leading to undesirable consequences or judgments.
Step-by-step explanation:
The word surfeit typically means an excessive amount of something. In the passage provided, the context suggests that the term is used to describe a situation that has become excessive or too much by Roman standards, not in quantity, but in behavior or practice. For instance, the concern was not about sexual desire itself, but about the excess of it, which was considered troubling. Similarly, when referring to a surfeit of food while people are starving, it denotes not just abundance, but an overabundance that is going to waste while there is actual need elsewhere.