■■■I Trs uj , ifi, / v / /? ;•// -/ , , r? / , THE DEIPNOSOPHISTS BANQUET OF THE LEARNED ATHENiEUS. X LITERALLY TRANSLATED __ By C. D. YONGE, B, A. ^ WITH AN APPENDIX OF POETICAL FRAGMENTS, RENDERED INTO ENGLISH VERSE BY VARIOUS AUTHORS, AND A GENERAL INDEX. IK THREE VOLUMES. VOL. I. LONDON: HENRY G. BOHN, YORK STREET, COVENT CARDEN. MDCCOLIV.- BOSTON-COLLEGE LIBRARY CHESTNUT HILL, MASS. I 31525 I/ON DON : K. CLAY, TRINTEK, BREAD STREET 1 CONTENTS. -5 BOOK I.—EPITOME. Tlie Character of Laurentius—Hospitable and Liberal Men—Those who have written about Feasts—Epicures—The Praises of Wine—Names of Meals—Fashions at Meals—Dances—Games—Baths—Partiality of the Greeks for Amusements—Dancing and Dancers—Use of some Words—Exercise—Kinds of Food—Different kinds of Wine—The Produce of various places—Different Wines.1—57 BOOK II.—EPITOME. Wine—Drinking—The evils of Drunkenness—Praises of Wine—Water— Different kinds of Water—Sweetmeats—Couches and Coverlets— Names of Fruits—Fruit and Herbs.—Lupins—Names of Plants—• Eggs — Gourds — Mushrooms — Asparagus — Onions — Thrushes— Brains—The Head—Pickle—Cucumbers—Lettuce—The Cactus—The Nile.57—121 BOOK III. Cucumbers—Figs—Apples—Citrons — Limpets—Cockles—Shell-fish— Oysters—Pearls—Tripe—Pigs’ Feet—Music at Banquets—Puns on Words — Banquets—Dishes at Banquets—Fish—Shell-fish—Fish— Cuttle-fish — Bread — Loaves — Fish — Water Drinking—Drinking Snow—Cheesecakes —XovSoos .121—21CL' BOOK IV. Feast of Caranus—Supper of Iphicrates—Cooks—Dancing at Banquets —The Attic Banquet—Athenian Feasts—The Copis—The Phiditia_ Cleomenes—Persian Banquets—Alexander the Great—Cleopatra— Banquets at Phigalea—Thracian Banquets—Celtic Banquets—Homan Banquets—Gladiatorial Combats—Temperance of the Lacedaemonians —The Theory of Euxitheus—Lentils—Spare Livers—Persaeus—Dio¬ dorus—Extravagance—Luxury of the Tarentines -Extravagance of Individuals—Cooks’ Apparatus—Use of Certain Words—Tasters— The Delphians — Musical Instruments — Kinds of Flutes —Wind Instruments...210—287 VI CONTENTS. BOOK Y. Banquets—Batlis—Banquets—The Banquets described by Homer— Banquets—The Palaces of Homer’s Kings—Conversation at Ban¬ quets—Customs in Homer’s Time—Attitudes of Guests—Feast gj^en by Antiochus—Extravagance of Antiochus - Ptelemy Philadelphus— Procession of Ptolemy Philadelphus—A large Ship built by Ptolemy —The Ship of Ptolemy Philopator—Hiero’s Ship—Banquet given by Alexander—Athenio—The Valour of Socrates—Plato’s account of Socrates—Socrates—The Gorgons. 287—352 BOOK YI. Tragedy—Fishmongers—Misconduct of Fishmongers—Use of parti¬ cular Words—Use of Silver Plate—Silver Plate—Golden Trinkets— Use of Gold in different Countries—Parasites—Gynseconomi—Para¬ sites—Flatterers of Dionysius—Flatterers of Kings—Flattery of the Athenians—Flatterers—The Tyrants of Chios—The Conduct of Philip •—Flatterers and Parasites—The Mariandyni—Slaves — Drimacus ■—Condition of Slaves—Slaves—Banquets—The Effects of Hunger — The Mothaces — Slaves under the Romans — The Fannian Law. 353—432 THE DEIPNOSOPHISTS, OR THE BANQUET OF THE LEARNED . 1 *** The first two Books, and a portion of the third, as is known to the scholar, exist only in Epitome. BOOK I.—EPITOME. 1. Athen.eus is the author of this hook; and in it he is discoursing with Timocrates : and the name of the book is the Deipnosophists. In this work Laurentius is introduced, a Roman, a man of distinguished fortune, giving a banquet in his own house to men of the highest eminence for every kind of learning and accomplishment; and there is no sort of gentlemanly knowledge which he does not mention in the conversation which he attributes to them; for he has put down in his book, fish, and their uses, and the meaning of their names; and he has described divers kinds of vegetables, and animals of all sorts. He has introduced also men who have written histories, and poets, and, in short, clever men of all sorts; and he discusses musical instruments, and quotes ten thousand jokes: he talks of the different kinds of drinking cups, and of the riches of kings, and the size of ships, and numbers of other things which I cannot easily enumerate, and the day would fail me if I endeavoured to go through them separately. , . And the arrangement of the conversation is an imitation of a sumptuous banquet; and the plan of the book follows the arrangement of the conversation. This, then, is the delicious feast of words which this admirable master of the 1 We have adopted the conventional title, Banquet of the Learned but it may, perhaps, be more accurate to translate it, “ The Contrivers of Feasts.” Vide Smith’s Biographical Dictionary, voc. Athenceus. VOL. I.-ATH. B 2 THE DEIPNOSOPHISTS. [epit. B. I. feast, Athensous, lias prepared for us; and gradually sur¬ passing himself, like the orator at Athens, as he warms with his subject, he bounds on towards the end of the book in noble strides. 2. And the Deipnosophists who were present at this banquet were, Masyrius, an expounder of the law, and one who had been no superficial student of every sort of learning; Magnus . . . [Myrtilus] a poet, a man who in other branches of learning was inferior to no one, and who had devoted himself in no careless manner to the whole eircler of arts and learning; for in everything which he discussed, he appeared as if that was the sole thing which he had studied; so great and so various was his learning from his childhood. And he was an iambic poet, inferior to no one who has ever lived since the time of Archilochus. There were present also Plutarchus, and Leonidas of Elis, and jEmilianus the Mauri¬ tanian, and Zoilus, all the most admirable of grammarians. And of philosophers there were present Pontianus and Democritus, both of Nicomedia; men superior to all their contemporaries in the extent and variety of their learning; and Philadelphus of Ptolemais, a man who had not only been bred up from his infancy in philosophical speculation, but who was also a man of the highest reputation in every part of his life. Of the Cynics, there was one whom he calls Cynulcus, who had not only two white dogs following him, as they did Telemachus when he went to the assembly, but a more numerous pack than even Actteon had. And of rhetoricians there was a whole troop, in no respect inferior to the Cynics. And these last, as well, indeed, as every one else who ever opened his mouth, were run down by Uppianus the Tyrian, who, on account of the everlasting questions which he keeps putting every hour in the streets, and walks, and booksellers’ shops, and baths, has got a name by which lie is better known than by his real one, Ceitouceitus. This man had a rule of his own, to eat nothing without saying kelt a i ; ?} ou keItcu; In this way, “ Can we say of the word ujpa, that it Keircu, or is applicable to any part of the day ? And is the word fxeOvaog, or drunk, applicable to a man ? Can the word pi'irpa, or paunch, be applied to any eatable food ? Is the name avaypog a compound word applicable to a boar?”—And of physicians there were present Daphnus C. 4.] THE CHARACTER OF LAURENTIUS. 3 the Ephesian, a man holy both in his art and by his manners, a man of no slight insight into the principles of the Academic school; and Galenus of Pergamos, who has published such numbers of philosophical and medical works as to surpass all those who preceded him, and who is inferior to none of the guests in the eloquence of his descriptions. And Rvjinus of Mylsea.—And of musicians, Alcides of Alexandria, was present. So that the whole part}' - was so numerous that the catalogue looks rather like a muster-roll of soldiers, than the list of a dinner party. 3. And Athenseus dramatises his dialogue in imitation of the manner of Plato. And thus he begins :— TIMOCRATES. ATHEN^US. Tim. Were you, Athenseus, yourself present at that de¬ lightful party of the men whom they now call Deipnosophists; which has been so much talked of all over the city; or is it only from having heard an account of it from others that you spoke of it to your companions 1 Ath. I was there myself, Timocrates. Tim. I wish, then, that you would communicate to us also some of that agreeable conversation which you had over your cups; Make your hand perfect by a third attempt, as the bard of Cyrene 1 says somewhere or other; or must we k some one else ? 4. Then after a little while he proceeds to the praises of Lau- rentius, and says that he, being a man of a munificent spirit, and one who collected numbers of learned men about him, feasted them not only with other things, but also with con¬ versation, at one time proposing questions deserving of in¬ vestigation, and at another asking for information himself; not suggesting subjects without examination, or in any random manner, but as far as was possible with a critical and Socratic discernment; so that every one marvelled at the systematic character of his questions. And he says, too, that he was appointed superintendant of the temples and sacrifices by that best of all sovereigns Marcus ; 2 and that he was no less con¬ versant with the literature of the Greeks than with that of 1 Callimachus. 2 Marcus Aurelius. B 2 4 THE DEIPNOSOPHISTS. [EPIT. B. I. his own countrymen. And he calls him a sort of Asteropseus, 1 equally acquainted with both languages. And he says that he was well versed in all the religious ceremonies instituted by Romulus, who gave his name to the city, and by Numa Pompilius; and that he is learned in all the laws of politics; and that he has arrived at all this learning solely from the study of ancient decrees and resolutions; and from the col¬ lection of the laws which (as Eupolis, the comic writer, says of the poems of Pindar) are already reduced to silence by the disinclination of the multitude for elegant learning. He had also, says he, such a library of ancient Greek books, as to exceed in that respect all those who are remarkable for such collections; such as Polycrates of Samos, and Pisistratus who was tyrant of Athens, and Euclides who was himself also an Athenian, and Nicorrates the Samian, and even the kings of Pergamos, and Euripides the poet, and Aristotle the philoso¬ pher, and Nelius his librarian; from whom they say that our countryman Ptolemseus, surnamed Philadelphus, bought them all, and transported them with all those which he had collected at Athens and at Rhodes to his own beautiful Alexandria. So that a man may fairly quote the verses of Antiphanes and apply them to him :— You court the heav’nly muse with ceaseless zeal. And seek to open all the varied stores Of high philosophy. And as the Theban lyric poet 2 says :— For less renown’d his hand essays To wake the muse’s choicest lays. Such as the social feast ai'ound Full oft our tuneful band inspire. And when inviting people to his feasts, he causes Rome to be looked upon as the common country of all of them. For who can regret what he has left in his own country, while dwelling with a man who thus opens his house to all his friends. For as Apollodorus the comic poet says :— Whene’er you cross the threshhold of a friend, How welcome you may be needs no long time To feel assured of; blithe the porter looks, 1 Asteropasus was one of the Trojan heroes who endeavoured to fight Achilles, being armed with two spears. 2 Pindar. 01. i. 22.—See Moore's translation. HOSPITABLE AND LIBERAL MEN. 5 c. 5.] The house-dog wags his tail, and rubs his nose Against your legs ; and servants hasten quick, Unbidden all, since their lord’s secret wish Is known full well, to place an easy chair To rest your weary limbs. 5. It would be a good thing if other rich men were like him ; since when a man acts in a different manner, people are apt to say to him, “Why are you so mean ? Your tents are full of wine.” Call the elders to the feast, Such a course befits you best. Such as this was the magnanimity of the great Alexander. And Conon, after he had conquered the Lacedaemonians in the sea-fight off Cnidus, and fortified the Piraeus, sacrificed a real hecatomb, which deserved the name, and feasted all the Athenians. And Alcibiades, who conquered in the chariot race at the Olympic games, getting the first, and second, and fourth prizes, (for which victories Euripides wrote a triumphal ode,) having sacrificed to Olympian Jupiter, feasted the whole assembly. And Leophron did the same at the Olympic games, Simonides of Ceos writing a triumphal ode for him. And Empedocles of Agrigentum, having gained the victory in the horse race at the Olympic games, as he was himself a Pythagorean, and as such one who abstained from meat, made an image of an ox of myrrh, and frankincense, and the most expensive spices, and distributed it among all who came to that festival. , And Ion of Chios, having gained the tragic crown at Athens, gave a pot of Chian wine to every Athenian citizen. For Antiphanes says :— For why should any man wealth desire,' 1 And seek to pile his treasures higher, If it were not to aid his friends in their need, And to gain for himself love’s and gratitude’s meed ? For all can drink and all can eat, And it is not only the richest meat, Or the oldest wine in the well-chased bowl Which can banish hunger and thirst from the soul. And Xenophanes of Chalcedon, and Speusippus the Academic philosopher, and Aristotle, have all written drinking songs. And in the same manner Gellias of Agrigentum, being a very hospitable man, and very attentive to all his guests, gave a tunic and cloak to every one of five hundred horsemen wlio once came to him from Gela in the winter season. G THE DEIPNOSOPHISTS. [epIT. B. L G, The sophist uses the word Dinnerchaser, on which Clearchus says that Charmus the Syracusan adopted some little versicles arid proverbs very neatly to whatever was put on the table. As on seeing a fish, he says :— 1 come from the salt depths of zEgeus’ sea. And when he saw some ceryces he said— Hail holy heralds (iwpvices), messengers of Jove. And on seeing tripe, Crooked ways, and nothing sound. When a well-stuffed cuttlefish is served up, Good morrow, fool. When he saw some pickled char, 0 charming sight ; hence Avith the vulgar crowd. And on beholding a skinned eel, Beauty when unadorn’d, adorn’d the most. Many such men then as these, he says, were present at Laurentius’s supper; bringing books out of their bags, as their contribution to the picnic. And he says also that Charmus, having something ready for everything that was served up, as has been already said, appeared to the Massenians to be a most accomplished man; as also did Calliphanes, who was called the son of Parabrycon, who having copied out the beginnings of many poems and other writings, recollected three or four stanzas of each, aiming at a reputation for extensive learning, And many other men had in their mouths turbots caught in the Sicilian sea, and swimming eels, and the trail of the tunny-fish of Pachynum, and kids from Melos, and mullets from Symsethus. And, of dishes of less repute, there were cockles from Pelorum, anchovies from Lipara, turnips from Mantinea, rape from Thebes, and beet¬ root from the Ascra3ans. And Cleanthes the Tarentine, as Clearchus says, said everything while the drinking lasted, in metres. And so did Pampliilus the Sicilian, in this w T ay:— Give me a cup of sack, that partridge leg, Likewise a pot, or else at least a cheesecake. Being, says he, men with fair means, and not forced to earn their dinner with their hands,— Bringing baskets full of votes. G. 8.] THOSE WIIO -HAVE WRITTEN ABOUT FEASTS. 7 7. Archestratus the Syracusan or Geloan, in his work to which Chrysippus gives the title of Gastronomy, but Lynceus and Callimachus of Hedypathy, that is Pleasure, and which Clearchus calls Deipnology, and others Cookery, (but it is an epic poem, beginning, Here to all Greece I open wisdom’s store;) says, A numerous party may sit round a table, But not more than three, four, or five on one sofa; For else it would be a disorderly Babel, Like the hireling piratical band of a rover. But he does not know that at the feast recorded by Plato there were eight and twenty guests present. How keenly they watch for a feast in the town. And, asked or not, they are sure to go down ; says Antiphanes; and he adds— Such are the men the state at public cost Should gladly feed ; and always Treat them like flies at the Otympic games And hang them up an ox to feast upon. 8. Winter produces this, that summer bears; says the bard of Syracuse. 1 So that it is not easy to put all sorts of things on the table at one time; but it is easy to talk of all kinds of subjects at any time. Other men have written descriptions of feasts; and Tinachidas of Rhodes has done so in an epic poem of eleven books or more; and Nume- nius the Heraclean, the pupil of Dieuclias the physician; and Metreas of Pitane, the man who wrote parodies; and Hegemon of Thasos, surnamed Phace, whom some men reckon among the writers of the Old Comedy. And Artemidorus, the false Aristophanes, collected a number of sayings relating to cookery. And Plato, the comic writer, mentions in his Phaon the banquet of Philoxenus the Leueadian. A. But I have sought this tranquil solitude, To ponder deeply on this wondrous book. B. I pray you, what’s the nature of its treasures! A. “ Sauce for the million,” by Philoxenus. B. Oh, let me taste this wisdom. A. Listen then; “ I start with onions, and with tunnies end.” 1 Epicharmus. 8 THE DEIPNOSOPHISTS. [epit. B. I, i B. With tunnies'? Surely, then, he keeps the best And choicest of his dishes for the last. A. Listen. In ashes first your onions roast Till they are brown as toast, Then with sauce and gravy cover; Eat them, you’ll be strong all over. So much for earth; now list to me, While I speak of the sons of the sea. And presently he says:— A good large flat dish is not bad, But a pan is better when ’tis to be had. And presently again:— Never cut up a sardine Or mackarel of silv’ry sheen, Lest the gods should scorn a sinner ' • Such as you, and spoil your dinner; But dress them whole and serve them up, And so you shall most richly sup. Good sized polypus in season Should be boil’d,—to roast them’s treason; But if early and not big, Boast them; boil’d ain’t worth a fig. Mullets, though the taste is good, Are by far too weakening food ; And the ills it brings to master You will need a scorpion plaster. 9. And it is from this Pliiloxenus that the Philoxenean cheesecakes are named; and Chrysippns says of him, “ I know an epicure, who carried his disregard of his neighbours to such an extent, that he would at the bath openly put in his hand to accustom it to the warm water, and who would rinse out his mouth with warm water, in order to be less affected by heat. And they said that he used to gain over the cooks to set very hot dishes before him, so that he might have them all to himself, as no one else could keep up with him. And they tell the same story about Philoxenus of Cythera, and about Archvtas, and many more, one of whom is represented by Cronrylus, the comic writer, as saying:— I’ve fingers Idaean 1 to take up hot meat. And a throat to devour it too; Curries and devils are my sweetest treat. Not more like a man than a flue. 1 There is a pun here that is untranslateable. A olktvXos is a finger ; but the Al\ix0vs, fond of fisli. 2 cbiXudenrvos, fond of feasting. 10 THE DEIPNOSOPHISTS. [ePIT. 13. I. writing in this way:—“ Those who make harangues to the multitude, spend the whole day in looking at jugglers and mountebanks, and men who arrive from the Phasis or the Borysthenes; having never read a book in their lives except The Banquet of Philoxenus, and not all of that.” 11. But Phanias says that Philoxenus of Cythera, a poet, being exceedingly fond of eating, once when he was supping with Dionysius, and saw a large mullet put before him and a small one before himself, took his up in his hands and put it to his ear; and, when Dionysius asked him why he did so, Philoxenus said that he was writing Galatea, and so he wished to ask the fish some of the news in the kingdom of Nereus; and that the fish which he was asking said that he knew nothing about it, as he had been caught young; but that the one which was set before Dionysius was older, and was well acquainted with everything which he wished to know. On which Dionysius laughed, and sent him the mullet which had been set before himself. And Dionysius was very fond of drinking with Philoxenus, but when he detected him in trying to seduce Galatea, whom he himself was in love with, he threw him into the stone quarries; and while there he wrote the Cyclops, constructing the fable with reference to what had happened to himself; representing Dionysius as the Cyclops, and the flute-player as Galatea, and himself as Ulysses. 12. About the time of Tiberius there lived a man named Apicius; very rich and luxurious; from whom several kinds of cheesecakes are called Apieian. He spent myriads of drachms on his belly, living chiefly at Minturnse, a city of Campania, eating very expensive crawfish, which are found in that place superior in size to those of Smyrna, or even to the crabs of Alexandria. Hearing too that they were very large in Africa, he sailed thither, without waiting a single day, and suffered exceedingly on his voyage. But when he came near the place, before he disembarked from the ship, (for his arrival made a great noise among the Africans,) the fishermen came alongside in their boats and brought him some very fine crawfish; and he, when he saw them, asked if they had any finer; and when they said that there were none finer than those which they brought, he, recollecting those at Min- turnse, ordered the master of the ship to sail back the same way into Italy, without going near the land. But Aristoxenus, EPICURES. 11 c. 14.] the philosopher of Gyrene, a real devotee of the philosophy of his country, (from whom, hams cured in a particular way are called Aristoxeni,) out of his prodigious luxury used to syringe the lettuces which grew in his garden with mead in the evening, and then, when he picked them in the morn¬ ing, he would say that he was eating green cheesecakes, which were sent up to him by the Earth. 13. When the emperor Trajan was in Parthia, at a distance of many days’ journey from the sea, Apicius sent him fresh oysters, which he had kept so by a clever contrivance of his own; real oysters, not like the sham anchovies which the cook of Nicomedes, king of the Bithynians, made in imitation of the real fish, and set before the king, when he expressed a wish for anchovies, (and he too at the time was a long way from the sea.) And in Euphron, the comic writer, a cook says:— A. I am a pupil of Soterides, Who, when his king was distant from the sea Full twelve days’ journey, and in winter’s depth, Fed him with rich anchovies to his wish, And made the guests to marvel. B. How was that 1 A . He took a female turnip, shred it fine Into the figure of the delicate fish ; Then did he pour on oil and savoury salt With careful hand in due proportion. On that he strew’d twelve grains of poppy seed, Food which the Scythians love ; then boil’d it all. And when the turnip touch’d the royal lips, Thus spake the king to the admiring guests: “ A cook is quite as useful as a poet, And quite as wise, and these anchovies show it.” 14. Archilochus, the Parian poet, says of Pericles, that he would often come to a banquet without being invited, after the fashion of the Myconians. But it seems to me that the Myconians are calumniated as sordid and covetous because of their poverty, and because they live in a barren island. At all events Cratinus calls Ischomaclius of Myconos sordid. A . But how can you be generous, if the son Of old Ischomachus of Myconos 1 B. I, a good man, may banquet with the good, For friends should have all their delights in common. Archilochus says:— You come and drink full cups of Chian wine, And yet give no return for them, nor wait 12 I THE DEIPNOSOPHISTS. [epit. B. I. To be invited, as a friend would do. ■> Your belly is your god, and thus misleads Your better sense to acts of shamelessness. And Eubulus, the comic writer, says somewhere:— We have invited two unequall’d men, Philocrates and eke Philocrates. Por that one man I always count as two, I don’t know that I might not e’en say three. They say that once when he was ask’d to dinner, To come when first the dial gave a shade Of twenty feet, he with the lark uprose, Measuring the shadow of the morning sun. Which gave a shade of twenty feet and two. Off to his host he went, and pardon begg’d Por having been detain’d by business; A man who came at daybreak to his dinner ! Amphis, the comic writer, says:— A man who comes late to a feast, At which he has nothing to pay, Will be sure if in battle he’s press’d, To run like a coward away. And Chrysippus says:— Never shun a banquet gay, Where the cost on others falls; Let them, if they like it, pay For your breakfasts, dinners, balls. And Antiplianes says: — More blest than all the gods is he, Whom every one is glad to see, Who from all care and cost is free. And again:— Happy am I, who never have cause To be anxious for meat to put in my jaws. I prepared all these quotations beforehand, and so came to the dinner, having studied beforehand in order to be able to pay my host a rent, as it were, for my entertainment. For bards make offerings which give no smoke. The ancients had a word, jiovotyayuv, applied to those who eat alone. And so Antiplianes says:— But if you sulk, /j-ovocpaywi /, Why must I, too, eat alone? And Ameipsias says:— And if she’s a fxovocpdyos, plague take her, I’d guard against her as a base housebreaker. EPICURES. 13 c. 15.] 15. Dioscorides, with respect to the laws praised in Homer, says, “ The poet, seeing that temperance was the most desirable virtue for young men, and also the first of all virtues, and one which w’as becoming to every one; and that which, as it were, was the guide to all other virtues, wishing to implant it from the very beginning in every one, in order that men might devote their leisure to and expend their energies on honourable pursuits, and might become inclined to do good to, and to share their good things with others; appointed a simple and independent mode of life to every oue; consider¬ ing that those desires and pleasures which had reference to eating and drinking were those of the greater power, and of the highest estimation, and moreover innate in all men; and that those men who continued orderly and temperate in respect of them, would also be temperate and well regulated in other matters. Accordingly^, he laid down a simple mode of life for every one, and enjoined the same system in¬ differently to kings and private individuals, and young men and old, saying:— The tables in fair order spread, They heap the glittering canisters with bread, Viands of simple kinds allure the taste, Of wholesome sort, a plentiful repast. 1 Their meat being all roasted, and chiefly beef; and he never sets before his heroes anything except such dishes as these, either at a sacred festival, or at a marriage feast, or at any other sort of convivial meeting. And this, too, though he often represents Agamemnon as feasting the chiefs. And Menelaus makes a feast on the occasion of the marriage of his daughter Hermione; and again on the occasion of the marriage of his son; and also when Telemachus comes to him— The table groan’d beneath a chine of beef, With which the hungry heroes quell’d their grief. 2 For Homer never puts rissoles, or forcemeat, or cheesecakes, or omelettes before his princes, but meat such as was calcu¬ lated to make them vigorous in body and mind. And so too Agamemnon feasted x4jax after his single combat with Hector, on a rumpsteak; and in the same way he gives Nestor, who was now of advanced age, and Phoenix too, a roast sirloin of 1 Odyss. iv. 54. The poetical translations are from the corresponding passages in Pope’s Homer. 2 lb. iv. 65. 14 ; THE DEIPNOSOPHISTS. [EPIT. B. I. beef. And Homer describes Alcinous, who was a man of a very luxurious way of life, as having the same dinner; wishing by these descriptions to turn us away from intemperate indul¬ gence of our appetites. And when Nestor, who was also a king and had many subjects, sacrificed to Neptune on the sea-shore, on behalf of his own dearest and most valued friends, it was beef that he offered him. For that is the holiest and most acceptable sacrifice to the gods, which is offered to them by religious and well-disposed men. And Alcinous, when feasting the luxurious Phseacians, and when entertaining Ulysses, and displaying to him all the arrange¬ ments of his house and garden, and showing him the general tenor of his life, gives him just the same dinner. And in the same way the poet represents the suitors, though the most insolent of men and wholly devoted to luxury, neither eating fish, nor game, nor cheesecakes; but embracing as] far as he could all culinary artifices, and all the most stimulating food, as Menander calls it, and especially such as are called amatory dishes, (as Chrysippus sa} 7 s in his Treatise on Honour and Pleasure,) the preparation of which is some¬ thing laborious. 16. Priam also, as the poet represents him, reproaches his sons for looking for unusual delicacies; and calls them The wholesale murderers of lambs and kids. 1 Philochorus, too, relates that a prohibition was issued at Athens against any one tasting lamb which had not been shorn, on an occasion when the breed of sheep appeared to be failing. And Homer, though he speaks of the Hellespont as abounding in fish, and though he represents the Phseacians as especially addicted to navigation, and though he knew of many harbours in Ithaca, and many islands close to it, in which there were large flocks of fishes and of wild birds; and though he enumerates among the riches of the deep the fact of its producing fish, still never once represents either fish or game as being put on the table to eat. And in the same way he never represents fruit as set before any one, although there was abundance of it; and although he is fond of speaking of it, and although he speaks of it as being supplied without end. For he says, “ Pears upon pears,” and so on. Moreover, he does not represent his heroes as crowned, or anointed, or using 1 Iliad, xxiv. 262. THE PRAISES OF WINE. 13 c. 17.] perfumes; but he portrays even his kings as scorning all such things, and devoting themselves to the maintenance of free¬ dom and independence. In the same way he allots to the gods a very simple way of life, and plain food, namely, nectar and ambrosia; and he represents men as paying them honour with the materials of their feasts; making no mention of frankincense, or myrrh, or garlands, or luxury of this sort. And he does not describe them as indulging in even this plain food to an immoderate extent; but like the most skilful physicians he abhors satiety. But -when their thirst and hunger -were appeased ; l then, having satisfied their desires, they went forth to athletic exercises; amusing themselves with quoits and throwing of javelins, practising in their sport such arts as were capable of useful application. And they listened to harp players who celebrated the exploits of bygone heroes with poetry and song. 17. So that it is not at all wonderful that men who lived in such a way as they did were healthy and vigorous both in mind and body. And he, pointing out how wholesome and useful a thing moderation is, and how it contributes to the general good, has represented Nestor, the wisest of the Greeks, as bringing wine to Machaon the physician when wounded in the right shoulder, though wine is not at all good for inflam¬ mations ; and that, too, was Pramnian wine, which we know to be very strong and nutritious. And he brings it to him too, not as a relief from thirst, but to drink of abundantly; (at all events, when he has drank a good draught of it, he recommends him to repeat it.) Sit now, and drink your fill, says he; and then he cuts a slice of goat-milk cheese, and then an onion, A skoeing-liorn for further draughts of wine ; 2 though in other places he does say that wine relaxes and enervates the strength. And in the case of Hector, Hecuba, thinking that then he will remain in the city all the rest of the day, invites him to drink and to pour libations, encourag¬ ing him to abandon himself to pleasure. But he, as. he is going out to action, puts off the drinking. And she, indeed, praises wine without ceasing; but he, when he comes in out 1 Iliad, i. 469. 2 x p < 309 , 16 THE DEIPNOSOPHISTS. [EPIT. B. I. of breath, will not have any. And she urges him to pour a libation and then to drink, but he, as he is all covered with blood, thinks it impiety. Homer knew also the use and advantages of wine, when he said that if a man drank it in too large draughts it did harm. And he was acquainted, too, with many different ways of mixing it. For else Achilles would not have bade his attendants to mix it for him with more wine than usual, if there had not been some settled proportion in which it was usually mixed. But perhaps he was not aware that wine was very digestible without any admixture of solid food, which is a thing known to the physicians by their art; and, therefore, in the case of people with heartburn they mix something to eat with the wine, in order to retain its power. But Homer gives Machaon meal and cheese with his wine; and represents Ulysses as connecting the advantages to be derived from food and wine with one another when he says— Strengthen’d with wine and meat, a man goes forth : l and to the reveller gives sweet drink, saying— There, too, were casks of old and luscious w'ine. 2 18. Homer, too, represents the virgins and women washing the strangers, knowing that men who have been brought up in right principles will not give way to undue warmth or violence; and accordingly the women are treated with proper respect. And this was a custom of the ancients ; and so too the daughters of Cocalus wash Minos on his arrival in Sicily, as if it was a usual thing to do. On the other hand, the poet, wishing to disparage drunkenness, represents the Cyclops, great as he was, destroyed through inebriety by a man of small stature, and also Eurytian the Centaur. And he relates how the men at Circe’s court were transformed into lions and wolves, from a too eager pursuit of pleasure. But Ulysses was saved from following the advice of Mercury, by means of which he comes off unhurt. But he makes Elpenor, a man given to drinking and luxury, fall down a precipice. And Antinous, though he says to Ulysses— Luscious wine will be your bane, 3 could not himself abstain from drinking, owing to which he was wounded and slain while still having hold of the goblet. 1 Iliad, xxii. 427. 2 Odyss. ii. 340. 3 lb. xxi. 293. NAMES OF MEALS. 17 c. 19.] He represents the Greeks also as drinking hard when sailing away from Troy, and on that account quarrelling with one another, and in consequence perishing. And he relates that iEneas, the most eminent of the Trojans for wisdom, was led away by the manner in which he had talked, and bragged, and made promises to the Trojans, while engaged in drinking, so as to encounter the mighty Achilles, and was nearly killed. And Agamemnon says somewhere about drunkenness— Disastrous folly led me thus astray, Or wine’s excess, or madness sent from Jove : placing madness and drunkenness in the same boat. And Dioscorides, too, the pupil of Isocrates, quoted these verses with the same object, saying, “ And Achilles, when reproach¬ ing Agamemnon, addresses him— Tyrant, with sense and courage quell’d by v/ine.” This was the way in which the sophist of Thessalia argued, from whence came the term, a Sicilian proverb, and Athenseus is, perhaps, playing on the proverb. 19. As to the meals the heroes took in Homer, there was first of all breakfast, which he calls dpiarov, which he mentions once in the Odyssey, Ulysses and tlie swineherd, noble man. First lit the fire, and breakfast then began. 1 And once in the Iliad, Then quickly they prepared to break their fast. 2 But this was the morning meal, which we call aKparicrfibc, because we soak crusts of bread in pure wine ( dk-pa-og ), and eat them, as Antiphanes says— . While the cook the &piaTov prepares. And afterwards he says— Then when you have done your business. Come and share my a Kpa.TKrp.6s. And Cantharus says— A. Shall we, then, take our aKpancpos there 1 ? B. No ; at the Isthmus all the slaves prepare The sweet Ixpiarov ,— using the two words as synonymous. Aristomenes says— I’ll stop awhile to breakfast, then I’ll come, When I a slice or two of bread have eaten. But Philemon says that the ancients took the following 1 Odyss. xv. 499. 2 Iliad, xxiv. 124. VOL. I.—ATH. C 18 THE DEIPNOSOPHISTS. [EPIT. B. I. meals— dypdnapa, upiorov, ecnrepurpa, or the afternoon meal, and hehrvov, supper; calling the diKpariapoQ breakfast, and dpiarrov 1 luncheon, and Ifurvov the meal which came after luncheon. And the same order of names occur in AEschylus, where Palamedes is introduced, saying— The different officers I then appointed, And bade them recollect the soldiers’ meals, In number three, first breakfast, and then dinner, Supper the third. And of the fourth meal Homer speaks thus— And come thou SeieKnjtras. 1 2 That which some call is between what we call dpujTov and ce~urvov] and dpiaroy in Homer, that which is taken in the morning, Sehnw is what is taken at noon, which we call dptoroy, and dopnoy is the name for the evening meal. Sometimes, then, dpiorov is synonymous with dencvoy; for somewhere or other Homer says— fieiirvov they took, then arm’d them for the fray. For making their IeItcvov immediately after sunrise, they then advance to battle. 20. In Homer they eat sitting down; but some think that a separate table was set before each of the feasters. At all events, they say a polished table was set before Mentes when he came to Telemachus, arriving after tables were already laid for the feast. However, this is not very clearly proved, for Minerva may have taken her food at Telemachus’s table. But all along the banqueting-room full tables w r ere laid out, as is even now the custom among many nations of the barbarians, Laden with all dainty dishes, as Anacreon says. And then when the guests have departed, the handmaidens Bore off the feast, and clear’d the lofty hall, Removed the goblets and the tables all. 1 Vide Liddell and Scott, in voc., who say, “ In Homer it is taken at sunrise; and so iEsch. Ag. 331, later breakfast was called dKpdruxfxa, and then tipiffroy was the midday meal, our luncheon , the Roman prandium, as may be seen from Theoc. iv. 90—7, 8and 25 : translate tcnTtpio-pa supper, and i7riSop7r}s a second course of sweetmeats. 2 Odyss. xvii. 599. This word is found nowhere else ; waiting till evening, Buttman Lexic. s. v. SelArj, 12, explains it, having taken an afternoon meal.—L. & S. v. Call. Fr. 190. NAMES OF MEALS. 19 C. 21.] The feast which he mentions as taking place in the palace of Menelaus is of a peculiar character; for there he repre¬ sents the guests as conversing during the banquet; and then they wash their hands and return to the board, and proceed to supper after having indulged their grief. But the line in the last book of the Iliad, which is usually read, He eat and drank, while still the table stood, should be read, He eat and drank still, while the table stood, or else there would be blame implied for what Achilles was doing at the moment; for how could it be decent that a table should be laid before Achilles, as before a party of revellers, down the whole length of a banqueting-room '? Bread, then, was placed on the table in baskets, and the rest of the meal consisted wholly of roast meat. But Homer never speaks of broth, Antiphanes says, He never boil’d the legs or haunches, But roasted brains and roasted paunches, As did his sires of old. 21. And portions of the meat were then distributed among the guests; from which circumstances he speaks of “ equal feasts,” because of their equal division. And he calls suppers Scut as, from the word Sareofia i, to divide, since not only was the meat distributed in that way, but the wine also. Their hunger was appeased, And strength recruited by the equal feast. 1 And again, Come, then, Achilles, shai’e this equal feast. 2 From these passages Zenodotus got the idea that Satra itcrr/v meant a good feast; for as food is a necessaiy good to men, he says that he, by extension of the meaning of the word, called it iicnjv. But men in the early times, as they had not food in sufficient abundance, the moment any appeared, rushed on it all at once, and tore it to pieces with violence, and even took it away from others who had it; and this disorderly behaviour gave rise to bloodshed. And it is from this that very probably the word aracrOaXia originated, because it was in OoXlcll, another name for banquets, that men first offended against one another. But when, by the bounty 1 Odyss. viii. 98. 2 Iliad, ix. 225. c 2 20 THE DEIPNOSOPHISTS. [EPIT. B. I, of Ceres, food became abundant, then they distributed an equal portion to each individual, and so banquets became orderly entertainments. Then came the invention of wine and of sweetmeats, -which were also distributed equally: and cups, too, were given to men to drink out of, and these cups all held the same quantity. And as food was called Sods,- from SaUcrOai, that is, from being divided, so he who roasted the meat was called Sai rpos, because it was he who gave each guest an equal portion. We must remark that the poet uses the -word Sals only of what is eaten by men, and never applies it to beasts; so that it w r as out of ignorance of the force of this word that Zenodotus, in his edition writes:— avTOvs 8e t\cipia reO^e kIvzggiv oloovcnai T6 ScUTd, 1 calling the food of the vultures and other birds by this name, though it is man alone who has come to an equal division after his previous violence, on which account it is his food alone that is called Sals, and the portion given to him is called ixoipa. But the feasters mentioned in Homer did not carry home the fragments, but when they were satisfied they left them with the givers of the feast; and the housekeeper took them in order, if any stranger arrived, to have some¬ thing to give him. 22. Now Homer represents the men of his time as eating fish and birds: at all events, in Sicily the companions of Ulysses catch All fish and birds, and all that come to hand With barbed hooks. 2 But as the hooks were not forged in Sicily, but were brought by them in their vessel; it is plain that they were fond of and skilful in catching fish. And again, the poet com¬ pares the companions of Ulysses, who were seized by Sylla, to fish caught with a long rod and thrown out of doors; and he speaks more accurately concerning this act than those who have written poems or treatises professedly on the subject. I refer to Ctecilius of Argos, and Numenius of Heraclea, and Pancrates the Arcadian, and Posidonius the Corinthian, and Oppianus the Cilician, who lived a short time ago; for we 1 The real reading is Oluvolal re ttugi, Iliad, i. 5. “ He made them the prey of dogs and of all birds.” 2 Odyss. xii. 322. FASHIONS AT MEALS. 21 c. 23.] know of all those men as writers of heroic poems about fishing. And of prose essayists on the subject we have Seleucus of Tarsus, and Leonidas of Byzantium, and Agatho- cles of Atracia. But he never expressly mentions such food at his banquets, just as he also forbears to speak of the meat of young animals, as such food was hardly considered suitable to the dignity of heroes of reputation. However, they did eat not only fish, but oysters; though this sort of food is neither very wholesome nor very nice, but the oysters lie at the bottom of the sea, and one cannot get at them by any other means, except by diving to the bottom. An active man is he, and dives with ease j 1 as he says of a man who could have collected enough to satisfy many men, while hunting for oysters. 23. Before each one of the guests in Homer is placed a separate cup. Demodocus has a basket and a table and a cup placed before him, To drink whene’er his soul desired. 2 Again the goblets are crowned with drink; that is to say, they are filled so that the liquor stands above the brim, and the cups have a sort of crown of wine on them. Now the cup¬ bearers filled them so for the sake of the omen; and then they pour out tvcLgiv, iirapla/j-evoi tieiraecrcrii/, 3 the word 7raonv referring not to the cups but to the men. Accordingly Alcinous says to Pontonous, Let all around the due libation pay To Jove, who guides the wanderer on his way ; 4 and then he goes on, All drink the juice that glads the heart of man. And due honour is paid at those banquets to all the most eminent men. Accordingly, Tydides is honoured with great quantities of meat and wine; and Ajax receives the compli¬ ment of a whole chine of beef. And the kings are treated in the same way:— A rump of beef they set before the king : 5 1 Iliad, xvi. 745. 2 Odyss. vii. 70. 3 Iliad, i. 471. 4 Odyss. vii. 179. 5 II. iv. 05. THE DEIPNOSOPHISTS. 09 Jj -i [epit. B. I. that is, before Menelaus. And in like manner he honours Idomeneus and Agamemnon With ever brimming cups of rosy wine. 1 And Sarpedon, among the Lycians, receives the same respect, and has the highest seat, and the most meat. They had also a way of saluting in chinking one another’s health; and so even the gods, In golden goblets pledged each other’s health; that is, they took one another by the right hand while drink¬ ing. And so some one SuUkt ’AytXXea, which is the same as if he had said eSe&ovro, that is, took him by the right hand. He drank to him, proffering him the goblet in his right hand. They also gave some of their own portion to those to whom they wished to show attention; as, Ulysses having cut off a piece of chine of beef which was set before himself, sent it to Demodocus, 24. They also availed themselves at their banquets of the services of minstrels and dancers; as the suitors did, and in the palace of Menelaus A band amid the joyous circle sings High airs attempered to the vocal strings; While, warbling to the varied strain, advance Two sprightly youths to form the bounding dance. 2 , And though Homer uses yok-r/, ivarbling, here, he is really speaking only of the exercise of the dance. But the race of bards in those days was modest and orderly, cultivating a disposition like that of philosophers. And accordingly Agamemnon leaves his bard as a guardian and counsellor to Clytsemnestra : who, first of all, going through all the virtues of women, endeavoured to inspire her with an ambi¬ tion of excelling in virtuous and ladylike habits; and, after that, by supplying her with agreeable occupation, sought to prevent her inclinations from going astray after evil thoughts: so that HCgisthus could not seduce the woman till he had murdered the bard on a desert island. And the same is the character of that bard who sings under compulsion before the suitors; who bitterly reproached them for laying plots against Penelope. We find too that using one general 1 Iliad, iv. 3. 2 Odyss. iv. 18. C. 25.] . DANCES. " 23 term, Homer calls all bards objects of veneration among men. Therefore the holy Muse their honour guards In every land, and loves the race of bards. 1 And Demodocus the bard of the Phaeacians sings of the in¬ trigue between Mars and Venus; not because he approves of such behaviour, but for the purpose of dissuading his hearers from the indulgence of such passions, knowing that they have been brought up in a luxurious way, and therefore relating to them tales not inconsistent with their own manners, for the purpose of pointing out to them the evil of them, and per¬ suading them to avoid such conduct. And Phemius sings to the suitors, in compliance with their desire, the tale of the return of the Greeks from Troy; and the sirens sing to Ulysses what they think will be most agreeable to him, saying what they think most akin to his own ambition and extensive learning. We know, say they, "Whate’er beneath the sun’s bright journey lies. Oh stay and learn new wisdom from the wise. 2 25. The dances spoken of in Homer are partly those of tumblers and partly those of ball-players; the invention of which last kind Agallis, the Corcyrean authoress, who wrote on gram¬ mar, attributes to Nausicaa, paying a compliment to her own countrywoman; but Dicoearchus attributes it to the Sicyo- nians. But Hippasus gives the credit of both this and gymnastic exercises to the Lacedaemonians. However, Nausicaa is the only one of his heroines whom Homer introduces playing at ball. Demoteles, the brother of Theognis the Chian sophist, was eminent for his skill in this game; and a man of the name of Chaerephanes, who once kept following a debauched young man, and did not speak to him, but prevented him from misbehaving. And when he said, “ Chaerephanes, you may make your own terms with me, if you will only desist from following me ; ” “ Do you think,” said he, “ that I want to speak to you?” “ If you do not,” said he, “ why do you follow me 1 ” “ I like to look at you,” he replied, “ but I do not approve of your conduct.” The thing called aivivSa from the rapid motion of those who played, or else because its inventor, as Juba the Mauri¬ tanian says, was Phsenestius, a master of gymnastics. And Antiphanes, To play Pheeninda at PhEenestius’ school. And those who played paid great attention to elegance of motion and attitude; and accordingly Demoxenus says:— A youth I saw was playing ball, Seventeen years of age and tall; Prom Cos he came, and well I wot The Gods look kindly on that spot. Por when he took the ball or threw it, So pleased were all of us to view it, We all cried out; so great his grace, Such frank good humour in his face, That every time he spoke or moved, All felt as if that youth they loved. Sure ne’er before had these eyes seen, Nor ever since, so fair a mien; Had I staid long most sad my plight Had been to lose my wits outright. And even now the recollection Disturbs my senses’ calm reflection. Ctesibius also of Chalcis, a philosopher, was no bad player. And there were many of the friends of Antigonus the king who used to take their coats off and play ball with him. Timocrates, too, the Lacedaemonian, wrote a book on playing ball. 27. But the Phceacians in Homer had a dance also uncon- DANCES. 25 c. 27.] nected with ball playing; and they danced very cleverly, alter¬ nating in figures with one another. That is what is meant by the expression, la frequent interchanges v while others stood by and made a clapping noise with their fore-fingers, wdiich is called \t]k€lv. The poet was acquainted also with the art of dancing so as to keep time with singing. And while Demodocus was singing, youths just entering on manhood were dancing; and in the book which is called the Manufacture of the Arms, a boy played the harp, Danced round and sung in soft well measured tune. And in these passages the allusion is to that which is called the hyporchematic 1 style, which flourished in the time of Xenodemus and Pindar. And this kind of dance is an imita¬ tion of actions which are explained by words, and is what the elegant Xenophon represents as having taken place, in his Anabasis, at the banquet given by Seuthes the Thracian. He says: “After libations were made, and the guests had sung a psean, there rose up first the Thracians, and danced in arms to the music of a flute, and jumped up very high, with light jumps, and used their swords. And at last one of them strikes another, so that it seemed to every one that the man was wounded. And he fell dow T n in a very clever manner, and all the bystanders raised an outcry. And he who struck him having stripped him of his arms, w T ent out singing Sitalces. And others of the Thracians carried out his antagonist as if he were dead; but in reality, he was not hurt. After this some JEnianians and Magnesians rose up, who danced the dance called Carpsea, they too being in armour. And the fashion of that dance was like this: One man, having laid aside his arms, is sowing, and driving a yoke of oxen, con¬ stantly looking round as if he were afraid. Then there comes up a robber; but the sower, as soon as he sees him, snatches up his arms and fights in defence of his team in regular time to the music of the flute. And at last the robber, having 1 “ uTTopxy/ua, a hyporcheme or choral hymn to Apollo, near akin to the Paean. It was of a very lively character, accompanied with dancing (whence the name) and pantomimic action; and is compared by Atheneeus to the «op5a£ (630 E). Pindar’s Fragments, 71—82, are remains of hyporchemes.”—Liddell & Scott, in voc. \m6pxw a ' 26 THE DEIPNOSOPHISTS. [EPIT. B. I. _ \ bound the man, carries off the team; bti't sometimes the sower conquers the robber, and then binding him alongside his oxen, he ties his hands behind him, and drives him for¬ ward. And one man,” says he, “ danced the Persian dance, and rattling one shield against another, fell down, and rose up again: and he did all this in time to the music of a flute. And the Arcadians rising up, all moved in time, being clothed in armour, the flute-players playing the tune suited to an armed march; and they sung the pa)an, and danced.” 28. The heroes used also flutes and pipes. At all events Aga¬ memnon hears “ the voice of flutes and pipes,” which however he never introduced into banquets, except that in the Manu¬ facture 1 of Arms, he mentions the flute on the occasion of a marriage-feast. But flutes he attributes to the barbarians. Accordingly, the Trojans had “ the voice of flutes and pipes,” and they made libations, when they got up from the feast, making Ahem to Mercury, and not, as they did afterwards, to Jupiter the Finisher. For Mercury appears to be the patron of sleep: they drop libations to him also on their tongues when they depart from a banquet, and the tongues are especially allotted to him, as being the instruments of eloquence. Homer was acquainted also with a variety of meats. At all events he uses the expression “ various meats,” and Meats such as godlike kings rejoice to taste. He was acquainted, too, with everything that is thought luxurious even in our age. And accordingly the palace of Menelaus is the most splendid of houses. And Polybius describes the palace of one of the Spanish kings as being some¬ thing similar in its appointments and splendour, saying that he was ambitious of imitating the luxury of the Phseacians, except as far as there stood in the middle of the palace huge silver and golden goblets full of wine made of barley. But Homer, when describing the situation and condition of Calypso’s house, represents Mercury as astonished; and in his descriptions the life of the Phseacians is wholly devoted to pleasure: We ever love the banquet rich, The music of the lyre, . 1 That is to say, in the eighteenth book of the Iliad, which relates the making of the arms for Achilles by Yulcan. Hjv?t boston college library CHESTNUT HILL. MASS- 0. 29.] GAMES. 27 and so on. And How goodly seems it, etc. etc. lines -which Eratosthenes says onght to stand thus:— How goodly seems it ever to employ Far from all ills man’s social days in joy, The plenteous board high heap’d with cates divine, While tuneful songs bid flow the generous wine. 1 When he says “ far from all ills,” he means where folly is not allowed to exhibit itself; for it would be impossible for the Phseacians to be anything but wise, inasmuch as they are very dear to the gods, as Nausicaa says. 29. In Homer, too, the suitors amused themselves in front of the doors of the palace with dice; not having learnt how to play at dice from Diodorus of Megalopolis, or from Theo¬ doras, or from Leon of Mitylene, who was descended from Athenian ancestors: and was absolutely invincible at dice, as Phanias says. But Apion of Alexandria says that he had heard from Cteson of Ithaca what sort of game the game of dice, as played by the suitors, was. For the suitors being a hundred and eight in number, arranged their pieces oppo¬ site to one another in equal numbers, they themselves also being divided into two equal parties, so that there were on each side fifty-four; and between the men there was a small space left empty. And in this middle space they placed one man, which they called Penelope. And they made this the mark, to see if any one of them could hit it with his man; and then, when they had cast lots, he who drew the lot aimed at it. Then if any one hit it and drove Penelope forward out of her place, then he put down his own man in the place of that which had been hit and moved from its place. After which, standing up again, he shot his other man at Penelope in the place in which she was the second time. And if he hit her again without touching any one of the other men, he won the game, and had great hopes that he should be the man to marry her. He says too' that Eurymachus gained the greatest number of victories in this game, and was very sanguine about his marriage. And in consequence of their luxury the suitors had such tender hands that they were not able to bend the bow; and even their servants were a very luxurious set. 1 Odyss. ix. 7. 28 THE DEIPNOSOPHISTS. [epit. B. I. Homer, too, speaks of the smell of perfumes as something very admirable:— Spirit divine ! whose exhalation greets The sense of gods with more than mortal sweets. 1 He speaks, too, of splendid beds; and such is the bed which Arete orders her handmaids to prepare for Ulysses. And Nestor makes it a boast to Telemachus*that he is well provided with such things. 30. But some of the other poets have spoken, of the habits of expense and indolence of their own time as existing also at the time of the Trojan war; and so Aeschylus very improperly introduces the Greeks as so drunk as to break their vessels about one another’s heads; and he says— This is the man who threw so well The vessel with an evil smell, - And miss’d me not, but dash’d to shivers The pot too full of steaming rivers Against my head, which now, alas! sir, Gives other smells besides macassar. And Sophocles says in his banquet of the Greeks, He in his anger threw too well The vessel with an evil smell Against my head, and fill’d the room With something not much like perfume; So that I swear I nearly fainted With the foul steam the vessel vented. But Eupolis attacks the man who first mentioned such a thing, saying— I hate the ways of Sparta’s line, And would rather fry my dinner; He who first invented wine Made poor man a greater sinner. And through him the greater need is Of the arts of Palamedes. 2 But in Homer the chiefs banquet in Agamemnon’s tent in a very orderly manner; and if in the Odyssey Achilles and Ulysses dispute and Agamemnon exults, still their rivalry with one another is advantageous, since what they are dis¬ cussing is whether Troy is to be taken by stratagem, or by open-hand fighting. And he does not represent even the 1 Iliad, xiv. 173. 2 Schweighauser says here that the text of this fragment of Eupolis is corrupt, and the sense and metre undiscoverable. BATHS. 29 c. 32.] suitors as drunk, nor has he ever made his heroes guilty of such disorderly conduct as yEschylus and Sophocles have, though he does speak of the foot of an ox being thrown at Ulysses. 31. And his heroes sit at their banquets, and do not lie down. And this was sometimes the case at the feasts of Alex¬ ander the king, as Dures says. For he once, when giving a feast to his captains to the number of six thousand, made them sit upon silver chairs and couches, having covered them with purple covers. And Hegesander says that it was not the custom in Macedonia for any one to lie down at a banquet, unless he had slain a boar which had escaped beyond the lino of nets; but with that exception, every one sat at supper. And so Cassander, when he was thirty-five years of age, supped with his father in a sitting posture, not being able to perform the above-mentioned exploit, though he was of man’s estate, and a gallant hunter. But Homer, who has always an eye to propriety, has not introduced his heroes feasting on anything except meat, and that too they dressed for themselves. For it caused neither ridicule nor shame to see them preparing and cooking their own food: for they studied to be able to wait upon them¬ selves ; and they prided themselves, says Chrysippus, on their dexterity in such matters. And accordingly Ulysses boasts of being a better hand than any one else at making a fire and cutting up meat. And in the book of the Iliad called The Prayers, 1 Patroclus acts as cupbearer, and Achilles prepares the supper. And when Menelaus celebrates a marriage feast, Megapenthes the bridegroom acts as cupbearer. But now we have come to such a pitch of effeminacy, as to lie down while at our meals. 32. And lately baths too have been introduced; things which formerly men would not have permitted to exist inside a city. And Antiphanes points out their injurious character: Plague take the bath ! just see the plight In which the thing has left me ; It seems t’ have' boil’d me up, and quite Of strength and nerve bereft me. Don’t touch me, curst was he who taught a Man to soak in boiling water. 1 The Ninth Book. 30 THE DEIPNOSOPHISTS. [EPIT. B. I. And Hermippus says, As to mischievous habits, if you ask my vote, I say there are two common kinds of self-slaughter, One, constantly pouring strong wine down your throat, T’other plunging in up to your throat in hot water. But now the refinements of cooks and perfumers have in¬ creased so much, that Alexis says that even if a man could bathe in a bath of perfume he would not be content. And all the manufactories of sweetmeats are in great vigour, and such plans are devised for intercourse between people, that some have proposed even to stuff the sofiis and chairs with sponge, as on the idea that that will make the occupiers more amorous. And Theophrastus says that some contrivances arc of wondrous efficacy in such matters; and Phylarchus con¬ firms him, by reference to some of the presents which San- drocottus, the king of the Indians, sent to Seleucus; which were to act like charms in producing a wonderful degree of affection, while some, on the contrary, were to banish love. Music, too, has been cultivated now, in a way which is a great perversion of its legitimate use: and extravagance has de¬ scended even to our clothes and shoes. 33. But Homer, though he was well acquainted with the nature of perfume, has never introduced any of his heroes as perfumed except Paris; when he says, “glittering with beauty,” as in another place he says that Venus— With every beauty every feature arms, Bids her cheeks glow, and lights up all her charms. 1 JSTor does he ever represent them as wearing crowns, although by some of his similes and metaphors he shows that he knew of garlands. At all events he speaks of That lovely isle crown’d by the foaming waves, 2 And again he says— Bor all around the crown of battle swells. 3 We must remark, too, that in the Odyssey he represents his characters as washing their hands before they partake of food. But in the Iliad there is no trace of such a custom. For the life described in the Odyssey is that of men living easily and luxuriously owing to the peace; on which account the men 1 Odyss. xviii. 191. 2 lb. x. 195. 3 Iliad, xiii. 736. C. 35.] PARTIALITY OF THE GREEKS FOR AMUSEMENTS. 31 of that time indulged their bodies with baths and washings. And that is the reason why in that state of things they play at dice, and dance, and play ball. But Herodotus is mistaken when he says that those sports were invented in the time of Atys to amuse the people during the famine. For the heroic times are older than Atys. And the men living in the time of the Iliad are almost constantly crying out— Eaise the battle cry so clear, Prelude to the warlike spear. 34. Now to go back to what we were saying before. The Athenians made Aristonicus the Carystian, who used to play at ball with Alexander the king, a freeman of their city on account of his skill, and they erected a statue to him. And even in later times the Greeks considered all handicraft trades of much less importance than inventions which had any refe¬ rence to amusement. And the people of Histiaea, and of Oreum, erected in their theatre a brazen statue holding a die in its hand to Theodorus the juggler. And on the same principle the Milesians erected one to Archelaus the harp- player. But at Thebes there is no statue to Pindar, though there is one to Cleon the singer, on which there is the inscription— Stranger, thou seest Pytheas’ tuneful eon, While living oft with vict’ry’s garlands crown’d, Sweet singer, though on earth his race is run, E’en the high heavens with his name resound. Polemo relates that when Alexander razed Thebes to the ground, one man who escaped hid some gold in the garments of this statue, as they were hollow ; and then when the city was restored he returned and recovered his money after a lapse of thirty years. But Herodotus, the logomime as he was called, and Archelaus the dancer, according to Hege- sander, were.more honoured by Antiochus the king than any others of his friends. And Antiochus his father made the sons of Sostratus the flute-player his body guards. 35. And Matreas, the strolling player of Alexandria, was ad¬ mired by both Greeks and ltomans ; and he said that he was cherishing a beast which was eating itself. So that even now it is disputed what that beast of Matreas’s was. He used to propose ridiculous questions in parody of the doubts raised by Aristotle, and then he read them in public ; as “ Why is the 32 THE DEIPNOSOPHISTS. [epit. B. I. sun said to set, and not to dive 1 ?” “why are sponges said to suck np, and not to drink ?” and “ why do we say of a tetra- drachm that it KaraWaTTerat, 1 when we never speak of its getting in a passion ? ” And the Athenians gave Pothimos tiie puppet-master the use of the very stage on which Euri¬ pides had exhibited his noble dramas. And they also erected a statue of Euripides in the theatre next to the statue of /Es- chylus. Xenophon the conjuror, too, was very popular among them, who left behind him a pupil of the name of Cratis- thenes, a citizen of Ptilias; a man who used to make fire spout up of its own accord, and who contrived many other extraordinary sights, so as almost to make men discredit the evidence of their own senses. And Nymphodorus the con¬ juror was another such ; a man who having quarrelled with the people of Rhegium, as Duris relates, was the first man who turned them into ridicule as cowards. And Eudicus the buffoon gained great credit by imitating wrestlers and boxers, as Aristoxenus relates. Straton of Tarentum, also, had many admirers ; he was a mimic of the dithyrambic poets ; and so had (Enonas the Italian, who mimicked the harp-players ; and who gave representations of the Cyclops trying to sing, and of Ulysses when shipwrecked, speaking in a clownish fashion. And Diopeithes the Locrian, according to the ac¬ count of Phanodemus, when he came to Thebes, fastened round his waist bladders full of wine and milk, and then, squeezing them, pretended that he was drawing up those liquids out of his mouth. And Noemon gained a great reputation for the same sort of tricks. There were also in Alexander’s court the following jugglers, who had all a great name. Scymnus of Tarentum, and Phi- listides of Syracuse, and Heraclitus of Mitylene. And there were too some strolling players of high repute, such as Cephisodorus and Pantaleon. And Xenophon makes mention also of Philip the buffoon. 36. Rome may fairly be called the nation of the world. And he will not be far out who pronounces the city of the Romans an epitome of the whole earth ; for in it you may see every other city arranged collectively, and many also separately; for instance, there you may see the golden city of the Alex- 1 This is a pun which cannot be rendered in English, KaraWdcro-onai meaning to be changed, of money; and to be reconciled, of enemies. DANCING AND DANCERS. 33 o. 37.] andrians, the beautiful metropolis of Antioch, the surpassing beauty of Nicomedia; and besides all these that most glorious of all the cities which Jupiter has ever displayed, I mean Athens. And not only one day, but all the days in an entire year, would be too short for a man who should attempt to enumerate all the cities which might be enumerated as dis¬ cernible in that uranopolis of the Romans, the city of Rome; so numerous are they.—For indeed some entire nations are settled there, as the Cappadocians, the Scythians, the people of Pontus, and many others. And all these nations, being so to say the entire population of the world, called the dancer who was so famous in our time Memphis, comparing him, on account of the elegance of his movements, to the most royal and honourable of cities; a city of which Bacchylides sings— Memphis, which winter dares not to assail, And lotus-crowned Rile. As for the Pythagorean philosophy, Athenseus explains that to us, and shows us everything in silence more intelligibly than others who undertake to teach the arts which require talking. 37. Now of tragic dancing, as it was called, such as it existed in his time, Bathyllus of Alexandria was the first introducer; whom Seleucus describes as having been a legitimate dancer. This Bathyllus, according to the account of Aristonicus, and Pylades too, who has written a treatise on dancing, composed the Italian dance from the comic one which was called KopSat, and from the tragic dance which was called e/x/xeAaa, and from the Satyric dance which was called ctlklwls, (from which also the Satyrs were called auavvio-Tai,) the inventor of which was a barbarian named Sicinnus, though some say that Sicin- nus was a Cretan. Now, the dance invented by Pylades was stately, pathetic, and laborious ; but that of Bathyllus was in a merrier style ; for he added to his a kind of ode to Apollo. But Sophocles, in addition to being eminent for personal beauty, was very accomplished in music and dancing, having been instructed in those arts while a boy by Lamprus, and after the naval victory of Salamis, he having no clothes on, but only being anointed with oil, danced round the trophy erected on that occasion to the music of the lyre, but some say that he had his tunic on; and when he exhibited his Thamyris he himself played the harp; and he also played at VOL. I.-ATH. D THE DEIPNOSOPHISTS. 34 4 [epit. B. I. ball with great skill when he exhibited his Nausicaa. And Socrates the Wise was very fond of the dance Memphis ; and as he was often caught dancing, as Xenophon relates, he said to his friends that dancing w r as a gymnastic exercise for every limb ; for the ancients used the word d/oyeo^at for every sort of motion and agitation. Anacreon says—• The fair-hair’d maids of mighty Jove Danced lightly in the mystic grove ; and Ion has the expression— This strange occurrence makes my heart to dance. 38. And Hermippus says, that Theophrastus used to come to the walks at a regular hour, carefully and beautifully dressed ; and that then he would sit down and enter upon an argument, indulging in every sort of motion and gesture imaginable; so that once while imitating an epicure he even put out his tongue and licked his lips. Those men were very careful to put on their clothes neatly; and they ridiculed those who did not do so. Plato, in the Thesetetus, speaks of “a man who has capacity to manage every¬ thing cleverly and perfectly, but who has no idea how to put on even proper clothes like a gentleman, and who has no notion of the propriety of language, so as to be able to cele¬ brate the life of gods and men in a becoming manner.” And Sappho jests upon Andromeda :— Sure by some milkmaid you’ve been taught To dress, whose gown is all too short To reach her sturdy ancles. And Philetserus says— Don’t let your gown fall down too low, Nor pull it up too high to show Your legs in clownish fashion. And Hermippus says, that Theocritus of Chios used to blame the way in which Anaximenes used to wrap his cloak round him as a boorish style of dressing. And Callistratus the pupil of Aristophanes, in one of his writings, attacked Aristarchus severely for not being neatly dressed, on the ground, that at¬ tention to those minutiae is no trifling indication of a man’s, abilities and good sense. On which account Alexis says— ’Tis a sure sign of a degraded nature, To walk along the street in sloven’s guise; Having the means of neatness: which costs nothing; c. 39.] DANCING AND DANCERS. 35 Is subject to no tax; requires no change; And creditable is to him who uses it, And pleasant to all those who witness it. Who then would ever disregard this rule, That wishes to be thought a man of sense ? 39. But iEschylus was not only the inventor of becoming and dignified dress, which the hierophants and torch-bearers of the sacred festivals imitated; but he also invented many figures in dancing, and taught them to the dancers of the chorus. And Chamaeleon states that he first arranged the chorused, not using the ordinary dancing-masters, but himself arranging the figures of the dancers for the chorus ; and altogether that he took the whole arrangement of his tragedies on himself. And he himself acted in his own plays very fairly. And accord¬ ingly, Aristophanes (and we may well trust the comic writers in what they say of the tragedians) represents JEscliylus him¬ self as saying— , , I myself taught those dances to the chorus, Which pleased so much when erst they danced before us. And again, he says, “ I recollect that when I saw 1 The Phry¬ gians,’ when the men came on who were uniting with Priam in his petition for the ransom of his son, some danced in this way, some in that, all at random.” Telesis, or Telestes, (which¬ ever was his right name,) the dancing-master, invented many figures, and taught men to use the action of their hands, so as to give expression to what they said. Phillis the Delian, a musi¬ cian, says, that the ancient harp-players moved their counte¬ nances but little, but their feet very much, imitating the march of troops or the dancing of a chorus. Accordingly Aristotle says, that Telestes the director of ^Eschylus’s choruses was so great a master of his art, that in managing the choruses of the Seven Generals against Thebes, he made all the transactions plain by dancing. They say, too, that the old poets, Thespis, Pratinas, Carcinus, and Phrynichus, were called dancing poets, because they not only made their dramas depend upon the dancing of the chorus, but because, besides directing the exhibition of their own plays, they also taught dancing to all who wished to learn. But AEschylus was often drunk when he wrote his tragedies, if we may trust Chameeleon : and accord¬ ingly Sophocles reproached him, saying, that even when he did what was right he did not know that he was doing so. D 2 36 THE DEIPNOSOPHISTS. [EPIT. B. I. 40. Now tlic national dances are the following:—the Lace¬ demonian, the Trcezenian, the Epizephjrian, the Cretan, the Ionian, the Mantinean, which Aristoxenus considers as the best of all, on account of its movement of the hands. And dancing was considered so creditable an employment, and one requir¬ ing so much talent, that Pindar calls Apollo a dancer :— Prince of dancers, prince of grace. Hail, Phoebus of the silver quiver. And Homer too, or one of the Homeridse, in one of the hymns to Apollo, says— How deftly Phoebus strikes the golden lyre, While strength and grace each moving limb inspire ! and Eumelus, or Arctinus, the Corinthian, somewhere or other introduces Jupiter himself as dancing, saying— And gracefully amid the dancing throng, The sire of gods and mortals moved along. But Theophrastus says that Andron of Catana, a flute-player, was the first person who invented motions of the body keep¬ ing time to music, while he played on the flute to the dancers; from whom dancing among the ancients was called Sicelizing. And that he was followed by Cleophantus of Thebes. Among the dancers of reputation there was Bulbus, mentioned by Cratinus and Callias; and Zeno the Cretan, who was in high favour with Artaxerxes, mentioned by Ctesias. Alexander also, in his letter to Philoxenus, mentions Theodorus and Chrysippus. 41. The Temple of the Muses is called by Timon the Phliasian, the satiric writer, the basket, by which term he means to ridicule the philosophers who frequent it, as if they were fattened up in a hen-coop, like valuable birds:— .Bgypt has its mad recluses, Book-bewilder’d anchorites, In the hen-coop of the Muses Keeping up their endless fights. . . . . till these table orators got cured of their diarrhoea of words; a pack of men, who from their itch for talking appear to me to have forgotten the Pythian oracle, which Chamseleon quotes— Three weeks ere Sirius burns up the wheat. And three weeks after, seek the cool retreat Of shady house, and better your condition By taking Bacchus for your sole physician. C. 42.] USE OF SOME WORDS. 37 And so Mnesitheus the Athenian says that the Pythia en¬ joined the Athenians to honour Bacchus the physician. But xUcceus, the Mitylenoean poet, says— Steep your heart in rosy wine, for see, the dogstar is in view ; Lest by heat and thirst oppress’d you should the season’s fury rue. And in another place he says—• Fill me, boy, a sparkling cup; See, the dogstar’s coming up. And Eupolis says that Callias was compelled to drink by Protagoras, in order that his lungs might not be melted away before the dogdays. But at such a time I not only feel my lungs dried up, but I may almost say my heart too. And Antiphanes says— A. Tell me, I pray you, how you life define. B. To drink full goblets of rich Chian wine. You see how tall and line the forest grows Through which a sacred river ceaseless flows ; While on dry soils the stately beech and oak Die without waiting for the woodman’s stroke. And so, says he, they, disputing about the dogstar, had plenty to drink. Thus the word to moisten or soak, is often applied to drinking. And so Antiphanes says— Eating much may bring on choking, Unless you take a turn at soaking. And Eubulus has— A. I Sicon come with duly moisten’d cla} r . B. What have you drunk then 1 ? A. That you well may say. 42. Now the verb avaTrUro), meaning to fall back, has pro¬ perly reference to the mind, meaning to despair, to be out of heart. Thucydides says in his first book, “ When they are defeated they are least of all people inclined to dva.7-urmr.” And Cratinus uses the same expression of rowers— Ply your oars and bend your backs. And Xenophon in his (Economics says, “ Why is it that rowers are not troublesome to one another, except because they sit in regular order, and bend forward in regular order, and (avaTTLTTTovcTLv) lean back in regular order?”—The word avaKelcrOoLL is properly applied to a statue, on which account they used to laugh at those who used the word of the guests at a feast, for whom the proper expression w T as KaraKcf/^ai. 38 THE DEIPNOSOPHISTS. [EPIT. B. 1. Accordingly Diphilus puts into the mouth of a man at a feast— I for a while sat down (aj/e/c€t'a7jv) : and-his friend, not approving of such an expression, says, ’Avd/cao-o. And Philippi des has— I supped too uvantiixivos in his house. And then the other speaker rejoins— What, was he giving a dinner to a statue 1 But the Word KaraKeio-OaL is used, and also Kara/ceKAi(70ai, of reclining at meals : as Xenophon and Plato prove in their essays called the Banquet. Alexis too says— ’Tis hard before one’s supper to lie down, For if one does one cannot go to sleep ; N or give much heed to aught that may be said ; One’s thoughts being fix’d on what there ’ll be to eat. Not but what the word dvaKeicrOal is used in this sense, though rarely. The satyr in Sophocles says— If I catch fire I’ll leap with a mighty Spring upon Hercules, as amKuiai. And Aristotle says, when speaking of the laws of the Tyr¬ rhenians, “ But the Tyrrhenians sup, dvaKeifxevoc with the women under the same covering.” Theopompus also says— Then we the goblets fill’d with mighty w r ine. On delicate couches KaraKei/uevos, Singing in turn old songs of Telamon. And Philonides says— I have been here KaraK^ifiivos a long time. And -Euripides says in the Cyclops— > ’Az'eVeo-e (which is the same as avUeno) Breathing forth long and deep and heavy breath. And Alexis says— c After that I bade her am7re 7 <;, to which no other wine was at all comparable. But Alciphron of the Mseander says, that there was a mountain village near the Ephesian territories, which was formerly called Latona’s, but is now called Latorea, from Latorea the Amazon ; and that there also Pramnian wine is made. Timachidas the Rhodian calls a wine made at Rhodes viroyyTos, or the adulterated wine , being near akin to sweet wine. But that wine is called y\u£is which goes through no process of decoction. There is also a Rhodian wine, which Polyzelus calls avriT^s : l and another which Plato the comic writer calls Kanvias f and this wine is made in the greatest perfection at Beneventum, a city in Italy. But the wine Amphis is spoken of as a very poor wine by Sosicrates. The ancients used also a certain wine made of spices, which they called xpt/x/xa. But Theophrastus, in his History of Plants, says, that a wine is made in Herrea in Arcadia which, when it is drunk, drives men out of their senses, and makes women inclined to preg¬ nancy : and that around Cerunia in Achaia there is a kind of vine, from which a wine is made which has a tendency to cause abortion in pregnant women ; and if they eat the grapes too, says he, they miscarry *—and the Troezenian wine, he says, makes those who drink it barren : and at Thasos, 1 Avtittjs, by itself, i.e. unmixed. 2 Kairvias, i.e. smoky. C. 59.] DIFFERENT KINDS OF WINE. 53 says be, they make a wine which produces sleep, and another which causes those who drink it to keep awake. 58. But concerning the manufacture of scented wine, Phanias of Eresus says, “ There is infused into the wine one portion of sea-water to fifty of wine, and that becomes scented wine.” And again he says, “ Scented wine is made stronger of young than of old vines ;” and he subjoins, “ Having trodden on the unripe grapes they put the wine away, and it becomes scented.” But Theophrastus says, that “ the wine at Thasos, which is given in the prytaneum, is wonderfully delicious; for it is well seasoned ; for they knead up dough with honey, and put that into the earthen jars; so that the wine receives fra¬ grance from itself, and sweetness from the honey.” And he proceeds to say, “ If any one mixes harsh wine which has no smell with soft and fragrant wine, such, for instance, as the Heraclean wine with that of Erythrse, softness is derived from the one, and wholesomeness from the other.” And the Myr- tite or Myrrhine wine is spoken of by Posidippus :— A tasteless, dry, and foolish wine I consider the myrrhine. Hermes, too, is mentioned by Strattis as the name of a drink. And Chsereas says, that a wine is made in Babylon which is called nectar. The bard of Ceos says— ’Tis not enough to mix your wine with taste. Unless sweet converse seasons the repast ; And Bacchus’ gifts well such regard deserve, That we should e’en the stones of grapes preserve. 59. Now of wines some are white, some yellow, and some red. The white is the thinnest in its nature, diuretic, and warm ; and being a promoter of digestion it causes a heat in the head; for it is a wine which has a tendency to move upwards. But of red wine that which is not sweet is very nutritious, and is astringent; but that which is sweet (as is the case with even white and yellow wine also) is the most nutritious of all : for it softens all the ducts and passages, and thickens the fluid parts of the body, and does not at all confuse the head. For in reality the nature of sweet wine lingers about the ribs, and engenders spittle, as Diodes and Praxagoras assert. But Mnesitheus the Athenian says, “ Bed wine is the most nutri¬ tious; but white is the most diuretic and the thinnest; and the THE DEIPNOSOPHISTS. 54 [epit. b. I. yellow is a dry wine, and that which most assists in the diges¬ tion of the food.” Now the wines which have been very carefully prepared with sea-water never cause headaches ; and they open the bowels, and sometimes gripe the stomach, and produce flatu¬ lency, and assist in the digestion of food. Of this character is the Myndian wine, and that of Halicarnassus. And so Menippus the Cynic calls Myndus “ brine-drinking.” The Coan wine too has a good deal of sea-water in it. The Kho- dian has not so much sea-water ; but a great deal of that wine is good for nothing. Wine made in the islands is very good to drink, and not at all ill-calculated for daily use. But Cnidian wine makes blood, is nutritious, and keeps the bowels in a healthy state ; though if it is drunk in great quantities it relaxes the stomach. The Lesbian wine is less astringent, and more diuretic. But the Chian is a nicer wine ; and of all the Chian wine, that called the Aryusian is the best. And of this there arc three varieties : for there is a dry kind, and a sweet kind ; and that the flavour of which is between the two is called autocratic, that is, self-mixed. Now the dry kind is pleasant to the taste, nutritious, and more diuretic than the others; but the sweet kind is nutritious, filling, and apt to soften the bowels. The autocratic wine in its effects also is something between the two. But, generally speaking, the Chian wine is digestible, nutritious, a producer of good blood, mild, and filling, inasmuch as it has a great deal of body. But the nicest of all wines are the Alban and Falernian wines of Italy; but these, if they have been kept a length of time and are old, acquire a medicinal effect, and rapidly produce a sensation of heaviness. But the wine called Adrian relieves any oppression of the breath, is very digestible, and wholly free from all unpleasant consequences; but these w T ines require to be made with rapidity, and then to be s'et in an open place, so as to allow the thicker portions of their body to evaporate. But the best wine to keep a length of time is the Corcyrean. The Zacynthian and Leucadian wines also are apt to be bad for the head, because they contain chalk. There is a wine from Cilicia, called Abates, which has no effect except that of relax¬ ing the bowels. But hard water, such as that from springs, or from rain if it is fdtered, and has stood some time, agrees very well with Coan and Myndian and Halicarnassian wine, DIFFERENT KINDS OF WINE. 55 e. 60.] and indeed with every wine which has plenty of salt-water in it. And accordingly these wines are of the greatest use at Athens and Sicyon, because the waters in those cities are harsh. But for those wines which have no sea-water, and which are of a more astringent nature, especially for the Chian and Lesbian wine, the purest water is the most suitable. Oh thou my tongue, whom silence long hath bound, How wilt thou bear this tale of thine t’ unfold] Hard is their fate to whom compulsion stem Leaves no alternative; which now compels thee To open what thy lord would fain conceal. These are the words of Sophocles. 60. The Mareotic wine, which comes from Alexandria, had its name from a fountain in the district of Alexandria called Marea ; and from a town of the same name which was close to it; which was formerly a place of great importance, but is now reduced to a petty village. And the fountain and town derived their name from Maro, who was one of the companions of Bacchus in his expedition. And there are many vines in that country, which produce grapes very good to eat when raw, and the wine which is made from them is excellent. For it is white, and sweet, and good for the breath, and digestible, and then, it never produces any ill effect on the head, and is diuretic. And still better than this is the wine called Tseniotic. The word t aivLa means a riband ; and there is in that district a long narrow riband of land, the wines produced from which are of a slightly green colour, with something oily in them, which is quickly dissolved when it is mixed with water; just as the Attic honey is dissolved by the same process. This Taeni- otic wine, in addition to being sweet, has something aromatic in it, of a slightly astringent character. But there are vines near the Nile in great quantities as far as the river extends ; and there are many peculiarities in those vines, both as to their colour and as to their use. However, the best of all the wines made in that district is that made near the city of Antylla (which is not far from Alexandria), the revenues from which the kings of those ages, both the Egyptian and Persian kings, used to give to their wives for pin-money. But the wine which is made in the Thebais, especially that near the city Coptos, is light, and easy of digestion, and also so great an assistant in 56 THE DEIPNOSOPHISTS. [EP1T. B. I. the digestion of the rest of one’s food, that it is given to people in fevers without injury. You praise yourself, as does Astydamas, woman ! (Astydamas was a tragic poet.) 61. Theopompus the Chian says, that the vine is found at Olympia, near the Alpheus ; and that there is a place about eight furlongs from Elis where the natives at the time of the Dionysian games close up three empty brazen vessels, and seal them in the presence of all the people round about; and at a subsequent time they open them and find them full of wine. But Hellanicus says, that the vine was first dis¬ covered in Plinthina, a city of Egypt; on which account Dion, the academic philosopher, calls the Egyptians fond of wine and fond of drinking : and also, that as subsidiary to wine, in the case of those who, on account of their poverty, could not get wine, there was introduced a custom of drinking beer made of barley; and moreover, that those who drank this beer were so pleased with it that they sung and danced, and did everything like men drunk with wine. Now Aristotle says, that men who are drunk w T ith wine show it in their faces ; but that those who have drunk too much beer fall back and go to sleep ; for wine is stimulating, but beer has a tendency to stupefy. 62. Now that the Egyptians really are fond of wine this is a proof, that they are the only people among whom it is a custom at their feasts to eat boiled cabbages before all the rest of their food; and even to this very time they do so. And many people add cabbage seed to potions which they prepare as preventives against drunkenness. And wherever a vineyard has cabbages growing in it, there the wine is weaker. On which account the citizens of Sybaris also, as Timeeus says, used to eat cabbages before drinking. And so Alexis says— Last evening you were drinking deep, So now your head aches. Go to sleep; Take some boil’d cabbage when you wake; And there’s an end of your headache. And Eubulus says, somewhere or other— Wife, quick ! some cabbage boil, of virtues healing, That I may rid me of this seedy feeling. C. 1.] WINE. 57 For the ancients used to call cabbage pa^avog. And so Apollodorus of Carystus expressly says— We call it frdupavos, and strangers But sure to women they must both the same be. \ And Anaxandrides says— If you butter and cabbage eat, All distempers you will beat, Driving off all headaches horrid, And clouds which hover round your forehead. And Nicochares says— Instead of cabbage, acorns boil to-morrow, Which equally rid you of all your sorrow. And Amphis tells us— When one’s been drunk, the best relief I know Is stern misfortune’s unexpected blow; For that at once all languor will dispel, As sure as cabbage. And Theophrastus also speaks of the effect which the cabbage produces, saying that the vine as long as it lives always turns away from the smell of cabbage. BOOK II. 1. The conversation which you reported to me did not allow me to give up a considerable portion of the day to sleep, as it was of a very varied nature. Nicander of Colophon says that wine, oho s, has its name from (Eneus :— (Eneus pour’d the juice divine In hollow cups, and call’d it wine. And Melanippides of Melos says— ’Twas (Eneus, master, gave his name to wine. But Hecataeus of Miletus says, that the vine was discovered in ./Etolia; and adds, “ Orestheus, the son of Deucalion, came to JEtolia to endeavour to obtain the kingdom; and while he was there, a bitch which he had brought forth a stalk: and he ordered it to be buried in the ground, and from it 58 THE DEIPNOSOPHISTS. [EPIT. B. II, there sprang up a vine loaded with grapes. On which account he called his son Phytius, And he had a son named GEneus, who was so called from the vines : for the ancient Greeks,” says he, “ called vines ohai. Now GEneus was the father of iEtolus.” But Plato in his Cratylus, inquiring into the etymology of the word on/os, says, that it is equivalent to otovovs, as filling the mind, vovs, with oirjcns, or self-conceit. Perhaps, however, the w r ord may be derived from ovrjcris, succour. For Homer, giving as it were the derivation of the word, speaks nearly after this fashion— And then you will be succour’d if you drink. And he too constantly calls food dvciara, because it supports us. 2. Now the author of the Cyprian poems, whoever he was, says— No better remedies than wine there are, 0 king, to drive away soul-eating care. And Diphilus the comic poet says— O Bacchus, to all wise men dear. How very kind you do appear; You make the lowly-hearted proud. And bid the gloomy laugh aloud; You fill the feeble man with daring, And cowards strut and bray past bearing. And Philoxenus of Cythera says— Good store of wine which makes men talk. But Cheeremon the tragedian says, that wine inspires those* who use it with Laughter and wisdom and prudence and learning. And Ion of Chios calls wine Youth of indomitable might, With head of bull; the loveliest wight Who ever rank’d as Love’s esquire, Filling men with strength and fire. And Mensitheus says— Great was the blessing, when the gods did show Sweet wine to those who how to use it know; But where bad men its righteous use pervert. To such, I trow, it will be rather hurt. For to the first it nourishment supplies, Strengthens their bodies, and their minds makes wise; A wholesome physic ’tis when mix’d with potions, Heals wounds as well as plasters or cold lotions. DRINKING. 59 c. 3.] Wine to our daily feasts brings cheerful laughter, When mix’d with proper quantities of water; Men saucy get if one-third wine they quaff; While downright madness flows from half-and-half; And neat wine mind and body too destroys; While moderation wise secures our joys. And well the oracle takes this position, That Bacchus is all people’s best physician. 3. And Eubulns introduces Bacchus as saying— Let them three parts of -wine all duly season With nine of water, who’d preserve their reason ; The first gives health, the second sweet desires, The third tranquillity and sleep inspires. These are the wholesome draughts which wise men please. Who from the banquet home return in peace. From a fourth measure insolence proceeds; Uproar a fifth, a 6ixth wild licence breeds; A seventh brings black eyes and livid bruises. The eighth the constable next introduces; Black gall and hatred lurk the ninth beneath, The tenth is madness, arms, and fearful death; For too much wine pour’d in one little vessel, Trips up all those who seek with it to wrestle. And Epicharmus says— A. Sacrifices feasts produce, Drinking then from feasts proceeds. B. Such rotation has its use. • A. Then the drinking riot breeds; Then on riot and confusion Follow law and prosecution; Law brings sentence; sentence chains ; Chains bring wounds and ulcerous pains. And Panyasis the epic poet allots the first cup of wine to the Graces, the Hours, and Bacchus; the second to Yenus, and again to Bacchus; the third to Insolence and Destruction. And so he says— O’er the first glass the Graces three preside, And with the smiling Hours the palm divide ; hi ext Bacchus, parent of the sacred vine, And Yenus, loveliest daughter of the brine, Smile on the second cup, which cheers the heart, And bids the drinker home in peace depart. But the third cup is waste and sad excess. Parent of wrongs, denier of redress ; Oh, who can tell what evils may befall When Strife and Insult rage throughout the hall ? GO THE DEIPNOSOPHISTS. [EPIT. B. II. Content thee, then, my friend, with glasses twain; Then to your home and tender wife again ; While your companions, with unaching heads, By your example taught, will seek their beds. But riot will be bred by too much wine, A mournful ending for a feast divine ; While, then, you live, your thirst in bounds confine. And a few lines afterwards he says of immoderate drinking— For Insolence and Ruin follow it. According to Euripides, Drinking is sire of blows and violence. From which some have said that the pedigree of Bacchus and of Insolence were the same. 4. And Alexis says somewhere— Man’s nature doth in much resemble wine: For young men and new wine do both need age To ripen their too warm unseason’d strength. And let their violence evaporate. But when the grosser portions are worked off, And all the froth i« skimm’d, then both are good j The wine is drinkable, the man is wise, And both in future pleasant while they last. And according to the bard of Cyrene— Wine is like fire when ’tis to man applied, Or like the storm that sweeps the Libyan tide ; The furious wind the lowest depths can reach, And wine robs man of knowledge, sense, and speech. But in some other place Alexis says the contrary to what I have just cited :— A . Man in no one respect resembles wine : - For man by age is made intolerable ; . But age improves all wine. B. Yes; for old wines cheer us, But old men only snarl, abuse, and jeer us. And Panyasis says— Wine is like fire, an aid and sweet relief, Wards off all ills, and comforts every grief; Wine can of every feast the joys enhance, It kindles soft desire, it leads the dance. Think not then, childlike, much of solid food, But stick to wine, the only real good. THE EVILS OF DRUNKENNESS. 61 c. 6.] And again—- Good wine’s the gift which God has given To man alone beneath the heaven ; Of dance and song the genial sire, Of friendship gay and soft desire ; Yet rule it with a tighten’d rein. Nor moderate wisdom’s rules disdain ; Tor when uncheck’d there’s nought runs faster,— A useful slave, but cruel master. 5. Timseus of Tauromenium relates that there was a certain house at Agrigentum called the Trireme, on this account:— Some young men got drunk in it, and got so mad when excited by the wine, as to think that they were sailing in a trireme, and that they were being tossed about on the sea in a violent storm; and so completely did they lose their senses, that they threw all the furniture, and all the sofas and chairs and beds, out of window, as if they were throwing them into the sea, fancying that the captain had ordered them to lighten the ship because of the storm. And though a crowd collected round the house and began to plunder what was thrown out, even that did not cure the young men of their frenzy. And the next day, when the praetors came to the house, there were the young men still lying, sea-sick as they said; and, when the magistrates questioned them, they replied that they had been in great danger from a storm, and had consequently been compelled to lighten the ship by throwing all their superfluous cargo into the sea. And while the magistrates marvelled at the bewilderment of the men, one of them, who seemed to be older than the rest, said, “ T, 0 Tritons, was so frightened that I threw myself down under the benches, and lay there as low down and as much out of sight as I could.” And the magistrates forgave their folly, and dismissed them with a reproof, and a warning not to indulge in too much wine in future. And they, professing to be much obliged to them, said, “ If we arrive in port after having escaped this terrible storm, we will erect in our own country statues of you as our saviours in a conspicuous place, along with those of the other gods of the sea, as having appeared to us at a seasonable time.” And from this circum¬ stance that house was called the Trireme. 6 . But Philochorus says that men who drink hard do not only show what sort of disposition they themselves are of, but THE DEIPNOSOPHISTS. 62 [epit. b. ir. do also reveal in their chattering the characters of every one else whom they know. Whence comes the proverb. Wine and truth and the sentence, Wine lays hare the heart of man. And so in the contests of Bacchus the prize of victory is a tripod: and we have a proverb of those who speak truth, that “they are speaking from the tripod;” in which the tripod meant is the cup of Bacchus. For there were among the ancients two kinds of tripods, each of which, as it hap¬ pened, bore the name of Xefirjs, or bowl; one, which was used to be put on the fire, being a sort of kettle for bathing, as iEschylus says— They pour’d the water in a three-legg’d howl, Which always has its place upon the fire : and the other is what is also called KpaTrjp, a goblet. Homer says— And seven fireless tripods. And in these last they mixed wine; and it is this last tripod that is the tripod of truth ; and it is considered appropriate to Apollo, because of the truth of • his prophetic art;, and to Bacchus, because of the truth which people speak when drunk. And Semus the Delian says —“ A brazen tripod, not the Pythian one, but that which they now call a bowl. And of these bowls some were never put on the fire, and men mixed their wine in them; and the others held water for baths, and in them they warmed the water, putting them on the fire; and of these some had ears, and having their bottom supported by three feet they were called tripods.” Ephippus says somewhere or other— A . That load of wine makes you a chatterer. B. That’s why they say that drunken men speak truth. And Antiphanes writes— There are only two secrets a man cannot keep, One when he’s in love, t’other when he’s drunk deep : For these facts are so proved by his tongue or his eyes, That we see it more plainly the more he denies. 7. And Philochorus relates that Amphictyon, the king of the Athenians, having learnt of Bacchus the art of mixing wine, } We find something like this in Theoc. xxix. 1. OlvoSf 3> cpi\e ircu, AeyeTcu Ktu aAaOea. \ THE EVILS OF DRUNKENNESS. G 3 €. 8 .] was the first man who ever did mix it: and that it is owing to him that men w T ho have been drinking on his system can walk straight afterwards, when before they used to blunder about after drinking sheer wine : and on this account he erected an altar to the Straight Bacchus in the temple of the Seasons ; for they are the Nymphs who cherish the fruit Oi. the vine. And near it he built also an altar to the Nymphs, as a memorial to all wdio use mixed drink; for the graphs are said to have been the nurses of Bacchus. And he made a law to bring an unmixed wine after meals only just enough to taste, as a token of the power of the Good Deity. But the rest of the wine was put on the table ready mixed, in what¬ ever quantity any one chose. And then he enjoined the guests to invoke in addition the name of Jupiter the Saviour, for the sake of instructing and reminding the drinkers that by drinking in that fashion they w T ould be preserved from injury. But Plato, in his second book of the Lav 7 s, says that the use of wine is to be encouraged for the sake of health. But on account of the look which habitual drunkards get, they liken Bacchus to a bull; and to a leopard, because he excites drunkards to acts of violence. And Alcseus says— Wine sometimes than honey sweeter, Sometimes more than nettles bitter. Some men, too, are apt to get in a rage when drunk ; and they are like a bull. Euripides, says— Pierce bulls, their passion with their horns displaying. And some men, from their quarrelsome disposition when drunk, are like wild beasts, on which account it is that Bacchus is likened to a leopard. 8 . Well was it then that Ariston the Chian said that that w r as the most agreeable drink which partook at the same time of both sweetness and fragrance; for which reason some people prepare what is called nectar about the Olympus which is in Lydia, mixing wine and honeycombs and the most fragrant flowers together. Though I am aware indeed that Anaxan- drides says that nectar is not the drink, but the meat of the gods:— Nectar I eat, and well do gnaw it; Ambrosia drink, (you never saw it); I act as cupbearer to Jove, And chat to Juno—not of love; 64 < THE DEIPNOSOPniSTS. [EPIT. B. II. And oftentimes I sit by Venus, With marplot none to come between us. And Aleman says— Nectar they eat at will. And Sapplio says— The goblets rich were with ambrosia crown’d, Which Hermes bore to all the gods around. But Homer was acquainted with nectar as the drink of the gods. And Ibycus says that ambrosia is nine times as sweet as honey; stating expressly that honey has just one-ninth part of the power of ambrosia as far as sweetness goes. 9. One fond of wine must be an honest man; For Bacchus, for his double mother famed, Loves not bad men, nor uninstructed clowns, says Alexis. He adds, moreover, that wine makes all men who drink much of it fond of talking. And the author of the Epigram on Cratinus says— If with water you fill up your glasses, You’ll never write anything wise But wine is the horse of Parnassus, That carries a bard to the skies. And this was Cratinus’s thought, Who was ne’er with one bottle content, But stuck to his cups as he ought, And to Bacchus his heart and voice lent. His house all with garlands did shine, And -with ivy he circled his brow, To show he nought worshipp’d but wine, As, if he still lived, he’d do now. Polemo says that in Munychia a hero is honoured of the name of Acratopotes: 1 and that among the Spartans statues of the heroes Matton and Ceraon were erected by some cooks in the hall of the Phiditia. 2 And in Achaia a hero is honoured called Deipneus, having his name from Seiirvov, a supper. But from a dry meal there arise no jokes, nor extempore poems, though, on the other hand, such an one does not cause any boasting or insolence of mind; so that it is well said— Where are the empty boasts which Lemnos heard When season’d dishes press’d the ample board, When the rich goblets overflow’d with wine] 1 * AKpaTOTroTrjs , drinker of unmixed wine. 2 4>ei5iT£a was the Spartan name for the avcra'nia. Vide Smith, Diet. Ant. p. 928. b. . PRAISES OF WINE. 65 o. 11.] though Aristarchus the grammarian put a mark against the line which represents the Greeks as getting insolent through much eating. For he said that it was not every sort of cheer¬ fulness and satiety which engendered boasting and jesting and ridiculous actions; but that these things proceeded only from such revelling as made men beside themselves, and in¬ clined them to falsehood,—from drunkenness, in fact. 10. Oil which account Bacchylides says:— Sweet force, from wine proceeding, Now warms my soul with love. And on my spirit leading, With hopes my heart does move. It drives dull care away, And laughs at walls and towers ; And bids us think and say, That all the world is ours. The man who drinks plenty of wine, Will never for wealth be wishing; For his cellar’s a ceaseless mine, And an undisturb’d heart he is rich in. And Sophocles says—• Drinking is a cure for woe. And other poets call wine— Fruit of the field, which makes the heart to leap. And the king of all poets introduces Ulysses saying— Let generous food supplies of strength produce. Let rising spirits flow from sprightly juice, Let their warm heads with scenes of battle glow, 1 and so on. 11. It is in consequence of wine that both comedy and tragedy, were discovered in Xcarium, a village of Attica; and it was at the time of the grape harvest that these inventions were first introduced, from which comedy was at first called rpirycoSta. Euripides, in the Bacchse, says that Bacchus Gave men the wine which every grief dispels ; Where wine is not, there Venus never dwells, Nor any other thing which men hold dear. And Astydamas says that Bacchus Gave men the vine which cures all mortal grief, Parent of genial wine. “ For,” says Antiphanes, “ a man who continually fills 1 Iliad, xvii. 180. F VOL. I.-ATH. G6 THE DEIPNOSOFHISTS. [EPIT. B. II/ himself with wine becomes indifferent and careless; but he who drinks but little is very meditative.” And Alexis says— I’m not beside myself with drink; nor have I so much taken As not to be quite understood by those to whom I’m speaking. But Seleucus says that it was not an ancient custom to in¬ dulge in wine or any other luxury to excess, except, indeed, on the occasion of some sacred festival; which is the origin of the names Ooivai, and Bakun, and fieOau —0otvai meaning that men thought it right 8ia Oeov s olvovaOai, to drink wine on account of the gods; Baktat meaning that x^P LV tjXl^ovto, they assembled and met together in honour of the gods. And this comes to the same as the Homeric expression Sacra Odkaav. And Aristotle says that the word /xeBvav is derived from the fact that men used wine pcrd to Bvav, after sacrificing. 12. Euripides says that it is possible that Those who with humble gifts approach the gods, May often holier be, than those who load The groaning altars with whole hecatombs; and the word re'Xos, which he employs in the first line, means “ sacrifice ” And Homer uses the same word when he says— God holds no sacrifice in more esteem, Than hearts where pious joy and pleasure beam. 1 And we call those festivals which are of greater magnitude and which are celebrated with certain mysterious traditions, rekerat, on account of the expense which is lavished on them. For the word reAew means to spend. And men who spend a great deal are called vroXurcXet?, and those who spend but little are called eurcXets. Alexis says— Those who with fair prosperity are bless’d, Should always keep themselves before the world; Glad to display the bounty of the gods. For they, the givers of all good, deserve A holy gratitude; and they will have it. : But if, when they their gifts have shower’d, they see ‘The objects of their bounty live like churls, Useless to all around them ; who can wonder If they recall what seems so ill bestow’d 1 13. A man is not fond of wine who has been used from his earliest years to drink water. But— ’Tis sweet, at a banquet or festival meeting, To chat o’er one’s wine, when the guests have done eating, says Hesiod in his Melampodia. 1 Odyss. ix. 6. WATER. 67 c. 14.] It lias not occurred to any one of you to say a word about water, though wine is made of it, and though Pindar, the most grandiloquent of poets, has said that “ water is the best of all things.” And Homer, too, the most divine of all poets, recognised it as a most nutritious thing, when he spoke of a grove of poplars nourished by the water. He also praises its transparent nature— Four fountains flow’d with clearest water white f and the water which is of a lighter nature, and of greater value, he calls “ lovely: ” at all events he calls the Titaresius lovely which falls into the Peneus. And he mentions also some water as especially good for washing; and Praxagoras of Cos, following his example, speaks of a water as beauteous— Beauteous it flows, to wash all dirt away. And he distinguishes also between sweet water and brackish (7rXarus) water ; though when he calls the Hellespont TrXarvs, he uses the word in the sense of broad. But with respect to sweet water, he says— Near the sweet waters then our ships we stay’d. 2 14. He was acquainted too with the effect which warm water has on wounds: at all events he describes Eurypylus’s wounds as being washed with it; and yet, if the object was to stop the haemorrhage, cold water would have been useful, since that contracts and closes up wounds; but with the view of relieving the pain, he bathes these with warm water, which has a sooth¬ ing effect. And in Homer the word \iapos is used for what we call Otp/xos, warm. And he shows that plainly enough in what he says about the fountains of the Scamander, saying— Next by Scamander’s double source they bound, Where two famed fountains burst the parted ground ; This warm, through scorching clefts is seen to rise, With exhalations steaming to the skies. 3 Can we call that only warm from which a steam of fire, and a fiery smoke arises ? But of the other source he says— That, the green banks in summer’s heat o’erflows, Like crystal clear, and cold as winter’s snows. And he often speaks of men newly wounded being bathed in warm water. In the case of Agamemnon he says— With his warm blood still welling from the wound. 4 1 Odyss. v. 70. 2 lb. xii. 3G0. 3 Iliad, xxii. 149. 4 lb. xi. 266. F 2 THE DEIPNOSOPHISTS. 68 [epit. B. II. And in the case of a stag fleeing after it had been wounded, he says, in a sort of paraphrase— While his warm blood and mighty limbs were strong. 1 The Athenians call ^Xta pdv, which is properly lukewarm, fjLtTaKdpas, as Eratosthenes uses the word, saying, “Watery by nature, and lukewarm, pierd/cepas.” 15. And of other waters, those which come from rocks he calls “ dark,” as being quite useless; and he prefers to all others the waters of springs, and those which rise to the surface from a great depth, and through rich soil. As also Hesiod says— A ceaseless spring of clear untroubled flow. And Pindar says— Ambrosial water, like fresh honey sweet, Which from Tilphossa’s lovely fountains flows ; (Tilphossa is a fountain in Boeotia ;) and Aristophanes says that Tiresias died from drinking of it, as at his advanced age he was unable to bear its extreme cold. And Theophrastus, in his book on Waters, says that the water of the Nile is the most productive and the sweetest of all waters, and that it is also very relaxing to the bowels of those who drink it, as it has in it a mixture of nitre. And again, in his book on Plants, he says that there is in some places water which has a procreative tendency; as for instance at Thespise: and at Pyrrha there is a water which causes barrenness. But it happened once when there was a drought in the district around the Nile, that the water of that river became unwhole¬ some, and many of the Egyptians died. Theophrastus states, moreover, that not only do bitter waters sometimes change their nature, but that salt water does so too, and sometimes whole rivers do so; as in the case of the fountain in Cithseron, near which there is a temple of Jupiter; and of that in Cairo, near which there is a temple of Neptune: and the reason is, that many thunderbolts fall in those countries. 16. But there are some waters which have a good deal of body in them, and are of considerable weight; as that in Troezen,—for that gives the mouths of those who taste it a feeling of fulness. And the waters near the mines in Pangseum, in winter, weigh ninety-six drachms to half a pint, but in summer they only weigh forty-six. For the cold contracts and condenses it; on which account that which is used in hour- 1 Iliad, xi. 477. WATER. 69 c. 17.] glasses does not make the hours in winter the same as those in summer, but longer; for the flow is slower on account of the increased density of the water. And he sa}'S that the same is the case in Egypt, though the air there is softer. Brackish water is more earthy, and requires more working; as also does sea-water, the nature of which is warmer, and which is not exposed to the same changes as river-water. And there is one salt spring which is of invincible hardness,—I mean ' that of Arethusa. But as a general rule heavy waters are worse, and so are hard and cold waters, for the same reason; for they are not so easily prepared for use, some because they are very earthy, and some from the excess of cold. But those waters which are quickly warmed are light and wholesome. And in Crannon there is a spring of a gentle warmth, which keeps wine which is mixed with it of the same temperature for two or three days. But flowing waters, and waters from aqueducts, are, as a general rule, better than stagnant ones, being softer because of the collisions to which they are sub¬ jected; and on this account water derived from snow appears to be good, because its more drinkable qualities are brought to the surface, and are exposed to the influence of the air; and for the same reason they think it better than rain-water: and on the same ground, too, they prefer water from ice, because it is lighter; and the proof is, that ice is itself lighter than the rest of the water. But very cold water is hard, as being earthy; but that with much body in it, when it is warmed, is suscep¬ tible of greater heat, and when it is cold, descends to a more intense cold. And for the same reason water on the mountains is better to drink than water in the plains; for there is in such less admixture of earthy matter. And it is from the earthy particles present that waters vary in colour: at all events, the water of the lake at Babylon is red for some days after it is drawn; and that of the Borysthenes is for some time of a violet or dark colour, although it is unusually thin in quality; and a proof of this is, that at the point where it meets the Hypanis its waters flow above those of the latter while the north winds prevail. 17. And in many places there are fountains, some of which are good for drinking, and have a vinous flavour; as for in- stnce, one in Paphlagonia, which they say the natives come to for the express purpose of drinking. Some, again, are salt, with 70 THE DEIPNOSOPHISTS. [epit. B. II. a rather bitter flavour; as some among the Sicani in Sicily. A.nd in the Carthaginian dominions there is a fountain on which there is something which floats resembling oil, but darker in colour, which they skim off and make into balls, and use for their sheep and cattle; and in other districts, too, there are fountains of a greasy nature,—like the one in Asia concerning which Alexander wrote a letter, saying that he had found a fountain of oil. And of waters which are warm by nature some are sweet, as that at iEgse in Cilicia, and that at Pagaste, and that at Larissa in the Troas, and that near Magnesia, and that in Melos, and that in Lipara, and that in Prusa,—the Prusa, I mean, near Mount Olympus in Mysia,—which is called the Royal fountain. But that in Asia near Tralles, and those near the river Characometes, and near the city of Mysia, are so oily that those who bathe in them have no need of oil. And there is a similar fountain in the village of Dascylum. There is also one at Carura of an exceed¬ ing dryness and heat: and there is another near Menoscome, which is a village in Phrygia, of a rougher and a more nitrous quality; as there is too in a village in Phrygia, called The Lion’s Village. And there is a spring near Dorylseum, which is very delicious to drink; but those which are at Baise or Baium, a harbour in Italy, are utterly undrinkable. 18. I myself weighed the water which comes from the foun¬ tain called Pirene in Corinth, and found it lighter than any other water in Greece. For I did not believe Antiphanes the comic writer, who says that in many respects Attica is superior to all other districts, and also that it has the best water of any ; for he says:— A. Have you remark’d, my friend. That none can with this favour’d land contend In honey, loaves, and figs 1 B. Aye, figs indeed ! A. In myrtles, perfumes, wools, in choicest breed Of cattle, and in cheese; and on what ground Can fountains like the Attic springs be found I Eubulus, the writer of comedies, somewhere or other says that Chseremon the tragedian called water the body of the river:— But when we pass’d the folds, and cross’d the water, The river’s lucid body, all our troops In the pure crystal bathed their weary limbs. WATER. 71 c. 20.] There is a fountain in Tenos the water of which cannot be mixed with wine. And Herodotus, in his fourth book, says that the Hypanis, at a distance of five days’ journey from its head, is thin and sweet to the taste; but that four days’ journey further on it becomes bitter, because some bitter spring falls into it. And Theopompus says that near the river Erigone all the water is sour; and that those who drink of it become intoxicated, just like men w r ho have drunk wine. 19. But Aristobulus of Cassandra says that there is a foun¬ tain in Miletus called the Achillean, the stream of which is very sweet, while the sediment is brackish: this is the water in which the Milesians say that their hero bathed when ho had slain Trambelus the king of the Leleges. And they say, too, that the water in Cappadocia never becomes putrid, but there is a great deal in that district, of an admirable quality, though it has no outlet unless it flows underground. And Ptolemy the king, in the Seventh Book of his Commentaries, says that as you go to Corinth through the district called Contoporia, when you have got to the top of the mountain there is a fountain whose waters are colder than snow, so that many people are afraid to drink of it lest they should be frozen; but he says that he drank of it himself. And Phy- larchus states that at Cleitor there is a spring which gives those who drink of it a distaste for the smell of wine. And Clearchus tells us that water is called white, like milk; and that wine is called red, like nectar; and that honey and oil are called yellow, and that the juice which is extracted from the myrtle-berry is black. Eubulus says that “ water makes those who drink nothing else very ingenious, But wine obscures and clouds the mind and Philetas borrows not only the thought, but the lines. 20. Athenseus then, having delivered this lecture on water, like a rhetorician, stopped awhile, and then began again. Amphis, the comic writer, says somewhere or other— There is, I take it, often sense in wine, And those are stupid who on water dine. And Antiplianes says— Take the hair, it well is written, Of the dog by whom you’re bitten. Work off one wine by his brother, And one labour with another; 72 THE DEIPNOSOPHISTS. [EPIT. B. II. Horns with horns, and noise with noise. One crier with his fellow’s voice ; Insult with insult, war with war. Faction with faction, care with care ; Cook with cook, and strife with strife. Business with business, wife with wife. The ancients applied the word aKparov even to unmixed water. Sophron says— Pour unmix’d water (EfScop &Kparou) in the cup. 21. Phylarchus says that Theodorus the Larisssean was a water-drinker; the man, I mean, who was always so hostile to king Antigonus. He asserts also that all the Spaniards drink ■water, though they are the richest of all men, for they have the greatest abundance of gold and silver in their country. And he says, too, that they eat only once a day, out of stinginess, though they wear most expensive clothes. And Aristotle or Theophrastus speaks of a man named Philinus as never having taken any drink or solid food whatever, except milk alone, during the whole of his life. And Pyther- mus, in his account of the tyrants of Piraeus, mentions Glaucon as having been a water-drinker. And Hegesander the Delphian says that Anchimolus and Moschus, sophists who lived in Elis, were water-drinkers all their lives; and that they ate nothing but figs, and for all that, were quite as healthy and vigorous as any one else; but that their per¬ spiration had such an offensive smell, that every one avoided them at the baths. And Matris the Athenian, as long as he lived, ate nothing except a few myrtle-berries each day, and abstained from wine and every other kind of drink except water. Lamprus, too, the musician, was a water-drinker, concerning whom Phrynichus says, “that the gulls lamented, when Lamprus died among them, being a man who was a water-drinker, a subtle hypersophist, a dry skeleton of the Muses, an ague to nightingales, a hymn to hell.” And Machon the comic poet mentions Moschion as a water-drinker. 22. But Aristotle, in his book on Drunkenness, says, that some men who have been fond of salt meat have yet not had their thirst stimulated by it; of whom Archonides the Argive was one. And Mago the Carthaginian passed three times through the African desert eating dry meal and never drinking. And Polemo the Academic philosopher, from the WATER. 73 c. 23.] time that he was thirty years of age to the day of his death, never drank anything but water, as is related by Antigonus the Carystian. And Demetrius the Scepsian says that Diocles of Peparethus drank cold water to the day of his death. And Demosthenes the orator, who may well be admitted as a witness in his own case, says that he drank nothing but water for a considerable length of time. And Pytheas says, “ But you see the demagogues of the present day, Demos¬ thenes and Demades, how very differently they live. For the one is a water-drinker, and devotes his nights to contempla¬ tion, as they say; and the other is a debauchee, and is drunk every day, and comes like a great potbellied fellow, as he is, into our assemblies.” And Euphorion the Chalcidean writes in this way :—“ Lasyrtas the Lasionian never required drink as other men do, and still it did not make him different from other men. And many men, out of curiosity, were careful to watch him, but they desisted before they ascertained what was the truth. For they continued watching him for thirty days together in the summer season, and they saw that he never abstained from salt meat, and yet that, though drinking nothing, he seemed to have no complaint in his bladder. And so they believed that he spoke the truth. And he did, indeed, sometimes take drink, but still he did not require it. A change of meat is often good, And men, when tired of common food, Redoubled pleasure often feel, When sitting at a novel meal. 23. The king of Persia, as Herodotus relates in his first book, drank no water, except what came from the river Choaspes, which flows by Susa. And when he was on a journey, he had numbers of four-wheeled waggons drawn by mules following him, laden with silver vessels containing this water, which was boiled to make it keep. And Ctesias the Cnidian explains also in what manner this water was boiled, and how it was put into the vessels and brought to the king, saying that it was the lightest and sweetest of all waters. And the second king of Egypt, he who was sur- named Philadelphus, having given his daughter Berenice in marriage to Antiochus the king of Syria, took the trouble to send her water from the river Nile, in order that his child might drink of no other river, as Polybius relates. And r 7 4 THE DEIPNOSOPHISTS. [EPIT. B. II. Heliodorus tells us, that Antiochus Epiphanes, whom Polybius calls Epimanes, 1 on account of his actions, mixed the fountain at Antioch with wine; a thing which Theopompus relates to have been also done by the Phrygian Midas, when he wished to make Silenus drunk in order to catch him. And that fountain is, as Bion relates, between the Maedi and the Pseonians, and is called Inna. But Staphylus says, that Melampus was the first who invented the idea of mixing wine with water. And Plistonicus says that water is more digestible than wine. 24. Now men who drink hard before eating, are usually not very comfortable in their digestion, which are apt to get out of order by such a system, and what they eat often turns sour on the stomach. So that a man who has a regard for his health, ought to take regular exercise, for the sake of promoting frequent perspiration; and he ought also to use the bath regularly for the - sake of moistening and relaxing his body. And besides this, and before he bathes, he should drink water, as being an excellent thing,—drinking warm water usually in winter and spring, and cold water in summer, in order not to weaken the stomach. But he should only drink in moderation before the bath or the gymnasium, for the sake of diffusing what he drinks throughout his system beforehand, and in order to prevent the unmixed strength of wine from having too much effect on his extremities. And if any one thinks it too much trouble to live on this system, let him take sweet wine, either mixed with water or warmed, espe¬ cially that which is called irpoTporros, the sweet Lesbian wine, as being very good for the stomach. Now sweet wines do not make the head heavy, as Hippo¬ crates says in his book on Diet, which some entitle, “ The Book on Sharp Painsothers, “ The Book on Barley water; ” and others, “ The Book against the Cnidian Theories.” His words are : “Sweet wine is less calculated to make the head heavy, and it takes less hold of the mind, and passes through the bowels easier than other wine.” But Posidonius says, that it is not a good thing to pledge one’s friends as the Carmani do; for they, when at their banquets they wish to testify their friendship for each other, cut the veins on their faces, and mingle the blood which flows down with the liquor, 1 ’EirupAvys, illustrious. ’Eirinavris, mad. C. 25.] DIFFERENT KINDS OF WATER. 75 and then drink it; thinking it the very extremest proof of friendship to taste one another’s blood. And after pledging one another in this manner, they anoint their heads with ointment, especially with that distilled from roses, and if they cannot get that, with that distilled from apples, in order to ward off the effects of the drink, and in order also to avoid being injured by the evaporation of the wine; and if they cannot get ointment of apples, they then use that extracted from the iris or from spikenard, so that Alexis very neatly says—, His nose lie anoints, and thinks it plain ’Tis good for health with scents to feed the brain 25. But one ought to avoid thick perfumes, and to drink water which is thin and transparent, and which in respect of weight is light, and which has no earthy particles in it. And that water is best which is of a moderate heat or coldness, and which, when poured into a brazen or silver vessel, does not produce a blackish sediment. Hippocrates says, “Water which is easily warmed or easily chilled is always lighter.” But that water is bad which takes a long¬ time to boil vegetables; and so too is water full of nitre, or brackish. And in his book upon Waters, Hippocrates calls good water drinkable; but stagnant water he calls bad, such as that from ponds or marshes. And most spring-water is rather hard. But Erasistratus says that some people test water by weight, and that is a most stupid proceeding. “For just look,” says he, “if men compare the water from the fountain Amphiaraus with that from the Eretrian spring, though one of them is good and the other bad, there is absolutely no difference in their respective weights.” And Hippocrates, in his book on Places, says that those waters are the best which flow from high ground, and from dry hills, “ for they are white, and sweet, and are able to bear very little wine, and are warm in winter and cold in summer.” And he praises those most, the springs of which break towards the east, and especially towards the north-east, for they must inevitably be clear, and fragrant, and light. Diodes says that water is good for the digestion, and not apt to cause flatulency, that it is moderately cooling, and good for the eyes, and that it has no tendency to make the head feel heavy, and that it adds vigour to the mind and body. And Praxagoras 76 THE DEIPNOSOPHISTS. [ePIT. B. IT. says the same ; and he also praises rain-water. But Euenor praises water from cisterns, and says that the best is that from the cistern of Amphiaraus, when compared with that from the fountain in Eretria. 26. But that water is undeniably nutritious is plain from the fact that some animals are nourished by it alone, as for instance, grasshoppers. And there are many other liquids which are nutritious, such as milk, barleywater, and wine. At all events, animals at the breast are nourished by milk; and there are many nations who drink nothing but milk. And it is said that Democritus, the philosopher of Abdera, after he had determined to rid himself of life on account of his extreme old age, and when he had begun to diminish his food day bj day, when the day of the Thesmophorian festival came round, and the women of his household besought him not to die during the festival, in order that they might not be debarred from their share in the festivities, was persuaded, and ordered a vessel full of honey to be set near him : and in this way he lived many days with no other support than honey; and then some days after, when the honey had been taken away, he died. But Democritus had always been fond of honey; and he once answered a man, who asked him how he could live in the enjoyment of the best health, that he might do so if he constantly moistened his inward parts with honey, and his outward man with oil. And bread and honey was the chief food of the Pythagoreans, according to the statement of Aristoxenus, who says that those who eat this for breakfast were free from disease all their lives. And Lycus says that the Cyrneans (and they are a people who live near Sardinia) are very long-lived, because they are con¬ tinually eating honey; and it is produced in great quantities among them. 27. When he says, men have adjourned the investigation into all such matters, he uses the word dvaTcde/aevos instead of ava/3aW6fjLcvo<3. The word aborts is used in the same sense as yijcms, i.e. fasting (just as we find o-rd^s and dcrTa^s) by Cratinus, when he says— For you are not the first who's come to supper After a lengthen’d fast, And the word oIvttcivos is used by Diphilus for hungry — SWEETMEATS. 77 C. 28.] I'm glad when those who set them up as wise. Are naked seen and hungry. 1 And Antiphanes says— A. At all events he’s one complaint, For he is hungry ever. B. The keen Thessalian race you paint, Who can be sated never. And Eubulus says— Then Zethus was advised to seek the plain, The holy plain of Thebes ; for there men sell The cheapest loaves and cakes. Again advice came to the great Amphion, The sweet musician, pointing out to him The famous Athens for his resting-place. Whose sons at hunger ne’er repine, but feed On air and sweetest hopes. 28. The word /tovoo-nw, eating once a dag, occurs too in Alexis— When you meet with a man who takes only one meal, Or a poet who music pretends not to feel; The man half his life, the bard half his art, loses; And sound reason to call either living refuses. And Plato says, “he not only was not content with one racal a-day, but sometimes he even dined twice the same day.” We know that men used to call sweetmeats vcoyaAeu/xara. Araros says in the Campylion— These vutyaX^ijiara are very nice. And Alexis says— In Thasian feasts his friends he meets. And vwyaXifci, sweetmeats eats. And Antiphanes, in the Busiris, says— Grapes, and pomegranates, and palms. And other vuyaXa. Philonides used the word d-roo-cTos for fasting; and Croby- lus has the word avToonros, writing TrupdcriTov, clvt6(tltov. Eupolis, too, used dvapterroro? for without breakfast; Crates has the word dvayKocnros, eating by force, and Nicostratus uses avayKoenTeo). There is a youth most delicately curl’d, Whom I do feed by force beneath the earth. And Alexis has the word dparrodeiTn'or, breakfast-dinner — By whom the breakfast-dinner is prepared. 78 THE DEIPNOSOPHISTS. [EPIT. B. II. 29. After this we rose up and sat down again as each of us pleased, not waiting for a nomenclator to arrange us in order. Now that rooms were fitted up with couches for three, and with couches for four, and for seven, and for nine, and for other successive numbers, in the time of the ancients, we may prove from Antiphanes, who says— I bring you, since you are but three, To a room with equal couches. And Phrynichus says— One room had seven couches fine, While another boasted nine. And Eubulus says— A . Place now a couch for seven. B. Here it is. A. And five Sicilian couches. B. Well, what next A, And five Sicilian pillows. And Ampins says— Will you not place a couch for three 1 Anaxandrides— A couch was spread, And songs to please the aged man. Open the supper rooms, and sweep the house, And spread the couches fair, and light the fire ; Bring forth the cups, and fill with generous wine. 30.And Plato the philosopher, “Men now dis¬ tinguish the couches and coverings with reference to what is put round the couch and what is put under it.” And his name¬ sake, the comic poet, says— There the well-dress’d guests recline On couches rich with ivory feet; And on their purple cushions dine, Which rich Sardinian carpets meet. For the art of weaving embroidered cloths was in great perfection in his time, Acesas and Helicon, natives of Cyprus, being exceedingly eminent for their skill in it; and they were weavers of very high reputation. And Helicon was the son of Acesas, as Hieronymus reports : and so at Pytho there is an inscription on some work— COUCHES AND COVERLETS. 79 c. 31.] Fair Venus’s isle did bring forth Helicon, Whose wondrous work you now do gaze upon; And fair Minerva’s teaching bade his name And wondrous skill survive in deathless fame. And Pathymias the Egyptian was a man of similar renown. Ephippus says— Place me where rose-strewn couches fill the room, That I may steep myself in rich perfume. Aristophanes says— Oh you who press your mistress to your arms, All night upon sweet-scented couches lying. Sophron too speaks of coverlets embroidered with figures of birds as of great value. And Homer, the most admirable of all poets, calls those cloths which are spread below Aira, that is to say, white, neither dyed nor embroidered. But the coverlets which are laid above he calls “beautiful purple cloths.” 31. The Persians, according to the account of Heraclides, are the people who first introduced the system of having particular servants to prepare the couches, in order that they might always be elegantly arranged and well made. And on this account Artaxerxes, having a high esteem for Timagoras the Cretan, or, as Phanias the Peripatetic says, for Entimus the Gortinian, who "went up to the king in rivalry of Themis- tocles, gave him a tent of extraordinary size and beauty, and a couch with silver feet; and he sent him also expensive coverlets, and a man to arrange them, saying that the Greeks did not know how to arrange a couch. And so completely had this Cretan gained the favour of the king, that lie was invited to a banquet of the royal family, an honour which had never been paid to any Greek before, and never has been since; for it was reserved as an especial compliment for the king’s relations. Nor was this compliment paid to Timagoras the Athenian, who submitted to offer adoration to the king, and who was held in the highest honour by him, though some of the things which were set before the king were sent to him from the royal table. The king of Persia, too, once took a chaplet from off his head and dipped it. in perfume, and sent it to Antalcidas the Lacedaemonian. But he did this too, and many similar things, to Entimus; also, and in addi¬ tion to everything else, he invited him to a banquet of the royal family. And the Persians were very indignant at this, 80 THE DEIPNOSOPHISTS. [EPIT. B. II. thinking that it was making such an honour too common, and also because they thought they were on the eve of another expedition against Greece. He sent him also a couch with silver feet, and cushions for it, and a flowered tent surmounted with a canopy, and a silver chair, and a gilt parasol, and some golden vessels inlaid with precious stones, and a hundred large vessels of silver, and silver bowls, and a hundred girls, and a hundred boys, and six thousand pieces of gold, besides what was allowed him for his daily expenses. 32. There were tables with ivory feet, the top slabs of which were made of maple wood. Cratinus says— Fair girls await you, and a table Of highly polish’d dappled maple. And when one of the Cynics used the word TpUovs, meaning a table, Ulpian got indignant and said, “ To-day I seem to have trouble coming on me arising out of my actual want of business ; for what does this fellow mean by his tripod, unless indeed he counts Diogenes’ stick and his two feet, and so makes him out to be a tripod '] At all events every one else calls the thing which is set before us Tpa7re£a.” Hesiod, in his poem on the marriage of Ceyx, (although indeed the sons of the Grammarians deny that that poem is his work, but I myself think that it is an ancient piece,) does call tables rptwoSeg. And Xenophon, a most accomplished writer, in the second book of the Anabasis, writes—“ TpiVoSes were brought in for every one, to the number of about twenty, loaded with ready carved meats.” And he goes on, “ And these jpaire^aL were placed for the most part where the strangers sat.” Antiphanes says— The rp'nrovs was removed, we wash’d our hands. Eubulus says— A. Here are five rphrodes for you ; here five more. B. Why I shall be quinquagenarian. Epicharmus says— A . And whafc is this 1 B. A rplnovs. A. How is that ? Has it not four feet ] ’tis a rerpaTrovs. B. It may be strictly; but its name is rpnrovs. A . Still 1 can see four feet. , B. At all events You are no (Edipus, to be so puzzled. NAMES OF FRUITS. 81 c. 33.] And Aristophanes says— A. Bring me one Tpane^a more, With three feet, not one with four. B. Where can I a rplnovs rpairefa find] 33. It was a custom at feasts, that a guest when he had lain down should have a paper given to him, containing a bill of fare of what there was for dinner, so that he might know what the cook was going to serve up. We find a fruit called Damascenes. ISTow many of the ancient writers mention Damascus, a city of great reputation and importance; and as there is a great quantity of plum- trees in the territory of the Damascenes, and as they are cultivated there with exceeding care, the tree itself has got to be called a Damascene, as being a kind of plum different from what is found in other countries. The fruit is more like prunes. And many writers speak of them, and Hipponax says— I have a garland of damascenes and mint. And Alexis says— A. And in my sleep I thought I saw a prize. B. What was it] A. Listen_There came up to me, While still within tli’ arena’s spacious bounds, One of my rivals, bringing me a crown— A ripe revolving crown of damascenes. B. Oh Hercules ! and were the damascenes ripe ] And again he says— Did you e’er see a sausage toasted, Or dish of tripe well stuff’d and roasted ] Or damascenes stew’d in rich confection ]—• Such was that gentleman’s complexion. Nicander says— The fruit they call a plum, the cuckoo’s prize. But Clearclius the Peripatetic says that the Rhodians and Sicilians call plums /3pa/3v\a, and so Theocritus the Syracusan uses the word— Heavy with plums, the branches swept the ground. And again he says— Far as the apple doth the plum surpass. But the damascene is smaller in circumference than other plums, though in flavour it is very like them, except that it is a little sharper. Seleucus, in his Dictionary, says that VOL. I.-ATH. G THE DEIPNOSOPHISTS. [EPIT. B. It. fipafivXa, r/Xa, KOKKVfxrjX a, and /xct Spva are all different names for the same thing; and that plums are called /3pa/3v\a, as being good for the stomach, and fiopdv Ik fidXXovra, that is, assisting to remove the food ; and rjXa, which is the same word as pJqXa, meaning simply fruit, as Demetrius Ixion says in his Etymology. And Theophrastus says, moKKvpLrjXa /cat cr7roStas : o-7roSta? being a kind of wild plum. And Araros calls the tree which bears the fruit KOKKvp.r]Xea, and the fruit itself KOKKV'ixrjXov. And Diphilus of Siphnos pronounces plums to be juicy, digestible, and easily evacuated, but not very nutritious. 34. There is another fruit, called Cherries.—Theophrastus says, in his book on Plants, that the Cherry-tree is a tree of a peculiar character, and of large size, for it grows to a height of four-and-twenty cubits, 1 and its leaf is like that of the medlar, but somewhat harder and thicker, and its bark like the linden; its flower is white, like that of the pear or the medlar, consisting of a number of small petals of a waxy nature; its fruit is red, like that of the lotus in appearance, and of the size of a bean; but the kernel of the lotus is hard, while that of the cherry is soft. And again he says, “ The Kpdratyos, which some call Kparaiyiov, has a spreading leaf like a medlar, only that is larger, and wider, and longer; and it has no deep grain in it as the medlar has. The tree is neither very tall nor very large; the wood is variegated, yellow, and strong : it has a smooth bark, like that of the medlar; and a single root, which goes down very deep into the earth ; the fruit is round, of the size of an olive ; when fully ripe it is of a yellow colour, becoming gradually darker; and from its flavour and juice it might almost be taken for a wild medlar.” By which description of the cratsegus it appears to me that he means the tree which is now called the cherry. 35. Asclepiades of Myrlea speaks of a tree which he calls the Ground-cherry, and says, “In the land of the Bithy- nians there is found the ground-cherry, the root of which is not large, nor is the tree, but like a rose-bush ; in all other respects the fruit is like the common cherry; but it makes those who eat much of it feel heavy, as wine does, and it gives them head-aches.” These are the words of Asclepiades. And it appears to me that he is speaking of the arbutus. For 1 A cubit was about 18p inches. NAMES OP FRUITS. ' 83 C. 36.] the tree which bears the arbutus-berry answers his descrip¬ tion, and if a man eats more than sis or seven of the berries he gets a headache. Aristophanes says— And planted by no hand, the arbutus Makes red the sunny hills. Theopompus lays— The myrtle berries and red arbutus. Crates says— Beauteous the breast of tender maid, As arbutus or apples red. And Ampliis— Mulberries you see, my friend, are found On the tree which we know as the mulberry ; So the oak bears the acorn round, And the arbutus shines with its full berry. And Theophrastus tells us, “The Koyapos (as he calls it) is the tree which bears the arbutus berry.” There is question about the “ Agen,” a satyric drama, whether it was composed by Python, (and if by him whether he was a native of Catana or of Byzantium,) or by the king Alexander himself. Then Laurentius says—“You, 0 Greeks, lay claim to a good many things, as either having given the names to them, or having been the original discoverers of them. But you do not know that Lucullus, the Roman general, who subdued Mithridates and Tigranes, was the first man who introduced this plant into Italy from Cerasus, a city of Pontus; and he it was who gave the fruit the Latin name of Cerasus, cherry , after the name of the city, as our historians relate.” Then Daphnis answers—“ But there was a very celebrated man, Diphilus of Siphnos, many years more ancient than Lucullus, for he was born in the time of king Lysimachus, (who was one of the successors of Alexander,) and he speaks of cherries, saying, £ Cherries are good for the stomach, and juicy, but not very nutritious ; if taken after drinking cold water they are especially wholesome; but the red and the Milesian are the best kinds, and are diuretic.’ ” 36. There is a fruit usually called the Give me some Naxian almonds to regale me, And from the Naxian vines some wine to drink. For there was a vine called the Naxian vine. 86 THE DEIPNOSOPHISTS. [EPIT. B. UA And Plutarch of Cliaeronea says, that there was in the retinue of Drusus the son of Tiberius Caesar, a certain phy¬ sician who surpassed all men in drinking, and who was detected in always eating five or six bitter almonds before he drank. But when he was prevented from eating them he was not able to stand even a very limited quantity of wine; and the cause of this was the great power of the bitterness of the almond, which is of a very drying nature, and which has the quality of expelling moisture. Herodian of Alexandria says, that almonds derive the name of a/xvySaXo.i, because beneath their green bark they have many d^-u^ai, or lacerations. Philemon says somewhere or other— v You, like an ass, come to the husks of the dessert; and Nicander, in the second book of his Georgies, says— Beech-trees, the ornament of Pan. We also-find the word dfxvySaXov in the neuter gender. Diphilus says— “ Sweetmeats, myrtle-berries, cheese-cakes, almonds,” using the neuter dp-vySaXa. 40. Now with respect to the pronunciation and accent of the word dfjivySdXr], Pamphilus thinks that there ought to be a grave accent when it means the fruit, as it is in the case of d/xuySaXov. But he w r ants to circumflex the word when it means the' tree, thus, dfxvySaXr) like poSrj. And Archilochus says— The lovely flower of the rose-tree (poSijs). But Aristarchus marks the word, whether it means the fruit or the tree, with an acute accent indifferently; while Philoxenus would circumflex the word in either sense. Eupolis says— You’ll ruin me, I swear it by the almond. Aristophanes says— A. Come,now,take these almonds,, And break them (B. I would rather break your head,) with a stone. And Phrynichus says— . The almond is a good cure for a cough. And others Speak of almonds as beautiful. But Tryphon in his book on Attie Prosody accents d/xi'ySdA^, when meaning NAMES OF FRUITS. 87 g. 42.] the fruit, with a grave accent, which we use in the neuter as a/xvySaXov. But he writes afxvySaXyj, with a circumflex for the tree ; it being as it were a possessive form derived from the fruit, and as such contracted and circumflexed. Pamphilus in his Dictionary says that the p.vKrjpuj3aToy is called the nut-cracker by the Lacedaemonians, when they mean the almond-cracker; for the Lacedaemonians call almonds pLov^rjpoL. 41. Nicander mentions also nuts of Pontus, which some writers call \omp,a; while Hermonax and Timachidas, in the Dictionary, say that the acorn of Jupiter, or walnut, is what is called the nut of Pontus. But Heraclides of Tarentum asks, “ Whether sweetmeats ought to be put on the table before supper, as is done in some parts of Asia and Greece; or whether they ought to be brought on after supper is over.” If it is decided that they are to be brought on at the end of supper, then it follows, that when a great deal of food has already been put into the stomach and bowels, the nuts which are eaten after¬ wards as provocatives of drinking, get entangled with the rest of the food, and produce flatulence, and also cause what has been eaten to turn on the stomach, because it is followed by what is by nature unmanageable and indigestible; and it is from such food that indigestions and attacks of diarrhoea arise. 42. Diodes asserts that almonds are nutritious and good for the stomach, and that they have a heating effect because they contain something like millet; but green almonds are less likely to have an injurious effect than dry ones; and almonds soaked in water have such an effect less than those which are "not soaked; and when toasted less than when raw. But walnuts, which are also called nuts of ILeraclea, and acorns of Jupiter, are not indeed so nutritious as almonds, but still they have something like millet in them, and something apt to rise to the surface ; so/if they are eaten in any quantity •they make the head feel heavy; they, however, are less likely to produce injurious effects when green than when dry. Persian nuts too are as apt to produce headaches as the acorns of Jupiter ; but they are more nutritious, though they •make the throat and mouth feel rough; but when they are roasted they are less injurious, and when eaten with honey, they ^are the most digestible of all nuts. The broad Persian nuts 88 THE DEIPNOSOPHISTS. [epit. B. II. have the greatest tendency to produce flatulence ; but when boiled they arc less injurious than when raw, or even when roasted. But Philotimus in his treatises on Nourishment says, “ The broad nut, and that which is called the Sardinian nut, are both exceedingly indigestible when raw, and are very slow in dissolving in the stomach, as they are kept down by the phlegm in the stomach, and as they themselves are of an astringent nature. The Pontic nut too is oily and indiges¬ tible ; but the almond is not so indigestible as that, and accordingly if we eat a number of them we do not feel any inconvenience; and they appear more oily, and give out a sweet and oily juice.” Diphilus of Siphnos says—“There is a nut called the Royal nut, -which causes severe headaches, and keeps rising in the stomach ; and there are two sorts of them, one of which, that which is tender and white, is the more juicy and the better; but that which is roasted in ovens is not nutri¬ tious. Almonds have a tendency to make people thin, and are diuretic and cathartic, and far from nutritious; and the dry ones are far more apt to produce flatulence and are far more indigestible than the green ones, which do not give much juice, and which are not very nutritious ; but those which are tender, and full, and white, being like milk, are more full of wholesome juice. And the Thasian and Cyprian nuts, being tender, are far more easily digested than dry ones. The nuts of Pontus are apt to produce headaches, but still they are not so indigestible as the Royal nuts.” 43. Moreover, Mnesitheus the Athenian, in his book on Comestibles, says, “ The digestion of Euboean nuts or chest¬ nuts (for they are called by both names) is very difficult for the stomach, and is attended with a great deal of flatulence. And they are apt to thicken the juice, and to make people fat, unless their constitution is strong enough to neutralise them. But almonds, and likewise the nuts of Heraclea, and the Persian nuts, and all others of the same sort, are still worse than these: and it is desirable to touch absolutely none whatever of these things unless they are first cooked by fire; with the exception of, perhaps, the green almonds. But one should boil some of them, and roast others; for some of them are of an oily nature, as the dry almonds and the acorns of Jupiter; but some are hard and harsh, as the nuts of the FRUITS AND HERBS, 80 c. 44.] beecli and all that kind. And from the oily sorts the action of the fire extracts the oil, which is the worst part of them: but those which are hard and harsh are softened, and, so to say, ripened, if any one cooks them over a small and gentle fire.” But Diphilus calls chestnuts also Sardinian acorns, saying that they are very nutritious, and full of excellent juice ; but not very easy of digestion, because they remain a long time in the stomach ; that, however, when they are roasted they are less nutritious, but more digestible ; and that when boiled they are less apt to produce flatulence than the others, and more nutritious. It is easily peel’d, and the Euboeans Call it a nut, but some people have call’d it an acorn, says Nicander the Colophonian, in his Georgies. But Age- lochus calls chestnuts decora, and says, “ Where the Sinopean nuts are produced the natives call the trees which produce them afjLu rra.” 44. With respect to Vetches.—Crobylus says— They took a green vetch. And toss’d it empty, as if playing cottabus. These arc the sweetmeats of the wretched monkey. And Homer says— Black beans spring up, or vetches. Xenophanes the Colophonian says, in his Parodies— These are what one should talk of near the fire, In winter season, on soft couch reclined. After a plenteous meal, drinking rich wine, And eating vetches. 1 Then a man may ask, “ Who are you ? How old are you, my friend ? How many years old were you when the Mode came?” And Sappho says— Golden vetches on the sea-sliore grew. But Theophrastus, in his book on Plants, calls some kinds of vetches Kpelou And Sophilus says— This maiden’s sire is far the greatest man, A regular /cpelos vetch. And Phsenias says, in his book about Plants,—“ While they are green and tender, the bean and vetch take the place of 1 Liddell and Scott quote Arist. Pac. 1136, to show that tpefiivQoi were eaten roasted like chestnuts, and sometimes raw, for dessert. {THE DEIPNOSOPHISTS. 90 [epit. B. II. sweetmeats ; but when they are dry they are usually eaten boiled or roasted.” Alexis says— My husband is a poor old man, and I Am an old woman, and I have a daughter And a young son, And this good girl besides—we’re five in all— And three of them are now at supper, And we two who here remain share with them A little maize; and when we have nothing To eat, we utter a wail unsuited to the lyre. And as we never have any meat for dinner. Our countenance is become pale. These are the parts, And this is the arrangement of our life : Beans, lupins, cabbages, rape, Pulse, morepulse, mastnuts, onions. Grasshoppers, vetches, wild pears, And that which was given by my mother As an object of devout care, the fig, The great invention of the Phrygian fig. Pherecrates says— You must at once take care and make the vetches tender. And in another place he says—* He was choked eating roasted vetches. And Diphilus says—“Vetches are very indigestible, create moisture, they are also diuretic, and apt to cause flatulence.’ 5 And according to Diodes, they produce a sort of fermentation in the body. The white vetches are better than the black; and so also are the yellow or box-coloured. And the Milesian are better than those called Kpeioi ; and the green are better than the dry, and those which have been soaked are better than those which have not been. The discoverer of the vetch is said to have been Neptune. 45. With respect to Lupins. Alexis says—^- A curse upon the man; Let bim not come near me, who eats lupins in season. And then leaves the husks and shells in the vestibule. Why was he not choked while eating them 1 I know, I know most certainly, that Clemnetus the tragedian Did not eat them. For Clemnetus ' ' Never threw away the husk of a single vegetable, So exceedingly economical is that man. And Lycophron of Chalcis, in a satiric drama which he wrote against Menedemus the philosopher, for the purpose of turn- LUPINS. 91 c. 46.] ing liim into ridicule, (it was from Menedemus that the sect of the Eretrians derived its name,) laughs at the suppers of the philosophers, and says— The lupin, common to all the people, in great plenty Danced upon the board, the companion of poor couches. And Diphilus says— There is no business more mischievous or degrading Than that of the pander. I would rather walk along the streets selling Doses, and radishes, and lupin-beans, and press'd olives, And anything else in the world, rather than give encouragement To such a miserable trade. And you may observe, that he then uses the expression OepfxoKva/ioi, lupin-beans, as they are called even now. Polemo says, that the Lacedaemonians call lupins AtmAaiSes. And Theophrastus, in his book about The Causes of Plants, tells us that the lupin, and the bitter vetch, and the common vetch, are the only kinds of green vegetable which do not produce animal life, because of their harshness and bitterness. But the vetch, says he, turns black as it decays. He says, also, that caterpillars come in vetches, and it is in the fourth book of the same treatise that he states this. Diphilus the Siphnian writer says that lupins are very apt to create moisture, and are very nutritious, especially those kinds which are rendered sweet by being soaked. On which account Zeno the Citisean, a man of harsh disposition and very apt to get in a passion with his friends, when he had taken a good deal of wine, became sweet-tempered and gentle; and when people asked him what produced this difference in his disposition, he said, that he was subject to the same influences as lupins : for that they before they were cooked were very bitter ; but that when they had been steeped in liquor they were sweet and Wholesome. 46. With respect to Kidney Beans.—The Lacedaemonians iii those suppers of theirs, which they call KcmSes, give as sweetmeats, dry figs and beans, and green kidney beans. At least this is the statement of Polemo; and Epicharmus says— Boast some kidney beans quickly, for Bacchus is fond of them. And Demetrius says— A fig, or kidney bean, or some such thing. 92 THE DEIPNOSOPHISTS. [EPIT. B. II. 47. With respect to Olives. Eupolis says— Cuttle-fish, and olives fallen from the tree. » And these the Romans call dryptse. But Diphilus the Siph- nian writer says that olives contain very little nourishment, and are apt to give headaches ; and that the black ones are still worse for the stomach, and make the head feel heavy; but that those which we call KoXu/x/^dSe?, that is to say, pre¬ served in pickle, are better for the stomach, and give strength to the bowels. But that the black when crushed are better for the stomach. Aristophanes too makes mention of crushed olives in “ The Islands,” saying—• Bring some crushed olives; and in another place he says— Crush’d olives and pickled olives are'not the same thing; and a few lines after—• For it is better that they should be crush’d than pickled. And Archestratus says, in his Gastronomy— Let wrinkled olives, fallen from the tree. Be placed before you. And Hermippus says— Be sure that for the future you remember The ever-glorious Marathon for good, When you do all from time to time add juapaBou (that is to say, fennel) to your pickled olives. And Philemon says—“ The inferior olives are called 7n.ruptSes, and the dark-coloured are called ore/x^nAx'Scs.” And Calli¬ machus, in his “ Hecale,” gives a regular catalogue of the different kinds of olive— Tepyepipos and irlrvpis, and the white olive, which does not Become ripe till autumn, which is to float in wine. And according to Didymus, they called both olives and figs which had fallen to the ground of their own accord, ycpyepi/xot. Besides, without mentioning the name “ olive,” the fruit itself was called by that name Bpvirenj^, without any explanatory addition. Teleclides says— He urged me to remain, and eat with him Some 5pu7rere?s, and some maize, and have a chat with him. But the Athenians called bruised olives o-re/x^uAa; and what we call (iTijKpvXa they called Ppvrea, that is to say, the dregs c. 48.] NAMES OF PLANTS. 93 of the grapes after they have been pressed. And the word {Spvros is derived from /?drpi> 9 , a bunch of grapes. 48. With respect to Radishes.—The Greek name pattern? is derived from paStcos ^aiveaOai, because they quickly appear above ground; and in the plural the Attic writers either shorten or lengthen the penultima at pleasure. Cratinus writes— Ta?s pacpavLcri So/ceT, it is like radishes, but not like other vegetables ; and Eupolis, on the other hand, says— 'P acpavldes &ir\vToi, unwashed radishes and cuttle-fish. For the word airkmoL, unwashed, must clearly refer to the radishes, and not to the cuttle-fish ; as is shown by Anti- phanes, in whom we find these lines :— To eat ducks, and honeycombs of wild bees, and eggs, And cheese-cakes, and unwash’d radishes, And rape, and oatmeal-groats, and honey. So that radishes appear to have been particularly called un¬ washed radishes ; being probably the same as those called Tliasian. Pherecrates says— There one may have the unwash’d radish, and the warm Bath, and closely stewed pickles, and nuts. And Plato, in his Hyperbolus, says, using the diminutive ter¬ mination, (J)vXXlov 7 ) paefiavtSiov, “ a leaflet, or a little radish.” But Theophrastes, in his book on Plants, says that there are five kinds of radishes : the Corinthian, the Leiothasian, the Cleonscan, the Amorean, and the Boeotian; and that the Boeotian, which is of a round form, is the sweetest. And he says that, as a general rule, those the leaves of which are smooth, are the sweetest. But Callias used the form paou into a trisyllable, making it (jj'lov, when she says— They say that formerly Leda found an egg.] And again she says— Far whiter than an egg: in each case writing aj'iov. But Epicharmus spelt the word oka; for so we find the line written— The eggs of geese and other poidtry. And Simonides, in the second book of his Iambics, says— Like the egg of a Maeandrian goose; which he, too, writes dkov. But Alexandrides lengthens the word into a quadrisyllable, and calls it wapLov. And so does Ephippus, when he says— EGGS. 95 c. 51.] And little casks of good wine made of palms, And eggs, and all other trifles of that kind. And Alexis, somewhere or other, uses the expression, “ hemi¬ spheres of eggs.” And wind eggs they called avepxcua, and also inrqvipua. They called also the upper chambers of houses which we now call inrepwov, <5ov; and accordingly Clearchus says, in his “ Erotics,” that Helen, from having been born and brought up in a chamber of this sort, got the character, with a great many people, of having been born of an egg (wov). And it was an ignorant statement of Neocles of Crotona, that the egg fell from the moon, from which Helen was bom : for that women under the influence of the moon bring forth eggs, and that those who are born from such eggs are fifteen times as large as we are : as Herodotus of Hera- clea also asserts. And Ibycus, in the fifth book of his Melo¬ dies, says of the Molionidoe— And they slew the two young Motions, youths alike in face. Borne on white horses; of the same age; and Alike, too, in all their limbs, for both were born On one day, from one single silver egg. And Ephippus says— Cakes made of sesame and honey, sweetmeats, Cheese-cakes, and cream-cakes, and a hecatomb Of new-laid eggs, were all devour’d by us. And Nicomachus makes mention of such eggs— For when my father had left me a very little property, I scraped it so, and got the kernel out of it In a few months, as if I had been a boy sucking an egg. And Eriphus makes mention of goose’s eggs— Just see how white and how large these eggs are; These must be goose eggs, as far as I can see. And he says, that it was eggs like this which were laid by Leda. But Epsenetus and Heraclides the Syracusan, in their book on Cookery, say that the best of all eggs are peacock’s eggs ; and that the next best are those of the foxgoose ; and the third best are those of common poultry. 51. Now let us speak of provocatives to appetite, called Upoiro/xa .—When they were brought round by the butler, Ulpian said, “ Does the word irpoTrop-a occur in any ancient author in the sense in which w r e use it now? ” and when every one joined in the question, “ I will tell you,” said Athenseus ; “ Phylarchus the Athenian, (though some called 96 THE DEIPNOSOPHISTS. [epit. B. II. him a native of Naucratis,) in the book where he speaks of Zelas the king of the Bithynians, who invited to supper all the leaders of the Galatians, and then plotted against them, and was killed himself also, says, if I recollect his words rightly, ‘ A certain 7rpo7ro/xa was brought round before supper, as was the custom of antiquity.’ ” And when Ulpian had said this, he asked for something to drink from the wine-cooler, saying, that he was in good humour with himself for having been able to remember this so very Apropos. But there were things of all sorts, says Athenasus, used in these Trpo-jrofxara. 52. With respect to Mallows, Hesiod says— Nor do men know how great may he the good Derived from asphodel and mallow food. MaXdxq is the Attic name for mallow. But I, says Atlienseus, have found in many of the copies of the Minos of Antiphanes the word spelt with an o ; for instance, he speaks of men— Eating the root of mallow (jUoXo'xtjs). And Epicharmus has— I am milder than the mallow (fxoXoxns). And Phanias says, in his book on Plants—“ The seminal por¬ tions of the cultivated mallow are called ‘ the cheese-cake,’ as being like a cheese-cake. For those pistils which are like the teeth of a comb have some resemblance to the edge of a cheese-cake ; and there is a bosslike centre, like that in the middle of a cheese-cake. And the whole circumference of the rim is like the sea-fish denominated the sea-urchin.” But Diphilus the Siphnian makes a statement, that the mallow is full of pleasant and wholesome juice; having a tendency to smooth the arteries, separating from them the harshnesses of the blood by bringing them to the surface. And he adds that the mallow is of great service in irritations of the kidneys and the bladder, and that it is very tolerably digestible and nutritious. And moreover, that the wild mallow is superior to that which grows in a garden. But Hermippus, the fol¬ lower of Callimachus, in his treatise on the Seven Wise Men, says that mallows are put in what he calls the aXt/xov, that is to say, the preventive against hunger, and into the a.8uf/ov, that is, the preventive against thirst; and that it is a very useful ingredient in both. 53. The next thing to be mentioned are Gourds.—Euthy- GOURDS. 97 c« 53.] demus, the Athenian, in his hook on Vegetables, calls the long gourd, known as koXokvvtt], the Indian gourd; and it is called Indian because the seed was originally introduced from India. But the people of Megalopolis call the same the Sicyonian gourd. Theophrastus however says, that of the kind called koXokvvttj, there is not one species or genus 011I3 7 , but several, some better, some worse. While Menodorus, the follower of Erasistratus, the friend of Icesius, says, “ Of the long gourds there is the Indian, which is the same which we call cnK.ua, and which is vulgarly called the koXokvvt rj. Now the Indian gourd is usually boiled, but that called koXo- KvvTrj is usually roasted.” And even to the present day the koXokvvtcu are called by the Cnidians Indian gourds; while the people of the Hellespont call the long gourds ctlkvcu, and the round gourds koXokvvtcli. But Diodes states that the best round gourds are those grown near Magnesia; and, moreover, that the rape grown in that district runs to an exceedingly large size, and is sweet, and good for the stomach. He says, at the same time, that the best cucumbers are grown at Antioch, the best lettuce at Smyrna and Galatea, and the best rue at Myra. Diphilus says, “ The gourd is far from nutritious, easily digested, apt to produce moisture in the skin, promotes the secretions of the body, and is full of agreeable and wholesome juice ; but it is still more juicy when cooked. Its alterative qualities are increased when it is eaten with mustard, but it is more digestible, and it pro¬ motes the secretions more, when boiled. Mnesitheus too says, “ All the vegetables and fruits which are easily affected by the action of fire, such as the cucumber, and the gourd, and the quince, and the small quince, and every¬ thing else of the same sort, when they are eaten after having been roasted, afford nutriment to the body, in no great quan¬ tity indeed, but still such as is pleasant and promotes mois¬ ture. However all these vegetables and fruits have a tendency to produce constipation, and they ought to be eaten boiled rather than raw. But the Attic writers call the gourd by no other name but koXokvvttj. Hermippus says— What a huge head he has; it is as big as a gourd ! And Phrynichus, using the diminutive, says— Will you have a little maize (jj.a£iov) or gourd {koKokvvtiov) 1 VOL. I.-ATH. H 98 THE DEIPNOSOPHISTS. [EPIT. B. II And Epicharmus says— That is much more wholesome than a gourd {koKouvvtt]). 54. And Epicrates the comic poet writes— A . What now is Plato doing 1 The grave Speusippus too and Menedemus 1 In what are they, now spending all their time ? What care is theirs, and what their conversation ? What is their subject of deliberation 1 Tell me, I beg of you, by the mighty Terra, In learned language, if at least you know. B. Indeed, I can inform you most exactly. Por at the great Panathenaic feast, I saw a company of youths assembled Within the schools of the old Academy, And heard some strange and marvellous assertions. Por they were nature’s mysteries discussing. Drawing distinctions subtle ’tween the life Of animated things, both men and beasts. And that of trees and all the race of herbs. And then, while occupied in these discussions They turned to gourds their deep investigations. Asking their species and their character. A . And to what sage conclusion did they come ? What was their definition, of what genus Did they decide this plant to be, my friend 1 I pray you tell ’em, if you know at least. B. At first they all stood silent for a while. And gazed upon the ground and knit their brows In pi’ofound solemn meditation : Then on a sudden, while the assembled youths Were stooping still considering the matter, One said a gourd was a round vegetable ; But others said it was a kind of grass; While others class’d it as a sort of tree. On hearing this, a certain old physician Coming from Sicily interrupted them As but a pack of triflers. They were furious. Greatly enraged, and all most loudly cried With one accord, that he insulted them ; Por that such sudden interruptions To philosophical discussion Were ill-bred and extremely unbecoming. And then the youths thought no more of the gourd. But Plato, who was present, mildly said, Not being at all excited by what pass’d, That the best thing that they could do would be The question to resume of the gourd’s nature. f They would not hear him, and adjourn’d the meeting. C. 56.] MUSHROOMS. 99 55. Alexis, that most witty poet, sets an entire course of TTpoTrofia before those who can understand him— I came without perceiving it on a place Which was exceedingly convenient. Water was given me ; and then a servant Entered, and bore a table for my use ; On which was laid, not cheese, or tawnj^ olives. Or any dainty side-dishes and nonsense, Which fill the room with scent, but have no substance; But there was set before me a huge dish Redolent of the Seasons and the joyful Hours— A sort of hemisphere of the whole globe. Everything there was beautiful and good : Fish, goats’ flesh, and a scorpion between them; Then there were eggs in half, looking like stars. On them we quickly laid our hands, and then Speaking to me, and giving me a nod, The host began to follow our example; So we’d a race, and never did I stop - Till the whole dish was empty as a sieve. 56. With respect to Mushrooms.—Aristias says- The stony soil produced no mushrooms. And Poliochus has the following passage— Each of us twice a day received to eat Some small dark maize well winnow’d from the chaff, And carefully ground ; and also some small figs. Meantime some of the party would begin And roast some mushrooms; and perhaps would catch Some delicate snails if ’twas a dewy morning, And vegetables which spontaneous grew. Then, too, we’d pounded olives; also wine Of no great strength, and no very famous vintage. And Antiphanes says— Our supper is but maize well fenced round With chaff', so as not to o’erstep the bounds Of well-devised economy. An onion, A few side-dishes, and a sow-thistle, A mushroom, or what wild and tasteless roots The place affords us in our poverty. Such is our life, not much exposed to fevers ; For no one, when there’s meat, will eat of thyme, Hot even the pupils of Pythagoras. And a few lines afterwards he goes on—• For which of us can know the future, or The fate that shall our various friends befal? Take now these mushrooms and for dinner roast them. Which I’ve just picked beneath the maple-shade. ICO THE DEIPNOSOPHIST3. [EPIT. B. II. Cephisodorus, the pupil of Isocrates, in the treatise which he wrote against Aristotle (and there are four books of it), reproaches the philosopher for not having thought it worth his while to collect proverbs, though Antiphanes had made an entire play which was called Proverbs: from which play he produces these lines— For I, if I eat any of your dishes. Seem as if I was on raw mushrooms feeding, Or unripe apples, lit to choke a man. 57. Mushrooms are produced by the earth itself. But there are not many sorts of them which are good to eat; for the greater part of them produce a sensation of choking : on which account Epicharmus, when jesting, said — You will be choked, like those who waste away By eating mushrooms, very heating food. And Nicander, in his Georgies, gives a list of which species are poisonous ; and says— Terrible evils oftentimes arise From eating olives, or pomegranates, or from the trees Of maple, or of oak; but worst of all Are the swelling sticky lumps of mushrooms. And he says in another place— Bury a fig-tree trunk deep in the ground, Then cover it with dung, and moisten it With water from an everflowing brook, Then there will grow at bottom harmless mushrooms ; Select of them what’s good for food, and not Deserving of contempt, and cut the root off. But all the rest of that passage is in a mutilated state. The same Nicander in the same play writes—• And there, too, you may roast the mushrooms. Of the kind which we call a/judvirai. And Ephippus says— That I may choke you as a mushroom would. Eparchides says that Euripides the poet was once staying on a visit at Icarus, and that, when it had happened that a cer¬ tain woman being with her children in the fields, two of them being full-grown sons and the other being an unmarried daughter, eat some poisonous mushrooms, and died with her children in consequence, he made this epigram upon them:—. c. 59.] MUSHROOMS. 101 0 Sun, whose path is through th’ undying heaven. Have you e’er before seen a misery such as this] A mother, a maiden daughter, and two sons, All dying on one day by pitiless fate ] Diodes the Carystian, in the first book of his treatise on the Wholesomes, says, “ The following things which grow wild should be boiled,—beetroot, mallow, sorrel, nettles, spinach, onions, leeks, orach, and mushrooms. 58. Then there is a plant called sium. And Speusippus, in the second book of his treatise on Things Similar, says that its leaf resembles the marsh parsley; on which account Ptolemy the Second, surnamed Euergetes, who was king of Egypt, insists upon it that the line in Homer ought to be written thus— And around were soft meadows of sium or parsley; for that it is crca which are usually found in company with parsley, and not ta (violets). 59. Diphilus says that mushrooms arc good for the stomach, and pass easily through the bowels, and are very nutritious, but still that they are not very digestible, and that they are apt to produce flatulence. And that especially those from the island of Ceos have this character. , “ Many are even poison¬ ous to a fatal degree. But those which seem to be whole¬ some are those with the smoothest rinds, which are tender and easily crushed : such as grow close to elms and pine-trees. But those which are unwholesome are of a dark colour, or livid, or covered with hard coats; and those too which get hard after being boiled and placed on the table ; for such are deadly to eat. But the best remedy for them when eaten unawares is drinking honey-water, and fresh mead, and vinegar. And after such a drink the patient should vomit. On whiqh account, too, it is especially desirable to dress mushrooms with vinegar, or honey and vinegar, or honey, or salt: for by these means their choking properties are taken away. But Theophrastus, in his treatise about Plants, writes thus— “ But plants of this kind grow both under the ground and on the ground, like those things which some people call fungi, which grow in company with mushrooms ; for they too grow without having any roots; but the real mushrooms have, as the beginning by which they adhere to the ground, a stalk of some length, and they put forth fibres from that stalk.” He 102 THE DEIPNOSOPHISTS. [EP1T. B. II. says also that iii the sea which is around the Pillars of Her¬ cules, when there is a high tide, mushrooms grow on the shore close to high-water mark, which they say are left there by the sun. And Phamias says, in his first book about Plants “ But these things neither put forth any bloom, nor any trace of seminal germination ; as, for instance, the mushroom, the truffle, groundivy, and fern.” And in another place he says, "ilre/Hs {fern), which some people call /SAdyrov.” But Theophrastus, in his book on Plants, says—“ Plants* with smooth rinds, as the truffle, the mushroom, the fungus, the geranium.” 60. Now with respect to Truffles.—They too spring of their own accord out of the ground; especially in sandy places. And Theophrastus says of them—“ The truffle, which some people call the geranium, and all other such plants which grow beneath the earth.” And in another place he says—* “ The generation and production of these things which seed beneath the earth; as, for instance, of the • truffle, and of a plant which grows around Cyrene, which they call misy. And it appears to be exceedingly sweet, and to have a smell like that of meat; and so, too, has a plant called itum, which grows in Thrace. And a peculiarity is mentioned as incidental to these things; for men say that they appear when there is heavy rain in autumn and. violent thunder ; especially when there is thunder, as that is a more stimulating cause of them: however, they do not last more than a year, as they are only annuals; they are in the greatest perfection in the spring, when they are most plentiful. Not but what there are people who believe that they are or can be raised from seed. At all events, they say that they never appeared on the shore of the Mitylenseans, until after a heavy shower some seed was brought from Tiara?; and that is the place where they are in the greatest numbers. But they are principally found on the sea-shore, and wherever the ground is sandy; and that is the character of the place called Tiara?. They are also found near Lampsacus, and also in Acarnania, and Alope- connesus, and in the district of the Eleans. Lynceus the Samian says—“ The sea produces nettles, and the land pro¬ duces truffles;” and Matron, the man who wrote parodies, says in his “ Supper”— And he brought oysters, the truffles of Thetis the Nereid. ASPARAGUS. 103 c. 62.] Dipliilus says that truffles are by nature indigestible, but that they are full of wholesome juice, and have lenitive qualities, and are very easily evacuated; though, like mush¬ rooms, some of them are apt to produce suffocation. And Hegesander the Delphian says that no truffles are found in the Hellespont, and no fish of the kind called yAa vklctkos, and no thyme. On which account Nausiclides said of the country, that it had no spring and no friends. But Pamphilus says, in his “ Languages,” that there is a plant called v8v6(j>vX\ov, being a species of grass which grows on the top of the truffles, by which the truffle is discovered. 61. With respect to Nettles—’A/caAiy^ is the name given by the Attic writers to a plant which is herbaceous and which produces itching. Aristophanes says, in his Phcenissse, “ that pot-herbs were the first things which grew out of the earth; and after them the rough stinging-nettles.” 62. The next thing to be considered is Asparagus— which is divided into mountain asparagus and marsh aspa¬ ragus ; the best kinds of which are not raised from seed; •but they are remedies for every kind of internal disorder. But those which are raised from seed grow to an immense size. And they say that in Libya, among the Gastuli, they grow of the thickness of a Cyprian reed, and twelve feet long; but that on the mountain land and on land near the sea they grow to the thickness of large canes, and twenty cubits long. But Cratinus writes the word, not dcrirdpayos, but dcrcpapayoc, ■with a . And Theopompus says— And then seeing the aspharagus in a thicket. And Ameipsias says— No squills, no aspharagus, no branches of boy-tree. But Diphilus says, that of all greens, that sort of asparagus which is especially called the bursting asparagus, is better for the stomach, and is more easily digested ; but that it is not very good for the eyes: and it is harsh-flavoured and diuretic, and injurious to the kidneys and bladder. But it is the Athenians who give it the name of bursting * and they also give the flowering cabbage, or cauliflower, the same name. Sophocles says, in The Huntsmen— Then it puts forth a stalk, and never ceases The germination; 104 THE DEIPNOSOPHISTS. [EPIT. B. II. because it is continually bursting out and putting forth shoots. However, Antiphanes always spells the word acnrapayos, with a 7 r; and he writes thus— The asparagus was shining; the pale vetches had faded. And Aristophon says—“Capers, pennyroyal, thyme, asparagus, garlic, radishes, sage, and rue.” G3. With respect to Snails.—Philyllius says— I am not a grasshopper, nor a snail, 0 woman. And in a subsequent passage he says— Sprats, tunny fish, and snails, and periwinkles. And Hesiod calls the snail, The hero that carries his house on his back. And Anaxilas says— You are e’en more distrustful than a snail; Who fears to leave even his house behind him. And Achseus speaks of them, and says—• Can such a vapour strange produce The snails, those horned monsters ? And an enigma, like a fishing-net, having reference to the snail, is often proposed at banquets, in these terms — What is that spineless bloodless beast of the woods. Who makes his path amid the humid waters. And Aristotle, in the fifth book of his treatise on the Parts of Animals, says—“ Snails appear to become pregnant in the autumn and in spring, and they are the only animals with coverings of shells that have ever been detected in union.” But Theophrastus says, in his treatise about Animals which live in Holes—“ Snails live in holes during the winter, and still more in the summer, on which account they are seen in the greatest numbers during the autumn rains. But their holes in the summer are made upon the ground, and in the trees.” There are some snails which are called o-icnXoi. Epicharmus says— Instead of all these animals, they have locusts ; But I hate above all things the shell of the sesilus. And Apellas relates that the Lacedaemonians call the snail o-e/aeXo?. But Apollodorus, in the second book of his Etymo¬ logies, says that there are some snails which arc called KoAvoriSenrvoL, interrupters of banquets. G4. The next vegetable to be mentioned is Onions.—In c. 65.] onions. 105 the Amalthea of Eubulus, Hercules is represented as refusing to eat them; saying— Whether it’s hot, or whether it is dry, Or whether it is something ’tween the two, Are points of more importance than old Troy. But I have not come here to fill myself With cabbages, or benjamin, or other Impious and bitter danties, or with onions. But that which tends the most to vigorous strength And health is food which I delight in chiefly. Meat of beef, boil’d and fresh, and plenty of it, And a large well-filled dish of oxen’s feet, Three roasting pigs besides, sprinkled with salt. Alexis, while explaining the efficacy of onions in aphrodisiac matters, says— Pinnas, beetles, snails, muscles, eggs, calves'-feet, And many other philters, may be found More useful still to one who loves his mistress. Xenarchus, in the Butalion, says— A house is ruined which has a master Whose fortune’s gone, and whom the evil genius Has struck. And so the once great house of the Pelops Is weak and nerveless. Nor can earth-born onion, Pair Ceres’ handmaid, who contracts the neck, Even when boiled, assist to check this evil. Nor e’en the polypus, who swells the veins, Born in dark eddies of the deepest sea, When taken in the net of stern necessity By hungry mortals, fill the broad deep bosom. Of the large dish turn’d by the potter’s wheel. And Arcliestratus says— I love not onions, nor yet cabbages, Nor the sweet barberry-tree, nor all the other Dainties and sweetmeats of the second course. 65. Heraclides the Tarentine, in his Banquet, says —“ The onion, and the snail, and the egg, and similar things, appear to be productive of seed; not because they are very nutritious, , but because their original natures are similar, and because their powers resemble that.” And Diphilus says —“ Onions are difficult to digest, but very nutritious, and good for the stomach. And, moreover, they are productive of moisture, and cleansing, but they dim the eyes, and excite the amatory propensities. But the proverb says—• The onion will do you no good if you have no strength yourself. 106 THE DEIPNOSOPIIISTS. [EPIT. B. IL But those onions which are called the royal onions, really do stimulate the amatory propensities, for they are superior to the other kinds ; and next to them are the red ones. But the white ones, and the Libyan onions, are something like squills. But the worst of all are the Egyptian. 66. But the white onions, called /36X/3tvai, are fuller of good juice than the common onions; but they are not so good for the stomach, because the white portion of them has a certain thickness in it. Yet they are very tolerably whole¬ some, because they have a good deal of harshness in them, and because they promote the secretions. And Matron, in his Parodies, mentions the /3oX/3lvr ]— But sowthistles I will not even name, Plants full of'marrow, crown’d on th’ heads with thorns ; Nor the white onions, minstrels of great Jove, Which his dear Child, incessant rain, has nourish’d Whiter than snow storms, and like meal to view. Which, when they first appeared, my stomach loved. 67. Nicander extols the onions of Megara. But Theo¬ phrastus, in the seventh book of his treatise on Plants, says— “ In some places the- onions are so sweet, that they are eaten raw, as they are in the Tauric Chersonesus.” And-Phtenias makes the same statement :—“ There is,” says he, “ a kind of onion which bears wool, according to Theophrastus; and it is produced on the sea-shore. And it has the wool under¬ neath its first coat, so as to be between the outer eatable parts and the inner ones. And from this wool socks and stockings and other articles of clothing are woven.” And Phsenias himself adopts the statement. “ But the onion,” he continues, “ of the Indians is hairy.” But concerning the dressing of onions, Philemon says— Now if you want an onion, just consider What great expense it takes to make it good : You must have cheese, and honey, and sesame. Oil, leeks, and vinegar, and assafoetida, To dress it up with; for by itself the onion Is bitter and unpleasant to the taste. But Heraclides the Tarentine, limiting the use of onions at banquets, says—“ One must set bounds to much eating, espe¬ cially of such things as have anything glutinous or sticky about them; as, for instance, eggs, onions, calves’ feet, snails, and such things as those : for they remain in the stomach a .C. 70.] THRUSHES. 107 long time, and form a lump there, and check the natural moisture.” 68. Thrushes, too, and crowds of other birds, formed part of the dishes in the propomata. Teleclides says— But roasted thrushes with sweet cheese-cakes served Flew of their own accord down the guests’ throats. But the Syracusans call thrushes, not KtyXat, but tuyrjXo.t. Epicharmus says— The thrushes (nlxy^ai) fond of eating the olive. And Aristophanes also, in his “ Clouds,” mentions the same birds. But Aristotle asserts that there are three kinds of thrushes; the first and largest kind of which is nearly equal to a jay; and they call it also the ixopliagus, since it eats the mistletoe. The next kind is like a blackbird in size, and they call them trichades. The third kind is less than either of the before-mentioned sorts, and is called Mas, but some call it tylas, as Alexander the Myndian does. And this is a very gregarious species, and builds its nest as the swallow does. There is a short poem, which is attributed to Homer, and which is entitled eTruavXiSes, which has received this title from the circumstance of Homer singing it to his children, and receiving thrushes as his reward,—at least, this is the account given by Mensechmus, in his treatise on Artists. 69. There is a bird called the o-vkolXls, or figpecker. And Alexander the Myndian asserts—“ One of the tits is called by some people elceus, and by others pirias; but when the figs become ripe, it gets the name of sycalis .” And there are two species of this bird, the sycalis and the pcXayKopvcjio^, or blackcap. Epicharmus spells the word with two XX, and writes orvKaXXISes. He speaks of beautiful crvKaXXlSe^ : and in a subsequent passage he says— And herons were there with their long Lending necks, And grouse who pick up seed, and beautiful sycallides. And these birds are caught at the season when figs are ripe* And it is more correct to spell the name with only one A; but Epicharmus put in the second X because of the metre. 70. There is a kind of finch, too, which was sometimes eaten, of which Eubulus says, [epit. B. II. 108 THE DEIPNOSOPHISTS. And Ephippus says, in his “ Geryones”— When ’twas the Amphidromiaa festival, When ’tis the custom to toast bits of cheese O’ the Chersonesus; and to boil a cabbage. Bedewed with shining oil; and eke to bake The breasts of fat and well-fed lambs; to pluck The feathers from the thrushes, doves and finches; And also to eat cuttle-fish with anchovies, And baskets of rich polypus to collect, And to drink many cups of unmixed wine. 71. Then, too, there are blackbirds.—Nicostratus or Phile- tterns says— A. What then shall I buy] Tell me, I pray you. B. Go not to more expense than a neat table ; Buy a rough-footed hare ; some ducklings too, As many as you like; thrushes, and blackbirds, And other small birds; there are many wild sorts. A. Yes, and they’re very nice. Antiphanes also reckons starlings among the eatable birds, numerating them in the following list—“ Honey, partridges, pigeons, ducks, geese, starlings, jays, rooks, blackbirds, quails, and pullets.” You are asking of us for a history of everything, and you do not allow us to say a single thing without calling us to account for it. The word crTpovOdpiov (a little bird) is found in many other authors, and also in Eubulus. He says, “Take three or four partridges, and three hares, and as many small birds as you can eat, and goldfinches, and parrots, and finches, and nightjars, and whatever other birds of this kind you can come across.” 7 2. Swine’s brains, too, was a not uncommon dish. Philoso¬ phers used to forbid our eating these, saying that a person who partook of them might as well eat a bear, and would not stick at eating his father’s head, or anything else ima¬ ginable. And they said, that at all events none of the ancients had ever eaten them, because they were the seat of nearly all sensation. But Apollodorus the Athenian says, that none of the ancients ever even named the brain. And at all events Sophocles, in his Trachinise, where he repre¬ sents Hercules as throwing Lichas into the sea, does not use the word hyKlokov, brains, but says Xcvkov /xueAog, white marrow; avoiding a word which it was thought ill-omened to use :— BRAINS—THE HEAD. 109 c. 73.] And from his hair he forces the white marrow, His head being burst asunder in the middle. And the blood flows: though he had named all the rest of his limbs plainly enough. And Euripides, introducing Hecuba lamenting for Astyanax, who had been thrown down by the Greeks, says— Unhappy child, how miserably have Your native city’s walls produced your death, And clash’d your head in pieces ! Fatal towers, Which Phoebus builded ! How did your mother oft Cherish those curly locks, and press upon them With never-wearied kisses ! now the blood Wells from that wound, where the bones broken gape ; But some things are too horrid to be spoken. The lines too which follow these are worth stopping to con¬ sider. But Philocles does employ the word hyxi^aXov — He never ceased devouring even the brains {iyicii/ cucumber. And Theopompus says of a woman— She was to me More tender than a -ni-nuv cucumber. Phaenias says, “ Both the o-lkvgs and the -l-uv are tender to eat, with the stem on which they grow; however the seed is not to be eaten, but the outside only, when they are fully ripe ; but the gourd called koXokv vrrj, when raw is not eatable, but is very good either boiled or roasted. And Diodes the Carystian, in the first book of his treatise on Wholesome Things, says that “ of wild vegetables the fol¬ lowing should be boiled before eating : the lettuce (the best kind of which is the black); the cardamum ; mustard from the Adriatic ; onions (the best kinds are the Ascalonian, and that called getian); garlic, that other kind of garlic called physinga, the ttIttwv cucumber, and the poppy.” And a little afterwards he says, “The ttIttw cucumber is better for the stomach and more digestible; though every cucumber when boiled is tender, never gives any pain, and is diuretic; but that kind called ttcttoji/ when boiled in mead has very aperient VOL. I.—ATH. i TIIE DEIPNOSOPIIISTS. 114 [epit. B. II. qualities. And Spcusippus, in his treatise on Similarities, calls the by the name of criKva. But Diocles haying named the tvIttwv, does not any longer call it crwcua: and Speusippus after having named the cruv is more full of wholesome juice, and moderates the humours of the body, but it is not very nutritious; it is easily digested, and promotes the secre¬ tions. 79. The lettuce was in great request as an article of food. Its name is OplSa^, but the Attics call it OpiSaKcvr]. Epichar- mus says— A lettuce (6p78a |) with its stalk peel’d all the way up. But Strattis calls lettuces 0piSa/avi8es, and says— The leek-destroying grubs, which go Throughout the leafy gardens On fifty feet, and leave their trace, Gnawing all herbs and vegetables ; Leading the dances of the long-tailed satyrs Amid the petals of the verdant herbs, And of the juicy lettuces (0/n8a/cjH5es), And of the fragrant parsley. And Theophrastus says, “ Of lettuce (OpiSaKivrj) the white is the sweeter and the more tender: there are three kinds; there is the lettuce w r ith the broad stalk, and the lettuce with the round stalk, and in the third place there is the Lace¬ daemonian lettuce—its leaf is like that of a thistle, but it grows up straight and tall, and it never sends up any side shoots from the main stalk. But some plants of the broad kind are so very broad in the stalk that some people even use them for doors to their gardens. But when the stalks are cut, then those which shoot again are the sweetest of any.” 80. But Nicander the Colophonian, in the second part of his Dictionary, says that the lettuce is called fipevOLs by the Cyprians. And it was towards a plant of this kind that Adonis was flying when he was slain by the boar. Amphis in his Ialemus says— Curse upon all these lettuces (OpiduKLvai) ! For if a man not threescore years should eat them, And then betake himself to see his mistress, He’ll toss the whole night through, and won’t be equal To her expectations or his own. And Callimachus says that Venus hid Adonis under a lettuce, which is an allegorical statement of the poet’s, intended to LETTUCE. 115 C. 81.] show that those who are much addicted to the use of lettuces are very little adapted for pleasures of love. And Eubulus says in his Astuti— Do not put lettuces before me, wife, Upon the table ; or the blame is yours. For once upon a time, as goes the tale, Yenus conceal’d the sadly slain Adonis 1 Bennath the shade of this same vegetable ; So mat it is the food of dead men, or of those Who scarcely are superior to the dead. Cratinus also says that Yenus when in love with Pliaon hid him also in the leaves of the lettuce: but the younger Mar- syas says that she hid him amid the grass of barley. Pamphilus in his book on Languages says, that Hip- ponax called the lettuce rerpaKLvr ]: but Clitarchus says that it is the Phrygians who give it this name. Ibycus the Pythagorean says that the lettuce is at its first beginning a plant with a broad leaf, smooth, without any stalk, and is called by the Pythagoreans the eunuch , and by the women dcrrurts ; for that it makes the men diuretic and powerless for the calls of love: but it is exceedingly pleasant to the taste. 81. Diphilus says that “the stalk of the lettuce is ex¬ ceedingly nutritious, and more difficult of digestion than the leaves; but that the leaves are more apt to produce flatulence, and are still more nutritious, and have a greater tendency to promote the secretions. And as a general rule the lettuce is good for the stomach, cooling and wholesome for the bowels, soporific, full of pleasant and wholesome juice, and certainly has a great tendency to make men indifferent to love. But the softer lettuce is still better for the stomach, and still more soporific ; while that which is harder and drier is both less good for the stomach and less wholesome for the bowels; that, however, is also soporific. But the black lettuce is more cooling, and is good for the bowels; and summer lettuce is full of wholesome juice, and more nutritious; but that which is in season at the end of autumn is not nutritious, and has no juice. And the stalk of the lettuce appears to be a remedy against thirst.” And the lettuce when boiled like asparagus in a dish, if we adopt the statement of Glaucias, is superior to all other boiled vegetables. Among some of the other nations Theophrastus says that i 2 116 THE DEIPNOSOPHISTS. [EPIT. B. II. beetroot, and lettuce, and spinach, and mustard, and sorrel, and coriander, and anise, and cardamums, are all called eirianropa, things fit to be sown for the second crop. And Diphilus says that, as a general rule, all vegetables have but little nutriment in them, and have all of them a tendency to make people thin, and are devoid of wholesome juices, and moreover stay a long while in the stomach, and are not very digestible. But Epicharmus speaks of somt as summer vegetables. 82. Artichokes were often eaten. And Sophocles, in his Colchian Women, calls an artichoke Kivdpa, but in his Phoenix he writes the word Kvvapos, saying— The artichoke fills every field with its thorn. But Hecatseus the Milesian, in his Description of Asia, at least if the book under this title is a genuine work of that author, (for Callimachus attributes it to Nesiotas;) however, whoever it was who wrote the book speaks in these terms— “ Around the sea which is called the Hyrcanian sea there are mountains lofty and rough with woods, and on the mountains there is the prickly artichoke.” And immediately afterwards he subjoins—“ Of the Parthian tribes the Chorasmians dwell towards the rising sun, having a territory partly champaign and partly mountainous. And in the mountains there are wild trees; the prickly artichoke, the willow, the tamarisk.” He says moreover that the artichoke grows near the river Indus. And Scylax, or Polemo, writes, “that that land is well watered with fountains and with canals, and on the mountains there grow artichokes and many other plants.” And immediately afterwards he adds, “ From that point a mountain stretches on both sides of the river Indus, verv lofty, and very thickly overgrown with wild wood and the prickly artichoke.” But Didymus the grammarian, explaining what is meant by Sophocles when he speaks of the prickly artichoke (which he calls Kvvapod), says, “Perhaps he means the dog-brier, because that plant is prickly and rough ; for the Pythian priestess did call that plant a wooden bitch. And the Locrian, after he had been ordered by an oracle to build a city in that place in which he was bitten by a wooden bitch, having had his leg scratched by a dog-brier, built the city in the place THE CACTUS. 117 c. 84.] where the brier had stood. And there is a plant called the dog-brier, something between a brier and a tree, according to the statement of Theophrastus, and it has a red fruit, like a pomegranate, and it has a leaf like that of the willow. 83. Phsenias, in the fifth book of his treatise on Plants, speaks of one which he calls the Sicilian cactus, a very prickly plant. As also does Theophrastus, in his sixth book about Plants, who says, “ But the plant which is called the cactus exists only in Sicily 7 ', and is not found in Greece : and it sends forth stalks close to the ground, just above the root. And the stalks are the things which are called cacti: and they are eatable as soon as they are peeled, and rather bitter; and they preserve them in brine. But there is a second kind, which sends up a straight stalk, which they call 7rrepvi£; and that also is eatable. The shell of the fruit, as soon as the outer soft parts have been taken away, is like the inside of a date : that also is eatable; and the name of that is do-K muscles, oysters. And Aristonymus, in his Theseus, says— There was a cockle (tco'yxos) and other fish too drawn from the sea At the same time, and by the same net. And Phrynichus uses the word in the same way in his Sat} r rs. But Icesius, the Erasistratean, says that some cockles are rough, and some royal; and that the rough have a disagree¬ able juice, and afford but little nourishment, and are easily digested; and that people who are hunting for the purple- fish use them as bait: but of the smooth ones those are best which are the largest, in exact proportion to their size. And Hegesander, in his Memorials, says that the rough cockles are called by the Macedonians coryci, but by the Athenians crii. 34. JSTow Icesius says that limpets are more digestible than those shell-fish which have been already mentioned; but that oysters are not so nutritious as limpets, and are filling, but nevertheless are more digestible. But of mussels, the Ephesian ones, and those which re¬ semble them, are, as to their juicy qualities, superior to the periwinkles, but inferior to the cockles; but they have more effect as diuretics than as aperients. But some of them are like squills, with a very disagreeable juice, and without any flavour; but there is a kind which is smaller than they are, and which are rough outside, which are more diuretic, and full of a more pleasant juice than the kind which resembles squills: but they are less nutritious, by reason of their sizes, and also because their nature is inferior. But the necks of VOL. i.— ath. L 14G THE DEIPNOSOPHISTS. [b. III. the ceryces are exceedingly good for the stomach, and are not so nutritions as mussels and cockles and periwinkles; but for people who have a weak stomach, and who do not easily expel the food into the cavity of the bowels, they are useful, inasmuch as they do not easily turn on the stomach. For those things which are confessedly digestible are, on the contrary, very unwholesome for people of such a constitution, being- very easily inclined to turn on the stomach, because they are tender and easily dissolved. Oil which account the bags con¬ taining their entrails are not suited to vigorous stomachs, but they are very good for those whose bowels are in a weak state. But what are more nutritious than the others, and far nicer in taste, are the entrails of the purple-fish; though they certainly are somewhat like the squill. For indeed all shell¬ fish are of the same character; but the purple-fish and the solen have this peculiar characteristic, that if they are boiled they yield a thick juice. But the necks of the purple-fish, when boiled by themselves, are exceedingly good for bringing the stomach into a good condition. And Posidippus speaks of them in his Locrians in these terms:— It is time now to eat eels and crabs, Cockles, and fresh sea-urchins, and fish sounds, ■And pinnas, and the necks of fish, and mussels. ** \ 35. Balani, if they are of the larger sort, are easily digested, and are good for the stomach. But otaria (and they are pro¬ duced in the island called Pharos, which is close to Alexandria) are more nutritious than any of the before-mentioned fish, but they are not easily secreted. But Antigonus the Carystian, in his book upon Language, says that this kind of oyster is called by the iEolians the Ear of Venus. Pholades are very nutritious, but they have a disagreeable smell; but common oysters are very like all these sorts of shell-fisli, and are more nutritious. There are also some kinds which are called wild oysters; and they are very nutritious, but they have not a good smell, and moreover they have a very indifferent flavour. But Aristotle, in his treatise about Animals, says, “ Oysters are of all the following kinds: there are the pinna, the mussel, the oyster, the cteis, the solen, the cockle, the limpet, the small oyster, the balanus. And of migratory fish there are the purple-fish, the sweet purple-fish, the sea-urchin, the stro- belus. Now the cteis has a rough shell, marked in streaks; SHELL-FISH. 14-7 c. 36.] but the oyster has no streaks, and a smooth shell. The pinna has a smooth mouth ; but the large oyster has a wide mouth, and is bivalve, and has a smooth shell. But the limpet is univalve, and has a smooth shell; and the mussel has a united shell. The solen and balanus are univalve, and have a smooth shell; and the cockle is a mixture of both kinds.” Epametus also says, in his Cookery Book, that the interior part of the pinna is called mecon. But in the fifth book of his treatise on the Parts of Animals, Aristotle says, “ The purple-fish are born about spring, and the ceryces at the end of the winter. And altogether,” says he, “ all shell-fish appear in the spring to have what are called eggs; and in the autumn, too, except those kinds of sea-urchins which are good to eat. And these fish indeed have eggs in the greatest number at those seasons, but they are never without them; and they have them in the greatest numbers at the time of full moon, and in the warm weather, with the exception of those fish which are found in the Euripus of the Pyrrhseans; for they are best in the winter, and they are small, but full of eggs. And nearly all the cockle tribe appear to breed in like manner at about the same season.” 36. And continuing the subject, the philosopher says again, “ The purple-fish therefore being all collected together in the spring at the same place, make what is called melicera. And that is something like honeycomb, but not indeed so elegant, but it is as if a great number of the husks of white vetches were fastened together; and there is no open passage in any of them: nor are the purple-fish born of this melicera, but they, and nearly all other shell-fish, are produced of mud and putrefaction; and this is, as it were, a kind of purification both for them and for the purple-fish, for they too make this melicera. And when they begin to make it, they emit a sort of sticky mass, from which those things grow which resemble husks. All these are eventually separated, and they drop blood on the ground. And in the place where they do so, there are myriads of little purple-fish born, adhering to one another in the ground, and the old purple-fish are caught while carrying them. And if they are caught before they have produced their young, they sometimes produce them in the very pots in which they are caught when collected toge- gether in them, and the young look like a bunch of grapes. 148 THE EEIPNOSOPHISTS. [B. III. And there are many different kinds of purple-fish; and some of them are of large size, like those which are found near Segeum and near Lesteum; and some are small, like those which are found in the Euripus, and around Caria. And those in the gulfs are large and rough, and most of them are of a black colour, but some of them arc rather red; and some of the large ones even weigh a mina. But those which are found on the shore and around the coasts are of no great size, but are of a red colour: and again, those in the waters exposed to the north wind are black, and those in the waters exposed to the south wind are generally red.” 37. But Apollodorus the Athenian, in his Commentaries on Sophron, having first quoted the saying, “ More greedy than a purple-fish,” says that it is a proverb, and that some say that it applies to the dye of purple; for that whatever that dye touches it attracts to itseltj and that it imbues everything which is placed near it with the brilliancy of its colour: but others say that it applies to the animal. “ And they are caught,” says Aristotle, u in the spring; but they are not caught during the dog-days, for then they do not feed, but conceal themselves and bury themselves in holes; and they have a mark like a flower on them between the belly and the throat. The fish called the ceryx has a covering of ; nearly the same sort as all the other animals of the snail kind from its earliest birth; and they feed by putting out what we call their shell from under this covering. And the purple- fish has a tongue of the size of a finger or larger, by which it feeds; and it pierces even shell-fish, and can pierce its own shell. But the purple-fish is very long-lived; and so is the ceryx: they live about six years, and their growth is known by the rings in their shell. But cockles, and cheme-cockles, and solens, and periwinkles, are born in sandy places. 38. But the pinnae spring from the bottom of the sea. And they have with them a fish called the pinnophylax, or guard of the pinna, which some call KaptSios, and others KapKLvtos; and if they lose him, they are soon destroyed. But Pamphilus the Alexandrian, in his treatise on Names, says that he is born at the same time with the pinna. But Chry- sippus the Solensian, in the fifth book of his treatise on the Beautiful and Pleasure, says, “ The pinna and the guard of the pinna assist one another, not being able to remain apart. SHELL-FISH. 149 c. 39.] Now the pinna is a kind of oyster, but the guard of the pinna is a small crab: and the pinna having opened its shell, remains quiet, watching the fish who are coming towards it; but the guard of the pinna, standing by when anything comes near, bites the pinna, so as to give it a sort of sign; and the pinna being bitten, closes its shell, and in this manner the two share together what is caught inside the pinna’s shell. But some say that the guard is born at the same time as the pinna, and that they originate in one seed.” And again, Aristotle says, “ All the fish of the oyster kind are generated in the mud,—oysters in slimy mud, cockles in sandy mud, and so on; but the small oyster and the balanus, and other fish which come near the surface, such as limpets and peri¬ winkles, are born in the fissures of the rocks. And some fish which have not shells are born in the same w T ay as those which have shells,—as the sea-nettle, the sponge, and others, —in the crevices of the rocks.” 39. Now, of the sea-nettle there are two kinds. For some live in hollows, and are never separated from the rocks; but some live on smooth and level ground, and do separate them¬ selves from what they are attached to, and move their quarters. But Eupolis, in the Autolycus, calls the kvlStj, or sea-nettle, aKaX^rj. And Aristophanes, in his Phoenissce, says— Know that pot-herbs first were given, r " And then the rough sea-nettles (dKaXTjcpai); and in his Wasps he uses the same word. And Pherecrates, in his Deserters, says— I’d rather wear a crown of sea-nettles (uicaXuicpcu). And Diphilus the Siphnian, a physician, says, “ But the sea- nettle (aKaXrjcfir)) is good for the bowels, diuretic, and a strengthener of the stomach, but it makes those who collect them itch violently, unless they anoint their hands before¬ hand. And it is really injurious to those who hunt for it; by whom it has been called aKaXrjcfir], by a slight alteration of its original name. And perhaps that is the reason why the plant the nettle has had the same name given to it. For it was named by euphemism on the principle of antiphrasis,— for it is not gentle and diraXr) rfj d(f>r), tender to the touch, but very rough and disagreeable.” Philippides also mentions 150 THE DEIPNOSOPHISTS. [B. III. the sea-nettle (calling it in liis Amphiaraus, speaking as follows:— lie put before me oysters and sea-nettles and limpets. And it is jested upon in the Lysistrata of Aristophanes— But, you most valiant of the oyster race, Offspring of that rough dam, the sea-nettle; for the rrjdog and the ocrrpeov are the same. And the word t?;9os is here confused in a comic manner with Trjdrj, a grand¬ mother, and with prjTrjp, a mother. 40. And concerning the rest of the oyster tribe, Diphilus says this: “ Of the thick chemse, those of smaller size, which have tender flesh, are called oysters, and they are good for the stomach, and easily digested. But the thick ones, which are called royal chemse by some people, and which are also called the huge chemse, are nutritious, slow to be digested, very juicy, good for the stomach; and especially do these qualities belong to the larger ones. Of tellinse there are num¬ bers in Canopus, and they are very common at the place where the Nile begins to rise up to the higher ground. And the thinnest of these are the royal ones, and they are digest¬ ible and light, and moreover nutritious. But those which are taken in the rivers are the sweetest. Mussels, again, are moderately nutritious, and are digestible and diuretic. But the best are the Ephesian kind; and of them those which are taken about the end of autumn. But the female mussel is smaller than the male, and is sweet and juicy, and moreover nutritious. But the solens, as they are called by some, though some call them avXot and SovaKcg, or pipes , and some, too, call them oV-uye?, or claws, are very juicy, but the juice is bad, and they are very glutinous. And the male fish are striped, and not all of one colour; but they are very wholesome for people affected with the stone, or with any complaint of the bladder. But the female fish is all of one colour, and much sweeter than the male: and they are eaten boiled and fried; but they are best of all when roasted on the coals till their shells open.” And the people who collect this sort of oyster are called Solenistse, as Phsenias the Eresian relates in his book which is entitled, The Killing of Tyrants by way of Punish¬ ment; where he speaks as follows:—“ Philoxenus, who was called the Solenist, became a tyrant from having been a de¬ magogue. In the beginning he got his livelihood by being SHELL-FISH. 151 c. 41.] a fisherman and a hunter after solens; and so having made a little money, he advanced, and got a good property.”—“ Of the periwinkle the white are the most tender, and they have no disagreeable smell, and have a good effect on the bowels; hut of the black and red kinds the larger are exceedingly nice to the taste, especially those that are caught in the spring. And as a general rule all of them are good for the stomach, and digestible, and good for the bowels, when eaten with cinna¬ mon and pepper.” Archippus also makes mention of them in his Fishes— With limpets and with sea-urchins, and escharas, With needle-fishes, and with periwinkles. But the fish called balani, or acorns, because of their resem¬ blance to the acorn of an oak, differ according to the places where they are found. For the Egyptian balani are sweet, tender, delicious to the taste, nutritious, very juicy indeed, diuretic, and good for the bowels; but other kinds have a salter taste. The fish called dirt a, or ears, are most nutritious when fried; but the pholades are exceedingly pleasant to the taste, but have a bad smell, and an injurious juice. 41. “ Sea-urchins are tender, full of pleasant juice, with a strong smell, filling, and apt to turn on the stomach; but if eaten with sharp mead, and parsley, and mint, they are good for the stomach, and sweet, and full of pleasant juice. But the sweet-tasted are the red ones, and the apple-coloured, and the thickest, and those which if you scrape their flesh emit a milky liquid. But those which are found near Cephalenia and around Icaria, and in the Adriatic are—at least many of them are—rather bitter; but those which are taken on the rock of Sicily are very aperient to the bowels.” But Aris¬ totle says that there are many kinds of sea-urchins : one of which is eaten, that, namely, in which is found what are called eggs. But the other two kinds are those which are called Spatangi, and those which are called Brysse: and Sophron men¬ tions the spatangi, and so does Aristophanes in his Olcades, using the following language :— Tearing up, and separating, and licking My spatange from the bottom. And Epicharmus, in his Marriage of Hebe, speaks of the sea- urchins, and says— 1-52 THE DEIPNOSOPHISTS. [b. in. Then came the crabs, sea-urchins, and all fish Which know not how to swim in the briny sea, But only walk on foot along the bottom. And Demetrius tlie Scepsian, in the twenty-sixth book of his Trojan Preparation, says that a Lacedaemonian once being- invited to a banquet, when some sea-urchins were put before him on the table, took one, not knowing the proper manner in which it should be eaten, and not attending to those who were in the company to see how they ate it. And so he put it in his mouth with the skin or shell and all, and began to crush the sea-urchin with his teeth; and being exceedingly disgusted with what he was eating, and not perceiving how to get rid of the roughness of the taste, he said, 11 0 what nasty food! I will not now be so effeminate as to eject it, but I will never take you again.” But the sea-urchins, and indeed the whole echinus tribe, whether living on land or sea, can take care of and protect themselves against those who try to catch them, putting out their thorns, like a sort of palisade. And to this Ion the Chian bears testimony in his Phoenix or in his Caoneus, saying— But while on land I more approve the conduct Of the great lion, than the dirty tricks Of the sea-urchin ; he, when he perceives The impending onset of superior foes, Bolls himself up, wrapp’d in his cloak of thorns, Impregnable in bristly panoply. 42. “Of'limpets,” says Diphilus, “some are very small, and some are like oysters. But they are hard, and give but little juice, and are not very sharp in taste. But they have a pleasant flavour, and are easily digested; and when boiled they are particularly nice. But the pinnae are diuretic, nutritious, not very digestible, or manageable. And the ceryces are like them; the necks of which fish are good for the stomach, but not very digestible; on which account they are good for people with weak stomachs, as being strengthen¬ ing ; but they are difficult to be secreted, and they are mode¬ rately nutritious. Now the parts of them which are called the mecon, which are in the lower part of their bellies, are tender and easily digested; on which account they also are good for people who are weak in the stomach. But the purple-fish are something between the pinna and the ceryx; SHELL-FISH. 153 e. 44.] the necks of which are very juicy, and very pleasant to the palate; hut the other parts of them are briny, and yet sweet, and easily digestible, and mix very well with other food. But oysters are generated in rivers, and in lakes, and in the sea. But the best are those which belong to the sea, when there is a lake or a river close at hand: for they are full of pleasant juice, and are larger and sweeter than others: but those which are near the shore, or near rocks, without any mixture of mud or water, are small, harsh, and of pungent taste. But the oysters which are taken in the spring, and those which are taken about the beginning of the summer, are better, and full, and have a sort of sea taste, not unmixed with sweetness, and are good for the stomach and easily secreted; and when boiled up with mallow, or sorrel, or with fish, or by them¬ selves, they are nutritious, and good for the bowels. 43. But Mnesitheus the Athenian, in his treatise on Comes¬ tibles, says —“ Oysters, and cockles, and mussels, and similar things, are not very digestible in their meat, because of a sort of saline moisture which there is in them, on which account, when eaten raw, they produce an effect on the bowels by reason of their saltness. But when boiled they get rid of all, or at all events of most, of their saltness, which they infuse into the water which boils them. On which account, the water in which any of the oyster tribe are boiled is very apt to have a strong effect in disordering the bowels. But the meat of the oysters when boiled, makes a great noise when it has been deprived of its moisture. But roasted oysters, when any one roasts them cleverly, are very free from any sort of inconvenience; for all the evil properties are removed by fire; on which account they are not as in¬ digestible as raw ones, and they have all the moisture which is originally contained in them dried up; and it is the moisture which has too great an effect in relaxing the bowels. But every oyster supplies a moist and somewhat indigestible kind of nourishment, and they are not at all good as diuretics. But the sea-nettle, and the eggs of sea-urchins, and such things as that, give a moist nourishment, though not in any great quantity; but they have a tendency to relax the bowels, and they are diuretic. 44. Nicander the Colophonian, in his book on the Farm, enumerates all the following kinds of oysters— \ 154 THE DEIPNOSOPHISTS. [b. IIL And all the oysters which the foaming brine Beneath its vasty bosom cherishes, The periwinkle, whilk, pelorias, The mussel, and the slimy tellina, And the deep shell which makes the pinna’s hole. And Archestratus says, in his Gastronomy— iEnus has mussels tine, Abydus too .-Is famous for its oysters; Parium produces Crabs, the bears of the sea, and Mitylene periwinkles; Ambracia in all kinds of fish abounds, And the boar-fish sends forth: and in its narrow strait Messene cherishes the largest cockles. In Ephesus you shall catch chemac, which are not bad, And Chalcedon will give you oysters. But may Jupiter 1 Destroy the race of criers, both the fish born in the sea, And those wretches which infest the city forum; All except one man, for he is a friend of mine, Dwelling in Lesbos,abounding in grapes; and his name is Agatho. And Philyllius, or whoever is the author of the book called The Cities, says, “Chemse, limpets, solens, mussels, pinnas and periwinkles from Methymna but oarpeiov was the only form of the name for all these fish among the ancients. Cratinus says in his Archilochi— Like the pinna or the oyster {ocrrpeiov). And Epicharmus says, in his Marriage of Hebe— Oysters which have grown together. Where he uses the same form oarpetov. But afterwards the form oarpeov like opveov began to be used. Plato, in his Phsedrus, says, “ bound together like oysters” (oarpeov). And in the tenth book of his Politia, he says, “oysters (oarpea) stuck together;” “oysters (oarpea) and seaweed.” But the peloris, or giant mussel, were so named from the word rreXupios, vast. For it is much larger than the cheme, and very different from it. But Aristotle says that they are generated in the sand. And Ion the Chian mentions the chema, in his Epidemic, and perhaps the shell-fish got the name of XWV ^apa to Keyrfvevai, from opening their mouths.” 45. But concerning the oysters which are grown in the Indian Ocean; (for it is not unreasonable to speak of them, on account of the use of pearls ;) Theophrastus speaks in his treatise on Precious Stones, and says, “ But among the stones which are much admired is that which is called the pearl, being transparent in its character; and they make very 155 C. 46.] • OYSTERS, PEARLS. expensive necklaces of them. They are found in an oyster which is something like the pinna, only less. And in size the pearl resembles a large fish’s eye.” Androsthenes, too, in his Voyage along the Coast of India, writes in these terms— “ But of strombi, and chserini, and other shell-fish, there are many different varieties, and they are very different from the shell-fish which we have. And they have the purple-fish, and a great multitude of other kinds of oysters. There is also one kind which is peculiar to those seas, which the natives call the berberi, from which the precious stone called the pearl comes. And this pearl is very expensive in Asia, being sold in Persia and the inland countries for its weight in gold. And the appearance of the oyster which contains it is much the same as that of the cteis oyster, only its shell is not indented, but smooth and shaggy. And it has not two ears as the cteis oyster has, but only one. The stone is engendered in the flesh of the oyster, just as the measles are in pork. And it is of a very golden colour, so as not easily to be distinguished from gold when it is put by the side of it; but some pearls are of a silvery appearance, and some are completely white like the eyes of fish. But Chares of Mitylene, in the seventh book of his Histories of Alexander, says—“There is caught in the Indian sea, and also off the coast of Armenia, and Persia, and Susiana, and Babylonia, a fish very like an oyster; and it is large and oblong, containing within the shell flesh which is plentiful and white, and very fragrant, from which the men pick out white bones which they call the pearl. And they make of them necklaces and chains for the hands and feet, of which the Persians are very fond, as are the Medes and all Asiatics, esteeming them as much more valuable than golden ornaments.” 46. But Isidorus the Characene, in his Description of Parthia, says, that “ in the Persian sea there is an island wdiere a great number of pearls are found; on which account there are quantities of boats made of rushes all about the island, from which men leap into the sea, and dive down twenty fathoms, and bring up two shells. And they say that when there is a long continuance of thunder-storms, and heavy falls of rain, then the pinna produces most young, and then, too, the greatest quantity of pearls is engendered, and those, too, of the finest size and quality. In the winter 156 THE DEIPNOSOPHISTS. [b. III. the pinna is accustomed to descend into chambers at the very bottom of the sea; but in summer they swim about all night with their shells open, which they close in the day-time : and as many as stick to the crags, or rocks, throw out roots, and remaining fixed there, they generate pearls. But they are supported and nourished by something which adheres to their flesh : and this also sticks to the mouth of the cockle, having talons and bringing it food : and it is something like a little crab, and is called the guardian of the pinna. And its flesh penetrates through the centre of the cockle¬ shell, like a root: and the pearl being generated close to it, grows through the solid portion of the shell, and keeps growing as long as it continues to adhere to the shell. But when the flesh gets under the excrescence, and cutting its way onwards, gently separates the pearl from the shell, then when the pearl is surrounded by flesh, it is no longer nourished so far as to grow at all; but the flesh makes it smoother, and more transparent, and more pure. And so, too, the pinna, which lives at the bottom, engenders the most transparent sort of pearl; and it produces them also very pure and of large size. But that which keeps near the sur¬ face, and is constantly rising, is of a smaller size and a worse colour, because it is affected by the rays of the sun. But those who hunt for pearls are in danger when they hastily put their hand into the opening of the shell, for immediately the fish closes its shell, and verv often their fingers are sawn off; and sometimes they die immediately. But all those who put in their hand sideways easily draw off the shells from the rock. And Menander makes mention of Emeralds also, in his Little Boy— There must be an emerald and a sardonyx. And the word for emerald is more correctly written /xdpaySos, without a cr. For it is derived from the verb yap/xatpco, to glisten, because it is a transparent stone. 47. After this conversation some dishes w r ere set on the table, full of many kinds of boiled meat: feet, and head, and ears, and loins; and also entrails, and intestines, and tongues; as is the custom at the places which are called boiled meat shops at Alexandria. For, 0 Ulpian, the word kcfiOoirdAiov, a boiled meat shop, is used by Posidippus, in his Little Boy. And again, while they were inquiring who had ever TRITE. 157 c. 47.] named any of these dishes, one of the party said, Aristo¬ phanes mentions entrails as things which are eatable, in his Knights— I say that you arc selling tripe and paunches Which to the revenue no tithe have paid. And presently after he adds— Why, my friend, hinder me from washing my paunches, And from selling my sausages? Why do you laugh at me? And again he says— But I, as soon as I have swallow’d down A bullock’s paunch, and a dish of pig’s tripe, And drunk some broth, won’t stay to wash my hands, But will cut the throats of the orators, and will confuse Xicias. And again he says— But the Virgin Goddess born of the mighty Father Gives you some boiled meat, extracted from the broth, And a slice of paunch, and tripe, and entrails. And Cratinus, in his Pluti, mentions jawbones of meat— Fighting for a noble jawbone of beef. And Sophocles, in the Amycus, says— And he places on the table tender jawbones. And Plato, in his Timteus, writes, “ And he bound up some jawbones for them, so as to give the appearance of a whole face.” And Xenophon says, in his book on Horsemanship, “A small jawbone closely pressed.” But some call it, not on aytor, but iuywy, spelling the word with a v, saying that it is derived from the word vs. Epicharmus also speaks of tripe, yopSat as we call it, but he calls it opv at, having given one of his plays the title of Orya. And Aristophanes, in his Clouds, writes— Let them prepare a dish of tripe, for me To set before these wise philosophers. And Cratinus, in his Pytina, says— How fine, says he, is now this slice of tripe. And Eupolis speaks of it also, in his Goats. But Alexis, either in his Leucadia or in his Runaways, says— Then came a slice and good large help of tripe. And Antiphanes, in his Marriage, says—■ Having cut out a piece of the middle of the tripe. 158 THE DEIPHOSOPHISTS. [B. III. 48. And as for feet, and ears, and even noses of beasts, they are all mentioned by Alexis, in his Crateua or the Physic-seller. And I. will adduce a slight proof of that presently, which contains a good many of the names about which we are inquiring. Theophilus says, in his Pancratiast— A. There are here near three tninas’ weight of meat Well boiled. B. What next ? A. There is a calf’s nose, and A heel of bacon, and four large pig’s-feet. B. A noble dish, by Hercules ! A. And three calves-feet. And Anaxilas says, in his Cooks— A . I would much rather roast a little fish. Than here repeat whole plays of zEschylus. B. What do you mean by little fish"? Do you intend To treat your friends as invalids'? ’Tvvere better To boil the extremities of eatable animals, Their feet and noses. And Anaxilas says, in the Circe— For having an unseemly snout of pig, My dear Cinesias. And in the Calypso— Then I perceived I bore a swine’s snout. Anaxandrides has mentioned also ears in the Satvrus. And «/ Axionicus says, in his Chalcis— I am making soup, Putting in well-warm’d fish, and adding to them Some scarce half-eaten fragments; and the pettitoes Of a young porker, and his ears ; the which I sprinkle With savoury assafoetida; and then I make the whole into a well-flavour’d sausage, A meat most saleable. Then do I add a slice Of tender tripe; and a snout soak’d in vinegar. So that the guests do all confess, the second day Has beaten e’en the wedding-day itself. And Aristophanes say^s, in his Proagon— Wretch that I am, I’ve eaten tripe, my son: How can I bear to see a roasted snout ? And Pherecrates says, in his Trifles— Is not this plainly now a porker’s snout? And there is a place which is called 'Puyyos, or Snout, near Stratos, in AEtolia, as Polybius testifies, in the sixth book of his Histories. And Stesichorus says, in his Boar Hunting— To hide the sharpen’d snout beneath the earth. PIGS feet. 159 o. 49.] And we have already said that the word pvyx°s properly applies only to the snout of a swine; but that it is sometimes used for the nose of other animals, Archipphus has proved, saying in jest, in his Second Amphitryon, of the human face— And this, too, though you have so long a nose (pu 7 xos). And Araros says, in his Adonis— For the god turns liis nose towards us. 49. And Aristophanes makes mention of the extremities of animals as forming a common dish, in his iEolosicon— And of a truth, plague take it, I have boil’d Four tender pettitoes for you for dinner. And in his Gerytades he says— Pig’s pettitoes, and bread, and crabs. And Antiphanes says, in his Corinthia— A. And then you sacrifice a pig’s extremities To Yenus,—what a joke ! B. That is your ignorance; For she in Cyprus is so fond of pigs, O master, that she drove away the herd Of swine from off the dunghill where they fed, And made the cows eat dirt instead of them. But Callimachus testifies that, in reality, a pig is sacrificed to Yenus; or perhaps it is Zenodotus who says so in his Historic Records, writing thus, “ The Argives sacrifice a pig to Yenus, and the festival at which this takes place is called Hysteria.” And Pherecrates says, in his Miners— But whole pig's feet of the most tender flavour Were placed at hand in dishes gaily adorned, And boil’d ears, and other extremities. And Alexis says, in his Dice Players— But when w6 had nearly come to an end of breakfast. And eaten all the ears and pettitoes. And he says again, in his Pannuchis or in his Wool-weavers— This meat is but half roasted, and the fragments Are wholly wasted ; see this conger eel, How badly boiled ; and as for the pettitoes, They now are Avholly spoilt. And Pherecrates also speaks of boiled feet, in his Slave-master— A. Tell us, I pray you now then, how the supper Will b? prepared. B. Undoubtedly I will. 160 TIIE DEIPNOSOPHISTS. [B. III. In the first place, a dish of well-minced eel ; Then cuttle-fish, and lamb, a slice of rich Well-made black pudding ; then some pig’s feet boil’d ; Some liver, and a loin of mutton, And a mighty number of small birds; and cheese In honey steep’d, and many a slice of meat. And Antiphanes says, in his Parasite— A. The well-warm’d legs of pigs.” B. A noble dish, I swear by Yesta. A. Then some boiled cheese Bubbled upon the board. And Ecphantides says, in his Satyrs— It is no great hardship, if it must be so. To buy and eat the boil’d feet of a pig. And Aristophanes speaks of tongue as a dish, in his Trycrs, in the following words— I’ve had anchovies quite enough; for I Am stretch’d almost to bursting while I eat Such rich and luscious food. But bring me something Which shall take off the taste of all these dainties. Bring me some liver, or a good large slice Of a young goat. And if you can’t get that. Let me at least have a rib or a tongue, Or else the spleen, or entrails, or the tripe Of a young porker in last autumn born ; And with it some hot rolls. 50. Now when all this conversation had taken place on these subjects, the physicians who were present would not depart without taking their share in it. For Dionysiocles said, Mnesitlieus the Athenian, in his book about Comes¬ tibles, has said, “ The head and feet of a pig have not a great deal in them which is rich and nutritious.” And Leonidas writes, “ Demon, in the fourth book of his Attica, says that Thymoetes, his younger brother, slew Apheidas, who was king of Athens, he himself being a bastard, and usurped the kingdom. And in his time, Melanthus the Messenian was banished from his country, and consulted the Pythia as to where he should dwell: and she said wherever he was first honoured by gifts of hospitality, when men set before him feet and a head for supper. And this happened to him at Eleusis; for as the priestesses happened at the time to be solemnizing one of their national festivals, and to have con- MUSIC AT BANQUETS. C. 51.] 161 sumed all the meat, and as nothing but the head and feet of the victim were left, they sent them to Melanthius. 51. Then a paunch 1 was brought in, which may be looked upon as a sort of metropolis, and the mother of the sons of Hippocrates, whom I know to have been turned into ridicule by the comic poets on account of their swinish disposition. And Ulpian, looking upon it, said,—Come now, my friends, whom does the paunch lie with 1 ? For we have now been minding the belly long enough, and it is time for us now to have some real conversation. And as for these cynics, I bid them be silent, now that they have eaten abundantly, unless they like to gnaw some of the cheeks, and heads, and bones, which no one will grudge their enjoying like dogs, as they are; for that is what they are, and what they are proud of being called. The remnants to the dogs they ’re wont to throw, Euripides sa}?s, in his Cretan Women. For they wish to eat and drink everything, never considering what the divine Plato says in his Protagoras, “That disputing about poetry, is like banquets of low and insignificant persons. For they, because they are unable in their drinking parties to amuse one another by their own talents, and by their own voices and conversation, by reason of their ignorance and stupidity, make female flute-players of great consequence, hiring at a high price sounds which they cannot utter themselves, I mean the music of flutes, and by means of this music they are able to-- ; get on with one another. But where the guests are gentlemanly, and accomplished, and well educated, you will not see any flute¬ playing women, or dancing women, or female harpers, but they are able themselves to pass the time with one another agreeably, without all this nonsense and trifling, by means of their own voices, speaking and hearing one another in turn with all decency, even if they drink a great deal of wine.” And this is what all you Cynics do, 0 Cynulcus; you drink, or rather you get drunk, and then, like flute-players and dancing-women, you prevent all the pleasure of conversa¬ tion: “living,” to use the words of the same Plato, which he utters in his Philebus, “ not the life of a man, but of some mollusk, or of some other marine animal which has life in a shell-encased bodv.” i/ 1 The pun in the original cannot be preserved in a translation. The Greek word for paunch is y.r,rpa. VOL. I.—ATH. M 162 THE DEIPNOSOPniSTS. [B. III. 52. And Cynulcus, being very angry, said,—You glutton of a man, whose god is your belly, you know nothing else yourself, nor are you able to keep up an uninterrupted con¬ versation, nor to recollect any history, nor to begin anything which may tend to throw a charm on any discussion. But you have been wasting all the time with questions of this sort, “ Is there such and such a statement ? Is there not ? Has such and such a thing been said? Has it not been said?” And you attack and examine closely everything which occurs in anything which is said, collecting all your thorns—living continually As if among thistles, or plants of rough borage— never collecting any sweet flowers. Are you not the person who call that which is called by the Homans strena, being so named in accordance with some national tradition, and which is accustomed to be given to friends, epinomis ? And if you do this in imitation of Plato, we should be glad to learn it; but if you find that any one of the ancients has ever spoken in such a manner, tell us who it is who has. For I know that there is some part of a trireme which is called epinomis, as Apollonius states in his treatise on what relates to Triremes. Are not you the man who called your new stout cloak, which had never yet been used by you, (for the proper name of it, my friend, is really ^atvoA.-^?,) useless? saying—“ My slave Leucus, give me that useless cloak.” And once going to the bath, did not you say to a man who asked you, Whither now? I am going, said you, d 7 roA.ouju. 6 i/os (pronouncing the word as if it meant to kill yourself rather than to bathe). And that very day your beautiful garment was purloined from you by some bath robbers; so that there was great laughter in the bath, at this useless cloak being hunted for. At another time too, 0 my dear friends, (for the plain truth shall be told you,) he tripped against a stone and dislocated his knees. And when he was cured he again came into public: and when men asked him, What is the matter, 0 Ulpian ? he said it was a black eye. And I (for I was with him at the time) being then unable to restrain my laughter, got anointed under the eyes with some thick ointment by a physician who was a friend of mine, and then said to those w T ho asked me, What is the matter with you, that I had hurt my leg. 53. There is also another imitator of the same wisdom, PUNS ON WORDS. 163 c. 53.] Pompeianus the Philadelphian; a man not destitute of shrewdness, but still a terrible wordcatcher : and he, con¬ versing with his servant, calling him by name with a loud voice, said—“ Strombichides, bring me to the gymnasium those intolerable slippers (he used the word d(f>op^Tov<;, in¬ tending it to mean what he had never worn) and my useless (he used the word a^p^o-ros, by which he meant which he had never used) cloak. For I, as soon as I have bound up my beard, shall address my friends. For I have got some roast fish. And bring me a cruet of oil. For first of all we will be crushed (he used the word crvvTpi(3r)(j6pLe6ov, meaning to say we will rub ourselves well), and then we will be utterly destroyed (his word was a? -oXov/xedov, and he meant to say we will have a bath ).” And this same sophist, in the month of February, as the Romans call it, (and Juba the Mauritanian says that this month has its name 1 from the terrors caused by the spirits under the earth, and from the means used to get rid of those fears, at which season the greatest severity of winter occurs, and it is the custom of them to offer libations for many days to those who are dead :) in the month of February, I say, he said to one of his friends — u It is a long time since you have seen me, because of the heat.” And when the festival of the Panathensea was being celebrated, during which the courts of justice do not assemble, he said— “ This is the birthday of the virgin goddess Minerva,” (but he pronounced the word aXeKropos, as if he had meant of the cock of Minerva,) and this day is unjust,” (for he 1 Ovid gives the following derivation of the name February: Februa Romani dixere piamina patres, .Nunc quoque dant verbo plurima signa fidem Pontifices ab rege petunt et Flamine lanas, Queis veteri lingua Februa nomen erat. Quaeque capit lictor domibus purgamina certis Torrida cum mic& farra vocantur idem. Nomen idem ramo qui caesus ab arbore pura Casta sacerdotum teuipora fronde tegit. Ipse ego Flaminicam poscentem Februa vidi; Februa poscenti pinea virga data est. Denique quodcunque est quo pectora nostra piamur Hoc apud intonsos nomen habebat avos. Mensis ab his dictus, secta quia pelle Luperci Omne solum lustrant, idque piamen habent. Aut quia placatis sunt tempora pura sepulchris. Tunc cum ferales prasteriere dies.— Ov. Fasti, ii. 19. (See Ovid, vol. i. p. 46, Bohn’s Classical Library.) M 2 164 THE DEIPNOSOPHISTS. [b. III. called it olSckos, though he meant the word to have the sense of being a holiday for the courts of law). And once he called a companion of ours who came back from Delphi without having received an answer from the god, ayp^o-rov, (which never means anything but useless, but he used the word for unanswered). And once when he was making a public dis¬ play of his eloquence, and going through a long panegyric on the Queen of cities, he said, Most admirable is the Roman dominion, and dwTroa-Taros (he meant irresistible)} 54. Such now, my friends, are Ulpian’s companions, the sophists ; men who call even the thing which the Romans call miliarium, that is to say, a vessel designed to prepare boiling water in, iirvo\£ftr)s, an oven-kettle; being manufac¬ turers of many names, and far outrunning by many para- sangs the Sicilian Dionysius : who called a virgin yevavSpos (from fxivco and avrjp), because she is waiting for a husband ; and a pillar yeveKpdrrjq (from ylv a> and k par os), because it re¬ mains and is strong. And a javelin he called fiaXkdvnov, because ( dvriov /^dAAerai) it is thrown against something ; and mouse-holes he called yvcrTrjpia, mysteries, (from rrjpdiv rovs yvs) because they keep the mice. And Athanis, in the first book of his History of the Affairs of Sicily, says that the same Dionysius gave an ox the name of yaporas; and a pig he called iclkxos. And Alexarchus was a man of the same sort, the brother of Cassander, who was king of Macedonia, who built the city called Uranopolis. And Heraclides Lembus speaks concerning him in the seventh book of his Histories, and says, “ Alexarchus, who founded the city Uranopolis, imported many peculiar words and forms of speaking into the language: calling a cock SpOpofioas, or he that crows in the morn; and a barber /3poTOKeprrjs, or one who cuts men; and a drachm he called dpyvpls, a piece of silver ; and a choenix he called ppxpoTpofhs, what feeds a man for a day; and a herald he called dirv-rps, a bawler. And once he wrote a letter to the magistrates of the Cassandrians in this form: 2 — AXetap^os 6 yapywv irpoyois 1 It is not quite clear what the blunder was, for awiricrraTos means irresistible. Aretaeus uses the word for “ unsubstantial,” which is perhaps what Athenacus means to say Pompeianus called Koine. 2 I have followed Casaubon’s advice in not attempting to translate this letter, who “ marvels that interpreters have endeavoured to translate it, for what can wasting time he, if this is not]” And Schweighaeuser says that he will not attempt to explain it further, lest he should seem to be endeavouring to appear wiser than Apollo. PUNS ON WORDS. 165 c. 55.] yaOeiv. tovp.evas Geou 7rdyous yurA-OJcrai/res avrovs, kg.1 cf)v\aKapuKa to the different kinds of animals, according as they live on the land, or in the water, or in the air—adds, by way of exhortation to those manufac¬ turers of names to guard against novelty, the following sen¬ tence, word for word:—“ And if you take care not to appear too anxious in making new names you will continue to old 166 THE DEIPNOSOPHISTS. [B. III. age with a greater reputation for prudence.” But I know that Herodes Atticus, a rhetorician, named the piece of wood which was put through his wheels when he was going in his chariot down Steep places, rpoxoTriSrjs, (as a fetter to the wheels.) Although Simaristus, in his Synonymes, had already given this piece of wood the name of oroyAeus, or the drag. And Sophocles the poet, in some one of his works, called a guar¬ dian a bolt, saying— Be of good cheer, I am a mighty holt To keep this fear away from you. And, in another place, he has given an anchor the name of terras or the holder, because it Kareyei, holds the ship— And the sailors let out the holder of the ship. And Demades the orator said that JEgina was the “ eyesore of the Peirsous,” and that Samos was “ a fragment broken off from the city.” And he called the young men “ the spring of the people and the wall he called “ the garment of the city;’’and a trumpeter he entitled “the common cock of the Athenians.” But this word-hunting sophist used all sorts of' far more far-fetched expressions. And whence, 0 Ulpian, did it occur to you to use the word Kc^opracr/xeVos for satiated, when i, speaking as follows— There are astaci and colybdamas, both equipp’d With little feet and long hands, both coming under The name of Kapafios. 65. But the carabi, and astaci, and also carides or squills, are each a distinct genus. But the Athenians spell the name doraKos with an o, oa-raxo?, just as they also write dcrra^tSas. But Epicharmus in his Earth and Sea says— KacrTaKol 'yap.tywi'vxoi. And Speusippus, in the second book of his Similarities, says that of soft-shelled animals the following are nearly like one another. The coracus, the astacus, the nymphe, the arctus, the carcinus, and the pagurus. And Diodes the Carystian says, “ Carides, carcini, carabi, and astaci, are pleasant to the taste and diuretic.” And Epicharmus has also mentioned the colybdaena in the lines I have quoted above ; which Nicander calls the beauty of the sea; but Heraclides in his Cookery Book gives that name to the caris. But Aristotle, in the fifth book of his Parts of Animals, says, “ Of soft-shelled animals the carabi, the astaci, the carides, and others of the same sort, are propagated like quadrupeds ; and they breed at the beginning of spring; as indeed is no secret to anybody ; but at times they breed when the fig begins to ripen. Now carabi are found in rough and rocky places; but astaci in smooth ground; neither kind in muddy places : on which account there are astaci produced in the Hellespont and about Thasos; and carabi off Cape Sigeum and Mount Athos. But the whole race of crabs is long-lived. But Theophrastus, in his book on Animals who dive in Holes, c. C>6.] SHELL-FISH. ‘ 175 says that the astaci and carabi and carides all cast off their old age. 66. But concerning carides, Ephorus mentions in his first book that there is a city called Carides near the island of Chios; and he says that it was founded by Macar and those of his companions who were saved out of the deluge which happened in the time of Deucalion; and that to this very day the place is called Carides. But Archestratus, the inventor of made dishes, gives these recommendations— But if you ever come to Iasus, A city of the Carians, you shall have A caris of huge size, but rare to buy. Many there are where Macedon is wash’d By the deep sea, and in Ambracia’s gulf. But Araros in his Campylion has used the word Kaptoa with the penultima circumflexed and long— The strangely bent carides did leap forth Like dolphins into the rope-woven vessel. And Eubulus says in his Ortliane— I’put a carid (Kapida) down and took it up again. Anaxandrides says in his Lycurgus— And he plays with little carids ( KapiZapiov ), And little partridges, and little lettuces ; And little sparrows, and with little cups. And little scindaries, and little gudgeons. And the same poet says in his Pandarus— If you don’t stoop, my friend, you’ll upright be. But she is like a carid (Kapldoca) in her person ; Bent out, and like an anchor standing firm. And in his Cerkios he says— I’ll make them redder than a roasted carid (xapiSos). And Eubulus says in his Grandmothers— And carids (nappes) of the humpback’d sort. And Ophelion says in his Callseschrus—• There lay the crooked carids (KapISes) on dry ground. And in his Ialemus we find—- And then they danced as crooked limbed carides (/cap?5es) Dance on the glowing embers. But Eupolis, in his Goats, uses the word with the penul¬ tima short, (/capt6es), thus — Once in Pheeacia I ate carides (napldas). 176 THE DEIPNOSOPHISTS. [b. IIT. And again in bis People he says— Having the face of a tough thick-skinn’d carid {Kupldos). 67. Now the carides were so called from the word Kapa, head. For the head takes up the greater part of them. But the Attic writers also use the word short in the same manner, in analogy with the quantity of Kapa, it being, as I said, called caris because of the size of its head; and so, as ypacfAs is derived from ypa^rj, and ftoXU from fioXr], in like manner is Kapls from Kapa. But when the penultima is made long the last syllable also is made long, and then the word is like and Kpypri?, and revets. But concerning these shell-fish, Dipliilus the Siphnian writes, “ Of all sliell-fish the caris, and astacus, and carabus, and carcinus, and lion, being all of the same genus, are dis¬ tinguished by some differences. And the lion is larger than the astacus; and the carabi are called also grapssei; but they are more fleshy than the carcini; but the carcinus is heavy and indigestible.” But Mnesitheus the Athenian, in his treatise on Comestibles, says, “ Carabi and carcini and carides, and such like; these are all indigestible, but still not nearly so much so as other fish : and they are better and more wholesome roast than boiled.” But Sophron in his Gynsecea calls carides courides, saying— Behold the dainty courides, my friend. And see these lobsters; see how red they are. How smooth and glossy is their hair and coats. And Epicharmus in his Land and Sea says— And red-slcinned courides. And in his Logos and Logina he spells the word Kwpi'Ses with an w— Oily anchovies, crooked corides. And Simonides says— Beet-root with thunnies, and with gudgeons coride3. 68. After this conversation there were brought in some dishes of fried liver; wrapped up in what is called the caul, or IttlitXoov, which Philetserus in his Tereus calls emvXoLov. And Cynulcus looking on said,—Tell us, 0 wise Ulpian, whether there is such an expression anywhere as “ liver rolled up.” And he replied,—I will tell you if you will first show me FISH. 177 c. 69.] in whose works the word €ttl7tXov* ^7r« TI (w& your liver). There is also a fish which is called rjiraros, which Eubulus himself mentions in his Lacedaemonians or Leda, and says that it has no gall in it— You thought that I’d no gall; hut spoke to me As if I’d been a tJtt aros: but I Am rather one of the melampyx class. But Hegesander, in his Memorials, says, that the hepatos has in its head two stones, like pearls in brilliancy and colour, and in shape something like a turbot. 71. But Alexis speaks of fried fish in his Demetrius, as he does also in the before-mentioned play. And Eubulus says, in his Orthane— How each fair woman walks about the streets, Fond of fried fish and stout Triballian youths. Then there is beet-root and canary-grass Mix’d up in forcemeat with the paunch of lamb, Which leaps within one’s stomach like a colt Scarce broken to the yoke. Meanwhile the bellows c. 73.] CUTTLE-FISH. 179 Waken the watchful hounds of Vulcan’s pack, And stir the frying-pan with vapours warm. The fragrant steam straight rises to the nose. And fills the sense with odours. Then comes the daughter of the bounteous Cei’es, Fair wheaten flour, duly mash’d, and press’d Within the hollow of the gaping jaws, Which like the trireme’s hasty shock comes on, The fair forerunner of a sumptuous feast. I have also eaten cuttle-fish fried. But Nicostratus or Phile- ttorus says, in the Antyllus—I never again will venture to eat cuttle-fish which has been dressed in a frying-pan. But Hegemon, in his Philinna, introduces men eating the roe fried, saying— Go quickly, buy of them that polypus, And fry the roe, and give it us to eat. 72. Ulpian was not pleased at this; and being much vexed, he looked at ns, and repeating these iambics from the Orthanus of Eubulus, said— How well has Myrtilus, cursed by the gods, Come now to shipwreck on this frying-pan. Bor certainly I well know that he never ate any of these things at his own expense; and I heard as much from one of his own servants, who once quoted me these iambics from the Pornoboscus of Eubulus— My master comes from Thessaly; a man Of temper stern; wealthy, but covetous ; A wicked man; a glutton; fond of dainties, Yet sparing to bestow a farthing on them. But as the young man was well educated, and that not by Myrtilus, but by some one else, when I asked him how he fell in with the young Myrtilus, he repeated to me these lines from the Neottis of Antiphanes— While still a boy, bearing my sister company, I came to Athens, by some merchant brought; For Syria was my birthplace. There that merchant Saw us when we were both put up for sale, And bought us, driving a most stingy bargain. Ho man could e’er in wickedness surpass him ; So miserly, that nothing except thyme Was ever bought by him for food, not e’en So much as might have fed Pythagoras. 73. While Ulpian went on jesting in this manner, Cynulcus cried out—I want some bread; and w T hen I say bread (apros) n 2 180 THE DEIPNOSOPHISTS. [B. III. I do not mean Artus king of the Messapians, the Messapians, I mean, in Iapygia, concerning whom there is a treatise among Polemo’s works. And Thucydides also mentions him, in his seventh book, and Demetrius the comic writer speaks of him in the drama entitled Sicily, using the following language— j From thence, borne on by the south wind, we came Across the sea to the Italian shore, Where the Messapians dwelt; and Artus there, The monarch of the land, received us kindl} r , A great and noble host for foreigners. But this is not the time for speaking of that Artus, but of the other, w r hich w r as discovered by Ceres, surnamed Sito (food), and Simalis. For those are the names under which the Goddess is worshipped by the Syracusans, as Polemo him¬ self reports in his book about Morychus. But in the first book of his treatise addressed to Timteus, he says, that in Scolus, a city of Boeotia, statues are erected to Megalartus (the God or Goddess of great bread), and to Megalomazus (the God or Goddess of abundant corn). So when the loaves were brought, and 'on them a great quantity of all kinds of food, looking at them, he said— What numerous nets and snares are set by men To catch the helpless loaves ; as Alexis says in his play, The Girl sent to the Well. And so now let us say something about bread. 74. But Pontianus anticipating him, said; Tryphon of Alexandria, in the book entitled the Treatise on Plants, men¬ tions several kinds of loaves; if I can remember them accu¬ rately, the leavened loaf, the unleavened loaf, the loaf made of the best wheaten flour, the loaf made of groats, the loaf made of remnants (and this he says is more digestible than that which is made only of the best flour), the loaf made of rye, the loaf made of acorns, the loaf made of millet. The loaf made of groats, said he, is made of oaten groats, for groats are not made of barley. And from a peculiar way of baking or roasting it, there is a loaf called ipnites (or the oven loaf) which Timocles mentions in his Sham Bobbers, where he says— And seeing there a tray before me full Of smoking oven-loaves, I took and ate them. C. 74.] BREAD. 18$ There is another kind called escliarites (or the liearth-loaf), and this is mentioned by Antidotus in the Protochorus— I took the hot hearth-loaves, how could I help it? And dipp’d them in sweet sauce, and then I ate them. And Crobylus says, in his Strangled Man— I took a platter of hot clean hearth-loaves. And Lynceus the Samian, in his letter to Diagoras, com¬ paring the eatables in vogue at Athens with those which were used at Rhodes, says—“ And moreover, while they talk a great deal about their bread which is to be got in the market, the Rhodians at the beginning and middle of dinner put loaves on the table which are not at all inferior to them; but when they have given over eating and are satisfied, then they introduce a most agreeable dish, which is called the hearth-loaf, the best of all loaves; which is made of sweet things, and compounded so as to be very soft, and it is made up with such an admirable harmony of all the ingredients as to have a most excellent effect; so that often a man who is drunk becomes sober again, and in the same way a man who has just eaten to satiety is made hungry again by eating of it.” There is another kind of loaf called tabyrites, of which Sopater, in his Cnidia, says—The tabyrites loaf was one which fills the cheeks. There was also a loaf called the achaeinas. And this loaf is mentioned by Semus, in the eighth book of his Delias; and he says that is made by the women who celebrate the Thesmophoria. They are loaves of a large size. And the festival is called Megalartia, which is a name given to it by those who carry these loaves, who cry—“Eat a large achaeinas, full of fat.” There is another loaf called cribanites, or the pan-loaf. This is mentioned by Aristophanes, in his Old Age. And he introduces a woman selling bread, complaining that her loaves have been taken from her by those who have got rid of the effects of their old age— A. What was the matter? B. My hot loaves, my son. A . Sure you are mad 1 B. My nice pan-loaves, my son. So white, so hot. THE DEIPNOSOPHISTS. [b. iii: There is another loaf called the encryphias, or secret loaf. And this is mentioned by Nicostratus, in his Hierophant, and Archestratus the inventor of made dishes, whose testi¬ mony I will introduce at the proper season. . There is a loaf also called dipyrus, or twice-baked. Eubulus says, in his Ganymede— And nice hot twice-baked loaves. And Alcteus says, in his Ganymede— A. But what are dipyri, or twice-baked loaves? B. Of all loaves the most delicate. There is another loaf, called laganum. This is very light, and not very nutritious; and the loaf called apanthracis is even less nutritious still. And Aristophanes mentions the laganum in his Ecclesiazusse, saying— The lagana are being baked. And the apanthracis is mentioned by Diodes the Carystian, in the first book of his treatise on Wholesomes, saying— “ The apanthracis is more tender than the laganum : and it appears that it is made on the coals, like that called by the Attic writers encryphias, which the Alexandrians consecrate to Saturn, and put them in the temple of Saturn for every one to eat who pleases.” 75. And Epicharmus, in his Hebe’s Marriage, and in his Muses (and this play is an emendation of the former one), thus enumerates the different kinds of loaves—“ The pan¬ loaf, the homorus, the statites, the encris, the loaf made of meal, the half loaf,” which Sophron also mentions in his Eemale Actors, saying— Pan-loaves and homori, a dainty meal For goddesses, and a half-loaf for Hecate. And I know, my friends, that the Athenians spell this word with a p, writing Kpi/3avov and KpifiaviTr/s; but Herodotus, in the second book of his history, writes it with a A, saying K^Lfidvio Scacfiavu. And so Sophron said— Who dresses suet puddings or clibanites, Or half-loaves here ? And the same writer also speaks of a loaf which he calls 'TrXaKLTrj^, saying in his Gynsecea— He feasted me till night with placite loaves. Sophron also mentions tyron bread, or bread compounded with cheese, saying in the play called the Mother-in-law— LOAVES. 183 a 75.] I bid you now'eat heartily, For some ono has j ust giv’n a tyron loaf, Fragrant with cheese, to all the children. And Nicander of Colophon, in his Dialects, calls unleavened bread Saparos. And Plato the comic writer, in his Long Night, calls large ill-made loaves Cilician, in these words— Then he went forth, and bought some loaves, not nice Clean rolls, but dirty huge Cilicians. And in the drama entitled Menelaus, he calls some loaves agekei, or common loaves. There is also a loaf mentioned by Alexis, in his Cyprian, which he calls autopyrus— Having just eaten autopyrus bread. And Phryniclius, in his Poastriae, speaks of the same loaves, calling them autopyritse, saying— With autopyrite loaves, and sweeten’d cakes Of well-press’d figs and olives. And Sophocles makes mention of a loaf called orindes, in his Triptolemus, which has its name from being made of rice (opvt, a), or from a grain raised in /Ethiopia, which resembles sesamum. Aristophanes also, in his Tagenistae, or the Fryers, makes mention of rolls called collabi, and says— Each of you take a collabus. And in a subsequent passage he says— Bring here a paunch of pig in autumn born, With hot delicious collabi. And these rolls are made of new wheat, as Philyllius declares in his Auge— Here I come, bearing in my hands the offspring Of three months’ wheat, hot doughy collabi, Mixed Avith the milk of the grass-feeding cow. There is also a kind of loaf called maconidse, mentioned by Aleman, in his fifteenth book, in these terms—“ There were seven couches for the guests, and an equal number of tables of maconidse loaves, crowned with a white tablecloth, and Avith sesamum, and in handsome dishes/’ Chrysocolla are a food made of honey and flax. 1 1 It seems certain that there is some great corruption in this and the preceding sentence. 18-4 THE DEIPNOSOrHISTS. [b. III. There is also a kind of loaf called collyra, mentioned by Aristophanes in his Peace— A large collyra, and a mighty lump Of dainty meat upon it. And in his Holcades he says— And a collyra for the voyagers, Earn’d by the trophy raised at Marathon. 1 76. There is a loaf also called the obelias, or the penny loaf, so called because it is sold for a penny, as in Alexandria; or else because it is baked on small spits. Aristophanes, in his Farmers, says— Then perhaps some one bakes a penny loaf. And Pherecrates, in his Forgetful Man, says— 01 en, now roast a penny roll with ashes, But take care, don’t prefer it to a loaf. And the men who in the festivals carried these penny rolls on their shoulders were called 6/3o\ia<£dpoi. And Socrates, in his sixth book of his Surnames, says that it was Bacchus who invented the penny roll on his expeditions. There is a roll called etnites, the same which is also named lecithites, accord¬ ing to the statement of Eucrates. The Messapians call bread Travos, and they call satiety tt avia, and those things which give a surfeit they call Travia; at least, those terms are used by Blaesus, in his Mesotriba, and by Archilochus, in his Telephus, and by Rhinthon, in his Amphitryon. And the Romans call bread panis. Nastus is a name given to a large loaf of leavened bread, according to the statement of Polemarchus and Artemidorns. o But the Heracleon is a kind of cheesecake. And Nicostratus says, in his Sofa— Such was the size, 0 master, of the nastus, A large white loaf. It was so deep, its top Rose like a tower quite above its basket. Its smell, when that the top was lifted up, Rose up, a fragrance not unmix’d with honey Most grateful to our nostrils, still being hot. The name of bread among the Ionians was cnestus, as Artemidorus the Ephesian states in his Memorials of Ionia. Thronus was the name of a particular kind of loaf, as it is stated by Neanthes of Cyzicus, in the second book of his Grecian History, where he writes as follows—“ But Codrus LOAVES. c. 77.] 185 takes a slice of a loaf of the kind called thronus, and a piece of meat, such as they give to the old men.” There is, among the Elians, a kind of loaf baked on the ashes which they call bacchylus, as Nicander states in the second book of his treatise on Dialects. And Diphilus men¬ tions it in his Woman who went Astray, in these words— To bring loaves baked on ashes, strain’d through sieves. The thing called a7ro7n;pias is also a kind of roll; and that also is baked on the ashes; and by some it is called gupm 79, or leavened. Cratinus, in his Effeminate People— First of all I an apopyrias have- sis * * * 77. And Archestratus, in his Gastronomy, thus speaks of flour and of rolls— First, my dear Moschus, will I celebrate The bounteous gifts of Ceres the fair-hair’d. And cherish these my sayings in thy heart. Take these most excellent things,—the well-made cake Of fruitful barley, in fair Lesbos grown, On the circumfluous hill of Eresus ; Whiter than driven snow, if it be true That these are loaves such as the gods do eat, Which Mercury their steward buys for them. , Good is the bread in seven-gated Thebes, In Thasos, and in many other cities. But all compared with these would seem but husks. And worthless refuse. Be you sure of this. Seek too the round Thessalian roll, the which' A maid’s fair hand has kneaded, which the natives Crimmatias call; though others chondrinus. Nor let the Tegean son of finest flour, The fine encryphias be all unpraised. Athens, Minerva’s famous city, sends The best of loaves to market, food for men; There is, besides, Erythra, known for grapes. Nor less for a white loaf in shapely pan, Carefully moulded, white and beautiful, A tempting dish for hungry guests at supper. The epicure Archestratus says this; and he counsels us to have a Phoenician or Lydian slave for a baker; for he was not ignorant that the best makers of loaves come from Cappadocia. And he speaks thus— Take care, and keep a Lydian in thy house, Or an all-wise Phoenician; who shall know Your inmost thoughts, and each day shall devise New forms to please your mind, and do your bidding. 186 THE DEIPNOSOPHISTS. [l3. III. 78. Antiphanes also speaks of the Athenian loaves as pre-r eminently good, in his Omphale, saying:— For liow could any man of noble birth Ever come forth from this luxurious house. Seeing these fair-complexion’d wheaten loaves Filling the oven in such quick succession, And seeing them, devise fresh forms from moulds. The work of Attic hands; well-train’d by wise Thearion to honour holy festivals. This is that Thearion the celebrated baker, whom Plato makes mention of in the Gorgias, joining him and Mithaecus in the same catalogue, writing thus. “ Those who have been or are skilful providers for the body you enumerated with great anxiety; Thearion the baker, and Mithaecus who wrote, the treatise called the Sicilian Cookery, and Sarambus the inn-; keeper, saying that they were admirable providers for the body, the one preparing most excellent loaves of bread, and the other preparing meat, and the other wine.” And Aris¬ tophanes, in the Gerytades and QSolosicon, speaks in this manner— I come now, having left the baker’s shop, The seat of good Thearion’s pans and ovens. And Eubulus makes mention of Cyprian loaves as exceed¬ ingly good, in his Orthane, using these words— ’Tis a hard thing, beholding Cyprian loaves, To ride by carelessly; for like a magnet They do attract the hungry passengers. And Ephippus, in his Diana, makes mention of the koXXlkloi loaves (and they are the same as the k6XXypiyp.eVo?), and not sifted, and of groats. And Amelias speaks of a loaf called xcropyrites, made of pure wheat, and nothing else; and so does Tima- chidas. But Nicander says that thiagones is the name given by the JEtolians to those loaves which are made for the. gods. The Egyptians have a bread which is rather bitter, which they call cyllastis. And Aristophanes speaks of it in his Danaides, saying— Mention the cyllastis and the petosiris. Hecatteus, too, and Herodotus mention it; and so does Phanodemus, in the seventh book of his Attic History. But Nicander cf Thyatira says, that it is bread made of barley which is called cyllastis by the Egyptians. Alexis calls dirty loaves phsei, in his Cyprian, saying— A . Then you are come at last ] B. Scarce could I find Of well-baked loaves enough- A . A plague upon you ; But what now have you got ? B. I bring with me Sixteen, a goodly number; eight of them Tempting and white, and just as many phcei. And Seleucus says that there is a very closely made hot bread which is called blema. And Philemon, in the first book of his Oracles, “ Useful Things of Every Kind,” says— that bread made of unsifted wheat, and containing the bran and everything, is called 7 rvpvo?. He says, too, that there are loaves which are called blomilii, which have divisions in them, which the Romans call quadrati. And that bread made of bran is called brattime, which Amerias and Tima- chidas call euconon or teuconon. But Pliiletas, in his Miscellanies, says that there is a kind of loaf which is called spoleus, which is only eaten by relations when assembled together. 82. Now you may find barley-cakes mentioned in his writings by Tryphon, and by many other authors. Among the Athenians it is called phystes, not being too closely kneaded. There is also the cardamale, and the berex, and the tolype, and the Achilleum; and perhaps that is a cake which is made of the Achillean barley. Then there is the 190 THE DEIPNOSOPHISTS. [b. III. thridakina, so named from lettuce; the oenutta, so called from wine; the melitutta, from honey; and the crinon, the name of which is derived from the lily, which last is also the name of a choral dance, mentioned by Apollophanes, in the Dalis. But the cakes called thridaciscee by Aleman, are the same as the Attic thridacinse. But Aleman speaks thus— The thridacisca, and the cribanotus. And Sosibius, in the third book of his essay on Aleman, says, that cribana is a name given to a peculiar kind of cheese¬ cake, in shape like a breast. But the barley cake, which is given in sacrifices to be tasted by the sacrificers, is called hygea. And there is also one kind of barley cake which is called by Hesiod amolgsea. The amolgoean cake of barley made, And milk of goats whose stream is nearly dry. And he calls it the cake of the shepherds, and very strength¬ ening. For the word d/xoAyos means that which is in the greatest vigour. But I may fairly beg to be excused from giving a regular list (for I have not a very unimpeachable memory) of all the kinds of biscuits and cakes which Aris- tomenes the Athenian speaks of in the third book of his treatise on Things pertaining to the Sacred Ceremonies. And we ourselves were acquainted with that man, though we were young, and he was older than we. And he was an actor in the Old Comedy, a freedman of that most accomplished king Adrian, and called by him the Attic partridge. And Ulpian said—By whom is the word freedman (d7reAei;- depo?) ever used'? And when some one replied that there was a play with that title—namely, the Freedman of Phry- nichus, and that Menander, in his Beaten Slave, had the word freedwoman (aTreXevOepa), and was proceeding to men¬ tion other instances; he asked again—What is the differ¬ ence between d-rreX ev#epo? 1 and e£eA evOspoQ. However, it was agreed upon to postpone this part of the discussion for the present. 83. And Galen, when we were just about to lay hands on the loaves, said—We will not begin supper until you have heard what the sons of the Asclepiadee have said about loaves, and cheesecakes, and meal, and flour. Diphilus the Siphnian, 1 There is no classical authority for i^\^v9epos ; though Demosthenes has i^eXevdepLKbs, relating to a freedman. LOAYES. 191 c. 83.] in his treatise on What is Wholesome to be eaten by People in Health and by Invalids, says, “ Loaves made of wheat are by far more nutritious and by far more digestible than those made of barley, and are in every respect superior to them ; and the next best are those which are made of similago ; and next to those come the loaves made of sifted flour, and next to them those called syncomisti, which are made of unsifted meal;—for these appear to be more nutri¬ tious.” But Philistion the Locrian says “ that the loaves made of similago are superior to those made of groats, as far as their strengthening properties go; and next to them he ranks loaves made of groats, then those made of sifted flour. But the rolls made of bran give a much less whole¬ some juice, and are by far less nutritious. And all bread is more digestible when eaten hot than cold, and it is also more digestible then, and affords a pleasanter and more wholesome juice ; nevertheless, hot bread is apt to cause flatulence, though it is not the less digestible for that; while cold bread is filling and indigestible. But bread which is very stale and cold is less nutritious, and is apt to cause constipation of the bowels, and affords a very unpleasant juice. The bread called encryphiasis is heavy and difficult of digestion, because it is not baked in an equal manner; but that which is called ipnites and caminites is indigestible and apt to disagree with people. That called escharites, and that which is fried, is more easily secreted because of the admixture of oil in it, but is not so good for the stomach, on account of the smell which there is about it. But the bread called ‘the clibanites’has every possible good quality; for it gives a pleasant and whole¬ some juice, and is good for the stomach, and is digestible, and agrees exceedingly well with every one, for it never clogs the bowels, and never relaxes them too much.” But Andreas the physician says that there are loaves in Sicily made of the sycamine, and that those who eat them lose their hair and become bald. Mnesitheus says “ that wheat- bread is more digestible than barley-bread, and that those which are made with the straw in them are exceedingly nutritious ; for they are the most easily digested of all food. But bread which is made of rye, if it be eaten in any quantity, is heavy and difficult of digestion; on which account those who eat it do not keep their health,” But you should know that corn 192 THE DEIPNOSOPHISTS. [b. III. which has not been exposed to the fire, and which has not been ground, causes flatulence, and heaviness, and vertigo, and headache. 84. After all this conversation it seemed good to go to supper. And when the Uraeum was carried round, Leonidas said, “ Euthydemus the Athenian, my friends, in his treatise on Pickles, says that Hesiod has said with respect to every kind of pickle— * * * * * * -X- 1 Some sorrily-clad fishermen did seek To catch a lamprey; men who love to haunt The Bosporus’s narrow strait, well stored With fish for pickling fit. They cut their prey In large square portions, and then plunge them deep Into the briny tub : nor is the oxyrhyncus A kind to be despised by mortal man ; Which the bold sons of ocean bring to market Whole and in pieces. Of the noble tunny The fair Byzantium the mother is, And of the scombrus lurking in the deep, And of the well-fed ray. The snow-white Paros Nurses the colius for human food ; And citizens from Bruttium or Campania, Fleeing along the broad Ionian sea, Will bring the orcys, which shall potted be, And placed in layers in the briny cask, Till honour’d as the banquet’s earliest course. Now these verses appear to me to be the work of some cook rather than of that most accomplished Hesiod ; for how is it possible for him to have spoken of Parium or Byzantium, and still more of Tarentum and the Bruttii and the Campanians, when he was many years more ancient than any of these places or tribes 1 So it seems to me that they are the verses of Euthydemus himself.” And Dionysiocles said, “ Whoever wrote the verses, my good Leonidas, is a matter which you all, as being grammarians of the highest reputation, are very capable of deciding. But since the discussion is turning upon pickles and salt fish, con¬ cerning which I recollect a proverb which was thought deserv¬ ing of being quoted by Charchus the Solensian,— For old salt-fish is fond of marjoram. 1 The beginning of this fragment of Hesiod is given up as hopelessly corrupt by the commentators; and there is probably a great deal of corruption running through the whole of it. c. 85.] fish. 193 I too myself will say a word on tlie subject, which is not un¬ connected with my own art. 85. Diodes the Carystian, in his treatise on the Whole- somes, as it is entitled, says, “ Of all salt-fisli which are desti¬ tute of fat, the best is the horseum ; and of all that are fat, the best is the tunny-fish.” But Icesius says, “ that neither the pelamydes nor the hortea are easily secreted by the stomach; and that the younger tunnies are similar in most respects to the cybii, but that they have a great superiority over those which are called lioraea.” And he says the same of the Byzantine horaea, in comparison with those which are caught in other places. And he says “that not only the tunnies, but that all other fish caught at Byzantium is superior to that which is caught elsewhere.” To this Daphnus the Ephesian added,—Archestratus, who sailed round the whole world for the sake of finding out what was good to eat, and what pleasures he could derive from the use of his inferior members, says— And a large slice of fat Sicilian tunny, Carefully carved, should be immersed in brine. But the saperdes is a worthless brute, A delicacy fit for Ponticans And those who like it. For few men can tell How bad and void of strengthening qualities Those viands are. The scombrus should be kept Three days before you sprinkle it with salt, Then let it lie half pickled in the cask. But when you come unto the sacred coast. Where proud Byzantium commands the strait, Then take a slice of delicate hormum, For it is good and tender in those seas. But that epicure Archestratus has omitted to enumerate the pickle-juice called elephantine, which is spoken of by Crates the comic poet, in his Samians ; who says of it— A sea-born turtle in the bitter waves Bears in its skin the elephantine pickle; And crabs swift as the wind, and thin-wing’d pike, l * * * * * But that the elephantine pickle of Crates was very celebrated Aristophanes bears witness, in his Thesmophoriazuste, in these words— 1 The text here is so corrupt as to be quite unintelligible. VOL. I.-ATH. O 194 THE DEIPNOSOPHISTS. [b. III. Sure comic poetry is a mighty food ; Listen to Crates, he will tell you, how The elephantine pickle, easily made, Is dainty seas’ning; many other jokes Of the same kind he utter’d. 86. And there was another kind, which Alexis calls raw pickle, in his Apeglaucomenos. And the same poet, in his Wicked Woman, introduces a cook talking about the prepara¬ tion of salt-fish and pickled fish, in the following verses:— I wish now, sitting quiet by myself, To ponder in my mind some dainty dishes; And also to arrange what may be best For the first course, and how I best may flavour Each separate dish, and make it eatable. Now first of all the pickled horaeum comes ; This will but cost one penny; wash it well, Then strew a large flat dish with seasoning, And put in that the fish. Pour in white wine And oil, then add some boil’d beef marrow-bones. And take it from the fire, when the last zest Shall be by assafoetida imparted. And, in his Apeglaucomenos, a man being asked for his con¬ tribution to the feast, says— A. Indeed you shall not half a farthing draw From me, unless you name each separate dish. B. That reasonable is. A. Well, bring a slate And pencil; now your items. B. First, there is Eaw pickled fish, and that will fivepence cost. A . What next 1 B. Some mussels, sevenpence for them. A. Well, there’s no harm in that. What follows next? B. A pennyworth of urchins of the sea. A. Still I can find no fault. B. The next in order Is a fine dish of cabbage, which you said . . . A. Well, that will do. B. For that I paid just twopence. A. What was’t I said? B. A cybium for threepence. 1 A. But are you sure you’ve nought embezzled here? B. My friend, you’ve no experience of the market; You know not how the grubs devour the greens. A. But how is that a reason for your charging A double price for salt-fish ? * B. The greengrocer! ■ • Is also a salt-fishmonger; go and ask him. c. 88.] FISII. 195. A conger, tenpence. A. That is not too much. What next 1 B. I bought a roast fish for a drachma. A. Bah ! how he runs on now towards the end, As if a fever had o’ertaken him. B. Then add the wine, of which I bought three gallons When you were drunk, ten obols for each gallon. 87. And Icesius says, in the second book of his treatise on the Materials of Nourishment, that pelamydes are a large kind of cybium. And Posidippus speaks of the cybium, in his Transformed. But Eutliydemus, in his treatise on Salt Fish, says that the fish called the Delcanus is so named from the river Deleon, where it is taken; and then, when pickled and salted, it is very good indeed for the stomach. But D orion, in his book on Fishes, calls the leptinus the lebianus, and says, “ that some people say that is the same fish as the del- canus; and that the ceracinus is called by many people the saperdes ; and that the best are those which come from the Palus Mseotis. And he says that the mullet which are caught about Abdera are excellent; and next to them, those which are caught near Sinope ; and that they, when pickled and salted, are very good for the stomach. But those, he says, which are called mulli are by some people called agno- tidia, and by some platistaci, though they are all the same fish; as also is the chellares. For that he, being but one fish, has received a great variety of names; for that he is called a bacchus, and an oniscus, and a chellares. And those of the larger size are called platistaci, and those of middle size mulli, and those which are but small are called agnotidia. But Aristophanes also mentions the mulli, in his Holcades— Scombri, and coliee, and lebii, And mulli, and saperdas, and all tunnies. 88. When Dionysiocles was silent upon this, Varus the grammarian said,—But Antiphanes the poet, also, in his Deu¬ calion, mentions these kinds of pickled salt-fish, where lie says— • ■ If any one should wish for caviar From mighty sturgeon, fresh from Cadiz’ sea; Or else delights in the Byzantine tunny, And courts its fragrance. And in his Parasite he says— o 2 196 THE DEIPNOSOPHISTS. [B. III. Caviar from the sturgeon in the middle. Fat, white as snow, and hot. And Nicostratus or Phileteerus, in his Antyllus, says— Let the Byzantine salt-fish triumph here, And paunch from Cadiz, carefully preserved. And a little further on, he proceeds— But, 0 ye earth and gods ! I found a man, An honest fishmonger of pickled fish, Of whom I bought a huge fish ready scaled, Cheap at a drachma, for two oboli. Three days’ hard eating scarcely would suffice That we might finish it; no, nor a fortnight, So far does it exceed the common size. After this Ulpian, looking upon Plutarch, chimed in,—It seems to me that no one, in all that has been said, has in¬ cluded the Mendesian fish, which are so much fancied by you gentlemen of Alexandria; though I should have thought that a mad dog would scarcely touch them; nor has any one mentioned the liemineri or half-fresh fish, which you think so good, nor the pickled shads. And Plutarch replied,— The heminerus, as far as I know, does not differ from the half-pickled fish which have been already mentioned, and which your elegant Archestratus speaks of; but, however, Sopater the Paphian has mentioned the heminerus, in his Slave of Mystacus, saying— He then received the caviar from a sturgeon Bred in the mighty Danube, dish much prized. Half-fresh, half-pickled, by the wandering Scythians. And the same man includes the Mendesian in his list— A slightly salt Mendesian in season, And mullet roasted on the glowing embers. And all those who have tried, know that these dishes are by far more delicate and agreeable than the vegetables and figs which you make such a fuss about. Tell us now also, whe¬ ther the word rdptyos is used in the masculine gender by the Attic writers ; for we know it is by Epicharmus. 89. And while Ulpian was thinking this over with him¬ self, Myrtilus, anticipating him, said,—Cratinus, in his Dionys- alexander, has— I will my basket fill with Pontic pickles, (where he uses rapiyot as masculine;) and Plato, in his Jupiter Illtreated, says— FISH. 197 c. 89.] All that I have amounts to this, And I shall lose my pickled fish (t aplxovs). And Aristophanes says, in his Daitaleis— I’m not ashamed to wash this fine salt-fish (t bv rapixov tovtov'i), From all the evils which I know he has. And Crates says, in his Beasts— And you must boil some greens, and roast some fish, And pickled fish likewise, (robs rapixovs, ) and keep your hands From doing any injury to us. But the noun is formed in a very singular manner by Her- mippus, in his Female Bread-Sellers— And fat pickled fish (rapixos Triova). And Sophocles says, in his Phineus— A pickled corpse (vexpos rapixos) Egyptian to behold. Aristophanes has also treated us to a diminutive form of the word, in his Peace— Bring us some good raplxiov to the fields And Cephisodorus says, in his Pig— Some middling meat, or some raplxiov. And Pherecrates, in his Deserters, has— The woman boil'd some pulse porridge, and lentils, And so awaited each of us, and roasted Besides an orphan small rapixiov. Epicharmus also uses the word in the masculine gender, 6 rd/oi^os. And Herodotus does the same in his ninth book; where he says—“ The salt-fish (ot rd/oi^oi) lying on the fire, leaped about and quivered.” And the proverbs, too, in which the word occurs, have it in the masculine gender :— Salt-fish (rapixos) is done if it but see the fire. Salt-fish ( rapixos) when too long kept loves marjoram. Salt-fisli ( rapixos) does never get its due from men. But the Attic writers often use it as a neuter word ; and the genitive case, as they use it, is tov rapixovs. Chionides says, in his Beggars— Will you then eat some pickled fish (roZ rapixovs), ye gods ! And the dative is Tapiya, like — Beat therefore now upon this pickled fish (rep rapixei rfZe). And Menander uses it rapixos, in the accusative case, in his Man selecting an Arbitrator— I spread some salt upon the pickled fish (M to rapixos). 108 THE DEIPNOSOPHISTS. [b. III. But when the word is masculine the genitive case does not end with cr. 90. The Athenians were so fond of pickled fish that they enrolled as citizens the sons of Chserephilus the seller of salt-fish; as Alexis tells us, in his Epidaurus, when he says— For ’twas salt-fish that made Athenians And citizens of Chmrephilus’s sons. And when Timocles once saw them on horseback, he said that two tunny-fish were among the Satyrs. And Hyperides the orator mentions them too. And Antiphanes speaks of Euthynus the seller of pickled fish, in his Couris, in these terms :— And going to the salt-fish seller, him I mean with whom I used to deal, there wait for me • And if Euthynus be not come, still wait, And occupy the man with fair excuses, And hinder him from cutting up the fish. And Alexis, in his Hippiscus, and again in his Soraci, makes mention of Phidippus; and he too was a dealer in salt-fisli— There was another man, Phidippus hight, A foreigner who brought salt-fish to Athens. 91. And while we were eating the salt-fish and getting very anxious to drink, Daphnus said, holding up both his hands,— Heraelides of Tarentum, my friends, in his treatise entitled The Banquet, says, “ It is good to take a moderate quantity of food before drinking, and especially to eat such dishes as one is accustomed to ; for from the eating of things which have not been eaten for a long time the wine is apt to be turned sour, so as not to sit on the stomach, and many twinges and spasms are often originated. But some people think that these also are bad for the stomach; I mean, all kinds of vegetables and salted fish, since they possess qualities apt to cause pangs; but that glutinous and invigorating food is the most whole¬ some,—being ignorant that a great many of the things which assist the secretions are, on the contrary, very good for the stomach ; among which is the plant called sisarum, (which Epicharmus speaks of, in his Agrostinus, and also in his Earth and Sea ; and so does Diodes, in the first book of his treatise on the Wholesomes;) and asparagus and white beet, (for the black beet is apt to check the secretions,) and cockles, and solens, and sea mussels, and chemse, and peri¬ winkles, and perfect pickles, and salt-fish, which are void of FISH. 190 c. 92.] smell, and many kinds of juicy fishes. And it is good that, before the main dinner, there should be served up what is called salad, and beet-root, and salt-fish, in order that by having the edge of our appetite taken off we may go with less eagerness to what is not equally nutritious. But at the beginning of dinner it is best to avoid abundant draughts ; for they are bad as generating too great a secretion of humours in the bodv. V “ But the Macedonians, according to the statement of Ephippus the Olynthian, in his treatise Concerning the Burial of Alexander and Hephastion, had no notion of moderation in drinking, but started off at once with enormous draughts be¬ fore eating, so as to be drunk before the first course was off the table, and to be unable to enjoy the rest of the banquet.” 92. But Diphilus the Siphnian says, “ The salt pickles which are made of fish, whether caught in the sea, or in the lake, or in the river, are not very nourishing, nor very juicy, but are inflammatory, and act strongly on the bowels, and are pro¬ vocative of desire. But the best of them are those which are made of animals devoid of fat, such as cybia, and horaea, and other kinds like them. And of fat fish, the best are the dif¬ ferent kinds of tunny, and the young of the tunny; for the old ones are larger and harsher to the taste; and above all, the Byzantine tunnies are so. But the tunny, says he, is the same as the larger pelamys, the small kind of which is the same as the cybium, to which species the horaeum also belongs. But the sarda is of very nearly the same size as the colias. And the scombrus is a light fish, and one which the stomach easily gets rid of ; but the colias is a glutinous fish, very like a squill, and apt to give twinges, and has an inferior juice, but nevertheless is nutritious. And the best are those which are called the Amyclaean, and the Spanish, which is also called the Saxitan ; for they are lighter and sweeter.” But Strabo, in the third book of his work on Geography, says that near the Islands of Hercules, 1 and off the city of Carthagena, is a city named Sexitania, from which the salt- fish above-mentioned derive their name ; and there is another city called Scombroaria, so called from the scombri which are caught in its neighbourhood, and of them the best sauce is made. But there are also fish which are called melandryoe, 1 The Balearic Isles. THE DEIPNOSOFHISTS. 200 [B. III. which are mentioned by Epicharmus also, in bis Ulysses the Deserter, in this way— Then there was salt and pickled fislx to eat, Something not quite unlike melandryoe. But the melandrys is the largest description of tunny, as Pamphilus explains in his treatise on Names ; and that when preserved is very rich and oily. 93. “ But the raw pickle called omotarichum,” says Diphi- lus, “ is called by some people cetema. It is a heavy sticky food, and moreover very indigestible. But the river coracinus, which some people call the peltes, the one from the Nile, I mean, which the people at Alexandria have a peculiar name for, and call the heminerus, is rather fat, and has a juice which is far from disagreeable ; it is fleshy, nutritious, easily diges¬ tible, not apt to disagree with one, and in every respect superior to the mullet. Now the roe of every fish, whether fresh or dried and salted, is indigestible and apt to disagree. And the most so of all is the roe of the more oily and larger fish; for that remains harder for a long time, and is not decomposed. But it is not disagreeable to the taste when seasoued with salt and roasted. Every one, however, ought to soak dried and salted fish until the water becomes free from smell, and sweet. But dried sea-fish when- boiled becomes sweeter; and they are sweeter too when eaten hot than cold.” And Mnesitheus the Athenian, in his treatise on Comestibles, says, “ Those juices which are salt, and those which are sweet, all have an effect in relaxing the bowels; but those which are sharp and harsh are strongly diuretic. Those too which are bitter are generally diuretic, but some of them also relax the bowels. Those which are sour, however, check the secretions.” And Xenophon, that most accomplished of writers, in his treatise entitled Hiero, or the Tyrant, abuses all such food, and says, “ For what, said Hiero, have you never noticed all the multitudinous contrivances which are set before tyrants, acid, and harsh, and sour ; and whatever else there can be of the same kind?—To be sure I have, said Simonides, and all those things appeared to me to be very contrary to the natu¬ ral taste of any man. And do you think, said Hiero, that these dishes are anything else but the fancies of a diseased and vitiated taste ; since those who eat with appetite, you FISTI. c. 94.] 201 well know, have no need of these contrivances and provo¬ catives ?” 94. After this had been said, Cynulcus asked for some spiced and boiled water to drink ; saying that he must wash down all those salt arguments with sweet drink. And Ulpian said to him with some indignation, and slapping his pillow with his hand,—How long will it be before you leave off your barbarian tricks ? Will you never stop till I am forced to leave the party and go away, being unable to digest all your absurd speeches? And he replied,—Now that I am at Rome, the Sovereign City, I use the language of the natives habitually; for among the ancient poets, and among those prose writers who pique themselves on the purity of their Greek, you may find some Persian nouns, because of their having got into a habit of using them in conversation. As for instance, one finds mention made of parasangs, and astandce, and angari (couriers), and a schoenus or perch, which last word is used either as a masculine or feminine noun, and it is a measure on the road, which retains even to this day that Persian name with many people. I know, too, that many of the Attic writers affect to imitate Macedonian expressions, on account of the great intercourse that there was between Attica and Macedonia. But- it would be better, in my opinion, To drink the blood of bulls, and so prefer 'The death of great Themistocles, than to fall into your power. For I could not say, to drink the water of bulls ; as to which you do not know what it is. Nor do you know that even among the very best poets and prose writers there are some things said which are not quite allowable. Accordingly Cephisodorus, the pupil of Isocrates the orator, in the third of his treatises addressed to Aristotle, says that a man might find several things expressed incor¬ rectly by the other poets and sophists; as for instance, the expression used by Archilochus, That every man was im¬ modest ; and that apophthegm of Theodorus, That a man ought to get all he can, but to praise equality and modera¬ tion ; and also, the celebrated line of Euripides about the tongue 1 having spoken; and even by Sophocles, the lines which occur in the ^Ethiopians— 1 rj 'yXwa-a' bfxibfxox, V as * n the words cni/xpayos, 7rpwTO/xayo9, €7ri/xayo?, aj'Ti/xayos, and the <£iA.d/xayos race of Perseus, spoken of by Pindar, then it is acuted on the antepenultima; but when it has the acute accent on the penultima, then the verb payeo-#ai comes in; as is shown in the words 7nryp,ayos, rau/xdyos ; ill the expression avrov ere TruXa/xaye 7rpa>Tov, in Stesichorus; and the nouns 07 rA. 0 p.dy 09 , retyo/xdyo?, 7rupyo/xdyos. But Posidippus the comic writer, ill his Pornoboscus, says— The man who never went to sea has never shipwreck’d been, But we have been more miserable than p.ovo/j.axodi'Tes (gladiators in single combat). And that even men of reputation and captains fought in single combat, and did so in accordance with premeditated challenges, we have already said in other parts of this dis¬ cussion. And Diyllus the Athenian says, in the ninth book 250 THE DEIPNOSOFHISTS. [b. IV.; of his Histories, that Cassander, when returning from Bceotia, after he had buried the king and queen at Hilgae, and with them Cynna the mother of Eurydice, and had paid them all the other honours to which they were entitled, celebrated also a show of single combats, and four of the soldiers entered the arena on that occasion. 42. But Demetrius the Scepsian, in the twelfth book of Trojan Array, says, “that at the court of Antiochus the king, who was surnamed the Great, not only did the friends of the king dance in arms at his entertainments, but even the king himself did so. And when the turn to dance came to Hegesianax the Alexandrian from the Troas, who wrote the Histories, he rose up and said— c Do you wish, 0 king, to see me dance badly, or would you prefer hearing me recite my own poems very well ? ’ Accordingly, being ordered rather to recite his poems, he sang the praises of the king in such a manner, that he was thought worthy of payment, and of being ranked as one of the king’s friends for the time to come. But Duris the Samian, in the seventeenth book of his Histories, says that Polysperchon, though a very old man, danced whenever he was drunk,—a man who was inferior to no one of the Macedonians, either as a commander or in respect of his general reputation : but still that he put on a saffron robe and Sicyonian sandals, and kept on dancing a long time.” But Agatharchides the Cnidian, in the eighth book of his History of Asia, relates that the friends of Alex¬ ander the son of Philip once gave an entertainment to the king, and gilded all the sweetmeats which w^ere to be served up in the second course. And when they wanted to eat any of them, they took off the gold and threw that away with all the rest which was not good to eat, in order that their friends might be spectators of their sumptuousness, and their servants might become masters of the gold. But they forget that, as Duris also relates, Philip the father of Alexander, when he had a golden cup which was fifty drachmas in weight, always took it to bed with him, and always slept with it at his head. And Seleucus says, “ that some of the Thracians at their drinking parties play the game of hanging; and fix a round noose to some high place, exactly beneath which they place a stone which is easily turned round wdien any one stands upon it; and then they cast lots, and he whq O. 44.] TEMPERANCE OF THE LACED2EMONIANS. 251 draws the lot, holding a sickle in his hand, stands upon the stone, and puts his neck into the halter; and then an¬ other person comes and raises the stone, and the man who is suspended, when the stone moves from under him, if he is not quick enough in cutting the rope with his sickle, is killed ; and the rest laugh, thinking his death good sport.” 43. This is what I had to say, my friends and messmates, 0 men far the first of all the Greeks, being what I know con¬ cerning the banquets of the ancients. But Plato the philo¬ sopher, in the first book of his treatise on the Laws of Banquets, speaks in this manner, describing the whole matter with the greatest accuracy —“ And you would never see any where in the country or in the cities which are under the dominion of Lacedaemon, any drinking parties, nor any of their accompaniments, which are calculated to excite as much pleasure as possible. Nor is there any one who would not at once impose as heavy a fine as possible on any one whom he met carrying his revely to the degree of drunken¬ ness; and he would not even excuse him if he had the pretext of the Dionysiac festival of Bacchus. As I have known to be the case among you, in the case of men carried in carriages, and at Tarentum among our own colonists, where I have seen the whole city drunk at the time of the Dionysiac festival. But at Lacedaemon nothing of the sort ever takes place.” 44. And Cynulcus said on this,—I only wish that you had played at that Thracian game and been hanged yourself. For you have kept us in suspense till we are almost famished, as if we were waiting for the rising star, till which arises, those who have invented this beautiful philosophy say that it is unlawful to taste of any food at all. But I, wretched man that I am, according to the words of Diphilus the comic poet— Am almost become a mullet from the extremity of hunger. And you yourselves also have forgotten those admirable verses of the poet, who said— For it is not a bad thing to eat supper at a proper season. And the admirable Aristophanes has said in his Cocalus— But it is now, 0 father, altogether noon, When it is right for the young men to sup. 252 THE DEIPNOSOPHISTS. [b. IV. But for me it would be much better to sup as the men are represented as supping in the banquet given by Parmeniscus the Cynic, than to come hither and see everything carried round us as if we all had fevers. And when we laughed at this, one of us said,—But my most excellent fellow, do not grudge giving us the account of that Parmeniscean banquet. And he, raising himself up, said— I swear to you most solemnly, my friends, according to the words of the sweet Antiphanes, who, in the Woman given in Marriage, said— I swear to you, 0 men, by the god himself. Prom whom the joys of drunkenness and wine Do come to mortal men, that I prefer This happy life which here is mine at present, To all the splendid pomp of king Seleucus. ’Tis sweet to eat e’en lentils without fear, But sad to sleep on down in daily terror. 45. But Parmeniscus began in this manner—“ Parmeniscus to Molpis, greeting,—As I have often in my conversations with you talked about illustrious invitations and entertainments, I am afraid lest you should labour under such a plethora as to blame me; on which account I wish to make you a partaker in the feast which was given by Cebes of Cyzicus. There¬ fore, having first taken a drink of hyssop, come at the proper hour to the feast. For at the time when the festival of Bacchus was being celebrated at Athens, I went to sup with him; and I found six Cynics sitting at table, and one dog- leader, Carneus the Megarian. But, as the supper was delayed, a discussion arose, what water is the sweetest. And while some were praising the water of Lerna, and some that of Pirene, Carneus, imitating Philoxenus, said—That is the best water which is poured over our hands. So then when the tables were laid we went to supper, And much pulse porridge then we ate, but more did still flow in. Then again lentils were brought on the table steeped in vinegar; and that child of Jupiter laid his hands on them and said— Jove, may the man who made these lentils grow, Fever escape thy notice or thy memory. And then some one else immediately cried out— May a lentil deity and a lentil fate seize you. C. 45,] THE THEORY OF EUXITHEUS. 253 But to me may there be, according to the words of the comic poet Diphilus, which he uses in his Peliades— A. A flowery supper very sumptuous, A bowl quite lull of pulse for every man. B. Tliat first part is not flowery. A. After that Let a saperdes dance into the middle, A little strong to smell. B. That is a flower Which soon will drive the thrushes all away. And as a great laugh arose, immediately that spoon of the theatre Melissa came in, and that dogfly Nicium, each of them being a courtesan of no small renown : and so they, looking on what was set upon the table and admiring it, laughed. And Nicium said,—Is not there one of all you men so proud of your beards that eats fish ? Is it because your ancestor Meleager the Gadarean, in his poem entitled the Graces, said that Homer, being a Syrian by birth, repre¬ sented the ancients as abstaining from fish in accordance with the custom of his own country, although there wars a great abundance of them in the Hellespont ? Or have you ever read that one treatise of his which embraces a com¬ parison between peas and lentils ? for I see that you have made a great preparation of lentils. And when I see it, I should advise you, according to the rules of Antisthenes the pupil of Socrates, to relieve yourselves of life if you stick to such food as this. And Carneus replied to her—Euxitheus the Pythagorean, 0 Nicium, as Clearchus the Peripatetic tells us, in the second book of his Lives, said that the souls of all men were bound in the body, and in the life which is on earth, for the sake of punishment; and that God has issued an edict that if they do not remain there until he voluntarily releases them himself, they shall fall into more numerous and more important calamities. On which account all men, being afraid of those threatenings of the gods, fear to depart from life by their own act, but only gladly welcome death when lie comes in old age, trusting that that deliverance of the soul then takes place with the full consent of those who have the power to sanction it. And this doctrine we ourselves believe. But I have no objection, replied she, to your selecting one of three evils, if you please. For do you not know, 0 wretched men, that these heavy kinds of food shut in the dominant THE DEIPNOSOrHISTS. 254 [b. IV. principle of the soul, and do not allow wisdom to exist unimpaired in it ? 46. Accordingly Theopompus, in the fifth book of his History of the Actions of Philip, says—“For to eat much, and to eat meat, takes away the reasoning powers, and makes the intel¬ lect slower, and fills a man with anger, and harshness, and all sorts of folly.” And the admirable Xenophon says, that it is sweet to a hungry man to eat barley-cakes and cardamums, and sweet to a thirsty man to draw water out of the river and drink it. But Socrates was often caught walking in the depth of evening up and down before his house ; and to those who asked him what he was doing there, he used to reply that he was getting a relish for supper. But we shall be satisfied with whatever portion we receive from you, and we are not angry as if we received less than we ought, like the Hercules in Anticlides. For he says, in the second book of his Returns —“ After Hercules had accomplished his labours, w T hen Eurystheus was solemnizing some sacrificial feast, he also was invited. And when the sons of Eurystheus were setting before each one of the company his proper portion, but placing a meaner one before Hercules, Hercules, thinking that he was being treated with indignity, slew three of the sons, Perimcdes, Eurybius, and Eurypylus.” But we are not so irascible, even though in all other points we are imitators of Hercules. 47. For lentils are a tragic food, said Archagathus .... to have written ; which also Orestes ate -when lie liad recover’d from his sickness, as Sophilus the comic writer says. But it is a Stoic doctrine, that the wise man will do everything well, and will be able to cook even lentils cleverly. On which account Timon the Phliasian said— And a man who knows not how to cook a lentil wisely. As if a lentil could not be boiled in any other way except ac¬ cording to the precepts of Zeno, who said— Add to the lentils a twelfth part of coriander. And Crates the Theban said— Do not prefer a dainty dish to lentils, And so cause factious quarrels in our party.' LENTILS. 255 c. 48.] And Chrysippus, in his treatise on the Beautiful, quoting some apophthegms to us, says— Eat not an olive when you have a nettle ; But take in winter lentil-macaroni— Bah ! bah ! Lentil-macaroni’s like ambrosia in cold weather. And the witty Aristophanes said, in his Gerytades— You’re teaching him to boil porridge or lentils. And, in his Amphiaraus — You who revile the lentil, best of food. And Epicharmus says, in his Dionysi— And then a dish of lentils was boil’d up. And Antiphanes says, in his Women like one another— Things go on well. Do you now boil some lentils. Or else at least now teach me who you are. And I know that a sister of Ulysses, the most prudent and wisest of men, was called Qclkt} (lentil), the same whom some other writers call Callisto, as Mnaseas of Patra relates, in the third book of his History of the Affairs of Europe, and as Lysi- machus also tells us, in the third book of his lieturns. 48. And when Plutarch had burst into a violent fit of laughter at this, the Cynic, who could not endure to have his extensive learning on the subject of lentils disregarded, said— “ But all you fine gentlemen from Alexandria, 0 Plutarch, are fed from your childhood on lentils ; and your whole city is full of things made of lentils : which are mentioned by Sopater the lentil parodist, in his drama entitled Bacchis, where he speaks as follows :— I could not bear to eat a common loaf, Seeing a large high brazen pile of lentils. For, what is there of which mortals have need, (according to your own idol, Euripides, 0 you most learned of men,) except two things only, The corn of Ceres and a draught of water? And they are here, and able to support us. But we are not with plenty such as this Contented, but are slaves to luxury And such contrivances of other food. And in another place that dramatic philosopher says— The moderate fare shall me content Of a plain modest table ; And I will never seek nor e’en admit Whatever is out of season and superfluous. THE DEIPNOSOrillSTS. 25 G [b. iv. And Socrates said that he differed from other men in this, that they lived that they might eat, but he ate that he might live. And Diogenes said to those who accused him of scratching himself,—I wish I could scratch my stomach, so as to rub all poverty and want out of it. And Euripides, in his Suppliant Women, says of Capaneus— This man is Capaneus, a man who had Abundant riches, but no pride therefrom Lodged in his, more than in a poor man’s bosom. But those who boasted of their luxury He blamed, and praised the contented spirit. For virtue did not, as lie said, consist In eating richly, but in moderation. 49. Capaneus was not, as it seems, such as the honest Chrysip- pus describes, in his treatise On those things which are not eligible for their own sakes. For he speaks in this manner : —“ Some men apply themselves with such eagerness to the pursuit of money, that it is even related, that a man once, when near his end, swallowed a number of pieces of gold, and so died. Another person sewed a quantity of money into a tunic, and put it on, and then ordered his servants to bury him in that dress, neither burning his body, nor stripping it and laying it out.” For these men and all like them may almost be said, as they die, to cry out— Oh gold, the choicest of all gifts to men ! For no fond mother does such raptures know, For children in the house, nor any father. Such as do flow from you, and are enjoy’d By those who own you. If like yours the face Of Venus, when she rose up from the sea, Ho wonder that she has ten thousand lovers. Such great thirst for money was there among the men of that time, concerning which Anacharsis, when some one asked him what the Greeks used money for? said, To count with. But Diogenes, in his treatise on Polity, proposed to establish a law that bits of bone should be taken as coins; and well too has Euripides said— Speak not of wealth ; that god I worship not, Who comes with ease into a bad man’s power. And Chrysippus, in his elementary work, which is entitled, A Treatise on Good and Evil Things, says that “ a certain young man from Ionia came to sojourn at Athens, clothed m a purple robe having golden fringes; and when some one LENTILS. 257 c. 51.] asked of him what countryman he was, he replied that he was rich. And, perhaps, it may be the very same person whom Alexis mentions in his Thebans, where he says— A . But from what country does this person come ? B. From Richland; and by general consent The natives of that land are counted noble ; Nor can one find a noble beggar anywhere. 50. WhenCynulcus had said this, and when no one applauded him, he got out of temper ; and said,—But since these men, O you master of the feast, are made so uncomfortable by a diarrhoea of words as to feel no hunger; or perhaps, it may be that they laugh at what is said about lentils, (having in their mind what is said by Pherecrates, in his Coriander— A . Come now, I’ll sit me down; and bring me here, 0 slave, a table, and a cup of wine, That I may eat to flavour what I drink. B. Here is a cup, a table, and some lentils. A.. No lentils bring to me, I like them not: For if one eats them, they do taint the breath.)— Since then, on this account, these wise men guard against the lentils, at all events cause some bread to be given to us, with a little plain food ; no expensive dishes, but any of those vulgar lentils, if you have them, or what is called lentil soup. And when every one laughed, especially at the idea of the lentil soup, he said, You are very ignorant men, you feasters, never having* read any books, which are the only things to instruct those who desire what is good. I mean the books of the Silli of Timon the Pyrrhonian. For he it is who speaks of lentil soup, in the second book of his Silli, writing as follows :— The Teian barley-cakes do please me not, Nor e’en the Lydian sauces: but the Greeks, And their dry lentil soup, delight me more Than all that painful luxury of excess. For though the barley-cakes of Teos are preeminently good, (as also are those from Eretria, as Sopater says, in his Suitors of Bacchis, where he says— Wo came to Eretria, for its white meal famed ;) and also, the Lydian sauces; still Timon prefers the lentil soup to both of them put together. 51. To this our admirable entertainer, Laurentius himself, replied, saying,—0 you men who drive the dogs, according to VOL. i.— ath. s 258 THE DEIPNOSOPHISTS. [b. IV. the Jocasta of Strattis, the comic poet, who in the play entitled The Phoenician Women, is represented as saying-— I wish to give you both some good advice : When you boil lentils, pour no perfume o’er them. And Sopater, too, whom you were mentioning just now, in his Descent to Hell, speaks in these terms :— Ulysses, king of Ithaca—’Tis perfume On lentils thrown : coui’age, my noble soul! And Clearchus the Peripatetic philosopher, in his treatise on Proverbs, gives the saying, “ Perfume thrown on lentils f as a proverb which my grandfather Varro also mentions, he, I mean, who was nicknamed Menippius. And many of the Homan grammarians, who have not had much intercourse with many Greek poets or historians, do not know where it is that Varro got his Iambic from. But you seem to me, 0 Cynulcus, (for you delight in that name, not using the name by which your mother has called you from your birth,) ac¬ cording to your friend Timon, to be a noble and great man, not knowing that the lentil soup obtained mention from the the former Epicharmus, in his Festival, and in his Islands, and also from Antiphanes the comic poet; who, using the diminutive form, has spoken of it in his Wedding, under the following form of expression— A little lentil soup (kS'yx 101 ')} a slice of sausage. And Magnus immediately taking up the conversation, said,— The most universally excellent Laurentius has well and cle¬ verly met this hungry dog on the subject of the lentil soup. But I, like to the Galatians of the Paphian Sopater, among whom it is a custom whenever they have met with any emi¬ nent success in war to sacrifice their prisoners to the gods,— I too, in imitation of those men, , Have vow’d a fiery sacrifice to the gods—- Three of these secretly enroll’d logicians. And now that I have heard your company Philosophise and argue subtlely, Persisting firmly, I will bring a test, A certain proof of all your arguments : Pirst smoking you. And if then any one When roasted shrinks and draws away his leg, He shall be sold to Zeno for his master For transportation, as bereft of wisdom. . 52. For I will speak freely to them. If you are so fond of SPARE LIVERS. 259 a 53.] contentment, 0 philosopher, why do you not admire those dis¬ ciples of Pythagoras, concerning whom Antiphanes says, in his Monuments— Some miserable Pythagoreans came Gnawing some salt food in a deep ravine. And picking up such refuse in a wallet. And iii the play which is especially entitled the Wallet, he says— First, like a pupil of Pythagoras, He cats no living thing, but peels some husks Of barley which he’s bought for half an obol, Discolour’d dirty husks, and those he eats. And Alexis says, in his Tarentines— For, as we hear, the pupils of Pythagoras Eat no good meat nor any living thing, And they alone of men do drink no wine. But Epicharides will bitches eat; The only one of all the sect; but then He kills them first, and says they are not living. And proceeding a little further, he says— A. Shreds of Pythagoras and subtleties And well-fill’d thoughts are their sufficient food. Their daily meals are these—a simple loaf To every man, and a pure cup of water. And this is all. B. You speak of prison fare. A. This is the way that all the wise men live. These are the hardships that they all endure. B. "Where do they live in such a way 1 A. Yet they procure Dainties after their sort for one another; Know you not Melanippides and Phaon, Phyromachus and Phanus are companions 1 And they together sup on each fifth day On one full cotyla of wheaten meal. And, in his Female Pythagorean, he says— A. The banquet shall be figs and grapes and cheese. For these the victims are which the strict law Allows Pythagoras’ sect to sacrifice. B. By Jove, as fine a sacrifice as possible. And a few lines afterwards, he says— One must for a short time, my friend, endure Hunger, and dirt, and cold, and speechlessness. And sullen frowns, and an unwashen face. 53. But you, my philosophical friends, practise none of these things. But what is far worse than any of them, you talk s 2 260 THE DEIPNOSOPHISTS. [B. IV. about what you do not in the least understand; and, as if you were eating in an orderly manner, you take in mouthfuls like the man in that sweet poet Antiphanes; for he says, in his Runaway Slave-catcher— Taking a moderate mouthful, small outside, But large within his hand, as women do. And in the same way you eat a great deal and eat very fast; when it is in your power, according to the words of the same poet which he uses in the Thombycius, “ to buy for a single drachma food well suited to you, such as garlic, cheese, onions, and capers ; for all these only cost a drachma. 5 ’ And Aristo¬ phanes says, in his Pythagoreans— What] do wc think, I ask you in God’s name, That these philosophers of olden time. The pupils of Pythagoras, went thus In dirt and rags all of their own accord ] I don’t believe one word of such a thing. No; they w r ere forced to do so, as they had not A single farthing to buy clothes or soap. And then they made a merit of economy, And laid down rules, most splendid rules'for beggars. But only put before them fish or meat; And if they do not their own fingers bite For very eagerness, I will be bound To let you hang me ten times over. And it is not foreign to the present discussion to mention an epigram which was made with reference to you, which Hege- sander the Delphian has quoted, in the sixth book of his Commentaries— Men drawing up your eyebrows, and depressing Your scornful nostrils till they reach the chin. Wearing your beards in sacks, strippers of dishes. Wearing your cloak outside, with unshod feet Looking like oil, and eating stealthily Like hungry vagrants ’neath night’s friendly cover. Cheaters of youth, spouters of syllables. Pretenders to vain wisdom, but pretending To make your only object Virtue’s self. 54. But Archestratus of Gela, in his treatise on Gastronomy, (which is the only poetical composition which you wise men admire ; following Pythagoras in this doctrine alone, namely silence, and doing this only because of your want of words; and besides that, you profess to think well of the Art of Love of Sphodrias the Cynic, and the Amatory Conversation of Protagorides, and the Convivial Dialogues of that beautiful PERSiEUS. C. 55.] 261 philosopher Persseus, compiled out of the Commentaries of Stilpon and Zeno, in which he inquires, How one may guard against guests at a banquet going to sleep; and, How one ought to use drinking of healths; and, When one ought to introduce beautiful boys and girls into a banquet; and when one ought to treat them well as if they were admired, and when one ought to send them away as disregarding them; and also, concerning various kinds of cookery, and concern¬ ing loaves, and other things; and all the over-subtle discus¬ sions in which the son of Sophroniscus has indulged concerning kissing. A philosopher who was continually exercising his intellect on such investigations as these, being entrusted, as Hermippus relates, with the citadel of Corinth by Antigonus, got drunk and lost even Corinth itself, being outwitted and defeated by Aratus the Sicyonian ; who formerly had argued in his Dialogues against Zeno the philosopher, contending that a w r ise man would in every respect be a good general; and this excellent pupil of Zeno proved this especial point admirably by his own achievements. For it was a witty say¬ ing of Bion the Borysthenite, when he saw a brazen statue of his, on which was the inscription, Pers;eus of Citium, the Pupil of Zeno, that the man who engraved the inscrip¬ tion had made a blunder, for that it ought to have been, Persseus the servant (oiWie a not kltUol) of Zeno ; for he had been born a slave of Zeno, as Nicias of Nicasa relates, in his History of Philosophers; and this is confirmed by Sotion the Alexandrian, in his Successions. And I have met with two books of that admirable work of Persteus, which have this title, “ Convivial Dialogues.” 55. But Ctesibius the Chalcidian, the friend of Menedemus, as Antigonus the Carystian relates in his Lives, being asked by somebody, What he had ever got by philosophy ? replied, The power of getting a supper without contributing to it himself. On which account Timon somewhere or other said to him— Oh you marl dinner hunter, with the eyes Of a dead corpse, and heart both bold and shameless. And Ctesibius was a man who made very good guesses, and was a very witty man, and a sayer of amusing things; on which account every one used to invite him to their parties ; he was not a man like you, you Cynic, who never sacrificed to the Graces, nor even to the Muses. And therefore Virtue THE DEIPNOSOPHISTS. 262 [b. iv. avoiding you, and all like you, sits by Pleasure, as Mnasalces the Sicyonian says, in his Epigrams— Here I most miserable Virtue sit By Pleasure’s side, and cut my hair for grief, Crush’d in my spirit; for profane Delight Is judged by all my better, and my chief. And Baton the comic writer says in his Homicide— How I invite those moderate philosophers, Who ne’er allow themselves a single pleasure, Who keep on looking for the one wise man In all their walks and conversations, Vs if he were a slave who’d run away. 0 wretched man, why, when you have a ticket, Will you refuse to drink 1 Why dost thou now Do so much wrong to the Gods ] why dost thou make Money of greater value than the rate Which nature puts on it] You drink but water, And so must be a worthless citizen; Por so you cheat the farmer and the merchant; But I by getting drunk increase their trade. Then you at early dawn bear round a cruet, Seeking for oil, so that a man must think You have an hour-glass with you, not a bottle.) 56. However, Arcliestratus, as I was saying before this long digression, whom you praise as equal to Homer, because of his praises of the stomach—though your friend Timon says of the stomach, Than which no part more shameless can be found— when speaking of the Sea-dog, writes as follows:— There are but few so happy as to know This godlike food, nor do men covet it Who have the silly souls of common mortals. They fear because it is an animal Which living preys on man. But every fish Loves human flesh, if it can meet with it. So that ’tis fit that all who talk such nonsense Should be confined to herbs, and should be sent To Diodorus the philosopher And starve, and so pythagorize with him. But this Diodorus was by birth an Aspendian; but desiring to be thought a Pythagorean, he lived after the fashion of you Cynics, letting his hair grow, being dirty, and going barefoot. On which account some people fancied that it was an article of the Pythagorean creed to let the hair grow, which was in reality a fashion introduced by Diodorus, as DIODORUS. 263 c. 57.] Hermippus asserts. But Timseus of Tauromenium, in the ninth book of iiis Histories, writes thus concerning him— “ Diodorus, who was by birth an Aspendian, introduced a novel fashion of dress, and pretended to resemble the Pytha¬ goreans. Stratonicus wrote and sent a messenger to him, desiring him who carried the message to seek out a disciple of Pythagoras who kept the portico crowded by his insane vagaries about dress, and his insolence. And Sosicrates, in the third book of the Succession of Philosophers, relates that Diodorus used to wear a long beard, and a worn-out cloak, and to keep his hair long, indulging in these fashions out of a vain ostentation. For that the Pythagoreans before him wore very handsome clothes, and used baths, and perfumes, and hair of the ordinary length. 57. And if you in reality, O philosopher, do admire content¬ ment and moderation in your feasts, why is it that you have come hither without being invited ? Did you come as to a house of intemperance, in order to learn to make a catalogue of a cook’s instruments 1 or in order to spout some verses of Cepholion the Athenian ? For according to the Cedalion of Sophocles, you are A branded lot, all knaves and parasites. And he says that you philosophers always have your minds set upon banquets; and that you think it constantly neces¬ sary to ask for something to eat or to devour some Cynic food. For there is no need for our picking our phrases. And all this is plain from what Alexis relates in his book which is entitled Linus : and in that he supposes Hercules to have been educated by Linus, and to have been ordered by him to select any one out of a number of books that were at hand to read. And he having taken a cookery-book in his hand, retained it with great eagerness. And Linus then speaks to him in the following terms— Lin. Come here, and take whatever book you please. And read it carefully, when you have scann’d The titles, and the subjects well consider’d. There’s Orpheus here, and Hesiod, and plays, Chperilus, Homer, Epicharmus too, All sorts of works. For thus your choice will show me Your nature, and your favourite pursuit. Tier. I will take this. Lin. First show me what it is. Her. A cookery book, as says the title-page. 264 THE DEIPNOSOPHISTS. [B. IV. Lin. You’re a philosopher, that’s very plain, Who passing over all these useful books, Choose out the art of Simus. Her. Who is Simus ) Lin. A very clever man; now he has turn’d To tragic studies; and of all the actors Is the most skilful cook, as those who eat His dishes do declare. And of all cooks By far the cleverest actor. Her. He’s a man Of noble appetite ; say what you wish ; For be of this assured, that I am hungry. 58. When Magnus had run through these quotations, Cynul- cus, looking at the philosophers who were present, said— Have you seen the Thasian brine, 1 and heard how he does bark] How speedily the fellow did revenge himself, and thoroughly; It does not seem a case of one blind speaking to a deaf man: as Cratinus says, in his Archilochi. For he, forgetting before what a tribunal he was making an exhibition of his fine iambics, read his colabri with his natural greediness, and at the same time with his usual elegance of expression, and Melodies out of time, and tuneless cymbals: and after all this fine ignorant stupidity, he goes round to people’s houses, seeking out where any handsome banquet is prepared, carrying his conduct to a length even beyond the Athenian Chserephon, of whom Alexis says in his Fugitive— That Chaereplion has always got some trick, And now he’s looking for some feast to share AVhere he himself will not be call’d upon For any contribution. For wheresoever A pot, such as is let to cooks, docs stand, Thither he goeth at the earliest dawn; And if he sees one come to hire it For any feast, he asks the cook the name Of him who gives the feast, and then as soon As the door opens, in he walks the first. But this man has no hesitation, like the excellent Magnus, even to make excursions quite beyond the boundaries for the sake of his stomach, as Alexis said in his Men who Died together— Chserephon comes to Corinth for a supper. Though he has never had an invitation ; But still he flies across the sea, so sweet It is to eat of what another pays for. 1 The term a\/irj, brine, seems used here of a troublesome fellow; some* thing in the same spirit as we call a person “ a pickle.” 265 C.. 60.] EXTRAVAGANCE. And Theopompus, in his Ulysses, says— Well said Euripides, “It is not bad For a rich man to dine at other’s cost.” 59. And when all laughed at this,Ulpian said, Whence do the voluptuaries who talk so loosely get all their elegance of ex¬ pression ? And Cynulcus replied, But, 0 you Avell-seasoned little pig, Phrynichus the Cynic poet, in his Epliialtes, men¬ tions “ the elegant speaker ” in these terms:— Is is the hardest work of all to guard against such men; For they do carry always at their finger’s end a sting, The misanthropic flower of youth ; and then they fawn on all With carefully selected sweetness of expression, Always the forum haunting when the citizens are seated ; And then they lacerate with wounds severe and unexpected Those whom they have been fawning on, and hide themselves and laugh. And the word yapiToyAcocro-eu/ (to speak so as to please) is used by AEschvlus in the Prometheus Vinctus— %j o You shall know this for true; nor is it mine XapL'royAuxrcrelv. And when Ulpian said again, But what, my friends, is meant by cooks’ instruments? for these things were mentioned, and were thought worthy of being enumerated in the Arcadian banquets : and also where is the word do-amov (abode of luxury) to be found? For I know that the adjective uowo? is common enough. And Alexis speaks of a luxurious ex¬ travagant man in his Cnidia, saying— Diodorus, most extravagant of men, In two brief years did make his patrimony Into a football, with such headlong speed Did he devour everything. And again, in the Pluedrus, he says— You tell me of a very slow proceeding; For in five days the little Epicharides Made ducks and drakes of all his father’s property, So quickly and entirely did he swallow it. 60. And Ctesippus the son of Chabrias carried his extrava¬ gance and intemperance to such a height, that he sold even the stones of his father’s tomb, on which the Athenians had spent a thousand drachmae, to furnish means for his luxury. And accordingly Diphilus says in his Men offering Sacrifices to the Dead— 266 THE DEIPNOSOriHSTS. [B. IV. If Chabrias’s son, the young Ctesippus, Had not become a friend of Phaedimus, I should have brought a wholesome law forward To cause his father’s monument to be finished. That each of all the citizens should give A stone of size to fill a waggon, and I say that that would not be much for him. And Timocles, in his Demosatyri, says— Ctesippus, the fine son of Chabrias, Has ceased to shave himself three times a-day. A great man among women, not with men. And Menander, in his “ Anger,” says this of him— And I too once was a young man, 0 woman, Nor did I then five several times a-day Bathe, as I now do bathe ; nor at that time Had I a soft cloak, such as now I have, Nor such perfumes as now ; now I will paint myself, And pluck my hair, by Jove. Aye, I will be Ctesippus, not a man; and in brief time I too, like him, will eat up all the stones, For I’ll not be content with earth alone. And perhaps it was on account of this extravagant luxury and debauchery that Demosthenes has handed down his name in his treatise on Immunities. But those who have devoured their patrimony ought to be punished in such a way as this, like the Nauclerus of Menander. For Menan¬ der says— 0 dearest mother of all mortals, Earth, How kind you are to all possess’d of sense ; How worthy of all honour ! Sure that man Who like a spendthrift eats his patrimony, Should be condemn’d to sail about for ever And never reach the shore ; that he might feel To what great good he’d been insensible. 61. And Axionicus speaks of a certain Pythodelus as a very intemperate man, in his Etrurian, saying— Here Pythodelus comes, who is surnamed Isoballion, greediest of men, And on his steps does follow that wise woman lschas, bearing a drum, and very drunk. And Anaxandrides attacks Polyeuctus, turning him into ridicule in the comedy called Tereus— A. You shall be call’d a bird. B. Why so, by Yesta? Is it because I ate my patrimony LUXURY OF THE TAEENTINES. 267 c. 62 .] Like that most fashionable Polyeuctus! A. No, but because you, though you were a man, Were torn in pieces by the women so. And Theopompus, in the tenth hook of his account of the Exploits of Philip, (a book from which some separate the con¬ clusion, in which there is the mention made of the dema¬ gogues at Athens,) says that Eubulus the demagogue was an intemperate man. And he uses the following expressions— “ And he so far exceeded the whole nation of the Tarentines in luxury and extravagance, that this latter is only im¬ moderate in its indulgence in feasts; but he spent on his luxury even the revenues of the Athenian people. But Callistratus,” he continues, “ the son of Callicrates, who was himself also a demagogue, was very intemperate in his pleasures, but still he was very attentive to the business of the state.” And speaking of the Tarentines, in the fifty- second book of his Histories, he writes as follows—“ The city of the Tarentines sacrifices oxen nearly every month, and celebrates public festivals; and the chief body of private individuals is alw T ays occupied in banquets and drinking parties. And the Tarentines hold some such language as this : That other men, because they are fond of personal exertion, and because they devote themselves to actual labour, prepare their subsistence in this way for the future : but that they, by means of their banquets and pleasures, are not about to live, but are living already.” 62. But concerning the intemperance and general habits and life of Philip and his companions, Theopompus gives the following account, in the forty-ninth book of his Histories— “ When Philip became master of great treasures, he did not spend them quickly, but he threw them away and squandered them; being of all the men that ever lived, not only the worst manager himself, but all those who were about him were so too. For absolutely not one of them had any idea of living properly, or of managing his household with mode¬ ration. And of that he himself was the cause, being a most insatiable and extravagant man, doing everything in an off¬ hand manner, whether he was acquiring property or giving it away. For though he was a soldier, he was unable, out of pure laziness, to count what he had coming in and what lie spent. And then his companions were men collected together 2G8 THE DEIPNOSOPHISTS. [b. IV. from all quarters; for some of them came from his own country, and some from Thessaly, and some from other parts of Greece, not being selected with any care; but if among either Greeks or barbarians there was any lascivious, or im¬ pure, or avaricious man, he had almost every one of the same character assembled in Macedonia, and they were all called friends of Philip. And even if any one came who was not entirely of that disposition, still under the influence of the life and manners of the Macedonians, he very soon became like the rest. For their wars, and military expeditions, and other great expenses, encouraged them to be audacious, and to live, not in an orderly manner, but after a prodigal fashion and like robbers.” 63. But Duris, in the seventh book of his History of the Affairs of Macedonia, speaking of Pasicyprus the king of Cyprus, and of his intemperate habits, writes as follows— “ Alexander, after the siege of Tyre, dismissed Pnytagoras, and gave him many presents, and among them he gave him the fortified place which he asked for. And that very place Pasicyprus the king had previously sold, in a luxurious freak, for fifty talents, to Pymatus the Cittiiean, selling him both the fortress itself and his own royal authority over it. And when he had received the money he grew old in Amathus.” Such also was yEthiops the Corinthian, as Demetrius the Scepsian relates, of whom mention is made by Archilochus; “ for he, out of his love of pleasure and intemperance, sailing with Archias to Sicily when he was about to found Syracuse, sold to his messmate for a cake of honey the lot which he had just drawn, and was about to take possession of in Syracuse.” 64. But Demetrius carried his extravagance to such a height, he, I mean, who was the descendant of Demetrius Phalereus, according to the account of Hegesander, that he had Aris- tagora the Corinthian for a mistress, and lived in a most ex¬ pensive manner. And when the Areopagitee summoned him before them, and ordered him to live more decorously— “ But even now,” said he, “ I live like a gentleman, for I have a most beautiful mistress, and I do no wrong to any one, and I drink Chian wine, and I have a sufficiency of everything, as my own revenues suffice for all these expenses. And I do not live as some of you do, corrupted by bribes myself, C. 66.] EXTRAVAGANCE OF INDIVIDUALS. 269 and intriguing with other men’s wives.” And hereupon he enumerated some who acted in this manner by name. And Antigonus the king, having heard this, made him a thes- mothete. And he, being an liipparch at the Panathensea, erected a seat close to the statues of Mercury for Aristagora, higher than the Mercuries themselves. And when the mys¬ teries were celebrated at Eleusis, he placed a seat for her close to the temple, saying that those who endeavoured to hinder him should repent it. 65. But Phanodemus, and also Philochorus, have related that in former times the judges of the Areopagus used to summon before them and to punish profligate and extravagant men, and those who had no ostensible means of living : and many others have told the same story. At all events, those judges sent for Menedemus and Asclepiades the philosophers when they were young men and poor, and asked them how they managed to look so sleek and comfortable when they spent the whole day idling with philosophers, and had no property. And they replied that some one of the men about the mill had better be sent for. And when he came and said that they came every night to the mill and threshed and ground the corn, and each earned two drachma), the judges of the Areopagus marvelled, and presented them with two hundred drachmae as a reward. And the citizens of Abdera brought Democritus to trial, on the ground that he had wasted the estate which he had inherited from his father. And when he had read to them his Great World, and his treatise concerning the Things in the Shades below, and had said that he had spent it on these works, he was discharged. 66. But those men who are not so luxurious, as Amphis says— Drink two entire days in every day, Shaking their heads through their too mighty draughts. And according to Diphilus— Having three heads, like to Diana’s statue. Being enemies to their own estate, as Satyrus in his treatise on Characters said, running through their land, tearing to pieces and plundering their own houses, selling their own property as if it were the spoils of the enemy, considering not what has been spent, but Avhat will be spent, and not 270 THE DEIPNOSOPH1STS. [b. IV, what will remain afterwards, but what will not remain, having spent beforehand in their youth the money which ought to have carried them safely through old age, rejoicing in companionship, not in companions, and in their wine, and not in those wdio drink it with them. But Agatharchides the Corinthian, in the twenty-eighth book of his Commentary on the Affairs of Europe, says “ that Gnosippus, who was a very luxurious and extravagant man in Sparta, was forbidden by the Ephori to hold intercourse with the young men.” And among the Romans, it is related, according to the state¬ ment of Posidonius, in the forty-ninth book of his Histories, that there was a man named Apicius who went beyond all other men in intemperance. This is that Apicius who was the cause of banishment to Rutilius, who wrote the history of the Romans in the Greek language. But concerning Apicius, the man, I mean, who is so notorious for his extravagant luxury, we have already spoken in our first book. 67. But Diogenes the Babylonian, in his treatise on JSTobilitv of Birth, says “ that the son of Phocion, whose name was Phocus, was such a man that there w T as not one Athenian who did not hate him. And whenever any one met him they said to him, £ 0 you man wdio are a disgrace to your family!’ For he had expended all his patrimony on intemperance ; and after this he became a flatterer of the prefect of Munychia; on which account he w T as again attacked and reproached by every one. And once, when a voluntary contribution v r as being made, he came forward and said, before the whole assembly, 1 1, too, contribute my share.’ And the Athenians all with one accord cried out, ‘Yes, to profligacy.’ And Phocus was a man very fond of drinking hard; and accordingly, when he had conquered with horses at the Panathensea, and when Sopater entertained his companions at a banquet, the prepa¬ ration w T as very splendid, and foot-tubs full of wine and spices were set before all who came in. And his father, seeing this, called Phocus, and said, ‘Will you not stop your companion from polluting your victory in this fashion V ” And I know too of many other intemperate "and extrava¬ gant men, whom I leave you to find out, with the exception of Callias the son of Hipponicus, whom even the tutors of little children have heard of. But concerning the others whom I have been a little hasty in mentioning, if you have c. 68.] cook’s apparatus. 271 anything to say, I have the doors of my ears open. So speak ; for I want to know something. Besides Magnus used the words Itt€(t6luv and eVt^ayefi/. And iEmilianus said, you have the word dcrdrnov used by Strattis, in his Chrysippus, where he says— He will not e’en have time to ease himself, Nor to turn to an aau-riov, nor e’en, If a man meets him, to converse with him. 68. But the instruments used by a cook are enumerated by Anaxippus, in his Harp-player, as follows :— Bring me a ladle and a dozen spits, A flesh-hook, and a mortar, and a cheese-scraper, A cylinder, three troughs, a knife, four choppers. Will you not, 0 man hated by the gods, Make haste and put the kettle on the fire 1 And are you now still dawdling at that dish 1 And with that largest chopper! But Aristophanes calls the dish which we commonly call yyrpa, a KaKKdfirj, in his play of the Women occupying the Tents; saying— Warm now the kolkk in his Wedding— Uarauia, beet, and assafoetida, Dishes and candles, coriander and onions. And salt and olives, and round dishes too. And Philetserus says, in his (Enopion— Here let the cook of dainty dishes (w araAwv) come. 272 THE DEIPNOSOPHISTS. [b. IV. And, in a subsequent passage, he says— He seems to have more pupils for his dishes Than even Stratonicus had. And Antiphanes, in his Parasite, said this— A. Another bulky man, large as a table, And nobly born, will come besides this man. B. Whom do you mean! A. A new Carystian, Born of the earth and warm. B. Tell me his name. Or else begone. A. I mean a Kd.KKa.f3us, But you, perhaps, would call it merely dish. B. What do I care what name you give to it?- Whether men like to call it Kannafios Or aiTTvfios , I know the thing you mean. But Eubulus, in his Ionian, uses both forms, both fiardvLov and Trardviov, where he says— Bound dishes, and Par avia, and caccabia, And lopadia, and Traravia, in crowds Countless, I could not tell you half their names. 69. But Alexis made a catalogue of seasonings, in his play called the Caldron, saying—• A. Let me have no excuses, no “ I have not.” B. But tell me -what you want—I will take all. A. Quite right. Go first of all and take some sesame. B. There’s some within. A. Take some grapes dried and cut, Some fennel, anise, assafoetida, Mustard and cabbage, some dry coriander. Sumach and cummin, capers, marjoram, Leeks, garlic, thyme, sage, seseli, Some new-made wine boil’d down, some rue and spinach. And, in his Woman working all Night, or the Spinners, he introduces a cook as saying— I must run round, and bawl for what I want; You’ll call for supper when you home return, And 1 have got no vinegar, nor anise, Nor marjoram, nor fig-leaves, nor sweet oil, Nor almonds, nor the lees of new-made wine, Nor garlic, no, nor leeks, nor onions, No fire, no cummin seed, no salt, no eggs. No wood, no trough, no frying-pan, no rope ; No pail, no cistern, neither well nor pitcher ; Here I stand useless with but knife in hand. Girt and prepared for action all in vain. 273 0 . 70 .] THE USE OF CERTAIN WORDS. And, in his Wicked Woman, he says— First of all take a dish of goodly size, And put in marjoram and pounded herbs, Steep’d to a fair extent in vinegar. Colour’d with new made wine, and flavoured with Plenty of potent assafoetida. And Teleclides used the word IttzvOUlv, in his Prytanes, in this manner:— T vpiov eVea-0/ovTa, eating cheese. And Eupolis used the word iTn^ayclv in his Taxiarchs— Wishing to eat {lirupay^v) of nothing But just an onion and three pickled olives. And Aristophanes, in his Plutus, says— Once, out of poverty, he ate up (inricrdiev) everything. 70. But there was another class of men somewhat different from the' cooks, called Tpa7re£o7roiot, setters out of tables. But what their office was is plainly stated by Antiphanes, in his Sojourner— Hither I come, and bring this table-setter, Who soon shall wash the cloths, and trim the lamps, Prepare the glad libations, and do every thing Which to his office may pertain. And it is worth inquiring whether the Tpo.ire'CoKopio^ is the same person as the TpaTre^oiroios. For king Juba, in his treatise on Similitudes, says that the Tpazre^oKo/zo? is the same person who is called by the Komans structor, quoting from the play of Alexander, which is entitled Potation— Now for to-morrow I must get a flute-player, A table-setter, and a workman too. This was my master’s reason for despatching me On this commision from his country seat. But they called him Tpa7re£o7roio? who took care of the tables, and of everything else which required order and good manage¬ ment. Philemon says, in his “ The Uninvited Guest”— There is no need of long deliberation About the kitchen, for the table-setter Is bound to look to that; that is his office. They also used the word €wiTpa7re£oiVi£. But this instrument Neanthes the Cyzicene, in the first book of his Seasons, says is an invention of Ibycus the Rhegian poet; as also the lyre called barbitos was of Anacreon. But since you are running all us Alexandrians down as unmusical, and keep mentioning the monaulos as our only national instrument, listen now to what I can tell you offhand about that. 78. For Juba, in the before-mentioned treatise, says that the Egyptians call the monaulos an invention of Osiris, just as they say that kind of plagiaulos is, which is called photinx, and that, too, I will presently show you is mentioned by a very illustrious author; for the photinx is the same as the flute, which is a national instrument. But Sophocles, in his Thamyras, speaks of the monaulos, saying— MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS. 281 c. 78 .] For all the tuneful melodies of pipes (nriKTiSes) Are lost, the lyre, and monaulos too. * * * * And Araros, in his Birth of Pan, says— But lie, can you believe it ] seized at once On the monaulos, and leapt lightly forth. And Anaxandrides, in his Treasure, says— I the monaulos took, and sang a wedding song. And in his Bottle-bearer he says— A. What have you done, you Syrian, with your monaulos 1 B. What monaulos] A. The reed. And Sopater, in his Bacchis, says— And then he sang a song on the monaulos. But Protagorides of Cyzicus, in the second book of his treatise on the Assemblies in Honour of Daphne, says, “ He touched every kind of instrument, one after another, cas¬ tanets, the weak-sounding pandurus, but he drew the sweetest harmony from the sweet monaulos. And Posidonius the Stoic philosopher, in the third book of his Histories, speaking of the war of the Apameans against the Larissaeans, writes as follows—“Having taken short daggers sticking in their waists, and small lances covered with rust and dirt, and having put veils and curtains over their heads which produce a shade but do not hinder the wind from getting to their necks, dragging on asses laden with wine and every sort of meat, by the side of which were packed little photinges and little monauli, instruments of revelry, not of war.” But I am not ignorant that Amerias the Macedonian, in his Dialects, says, that the monaulos is called tityrinus. So here you have, 0 excellent Ulpian, a man who mentions the photinx. But that the monaulos was the same instrument which is now called calamaules, or reedfife, is clearly shown by Hedylus, in his Epigrams, where he says— Beneath this mound the tuneful Theon lies, Whom the monaulos knew its sweetest lord ; Scirpalus’ son; age had destroy’d his sight, And when he was a child his sire him call’d Eupalamus in his first birthday ode, Showing that he was a choice bouquet where The virtues all had met. For well he sung The Muses’ sports amid their wine-glad revels; •282 THE DEIPNOSOrHISTS. [B. IV. He sang to Battalus, an eager drinker Of unmix’cl wine, and Cotalus and Pasncalus. Say then to Theon with his calamaules, Farewell, 0 Theon, tunefullest of men. As, therefore, they now call those who play on a pipe of reeds (/pos is something simpler than these things. Accordingly, in the book where Ulysses appears as a beggar the servants place for him, as Homer tells us, A humble chair (ti'appos), and spread a scanty board. But their goblets, as their name (Kparr/pes) indicates, were supplied full of wine mixed with water {k(.k pap.lv ol) ; and the youths ministered to them from the larger goblets, always, in the case of the most honourable of the guests, keeping their small cups full; but to the rest they distributed the wine in equal portions. Accordingly Agamemnon says to Ido- meneus— To thee the foremost honours are decreed, First in the fight, and every graceful deed; 2 Iliad, iv. 262. x 2 1 Odyss. ix. 5. 308 THE DEIPN030PII1STS. [B. V. For this in banquets, when the generous howls Restore our blood, and raise our warrior souls, Though all the rest with stated rules are bound, Unmix’d, unmeasured are thy goblets crown’d. And they used to pledge one another, not as we do, (for our custom may be expressed by the verb irpoeKirtvoi rather than by 7rpo7TLvo),) but they drank the entire bumper off—• He fill’d his cup, and pledged great Peleus’ son. And how often they took meat, we have already explained —namely, that they had three meals, because it is the same meal that was at one time called Sei7rvov, and [it another dpunov. For those men who say that they used to take four meals a day, are ridiculously ignorant, since the poet himself says— But do thou come SeieAi’fjaas. And these men do not perceive that this word means, “ after having remained here till evening.” But, nevertheless, no one can show in the poet one instance of any one taking food even three times in the day. But many men are led into mistakes, placing these verses in the poet all together— They wash ; the tables in fair order spread, They heap the glittering capisters with bread, Viands of various kinds allure the taste, Of choicest sort and savour ; rich repast. 1 For if the housekeeper placed the meats on the table, it is plain that there was no need for the carver to bring in more, so that some of the above description is superfluous. But when the guests had departed the tables were removed, as is done at the feasts of the Suitors and of the Phseacians, in whose case he says— The servants bore away the armour of the feast. And it is plain that he means the dishes, for the word he uses is evrca ; and it is that part of the armour which covers a man, such as his breastplate, his greaves, and things like them which men call evrea, as being in front (avna) of the parts of the body. And of the rooms in the palaces of the heroes, those which were larger Homer calls /xeya pa, and Sto/xara, and even K/Wias (tents). But the 'moderns call them dv&p&ves (rooms to receive men) and (strangers’ apartments). 21. What then, my friends, shall we call the entertainment which Antiochus, who was surnamed Epiphanes, (but who was more rightly called Epimanes 2 from his actions,) gave ? 1 Odysa. i. 131; vii. 175. 2 ’Emcpavrjs, illustrious. ’Et npai/jjs, mad. C. 21.] FEAST GIVEN BY ANTIOCHUS. 309 Now lie was king of the Syrians, being one of the Seleucidce. And Polybius says of him, “ He, escaping out of the palace without the knowledge of the attendants, was often found with one or two companions wandering about the city wherever he might chance to take it into his head to go. And he was, above all other places, frequently found at the shops of the engravers of silver and of the goldsmiths, conversing on the subject of their inventions with, and inquiring into the principles of their art from, the engravers and other artists. And besides this, he often used to go among the common people, conversing with whomsoever he might chance to meet; and he would drink with the lowest and poorest strangers. And whenever he heard of any young men having a banquet, without having given any notice of his intention, he would come to join in their feast with a flute and music, behaving in a most lascivious manner; so that many used to rise up and depart, being alarmed at his strange behaviour. Often, also, lie would lay aside his royal robes, and put on a common cloak, and so go round the market, like a man who was a candidate for some office : and taking some people by the hand, and embracing others, he would solicit them to vote for him, sometimes begging to be made sedile, and sometimes tribune; and when he was elected, sitting in his ivory curule chair, according to the fashion which prevails among the Romq^is, he would hear all the causes which were pleaded in the forum, and decide them with great attention and earnest¬ ness, by which conduct he greatly perplexed sensible men. For some thought him a man of very simple tastes, and others considered him mad. And his conduct with respect to presents was very much the same. For he would give some people dice of antelope’s bones, and some he would present with dates, and to others he would give gold. And even if he met people in the street whom he had never seen, he would give them presents unexpectedly. And in his sacri¬ fices, which were offered up in the different cities, and in the honours offered t<^ the gods, he surpassed all the kings who had ever existed.' And any one may conjecture this from the temple raised to Olympian Jupiter at Athens, and from the statues around the altar at Delos. And he used to bathe in the public baths, often when they were completely full of the citizens, and then he would have earthen pans of the 310 THE DEIPNOSOrmSTS. [b. V. most expensive perfumes brought to him. And on one of these occasions, when some one said to him, “ Happy are you kings, who use all these things and smell so sweet,” he made the man no answer at the time; but coming the next day to the place where he was bathing, he caused him to have a pan of the largest size of that most precious ointment called o-Ta.KT7] poured over his head, so that when that had been done, every one near got up and hastened to get a little of the ointment, and as they fell down in their haste, by reason of the slipperiness of the floor, every one laughed, as did the king himself. 22. “And this same king,” continues Polybius, “having heard of the games which had been celebrated in Macedonia by Himilius Paullus the Homan general, wishing to surpass Paullus in his magnificence and liberality, sent ambassadors and theori to the different cities to proclaim that games were going to be exhibited by him at Daphne, so that the Greeks all hastened with great eagerness to come to him to see them. And the beginning of the exhibition was a splendid procession, arranged in this w T ay :—Some men led the way armed in the Roman fashion, in breastplates of chain armour, all men in the flower of their youth, to the number of five thousand; immediately after them, five thousand Mysians followed; and then three thousand Cilicians, armed in the fashion of light-armed skirmishers, having golden crowns; and after them three thousand Thracians and five thousand Galatians; these were followed by twenty thousand Macedonians, and by five thousand men armed with brazen shields, and as many more with silver shields; they were followed by two hundred and forty pair of gladiators to fight in single combat; behind these came a thousand Nissean cavalry, and three thousand men of the city guard, the greatest part of whom had golden trappings and golden crowns, but some had silver trappings; to these succeeded the cavalry who are called the King’s Companions; these amounted to one thousand men, all equipped with golden trappings; next to these was the battalion of the King’s , Friends, of the same number and the same equipment; after these a thousand picked men; and they were followed by what was called the Agema, which was considered to be the most excellent squadron of all the cavalry, to the number of EXTRAVAGANCE OF ANTIOCHUS. 311 c. 23.] a thousand men; last of all came the Fenced Cavalry, having its name from the fact that both men and horses were com¬ pletely enveloped in armour; they were in number fifteen hundred men. And all the above-mentioned soldiers had purple cloaks, and many had them also embroidered with gold or painted with figures of living animals. Besides all this, there were a hundred chariots with six horses, and forty with four horses; then a chariot drawn by four elephants, and another by two; and last of all, six-and-thirty elephants, all handsomely appointed, followed one by one. 23. “The rest of the procession was such as it is difficult adequately to describe, and it must be enumerated in a sum¬ mary manner. For youths walked in the procession to the number of eight hundred, all having golden crowns ; and fat oxen to the number of one thousand ; and deputations to see to the performance of separate sacrifices, very little short of three hundred; and there were eight hundred elephants’ teeth carried by, and such a multitude of statues as it is beyond any one’s power to enumerate. For images were carried in the procession of all who are ever said or thought by men to be gods, or deities, or demigods, or heroes ; some gilt all over, and some arrayed in golden-broidered robes. And to all of them suitable inscriptions according to the accounts commonly received of them were attached, carved in the most expensive materials. And they were followed by an image of Night and another of Day ; and of the Earth, and of Heaven, and of Morning, and of Noon. And the vast quan¬ tity of gold plate and silver plate was such as perhaps a man may form a guess at from the following account. For a thousand slaves belonging to Dionysius the secretary and amanuensis of the king joined in the procession, each carrying articles of silver plate, of which there was not one weighing less than a thousand drachmae. And there were six hundred slaves belonging to the king himself, carrying articles of gold plate. And besides them there were women to the number of two hundred sprinkling every one with perfumes out of golden waterpots. And they were succeeded by eighty women magnificently apparelled, borne on palanquins with golden feet, and five hundred borne on palanquins with silver feet. And this was the most important portion of the procession. 312 THE DEIPNOSOPHISTS. [b. V. 24. “But after the games were over and the single combats and the hunting, during the whole thirty days which he exhi¬ bited these shows, on the first five days every one who came into the gymnasium was anointed with a saffron perfume shed upon him out of golden dishes. And there were fifteen of these golden dishes, full of equal quantities of cinnamon and spikenard. And in a similar manner in the five next days there was brought in essence of fenugreek, and of amaracus, and of lilies, all differing in their scent; and some days there were laid a thousand triclinia for the banquet; and some days fifteen hundred, all laid in the most expensive possible manner. And the arrangement of the whole business was superintended by the king himself. For having a very fine horse he went up and down the whole procession, com¬ manding some to advance, and others to halt. And stopping at the entrances of the rooms where the drinking was going- on he brought some in, and to others he assigned places on the couches. And he himself conducted in the attendants who brought in the second course. And he went round the whole banquet, sometimes sitting down in one place, and pre¬ sently lying down in another place. And sometimes even while he was eating he would lay down what he was eating or his cup, and jump up, and go away to another part of the room. And lie would go all round the company, at times, pledging some of the guests in a standing posture; and at times entertaining himself with the jesters or with the music. And when the entertainment had lasted a long time and many of the guests had gone away, then the king would be brought in by buffoons, all covered up, and laid on the ground as if he had been one of their band. And when the music excited him, he would jump up and dance, and act with the mummers, so that every one felt ashamed for him and fled away. And all this was done partly with the treasure which he brought out of Egypt, having plundered Ptolemy Philo- metor the king there, in defiance of his treaty with him when he was but a little boy ; and some of the money too was con¬ tributed by his friends. And he had also sacrilegiously plun¬ dered most of the temples in his dominions.” 25. And while all the guests marvelled at the conduct of the king, seeing that he was not illustrious but absolutely mad, Masurius brought forward Callixenus the Rhodian, who c. 23.] PTOLEMY PHILADELPHIA. 313 in the fourth hook of his History of Alexandria has given an account of a spectacle and procession which was exhibited by that most admirable of all monarchs, Ptolemy Philadelphia. And he says—“ But before I begin, I will give a description of the tent which was prepared within the circuit of the citadel, apart from the place provided for the reception of the soldiers, and artisans, and foreigners. For it was wonderfully beautiful, and worth hearing about. Its size was such as to be able to hold a hundred and thirty couches placed in a circle, and it was furnished in the following manner :—There were wooden pillars at intervals, five on each side of the tent longwise, fifty cubits high, and something less than one cubit broad. And on these pillars at the top was a capital, of square figure, carefully fitted, supporting the whole weight of the roof of the banqueting room. And over this was spread in the middle a scarlet veil with a white fringe, like a canopy; and on each side it had beams covered over with turreted veils, with white centres, on which canopies embroidered all over the centre were placed. And of the pillars four were made to resemble palm-trees, and they had in the centre a representation of thyrsi. And on the outside of these a por¬ tico ran, adorned with a peristyle on three sides, with a vaulted roof. And in this place it was intended that the company of the feasters should sit down. And the interior of it was surrounded with scarlet curtains. But in the middle of the space there were strange hides of beasts, strange both as to their variegated colour and their size, suspended. And the part wdiich surrounded this portico in the open air was shaded by myrtle-trees and daphnes, and other suitable shrubs. And the whole floor was strewed with flowers of every descrip¬ tion. For Egypt, on account of the temperate character of the atmosphere which surrounds it, and on account of the fondness of the inhabitants for gardening, produces in great abundance, and all the year round, those things which in other countries are rarely found, and only at particular seasons. And roses, and white lilies, and numberless other flowers are never wanting in that country. On which account, though this entertainment took place in the middle of winter, still there w r as a show of flowers which was quite incredible to the foreigners. For flowers of which one could not easily have found enough to make one chaplet in any other city 314 THE DEIPNOSOPHISTS. [B. V. were supplied in the greatest abundance here, to make chaplets for every one of the guests at this entertainment, and were strewed thickly over the whole floor of the tent; so as really to give the appearance of a most divine meadow. 26. “ And by the posts round the entire tent there were placed animals carved in marble by the first artists, a hundred in number. And in the spaces between the posts there were pictures hung by the Sicyonian painters; and alternately with these there were carefully selected images of every kind; and garments embroidered with gold, and most exquisite cloaks, some of them having portraits of the kings of Egypt embroidered on them; and some, stories taken from the mythology. Above them were placed gold and silver shields alternately; and on the spaces above these shields, which were eight cubits high, caves were made, six on each side of the tent longwise, and four at each end. There were like¬ wise in them representations of eating parties opposite to one another, of tragic, and comic,' and satyric animals, having on real clothes. And before them were placed golden goblets. And in the middle of the caves were placed nymphsea, and on them there lay golden Delphian tripods, having pedestals of their own. And along the highest part of the roof were golden eagles all facing one another, each fifteen cubits large. There were also golden couches, with feet made like sphinxes, on the two sides of the tent, a hundred on each side. For the front of the tent was left open. And under these there were strewed purple carpets of the finest wool, with the carpet pattern on both sides. And there were handsomely em¬ broidered rugs very beautifully elaborated on them. Besides this, thin Persian cloths covered all the centre space where the guests walked, having most accurate representations of animals embroidered on them. And by them were placed tripods for the guests, made of gold, two hundred in number, so that there were two for every couch, and they rested on silver pedestals. And behind, out of sight, there were a hundred flat dishes of silver, and an equal number of lavers. On the opposite side of the sitting-room there was fixed another , sideboard, opposite to that on which the cups and goblets were placed; and on that were all the rest of the things which had been prepared for, or could come into use. And they were all made of gold, and studded with precious stones ; PTOLEMY PHILADELPHIA. 315 c. 27.] admirably carved and wrought. And it has appeared to me too long a task to undertake to enumerate every article of the furniture, and even all the different kinds separately. But the entire weight of all the plate and valuables there exhibited came to ten thousand talents. 27. “ But now that we have gone over everything that was to be seen in the tent, w T e will proceed to the shows and processions exhibited. For it passed through the stadium which there is in the city. And first of ailment”the pro¬ cession of Lucifer. For it began at the time when that star first appeal’s. After that came the procession which bore the name of the parents of the kings. And next came the processions sacred to all the gods respectively, each having an arrangement appropriate to the history of each separate deity. Last of all came the procession of Hesperus, as the hour of that one starting coincided with that time. But if any one wishes to know the separate par¬ ticulars, he may take the description of the quinquennial games and consider them. But in the Dionysiac procession first of all there went the Sileni who keep off the multitude, some clad in purple cloaks, and some in scarlet ones. And these were followed by Satyrs, twenty in each division of the stadium, bearing gilded lamps made of ivy-wood. And after them came images of Victory, having golden wings, and they bore in their hands incense-burners six cubits in height, adorned with branches made of ivy-wood and gold, clad in tunics embroidered with figures of animals, and they them¬ selves also had a great deal of golden ornament about them. And after them there followed an altar of six cubits in height, a double altar, covered all over with ivy-leaves gilded, having a crown of vine-leaves on it all gold, enveloped in bandages with white centres. And that was followed by boys in purple tunics, bearing frankincense, and myrrh, and saffron, on golden dishes. And after them came forty Satyrs, crowned with ivy- garlands made of gold. And they were painted as to their bodies, some with purple, some with vermilion, and some with other colours. And these also wore each a golden crown made to imitate vine-leaves and ivy-leaves. And after them came two Sileni in purple cloaks and white fringes to them. And one of them had a petasus and a golden caduceus, and the other had a trumpet. And between them went a man of 31G THE DEIPNOSOFHISTS. [B. V. gigantic size, four cubits high, in a tragical dress and orna¬ ments, bearing the golden horn of Amalthea. And his name was Eniautos. 1 And he was followed by a woman of great beauty and of more than ordinary size, adorned with quanti¬ ties of gold and a superb dress : bearing in one of her hands a garland of peach blossoms, and in her other hand a branch of the palm-tree. And she was called Penteteris. 2 And she was succeeded by the Four Seasons dressed in character, and each of them bearing its appropriate fruits. Next to them came two incense-burners made of ivy-wood, covered with gold, and six cubits in height, and a large square golden altar in the middle of them. And then again Satyrs, having garlands of ivy-leaves made of gold, and clad in purple robes. And some of them bore golden wine-jars, and others bore goblets. After them marched Philiscus the poet, being a priest of Bacchus, and with him all the artisans who were concerned in the service of Bacchus. And next to them were carried the Delphian tripods, as prizes for the trainers of the athletes; the one for the trainer of the boys nine cubits in height, and the other, twelve cubits in height, for the trainer of the men. 28. “ After them was a four-wheeled wagon fourteen cubits long, and eight cubits wide ; and it was drawn by a hun¬ dred and eighty men ; and in it was placed an image of Bacchus ten cubits high, pouring libations of wine out of a golden goblet, having on a purple tunic reaching down to the feet; and he was clad in a purple garment embroidered with gold; and in front of him there lay a golden Lacedaemonian goblet, holding fifteen measures of wine, and a golden tripod, in which was a golden incense-burner, and two golden bowls, full of cassia and saffron; and a shade covered it round adorned with ivy-leaves, and vine-leaves, and all sorts of other green leaves; and to it were fastened chaplets, and fillets, and thyrsi, and drams, and turbans, and satyric and comic and tragic masks. And the wagon was followed by priests and priestesses, and newly initiated votaries, and by com¬ panies of every nation, and by people bearing the mystic fan. And after this came the Bacchanalian women, called Macetse, and Mimallones, and Bassane, and Lydians, with dishevelled hair, and wearing garlands, some of snakes, and others of 1 ’E uiavTos, a year. 2 Ueyrer-noh, a period of five years. C. 29.] PTOLEMY PHILADELPHUS. 317 branches of yew and of vine-leaves and ivy-leaves, and some held daggers in their hands, and others held snakes. And after them another four-wheeled wagon was drawn, of the width of eight cubits, and it was drawn by sixty men ; and in it was a statue of Nysa, of eight cubits high, in a sitting pos¬ ture, clothed in a box-coloured tunic embroidered with gold, and it was also clad in a Laconian cloak ; and this statue rose up by mechanism, without any one applying his hand to it; and it poured libations of milk out of a golden bottle, and then it sat down again; and in its left hand it bore a thyrsus wrapped round with turbans, and it was crowned with a garland of ivy-leaves, made of gold, and with gorgeous bunches of grapes inlaid with precious stones; and it had a parasol over it; and on the corners of the wagon were fastened four golden lamps. “ And next to that another four-wheeled wagon was drawn along, twenty cubits in length and sixteen in width, and it was drawn by three hundred men. And on it there was a wine-press twenty-four cubits in length and fifteen in breadth, full of grapes ; and sixty Satyrs were trampling on the grapes, singing a song in praise of the wine-press, to the music of a flute. And Silenus presided over them ; and the new wine ran out over the whole road. Next to that was drawn along a wagon, twenty-five cubits long and fourteen broad; and that was drawn by six hundred men. And on this wagon was a sack holding three thousand measures of wine, con¬ sisting of leopards’ skins, sewn together. And this too allow¬ ing its liquor to escape, gradually flowed over the whole road. And it was followed by Satyri and Sileni, to the num¬ ber of a hundred and twenty, all wearing garlands, and carry¬ ing some casks of wine, and some bowls, and some large Thericlean goblets, all made of gold. 29. And next to that was carried a silver vessel containing six hundred measures of wine, being drawn on a four-wheeled wagon by six hundred men. And under its lips, and under its ears, and under its bottom, it had figures of animals en¬ graved ; and in the middle it was crowned with a golden crown, inlaid with precious stones. Next to that there were carried two silver goblets, twelve cubits in circumference and six cubits in height; and these had figures standing out in relief above, and also on their round parts all round. And 318 THE DEIPNOSOPHISTS. [b. V. on their feet they had chased figures of animals two cubits and a half long and a cubit high, in great numbers : and ten large bathing-vessels, and sixteen ewers, of which the larger ones contained thirty measures, and the smaller ones five; then six kettles, and twenty-four banoti, 1 on five side-boards; and two silver wine-presses, on which were twenty-four urns; and a table of solid silver twelve cubits round; and thirty other tables six cubits each in circumference: and in addition to this, four tripods, one of which was sixteen cubits in cir¬ cumference, and was made entirely of silver; but the other three, which were less, were studded with precious stones in the middle. And after these there were carried some Delphic tripods, made of silver, eighty in number, smaller than those previously described, being also of a square, or four-cornered shape. And six-and-twenty water-cans, and sixteen Pan- atlienaic jars, and a hundred and sixty wine-coolers, the largest of which contained six measures, and the smallest contained two ; and all these were made of silver. 30. “ And next to them, those men followed in the proces¬ sion who carried the articles of gold-plate,—four Lacedae¬ monian goblets, having crowns on them made to represent vine-leaves, each containing four measures; and two of Corinthian workmanship placed on sideboards, and these had figures of animals in richly chased work of great beauty, in a sitting posture, and on their necks and on their bellies were other reliefs curiously wrought, and each of them con¬ tained eight measures. And there was a wine-press in which there were ten urns, and two jars, each holding five measures, and two flagons, each holding two measures, and twenty-two wine-coolers, the largest of which contained thirty measures, and the smallest one measure. There were also exhibited four large golden tripods, and a large sideboard for gold plate, that being also made of gold itself and studded with precious stones, ten cubits in height, having six rows of shelves in it, on which were figures of animals of the size of four palms, most exquisitely wrought, in very great numbers; and two goblets,and two crystal goblets mounted in gold; and four more sideboards, two of them four cubits high; and three others which were smaller, and ten water-cans, and an altar three cubits high, and twenty-five dishes for holding barley loaves/ 1 This word is probably corrupt; some editors propose to read a/ncpwroi. PTOLEMY PHILADELPHIA. 319 c. 31.] “ After this had been carried by, there walked sixteen hun¬ dred boys clad in white tunics, and crowned some with ivy, and some with pine, of whom two hundred and fifty carried golden choes, and four hundred carried silver ones ; and of the rest three hundred and twenty carried golden wine- coolers, and some carried silver ones. And after them other boys carried jars, for the purpose of drinking sweet wine out of, twenty of which were gold, and fifty silver, and three hundred were painted with every kind of colour and hue; and all the spectators who were present in the stadium took a moderate draught of the sweet wine, which was mixed in these ewers and firkins.” 31. After these things he enumerates tables four cubits high, on which were many things worth looking at, which were all carried round for the spectators to see, being beauti¬ fully wrought. “ And among them was a representation of the bed-chamber of Semele, in which were seen statues clad in golden tunics, inlaid with precious stones of the greatest value. And it would not be right to pass over this four- wheeled wagon, of the length of twenty-two cubits and of the breadth of fourteen, drawn by five hundred men. And on it was a cave exceeding!} 7 deep, overgrown with ivy and yew, and out of it flew doves, and pigeons, and turtle-doves, all along the road as the wagon proceeded, having their feet tied with slight threads, so as to be easily caught by the spec¬ tators. And out of the cave there also rose two fountains, one of milk and one of wine, and around it all the nymphs had garlands of gold, and Mercury had a golden herald’s wand, and very superb raiment. And on another four- wheeled wagon, on which the return of Bacchus from the Indians was represented, there was a figure of Bacchus twelve cubits high, riding upon an elephant, clad in a purple robe, and having on a crown of vine-leaves and ivy-leaves of gold, and bearing in his hands a spear like a thyrsus, made also of gold; and he wore sandals embroidered with golden figures. And there sat before him, on the neck of the elephant, a Satyr five cubits in height, crowned with a chaplet of golden pine- leaves, and holding in his right hand a goat’s horn made of gold, with which he appeared to be blowing signals. And the elephant had golden furniture ; and on his neck he had a crown of ivy-leaves made of gold; and he was followed by 320 THE DEIPNOSOPIIISTS. [b. V, five hundred maidens dressed in purple tunics, with golden girdles ; and those who went first, to the number of a hun¬ dred and twenty, wore crowns of pine-leaves made of gold; and they were succeeded by a hundred and twenty Satyrs clad in complete armour, some of silver and some of brass. And after them there marched five troops of asses, on which rode Sileni and Satyri, all wearing crowns. And of the asses some had gold and some silver frontlets and furniture. 32. “ And after them came twenty-four chariots drawn by four elephants each, and sixty chariots each drawn by a pair of goats, and twelve chariots by antelopes, and seven by oryxes, and fifteen by buffaloes, eight by pairs of ostriches, and seven by gnus, and four by pairs of zebras, and four chariots also drawn each bv four zebras. And on all these animals rode t/ *boys wearing the garments of charioteers, and the broad hats called petasi; and besides them were smaller boys still, armed with little peltae, and thyrsi-spears, and they also were dressed in golden-broidered garments; and the boys who were acting as charioteers were crowned with pine-leaf chap¬ lets, and the smaller boys with ivy-leaves. And besides this there were three pair of camels, on either side three, and they were followed by cars drawn by mules; and these had on them barbaric palanquins, on which sat women from India and other countries, habited as prisoners. And of the camels, some bore three hundred minse weight of frankincense, and three hundred of myrrh, and two hundred of saffron, and cas¬ sia, and cinnamon, and iris, and two hundred of other spices. And next to them came some /Ethiopians bearing presents, some of whom carried six hundred elephant’s tusks, and others carried two thousand fagots of ebony, and others carried sixty gold and silver goblets, and a quantity of gold- dust. And after them came two huntsmen, having hunting- spears with golden points; and twenty-four hundred dogs were led in the procession, some Indian dogs, and others Hvrcanian and Molossian hounds, and hounds of other breeds too. “ After them came a hundred and fifty men carrying trees / from which w r ere suspended birds and beasts of every imagin¬ able country and description; and then were carried a lot of cages, in which were parrots, and peacocks, and guinea-fowls, and pheasants, and other /Ethiopian birds in great numbers.” C. 33.] PROCESSION OF PTOLEMY PHILADELPHIA. 321 And when he had mentioned many other things, and enu¬ merated herds of animals, he continued, “ A hundred and thirty Ethiopian sheep, three hundred Arabian sheep, twenty Euboean sheep, some white hornless cattle, six-and-twenty Indian cows, eight Ethiopian oxen, one immense white bear, fourteen leopards, sixteen panthers, four lynxes, three arceti, one cameleopard, and one rhinoceros from -Ethiopia. 33. “ And after these beasts came an image of Bacchus flying to the altar of Rhea when he was pursued by Juno, having on a golden crown, Priapus standing by him crowned with a crown of ivy-leaves of gold, and the statue of Juno had also a golden crown on its head. And there were images of Alexander and of Ptolemy, crowned with chaplets of ivy- leaves made of gold. And the statue of Virtue, which stood by the side of that of Ptolemy, had a golden crown of olive- leaves. And Priapus w r as with them, having a crown of ivy- leaves made of gold. And the city of Corinth had a large image there, standing by the side of Ptolemy, and that also wore a golden diadem; and by all these lay a large golden beaufet full of articles of gold plate, and a golden goblet con¬ taining five measures. And this wagon was followed by women having very sumptuous dresses and ornaments, and they bore the names of cities, some of cities of Ionia, and other Grecian towns, as many as, occupying the islands, and the coast of Asia, were made subject to the Persians; and they all wore golden crowns. And on other chariots there was borne a golden thyrsus ninety cubits long, and a silver spear sixty cubits long ; and on another a golden phallus, a hundred and twenty cubits long, chased all over, and wreathed with golden garlands, having on the end a golden star, the circumference of which was six cubits. “ Now in all the numerous things which we have enume¬ rated as forming part of this procession, we have selected those only in which gold and silver were contained. But there were numerous other articles and parts of the exhibition well worth seeing, and vast numbers of beasts and of horses, and twenty-four enormous lions. There were also other four- wheeled wagons in great numbers, bearing not only statues of kings, but also full of images of the gods. And after them proceeded a band of six hundred men, among whom were three hundred harp-players playing on their instruments, VOL. i.—ATH. Y THE DEIPNOSOPI1IST3. 099 O -i -j [b. V. having harps made entirely of gold, and golden crowns on their heads; and after them came two thousand bulls all of the same colour, with gilded horns, and having frontlets of gold, and crowns in the middle of their foreheads, and necklaces and breastplates on their necks and chests, and these were all made of gold. 34. “ And after this came a procession in honour of Jupiter and of many other gods ; and after all these, came a proces¬ sion in honour of Alexander, who had a golden statue borne on a chariot drawn by real elephants, having Victory and Minerva on each side of him. And numbers of thrones were borne in the procession, made of ivory and gold, on one of which lay a crown of gold; on another a pair of horns made of gold; on another was a golden chaplet; and on another a single horn made of solid gold. And on the throne of Ptolemy Soter lay a crown which had been made of ten thousand pieces of gold money. And there were also carried in the pro¬ cession three hundred and fifty golden incense burners, and golden altars, all crowned w T ith golden crowns, on one of which were firmly placed four golden lamps ten cubits high. There were also carried twelve stoves with golden tops, one of which was twelve cubits in circumference, and forty cubits in height; and another was fifteen cubits high. There were also carried nine Delphic tripods made of gold, each four cubits high, and eight others six cubits high; another thirty cubits high, on which were figures of animals carved in gold, four cubits high, and a crown of vine-leaves of gold going all round. There were also carried in the procession seven palm- trees overlaid with gold, eight cubits high, and a golden herald’s staff forty-five cubits long, and a thunderbolt over¬ laid with gold forty cubits in size, and a gilt shrine, the cir¬ cumference of which was forty cubits ; and besides all this, a pair of horns eight cubits long. And an immense number of gilded figures of animals was also exhibited, the greater p>art of which were twelve cubits high; and beasts of enor¬ mous size, and eagles twenty cubits high. And golden crowns were also exhibited to the number of three thousand and two hundred. And there was a separate mystic crown made of gold studded with valuable stones, eighty cubits high. This was the crown which was placed at the door of the temple of Berenice; and there was also an aegis of gold. There were C. 35.] TROCESSION OF PTOLEMY PIIILADELFHUS. 323 also exhibited a vast number of golden chaplets, which were borne by young maidens sumptuously attired, one of which was two cubits high, and. sixteen cubits in circumference. “ There was also exhibited a golden breastplate twelve cubits broad, and another breastplate of silver eighteen cubits broad, having on it two golden thunderbolts of the size of ten cubits each, and a garland of oak-leaves studded with pre¬ cious stones; and twenty golden shields, and sixty-four suits of complete armour also of gold, and two golden greaves three cubits in height, and twelve golden dishes, and a most count¬ less number of flagons, and thirty-six vessels for wine, and ten large anointing vessels, and twelve ewers, and fifty large dishes for barley loaves, and tables of different sorts, and five repositories for gold plate, and a horn thirty cubits long made of solid gold. And all these articles of gold plate w r ere exclu¬ sive of those carried in the procession of Bacchus. Then there w T ere four hundred wagons of silver plate, and twenty wagons of gold plate, and eight hundred of perfumes and spices. 35. “ And after all these things came a procession of troops, both, cavalry and infantry, all armed and appointed in a most superb manner : infantry to the number of fifty-seven thousand six hundred ; and cavalry to the number of twenty- three thousand two hundred. And all these marched in the procession, all clad in suitable apparel, and all having their appropriate armour; and there were also great numbers of suits of armour besides lying for inspection, too numerous for any one to count, (but Callixenus has made a catalogue of them;) and the} 7- were also crowned in the assembly with twenty golden crowns. And first of all Ptolemy and Berenice were crowned with twenty-three, standing on golden chariots, in the sacred precincts of Dodona. And the expense of • money which was incurred on this occasion, amounted to two thousand two hundred and thirty-nine talents, and fifty mime ; and this was all counted by the clerks of the treasury, owing to the eagerness 1 of those who had given the crowns, before the spectacle came to an end. But Ptolemy Pliiladel- 1 There is a great dispute among the commentators as to the exact reading of this passage, or its meaning. Palmer says the crowns were given by different cities and tribes; and that what the king, and queen, and prince wore were not the crowns themselves, but a model of them in papyrus, with an inscription on each, stating its weight, and what city had given it. 324 THE DEIFNOSOPHISTS. [b. V. phus, tlieir son, was crowned with twenty golden crowns, two of them on golden chariots, and one six cubits high on a pillar, and five five cubits high, and six four cubits high.” 36. Now my friends and fellow-banqueters, what kingdom ever possessed such quantities of gold as this 1 ? For Egypt did not acquire all this by taking money from the Persians and from Babylon, or by working mines, or by having a river Pactolus, bearing down gold-dust in its waters. F or its only river is that which can really be called the Golden Stream— the Nile, which together with its boundless supplies of food does bring down gold without alloy, which is dug up out of the soil without danger, in quantities sufficient for all men, diffused over the whole soil like the gifts of Triptolemus. On which account the Byzantine poet, who had the name of Parmeno given to him, says— O god of Egypt, mighty Nile. But king Philadelphus surpassed most kings in riches ; and he pursued every kind of manufacturing and trading art so zealously, that he also surpassed every one in the number of his ships. Now the largest ships which he had were these:— two of thirty banks of oars, one of twenty, four of thirteen, two of twelve, fourteen of eleven, thirty of nine, thirty-seven of seven, five of six, seventeen of five. And from quadriremes down to light half-decked triremes, for purposes of war, he had twice as many as all these put together. And the vessels which were sent to the different islands and to the other cities under his dominion, and to Libya, amounted to more than four thousand. And concerning the numbers of his books, and the way in which he furnished his libraries, and the way in which he collected treasures for his Museum, why need I speak ? for every one remembers all these things. 37. But since we have mentioned the subject of the build¬ ing of ships, let us speak (for it is worth hearing of) of the ships which were built also by Ptolemy Philopator, which are mentioned by the same Callixenus in the first book of his Account of Alexandria, where he speaks as follows :—“ Philo¬ pator built a ship with forty ranks of rowers, being two him-, dred and eighty cubits long and thirty-eight cubits from one side to the other; and in height up to the gunwale it was forty-eight cubits; and from the highest part of the stem to the water-line was fifty-three cubits; and it had four rudders, C. 37.] A LARGE SHIP BUILT BY PTOLEMY. 325 each thirty cubits long ; and oars for the thranitse, the largest thirty-eight cubits in length, which, from having lead in their handles, and because they were very heavy in the part inside the ship, being accurately balanced, were, in spite of their bulk, very handy to use. And the ship had two heads and two sterns, and seven beaks, one of which was longer than all the rest, and the others were of smaller size ; and some of them were fixed to the ears of the ship; and it had twelve undergirths to support the keel, and each was six hundred cubits in length. And it was well proportioned to a most extraordinary degree; and all the appointments of the vessel were admirable, for it had figures of animals on it not less than twelve cubits in size, both at the head and at the stern, and every part of it was inlaid and ornamented with figures in w T ax ; and the space between the oars down to the very keel had a running pattern of ivy-leaves and thyrsi; and there was great store of every kind of equipment to supply all parts of the ship that might require any. 1 And when it put to sea it held more than four thousand rowers, and four hun¬ dred supernumeraries; and on the deck were three thousand marines, or at least two thousand eight hundred and fifty. And besides all these there was another large body of men under the decks, and a vast quantity of provisions and supplies. And the vessel was launched originally from a sort of frame¬ work, which they say was erected and made out of the wood of fifty ships of five ranks of oars; and it was launched by the multitude with great acclamations and blowing of trum¬ pets. But after that a Phoenician devised a new method of launching it, having dug a trench under it, equal to the ship itself in length, which he dug close to the harbour. And in the trench he built props of solid stone five cubits deep, and across them he laid beams crosswise, running the whole width of the trench, at four cubits’ distance from one another; and then making a channel from the sea he filled all the space which he had excavated with water, out of which he easily brought the ship by the aid of whatever men happened to be at hand ; then closing the entrance which had been originally made, he drained the water off again by means of engines; and when this had been done the vessel rested securely on the before-mentioned cross-beams. 1 There is great uncertainty as to the meaning of this passage; some commentators consider that there is some corruption in the text. 326 THE DEIPNOSOPHISTS. [b. V. 38. “ Philopator also built a vessel for the river which he called Thalamegus, or the Carrier of his Bed-chamber, in length half a stadium, and in width at the broadest part thirty cubits; and the height together with the frame for the awning was little short of forty cubits. And its appearance was not exactly like ships of war, nor merchant vessels either, but it was something different from both, on account of the necessity imposed by the depth of the river. For below it was flat and broad ; but in its main hull it was high. And the parts at the extremity, and especially at the head, ex¬ tended a sufficient length, so as to exhibit a very pretty and elegant sweep. This ship also had two heads and two sterns. And it rose to a considerable height above the water, as was necessary, because the waves in the river often rise very high. And in the middle of its hull were constructed banqueting- rooms and sleeping-rooms, and everything else which may be convenient for living in. And round the ship were double corridors running about three sides, each of which was not less than five plethra in circumference. And the arrangement of the lower one was like a peristyle, and that in the upper part was covered in, and surrounded with walls and windows on all sides. And when you first came into the vessel by the stern your eye was met by a colonnade, open in front, and sur¬ rounded by pillars. And opposite to it in the bow of the vessel there was a sort of propylseum constructed, made of ivory and most expensive woods. And after you had passed through that, then you came to something like a proscenium, covered in overhead. And again in the same way in the middle of the vessel was another colonnade, open behind, and an entrance of four folding-doors led to it. And both on the right hand and on the left there were windows, admitting a pleasant breeze. “ To these was joined a room of very large size, and that was adorned with pillars all round, and it was capable of con¬ taining twenty couches. And the greater part of it was made of split cedar, and of Milesian cypress. And the doors which were round it, being twenty in number, were put together with beams of citron wood, having ivoiy ornaments. And / all the nails and fastenings which were visible were made of red brass, which had taken a polish like that of gold from the fire. And of the pillars the bodies were of cypress-wood, but the capitals were of Corinthian workmanship, adorned with ivory and gold. The whole of the capitals of the pillars C. 39.] THE SHIP OF PTOLEMY PHILOPATOR. 327 were of gold; and there was a sort of girdle on them having figures of animals beautifully carved in ivory, more than a cubit high, of which the workmanship was not so conspicuous as the exquisite beauty of the materials. There was a beau¬ tiful roof to the banqueting-room, square, and made of cypress wood. And its ornaments were all carved, having a golden face. Next to this banqueting-chamber was a sleeping- chamber holding seven couches ; and to that there was joined a narrow passage, which separated the woman’s chamber from this one by the width of the hold. And by the passage was a banqueting-room holding nine couches, very like the large one in the sumptuousness of its furniture; and a bed-chamber holding five couches. As to the rooms then on the first deck this was the general appearance presented. 39. “ But when you had ascended by the stairs which were close to the before-mentioned sleeping chamber, there was another chamber capable of containing five couches, having a vaulted oblong roof. And near to it was a temple of Venus, in form like a rotunda, in which was a marble statue of the goddess. And opposite to this was another banqueting-room, very sumptuous, adorned all round with columns : for the columns were all made of Indian stone. And near to this banqueting-room were more sleeping-chambers, with furniture and appointments corresponding to what has been already mentioned. And as you went on towards the head of the vessel was another apartment dedicated to Bacchus, capable of holding thirteen couches, surrounded with pillars, having its cornices all gilt as far down as the epistyle which ran round the room, but the roof corresponded to the character of the god. And in it there was on the right hand a large cave con¬ structed, the colour of which was stone, for in fact it was made of real stone and gold ; and in it images were placed of all the relations of the king, made of the stone called lyclmites. And there was another banqueting-room, very pleasant, above the roof of the greatest apartment, having an arrangement like that of a tent, so that some of it had no actual roof; but there were arched and vaulted beams running along the top at inter¬ vals, along which purple curtains were stretched whenever the vessel was in motion. And after this there was an open chamber occupying the same room above that was occupied by the portico before mentioned as being below. And a winding 328 THE DEIPNOSOPHISTS. [B. V. ladder joined on to it, leading to the secret walk, and a ban- queting-room capable of containing nine couches, constructed and furnished in the Egyptian style. For round pillars were run up in it, with alternate tambours of white and black, all placed in parallel lines. And their heads were of round shape; and the whole of the figures round them were engraved like roses a little expanded. And round that part which is called the basket there were not tendrils and rough leaves, as is the case in Grecian pillars, but calyxes of the river-lotus, and the fruit of newly budding dates. And sometimes many other kinds of flowers were also represented. And under the roof of the capital which lies upon the tambour, where it joins on to the head, there were ornaments like the flower leaves of the Egyptian bean intertwined together. This then is the way in which the Egyptians construct and ornament their pillars, and this is the way in which they variegate their walls with black and white bricks : and sometimes also they employ the stone which is called alabaster. And there were many other ornaments all over the main hull of the vessel, and over the centre, and many other chambers and divisions in every part of it. “ And the mast of this vessel was seventy cubits in height, and it had a linen sail, adorned with a purple fringe. And the whole of the wealth which had been so carefully preserved by king Philadelphus was dissipated by the last Ptolemy, who also excited the war against Gabinius, who was not a man, but a mere flute-player and conjuror.” 40. But concerning the ship built by Hiero, the tyrant of Syracuse, which also Archimedes the geometrician super¬ intended, I do not think it right to be silent, since a certain man named Moschion has given a description of it, which I read over with great care very lately. Moschion, then, writes as follows :—“ Diodes, a citizen of Abdera, speaks with great admiration of the engine called Helepolis, which was brought by Demetrius against the city of the fthodians, and applied to their walls. And Timseus extols highly the funeral pile made for Dionysius the tyrant of Sicily. And Hieronymus lavishes his admiration on the building and adorning of the chariot in which the body of Alexander was borne to the tomb. And Polycletus speaks in high terms of the candlestick which w T as made for the king of HIERO’S SHIP 329 c. 41.] Persia. But Hiero, the king of the Syracusans, who was in every respect a friend to the Romans, was very attentive to the furnishing of temples and gymnasia; and was also very earnest in ship-building, having built a great number of vessels to carry com ; the construction of one of which I will describe. For the wood, he caused such a number of trees to be cut down on Mount HCtna as would have been sufficient for sixty triremes, and when this was done he prepared nails, and planks for the sides and for the inside, and wood for every other purpose that could be required, some from Italy and some from Sicily. And for ropes he provided cordage from Spain, and hemp, and pitch from the river Rhone; and he collected great quantities of useful things from all quarters. And he collected also shipwrights and other artisans. And having appointed Archias the Corinthian the superintendent of them all, and the principal architect, he bade them labour at the construction with zeal and earnestness, he himself also devoting his days to watching its progress. And in this way he finished half the ship in six months; and every part of the vessel as soon as it was finished was immediately covered over with plates of lead. And there were three hundred workmen employed in working up the timber, besides the subordinate journeymen whom they had to assist them. And it was arranged to draw this portion that was done so far down to the sea, that it might receive the last finishing strokes there. And when there was a great inquiry as to the best method of launching it into the sea, Archimedes the mechanician launched it by himself with the aid of a few persons. Eor having prepared a helix he drew this vessel, enormous as it was, down into the sea. And Archimedes was the first person who ever invented this helix. But after the remainder of the ship had also been completed in six months more, and it had been surrounded all round with brazen nails, the greater part of which weighed ten minoc, and the rest were 1 half as big again—(and they were driven in through holes made beforehand by gimlets, so as to hold the planks firm ; and they were fastened to the w T ood with leaden plugs ; pieces of cloth being put under, impregnated with pitch)—after, I say, Hiero had completed the external figure of the vessel, he laboured at the interior. 41. “And the vessel was constructed with twenty banks of 330 THE DEIPNOSOPHISTS. [b. V. oars, and three entrances, having the lowest entrance leading to the hold, to which the descent was by two ladders of many steps each: and the next was contrived for those who wished to go down to the eating-rooms: and the third was for the armed men. And on each side of the middle entrance were apartments for the men, each with four couches in them, thirty in number. And the supper-room for the sailors was capable of holding fifteen couches, and it had within it three chambers, each containing three couches ; and the kitchen was towards the stern of the ship. And all these rooms had floors com¬ posed of mosaic work, of all kinds of stones tesselated. And on this mosaic the whole story of the Iliad -was depicted in a marvellous manner. And in all the furniture and the ceilings and the doors everything was executed and finished in the same admirable manner. And along the uppermost passage was a gymnasium and walks, having their appoint¬ ments in all respects corresponding to the size of the vessel. And in them were gardens of all sorts of most wonderful beauty, enriched with all sorts of plants, and shaded by roofs of lead or tiles. And besides this there were tents roofed with boughs of white ivy and of the vine, the roots of which derived their moisture from casks full of earth, and were watered in the same manner as the gardens. And the tents themselves helped to shadow the walks. And next to these things was a temple devoted to Venus, containing three couches, with a floor of agate and other most beautiful stones, of every sort which the island afforded. And its walls and its roof were made of cypress-wood, and its doors of ivory and citron-wood. And it was furnished in the most exquisite manner with pictures and statues, and with goblets and vases of every form and shape imaginable. 42. “ And next to that was a drawing-room capable of con¬ taining five couches, w T ith its walls and doors made of box¬ wood, having a book-case in it, and along the roof a clock, imitated from the dial at Achradina. And there was also a bath-room, capable of containing three couches, having three brazen vessels for holding hot water, and a bath containing five measures of water, beautifully variegated with Taurome- nian marble. And many rooms were also prepared for the marines, and for those who looked to the pumps. And besides all this there were ten stalls for horses on each side of the hieko’s SHIP. 331 c. 43.] walls ; and by them the fodder for the horses was kept, and the arms and furniture of the horsemen and of the boys. There was also a cistern near the head of the ship, carefully shut, and containing two thousand measures of water, made of beams closely compacted with pitch and canvass. And next to the cistern there was a large water-tight well for fish, made so with beams of wood and lead. And it was kept full of sea-water, and great numbers of fish were kept in it. And on each side of the walls there were also projecting beams, placed at well-proportioned intervals; and to these were attached stores of wood, and ovens, and baking places, and mills, and many other useful offices. And all round the out¬ side of the ship ran atlases six cubits high, which supported the weight which was placed above them, and the triglypli, all being placed at convenient distances from one another. And the whole ship was adorned with suitable pictures. 43. “ And in the vessel were eight towers of a size propor¬ tioned to the burden of the ship, two at the stern, and as many at the head, and the rest in the middle of the ship. And to each of these were fastened two large beams, or yards, from which port-holes were fixed, through which stones were let down upon any enemy w T ho might come against the ship. And on each of the towers stood four young men fully armed, and two archers. And the whole of the interior of the towers was full of stones and darts. And a wall, having buttresses and decks, ran all through the ship, supported on trestles; and on these decks was placed a catapult, which hurled a stone weighing three talents, and an arrow twelve cubits long. And this engine was devised and made by Archimedes; and it could throw every arrow a furlong. And besides all this, there were mats composed of stout ropes 1 suspended by brazen chains ; and as there were three masts, from each of them were suspended two large yards bearing stones, from which hooks and leaden weights were let down upon any enemy which might attack the vessel. And there was also a palisade all round the ship, made of iron, as a defence against those who might attempt to board it; and iron ravens, as they were called, all round the ship, which, being shot forth by engines, seized on the vessels of the enemy, and brought 1 I have adopted here Casaubon’s conjectural emendation, and his interpretation of it. The text of the MSS, seems undoubtedly corrupt. 332 THE DEIPNOSOPHISTS. [b. V. them round so as to expose them to blows. And on each of the sides of the ship stood sixty young men clad in complete armour; and an equal number stood on the masts, and on the yards which carried the stones; and they were also on the masts, up at the mast-head, which was made of brass. On the first there were three men, and on the second two, and on the third one. And they had stones brought up to them in wicker baskets by means of pulleys, and arrow r s were supplied to them by boys, within the defended parts of the mast-heads. And the vessel had four wooden anchors and eight iron. ones. And of the masts, the second and third were easily found; but the first was procured with difficulty among the moun¬ tains of the Bruttii, and was discovered by a swdneherd. And Phileas, a mechanic of Tauromenium, brought it down to the seaside. And the hold, although of a most enormous depth, was pumped out by one man, by means of a pulley, by an engine which was the contrivance of Archimedes. And the name of the ship was 1 The Syracusan;’ but when Hiero sent it to sea, he altered its name and called it 1 The Alexandrian.’ “And it had some small launches attached to it, the first of which, was one of the light galleys called cercurus, able to hold a weight of three thousand talents; and it was wholly moved by oars. And after that came many galleys and skiffs of about fifteen hundred talents burthen. And the crew also was proportionably numerous; for besides the men who have been already mentioned, there were six hundred more, wdiose post was at the head of the ship, always watching for the orders of the captain. And there w r as a tribunal instituted to judge of all offences which might be committed on board the ship, consisting of the captain and the pilot, and the officer of the watch; and they decided in every case according to the laws of the Syracusans. 44. “ And they put on board the ship sixty thousand mea¬ sures of corn, and ten thousand jars of Sicilian salt-fish, and twenty thousand talents weight of wool, and of other cargo twenty thousand talents weight also. And besides all this, there were the provisions necessary for the crew. And Hiero, when he had understood that there was no harbour in Sicily large enough to admit this ship, and, moreover, that some of the harbours were dangerous for any vessel, determined to HIERO’S SHIP. c. 45.] ooo ooo send it as a present to Alexandria to Ptolemy the king of Egypt. For there was a great dearth of corn in Egypt. And he did so ; and the ship came to Alexandria, where it was put in port. And Hiero honoured Archimelus, also, the epigram¬ matic poet, who wrote an epigram on the ship, with a thou¬ sand bushels of wheat, which he also sent at his own expense to the Piraeus; and the epigram runs thus— Who placed this monstrous mass upon the earth; What master led it with untiring cables, How was the deck nail’d to the mighty beams, And with what axe did men the vessel form ? Surely it equals iEtna in its height, Or any isle •which rises from the sea Where the iEgean wave entwined foams Amid the Cyclades ; on either side Its breadth is equal, and its walls alike. Sure ’twas the giants’work, who hoped to reach By such vast ladder to the heights of heaven. Its topmast reaches to the stars ; and hides Its mighty bulwarks ’mid the endless clouds. It holds its anchors with untiring cables, Like those with which proud Xerxes bound the strait Which between Sestos and Abydos foams. A deftly carved inscription on the side Shows what strong hand has launch’d it on the deep; It says that Hiero, Hierocles’ son, The king of Sicily, pride of Dorian race, Sends it a wealthy messenger of gifts To the JEgean islands; and the God Who rules the sea, great Neptune, convoys it Safe o’er the blue and foaming waves to Greece. And I intentionally pass over the sacred trireme built by Antigonus, which defeated the commanders of Ptolemy off Leucolla, a city under the dominion of Cos; and after that, Antigonus consecrated it to Apollo; but it was not one-third, or perhaps not even one-fourth part of the size of the Syra¬ cusan or Alexandrian vessel.” 45. All this, then, we have said about the catalogue of the ships, not beginning with the Boeotians, 1 but with the shows and processions exhibited at public assemblies. And since I know that my excellent friend Ulpian will attack us again, and ask what that thing is which Callixenus calls iyyvOrjKy, we tell him that there is a speech which is attributed to 1 This is an allusion to the first line of Homer’s Catalogue— BoiurcSy plv IlTjrtAcws kcu Arjiros vpxov. > 334 THE DEIPNOSOPHISTS. [b. V. Lysias the orator, written about the eyyvOrjKr], which begins with these words—“ If, 0 judges, Lysimanes had said any¬ thing reasonable or moderate.” And going on a little, he proceeds to say—“ I should not have been eager to plead in an action about this chest (iyyvOrjKrj), which is not worth thirty drachmae.” And presently he tells us that the chest was a brazen one—“But when I wished last year to repair it I gave it to a brazier; for it is well put together, and has the faces of Satyrs and large heads of oxen carved upon it. There is also another coffer of the same size; for the same workman made many such articles of the same size, and alike in many particulars.” In these words Lysias, having- said that the chest was made of brass, shows plainly enough, as Callixenus also said, that they were things that might be used as stands for kettles. For so Polemo Periegetes said, in the third of those books of his which are addressed to Adseus and Antigonus, where he explains the subject of the picture which is at Phlius, in the portico of the polemarchs, painted by Sillax the Rhegian, who is mentioned by Epicharmus and Simonides. And his words are—“ ’Ey yvOrjKrj, and a large goblet on it.” And Hegesander the Delphian, in his book entitled a Commentary on Statues and Images, says that the pedestal dedicated by Glaucus the Chian at Delphi is like an iron eyyv0i]i<7j, the gift of Alyattes. And that is mentioned by Herodotus, who calls it v7roi o •• - 356 THE DEIPNOSOPHISTS. [b. VL 5. And Amphis says in his Impostor— ’Tis easier to get access to the general, And one is met by language far more courteous, And by more civil answer from his grace, Than from those cursed fishfags in the market. For when one asks them anything, or offers To buy aught of them, mute they stand like Telephus, And just as stubborn; (’tis an apt comparison, For in a word they all are homicides;) And neither listen nor appear to heed, But shake a dirty polypus in your face; Or else turn sulky, and scarce say a word, But as if half a syllable were enough, Say “sen s’lings this,” “this turb’t eight’n-pence.” This is the treatment which a man must bear Who seeks to buy a dinner in the fish-market. And Alexis says in his Apeglaucomenos— When I behold a general looking stern, I think him wrong, but do not greatly wonder, That one in high command should think himself Above the common herd. But when I see The fishmongers, of all tribes far the worst, Bending their sulky eyes down to the ground, And lifting up their eyebrows to their foreheads, I am disgusted. And if you should ask, “ Tell me, I pray you, what’s this pair of mullets ?” “ Tenpence.” “ Oh, that ’s too much; you'll eightpence take 1 ” “ Yes, if you’ll be content with half the pair.” “ Come, eightpence; that is plenty.” “ I will not Take half a farthing less : don’t waste my time.” Is it not bitter to endure such insolence ? 6. And Diphilus says in his Busybody— I used to think the race of fishmongers Was only insolent in Attica; But now I see that like wild beasts they are Savage by nature, everywhere the same. But here is one who goes beyond his fellows, Nourishing flowing hair, which he doth call Devoted to his god—though that is not the reason. But he doth use it as a veil to hide The brand which marks his forehead. Should you ask him. What is this pike’s price 1 ? he will tell you “ tenpence Not say what pence he means ; then if you give him The money, he will claim iEgina’s coinage; While if you ask for change, he’ll give you Attic. And thus he makes a profit on both sides. And Xenarchus says in Ins Purple— MISCONDUCT OF FISHMONGERS. 357 c. 8.] Poets are nonsense; for they never say A single thing that’s new. But all they do Is to clothe old ideas in language new, Turning the same things o'er and o’er again, And upside down. But as to fishmongers, They’re an inventive race, and yield to none In shameless conduct. For as modern laws Forbid them now to water their stale fish, Some fellow, hated by the gods, beholding His fish quite dry, picks with his mates a quarrel, And blows are interchanged. Then when one thinks He’s had enough, he falls, and seems to faint. And lies like any corpse among his baskets. Some one caUs out for water; and his partner Catches a pail, and throws it o’er his friend So as to sprinkle all his fish, and make The world believe them newly caught and fresh. 7. And that they often do sell fish which is dead and stinking is proved by what Antiphanes says in his Adulterers, as follows— There’s not on earth a more unlucky beast Than a poor fish, for whom ’tis not enough To die when caught, that they may find at once A grave in human stomachs; but what’s worse, They fall into the hands of odious fishmongers, And rot and lie upon their stalls for days ; And if they meet with some blind purchaser, He scarce can carry them when dead away ; But throws them out of doors, and thinks that he Has through his nose had taste enough of them. And in his Friend of the Thebans he says— Is it not quite a shame, that if a man Has fresh-caught fish to sell, he will not speak To any customer without a frown Upon his face, and language insolent? And if his fish are stale, he jokes and laughs— While his behaviour should the contrary be : The first might laugh, the latter should be shamed. And that they sell their fish very dear we are told by Alexis in his Pylsean Women— Yes, by Minerva, I do marvel at The tribe of fishmongers, that they are not All wealthy men, such royal gains they make. For sitting in the market they do think it A trifling thing to tithe our properties ; But would take all at one fell swoop away. 8. And the same poet says in his play entitled the Caldron— 358 THE DEIPNOSOPHISTS. [b. VI. There never was a better lawgiver Than rich Aristonicus. For he now Does make this law, that any fishmonger Who puts a price upon his fish, and then Sells it for less, shall be at once dragg’d off And put in prison ; that by their example The rest may learn to ask a moderate price. And be content with that, and carry home Their rotten fish each evening ; and then Old men, old women, boys, and all their customers, TV ill buy Avhatever suits them at fair price. And a little further on he says— There never has, since Solon’s time, been seen A better lawgiver than Aristonicus. For he has given many different laws, And now he introduces this new statute, A golden statute, that no fishmonger Should sell his fish while sitting, but that all Shall stand all day i’ the market. And he says Next year he will enact that they shall sell Being hung up; for so they will let off Their customers more easily, when they Are raised by a machine like gods in a play. 9. And Antiphanes, in his Hater of Wickedness, displays their rudeness and dishonesty, comparing them to the greatest criminals who exist among men, speaking as follows— Are not the Scythians of men the wisest ? Who when their children are first born do give them The milk of mares and cows to drink at once, And do not trust them to dishonest nurses. Or tutors, who of evils are the worst, Except the midwives only. For that class Is worst of all, and next to them do come The begging priests of mighty Cybele; And it is hard to find a baser lot— Unless indeed you speak of fishmongers, But they are worse than even money-changers, And are in fact the worst of all mankind. 10. And it was not without some wit that Diphilus, in his Merchant, speaks in this manner of fish being; sold at an exorbitant price— I never heard of dearer fish at any time. Oh, Neptune, if you only got a tenth Of all that money, you would be by far The richest of the gods 1 And yet if he, The fishmonger I mean, had been but civil, I would have given him his price, though grumbling ; . And, just as Priam ransom'd Hector, I Would have put down his weight to buy the conger. 359 C. 12.] FISHMONGERS. And Alexis says in his Grecian Woman— Living and dead, the monsters of the deep Are hostile to us always. If our ship Be overturn’d, they then at once devour’ Whatever of the crew they catch while swimming: And if they’re caught themselves by fishermen, When dead they half undo their purchasers; For with our whole estate they must be bought, And the sad purchaser comes off' a beggar. And Archippus, in his play called the Fish, mentions one fishmonger by name, Hermaeus the Egyptian, saying— The cursedest of all fish-dealers is Hermaeus the Egyptian ; who skins And disembowels all the vilest fish, And sells them for the choicest, as I hear. And Alexis, in his Rich Heiress, mentions a certain fish¬ monger by name, Micio. 11. And perhaps it is natural for fishermen to be proud of their skill, even to a greater degree than the most skilful generals. Accordingly, Anaxandrides, in his Ulysses, intro¬ duces one of them, speaking in this way of the fisherman’s art— The beauteous handiwork of portrait painters When in a picture seen is much admired ; But the fair fruit of our best skill is seen In a rich dish just taken from the frying-pan. For by what other art, my friend, do we See young men’s appetites so much inflamed? What causes such outstretching of the hands? What is so apt to choke one, if a man Can hardly swallow it ? Does not the fish-market Alone give zest to banquets ? Who can spread A dinner without fried fish, or anchovies, Or high-priced mullet? With what words or charms Can a well-favour’d youth be caught, if once The fisherman’s assistance be denied ? His art subdues him, bringing to the fish-kettle The heads of well-boil’d fish ; this leads him on To doors which guard th’ approach to a good dinner, And bids him haste, though nought himself contributing. 12. And Alexis says this with reference to those who are too anxious as to buying their fish, in his Rich Heiress— Whoever being poor buys costly fish, And though in want of much, in this is lavish, He strips by night whoever he may meet. So when a man is stripp’d thus, let him go 360 THE DEIPNOSOPHISTS. [B. VI. At early morn and watch the fish-market. And the first man he sees both poor and young Buying his eels of Micio, let him seize him, And drag him off to prison by the throat. And Diphilus, in his Merchant, says that there is some such law as this in existence among the Corinthians— A. This is an admirable law at Corinth, That when we see a man from time to time Purveying largely for his table, we Should ask him whence he comes, and what’s his business : And if he be a man of property, Whose revenues can his expenses meet, Then we may let him as he will enjoy himself. But if he do his income much exceed, Then they bid him desist from such a course, And fix a fine on all who disobey. And if a man having no means at all Still lives in splendid fashion, him they give Unto the gaoler. B. Hercules ! what a law. A. For such a man can’t live without some crime. Dost thou not see 1 He must rove out by night And rob, break into houses, or else share With some who do so. Or he must haunt the forum, A vile informer, or be always ready As a hired witness. And this tribe we hate, And gladly would expel from this our city. B. And you’d do well, by Jove; but what is that to me 1 ? A . Because we see you every day, my friend, Making not moderate but extravagant purchases. You hinder all the rest from buying fish, And drive the city to the greengrocer, And so we fight for parsley like the combatants At Neptune’s games on th’ Isthmus. Does a hare Come to the market ? it is yours; a thrush Or partridge 1 all do go the selfsame way. So that we cannot buy or fish or fowl; And you have raised the price of foreign wine. And Sophilus, in his Androcles, wishes that the same custom prevailed at Athens also, thinking that it would be a good thing if two or three men were appointed by the city to the regulation of the provision markets. And Lynceus the Samian wrote a treatise on purveying against some one who was very difficult to please when making his purchases; teaching him what a man ought to say to those homicidal fishmongers, so as to buy what he wants at a fair rate and without being exposed to any annoyance. USE OF PARTICULAR WORDS. 361 c. 14.] 13. Ulpian again picking out the thorns from what was said, asked—Are we able to show that the ancients used silver vessels at their banquets'? and is the word 7 nW£ a Greek noun ? For with reference to the line in Homer— The swineherd served up dishes (nIvaKas) of rich meat, 1 Aristophanes the Byzantine said that it was a modernism to speak of meats being placed on platters ( 7 uVa/ces), not being aware that in other places the poet has said— Dishes (irlvaKas) of various meats the butler brought. 2 I ask also, if any men among the ancients had ever acquired a multitude of slaves, as the men of modern times do: and if the word rrjyavov (frying-pan) is ever found, and not the form rdyrjvov only. So that we may not fix our whole atten¬ tion on eating and drinking, like those who from their devo¬ tion to their bellies are called parasites and flatterers. 14. And MSmilianus replied to him,—The word 7 rtVa£, when used of a vessel, you may find used by Metagenes the comic writer, in his Valiant Persians : and Pherecrates, my friend, has used the form rrjyavov in his Trifles, where he says— He said he ate anchovies from the frying-pan ( rriyavov ). And the same poet has also said in the Persse— To sit before the frying-pans ( r-riyava) burning rushes. And Philonides says, in his Buskins— Receive him now with rays and frying-pans (rrfyava). And again he says— Smelling of frying-pans (t r,yava). And Eubulus says, in his Orthane— The bellows rouses Vulcan’s guardian dogs. With the warm vapour of the frying-pan {rriyavov). And in another place he says— But every lovely woman walks along Fed with the choicest morsels from the frying-pan {rriyavov). And in his Titans he says— And the dish Doth laugh and bubble up with barbarous talk, And the fish leap iv hIookti rrjydvois. And Phrynichus also uses a verb derived from the word in his Tragedian— ’Tis sweet to eat fried meat, at any feast For which one has been at no cost oneself. 1 Odyss. xvi. 49. 2 lb. i. 141. 362 THE DEIPNOSOPHISTS. * [b. VI. And Pherecrates, in his Ant Men says—“Are you eating fried meat (%v S’ drroTYjyavL^eLs) ? ” But Hegesander the Delphian says that the Syracusans call a dish rrjyavov, and the proper rrjyavov they call £r}porrj- yavov; on which account he says that Theodorides says in some poem— He in a rrryavov did boil it well. In a large swimming dish. Where he uses rrjyavov for A.o7raoVoi by profession, they were dvSpo-rropvoL by practice. And in addition to all this, instead of loving sobriety, they loved drunkenness ; and instead of living respectably they sought every opportunity of robbing and murdering ; and as for speaking the truth, and adhering to their agreements, they thought that conduct quite inconsistent with their characters; but to perjure themselves and cheat, they thought the most venerable beha¬ viour possible. And they disregarded what they had, but they longed for what they had not; and this too, though a great part of Europe belonged to them. For I think that the companions of Philip, who did not at that time amount to a greater number than eight hundred, had possession so far as to enjoy the fruits of more land than any ten thousand Greeks, who had the most fertile and large estates. 55 And he makes a very similar statement about Dionysius, in his twenty-first book, when he says, “ Dionysius the tyrant of Sicily encouraged above all others those who squandered their property in drunkenness and gambling and intemper¬ ance of that sort. For he wished every one to become ruined and ready for any iniquity, and all such people he treated with favour and distinction.” 78. And Demetrius Poliorcetes was a man very fond of mirth, as Phylarchus relates in the tenth book of his History. But in the fourteenth book he writes as follows :—“ Deme¬ trius used to allow men to flatter him at his banquets, and “to pour libations in his honour, calling him Demetrius the only king, and Ptolemy only the prefect of the fleet, and Lysimachus only a steward, and Seleucus only a superin¬ tendent of elephants, and in this way he incurred no small amount of hatred.” And Herodotus states that Amasis the 410 THE DEIFNOSOPI1ISTS. [JB. VI. king of the Egyptians was always a man full of tricks, and one who was used to turn his fellow feasters into ridicule ; and when he was a private man he says he was very fond of feasting and of jesting, and he was not at all a serious man. And N icolaus, in the twenty-seventh book of his History, says that Sylla the Roman general was so fond of mimics and buffoons, being a man very much addicted to amusement, that he gave such men several portions of the public land. And the satyric comedies which he wrote himself in his native language, show of liow merry and jovial a temperament he was in this way. 79. And Theophrastus, in his treatise on Comedy, tells us that the Tirynthians, being people addicted to amusement, and utterly useless for all serious business, betook themselves once to the oracle at Delphi in hopes to be relieved from some calamitv or other. And that the God answered them, “ That if they sacrificed a bull to Neptune and threw it into the sea without once laughing, the evil would cease.” And they, fearing lest they should make a blunder in obeying the oracle, forbade any of the boys to be present at the sacri¬ fice ; however, one boy, hearing of what was going to be done, mingled with the crowd, and then when they hooted him and drove him away, “Why,” said he, “are you afraid lest I should spoil your sacrifice?” and when they laughed at this question of his, they perceived that the god meant to show them by a fact that an inveterate custom cannot be remedied. And Sosicrates, in the first book of his History of Crete, says that the Phtestians have a certain peculiarity, for that they seem to practise saying ridiculous things from their earliest childhood ; on which account it has often happened to them to say very reasonable and witty things because of their early habituation : and therefore all the Cretans attribute to them preeminence in the accomplishment of raising a laugh. 80. But after flattery, Anaxandrides the comic poet gives the next place to ostentation, in his Apothecary Prophet, speaking thus— Do you reproach me that I’m ostentatious I Why should you do sol for this quality Is far beyond all others, only flattery Excepted : that indeed is best of all. FLATTERERS AND PARASITES. 411 C. 81.] And Antiphanes speaks of what he calls a psomocolax, a flatterer for morsels of bread, in his Gerytades, when he says— You are call’d a whisperer and psomocolax. And Sannyrion says— What will become of you, you cursed psomocolaces. And Philemon says in his Woman made young again— The man is a psomocolax. And Philippides says in his Renovation— Always contending and if/co/xo/foAaKetW. But the word koX a £ especially applies to these parasitical flat¬ terers ; for koXov means food, from which come the words /3ovko\os, and SvctkoXos, which means difficult to be pleased and squeamish. And the word koi Ata means that part of the body which receives the food, that is to say, the stomach. Diphilus also uses the word ij/oj/jiOKoXa^os in his Theseus, saying— They call you a runaway \]/cv/j.oKo\acpos. 81. When Democritus had made this speech, and had asked for some drink in a narrow-necked sabrias, Ulpian said, And what is this sabrias 'l And just as Democritus was beginning to treat us all to a number of interminable stories, in came a troop of servants bringing in everything requisite for eating. Concerning whom Democritus, continu¬ ing his discourse, spoke as follows :—I have always, 0 my friends, marvelled at the race of slaves, considering how abstemious they are, though placed in the middle of such numbers of dainties; for they pass them by, not only out of fear, but also because they are taught to do so; I do not mean being taught in the Slave-teacher of Pherecrates, but by early habituation ; and without its being necessary to utter any express prohibition respecting such matters to them, as in the island of Cos, when the citizens sacrifice to Juno. For Macareus says, in his third book of his treatise on Coan Affairs, that, when the Coans sacrifice to Juno, no slave is allowed to enter the temple, nor does any slave taste any one of the things which are prepared for the sacrifice. And Anti¬ phanes, in his Dyspratus, 1 says— 1 The exact meaning of this title is disputed, some translate it, “ hard to sell,” or “ to be sold,” others merely “ miserable.” 412 THE DEIPNOSOPHISTS. [b. VI 'Tis hard to see around one savoury cakes. And delicate birds half eaten; yet the slaves Are not allow’d to eat the fragments even, As say the women. And Epicrates, in his Dyspratus, introduces a servant express¬ ing his indignation, and saying—• What can be worse than, while the guests are drinking, To hear the constant cry of, Here, boy, here ! And this that one may bear a chamberpot To some vain beardless youth ; and see around Half eaten savoury cakes, and delicate birds, Whose very fragments are forbidden strictly To all the slaves—at least the women say so ; And him who drinks a cup men call a belly-god; And if he tastes a mouthful of solid food They call him greedy glutton : from the comparison of which iambics, it is very plain that Epicrates borrowed Antiphanes’s lines, and transferred them to his own play. 82. And Dieucliidas says, in his history of the Affairs of Megara—“ Around the islands called Areese (and they are be¬ tween Cnidos and Syme) a difference arose, after the death of Triopas, among those who had set out with him on his expe¬ dition, and some returned home, and others remained with Phorbas, and came to Ialysus, and others proceeded with Periergus, and occupied the district of Cameris. And on this it is said that Periergus uttered curses againt Phorbas, and on this account the islands were called Araese. But Phorbas having met with shipwreck, he and Parthenia, the sister of Phorbas and Periergus, swam ashore to Ialysus, at the point called Schedia. And Thamneus met with them, as he happened to be hunting near Schedia, and took them to his own house, intending to receive them hospitably, and sent on a servant as a messenger to tell his wife to prepare everything necessary, as he was bringing home strangers. But when he came to his house and found nothing prepared, he himself put corn into a mill, and everything else that was requisite, and then ground it himself and feasted them. And Phorbas was so delighted with this hospitality, that when he was dying himself he charged his friends to take care that his funeral rites should be performed by free men. And so this custom continued to prevail in the sacrifice of Phorbas, for 1 Prom apa, a curse. THE MARIANDYNI. c. 84.] 413 none but free men minister at this sacrifice. And it is accounted profanation for any slave to approach it.” 83. And since among the different questions proposed by Ulpian, there is this one about the slaves, let us now our¬ selves recapitulate a few things which we have to say on the subject, i remembering what we have in former times read about it. For Pherecrates, in his Boors, says— For no one then had any Manes, 1 no, Xor home-born slaves; but the free women themselves Did work at everything within the house. And so at morn they ground the corn for bread, Till all the streets resounded with the mills. And Anaxandrides, in his Anchises, says— There is not anywhere, my friend, a state Of none but slaves; but fortune regulates And changes at its will th’ estates of men. Many there are who are not free to day, But will to morrow free-men be of Sunium, And the day after public orators ; For so the deity guides each man’s helm. 84. And Posidonius, the stoic philosopher, says in the eleventh book of his History, “ That many men, who are unable to govern themselves, by reason of the weakness of their intellect, give themselves up to the guidance of those who are wiser than themselves, in order that receiving from them care and advice, and assistance in necessary matters, they may in their turn requite them with such services as they are able to render. And in this manner the Marian- dyni became subject to the people of Heraclea, promising to act as their subjects for ever, if they would supply {hem with what they stood in need of; having made an agreement beforehand, that none of them would sell anything out of the territory of Heraclea, but that they would sell in that district alone. And perhaps it is on this account that Euphorion the epic poet called the Mariandyni Bringers of Gifts, saying— And they may well be call’d Bringers of Gifts, Fearing the stern dominion of their kings. And Callistratus the Aristophanean says that “ they called the Mariandyni 8o)po6poi, by that appellation taking away whatever there is bitter in the name of servants, just as the 1 A slave’s name. 414 THE DE1PN0S0PHISTS. [B. VI. Spartans did in respect of the Helots, the Thessalians in the case of the Penestae, and the Cretans with the Clarotae. But the Cretans call those servants who are in their houses Chry- soneti, 1 and those whose work lies in the fields Amphamiotae, being natives of the country, but people who have been en¬ slaved by the chance of war • but they also call the same people Clarotae, because they have been distributed among their masters by lot. And Ephorus, in the third book of his Histories, “ The Cre¬ tans call their slaves Clarotae, because lots have been drawn for them; and these slaves have some regularly recurring festi¬ vals in Cydonia, during which no freemen enter the city, but the slaves are the masters of everything, and have the right even to scourge the freemen.” But Sosicrates, in the second book of his History of Cretan Affairs, says, “ The Cretans call public servitude fxvoia, but the private slaves they call apha- miotae; and the periceci, or people who live in the adjacent districts, they call subjects. And Dosiadas gives a very similar account in the fourth book of his history of Cretan Affairs. 85. But the Thessalians call those Penestae who were not born slaves, but who have been taken prisoners in w r ar. And Theopompus the comic poet, misapplying the word, says— The wrinkled counsellors of a Penestan master. _ "V And Philocrates, in the second book of his history of the Affairs of Thessaly, if at least the work attributed to him is genuine, says that the Penestae are also called Thessaloecetae, or servants of the Thessalians. And Archemachus, in the third book of his history of the Affairs of Euboea, says, “ When the Boeotians had founded Arnaea, those of them who did not return to Boeotia, but who took a fancy to their new country, gave themselves up to the Thessalians by agreement, to be their slaves; on condition that they should not take them out of the country, nor put them to death, but that they should cultivate the country for them, and pay them a yearly revenue for it. These men, therefore, abiding by their agree¬ ment, and giving themselves up to the Thessalians, were called at that time Menestae; but now they are called Penestae; 1 Chrysoneti means bought with gold, from xp V(T °s> gold, and uv^oyxn, to buy. Clarotce means allotted, from KArjpdw, to cast lots. It is not known what the derivation or meaning of Aphamiotce is. SLAVES. C. 415 and many of them are richer than their masters. And Euri¬ pides, in liis Phrixus, calls them latrise, 1 in these words— Acirpis Trevt(TT7]S a/xos apxa'iav 86p.au. 86. And TinicEus of Tauromenium, in the ninth book of his Histories, says, “ It was not a national custom among the Greeks in former times to be waited on by purchased slaves and he proceeds to say, “ And altogether they accused Aris¬ totle of having departed from the Locrian customs; for they said that it was not customary among the Locrians, nor among the Phocians, to'* use either maid-servants or house- servants till very lately. But the w T ife of Pliilomelus, who took Delphi, was the first woman who had two maids to follow her. And in a similar manner Mnason, the com¬ panion of Aristotle, was much reproached among the Pho¬ cians, for having purchased a thousand slaves; for they said that he was depriving that number of citizens of their neces¬ sary subsistence : for that it was a custom in their houses for the younger men to minister to the elder.” 87. x4.nd Plato, in the sixth book of the Laws, says,—“ The whole question about servants is full of difficulty; for of all the Greeks, the system of the Helots among the Lacedte- monians causes the greatest perplexity and dispute, some peojDle affirming that it is a wise institution, and some con¬ sidering it as of a very opposite character. But the system of slavery among the people of Heraelea would cause less dis¬ pute than the subject condition of the Mariandyni; and so too w ould the condition of the Thessalian Penestse. And if we con¬ sider all these things, what ought we to do with respect to the acquisition of servants ? For there is nothing sound in the feelings of slaves; nor ought a prudent man to trust them in anything of importance. And the wisest of all poets says— Jove fix’d it certain that whatever day Makes man a slave, takes half his worth away. And it has been frequently shown by facts, that a slave is an objectionable and perilous possession; especially in the fre¬ quent revolts of the Messenians, and in the case of those cities which have many slaves, speaking different languages, in which many evils arise from that circumstance. And also we may come to the same conclusion from the exploits and sufferings of all sorts of robbers, who infest the Italian coasts 1 From Aarpda, to serve. 416 THE DEIPNOSOPIIISTS. [B. VI. as piratical vagabonds. And if any one considers all these cir¬ cumstances, he may well doubt what course ought to be pur¬ sued with respect to all these people. Two remedies now are left to us — either never to allow, for the future, any person’s slaves to be one another's fellow-countrymen, and, as far as possible, to prevent their even speaking the same language : and he should also keep them well, not only for their sake, but still more for his own; and he should behave towards them with as little insolence as possible. But it is right to chastise them with justice; not admonishing them as if they were free men, so as to make them arrogant: and every word which we address to slaves ought to be, in some sort, a command. And a man ought never to play at all with his slaves, or jest with them, whether they be male or female. And as to the very foolish way in which many people treat their slaves, allowing them great indulgence and great licence, they only make everything more difficult for both parties : they make obedience harder for the one to practise, and authority harder for the others to exercise. 88. Now of all the Greeks, I conceive that the Chians were the first people who used slaves purchased with mone} r , as is related by Theopompus, in the seventeenth book of his His¬ tories ; where he says,—“ The Chians were the first of the Greeks, after the Thessalians and Lacedaemonians, who used slaves. But they did not acquire them in the same manner as those others did; for the Lacedaemonians and the Thes¬ salians will be found*to have derived their slaves from Greek tribes, who formerly inhabited the country which they now possess : the one having Achaean slaves, but the Thessalians having Perrhaebian and Magnesian slaves; and the one nation called their slaves Helots, and the others called them Penestae. But the Chians have barbarian slaves, and they have bought them at a price.” Theopompus, then, has given this account. But I think that, on this account, the Deity was angry with the Chians; for at a subsequent period they were subdued by their slaves. Accordingly, Nymphodorus the Syracusan, in his Voyage along the Coast of Asia, gives this account of them :—“ The slaves of the Chians deserted them, and escaped to the mountains : and then, collecting in great num¬ bers, ravaged the country-houses about; for the island is very rugged,, and much overgrown with trees. But, a little before DRIMACUS. 417 c. 89.] our time, the Chians themselves relate, that one of their slaves deserted, and took up his habitation in the mountains ; and, being a man of great courage and very prosperous in his warlike undertakings, he assumed the command of the run¬ away slaves, as a king would take the command of an army; and though the Chians often made expeditions against him, they were able to effect nothing. And when Drimacus (for that was the name of this runaway slave) found that they were being destroyed, without being able to effect anything, ho addressed them in this language: ‘ 0 Chians! you who are the masters, this treatment which you are now receiving from your servants will never cease; for how should it cease, when it is God who causes it, in accordance with the prediction of the oracle ? But if you will be guided by me, and if you w r ill leave us in peace, then I will be the originator of much good fortune to you.’ 89. “ Accordingly, the Chians, having entered into a treaty with him, and having made a truce for a certain time, Dri¬ macus prepares measures and weights, and a private seal for himself; and, throwing it to the Chians, he said, ‘ Whatever I take from any one of you, I shall take according to these measures and these weights ; and when I have taken enough, I will then leave the storehouses, having sealed them up witli this seal. And as to all the slaves w T ho desert from you, I will inquire what cause of complaint they have; and if they seem to me to have been really subject to any incurable oppression, which has been the reason of their running away, I will retain them with me; but if they have no sufficient or reasonable ground to allege, I will send them back to their masters.’ Accordingly, the rest of the slaves, seeing that the Chians agreed to this state of things, very good-humouredly did not desert nearly so much for the future, fearing the judgment which Drimacus might pass upon them. And the runaways who w r ere w T ith him feared him a great deal more than they did their own masters, and did everything that he required, obeying him as their general; for he punished the refractory with great severity: and he permitted no one to ravage the land, nor to commit any other crime of any sort, -without his consent. And at the time of festivals, he went about, and took from the fields wine, and such animals for victims as were in good condition, and whatever else the VOL. I.—ATH. E E 418 THE DEIPNOSOPHISTS. [B. VI. masters were inclined or able to give liim; and if he per¬ ceived that any one was intriguing against him, or laying any plot to injure him or overthrow his power, he chastised him. 90. “ Then (for the city had made a proclamation, that it would give a great reward to any one who took him prisoner, or who brought in his head,) this Drimacus, as he became older, calling one of his most intimate friends into a certain place, says to him, £ You know that I have loved you above all men, and you are to me as my child and my son, and as everything else. I now have lived long enough, but you are young and just in the prime of life. What, then, are we to- do ? You must show yourself a wise and brave man; for, since the city of the Chians offers a great reward to any one who shall kill me, and also promises him his freedom, you must cut off my head, and carry it to Chios, and receive the money which they offer, and so be prosperous.’ But when the young man refused, he at last persuaded him to do so; and', so he cut off his head, and took it to the Chians, and received from them the rewards which they had offered by proclamation : and, having buried the corpse of Drimacus,. he departed to his own country. And the Chians, being again injured and plundered by their slaves, remembering the mo¬ deration of him who was dead, erected a Heroum in their country, and called it the shrine of the Gentle Hero. And even now the runaway slaves bring to that shrine the first- fruits of all the plunder they get; and they say that Drima¬ cus still appears to many of the Chians in their sleep, and informs them beforehand of the stratagems of their slaves who are plotting against them: and to whomsoever he ap¬ pears, they come to that place, and sacrifice to him, where this shrine is.” 91. Nymphodorus, then, has given this account; but in many copies of his history, I have found that Drimachus is not mentioned by name. But I do not imagine that any one of you is ignorant, either of what the prince of all historians, Herodotus, has related of the Chian Panionium, and of what he justly suffered who castrated free boys and sold them. But Nicolaus the Peripatetic, and Posidonius the Stoic, in their Histories, both state that the Chians were enslaved by Mithridates, the tyrant of Cappadocia; and were given up by him, bound, to their own slaves, for the purpose of being CONDITION OF SLAVES. 419 c. 93.] transported into the land of the Colchians,—so really angry ■with them was the Deity, as being the first people who used purchased slaves, while most other nations provided for them¬ selves by their own industry. And, perhaps, this is what the proverb originated in, “ A Chian bought a master,” which is used by Eupolis, in his Friends. 92. But the Athenians, having a prudent regard to the condition of their slaves, made a law that there should be a ypacf>rj v/3pc a>?, even against men who ill treated their slaves. Accordingly, Hyperides, the orator, in his speech against Mnesitheus, on a charge of aiKia, says, “They made these laws not only for the protection of freemen, but they enacted also, that even if any one personally ill treated a slave, there should be a power of preferring an indictment against him who had done so.” And Lycurgus made a similar statement, in his first speech against Lycophron; and so did Demos¬ thenes, in his oration against Midias. And Malacus, in his Annals of the Siphnians, relates that some slaves of the Samians colonized Ephesus, being a thousand men in num¬ ber; who in the first instance revolted against their masters, and fled to the mountain which is in the island, and from thence did great injury to the Samians. But, in the sixth year after these occurrences, the Samians, by the advice of an oracle, made a treaty with the slaves, on certain agreements; and the slaves were allowed to depart uninjured from the island; and, sailing away, they occupied Ephesus, and the Ephesians are descended from these ancestors. 93. But Chrysippus says that there is a difference between a SovXos and an oiKerqs ; and he draws the distinction in the second book of his treatise on Similarity of Meaning, because he says that those who have been emancipated are still SovXoi, but that the term oiKeV^s is confined to those who are not discharged from servitude; for the otKeVr;?, says he, is a SoiAo?, being actually at the time the property of a master. And all the following are called SovXoi, as Clitarchus says, in his treatise on Dialects: d^oi, 1 and Bepairovres 2 and