1. But a wise poet should behave
Like one who gives a splendid feast;
And so if he is wise should he
Seek the spectators to delight,
So that each one, when he departs,
May think that he has drunk and eaten
Exactly what he'd most have wish'd;
Not that there should have been but one
Dish for all sorts of appetites,
Or but one kind of writing for all tastes.
These, my good friend Timocrates, are the words of Astydamas the
tragedian, in his satyric drama of Hercules. Come, let us now proceed
to mention what is consistent with what we have said before, to show
how great an eater Hercules was. And this is a point in his character
mentioned by nearly all poets and historians. Epicharmus, in his
Busiris, says—
For if you were to see him eat, you would
Be frighten'd e'en to death; his jaws do creak,
His throat with long deep-sounding thunder rolls,
His large teeth rattle, and his dog-teeth crash,
His nostrils hiss, his ears with hunger tremble.
And Ion, in his Omphale, having mentioned his voracity, adds—
And then, excited by th' applause, he rose
And swallow'd all the logs and burning coals.
[Sidenote: ULYSSES.]
But Ion borrowed all this from Pindar, who said[36]—
* * * * *
And they say that he was a man of such excessive voracity, that they
gave him the cormorant, amongst birds which should be sacred to him,
which is called the ox-eater, on account of its voracity.
2. And Hercules is represented as having entered into a contest
with Lepreus in respect of their mutual powers of eating, Lepreus
having been the challenger: however, Hercules gained the victory. But
Zenodotus, in the second book of his Epitomes, says that Lepreus was
the son of Caucon, who was the son of Neptune and Astydamia; and that
he ordered Hercules to be thrown into prison, when he demanded of
Augeas the reward which was due to him for his labours. But Hercules,
when he had completed his labours, came to the house of Caucon, and at
the entreaty of Astydamia, he became reconciled to Lepreus. And after
this Lepreus contended with Hercules in throwing the quoit, and in
drawing water, and also as to which would eat a bull with the greatest
rapidity; and in all these things he was defeated. And after that he
armed himself, and challenged Hercules to single combat, and was slain
in the battle. But Matris, in his panegyric on Hercules, says, that
Hercules was also challenged by Lepreus to a contest as to who could
drink most, and that Lepreus was again defeated. And the Chian orator,
Caucalus, the brother of Theopompus the historian, relates the same
story in his panegyric on Hercules.
3. Homer, too, represents Ulysses as a great eater, and a very
voracious man, when he says—
What histories of toil I could declare,
But still long-wearied nature wants repair.
Spent with fatigue and shrunk with pining fast,
My craving bowels still require repast;
Howe'er the noble suffering mind may grieve
Its load of anguish, and disdain to live,
Necessity demands our daily bread;
Hunger is insolent and will be fed.
For in these lines his gluttony appears prodigious, when it induces him
on so unseasonable an occasion to utter apophthegms about his stomach.
For he ought, if he had been ever so hungry, to have endured it, or at
all events to have been moderate in his food. But this last passage
shows the extreme voracity and gluttony of the man—
For all my mind is overwhelm'd with care,
But hunger is the worst of griefs to bear;
Still does my stomach bid me eat and drink,
Lest on my sorrows I too deeply think.
Food makes me all my sufferings forget,
And fear not those which may surround me yet.
For even the notorious Sardanapalus would hardly have ventured to give
utterance to such sentiments as those. Moreover, when Ulysses was an
old man—
Voraciously he endless dishes ate,
And quaff'd unceasing cups of wine. . . .
4. But Theagenes of Thasos, the athlete, ate a bull single-handed, as
Posidippus tells us in his Epigrams.
And as I'd undertaken, I did eat
A Thracian bull. My own poor native land
Of Thasos could not have purvey'd a meal
Sufficient for the hunger of Theagenes.
I ate all I could get, then ask'd for more.
And, therefore, here you see, I stand in brass,
Holding my right hand forth; put something in it.
And Milo of Crotona, as Theodorus of Hierapolis tells us in his book
upon Games, ate twenty minæ[37] weight of meat, and an equal quantity of
bread, and drank three choes[38] of wine. And once at Olympia he took
a four year old bull on his shoulders, and carried it all round the
course, and after that he killed it and cut it up, and ate it all up
by himself in one day. And Titormus the Ætolian had a contest with him
as to which could eat an ox with the greatest speed, as Alexander the
Ætolian relates. But Phylarchus, in the third book of his Histories,
says that Milo, while lying down before the altar of Jupiter, ate a
bull, on which account Dorieus the poet made the following epigram on
him:—
[Sidenote: VORACITY OF CERTAIN PERSONS.]
Milo could lift enormous weights from earth,
A heifer four years old, at Jove's high feast,
And on his shoulders the huge beast he bore,
As it had been a young and little lamb,
All round the wondering crowd of standers by.
But he did still a greater feat than this,
Before the altar of Olympian Jove;
For there he bore aloft an untamed bull
In the procession, then he cut it up,
And by himself ate every bit of it.
But Astydamas the Milesian, having gained the victory at Olympia three
times in the pancratium, being once invited to supper by Ariobarzanes
the Persian, when he had come, offered to eat everything that had been
prepared for the whole party, and did eat it. And when, Theodorus
relates, the Persian entreated him to do something suitable to his
enormous strength, he broke off a large brazen ornament in the shape of
a lentil from the couch and crushed it in his hand. And when he died,
and when his body was burnt, one urn would not contain his bones, and
scarcely two could do so. And they say that the dinner which he ate by
himself at Ariobarzanes's table had been prepared for nine persons.
5. And there is nothing unnatural in such men as those being very
voracious; for all the men who practise athletic exercises, learn with
these gymnastic exercises also to eat a great deal. On which account
Euripides says, in the first edition of his Autolycus—
For when there are ten thousand ills in Greece,
There's none that's worse than the whole race of athletes.
For, first of all, they learn not to live well,
Nor could they do so; for could any man
Being a slave to his own jaws and appetite
Acquire wealth beyond his father's riches?
How could a man like that increase his substance?
Nor yet can they put up with poverty,
Or e'er accommodate themselves to fortune;
And so being unaccustom'd to good habits,
They quickly fall into severe distress.—
In youth they walk about in fine attire,
And think themselves a credit to the city;
But when old age in all its bitterness
O'ertakes their steps, they roam about the streets,
Like ragged cloaks whose nap is all worn off.
And much I blame the present fashions, too,
Which now in Greece prevail; where many a feast
Is made to pay great honour to such men,
And to show false respect to vain amusements.
For though a man may wrestle well, or run,
Or throw a quoit, or strike a heavy blow,
Still where's the good his country can expect
From all his victories and crowns and prizes?
Will they fight with their country's enemies
With quoit in hand? Or will their speed assist
To make the hostile bands retreat before them?
When men stand face to face with th' hostile sword
They think no more of all these fooleries.
'Twere better to adorn good men and wise
With these victorious wreaths; they are the due
Of those who govern states with wisdom sound,
And practise justice, faith, and temperance;
Who by their prudent language ward off evils,
Banishing wars and factions. These are the men,
Who're not alone a grace and ornament
To their own land, but to the whole of Greece.
6. Now Euripides took all this from the Elegies of Xenophanes the
Colophonian, who has spoken in this way—
But if a man, in speed of foot victorious,
Or in the contests of the pentathlum,
Where is the sacred grove of Jupiter,
Near to the sacred streamlets of Olympia;
Or as a wrestler, or exchanging blows
And painful struggles as a hardy boxer,
Or in the terrible pancratium,
He surely is a noble citizen,
And well he does deserve the honours due
Of a front seat at games and festivals,
And at the public cost to be maintain'd;
And to receive a public gift of honour,
Which shall become an heirloom to his children.
And such shall be his honours, even if
He wins by horses, not by his own strength.
And still I think he does not equal me;
For wisdom far exceeds in real value
The bodily strength of man, or horses' speed;
But the mob judges of such things at random;
Though 'tis not right to prefer strength to sense:
For though a man may a good boxer be,
Or pentathlete, or never-conquer'd wrestler,
Or if he vanquish all in speed of foot—
Which is the most important of all contests—
Still for all this his city will enjoy
No better laws through his great strength or speed;
And 'tis small cause for any lasting joy,
That one of all her citizens should gain
A prize on Pisa's banks; for such achievements
Fill not the country's granaries with corn.
And Xenophanes contends at great length, and with great earnestness and
variety of argument, in favour of the superior advantage of his own
wisdom, running down athletic exercises as useless and unprofitable.
And Achæus the Eretrian, speaking of the good constitution of the
athletes, says—
[Sidenote: VORACITY OF CERTAIN PERSONS.]
For naked they did wave their glistening arms,
And move along exulting in their youth,
Their valiant shoulders swelling in their prime
Of health and strength; while they anoint with oil
Their chests and feet and limbs abundantly,
As being used to luxury at home.
7. But Heraclitus, in his Entertainer of Strangers, says that there was
a woman named Helena, who ate more than any other woman ever did. And
Posidippus, in his Epigrams, says that Phuromachus was a great eater,
on whom he wrote this epigram:—
This lowly ditch now holds Phuromachus,
Who used to swallow everything he saw,
Like a fierce carrion crow who roams all night.
Now here he lies wrapp'd in a ragged cloak.
But, O Athenian, whoe'er you are,
Anoint this tomb and crown it with a wreath,
If ever in old times he feasted with you.
At last he came sans teeth, with eyes worn out,
And livid swollen eyelids; clothed in skins,
With but one single cruse, and that scarce full;
For from the gay Lenæan games he came,
Descending humbly to Calliope.
But Amarantus of Alexandria, in his treatise on the Stage, says that
Herodorus, the Megarian trumpeter, was a man three cubits and a half
in height; and that he had great strength in his chest, and that he
could eat six chœnixes[39] of bread, and twenty litræ of meat, of
whatever sort was provided for him, and that he could drink two choes
of wine; and that he could play on two trumpets at once; and that it
was his habit to sleep on only a lion's skin, and when playing on the
trumpet he made a vast noise. Accordingly, when Demetrius, the son of
Antigonus, was besieging Argos, and when his troops could not bring
the helepolis against the walls on account of its weight, he, giving
the signal with his two trumpets at once, by the great volume of sound
which he poured forth, instigated the soldiers to move forward the
engine with great zeal and earnestness; and he gained the prize in
all the games ten times; and he used to eat sitting down, as Nestor
tells us in his Theatrical Reminiscences. And there was a woman,
too, who played on the trumpet, whose name was Aglais, the daughter
of Megacles, who, in the first great procession which took place in
Alexandria, played a processional piece of music; having a head-dress
of false hair on, and a crest upon her head, as Posidippus proves by
his epigrams on her. And she, too, could eat twelve litræ of meat and
four chœnixes of bread, and drink a choeus of wine, at one sitting.
8. There was, besides, a man of the name of Lityerses, a bastard son
of Midas, the king of Celænæ in Phrygia, a man of a savage and fierce
aspect, and an enormous glutton; and he is mentioned by Sositheus the
tragic poet, in his play called Daphnis or Lityersa; where he says—
He'll eat three asses' panniers, freight and all,
Three times in one brief day; and what he calls
A measure of wine is a ten-amphoræ cask;
And this he drinks all at a single draught.
And the man mentioned by Pherecrates, or Strattis, whichever was the
author of the play called The Good Men, was much such another; the
author says—
_A._ I scarcely in one day, unless I'm forced,
Can eat two bushels and a half of food.
_B._ A most unhappy man! how have you lost
Your appetite, so as now to be content
With the scant rations of one ship of war?
And Xanthus, in his Account of Lydia, says that Cambles, who was
the king of the Lydians, was a great eater and drinker, and also an
exceeding epicure; and accordingly, that he one night cut up his own
wife into joints and ate her; and then, in the morning, finding the
hand of his wife still sticking in his mouth, he slew himself, as
his act began to get notorious. And we have already mentioned Thys,
the king of the Paphlagonians, saying that he too was a man of vast
appetite, quoting Theopompus, who speaks of him in the thirty-fifth
book of his History; and Archilochus, in his Tetrameters, has accused
Charilas of the same fault, as the comic poets have attacked Cleonymus
and Pisander. And Phœnicides mentions Chærippus in his Phylarchus in
the following terms—
And next to them I place Chærippus third;
He, as you know, will without ceasing eat
As long as any one will give him food,
Or till he bursts,—such stowage vast has he,
Like any house.
[Sidenote: VORACITY OF MITHRIDATES.]
9. And Nicolaus the Peripatetic, in the hundred and third book of his
History, says that Mithridates, the king of Pontus, once proposed
a contest in great eating and great drinking (and the prize was a
talent of silver), and that he himself gained the victory in both; but
he yielded the prize to the man who was judged to be second to him,
namely, Calomodrys, the athlete of Cyzicus. And Timocreon the Rhodian,
a poet, and an athlete who had gained the victory in the pentathlum,
ate and drank a great deal, as the epigram on his tomb shows—
Much did I eat, much did I drink, and much
Did I abuse all men; now here I lie;—
My name Timocreon, my country Rhodes.
And Thrasymachus of Chalcedon, in one his Prefaces, says that Timocreon
came to the great king of Persia, and being entertained by him, did
eat an immense quantity of food; and when the king asked him, What he
would do on the strength of it? he said that he would beat a great many
Persians; and the next day, having vanquished a great many, one after
another, taking them one by one, after this, he beat the air with his
hands; and when they asked him what he wanted, he said that he had
all those blows left in him if any one was inclined to come on. And
Clearchus, in the fifth book of his Lives, says, that Cantibaris the
Persian, whenever his jaws were weary with eating, had his slaves to
pour food into his mouth, which he kept open as if they were pouring
it into an empty vessel. But Hellanicus, in the first book of his
Deucalionea, says that Erysichthon, the son of Myrmidon, being a man
perfectly insatiable in respect of food, was called Æthon. And Polemo,
in the first book of his Treatise addressed to Timæus, says that among
the Sicilians there was a temple consecrated to gluttony, and an image
of Ceres Sito;[40] near which, also, there was a statue of Himalis,[41]
as there is at Delphi one of Hermuchus,[42] and as at Scolum, in
Boeotia, there are statues of Megalartus[43] and Megalomazus.
10. And Alcman the poet records himself to have been a great eater, in
his third book of Odes, when he says—
And presently I will bestow
On you a large round dish well fill'd;
And even now 'tis on the fire,
Full of pulse-broth, which e'en the glutton
Alcman would like to feast on warm,
After the wintry solstice sets in;
For he for dainties does not care,
But loves the common people's dishes,
As long as they are full enough.
And in his fifth book he also displays his love of eating, speaking
thus—
God has bestow'd on man three various seasons,
The summer, and the winter, and the autumn;
And a fourth too, the spring, when men can dance,
But scarce are able to get much to eat.
And Anaxilas the comic poet, speaking in his play called Chrysochous of
a man named Ctesias, says—
You now have nearly all things, save the art
Of Ctesias himself; for wise men say,
That he does recognise nought but the beginning
Of a rich banquet, and denies the end.
And in his Rich Men he says—
_A._ Others may also burst when fed too well
Not Ctesias alone.—
_B._ What should hinder it?
_A._ For he, as wise men say, loves the beginning
Of any feast, but ne'er can make an end of it.
And in his play called The Graces he includes a man called Cranaus in
his list of great eaters; saying—
Men do not come and ask at random now,
Does Cranaus eat less than Ctesias?
Or do they both keep constantly devouring?
And Philetærus, in his Atalante, says—
If it were needful, I could run more stadia
Than e'er were run by Sotades; I surpass
E'en Taureas himself in these my labours;
And out-run Ctesias himself in eating.
And Anaxippus, in his Thunderbolt, says—
_A._ For now I see Damippus here approaching
From the palæstra.
_B._ What! that man of stone?
[Sidenote: VORACITY OF THE BŒOTIANS.]
Him whom your friends e'en now, from his great strength,
Surname the Thunderbolt?
_A._ Most probably;
For I think he will overturn all tables
Which he once strikes with his consuming jaw.
And in these lines the comic poet shows that it was from this man that
he had given his play the title of The Thunderbolt. And Theophilus, in
his Epidaurus, says—
There was a Mantinean centurion,
Atrestides his name; who of all men
That ever lived could eat the greatest quantity.
And, in his Pancratiast, he introduces the athlete as eating a great
deal, where he says—
_A._ Of boil'd meat about three minæ weight.
_B._ Now mention something else.
_A._ A fine pig's face;
A ham; four pettitoes;—
_B._ Oh, Hercules!
_A._ Three calves' feet, and one hen.
_B._ Oh, Phoebus, oh!
What else?
_A._ Two minæ weight of figs: that's all.
_B._ And how much did you drink?
_A._ Twelve measures only
Of unmix'd wine.
_B._ Oh, Bacchus! oh, Sabazius!
11. And whole nations also have been ridiculed by the comic poets for
their gluttony; as the Bœotians, for instance. Accordingly, Eubulus
says, in his Antiopa—
We are courageous men to toil and eat,
And to endure sharp pain; the Attic race
Is quick and eloquent, and they eat little;
But the Bœotians eat enormously.
And in his Europa he says—
Go now and build up the Bœotian city,
Where the men eat all day and never tire.
And in his Ionian he says—
He is so thorough a Bœotian
In all his manners, that, like them, 'tis said
He's never tired nor content with eating.
And in his Cercopes he says—
And after that I came to Thebes, where men
Spend the whole night in feasts and revelry;
And each man has a privy at his doors,
Which is a great boon to an o'er-fed man;
For men who have got a long way to go,
And who eat much and bite their weary lips,
Are some of the most ludicrous of sights.
And in his Mysians he represents some one as making the following
speech to Hercules—
You leaving, as you say, the Theban plain,
Where valiant men sit eating all the day,
Being all throat, and close beside the privy.
Diphilus, in his Bœotian, says—
That man can eat, beginning before dawn,
Or come again and eat till the following day.
Mnesimachus, in his Busiris, says—
. . . . . . . For I am a Bœotian,
Who do not eat much else, except these things.
Alexis, in his Trophonius, says—
And now that you may not be found out thus,
And spoken of as men of Boeotia,
By those whose wont it is to run you down,
As men unequall'd in creating noise,
And knowing nothing else save how to eat
And drink unceasingly the whole night long;
Strip yourselves quick, and all prepare for action.
And Achæus, in his Contests, says—
_A._ Are you now speaking to the spectators here,
Or to the body of competitors?
_B._ To those who eat much, as men training do.
_A._ Whence do the strangers come from?
_B._ They're Bœotians.
And very likely it is because of all this that Eratosthenes, in his
Epistles, says, that Pempelus, when he was asked, "What sort of people
the Bœotians appeared to him?" answered, "That they only spoke just
as vessels might be expected to speak, if they had a voice, of how
much each of them could hold." And Polybius of Megalopolis, in the
twentieth book of his Histories, says that "the Bœotians, having gained
great glory at the battle of Leuctra, after that relaxed their courage
again, and turned to feasting and drunkenness, and to making parties
for eating among friends; and many of them, even of those who had
children, spent the greater part of their substance on their feasts;
so that there were a great number of Bœotians who had more invitations
to supper than there were days in the month. On which account the
Megarians, hating such a system as that, abandoned their alliance, and
joined themselves to the Achæans.
[Sidenote: VORACITY OF THE TEMPERANCE.]
12. The people of Pharsalus also are ridiculed by the comic poets as
being enormous eaters; accordingly Mnesimachus, in his Philip, says—
_A._ Has any man of the Pharsalians come,
That he may eat up e'en our very tables?
_B._ There's no one come at all.
_A._ So much the better;
Perhaps they have all gone somewhere else to eat
Some city of Achaïa ready roasted.
And that it was a general imputation on all the Thessalians, that they
were great eaters, Crates tells us in his Lamia, saying—
Great words three cubits long,
Cut into huge Thessalian slices thus:—
and he by this alludes to the Thessalians as cutting their meat into
overgrown pieces. And Philetærus, in his Lampbearers, says also—
And a huge piece of pork, enough to break
One's arm, cut in the coarse Thessalian fashion.
They used to speak also of a Thessalian mouthful, as something
enormous. Hermippus says in his Fates—
But Jupiter, considering nought of this,
Wink'd, and made up a huge Thessalian mouthful.
And such great bits of meat Aristophanes, in his Men Frying, calls
Capanic, saying—
What is all this
To the great Lydian and Thessalian banquets?
And presently he says—
More splendid (καπανικώτερα) far than the Thessalian;
meaning big enough to load a wagon. For the Thessalians use the word
καπάνη as equivalent to ἀπήνη. Xenarchus, in his Scythians, says—
_A._ They kept to seven Capanæ for the games
At Pisa.
_B._ What do you mean?
_A._ In Thessaly
They call their carts Capanæ.
_B._ I understand.
13. And Hecatæus says that the Egyptians were great bread-eaters,
eating loaves of rye, called κυλλήστιες, and bruising barley to
extract a drink from it; and on this account Alexis, in his treatise
on Contentment, says that Bocchoris and his father Neochabis were
contented with a moderate quantity of food; as Lycon of Iasus relates
in his treatise on Pythagoras. But he did not abstain from animal food,
as Aristoxenus tells us; and Apollodorus the Arithmetician says, that
he even sacrificed a hecatomb when he found out that in a right-angled
triangle, the square of the side subtending the right angle is equal to
the squares of the two sides containing it—
When the illustrious Pythagoras
Discover'd that renowned problem which
He celebrated with a hecatomb.
But Pythagoras was a very sparing drinker, and lived in a most frugal
manner, so that he often contented himself with honey by itself. And
nearly the same thing is told us of Aristides, and of Epaminondas, and
of Phocion, and of Phormio, the generals. But Manius Curius, the Roman
general, lived on turnips all his life; and once, when the Sabines
sent him a large sum of gold, he said he had no need of gold while he
ate such food as that. And this story is recorded by Megacles in his
treatise on Illustrious Men.
14. And there are many people who approve of moderate meals, as Alexis
tells us in his Woman in Love—
But I am content with what is necessary,
And hate superfluous things; for in excess
There is not pleasure, but extravagance.
And in his Liar he says—
I hate excess; for those who practise it
Have only more expense, but not more pleasure.
And in his Foster Brothers he says—
How sweet all kinds of moderation are!
I now am going away, not empty, but
In a most comfortable state,—for wise
Mnesitheus tells us that 'tis always right
T' avoid extravagance in everything.
[Sidenote: MENEDEMUS.]
And Ariston the philosopher, in the second book of his Amatory
Similitudes, says that Polemo, the Academic philosopher, used to
exhort those who were going to a supper, to consider how they might
make their party pleasant, not only for the present evening, but also
for the morrow. And Timotheus, the son of Conon, being once taken by
Plato from a very sumptuous and princely entertainment to one held
at the Academy, and being there feasted in a simple and scholar-like
manner, said that those who supped with Plato would be well the next
day also. But Hegesander, in his Commentaries, says that on the next
day Timotheus, meeting with Plato, said, "You, O Plato, sup well, more
with reference to the next day than to the present one!" But Pyrrho the
Elean, when on one occasion one of his acquaintances received him with
a very sumptuous entertainment, as he himself relates, said, "I will
for the future not come to you if you receive me in this manner; that I
may avoid being grieved by seeing you go to a great expense for which
there is no necessity, and that you, too, may not come to distress by
being overwhelmed by such expenses; for it is much better for us to
delight one another by our mutual companionship and conversation, than
by the great variety of dishes which we set before one another, of
which our servants consume the greater part."
15. But Antigonus of Carystus, in his Life of Menedemus, relating the
way in which the banquets of that philosopher are managed, says, that
he used to dine with one or two companions at most; and that all the
rest of his guests used to come after they had supped. For in fact,
Menedemus's supper and dinner were only one meal, and after that was
over they called in all who chose to come; and if any of them, as would
be the case, came before the time, they would walk up and down before
the doors, and inquire of the servants who came out what was being now
served up, and how far on the dinner had proceeded. And if they heard
that it was only the vegetables or the cured fish that was being served
up, they went away; but if they were told that the meat was put on the
table, then they went into the room which had been prepared for that
purpose. And in the summer a rush mat was spread over each couch, and
in the winter a fleece. But every one was expected to bring his own
pillow; and the cup, which was brought round to each person, did not
hold more than one cotyla. And the dessert was lupins or beans as a
general rule; but sometimes some fruits, such as were in season, were
brought in; in summer, pears or pomegranates; and in spring, pulse; and
in winter, figs. And we have a witness as to these things, Lycophron
the Chalcidian, who wrote a satyric drama entitled Menedemus, in which
Silenus says to the satyrs—
O cursed sons of a most excellent father,
I, as you see, have quite a fancy for you:
For, by the gods I swear, that not in Caria,
Nor in fair Rhodes, nor royal Lydia,
Have I e'er eaten so superb a supper;
Phoebus Apollo! what a feast it was.
And a little further on, he says—
And the boy brought us round a scanty cup
Of wine that might be worth five pence a bottle—
Awfully flat; and then that cursed thing,
That hang-dog lupin, danced upon the board,
A fitting meal for parasites and beggars.
And presently afterwards, he says that philosophical disquisitions were
carried on during the entertainment—
And for dessert,
We had some learned conversation.
It is also related that those who met in this way very often kept on
conversing to such a time that "the bird which calls the morn still
caught them talking, and they were not yet satisfied."
16. But Arcesilaus, when giving a supper to some people, when the bread
fell short, and his slave made him a sign that there were no loaves
left, burst out laughing, and clapped his hands; and said, "What a
feast we have here, my friends! We forgot to buy loaves enough; run
now, my boy:"—and this he said, laughing; and all the guests who were
present burst out laughing, and great amusement and entertainment were
excited, so that the very want of bread was a great seasoning to the
feast. And at another time, Arcesilaus ordered Apelles, one of his
friends, to strain some wine; and when he, not being used to doing so,
shook some of the wine and spilt some, so that the wine appeared much
thicker than usual, he laughed, and said, "But I told a man to strain
the wine who has never seen anything good any more than I myself have;
so do you now get up, Aridices; and do you go away and tap the casks
that are outside." And this good-humour of his so pleased and excited
the mirth of those present, that they were all filled with joy.
[Sidenote: PRAISE OF TEMPERANCE.]
17. But those of the present day who give entertainments, especially
the inhabitants of the beautiful Alexandria, cry out, and make a
noise, and curse the cupbearer, the steward, and cook; and the slaves
are all crying, being beaten with fists and driven about in every
direction. And not only do the guests who are invited sup with great
discomfort and annoyance, but even if there is any sacrifice going on,
the god himself would veil his face and go away, leaving not only the
house, but even the entire city, in which such things take place. For
it is absurd for a man, proclaiming that people should all confine
themselves to words of good omen, to curse his wife and his children;
and such a man as that would say to the guests—
And now then let us hasten to the feast,
That we may plan the movements of the war;—
for such a man's house—
Is redolent of frankincense,
And pæans too, and groans at the same time.
Now, when all this had been said, one of the guests who were present
said,—We ought, then, when we consider these things, to guard against
indulging our appetites too much;
For a frugal supper breeds no drunkenness,
as Amphis says, in his Pan: nor does it produce insolence or insulting
conduct; as Alexis testifies in his Ulysses Weaving, where he says—
For many a banquet which endures too long,
And many and daily feasts, are wont t' engender
Insult and mockery; and those kind of jests
Give far more pain than they do raise amusement.
For such are the first ground of evil-speaking;
And if you once begin t' attack your neighbour,
You quickly do receive back all you bring,
And then abuse and quarrels surely follow;
Then blows and drunken riot. For this is
The natural course of things, and needs no prophet.
18. And Mnesimachus, in his Philip, on account of the immoderate
indulgence in suppers of people of his time, introduces an
entertainment which professes to be a preparation for war, and which
really is what that admirable writer Xenophon calls a workshop of war.
And he speaks thus—
Know you now with what men you must fight?
With us, who sup upon well-sharpen'd swords,
And swallow lighted firebrands for dainties:
And then, for our dessert, our slaves bring in,
After the first course, Cretan bows and arrows;
And, 'stead of vetches, broken heads of spears,
And fragments of well-batter'd shields and breastplates;
And at our feet lie slings, and stones, and bows,
And on our heads are wreaths of catapults.
And Phoenix the Colophonian says—
A cask of wine shall be our sword—a cup
Shall be our spear—our hair shall arrows be;
Goblets shall be our enemies—wine our horses—
Ointments and perfumes our war-cry fierce.
And in the Parasite, Alexis, speaking of some very voracious person,
says—
And all the younger men do call him parasite,
Using a gentler name; but he cares not.
And Telephus in speechless silence sits,
Making but signs to those who ask him questions;
So that the inviter often offers prayers
To the great Samothracian gods o' the sea,
To cease their blowing, and to grant a calm;
For that young man's a storm to all his friends.
And Diphilus, in his Hercules, speaking of some similar kind of person,
says—
Do you not now behold me drunk and merry,
Well fill'd with wine, and all inflamed with anger?
Have not I just devour'd a dozen cakes,
Every one larger than a good-sized shield?
On which account, Bion of the Borysthenes said, cleverly enough, that
"A man ought not to derive his pleasures from the table, but from
meditation;" and Euripides says—
I pleased my palate with a frugal meal;
signifying that the pleasure derived from eating and drinking is
chiefly limited to the mouth. And Æschylus, in his Phineus, says—
And many a most deceitful meal they snatch'd
Away from hungry jaws, in haste t' enjoy
The first delight of the too eager palate.
And in his Sthenebœa, Euripides speaks of frugality thus—
A life at sea is a much troubled life,
Not reinforced with pleasures of the table,
But like a stable on the shore. The sea itself
Is a moist mother, not a nurse on land;
'Tis her we plough; from this our food, procured
With nets and traps, comes daily home to us.
19. For the belly is a great evil to man; concerning which Alexis
speaks, in his Men Dying together—
[Sidenote: STILPO.]
And hence you well may see how great an evil
The belly is to man; what lessons strange
It teaches, and what deeds it forces on us.
If there were any power which could take
This part alone from out our bodies, then
No one would any more do injury
Or insult to his neighbour. But from this
Flow all the ills that harass human life.
And Diphilus, in his Parasite, says—
Well did that wise Euripides oft speak,
And this does seem his wisest word of all—
"But want compels me and my wretched belly;"
For there is nought more wretched than the belly:
And into that you pour whate'er you have,
Which you do not in any other vessel.
Loaves you perhaps may in a wallet carry,—
Not soup, or else you'll spoil it. So again,
You put cakes in a basket, but not pulse;
And wine into a bladder, but not crabs:
But into this accursed belly, men
Put every sort of inconsistent thing.
I add no more; since it is plain enough
That all men's errors are produced by it.
And Crates the Cynic, as Sosicrates tells us in his Successions,
reproached Demetrius Phalereus for sending him a wallet of bread with
a flagon of wine. "I wish," said he, "that the fountains bore bread."
And Stilpo did not think himself guilty of intemperance when, having
eaten garlic, he went to sleep in the temple of the Mother of the Gods;
but all who eat of that food were forbidden even to enter into it. But
when the goddess appeared to him in his sleep, and said, "O Stilpo, do
you, though you are a philosopher, transgress the law?" he thought that
he made answer to her (still being asleep), "Do you give me something
better to eat, and I will not eat garlic."
20. After this, Ulpian said,—Since we have feasted
(δεδείπναμεν) . . . . . . . . . And Alexis, in his Curis, has used this
expression, where he says—
Since we have long since supp'd (δεδείπναμεν);
and so has Eubulus, in his Procris—
But we have not yet supp'd (δεδείπναμεν);
and in another passage he says—
A man who ought long since to have had supper (δεδειπναναι).
And Antiphanes, in his Leonidas, says—
He will be here before we've finish'd supper (δεδειπνάναι).
And Aristophanes, in his Proagon, says—
It's time for me to go now to my master,
For by this time I think they all have supp'd (δεδειπνάναι).
And in his Danaides he says—
You now are insulting me in a drunken manner
Before you've supp'd (δεδειπνάναι).
And Plato, in his Sophist, and Epicrates of Ambracia (and this last is
a poet of the middle comedy), in his Amazons, says—
For these men seem to me to have had their supper (δεδειπνάναι)
In capital season.
And, on the same principle, Aristophanes has given us the form
ἠρίσταμεν, in his Men Frying—
We've drank our fill, my men, and well have dined (ἠπίσταμεν).
And Hermippus, in his Soldiers, says—
To dine (ἀριστάναι), and come to this man's house.
And Theopompus, in his Callæschrus, says—
We've dined (ἠρίσταμεν);—for I must this discourse cut short.
But, in his Politician, Antipho has used the word καταριστᾶν, saying—
When any one has all consumed in dinners (κατηρίστηκεν)
His own estate, and that of all his family.
And Amphis has used the word παραδεδειπνημένος, in his Vagabond, saying—
The boys who long ago have lost their dinner (παραδεδειπνημένοι).
21. "Let us, then, now," as Plato says in his Philebus, "pray to the
gods, and pour libations to them, whether it be Bacchus, or Vulcan, or
whoever else of the gods it may be, who has had the honour of having
our cups mixed for his sake. For there are two fountains by us, as
if we were cupbearers to mix the wine: and a person might compare a
fountain of pleasure to honey; but the fountain of wisdom, which is a
sober and wine-eschewing spring, to that of some hard but wholesome
water, which we must be very earnest to mix as well as possible." It
is, then, time for us now to drink wine; and let some one of the slaves
bring us goblets from the sideboard, for I see here a great variety of
beautiful and variously-ornamented drinking-cups. Accordingly, when a
large cup had been given to him, he said,—But, O boy, draw out and pour
into my cup a liquor with not quite so much water in it; not like the
man in the comic poet Antiphanes, who, in the Twins, says—
[Sidenote: MIXING WINE.]
He took and brought me an enormous cup,
And I pour'd into it unmixed wine,
Not to the honour of a boy, but all
My cups, and they were numberless, I quaff'd
To all the gods and goddesses of heaven.
Then, after them, I drank twice as much more
To the great goddess and the noble king.
So do you now, O boy, pour me out something stronger; for I do not
prescribe to you the exact number of cyathi.[44] But I will show you
that the words κύαθος and ἀκρατέστερον (wine with less water in it) are
both used: and then, too, I will give you a lecture about cupbearers.
22. But, first of all, I will speak about the habit of drinking strong
drinks, with reference to which we find the word ζωρότερον. Antiphanes,
in his Milanion, says—
I think this man does drink the cup of health,
Making his cupbearer shun too much water (ζωροτέρῳ χρώμενον οἰνοχόῳ).
And in his Lampon he says—
My friend Iapyx, mix it somewhat stronger (εὐζωρέστερον).
And Ephippus, in his Ephebi, says—
He gave him in each hand a brimming flagon,
Mixing in strong wine (ζωρότερον), in Homer's fashion.
And you find some people say that the expression in Homer—
Take care and give less water (ζωρότερον κέραιρε),
does not mean that there is to be less water, but that the draught is
to be hot; urging that ζωρὸς is derived from ζωτικὸς (giving life),
and from ζέσις (boiling);—for that, as there were companions present,
it would have been absurd to begin mixing the cups of wine over again.
But some say that the word is to be understood as equivalent to
εὔκρατον (well-mixed); just as we find the form δεξιτερὸν used instead
of δεξιόν. And some say that, since the year is called ὧρος, and since
the particle ζα indicates magnitude or number, ζῶρος means merely what
has been made many years. And Diphilus, in his Pederastæ, says—
Pour me now out a cup of wine to drink;
Give it, by Jove! εὐζωρότερον than that;
For wat'ry things are ruinous to the stomach.
And Theophrastus, in his treatise on Drinking, says that ζωρότερον
means mixed; quoting the following lines of Empedocles;—
And soon the things which formerly they learnt
Immortal were, did mortal now become,
And things unmix'd before became now mix'd (ζωρὰ,)
Changing their previous ways and habits all.
23. And Plato has used the word κύαθος in the sense of a ladle, in his
Phaon, where he says—
Taking up thus the ladle (κύαθος) in their mouths.
And in his Ambassadors he says—
He stole the ladles (κύαθοι) every time he could.
And Archippus, in his Fishes, says—
I bought a ladle (κύαθος) there from Dæsias.
And there is a similar use of the word in the Peace of Aristophanes:—
All having fought till they had got black eyes,
Lying all on the ground around the κύαθοι;
for black eyes are reduced by having κύαθοι (cupping glasses) applied
to them. Xenophon also speaks of the κύαθος in the first book of his
Cyropædia; and so does Cratinus; and, besides, so does Aristophanes
in many places, and Eubulus in his Orthanna; and Pherecrates, in his
Triflers, has spoken of a κύαθος made of silver. But Timon, in the
second book of his History of the Silli, has called κύαθοι, ἀρύσαναι;
speaking thus:—
And ἀρύσαναι, hard to fill with wine;
naming them so from the verb ἀρύομαι, to draw. And they are called
also ἀρυστῆρες and ἀρίστιχοι. Simonides says—
[Sidenote: CUPBEARERS.]
And no one gave me even one ἀρυστὴρ
Of the mere dregs and lees.
And Aristophanes, in his Wasps, says—
For I had these ἀρύστιχοι near me.
And Phrynichus, in his Weeding Women, says—
(A cup) κύλικ᾽ ἀρύστιχον:
and from this comes the word ἀρύταινα. They also called this vessel
ἔφηβος, as Xenophanes did in his Relationship; and Polybius, in the
ninth book of his Histories, says that there is a certain river called
the Cyathus, near Arsinoe, a city in Ætolia.
24. But the word ἀκρατέστερον, meaning the same as ζωρότερον, is used
by Hyperides in his oration against Demosthenes; where he writes
thus—"If any one drank any wine of much strength (ἀκρατέστερον),
it grieved you." And a similar form is ἀνιαρέστερον, and also the
expression in the Heliades of Æschylus—
ἀφθονέστερον λίβα.
And Epicharmus, in his Pyrrha, has the word εὐωνέστερον (cheaper); and
Hyperides, in his Oration against Demades, has used the expression—
ῥαδιεστέραν τὴν πόλιν.
And as for the word κεραννύω (to mix), that is used by Plato in his
Philebus—"Let us, O Protarchus, pray to the gods, and mingle cups
(κεραννύωμεν) to pour libations to them." And Alcæus, in his Sacred
Marriage, says—
They mix the cups (κεραννύουσιν) and drink them.
And Hyperides, in his Delian Oration, says—"And the Greeks mix
(κεραννύουσι) the Panionian goblet all together."
And among the ancients they were the most nobly born youths who acted
as cupbearers; as, for instance, the son of Menelaus:—
And the king's noble son pour'd out the wine.
And Euripides the poet, when he was a boy, acted as cupbearer.
Accordingly, Theophrastus, in his treatise on Drinking, says—"But
I hear that Euripides the poet also acted as a cupbearer at Athens,
among those who are called the dancers: and these men were they who
used to dance around the temple of the Delian Apollo, being some of the
noblest of the Athenians, and they were clothed in garments of the
Theræans. And this is that Apollo in whose honour they celebrate the
Thargelian festival; and a writing concerning them is kept at Phylæ, in
the Daphnephorium." And Hieronymus the Rhodian gives the same account,
who was a disciple of Aristotle, and that too in a book of his entitled
a Treatise on Drunkenness. And the beautiful Sappho often praises her
brother Larichus, as having acted as cupbearer to the Mitylenæans in
the Prytaneum. And among the Romans, the most nobly born of the youths
perform this office in the public sacrifices, imitating the Æolians in
everything, as even in the tones of their voices.
25. And so great was the luxury of the ancients in respect of their
sumptuous meals, that they not only had cupbearers, but also men whom
they called œnoptæ (inspectors of wines). At all events, the office of
œnoptæ is a regular office among the Athenians; and it is mentioned by
Eupolis, in his play called The Cities, in the following lines—
And men whom heretofore you'd not have thought
Fit e'en to make œnoptæ of, we now
See made commanders. But oh, city, city!
How much your fortune does out-run your sense.
And these œnoptæ superintended the arrangement of banquets, taking
care that the guests should drink on equal terms. But it was an office
of no great dignity, as Philinus the orator tells us, in his debate on
the Croconidæ. And he tells us, too, that the œnoptæ were three in
number, and that they also provided the guests with lamps and wicks.
And some people called them "eyes;" but among the Ephesians, the
youths who acted as cupbearers at the festival of Neptune were called
"bulls," as Amerias tells us. And the people of the Hellespont call the
cupbearer ἐπεγχύτης, or the pourer out; and they call carving, which we
call κρεωνομία, κρεωδαισία, as Demetrius of Scepsis tells us, in the
twenty-sixth book of his Arrangement of the Trojan Forces. And some say
that the nymph Harmonia acted as cupbearer to the gods; as Capito the
epic poet relates (and he was a native of Alexandria by birth), in the
second book of his Love Poems. But Alcæus also represents Mercury as
their cupbearer; as also does Sappho, who says—
And with ambrosia was a goblet mix'd,
And Mercury pour'd it out to all the gods.
[Sidenote: DRINKING.]
26. But the ancients used to call the men who discharged this office,
heralds (κήρυκες). Homer says—
Meanwhile the heralds through the crowded town
Bring the rich wine and destined victims down.
Idæus's arms the golden goblets prest,
Who thus the venerable king addrest.
And a few lines further on he says—
On either side a sacred herald stands;
The wine they mix, and on each monarch's hands
Pour the full urn.
But Clidemus says that the cooks used to be called heralds. And some
people have represented Hebe as acting as cupbearer to the gods,
perhaps because their banquets were called Hebeteria. And Ptolemy, the
son of Agesarchus, speaks of a damsel named Cleino as the cupbearer
of Ptolemy the king, who was surnamed Philadelphus, mentioning her
in the third book of his History of Philopator. But Polybius, in the
fourteenth book of his History, adds that there are statues of her in
Alexandria, in many parts of the city, clad in a tunic alone, holding a
cup in her hand.
27. And so, after this conversation, Ulpian drinking a goblet of wine,
said—
I drink this cup, a pledge of friendship dear,
To all my kinsmen, naming them.
And while he was still drinking, one of those who were present quoted
the rest of the passage—
When I have drunk, I'll say
The rest; for I am choked: but now drink this.
And Ulpian, when he had drunk it up, said,—Clearchus has these lines
in his Harp-Player; but I, as is said in the Wool-spinners of Amphis,
recommend—
Let the boy wait on all with frequent goblets.
And again—
You fill for me, and I will give you drink;
So shall the almond with the almond play:
as Xenarchus says, in his Twins. And accordingly, when some of the
guests asked for more wine, and others wished to have it mixed
half-and-half, and when some one mentioned that Archippus, in the
second edition of his Amphitryon, said—
Wretch, who has mix'd for you this half-and-half?
and that Cratinus had said—
Giving him half-and-half; but I'm undone;
every one seemed to agree to speak of the way of mixing wine among the
ancients.
28. And when some one mentioned that Menander, in his Hero, said—
Here is a measure of well-temper'd wine;
Take it, and drink it up;—
Democritus said—Hesiod, my friends, recommends men
To pour three parts of water in the cup,
And let the fourth part be the vinous juice.
And, perhaps, it was on account of Hesiod that Anaxilas said, in his
Nereus,—
And this is much more pleasant; for I'd never
Have drunk one part of wine to three of water.
And Alexis, in his Nurse, recommends even a more moderate mixture than
this—
See, here is wine. Shall I, then, give to Criton
Equal proportions? This is better far,
One part of wine to four of limpid water:
Perhaps you'll call that weak; but still, when you
Have drunk your fill of this, you'll find your head
Clear for discussion,—and the drink lasts longer.
And Diocles, in his Bees, says—
_A._ In what proportions should the wine be mix'd?
_B._ Four parts of water to two parts of wine.
And this mixture, as it is not that in ordinary use, put the questioner
in mind of the well-known proverb,—
Drink waters three or five; but never four.
What they mean is, You had better take two parts wine with five of
water, or one of wine to three of water. But, concerning this mixture,
Ion the poet, in his book on Chios, says that Palamedes the soothsayer
discovered and prophesied to the Greeks, that they would have a
favourable voyage if they drank one portion of wine to three of water.
But they, applying themselves to their drink very vigorously, took two
pints of wine to five of water;—accordingly Nicochares in his Amymone,
playing on the name, says—
Here, you Œnomaus,—here, you two and five,—
Let you and I now have a drink together.
And he said nearly the same in his Lemnian Women: and Ameipsias, in his
Men Playing the Cottabus, says—
[Sidenote: THE PROPORTIONS OF MIXED WINE.]
But I (it is Bacchus who is represented as speaking) am five and two
to all of you.
And Eupolis says, in his Goats,—
Hail, my friend Bacchus, are you two to five?
And Hermippus says, in his Gods,—
_A._ Then, when we drink, or when we thirsty are,
We pray our wine may be in due proportion.
_B._ I do not bring it from a roguish wine-vault,
Meaning to mock you: this which I do bring
Is, as before, the proper two and five.
29. But in Anacreon we find one measure of wine to two of water spoken
of—
Come, my boy, and bring to me
Such a cup as I may drink
At one easy draught: pour in
Ten cyathi of water pure,
And five of richest Chian wine;
That I may drink, from fear removed,
And free from drunken insolence.
And going on presently, he calls the drinking of unmixed wine, a
Scythian draught—
Come hither, now, and let us not
Give way to vulgar shouts and noise,
Indulging in the Scythian draughts
While o'er our wine; but let us drink,
Singing well-omen'd, pious hymns.
And the Lacedæmonians, according to the statement of Herodotus, in
his sixth book, say that Cleomenes the king, having lived among the
Scythians, and got the habit of drinking unmixed wine, became perfectly
mad from his habit of drunkenness. And the Lacedæmonians themselves,
when they take it into their heads to drink hard, say that they are
Episcythising. Accordingly, Chamæleon of Heraclea, in his book on
Drunkenness, writes thus concerning them:—"Since the Lacedæmonians say
also, that Cleomenes the Spartan became mad from having lived among the
Scythians, and there learnt to drink unmixed wine; on which account,
when they take a fancy to drink unmixed wine they desire their slaves
to pour out in the Scythian fashion." And Achæus, in his Æthon, a
satyric drama, represents the Satyrs as indignant at being compelled to
drink their wine watered, and as saying—
Was the whole Achelous in this wine?
But even then this race would not cease drinking,
For this is all a Scythian's happiness.
30. But the habit of pouring libations of pure wine, as Theophrastus
says, in his treatise on Drinking, was not ancient; but originally
libations were what is given to the Gods, and the cottabus, what was
devoted to the object of one's love. For men practised throwing the
cottabus with great care, it being originally a Sicilian sport, as
Anacreon the Teian says—
Throwing, with his well-bent arm
The Sicilian cottabus.
On which account those songs of the ancient poets, which are called
scolia, are full of mention of the cottabus.[45] I mean, for instance,
such a scolion as Pindar composed—
And rightly I adore the Graces,
Nymphs of Venus and of Love,
While drinking with a loving heart
This sounding cottabus I pour
To Agathon, my heart's delight.
And they also consecrated to those of their friends who were dead, all
that portion of their victuals which fell from their tables. On which
account Euripides says of Sthenobœa, when she thinks that Bellerophon
is dead—
Nothing escaped her from her hand which fell,
But in a moment she did couple it
With the loved name of the Corinthian stranger.
31. But the ancients were not in the habit of getting drunk. But
Pittacus recommended Periander of Priene not to get drunk, nor to
become too much addicted to feasting, "so that," says he, "it may not
be discovered what sort of a person you really are, and that you are
not what you pretend to be."—
[Sidenote: DRINKING.]
For brass may be a mirror for the face,—
Wine for the mind.
On which account they were wise men who invented the proverb, "Wine has
no rudder." Accordingly, Xenophon the son of Gryllus, (when once at the
table of Dionysius the tyrant of Sicily, the cupbearer was compelling
the guests to drink,) addressed the tyrant himself by name, and said,
"Why, O Dionysius, does not also the confectioner, who is a skilful man
in his way, and one who understands a great many different recipes for
dressing things, compel us also, when we are at a banquet, to eat even
when we do not wish to; but why, on the contrary, does he spread the
table for us in an orderly manner, in silence?" And Sophocles, in one
of his Satyric dramas, says—
To be compell'd to drink is quite as hard
As to be forced to bear with thirst.
From which also is derived the saying—
Wine makes an old man dance against his will.
And Sthenelus the poet said very well—
Wine can bring e'en the wise to acts of folly.
And Phocylides says—
It should be a rule for all wine-bibbing people
Not to let the jug limp round the board like a cripple,
But gaily to chat while enjoying their tipple:
and to this day this custom prevails among some of the Greeks. But
since they have begun to be luxurious and have got effeminate they have
given up their chairs and taken to couches; and having taken indolence
and laziness for their allies, they have indulged in drinking in an
immoderate and disorderly manner; the very way in which the tables were
laid contributing, as I imagine, to luxury.
32. And it is on this account that Hesiod, in his Eoæ, has said—
What joys and also what exceeding pains
Has Bacchus given to mortal men who drink,
Indulging in excess: for to such men
Wine is an insolent master, binding fast
Their feet and hands, their tongues and intellects,
With chains unspeakable, unnoticeable;
And tender sleep loves on their eyes to fall.
And Theognis says—
I come like wine, the sweetest drink of men,—
I am not sober, nor yet very drunk;
But he who goes to great excess in drink
Is no more master of his mind or senses;
Then he talks unintelligible nonsense.
Which seems to sober men a shameful thing;
But he, when drunk, is not ashamed of anything,
E'en though at other times a modest man
And gentle-minded. Mind you this, my friend,
And don't indulge in drinking to excess,
But rise from table ere the wine begins
To take effect; nor let your appetite
Reduce you to become its daily slave.
But Anacharsis the philosopher, wishing to exhibit the power of
the vine to the king of the Scythians, and showing him some of its
branches, said that if the Greeks did not prune it every year it would
by this time have reached to Scythia.
[Sidenote: DRINKING.]
33. But those men do not act wisely who represent and describe Bacchus
in their statues or pictures, and who also lead him through the middle
of the market-place on a waggon, as if he were drunk; for, by so doing,
they show the beholders that wine is stronger than the god. And I do
not think that even a good and wise man could stand this. And if they
have represented him in this state because he first showed us the
use of wine, it is plain that for the same reason they should always
represent Ceres as reaping corn or eating bread. And I should say that
Æschylus himself erred in this particular; for he was the first person
(and not Euripides, as some people say,) who introduced the appearance
of drunken people into a tragedy. For in his Cabiri he introduces Jason
drunk. But the fact is, that the practices which the tragedian himself
used to indulge in, he attributed to his heroes: at all events he used
to write his tragedies when he was drunk; on which account Sophocles
used to reproach him, and say to him, "O Æschylus,[46] even if you
do what you ought, at all events you do so without knowing it;" as
Chamæleon tells us, in his treatise on Æschylus. And they are ignorant
people who say that Epicharmus was the first person who introduced a
drunken man on the stage, and after him Crates, in his Neighbours. And
Alcæus the lyric poet, and Aristophanes the comic poet, used to write
their poems when they were drunk. And many other men have fought with
great gallantry in war when they were drunk. But among the Epizephyrian
Locrians, if any one drank untempered wine, except by the express
command of his physician for the sake of his health, he was liable to
be punished with death, in accordance with a law to that effect passed
by Zaleucus. And among the people of Massilia there was a law that the
women should drink water only. And Theophrastus says, that to this day
that is the law at Miletus. And among the Romans no slave ever drank
wine, nor any free woman, nor any youth born of free parents till he
was thirty years of age. And Anacreon is very ridiculous for having
referred all his poems to the subject of drunkenness; for, owing to
this, he is found fault with as having in his poems wholly abandoned
himself to effeminacy and luxury, as the multitude are not aware that
while he wrote he was a sober and virtuous man, who pretended to be a
drunkard, when there was no necessity at all for his doing so.
34. And men who are ignorant of the power of wine, say that Bacchus is
the cause of madness to men; in saying which they abuse wine in a very
senseless manner. On which account Melanippides says—
All men have detested water
Who did not before have wine;
And though some have enjoy'd their cups,
Others have turn'd to ravings wild.
And Aristotle, in his treatise on Drinking, says, "If the wine be
moderately boiled, then when it is drunk, it is less apt to intoxicate;
for, as some of its power has been boiled away, it has become weaker."
And he also says, "Old men become drunk more quickly on account of
the small quantity of natural warmth which there is in them, and also
of the weak-genius get drunk very quickly, on account of the great
quantity of natural warmth that there is in them; for, in consequence,
they are easily subdued by the warmth proceeding from the wine which is
added to their natural warmth. And some of the brute beasts are also
capable of becoming intoxicated; such as pigs when they are filled with
the husks of pressed grapes; and the whole race of crows, and of dogs,
when they have eaten of the herb called œnussa: and the monkey and the
elephant get intoxicated if they drink wine; on which account they hunt
monkeys and crows when the former have been made drunk with wine, and
the latter with œnussa.
But to drink unceasingly—
as Crobylus says, in his Woman who deserted her Husband—
Can have
No pleasure in it, surely; how should it,
When it deprives a living man of power
To think as he should think? and yet is thought
The greatest blessing that is given to man.
And Alexis, in the revised edition of his Phrygian, says—
If now men only did their headaches get
Before they get so drunk, I'm sure that no one
Would ever drink more than a moderate quantity:
But now we hope t' escape the penalty
Of our intemperance, and so discard
Restraint, and drink unmixed cups of wine.
And Aristotle says, that the wine called the Samagorean wine was so
strong that more than forty men were made drunk with a pint and a half
of it after it had been mixed with water.
35. Democritus having said this, and having drunk, said,—Now if any
one can gainsay any of these statements let him come forward: and then
he shall be told, as Evenus says—
That may be your opinion; this is mine.
But I, since I have now made this digression about the mixtures of the
ancients, will resume the thread of my original discourse where I let
it drop; considering what was said by Alcæus the lyric poet. For he
speaks, somewhere or other, in this way—
Pour out, in just proportion, one and two.
[Sidenote: DRINKING.]
For in these words some people do not think that he is alluding to
the mixture of wine and water at all; but that, being a moderate and
temperate man, he would not drink more than one cyathus of pure wine,
or perhaps, at the most, two. And this is the interpretation given
to the passage by Chamæleon of Pontus, who was ignorant how fond of
wine Alcæus had been. For this poet will be found to have been in the
habit of drinking at every season and in every imaginable condition of
affairs. In winter he speaks thus—
Now the storm begins to lower,
And Jove descends in heavy snow,
And streams of water stand congeal'd
In cruel ice: let's drive away
The wintry cold, and heap up fire,
And mingle with unsparing hand
The honied cup, and wreathe our brows
With fragrant garlands of the season.
And in summer, he writes—
Now it behoves a man to soak his lungs
In most cool wine; for the fierce dogstar rages,
And all things thirst with the excessive heat.
And in spring, he says—
Now does the flowery spring return,
And shed its gifts all o'er the land;
and he continues—
Come then, my boy, and quickly pour
A cup of luscious Lesbian wine.
And in his misfortunes he sings—
One must not give one's thoughts up wholly
To evil fortune; for by grieving
We shall not do ourselves much good.
Come to me, Bacchus; you are ever
The best of remedies, who bring
Us wine and joyous drunkenness.
And in his hours of joy he says—
Now is the time to get well drunk,
Now e'en in spite of self to drink,
Since Myrsilus is dead at last.
And, giving some general advice, he says—
Never plant any tree before the vine.
How, then, could a man who was so very devoted to drinking be a sober
man, and be content with one or two cups of wine? At all events, his
very poem, says Seleucus, testifies against those people who receive
the line in this sense. For he says, in the whole passage—
Let us now drink,—why put we out the light?
Our day is but a finger: bring large cups,
Fill'd with the purple juice of various grapes;
For the great son of Semele and Jove
Gave wine to men to drive away their cares.
Pour on, in just proportion, one and two,
And let one goblet chase another quickly
Out of my head.
In which words he plainly enough intimates that his meaning is, that
one cup of wine is to be mixed with two of water.
36. But Anacreon likes his liquors stronger still; as is shown by the
verses in which he says—
Let the cup well be clean'd, then let it hold
Five measures water, three of rosy wine.
And Philetærus, in his Tereus, speaks of two measures of water to three
of wine. And he speaks thus,—
I seem to have drunk two measures now of water,
And only three of wine.
And Pherecrates, in his Corianno, speaks even of two measures of water
to four of wine, and says—
_A._ Throw that away, my dear; the fellow has
Given you such a watery mixture.
_B._ Nay rather, 'tis mere water and nought else.
_A._ What have you done?—in what proportions,
You cursed man, have you this goblet mix'd?
_B._ I've put two waters only in, my mother.
_A._ And how much wine?
_B._ Four parts of wine, I swear.
_A._ You're fit to serve as cupbearer to the frogs.
And Ephippus, in his Circe, says—
_A._ You will find it a much more prudent mixture,
To take three parts of one, and four of th' other.
_B._ That's but a watery mixture, three to four.
_A._ Would you, then, quite unmix'd your wine prefer?
_B._ How say you?
37. And Timocles speaks of half-and-half in his Conisalus,—
And I'll attack you straight with half-and-half,
And make you tell me all the truth at once.
And Alexis, in his Dorcis, or the Caressing Woman, says—
I drink now cups brimming with love to you,
Mixed in fair proportions, half and half.
And Xenarchus, or Timocles, in his Purple, says—
By Bacchus, how you drink down half-and-half!
And Sophilus, in his Dagger, says,—
And wine was given in unceasing flow,
Mix'd half and half; and yet, unsatisfied,
They ask'd for larger and for stronger cups.
[Sidenote: WINE.]
And Alexis, in his play entitled The Usurer, or Liar, says—
_A._ Don't give him wine quite drown'd in water, now;—
Dost understand me? Half and half, or nearly:
That's well.
_B._ A noble drink: where was the land
That raised this noble Bacchus? by its flavour,
I think he came from Thasos.
_A._ Sure 'tis just
That foreigners should foreign wines enjoy,
And that the natives should drink native produce.
And again, in his Supposititious Son, he says—
He drank and never drew his breath, as one
Would quaff rich wine, mix'd half and half with care.
And Menander, in his Brethren—
Some one cried out to mingle eight and twelve,
Till he with rivalry subdued the other (κατέσεισε).
And the verb κατασείω was especially used of those who fell down from
drinking, taking its metaphor from the shaking down fruit from the tree.
And Alexis, in his Man cut off, says—
He was no master of the feast at all,
But a mere hangman, Chæreas his name;
And when he'd drunk full twenty cups of wine,
Mix'd half-and-half, he ask'd for more, and stronger.
38. And Diodorus of Sinope, in his Female Flute-player, says—
When any one, O Crito, drinks ten cups,
Consider, I do beg you, whether he
Who never once allows the wine to pass
Is in a fit state for discussion.
And it was not without some wit that Lysander the Spartan, as
Hegesander relates in his Commentaries, when some vintners sold wine
which had been much watered in his camp, ordered some one to supply it
properly tempered, that his men might buy it with less water in it. And
Alexis has said something which comes to nearly the same thing, in his
Æsop; thus—
_A._ That is a good idea of yours, O Solon,
And cleverly imagined, which you have
Adopted in your city.
_S._ What is that?
_A._ You don't let men drink neat wine at their feasts.
_S._ Why, if I did, 'twould not be very easy
For men to get it, when the innkeepers
Water it ere it comes out of the waggon.
No doubt they do not do so to make money,
But only out of prudent care for those
Who buy the liquor; so that they may have
Their heads from every pang of headache free.
This now is, as you see, a Grecian drink;
So that men, drinking cups of moderate strength,
May chat and gossip cheerfully with each other:
For too much water is more like a bath
Than like a wine-cup; and the wine-cooler
Mix'd with the cask, my friend, is death itself.
39. "But to drink to the degree of drunkenness," says Plato, in his
sixth book of the Laws, is neither becoming anywhere—except perhaps
in the days of festival of the god who gave men wine for their
banquets,—nor is it wholesome: and, above all, a man ought to guard
against such a thing who has any thoughts of marriage; for at such a
time, above all other times, both bride and bridegroom ought to be in
full possession of their faculties; when they are entering upon what
is no small change in the circumstances of their life; and also they
ought to be influenced by anxiety that their offspring shall be the
offspring of parents in the fullest possible possession of all their
faculties; for it is very uncertain what day or what night will be
the originating cause of it." And in the first book of his Laws he
says—"But respecting drunkenness it may be a question, whether we
ought to give way to it as the Lydians do, and the Persians, and the
Carthaginians, and the Celtæ, and the Spaniards, and the Thracians,
and other nations like them; or whether like you, O Lacedæmonians, one
ought wholly to abstain from it. But the Scythians and the Thracians,
who indulge altogether in drinking unmixed wine, both the women and all
the men, and who spill it all over their clothes, think that they are
maintaining a very honourable practice, and one that tends to their
happiness. And the Persians indulge to a great extent in other modes
of luxury which you reject; but still they practise them with more
moderation than the Scythians and Thracians.
40. And a great many of the guests were drinking, and putting lumps of
meal into their wine, a custom which Hegesander of Delphi mentions.
Accordingly Epinicus, when Mnesiptolemus had given a recitation of his
history, in which it was written how Seleucus had used meal in his
wine, having written a drama entitled Mnesiptolemus, and having turned
him into ridicule, as the comic poets do, and using his own words about
that sort of drink, represents him as saying:—
[Sidenote: LACEDÆMONIAN FASHIONS.]
Once I beheld the noble king Seleucus,
One summer's day, drinking with mighty pleasure
Some wine with meal steep'd in it. (So I took
A note of it, and show'd it to a crowd,
Although it was an unimportant thing,
Yet still my genius could make it serious.)
He took some fine old Thasian wine, and eke
Some of the liquor which the Attic bee
Distils who culls the sweets from every flower;
And that he mingled in a marble cup,
And mix'd the liquor with fair Ceres' corn,
And took the draught, a respite from the heat.
And the same writer tells us that in the Therades islands men mash
lentils and pease into meal, instead of ordinary corn, and put that
into the wine, and that this drink is said to be better than that in
which the meal is mixed.
41. Now it was not the fashion among the Lacedæmonians to practise the
system of pledging healths at their banquets, nor to salute one another
with mutual greetings and caresses at their feasts. And Critias shows
us this in his Elegies:—
And this is an old fashion, well establish'd,
And sanction'd by the laws of noble Sparta,
That all should drink from one well-fill'd cup;
And that no healths should then be drunk to any one,
Naming the tender object: also that
The cup should not go round towards the right.
The Lydian goblets . . . . . .
* * * *
And to drink healths with skill and well-turn'd phrase,
Naming the person whom one means to pledge.
For, after draughts like this, the tongue gets loose,
And turns to most unseemly conversation;
They make the body weak; they throw a mist
Over the eyes; and make forgetfulness
Eat recollection out of the full heart.
The mind no longer stands on solid ground;
The slaves are all corrupted by licentiousness,
And sad extravagance eats up the house.
But those wise youths whom Lacedæmon breeds
Drink only what may stimulate their souls
To deeds of daring in th' adventurous war,
And rouse the tongue to wit and moderate mirth.
Such draughts are wholesome both for mind and body,
And not injurious to the pocket either:
Good, too, for deeds of love; authors of sleep,
That wholesome harbour after toil and care:
Good, too, for health—that best of goddesses
Who mortal man befriend: and likewise good
For piety's best neigbour temperance.
And presently afterwards he goes on—
For fierce, immoderate draughts of heady wine
Give momentary pleasure, but engender
A long-enduring pain which follows it.
But men at Sparta love a mode of life
Which is more equal; they but eat and drink
That which is wholesome, so that they may be
Fit to endure hard pains, and do great deeds.
Nor have they stated days in all the year,
When it is lawful to indulge too much.
42. And a man who is always ready for wine is called φίλοινος. But
he is called φιλοπότης who is always ready to drink anything; and he
is called φιλοκωθωνιστὴς who drinks to the degree of drunkenness. And
of all heroes, the greatest drinker is Nestor, who lived three times
as long as other men; for he evidently used to stick to his wine more
closely than other people, and even than Agamemnon himself, whom
Achilles upbraids as a man given to much drinking. But Nestor, even
when a most important battle was impending, could not keep away from
drinking. Accordingly Homer says—
But not the genial feast or flowing bowl
Gould charm the cares of Nestor's watchful soul.
And he is the only hero whose drinking-cup he has described, as he has
the shield of Achilles; for he went to the war with his goblet just as
he did with that shield, the fame of which Hector says had reached to
heaven. And a man would not be very wrong who called that cup of his
the Goblet of Mars, like the Cæneus of Antiphanes, in which it is said—
The hero stood and brandish'd Mars's cup,
Like great Timotheus, and his polish'd spear.
And indeed it was on account of his fondness for drinking that Nestor,
in the games instituted in honour of Patroclus, received a drinking-cup
as a present from Achilles; not but what Achilles also gave a cup
to the competitor who was defeated: for victory does not commonly
attend hard drinkers, on account of their usual inactivity; or perhaps
it is owing to their thirst that boxers usually fail, from being
fatigued with holding out their hands too long. But Eumelus receives
a breastplate after having run a course with great danger, and having
been torn, the breastplate being a serviceable piece of defensive
armour.
[Sidenote: THIRST.]
43. But there is nothing more covetous than thirst; on which account
the poet has called Argos thirsty, or rather causing great thirst, as
having been much desired on account of the length of time the person
of whom he is speaking had been absent from it. For thirst engenders
in all men a violent desire for abundant enjoyment; on which account
Sophocles says—
Though you were to unfold unnumber'd treasures
Of wisdom to a thirsty man, you'd find
You pleased him less than if you gave him drink.
And Archilochus says—
I wish to fight with you, as much as e'er
A thirsty man desired to quench his thirst.
And one of the tragic poets has said—
I bid you check your hand which thirsts for blood.
And Anacreon says—
For you are kind to every stranger,
So let me drink and quench my thirst.
And Xenophon, in the third book of his Cyropædia, represents Cyrus as
speaking in this manner:—"I thirst to gratify you." And Plato, in
his Polity, says—"But if, as I imagine, any city which is governed
by a democracy, thirsting for its liberty, should have evil-disposed
cupbearers to wait upon it, and should be intoxicated to an improper
degree with unmixed wine. . . ."
44. Proteas the Macedonian was also a very great drinker, as Ephippus
tells us in his treatise on the Funeral of Alexander and Hephæstion:
and he had an admirable constitution, and he had practised drinking to
a great degree. Accordingly, Alexander, having once asked for a cup
containing two choes, and having drank from it, pledged Proteas; and
he, having taken it, and having sung the praises of the king a great
deal, drank it in such a manner as to be applauded by every one. And
presently Proteas asked for the same cup again, and again he drank
and pledged the king. And Alexander, having taken the cup, drank it
off in a princely manner, but he could not stand it, but leaned back
on the pillow, letting the cup fall from his hands; and after this
he fell sick and died, Bacchus, as it is said, being angry with him
because he had besieged his native city of Thebes. And Alexander
drank a great deal too, so that he once, after a drunken bout, slept
without interruption two days and two nights. And this is shown in his
Journals, which were compiled by Eumenes the Cardian, and Diodotus the
Erythræan. But Menander, in his Flatterer, says—
_A._ My good friend, Struthias, I thrice have drunk
A golden cup in Cappadocia,
Containing ten full cotylæ of wine.
_St._ Why, then you drank more than king Alexander.
_A._ At all events not less, I swear by Pallas.
_St._ A wondrous feat.
But Nicobule, or whoever it was who wrote the books attributed to her,
says that "Alexander, once supping with Medeus the Thessalian, when
there were twenty people present at the party, pledged every one of the
guests, receiving a similar pledge from all of them, and then, rising
up from the party, he presently went off to sleep." And Callisthenes
the Sophist, as Lynceus the Samian says in his Commentaries, and
Aristobulus and Chares in their Histories, when in a banquet given by
Alexander, a cup of unmixed wine came to him, rejected it; and when
some one said to him, Why do you not drink? "I do not wish," said he,
"after having drunk the cup of Alexander, to stand in need of the cup
of Æsculapius."
45. But Darius, who destroyed the Magi, had an inscription written
on his tomb,—"I was able to drink a great deal of wine, and to bear
it well." And Ctesias says, that among the Indians it is not lawful
for the king to get drunk; but among the Persians it is permitted to
the king to get drunk one day in the year,—the day, namely, on which
they sacrifice to Mithras. And Duris writes thus, with respect to this
circumstance, in the seventh book of his Histories:—"The king gets
drunk and dances the Persian dance on that festival only which is
celebrated by the Persians in honour of Mithras; but no one else does
so in all Asia; but all abstain during this day from dancing at all.
For the Persians learn to dance as they learn to ride; and they think
that the motion originated by this sort of exercise contains in it a
good kind of practice tending to the strength of the body.
[Sidenote: PHILIP OF MACEDON.]
But Alexander used to get so drunk, as Carystius of Pergamus relates
in his Historic Commentaries, that he used even to celebrate banquets
in a chariot drawn by asses; and the Persian kings too, says he did
the same thing. And perhaps it was owing to this that he had so little
inclination for amatory pleasures; for Aristotle, in his Problems of
Natural History, says, that the powers of men who drink to any great
excess are much weakened. And Hieronymus, in his Letters, says, that
Theophrastus says, that Alexander was not much of a man for women;
and accordingly, when Olympias had given him Callixene, a Thessalian
courtesan, for a mistress, who was a most beautiful woman, (and all
this was done with the consent of Philip, for they were afraid that he
was quite impotent,) she was constantly obliged to ask him herself to
do his duty by her.