Page:The Deipnosophists (Volume 2).djvu/244

 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 Phœnix 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—