And he who runs up first receives a basin (χειρόνιπτρον), But when a man is both a virtuous man And useful citizen, though he surpass In virtue all the rest, he gets no basin (χειρόνιπτρον). But Epicharmus, in his Ambassadors for a Sacred Purpose, uses the word χειρόνιβον in the following lines:— A harp, and tripods, chariots too, and tables Of brass Corinthian, and wash-hand basins (χειρόνιβα), Cups for libations, brazen caldrons too. But it is more usual to say κατὰ χειρὸς ὕδωρ (water to be poured over the hands), as Eupolis does say in his Golden Age, and Ameipsias in his Sling, and Alcæus in his Sacred Wedding: and this is a very common expression. But Philyllius, in his Auge, says κατὰ χειρῶν, not χειρὸς, in these lines:— And since the women all have dined well, 'Tis time to take away the tables now, And wipe them, and then give each damsel water To wash her hands (κατὰ χειρῶν), and perfumes to anoint them. And Menander, in his Pitcher, says— And they having had water for their hands (κατὰ χειρῶν λαβόντες), Wait in a friendly manner. 76. But Aristophanes the grammarian, in his Commentary on the Tablets of Callimachus, laughs at those who do not know the difference between the two expressions, κατὰ χειρὸς and ἀπονίψασθαι; for he says that among the ancients the way in which people washed their hands before breakfast and supper was called κατὰ χειρὸς, but what was done after those meals was called ἀπονίψασθαι. But the grammarian appears to have taken this observation from the Attic writers, since Homer says, somewhere or other— Marshall'd in order due, to each a ewer Presents, to bathe his hands (νίψασθαι), a radiant ewer; Luxuriant then they feast. And somewhere else he says— The golden ewer a maid obsequious brings, Replenish'd from the cool translucent springs, With copious water the bright vase supplies, A silver laver of capacious size; They wash (ὕδωρ ἐπὶ χεῖρας ἔχευαν). The tables in fair order spread, They heap the glittering canisters with bread. And Sophron, in his Female Actresses, says— O hard-work'd Cæcoa, give us water for our hands (κατὰ χειρὸς), And then prepare the table for our food. And among both the tragic and comic writers the word χερνίβα is read with an acute accent on the penultima. By Euripides, in his Hercules— Which great Alcmena's son might in the basin (χερνίβα) dip. And also by Eupolis, in his Goats— Here make an end of your lustration (χερνίβα). [Sidenote: SOAP.]