The Deipnosophists; or, Banquet of the Learned of Athenæus, Vol. 2 (of 3)Athenaeus, of Naucratis
Philosophy
The Deipnosophists; or, Banquet of the Learned of Athenæus, Vol. 2 (of 3)
Athenaeus, of Naucratis
Civilization, Greco-Roman; Dinners and dining -- Greece; Greece -- Social life and customs; Homosexuality -- Greece
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.]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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