77. And of this sort also are those enigmatical sayings of Pythagoras, as Demetrius of Byzantium says, in the fourth book of his treatise on Poets, where, for instance, he says, "A man should not eat his heart;" meaning, "a man should cultivate cheerfulness." "One should not stir the fire with a sword;" meaning, "one should not provoke an angry man;" for anger is fire, and quarrelsomeness is a sword. "One should not step over a yoke;" meaning, "one should avoid and hate all kinds of covetousness, but seek equality." "One should not travel along the high road;" meaning, "one should not follow the opinions of the multitude, (for the common people approve of whatever they take in their heads without any fixed principle,) but one should rather go on the straight road, using sense as one's guide." "One should not sit down upon a bushel;" meaning, "one should not be content with merely considering what is sufficient for the present day, but one should always have an eye to the future" * * * * * * * * *[50] "For death is the boundary and limit of life;" and this saying is meant to forbid us approaching the subject with anxiety and grief. [Sidenote: ΓΡΙΦΟΙ.] 78. And Dromeas the Coan used to play at riddles in much the same way as Theodectes, according to the statement of Clearchus: and so did Aristonymus, the player on the harp, without any vocal accompaniment: and so did that Cleon who was surnamed Mimaulus, who was the best actor of Italian mimes that ever appeared on the stage without a mask. For in the style of play which I have mentioned already, he was superior even to Nymphodorus. And Ischomachus the herald was an imitator of his, who used to give his representations in the middle of a crowd, and after he had become celebrated, he altered his style and used to act mimes at the jugglers' shows. And the riddles which these men used to propose were of the following kind:—A clown once had eaten too much, and was very unwell, and when the physician asked him whether he had eaten to vomit, No, said he, but I ate to my stomach. And another was,—A poor woman had a pain in her stomach, and when the physician asked her whether she had anything[51] in her stomach, How should I, said she, when I have eaten nothing for three days?