Deipnosophistae
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5.1
Do what is more than needful as if needful,
5.1
And treat our real work as if it were superfluous.
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At the fair dome the rapid labour ends,Odyss. iv. 3.
5.1
Where sat Atrides 'midst his bridal friends,
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With double vows invoking Hymen's power
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To bless his son's and daughter's nuptial hour:—
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There Lycia's monarch paid him honours due,Iliad, vi. 174.
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Nine days he feasted, and nine bulls he slew.
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Dear friends should never long abstain from feasts,
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For e'en the memory of them is delightful.
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May it be well with you; be this for Telephus:
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Then Ino came and finish'd what was left.
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He bade the noblest of the Grecian peers,Iliad, ii. 404.
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Then bid your neighbours to the well-spread feast,
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Who live the nearest, and who know you best.Op. et Di. 341.
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Friends who far off do live are never friends.
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Then the old man his counsels first disclosed;Iliad, viii. 324.
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Then first the flatterer rose with mocking speech.
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Unbidden there the brave Atrides came.Iliad, ii. 408.
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For well he knew how busy was his brother:
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For well he knew how busy was his brother,
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Then on the brazen threshold firm he stood,
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(They were a feast preparing,) and thus spake
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Brave and just men do uninvited come
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To well-appointed feasts by brave and just men made
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Good men do of their own accord
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To good men's entertainments come:
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Brave men do of their own accord
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To cowards' entertainments come.
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And on he went, firm in his fearless zeal.Iliad, ii 588.
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O monster, mix'd of insolence and fear,
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Thou dog in forehead, but in heart a deer!
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When wert thou known in ambush'd fights to dare,
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Or nobly face the horrid front of war?
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'Tis ours the chance of fighting fields to try,
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Thine to look on and bid the valiant die.Ib. i. 225.
5.6
A train attends
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Around the baths, the bath the king ascends,
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(Untasted joy since that disastrous hour
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He sail'd defeated from Calypso's bower,)
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He bathes, the damsels with officious toil
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Shed sweets, shed unguents in a shower of oil.
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Then o'er his limbs a gorgeous robe he spreads,
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And to the feast magnificently treads.Odyss. viii. 449.
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From room to room their eager view they bend,
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Thence to the bath, a beauteous pile, descend.lb. iv. 48.
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Part in a portico, profusely graced
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With rich magnificence, the chariot placed;
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Then to the dome the friendly pair invite,
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Who eye the dazzling roof with vast delight,
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Resplendent as the blaze of summer noon,
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Or the pale radiance of the midnight moon.Ib. iv. 43.
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Cease; sit down here and learn at length to be
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A boon companion, and a cheerful guest.Ar. Vesp. 1208.
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Then praise some of these beauteous works in brass,
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Look at the roof, admire the carvèd hall.
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Then first a fire we kindle, and prepare
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For his return with sacrifice and prayer.Odyss. ix. 201.
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Himself opposed t' Ulysses full in sight
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Each portion parts, and orders every rite;
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The first fat offerings to th' Immortals due,
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Amid the greedy flames Patroclus threw.
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He said, and all approved; the heralds bring
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The cleansing water from the living spring,
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The youths with wine the sacred goblets crown'd,
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And large libations drench'd the sand around.
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The rite perform'd, the chiefs their thirst allay,
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Then from the royal tent they take their way.Iliad, ix. 219.
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And oftentimes she eats unhallow'd victims.
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Hear me, my friends! who this good banquet grace,—
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'Tis sweet to play the fool in time and place.
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And wine can of their wits the wise beguile,
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Make the sage frolic and the serious smile;
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The grave in merry measures frisk about,
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And many a long-repented word bring out.Odyss. xiv. 464.
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Makes . . . . . . . .
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The grave in merry measure frisk about,
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And many a long-repented word bring out.
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But when they drank, and satisfied their soul.
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Let these, my friend,
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With song and dance the pompous revel end.
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Where sate Atrides 'midst his bridal friends,
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While this gay friendly troop the king surround,
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With festival and mirth the roofs resound;
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A bard amid the joyous circle sings
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High airs, attemper'd to the vocal strings,
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Whilst, warbling to the varied strain, advance
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Two sprightly youths to form the bounding dance:—
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The holy goddesses, the Muses nine,
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Preluded (ἐξῆρχον) with a sacred melody.Hes. Scut. Here. 205.
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Himself preluding (ἐξάρχων) with a sacred paean
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Set to the Lesbian flute.
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A figured dance succeeds; such once was seen
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In lofty Cnossus, for the Cretan queen
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Form'd by Dædalean art; a comely band
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Of youths and maidens bounding hand-in-hand;
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The maids in soft cymars of linen dress'd,
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The youths all graceful in the glossy vest.
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Of those the locks with flow'ry wreaths enroll'd,
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Of these the sides adorn'd with swords of gold,
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That glittering gay from silver belts depend.Iliad, xviii. 590.
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Now all at once they rise, at once descend,
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With well-taught feet; now shape in oblique ways
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Confus'dly regular the moving maze.
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Now forth at once too swift for sight they spring,
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And undistinguish'd blend the flying ring.
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Swift as thou art (the raging hero cries),
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And skill'd in dancing to dispute the prize,
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My spear, the destined passage had it found,
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Had fix'd thy active vigour to the ground.
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They call it all a Cretan air . . . .
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The instrument is called Molossian . . . .
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The gazing multitudes admire around
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Two active tumblers in the centre bound;
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Now high, now low their pliant limbs they bend,
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And general songs the sprightly revel end.Iliad, xvi. 603.
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Ulysses gazed, astonish'd to survey
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The glancing splendours as their sandals play:—Odyss. viii. 264.
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Now care surrounds me, and my force decays,
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Inured a melancholy part to bear,
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In scenes of death by tempest and by war.Ib. 154.
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I dare not in your presence speak,
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Whose voice we reverence as a voice divine.Odyss. iv. 160.
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And now if aught there is that can be done,
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Take my advice; I grief untimely shun
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That interrupts the feast.Ib. 193.
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O son of wise Ulysses, what a word
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Has 'scaped thy ivory fence!. . . .
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Sure 'tis no wonder such celestial charms
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For nine long years have set the world in arms.
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What winning graces, what majestic mien-
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She moves a goddess, and she looks a queen!Iliad, iii. 196.
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Yet hence, O heaven, convey that fatal face;
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And from destruction save the Trojan race.
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You speak of those pale-faced and shoeless men,
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Such as that wretched Socrates and Chærephon.
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Accept this welcome to the Spartan court;
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The waste of nature let the feast repair,
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Then your high lineage and your names declare:Odyss. iv. 60.—
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Ceasing, benevolent he straight assigns
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The royal portion of the choicest chines
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To each accepted friend; with grateful haste
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They share the honours of the rich repast.
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Soft whispering thus to Nestor's son,
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His head reclined, young Ithacus begun:
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View'st thou unmoved, O ever honour'd most,
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These prodigies of art and wondrous cost?
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Such, and not nobler, in the realms above
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Are the rich treasures in the dome of Jove.The reading is— ζηνός που τοιαῦτα δόμοις ἐν κτήματα κεῖται, for which Aristarchus wished to read— ζηνός που τοίηδέ γ’ ʼολυμπίου ἔνδοθεν αὐλή. I have given here, as elsewhere, Pope's version in the translation.
5.14
Such is the palace of Olympian Jove.
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Above, beneath, around the palace shines
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The sumless treasure of exhausted mines;
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The spoils of elephants the roofs inlay,
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And studded amber darts a golden ray.
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Such are the treasures in the dome of Jove,
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Wondrous they are, and awe my heart doth move
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Such is the palace of Olympian Jove,
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Wondrous they are . . . .
5.15
Straightway a thick stream (αὐλὸς) through the nostrils rush'd.
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βαθεῖαν εἰς αύλῶνα—Into a deep ravine which surrounded the army.
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The crags and caverns, and the deep ravines
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Along the shore (ἐπακτίας αὐλῶνας).
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A deep ravine runs through (βαθὺς αὐλών),
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To haunt palaces (αὐλαὶ) and princes.
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To haunt palaces (αὐλαὶ) is, it seems to me,
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The conduct of an exile, slave, or beggar.
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I and Ulysses touch'd at PeleusIliad, xi. 733. port;
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There, in the centre of his grassy court,
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A bull to Jove he slew in sacrifice,
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And pour'd libations on the flaming thighs.
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In the court-yard amid the dirt he roll'd.Ib. xxiv. 640.
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Thou with the heav'n-taught bard in peace resort,
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From blood and carnage, to yon open court.Odyss. xxii. 375.
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My wars, the copious theme of ev'ry tongue,
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To you your fathers have recorded long;
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How favouring Heav'n repaid my glorious toils
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With a sack'd palace and barbaric spoils.Odyss. iv. 78.
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When my woes are weigh'd,
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Envy will own the purchase dearly paid.lb. 95.
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The monarch took the word, and grave replied—
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Presumptuous are the vaunts, and vain the pride
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Of man who dares in pomp with Jove contest,
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Unchanged, immortal, and supremely blest.
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Oh, had the gods so large a boon denied,
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And life, the just equivalent, supplied
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To those brave warriors who, with glory fired,
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Far from their country in my cause expired.
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But oh! Ulysses,—deeper than the rest,
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That sad idea wounds my anxious breast;
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My heart bleeds fresh with agonising pain,
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The bowl and tasteful viands tempt in vain.
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Doubtful of his doom,
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His good old sire with sorrow to the tomb
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Declines his trembling steps; untimely care
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Withers the blooming vigour of his heir;
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And the chaste partner of his bed and throne
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Wastes all her widow'd hours in tender moan.
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To her beset with Trojan beauties, came
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In borrow'd form the laughter-loving dame.
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She seem'd an ancient maid, well skill'd to cull
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The snowy fleece, and wind the twisted wool.Iliad, iii. 385.
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In this suspense bright Helen graced the room;
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Before her breathed a gale of rich perfume;
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The seat of majesty Adraste brings,
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With art illustrious for the pomp of kings;
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To spread the pall, beneath the regal chair,
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Of softest woof, is bright Alcippe's care;
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A silver canister, divinely wrought,
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In her soft hands the beauteous Philo brought;
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To Sparta's queen of old the radiant vase
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Alcandra gave, a pledge of royal grace,
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Sharer of Polybus's high command,
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She gave the distaff too to Helen's hand,
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And that rich vase with living sculpture wrought,
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Which, heap'd with wool, the beauteous Philo brought;
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The silken fleece, impurpled for the loom,
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Rivall'd the hyacinth in vernal bloom.
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Accept, dear youth, this monument of love,
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Long since, in better days, by Helen wove.
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Safe in thy mother's care the vesture lay,
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To deck thy bride, and grace thy nuptial day.Odyss. xv. 125.
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Her in the palace at the loom she found,
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The golden web her own sad story crown'd;
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The Trojan wars she weaved, (herself the prize,)
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And the dire triumph of her fatal eyes.Iliad, iii. 125.
5.18
But now let sleep the painful waste repair,
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Of sad reflection and corroding care.Odyss. iv. 294.
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Now immolate the tongues and mix the wine,
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Sacred to Neptune and the pow'rs divine:
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The lamp of day is quench'd beneath the deep,
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And soft approach the balmy hours of sleep;
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Nor fits it to prolong the heav'nly feast,
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Timeless, indecent; but retire to rest.lb. iii 332.
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For now has darkness quench'd the solar light,
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And it becomes not gods to feast by night.
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Oh mighty thund'ring Jove!
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Great Saturn's son, lord of the realms above,
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That I may be to thee and the nine Muses dear,
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That joy my heart may cheer;
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This is my prayer, my only prayer to thee.
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Where he who scorns the chains of sleep to wear,
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And adds the herdsman's to the shepherd's care,
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His double toils may claim a double pay,
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And join the labours of the night and day.Odyss. x. 84.
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How goodly seems it ever to employ
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Man's social days in union and in joy;
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The plenteous board high heap'd with cates diviner
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And o'er the foaming bowl the laughing wine;
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The heav'n-taught poet and enchanting strain,
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These are the products of a peaceful reign.
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The loves of Mars,
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Sitting in order on the chairs and couches.
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To sit (θρήσασθαι) on the ground under a plane-tree.
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A humble chair (δίφρος), and spread a scanty board.
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To thee the foremost honours are decreed,
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First in the fight, and every graceful deed;
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For this in banquets, when the generous bowls
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Restore our blood, and raise our warrior souls,
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Though all the rest with stated rules are bound,
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Unmix'd, unmeasured are thy goblets crown'd.
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He fill'd his cup, and pledged great Peleus' son.
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But do thou come δειελιήσας.
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They wash; the tables in fair order spread,
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They heap the glittering canisters with bread,
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Viands of various kinds allure the taste,
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Of choicest sort and savour; rich repast.Odyss. i. 131; vii. 175.
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The servants bore away the armour of the feast.
5.36
O god of Egypt, mighty Nile.
5.44
Who placed this monstrous mass upon the earth;
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What master led it with untiring cables,
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How was the deck nail'd to the mighty beams,
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And with what axe did men the vessel form?
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Surely it equals Aetna in its height,
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Or any isle which rises from the sea
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Where the Egean wave entwined foams
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Amid the Cyclades; on either side
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Its breadth is equal, and its walls alike.
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Sure 'twas the giants' work, who hoped to reach
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By such vast ladder to the heights of heaven.
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Its topmast reaches to the stars; and hides
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Its mighty bulwarks 'mid the endless clouds.
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It holds its anchors with untiring cables,
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Like those with which proud Xerxes bound the strait
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Which between Sestos and Abydos foams.
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A deftly carved inscription on the side
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Shows what strong hand has launch'd it on the deep;
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It says that Hiero, Hierocles' son,
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The king of Sicily, pride of Dorian race,
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Sends it a wealthy messenger of gifts
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To the Aegean islands; and the God
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Who rules the sea, great Neptune, convoys it
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Safe o'er the blue and foaming waves to Greece.
5.47
If I do tell the truth I shall not please you;
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And if I please you, I shall speak no truth.
5.53
This tomb contains the foreigners here slain,
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Who fought near Delos, and who fell at sea,
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When the Athenians spoil'd the holy isle,
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Aiding in war the Cappadocian king."
5.60
O mighty son of Leto and of Jove,
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Tell me by what means I may rich become:
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If you acquire all the land that lies
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Between the tow'rs of Sicyon and Corinth.
5.61
As. O Socrates, most clearly do I see
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How greatly you're inflamed by tender love
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For the young son of Clinias and Dinomache;
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But if you wish to prosper list to me,
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And do not scoff at my advice, but follow it,
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And it shall be the better for your suit.
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Soc. I when I heard your speech was so o'erjoy'd
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That straightway sweat did overflow each limb;
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And tears unbidden pour'd forth from my eyes.
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As. Restrain yourself, and fill your mind with strains
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Such as the Muse who conquers men will teach you,
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And you will charm him by your dulcet songs.
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They the foundation lay of mutual love.
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And thus will you o'ercome him, fettering
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His mind with gifts with which his ears are charm'd
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Why weep you, my dear Socrates? does love
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For that impracticable boy which dwells
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Within thy breast, and shoots from out his eyes,
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So far thy heart subdue? Did I in vain
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Engage to make him docile to thy suit
5.64
For a man drinking wine, as a horse does water,
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Speaks like a Scythian, not knowing even koppa,
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But voiceless, lies immersed in a cask,
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And sleeps as if he'd drunk medicinal poppy;
5.65
Fly ye to Greece along the sea's wide back,
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Pupils of Aristarchus, all more timid
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Than the pale antelope, worms hid in holes,
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Monosyllabic animals, who care
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For σφὶν, and σφῶιν, and for μὶν, and νὶν,
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This shall be your lot, grumblers—but let Greece
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And sacred Babylon receive Herodicus.
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'Tis sweet when one has plann'd a new device,
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To tell it to the world. For those who are
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Wise for themselves alone have, first of all,
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No judge to criticize their new invention.
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And envy is their portion too: for all,
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That seems to be commended by its novelty,
5.65
Should be imparted freely to the people.