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previous: VI.228C‑234C This webpage reproduces a section of The Deipnosophistae of Athenaeus published in Vol. III of the Loeb Classical Library edition, 1929 The text is in the public domain. This page has not been proofread. If you find a mistake though, please let me know! next: VI.248C‑262A

(Vol. III) Athenaeus
Deipnosophistae

Book VI
(Part 3 of 5)

 p55  Here Pontianus finished his many remarks.​1 Most of the party eagerly aspired to solve Ulpian's problems, and among those who interpreted the problems still remaining Plutarch said: "The name of parasite was in old times dignified and sacred. Take, for example, what Polemon writes​2 about parasites (I know not whether he likes to be called the Samian, or the Sicyonian, or the Athenian, names for him which Heracleides of Mopsuestia enumerates, adding others derived from other cities; he used also to bear the soubriquet of 'tablet-picker,'​3 according to Herodicus, the disciple of Crates): 'Parasite' is nowadays a disreputable term, but among the ancients we find it used of something sacred, equivalent to companion at a sacred feast. In the temple of Heracles in Cynosarges there is a tablet on which is a decree proposed by Alcibiades, the clerk being Stephanus, son of Thucydides.​4 With regard to the use of the term the words to be found on it are as follows: "The priest shall sacrifice the monthly offerings in company with the parasites.5  p57 These parasites shall be drawn from men of mixed descent​6 and their children, according to ancestral custom. And whosoever shall decline to serve as a parasite shall be cited before the court on precisely this charge." Again, on the tablets​7 which relate to the members of the Delian sacred mission, it is written: F"Also the two heralds from the house of Heralds​8 connected with the Mysteries. These shall serve as parasites for a year in the precinct of Apollo." And at Pallene there is inscribed on the votive offerings "Dedicated by the magistrates and parasites who were awarded a gold crown in the archon­ship of Pythodorus.​9 In the year of the priestess Diphilê the parasites were Epilycus, son of . . .‑stratus of Gargettus, Pericles, son of pericleitus of Pitthis, Charinus, son of Demochares of Gargettus." Again in the laws of the king​10 it is written: "The parasites of Acharnae shall sacrifice to Apollo." Clearchus of Soli, who was one of Aristotle's disciples, records the following in the first book of his Lives:​11 235'Further: whereas to‑day a parasite is one who is only too ready,​12 in those days he was one especially enrolled to have subsistence with others. In their old laws, at any rate, most states still include even to‑day parasites among their most honoured officials.' And Cleidemus, in his History of Attica,​13 says: 'parasites also were chosen  p59 to honour Heracles.' So Themison in his Portico of Pallene:​14 'It shall be administered by the king for the time being in office,​15 the magistrates and the parasites chosen in addition from the demes, as also by the elders and the women still living with their first husbands.'​16 You can, my noble Ulpian, now ask again, in the light of this quotation, Bwho are 'the women still living with their first husbands'? However, since we are talking about parasites, there is also an inscription on a tablet in the anaceium:​17 'Of the two oxen which are specially selected as the leaders, one-third​18 shall go to the expenses of the festival; as for the other two-thirds, one part shall go to the priest, the other to the parasites.' Crates, in the second book of his Attic Dialect, says: 'And the word parasite has in our times shifted its meaning to apply to a disreputable thing, but in earlier times was the name given to those who were chosen to select the sacred grain,​19 and there was a special repository for their use. Wherefore, in the king's code the following also stands written: "He who is king shall see that the magistrates are appointed and that the parasites are chosen from the demes according to the statutes. And the parasites are to select, each from his own share in the king's office, eight quarts​20 of barley, and those Athenians who are in the sacred precinct are to be feasted  p61 therewith according to ancestral custom. And the parasites of Acharnae are to bring their eight quarts in honour of Apollo to the repositories after the barley has been selected." That there was also a repository for them is proved by what is written in the same code "For the repair of the temple, the magazine of the parasites, and the sacred house, payment shall be made at whatsoever price the repairers of sacred places shall fix in the contract." From this it is clear that the repository in which the parasites placed the first fruits of the grain was called the "magazine of the parasites." The same facts are recorded by Philochorus also in the work entitled Tetrapolis,​21 when he mentions the parasites who were drafted for the service of Heracles; also by Diodorus of Sinope, comic poet, in his Heiress, whose testimony I will cite a little later.​22 Aristotle, in his Constitution of Methonê,​23 says: 'There were two parasites for each magistrate, and one for each military office; they received regular contributions from certain other persons, and particularly fish from the fishermen.' But as for the modern use of the term parasite, Carystius of Pergamum, in his work on Dramatic Performances, says that it was first invented by Alexis. He forgets, however, that Epicharmus, in Hope or Wealth,​24 introduced the character at a drinking-bout with these words: 'But another came stalking in here at the heels of the first — one whom, I can assure you, you will easily as  p63 things now go, find ever ready to assist at the feast. (However poor he may be) this fellow can none the less quaff life in a single breath, as he would a cup.' And he makes the parasite himself say these words to his questioner: 'Din another with him who desires me (he needs only to ask me), and alike with him who desires me not (and there is no need to ask); at dinner there I am a wit, and cause much laughter and praise my host. And if anyone wants to say something hostile to him, I revile the upstart and so get myself hated. Then after eating heartily and drinking heartily I take my leave; but no slave carries a lamp ahead for me. I skulk along the slippery way and am alone in the darkness; if I meet the watchmen anywhere, the one good thing that I can ascribe to the gods is this, that patrol wants no more omen than a flogging. And when at last I get home, done of the death, I go to sleep without any bedding, and never heed the first thing so long as the neat wine holds and befuddles my senses.'

"And Epicharmus's parasite goes on to recite other matters of the same kind. The parasite in Diphilus​25 says: 'When a rich man gets up a dinner and invites me, I don't stop to notice the triglyphs or the ceiling; nor do I examine the Corinthian  p65 jars,​26 but I watch intently the chef's smoke. And when it comes pouring straight up in an eager rush, I am all delight, I rejoice and am in a flutter but when it comes out crosswise and thin, I at once perceive that that dinner isn't going to have even a drop of blood for me.' But Homer was the first, as some people assert, to introduce a parasite when he says that Podes was a friendly companion at the feast of Hector:​27 'There was a man among the Trojans, Podes, son of Eëtion, rich and brave withal; more than all others among the people Hector honoured him, for he was his comrade, a friendly companion at the feast.' For when he speaks of a friend at the feast he means a friend when it came to eating. That is why he represents him as wounded by Menelaus in the belly, just as, Demetrius of Scepsis​28 says, Pandarus for his perjury was wounded in the tongue.​29 And pOdes was wounded by a man from Sparta,​30 who zealously practised frugality.

"The ancient poets called parasites flatterers, a name by which Eupolis entitled his play, making the chorus of Flatterers say:​31 'But now we will tell you the manner of life which flatterers lead; listen then, for we are clever gentlemen in all emergencies. In the first place, another man's slave is our attendant usually, but he's mine for a little while.​32 Then I  p67 have these two nice coats which I interchange continually, the one for the other, when I go out to the market. And when I spy a simpleton who is rich, I fasten upon him at once. And if the rich blighter chances to say anything, I loudly praise him and express my amazement, pretending delight in his words. Then we go to dinner, one of us in one direction, another in another — all to get a barley-cake not our own. There the flatterer must at once begin his witty chatter or be chucked out at the door. I know that that the happened to the blackguard Acestor;​33 for he uttered an outrageous jest, and the slave led him out at the door — with a collar on — and handed him over to Oeneus.'34

"The name parasite is mentioned by Araros in The Wedding Hymn​35 in these lines: 'It must be that you are a parasite, dearie; and here comes Ischomachus, who as it chances keeps you in food.' But the word occurs often among more recent poets. The verb also occurs in the philosopher Plato, in Laches.​36 He says, namely: 'And the lads parasite with us.'​37 Alexis in The Pilot​38 says there are two classes of parasites. The lines are: 'P. There are two classes of parasite, Nausinicus. One is the widely-prevailing kind, ridiculed on the stage, the black ones​39 we. Then there lives another class, a  p69 tribe well called by the name "august parasite," that skilfully act the part of nabob parasites and generals of renown in their ways of living, with eyebrows a thousand talents weight, squandering estates right and left.​40 Do you know the kind and thing I speak of? N. Indeed I do. P. The mode of operation in each of these two classes is the same; it's a contest in flattery. As it generally happens in men's lives, fate assigns some of us to great patrons, others to patrons of less degree; and so some of us are well off, while others of us are in despair. Do I make myself clear, nausinicus? N. You hit the nail on the head. However, if I give you any more praise, you'll be asking me for something!'

"With a deft touch Timocles outlines the parasite's character in Dracontium,​41 thus: 'So I am to allow anyone to abuse a parasite? Not a bit of it. For there doesn't exist a more useful class when it comes to the things I have just described. Again, if you grant that sociability Ius one of the virtues, your parasite practises that to perfection. Suppose you're in love; he proves himself in your affair a helper who never shirks. You have some business to transact; he will stand you and carry through whatever is wanted, claiming his patron's rights as if they were his own — an incomparable admirer of his friends. But, you say, they enjoy the pleasures of eating without paying their share. Well, what mortal man does not do that? Still more, what god or hero  p71 discountenances that kind of pastime?​42 Not to drag out the army with too many instances, I think I can cite one proof of immense importance, to show that the Ns' life is held in honour. They are given for their deserts exactly the same prize as those who win at the Olympic Games — maintenance.​43 For all places where payment is not imposed should be called Prytaneia.' Again, Antiphanes says in The Twins:​44 'For the parasite, if you look at him rightly, is a part near in both things, our fortune and our life. No parasite prays that his friends may have misfortune; quite the contrary, he prays that all may have perpetual good fortune. A man may be sumptuous in his mode of life; he feels no envy, but only prays that he may stand beside him and share his wealth. He is also a noble friend and safe as well, not contentious, not quick to take offence, not malicious, good at enduring bad temper. If you joke at his expense, he laughs. He is affectionate, amusing, gay in character; again, he is a good soldier, du passing belief, if only his ration be a dinner promptly served.' And Aristophon says in The Doctor:​45 "I wish to explain to him beforehand what sort of man you in my ways. If anyone gives a dinner, I am first on the spot, so that long since I am known by the name of Broth. If someone who has drunk too much has to be tackled at the waist​46 and  p73 Cyou would think that you saw in me an Argive wrestler.​47 Or perhaps a house door is to be assaulted; I am a battering-ram. At climbing up a ladder, I am a Capaneus;​48 at enduring blows I am an anvil; at fashioning fisticuffs I am a Telamon,​49 at tempting the fair, smoke.'​50 And in The Disciple of Pythagoras​51 he says: 'When it comes to being hungry, and not eating a single bite, imagine that you are looking at Tithymallus or Philippides.​52 At drinking he's a frog, at getting all the benefit out of thyme and greens, caterpillar, at abstaining from a bath, a filth-pot; at passing the winter in the open, he's a crow,​53 at enduring heat and chattering at noonday, a cicada, at refusing to anoint himself with oil under any circumstances, a dust-cloud,​54 at walking about shoeless in the early dawn, a crane, and at sleeping not so much as a wink, a bat.' And Antiphanes, in Ancestors:​55 'You know my character, and that I hold within me no vain conceit; rather, toward my friends, good sir, I am like this: at receiving blows I am pig-iron, at giving blows, a thunder-bolt, at blinding the eyes, a lightning flash, at picking a fellow up and carrying him off, a hurricane, at choking  p75 him, a nose, at wrenching the bolts of a door, an equal, at hopping in, a cricket, at eating uninvited, a fly; as immovable as a cistern,​56 I can choke, murder, bear false witness, do anything that one may happen to propose — all at a moment's notice. And the younger chaps for all these traits call me Thunderbolt.​57 But I don't mind their jokes at all. For I am a friend to my friends, and it's my nature to serve them with deeds, not words alone.' Diphilus in The Parasite​58 makes his parasite say these lines on the occasion of an impending marriage: 'You don't know what the curses​59 threaten in case a man should refuse to show the way correctly, or to kindle a fire; or should he poison the water or hinder a man who wanted — to give a dinner.' And Eubulus in Oedipus:​60 'The man who invites anyone to dinner, be it friend or foreigner, and then extracts a contribution — may he have to flee the country without taking any thing from home.'

"Diodorus of Sinope, in The Heiress,​61 expresses himself with equal elegance on the subject of parasites: I want to show you plainly that this is a business august and rightly recognized, a veritable  p77 discovery of the gods. As for the other arts, no gods disclosed them, but only clever men. Aye, the parasite's life was an invention of Zeus the god of Friendship, admittedly the mightiest of the gods. for this god enters our houses, making no distinction between rich and poor; and wherever he sees a couch nicely spread, with the table laid beside it holding everything that can be desired, he forthwith lies down with the guests decorously and feasts himself; and having eaten of this and drunk of that, he goes back home without paying the scot. And that is what I do to‑day. Whenever I see couches spread, the tables ready, the door standing open, I enter there noiselessly; I assume my best manners, so as not to annoy my fellow-drinker; and after enjoying all that is served, I go back home like Zeus the god of Friendship. And that this business has always been noble and in good repute, one may realize still more clearly from this: whenever the State honours Heracles sumptuously, celebrating festivals in all the demes, never to this day has it chosen by lot, for these feasts, parasites​62 to honour the god; and it and selected for this purpose ordinary citizens either. No, the State made a list from the citizens, carefully selecting twelve men who were sons of Athenian parents,​63 who owned property, and who had lived decent lives. And  p79 so, in later times, certain rich men, imitating the example of Heracles, picked out parasites to support, and invited them in, selecting not the finest men, but those best able to play the flatterer and praise them in everything. Why! When a patron, after eating radishes or a stale sheat-fish, belches in their faces, the flatterers say that he must have lunched on violets and roses. And when the patron breaks wind as he lies next to one of these fellows, the latter applies his nose and begs him to tell him, "Where do you buy that incense?" It is because of such people, who make outrageous use of flatterers, that what was once estimable and noble is to‑day a scandal.'

"And Axionicus says in Aping the Chalcidians:​64 'As soon as I, still a stripling, had come to love the parasite's life in company with Philoxenus,​65 that "Ham-cleaver," I began to receive patiently blows from knuckles, bowls, and bones; they were so many and so severe​66 that sometimes I bore eight wounds at the least. (But I didn't mind) for it paid; I am indeed a slave to pleasure. And so I have come to think that the business is in a way actually profitable. Suppose, for example, a man is quarrelsome, and gets into a brawl with me; I face about and acknowledge to him all the evil that he has said of me, and so I straightway come off  p81 without injury. Again, a scoundrel asserts that he is a good man; I load him with praise and win his gratitude. BIf to‑day I eat a slice of boiled grey-fish, I am not disturbed if to‑morrow I have it to eat warmed over. Such is my character and my nature.' Antidotus, in the play entitled Premier Danseur, brings on the stage a character resembling the modern professors in the Claudian Institute, whom it is a disgrace even to mention; this is what he says concerning the School for Parasites:​67 'Take up your positions, now, and pay attention to me. Before I became a registered voter, and received the cloak,​68 whenever the conversation happened to fall on how to be a parasite, I always drank in the art eagerly, and proved that I had a precocious understanding in grasping it.'

"Several parasites are specially mentioned by name. There was first of all Tithymallus, whom Alexis mentions in The Woman most Miletus and in Odysseus at the Loom. In The Olynthians​69 he says: 'Yes, my dear, but your husband is a poor man, and death, they say, avoids that class of persons alone; Tithymallus, for example, haunts the town, deathless ever.' And Dromon in The Harp-girl:​70 'A. I was ashamed beyond words to go to dinner again without paying my share; for it is altogether scandalous. B. Never mind. Tithymallus, at least, may be seen  p83 prowling about, redder than scarlet. He blushes so at not paying his share!' Timocles, in The Centaur, or Dexamenus:​71 'Calling him an out-and‑out Tithymallus​72 and parasite.' And in The Caunians:​73 'Has dinner been brought on yet? What's the delay? Hurry, my good man! For Tithymallus, completely dead, came to life just by chewing some lupines at the price of only eight pints to the penny. For though he could not patiently face death, he patiently bore his hunger.'​74 And in The Letters:​75 'Ah me, poor devil, how madly in love am I! I swear by the gods, not even Tithymallus ever conceived such a violate passion for something to eat, not Cormus for a cloak to steal, not Nilus for barley-meal, not Corydus (Lark) for exercising his teeth without paying the scot!' Antiphanes in The Etruscan:​76 'A. It is a virtue to assist one's friends Gratis. B. Then you mean that Tithymallus will be a rich man. For if he is going to exact pay according to your meaning from those with whom he dines Gratis, he will collect a lot of virtue!'

"Then there was also Lark among the parasites mentioned by name. Timocles speaks of him thus  p85 in The Spiteful Man:​77 'To see a well-stocked market is very pleasant for a rich man, but if one is poor, it is very painful. Lark, at any rate, because, I suppose, he had not been invited out, tried to buy some fish to take home. Alas! His experience was funny — a fellow with only four farthings, he looked at the eels, the tunny-steaks, the electric rays, the crawfish, and his mouth watered. BAnd as he walked about everywhere, he inquired the price of them all, but when he learned it, he scuttled off to the small-fry market. Alexis in Demetrius or Philetaerus:​78 'Nay, but I should feel shame in the presence of Lark, if I should be seen lunching with certain persons so readily. Still, I shall not refuse any more than Lark would, whether he is invited or not.' And in The Nurse:​79 'A. Our Lark here, the one who is in the habit of saying the funny things, wants to be known as Sharp-Eyes.​80 B. And with good reason; for Sharp-Eyes is rich.' And Cratinus the Younger in The Tians:​81 'Against Lark, the man of bronze mould, be thou on thy guard; verily thou shalt believe that he will leave thee naught; thou shalt never eat fish in company with this Lark; I warn thee; for he has a hand that is mighty, brazen, untiring, stronger than the very fire.' That Lark  p87 used to say funny things, and was willing to be laughed at for them, Alexis also tells us in The Poets:​82 'Yes, indeed! I am here ready to be laughed at and continually to say funny things, much better than any other Athenian can excepting Lark.' Reminiscences of him have been published by Lynceus of Samos, who says that his real name was Eucrates. He writes as follows: 'Eucrates, the Lark, while drinking with a certain person whose house was in a tumble-down state, remarked, In this place one has to dine with left hand supporting the roof, like the Caryatides.'

"Once, in the presence of Lark, who had the reputation of being a prostitute, the conversation turned on the high price of thrushes, and Philoxenus the Ham-cleaver said, 'Yes, but I can remember when the lark cost only a penny.' But Philoxenus was also a parasite, as Axionicus says in Aping the Chalcidians. The quotation has been given already.​83 He is mentioned in The Head-dress also, by Menander,​84 who calls him Ham-cleaver and nothing more; and again by the comic poet Machon, who, though born either in Corinth or Sicyon, spent the last days of his life in my​85 own Alexandria, and became a teacher of the grammarian Aristophanes in all matters pertaining to comedy.​86 He also died in Alexandria, and the epitaph on his tomb reads:​87 'Spread, O gentle earth, the lush ivy, dear to the games,​88 over the tomb of Machon, writer of comedies.  p89 For he was no re-vamping drone,​89 now held by thee, but thou didst enwrap the remains of one worthy of the ancient art. Thus shall the old man​90 speak: O city of Cecrops, beside the Nile, even as in thee, there grows sometimes a pungent shrub in the garden of the Muses.' In these lines he plainly shows that he was an Alexandrian in origin. However that may be, Machon mentions Lark in the following:​91 'One of his companions once asked Eucrates the Lark how Ptolemy had treated him. I know not yet clearly, he replied; to be sure, he has given me draughts in plenty, like any physician; but of food to eat he has not yet given me anything.' Lynceus, in the second book of his work On Menander says: 'Eucleides the son of Smicrines and Philoxenus the Ham-cleaver won a reputation for funny sayings. Of these two men Eucleides would often give out sententious utterings not unworthy of being recorded in a book, while in other remarks he was tasteless and flat.​92 Philoxenus, on the other hand, though in his prattle he did not as a rule say anything specially noteworthy, if he was stirred to resentment against any of his associates at the table, or had a story to tell, used language which was always full of elegance and charm. And so it came about that whereas Eucleides ended his days in obscurity, Philoxenus was loved and honoured by everybody.'

"Alexis mentions another parasite, Moschion, in  p91 Trophonius,​93 and calls him 'trencher-mate' in these verses: 'Then there was Moschion, heralded as the trencher-mate among mortals.' And in The Pancration-fighter​94 Alexis, in giving a list of dinner-chasers,​95 says: 'A. First, you know, there was Callimedon the Crayfish;​96 then came Lark, Gudgeon, Pod,​97 Mackerel, and Mealy. B. Dear Heracles, woman! You are telling of a bazaar, not a banquet.' Pod was the soubriquet given to Epicrates, the kinsman of the orator Aeschines, as Demosthenes tells us in the oration on The Faithless Conduct of the Embassy.​98 Epithets of this kind, applied to parasites by Athenians in derisive jest, are mentioned by Anaxandrides in Odysseus,​99 thus: 'For you continually deride one another, I know absolutely. If, for example, one is good-looking, you call him Sacred Marriage.​100 If he is an out-and‑little mannikin, you call him Drip.​101 Perhaps one comes out with radiant looks — at once his name is Fop. Oily Democles goes walking round — he has the name of Broth;​102 another likes to be unkempt and dirty — he turns out to be Dust-cloud.​103 Behind some man a flatterer follows — his surname is Dinghy. One who usually goes about dinnerless belongs to the family of Fasting-mullets;  p93 if one leers at the beauties, he is Smoke, of the family of Theagenes.​104 Somebody playfully filches a lamb from a shield — he is called Atreus.​105 If he steals a ram, he is Phrixus;​106 if a fleece, Jason.'

"Matron also mentions the parasite Chaerephon, in a passage quoted before,​107 nnnbut Menander mentions him as well in The Head-dress. And in Temperament also he says:​108 'Not the smallest bit different from Chaerephon is the fellow, whoever he is, who was once invited to dine when the sun's shadow marks twelve feet;​109 rising at dawn, he took a look at the shadow cast by the moon and ran full speed as though he were late, arriving at daybreak.'​110 And in The Carouse:​111 'For Chaerephon, who is the cleverest of men, put me off by alleging that he was going to celebrate at his house a sacred marriage​112 on the twenty-second of the month, in the hope that he might get a dinner at the house of other people on the fourth; for, he said, the omens of the goddess were in every way favourable.' Menander mentions Chaerephon also in The Hermaphrodite or Cretan.​113 And Timocles likewise speaks of him in The Letters​114 as living on the bounty of the prodigal Demotion:  p95 'Demotion, expecting his money to last him for ever, did not spare it, but fed in his house anyone who so desired. Chaerephon — oh, the wretch! — used to imagine that he was actually going to his own house.​115 And look you now. Is not this again an undignified thing, just to receive as one's trencher-mate a collared rogue?​116 For Demotion is neither a dignified nor a moneyless man.'​117 And Antiphanes in The Scythian:​118 'A. Let's go to a revel, so please you, just as we are. B. Shan't we take torch and wreaths? A. No, Chaerephon has learned to revel in that way when he has had no dinner.' Timotheus in The Puppy:​119 'Let's try to get away and slip into the dinner-party. It is to have seven couches, so he was telling me, unless Chaerephon manages to get himself stuffed in as an extra somewhere.' Apollodorus of Carystus in The Priestess:​120 'A new Chaerephon, they say, has slipped uninvited into the wedding at the house of Ophelas. For he took a basket and a wreath, since it was dark, and pretending that he had come from the bride as a porter bringing fowls, he thrust himself in, it appears, and so got a  p97 dinner.' Again, in The Girl what was Sacrificed:​121 'I call upon Ares, I call upon Victory, to favour my expedition; I also call Chaerephon, for even if I don't call, he will come uncalled.' And the comic poet Machon says: 'Once upon a time Chaerephon came a long way from town to attend a dinner at a wedding. And they say that the poet Diphilus remarked, You, Chaerephon, had better hammer four nails into each of your jaws, that you may not twist your cheekbones out of shape every time you come a long way in frantic haste.'​122 And again: 'Chaerephon once on a time went to buy some meat. And they say that the butcher sliced off for him by chance a very bony piece of meat. At which he remarked, "Butcher, don't add the weight of that bone to my bill." But the butcher replied, "Yes, but it is very sweet. In fact, the nearer the bone, they say, the sweeter the meat." But Chaerephon answered, "It may be very sweet, my friend, but its added weight hurts wherever it is applied." '​123 There is even a book by Chaerephon recorded by Callimachus in his Table of Miscellany;​124 he write as follows: 'Writers on dinners: Chaerephon; dedicated to Pod.' And then he subjoins the beginning of it, 'Since you have often bidden me' (and adds the size) 'in three hundred and seventy-five lines.'​125 That Pod was a parasite has been explained before.126

 p99  B"Mentioning another parasite named Archephon, Machon says: 'The parasite Archephon was invited to dinner by King Ptolemy after he had returned to Egypt from Attica.​127 All kinds of fish which are found near rocks​128 were set upon the table, as well as genuine crawfish, and to crown all, a fat casserole was brought in containing three sliced gobies, at which all the guests were amazed. Archephon was enjoying greatly his fill of the parrot-fishes together with the red mullets and the forked hake — he was a fellow gorged with sprats and minnows and Phaleric anchovies, but he kept aloof from the gobies most abstemiously. Now his conduct was so very strange that the king asked Alcenor,​129 'It can't be, can it, that Archephon has over­looked the gobies?" To which the hunchback replied, "No, Ptolemy, quite the contrary; he was the first to see them, but he refrains from touching them, because he treats this fish as taboo, and fears it somehow; and having come to dinner without paying his share, it is against his ancestral custom to injure a fish which carries its credentials with it." '130

"Alexis in The Fire-lighter​131 introduces the parasite Stratius expressing his disgust at his patron in these terms: 'It would have been better for me to be a  p101 parasite of Pegasus or the Sons of Boreas​132 or anything that result faster still, rather than live with this Demeas, son of Laches, for all he is an Eteobutade.​133 For when he goes through the streets it is nothing like walking,​134 it is flying!' And after a few lines: 'A. Stratius, I'm sure you love me. S Ay, more than my father; for he doesn't support me, whereas you support me sumptuously. A. And you pray that I may live for ever? S. Yes, to all the gods; for if anything happens to you, how am I to get my living?' The comic poet Axionicus, in The Etruscan,​135 mentions the parasite Gryllion in these lines: 'A. We have no wine in the house. B. Then beg some from our comrades, making the excuse that it is for a revel; that is what Gryllion is always in the habit of doing.' Aristodemus, in the second book of his Ludicrous Memoirs,​136 records the names of parasites; attached to King Antiochus was Sostratus,​137 to Demetrius Poliorcetes the hunchback Evagoras, to Seleucus Phormion. And Lynceus of Samos says in his Apophthegms: 'Gryllion, the parasite of Menander the Satrap, used to go about in a coat with purple border attended by a large retinue; and the Athenian Silanus, when asked who that was replied, "The Honourable Jaw of Menander." ' As for the parasite Chaerephon, he says that once he got into a wedding-party uninvited and took his place  p103 last on a couch; and when the Supervisors of Women​138 counted the guests they told him to be off, because he exceeded the limit of thirty guests allowed by law.​139 "well, then,' he replied, 'count them over again, but begin with me.' That it was customary for the Supervisors of Women to overseer symposia and scrutinize the number of guests to see whether it was according to law is shown by Timocles, in Fond of the Bench,​140 thus: 'Open at once the front door, that we may be more conspicuous in the light, in case the supervisor of women, as he strolls by, wants to take the number of the diners, the thing which he is in the habit of doing in accordance with the new law. He ought to do just the reverse and scrutinize the house of the dinnerless.' And Menander in The Head-dress:​141 'Learning at the office of the Supervisors of Women that a list had been drawn up, in accordance with a new law, of all the caterers who serve at weddings, the object being to find out whether anyone happens to be entertaining more guests than the law allows, he went . . .' And Philochorus, in the seventh book of the History of Attica,​142 says: 'The Supervisors of Women, in co-operation with the Areopagites, used to watch all the gatherings in private houses, whether they were wedding-parties or other sacrificial feasts.'

 p105  D"The following are some of the smart sayings of Lark recorded by Lynceus. Once, when a courtesan whose name was Resolve was at a symposium with Lark, the wine gave out, and he told each guest to contribute twopence, whereas Resolve should transmit whatever was voted by the people.​143 The harp-player Polyctor was once greedily drinking some lentil soup, and hit his tooth on a stone. 'You poor fool,' said Lark, 'even the lentil soup throws things at you.'​144 (Perhaps Polyctor is the man referred to by Machon when he says:​145 'A very bad harp-singer, it appears, was about to repair his house, and asked his friend for some stones. "I will pay them back to you in much greater number," he said, "after the performance." ')​146 Cum narraret aliquis Corydo uxoris suae non nunquam cervicem et mammas et umbilicum (omphalon) se osculari, 'at hoc quidem,' inquit ille, 'iam flagitiosum; nam et Hercules ab Omphale ad Heben​147 transiit.' When Phyromachus upset the bowl as he was dipping bread into his lentil soup, Lark said, 'He ought to be fined for having himself registered​148 when he does not know how to dine out.' Once a delicious vol-au‑vent was passed round at Ptolemy's table, but always gave out at his  p107 place. He said, 'Ptolemy, am I drunk, or do I imagine that I am seeing things go round me?' And when the parasite Chaerephon said that he could not take wine, he remarked, 'You mean you can't take what is mixed with the wine.'​149 And when Chaerephon arose at a dinner stark naked he said, 'Chaerephon, you are like an oil-jug; I can see how far you are full.' About the time when Demosthenes accepted the cup from Harpalus he said, 'The very man who calls other people "neat-wine-goblets"​150 has grabbed the biggest one for himself.'​151 And although Chaerephon was in the habit of bringing gritty loaves of bread​152 to dinner-parties, when somebody brought in still blacker loaves he said that it was not bread, but the black shadows of bread, that the man had brought.

"The parasite Philoxenus, whose nickname was Ham-cleaver, was once lunching at the house of Python. Olives were served, and presently a goulash was addled. With a rap on his bowl he quoted, 'He lashed them into a go.'​153 When the host who had bidden him to a dinner served loaves of black bread he said, 'Don't serve too many, for fear you bring on darkness.' Of the parasite who was kept by the old woman, Pausimachus used to say that he suffered the opposite of what the old lady did when he was with her; for it was he who always had a bellyful.​154 Concerning him Machon also writes as follows:  p109 'They say, too, that Moschion, who goes by the name of Teetotaler, once saw in the Lyceum in company with certain persons a parasite who was kept you a rich old woman (and he cried out): You there! what's your name, you're carrying on an incredible affair, because the old woman causes you always to have a bellyful.' EAnd the same Moschion, hearing of a parasite who was kept by an old woman, that he went to see her every day (said): 'To‑day, as the saying is, all kinds of things can happen; for whereas the old woman cannot conceive, this man here gets a bellyful every day.'

"Ptolemy, the son of Agesarchus, who was a native of Megalopolis, says, in the second book of his Inquiries relating to Philopator,​155 that drinking-companions for that king used to gather from every city, who were called 'laugh-artists.' Poseidonius of Apameia says, in the twenty-third book of his Histories:​156 'The Celts, even when they go to war, carry round with them living-companions whom they call parasites. These persons recite their praises before men when they are gathered in large companies as well as before any individual who listens to them in private. And their entertainments are furnished by the so‑called Bards; these are poets, as it happens, who recite praises in song.' And in the thirty-fourth book​157 the same historian records the name of a certain Apollonia who was a parasite of Antiochus, surnamed Grypus, the king of Syria. Aristodemus tells the story​158 of Bithys, the parasite of Kg Lysimachus, who, when Lysimachus thrust a wooden scorpion into his cloak, jumped up in utter  p111 fright, and then, realizing what the thing was, he said: 'I will now give you a shock, Your Majesty. Give me a talent.' For Lysimachus was very niggardly. Agatharchides of Cnidus, in the twenty-second book of his European History,​159 says that Anthemocritus the pancration-fighter became a parasite of Aristomachus, the tyrant of Argos.

F"On the subject of parasites in general Timocles, among others, speaks in The Boxer.​160 He calls them 'victual-seekers' in this lines: 'You will find one of these victual-seekers, fellows who dine at other people'sº tables to the point of bursting, and who offer themselves, like so many punching-bags, for athletes to thrash.'​161 Also Pherecrates in Old Women:​162 'A. You there, Smicythion, won't you quickly go and be a victual-seeker? B. What is this man to you? A. He? Oh, he's a throat specialist​163 whom I take everywhere with me at a price, a stranger from foreign parts.' For victual-seekers was the name given to those who rendered service for their keep. And Plato in the fourth book of the Republic:​164 'Yes, and what is more, they are to be victual seekers, and they do not even get any pay over and above their food, as the others do.' Aristophanes, also, in The Storks:​165 'For if you prosecute one man who is a  p113 rascal, a dozen men who are victual-seekers for other rascals​166 will testify against you.' And Eubulus in Daedalus:​167 'He is willing, without pay, to remain with them as their victual-seeker.'

"Diphilus in Synoris (Synoris was the courtesan's name),​168 mentioning Euripides (a certain throw of the dice went by this name, Euripides), and joking on the poet's name and on the subject of parasites as well, has the following:​169 'A. You come off very nicely with that the throw. B. You will have your joke. Put up a shilling. A. I put it up long ago. B. I wonder how I can throw a Euripides? B A Euripides could never save a woman. Don't you see how he loathes them in his plays? But he loved the parasites. At least he says: "As for the man who enjoys abundant means but does not at table support at least three persons, exacting no payment from them, a curse upon him, and may he never find safe return to his native land!"​170 B. Where are these lines from, in the gods' name? A. What is that to you? It isn't the play, it is his thought that we are considering.' And in the revised edition of the same play, speaking of an angry parasite, Diphilus says:171  p115 'A. He's angry? A parasite, and angry? B. Oh, no! not angry! He has polished the table with his gall, and will wean himself from milk as mothers wean their babies.' And further on:​172 A. 'Then, and not before, you shall eat, my parasite. B. See how he has insulted the profession. Don't you know that a parasite is assigned a place next to the harp-singer?' And in the play entitled The Parasite​173 he says: 'One must not be a parasite if one is very hard to please.'

"Menander, in Temperament, speaking of a friend who declined an invita to a wedding-supper, says:​174 'There's a real comrade for you! He doesn't ask, as others do, "At what hour is dinner?" or "What's to hinder those who are here from dining?" — and then has his eye out for another dinner two days later, and still another three days after that, and again for a funeral feast later.' So also Alexis in Orestes,​175 Nicostratus in Plutus,​176 and Menander in The Carouse and in The Law-giver (have all told of the parasite).​177 So Philonides in Buskins,​178 thus: 'As for me, hungry though I am, I will not stand such treatment.'

"Nouns similar to parasitos are the following: episitos, 'victual-seeker,' which has been spoken of before;​179 oikositos, 'living on one's own means'; sitokouros, 'bread-shearer'; autositos, 'bringing his own food';​180 further, kakositos, 'off one's feed';181  p117 and oligositos, 'little-feeder.' The oikositos is mentioned by Anaxandrides in Hunters:​182 'It is indeed pleasant to have a son who lives on his own means.' The expression is also applied to one who serves the community, not for pay, but at his own expense. Thus Antiphanes in The Scythian:​183 'Indeed, soon we'll be having a member of the Assembly serving at his own expense.' Menander in The Ring:​184 'A bridegroom living on his own means we have discovered, one who does not require of us a dowry.' And in The Harper:​185 'The audience you get doesn't live on its own means.'186

"Crates mentions 'victual-seeker' in Deeds of Daring:​187 'He cajoles the victual-seeker, but though shivering in the palace of Megabyzus, he will receive food as his pay.'

"Menander uses oikositos in a special sense in Ladies at Luncheon:​188 'A clever scheme this, not to get a lot women together and entertain a crowd, but to range tup a wedding, as you have done, for those who eat at home.' 'Bread-shearer' is mentioned by Alexis in The Vigil, or Toilers:​189 'You will be a bread-shearer loafing about.' Now Menander, in The Swashbuckler,​190 uses bread-shearer of a good- for‑nothing who gets his living without any  p119 return, thus: B'Always hesitant, always delaying, a bread-shearer confessedly getting his living at another's expense.' And in For Sale:​191 'O you rascal, there you still stand by the front door with your bundle on the ground! A bread-shearer, miserable and good for nothing, we've taken into our house.' 'Bringing his own food' is a name applied by Crobylus in The Suicide:​192 'A parasite bringing his own food! At any rate you support yourself in most things and are contributed by your master to his parties.' 'Off one's feed' is mentioned by Eubulus in Ganymede:​193 'Sleep nourishes him when he is off his feed.' And Phrynichus mentions 'little-feeder' in The Recluse:​194 'And the little-feeder Heracles, what is he doing yonder?' Also Pherecrates or Strattis in Nice People:​195 'What a little-feeder you were, then! Why, you consume daily rations enough for a cruiser!' "

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The Loeb Editor's Notes:

1 Begun at 231B.

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2 Frag. 78 Preller. See Athen. 171E, note f.

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3 From his antiquarian interest in inscriptions on stelae and elsewhere.

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4 See critical note.

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5 i.e., men especially invited to participate in the priestly rite.

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6 Sons (like Themistocles) of a foreign mother by an Athenian father, for whom the gymnasium called Cynosarges was specially reserved.

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7 The jjj were very old pyramidal tablets.

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8 A priestly house at Athens associated with the eleusinian Mysteries.

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9 432‑431 B.C.

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10 The second archon at Athens, who had charge of all matters pertaining to the state religion.

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11 F. H. G.º II.303.

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12 See critical note.

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13 F. H. G. I.361.

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14 F. H. G. IV.511. But see critical note.

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15 Cf. 234F and note e.

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16 i.e., married only once, their husbands being still alive. Similar restrictions were common in ritual; cf. jjj, a boy both of whose parents were still living, who served at weddings.

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17 Temple of the Anaces, or Dioscuri.

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18 i.e., of the meat when the oxen were slaughtered.

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19 To be used at a festival.

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20 A jjj, Lat. sextarius, was one-sixth of a jjj, which was about one and one-half bushels.

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21 F. H. G. I.410; the title refers to a district in Attica composed of four towns, Marathon, Oenoe, Probalinthus, and Tricorythus.

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22 239B.

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23 Frag. 551 Rose.

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24 Kaibel 96.

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25 Kock II.561.

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26 It was considered good form in a guest to admire the household furniture. See 183E (of Telemachus at the palace of Menelaus); Aristoph. Vesp. 1214 (Bdelycleon is giving his father a lesson in politeness: "Praise one of the bronze pieces, look at the ceiling, admire the hall curtains.")

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27 Il. XVII.575.

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28 Frag. 74 Gaede.

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29 Il. V.292.

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30 Menelaus, Il. XVII.578.

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31 Kock I.301. These verses in Priapean satire are from the parabasis of the play.

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32 Text and meaning are debated.

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33 A tragic poet mocked by Aristoph. (Aves 31) as a foreigner.

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34 The "collar" was a heavy wooden frame put on the neck of a refractory slave. Oeneus was the eponymous hero of the Attic tribe Oeneis, in one deme of which was the jjj or pit into which the bodies of executed criminals were thrown.

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35 Kock II.218.

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36 179C.

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37 i.e., eat with us at the mess.

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38 Kock II.338; a parasite speaks.

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39 So called from the colour of their clothes. Pollux IX.119.

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40 Cf. Aristoph. Nub. 33 jjj, "you have rolled me out of all I own."

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41 Kock II.454. The title may be a courtesan's name.

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42 Since gods and heroes were supposed to be feasted at the jjj, or "god-entertainments." See 82E note c, 132E note a, 252B note b, 372A.

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43 Referring to public maintenance in the Prytaneium, or town-hall, 186A note a.

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44 Kock II.43.

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45 Kock II.277.

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46 jjj, "to lift by the middle," a wrestling term.

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47 Such as Heracles; wrestling was supposed to be peculiarly an Argive sport, Anthol. Pal. II.139.

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48 One of the Seven against Thebes, struck down by Zeus when he scaled the wall of the city.

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49 A "Telamonian blow" was proverbially severe, a "knock-out."

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50 Since smoke penetrates the smallest opening. Cf. (but in a different sense) la fumée cherche les beaux, cited by Villebrun; see also 242F.

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51 Kock II.280.

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52 Names of parasites. For Tithymallus see 240E.

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53 Lit. "blackbird."

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54 The use of olive oil on the body was common among the better classes from the time of Homer: cf. 242E. For its use as food see 66F.

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55 Kock II.94.

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56 A proverb, "fighting-dogs in a well" (Zenob. III.45), was used of a fight which could not be avoided or shift ed to more advantageous ground. Cf. Simplic. Physic. 470.21.

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57 Cf. Ev. Marc. III.17: "And he surnamed them Boanerges, which is, The sons of Thunder."

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58 Kock II.561.

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59 The jjj were solemn curses pronounced at the ritual act of ploughing by the Buzygae, one of the oldest priestly tribes in Athens. Cf. Cicero, Off. III.13.55 "erranti viam non monstrare, quod Athenis exsecrationibus publicis sanctum est." The last verse in the quotation is no part of the official curse, but added jjj.

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60 Kock II.189: apparently a parody of some tragic poet (Euripides?), especially the last verse.

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61 Kock II.420; cf. above, 235E.

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62 In the good sense of the word (234C‑235F); election, not sortition, was used in their case.

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63 Lit. "sprung from two citizens," father and mother both being of Attic descent.

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64 Kock II.414, Athen. 241C. Chalcis, the chief city of Euboea, was notorious for licentiousness and avarice.

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65 Cf. Athen. 220B, 241C.

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66 Lit. "in size"; the blows (jjj) are confused with the missiles.

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67 Kock II.410. The Emperor Claudius enlarged the Museum at Alexandria with an extension here called Claudium; Sueton. Claud. V.42. A "professor" is here drilling the class in the parasite's art.

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68 Of the ephebus, on reaching the age of eighteen.

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69 Kock II.355; a rich woman, conversing with a poor woman, is comparing husbands. The parasite, like the deathless gods, never has to pay his share; Menander, Samia 401 Capps: jjj

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70 Kock II.419.

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71 Kock II.460.

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72 i.e., starveling.

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73 Kock II.460; the title refers to the brother and sister, Caunus and Bybilis, who became a proverb for any desperate passion.

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74 For the somewhat forced antithesis between jjj, "starved myself to death," and jjj, "endured," cf. Frag. adesp. Kock III.469 jjj.

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75 Kock II.456.

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76 Kock II.103; for the title cf. Athen. 517D, 607F.

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77 Kock II.456.

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78 Kock II.314.

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79 Kock II.380.

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80 A banker named Blepaeus is mentioned by Demosthenes XXI.215.

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81 Kock II.291. This is a mock oracle, such as Aristophanes gives in Knights and in Birds. Cf. Hor. Sat. I.9.29 ff.

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82 Kock II.365.

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83 239F.

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84 Kock III.79.

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85 The speaker is Plutarch, 234C.

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86 See critical note. The translation follows the interpretation of Wolf, Proleg. ad Homerum, p220.

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87 Anthol. Pal. VII.70.

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88 Since ivy was used for victor crowns. See critical note.

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89 i.e., plagiarist; for the figure contained in jjj, "washed again and again," cf. Athen. 413D.

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90 Machon himself. He boasts that the Muses flourish in Egypt as well as Athens.

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91 This and other quotations from Machon are omitted by Kock III.324 ff.

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92 For one of his puns see 250E‑F.

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93 Kock II.383.

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94 Kock II.359; see 95A, note b.

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95 Cf. 4A.

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96 Cf. 100C, 104C.

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97 From jjj, "shells," "pods."

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98 Or. XIX.287, where Epicrates is execrated as jjj.

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99 Kock II.148, Athen. 307F.

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100 Referring to certain ritual marriages; Hesych. s.v. jjj. Here used sens. obsc.

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101 Stalagmus is the name of a slave in Plautus, Captivi.

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102 Cf. 238B.

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103 Cf. 238D.

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104 Theagenes, a profligate known to Aristoph. (Av. 823), was called Smoke. See Schol. and critical note, also 238C.

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105 Cf. 231C, note e.

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106 The ram with the golden fleece was ridden by Phrixus and his sister Hellê on their way to Colchis.

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107 Athen. 134D. See critical note.

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108 Kock III.106, Allinson 418. Cf. Athen. 8B and note a, where the same story is told of the parasite Philocrates.

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109 This occurred both at sunrise and at sunset.

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110 The proper dinner-time was at sunset.

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111 Kock III.92, Allinson 404.

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112 See above, 242E, note h. The month was divided into three parts, of which the last was called jjj or jjj. In this part the days were ordinarily counted from the end, as in the Roman calendar, so that jjj is rather unusual. Cf. Aristoph. Nub. 1131. The fourth of the month was sacred to Heracles. Chaerephon, hoping to be invited to a dinner early in the month, gives out that he will have a dinner later, and adds plausibility to his false invitation by pretending that he has consulted the auspices.

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113 Kock III.19.

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114 Kock II.455.

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115 This is the only meaning the text will bear, but it is certainly corrupt: jjj (see crit. note) has supplanted some other word, and jjj should perhaps be jjj: 'Chaerephon, for example, never thought of going home at all,' since he could make himself quite at home in Demotion's house. For jjj cf. 242C.

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116 Lit. "forked stick," referring to the punitive collar placed on criminals; cf. 237A, note b.

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117 There is no need to emend the line, though the collocation of adjectives is odd. Demotion lacks dignity, and therefore fails to choose the better sort of companions with whom his wealth would naturally allow him to associate.

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118 Kock II.96.

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119 Kock II.450; on jjj cf. 257 a.

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120 Kock III.287.

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121 Kock III.288.

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122 For jjj, "shaking the arms" when running, cf. Aristot. Nic. Eth. IV.3.15.

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123 He means, "especially on the bill."

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124 Frag. 100 D8 Schneider.

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125 A stichometric note, often added by librarians and publishers.

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126 242D.

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127 Ptolemy Soter returned from an expedition to Greece in 308 B.C. Diod. XX.37.

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128 Cf. Athen. 357F.

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129 A comic poet of this name is mentioned in I. A. II.977G.

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130 jjj, "pebble," was used of ballots and counters, equivalent to a ticket of admission, such as Archephron himself usually lacked, being a parasite. Apparently the goby was supposed to carry a jewel in its belly, as Shakespeare's "toad, ugly and venomous, wears yet a precious jewel in his head," As You Like It, II.1. Of the parrot-fish (jjj) we read that it chews its cud, Athen. 319F.

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131 Kock II.371.

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132 Zetes and Calais, noted for speed.

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133 Of the distinguished family of Eteobutadae, descended from Butes.

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134 Phrynichus, Epit. 372, condemns the expression jjj, "one cannot describe it as." Alexis uses it again, Athen. 301B.

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135 Kock II.412.

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136 F. H. G. III.310.

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137 Cf. Athen. 19D; the king was Antiochus I.

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138 The jjj, a "Board of Commissioners on Laws for Ladies," were magistrates at Athens and elsewhere appointed to censor the conduct of women. Aristot. Pol. 1299 A22.

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139 Lit. "as being, contrary to the law, over the number of thirty."

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140 Kock II.465; the title refers to one who, like Philocleon in Aristoph. Wasps, was eager to sit as a dicast in the law-courts.

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141 Kock III.78, Allinson 368; the sentence, which lacks the verb, seems to refer to an informer.

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142 F. H. G. I.408.

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143 The usual formula (e.g. I. A. II.17B) was jjj, "to transmit the resolve of the Council (to the People) according to at Council's pleasure." Here the usual object (Resolve) is made the subject, with another meaning easily understood.

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144 The audience at a poor performance showed its displeasure by throwing stones. Macrobius II.6.1: "lapidatus a populo Vatinius . . . obtinuerat ut aediles edicerent ne quis in arenam nisi pomum misisse vellet.

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145 Omitted by Kock.

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146 The reminiscences from Lynceus are here resumed.

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147 De pudendis jjj saepius usurpatur, e.g. Aristoph. Nub. 976.

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148 As athletes were required to prove their fitness and be duly registered before entering a contest, being punish ed for omitting this prerequisite, so Phyromachus should be punished for incompetence as a professed glutton.

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149 i.e., water.

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150 i.e., hard drinkers.

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151 The arrival of the Macedonian Harpalus at Athens, in 324 B.C., with much stolen treasure, gave rise to charges of corruption against many public men, including Demosthenes. The epithet quoted from Demosthenes is ascribed to him by Hypereides, Contra Dem., end; cf. Athen. 341E‑F, 483E.

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152 For jjj see 110D.

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153 Il. V.366, Od. III.484, etc. The pun is on jjj, "olive," and jjj, "to drive." As this cannot be exactly reproduced, jjj, "a casserole of fish," is here rendered "goulash."

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154 jjj is properly said only of a woman, "to conceive." Cf. Athen. 453A.

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155 F. H. G. III.67.

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156 Ibid 259.

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157 Ibid 264.

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158 Ibid 310.

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159 F. H. G. III.193. There were two tyrants of Argos by the name of Aristomachus; the first (ca. 250‑240 B.C.) seems to be meant here. For the pancration see 95A, note b.

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160 Kock II.464.

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161 Lit. "peel"; for another slang meaning of jjj see 161A, note c, 170D.

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162 continent.153.

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163 In this case a glutton.

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164 420A: there jjj has a slightly different turn of meaning, being suggest ed by Adeimantus's use of jjj, "coming to the aid of," "auxiliaries," in the preceding paragraph of Plato.

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165 I.504.

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166 i.e., in their pay, which consists in free meals.

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167 Kock II.172.

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168 Meaning either a span (of horses) or a pair of fetters; she was also called the Lamp, Athen. 583A.

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169 Kock II.565. The name jjj is here derived from jjj, "to make a lucky throw"; it matters not, for the comedian's purpose, that the Euripides who gave his name to the throw was not the tragedian. See Pollux IX.101.

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170 A comic cento made up of a verse from Eur. Antiope, T. G. F.2 415, and Iph. Taur. 535.

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171 Kock II.566. Cf. Romeo and Juliet, I.3: "And she was wean'd, — I never shall forget it, — For I had then laid wormwood to my dug." The parasite, by his exhibition of spleen at his host's table, is in a fair way to be for ever excluded from it.

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172 Kock II.566.

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173 Ibid 562.

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174 Kock III.106, Allinson 418.

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175 Kock II.358.

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176 Ibid 226.

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177 Kock III.91; 102; for the words supplied see Athen. 246F.

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178 Kock I.255; cf. Athen. 47C.

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179 246F, in the form jjj; below, 247F.

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180 Cf. 47E.

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181 Plato, Rep. 475C.

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182 Kock II.144.

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183 Ibid 97.

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184 Kock III.31, Allinson 340.

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185 Kock III.81, Allinson 380.

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186 i.e., it needs some inducement to listen to you.

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187 Kock I.140.

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188 Kock III.129, Allinson 436.

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189 Kock II.363.

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190 Lit. "Bold-Lion," of a bragging soldier, Kock III.70.

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191 Kock III.122, Allinson 432.

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192 Kock III.379. The meaning is uncertain. The jjj was a dining-club to which each member brought his contribution of food.

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193 Kock II.171.

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194 Kock I.377; Heracles was the glutton of comedy.

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195 Kock I.145; cf. Athen. 415C.

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