DINNERS.
There's also meat of goats which give no milk,
That is to say, of kids. For so much profit
Is got from these when they are fully grown,
That I put up with eating cheaper kinds.
And in his Cyclops he says—
These are the animals which the earth produces,
Which you will have from me: the ox of th' herd,
The goat which roves the woods, the chamois which
Loves the high mountain tops, the fearless ram,
The hog, the boar, the sucking-pig besides,
And hares, and kids. . . .
Green cheese, dry cheese, and cut and pounded cheese,
Scraped cheese, and chopp'd cheese, and congeal'd cheese
67. And Mnesimachus, in his Horse-breeder, provides the following things for dinner—
Come forth, O Manes, from the chamber
Deck'd with the lofty cypress roof;
Go to the market, to the statues
Of Maia's son, where all the chiefs
Of the tribes meet, and seek the troop
Of their most graceful pupils, whom
Phidon is teaching how to mount
Their horses, and dismount from them.
I need not tell you now their names.
Go; tell them that the fish is cold,
The wine is hot, the pastry dry,
The bread dry, too, and hard. The chops
Are burnt to pieces, and the meat
Taken from out the brine and dish'd.
The sausages are served up too;
So is the tripe, and rich black puddings.
Those who're in-doors are all at table,
The wine cups all are quickly drain'd,
The pledge goes round; and nought remains
But the lascivious drunken cordax.[1]
The young men all are waxing wanton,
And ev'rything's turn'd upside down.
Remember what I say, and bear
My words in mind.
Why stand you gaping like a fool?
Look here, and just repeat the message
Which I've just told you; do,—I will
Repeat it o'er again all through.
Bid them come now, and not delay,
Nor vex the cook who's ready for them.
For all the fish is long since boil'd,
And all the roast meat's long since cold.
- ↑ The cordax was a lascivious dance of the old comedy; to dance it
off the stage was considered a sign of drunkenness and indecency.
