10. And Alcman the poet records himself to have been a great eater, in his third book of Odes, when he says—
And presently I will bestow
On you a large round dish well fill'd;
And even now 'tis on the fire,
Full of pulse-broth, which e'en the glutton
Alcman would like to feast on warm,
After the wintry solstice sets in;
For he for dainties does not care,
But loves the common people's dishes,
As long as they are full enough.
And in his fifth book he also displays his love of eating, speaking thus—
God has bestow'd on man three various seasons,
The summer, and the winter, and the autumn;
And a fourth too, the spring, when men can dance,
But scarce are able to get much to eat.
And Anaxilas the comic poet, speaking in his play called Chrysochous of a man named Ctesias, says—
You now have nearly all things, save the art
Of Ctesias himself; for wise men say,
That he does recognise nought but the beginning
Of a rich banquet, and denies the end.
And in his Rich Men he says—
A. Others may also burst when fed too well
Not Ctesias alone.—
B. What should hinder it?
A. For he, as wise men say, loves the beginning
Of any feast, but ne'er can make an end of it.
And in his play called The Graces he includes a man called Cranaus in his list of great eaters; saying—
Men do not come and ask at random now,
Does Cranaus eat less than Ctesias?
Or do they both keep constantly devouring?
And Philetærus, in his Atalante, says—
If it were needful, I could run more stadia
Than e'er were run by Sotades; I surpass
E'en Taureas himself in these my labours;
And out-run Ctesias himself in eating.
And Anaxippus, in his Thunderbolt, says—
A. For now I see Damippus here approaching
From the palæstra.
B. What! that man of stone?
