The dialogue, briefly called "On the Pythian Responses," deals, as the Greek title indicates, with the fact that the Pythia at Delphi no longer uses verse as the instrument of her inspired utterances. It takes the form of a conversation in the Delphic temple, between Philinus, Diogenianus, Theon, Serapion, and Boethus—the first of whom reports the conversation to his friend Basilocles, who has grown quite weary of waiting while the rest of the party conduct Diogenianus, a visitor, on a tour of inspection among the sacred offerings in the Temple.[1] Philinus[2] tells how "after
- [Footnote: designations for the various functions of the God. The pleasant
seriousness, too, of all the interlocutors is worthy of note, as presenting a type of religious discussion of whose calmness and dignity the modern world knows little. It would be interesting, for example, to hear a group of classical philosophers discuss the excommunication of Professor Mivart by Cardinal Vaughan, or of Tolstoi by Pobedonostzeff.](685 D); proves that Alexander the Great was a hard drinker (623 E); explains why Pythagoras advised his followers to throw their bedclothes into confusion on getting up (728 B, C); and tells a story of a wonderful tame crocodile which lay in bed like a human being (De Soll. Anim., 976 B). A very charming account of Plutarch's friends has been given by M. A. Chenevière, in his "De Plutarchi familiaribus," written as a Litt.D. thesis for a French University in 1886.]
- ↑ This Diogenianus does not appear to be identical with the Diogenianus of Pergamos, twice mentioned in the Symposiacs, although Bernardakis does not distinguish them in his Index.
- ↑ Philinus was an intimate friend of Plutarch's (Symposiacs, 727 B; De Sollertia Animalium, 976 B); and, except in this Dialogue and in the De Soll. Anim., appears only as taking his part in the social intercourse of the Symposiacs, and as contributing his share to the discussion of the various quaint and curious problems forming so large a portion of the "Table Talk" of Plutarch and his friends. He has Pythagorean tendencies; eats no flesh (727 B); objects to a rich and varied diet, being of opinion that simple food is more easily digestible (660 F); explains somewhat crudely why Homer calls salt [Greek: theios
