Plutarch, De tuenda sanitate praecepta, ed. Grēgorios N. Vernardakēs, 20

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[20]

ΖΕΥΞΙΠΠΟΣ.

τοὺς μὲν οὖν Λυδοὺς ἐν τῷ λιμῷ λέγουσι διαγαγεῖν παρʼ ἡμέραν τρεφομένους, εἶτα παίζοντας καὶ κυβεύοντας· φιλόλογον δʼ ἄνδρα καὶ φιλόμουσον 133a ἐν καιρῷ δεομένῳ¹ βραδυτέρου δείπνου διάγραμμα 25 παρακείμενον ἤ τι βιβλίδιον ἢ λύριον οὐ προΐενται τῇ γαστρὶ λεηλατούμενον, ἀλλʼ ἀποστρέφων συνεχῶς καὶ μεταφέρων ἐπὶ ταῦτα τὴν διάνοιαν ἀπὸ τῆς τραπέζης ὥσπερ Ἁρπυίας τὰς ὀρέξεις διασοβήσει ταῖς Μούσαις. οὐ γὰρ ὁ μὲν Σκύθης, ὅταν πίνῃ, πολλάκις ἐφάπτεται τοῦ τόξου καὶ παραψάλλει τὴν νευράν, ἐκλυόμενον ὑπὸ τῆς μέθης ἀνακαλούμενος τὸν θυμόν, Ἕλλην δʼ ἀνὴρ φοβήσεται τοὺς καταγελῶντας 5 αὐτοῦ, γράμμασι καὶ βιβλίοις ἀγνώμονα καὶ δυσπαραίτητον ἐπιθυμίαν ἀνιέντος ἀτρέμα καὶ 133b χαλῶντος. τῶν μὲν γὰρ παρὰ τῷ Μενάνδρῳ νεανίσκων ὑπὸ τοῦ πορνοβοσκοῦ παρὰ πότον ἐπιβουλευομένων καλὰς καὶ πολυτελεῖς εἰσάγοντος ἑταίρας 10 ἕκαστος, ὥς φησι.

κύψας καθʼ² αὑτὸν τῶν τραγημάτων ἔφλα

, φυλαττόμενος καὶ φοβούμενος ἐμβλέπειν οἱ δὲ φιλόλογοι πολλὰς καὶ καλὰς καὶ ἡδείας ἀπόψεις καὶ ἀποστροφὰς ἔχουσιν, ἄνπερ ἄλλως μὴ δύνωνται τὸ 15 κυνικὸν καὶ θηριῶδες τῶν ὀρέξεων κατέχειν παρακειμένης τραπέζης. ἀλειπτῶν δὲ φωνὰς καὶ παιδοτριβῶν λόγους ἑκάστοτε λεγόντων ὡς τὸ παρὰ δεῖπνον φιλολογεῖν τὴν τροφὴν διαφθείρει καὶ βαρύνει 133c τὴν κεφαλὴν τότε φοβητέον, ὅταν τὸν Ἰνδὸν ἀναλύειν 20 ἢ διαλέγεσθαι περὶ τοῦ Κυριεύοντος ἐν δείπνῳ μέλλωμεν. τὸν μὲν γὰρ ἐγκέφαλον τοῦ φοίνικος, γλυκὺν ὄντα τῶν σφόδρα κεφαλαλγῶν⁴ λέγουσιν εἶναι· διαλεκτικὴ δὲ τρωγάλιον⁵ ἐπὶ δείπνῳ γλυκὺ μὲν οὐδαμῶς κεφαλαλγὲς δὲ καὶ κοπῶδες ἰσχυρῶς 25 ἐστιν. ἂν δʼ ἡμᾶς μὴ ἄλλο τι ζητεῖν ἢ φιλοσοφεῖν ἢ ἀναγιγνώσκειν παρὰ δεῖπνον ἐῶσι τῶν ἐν τῷ καλῷ καὶ ὠφελίμῳ τὸ ἐπαγωγὸν ὑφʼ ἡδονῆς καὶ γλυκὺ μόριον ἐχόντων, κελεύσομεν αὐτοὺς μὴ ἐνοχλεῖν, 133d ἀλλʼ ἀπιόντας ἐν τῷ ξυστῷ ταῦτα καὶ ταῖς παλαίστραις διαλέγεσθαι τοῖς ἀθληταῖς, οὓς τῶν 5 βιβλίων ἐξελόντες ἀεὶ διημερεύειν ἐν σκώμμασι καὶ βωμολοχίαις ἐθίζοντες, ὡς ὁ κομψὸς Ἀρίστων ἔλεγε, τοῖς ἐν γυμνασίῳ κίοσιν ὁμοίως λιπαροὺς πεποιήκασι καὶ λιθίνους. αὐτοὶ δὲ πειθόμενοι τοῖς ἰατροῖς παραινοῦσιν ἀεὶ τοῦ δείπνου καὶ τοῦ ὕπνου λαμβάνειν 10 μεθόριον καὶ μὴ συμφορήσαντας εἰς τὸ σῶμα τὰ σιτία καὶ τὸ πνεῦμα καταθλίψαντας εὐθὺς⁶ ὠμῇ καὶ ζεούσῃ τῇ τροφῇ βαρύνειν τὴν πέψιν ἀλλʼ ἀναπνοὴν καὶ χάλασμα παρέχειν,⁷ ὥσπερ οἱ τὰ σώματα 133e κινεῖν μετὰ δεῖπνον ἀξιοῦντες οὐ δρόμοις οὐδὲ 15 παγκρατίοις τοῦτο ποιοῦσιν ἀλλὰ βληχροῖς⁸ περιπάτοις καὶ χορείαις ἐμμελέσιν, οὕτω καὶ⁹ ἡμεῖς οἰησόμεθα δεῖν τὰς ψυχὰς διαφέρειν μετὰ τὸ δεῖπνον μήτε πράγμασι μήτε φροντίσι μήτε σοφιστικοῖς ἀγῶσι πρὸς ἅμιλλαν ἐπιδεικτικὴν ἢ νικητικὴν περαινομένοις. 20 ἀλλὰ πολλὰ μέν ἐστι τῶν φυσικῶν προβλημάτων ἐλαφρὰ καὶ πιθανά, πολλὰ δʼ ἠθικὰς¹⁰ σκέψεις ἔχοντα καὶ τοῦτο¹¹ δὴ τὸ μενοεικές, ὡς Ὅμηρος ἔφη, καὶ μὴ ἀντίτυπον. τὰς δʼ ἐν¹² ἱστορικαῖς καὶ ποιητικαῖς ζητήσεσι διατριβὰς οὐκ ἀηδῶς 25 ἔνιοι δευτέρας τραπέζας ἀνδράσι φιλολόγοις καὶ φιλομούσοις προσεῖπον. εἰσὶ δὲ καὶ διηγήσεις ἄλυποι 133f καὶ μυθολογίαι, καὶ τὸ περὶ αὐλοῦ τι καὶ λύρας ἀκοῦσαι καὶ εἰπεῖν ἐλαφρότερον ἢ λύρας αὐτῆς φθεγγομένης ἀκούειν καὶ αὐλοῦ. μέτρον δὲ τοῦ 5 καιροῦ τὸ τῆς τροφῆς καθισταμένης ἀτρέμα καὶ συμπνεούσης τὴν πέψιν ἐγκρατῆ γενέσθαι καὶ ὑπερδέξιον.

De tuenda sanitate praecepta. Plutarch. ed. Grēgorios N. Vernardakēs. Leipzig. 1888.

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Funding provided by The National Endowment for the Humanities.

Current edition Perseus

Ὑγιεινὰ παραγγέλματα (Greek) (Plutarch. Plutarchi Chaeronensis Moralia, Vol I. Bernardakis, Gregorius N., editor; Leipzig: Teubner, 1888.)

Translations (2)

Advice About Keeping Well Perseus (Plutarch. Moralia, Vol. II. Babbitt, Frank Cole, translator. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann Ltd., 1928 (printing).) — 20 focus

[20]

ZEUXIPPUS.

The Lydians, they say, ¹ in a time of famine, alternately spent one day in regaling themselves with food, and the next in jollity and games of chance. But in the case of a scholarly and cultivated man, on an occasion which requires a later dinner than usual, a mathematical problem on hand, or some pamphlet or musical instrument, will not permit him to be harried by his belly; on the contrary, he will steadily turn away and transfer his thoughts from the table to these other things, and scare away his appetites, like Harpies, by means of the Muses. Does not the Scythian,² while he is drinking, ofttimes put his hand to his bow, and twang the string, thus summoning back his senses which are being unstrung by the liquor; and shall a Greek man be afraid of those who deride him when by letters and books he endeavours quietly to ease and relax an unfeeling and inexorable desire? When the young men described by Menander ³ were, as they were drinking, insidiously beset by the pimp, who introduced some handsome and high-priced concubines, each one of them (as he says),

Bent down his head and munched his own dessert,

being on his guard and afraid to look at them. But scholars have many fair and pleasant outlooks and diversions, if so be they can in no other way keep under control the canine and bestial element in their appetites when at table. The utterances of athletic trainers and the talk of teachers of gymnastics, who assert on every occasion that scholarly conversation at dinner spoils the food and makes the head heavy, are to be feared only when we propose to solve the Indian problem or to discuss determinants ⁴ during dinner. The leaf-bud at the top of the date-palm is sweet, but they say that it brings on a violent headache ⁵; and an exercise in logic is by no means a sweet morsel⁶ to top off a dinner, but, on the contrary, it is quite likely to bring on a headache, and is extremely fatiguing as well. But if they will not allow us to start any other inquiry or scholarly discussion,⁷ or to read while at dinner any of those things which, besides being beautiful and useful, contain also the element of pleasurable allurement and sweetness, we shall bid them not to bother us, but to take themselves off, and in the training grounds and buildings to engage in such talk with the athletes, whom they have torn from their books, and by accustoming them to spend the whole day in jesting and scurrility, have, as the clever Ariston said, made them as glossy and blockish as the pillars in a gymnasium. But as for ourselves, we shall follow the advice of the physicians who recommend always to let some time intervene between dinner and sleep, and not, after jumbling our victuals into our body and oppressing our spirit, to hinder our digestion at once with the food that is still unassimilated and fermenting, but rather to provide for it some respite and relaxation; just as those who think it is the right thing to keep their bodies moving after dinner do not do this by means of foot-races and strenuous boxing and wrestling, but by gentle walking and decorous dancing, so we shall hold that we ought not to distract our minds after dinner either with business or cares or pseudo-learned disputations, which have as their goal an ostentatious or stirring rivalry. But many of the problems of natural science are light and enticing, and there are many stories which contain ethical considerations and the soul’s satisfaction, as Homer has phrased this, and nothing repellent. The spending of time over questions of history and poetry some persons, not unpleasingly, have called a second repast ⁸ for men of scholarship and culture. There are also inoffensive stories and fables, and it is less onerous to exchange opinions about a flute and a lyre than to listen to the sound of the lyre and the flute itself. The length of time for this is such as the digestion needs to assert itself and gain the upper hand over the food as it is gradually absorbed and begins to agree with us.

Plutarch's Rules for the Preservation of Health Perseus (Plutarch. Plutarch's Morals, Vol. I. Goodwin, William W., editor; Poole, Matthew, translator. Boston: Little, Brown, and Company; Cambridge: Press of John Wilson and Son, 1874.) — 20 focus

[20]

ZEUXIPPUS.

The Lydians are reported in a famine to have spent one day in eating, and the next in sports and drollery. But a lover of learning and a friend to the Muses, when at any time he is forced to sup later than ordinary, will not be so much a slave to his belly as to lay aside a geographical scheme when it is before him, or his book, or his lyre; but strenuously turning himself, and taking his mind off from eating, he will in the Muses’ name drive away all such desires, as so many Harpies, from his table. Will not the Scythian in the midst ’of his cups oftentimes handle his bow and twang the string, thereby rousing up himself from that drunkenness in which he was immersed? Will a Greek be afraid, because he is laughed at, by books and letters gently to loosen and unbend any blind and obstinate desire? The young men in Menander, when they were drinking, were trepanned by a bawd, which brought in to them a company of handsome and richly attired women; but every one, as he said,

Cast down his eyes and fell to junketing, —

not one daring to look upon them. Lovers of learning have many fair and pleasant diversions, if they can no other way keep in their canine and brutish appetites when they see the table spread. The bawling of such fellows as anoint wrestlers, and the opinion of pedagogues that it hinders our nourishment and dulls one’s head to discourse of learning at table, are indeed of some force then, when we are called upon to solve a fallacy like the Indus or to dispute about the Kyrieuon at a feast. For though the pith of the palm-tree is very sweet, yet they say it will cause the headache. To discourse of logic at meals is not indeed a very delicious banquet, is rather troublesome, and pains one’s head; but if there be any who will not give us leave to discourse philosophically or ask any question or read any thing at table, though it be of those things which are not only decent and profitable but also pleasantly merry, we will desire them not to trouble us, but to talk in this style to the athletes in the Xvstum and the Palaestra, who have laid aside their books and are wont to spend their whole time in jeers and scurrilous jests, being, as Aristo wittily expresses it, smooth and hard, like the pillars in the gymnasium. But we must obey our physicians, who advise us to keep some interval between supper and sleep, and not to heap up together a great deal of victuals in our stomachs and so shorten our breath (lest we presently by crude and fermenting aliment overcharge our digestion), but rather to take some space and breathing-time before we sleep. As those who have a mind to exercise themselves after supper do not do it by running or wrestling, but rather by gentle exercise, such as walking or dancing; so when we intend to exercise our minds after supper, we are not to do it with any thing of business or care, or with those sophistical disputes which bring us into a vain-glorious and violent contention. But there are many questions in natural philosophy which are easy to discuss and to decide; there are many disquisitions which relate to manners, which please the mind (as Homer expresses it) and do no way discompose it. Questions in history and poetry have been by some ingeniously called a second course to a learned man and a scholar. There are discourses which are no way troublesome; and, besides, fables may be told. Nay, it is easier to discourse of the pipe and lyre, or hear them discoursed of, than it is to hear either of them played on. The quantity of time allowed for this exercise is till our meat be gently settled within us, so that our digestion may have power enough to master it.

Notes on the current edition

Ὑγιεινὰ παραγγέλματα

1. δεομένῳ Meziriacus: δεόμενον

2. καθʼ W: ἐς

3. Meinek. IV p. 280

4. τῶν σφόδρα κεφαλαλγῶν scripsi: σφόδρα κεφαλαλγὸν

5. τρωγάλιον] Bergk. 1 p. 423

6. εὐθὺς Xylander: μὴ εὐθὺς

7. παρέχειν Benselerus: ἔχειν

8. ἀλλὰ βληχροῖς L. Dindorfius: ἀλλ’ ἀβληχροῖς

9. οὕτω καὶ R: οὑτως

10. ἠθικὰς Duebnerus: ἤθη καὶ

11. καὶ τοῦτο scripsi: τοῦτο

12. τὰς δ’ ἐν R: ταῖς δὲ

Plutarch De tuenda sanitate praecepta 20

ed. Grēgorios N. Vernardakēs

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ΖΕΥΞΙΠΠΟΣ.

Current edition Perseus

ZEUXIPPUS.

ZEUXIPPUS.

Notes on the current edition

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