Plutarch, Quaestiones Convivales, ed. Grēgorios N. Vernardakēs, 8.6.5

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[5] ὑβριστὴς δʼ ὢν καὶ φιλόγελως φύσει ὁ ἀδελφὸς ἡμῶν Λαμπρίας ἔφη μυρίῳ τὰ Ῥωμαϊκὰ δείξειν 726e οἰκειότερα τῶν Ἑλληνικῶν ὀνόματα, τοσαύτης ἀδείας τῷ¹ φλυαρεῖν δεδομένης. τὸ μὲν γὰρ δεῖπνόν φασι κοῖνα διὰ τὴν κοινωνίαν² καλεῖσθαι· καθʼ ἑαυτοὺς 5 γὰρ ἠρίστων ἐπιεικῶς οἱ πάλαι Ῥωμαῖοι συνδειπνοῦντες³ τοῖς φίλοις. τὸ δʼ ἄριστον ἐκλήθη πράνδιον⁴ ἀπὸ τῆς ὥρας· ἔνδιον γὰρ τὸ δειλινόν, 726f καὶ τὴν μετʼ ἄριστον ἀνάπαυσιν ἐνδιάζειν· ἢ πρωινήν τινα σημαίνοντες ἐδωδὴν ἢ τροφήν, ᾗ⁵ χρῶνται 10 πρὶν ἐνδεεῖς γενέσθαι. καὶ μὴν ἵνʼ ἀφῶ τὰ στρώματα ἔφη τὸν οἶνον, τὸ μέλι, τοὔλαιον, τὸ γεύσασθαι, τὸ προπιεῖν, ἕτερα πάμπολλα τοῖς αὐτοῖς ὀνόμασι καταφανῶς χρώμενα· τίς οὐκ ἂν εἴποι ἐπὶ κῶμον⁶ Ἑλληνικῶς κωμισσᾶτον⁷ λέγεσθαι, καὶ τὸ κεράσαι 15 μισκῆραι καθʼ Ὅμηρον⁸,

ἡ δʼ αὖτʼ ἐν⁹ κρητῆρι μελίφρονα οἶνον ἔμισγε¹⁰

καί μῆνσαν¹¹ μὲν τὴν τράπεζαν ἀπὸ¹² τῆς· ἐν μέσῳ θέσεως, πᾶνεμ¹³ δὲ τὸν ἄρτον ὡς ἀνιέντα τὴν πεῖναν τὸν δὲ στέφανον κορῶναν ἀπὸ τῆς κεφαλῆς, 20 727a ὡς Ὅμηρος¹⁴ τὸ κράνος εἴκασέ που στεφάνῃ¹⁵· τὸ δὲ καῖρε δέρε¹⁶, καί δέντης τοὺς ὀδόντας, καί λάβρα¹⁷ τὰ χείλη ἀπὸ τοῦ λαμβάνειν τὴν βορὰν διʼ αὐτῶν; ἢ καὶ τούτων οὖν ἀκουστέον ἀγελαστὶ λεγομένων, ἢ μηδʼ ἐκείνοις εὐκόπως οὕτως διὰ τῶν ὀνομάτων ὥσπερ τριγχίων¹⁸ τὰ μὲν ἐκκόπτουσι μέρη τὰ δὲ καθαιροῦσι¹⁹ 5 παραδύσεις²⁰ διδῶμεν²¹.

Quaestiones Convivales. Plutarch. ed. Grēgorios N. Vernardakēs. Leipzig. 1892.

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Funding provided by The National Endowment for the Humanities.

Current edition Perseus

Συμποσιακῶν προβλημάτων βιβλία (Greek) (Plutarch. Plutarchi Chaeronensis Moralia, Vol. IV. Vernardakēs, Grēgorios N., editor. Leipzig: Teubner, 1892.)

Translations (1)

Symposiacs Perseus (Plutarch. Plutarch's Morals, Vol. III. Goodwin, William W., editor; Creech, Thomas, translator. Boston: Little, Brown, and Company; Cambridge: Press of John Wilson and Son, 1874.) — 8.6.5 focus

[5] My brother Lamprias, being of a scoffing, jeering nature, said: Since we are in a trifling humor, I can show that the Latin names of these meals are a thousand times more proper than the Greek; δεῖπνον, suppler, they call coena ( κοῖνα διὰ τὴν κοινωνίαν), from community; because they took their ἄριστον by themselves, but their coena with their friends. Ἄριστον, dinner, they call prandium, from the time of the day; for ἔνδιον signifies noon-tide, and to rest after dinner is expressed by ἐνδιάζειν; or else by prandium they denote a bit taken in the morning, πρὶν ἐνδεεῖς γενέσθαι, before they have need of any. And not to mention stragula from στρώματα, vinum from οἶνος, oleum from ἔλαιον, mel from μἐλι, gustare from γεύσασθαι, propinare from προπίνειν, and a great many more words which they have plainly borrowed from the Greeks,—who can deny but that they have taken their comessatio, banqueting, from our κῶμος, and miscere, to mingle, from the Greeks too? Thus in Homer,

She in a bowl herself mixt ( ἔμισγε) generous wine.¹

They call a table mensam, from τῆς ἐν μέσω θέσεως, placing it in the middle; bread, panem, from satisfying πεῖναν, hunger; a garland, coronam, from κάρηνον, the head;—and Homer somewhat likens κράνος, a head-piece, to a garland;— caedere to beat, from δέρειν; and dentes, teeth, from ὀδόντας; lips they call labra, from λαμβάνειν τῆν βόραν δι’ αὐτῶν, taking our victuals with them. Therefore we must either hear such fooleries as these without laughing, or not give them so ready access by means of words....

Notes on the current edition

Συμποσιακῶν προβλημάτων βιβλία

1. τῷ] τοι vel τὸ mei

2. κοῖνα] κῆνα vel κῦνα mei

3. σπανίως vel ὀλιγάκις συνδειπνοῦντες R

4. πράνδιον] om. mei nisi quod πρανδε dant VdP

5. ᾗ] ἢ mei

6. ἐπὶ βωμὸν iidem

7. *: κομίσατον vel κομίσαιτο vel κωμεσσάτον

8. Ὁμηρον] κ 356

9. δ’ αὖτ’ ἐν] δὲ τρίτη idem

10. ἔμισγε] ἐκίρνα idem

11. μῆνσαν] μηνέα mei

12. ἀπὸ S

13. πᾶνεμ S: πᾶν

14. Ὁμηρος] H 12

15. Turnebus: στεφάνην

16. ib. τὸ δὲ δέρειν καίδερε W; malim τὸ δέ[ ρειν δὲ] καίδερε quae commendantur etiam eo quod nomina Graeca articulum requirunt sicut Latina respuunt, cf. lin. 4. 7. 15. 17 cett.

17. λαβρατάχια· ἢ mei i.e. λάβρα τὰ χ( ε) ἰλη

18. τριγχίων *: τρινχίων vel τριχίων

19. R: καθαιροῦσι vel καθαιρουσιν

20. παρεισδύσεις idem

21. ib. idem: δίδομεν

Plutarch Quaestiones Convivales 8.6.5

ed. Grēgorios N. Vernardakēs

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