Adagia 3201–3300

Αληλεσμένος βίος, Living on milled fare, or to put it another way, Food made of flour. Suidas points out that the proverb is understood in different ways. Some, he says, apply the expression to the life of early man who fed on acorns, perhaps because the eating of meat and fish was still unknown at that period and humans ate only meal made from acorns. Others refer it to those who enjoyed a luxurious life-style free of toil, since the process of making flour was not known for some time after the discovery of wheat. Flour is readily available to whoever wants to eat it, but the earth must be ploughed, the wheat must be sown, harvested, winnowed, ground, and pounded. Others, he adds, apply the proverb to those who lived their lives enjoying a plentiful supply of what they wanted. This would be close in sense to the proverb 'No more thorns' that appears elsewhere in this work. Caesar in the first book of his Commentaries writes, 'They ordered each man to bring for himself from his home a three-month supply of ground wheat.' Aristophanes seems to allude to this proverb in the Knights when Cleon, trying to win over People, says, 'But I shall give you barley meal, already made.' Another character responds to this by saying, 'I shall give you barley cakes, already baked, and fish, already cooked. Do nothing but eat.' The last part relates to the proverb we have reported before, 'Living softly.' Again, in the same play when Cleon offered barley scones, the other counters, 'I'll give you bread scoops,' meaning bread that had already been softened and moistened with gravy and was therefore ready to be eaten. Then he offers wine, already mixed so that it could be drunk immediately. He says, 'Take this wine, mixed three to two.' In antiquity wine was not drunk unless it had been diluted (not a German custom), and in fact the best dilution was thought to be two parts water to two parts wine. A little later, People declares that he prefers food already prepared. For when Cleon boasted that he had stolen at great personal risk what he was giving and the other character said that he had cooked his offering, People says to Cleon, 'Be off with you. I favour him who has served it up.' He meant that he had to support the one who placed before him food ready to eat.

Κακόν τὸ καλὸν, ἤντι μὴ καιροῦ τύχη, A blessing can be a bane if it is not received at the proper time. Nothing that is untimely is pleasing. If given at the proper time, a drug brings recovery; if not, it brings death. In book seven Athenaeus cites this verse from Timon: 'There's a time to love, a time to wed, a time to end all that.'

Καρικὸς τάφος, A Carian monument. Said of a splendid and costly object. Derived from the tomb of Mausolus in Caria. Pliny in book thirty-six, chapter five, says that this was thought of as one of the seven wonders of the world, particularly because of the fame of the artists who worked on it:
On the north and south side it stretched for sixty-three feet. The facades are
not so long, the complete perimeter being four hundred and eleven feet. It
rose to a height of twenty-five cubits and was enclosed by forty-six columns.
The east side was carved by Scopas, the north by Bryax, the south by Timotheus
and the west by Leochares.
Artemisia died before it was completed. In Latin such monuments are called mausolea: so Martial in book one, 'the Mausoleum poised on empty air,' and Propertius in his third book, 'not the sumptuousness of the tomb of Mausolus.'

Κακόν γε δῶρον ἵσον ἐστὶ ζημΐᾳ, A gift is evil in proportion to the losses it causes. Those who give a harmful gift do not help, but cause damage; for example, if anyone were to supply a young man with money, or entrust a position of authority to a fool or a priesthood to an uneducated man.

Κεναῖσιν ἐλπίσι θερμαίνεται, He is ablaze with empty hopes. Of a man who futilely promises himself great things. For hope gives courage to the foolish, even if their aspirations are very far from being realized. Even if he has hopes, the wise person conceals them. It is clearly taken from Sophocles, where Ajax says this: 'I would not buy a foolish man who is spurred on by empty hopes.' Aeschines in Against Timarchus: 'After filling him with empty hopes.'

Κεκύλισθαι ὁ πίθος, The barrel is rolled. Said of those who are stirred to do some foolish action, following the example or instigation of others. For a barrel can be rolled to where you want it to go by the slightest push. The wise man, however, is like a cube, always fixed and unmoveable.1 The proverb clearly originated in the story of how Diogenes rolled a barrel at a time of civic turmoil. Lucian tells this story in How History Should Be Written.

Κηρὸν τοῖς ὠσὶν ἐπαλείφεις, You stop up your ears with wax. Said of those who refuse to listen to anything, good or bad. Its origin is the story in Homer of how Ulysses blocks up his and his companions' ears with wax to counteract the enchanting song of the Sirens.

Κόρακες ἀνδόνων αἰδεσιμώτεροι, Crows are more revered than nightingales. Used when ignorance is preferred to erudition, wickedness to honesty, blethering nonsense to eloquence, or when plunderers and thieves are preferred to those who are prudent and are of impeccable character; or when more respect is given to wickedness and shameless behaviour than to erudition and wisdom.

Κοινὸν ναύγιον τοῖς πᾶσι παραμύθιον, A shipwreck shared is consolation to all. We bear a misfortune much more easily if it is common to all or shared with many. Why, even today we hear the scholastics say, 'It is poor consolation to have a companion in disaster.'

Κυπαρίττου καρπὸς, The fruit of the cypress. Applied to fine-sounding, but useless words. The proverb has come from the nature of the tree, which Pliny says in book sixteen 'grows grudgingly, has useless fruit, astringent berries, bitter-tasting leaves, a strong smell, and does not even afford agreeable shade'; so Pliny. Although it has these features, it always seems to promise some new fruit, because of its great height (which is why it is called 'cone-bearing' by poets) and its continuous greenness, and especially because of the slowness of its growth. In book one of Causes of Plants Theophrastus writes:
The seed of the cypress is so tiny that it can scarcely be seen. For its seed
is not the whole fruit, which looks like a ball, but is what grows in the
cone, being extremely thin and narrow (very like the seed of a larch tree),
and when the ball splits open the seed slips out; an expert is needed to
gather it.

Athenaeus in book fourteen of the Doctors at Dinner tells of a kind of food that was first discovered by the Thessalians but which was also a favourite in Athens when the city was under the control of the Macedonians. This food was called ματτύα in their language, from the Greek word μάττω, meaning 'to pound' or 'to soften.' It was then also called μάζα, and this too gave rise to a proverb: those who lived rather luxuriously were said Υπερμαζᾶν 'To eat too much barley-bread.' Later, the name ματτύα was given to every kind of food that was rich and luxurious, including fowl, fish, vegetables, and stuffings, and those who enjoyed this very pleasant way of life were said Ματτύαζειν 'To be mattya-eaters.' In support are cited verses from Alexis: 'Make preparations, set to the feast, λέπεσθε "husk nuts," and eat mattya.' But in Attic Greek λέπεσθαι is a verb used of those who indulge excessively in sex. This alludes, if I am not mistaken, to the fact that λεπίζω means deglubo 'peel off,' a word that has acquired an obscene meaning in Latin also; for λέπος means 'skin' in Greek. Anyone who wishes to discover more about mattya should read the end of book fourteen, which I have just cited. He will have his fill and more of mattya, so many sources does Athenaeus use to explain the meaning. In book four he also tells us that among the Spartans a dessert was called ματτύη. This was served at the end of an αἶκλον, a form of banquet, and these were also called ἐπαϊκλα. Martial mentions this food in book nine: 'Only mattya delight.'

Used as a common term of abuse for a gourmand and someone who was very fastidious about even the most trivial of things. Hesychius actually points out that[greek] means 'insignificant' in Greek. It is said to be a type of food. In the Greek Collections I find that [greek] either means 'very small' or is a type of measurement. Therefore[greek] fits those who try to save themselves money in even the most trivial things by cheating, being from [greek] and [greek] 'to produce, give birth,' unless you prefer to derive the second part from [greek] Aristophanes uses the word in the Clouds in a list of many epithets that he applies to a scoundrel. The scholiast explains it in several different ways, saying that the word is used of those who give short measure or of those who are mean and miserly, or of those who have silly ideas or who collect worthless objects - a sufficiently clear admission of his ignorance.

[greek] Another battle follows Marathon. Used when after one dangerous situation someone encounters another new one. Marathon is a place in Attica, famous for many disasters. A very fierce battle with the Persians took place there. Herodotus tells of it in book six. Similar to this is the proverb Mera [greek] 'After war there is upheaval.'

[greek], Don't ruin the music. This means that you should not say discordant words or try new-fangled things. Plutarch relates in his 'Sayings of Spartans' that Emerepes said this when he cut off two of the nine strings on the instrument of Phrynis, a musician, because he thought that seven were sufficient.

[greek], Craftier than a cuckoo. Said of those who shrewdly looked after their own interests. Taken from the nature of the bird, which lays its eggs in other birds' nests, especially those of doves. Pliny and Aristotle describe it in great detail.

[greek], To give the apples of the Hesperides as a gift. Said of someone giving splendid and magnificent presents. The story of the golden apples is well known. Our Maro seems to allude to it in his Eclogue: 'I have sent ten golden apples, I shall send you another ten tomorrow.'

[greek], Only Spartan women produce men. The strongest men were born in Sparta, where mothers brought up their sons very strictly. The origin of the proverb is an apophthegm of Gorgo, the Spartan wife of Leonidas. When a foreign women said to her, 'Only you Spartan women hold sway over men,' Gorgo replied, 'Yes, for only we produce men.' The story is told by Plutarch in his Life of Lycurgus.

[greek], To want myrtle. Said of some one seeking to be king or magistrate. For in antiquity, if we believe Suidas, leading men of the state were crowned with myrtle wreaths.

[greek], But God acts before the anchor is dropped. Said when something happens unexpectedly. It comes from sailing. When sailors are preparing to drop anchor as they are about to put into port, their ships are often driven back by the winds and pulled back into the middle of a storm.

[greek], Calauria for Delos. There is a story that Poseidon made an exchange with Leto: she gave him the island of Calauria and in return took possession of Delos; for giving him Taenaros she received Pytho. Calauria is a small island not far from Crete. In his 'Corinthian Matters' Pausanias tells us that Calauria was once sacred to Apollo, and Delos to Neptune, and that they exchanged these places. Strabo too mentions this in book eight. He says: Troezen was sacred to Poseidon (that is, Neptune). Consequently it was once called Posidonia. It occupies an elevated site about fifteen stades from the sea. The town itself is quite important. Near its port, called Pogon, lies Calauria, a small island, thirty stades in circumference. Here there was a sanctuary sacred to Neptune. The story is that this god made exchanges with Latona and Apollo. He received Calauria in return for Delos, and Taenarus for Pytho. Ephorus reports an actual oracle: 'It makes no difference whether you live on Delos or Calauria, or on lofty Pythos or windy Taenarus.' This was used proverbially whenever 'one hand washed the other' and one service was repaid by another.

[greek], Older than Codrus. About things that are ancient and worthy of admiration because of this. Codrus was a very ancient king of Attica whom we have mentioned elsewhere. Those who wished to be thought of as noble traced back their family to him.

[greek], A swallow will be miles ahead. Said when anyone wins by a huge margin; for [greek] is a Greek measure that is equivalent to sixty stades, as Herodotus thinks in book two. Hermogenes also informs us of this in his essay entitled On the Method of Cleverness, pointing out that it is an Egyptian word, just as parasang is a Persian one. Pliny, however, in book twelve, chapter fourteen, attributes forty stades to the schoenus, thus making it a distance of five miles. In book five, chapter ten, he writes that a schoenus is thirty stades in length. The difference seems to have arisen by a scribal error. I suspect, however, that in this expression [greek] 'swallow' should be understood to be the name of a man, mentioned elsewhere, who probably was outstanding as a fast runner.

Plautus in Comedy of Asses: 'It's an old saying, haggling is worth nothing.' It seems to be said about those who make promises for the future and do not offer ready cash. Gellius tells of Laberius using the very vulgar word cocio for what the early Romans called ariolator 'haggler.' In Plautus the expression is spoken by a bawd who declared that her hands had eyes and that they only believed what they saw. Others read coactio, but this is inadmissible metrically unless one elides the vowel [co'ctio]. From Festus Pompeius one can pretty well conjecture that coctio should be read. For he says that coctiones 'hagglers' received their name from cunctatio 'delaying' because when they were buying or selling merchandise they were very slow in finally reaching the proper price. Accordingly, the ancients customarily spelled the first syllable cu~ and not co-. This is supported, I believe, by what Seneca writes in book eleven of the Letters, arguing that one should not refrain from helping people because one sometimes encounters an ungrateful person.
Even after a bad harvest one must sow. Often the rich harvest of one year
restores all that had been lost through the persistent barrenness of infertile
soil. It is worthwhile experiencing ungrateful persons to find someone who is
grateful. No one has such a sure hand that he is not often deceived. Let them
wander so that they may get stuck sometimes. After shipwrecks, the seas are
put to the test again. A moneylender does not flee the forum because he sees
a coactor 'debt-collector' there. We shall soon waste away in idle leisure if we
avoid whatever harms us.
So much for Seneca. I leave it to scholars to decide whether or not coactor should be read in this place. From the etymology we should read cuntio or cunctio, or, with a change of letter, contio, if Festus Pompeius did not point out that coctio and cocio are the same. On the word arulator he agrees with Gellius, saying that cotio means the same as arulator: 'arulator is derived from the Greek [greek] "pick up" because he follows merchandise so as to pick up anything of value from whatever is dropped.'

[greek], You are not sailing at night. About a person who is not at all sure what course of action to follow. The reason is that sailors navigate more accurately at night-time, because of the stars, about which I have spoken elsewhere. Chrysippus is said to have removed the negative, saying [greek] 'You are sailing at night,' though the sense, in my opinion, remains the same. For why else should it have been mentioned here that Chrysippus had given the proverb without the negative? Surely both expressions are equally valid. And indeed, although the stars guide sailors at night, navigation is much more accurate during the day.

[greek] , Both the seeds of plants and the lifestyles of humans match their habitat. This is also included in the Collections of Greek proverbs. Otherwise I would not have included it. For my part I think that it originates in an apophthegm that Plutarch mentions. Just as grain degenerates into a different strain in some fields, because of the fault of the soil, so the natural disposition of humans varies according to the region in which they live. Mountain people are generally rough and cruel. Those who live by the sea are usually larcenous and pitiless. Plain-dwellers are gentle and kind. Herodotus, at the end of his final book, quite clearly states that this saying originated in a reply given by Cyrus to the Persians. After they acquired their empire, the Persians asked to be moved from the wild region in which they were then living to a more pleasant and more fruitful one. Cyrus granted their request, but he warned them to prepare after that to be slaves instead of rulers: 'Soft men spring from soft lands. For the same land cannot produce both rich harvests and outstanding warriors.'

[greek], The leash as well as the dog. This is the ending of a dactylic hexameter. Eudemus points out that it is said whenever everything is lost at the same time so that nothing at all remains, not even the hope of recovering what has been lost.

[greek], Look not just at my family background, but also at your own. In some tragedy when Agamemnon insults Teucer for being a bastard, Teucer throws back this reproach, since Agamemnon was descended from the effeminate Cleisthenes. It is foolish to insult someone with anything that can be hurled back at you. The adage is in Plutarch.

Theocritus in the Women of Syracuse:
Persephone, let there be but one master that we recognize.
This does not bother me. Watch out you do not level off what is empty.
A proverb seems to be present in the words [greek] 'Do not level off what is empty.' We must understand 'jaw,' 'hand,' or something similar. It seems to be spoken by someone who threatens or fears a blow or punch. I say this, for the meaning of the passage has not yet been made clear. We leave it therefore for scholars to unravel the meaning more carefully. The makers of moulds, who smear clay on an object they are replicating, are also said [greek] 'to smooth away' the clay. Some people often pretend to perform a service, as when they seem to be wiping away dirt from someone's cheek, but in fact are smearing the cheek with dirt without the other's being aware of it, so that he is like Bacchus as represented on stage, with his face smeared with gypsum and grape juice. However, the commentator, neither very learned nor attentive, prefers that a measure, perhaps a choinix, be understood. Whatever exceeds the measure is levelled off by wiping away the excess with a smooth stick. So the person who does this to a measuring pot that is not yet full, pretending that there is some excess, is being deceitful. The speaker means that she is not the man's serving woman to be rebuked by him. Angry masters cheat their slaves of their daily ration. If I am not mistaken, the woman's meaning is this: 'I am not worried that you level off my pot when it is empty.'

[greek], Yield since you are a dwarf. Said of very tiny people. For humans who are smaller than normal and of unbelievable shortness are called nani. Juvenal: 'We call a dwarf "Atlas."' The word vavos in Greek seems to come from [greek] 'not upwards' because a dwarf does not grow to any height. Theophrastus is cited as believing that those whose genitals were larger than normal were called nani. Probably this can be found to be true of such persons. The expression can be applied aptly to wretched persons who are poor and of low fortune, and, as Horace says, are 'twofooters,' trying to match their superiors in spending.

[greek], Bright at night, useless in daytime. Said of persons who do the opposite of what they should - those who are full of ideas when there is no need of them, but who doze off when there is. I myself, however, think that the saying is more suited to those who are thought to have some accomplishment in literature when in the company of the ignorant, but who are ignorant in the company of the learned. Or the proverb should be reversed: 'Bright in daylight, useless at night.' Taken from a precious stone that we have mentioned elsewhere.

[greek], You are gathering fruit from the garden of Tantalus. In other words, you are pursuing what does not exist or what you cannot enjoy. It will be appropriate to say this of those who are slaves to worldly pleasures. While they are enjoying such pleasures like drunkards, they think that they are extremely lucky. As soon as they have come to their senses, however, they are like those who have awakened and realize that all these pleasures are only the dreamlike creations of a quite irrational mind.

[greek], Poorer than Telenicus. His poverty was so notorious that the people of Seriphos fashioned a word after him; they say [greek] 'to do a Telenicos' for 'to empty one's bowels.'

[greek], An echo of Telenicus. It will be appropriate to describe the words of a fool in this way. For this is how the sound of empty barrels is described. The adjective is taken from the same Telenicus about whom we have just spoken. Plutarch, however, mentions among the witty sayings of Epaminondas a certain Tellen, a dreadful flute-player, who was very unlike Antigenidas. Let the reader judge therefore whether he prefers to derive the proverb from this person. And indeed I have spoken elsewhere about Tellen's songs.

[greek], More foolish than a terebinth tree. Directed at those who are stupid and very proud of themselves, since this tree spreads its branches far and wide, the characteristic of those who are arrogantly ostentatious. In addition the tree is marked by its black colour, thick foliage, sap that is oily and resinous, and it has a different appearance in different places. It brings forth its fruit at the same time as the vine, but produces a very different kind.

[greek], The walls of Semiramis. This was said of walls that could not be breached and were extremely well fortified. Ovid in the fourth book of the Metamorphoses: 'Where Semiramis is said / To have surrounded her city with walls of brick.'

[greek], To put a hand to. This was said of those who insinuated themselves into some important event and thereby shared in it. It is taken from ritual where it sometimes happened that when people were offering sacrifice someone else came up and put his hand on the victim so that he himself became part of the ritual.

[greek], He is his father's son. This is said when anyone imitates his father's traits; and in general we call anyone at all the son of a person whom he resembles in his traits, because almost always children remind one of their parents. Varro gave this title to one of his Menippeans, cited by Nonius Marcellus. Indeed the titles of Varro are usually proverbial. In his Aristides Philostratus mentions that a sophist used this proverb to impugn Alexander because he was imitating his father's ambition.

[greek], It's the dogs that eat cheap meat. Some people buy rotting meat to save some money. When no one touches the meat, it is kept to provide several meals for the dogs. This adage also smacks of the common herd of our own times.

[greek], Not even God pities the man who is rained upon in his own home. A common saying among the Greeks. The sense is that those who are so lazy that they cannot be safe from rain even in their own homes completely deserve their misfortune. Unless my nose completely deceives me, the proverb is 'of the same flour' as the previous one.

[greek], Theocrines, the tragic actor. Demosthenes used this adage against Aeschines. Theocrines was first of all an actor in tragedies, then a bringer of false accusations and an informer. Accordingly, in his speech In Defence of Ctesipho Demosthenes calls Aeschines 'A Theocrines, the tragic actor.' A speech of Demosthenes against this Theocrines survives, although some attribute it to Dinarchus. If I am not mistaken, St Jerome uses this proverb in his Letter to Furia on Widowhood: 'Whenever they saw a Christian, they immediately used that expression of the streets: "He's a Theocrines, the tragic actor."' They hurled this insult at Christians on the grounds that they feigned piety and censured in lofty terms how others lived.

[greek], A tragic misfortune. It will be applied to a great misfortune of the kind that is portrayed in tragedies; for these are not found in comedy. Quintilian says that there are two kinds of emotions. Some are rather fierce, and those are loved by tragedy. Some are milder, and comedy uses these. Indeed tragic emotions are called [greek] 'passions,' the emotions in comedy are called [greek] 'dispositions.' Tragedy always has a sad ending, comedy a happy one. Accordingly, Plautus, as cited by Festus Pompeius, used the word comoedice 'in the style of comedy' for suaviter 'pleasantly': Euge, heus astitisti et dulce et comoedice 'Hey there, bravo! Your posture is pleasant and in the style of comedy.'

[greek], You are blind in ear and mind and eye. This suits a person who is clearly stupid.

[greek], A blind dream. Said of something trifling and insubstantial; for some dreams prophesy something, some are meaningless. The same goes for lightning bolts that strike blindly.

[greek], I am not interested in asses. This fits a person who is content with his own household possessions and does not seek after what belongs to others; for those who have their own cart do not need the use of hired asses. We have cited the complete line elsewhere.

[greek], The vote of the majority prevails. Whenever in a council we yield to the majority. In his Letters Pliny complains that votes are counted, not weighed, and Livy says, The larger party defeated the better.'

[greek], Bitten by the bug. This is said of a woman who is just about to give birth. The metaphor is taken from figs that begin to mature after small gall-insects have entered them. We have explained this process in the proverb 'You need artificial fertilization.' It can be applied to someone who by his nature is strongly inclined to engage in some activity or another.

[greek], You are a supposititious child. Offspring that are not true offspring are called counterfeit or supposititious. On the basis of this the term is applied to a person who is not what he says he is and has been commissioned and suborned by someone for the purposes of deceit. Closely related to [greek] 'a counterfeit man.'

[greek], A man under the yoke. Of a man who does not do anything that he himself wants to do, but only what another person orders. Taken from animals that are yoked together. Pertinent to this are the following proverbial metaphors, mittere sub iugum 'to send under the yoke,' as in Horace: So Venus decrees; it pleases her in cruel jest To send under brazen yoke Unequal forms and minds. Also, deiicere iugum 'to cast off the yoke,' which Cicero used in his first Philippic; subducere collum iugo 'to draw the neck from the yoke,' as in Ovid: 'And draw your neck from the yoke that will hurt.' Also excutere iugum 'to shake off the yoke.'

[greek], As naked as a pestle. Said of those who are dreadfully poor. Related to [greek] 'As naked as a peg'; for the bark is removed from wooden pegs.

[greek], As bald as a pestle. Also a proverbial hyperbole, said of very bald persons; for the bottom part of a pestle seems to resemble a bald man's skull. It can also be applied to those who are in extreme want or those who are ingenuous and incapable of dissimulation.

[greek], Gold mixed with copper. An expression applied to a person who is completely insincere, openly displaying one attitude and concealing another within. Taken from debased coins.

[greek], You have given me none of the yolk. This suits perfectly those who give to others what is less valuable and keep what is more valuable for themselves. Marcus Tullius in book two of On Divination tells the following story and it is generally agreed that this proverb was borrowed from it. A certain man had dreamed that he saw an egg hanging from his bed tied to a ribbon. When he reported this dream to an interpreter, the reply was that the dream indicated a treasure. He should immediately dig at the spot where he dreamed he saw the egg. When he did so, he found gold completely covered all round with silver. He sent a little of the silver to the interpreter, concealing the discovery of gold. As the interpreter accepted the silver, he said, 'None of the yolk?'

[greek], Those who criticize their friends are not suited to friendship. To turn a blind eye to the faults of your friends, 'it's this joins friend to friend and keeps them joined.' The sentiment seems to have been taken from Herodotus. We would have a trimeter if we read [greek], but I do not understand the form [greek]. If we read [greek], we must add a particle and read [greek]. In this way the Greek line will scan: Qui querulus est amicitiae haud accommodus 'To criticize a friend ill makes a friend.'

[greek], Cleomenes is too big for his bed. About a person who has a greater abundance of what is unnecessary than of what is necessary. It is obviously derived from someone whose body was too large for the size of his bed. So also Juvenal: 'Codrus had a bed too small for Procula.'

[greek], Fine words, but the speaker cannot be believed. Used whenever anyone promises great things that no one thinks he can perform. Plutarch in 'Sayings of Kings and Generals' attributes the following words to Eudaemonidas. When he heard that someone (a Stoic, I believe) had said that only the sage was a good general, he retorted, '[greek] 'The words are wonderful to be sure, but the speaker has never had trumpets sounding around him.' Plutarch gives a fuller version in 'Sayings of Spartans': 'The words are wonderful, but the speaker cannot be believed; for he has never had trumpets sounding around him.' The adage will also suit theologians who give instruction on heavenly matters but whose mode of life does not match their words.

[greek], Each is both and Both is neither. This is like a riddle; Plutarch mentions it in the Moralia and it is to be found in the Greek epigrams. There were two brothers one of whom was called Each and the other Both, the former being honest, the latter a scoundrel. When Philip saw them he is said to have made this joke against them. The saying will fit two persons when the probity of one balances the villainy of the other.

'[greek], The speech has bones and muscle. Said of a speech that is not insubstantial, but has weighty proposals. This saying is attributed to Themistocles. It seems to have been taken from some poet, since it is an iambic dimeter. Quintilian also calls the subject matter the 'bones of a speech.' The metaphor is taken from the bodies of living beings. The body is supported by bones, bound together by sinews, and covered with flesh and skin; it coheres with the soul, and moves by propelling itself.

[greek], A river does not always bring axes. One should not immediately hope for the same good fortune that has befallen others. This originates in one of Aesop's fables. A certain man was cutting down a wood when his axe slipped out of his hands. Mercury was invoked and gave him a silver axe. When the man said that this was not his, Mercury gave him a golden one. When he said that this one too did not belong to him, Mercury finally restored the iron axe and gave him the others in addition. Another fellow, hoping for the same outcome, deliberately allowed his axe to slip away from him. After he had lost it and after Mercury had not appeared in answer to his prayers, he complained bitterly to the other man, who responded in this fashion: 'A river does not always bear axes.' This fable, however, is told differently in other collections, where Mercury did appear, brought forth a silver axe, and asked the man whether it was his. When he immediately said that it was, Mercury was angered by the man's shamelessness and did not restore even the iron one.

[greek], There is no dithyramb if he drinks water. There is no joy without wine. Poets' inspiration flags unless it is heated up by wine. This is why Horace says, 'By his praises of wine Homer is proved to be fond of wine,' and 'Father Ennius himself leapt forth to sing of epic battle only when drunk,' and 'No poetry can please for long or really live if written by drinkers of water.' In fact, as Plutarch relates in his 'Table-talk,' Aeschylus drank while he composed his tragedies. For the heat of wine summons up the power of invention (which sometimes languishes in abstainers), stirs imagination, gives forcefulness, supplies confidence. Plutarch adds that Gorgias was wrong in attributing Aeschylus' tragedy to Mars, since it ought to be credited more to Bacchus. Dithyrambs were sung in honour of Bacchus, who himself was called 'Dithyrambos' because he was born twice and, in a manner of speaking, came forth from two doors.

[greek], After misfortune wiser. Related to this is 'When a thing is done, a fool can see it.' Plato in the Symposium writes, 'I say this to you too, Agathon. Do not be deceived by this man, but learn from my misfortune and do not, as the proverb goes, be wise after misfortune, like a foolish man.' The saying will apply to someone who becomes more cautious because of his misfortune.

[greek], Poorer than Pauson. Pauson was some painter who was exceptionally poor, like Codrus in Juvenal. Aristophanes impugns him in the Plutus. When Poverty exclaimed, 'O city of Argos, heed what he says,' Chremylus replies, 'Invite Pauson to be your guest at table.'

[greek], He surpasses Hyperbolus. Hyperbolus was someone who was incredibly litigious. Consequently, the saying fits those who suffer from the same disease. Plutarch in his Life of Alcibiades, Thucydides in book eight of the Peloponnesian War, and Aristophanes in the Knights show that Hyperbolus was a most shameless man in all respects and that all he was distinguished for and competent in was abusive language. In addition, Marcus Tullius writes this about Saturninus in his book On Famous Orators: 'A fellow very like Hyperbolus, whose bad character is impugned in the old Attic comedies.' In addition to other remarks Aristophanes also writes this about Hyperbolus:
Hyperbolus, a shameless man and a sour-tempered, good-for-nothing citizen.

[greek], A pig when washed returns to the mudpile. Said when anyone repeats a crime for which he has already paid, as we have indicated elsewhere. It appears in the Epistles of Saint Peter. Related to this is what is found among the proverbs of Sirach, 'Wash after touching a corpse and then touch it again, and what have you gained by washing?'

[greek], The hypetes got a beating for the weaver's mistake. When someone pays for another's mistake. I have not yet discovered in our sources what a hypetes is.

[greek], Atraphaxis is full of lies. Said of those who are puffed up in pride and are full of wind. Atraphaxis is a kind of green vegetable that grows quickly to a great height. Its Latin name is atriplex, and it is related, if I am not mistaken, to the genus of the beet family, which also grows quickly, but is tasteless. This is what Theophrastus says in his History of Plants, book one, chapter five. The same plant is listed by the same author among those that make a quick appearance, namely on the eight day after being sown. Its stalk is quite large and thick, but it is also soft and fleshy. Suidas tells us that the expression was directed at Cleon, who was falsely accusing the knights in the assembly. When his listeners seemed to be believing him, the following words were said: 'The assembly is full of lying atraphaxis.' They were a rebuke aimed not only at the worthlessness of Cleon's accusations but also at the people's credulity. For it is a characteristic of calumny to elevate the slightest of misdeeds into the greatest tragedy. This is very much what Suidas writes on this saying. The adage was taken from the Knights of Aristophanes.

[greek], Land the plough punch, or, Punch the ploughshare. Spoken when we tell someone to fight with all his strength though he lacks skill. It is said to have sprung from a story like the one told by Pausanias in book two of 'On Elis.' When a certain Glaucus of Carystus was ploughing his land, the ploughshare happened to fall off. He lifted it up and fitted it onto the plough with his hand instead of with a hammer. After seeing this, his father Demylus entered him in the Olympic games, in the boxing competition. Glaucus was inexperienced in boxing skills, and was just about worn out from the shower of blows that he was suffering when his father shouted out, 'Land your plough punch.' He was advising his son to attack his opponent in the way he was accustomed to drive his ploughshare into the earth. These words restored the young man's spirits and he won the match. After this he also had two victories at the Pythian games, eight at the Nemean, and eight at the Isthmian. The source is Pausanias.

Those who attempt something secretly or cautiously or pedetemptim 'step by step,' as they say, are described as 'Walking on tiptoe.' The Greeks express this more pleasingly with a compound adverb [greek]. The following mean the same: suspenso gradu 'with pointed step' and suspensis pedibus 'on pointed feet.' Drawn from the posture of those who walk in such a way that no one may be aware of the sound of their feet or those who plant their feet cautiously and lightly on the ground beneath them because they do not trust it. Somewhat different is what we find in Plato in Laches, 'Not even touching it with the tip of their feet.' This relates to the adages 'To taste with the tip of one's tongue' and 'To touch with the fingertips.'

It is certainly proverbial hyperbole when those who seem to be far above the human condition and to be very close to the gods are said 'To touch the heavens with their finger.' Marcus Tullius in book two of Letters to Atticus: 'Our leading men think that they are touching heaven with their finger if in their pools they have bearded mullet that swim right up to their hand.' Related to that expression we have reported elsewhere, 'To be in heaven.' Similarly, Horace:
But if you place me among the lyric bards,
The stars I'll strike with lofty head.
Ovid: 'When him you please and touch the stars with head.' And in Theocritus in the Wayfarers: 'Since I have won the lamb, you will think I've reached the stars.' When Lysimachus had reached Thrace and had occupied only the outermost boundaries of Alexander's kingdom, he said, 'Now the Byzantines come to me since I touch heaven with my spear.' A Byzantian called Pasiades, who happened to be present, reproached this very arrogant remark by saying, 'Let us be off, in case the point of his spear pierces heaven.'

Often the ancients used to say as a joke that those who indulged in whoring and frequented brothels or those whose trade was pimping [greek] 'Played the Corinthian.' Nowadays Venice is the most profitable place for that trade. The expression originated with the courtesans of Corinth, about whom I have spoken at the appropriate place. For they were held in such great honour in that city that, as Athenaeus informs us from his sources, they prostituted themselves in the temple of Venus and in the solemn prayers a request for the gods to increase the number of courtesans was customarily added. Athenaeus actually says that by sacrificing to Venus the courtesans saved the city when it was in extreme danger, since Venus had been appeased. Stephanus mentions this proverb in About Cities, adducing the Cocalus of Aristophanes.

St Jerome in a letter to a young girl called Demetrias says, 'Some wretched parents, Christians but lacking true faith, customarily consign daughters who are ugly and lame to a life of virginity because they cannot find worthy sons-in-law. As the saying goes, "If glass is worth that much, what price pearls?"' He employs the same proverb in several other places. It is also used by Tertullian in his essay To the Martyrs. This saying expressed the greatest possible difference in value that two things could have. Among gems pearls used to be accorded the highest praise, while glass was very cheap, even though to some extent it resembles gems. If you are so devoted in your concern about your physical health, how much attention should be given to the health of your soul? If you do everything to please a mortal Prince, how much more should you strive to please the Divine Prince? If wealth that is procured at the cost of so much sweat will be lost by being spent or stolen, why do we not apply ourselves even more strenuously to heaping up the riches of heaven? The proverb will be appropriate in these and similar circumstances.

In the commentary that he published on the Gospel according to Luke St Ambrose used a rather witty adage to signify that the problem of the genealogy of Christ, which is reported differently by the gospel writers, cannot be resolved. 'In our discussion we have come,' he says, 'to the edge of a precipice. We are stuck in shallow waters.' The metaphor of course is taken from a ship that has run aground on shallows and cannot be turned around and cannot hold the course that was set, as happens to those who encounter sandbanks or reefs. A proverb of this kind is expressed by Cicero in book five of On the Definitions of Good and Evil: 'He came to the edge; he is stuck fast on a reef.' Similarly, elsewhere in the same work: 'If he could have done his definitions and divisions, if he had retained the forcefulness of speaking or held to his normal practice, he would never have landed on such salebrae "obstacles."' Salebrae are obstacles in rivers or on roads, called this from saltus 'jolt.' Cicero expressed the same idea with a similar metaphor: 'The water is blocked.' For this is what he writes to his brother Quintus: 'In this case the water is blocked for me,' meaning that no progress has been made in the case. I suspect that this was usually said about a case that was to be continued later. Just as water is not poured into a water-clock until one is about to speak and it is not permitted to speak after the water-clocks are drained, so an orator's speech can only be interrupted and resumed when the remaining water in the clock is preserved. Plautus in Pseudolus: 'I'm done for. Now the fellow's wallowing in mud. / He doesn't know the name. This affair is stuck.'

'[greek], To plough among the stubble. Said of those who never rest from labour and thereby exhaust their mental faculties. Or of those who never stop begging friends to give them something. The metaphor is taken from excessively greedy farmers who never allow their fields to rest but drain all the good out of the soil by continuous cultivation, sowing anew immediately after the harvest. Suidas cites this from Lysias.

[greek], I shall be more silent than those who have consecrated themselves to Pythagoras. It is customarily used of those who are extremely taciturn. Taken from the school of Pythagoras in which a five years' silence was imposed on his disciples. This is called [greek], from the fact that they [greek] 'restrain' their [greek] 'speech.' Suidas reports it as a proverb, as does Zenodotus in his Collection.

[greek]., A francolin's new moon. The proverb is reported by Suidas, but is not explained. However, it can be readily conjectured from the different passages where it occurs that it was directed at a crowd of worthless and low-born persons. The francolin is a marsh bird, distinctive because of the multicoloured marks on its plumage. Because of this slaves who were branded and whose backs had different-coloured patches from the weals left by beating were called francolins. The new moon, which the Greeks call the beginning of the month since they do not have a Kalends, was a time when slaves were torn apart as punishment in Athens and when levies of soldiers were held.

In book six of his Letters to Atticus Marcus Tullius refers to the following senarii as if they were proverbial: [greek] 'Many are the waves that the South wind stirs up / In the middle of the broad sea.' The meaning is that Atticus is far away. One can stretch the use of the expression to mean also that a situation is still far from being dangerous.

Marcus Tullius points out that what Terence said in the Eunuch, 'Though alive and seeing, I am done for,' was used proverbially. For this is what he writes in his speech For Sextius: 'That wretched Cyprian, who has always been our friend and ally and of whom no harsh suspicion has ever reached the senate or our generals, "Alive and seeing," as the saying goes, has had everything confiscated with fare and finery.' St Jerome also uses it in some passages. In fact cum victu suo ac vestitu 'with fare and finery' also has the flavour of a proverb.

In his dialogue On Friendship Marcus Tullius writes, 'For that is a shrewd proverb of Cato's: "Some people are much better served by bitter enemies than by friends who only seem sweet."' I certainly admit that this is a quite splendid sentiment, but I would deny that it is a proverb. First of all, it does not have the appearance of a proverb. Secondly, proverbs are popular sayings, not just peculiar to any particular person. I think, therefore, that we should read scitum est enim illud Catonis or scitum est enim illud verbum Catonis 'for those are shrewd words of Cato.' We thought, however, that it should be included in case anyone thought we had overlooked it through carelessness.

Aelian tells us that there were once huge animals in Samos (they are called neades) that could break open the earth with the sound they made. From this originated a proverb directed at persons who were very noisy and excessively talkative. They were said to shatter doorposts and columns. Virgil uses it against Philistus, who was always carping and criticizing him. So also Juvenal:
Fronto's plane trees and tormented statues echo with the sound,
[And columns are shattered by the never-ending recitations.]

Λαγώου βίον ζῆν, To live the life of a hare, is said of those who live their lives in great anxiety and trepidation. For this animal, an easy prey for all others, even sleeps with its eyes open. Demosthenes Against Aeschines: 'You lived the life of a hare, fearful and trembling and always expecting to be whipped.' Plutarch used it in his essay 'On Love of Riches,' which we translated into Latin some time ago. Athanasius wrote λαγωῶν δειλότεροι 'more cowardly than hares,' in his first Apology. In Strabo too: 'As timid as Phrygian hares,' of which I have spoken elsewhere at the appropriate point.

[greek], The conquered are bound by silence. In his essay entitled 'How One can Profit from Enemies' Plutarch cites this from Pindar. It is similar to what we have reported elsewhere, 'Losers must expect to suffer.' [greek] is a splendid word to use when anyone does not dare to make a sound. From the verb [greek] 'to grunt, grumble,' of which I have spoken more than once.

[greek], The look of Thersites. Usually spoken of someone unbelievably ugly, because Homer wrote that Thersites had been the most unsightly of all who had come to Troy. He describes the man from head to feet, as they say, so graphically (and not just his physical flaws but also his moral deficiencies) that one can say that in him a very foul character had a worthy home. The passage in Homer Iliad book two is too well known to be worth citing here. The proverb will have more appeal if you give it a moral application and say of someone who is handsome, but decadent, 'To look at his body, he is Nireus; to look at his character, you will find he surpasses "The look of Thersites."' Suidas mentioned the adage.

[greek], Jay-bearer, seems to be a common term of abuse directed at someone of the lowest rank who is living in the most despicable circumstances. For Demosthenes in his speech For Ctesipho says that old women addressed Aeschines by this word as well as by [greek] 'basket-bearer' because he used to carry jays and winnowing baskets on his head. For jays were used in the Bacchanalian rites since this bird was sacred to Bacchus, and a winnowing basket was used in all mystery rites. Accordingly, Maro writes 'and the mystic basket of Bacchus.'

'To have ready cash' may have the status of a proverb if applied metaphorically to mental abilities. Octavius Augustus, for example, as Seneca relates, declared of the orator Vinitius that he had wits like ready cash because when he was pleading cases he had the quickest intellect. Whatever would occur to others only after long thought would strike him the moment he applied his mind to the problem. The phrase was taken from those who liquidated their possessions, that is, changed them to ready cash. Quintilian in his sixth book says, 'Of an orator speaking off the cuff it used to be said that his wits were like ready cash.' See the proverb 'You talked as easily as 1 2 3.'

'Everyone is valued according to his possessions.' Horace wrote this in his first satire. 'He says, "I never have enough, because one is only as influential as what one is worth."' So also Juvenal in his third satire: 'A man's word is believed in proportion to the amount of cash he keeps in his strong-box.' I would not have counted this as a proverb for fear that someone might cry out that I had been gathering maxims, not proverbs. St Augustine, however, specifically cited it as a proverb in his book On Christian Teaching. He says, 'Whence arose also that proverb: "You will be as influential as what you are worth."' And yet Horace too shows quite clearly that the sentiment was commonly expressed by his words that precede it: 'But a large number of people, deceived by false cupidity.' Apuleius also uses it in his Apology: 'You are truly only as great as what you are worth.' It seems to have come into common parlance from Euripides, among whose verses Seneca includes this one: Vbique tanti quisque, quantum habuit,fuit 'Everywhere, each was only as influential as what he was worth.'

This means 'to delete completely,' so that not the slightest trace of what was originally written remains. Taken from those who write on wax tablets. Their practice is sometimes to invert their stilus and draw it over the top level of the wax in such a way that some traces of the former writing remain. Sometimes they erase it completely. St Jerome to Chrysogenus: 'You have so completely forgotten our friendship that you have erased that letter said by the Apostle to be written in the hearts of Christians, not changing it to a slight extent but, as the saying goes, erasing it down to the bottom of the wax.' The proverb will be suitable when friends or former circumstances are completely forgotten, or in some similar situation.

[greek], Press your swollen foot with a thin hand. This is how in his poem entitled Works and Days Hesiod described poverty, in a kind of riddle. For the hands become thin through hunger, while the feet swell up through cold. The poem reads as follows: 'May the hard times of winter not find you resourceless, / And may you not press your swollen foot with a thin hand.' It will be more attractive if it is used in a more metaphorical sense - to saving money for old age or something similar.

Quite close in sense to this is what is said in the same work, [greek] 'Summer will not last forever; make your nests.' We shall not always be young and strong. Prepare for your old age. Or, good fortune will not last forever; fortify your mind with the tenets of philosophy so that you shrug off adversity. Cato too advises farmers to think how long winter lasts. There is the well-known fable about the ants that chastized the cicada for having idled away the whole summer doing nothing except singing and for having to beg in winter because of this. The proverb should have been inscribed on young men's caps. For its advice is that for our old age we should acquire not only money but also learning, virtue, and a good reputation, the best means of support when we are old.

Hesiod described poverty in the same work, using a similar metaphor: [greek] 'When the boneless one eats its own feet.' He uses the term exossis 'the boneless one' for the sea-polypus because it has no bones. Some believed that the polypus gnawed its limbs when it did not have food, for it is very greedy. Pliny, however, thinks that shellfish do this to it; but he believes that the limbs grew back again, like lizards' tails, after they had been cut off. Alcaeus, cited in book seven of Athenaeus: 'I am devouring myself like a polypus.' Accordingly, the polypus was also called 'self-devourer.' But Athenaeus also rejects this belief.

What Hesiod wrote in the same work, entitled Works and Days, is as like a proverb 'As one egg is like another': [greek] 'A hundred planks are needed to make a wagon.' It will be appropriate to use this to point out that what we are being asked for costs a great deal. For it is easy for us to use other persons' goods without reckoning how much they cost the lender. This is what Hesiod's poem says:
It is easy to say, 'Lend me your oxen and your cart.'
It is easy to say, 'No. My bulls have much work to do.'
The wise man undertakes to build a wagon,
The foolish man does not know that it is built from a hundred planks.
And so whenever someone needs different kinds of help for what he is undertaking, for example, holding a magistracy, writing a book, composing a public address, setting up house, travelling abroad in distant lands, it will be quite appropriate for us to use Hesiod's phrase, 'A wagon has a hundred planks.'

What is in the same work by the same author also has the appearance of a proverb: '[greek] 'You should cast out spiders' webs from your pots.' Even today we indicate poverty and emptiness in this way. Similarly, Catullus: 'For the purse of your friend Catullus is full of spiders' webs.' Nowadays, there is no more common expression than this one. Lucian in Pseudologista: 'Stuffed full of rotting matter and spiders' webs.'

[greek], Surrounding walls. Plutarch in his 'Table-talk,' in the seventh decade and fifth problem, says that this was a proverb used by women to mean something was being kept secret, obviously because walls keep away witnesses and listeners. He says, however, that the pleasures and amusements of upright men ought to be such that they have no need of the protection of walls. One may use this expression to mean that some wondrous thing is being devised in secret and that because of this other persons are trying to find out about it.

In the same work, in the second problem, Plutarch tells us that persons who are very stern and fierce and of harsh character are accustomed to be called [greek], a word that is not very easily translated into Latin. The metaphor is taken from agriculture when seeds drop on the horns of bulls before falling onto the earth. These seeds are named [greek], from their striking ([greek]) against horns ([greek]). Such seeds are said to be much harder than all others. Consequently, they are also called [greek] 'hard.' The author of the Etymologicon says that this word was used only once by Plato and that it was taken from legumes that neither fire nor water could soften. We see some things of this kind, small and black, mingled with legumes. The passage occurs in Plato, book nine of On the Laws. In this passage indeed the translator appears not to have known what [greek] are. For he translates the word as 'legumes hardened by being struck with lightning,' as if the word were [greek]. Furthermore, Plutarch gives the reason why seeds that strike against the horns of oxen either come to nothing or turn out drier and harder. Those seeds that the earth nurtures immediately after receiving them from a warm hand are helped because of the heat that is good for seeds. But those that are dashed on horns seem to have been scattered rather than planted; they become chilled because they do not immediately enter the soil. Theophrastus doubts whether what the farmers say about cerasbola is worth anything.

[greek], Politics instruct a man. It means that no one can be equipped to do anything unless he has been trained for it by experience. Plutarch cites it from Simonides, though it is only half of a dactylic hexameter. However long you have lived in the countryside, you will not become suited for administering affairs of the state unless you have spent your life in the forum, in the senate house, in the packed assembly. In Plato Socrates alluded to this when he replied to an invitation to visit beautiful areas in the country; he said that he was eager to learn, but trees do not teach one anything.

In his 'Civil Precepts' Plutarch cites from Euripides the following senarius, clearly proverbial: [greek] 'Although you are a carpenter, you do not work in wood.' This will suit persons who attempt something for which they are unsuited, either through lack of training or inappropriate nature. For example, if someone who is inarticulate and untrained in the arts of persuasion undertakes the role of an ambassador, or if a careless person manages the household expenses, or if an old or weak man joins the army, or if a priest engages in hunting or if a Scotist in rhetoric. Those words of Horace, tractant fabrilia fabri 'artisans work the material for which they are trained,' apparently based on this verse of Euripides, have been proverbial for a long time now.

[greek], To mix fire with water. This proverb ought also to be included among those indicating what is impossible. In his essay entitled 'On Primordial Cold,' where Plutarch is eager to prove that coldness is a property of water rather than of air, he adduces the evidence of this proverb. Water fights with fire in both its properties; for the hot and the dry fight with the moist and the cold. In the same passage he says that it was a Persian custom for supplicants to go into a river carrying fire and to threaten to hurl the fire into the water if they were not given what they sought. In this way they certainly got what they wanted, but they were punished because they had threatened to do what was contrary to nature. For water is the enemy of fire and always extinguishes it. Among nonGreeks this mode of supplication was thought to carry most weight and one where it would not be proper to refuse the request. Marcus Tullius in the thirteenth Philippic: 'Wave and flame will sooner be reconciled.' Again, 'Sooner will wave and flame, as some poet said, sooner will all elements be in harmony than the republic will be reconciled with men like Antony or men like Antony with the republic.'

[greek], As if from a watch-tower. A simile used proverbially when anyone examines something in its entirety from every angle. For it is most advantageous to look at all things from a height, since nothing stands in the way to impede one's view. Plutarch uses it in his essay entitled 'On the Fortune of the Romans.'

[greek], As if in a cup of friendship. This simile is also proverbial. By it we shall show that situations once racked by disorder are now settled and calmed down and that previous enemies are reconciled in friendship. The glass that everyone stretches out to each other at banquets is called the cup of friendship, a symbol and pledge of amity. An example is when a man who was betrothing his daughter proffered the cup of friendship to his future son-in-law, after first taking a sip. The Scythians too used to seal friendships, to which they were extremely devoted, by a cup of wine, as Lucian attests in On Friendship. Even Christ himself, Prince of our religion, consecrated the mystery of his love for his followers with a cup.

[greek], You have come too late. This fits those who undertake something after the appropriate time, like someone whose desires have been cooled by old age preparing to marry or someone starting to learn new languages when he is quite old. It originated with the oracle that the Pythian priestess gave to a man who consulted her on whether he ought to enter politics. 'You have come too late in consulting me about high political office and administering the state, and you knock on the door at a time unsuited for war.' Plutarch mentions it in his essay entitled 'Ought an Older Man to Enter Politics?'

St Jerome, replying to Rufinus: 'In this way you should censure the prefaces of books unknown to you whose future charges you have foreseen, thus fulfilling the proverb "Antidote before poison."' You need to understand 'take' with the proverb. It can be appropriately used whenever someone clears himself of a charge that has not yet been laid against him. For an antidote is given to combat poison. No one takes it unless he has tasted poison. There are some, however, who fortify themselves in advance through antidotes so that any poison that they may perchance take will not do them any harm. We read that Mithridates did this.

Even in our times there is the proverb 'As mute as a statue.' Directed at a person who is extremely tongue-tied and taciturn. Horace used this hyperbole in his Letter to Julius Florus: 'He emerges mute as a statue for the most part and makes the people shake with laughter.' Similarly, Juvenal describes a man who is rich but cannot speak publicly and is unlettered as being like a statue of Mercury: 'Very like a limbless Hermes.' There is a similar form of the proverb in St Chrysostom in his sixth book About Priesthood, used of someone slow and stupid: 'Then, as we Greeks are wont to say, he will be no different from statues.' We have spoken of this on another occasion as well. Xenophon in his Symposium: 'Their voices were more inaudible than those of stone statues.' Statues often have the appearance of wise and eloquent men, but they themselves can say nothing.

In his work entitled 'The Philosopher Ought to Argue with Princes' Plutarch mocks those who would make two kinds of philosophy, one situated in the mind that originated with Mercury Hegemon, that is, 'Mercury the Leader,' the other based on utterance that was granted generously by Mercury Diactoros, that is, 'Mercury the Messenger.' He says, 'It's worthless and out of date; that saying should be applied to it, [greek] "I knew this before Theognis was born."' He also uses this proverb to refute the same belief in his work entitled 'Why the Pythia No Longer Gives Oracles in Verse,' citing it from some writer of comedy.2 In his first book of Attic Nights, chapter 3, Aulus Gellius cites from Lucilius: 'Cicero says, "Arms ought not to be taken up for a friend against one's country." To be sure, everyone knew this, even, as Lucilius says, "before Theognis was born."' There can be no doubt that this senarius is proverbial, used to indicate something that was trivial and foolish. It apparently refers to Theognis, a writer of tragedies, whose style was extremely frigid, according to Suidas and, if I am not mistaken, Plato. I give this informationas there was also another writer of this name whose aphorisms survive.