id="Page_7"/>[7] 7. Archestratus the Syracusan or Geloan, in his work to which Chrysippus gives the title of Gastronomy, but Lynceus and Callimachus of Hedypathy, that is Pleasure, and which Clearchus calls Deipnology, and others Cookery, (but it is an epic poem, beginning,

says,

But he does not know that at the feast recorded by Plato there were eight and twenty guests present.

says Antiphanes; and he adds—

and always

8.

says the bard of Syracuse.[7:1] So that it is not easy to put all sorts of things on the table at one time; but it is easy to talk of all kinds of subjects at any time. Other men have written descriptions of feasts; and Tinachidas of Rhodes has done so in an epic poem of eleven books or more; and Numenius the Heraclean, the pupil of Dieuchas the physician; and Metreas of Pitane, the man who wrote parodies; and Hegemon of Thasos, surnamed Phacè, whom some men reckon among the writers of the Old Comedy. And Artemidorus, the false Aristophanes, collected a number of sayings relating to cookery. And Plato, the comic writer, mentions in his Phaon the banquet of Philoxenus the Leucadian.

And presently he says:—

And presently again:—

9. And it is from this Philoxenus that the Philoxenean cheesecakes are named; and Chrysippus says of him, "I know an epicure, who carried his disregard of his neighbours to such an extent, that he would at the bath openly put in his hand to accustom it to the warm water, and who would rinse out his mouth with warm water, in order to be less affected by heat. And they said that he used to gain over the cooks to set very hot dishes before him, so that he might have them all to himself, as no one else could keep up with him. And they tell the same story about Philoxenus of Cythera, and about Archytas, and many more, one of whom is represented by Cromylus, the comic writer, as saying:—

[9] But Clearchus says that Philoxenus would, after he had bathed, both when in his own country and in other cities, go round to men's houses, with his slaves following him, carrying oil, and wine, and pickle juice, and vinegar, and other condiments; and that so, going into other persons' houses, he would season what was dressed for them, putting in whatever was requisite; and then, when he had finished his labours, he would join the banquet. He, having sailed to Ephesus, finding the market empty, asked the reason; and learning that everything had been bought up for a wedding feast, bathed, and without any invitation went to the bridegroom's house, and then after the banquet he sang a wedding song, which began—

in such a manner as to delight every one, for he was a dithyrambic poet. And the bridegroom said, "Philoxenus, are you going to dine here to-morrow?" "Certainly," said he, "if no one sells any meat in the market."

10. But Theophilus says:—"We should not act like Philoxenus, the son of Eryxis; for he, blaming, as it seems, the niggardliness of nature, wished to have the neck of a crane for the purposes of enjoyment. But it would be better still to wish to be altogether a horse, or an ox, or a camel, or an elephant; for in the case of those animals the desires and pleasures are greater and more vehement; for they limit their enjoyments only by their power. And Clearchus says that Melanthius did pray in this way, saying, "Melanthius seems to have been wiser than Tithonus; for this last, having desired immortality, is hung up in a basket; being deprived of every sort of pleasure by old