§54ἑπτὰ γοῦν καὶ πλείους εἰσκομίζονται τράπεζαι, πλήρεις ἁπάντων ὅσα γῆ τε καὶ θάλαττα καὶ ποταμοὶ καὶ ἀὴρ φέρουσιν ἔκλογα πάντα καὶ εὔσαρκα, χερσαίων, ἐνύδρων, ἀεροπόρων, ὧν ἑκάστη διαλλάσσει καὶ ταῖς παρασκευαῖς καὶ ταῖς παραρτύσεσιν.
Indeed, seven or more tables are brought in, full of all the choice and fleshy things that earth, sea, rivers, and air produce, of land, water, and air, each of which differs both in its preparation and in its seasoning.
ὑπὲρ δὲ τοῦ μηδὲν εἶδος ἀπολειφθῆναι τῶν ἐν τῇ φύσει, τελευταῖαι τῶν ἀκροδρύων εἰσκομίζονται γέμουσαι, δίχα τῶν εἰς τοὺς κώμους καὶ τὰς λεγομένας ἐπιδειπνίδας.
And so that no kind of things in nature should be left out, at the end tables full of autumn fruits are brought in, apart from those intended for the revels and the so-called after-dinners.
§55εἶτα αἱ μὲν ἐκκομίζονται κεναὶ διὰ τὴν τῶν παρόντων ἀπληστίαν, οἳ τρόπον αἰθυιῶν ἐμφορούμενοι κατοψοφαγοῦσιν οὕτως, ὡς καὶ τῶν ὀστέων ἐπεντραγεῖν, τὰς δὲ λωβήσαντες καὶ σπαράξαντες ἡμιβρώτους ἐῶσιν.
Then some are carried out empty because of the greediness of those present, who, filling themselves in the manner of cormorants, devour them in such a way as to crunch even the bones, while others they leave half-eaten, having mangled and torn them to pieces.
ὅταν δὲ τελέως ἀπαγορεύσωσι, τὰς μὲν γαστέρας ἄχρι φαρύγγων πεπληρωμένοι, κενοὶ δὲ πρὸς τὰς ἐπιθυμίας, ἀπειρηκότες πρὸς τὰς ἐδωδάς, * * * ἀλλὰ τί ταῦτα προσῆκε μηκύνειν, §56ἃ παρὰ πολλοῖς ἤδη τῶν μετριωτέρων καταγινώσκεται προσαναρρηγνύντα τὰς ἐπιθυμίας, ὧν ἡ μείωσις ὠφέλιμον;
And when they have completely given up, their bellies filled up to their throats, yet empty in respect to their desires, exhausted as to eating... but why is it necessary to spin out these details, which are already condemned by many of the more moderate men as provoking the desires, the reduction of which is beneficial?
εὔξαιτο γὰρ ἄν τις τὰ ἀπευκταιότατα, πεῖνάν τε καὶ δίψαν, μᾶλλον ἢ τὴν ἐν ταῖς τοιαύταις εὐωχίαις ἄφθονον σιτίων καὶ ποτῶν περιουσίαν.
For one might pray for the most deprecable things, hunger and thirst, rather than the abundant superfluity of food and drink in such banquets.
§57Τῶν ἐν τῇ Ἑλλάδι συμποσίων τὰ περιβόητα καὶ σημειωδέστατα δύο ταῦτά ἐστιν, οἷς καὶ Σωκράτης παρετύγχανε· τὸ μὲν ἐν Καλλίου, ἡνίκα στεφανωθέντος Αὐτολύκου τὰ ἐπινίκια εἱστία, τὸ δὲ ἐν Ἀγάθωνος, ἃ καὶ μνήμης ἠξίωσαν ἄνδρες τά τε ἤθη καὶ τοὺς λόγους φιλόσοφοι, Ξενοφῶν τε καὶ Πλάτων·
These are the two most celebrated and remarkable banquets in Greece, at which Socrates also was present; the one in the house of Callias, when he hosted the victory celebration for Autolycus after he was crowned, and the other in the house of Agathon, which men who were philosophers both in their characters and in their discourses, Xenophon and Plato, deemed worthy of memory.
ἀνεγράψαντο γὰρ ὡς ἀξιομνημόνευτα, οἷς ὑπετόπασαν χρήσεσθαι παραδείγμασι τοὺς ἔπειτα τῆς ἐν συμποσίοις ἐμμελοῦς διαγωγῆς.
For they recorded them as memorable, supposing that future generations would use them as examples of a harmonious conduct in banquets.
§58ἀλλ’ ὅμως καὶ ταῦτα συγκρινόμενα τοῖς τῶν ἡμετέρων, οἳ τὸν θεωρητικὸν ἠσπάσαντο βίον, γέλως ἀναφανεῖται.
But nevertheless, even these, when compared to the banquets of our people who have embraced the contemplative life, will appear as a laughing-stock.
ἡδονὰς μὲν οὖν ἔχει ἑκάτερον, ἀνθρωπικώτερον δέ ἐστι τὸ Ξενοφῶντος· αὐλητρίδες τε καὶ ὀρχησταὶ καὶ θαυματοποιοὶ καὶ ποιηταὶ γελοίων ἐπὶ τῷ σκῶψαι καὶ χαριεντίσασθαι μέγα φρονοῦντές εἰσί τινες καὶ ἄλλα τῶν ἐν ταῖς ἱλαρωτέραις ἀνέσεσι.
To be sure, each has its pleasures, but that of Xenophon is more human; there are flute-girls, dancers, jugglers, and writers of jokes who pride themselves on scoffing and witticism, and other things belonging to more cheerful relaxations.
§59τὸ δὲ Πλατωνικὸν ὅλον σχεδόν ἐστι περὶ ἔρωτος, οὐκ ἀνδρῶν γυναιξὶν ἐπιμανέντων ἢ γυναικῶν ἀνδράσιν αὐτὸ μόνον — ὑποτελοῦσι γὰρ αἱ ἐπιθυμίαι αὗται νόμοις φύσεως —, ἀλλὰ ἀνδρῶν ἄρρεσιν ἡλικίᾳ μόνον διαφέρουσι·
But the Platonic one is almost entirely about love, not only of men madly in love with women, or women with men — for these desires pay tribute to the laws of nature — but of men for males differing only in age.
καὶ γὰρ εἴ τι περὶ ἔρωτος καὶ Ἀφροδίτης οὐρανίου κεκομψεῦσθαι δοκεῖ, χάριν ἀστεϊσμοῦ παρείληπται.
For even if anything seems to have been elegantly said about celestial love and Aphrodite, it has been introduced for the sake of polite wit.
§60τὸ γὰρ πλεῖστον αὐτοῦ μέρος ὁ κοινὸς καὶ πάνδημος ἔρως διείληφεν, ἀνδρείαν μέν, τὴν βιωφελεστάτην ἀρετὴν κατὰ πόλεμον καὶ κατ’ εἰρήνην, ἀφαιρούμενος, θήλειαν δὲ νόσον ταῖς ψυχαῖς ἐναπεργαζόμενος καὶ ἀνδρογύνους κατασκευάζων, οὓς ἐχρῆν πᾶσι τοῖς πρὸς ἀλκὴν ἐπιτηδεύμασι συγκροτεῖσθαι.
For the common and vulgar love has claimed the greatest part of it, taking away courage, the virtue most useful for life in war and in peace, and producing a feminine disease in souls, rendering those as androgynous who ought to be trained in all practices leading to valor.
§61λυμηνάμενος δὲ τὴν παιδικὴν ἡλικίαν καὶ εἰς ἐρωμένης τάξιν καὶ διάθεσιν ἀγαγὼν ἐζημίωσε καὶ τοὺς ἐραστὰς περὶ τὰ ἀναγκαιότατα, σῶμα καὶ ψυχὴν καὶ οὐσίαν·
Having ruined the age of boyhood and reduced them to the rank and condition of a beloved girl, it has also damaged the lovers in their most essential parts, body, soul, and property.
ἀνάγκη γὰρ τοῦ παιδεραστοῦ τὸν μὲν νοῦν τετάσθαι πρὸς τὰ παιδικά, πρὸς ταῦτα μόνον ὀξυδορκοῦντα, πρὸς δὲ τὰ ἄλλα πάντα ἴδιά τε καὶ κοινὰ τυφλούμενον, τὸ δὲ σῶμα ὑπὸ τῆς ἐπιθυμίας, καὶ μάλιστα εἰ ἀποτυγχάνοιτο, συντήκεσθαι, τὴν δὲ οὐσίαν ἐλαττοῦσθαι διχόθεν, ἔκ τε ἀμελείας καὶ τῶν εἰς τὸν ἐρώμενον ἀναλωμάτων.
For of necessity, the mind of the pederast is stretched towards his favorite, having sharp sight for this alone, but being blind to all other things, both private and public; his body is wasted by desire, especially if he should fail; and his property is diminished in two ways, both by neglect and by expenses lavished on the beloved.
§62παραφύεται δὲ καὶ μεῖζον ἄλλο πάνδημον κακόν· ἐρημίαν γὰρ πόλεων καὶ σπάνιν τοῦ ἀρίστου γένους ἀνθρώπων καὶ στείρωσιν καὶ ἀγονίαν τεχνάζονται, οἳ μιμοῦνται τοὺς ἀνεπιστήμονας τῆς γεωργίας, σπείροντες ἀντὶ τῆς βαθυγείου πεδιάδος ὑφάλμους ἀρούρας ἢ λιθώδη καὶ ἀπόκροτα χωρία, ἃ πρὸς τῷ μηδὲν πεφυκέναι βλαστάνειν καὶ τὰ καταβληθέντα φθείρει σπέρματα.
And another still greater common evil grows up besides; for they scheme for the depopulation of cities, the scarcity of the best class of men, and barrenness and childlessness, imitating those unskilled in agriculture, sowing, instead of the deep-soiled plain, salty fields or stony and rugged places, which, in addition to being by nature incapable of growing anything, also destroy the seeds cast into them.
§63σιωπῶ τὰ τῶν μύθων πλάσματα καὶ τοὺς δισωμάτους, οἳ κατ’ ἀρχὰς προσφύντες ἀλλήλοις ἑνωτικαῖς δυνάμεσιν αὖθις οἷα μέρη συνεληλυθότα διεζεύχθησαν, τῆς ἁρμονίας ὑφ’ ἧς συνείχοντο λυθείσης·
I keep silent about the fictions of myths and the double-bodied creatures who, having originally grown together by unifying powers, were afterwards divided like parts that had come together, when the harmony by which they were held together was dissolved.
εὐπαράγωγα γὰρ ταῦτα πάντα, δυνάμενα τῇ καινότητι τῆς ἐπινοίας τὰ ὦτα δελεάζειν· ὧν ἐκ πολλοῦ τοῦ περιόντος οἱ Μωυσέως γνώριμοι, μεμαθηκότες ἐκ πρώτης ἡλικίας ἐρᾶν ἀληθείας, καταφρονοῦσιν ἀνεξαπάτητοι διατελοῦντες.
For all these things are easily misleading, capable of enticing the ears by the novelty of the invention; which the disciples of Moses, out of their great abundance, having learned from their earliest youth to love truth, look down upon, continuing undeceivable.