Pindar and Anacreon/Anacreon/Ode 57

by Anacreon

ODE LVII.—THAT MODERATION ENHANCES ENJOYMENT.

Haste! haste thee, boy, and bring the bowl,
To quench this fever of the soul;
The copious stream with skill combine,
Add ten parts water, five of wine;^[1]

The cooling draught will thirst assuage,
Nor in the breast too fiercely rage.
Oh cease, my friends, for shame, give o'er
These clamorous shouts, this deaf'ning roar:
This Scythian scene all peace destroys;^[2]
Turns joy to madness, mirth to noise.
Let cheerful temperance rule the soul,
The best ingredient in the bowl.

1. Hesiod, with all the minuteness of "narrative old age," gives many directions to be observed in the summer season. Among the rest, in book ii., he thus advises us:—
   

   "With Byblian wine the rural feast be crown'd,
   Three parts of water, let the bowl go round."—Cooke.

2. The Scythians were particularly remarkable for their intemperance in drinking, and for quarrelling in their cups.