GARLANDS.
10. Moreover, that most divine writer Plato, in the seventh
book of his Laws, proposes a problem having reference to
crowns, which it is worth while to solve; and these are the
words of the philosopher:—"Let there be distributions of
apples and crowns to a greater and a lesser number of people,
in such a way that the numbers shall always be equal." These
are the words of Plato. But what he means is something of
this sort. He wishes to find one number of such a nature
that, if divided among all who come in to the very last, it
shall give an equal number of apples or crowns to every one.
I say, then, that the number sixty will fulfil these conditions
of equality in the case of six fellow-feasters; for I am aware
that at the beginning we said that a supper party ought not
to consist of more than five. But we are as numerous as the
sand of the sea. Accordingly the number sixty, when the party
is completed to the number of six guests, will begin to be divided
in this manner. The first man came into the banqueting
room, and received sixty garlands. He gives to the second who
comes in half of them; and then each of them have thirty.
Then when a third comes in they divide the whole sixty, so
that each of them may have twenty. Again, they divide them
again in like manner at the entrance of a fourth guest, so
that each has fifteen; and when a fifth comes in they all have
twelve a-piece. And when the sixth guest arrives, they divide
them again, and each individual has ten. And in this way
the equal division of the garlands is accomplished.
11. When Democritus had said this, Ulpian, looking towards Cynulcus, said—
To what a great philosopher has Fate
Now join'd me here!
As Theognetus the comic poet says, in his Apparition,—
You wretched man, you've learnt left-handed letters,
Your reading has perverted your whole life;
Philosophising thus with earth and heaven,
Though neither care a bit for all your speeches.
For where was it that you got that idea of the Chorus of the Syrbenians? What author worth speaking of mentions that musical chorus? And he replied:—My good friend, I will not teach you, unless I first receive adequate pay from you; for I do not read to pick out all the thorns out of my books as you do, but I select only what is most useful and best worth
