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