Apophthegmata Laconica

In answer to a man who praised a harper and expressed amazement at his ability, he said, My good sir, what honours shall you be able to offer to good men when you have such praise for a harper?

When someone, in introducing a musician to him, remarked, This man is a good musician, he said, And in this country of ours that man there rates as a good soup-maker, thus implying that there was no distinction between giving pleasure through the sound of instruments and giving it through the preparation of appetizing foods and soup. [*](Cf.Moralia, 223 F, infra (15), where the saying is attributed to Cleomenes.)

When somebody promised him to make the wine pleasant to the taste, he said, What for? For more of it will be used, and it will make the men’s eating together less beneficial. [*](See Moralia, 240 D (2), infra, which makes the meaning of this passage quite clear.)