Δεκάπους σκιά
ten-foot shadow
Translated by Jennifer Benedict19 Dec 2003Vetting: high3 revisions
Translation
In olden days those inviting [people] to dinner and those invited would set [the time] by the shadow. And thus the former would expect those who had been invited, and the latter would go off to the feasts -- observation not being the reason for which it was possible to prove how many hours had progressed.
Greek original · Adler’s text
Δεκάπους σκιά· τὸ παλαιὸν οἱ καλοῦντες ἐπὶ δεῖπνον καὶ καλούμενοι παρεσημαίνοντο τὴν σκιάν. καὶ οὕτως οἱ μὲν ἔμενον τοὺς κληθέντας, οἱ δὲ ἀπῄεσαν ἐπὶ τὰς ἑστιάσεις, οὐδ' ὑποτηρήσεως οὔσης αἰτίας, ἐφ' ἧς οἷόν τε ἦν τεκμήρασθαι, εἰς πόσας ὥρας προήκει.