Μεμυστιλημένοι
having scooped bread to eat soup
Translated by Nick Nicholas25 May 2009Vetting: high3 revisions
Translation
Greek original · Adler’s text
Μεμυστιλημένοι· εὐωχημένοι, ζωμὸν ἀρυσάμενοι ἄρτοις κοίλοις καὶ μυστρία μιμουμένοις. ὅθεν καὶ τὸ ὄνομα τοῖς μυστρίοις, οἷον μυστίλιόν τι ὄν. ἐν ταύτῃ δὲ τῇ ἑορτῇ πάντες προῖκα ἤσθιον καὶ τὴν ἀθάραν καὶ ἄλλα τινά. μυστίλη δὲ καλεῖται κοῖλος ἄρτος, ἤγουν ἀθάρα· ἐν γὰρ τοῖς Θησείοις ἀθάραν ἤσθιον. ὁ δὲ νοῦς· ὦ πολλὰ ταλαιπωρήσαντες καὶ εἰς οὐδὲν ἑστιαθέντες, νῦν δὲ εὐτυχήσαντες. ὀλιγίστοις δὲ ἄρτοις ἤγουν ἀλφίτοις λέγει· τοῖς κοίλοις γὰρ ἄρτοις τοὺς ζωμοὺς ἀρυόμενοι ταχέως ἐκορέννυντο δι' ἔνδειαν ἄρτου. πεποίηται δὲ ἡ λέξις, λέγω δὴ ἡ μυστίλη, παρὰ τὴν μάσησιν. ἢ διὰ τὸ πλῆθος τῶν ὄψων ὀλίγον ἄρτον ἤσθιον. ἢ τῷ ζωμῷ σχολάζοντες ὑπὸ τούτου ἐκορέννυντο.
Betacode
*memustilhme/noi: eu)wxhme/noi, zwmo\n a)rusa/menoi a)/rtois koi/lois kai\ mustri/a mimoume/nois. o(/qen kai\ to\ o)/noma toi=s mustri/ois, oi(=on musti/lio/n ti o)/n. e)n tau/th| de\ th=| e(orth=| pa/ntes proi=ka h)/sqion kai\ th\n a)qa/ran kai\ a)/lla tina/. musti/lh de\ kalei=tai koi=los a)/rtos, h)/goun a)qa/ra: e)n ga\r toi=s *qhsei/ois a)qa/ran h)/sqion. o( de\ nou=s: w)= polla\ talaipwrh/santes kai\ ei)s ou)de\n e(stiaqe/ntes, nu=n de\ eu)tuxh/santes. o)ligi/stois de\ a)/rtois h)/goun a)lfi/tois le/gei: toi=s koi/lois ga\r a)/rtois tou\s zwmou\s a)ruo/menoi taxe/ws e)kore/nnunto di' e)/ndeian a)/rtou. pepoi/htai de\ h( le/cis, le/gw dh\ h( musti/lh, para\ th\n ma/shsin. h)\ dia\ to\ plh=qos tw=n o)/ywn o)li/gon a)/rton h)/sqion. h)\ tw=| zwmw=| sxola/zontes u(po\ tou/tou e)kore/nnunto.
Notes (1)
- The headword -- perfect participle, masculine nominative plural, of
mustila/omai , "sop bread in soup or gravy and eat it" (LSJ) -- occurs in Aristophanes, Plutus [Wealth] 627-8: "o you old men who very often at Theseus-festivals have supped soup with the most meager barley-groats", i.e. have known penury (but are now prosperous). The commentary -- which conflates the bread scoops with the soup or gruel scooped -- derives from the scholia there. See also mu 1487, mu 1488. - 1This part of the discussion is trying to work out why the bread-scoops should be small. It hesitates between the paupers being too full of broth or other food to want larger pieces of bread; the paupers having enough time to eat all their gruel (and not to need more bread—which amounts to the same thing); or possibly, if that is what "lack of bread" is meant to mean, there was not enough bread to go around. ↩
Neighbouring entries
Revision history3 revisions · last 6 Oct 2020
- cross-references — Catharine Roth
- Revised — David Whitehead
- introductory note; streamlined other notes; more keywords; tweaks and cosmetics — David Whitehead
- Translated — Nick Nicholas