Mol U1.] Athenian Poets contemporary with Arifiophanes. 
heads of hair. They were fober, flo- 
_yenly, apt to deride, avaritious, and car- 
ried thick fhort ffaves. In the comedy 
Lyfiftratus, mention js made of the lucontc 
fevialos. This was afort of letter in cy- 
‘her, which was written, and read as 
Eigask When the republic had ocea- 
fion to difpatch an ambaffador, or general, 
on fecret orders, or to procure fome im- 
portant article ef intelligence, he was 
furnifhed with a batoon, equal in fize 
to‘another kept at Lacedemon. On this 
a bandlet of vellum or paper was rolled, 
containing written intimatioas, &c. after 
which, when the bandler was taken 
away, it was impoffible to conneét the 
feries of the words cut off. without the 
batoon, by which the bandlet was to be 
adjufted, or without knowing its exact 
fize. 
The Lacedemonians had a particular 
dance, called the Lacome Dance, or horn- 
pipe, performed with the feet joined to- 
gether, tothe found of the flute. 
Ail ufelefs mouths were expelled from 
Lacedemon, and foreigners occafionally 
there were treated roughly. ; 
Phe iflands of Thatus and Chio pro- 
duced wines of great reputation. 
The inhabitants of Crete had invented 
a dance called the Cretan Shake. .This 
appears to have been a dance, in which 
the thighs and the reins had a confider- 
rable movement. “he ancient kings of 
the Grecian cities had birds furmounted 
on their fcepters. ; 
The Thebans, as well as the Mega» 
Ylans were great players on the flute. 
Gur linuts will not permit us to follow 
Lobineau, in his: remarks on the tribu- 
nals, andthe public affembiies ; we fhall 
notice, however, the following cbferva- 
tion: mm the affembly, rhe people held up 
their hands, to denote their confent to 
any thing propofed. ~<This was called 
Quirtionia, a term’ afterwards adopted by 
Chriftians, to indicate the ordination of 
their fpiritual magiftrates, formerly per- 
formed by the fole impofition of hands ; 
and hence comes the manner of {peaking 
in French, when they fay, to fignify 
their conient to any thing, jy donne les 
WQINS « 
Our learned and ingenious tranflator 
then enters into a view of the poets, 
tragic, comico, or lyric, of whom men- 
tion is made in Ariftophanes, or his com- 
mentators; the characters which he in- 
troduced upon the flage, aid the refpect. 
able perfonages, at the expence of whom 
he makes merry. Hach of thefe has his 
article, concife but often pithy. We 
hall felect a few examples : 
ARISTOPHANES. It is juft that he 
Mhoyld pafs the fir in reylew himfelf, - 
537 
He was bald, and has not forgotten to 
rally himfelf on this fubjeét. He pof- 
fefied lands in Egina, and he flattered 
himfeif that when the Lacedemonians 
were feeking to make themfelves maf- 
ters of that ifland, it was in’ order to 
acquire a poet, whofe counfels, in the 
opinion of a Perfian king, would infal- 
Irbly render better thofe who fhould fol- 
low them. He was fage’in his moral 
conduct, and affumes merit for a praétice 
maintained by him, of drawing up the 
curtain when the reprefentation was 
finifhed, left any fhould profit of that 
coverture to cajole the youths for the 
purpofe of feduétion. 
Crarinus. A pifs-a-bed, puking 
tipler, who, in his young days, was in 
extraordinary. vogue (all the pieces fung 
in the banquets being of his compofition) 
but who, in his latter days, fell into con- 
tempt. | 
EuRiPipeEs was always in high efti- 
mation with his fellow-citizens ; although 
Ariftophanes thought proper to befpatter 
himenough. He tells us, that Euripi- 
des was the fon of a water-crefs woman; 
that he had a fhrill fqueaking voice; that 
he affected little mincing words; that he 
had enervated tragedy ; and brought on 
the ftage crimes, the memory of which 
ought rather to be obliterated ; that, in 
argument, he reforted ‘to vain fubtil- 
ties; and thar he hafiened his death by 
excellive venery. He is, moreover, re-~ 
prefented as grey-headed, and having a 
long beard. 
Metanruus was feabby, leprous, 
ill-fcented, and effemiaate ; he had large, 
heavy jaws, and a fharp-toned voice. 
He was of a gallanting turn, although 
he only made love to old ladies; in 
which bufinefs it. fhould feem that borin 
he and they had enough to do. 
The phyficians were generally called 
featophafi, becaute it was their practice 
to tafte the excrements of their patients, 
ALCIBIADEs lifped, and pronounced 
the letter L in lieu of the R: colaw for 
corax. - ey 
The poet AGATHON is reprefented 
with a fair complexion, a {mooth fkin, 
a feminine voice, and a beard conitantly 
fhaved ; in fine, as a handfome effemi- 
nate man, who often enough fubmitted 
to perform the office of a woman. 
Morsinus, the fon of Philccles, and 
the father of Amphidamas, was flovenly 
and mean-looking, a tolerably good oc- 
culift, and a mediocre author. Arifto- 
phanes pretends that rigorous punith- 
ments were infli€ted in hell on fich as 
had mifpent their time in copying paf- 
{ages from this author. 
PANZ#ETIUS 
