Social Commentaries
Mime IX: Breaking Fast
Translated by A. D. Knox (1929) · From Herodes, Cercidas and the Greek Choliambic Poets (Loeb, 1929)
Sit ye all down. Where is the baby? Bring him hither—and Eueteira too and Glyke. Clumsy thing, thous <soaking my dress>. <Soap> the one that’s ready. <Ever> asleep? I fear lest I mind thee of all those prickings wherewith hast oft been tattooed e’er now, an thou continue these fearsome <yawns>. Hither with <Eueteira>—<sholdest> have had enow of all these <sorry> hangdog grimaces. Hither too with the <cup>. Still <asleep>? Ho there—has <Nossis> lost all those wits that once <were hers> ? —and our visitaunt, are ye in pitched combat ? Seekst to carry off yon salad for prize? Yet sooth I raised thee to be thy parents <staff and.....
This translation is printed as prose in its source edition.
Codex Note
Scene and plot unknown. The mime survives only in fragments; Knox marks his supplied words in angle brackets.
Cite this poem
MLA
Herodas (Herodes). “Mime IX: Breaking Fast.” Translated by A. D. Knox. Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/herodas/8/.
Chicago
Herodas (Herodes). “Mime IX: Breaking Fast.” Translated by A. D. Knox. Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/herodas/8/.
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