In much of this poetry too we are in the conventional world of
pastoral; and pastoral, it must be repeated, does not concern itself
with real life. The amount of latitude in literary expression varies
no doubt with the prevalent popular morality of the period. But it
would lead to infinite confusion to think of the poetry as a
translation of conduct. A truer picture of Greek life is happily given
us in those epigrams which deal with the material that history passes
over and ideal poetry, at least in Greek literature, barely touches
upon, the life of simple human relations from day to day within the
circle of the family.
----------

[1] {ear oroosa Nukheia}, Theocr. xiii. 42.

[2] Clem. Rom. II. 12: {eperotetheis autos o Kurios upo tinos pote
exei autou e basileia, eipen, otan estai ta duo en kai to exo os
to eso kai to arsen meta tes theleias oute arsen oute thelu}. It
is also quoted in almost the same words by Clem. Alex., Strom.
xiii. 92, as from "the Gospel according to the Egyptians."

[3] Cf. Plato, Sympos. 191, 192.


VIII

Scattered over the sections of the Anthology are a number of epigrams
touching on this life, which are the more valuable to us, because it
is just this side of the ancient world of which the mass of Greek
literature affords a very imperfect view. In Homer indeed this is not