Wednesday, July 17, 2024
A Repugnance Towards Fat Men
Plutarch, Sayings of Kings and Commanders (Epaminondas 3 = Moralia 192 C-D; tr. Frank Cole Babbitt):
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He used to declare that the heavy-armed soldier ought to have his body trained not only by athletic exercises but by military drill as well. For this reason he always showed a repugnance towards fat men, and one such man he expelled from the army, saying that three or four shields would scarce serve to protect his belly, because of which he could not see a thing below it.Note the euphemism of "a thing below it" for τὸ αἰδοῖον.
τῶν δὲ ὁπλιτῶν δεῖν ἀπέφαινεν εἶναι τὸ σῶμα γεγυμνασμένον οὐκ ἀθλητικῶς μόνον ἀλλὰ καὶ στρατιωτικῶς· διὸ καὶ τοῖς πολυσάρκοις ἐπολέμει, καί τινα τοιοῦτον ἀπήλασε τῆς στρατιᾶς εἰπὼν ὅτι μόλις αὐτοῦ σκέπουσι τὴν γαστέρα ἀσπίδες τρεῖς ἢ τέσσαρες, δι᾽ ἣν οὐχ ἑώρακεν αὑτοῦ τὸ αἰδοῖον.
