[[64]] And oftentimes I sit by Venus,
With marplot none to come between us.

And Alcman says—

Nectar they eat at will.

And Sappho says—

The goblets rich were with ambrosia crown'd,
Which Hermes bore to all the gods around.

But Homer was acquainted with nectar as the drink of the gods. And Ibycus says that ambrosia is nine times as sweet as honey; stating expressly that honey has just one-ninth part of the power of ambrosia as far as sweetness goes.

9.

One fond of wine must be an honest man;
For Bacchus, for his double mother famed,
Loves not bad men, nor uninstructed clowns,

says Alexis. He adds, moreover, that wine makes all men who drink much of it fond of talking. And the author of the Epigram on Cratinus says—

If with water you fill up your glasses,
You'll never write anything wise
But wine is the horse of Parnassus,
That carries a bard to the skies.