And how did you introduce the order she demanded, Ischomachus? (I asked).
Isch. Well, first of all I thought I ought to show her the capacities of our house. Since you must know, it is not decked with ornaments and fretted ceilings, (1) Socrates; but the rooms were built expressly with a view to forming the most apt receptacles for whatever was intended to be put in them, so that the very look of them proclaimed what suited each particular chamber best. Thus our own bedroom, (2) secure in its position like a stronghold, claimed possession of our choicest carpets, coverlets, and other furniture. Thus, too, the warm dry rooms would seem to ask for our stock of bread-stuffs; the chill cellar for our wine; the bright and well-lit chambers for whatever works or furniture required light, and so forth.
(1) Or, "curious workmanship and paintings." See "Mem." III. viii. 10.
Cf. Plat. "Rep." vii. 529 B; "Hipp. maj." 298 A. See Becker,
"Charicles," Exc. i. 111.
(2) Or, "the bridal chamber." See Becker, op. cit. p. 266. Al. "our
store-chamber." See Hom. "Od." xxi. 9:
{be d' imenai thalamonde sun amphipoloisi gunaixin eskhaton, k.t.l.}
"And she (Penelope) betook her, with her handmaidens, to the treasure-chamber in the uttermost part of the house, where lay the treasures of her lord, bronze and gold and iron well wrought."—Butcher and Lang. Cf. "Od." ii. 337; "Il." vi. 288.
Next I proceeded to point out to her the several dwelling-rooms, all beautifully fitted up for cool in summer and for warmth in winter. (3) I showed her how the house enjoyed a southern aspect, whence it was plain, in winter it would catch the sunlight and in summer lie in shade. (4) Then I showed her the women's apartments, separated from the men's apartments by a bolted door, (5) whereby nothing from within could be conveyed without clandestinely, nor children born and bred by our domestics without our knowledge and consent (6)—no unimportant matter, since, if the act of rearing children tends to make good servants still more loyally disposed, (7) cohabiting but sharpens ingenuity for mischief in the bad.
(3) See "Mem." III. viii. 8.
(4) See "Mem." ib. 9.
(5) "By bolts and bars." Lit. "a door fitted with a bolt-pin." See
Thuc. ii. 4; Aristoph. "Wasps," 200.
(6) Cf. (Aristot.) "Oecon." i. 5, {dei de kai exomereuein tais
teknopoiiais}.
(7) Lit. "since (you know) if the good sort of servant is rendered, as
a rule, better disposed when he becomes a father, the base,
through intermarrying, become only more ripe for mischief."
When we had gone over all the rooms (he continued), we at once set about distribution our furniture (8) in classes; and we began (he said) by collecting everything we use in offering sacrifice. (9) After this we proceeded to set apart the ornaments and holiday attire of the wife, and the husband's clothing both for festivals and war; then the bedding used in the women's apartments, and the bedding used in the men's apartments; then the women's shoes and sandals, and the shoes and sandals of the men. (10) There was one division devoted to arms and armour; another to instruments used for carding wood; another to implements for making bread; another to utensils for cooking condiments; another to utensils for the bath; another connected with the kneading trough; another with the service of the table. All these we assigned to separate places, distinguishing one portion for daily and recurrent use and the rest for high days and holidays. Next we selected and set aside the supplies required for the month's expenditure; and, under a separate head, (11) we stored away what we computed would be needed for the year. (12) For in this way there is less chance of failing to note how the supplies are likely to last to the end.
(8) "Movable property," "meubles."
(9) Holden cf. Plut. "De Curios." 515 E, {os gar Xenophon legei toi
Oikonomikois, k.t.l.}
(10) Cf. "Cyrop." VIII. ii. 5. See Becker, op. cit. p. 447.
(11) See Cic. ap. Col. who curiously mistranslates {dikha}.
(12) Schneider, etc., cf. Aristot. "Oecon." i. 6.
And so having arranged the different articles of furniture in classes, we proceeded to convey them to their appropriate places. That done, we directed our attention to the various articles needed by our domestics for daily use, such as implements or utensils for making bread, cooking relishes, spinning wool, and anything else of the same sort. These we consigned to the care of those who would have to use them, first pointing out where they must stow them, and enjoining on them to return them safe and sound when done with.