Zenobius 5.8
Megarian tears
English
Proverb
Megarian tears
Explanation
set down for those who weep by force, and not from any genuine feeling. They say a certain Bacchius the Corinthian married the daughter of Clytius, king of the Megarians; and on her death the Megarians were compelled by Clytius to send maidens and youths to Corinth to mourn his daughter. Others say that very many garlics grow in the Megarid; whence the proverb is said of those who weep affectedly, since those filled with garlic shed continual tears from its sharpness. Hence tears not from suffering nor from the heart, but only on the surface, were called "Megarian tears."
Greek
Proverb
Μεγαρέων δάκρυα
Explanation
αὕτη τέτακται ἐπὶ τῶν πρὸς βίαν δακρυόντων, καὶ μὴ ἐπὶ οἰκείῳ πάθει. Λέγουσι γὰρ, Βάκχιόν τινα Κορίνθιον γῆμαι τὴν Κλυτίον τοῦ Μεγαρέων βασιλέως θυγατέρα· ἧς ἀποθανούσης, ἀναγκασθῆναι τοὺς Μεγαρέας ὑπὸ τοῦ Κλυτίου πέμπειν [ν] παρθένους καὶ ἠϊθέους εἰς Κόρινθον τοὺς μέλλοντας αὐτοῦ τὴν θυγατέρα καταθρηνήσειν. Οἱ δέ φασιν, ὅτι πλεῖστα δοκεῖ φύεσθαι ἐν τῇ Μεγαρέων σκόροδα· ἔνθεν τὴν παροιμίαν εἰρῆσθαι ἐπὶ τῶν προςποιητῶς δακρυόντων, παρόσον οἱ ἐμπιπλάμενοι τῶν σκορόδων ἀποδακρύουσι συνἐχῶς ὑπὸ τῆς δριμύτητος. Ὅθεν τὰ μὴ ἐκ παθῶν μηδὲ ἐκ βάθους δάκρυα, ἀλλ’ ἐξ ἐπιπολῆς, Μεγαρέων δάκρυα ἔλεγον,
urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0098.tlg001.1st1K-grc1:5.8