Crates of Thebes | Demetrius of Phalerum, On Style 170
<blockquote>170. Even sensible persons will indulge in jests on such
occasions as feasts and carousals, or when they are addressing
a word of warning to men inclined to good living. A refer-
ence to ' the far-gleaming meal-bag ' may then be found
salutary. The same may be said of the poetry of Crates ;
and it would be well if you were to read the ' Praise of the
Lentil ' in a party of free-livers. The Cynic humour is, for
the most part, of this character. Such jests, in fact, play the
part of maxims and admonitions.
Source</blockquote>
Demetrius. On Style. The Greek Text of Demetrius, De Elocutione, edited after the Paris Manuscript with Introduction, Translation, Facsimiles, Etc. by Rhys Roberts, Litt.D., Cambridge: At the University Press, 1902.