• Erisichthon the Thessalian, who in derision cut down an ancient oak in the sacred groves of Ceres. He was punished by perpetual hunger, till, other food failing him, at last he gnawed his own flesh. Ovid, Metamorphoses VIII , Vernon’s Tr. :⁠— “Straight he requires, impatient in demand, Provisions from the air, the seas, the land; But though the land, air, seas, provisions grant, Starves at full tables, and complains of want. What to a people might in dole be paid, Or victual cities for a long blockade, Could not one wolfish appetite assuage; For glutting nourishment increased its rage. As rivers poured from every distant shore The sea insatiate drinks, and thirsts for more; Or as the fire, which all materials burns, And wasted forests into ashes turns, Grows more voracious as the more it preys, Recruits dilate the flame, and spread the blaze: So impious Erisichthon’s hunger raves, Receives refreshments, and refreshments craves. Food raises a desire for food, and meat Is but a new provocative to eat. He grows more empty as the more supplied, And endless cramming but extends the void.” ↩