Alexis (372-270 v.u.Z.) wird zur Mittleren Attischen Komödie gerechnet. Von seinem Werk existieren lediglich Fragmente - von der Μανδραγοριζομένη sind es fünf, allesamt bei Athenaios überliefert.

Aren’t human beings strange creatures,
engaging in so many activities directly contradictory to one another?
[εἶτ’ οὐ περίεργόν ἐστιν ἄνθρωπος φυτὸν
ὑπεναντιωτάτοις τε πλείστοις χρώμενον;]
We fall in love with members of other households, but neglect our families;
although we’re poor, we seem rich to our neighbors;
when we loan someone money, we do it clumsily.
And as for what we eat every day,
we’re eager for our barley-cake to be white;
but we make the broth that goes with it black,
and we stain its lovely color with dye.
We arrange to drink snow;
but if our food isn’t hot, we make nasty remarks about it.
And we spit in sour wine,
but get ecstatic about sour sauces.
So, as many wise men have said,
it’s always best not to have been born,
and once you’re born, to die as quickly as possible.
[οὐκοῦν, τὸ πολλοῖς τῶν σοφῶν εἰρημένον,
τὸ μὴ γενέσθαι μὲν κράτιστόν ἐστ’ ἀεί,
ἐπὰν γένηται δ’, ὡς τάχιστ’ ἔχειν τέλος.]

(Athenaios 123f-124b)

Die beiden letzten Verse waren ein weit verbreitetes und vielfach überliefertes Sprichwort ("griechischer Pessimismus"); hier habe ich es erstnal in einer Komödie gefunden ... auf unsere Eßgewohnheiten bezogen.