An ivy encircled the altar,
and a vine extended its branches round the temple; on the interior
the events in the history of the god were represented.
and a vine extended its branches round the temple; on the interior
the events in the history of the god were represented.
Scriptori Erotici Graeci
There was one obstacle,
which gave him uneasiness--Lamon was not rich: this reflection alone
rendered his hopes of success slender. Nevertheless he determined to
declare himself a suitor, and Chloe approved of his design.
He did not venture to declare his intention to Lamon, but taking
courage, communicated his love to Myrtale, and spoke also of the
marriage; she imparted everything to her husband at night. Lamon
treated her intercession for Daphnis very harshly, and rebuked his wife
for thinking of marrying to a mere shepherd's daughter, a youth who
by the tokens found upon him, seemed to give promise of a much higher
fortune, and who, should he ever find his relatives, would not only
procure the freedom of his foster-father and mother, but also make them
master and mistress of a much larger estate.
Myrtale, fearing lest the youth, blighted in his hopes of marrying
Chloe, should make an attempt upon his own life, gave him a different
reason for the opposition on her husband's part. "We are poor, my son,
and we require a girl who will bring a portion with her; they, on the
other hand, are rich, and expect rich suitors. However, go and persuade
Chloe, and get her to prevail upon her father, not to look for too
great a match, but to let you take her for a wife. The girl herself, I
am sure, dearly loves you, and would certainly prefer sharing her bed
with a handsome youth, however poor, than with an ugly ape, however
rich. "
Myrtale had no expectation that Dryas, who had so many richer suitors
applying to him, would ever agree to the wishes of Daphnis, and
considered herself to have offered very plausible arguments for
disposing of the subject of the marriage.
Daphnis could not in justice find fault with what she said; but, as
needy lovers generally do, he burst into tears; and again invoked the
assistance of the Nymphs.
As he slept at night, they again appeared to him in the same dress and
form, as they had done before, and the eldest of them thus addressed
him.
"Chloe's marriage is under the superintendence of another deity: as
for yourself we will furnish you with gifts which shall soften Dryas,
and win his consent. The boat belonging to the young men of Methymna,
whose vine-branch cable your goats devoured, was that same day carried
far out to sea by the violence of the wind: at night the gale blowing
from the sea, it was driven towards the land and dashed upon some
rocks, there it was wrecked and everything in it lost. A purse of three
thousand drachmas[17] was thrown ashore, and lies covered with seaweed
near a dead dolphin, the putrid stench of which is so offensive that
no one will approach it but hastens by as fast as he can. Go, take
this money, and offer it to Dryas. It is enough at present to make you
appear not absolutely poor; the time will come, when you will be very
rich. "
After speaking to this effect, they disappeared, and with them the
darkness of the night; day dawned, and Daphnis leaping from his bed
with joy, drove his goats to pasture with boisterous eagerness. After
kissing Chloe, and paying his adorations in the grotto, he went down
to the sea, pretending that it was his intention to bathe, and then
walked along the sands close to the beach, seeking the three thousand
drachmas. The search required little labour: the dolphin lay rotting
in his path, and yielding a "most ancient and fish-like smell," which
served to guide him on his way. He immediately approached it, and upon
removing the weeds found the purse full of silver, which he put into
his scrip; but before quitting the spot he uttered blessings upon the
Nymphs and upon the ocean likewise; for although a shepherd he now
thought the sea more delightful than the land, since it contributed to
promote his marriage with Chloe.
Having got possession of this sum, he thought himself not merely
richer than his neighbours, but the richest man upon the earth, and
immediately hastened to Chloe, related his dream to her, shewed her
the purse, and desired her to tend the herds till he came back: then,
hurrying with all speed to Dryas, whom he found with Nape busied in
beating out corn upon the threshing floor, he boldly entered upon the
subject of the marriage.
"Give me Chloe for a wife. I can play well on the pipe; I can prune
vines; I can plant; I can plough; and I can winnow. To my skill as
a herdsman Chloe can bear witness: fifty she-goats were given to my
charge, and their number is now doubled. Formerly we used to send
our females to a neighbour's males; but now I have reared large and
handsome he-goats of our own. I am young; and, as I have been your
neighbour, you know me to have a blameless character. A goat, moreover,
nursed me, as a ewe did Chloe. Being on so many points superior to
other suitors, you will not find me their inferior in my gifts. They
will offer their goats and their sheep, or a yoke of mangy oxen,
or corn not fit to feed even dunghill fowls! I will give you three
thousand drachmas! --only let no one know what I have offered--not even
Lamon, my father! " So saying, he presented the money and threw his arms
round the neck of Dryas.
Dryas and Nape were surprised at the sight of so much money, and not
only promised to give Chloe in marriage, but also undertook to procure
Lamon's consent to the match. Nape remained with Daphnis, and drove
the oxen round the floor, while by means of the threshing-machine,[18]
she separated the grains. Dryas, in the meantime, laid by the money
carefully, in the place where the tokens were stored up, and hastened
to Lamon's house upon the novel errand of asking[19] a husband for his
daughter. He found Lamon and Myrtale measuring some barley, which had
been just winnowed, and in very bad spirits at finding it yield little
more than the seed which had been put into the ground, and endeavoured
to console them by saying, that this season the complaint was general.
He then asked Daphnis in marriage for Chloe. "Others," said he, "would
willingly make me handsome presents, I however will accept nothing
from you, but, on the contrary, will give you of my own substance. The
two young people have been brought up together, and from feeding their
flocks in company they have contracted a mutual fondness which cannot
easily be dissolved, and they are now of sufficient age to consummate a
marriage. "
These and many more arguments he urged with all the eloquence of one
who had received three thousand drachmas for his guerdon. Lamon was no
longer able to plead his poverty, since Dryas entertained no objections
upon that head; nor could he object to the age of Daphnis, for he was
by this time a young man; but even now he did not explain the real
cause of his unwillingness, which was, that Daphnis was of too good
birth for such a match.
After remaining sometime silent he replied as follows. "You act justly,
Dryas, in preferring your neighbours before strangers, and in not
thinking wealth superior to honest poverty. May Pan and the Nymphs
reward you with their friendship for this! I myself am eager for the
marriage: I who am halfway on the road to old age, and begin to feel
the want of assistance on my farm, should indeed be crazy, were I to
refuse a connection with your family; this in itself would be a great
advantage, and Chloe, too, is most desirable on account of her beauty,
youth, and goodness. At the same time you must consider that I am only
a serf on this estate:[20] I am owner of nothing here: it is necessary
that my master should be acquainted with the business, and that we
should have his consent. Suppose, then, that we defer the marriage till
the autumn: persons from the city have informed me, that he intends
coming hither at that time. They shall then be man and wife; for the
present let them love each other like brother and sister. I will only
farther say, friend Dryas, that you are seeking as son-in-law one who
is superior to us all. " He added no more, but embraced Dryas, and
handed him some drink, it being mid-day and very hot, and wishing to
shew him every mark of kindness, accompanied him part of his way home.
The last expression of Lamon was not lost upon Dryas, but as he went
along he thought within himself,--"Who can Daphnis be? He was suckled
by a she-goat, as if under the providential care of the deities
themselves; he is very handsome, and bears no resemblance to the
flat-nosed Lamon, or the bald-headed Myrtale; he is master, also, of
three thousand drachmas,--few goatherds can call so many pears their
own! Was he exposed by the same person who exposed Chloe? Did Lamon
find him, as I found her? were tokens left with him like those which I
found? If, Ο Pan, and ye Nymphs, it be so, whensoever he finds his own
relatives, he may throw some light upon the secret history of Chloe
also! "
Thus he proceeded, thinking and dreaming, until he reached the
threshing-floor. There he found Daphnis on the tiptoe of expectation
to learn his tidings. Dryas relieved his mind by addressing him as
son-in-law; he promised him that the nuptials should take place in the
autumn, and gave him his right hand in confirmation that Chloe should
be the wife of no other.
Swifter than thought, without stopping to eat or drink, away ran
Daphnis to Chloe. He found her engaged in milking and making cheese,
told her the good news of their approaching wedding, kissed her
openly, as though she were already his wife, and not by stealth as he
used to do, and began to assist her in her work, by milking the goats
and ewes into the pails, setting the cheeses upon the racks,[21] and
placing the lambs and kids under their dams. When their labours were
concluded, they washed themselves, ate and drank, and then went out
in search of some ripe fruit. Of this there was abundance, it being
the most fruitful season of the year. There were pears, both wild
and cultivated, and all sorts of apples, some of which were lying on
the ground, and some still hanging upon the branches. Those upon the
ground smelt sweeter; those upon the boughs were brighter in colour;
the former were as fragrant as new wine, the latter shone like gold.
One tree had been entirely stripped; its branches were bare; it had
neither leaves nor fruit, except a single apple, which grew upon the
top of the highest branch. This apple was very large and beautiful, and
its solitary perfume surpassed the united fragrance of many others. The
gatherer had either been afraid of climbing to the summit of the tree,
or he had preserved this beautiful fruit for some love-sick shepherd.
Daphnis, as soon as he espied it, began to climb the tree, giving no
heed to Chloe, who endeavoured to prevent him, and who finding herself
disregarded hurried away pettishly after her herds. Daphnis climbed
the tree, succeeded in seizing the apple, carried it as a present to
Chloe, and presented it to her, with these words:--"Maiden, this fruit
was produced and cherished by the beauteous hours; the sun matured it
with his beams, and fortune has preserved it; unless blind, I could
not leave it either to fall on the ground, where cattle, as they
grazed, might tread on it, or where the snake might crawl over it, and
defile it with his slime; or where time might rot it as it lay; still
less could I do this when it had been seen and praised by you. Venus
received an apple as the prize of beauty; the same prize I adjudge to
you. Paris and I are equally fitted to be umpires: he was a shepherd, I
am a goatherd. "
With these words he placed the apple in her bosom, and she, upon his
drawing near, bestowed on him a kiss; so that Daphnis did not repent of
having ventured to climb[22] to such a height; for the kiss which he
received was more precious to him than a golden apple.
[Footnote 1: The reading here followed is that of
Villoisin. --ὑβρίζοντας τoὺς νεανίσκους. ]
[Footnote 2:
"nec jam susteneant onus
Silvæ laborantes, geluque
Flumina constiterint acuto. "--Hor. i. Od. ix. 2.
]
[Footnote 3: Compare Virgil's description of the way of passing a
northern Winter.
"Ipsi in defossis specubus secura sub altâ
Otia agunt terrâ, congestaque robora totasque
Advolvere focis ulmos, ignique dedere.
Hie noctem ludo ducunt, et pocula læti
Fermento atque acidis imitantur vitea sorbis. "
G. iii. 376.
]
[Footnote 4:
"Fac primus rapias illius tacta labellis
Pocula: quaque bibit parte puella, bibe. "
Ovid de Art. Am. i. 575.
]
[Footnote 5:
"Diffugere nives, redeunt jam gramina campis
Arboribusque comæ. . . .
Mutat terra vices. "--Hor. iv. Od. vii. 1.
]
[Footnote 6:
"----The gay troops begin,
In gallant thought to plume the painted wing
And try again the long forgotten strain,
At first faint warbled--
. . . . . .
Then, all at once alive, then joy o'erflows
In music unconfined. "--Thomson.
Should the reader wish to see the song of the Nightingale represented
by a series of words, he is referred to p. 108 of Paget's Warden of
Berkingholt, where he will find the imitation by the learned Doctor
Bechstein, of Walterhausen. ]
[Footnote 7: "Recti illi faciunt, rectæ contra istæ patiuntur alteri,
nempe insilientes, alteræ vero dorso impositos admittentes. Tu a me
petis, ut unà recumbam, idque nuda? Atqui illas me, licet vestibus
amicta, quanto aunt hirsutiores? Paret Daphnis, et concumbens cum eadem
jacuit; nesciusque quidquam eorum agere, quorum gratiâ tanta libidinis
impetu concitabatur, illam erigit, et a tergo hircos imitande illi
adhæsit. "]
[Footnote 8: Saltus hi longe illis dulciorea; habent enim longieris
temporis voluptatem. ]
[Footnote 9: "Edocta eum ad patrandum non solum fortem esse, verum
etiam libidine turgere, ab reclinatione in latus factâ, ipsum erexit,
seque tum perite substernens, ilium ad viam duci quæsitam direxit;
deinde non ultra peregrinum ipsum circumduxit, ipsa natura, quod porro
agendum restabat, docente. "]
[Footnote 10: "Jacebit haud secus ac vulnerata, multo manens
sanguine. --Verum non est quod cruorem timeas; sed quando illam
persuaseris, ut tibi morem gerat, tunc tu illam in hunc adducit locum,
ubi, si forté clamaverit, nemo audiat, si lacrimata fuerit, nemo
videat, si cruore fœdata fuerit, fonte se abluat. "]
[Footnote 11: "cavens, ne vel illa veluti hoste conspecto clamaret,
vel tanquam dolore affecta fleret, vel sanguine fœdaretur tanquam
contrucidata. Non ità dudum namque periculum fecerat ipse, à Methymnæis
plagis affectus: ideoque à sanguine abhorrebat, sanguinemque de solo
vulnere sequi opinabatur. "]
[Footnote 12: κελευστής,(in Latin, Hortator or Portusculus) an officer
in a ship who gave the signal to the rowers, that they might keep time
in rowing. The same name was also given to the pole or hammer, by the
striking of which he regulated the motion of the oars.
"mediæ stat margine puppis,
Qui voce alternos nautarum temperet ictus,
Et remis dictat sonitum, pariterque relatis
Ad sonitum plaudat resonantia cœrula tonsis. "
Silius Italicus, VI. 360.
See Æsch Persæ. 388. ]
[Footnote 13: See Ovid, Met. iii. 356, for the legend of Echo and
Narcissus. ]
[Footnote 14: There is a painting, by Sir Joshua Reynolds, which
represents Venus as chiding Cupid for learning arithmetic. ]
[Footnote 15: See Theocritus. Idyll xxvii. ]
[Footnote 16:
"This is the prettiest low-born lass, that ever
Ran on the green-sord; nothing she does or seems
But smacks of something greater than herself,
Too noble for this place. "--Winter's Tale.
]
[Footnote 17: £122 18s. 4d. ]
[Footnote 18: Tριβόλος--a corn-drag, consisting of a thick and
ponderous wooden board, armed underneath with pieces of iron, or sharp
flints, and drawn over the corn by a yoke of oxen, either the driver or
a heavy weight being placed upon it, for the purpose of separating the
grain and cutting the straw. --Dict. of Greek and Rom. Antiq. See Virg.
Georg. i. 164. ]
[Footnote 19: μνᾶσθαι νυμφιόν--the verb μναόμαι is properly employed
only with reference to the woman, signifying to woo to wife. ]
[Footnote 20: Lamon appears to have been the ἐπίρoπos, or bailiff upon
his master's estate. ]
[Footnote 21: Ταρσοὶ--flat wicker baskets for making and stowing away
cheeses.
"Ταρσοὶ μὲν τυρῶν βρῖθον. "--Odyss. ix. 219.
. . . . "His strainers hung with cheese
Distended. ". . . --Cowper.
"Ταρσοὶ δ' ὑπερσχθἐες αἰεὶ. "--Theoc. Idyll. 37.
"My cheeses fail not in their hurdled row. "--Chapman.
Λ passage in Ovid illustrates the process of cheese-making:--
. . . . "Veluti concretum vimine querno
Lac solet; utve liquor rari sub pondere cribri
Manat, et exprimitur per densa foramina spissus. "
Met. xii. 434
]
[Footnote 22:
. . . . "Is not love a Hercules,
Still climbing trees in the Hesperides? "--Shakspeare.
]
BOOK IV.
One of Lamon's neighbours, who was a fellow serf under the same lord,
called in his way from Mitylene, and informed him that their master
intended coming just before the vintage, to see whether the incursion
of the Methymnæans had done any damage to his lands. The summer was
now closing, and autumn approaching very fast; Lamon, therefore,
immediately began to put the house in such order as might, in every
respect, please his master's eyes. He cleansed the fountains, that the
water might be pure; carried the manure out of the yard, that the smell
might not be offensive; and trimmed his garden, that all its beauty
might be seen.
His garden was indeed a beautiful one, and laid out in a princely
style. It was situated on high ground, and was five hundred feet
in length, while in breadth it contained four acres, so that one
might have supposed it an extensive plain. In it were all kinds of
trees,--the apple, the myrtle, the pear, the pomegranate, the fig,
the olive, which grew here in perfection. On one side of this garden
was a lofty vine, whose branches, laden with blackening grapes, were
suspended above the apple and pear trees, as if vying with them in
the show of fruit. Such were the cultivated trees. There were also
cypresses, laurels, planes, and pines, over which an ivy instead of
a vine stretched out her branches, with berries in size and colour
resembling grapes.
The fruit-trees occupied the interior space. Those which did not bear
fruit were ranged on the outside, serving the purpose of an artificial
fence; and the whole was inclosed by a slight hedge. All were placed
in a strict and regular order,[1] so that their trunks were perfectly
distinct one from the other, but at a certain height their branches
met, and intermingled their leaves with a regularity which, though the
work of nature, appeared to be the effect of art. Here were also beds
of various flowers, some of which were cultivated plants, and some the
spontaneous production of the soil. The rose bushes,[2] hyacinths, and
lilies had been planted by the hand of man, the violets, the narcissus,
and the pimpernel sprang naturally from the ground. There was shade for
summer, flowers for spring, fruits for autumn, and for all seasons of
the year enjoyment.
From this garden was to be had a fine view of the plains with the herds
and flocks which grazed upon them; as well as of the sea, and of the
ships, as they were sailing along, so that the prospect was no small
portion of the beauty of the place. Exactly in the middle there was a
temple and an altar, dedicated to Bacchus.
An ivy encircled the altar,
and a vine extended its branches round the temple; on the interior
the events in the history of the god were represented. The delivery
of Semele, Ariadne sleeping, Lycurgus fettered, Pentheus torn in
pieces,[3] the victories over the Indians, and the metamorphosis of the
Tyrrhenian sailors. On all sides were Satyrs and Bacchantes dancing.
Nor was Pan omitted; he was represented sitting upon a rock, and
playing upon his pipe an air intended equally to regulate the motions
of the men as they trod the grapes, and of the women as they danced.
Such was the garden, which Lamon was busy in getting into order,
cutting away dead wood, and raising the branches of the vines. He
crowned the statue of Bacchus with flowers, he conducted water from
the fountain discovered by Daphnis, for the flowers, which was used
exclusively for them, and was called Daphnis's Fountain. Lamon also
charged the youth to get his goats into as good condition as possible,
since their master would certainly visit and examine them after his
long absence from the farm. Upon this head Daphnis felt confident that
he should be praised; for the herd, which he had received in charge,
was increased twofold: not one of them had been seized by a wolf, and
they were already fatter than sheep. Wishing to do everything which
might render his master favourable to his marriage, he exerted all his
care and activity, driving them to pasture very early, and returning
very late, leading them to the water twice every day, and choosing for
them the richest pastures. He also took care to provide fresh bowls,[4]
many new milk-pails, and larger cheese-racks. Such was his attention
to his goats, that he even oiled their horns, and curried their hair,
and they might have been supposed to be the sacred herd of Pan. Chloe
shared in all his toil, neglecting her own flock, that she might be of
greater assistance to him, which caused Daphnis to attribute the beauty
of his herd entirely to her.
While occupied in this manner, a second messenger came from the city,
with orders for them to get in their vintage as soon as possible; he
said he should remain there until they had made some of the new wine,
after which he should return to Mitylene, and bring their master, at
the end of the vintage season. Lamon and his family received Eudromus,
the runner (for his name was derived from his employment) with a hearty
welcome, and immediately began to strip the vines, to put the grapes
in the vats, and the must in the casks; reserving some of the finest
clusters with their branches, in order that those also who came out of
the city might form some idea of the vintage, and its pleasures.
Before Eudromus departed, Daphnis made him various presents, and
in addition such as are usually given by a goat-herd, such as some
well-made cheeses, a young kid, a white shaggy goat-skin for him to
wear when running on errands in the winter, and many things besides. He
was greatly pleased with Daphnis and embraced him, promising to speak
favourably of him to his master: with these friendly feelings he set
out. Daphnis and Chloe were in a state of great anxiety. She felt no
small fear when she reflected that a youth hitherto accustomed to see
only his goats, the mountains, his fellow-labourers in the fields,
and herself, was for the first time soon to behold his master, whom
he had but recently known even by name. She was anxious to know how
he would conduct himself in the presence of his betters; her mind was
also filled with agitation respecting their marriage, fearing lest all
their expected happiness might prove but a dream. Frequently did she
and Daphnis kiss, and frequently did they cling in embraces as close as
though they grew together;[5] yet their kisses were alloyed by fear,
and their embraces partook of sadness, as if afraid of the actual
presence of their master, or as if endeavouring to avoid his eyes.
The following addition to their present troubles likewise took place.
There was a certain Lampis, a herdsman of overweening disposition; he
also had been asking Chloe in marriage of Dryas, and had made many
handsome presents to promote his chance of success. Being well aware,
that if the master of the estate should give his consent, Daphnis would
obtain her for his bride, he resolved to plan some scheme for setting
Lamon's family at variance with their master; and knowing that the
latter was particularly fond of a garden, he determined to injure it
and destroy its beauty. He was aware that should he venture to cut down
the trees, the noise would betray him, he determined therefore to vent
his rage against the flowers, so waiting till it was dark, he climbed
over the hedge, and like a wild-boar, rooted up some, broke others, and
trampled upon every flower. Having done this, he went away unobserved.
When Lamon came the next morning he was about to water his flowers with
the streams which had been conducted from the fountain, but seeing the
whole spot laid waste, and the damage of such a kind as some determined
enemy or spiteful thief would have committed, he rent his clothes, and
called loudly upon the gods, so that Myrtale threw down what she had
in her hands, and ran out; while Daphnis, who was driving his herds to
pasture, hurried back; and when they saw what had taken place, they
uttered a loud shriek, and burst into tears.
It was in vain to lament the loss of their flowers, but they wept
from dread of their master's anger; and had any stranger passed by he
would have wept also, for the whole garden was dismantled: nothing
remained but trampled clay The few flowers which here and there had
escaped destruction showed by their brilliant hues how beautiful the
garden must have been when in perfection. Νumbers of bees rested upon
them, and with incessant buzzing seemed to lament their fate. Lamon,
in his consternation, thus broke forth: "Alas! for my rose bushes,
how are they broken! Alas! for my violets, how are they trodden under
foot! Alas! for my narcissuses and hyacinths, which some mischievous
villain has rooted up! The spring will return, but they will not put
forth their buds! The summer will come, but they will not be in their
full bloom! The autumn will arrive, but they will crown no one with
garlands! And you, my protector, Bacchus, did not you deign to pity the
flowers, among which you dwell, which daily you behold, and with which
I have so often crowned your brows? How can I show this garden to my
lord? When he sees it, what will be his feelings? He will hang his old
servant, like a second Marsyas, on one of those pines:--and perhaps he
will hang Daphnis, attributing the destruction of it to his goats! "
They ceased weeping for the flowers, and now wept for themselves. Chloe
shed tears at the idea of Daphnis being hanged, and prayed that their
master might never come. She passed days of wretchedness, fancying she
saw Daphnis already suffering under the scourge.
Night was approaching when Eudromus returned, and informed them that
their master would be with them in three days' time, but that his son
would arrive next morning. They now began to deliberate what was to be
done respecting the misfortune which had happened, and took Eudromus
into their councils. Feeling a friendship for Daphnis, he advised them
to relate the whole affair to their young master on his first arrival;
he was his own foster-brother; on which account he had no small
interest with him, and he promised to assist them in the matter.
On the following day they did as he had recommended. Astylus came on
horseback: a fawning parasite, who always accompanied him, rode by
his side. The former was but beginning to be bearded, but the chin
of Gnatho had long since felt the razor's edge. Lamon, together with
Myrtale and Daphnis, came out to meet them, and falling at his young
master's feet, besought him to have mercy upon an unfortunate old man,
and to avert his father's anger from one who was not to blame in any
respect; at the same time relating to him all particulars. Astylus
listened with great commiseration, and when he came to the garden, and
saw the havoc which had been committed, he promised to plead their
excuse with his father by laying the fault on his own horses, which,
he would say, had been tethered there, but having become restive, had
broken loose, and had trampled down, and destroyed the flowers.
Lamon and Myrtale invoked upon him every blessing. Daphnis, moreover,
brought him as presents some kids, some cheese, some birds with their
young, some vine-branches covered with grapes, and some apples still
hanging on their boughs. Among his other gifts he presented some
fragrant Lesbian wine, very choice in flavour.
Astylus expressed himself pleased with the offerings of Daphnis, and
immediately betook himself to hare hunting, as was natural in a young
man abounding in wealth, nursed in luxury, and who had come into the
country merely for some change in his amusements.
Gnatho[6] being a fellow whose whole science consisted in eating and
drinking to excess, and who was nothing, in fact, but a compound of
gluttony, drunkenness, and sensuality,[7] had narrowly watched Daphnis
as he was offering his presents. He was naturally fond of male beauty,
and never having seen any one so handsome, even in town, he determined
to make an attempt upon Daphnis, thinking easily to gain over a mere
shepherd youth. Having formed this determination, instead of going to
hunt with Astylus, he proceeded to the spot where Daphnis was feeding
his flock, under pretence of looking at the goats, but in reality to
gaze upon their master. In order to gain his goodwill, he began by
praising the appearance of the animals, and requested him to play a
pastoral tune upon his pipe, adding, that by his influence he could
soon obtain his freedom. Having in this manner put him at his ease, he
watched his opportunity, and when Daphnis was driving home his herd at
night, he ran up and kissed him, and then went on to make proposals to
him. [8] For some time the youth did not understand his meaning, but
when at last he did, he laid him prostrate with a blow; for he was
in liquor, and hardly able to stand; and then left him sprawling, in
need not of a boy whose beauty he might admire, but of a man to pick
him up and lead him home. For the time to come Daphnis would hold
no more communication with him, but constantly changed the place of
pasturage for his goats, avoiding him, but keeping close to Chloe. Nor,
to say the truth, was Gnatho very eager to renew his acquaintance,
having found by personal experience that he was not only handsome in
countenance but stalwart in arm; nevertheless he determined to watch
for an opportunity of speaking to Astylus about him, and flattered
himself that he should easily obtain him as a gift from a young man who
was always ready to give largely, and upon all occasions.
Just then he could not carry out his plans, for Dionysophanes and
Clearista arrived; and not small was the stir caused by their train
of male and female servants, and their sumpter horses. Dionysophanes
was of middle age,[9] but tall and handsome; and one who would not
suffer by comparison even with far younger men. In riches he had not
many equals, in virtues he had none. On the first day of his arrival
he sacrificed to the deities who preside over the country,--to Ceres,
to Bacchus, to Pan, and to the Nymphs, and caused to be prepared
one common bowl for all present. [10] During the following day he
inspected Lamon's labours, and when he saw the fields well ploughed,
the flourishing condition of the vines, and the beauty of the garden
(for Astylus had taken the blame about the flowers on himself), he was
very much delighted, praised Lamon highly, and promised to give him his
freedom. After going over the farm, he went to see the herds, and him
who tended them.
Chloe fled to the woods: she was ashamed and frightened at the thought
of appearing before so many strangers. Daphnis, however, stood still:
he had on a shaggy goat-skin, a new scrip was suspended from his
shoulder; in one hand he held some fresh cheeses, and with the other,
two sucking kids. If ever Apollo tended the herds of Laomedon, his
appearance must have been like that of Daphnis now. He did not say a
word, but covered with blushes, hung down his head, and presented his
offerings.
"This, Master (said Lamon), is the young man who has taken care of
your goats. Fifty female, and two male goats were the number which I
received from you: this youth has increased the former to a hundred,
and the latter to ten. Observe how sound are their horns, how fat and
long-haired they are in body. He has even made them musical; for all
their movements are regulated by the pipe. "
Clearista, who was present, and heard what was said, expressed a wish
to see a proof of what he asserted, and desired Daphnis to pipe to
his goats in his usual manner, promising him for his pains a tunic,
a cloak, and a pair of sandals. Daphnis disposed the company in a
semi-circle; then standing under the shade of a beech-tree, he took
his pipe from his scrip, and breathed into it very gently. The goats
stood still, merely lifting up their heads. Next he played the
pasture-tune,[11] on which they all put down their heads, and began to
graze. Now he produced some notes, soft and sweet in tone:--at once all
his herd lay down. After this he piped in a sharp key, and they ran
off to the wood, as if a wolf were in sight. Within a short interval
he played the recall, and immediately issuing from their covert, they
ran to his very feet. Few domestic servants will be seen to obey their
master so readily: all the company were astonished at his skill, but
more particularly Clearista, who reiterated her promise of giving a
reward to the handsome goatherd, who had shown such skill in music.
The party, returning to the farm, went to dinner, and sent Daphnis a
portion from their own table.
Daphnis shared the dainties with Chloe, and was delighted with the
flavour of city cookery, and felt very sanguine of obtaining his
master's consent and so of succeeding in his marriage.
Gnatho, still more captivated by this display of Daphnis's skill,
and reckless of life unless he could effect his purpose, watched for
Astylus as he was walking in the garden, and leading him to the temple
of Bacchus, began to kiss his feet and hands.
Upon Astylus inquiring why he did this, urging him to speak out, and
promising to grant his request, he replied, "It is all over with your
old friend Gnatho; I who once cared only for the table; I who used to
swear that nothing was better than generous old wine, and that your
city cooks were better than all the comely youths of Mitylene,--now can
find nothing handsome excepting Daphnis. I no longer relish, nor even
taste the choice dishes which are daily prepared in such abundance,
flesh, fish, and pastry; but would willingly be transformed into a goat
and browse on grass and leaves, if only I could listen to the pipe of
Daphnis, and be under his charge. Shew yourself then, my preserver, and
enable me to triumph in my suit; if you refuse, I swear by Bacchus,
that I will seize a dagger, and after eating until I can eat no longer,
will stab myself before the door of Daphnis, and then you will no
longer be able to call me your sweet Gnatty,[12] as you are used to to
do. " The good-natured young man, who was no stranger to the power of
love, moved by his blandishments and tears, promised to ask Daphnis of
his father, under pretence of requiring him for a slave, but in reality
to be the favourite of Gnatho. Then wishing to put him in good spirits
he jokingly asked whether he was not ashamed of taking a fancy to a son
of Lamon, a common goatherd; at the same time mimicking a feeling of
disgust at rank and goatish smells.
Gnatho, who was well schooled in the love-tales of mythology,
which he had heard at the tables of luxurious profligates, began
to discourse very learnedly of the matters relating to himself and
Daphnis. --"Lovers, my master, are not over nice; wheresoever they see
beauty, they own its influence and succumb to it; some have fallen in
love with a tree, some with a river, others with a wild beast,--now
who would not commiserate a lover who stood in dread of the object of
his love? I, however, am captivated by one who though a slave in his
condition, is worthy of being a freeman as regards his beauty.
"His hair[13] is like the hyacinth, and his eyes sparkle under his
eye brows like gems set in a golden ring, his face is suffused with a
rosy hue of health, his mouth displays teeth as white as ivory. Who
would not wish to snatch a kiss from such a mouth? In taking a fancy
to a shepherd I do but imitate[14] the gods,--Anchises kept oxen and
yet captivated Venus,--Branchius was a goatherd and Apollo loved him.
Ganymede was a shepherd and was snatched away by Jupiter. Let us not
think lightly of a youth, whose very goats obey him as though they were
in love with him; and let us be thankful to the eagles for leaving such
an impersonation of beauty upon earth. " Astylus laughed heartily at
hearing him talk thus, and saying that love made folks great orators,
promised to take an opportunity of mentioning the subject of Daphnis
to his father. Eudromus overheard their conversation, and immediately
gave information of it to Daphnis and Lamon. He loved the young man
because of his amiable disposition, and could not bear to think that so
much beauty and worth should be subjected to Gnatho's drunken humours.
Daphnis in his alarm determined either to fly from the country, taking
Chloe with him, or to destroy himself and Chloe at the same time.
Lamon upon his part called Myrtale out of the house, and exclaimed,
"Ο my dear wife, we are undone. It is time for us to discover what we
have so long concealed. Our goats and all belonging to us will it is
true now be deserted; but I swear by Pan, and the Nymphs, that even
supposing I am myself to be left like an old ox in the stall (as the
saying is), I will no longer keep the history of Daphnis a secret. I
will tell how and where I found him exposed, I will explain how he was
nursed, and will shew the tokens, which were placed with him. That
rascally Gnatho shall know, to what manner of youth he, vile as he is,
has taken a liking! --Take care to have everything in readiness! "
Having formed this resolution, they went into the house again. Astylus,
in the mean time, proceeding to his father, when he happened to be
disengaged, begged his permission to take Daphnis home with them on
their return, alleging, that so beautiful a youth was too good for
his present rustic situation, and would very soon under Gnatho's care
acquire the polish of city manners. His father willingly complied with
his request, and sending for Lamon and Myrtale, communicated to them
as good news, that Daphnis would henceforth wait upon Astylus instead
of tending goats, at the same time promising them two goatherds to
supply his place. It was then, as the attendants were crowding round,
and rejoicing to hear that they were to have among them so handsome
a fellow-slave, that Lamon, having requested leave to speak, thus
addressed his master. "Be pleased, master, to listen to an old man and
hear the truth. I swear by Pan and the Nymphs, that I will not utter
anything which is false. --I am not the father of Daphnis, nor was
Myrtale so fortunate as to be his mother. The parents of this youth,
whoever they were, exposed him in his infancy; perhaps, because, they
had already more children than they knew how to maintain. I found him
lying on the earth, and one of my she-goats nursing him. When she
died, I buried her in the border of my garden, feeling a regard for
her, inasmuch as she had done a mother's duty. I confess having found
various tokens with the infant, which I still preserve; for they prove
him to be born to a higher station than that which he now fills with
me. I am not so high-minded as to slight the offer of his being an
attendant on Astylus--an excellent servant to a virtuous and excellent
master: but I cannot bear the idea of his being a sport for the drunken
hours of Gnatho, who would fain take him to Mitylene, that he may be
abused. "
Lamon at the conclusion of this speech burst into tears. Gnatho began
to bluster, and threatened to strike him, but Dionysophanes sternly
frowning, ordered him to be silent; and again interrogating Lamon,
urged him to tell the truth, and not to invent a tale merely to keep
his son at home. --When Lamon continued unshaken in his assertions,
called upon the gods to be his witnesses, and professed his readiness
to submit to torture, should he be uttering a falsehood; his master,
in the presence of Clearista, who sat by him, began to test the
probability of the tale, as follows. "What motive can Lamon have to
tell a falsehood, when two goatherds are offered him in lieu of one?
How could a plain rustic possibly invent such a tale? --Besides, is it
not altogether unlikely that such an old man and such a plain old woman
can be the parents of so handsome a son. "
He determined to rest no longer upon mere conjectures, but to examine
the tokens, and to see whether they bespoke an illustrious birth.
Myrtale had gone to fetch them, for they were preserved in an old bag.
Dionysophanes was the first to examine them, and when he beheld the
purple mantle, the golden clasp, and little sword with the ivory hilt,
he exclaimed, Lord Jupiter! and called to Clearista to come and look
at them. --When Clearista beheld them, she uttered a loud shriek, and
cried out, "The friendly Fates, are not these the very things, which we
exposed with our little one, when we sent Sophrosyne to leave him in
this part of the country! they are none other, they are the very same,
my husband! the child is ours. Daphnis is your son, and he has been
tending his own father's flock. "
Before she had done speaking, and while Dionysophanes was kissing the
tokens and shedding tears of joy, Astylus, who now understood that
Daphnis was his brother, threw off his cloak, and ran through the
garden to give him the first salute. When Daphnis saw Astylus running
towards him, followed by many others, and heard them calling out his
own name, he thought they were coming to seize him and carry him off by
violence. Accordingly he threw down his scrip, and his pipe, and ran
towards the sea with the determined resolution to throw himself into it
from the top of a high rock: and perhaps (strange to say! ) his being
found would have proved the occasion of his being lost for ever, had
not Astylus perceiving the occasion of his alarm, called out, "Stop,
stop, Daphnis, I am your brother: and they, who have hitherto been your
masters, are now your parents. Lamon has just now given us the whole
account of the she-goat, and has shewn us the tokens, which were found
with you! look back! see! with what cheerful and smiling faces they are
coming towards you! Brother, let me have the first kiss. I swear by the
Nymphs, I am not deceiving you. "
Not without hesitation was Daphnis induced after this solemn assertion
to pause, and wait for Astylus, whom he received with a kiss. While
they were embracing, his father and mother with Lamon and Myrtale and
all the men and maid servants came thronging up, threw their arms round
him, and kissed him with tears of joy. Daphnis affectionately saluted
his father and mother before the rest and as though he had long known
them, clasped them to his breast, and would not disengage himself from
their embrace:--so soon does natural affection assert her rights.
For a time even Chloe was almost forgotten. After returning to the
farm, and putting on a costly dress, he sat down by his real father,
who spoke to the following effect.
"My children, I married when very young; and in a short space of time
became as I considered myself a very fortunate father. First a son
was born to me, next a daughter, and then you, my Astylus. I thought
my family now large enough, for which reason I exposed Daphnis, the
boy who was born in addition to the others, placing with him these
ornaments, not as tokens, but to serve as funeral weeds. --Fortune had
different plans in view. --My eldest son and daughter died of the same
disease in one day: but the providence of the gods has preserved you,
Daphnis, that we might have an additional stay in our old age. --Do not
bear ill will towards me, from the remembrance of my having exposed
you; for I did not do so with a willing mind, nor do you, Astylus,
feel grieved that you will now have a part only, instead of the whole
of my estate; for to a wise man no wealth is more valuable than a
brother. Love each other;--and as for wealth you shall be able to vie
even with princes. I shall leave to you extensive lands, a number of
dexterous servants, stores of gold and silver, and whatever else forms
the possession of the prosperous. Only this particular estate I reserve
for Daphnis, with Lamon and Myrtale, and the goats which he himself has
tended. "
Before he had finished speaking, Daphnis sprang from his seat, and
said, "Father, you very seasonably remind me of these matters. I will
go and lead my goats to water, they must now be thirsty, and are no
doubt waiting to hear my pipe, while I am sitting here. " Every one
laughed at hearing the master so willing to be still the goatherd. One
of the servants was sent in place of Daphnis to tend the herd; while he
and the rest of the company, after sacrificing to Jove the preserver,
sat down together to a banquet. Gnatho was the only one who did not
come to the entertainment; for being under great alarm, he remained all
day and night in the temple of Bacchus, as a suppliant.
The report that Dionysophanes had found his son, and that Daphnis the
goatherd was now master of the estate, having soon spread abroad, early
the next morning numbers flocked to the cottage from various parts
with congratulations to the youth and gifts to the father. --Dryas the
foster-father of Chloe was among the first who arrived.
Dionysophanes kept them all, after sharing of his joy, to partake of an
entertainment. Store of wine was provided, abundance of wheaten bread,
wild fowl, sucking pigs, and sweets of various kinds, and many victims
were sacrificed to the country's deities. Daphnis collected all his
pastoral equipments, and distributed them in separate offerings to the
gods. To Bacchus he presented his scrip, and coat of skin. To Pan his
pipe and transverse-flute. To the Nymphs his crook, and the milkpails,
which he had made with his own hands. The happiness arising from our
wonted condition is however so much greater than that which springs
from unexpected good fortune, that he could not refrain from tears
when parting with each offering. He could not suspend his milkpails in
the grotto without once more milking into them: nor his coat of skin
without once more putting it on: nor his pipe without once more playing
on it. He kissed each of them in turn; he talked to his goats and
called them by their names; he drank from the fountain because he had
so often done so in company with Chloe. --Still he did not yet venture
to declare his love, but waited for a favourable opportunity.
While Daphnis was engaged in these religious ceremonies, the following
circumstances befel Chloe. She was sitting weeping and watching her
flock, and exclaiming (as was natural) "Daphnis has forgotten me. He is
dreaming of some wealthy match. To what purpose did I make him swear by
his goats instead of by the Nymphs? he has deserted the former as well
as me; nor even when sacrificing to the Nymphs and to Pan, has he had
any desire to see his Chloe. Perhaps among his mother's waiting women,
he has seen some girl preferable to me. May he be happy! As for me I
shall not survive it. "
While she was giving utterance to these thoughts, Lampis the herdsman
with a band of rustics suddenly came up and seized her. He conceived
that Daphnis would no longer marry her, and that Dryas would be well
content to have him as a son-in-law. While she was being borne off
with tears and shrieks, some one who had witnessed the transaction,
hastened to inform Nape: Nape informed Dryas, and Dryas communicated
it to Daphnis. Distracted at the intelligence, afraid to explain the
circumstance to his father, and unable to restrain his own emotions, he
betook himself to the outer garden-walk and there vented his grief:--
"What an unhappy discovery of parentage, is mine! How much better
would it have been for me still to tend my herds! How much happier was
I, when a slave! then I could behold my Chloe! --but now, Lampis has
carried her away; this very night, perhaps, she will be his wife! In
the mean time I am here, drinking and feasting, and have to no purpose
sworn by Pan, by my goats, and by the Nymphs. "
These words were overheard by Gnatho, who was lurking in the garden; he
considered it a good opportunity for effecting a reconciliation with
Daphnis. Assembling some youths, who waited upon Astylus, he pursued
Dryas, whom he desired to conduct them to the place where Lampis dwelt.
They overtook him just as he was dragging Chloe into his house, rescued
her from him, and gave the country-fellows, his companions, a sound
drubbing. He was very desirous also to seize and bind Lampis, and bring
him back like a prisoner of war, but the fellow was too much for him
and ran away.
Having accomplished this exploit, he returned just as night was coming
on.
which gave him uneasiness--Lamon was not rich: this reflection alone
rendered his hopes of success slender. Nevertheless he determined to
declare himself a suitor, and Chloe approved of his design.
He did not venture to declare his intention to Lamon, but taking
courage, communicated his love to Myrtale, and spoke also of the
marriage; she imparted everything to her husband at night. Lamon
treated her intercession for Daphnis very harshly, and rebuked his wife
for thinking of marrying to a mere shepherd's daughter, a youth who
by the tokens found upon him, seemed to give promise of a much higher
fortune, and who, should he ever find his relatives, would not only
procure the freedom of his foster-father and mother, but also make them
master and mistress of a much larger estate.
Myrtale, fearing lest the youth, blighted in his hopes of marrying
Chloe, should make an attempt upon his own life, gave him a different
reason for the opposition on her husband's part. "We are poor, my son,
and we require a girl who will bring a portion with her; they, on the
other hand, are rich, and expect rich suitors. However, go and persuade
Chloe, and get her to prevail upon her father, not to look for too
great a match, but to let you take her for a wife. The girl herself, I
am sure, dearly loves you, and would certainly prefer sharing her bed
with a handsome youth, however poor, than with an ugly ape, however
rich. "
Myrtale had no expectation that Dryas, who had so many richer suitors
applying to him, would ever agree to the wishes of Daphnis, and
considered herself to have offered very plausible arguments for
disposing of the subject of the marriage.
Daphnis could not in justice find fault with what she said; but, as
needy lovers generally do, he burst into tears; and again invoked the
assistance of the Nymphs.
As he slept at night, they again appeared to him in the same dress and
form, as they had done before, and the eldest of them thus addressed
him.
"Chloe's marriage is under the superintendence of another deity: as
for yourself we will furnish you with gifts which shall soften Dryas,
and win his consent. The boat belonging to the young men of Methymna,
whose vine-branch cable your goats devoured, was that same day carried
far out to sea by the violence of the wind: at night the gale blowing
from the sea, it was driven towards the land and dashed upon some
rocks, there it was wrecked and everything in it lost. A purse of three
thousand drachmas[17] was thrown ashore, and lies covered with seaweed
near a dead dolphin, the putrid stench of which is so offensive that
no one will approach it but hastens by as fast as he can. Go, take
this money, and offer it to Dryas. It is enough at present to make you
appear not absolutely poor; the time will come, when you will be very
rich. "
After speaking to this effect, they disappeared, and with them the
darkness of the night; day dawned, and Daphnis leaping from his bed
with joy, drove his goats to pasture with boisterous eagerness. After
kissing Chloe, and paying his adorations in the grotto, he went down
to the sea, pretending that it was his intention to bathe, and then
walked along the sands close to the beach, seeking the three thousand
drachmas. The search required little labour: the dolphin lay rotting
in his path, and yielding a "most ancient and fish-like smell," which
served to guide him on his way. He immediately approached it, and upon
removing the weeds found the purse full of silver, which he put into
his scrip; but before quitting the spot he uttered blessings upon the
Nymphs and upon the ocean likewise; for although a shepherd he now
thought the sea more delightful than the land, since it contributed to
promote his marriage with Chloe.
Having got possession of this sum, he thought himself not merely
richer than his neighbours, but the richest man upon the earth, and
immediately hastened to Chloe, related his dream to her, shewed her
the purse, and desired her to tend the herds till he came back: then,
hurrying with all speed to Dryas, whom he found with Nape busied in
beating out corn upon the threshing floor, he boldly entered upon the
subject of the marriage.
"Give me Chloe for a wife. I can play well on the pipe; I can prune
vines; I can plant; I can plough; and I can winnow. To my skill as
a herdsman Chloe can bear witness: fifty she-goats were given to my
charge, and their number is now doubled. Formerly we used to send
our females to a neighbour's males; but now I have reared large and
handsome he-goats of our own. I am young; and, as I have been your
neighbour, you know me to have a blameless character. A goat, moreover,
nursed me, as a ewe did Chloe. Being on so many points superior to
other suitors, you will not find me their inferior in my gifts. They
will offer their goats and their sheep, or a yoke of mangy oxen,
or corn not fit to feed even dunghill fowls! I will give you three
thousand drachmas! --only let no one know what I have offered--not even
Lamon, my father! " So saying, he presented the money and threw his arms
round the neck of Dryas.
Dryas and Nape were surprised at the sight of so much money, and not
only promised to give Chloe in marriage, but also undertook to procure
Lamon's consent to the match. Nape remained with Daphnis, and drove
the oxen round the floor, while by means of the threshing-machine,[18]
she separated the grains. Dryas, in the meantime, laid by the money
carefully, in the place where the tokens were stored up, and hastened
to Lamon's house upon the novel errand of asking[19] a husband for his
daughter. He found Lamon and Myrtale measuring some barley, which had
been just winnowed, and in very bad spirits at finding it yield little
more than the seed which had been put into the ground, and endeavoured
to console them by saying, that this season the complaint was general.
He then asked Daphnis in marriage for Chloe. "Others," said he, "would
willingly make me handsome presents, I however will accept nothing
from you, but, on the contrary, will give you of my own substance. The
two young people have been brought up together, and from feeding their
flocks in company they have contracted a mutual fondness which cannot
easily be dissolved, and they are now of sufficient age to consummate a
marriage. "
These and many more arguments he urged with all the eloquence of one
who had received three thousand drachmas for his guerdon. Lamon was no
longer able to plead his poverty, since Dryas entertained no objections
upon that head; nor could he object to the age of Daphnis, for he was
by this time a young man; but even now he did not explain the real
cause of his unwillingness, which was, that Daphnis was of too good
birth for such a match.
After remaining sometime silent he replied as follows. "You act justly,
Dryas, in preferring your neighbours before strangers, and in not
thinking wealth superior to honest poverty. May Pan and the Nymphs
reward you with their friendship for this! I myself am eager for the
marriage: I who am halfway on the road to old age, and begin to feel
the want of assistance on my farm, should indeed be crazy, were I to
refuse a connection with your family; this in itself would be a great
advantage, and Chloe, too, is most desirable on account of her beauty,
youth, and goodness. At the same time you must consider that I am only
a serf on this estate:[20] I am owner of nothing here: it is necessary
that my master should be acquainted with the business, and that we
should have his consent. Suppose, then, that we defer the marriage till
the autumn: persons from the city have informed me, that he intends
coming hither at that time. They shall then be man and wife; for the
present let them love each other like brother and sister. I will only
farther say, friend Dryas, that you are seeking as son-in-law one who
is superior to us all. " He added no more, but embraced Dryas, and
handed him some drink, it being mid-day and very hot, and wishing to
shew him every mark of kindness, accompanied him part of his way home.
The last expression of Lamon was not lost upon Dryas, but as he went
along he thought within himself,--"Who can Daphnis be? He was suckled
by a she-goat, as if under the providential care of the deities
themselves; he is very handsome, and bears no resemblance to the
flat-nosed Lamon, or the bald-headed Myrtale; he is master, also, of
three thousand drachmas,--few goatherds can call so many pears their
own! Was he exposed by the same person who exposed Chloe? Did Lamon
find him, as I found her? were tokens left with him like those which I
found? If, Ο Pan, and ye Nymphs, it be so, whensoever he finds his own
relatives, he may throw some light upon the secret history of Chloe
also! "
Thus he proceeded, thinking and dreaming, until he reached the
threshing-floor. There he found Daphnis on the tiptoe of expectation
to learn his tidings. Dryas relieved his mind by addressing him as
son-in-law; he promised him that the nuptials should take place in the
autumn, and gave him his right hand in confirmation that Chloe should
be the wife of no other.
Swifter than thought, without stopping to eat or drink, away ran
Daphnis to Chloe. He found her engaged in milking and making cheese,
told her the good news of their approaching wedding, kissed her
openly, as though she were already his wife, and not by stealth as he
used to do, and began to assist her in her work, by milking the goats
and ewes into the pails, setting the cheeses upon the racks,[21] and
placing the lambs and kids under their dams. When their labours were
concluded, they washed themselves, ate and drank, and then went out
in search of some ripe fruit. Of this there was abundance, it being
the most fruitful season of the year. There were pears, both wild
and cultivated, and all sorts of apples, some of which were lying on
the ground, and some still hanging upon the branches. Those upon the
ground smelt sweeter; those upon the boughs were brighter in colour;
the former were as fragrant as new wine, the latter shone like gold.
One tree had been entirely stripped; its branches were bare; it had
neither leaves nor fruit, except a single apple, which grew upon the
top of the highest branch. This apple was very large and beautiful, and
its solitary perfume surpassed the united fragrance of many others. The
gatherer had either been afraid of climbing to the summit of the tree,
or he had preserved this beautiful fruit for some love-sick shepherd.
Daphnis, as soon as he espied it, began to climb the tree, giving no
heed to Chloe, who endeavoured to prevent him, and who finding herself
disregarded hurried away pettishly after her herds. Daphnis climbed
the tree, succeeded in seizing the apple, carried it as a present to
Chloe, and presented it to her, with these words:--"Maiden, this fruit
was produced and cherished by the beauteous hours; the sun matured it
with his beams, and fortune has preserved it; unless blind, I could
not leave it either to fall on the ground, where cattle, as they
grazed, might tread on it, or where the snake might crawl over it, and
defile it with his slime; or where time might rot it as it lay; still
less could I do this when it had been seen and praised by you. Venus
received an apple as the prize of beauty; the same prize I adjudge to
you. Paris and I are equally fitted to be umpires: he was a shepherd, I
am a goatherd. "
With these words he placed the apple in her bosom, and she, upon his
drawing near, bestowed on him a kiss; so that Daphnis did not repent of
having ventured to climb[22] to such a height; for the kiss which he
received was more precious to him than a golden apple.
[Footnote 1: The reading here followed is that of
Villoisin. --ὑβρίζοντας τoὺς νεανίσκους. ]
[Footnote 2:
"nec jam susteneant onus
Silvæ laborantes, geluque
Flumina constiterint acuto. "--Hor. i. Od. ix. 2.
]
[Footnote 3: Compare Virgil's description of the way of passing a
northern Winter.
"Ipsi in defossis specubus secura sub altâ
Otia agunt terrâ, congestaque robora totasque
Advolvere focis ulmos, ignique dedere.
Hie noctem ludo ducunt, et pocula læti
Fermento atque acidis imitantur vitea sorbis. "
G. iii. 376.
]
[Footnote 4:
"Fac primus rapias illius tacta labellis
Pocula: quaque bibit parte puella, bibe. "
Ovid de Art. Am. i. 575.
]
[Footnote 5:
"Diffugere nives, redeunt jam gramina campis
Arboribusque comæ. . . .
Mutat terra vices. "--Hor. iv. Od. vii. 1.
]
[Footnote 6:
"----The gay troops begin,
In gallant thought to plume the painted wing
And try again the long forgotten strain,
At first faint warbled--
. . . . . .
Then, all at once alive, then joy o'erflows
In music unconfined. "--Thomson.
Should the reader wish to see the song of the Nightingale represented
by a series of words, he is referred to p. 108 of Paget's Warden of
Berkingholt, where he will find the imitation by the learned Doctor
Bechstein, of Walterhausen. ]
[Footnote 7: "Recti illi faciunt, rectæ contra istæ patiuntur alteri,
nempe insilientes, alteræ vero dorso impositos admittentes. Tu a me
petis, ut unà recumbam, idque nuda? Atqui illas me, licet vestibus
amicta, quanto aunt hirsutiores? Paret Daphnis, et concumbens cum eadem
jacuit; nesciusque quidquam eorum agere, quorum gratiâ tanta libidinis
impetu concitabatur, illam erigit, et a tergo hircos imitande illi
adhæsit. "]
[Footnote 8: Saltus hi longe illis dulciorea; habent enim longieris
temporis voluptatem. ]
[Footnote 9: "Edocta eum ad patrandum non solum fortem esse, verum
etiam libidine turgere, ab reclinatione in latus factâ, ipsum erexit,
seque tum perite substernens, ilium ad viam duci quæsitam direxit;
deinde non ultra peregrinum ipsum circumduxit, ipsa natura, quod porro
agendum restabat, docente. "]
[Footnote 10: "Jacebit haud secus ac vulnerata, multo manens
sanguine. --Verum non est quod cruorem timeas; sed quando illam
persuaseris, ut tibi morem gerat, tunc tu illam in hunc adducit locum,
ubi, si forté clamaverit, nemo audiat, si lacrimata fuerit, nemo
videat, si cruore fœdata fuerit, fonte se abluat. "]
[Footnote 11: "cavens, ne vel illa veluti hoste conspecto clamaret,
vel tanquam dolore affecta fleret, vel sanguine fœdaretur tanquam
contrucidata. Non ità dudum namque periculum fecerat ipse, à Methymnæis
plagis affectus: ideoque à sanguine abhorrebat, sanguinemque de solo
vulnere sequi opinabatur. "]
[Footnote 12: κελευστής,(in Latin, Hortator or Portusculus) an officer
in a ship who gave the signal to the rowers, that they might keep time
in rowing. The same name was also given to the pole or hammer, by the
striking of which he regulated the motion of the oars.
"mediæ stat margine puppis,
Qui voce alternos nautarum temperet ictus,
Et remis dictat sonitum, pariterque relatis
Ad sonitum plaudat resonantia cœrula tonsis. "
Silius Italicus, VI. 360.
See Æsch Persæ. 388. ]
[Footnote 13: See Ovid, Met. iii. 356, for the legend of Echo and
Narcissus. ]
[Footnote 14: There is a painting, by Sir Joshua Reynolds, which
represents Venus as chiding Cupid for learning arithmetic. ]
[Footnote 15: See Theocritus. Idyll xxvii. ]
[Footnote 16:
"This is the prettiest low-born lass, that ever
Ran on the green-sord; nothing she does or seems
But smacks of something greater than herself,
Too noble for this place. "--Winter's Tale.
]
[Footnote 17: £122 18s. 4d. ]
[Footnote 18: Tριβόλος--a corn-drag, consisting of a thick and
ponderous wooden board, armed underneath with pieces of iron, or sharp
flints, and drawn over the corn by a yoke of oxen, either the driver or
a heavy weight being placed upon it, for the purpose of separating the
grain and cutting the straw. --Dict. of Greek and Rom. Antiq. See Virg.
Georg. i. 164. ]
[Footnote 19: μνᾶσθαι νυμφιόν--the verb μναόμαι is properly employed
only with reference to the woman, signifying to woo to wife. ]
[Footnote 20: Lamon appears to have been the ἐπίρoπos, or bailiff upon
his master's estate. ]
[Footnote 21: Ταρσοὶ--flat wicker baskets for making and stowing away
cheeses.
"Ταρσοὶ μὲν τυρῶν βρῖθον. "--Odyss. ix. 219.
. . . . "His strainers hung with cheese
Distended. ". . . --Cowper.
"Ταρσοὶ δ' ὑπερσχθἐες αἰεὶ. "--Theoc. Idyll. 37.
"My cheeses fail not in their hurdled row. "--Chapman.
Λ passage in Ovid illustrates the process of cheese-making:--
. . . . "Veluti concretum vimine querno
Lac solet; utve liquor rari sub pondere cribri
Manat, et exprimitur per densa foramina spissus. "
Met. xii. 434
]
[Footnote 22:
. . . . "Is not love a Hercules,
Still climbing trees in the Hesperides? "--Shakspeare.
]
BOOK IV.
One of Lamon's neighbours, who was a fellow serf under the same lord,
called in his way from Mitylene, and informed him that their master
intended coming just before the vintage, to see whether the incursion
of the Methymnæans had done any damage to his lands. The summer was
now closing, and autumn approaching very fast; Lamon, therefore,
immediately began to put the house in such order as might, in every
respect, please his master's eyes. He cleansed the fountains, that the
water might be pure; carried the manure out of the yard, that the smell
might not be offensive; and trimmed his garden, that all its beauty
might be seen.
His garden was indeed a beautiful one, and laid out in a princely
style. It was situated on high ground, and was five hundred feet
in length, while in breadth it contained four acres, so that one
might have supposed it an extensive plain. In it were all kinds of
trees,--the apple, the myrtle, the pear, the pomegranate, the fig,
the olive, which grew here in perfection. On one side of this garden
was a lofty vine, whose branches, laden with blackening grapes, were
suspended above the apple and pear trees, as if vying with them in
the show of fruit. Such were the cultivated trees. There were also
cypresses, laurels, planes, and pines, over which an ivy instead of
a vine stretched out her branches, with berries in size and colour
resembling grapes.
The fruit-trees occupied the interior space. Those which did not bear
fruit were ranged on the outside, serving the purpose of an artificial
fence; and the whole was inclosed by a slight hedge. All were placed
in a strict and regular order,[1] so that their trunks were perfectly
distinct one from the other, but at a certain height their branches
met, and intermingled their leaves with a regularity which, though the
work of nature, appeared to be the effect of art. Here were also beds
of various flowers, some of which were cultivated plants, and some the
spontaneous production of the soil. The rose bushes,[2] hyacinths, and
lilies had been planted by the hand of man, the violets, the narcissus,
and the pimpernel sprang naturally from the ground. There was shade for
summer, flowers for spring, fruits for autumn, and for all seasons of
the year enjoyment.
From this garden was to be had a fine view of the plains with the herds
and flocks which grazed upon them; as well as of the sea, and of the
ships, as they were sailing along, so that the prospect was no small
portion of the beauty of the place. Exactly in the middle there was a
temple and an altar, dedicated to Bacchus.
An ivy encircled the altar,
and a vine extended its branches round the temple; on the interior
the events in the history of the god were represented. The delivery
of Semele, Ariadne sleeping, Lycurgus fettered, Pentheus torn in
pieces,[3] the victories over the Indians, and the metamorphosis of the
Tyrrhenian sailors. On all sides were Satyrs and Bacchantes dancing.
Nor was Pan omitted; he was represented sitting upon a rock, and
playing upon his pipe an air intended equally to regulate the motions
of the men as they trod the grapes, and of the women as they danced.
Such was the garden, which Lamon was busy in getting into order,
cutting away dead wood, and raising the branches of the vines. He
crowned the statue of Bacchus with flowers, he conducted water from
the fountain discovered by Daphnis, for the flowers, which was used
exclusively for them, and was called Daphnis's Fountain. Lamon also
charged the youth to get his goats into as good condition as possible,
since their master would certainly visit and examine them after his
long absence from the farm. Upon this head Daphnis felt confident that
he should be praised; for the herd, which he had received in charge,
was increased twofold: not one of them had been seized by a wolf, and
they were already fatter than sheep. Wishing to do everything which
might render his master favourable to his marriage, he exerted all his
care and activity, driving them to pasture very early, and returning
very late, leading them to the water twice every day, and choosing for
them the richest pastures. He also took care to provide fresh bowls,[4]
many new milk-pails, and larger cheese-racks. Such was his attention
to his goats, that he even oiled their horns, and curried their hair,
and they might have been supposed to be the sacred herd of Pan. Chloe
shared in all his toil, neglecting her own flock, that she might be of
greater assistance to him, which caused Daphnis to attribute the beauty
of his herd entirely to her.
While occupied in this manner, a second messenger came from the city,
with orders for them to get in their vintage as soon as possible; he
said he should remain there until they had made some of the new wine,
after which he should return to Mitylene, and bring their master, at
the end of the vintage season. Lamon and his family received Eudromus,
the runner (for his name was derived from his employment) with a hearty
welcome, and immediately began to strip the vines, to put the grapes
in the vats, and the must in the casks; reserving some of the finest
clusters with their branches, in order that those also who came out of
the city might form some idea of the vintage, and its pleasures.
Before Eudromus departed, Daphnis made him various presents, and
in addition such as are usually given by a goat-herd, such as some
well-made cheeses, a young kid, a white shaggy goat-skin for him to
wear when running on errands in the winter, and many things besides. He
was greatly pleased with Daphnis and embraced him, promising to speak
favourably of him to his master: with these friendly feelings he set
out. Daphnis and Chloe were in a state of great anxiety. She felt no
small fear when she reflected that a youth hitherto accustomed to see
only his goats, the mountains, his fellow-labourers in the fields,
and herself, was for the first time soon to behold his master, whom
he had but recently known even by name. She was anxious to know how
he would conduct himself in the presence of his betters; her mind was
also filled with agitation respecting their marriage, fearing lest all
their expected happiness might prove but a dream. Frequently did she
and Daphnis kiss, and frequently did they cling in embraces as close as
though they grew together;[5] yet their kisses were alloyed by fear,
and their embraces partook of sadness, as if afraid of the actual
presence of their master, or as if endeavouring to avoid his eyes.
The following addition to their present troubles likewise took place.
There was a certain Lampis, a herdsman of overweening disposition; he
also had been asking Chloe in marriage of Dryas, and had made many
handsome presents to promote his chance of success. Being well aware,
that if the master of the estate should give his consent, Daphnis would
obtain her for his bride, he resolved to plan some scheme for setting
Lamon's family at variance with their master; and knowing that the
latter was particularly fond of a garden, he determined to injure it
and destroy its beauty. He was aware that should he venture to cut down
the trees, the noise would betray him, he determined therefore to vent
his rage against the flowers, so waiting till it was dark, he climbed
over the hedge, and like a wild-boar, rooted up some, broke others, and
trampled upon every flower. Having done this, he went away unobserved.
When Lamon came the next morning he was about to water his flowers with
the streams which had been conducted from the fountain, but seeing the
whole spot laid waste, and the damage of such a kind as some determined
enemy or spiteful thief would have committed, he rent his clothes, and
called loudly upon the gods, so that Myrtale threw down what she had
in her hands, and ran out; while Daphnis, who was driving his herds to
pasture, hurried back; and when they saw what had taken place, they
uttered a loud shriek, and burst into tears.
It was in vain to lament the loss of their flowers, but they wept
from dread of their master's anger; and had any stranger passed by he
would have wept also, for the whole garden was dismantled: nothing
remained but trampled clay The few flowers which here and there had
escaped destruction showed by their brilliant hues how beautiful the
garden must have been when in perfection. Νumbers of bees rested upon
them, and with incessant buzzing seemed to lament their fate. Lamon,
in his consternation, thus broke forth: "Alas! for my rose bushes,
how are they broken! Alas! for my violets, how are they trodden under
foot! Alas! for my narcissuses and hyacinths, which some mischievous
villain has rooted up! The spring will return, but they will not put
forth their buds! The summer will come, but they will not be in their
full bloom! The autumn will arrive, but they will crown no one with
garlands! And you, my protector, Bacchus, did not you deign to pity the
flowers, among which you dwell, which daily you behold, and with which
I have so often crowned your brows? How can I show this garden to my
lord? When he sees it, what will be his feelings? He will hang his old
servant, like a second Marsyas, on one of those pines:--and perhaps he
will hang Daphnis, attributing the destruction of it to his goats! "
They ceased weeping for the flowers, and now wept for themselves. Chloe
shed tears at the idea of Daphnis being hanged, and prayed that their
master might never come. She passed days of wretchedness, fancying she
saw Daphnis already suffering under the scourge.
Night was approaching when Eudromus returned, and informed them that
their master would be with them in three days' time, but that his son
would arrive next morning. They now began to deliberate what was to be
done respecting the misfortune which had happened, and took Eudromus
into their councils. Feeling a friendship for Daphnis, he advised them
to relate the whole affair to their young master on his first arrival;
he was his own foster-brother; on which account he had no small
interest with him, and he promised to assist them in the matter.
On the following day they did as he had recommended. Astylus came on
horseback: a fawning parasite, who always accompanied him, rode by
his side. The former was but beginning to be bearded, but the chin
of Gnatho had long since felt the razor's edge. Lamon, together with
Myrtale and Daphnis, came out to meet them, and falling at his young
master's feet, besought him to have mercy upon an unfortunate old man,
and to avert his father's anger from one who was not to blame in any
respect; at the same time relating to him all particulars. Astylus
listened with great commiseration, and when he came to the garden, and
saw the havoc which had been committed, he promised to plead their
excuse with his father by laying the fault on his own horses, which,
he would say, had been tethered there, but having become restive, had
broken loose, and had trampled down, and destroyed the flowers.
Lamon and Myrtale invoked upon him every blessing. Daphnis, moreover,
brought him as presents some kids, some cheese, some birds with their
young, some vine-branches covered with grapes, and some apples still
hanging on their boughs. Among his other gifts he presented some
fragrant Lesbian wine, very choice in flavour.
Astylus expressed himself pleased with the offerings of Daphnis, and
immediately betook himself to hare hunting, as was natural in a young
man abounding in wealth, nursed in luxury, and who had come into the
country merely for some change in his amusements.
Gnatho[6] being a fellow whose whole science consisted in eating and
drinking to excess, and who was nothing, in fact, but a compound of
gluttony, drunkenness, and sensuality,[7] had narrowly watched Daphnis
as he was offering his presents. He was naturally fond of male beauty,
and never having seen any one so handsome, even in town, he determined
to make an attempt upon Daphnis, thinking easily to gain over a mere
shepherd youth. Having formed this determination, instead of going to
hunt with Astylus, he proceeded to the spot where Daphnis was feeding
his flock, under pretence of looking at the goats, but in reality to
gaze upon their master. In order to gain his goodwill, he began by
praising the appearance of the animals, and requested him to play a
pastoral tune upon his pipe, adding, that by his influence he could
soon obtain his freedom. Having in this manner put him at his ease, he
watched his opportunity, and when Daphnis was driving home his herd at
night, he ran up and kissed him, and then went on to make proposals to
him. [8] For some time the youth did not understand his meaning, but
when at last he did, he laid him prostrate with a blow; for he was
in liquor, and hardly able to stand; and then left him sprawling, in
need not of a boy whose beauty he might admire, but of a man to pick
him up and lead him home. For the time to come Daphnis would hold
no more communication with him, but constantly changed the place of
pasturage for his goats, avoiding him, but keeping close to Chloe. Nor,
to say the truth, was Gnatho very eager to renew his acquaintance,
having found by personal experience that he was not only handsome in
countenance but stalwart in arm; nevertheless he determined to watch
for an opportunity of speaking to Astylus about him, and flattered
himself that he should easily obtain him as a gift from a young man who
was always ready to give largely, and upon all occasions.
Just then he could not carry out his plans, for Dionysophanes and
Clearista arrived; and not small was the stir caused by their train
of male and female servants, and their sumpter horses. Dionysophanes
was of middle age,[9] but tall and handsome; and one who would not
suffer by comparison even with far younger men. In riches he had not
many equals, in virtues he had none. On the first day of his arrival
he sacrificed to the deities who preside over the country,--to Ceres,
to Bacchus, to Pan, and to the Nymphs, and caused to be prepared
one common bowl for all present. [10] During the following day he
inspected Lamon's labours, and when he saw the fields well ploughed,
the flourishing condition of the vines, and the beauty of the garden
(for Astylus had taken the blame about the flowers on himself), he was
very much delighted, praised Lamon highly, and promised to give him his
freedom. After going over the farm, he went to see the herds, and him
who tended them.
Chloe fled to the woods: she was ashamed and frightened at the thought
of appearing before so many strangers. Daphnis, however, stood still:
he had on a shaggy goat-skin, a new scrip was suspended from his
shoulder; in one hand he held some fresh cheeses, and with the other,
two sucking kids. If ever Apollo tended the herds of Laomedon, his
appearance must have been like that of Daphnis now. He did not say a
word, but covered with blushes, hung down his head, and presented his
offerings.
"This, Master (said Lamon), is the young man who has taken care of
your goats. Fifty female, and two male goats were the number which I
received from you: this youth has increased the former to a hundred,
and the latter to ten. Observe how sound are their horns, how fat and
long-haired they are in body. He has even made them musical; for all
their movements are regulated by the pipe. "
Clearista, who was present, and heard what was said, expressed a wish
to see a proof of what he asserted, and desired Daphnis to pipe to
his goats in his usual manner, promising him for his pains a tunic,
a cloak, and a pair of sandals. Daphnis disposed the company in a
semi-circle; then standing under the shade of a beech-tree, he took
his pipe from his scrip, and breathed into it very gently. The goats
stood still, merely lifting up their heads. Next he played the
pasture-tune,[11] on which they all put down their heads, and began to
graze. Now he produced some notes, soft and sweet in tone:--at once all
his herd lay down. After this he piped in a sharp key, and they ran
off to the wood, as if a wolf were in sight. Within a short interval
he played the recall, and immediately issuing from their covert, they
ran to his very feet. Few domestic servants will be seen to obey their
master so readily: all the company were astonished at his skill, but
more particularly Clearista, who reiterated her promise of giving a
reward to the handsome goatherd, who had shown such skill in music.
The party, returning to the farm, went to dinner, and sent Daphnis a
portion from their own table.
Daphnis shared the dainties with Chloe, and was delighted with the
flavour of city cookery, and felt very sanguine of obtaining his
master's consent and so of succeeding in his marriage.
Gnatho, still more captivated by this display of Daphnis's skill,
and reckless of life unless he could effect his purpose, watched for
Astylus as he was walking in the garden, and leading him to the temple
of Bacchus, began to kiss his feet and hands.
Upon Astylus inquiring why he did this, urging him to speak out, and
promising to grant his request, he replied, "It is all over with your
old friend Gnatho; I who once cared only for the table; I who used to
swear that nothing was better than generous old wine, and that your
city cooks were better than all the comely youths of Mitylene,--now can
find nothing handsome excepting Daphnis. I no longer relish, nor even
taste the choice dishes which are daily prepared in such abundance,
flesh, fish, and pastry; but would willingly be transformed into a goat
and browse on grass and leaves, if only I could listen to the pipe of
Daphnis, and be under his charge. Shew yourself then, my preserver, and
enable me to triumph in my suit; if you refuse, I swear by Bacchus,
that I will seize a dagger, and after eating until I can eat no longer,
will stab myself before the door of Daphnis, and then you will no
longer be able to call me your sweet Gnatty,[12] as you are used to to
do. " The good-natured young man, who was no stranger to the power of
love, moved by his blandishments and tears, promised to ask Daphnis of
his father, under pretence of requiring him for a slave, but in reality
to be the favourite of Gnatho. Then wishing to put him in good spirits
he jokingly asked whether he was not ashamed of taking a fancy to a son
of Lamon, a common goatherd; at the same time mimicking a feeling of
disgust at rank and goatish smells.
Gnatho, who was well schooled in the love-tales of mythology,
which he had heard at the tables of luxurious profligates, began
to discourse very learnedly of the matters relating to himself and
Daphnis. --"Lovers, my master, are not over nice; wheresoever they see
beauty, they own its influence and succumb to it; some have fallen in
love with a tree, some with a river, others with a wild beast,--now
who would not commiserate a lover who stood in dread of the object of
his love? I, however, am captivated by one who though a slave in his
condition, is worthy of being a freeman as regards his beauty.
"His hair[13] is like the hyacinth, and his eyes sparkle under his
eye brows like gems set in a golden ring, his face is suffused with a
rosy hue of health, his mouth displays teeth as white as ivory. Who
would not wish to snatch a kiss from such a mouth? In taking a fancy
to a shepherd I do but imitate[14] the gods,--Anchises kept oxen and
yet captivated Venus,--Branchius was a goatherd and Apollo loved him.
Ganymede was a shepherd and was snatched away by Jupiter. Let us not
think lightly of a youth, whose very goats obey him as though they were
in love with him; and let us be thankful to the eagles for leaving such
an impersonation of beauty upon earth. " Astylus laughed heartily at
hearing him talk thus, and saying that love made folks great orators,
promised to take an opportunity of mentioning the subject of Daphnis
to his father. Eudromus overheard their conversation, and immediately
gave information of it to Daphnis and Lamon. He loved the young man
because of his amiable disposition, and could not bear to think that so
much beauty and worth should be subjected to Gnatho's drunken humours.
Daphnis in his alarm determined either to fly from the country, taking
Chloe with him, or to destroy himself and Chloe at the same time.
Lamon upon his part called Myrtale out of the house, and exclaimed,
"Ο my dear wife, we are undone. It is time for us to discover what we
have so long concealed. Our goats and all belonging to us will it is
true now be deserted; but I swear by Pan, and the Nymphs, that even
supposing I am myself to be left like an old ox in the stall (as the
saying is), I will no longer keep the history of Daphnis a secret. I
will tell how and where I found him exposed, I will explain how he was
nursed, and will shew the tokens, which were placed with him. That
rascally Gnatho shall know, to what manner of youth he, vile as he is,
has taken a liking! --Take care to have everything in readiness! "
Having formed this resolution, they went into the house again. Astylus,
in the mean time, proceeding to his father, when he happened to be
disengaged, begged his permission to take Daphnis home with them on
their return, alleging, that so beautiful a youth was too good for
his present rustic situation, and would very soon under Gnatho's care
acquire the polish of city manners. His father willingly complied with
his request, and sending for Lamon and Myrtale, communicated to them
as good news, that Daphnis would henceforth wait upon Astylus instead
of tending goats, at the same time promising them two goatherds to
supply his place. It was then, as the attendants were crowding round,
and rejoicing to hear that they were to have among them so handsome
a fellow-slave, that Lamon, having requested leave to speak, thus
addressed his master. "Be pleased, master, to listen to an old man and
hear the truth. I swear by Pan and the Nymphs, that I will not utter
anything which is false. --I am not the father of Daphnis, nor was
Myrtale so fortunate as to be his mother. The parents of this youth,
whoever they were, exposed him in his infancy; perhaps, because, they
had already more children than they knew how to maintain. I found him
lying on the earth, and one of my she-goats nursing him. When she
died, I buried her in the border of my garden, feeling a regard for
her, inasmuch as she had done a mother's duty. I confess having found
various tokens with the infant, which I still preserve; for they prove
him to be born to a higher station than that which he now fills with
me. I am not so high-minded as to slight the offer of his being an
attendant on Astylus--an excellent servant to a virtuous and excellent
master: but I cannot bear the idea of his being a sport for the drunken
hours of Gnatho, who would fain take him to Mitylene, that he may be
abused. "
Lamon at the conclusion of this speech burst into tears. Gnatho began
to bluster, and threatened to strike him, but Dionysophanes sternly
frowning, ordered him to be silent; and again interrogating Lamon,
urged him to tell the truth, and not to invent a tale merely to keep
his son at home. --When Lamon continued unshaken in his assertions,
called upon the gods to be his witnesses, and professed his readiness
to submit to torture, should he be uttering a falsehood; his master,
in the presence of Clearista, who sat by him, began to test the
probability of the tale, as follows. "What motive can Lamon have to
tell a falsehood, when two goatherds are offered him in lieu of one?
How could a plain rustic possibly invent such a tale? --Besides, is it
not altogether unlikely that such an old man and such a plain old woman
can be the parents of so handsome a son. "
He determined to rest no longer upon mere conjectures, but to examine
the tokens, and to see whether they bespoke an illustrious birth.
Myrtale had gone to fetch them, for they were preserved in an old bag.
Dionysophanes was the first to examine them, and when he beheld the
purple mantle, the golden clasp, and little sword with the ivory hilt,
he exclaimed, Lord Jupiter! and called to Clearista to come and look
at them. --When Clearista beheld them, she uttered a loud shriek, and
cried out, "The friendly Fates, are not these the very things, which we
exposed with our little one, when we sent Sophrosyne to leave him in
this part of the country! they are none other, they are the very same,
my husband! the child is ours. Daphnis is your son, and he has been
tending his own father's flock. "
Before she had done speaking, and while Dionysophanes was kissing the
tokens and shedding tears of joy, Astylus, who now understood that
Daphnis was his brother, threw off his cloak, and ran through the
garden to give him the first salute. When Daphnis saw Astylus running
towards him, followed by many others, and heard them calling out his
own name, he thought they were coming to seize him and carry him off by
violence. Accordingly he threw down his scrip, and his pipe, and ran
towards the sea with the determined resolution to throw himself into it
from the top of a high rock: and perhaps (strange to say! ) his being
found would have proved the occasion of his being lost for ever, had
not Astylus perceiving the occasion of his alarm, called out, "Stop,
stop, Daphnis, I am your brother: and they, who have hitherto been your
masters, are now your parents. Lamon has just now given us the whole
account of the she-goat, and has shewn us the tokens, which were found
with you! look back! see! with what cheerful and smiling faces they are
coming towards you! Brother, let me have the first kiss. I swear by the
Nymphs, I am not deceiving you. "
Not without hesitation was Daphnis induced after this solemn assertion
to pause, and wait for Astylus, whom he received with a kiss. While
they were embracing, his father and mother with Lamon and Myrtale and
all the men and maid servants came thronging up, threw their arms round
him, and kissed him with tears of joy. Daphnis affectionately saluted
his father and mother before the rest and as though he had long known
them, clasped them to his breast, and would not disengage himself from
their embrace:--so soon does natural affection assert her rights.
For a time even Chloe was almost forgotten. After returning to the
farm, and putting on a costly dress, he sat down by his real father,
who spoke to the following effect.
"My children, I married when very young; and in a short space of time
became as I considered myself a very fortunate father. First a son
was born to me, next a daughter, and then you, my Astylus. I thought
my family now large enough, for which reason I exposed Daphnis, the
boy who was born in addition to the others, placing with him these
ornaments, not as tokens, but to serve as funeral weeds. --Fortune had
different plans in view. --My eldest son and daughter died of the same
disease in one day: but the providence of the gods has preserved you,
Daphnis, that we might have an additional stay in our old age. --Do not
bear ill will towards me, from the remembrance of my having exposed
you; for I did not do so with a willing mind, nor do you, Astylus,
feel grieved that you will now have a part only, instead of the whole
of my estate; for to a wise man no wealth is more valuable than a
brother. Love each other;--and as for wealth you shall be able to vie
even with princes. I shall leave to you extensive lands, a number of
dexterous servants, stores of gold and silver, and whatever else forms
the possession of the prosperous. Only this particular estate I reserve
for Daphnis, with Lamon and Myrtale, and the goats which he himself has
tended. "
Before he had finished speaking, Daphnis sprang from his seat, and
said, "Father, you very seasonably remind me of these matters. I will
go and lead my goats to water, they must now be thirsty, and are no
doubt waiting to hear my pipe, while I am sitting here. " Every one
laughed at hearing the master so willing to be still the goatherd. One
of the servants was sent in place of Daphnis to tend the herd; while he
and the rest of the company, after sacrificing to Jove the preserver,
sat down together to a banquet. Gnatho was the only one who did not
come to the entertainment; for being under great alarm, he remained all
day and night in the temple of Bacchus, as a suppliant.
The report that Dionysophanes had found his son, and that Daphnis the
goatherd was now master of the estate, having soon spread abroad, early
the next morning numbers flocked to the cottage from various parts
with congratulations to the youth and gifts to the father. --Dryas the
foster-father of Chloe was among the first who arrived.
Dionysophanes kept them all, after sharing of his joy, to partake of an
entertainment. Store of wine was provided, abundance of wheaten bread,
wild fowl, sucking pigs, and sweets of various kinds, and many victims
were sacrificed to the country's deities. Daphnis collected all his
pastoral equipments, and distributed them in separate offerings to the
gods. To Bacchus he presented his scrip, and coat of skin. To Pan his
pipe and transverse-flute. To the Nymphs his crook, and the milkpails,
which he had made with his own hands. The happiness arising from our
wonted condition is however so much greater than that which springs
from unexpected good fortune, that he could not refrain from tears
when parting with each offering. He could not suspend his milkpails in
the grotto without once more milking into them: nor his coat of skin
without once more putting it on: nor his pipe without once more playing
on it. He kissed each of them in turn; he talked to his goats and
called them by their names; he drank from the fountain because he had
so often done so in company with Chloe. --Still he did not yet venture
to declare his love, but waited for a favourable opportunity.
While Daphnis was engaged in these religious ceremonies, the following
circumstances befel Chloe. She was sitting weeping and watching her
flock, and exclaiming (as was natural) "Daphnis has forgotten me. He is
dreaming of some wealthy match. To what purpose did I make him swear by
his goats instead of by the Nymphs? he has deserted the former as well
as me; nor even when sacrificing to the Nymphs and to Pan, has he had
any desire to see his Chloe. Perhaps among his mother's waiting women,
he has seen some girl preferable to me. May he be happy! As for me I
shall not survive it. "
While she was giving utterance to these thoughts, Lampis the herdsman
with a band of rustics suddenly came up and seized her. He conceived
that Daphnis would no longer marry her, and that Dryas would be well
content to have him as a son-in-law. While she was being borne off
with tears and shrieks, some one who had witnessed the transaction,
hastened to inform Nape: Nape informed Dryas, and Dryas communicated
it to Daphnis. Distracted at the intelligence, afraid to explain the
circumstance to his father, and unable to restrain his own emotions, he
betook himself to the outer garden-walk and there vented his grief:--
"What an unhappy discovery of parentage, is mine! How much better
would it have been for me still to tend my herds! How much happier was
I, when a slave! then I could behold my Chloe! --but now, Lampis has
carried her away; this very night, perhaps, she will be his wife! In
the mean time I am here, drinking and feasting, and have to no purpose
sworn by Pan, by my goats, and by the Nymphs. "
These words were overheard by Gnatho, who was lurking in the garden; he
considered it a good opportunity for effecting a reconciliation with
Daphnis. Assembling some youths, who waited upon Astylus, he pursued
Dryas, whom he desired to conduct them to the place where Lampis dwelt.
They overtook him just as he was dragging Chloe into his house, rescued
her from him, and gave the country-fellows, his companions, a sound
drubbing. He was very desirous also to seize and bind Lampis, and bring
him back like a prisoner of war, but the fellow was too much for him
and ran away.
Having accomplished this exploit, he returned just as night was coming
on.
