Every maiden wishes to be thought beautiful,
and exults in being loved; and approves the testimony borne by the
lover to her beauty; because, if no one love her, she believes herself
devoid of any personal charms.
and exults in being loved; and approves the testimony borne by the
lover to her beauty; because, if no one love her, she believes herself
devoid of any personal charms.
Scriptori Erotici Graeci
.
.
"Oriens tibi victus, adusque
Decolor extremo quæ cingitur India Gange,
Penthea tu, venerande, bipenniferumque Lycurgum,
Sacrilegos mactas; Tyrrhenaque mittas in æquor
Corpora. "--Ovid. Met. iv. 20.
]
[Footnote 4: σκαφίδων καινών, καὶ γαυλῶν πολλῶν.
The same distinction of milking vessels is found in the Odyssey, ix.
223.
Γαυλοί τε σκαφίδες τε.
"His pails and bowls. "--Cowper.
]
[Footnote 5: ὥσπερ συμπεφυκότων. . . .
"She rose . . . and threw
Herself upon his breast and there she _grew_. "--Byron.
]
[Footnote 6: Compare the admirable picture of Gnatho'a prototype in the
Eunuchus of Terence, Act II. Sc. II.
"Videnme?
Qui color, nitor vestitus, quæ habitus est corporis,
Omnia habeo, nec quicquam habeo; nil quum eat, nil defit tamen. "
]
[Footnote 7: In the Greek there is a play upon words: Ό δὲ Γνάθων oὐδὲν
ἄλλο ὢν, ἢ, γνάθος καὶ γαστὴρ, καὶ τὰ ὺπὸ γαστέρα. ]
[Footnote 8: "Deinde, ut more caprarum, hircis sui copiam facientium,
sibi tergum obvertat, precatur. Hæc cum serius animadvertisset Daphnis
dixit, capras quod ineant hirci, id quidem se rectè habere, sed hircum
nunquam et nusquam gentium vidisse inire hircum, neque arietem pro
ovibus arietem, neque gallos gallinarum loco gallos. "]
[Footnote 9: μεσαιπόλιoς. ]
[Footnote 10: κρητῆρας στήσασθαι. To set up bowls as a sign of
feasting. --See Odyss. ii. 431.
κρητῆρας στήσασθαι θιοῖς. To do the same in honour of the gods. --Il.
vi. 628. ]
[Footnote 11: τὸ νόμιον. ]
[Footnote 12: Γναθωνάριον. ]
[Footnote 13: Of a very dark hue. --The locks of Ulysses are in two
passages of the Odyssey compared to "hyacinthine flowers. "--vi. 231.
xxiii. 158. ]
[Footnote 14:
"That Dionysius in the valleys green
Once tended kine, she never heard, I ween;
Nor knows that Cypris on a cowherd doted,
And on the Phrygian hills herself devoted
To tend his herd; nor how the same Dionis
In thickets kiss'd, in thickets wept, Adonis.
Who was Endymion? him tending kine
Stooped down to kiss Selene the divine;
Who from Olympus to the Latmian grove,
Glided to slumber with her mortal love.
Didst not thou, Rhea, for a cowherd weep?
And didst not thou, high Zeus! the heaven sweep,
In form of winged bird, and watch indeed,
To carry off the cowherd Ganymede? "--Chapman's Theoc.
]
[Footnote 15:
"Eὖρε δὲ Φαίηκων ἡγήτορας, ἠδὲ μέδοντας
Σπένδοντας δεπάεσσιν ἐῦσκόπῳ Ἀργειφόντῃ
Ὦ πυμάτῳ σπένδεσκον, ὅτε μνησαίατο κοίτον. "
--Odyss. vii. 136.
]
[Footnote 16: Εἰς χορηγίας καὶ τριηραρχίας ἐξίδαπάνησα. The business
of the Choregus, or chorus master, was to defray the expenses of the
scenical representations, and those of the solemn festivals; the
Trierarch had to fit out a ship of war, the state providing only
the vessel and the crew. Both offices involved of course very heavy
expenses. ]
[Footnote 17:
. . . . "Stat Fortuna improba noctu,
Arridens nudis infantibus; hos fovet omnes
Involvitque sinu; domibus tunc porrigit altis. "--Juv. vi. 605.
]
[Footnote 18: A lover of the flock. ]
[Footnote 19: A lover of the herd. ]
[Footnote 20: "Καθάπερ τριάιναις γῆν ἀναῥρηγνύντες, οὐχ υμέναιον
ἄδοντες. "]
THE END.
ACHILLES TATIUS.
BOOK I.
Sidon is situated upon the coast of the Assyrian sea; it is the
mother[1] city of the Phœnicians, and its inhabitants were the founders
of Thebes. It has a harbour of capacious extent, which gradually admits
within it the waters of the sea; it is double, because, to the right,
a passage has been dug into an inner basin, which likewise admits the
sea; in this manner the first harbour becomes the entrance to a second,
which affords a secure haven to vessels during summer, while in winter
they can ride at anchor safely in the former. Upon arriving here after
encountering a severe storm, I made thank-offerings[2] on account
of my preservation, to the goddess of the Phœnicians, called by the
Sidonians, Astarte. [3] As I was wandering about the city, surveying
the votive offerings in the temples, I saw a painting containing a
view both of sea and land. Europa[4] formed the subject, and the scene
was laid partly on the Phœnician sea, partly on the coast of Sidon. In
a meadow was seen a band of maidens; a bull was swimming in the sea,
directing his course towards Crete, and having a fair damsel seated
upon his back. The meadow was diversified with flowers intermixed
with trees and shrubs; the trees were near to one another, and their
branches[5] and leaves united so closely overhead, as to form a cover
for the flowers below. The artist had shewn great skill in managing
the shade; for the sun-rays were seen dispersedly breaking through
the overarching roof of leaves, and lighting up the meadow, which,
situated as I have said, beneath a leafy screen, was surrounded on
all sides by a hedge. Under the trees, beds of flowers were laid out,
in which bloomed the narcissus, the rose, and the myrtle. Bubbling up
from the ground, a stream flowed through the midst of this enamelled
meadow, watering the flowers and shrubs; and a gardener was represented
with his pickaxe opening a channel for its course. The maidens above
mentioned were placed by the painter, in a part of the meadow bordering
upon the sea. Their countenances wore a mingled expression of joy and
fear; they had chaplets upon their heads, their hair fell dishevelled
about their shoulders; their legs were entirely bare--for a cincture
raised their garments above the knee--and their feet were unsandalled;
their cheeks were pale and contracted through alarm; their eyes were
directed towards the sea; their lips were slightly opened as if about
to give vent to their terror in cries; their hands were stretched out
towards the bull; they were represented upon the verge of the sea,
the water just coming over their feet; they appeared eager to hasten
after the bull, but at the same time fearful of encountering the waves.
The colour of the sea was twofold: towards the land it had a ruddy
hue;[6] farther out it was dark blue; foam also, and rocks and waves
were represented; the rocks projecting from the shore, and whitened
with foam, caused by the crests of the waves breaking upon their rugged
surface.
In the midst of the sea, the bull was represented swimming, the waves
rising in mountains from the motion of his legs. The maiden was seated
upon his back, not astride, but sideways; she grasped his horn with her
left hand, as a charioteer would hold the reins; and the bull inclined
his head in that direction, as if guided by her hand.
She was dressed in a white tunic as far as her middle, the rest of her
body was clothed in a purple robe; the whole dress, however, was so
transparent[7] as to disclose the beauties of her person. You could
discern the deep-seated navel, the well proportioned[8] stomach, the
narrow waist, gradually widening until it reached the chest, the gently
budding breasts. [9]--These, as well as the tunic, were confined by a
cincture, and from its transparency, the tunic became, so to speak, a
mirror to reflect her person. Both her hands were extended, one towards
the horn, the other towards the tail; and with either of them she
held an extremity of the veil which was expanded above her shoulders,
and which appeared in every part inflated by the artist's "painted
wind. "[10]
Thus seated upon the bull, the maiden resembled a vessel in full
sail, her veil serving for the canvass. [11] Dolphins[12] leaped, Loves
sported round the bull; you might have sworn that they moved "instinct
with life. " Cupid, in person, was drawing on the bull; Cupid, in guise
of a little child, was spreading his wings, bearing his quiver, holding
his torch, and turning towards Jove, was archly laughing as if in
mockery of him, who, on his account had become a bull.
I admired every part of this painting, but my attention was more
especially rivetted upon Cupid leading forward the bull; and I
exclaimed, "How wonderfully does a mere child lord it over heaven and
earth and sea! "[13]
Upon this, a young man, who happened to be standing near, said, "I can
speak from experience of the power of Love, having suffered so severely
from his caprices. "--"Pray," said I, "what are the ills which you have
suffered? To speak the truth, your countenance betokens you to be not
unacquainted with the mysteries of this deity. "--"You are stirring
up a whole swarm of words," replied he, "mystery will sound like a
fable. "--"In the name of Jupiter and Love himself, my good fellow,"
rejoined I, "do not hesitate to gratify my curiosity, however fabulous
may seem your story. "
After this, taking him by the hand, I led him to a neighbouring grove,
thickly planted with plane trees, through which flowed a stream of
water, cold and transparent as that which proceeds from newly melted
snow. [14] Having placed him upon a low seat, I sat down beside him, and
said, "Now is the time for hearing your tale; this spot is in every
way agreeable and exactly suited for a love story. " Upon this, he
began as follows:--
I am a native of Phœnicia, was born at Tyre, and am named Clitopho; my
father's name is Hippias; Sostratus is the name of his brother by the
father's side--for the two had different mothers--the latter having a
Byzantian, the former a Tyrian lady for his mother. Sostratus always
resided at Byzantium, having inherited large property in that city from
his mother; my father lived at Tyre. I never saw my mother, she having
died during my infancy: after her decease, my father married a second
wife, by whom he had a daughter named Calligone, whom he designed to
unite to me in marriage. [15] The will of the Fates, however, more
powerful than that of men, had in store for me a different wife. Now,
the Deity is often wont to reveal the future to mortals, in dreams
by night; not in order that they may ward off suffering (for it is
impossible to defeat destiny[16]), but that they may bear more lightly
their load of evils. Calamity, when it comes suddenly and in a "whole
battalion," paralyses, and, as it were, overwhelms the soul by its
unexpectedness, whereas when anticipated and dwelt upon by the mind,
the edge of grief becomes blunted. It was when I had reached the age
of nineteen, and when my father was preparing to have my marriage
celebrated, the following year, that the drama of my fate began. During
my sleep, in thought I had coalesced with, and _grown_ into, the person
of a maiden, as far as the middle, and that from thence upward we
formed two bodies. A tall and terrible-looking woman, savage in aspect,
with blood-shot eyes, inflamed cheeks, and snaky hair, stood over us.
In her right hand she held a scimitar, in her left, a torch. Angrily
raising her falchion, she let it fall exactly upon the loins where was
the juncture of our bodies, and severed the maiden from me. Leaping up
in terror, I mentioned the dream to no one, but foreboded evil in my
own mind. Meanwhile, a messenger arrived from Byzantium, bringing a
letter from my father's brother; it contained the following words:--
"Sostratus to his brother Hippias, sends greeting,
"My daughter Leucippe, and my wife Panthea, are on their way to you,
for war has broken out between the Thracians and Byzantians; till it
is concluded, keep under your protection those dearest objects of my
affection. Farewell. "
No sooner had my father read the letter than, rising from his seat, he
hurried down to the harbour; and not long after returned, followed by a
number of male and female slaves, whom Sostratus had sent with his wife
and daughter. Among them was a tall lady, richly dressed: while looking
at her, I remarked at her left hand, a maiden, the beauty of whose
countenance at once dazzled my eyes--she resembled the Europa, whom,
in the picture I had seen sitting upon the bull. Her sparkling[17]
eyes had a pleasing expression, her hair was golden-hued, short and
curling, her eyebrows were jet black, her cheeks were fair, save that
in the middle they had a tinge bordering upon purple, like that with
which the Lydian women stain the ivory;[18] her mouth was like the
rose when it begins to bud. No sooner did I see her than my fate was
sealed--for beauty[19] inflicts a wound sharper than any arrow, finding
a passage to the soul through the eyes, for it is the eye which makes a
way for the wounds of love. I was overwhelmed by conflicting feelings;
admiration, astonishment, agitation, shame, assurance: I admired her
figure, I was astonished at her beauty; my heart palpitated, I gazed
upon her with assurance, yet I was ashamed at the idea of being
remarked. I endeavoured to withdraw my eyes from the maiden; they
however were unwilling to obey, and, following the fascination of her
countenance, in the end completely gained the day.
Upon the arrival of the visitors, my father assigned a part of the
house for their use, and then ordered the supper to be prepared. At the
appointed time we reclined by twos on couches, for such was my father's
order. He and I were in the centre, the two elder ladies occupied
the right-hand couch, the maidens were to the left. Upon hearing the
proposed arrangement I was very near embracing my father, for thus
placing the maiden within my view. As to what I ate, on my faith I
cannot tell you, for I was like a man eating in a dream; all I know is,
that leaning upon my elbow, and bending forwards, my whole attention
was given to stealing furtive glances at her--this was the sum total
of my supper. When the meal was ended, a slave came in with the lyre;
he first ran over the strings with his fingers, then sounded a few
chords in an under tone, and afterwards taking the plectrum, began to
play, accompanying the sounds with his voice. The subject of his strain
was[20] Apollo in his irritation pursuing the flying Daphne, and upon
the point of seizing her, how she was transformed into a laurel, and
how the god crowns himself with its leaves. The song had the effect
of adding fuel to my flame, for amatory strains[21] act as a powerful
incentive to desire: and however inclined a person may be to chastity,
example serves as a stimulant to imitation, more especially when the
example is supplied by one in superior[22] station; for the feeling of
shame which was a check upon doing wrong becomes changed into assurance
by the rank of the offender.
Accordingly, I thus reasoned with myself--"See, Apollo falls in love,
he is not ashamed of his weakness, he pursues the fair one! and art
thou a laggard and the slave of shame and ill-timed continence? Art
thou, forsooth, superior to a god? "[23] In the evening the ladies
retired to rest first, and afterwards we ourselves. The others had
confined the pleasures of the table to their stomachs. [24] I, for my
part, carried away the banquet in my eyes; I had taken my fill of the
maiden's sweet looks, and, from the effect of merely gazing upon her,
I rose from table intoxicated with love. Upon entering my accustomed
chamber, sleep was out of the question. It is the law of nature that
diseases and bodily wounds always become exasperated at night; when we
are taking our rest their strength increases, and the pain becomes more
acute, for the circumstance of the body being in repose affords leisure
for the malady to do its work. By the same rule, the wounds of the
soul are much more painful while the body is lying motionless; in the
day, both the eyes and ears are occupied by a multiplicity of objects;
thus, the soul has not leisure to feel pain, and so the violence of
the disease is for a time mitigated; but let the body be fettered by
inactivity, and then the soul retains all its susceptibility, and
becomes tempest-tossed by trouble; the feelings which were asleep then
awaken. The mourner feels his grief, the anxious his solicitude, he who
is in peril his terrors, the lover his inward flame.
Towards morning Love took compassion upon me, and granted me some short
repose; but not even then would the maiden be absent from my mind;
Leucippe[25] was in all my dreams, I conversed with her, I played with
her, I supped with her, I touched her fair body; in short, I obtained
more favours then than in the day-time, for I kissed her, and the kiss
was really given. Accordingly, when the slave awoke me, I cursed[26]
him for coming so unseasonably, and for dissipating so sweet a dream;
getting up, however, I went out of my part of the house, and walked in
front of the apartment where the maiden was; with my head hanging down
over a book, I pretended to be reading, but whenever I came opposite
her door I cast sidelong glances, and after taking a few turns, and
drinking in fresh draughts of love I returned desperately smitten;
three whole days did I continue burning with this inward fire.
I had a cousin named Clinias, who had lost both his parents; he was
two years older than myself, and an adept in matters of love. He had a
male favourite, for whom his affection was so strong, that when he had
one day purchased a horse, and the other admired it, he immediately
presented him with the animal. I was always joking him for having
so much leisure as to fall in love, and for being a slave to tender
passions; he used to laugh and reply with a shake of the head, "Depend
upon it the day of slavery is in store for you. " Well, proceeding to
his house, I saluted him, and sitting down, said, "Clinias, I am paying
the penalty of my former gibes;[27] I am at last myself the slave of
love! " Upon hearing this, he clapped his hands and laughed outright;
then rising and kissing my face, which bore traces of a lover's
wakefulness, "There is no doubt of your being in love," said he, "for
your eyes declare it. "
While he was yet speaking, Charicles, his favourite, comes in
hurriedly and in great perturbation, exclaiming, "My fate is sealed,
Clinias! " With a tremulous voice, and sighing as deeply as though his
own life hung[28] upon that of the youth, Clinias replied, "Speak
out, your silence will be my death; say what grief assails you--with
what adversary have you to contend? " Charicles rejoined,--"My father
is negotiating a marriage for me, a marriage moreover with an
ill-favoured woman; a double evil therefore: even were she comely, a
female[29] would be repulsive to my taste, and she becomes doubly so,
if ugly. My father, however, looks only to money, and is therefore
anxious for the match, so that I, such is my ill fate, am made the
victim of this woman's money; I am sold to be her husband. "[30] Clinias
turned pale upon hearing this announcement, and strongly urged the
youth to decline the match, bitterly inveighing against the race of
womankind. "Your father, forsooth, would have you marry! pray what
crime have you committed, that you should be given over to such
bondage? Do you not remember the words of Jove?
'Son of Iapetus, o'er-subtle, go,
And glory in thy artful theft below;
Now of the fire you boast by stealth retriev'd,
And triumph in almighty Jove deceiv'd;
But thou too late shalt find the triumph vain,
And read thy folly in succeeding pain;
Posterity the sad effect shall know,
When in pursuit of joy they grasp their woe. '[31]
Woman is a 'bitter sweet;'[32] in her nature she is akin to the Sirens,
for they too, slay their victims with a dulcet voice; the very "pomp
and circumstance" of marriage shews the magnitude of the evil; there
is the din[33] of pipes, the knocking at the doors, the bearing about
of torches. With all this noise and tumult, who will not exclaim,
'Unhappy is the man who has to wed! '--to me, he seems like a man
ordered off to war. Were you unacquainted with classic lore, you might
plead ignorance of women's doings, whereas you are so well read, as to
be capable of teaching others. How many subjects for the stage have
been furnished by womankind! Call to mind the necklace of Eriphyle,
the banquet of Philomela, the calumny of Sthenobœa, the incest of
Aerope, the murderous deed of Procne. [34] Does Agamemnon sigh for
the beauty of Chryseis? --he brings pestilence upon the Grecian host;
does Achilles covet the charms of Briseis? --he prepares misery for
himself; if Candaules has a fair wife, that wife becomes the murderess
of her husband! The nuptial torches of Helen[35] kindled the fire
which consumed Troy! How many suitors were done to death through the
chastity of Penelope? Phædra, through love, became the destroyer of
Hippolytus; Clytemnestra, through hate, the murderess of Agamemnon! Ο!
all-audacious[36] race of women! they deal death whether they love or
hate! The noble Agamemnon must needs die, he whose beauty is described
to have been cast in a heavenly mould,
'Jove o'er his eyes celestial glories spread,
And dawning conquest play'd around his head. [37]
and yet this very head was cut off by--a woman! All that I have been
saying relates only to the handsome among the sex; in this case, then,
there is a lessening of the evil, for beauty is a palliative, and under
such circumstances a man may be said to be fortunate in the midst of
his calamity; but if, as you say, the woman boasts no charms, why then
the evil becomes two-fold. Who would submit in such a case, especially
who that is young and handsome like yourself? In the name of the gods,
Charicles, do not stoop to such a yoke; do not mar the flower of your
beauty before the time; for remember, in addition to the other ills of
marriage, there is this evil, it saps the vigour: do not, Charicles,
I pray, expose yourself to this; give not the beauteous rose to be
plucked by the ill-favoured rustic's hand. "
"Leave this matter," replied Charicles, "to the care of the gods and
of myself; the marriage will not take place for some days yet; much
may be done in a single night, and we will deliberate at our leisure.
Meanwhile, I will go and take a ride, for since the day you gave me
that fine horse, I have never made use of your kind present. " With
these words he left the house, little imagining that this his first
ride was to be his last. After he was gone, I related every particular
to Clinias, describing how my passion began; the arrival, the supper,
the beauty of the maiden. Feeling, at last, how absurdly I was
beginning to talk, I exclaimed, "Clinias, I can no longer endure this
misery. Love has assailed me with such violence as to drive sleep from
my eyes; I see no object but Leucippe; no one can suffer like myself,
for the source of my trouble dwells with me under the same roof. "
"What folly it is," replied Clinias, "for you who are so fortunate in
love to talk after this fashion! You have no need to go to another
person's doors; you do not require a go-between; fortune gives the
loved object into your hands, brings her into your very house, and
there sets her down. [38] Other lovers are well content with catching
a glimpse of the maiden for whom they sigh, and to gratify their
eyes is with them no small good fortune; they consider themselves
most favoured, indeed, if they can now and then exchange a word with
their mistress. But what is your case? You continually see her, you
continually hear her voice, you sup with her, you drink with her; and
yet, fortunate that you are, you are complaining! You are guilty of
base ingratitude towards love, and without the slightest cause. Do you
not know that seeing the object whom you love gives far deeper pleasure
than enjoying her? [39] And why so? Because the eyes, when encountering
each other, receive bodily impressions, as in a looking-glass, and
the reflection of beauty glancing into the soul,[40] begets union even
in separation, and affords a pleasure not much inferior to corporeal
intercourse, which, after all, is hollow and unsatisfying. [41] I augur,
moreover, that you will soon obtain the object of your wishes, for to
be always in the society of the loved one, exerts a most persuasive
power; the eye is a wondrous vehicle of love,[42] and constant
intercourse is most influential in begetting kindly feelings. Habit and
the company of each other will tame savage beasts. How much more will
they act upon a woman's heart. Parity of age also has great weight with
a maiden, and the animal passion which is felt in the flower of youth,
added to the consciousness of being loved, very frequently call forth a
return of tender feeling.
Every maiden wishes to be thought beautiful,
and exults in being loved; and approves the testimony borne by the
lover to her beauty; because, if no one love her, she believes herself
devoid of any personal charms. This one piece of advice I give you,
make her feel certain that she is beloved, and she will soon follow
your example in returning your affection. "
"And how," asked I, "is this sage oracle of yours to be accomplished?
Put me in the right way; you are more experienced than myself; you have
been longer initiated in the mysteries of love. What am I to do? What
am I to say? How am I to obtain her for whom I sigh? For my part I am
ignorant how to set about the work. "
"There is small need," replied Clinias, "to learn these matters from
the mouths of others. Love is a self-taught master of his craft. [43] No
one teaches new-born babes where to find their food; they have already
learnt by intuition, and know that a table has been spread for them by
nature in their mothers' breasts. In like manner, the youth who for
the first time is pregnant with love, needs no teaching to bring it
to the birth; only let your pains have come on, and your hour have
arrived, and though it be for the first time, you will not miscarry,
but will be safely brought to bed, midwifed by the god himself. I will,
however, give you a few common-place hints relating to matters which
require general observance. Say nothing to the maiden directly bearing
upon love; prosecute the wished-for consummation quietly. Youths and
maidens are alike sensible of shame, and however much they may long for
sexual enjoyment, they do not like to hear it talked of; they consider
the disgrace of the matter to be altogether in the words. Matrons take
pleasure even in the words. A maiden will show no objection to acts
of dalliance upon her lover's part, but will express her willingness
by signs and gestures; yet if you come directly to the point, and put
the question to her, your very voice will alarm her ears; she will be
suffused with blushes; she will turn away from your proposals; she will
think an insult has been done her; and however willing to comply with
your desires, she will be restrained by shame; for the pleasurable
sensations excited by your words will make her consider herself to be
submitting to the act. But when by other means you have brought her
to a compliant mood, so that you can approach her with some degree of
freedom, be as wise and guarded as though you were celebrating the
mysteries;[44] gently approach and kiss her: a kiss given by a lover
to a willing mistress is a silent way of asking for her favours; and
the same given to the fair one who is coy, is a supplication to relent.
Even when maidens are themselves ready to comply, they often like
some appearance of force to be employed,[45] for the plea of seeming
necessity will remove the shame of voluntary compliance upon their
part. Do not be discouraged if she repulses your advances,[46] but mark
the manner of her repulse: all these matters require tact. If she
persists in being uncompliant, use no force; for she is not yet in the
right humour; but if she show signs of yielding, act still with proper
caution, lest after all you should lose your labour. "[47]
"You have given me store[48] of good advice," said I, "and may
everything turn out successfully; nevertheless I sadly fear that
success will prove the beginning of even greater calamity, by making
me more desperately in love. What am I to do if my malady increase?
I cannot marry, for I am already engaged to another maiden; my
father, too, is very urgent with me to conclude the match, and he
asks nothing but what is fair and reasonable. He does not barter me
away like Charicles for gold; he does not wish me to marry either a
foreigner or an ugly girl; he gives me his own daughter, a maiden
of rare beauty, had I not seen Leucippe; but now I am blind to all
other charms excepting hers, in short, I have eyes for her alone. I
am placed midway between two contending parties; Love on one side, my
father on the other; the latter wields his paternal authority, the
former shakes his burning torch; how am I to decide the cause? Stern
necessity and natural affection are opposed. Father, I wish to give a
verdict for you, but I have an adversary too strong for me; he tortures
and overawes the judge,[49] he stands beside me with his shafts; his
arguments are flame. Unless I decide for him, his fires will scorch me
up. "
While we were thus discussing the subject of the god of Love, a slave
of Charicles suddenly rushed in bearing his evil tidings on his face
so plainly, that Clinias immediately cried out, "Some accident has
befallen Charicles. " "Charicles," hastily exclaimed the slave, "is
dead. " Utterance failed Clinias, upon hearing this, he remained without
the power of motion, as if struck by lightning. The slave proceeded to
relate the sad particulars. "Charicles," he said, "after mounting, went
off at a moderate pace, then after having had two or three gallops,
pulled up, and still sitting on the animal, wiped off from its back
the sweat, leaving the reins upon its neck. There was a sudden noise
from behind, and the startled horse rearing bounded forward and dashed
wildly on. [50] Taking the bit between his teeth, with neck thrown up
and tossing mane, maddened with fright, he flew through the air. [51]
Such was his speed, that his hind feet seemed endeavouring to overtake
and pass the fore feet in the race; and owing to this rivalry of speed
between the legs, the animal's back rose and fell as does a ship
when tossing upon the billows. Oscillating from the effect of these
wave-like movements,[52] the wretched Charicles was tossed up and down
like a ball upon the horse's back, now thrown back upon his croup, now
pitched forward upon his neck. At length overmastered by the storm,[53]
and unable to recover possession of the reins, he gave himself up to
this whirlwind of speed, and was at Fortune's mercy. The horse still
in full career, turned from the public road, made for a wood, and
dashed his unhappy rider against a tree. Charicles was shot from off
his back as from an engine, and his face encountering the boughs, was
lacerated with a wound from every jagged point. Entangled by the reins,
he was unable to release his body, but was dragged along upon the road
to death; for the horse, yet more affrighted by the rider's fall, and
impeded by his body, kicked and trampled the miserable youth who was
the obstacle to his farther flight;[54] and such is his disfigurement
that you can no longer recognize his features. "
After listening to this account, Clinias was for some moments
speechless through bewilderment, then awakening from his trance of
grief, he uttered a piercing cry, and was rushing out to meet the
corpse, I following and doing my best to comfort him. At this instant
the body of Charicles was borne into the house, a wretched and
pitiable sight, for he was one mass of wounds,[55] so that none of
the bystanders could restrain their tears. His father led the strains
of lamentation, and cried out, "My son, in how different a state hast
thou returned from that in which thou didst leave me! Ill betide all
horsemanship! Neither hast thou died by any common death, nor art thou
brought back a corpse comely in thy death; others who die preserve
their well-known lineaments, and though the living beauty of the
countenance be gone, the image is preserved, which by its mimickry of
sleep consoles the mourner. [56] In their case, death has taken away
the soul, but leaves in the body the semblance of the individual: in
thy case, fate has destroyed both, and, to me, thou hast died a double
death, in soul and body, so utterly has even the shadow of thy likeness
perished! Thy soul has fled, and I find thee no more, even in body! Oh,
my son, when shall be now thy bridal day? When, ill-starred horseman
and unwedded bridegroom, when shall be the joyous nuptial festivities?
The tomb will be thy bridal bed, death thy partner, a dirge thy
nuptial song, wailing thy strains of joy! [57] I thought, my son, to
have kindled for thee a very different flame, but cruel fate has
extinguished both it and thee, and in its stead lights up the funeral
torch. Oh, luckless torch bearing, where death presides and takes the
place of marriage! "
Thus bitterly did the father bewail the loss of his son, and Clinias
vied with him in the expression of his grief, breaking forth into
soliloquy. "I have been the death of him who was master of my
affection! Why was I so ill-advised as to present him with such a
gift! Could I not have given him a golden beaker, out of which, when
pouring a libation, he might have drunk, and so have derived pleasure
from the gift? Instead of doing this, wretch that I was, I bestowed
upon this beauteous youth a savage brute, and moreover decked out the
beast with a pectoral and frontlet and silver trappings. [58] Yes,
Charicles, I decked out your murderer with gold! Thou beast, of all
others most evil, ruthless, ungrateful, and insensible to beauty, thou
hast actually been the death of him who fondled thee, who wiped away
thy sweat, promised thee many a feed, and praised the swiftness of thy
pace! Instead of glorying in being the bearer of so fair a youth, thou
hast ungratefully dashed his beauty to the earth! Woe is me, for having
bought this homicide, who has turned out to be thy murderer! "
No sooner were the funeral obsequies over, than I hastened to the
maiden, who was in the pleasance belonging to the house. It consisted
of a grove, which afforded a delightful object to the eyes; around it
ran a wall, each of the four sides of which had a colonnade supported
upon pillars, the central space being planted with trees, whose
branches were so closely interwoven, that the fruits and foliage
intermingled in friendly union. [59] Close to some of the larger
trees grew the ivy and the convolvulus; the latter hanging from the
plane-trees, clustered round it, with its delicate foliage; the former
twining round the pine, lovingly embraced its trunk, so that the tree
became the prop of the ivy, and the ivy furnished a crown for the tree.
On either side were seen luxuriant vines, supported upon reeds; these
were now in blossom, and hanging down from the intervening spaces were
the ringlets of the plant;[60] while the upper leaves, agitated by the
breeze and interpenetrated by the rays of the sun, caused a quivering
gleam to fall upon the ground, which partially lighted up its shade.
Flowers also displayed the beauty of their various hues. The narcissus,
the rose, and violet, mingling together, imparted a purple colour to
the earth; the calyx of both these flowers was alike in its general
shape, and served them for a cup; the expanded rose-leaves were red
and violet above, milky white below, and the narcissus was altogether
of the latter hue; the violet had no calyx, and its colour resembled
that of the sea when under the influence of a calm. In the midst of
the flowers bubbled a fountain, whose waters received into a square
basin, the work of art, served the flowers for their mirror, and gave
a double appearance to the grove, by adding the reflection to the
reality. Neither were there wanting birds: some of a domestic kind,
reared by the care of man, were feeding in the grove; while others,
enjoying their liberty of wing, flew and disported themselves among
the branches. The songsters were grasshoppers[61] and swallows,[62] of
which the one celebrated the rising of Aurora, the other the banquet
of Tereus. Those of a domestic kind were the peacock, the swan, and the
parrot; the swan was feeding near the fountain; a cage suspended from
a tree contained the parrot; the peacock drew after him his splendid
train; nor was it easy to decide which surpassed the other in beauty,
the tints of the flowers themselves, or the hues of his flower-like
feathers.
Leucippe happened at this time to be walking with Clio, and stopped
opposite the peacock who was just then spreading his train, and
displaying the gorgeous semicircle of his feathers. [63] Wishing to
produce amorous sensations in her mind, I addressed myself to the slave
Satyrus,[64] making the peacock the subject of our discourse. "The
bird," I said, "does not do this without design; he is of an amorous
nature, and always bedecks himself in this manner when he wishes to
attract his favourite mate. Do you see," I added, (pointing in the
direction) "the female, near the plane-tree yonder? It is to her that
he is now displaying the 'enamelled meadow' of his plumes, and this
meadow of his is assuredly more beautiful than any mead in nature,
each plume has in it a spot of gold, and the gold is encircled by a
purple ring, and so in every plume there is seen an eye. " Satyrus
readily comprehended the drift of my discourse, and in order to give
me scope for continuing the subject, he asked "whether Love could
possibly possess such power as to transmit his warmth even unto the
winged tribes? " "Yes," I replied, "not only unto them--for there is
no marvel in this, since he himself is winged--but also into reptiles
and wild beasts and plants; nay, in my opinion even unto stones. The
magnet, for instance loves the iron, and upon the first sight and touch
draws that metal towards it, as if containing within itself the fire
of love. Is there not in this, a manifest embrace between the amorous
stone and the iron the object of its affection? Philosophers, moreover,
tell, concerning plants, what I should deem an idle tale were it not
confirmed by the experience of husbandmen. They maintain that one
plant becomes enamoured of another, and that the palm is most sensible
of the tender passion; there are, you must know, male[65] and female
palms; supposing the female is planted at a distance from it, the male
droops and withers; the husbandman upon seeing this, easily understands
the nature of the malady, and ascending an eminence he observes in
what direction the tree inclines--which is always towards the beloved
object; having ascertained this point, he employs the following remedy:
taking a shoot from the female he inserts it into the very heart of
the male; this immediately revives it, and bestows new life upon its
sinking frame, so that it recovers its pristine vigour; and this arises
from delight in embracing its beloved; such are the loves of the
plants. [66]
"The same holds true concerning streams and rivers also; for we
hear of the loves of the river Alpheus and the Sicilian fountain
Arethusa. [67] This river takes its course through the sea as through
a plain, and the sea instead of impregnating it with its saltness,
divides and so affords a passage for the river, performing the part
of bridesman,[68] by conducting it to Arethusa; when, therefore, at
the Olympic Festival, persons cast various gifts into the channel of
this river, it immediately bears them to its beloved, these being its
nuptial gifts. [69] A yet stranger mystery of Love is seen in reptiles,
not merely in those of like race, but of different kind. The viper[70]
conceives a violent passion for the lamprey, which though in form a
serpent, is to all intents and purposes a fish. When these reptiles
wish to copulate, the viper goes down to the shore and hisses in the
direction of the sea, which is a signal to the lamprey; she understands
the sound, and issues from the water, but does not immediately hasten
to her lover, knowing that he carries deadly poison in his teeth,
but gliding up a rock, there waits until he has cleansed his mouth.
After looking at one another for a space, the loving viper vomits
forth the poison so dreaded by his mistress, and she upon perceiving
this, descends and entwines him in her embrace, no longer dreading his
amorous bite. "
During my discourse, I kept observing Leucippe to see how she took
these amatory topics, and she gave indications that they were not
displeasing to her. The dazzling beauty of the peacock which I just
now mentioned seemed to me far inferior to her attractions; indeed the
beauty of her countenance might vie with the flowers of the meadow; the
narcissus was resplendent in her general complexion, the rose blushed
upon her cheek, the dark hue of the violet sparkled in her eyes, her
ringlets curled more closely than do the clusters of the ivy;---her
face, therefore, was a reflex of the meadows. [71] Shortly after this,
she left the pleasance, it being time for her to practise upon the
harp. Though absent she appeared to me still present, for her form and
features remained impressed upon my eyes.
Satyrus and I congratulated each other upon our mutual performances. I
for the subjects I had chosen, he for having given me the opportunity
of discussing them. Supper time soon arrived and we reclined at table
as before.
[Footnote 1: Μήτηρ Φοινίκων ἡ πόλις, θηζαίων ὁ δῆμος πατήρ. The
"mother-city," because of the many colonies which it sent out: on
the foundation of Thebes, Pliny, B. v, c. 19, says: "Sidon, artifex
vitri, Thebarum Bœtiarum parens. " We find in the Scriptures, that
Tyre and Sidon were famous for works in gold, embroidery, &c. , and
whatsoever regarded magnificence and luxury. --See Isaiah xxiii. --Ezek.
xxvii. xxviii. The Phœnicians were, in very early times, celebrated
for merchandise of every description; and their country was justly
considered the emporium of the East. They were the earliest navigators,
and their skill in ship-building may be inferred from I Kings, v.
6. --Trollope's Homer. ]
[Footnote 2: Σῶστρα or σωτήρια. Sacrifices and votive offerings, made
upon escape from shipwreck--
"Me tabulâ sacer
Votivâ paries indicat uvida,
Suspendisse potenti
Vestimenta maris Deo. "--Hor. I. Od. v. 12.
]
[Footnote 3: The Syrian Venus. "Venus--quarta, Syria, Tyroque concepta;
quæ Astarte vocatur, quam Adonidi nupsisse proditum est. "--Cic. de Nat.
Deorum. ]
[Footnote 4: Ovid. Met. ii. 844, and Moschus, Idyl. 2. ]
[Footnote 5: Compare a passage in Longus, B. iv. , Έν μετεώρῳ οἱ κλάδοι
συνἐπιπτον άλλήλοις, καὶ ἐπήλλαττον τος κόμας, ἐδόκει μὲν τοί καὶ ἠ
τούτων φύσις εἰναι τεχνης. ]
[Footnote 6: "Mare purpureum. "--Virg. G. 4, 373. ]
[Footnote 7: In Ode xxviii. , on his mistress, Anacreon says,--
"Στόλισον τολoιτὸν αὐτην
'υπὸ πορφύροισι πέπλοις·
διαφαινέτο δὲ σαρκὼν
'ολίγον, το σῶμ' ἐλεγχον. "
]
[Footnote 8: "Quàm castigate planus sub pectore venter. "--Ovid. Am. i.
5. ]
[Footnote 9:
"Her dainty paps, which like young fruit in May,
Now little, 'gan to swell, and being tied
Through her thin weed, their places only signified. "--Spencer.
]
[Footnote 10: "Tremulæ sinuantur flamine vestes. "--Ovid. Met. ii. 875. ]
[Footnote 11:
"Her robe inflated by the wanton breeze,
Seem'd like a ship's sail hovering o'er the seas. "
Moschus. Chapman's Tr.
]
[Footnote 12:
"From their sea-hollows swift the Nereids rose,
Seated on seals, and did his train compose;
Poseidon went before, and smooth did make
The path of waters for his brother's sake;
Around their king, in close array, did keep
The loud-voiced Tritons, minstrels of the deep.
And with their conchs proclaimed the nuptial song. "
Moschus.
]
[Footnote 13: Δύναται δὲ τοσοῦτον, ὂσον οὐδὲ ὁ Zεὺς, κρατεῖ μὲν
στοιχεῖων, κρατεῖ δὲ ἄστρων, κρατεῖ δὲ τῶν ὀμοίων θεῶν. --Longus. Β. ii. ]
[Footnote 14: Καλῄ ὑπὸ πλατανίστῳ ὃθεν ῥέεν ἀγλaὸv ὓδωρ. --Hom. Il. ii.
307. ]
[Footnote 15: Proximity by blood or consanguinity was not, with some
few exceptions, a bar to marriage in any part of Greece; direct lineal
descent was. Thus brothers were permitted to marry with sisters even,
if not born from the same mother, as Cimon did with Elpenice. See
Nepos, Life of Cimon. --Dict. of Greek and Roman Antiq. ]
[Footnote 16:
Μoΐραν δ' οὔτινα φημι πεφυγμένον ἔμμεναι ἀνδρων,
Οὐ κακὸν οὐδὲ μὲν ἐσθλὸν, ἐπὴν ταπρῶτα γένηται. --Hom. Il. vi. 487.
]
[Footnote 17:
Μέλαν ὄμμα γοργὸν ἔζω
κεκερασμένον γαλήνη. --Anacreon. xxix.
"Flagrabant lumina miti
Adspectu". . . . --Silius Ital. v. 562.
]
[Footnote 18:
"Indum sanguineo veluti violaverat ostro
Si quis ebur. . . .
. . . talis virgo dabat ore colores. "--Virg. xii. 67.
]
[Footnote 19:
. . . . κάλλος
'αντ' ασπίδων ἀπασῶν,
'αντ' ἐγχέων ἁπάντων
νικᾶ δὲ καὶ σίδηρον
καὶ πῦρ, καλή τις οὖσα. --Anacreon, ii.
Decolor extremo quæ cingitur India Gange,
Penthea tu, venerande, bipenniferumque Lycurgum,
Sacrilegos mactas; Tyrrhenaque mittas in æquor
Corpora. "--Ovid. Met. iv. 20.
]
[Footnote 4: σκαφίδων καινών, καὶ γαυλῶν πολλῶν.
The same distinction of milking vessels is found in the Odyssey, ix.
223.
Γαυλοί τε σκαφίδες τε.
"His pails and bowls. "--Cowper.
]
[Footnote 5: ὥσπερ συμπεφυκότων. . . .
"She rose . . . and threw
Herself upon his breast and there she _grew_. "--Byron.
]
[Footnote 6: Compare the admirable picture of Gnatho'a prototype in the
Eunuchus of Terence, Act II. Sc. II.
"Videnme?
Qui color, nitor vestitus, quæ habitus est corporis,
Omnia habeo, nec quicquam habeo; nil quum eat, nil defit tamen. "
]
[Footnote 7: In the Greek there is a play upon words: Ό δὲ Γνάθων oὐδὲν
ἄλλο ὢν, ἢ, γνάθος καὶ γαστὴρ, καὶ τὰ ὺπὸ γαστέρα. ]
[Footnote 8: "Deinde, ut more caprarum, hircis sui copiam facientium,
sibi tergum obvertat, precatur. Hæc cum serius animadvertisset Daphnis
dixit, capras quod ineant hirci, id quidem se rectè habere, sed hircum
nunquam et nusquam gentium vidisse inire hircum, neque arietem pro
ovibus arietem, neque gallos gallinarum loco gallos. "]
[Footnote 9: μεσαιπόλιoς. ]
[Footnote 10: κρητῆρας στήσασθαι. To set up bowls as a sign of
feasting. --See Odyss. ii. 431.
κρητῆρας στήσασθαι θιοῖς. To do the same in honour of the gods. --Il.
vi. 628. ]
[Footnote 11: τὸ νόμιον. ]
[Footnote 12: Γναθωνάριον. ]
[Footnote 13: Of a very dark hue. --The locks of Ulysses are in two
passages of the Odyssey compared to "hyacinthine flowers. "--vi. 231.
xxiii. 158. ]
[Footnote 14:
"That Dionysius in the valleys green
Once tended kine, she never heard, I ween;
Nor knows that Cypris on a cowherd doted,
And on the Phrygian hills herself devoted
To tend his herd; nor how the same Dionis
In thickets kiss'd, in thickets wept, Adonis.
Who was Endymion? him tending kine
Stooped down to kiss Selene the divine;
Who from Olympus to the Latmian grove,
Glided to slumber with her mortal love.
Didst not thou, Rhea, for a cowherd weep?
And didst not thou, high Zeus! the heaven sweep,
In form of winged bird, and watch indeed,
To carry off the cowherd Ganymede? "--Chapman's Theoc.
]
[Footnote 15:
"Eὖρε δὲ Φαίηκων ἡγήτορας, ἠδὲ μέδοντας
Σπένδοντας δεπάεσσιν ἐῦσκόπῳ Ἀργειφόντῃ
Ὦ πυμάτῳ σπένδεσκον, ὅτε μνησαίατο κοίτον. "
--Odyss. vii. 136.
]
[Footnote 16: Εἰς χορηγίας καὶ τριηραρχίας ἐξίδαπάνησα. The business
of the Choregus, or chorus master, was to defray the expenses of the
scenical representations, and those of the solemn festivals; the
Trierarch had to fit out a ship of war, the state providing only
the vessel and the crew. Both offices involved of course very heavy
expenses. ]
[Footnote 17:
. . . . "Stat Fortuna improba noctu,
Arridens nudis infantibus; hos fovet omnes
Involvitque sinu; domibus tunc porrigit altis. "--Juv. vi. 605.
]
[Footnote 18: A lover of the flock. ]
[Footnote 19: A lover of the herd. ]
[Footnote 20: "Καθάπερ τριάιναις γῆν ἀναῥρηγνύντες, οὐχ υμέναιον
ἄδοντες. "]
THE END.
ACHILLES TATIUS.
BOOK I.
Sidon is situated upon the coast of the Assyrian sea; it is the
mother[1] city of the Phœnicians, and its inhabitants were the founders
of Thebes. It has a harbour of capacious extent, which gradually admits
within it the waters of the sea; it is double, because, to the right,
a passage has been dug into an inner basin, which likewise admits the
sea; in this manner the first harbour becomes the entrance to a second,
which affords a secure haven to vessels during summer, while in winter
they can ride at anchor safely in the former. Upon arriving here after
encountering a severe storm, I made thank-offerings[2] on account
of my preservation, to the goddess of the Phœnicians, called by the
Sidonians, Astarte. [3] As I was wandering about the city, surveying
the votive offerings in the temples, I saw a painting containing a
view both of sea and land. Europa[4] formed the subject, and the scene
was laid partly on the Phœnician sea, partly on the coast of Sidon. In
a meadow was seen a band of maidens; a bull was swimming in the sea,
directing his course towards Crete, and having a fair damsel seated
upon his back. The meadow was diversified with flowers intermixed
with trees and shrubs; the trees were near to one another, and their
branches[5] and leaves united so closely overhead, as to form a cover
for the flowers below. The artist had shewn great skill in managing
the shade; for the sun-rays were seen dispersedly breaking through
the overarching roof of leaves, and lighting up the meadow, which,
situated as I have said, beneath a leafy screen, was surrounded on
all sides by a hedge. Under the trees, beds of flowers were laid out,
in which bloomed the narcissus, the rose, and the myrtle. Bubbling up
from the ground, a stream flowed through the midst of this enamelled
meadow, watering the flowers and shrubs; and a gardener was represented
with his pickaxe opening a channel for its course. The maidens above
mentioned were placed by the painter, in a part of the meadow bordering
upon the sea. Their countenances wore a mingled expression of joy and
fear; they had chaplets upon their heads, their hair fell dishevelled
about their shoulders; their legs were entirely bare--for a cincture
raised their garments above the knee--and their feet were unsandalled;
their cheeks were pale and contracted through alarm; their eyes were
directed towards the sea; their lips were slightly opened as if about
to give vent to their terror in cries; their hands were stretched out
towards the bull; they were represented upon the verge of the sea,
the water just coming over their feet; they appeared eager to hasten
after the bull, but at the same time fearful of encountering the waves.
The colour of the sea was twofold: towards the land it had a ruddy
hue;[6] farther out it was dark blue; foam also, and rocks and waves
were represented; the rocks projecting from the shore, and whitened
with foam, caused by the crests of the waves breaking upon their rugged
surface.
In the midst of the sea, the bull was represented swimming, the waves
rising in mountains from the motion of his legs. The maiden was seated
upon his back, not astride, but sideways; she grasped his horn with her
left hand, as a charioteer would hold the reins; and the bull inclined
his head in that direction, as if guided by her hand.
She was dressed in a white tunic as far as her middle, the rest of her
body was clothed in a purple robe; the whole dress, however, was so
transparent[7] as to disclose the beauties of her person. You could
discern the deep-seated navel, the well proportioned[8] stomach, the
narrow waist, gradually widening until it reached the chest, the gently
budding breasts. [9]--These, as well as the tunic, were confined by a
cincture, and from its transparency, the tunic became, so to speak, a
mirror to reflect her person. Both her hands were extended, one towards
the horn, the other towards the tail; and with either of them she
held an extremity of the veil which was expanded above her shoulders,
and which appeared in every part inflated by the artist's "painted
wind. "[10]
Thus seated upon the bull, the maiden resembled a vessel in full
sail, her veil serving for the canvass. [11] Dolphins[12] leaped, Loves
sported round the bull; you might have sworn that they moved "instinct
with life. " Cupid, in person, was drawing on the bull; Cupid, in guise
of a little child, was spreading his wings, bearing his quiver, holding
his torch, and turning towards Jove, was archly laughing as if in
mockery of him, who, on his account had become a bull.
I admired every part of this painting, but my attention was more
especially rivetted upon Cupid leading forward the bull; and I
exclaimed, "How wonderfully does a mere child lord it over heaven and
earth and sea! "[13]
Upon this, a young man, who happened to be standing near, said, "I can
speak from experience of the power of Love, having suffered so severely
from his caprices. "--"Pray," said I, "what are the ills which you have
suffered? To speak the truth, your countenance betokens you to be not
unacquainted with the mysteries of this deity. "--"You are stirring
up a whole swarm of words," replied he, "mystery will sound like a
fable. "--"In the name of Jupiter and Love himself, my good fellow,"
rejoined I, "do not hesitate to gratify my curiosity, however fabulous
may seem your story. "
After this, taking him by the hand, I led him to a neighbouring grove,
thickly planted with plane trees, through which flowed a stream of
water, cold and transparent as that which proceeds from newly melted
snow. [14] Having placed him upon a low seat, I sat down beside him, and
said, "Now is the time for hearing your tale; this spot is in every
way agreeable and exactly suited for a love story. " Upon this, he
began as follows:--
I am a native of Phœnicia, was born at Tyre, and am named Clitopho; my
father's name is Hippias; Sostratus is the name of his brother by the
father's side--for the two had different mothers--the latter having a
Byzantian, the former a Tyrian lady for his mother. Sostratus always
resided at Byzantium, having inherited large property in that city from
his mother; my father lived at Tyre. I never saw my mother, she having
died during my infancy: after her decease, my father married a second
wife, by whom he had a daughter named Calligone, whom he designed to
unite to me in marriage. [15] The will of the Fates, however, more
powerful than that of men, had in store for me a different wife. Now,
the Deity is often wont to reveal the future to mortals, in dreams
by night; not in order that they may ward off suffering (for it is
impossible to defeat destiny[16]), but that they may bear more lightly
their load of evils. Calamity, when it comes suddenly and in a "whole
battalion," paralyses, and, as it were, overwhelms the soul by its
unexpectedness, whereas when anticipated and dwelt upon by the mind,
the edge of grief becomes blunted. It was when I had reached the age
of nineteen, and when my father was preparing to have my marriage
celebrated, the following year, that the drama of my fate began. During
my sleep, in thought I had coalesced with, and _grown_ into, the person
of a maiden, as far as the middle, and that from thence upward we
formed two bodies. A tall and terrible-looking woman, savage in aspect,
with blood-shot eyes, inflamed cheeks, and snaky hair, stood over us.
In her right hand she held a scimitar, in her left, a torch. Angrily
raising her falchion, she let it fall exactly upon the loins where was
the juncture of our bodies, and severed the maiden from me. Leaping up
in terror, I mentioned the dream to no one, but foreboded evil in my
own mind. Meanwhile, a messenger arrived from Byzantium, bringing a
letter from my father's brother; it contained the following words:--
"Sostratus to his brother Hippias, sends greeting,
"My daughter Leucippe, and my wife Panthea, are on their way to you,
for war has broken out between the Thracians and Byzantians; till it
is concluded, keep under your protection those dearest objects of my
affection. Farewell. "
No sooner had my father read the letter than, rising from his seat, he
hurried down to the harbour; and not long after returned, followed by a
number of male and female slaves, whom Sostratus had sent with his wife
and daughter. Among them was a tall lady, richly dressed: while looking
at her, I remarked at her left hand, a maiden, the beauty of whose
countenance at once dazzled my eyes--she resembled the Europa, whom,
in the picture I had seen sitting upon the bull. Her sparkling[17]
eyes had a pleasing expression, her hair was golden-hued, short and
curling, her eyebrows were jet black, her cheeks were fair, save that
in the middle they had a tinge bordering upon purple, like that with
which the Lydian women stain the ivory;[18] her mouth was like the
rose when it begins to bud. No sooner did I see her than my fate was
sealed--for beauty[19] inflicts a wound sharper than any arrow, finding
a passage to the soul through the eyes, for it is the eye which makes a
way for the wounds of love. I was overwhelmed by conflicting feelings;
admiration, astonishment, agitation, shame, assurance: I admired her
figure, I was astonished at her beauty; my heart palpitated, I gazed
upon her with assurance, yet I was ashamed at the idea of being
remarked. I endeavoured to withdraw my eyes from the maiden; they
however were unwilling to obey, and, following the fascination of her
countenance, in the end completely gained the day.
Upon the arrival of the visitors, my father assigned a part of the
house for their use, and then ordered the supper to be prepared. At the
appointed time we reclined by twos on couches, for such was my father's
order. He and I were in the centre, the two elder ladies occupied
the right-hand couch, the maidens were to the left. Upon hearing the
proposed arrangement I was very near embracing my father, for thus
placing the maiden within my view. As to what I ate, on my faith I
cannot tell you, for I was like a man eating in a dream; all I know is,
that leaning upon my elbow, and bending forwards, my whole attention
was given to stealing furtive glances at her--this was the sum total
of my supper. When the meal was ended, a slave came in with the lyre;
he first ran over the strings with his fingers, then sounded a few
chords in an under tone, and afterwards taking the plectrum, began to
play, accompanying the sounds with his voice. The subject of his strain
was[20] Apollo in his irritation pursuing the flying Daphne, and upon
the point of seizing her, how she was transformed into a laurel, and
how the god crowns himself with its leaves. The song had the effect
of adding fuel to my flame, for amatory strains[21] act as a powerful
incentive to desire: and however inclined a person may be to chastity,
example serves as a stimulant to imitation, more especially when the
example is supplied by one in superior[22] station; for the feeling of
shame which was a check upon doing wrong becomes changed into assurance
by the rank of the offender.
Accordingly, I thus reasoned with myself--"See, Apollo falls in love,
he is not ashamed of his weakness, he pursues the fair one! and art
thou a laggard and the slave of shame and ill-timed continence? Art
thou, forsooth, superior to a god? "[23] In the evening the ladies
retired to rest first, and afterwards we ourselves. The others had
confined the pleasures of the table to their stomachs. [24] I, for my
part, carried away the banquet in my eyes; I had taken my fill of the
maiden's sweet looks, and, from the effect of merely gazing upon her,
I rose from table intoxicated with love. Upon entering my accustomed
chamber, sleep was out of the question. It is the law of nature that
diseases and bodily wounds always become exasperated at night; when we
are taking our rest their strength increases, and the pain becomes more
acute, for the circumstance of the body being in repose affords leisure
for the malady to do its work. By the same rule, the wounds of the
soul are much more painful while the body is lying motionless; in the
day, both the eyes and ears are occupied by a multiplicity of objects;
thus, the soul has not leisure to feel pain, and so the violence of
the disease is for a time mitigated; but let the body be fettered by
inactivity, and then the soul retains all its susceptibility, and
becomes tempest-tossed by trouble; the feelings which were asleep then
awaken. The mourner feels his grief, the anxious his solicitude, he who
is in peril his terrors, the lover his inward flame.
Towards morning Love took compassion upon me, and granted me some short
repose; but not even then would the maiden be absent from my mind;
Leucippe[25] was in all my dreams, I conversed with her, I played with
her, I supped with her, I touched her fair body; in short, I obtained
more favours then than in the day-time, for I kissed her, and the kiss
was really given. Accordingly, when the slave awoke me, I cursed[26]
him for coming so unseasonably, and for dissipating so sweet a dream;
getting up, however, I went out of my part of the house, and walked in
front of the apartment where the maiden was; with my head hanging down
over a book, I pretended to be reading, but whenever I came opposite
her door I cast sidelong glances, and after taking a few turns, and
drinking in fresh draughts of love I returned desperately smitten;
three whole days did I continue burning with this inward fire.
I had a cousin named Clinias, who had lost both his parents; he was
two years older than myself, and an adept in matters of love. He had a
male favourite, for whom his affection was so strong, that when he had
one day purchased a horse, and the other admired it, he immediately
presented him with the animal. I was always joking him for having
so much leisure as to fall in love, and for being a slave to tender
passions; he used to laugh and reply with a shake of the head, "Depend
upon it the day of slavery is in store for you. " Well, proceeding to
his house, I saluted him, and sitting down, said, "Clinias, I am paying
the penalty of my former gibes;[27] I am at last myself the slave of
love! " Upon hearing this, he clapped his hands and laughed outright;
then rising and kissing my face, which bore traces of a lover's
wakefulness, "There is no doubt of your being in love," said he, "for
your eyes declare it. "
While he was yet speaking, Charicles, his favourite, comes in
hurriedly and in great perturbation, exclaiming, "My fate is sealed,
Clinias! " With a tremulous voice, and sighing as deeply as though his
own life hung[28] upon that of the youth, Clinias replied, "Speak
out, your silence will be my death; say what grief assails you--with
what adversary have you to contend? " Charicles rejoined,--"My father
is negotiating a marriage for me, a marriage moreover with an
ill-favoured woman; a double evil therefore: even were she comely, a
female[29] would be repulsive to my taste, and she becomes doubly so,
if ugly. My father, however, looks only to money, and is therefore
anxious for the match, so that I, such is my ill fate, am made the
victim of this woman's money; I am sold to be her husband. "[30] Clinias
turned pale upon hearing this announcement, and strongly urged the
youth to decline the match, bitterly inveighing against the race of
womankind. "Your father, forsooth, would have you marry! pray what
crime have you committed, that you should be given over to such
bondage? Do you not remember the words of Jove?
'Son of Iapetus, o'er-subtle, go,
And glory in thy artful theft below;
Now of the fire you boast by stealth retriev'd,
And triumph in almighty Jove deceiv'd;
But thou too late shalt find the triumph vain,
And read thy folly in succeeding pain;
Posterity the sad effect shall know,
When in pursuit of joy they grasp their woe. '[31]
Woman is a 'bitter sweet;'[32] in her nature she is akin to the Sirens,
for they too, slay their victims with a dulcet voice; the very "pomp
and circumstance" of marriage shews the magnitude of the evil; there
is the din[33] of pipes, the knocking at the doors, the bearing about
of torches. With all this noise and tumult, who will not exclaim,
'Unhappy is the man who has to wed! '--to me, he seems like a man
ordered off to war. Were you unacquainted with classic lore, you might
plead ignorance of women's doings, whereas you are so well read, as to
be capable of teaching others. How many subjects for the stage have
been furnished by womankind! Call to mind the necklace of Eriphyle,
the banquet of Philomela, the calumny of Sthenobœa, the incest of
Aerope, the murderous deed of Procne. [34] Does Agamemnon sigh for
the beauty of Chryseis? --he brings pestilence upon the Grecian host;
does Achilles covet the charms of Briseis? --he prepares misery for
himself; if Candaules has a fair wife, that wife becomes the murderess
of her husband! The nuptial torches of Helen[35] kindled the fire
which consumed Troy! How many suitors were done to death through the
chastity of Penelope? Phædra, through love, became the destroyer of
Hippolytus; Clytemnestra, through hate, the murderess of Agamemnon! Ο!
all-audacious[36] race of women! they deal death whether they love or
hate! The noble Agamemnon must needs die, he whose beauty is described
to have been cast in a heavenly mould,
'Jove o'er his eyes celestial glories spread,
And dawning conquest play'd around his head. [37]
and yet this very head was cut off by--a woman! All that I have been
saying relates only to the handsome among the sex; in this case, then,
there is a lessening of the evil, for beauty is a palliative, and under
such circumstances a man may be said to be fortunate in the midst of
his calamity; but if, as you say, the woman boasts no charms, why then
the evil becomes two-fold. Who would submit in such a case, especially
who that is young and handsome like yourself? In the name of the gods,
Charicles, do not stoop to such a yoke; do not mar the flower of your
beauty before the time; for remember, in addition to the other ills of
marriage, there is this evil, it saps the vigour: do not, Charicles,
I pray, expose yourself to this; give not the beauteous rose to be
plucked by the ill-favoured rustic's hand. "
"Leave this matter," replied Charicles, "to the care of the gods and
of myself; the marriage will not take place for some days yet; much
may be done in a single night, and we will deliberate at our leisure.
Meanwhile, I will go and take a ride, for since the day you gave me
that fine horse, I have never made use of your kind present. " With
these words he left the house, little imagining that this his first
ride was to be his last. After he was gone, I related every particular
to Clinias, describing how my passion began; the arrival, the supper,
the beauty of the maiden. Feeling, at last, how absurdly I was
beginning to talk, I exclaimed, "Clinias, I can no longer endure this
misery. Love has assailed me with such violence as to drive sleep from
my eyes; I see no object but Leucippe; no one can suffer like myself,
for the source of my trouble dwells with me under the same roof. "
"What folly it is," replied Clinias, "for you who are so fortunate in
love to talk after this fashion! You have no need to go to another
person's doors; you do not require a go-between; fortune gives the
loved object into your hands, brings her into your very house, and
there sets her down. [38] Other lovers are well content with catching
a glimpse of the maiden for whom they sigh, and to gratify their
eyes is with them no small good fortune; they consider themselves
most favoured, indeed, if they can now and then exchange a word with
their mistress. But what is your case? You continually see her, you
continually hear her voice, you sup with her, you drink with her; and
yet, fortunate that you are, you are complaining! You are guilty of
base ingratitude towards love, and without the slightest cause. Do you
not know that seeing the object whom you love gives far deeper pleasure
than enjoying her? [39] And why so? Because the eyes, when encountering
each other, receive bodily impressions, as in a looking-glass, and
the reflection of beauty glancing into the soul,[40] begets union even
in separation, and affords a pleasure not much inferior to corporeal
intercourse, which, after all, is hollow and unsatisfying. [41] I augur,
moreover, that you will soon obtain the object of your wishes, for to
be always in the society of the loved one, exerts a most persuasive
power; the eye is a wondrous vehicle of love,[42] and constant
intercourse is most influential in begetting kindly feelings. Habit and
the company of each other will tame savage beasts. How much more will
they act upon a woman's heart. Parity of age also has great weight with
a maiden, and the animal passion which is felt in the flower of youth,
added to the consciousness of being loved, very frequently call forth a
return of tender feeling.
Every maiden wishes to be thought beautiful,
and exults in being loved; and approves the testimony borne by the
lover to her beauty; because, if no one love her, she believes herself
devoid of any personal charms. This one piece of advice I give you,
make her feel certain that she is beloved, and she will soon follow
your example in returning your affection. "
"And how," asked I, "is this sage oracle of yours to be accomplished?
Put me in the right way; you are more experienced than myself; you have
been longer initiated in the mysteries of love. What am I to do? What
am I to say? How am I to obtain her for whom I sigh? For my part I am
ignorant how to set about the work. "
"There is small need," replied Clinias, "to learn these matters from
the mouths of others. Love is a self-taught master of his craft. [43] No
one teaches new-born babes where to find their food; they have already
learnt by intuition, and know that a table has been spread for them by
nature in their mothers' breasts. In like manner, the youth who for
the first time is pregnant with love, needs no teaching to bring it
to the birth; only let your pains have come on, and your hour have
arrived, and though it be for the first time, you will not miscarry,
but will be safely brought to bed, midwifed by the god himself. I will,
however, give you a few common-place hints relating to matters which
require general observance. Say nothing to the maiden directly bearing
upon love; prosecute the wished-for consummation quietly. Youths and
maidens are alike sensible of shame, and however much they may long for
sexual enjoyment, they do not like to hear it talked of; they consider
the disgrace of the matter to be altogether in the words. Matrons take
pleasure even in the words. A maiden will show no objection to acts
of dalliance upon her lover's part, but will express her willingness
by signs and gestures; yet if you come directly to the point, and put
the question to her, your very voice will alarm her ears; she will be
suffused with blushes; she will turn away from your proposals; she will
think an insult has been done her; and however willing to comply with
your desires, she will be restrained by shame; for the pleasurable
sensations excited by your words will make her consider herself to be
submitting to the act. But when by other means you have brought her
to a compliant mood, so that you can approach her with some degree of
freedom, be as wise and guarded as though you were celebrating the
mysteries;[44] gently approach and kiss her: a kiss given by a lover
to a willing mistress is a silent way of asking for her favours; and
the same given to the fair one who is coy, is a supplication to relent.
Even when maidens are themselves ready to comply, they often like
some appearance of force to be employed,[45] for the plea of seeming
necessity will remove the shame of voluntary compliance upon their
part. Do not be discouraged if she repulses your advances,[46] but mark
the manner of her repulse: all these matters require tact. If she
persists in being uncompliant, use no force; for she is not yet in the
right humour; but if she show signs of yielding, act still with proper
caution, lest after all you should lose your labour. "[47]
"You have given me store[48] of good advice," said I, "and may
everything turn out successfully; nevertheless I sadly fear that
success will prove the beginning of even greater calamity, by making
me more desperately in love. What am I to do if my malady increase?
I cannot marry, for I am already engaged to another maiden; my
father, too, is very urgent with me to conclude the match, and he
asks nothing but what is fair and reasonable. He does not barter me
away like Charicles for gold; he does not wish me to marry either a
foreigner or an ugly girl; he gives me his own daughter, a maiden
of rare beauty, had I not seen Leucippe; but now I am blind to all
other charms excepting hers, in short, I have eyes for her alone. I
am placed midway between two contending parties; Love on one side, my
father on the other; the latter wields his paternal authority, the
former shakes his burning torch; how am I to decide the cause? Stern
necessity and natural affection are opposed. Father, I wish to give a
verdict for you, but I have an adversary too strong for me; he tortures
and overawes the judge,[49] he stands beside me with his shafts; his
arguments are flame. Unless I decide for him, his fires will scorch me
up. "
While we were thus discussing the subject of the god of Love, a slave
of Charicles suddenly rushed in bearing his evil tidings on his face
so plainly, that Clinias immediately cried out, "Some accident has
befallen Charicles. " "Charicles," hastily exclaimed the slave, "is
dead. " Utterance failed Clinias, upon hearing this, he remained without
the power of motion, as if struck by lightning. The slave proceeded to
relate the sad particulars. "Charicles," he said, "after mounting, went
off at a moderate pace, then after having had two or three gallops,
pulled up, and still sitting on the animal, wiped off from its back
the sweat, leaving the reins upon its neck. There was a sudden noise
from behind, and the startled horse rearing bounded forward and dashed
wildly on. [50] Taking the bit between his teeth, with neck thrown up
and tossing mane, maddened with fright, he flew through the air. [51]
Such was his speed, that his hind feet seemed endeavouring to overtake
and pass the fore feet in the race; and owing to this rivalry of speed
between the legs, the animal's back rose and fell as does a ship
when tossing upon the billows. Oscillating from the effect of these
wave-like movements,[52] the wretched Charicles was tossed up and down
like a ball upon the horse's back, now thrown back upon his croup, now
pitched forward upon his neck. At length overmastered by the storm,[53]
and unable to recover possession of the reins, he gave himself up to
this whirlwind of speed, and was at Fortune's mercy. The horse still
in full career, turned from the public road, made for a wood, and
dashed his unhappy rider against a tree. Charicles was shot from off
his back as from an engine, and his face encountering the boughs, was
lacerated with a wound from every jagged point. Entangled by the reins,
he was unable to release his body, but was dragged along upon the road
to death; for the horse, yet more affrighted by the rider's fall, and
impeded by his body, kicked and trampled the miserable youth who was
the obstacle to his farther flight;[54] and such is his disfigurement
that you can no longer recognize his features. "
After listening to this account, Clinias was for some moments
speechless through bewilderment, then awakening from his trance of
grief, he uttered a piercing cry, and was rushing out to meet the
corpse, I following and doing my best to comfort him. At this instant
the body of Charicles was borne into the house, a wretched and
pitiable sight, for he was one mass of wounds,[55] so that none of
the bystanders could restrain their tears. His father led the strains
of lamentation, and cried out, "My son, in how different a state hast
thou returned from that in which thou didst leave me! Ill betide all
horsemanship! Neither hast thou died by any common death, nor art thou
brought back a corpse comely in thy death; others who die preserve
their well-known lineaments, and though the living beauty of the
countenance be gone, the image is preserved, which by its mimickry of
sleep consoles the mourner. [56] In their case, death has taken away
the soul, but leaves in the body the semblance of the individual: in
thy case, fate has destroyed both, and, to me, thou hast died a double
death, in soul and body, so utterly has even the shadow of thy likeness
perished! Thy soul has fled, and I find thee no more, even in body! Oh,
my son, when shall be now thy bridal day? When, ill-starred horseman
and unwedded bridegroom, when shall be the joyous nuptial festivities?
The tomb will be thy bridal bed, death thy partner, a dirge thy
nuptial song, wailing thy strains of joy! [57] I thought, my son, to
have kindled for thee a very different flame, but cruel fate has
extinguished both it and thee, and in its stead lights up the funeral
torch. Oh, luckless torch bearing, where death presides and takes the
place of marriage! "
Thus bitterly did the father bewail the loss of his son, and Clinias
vied with him in the expression of his grief, breaking forth into
soliloquy. "I have been the death of him who was master of my
affection! Why was I so ill-advised as to present him with such a
gift! Could I not have given him a golden beaker, out of which, when
pouring a libation, he might have drunk, and so have derived pleasure
from the gift? Instead of doing this, wretch that I was, I bestowed
upon this beauteous youth a savage brute, and moreover decked out the
beast with a pectoral and frontlet and silver trappings. [58] Yes,
Charicles, I decked out your murderer with gold! Thou beast, of all
others most evil, ruthless, ungrateful, and insensible to beauty, thou
hast actually been the death of him who fondled thee, who wiped away
thy sweat, promised thee many a feed, and praised the swiftness of thy
pace! Instead of glorying in being the bearer of so fair a youth, thou
hast ungratefully dashed his beauty to the earth! Woe is me, for having
bought this homicide, who has turned out to be thy murderer! "
No sooner were the funeral obsequies over, than I hastened to the
maiden, who was in the pleasance belonging to the house. It consisted
of a grove, which afforded a delightful object to the eyes; around it
ran a wall, each of the four sides of which had a colonnade supported
upon pillars, the central space being planted with trees, whose
branches were so closely interwoven, that the fruits and foliage
intermingled in friendly union. [59] Close to some of the larger
trees grew the ivy and the convolvulus; the latter hanging from the
plane-trees, clustered round it, with its delicate foliage; the former
twining round the pine, lovingly embraced its trunk, so that the tree
became the prop of the ivy, and the ivy furnished a crown for the tree.
On either side were seen luxuriant vines, supported upon reeds; these
were now in blossom, and hanging down from the intervening spaces were
the ringlets of the plant;[60] while the upper leaves, agitated by the
breeze and interpenetrated by the rays of the sun, caused a quivering
gleam to fall upon the ground, which partially lighted up its shade.
Flowers also displayed the beauty of their various hues. The narcissus,
the rose, and violet, mingling together, imparted a purple colour to
the earth; the calyx of both these flowers was alike in its general
shape, and served them for a cup; the expanded rose-leaves were red
and violet above, milky white below, and the narcissus was altogether
of the latter hue; the violet had no calyx, and its colour resembled
that of the sea when under the influence of a calm. In the midst of
the flowers bubbled a fountain, whose waters received into a square
basin, the work of art, served the flowers for their mirror, and gave
a double appearance to the grove, by adding the reflection to the
reality. Neither were there wanting birds: some of a domestic kind,
reared by the care of man, were feeding in the grove; while others,
enjoying their liberty of wing, flew and disported themselves among
the branches. The songsters were grasshoppers[61] and swallows,[62] of
which the one celebrated the rising of Aurora, the other the banquet
of Tereus. Those of a domestic kind were the peacock, the swan, and the
parrot; the swan was feeding near the fountain; a cage suspended from
a tree contained the parrot; the peacock drew after him his splendid
train; nor was it easy to decide which surpassed the other in beauty,
the tints of the flowers themselves, or the hues of his flower-like
feathers.
Leucippe happened at this time to be walking with Clio, and stopped
opposite the peacock who was just then spreading his train, and
displaying the gorgeous semicircle of his feathers. [63] Wishing to
produce amorous sensations in her mind, I addressed myself to the slave
Satyrus,[64] making the peacock the subject of our discourse. "The
bird," I said, "does not do this without design; he is of an amorous
nature, and always bedecks himself in this manner when he wishes to
attract his favourite mate. Do you see," I added, (pointing in the
direction) "the female, near the plane-tree yonder? It is to her that
he is now displaying the 'enamelled meadow' of his plumes, and this
meadow of his is assuredly more beautiful than any mead in nature,
each plume has in it a spot of gold, and the gold is encircled by a
purple ring, and so in every plume there is seen an eye. " Satyrus
readily comprehended the drift of my discourse, and in order to give
me scope for continuing the subject, he asked "whether Love could
possibly possess such power as to transmit his warmth even unto the
winged tribes? " "Yes," I replied, "not only unto them--for there is
no marvel in this, since he himself is winged--but also into reptiles
and wild beasts and plants; nay, in my opinion even unto stones. The
magnet, for instance loves the iron, and upon the first sight and touch
draws that metal towards it, as if containing within itself the fire
of love. Is there not in this, a manifest embrace between the amorous
stone and the iron the object of its affection? Philosophers, moreover,
tell, concerning plants, what I should deem an idle tale were it not
confirmed by the experience of husbandmen. They maintain that one
plant becomes enamoured of another, and that the palm is most sensible
of the tender passion; there are, you must know, male[65] and female
palms; supposing the female is planted at a distance from it, the male
droops and withers; the husbandman upon seeing this, easily understands
the nature of the malady, and ascending an eminence he observes in
what direction the tree inclines--which is always towards the beloved
object; having ascertained this point, he employs the following remedy:
taking a shoot from the female he inserts it into the very heart of
the male; this immediately revives it, and bestows new life upon its
sinking frame, so that it recovers its pristine vigour; and this arises
from delight in embracing its beloved; such are the loves of the
plants. [66]
"The same holds true concerning streams and rivers also; for we
hear of the loves of the river Alpheus and the Sicilian fountain
Arethusa. [67] This river takes its course through the sea as through
a plain, and the sea instead of impregnating it with its saltness,
divides and so affords a passage for the river, performing the part
of bridesman,[68] by conducting it to Arethusa; when, therefore, at
the Olympic Festival, persons cast various gifts into the channel of
this river, it immediately bears them to its beloved, these being its
nuptial gifts. [69] A yet stranger mystery of Love is seen in reptiles,
not merely in those of like race, but of different kind. The viper[70]
conceives a violent passion for the lamprey, which though in form a
serpent, is to all intents and purposes a fish. When these reptiles
wish to copulate, the viper goes down to the shore and hisses in the
direction of the sea, which is a signal to the lamprey; she understands
the sound, and issues from the water, but does not immediately hasten
to her lover, knowing that he carries deadly poison in his teeth,
but gliding up a rock, there waits until he has cleansed his mouth.
After looking at one another for a space, the loving viper vomits
forth the poison so dreaded by his mistress, and she upon perceiving
this, descends and entwines him in her embrace, no longer dreading his
amorous bite. "
During my discourse, I kept observing Leucippe to see how she took
these amatory topics, and she gave indications that they were not
displeasing to her. The dazzling beauty of the peacock which I just
now mentioned seemed to me far inferior to her attractions; indeed the
beauty of her countenance might vie with the flowers of the meadow; the
narcissus was resplendent in her general complexion, the rose blushed
upon her cheek, the dark hue of the violet sparkled in her eyes, her
ringlets curled more closely than do the clusters of the ivy;---her
face, therefore, was a reflex of the meadows. [71] Shortly after this,
she left the pleasance, it being time for her to practise upon the
harp. Though absent she appeared to me still present, for her form and
features remained impressed upon my eyes.
Satyrus and I congratulated each other upon our mutual performances. I
for the subjects I had chosen, he for having given me the opportunity
of discussing them. Supper time soon arrived and we reclined at table
as before.
[Footnote 1: Μήτηρ Φοινίκων ἡ πόλις, θηζαίων ὁ δῆμος πατήρ. The
"mother-city," because of the many colonies which it sent out: on
the foundation of Thebes, Pliny, B. v, c. 19, says: "Sidon, artifex
vitri, Thebarum Bœtiarum parens. " We find in the Scriptures, that
Tyre and Sidon were famous for works in gold, embroidery, &c. , and
whatsoever regarded magnificence and luxury. --See Isaiah xxiii. --Ezek.
xxvii. xxviii. The Phœnicians were, in very early times, celebrated
for merchandise of every description; and their country was justly
considered the emporium of the East. They were the earliest navigators,
and their skill in ship-building may be inferred from I Kings, v.
6. --Trollope's Homer. ]
[Footnote 2: Σῶστρα or σωτήρια. Sacrifices and votive offerings, made
upon escape from shipwreck--
"Me tabulâ sacer
Votivâ paries indicat uvida,
Suspendisse potenti
Vestimenta maris Deo. "--Hor. I. Od. v. 12.
]
[Footnote 3: The Syrian Venus. "Venus--quarta, Syria, Tyroque concepta;
quæ Astarte vocatur, quam Adonidi nupsisse proditum est. "--Cic. de Nat.
Deorum. ]
[Footnote 4: Ovid. Met. ii. 844, and Moschus, Idyl. 2. ]
[Footnote 5: Compare a passage in Longus, B. iv. , Έν μετεώρῳ οἱ κλάδοι
συνἐπιπτον άλλήλοις, καὶ ἐπήλλαττον τος κόμας, ἐδόκει μὲν τοί καὶ ἠ
τούτων φύσις εἰναι τεχνης. ]
[Footnote 6: "Mare purpureum. "--Virg. G. 4, 373. ]
[Footnote 7: In Ode xxviii. , on his mistress, Anacreon says,--
"Στόλισον τολoιτὸν αὐτην
'υπὸ πορφύροισι πέπλοις·
διαφαινέτο δὲ σαρκὼν
'ολίγον, το σῶμ' ἐλεγχον. "
]
[Footnote 8: "Quàm castigate planus sub pectore venter. "--Ovid. Am. i.
5. ]
[Footnote 9:
"Her dainty paps, which like young fruit in May,
Now little, 'gan to swell, and being tied
Through her thin weed, their places only signified. "--Spencer.
]
[Footnote 10: "Tremulæ sinuantur flamine vestes. "--Ovid. Met. ii. 875. ]
[Footnote 11:
"Her robe inflated by the wanton breeze,
Seem'd like a ship's sail hovering o'er the seas. "
Moschus. Chapman's Tr.
]
[Footnote 12:
"From their sea-hollows swift the Nereids rose,
Seated on seals, and did his train compose;
Poseidon went before, and smooth did make
The path of waters for his brother's sake;
Around their king, in close array, did keep
The loud-voiced Tritons, minstrels of the deep.
And with their conchs proclaimed the nuptial song. "
Moschus.
]
[Footnote 13: Δύναται δὲ τοσοῦτον, ὂσον οὐδὲ ὁ Zεὺς, κρατεῖ μὲν
στοιχεῖων, κρατεῖ δὲ ἄστρων, κρατεῖ δὲ τῶν ὀμοίων θεῶν. --Longus. Β. ii. ]
[Footnote 14: Καλῄ ὑπὸ πλατανίστῳ ὃθεν ῥέεν ἀγλaὸv ὓδωρ. --Hom. Il. ii.
307. ]
[Footnote 15: Proximity by blood or consanguinity was not, with some
few exceptions, a bar to marriage in any part of Greece; direct lineal
descent was. Thus brothers were permitted to marry with sisters even,
if not born from the same mother, as Cimon did with Elpenice. See
Nepos, Life of Cimon. --Dict. of Greek and Roman Antiq. ]
[Footnote 16:
Μoΐραν δ' οὔτινα φημι πεφυγμένον ἔμμεναι ἀνδρων,
Οὐ κακὸν οὐδὲ μὲν ἐσθλὸν, ἐπὴν ταπρῶτα γένηται. --Hom. Il. vi. 487.
]
[Footnote 17:
Μέλαν ὄμμα γοργὸν ἔζω
κεκερασμένον γαλήνη. --Anacreon. xxix.
"Flagrabant lumina miti
Adspectu". . . . --Silius Ital. v. 562.
]
[Footnote 18:
"Indum sanguineo veluti violaverat ostro
Si quis ebur. . . .
. . . talis virgo dabat ore colores. "--Virg. xii. 67.
]
[Footnote 19:
. . . . κάλλος
'αντ' ασπίδων ἀπασῶν,
'αντ' ἐγχέων ἁπάντων
νικᾶ δὲ καὶ σίδηρον
καὶ πῦρ, καλή τις οὖσα. --Anacreon, ii.
