Pugnando
vinci sed tamen illa volet.
Scriptori Erotici Graeci
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.
]
[Footnote 20: Ovid. Met. i. 452.
"At conjux quoniam mea non potes esse,
Arbor eris certè mea, dixit. " 557.
]
[Footnote 21:
. . . . "Quod enim non excitet inguen
Vox blanda et nequam? digitos habet. "--Juv. vi. 196.
]
[Footnote 22:
"Sic nature jabet: velocius et citius nos
Corrumpunt vitiorum exempla domestica, magnis
Quum subeant animos auctoribus. "--Juv. xiv. 31.
]
[Footnote 23: "Egone homuncio id non facerem? "--Ter. Eunuchus. ]
[Footnote 24: "Quæ ad beatam vitam pertinent ventre metiri. "--Cic. de
Nat Deorum, i. 40. ]
[Footnote 25: "Ὁνείρατα ἐώρων ἐρωτικά, τὰ φιλήματα, τὰς περιβολάζ, καὶ
ὅσα δὲ μεθ' ἡμέραν οὐκ ἔπραξαν ταῦτα ὅναρ ἔπραξαν. "--Longus, Β. i. ]
[Footnote 26:
. . . "as one who is awoke
By a distant organ, doubting if he be
Not yet a dreamer, till the spell is broke
By the watchman, or some such reality,
Or by one's early valet's cursed knock. "--Byron.
]
[Footnote 27:
"I have done penance for contemning Love;
Whose high imperious thoughts have punish'd me
With bitter fasts, with penitential groans,
With nightly tears, and daily heart-sore sighs:
For in revenge of my contempt of Love,
Love hath chac'd sleep from my enthralled eyes,
And made them watchers of mine own heart's sorrow. "
Shakspeare.
]
[Footnote 28: "Eque tuo pendat resupini spiritus ore. "--Luc. i. 38. ]
[Footnote 29: There was a proverb among the ancients, "θάλασσα καὶ πῦρ
καὶ γυνὴ κακὰ τρία. "]
[Footnote 30: "Argentum accepi, dote imperium vendidi. "--Plautus. ]
[Footnote 31: Hesiod. Works and Days, 57. ]
[Footnote 32: αὕτη κακῶν ηδονή.
"κἀλλος κακῶν ὕπουλος. "--Soph. Ο. Τ. 1396.
. . . "medio de fonte leporum
Surgit amari aliquid, quod in ipsis floribus angat. "
Luc. iv. 1126.
"Full from the fount of joy's delicious springs,
Some bitter o'er the flowers its bubbling venom flings. "
Childe Harold.
]
[Footnote 33: βόμβος αὐλῶν. ]
[Footnote 34: For the legends connected with these various names, the
reader is referred to Anthon's Lemprière. ]
[Footnote 35: "And like another Helen, fir'd another Troy. "--Dryden. ]
[Footnote 36:
. . . "there's no motion
That tends to vice in man, but, I affirm
It is the woman's part; be't lying, note it,
The woman's; flattering, hers; deceiving, hers;
Lust and rank thoughts, hers, hers; revenges, hers;
Ambitions, covetings, change of prides, disdain,
Nice longings, slanders, mutability;
All faults that may be named, nay, that hell knows.
Why, hers, in part, or all; but rather all. "--Cymbeline.
]
[Footnote 37: Homer. Il. ii. 478. Pope's Tr. ]
[Footnote 38:
"Semper conservam domi
Videbit, colloquetur, aderit unà in unis ædibus
Cibum nonnunquam capiet cum ea. "--Ter. Eun.
]
[Footnote 39:
"The lovely toy so fiercely sought,
Hath lost its charm by being caught. "--Byron.
]
[Footnote 40: ἔχει τινὰ μίξιν ἐν ἀποστάσει. ]
[Footnote 41:
Nequicquam; quoniam nihil indè abradere possunt
Nec penetrare, et abire in corpus corpora toto. "
Luc. iv. 1005.
]
[Footnote 42:
"Conveying as the electric wire,
We know not how, the absorbing fire. "--Byron.
]
[Footnote 43: αὐτοδίδακτος, γάρ ἐστιν ὁ θεὸς σοφιστής. ]
[Footnote 44: The festivals called Mysteries took place at night, or in
secret, within some sanctuary, which the uninitiated were not allowed
to enter. --See Dict. of Greek and Rom. Antiq. ]
[Footnote 45:
"Pugnabit primo fortassis, et Improbe, dicet.
Pugnando vinci sed tamen illa volet. "
Ovid. de Art. Aman. l. 665.
]
[Footnote 46:
"Who listens once will listen twice;
Her heart, be sure, is not of ice,
And one refusal no rebuff. "--Byron.
]
[Footnote 47: χορήγησον τὴν ὑπόκρισιν μὴ άπολέσαι τό δρᾶμα. The
language is figurative and borrowed from customs relating to the drama.
If a poet wished to bring out a piece, he applied to the archon to
grant him a chorus (χορὸν διδόναι); hence the phrases χορὸν αἰτεῖν,
λαμβάνειν, to apply for and to succeed in the application. This will
explain the above expression ἀπολέσαι τὸ δρᾶμα, to fail in obtaining
through want of merit. ]
[Footnote 48: ἐφόδια. ]
[Footnote 49: Viz. , his own mind distracted between the solicitations
of his father and the arguments of love.
"Tot me impediunt curæ, quæ meum animum diversè trahunt. "
Ter. Andr.
]
[Footnote 50:
"And, starting to each accent, sprang
As from a sudden trumpet's clang. "--Byron.
]
[Footnote 51:
"Away, away, my steed and I,
Upon the pinions of the wind,
All human dwellings left behind;
We sped like meteors through the sky. "--Byron.
]
[Footnote 52:
"I felt as on a plank at sea,
When all the waves that dash o'er thee,
At the same time upheave and whelm,
And hurl thee towards a desert realm.
My undulating life was as
The fancied lights that flitting pass
Our shut eyes in deep midnight, when
Fever begins upon the brain. "--Byron.
]
[Footnote 53: It must be remembered that throughout this description
the expressions are borrowed from a storm at sea. An illustration
occurs in Soph. vi. Electra 729 and 733. "ναυαγίων ἱππικῶν. " "κλύδων',
ἔφιππον. "]
[Footnote 54:
"Each motion which I made to free
My swoln limbs from their agony
Increased his fury and affright. "--Byron.
]
[Footnote 55: "Totum est pro corpore vulnus. "--Lucan ix. 814. ]
[Footnote 56:
He who hath bent him o'er the dead
Ere the first day of death is fled,
(Before decay's effacing fingers
Have swept the lines where beauty lingers),
And marked the mild angelic air;
The rapture of repose that's there,
The fix'd yet tender traits that streak
The languor of the placid cheek.
. . . . . .
He still might doubt the tyrant's power;
So fair, so calm, so softly seal'd,
The first, last look by death reveal'd. "--Byron.
]
[Footnote 57: In Heliodorus, B. i. Theagenes and Charicles express
their grief in similar language. ]
[Footnote 58: Mention of these different ornaments occurs in Xen.
Cyrop. B. vi. c. 4, sec. 1. ]
[Footnote 59: See the description of the garden in the 3rd Book of
Longus. ]
[Footnote 60: ἦν βόστρυχος τοῦ φυτοῦ. ]
[Footnote 61:
"The shrill cicalas, people of the pine,
Making their summer lives one ceaseless song. "--Byron.
]
[Footnote 62: The swallow was generally considered the representative
of what was barbaric, chattering, and troublesome. See Aristoph. Frogs,
649, and Æsch. Ag. 1017, nevertheless is introduced by Moschus, in his
lament for Bion:--
. . . . "Nor on their mountain thrones,
The swallows utter such lugubrious tones. "
Chapman's Tr.
The reader will call to mind the line in Gray.
"The swallow twittering from the straw-built shed. "
The chirping noise of the cicada (τέττιξ) is constantly used by the
poets as a simile for sweet sounds. ]
[Footnote 63:
". . . pectâ pandat spectacula caudâ. "--Hor. S. ii. 2. 25.
"Gavest thou the goodly wings unto the peacocks? "
Job xxxix. 13.
]
[Footnote 64: Clio and Satyrus, slaves not mentioned before. ]
[Footnote 65: See Herod. i. ch. 194. ]
[Footnote 66:
"Vivunt in Venerem frondes omnisque vicissim
Felix arbor amat; mutant ad mutua palmæ
Fœdera, populeo suspirat populus ictu,
Et platani platanis, alnoque assibilat alnus. "
Claudian.
See also Darwin's poem, the "Botanic Garden. "]
[Footnote 67:
". . . . Alpheum fama est hue Elidis amnem
Occultas egisse vias subter mare; qui nunc
Ore, Arethusa, tuo Siculis confunditur undis. "
Virg. Æn. iii. 694.
]
[Footnote 68: νυμφοστολεῖ. ]
[Footnote 69: ἔδνα. ]
[Footnote 70: An account of the loves of the viper and the lamprey will
be found in Ælian, B. i. 50; and the polite consideration of the former
in getting rid of his disagreeable qualities is related by the same
writer, B. ix. 66, with the addition of his "hissing an amorous air. "]
[Footnote 71: The same comparison occurs in Aristænetus, Β ii. Ep.
I:--"γυνὴ ἔoικε λειμῦνι, καὶ ὅπερ ἐκείνῳ τὰ ἄνθη, τοῦτό γε τaύτῃ τὸ
κάλλος. "]
BOOK II.
Previous to this, however, Satyrus and I, praising our mutual tact,
proceeded to the maiden's chamber, under the pretext of hearing her
performance on the harp, but in reality because I could not bear her
to be out of my sight, for however short a space. The first subject of
her song was, the engagement between the lion and the boar, described
by Homer;[1] afterwards she chose a tenderer theme, the praises of the
rose.
Divested of its poetic ornaments,[2] the purport of the strain was
this: Had Jove wished to impose a monarch upon the flowers, this honor
would have been given to the rose,[3] as being the ornament of the
earth, the boast of shrubs, the eye of flowers, imparting a blush
to the meadows and dazzling with its beauty. The rose breathes of
love, conciliates Venus, glories in its fragrant leaves, exults in
its tender stalks, which are gladdened by the Zephyr. Such was the
matter of the song. For my part, I seemed to behold a rose upon her
lips, as though the calyx of the flower had been converted into the
form of the human mouth. She had scarcely ended when the supper hour
arrived. It was then the time of celebrating the Festival of Bacchus,
"patron of the vintage,"[4] whom the Tyrians esteem to be their god,
quoting a legend of Cadmus which attributes to the feast the following
origin:--Once upon a time, mortals had no such thing as wine, neither
the black and fragrant kind, nor the Biblian, nor the Maronæan,[5] nor
the Chian, nor the Icarian; all these they maintain came originally
from Tyre, their inventor being a Tyrian. A certain hospitable neatherd
(resembling the Athenian Icarius, who is the subject of a very similar
story) gave occasion to the legend which I am about to relate. Bacchus
happened to come to the cottage of this countryman, who set before him
whatsoever the earth and the labours of his oxen had produced. Wine, as
I observed, was then unknown, like the oxen, therefore, their beverage
was water.
Bacchus thanked him for his friendly treatment and presented to him
a "loving cup,"[6] which was filled with wine. Having taken a hearty
draught, and becoming very jovial from its effects, he said:--"Whence,
stranger, did you procure this purple water, this delicious blood? It
is quite different from that which flows along the ground; for that
descends into the vitals, and affords cold comfort at the best; where
as this, even before entering the mouth, rejoices the nostrils, and
though cold to the touch, leaps down into the stomach and begets a
pleasurable warmth. "[7] To this Bacchus replied, "This is the water of
an autumnal fruit, this is the blood of the grape,"[8] and so saying,
he conducted the neatherd to a vine, and squeezing a bunch of grapes
said, "here is the water, and this is the fountain from whence it
flows. " Such is the account which the Tyrians give as to the origin of
wine.
It was, as I before said, the festival of this deity which was being
celebrated. My father anxious to do everything handsomely, had made
grand preparations for the supper, and there was set in honor of
the god, a magnificent goblet of crystal,[9] in the beauty of its
workmanship second only to that of the Chian Glaucus. [10] Vines
seemingly growing from within encircled it, and their clusters hung
down all around; as long as the goblet remained empty each grape
appeared unripe and green; but no sooner was the wine poured in than
each grape began to redden, and assumed the hue of ripeness; and among
them was represented Bacchus himself as dresser of the vineyard. As the
feast went on, and the good wine did its office, I began to cast bold
lawless glances at Leucippe; for Love and Bacchus are two very potent
deities, they take possession of the soul[11] and so inflame it that
it forgets every restraint of modesty; the one kindles in it a flame,
and the other supplies fuel for the fire, for wine may truly be called
the meat and drink of love. The maiden also became gradually emboldened
so as to gaze at me more fixedly. In this manner, ten days passed on
without anything beyond glances being interchanged between us.
At length I imparted the whole affair to Satyrus, requesting his
assistance; he replied, "I knew it all before you told me, but was
unwilling that you should be aware of the fact, supposing it your wish
to remain unobserved; for very often he who loves by stealth hates
the party who has discovered his passion, and considers himself to
have received an insult from him. However," continued he, "fortune has
provided for our contingences,[12] for Clio, Leucippe's chambermaid,
has an understanding with me, and admits me as her lover. I will
gradually buy her over to give us her assistance in this affair; but
you, on your part, must not be content with making trial of the maiden
merely by glances; you must speak to her and say something to the
point, then take a farther step by touching her hand, squeezing her
fingers, and fetching a deep sigh; if she permits this willingly, then
salute her as the mistress of your affections, and imprint a kiss upon
her neck. " "By Pallas, you counsel wisely," was my reply, "but I fear
me, I shall prove but a craven wrestler in the school of love. "
"The god of love," said he, "has no notion of craven-heartedness; do
you not see in what warlike guise he is equipped? He bears a bow, a
quiver, arrows, and a lighted torch, emblems all of them, of manhood
and of daring. Filled, then, as you are with the influence of such a
god, are you a coward and do you tremble? Beware of shewing yourself
merely a counterfeit in love. I will make an opening by calling away
Clio, as soon as an opportunity occurs for your having a private
conversation with Leucippe. " With these words he left the room; excited
by what he had said, I was no sooner alone, then I used every endeavour
to collect my courage for the approaching interview. "Coward," said
I, "how long wilt thou continue silent? Thou, the soldier of such a
warlike 'god, and yet a craven. ' Dost thou intend to wait until the
maiden comes to thee of her own accord? " Afterwards I proceeded, "and
yet fool that thou art, why not come to thy senses? Why not bestow thy
love upon a lawful object? Thou hast another maiden in this house;
one possessed of beauty. Be content with loving _her_, and gazing
upon _her_; her it is permitted thee to take to wife. " My purpose was
almost fixed; when from the bottom of my heart Love spoke in reply and
said; "Rash man, darest thou to set thyself in array and to war with
me--me, who have wings to fly, arrows to wound, and a torch to burn?
How, prythee, wilt thou escape? If thou wardest off my shafts, how wilt
thou avert my fire? and even supposing thy chastity should quench the
flame, still I can overtake thee with my wings. "[13]
While engaged in this soliloquy, the maiden unexpectedly made her
appearance; I turned pale, and the next moment became crimson; she
was quite alone, not even Clio accompanied her; in a very confused
manner, and not knowing what else to say, I addressed her with the
words, "Good morrow, fair mistress;" sweetly smiling, she shewed by
her countenance that she comprehended the drift of my salutation, and
said, "Do you call me your mistress? " "Indeed I do, for one of the
gods has told me to be your slave, as Hercules was sold to Omphale. "
"Sold, if I remember, by Mercury," rejoined she, "and Jove employed him
in the business;" this she said with an arch smile. "What nonsense,"
rejoined I, "to trifle so, and talk of Mercury when all the while you
understood my meaning. "[14] While one pleasantry led on to another and
so prolonged our conversation, fortune came to my assistance.
About noon on the preceding day, Leucippe had been playing on the
harp and Clio was sitting beside her. I was walking up and down, when
suddenly a bee flying in, stung Clio's hand; she immediately shrieked
out, upon which the maiden, hastily rising from her seat and laying
aside the harp, examined the wound, bidding her to be under no anxiety,
for that she could relieve the pain by simply uttering two magic
words, having been instructed by an Egyptian how to cure the stings
inflicted by bees and wasps; she then proceeded to utter the words
of incantation, and Clio, in a few moments declared the pain to be
relieved. This, as I intimated, took place on the day before. On the
present occasion it chanced, that a bee or wasp flew buzzing round my
face, when all at once the idea seized me of feigning myself to have
been stung;[15] I did so, putting my hand to my face, and pretending
to be in pain. The maiden came up to me, removed my hand and enquired
where I had been stung; upon my lips, dearest, was my reply, why do
you not charm away the pain? Approaching my face, she placed her mouth
almost close to mine, in order to work the charm, at the same time
murmuring certain words, and ever and anon touching my lips. All this
time I kept stealing silent kisses, so that from the maiden alternately
opening and closing her lips while uttering the charm, the incantation
became changed into one continuous kiss. At last putting my arms around
her, I saluted her lips more ardently; upon which drawing back she
exclaimed, "What are you about? Are you, too, turned enchanter? " "I am
only kissing the charm which has removed my pain. " She took my meaning
and smiled, which gave me a fresh supply of courage.
"Ah! dear Leucippe," I exclaimed, "I now feel another and severer
sting,[16] one which has penetrated to my very heart, and calls for
your 'mighty magic;' surely you must carry about a bee upon your lips,
they are full of honey, your kisses wound; repeat the charm, I pray,
but do not worry over the operation, for fear of exasperating the
wound;" at the same time I embraced her more closely and kissed her
with still greater freedom; nor, though making a show of resistance,
did she seem displeased. [17] At this juncture Clio was seen approaching
from a distance, upon which we separated, I much annoyed and sorely
against my will; what were her feelings I cannot exactly say. After
what had passed, however, I felt easier in mind and began to indulge in
brighter hopes.
I still felt the kiss upon my lips as though it had really been
something of a corporeal nature; I zealously guarded it as a treasure
of sweets, for a kiss is to the lover his chief delight; it takes its
birth from the fairest portion of the human body--from the mouth, which
is the instrument of the voice, and the voice is the adumbration of the
soul; when lips mingle they dart pleasure through the veins, and make
even the lovers' souls join in the embrace. Never before did I feel
delight comparable to this; and then for the first time I learnt that
no pleasurable sensation can vie with a lover's kiss. [18]
At supper time we met as on former occasions, when Satyrus, who acted
as cupbearer, hit upon the following amorous device. After our cups
were filled, he effected an exchange, presenting mine to the maiden,
handing hers to me. Having noticed what part of the brim had been
touched by her in drinking, I applied my lips to the same place;[19]
thus intimating that I was sending her a kiss. She remarked what I had
done, and readily understood that I had been kissing the shadow of her
lips. Satyrus again stealthily made a like exchange of cups, when I
could observe her imitating me, and drinking as I had done, which,
as you may imagine, vastly increased my happiness. This was repeated
a third and fourth time; in short, we passed the rest of the time in
drinking kisses to one another.
When supper was ended, Satyrus approaching me said, "Now is the time to
show your mettle; the maiden's mother, as you are aware, is unwell, and
has retired to rest alone. She herself before going to bed will take a
few turns as usual in the garden, attended by no one but Clio, whom I
will undertake to get out of the way. " We then separated, and remained
on the watch, he for Clio, I for Leucippe. Everything turned out as
we had wished; Clio was got rid of, and Leucippe remained walking
by herself. I waited till the daylight had faded away,[20] and then
approached her, emboldened by my former success, like a soldier already
victorious, who therefore scorns the perils of war. The arms in which I
trusted were wine, love, hope, and solitude; so, without saying a word,
and as if everything had been preconcerted, I took her in my arms, and
covered her with kisses. When about to proceed to other familiarities,
a noise was heard behind us, at which we started asunder in alarm. She
betook herself to her chamber, and I remained there in great dudgeon at
having lost so capital an opportunity, and execrating the noise which
had been the cause.
Meanwhile Satyrus came up with a laughing countenance. He had witnessed
everything, having concealed himself under a tree to guard against our
surprise; and it was he, who seeing some one approach, had made the
noise.
In the course of a few days, my father made preparations for concluding
my marriage sooner than had been originally intended. He had been much
alarmed by various dreams; he thought he was celebrating the nuptial
rites, and after the torches had been kindled the light was suddenly
extinguished. This made him more anxious to conclude the matter, and we
were now within a day of the one formally appointed for the ceremony.
The wedding clothes and jewels were already purchased; there was a
necklace composed of various gems, and a splendid purple robe edged
with a gold border. The gems vied with each other in beauty; among
them was a hyacinth,[21] which resembled a rose, only that it was
a stone, and an amethyst almost as lustrous as gold itself. In the
middle of this necklace were three precious stones, arranged together
and curiously blended in their hues; the lowest one was black, the
middle white, but with a darkish tinge, the upper one shading off
into a ruddy colour. They were set in a rim of gold, and might be
said to bear resemblance to an eye. [22] The purple of the dress was
of no ordinary dye, but of the kind which the Tyrians fable to have
been discovered by the shepherd's dog, and with which they are wont to
represent the robe of Venus to be tinged.
