but the contract has been a
fruitless one; let me call you by the sweetest of all appellations,
Chariclea.
fruitless one; let me call you by the sweetest of all appellations,
Chariclea.
Scriptori Erotici Graeci
--"What can be
newer or more unworthy," he replied, "than the breaking of vows and
promises? than that Chariclea, entirely forgetting me, should give her
consent to another marriage? "--"God forbid! " replied the maiden; "let
not your reproaches increase the load of my calamities; nor, after so
long an experience of my fidelity, lightly suspect a measure which
the immediate necessity of the moment compelled me to adopt: sooner
will you change than find me changed in regard to you. I can bear
ill fortune; nor shall any force compel me to do anything unworthy
of the modesty and virtue of my sex. In one thing alone, I own, I
am immoderate, my love for you; but then it is a lawful one; and,
however great, it did not throw me inconsiderately into your power;
I resigned myself to you on the most honourable conditions; I have
hither to lived with you in the most inviolate purity, resisting all
your solicitations, and looking forward to a lawful opportunity of
completing that marriage to which we are solemnly pledged. Can you
then be so unreasonable as to think it possible that I should prefer
a barbarian to a Greek? a pirate, to one to whom I am bound by so
many ties? "--"What, then," said Theagenes, "was the meaning of that
fine speech of yours? To call me your brother, indeed, was prudent
enough, to keep Thyamis from suspecting the real nature of our love,
and to induce him to let us continue together. I understood, too, the
meaning of your veiling the true circumstances of our voyage under the
fictions of Ionia and Delos. But so readily to accept his proposals,
to promise to marry him, nay, to fix a time for the ceremony--this, I
own, disturbs me, and passes my comprehension; but I had rather sink
into the earth than see such an end of all my hopes and labours on your
account. "
Chariclea flung her arms round Theagenes, gave him a thousand kisses,
and bedewing him with tears, cried out, "How delightful to me are these
apprehensions of yours! They prove that all the troubles you have
undergone have in no degree weakened your love; but know, Ο my dear
Theagenes, that unless I had promised as I did, we should not now be
talking together. You must be sensible that contradiction only adds
force to violent passion; seeming compliance allays the impulse in its
birth, and the allurement of promises lulls the violence of desire.
Your rough lovers think they have got something when they have obtained
a promise: and, relying upon the faith of it, become quieter, feeding
themselves with hope. I, being aware of this, in words resigned myself
up to him, committing what shall follow to the gods, and to that genius
who presides over our loves.
"A short interval of time has frequently afforded means of safety,
which the wisest counsels of men could not have foreseen. I saw nothing
better to be done than to endeavour to ward off a certain and imminent
danger, by a present, though uncertain, remedy. We must, therefore, my
dearest Theagenes, use this fiction as our best ally, and carefully
conceal the truth even from Cnemon; for though he seems friendly to
us, and is a Greek, yet he is a captive, and likely, perhaps, to do
anything which may ingratiate him with his master. Our friendship
with him is as yet too new, neither is there any relation between us
sufficiently strong to give us a certain assurance of his fidelity. If
he suspects, therefore, and inquires into our real situation, we must
deny it: for even a falsehood is commendable when it is of service to
those who use it, and does no injury to the hearers of it. "
While Chariclea was thus suggesting this course, Cnemon comes running
in, with an altered countenance, and seemingly in much agitation. "Ο
Theagenes," he cried, "I have brought you the herb I mentioned; apply
it, and it will heal your wounds; but you must now, I fear, prepare
yourself for others, and a slaughter equal to that which you have
lately been an actor in. " Theagenes desiring him to explain himself,
"There is no time at present;" he replied, "for explanation; action
will probably anticipate words; but do you and Chariclea follow me as
fast as you can;" and taking them with him, he brought them to Thyamis.
They found him employed in burnishing his helmet and sharpening his
spear. "Very seasonably," he exclaimed, "are you employed about your
arms; put them on as fast as you can, and command all your men to
do the same, for a hostile force is approaching greater than ever
threatened us before, and they must now be very near. I saw them
advancing over the top of the neighbouring hill, and have made all
possible haste to bring you information, giving the alarm to every one
I met with in my passage. "
Thyamis, at these tidings, started up and cried out, "Where is
Chariclea? " as if he were more apprehensive for her than for himself.
When Cnemon showed her standing near the door. "Lead this maiden
privately," says he, "into the cave where I keep my treasures, and
forget not to replace as usual the covering of it; having done this,
return to me as fast as you can: meanwhile, I will prepare for the
storm of battle which awaits us. " Having said this, he ordered his
lieutenant to bring forth a victim, that he might begin the engagement
after a due sacrifice to his country's gods. Cnemon proceeded to
execute his commission, and leading off Chariclea, who turned earnestly
towards Theagenes, and lamented her hard fate, he let her down into
the cave. This was not, as many are, the work of nature, an accidental
excavation, but the contrivance of the pirates, who, imitating her
operations, had hollowed out an artificial cavern for the reception
of their treasures. It was formed in this manner: its entrance,[23]
narrow and dark, was under the doors of a hidden chamber, the threshold
became, in case of need, a second door, for farther descent; it fitted
exactly, and could be lifted up with great facility; the rest of the
cave was cut into various winding passages, which, now diverging,
now returning, with a multitude of ramifications, converged at last
into an open space at the bottom, which received an uncertain light
from an aperture at the extremity of the lake. Here Cnemon introduced
Chariclea, and led her to the farthest recess, encouraging and
promising her that he and Theagenes would come to her in the evening;
and that he would not suffer him to engage in the battle which
impended. Chariclea was unable to answer him; and he went out of the
cave, leaving her half dead, silent, and stupified, as if her soul
had been separated from her with Theagenes. He shut down the door,
dropping a tear for her as he did it, and for the necessity he was
under of burying her in a manner alive, and consigning the brightest of
human forms to darkness and obscurity. He made what haste he could to
Thyamis. He found him burning with ardour for the fight, and Theagenes
by his side splendidly armed; he was even to frenzy rousing the spirits
of his followers who surrounded him, and thus began to address them:
"There is no need, comrades, to address you in a long exhortation;
you want no encouragement, to whom war is the breath of life; and the
sudden approach of the enemy cuts off all space for words; it becomes
us to prepare to resist force by force; not to do so would betray an
absence of all energy. I do not put you in mind of your wives and
children as is usual on these occasions, though nothing but victory can
preserve them from destruction and violation. This contest is for our
very being and existence; no quarter, no truce, ever takes place in
piratic warfare; we must either conquer or die. Let us exert, then, our
force to the utmost, and with determined minds fall upon the enemy. "
Having said this, he looked round for his lieutenant, Thermuthis,
and called him several times by his name. When he nowhere appeared,
throwing out hasty threats against him, he rushed on towards the ferry.
The battle was already begun, and he could see at a distance those who
inhabited the extremities and approaches of the lake in the fact of
being routed by the enemy, who set on fire the boats and huts of those
who fell or fled. The flames spread to the neighbouring morass, caught
hold of the reeds which grew there in great abundance, dazzled every
eye with an almost intolerable blaze, and, crackling and roaring,
stunned their ears.
War[24] now appeared in all its horrid forms: the inhabitants for some
time, with readiness and energy, supported and repelled the attack; but
being astonished by the sudden incursion, and pressed by the superior
numbers of the enemy, those on the land gave way, and many of those on
the lake, together with their boats and habitations, were overwhelmed
in the waters! every dreadful sound now struck the air, as the conflict
raged both by land and water; groans and shouts were mingled, the
lake was discoloured with blood, all were involved in fire or water.
Thyamis, at this sight, called to mind his dream, and the temple of
Isis shining with lamps, and flowing with the blood of victims; he saw
a resemblance in it to the scene before him, and began to fear that
he must give up his former favourable interpretation; that Chariclea
was destined to fall in this tumult, and that so having had her in
his possession, he should now have her no longer; that she would be
slain, not merely be wounded in her virginity; exclaiming, therefore
against the goddess, for having deceived him, and unable to bear the
thought that any one else should possess Chariclea, he ordered the men
who were about him to halt, and if they were obliged to engage, to
defend themselves as well as they could, by retiring behind, and making
sallies from, the numerous little islands: as by so doing they might,
for some time, be able to resist the attack of the enemy. He then,
under pretence of going to seek Thermuthis, and sacrificing to his
household gods, returned in great agitation to his tent, suffering no
one to follow him.
The disposition of the barbarians is obstinate and determined;[25]
when they despair of their own safety, they are accustomed to destroy
those who are most dear to them; either wildly imagining that they
shall enjoy their company after death; or thinking that by so doing
they shall deliver them from the injuries and insults of the enemy.
Stimulated by some of these motives, Thyamis, forgetting the urgent
danger which pressed upon him, and the enemies by whom he was
surrounded as by a net; burning with anger, love, and jealousy, rushed
headlong to the cave: he poured out his Egyptian exclamations with a
loud voice, and soon after his entrance, being addressed by some one
in the Greek tongue, the voice guided him to the person; he seized her
hair with his left hand, and with his right plunged his sword into her
bosom: the unfortunate creature sank down, uttering a last and piteous
groan. Issuing forth and closing the trap-door, he threw a little
dust over her, and dropping a tear he exclaimed, "Are these then the
nuptial presents you were to expect from me! " When he arrived at the
boats, he saw his people ready to fly as the enemy approached near,
and Thermuthis having now made his appearance, preparing to begin the
sacrifice: having abused him for his unseasonable absence, and told
him that he had already offered up the most beauteous of victims, he,
Thermuthis and the rower got into a boat: their small vessels would
not hold more, being made out of the trunk of a tree rudely hollowed.
Theagenes and Cnemon got into another, and in the same manner all the
rest embarked.
When they had proceeded a little from the shore, rowing round the side
rather than launching out into the deep, they lay upon their oars,
and drew up in a line, to receive the enemy; but at their approach, a
sudden panic seized the pirates, and not sustaining the first hostile
shout of their opponents, they fled in disorder: Cnemon and Theagenes
gradually retired, but not from fear: Thyamis alone disdained to fly;
and perhaps not wishing to survive Chariclea, rushed into the midst
of his foes. A cry was instantly heard among them, "This is Thyamis,
let all have an eye to him:" immediately they turned their boats and
surrounded him; he, vigorously fighting, wounded some and killed
others, and yet strange was that which ensued: out of so great a
multitude no one lifted up a sword, or cast a dart at him, but every
one did their utmost to capture him alive. He continued manfully to
resist, till at length his spear was wrested from him, and he had lost
his lieutenant, who had nobly seconded him; and who, having received,
as he thought, a mortal wound, leaped into the lake, and with great
difficulty reached the shore, no one offering to pursue him; for now
they had laid hold on Thyamis, and esteemed the capture of one man a
victory; and though he had destroyed so many of their men, their joy
at having taken him alive far exceeded their grief for the loss of
their comrades; for gain is dearer to robbers than their lives; and
friendship and relationship are only so far considered among them as
they conduce to this main end.
The leaders of this attack were the men who had fled from Thyamis and
his followers at the Heracleotic mouth of the Nile: they, enraged
at the loss of a booty, which through plunder, they considered as
their own, gathered their friends together, and many others from the
neighbouring towns, by proposing to them an equal division of the
spoils; and became their guides in the expedition.
The reason why they were so desirous of taking Thyamis alive was
this: Petosiris, who resided at Memphis, was his younger brother; by
his artifices he had unlawfully deprived Thyamis of the priesthood,
and hearing that he was now at the head of the pirates, he feared
that he might take some opportunity to attack him, or that in time
his treachery might be discovered; he was besides suspected of
having made away with his brother, who nowhere appeared. For these
reasons he proclaimed great rewards among all the nests of pirates
in his neighbourhood, to any one who should capture him alive: they,
stimulated by these offers, and in the heat of battle, not losing sight
of gain, took him prisoner at the price of many of their lives. They
sent him, under a strong guard, to the main land, he reproaching them
all the while for their seeming lenity, and bearing bonds much more
indignantly than he would have borne death. The rest proceeded towards
the island in quest of treasures and spoil; but when, after a long and
strict search, they found nothing of any consequence, some few things
excepted, which out of hurry or forgetfulness were left out of the
cavern, they set fire to the tents; and the evening coming on, fearing
to remain there any longer, lest they should be surprised by the enemy
whom they had driven thence, they returned to their companions upon the
continent.
[Footnote 1: Piracy was not in those times considered dishonorable; but
the contrary. --Thucyd. B. i. 4. ]
[Footnote 2: Called by Herodotus, B. ii. 17, the Bucolic mouth. "It
seems clear that the phrase was derived from the inhabitants of
the region, a horde of piratical herdsmen, apparently of different
race from the agricultural Egyptians. They haunted the most marshy
part of the Delta, where the papyrus reeds effectually masked their
retreats. "--Blakesley's Herodotus. ]
[Footnote 3: ἐπὶ τρίτον ζωστῆρα--to the third wale. The wales are
strong planks extending along a ship's side through the whole length at
different heights, serving to strengthen the decks and form the curves.
A passage in the Cyclops of Euripides may illustrate the above--
γάνυμας δὲ δαιτὸς ἤβης,
σκάφος ὁλκὰς ὥς γεμισθεὶς
ποτὶ σέλμα γαστρὸς ἂκρας. --Cyclops. 503.
]
[Footnote 4:
Indum sanguineo veluti violaverat ostro
Si quis ebur. --Æn. xii. 67.
]
[Footnote 5: ἤ γέγoνας πολέμου πάρεργον. The expression πολέμου
πάρεργον means a by-work; something done by the by. --Thucyd. B. i. 112. ]
[Footnote 6: Iliad, B. i. 45. ]
[Footnote 7: A full description of the personal appearance of the
buccaneers will be found in Achilles Tatius. --B. iii. c. 9. ]
[Footnote 8: Ή μὲν ταῦτα ἐπετραγῴδει. ]
[Footnote 9: For a further description of the buccaneer stronghold, see
Achilles Tatius, B. iv. c. 14.
Perhaps Heliodorus (afterwards a bishop) had derived the materials
for his graphic description of their haunts and manners from personal
residence among them, as was the case (so Horace Walpole informs us)
with Archbishop Blackburne (_temp. _ Geo. II,) who in his younger days
is said to have been a buccaneer. In Herod. v. 16, is a curious account
of a fishing-town built in the lake Prasias, exactly corresponding with
the description of _The Pasturage_ in Heliodorus. ]
[Footnote 10: Ἔμπνουν ἄγαλμα.
"And there she stood, so calm and pale
That, but her breathing did not fail,
And motion slight of eye and head,
And of her bosom, warranted
That neither sense nor pulse she lacks,
You might have thought a form of wax,
Wrought to the very life, was there;
But still she was, so pale, so fair. "--Marmion, c. xxi
]
[Footnote 11: Βουλῆς δὲ τῆς ἅνω. The Council of the 500, who were
a kind of Committee of the Ἐκκλησία to prepare measures for that
assembly. ]
[Footnote 12: Cnemon and his stepmother will recall to the reader's
memory Phædra and Hippolytus. ]
[Footnote 13: In the Ceramicus, without the city, was an engine, built
in the form of a ship, upon which the πέπλος, or robe of Minerva, was
hung, in the manner of a sail, and which was put in motion by concealed
machinery. It was conveyed to the temple of Ceres Eleusinia, and from
thence to the citadel, where it was put upon Minerva's statue, which
was laid upon a bed strewed with flowers, and called πλακὶς. ]
[Footnote 14: The public hall at Athens, in which the Prytanes for
the time being, and some other magistrates, had their meals, and
entertained foreign ambassadors. ]
[Footnote 15: Literally, "I had him enrolled in his proper ward
(φρατρία), in his proper house (γένος), and among those arrived at
puberty (ἕφηβοι)," the successive steps to Athenian citizenship. ]
[Footnote 16: The Barathrum was a yawning cleft behind the Acropolis,
into which criminals were cast. ]
[Footnote 17: Hesiod, "Works and Days," 221.
"Justice. . . .
When mortals violate her sacred laws,
When judges hear the bribe and not the cause,
Close by her parent god behold her stand,
And urge the punishment their sins demand. "--Lee.
Ammianus Marcellinus says, B. xxix. , "_Inconnivens_ justitiæ oculus;
arbiter et vindex perpetuus rerum. "
Rarò antecedentem scelestum
Descruit pede Pœna claudo. --Hor. Od. iii. II. 31.
]
[Footnote 18: Ὄν θυμόν κατέδων. Il. vi. 202. ]
[Footnote 19: Δεύτερος ἔσται πλοῦς, we will go on a fresh tack. ]
[Footnote 20: Κακή κακῶς. ]
[Footnote 21: The succession to the Egyptian priesthood was
hereditary. --Vide Herod. , ii. 37. ]
[Footnote 22: θεωρίαν ἤγομεν. The Athenians made a solemn voyage
to Delos every year; the deputation was called θεωρία; the persons
employed in it, θεωροὶ; the ship, θεωρὶς. See Robinson's Antiquities of
Greece. ]
[Footnote 23: This description is very obscure in the original; the
meaning seems to be, that the descent to the cavern was effected by
lifting up an oblong stone, bearing the appearance of a threshold,
but serving as a door. The following is the version of the Italian
translator: "L'entrata era stretta e oscura, sottoposta all' entrata
d'uno occulto edificio, in guisa che la soglia della prima entrata
faceva un' altra porta ad uso di scendere," &c. The poet, Walter Lisle,
gives the passage thus:--
"A cave there was, it opened well and shut
With narrow door of stone, that threshold was
T'an upper room. Within, a maze it has
Of sundrie wayes, entangled (like the roots
Of thicke-set trees, amids and all abouts),
That meet in plaine. "
And wishing to embellish the picture, he adds--
"With scales of crocodile
The roofe is pav'd, brought hither from the Nile. "
]
[Footnote 24: See a passage, already referred to, in Achilles Tatius
(B. iv. c. 14), containing a spirited picture of pirate warfare. ]
[Footnote 25: There is a curious example of this disposition of the
barbarians in the conduct of Mithridates, after his defeat by Lucullus.
See Ferguson's Rom. Hist. vol. ii. p. 24. He ordered his wives and
sisters to destroy themselves, fearful of their falling into the
enemy's hands. ]
BOOK II.
In this manner, as we have related, were the flames spread over the
lake; the conflagration escaped the notice of Theagenes and Cnemon
while the sun was above the horizon, the superior lustre of that planet
overcoming the blaze; but when it set, when night came on, and the fire
had no longer any rival to contend with, it appeared at a distance to
their great consternation, as they began to raise themselves out of
the morass. Theagenes tearing his hair, thus broke out into passionate
exclamations; "May this day be the last of my life; may my fears,
cares, and dangers now have an end, and my hopes and love conclude
together. Chariclea is no more, and I am undone; in vain, wretch, that
I am, have I become a coward, and submitted to an unmanly flight, that
I might preserve myself for you, the delight of my life. For you,
alas! I live no longer; you have fallen by an untimely death, nor
was he on whom you doated present to receive your latest breath; but
you are become the prey of flames, and these are the nuptial torches
which cruel fate has lighted up for you. All is consumed, and there
now remains no trace of the most perfect of human forms: O! most cruel
and envious deities! a last embrace is denied me:" and thus lamenting,
he felt about for his sword--Cnemon arrested his hand, and cried out,
"Why, Theagenes, do you lament her who is safe? Chariclea is alive;
be comforted. " "Away! " he replied, "this is a tale for children; why
do you keep me from the death I long for? " Cnemon swore to the truth
of what he had said, told him the orders of Thyamis, described the
cave where he had placed Chariclea; and assured him there was not the
smallest danger of the flames (cut off as they would be) penetrating
through the deep and winding avenues by which she was protected.
Theagenes at these assurances began to recover his spirits, and
hastened towards the island, having Chariclea, and a joyful meeting in
the cave before his eyes, ignorant, alas! of the woes which awaited
him there. They proceeded forwards with great ardour, plying the oars
themselves, for their rower had fallen overboard in the confusion
of the first flight; they went on with an unsteady course from
inexperience in rowing, not able to keep stroke, and the wind being
against them; but their ardour overcame their unskilfulness, and with
great difficulty at last, and bathed in sweat, they reached the shore,
and ran eagerly towards the tents. Of these they saw only the ashes,
they having been totally consumed; the stone, however, which formed
the threshold and entrance of the cavern, was conspicuous enough; for
the huts being built of reeds and such slender materials, were soon
consumed and turned into a light ash, which the wind scattering away,
left the earth bare in many places for a passage, cooling it at the
same time with the blast.
Finding some torches half burnt, and lighting some reeds which
remained, they opened the cave's mouth, and under the guidance of
Cnemon, descended into it. When they had gone a little way, Cnemon
suddenly exclaimed, "Ο God! what is this? we are undone, Chariclea is
slain;" and flinging his torch on the ground, extinguished it, and
falling on his knees, and covering his face with his hands, began to
weep. Theagenes threw himself upon the body, and held it a long time
in his arms, closely embraced; Cnemon seeing him overwhelmed with this
stroke, and fearing when he recovered his senses he would make some
attempt upon himself, took away unobserved the sword which hung by his
side, and leaving him for a moment, ran out to light his torch. While
he was gone, the unhappy lover broke out into mournful and tragic
exclamations, "Ο intolerable calamity, and never-to-be-appeased wrath
of the gods! what insatiable demon thus rages to my destruction? who,
after having driven me from my country through a thousand dangers of
seas and pirates, having delivered me up to marauders, and stript me
of all I had, when one only comfort was left me, has now deprived me
of that! Chariclea is no more, she lies slain by a violent death;
doubtless, she has fallen in defence of her chastity, determined to
preserve herself unspotted for my sake. In vain has her beauty bloomed
both for herself and me; but, Ο my love! have not you one last word
left to speak to me? Are life and breath for ever gone? Alas! you
are silent; that mouth, formerly the interpreter of the will of
heaven, is dumb, and darkness and destruction have overwhelmed the
priestess of the gods. Those eyes glance no more whose lustre dazzled
all beholders, whose brightness, if your murderer had met, he could
not have executed his purpose; what shall I call you, my wife? but we
were not married; my contracted spouse?
but the contract has been a
fruitless one; let me call you by the sweetest of all appellations,
Chariclea. Ο Chariclea! if, where you are, you are capable of receiving
comfort, be comforted; you have a faithful lover; we shall soon meet
again; behold, I sacrifice myself to your Manes, to you I pour out my
own blood in libations;[1] this cavern, a rude sepulchre, shall retain
both our bodies; we shall be united in our deaths, though fate forbade
it in our lives. " Saying this, he felt for his sword, and not finding
it, "Ο Cnemon," he exclaimed, "you have undone me, and Chariclea too,
for the second time depriving her shade of the company it desires. "
While he was thus speaking, a voice from the windings of the cave was
heard, calling Theagenes; he, not in the least alarmed, replied, "I
come, my dearest life; your soul, I see, still hovers above the earth,
partly, perhaps, because unwilling to leave that body, from which it
has by violence been expelled; and partly, because[2] wanting the rites
of sepulture, you may be refused admittance in the shades below. "
Cnemon now approached with the torch; again the voice was heard,
calling Theagenes; Cnemon instantly exclaimed, "Ye gods! is not this
the voice of Chariclea? Theagenes, I think she is safe, for the sound
seems to me to proceed from that very part of the cavern where I know
I left her. "--"Will you never cease attempting to deceive me," replied
Theagenes? --"I am much deceived myself," replied the other, "if we find
this corpse which lies before us to be that of Chariclea;" and stooping
down to examine the countenance, "O heavens! " he cried out, "what do
I see? the face of Thisbe! " and starting back, he stood petrified
with astonishment. Theagenes, on the contrary, now began to recover
his spirits, and in his turn supported and encouraged Cnemon, who was
ready to faint; and besought him that he would lead him instantly to
Chariclea; Cnemon, by degrees coming to himself, again examined the
body, which really was that of Thisbe; he knew, too, by its hilt, the
sword which Thyamis from rage and haste had left sticking in the wound.
He perceived also a tablet appearing out of her bosom; he took it, and
was beginning to read what was written upon it; but Theagenes would
not suffer him, and earnestly entreated him, if all he saw was not the
illusion of some demon, that he would take him to Chariclea; you may
afterwards, said he, read this tablet. Cnemon obeyed; and, taking up
the tablet and the sword, hastened towards Chariclea. She, creeping
on hands and knees towards the sound of their voices as well as she
could, at length saw the light, flew to Theagenes, and hung upon his
neck. And mutually exclaiming, "And are you restored to me, my dear
Theagenes? "--"Do you live,[3] sweetest Chariclea? " they fell in each
others' arms upon the ground; their voices murmuring and themselves
dying away. So much does a sudden rush of joy overpower the human
faculties, and excess of pleasure passes into pain. Thus these lovers,
unexpectedly preserved, seemed again in danger, till Cnemon, observing
a little water in a cleft of the rock, took it up in the hollow of his
hand, and sprinkling it over their faces and nostrils, they came by
degrees to themselves. But when they discovered their situation, lying
on the ground in each other's arms, they rose immediately, and blushing
a little, especially Chariclea, began to make excuses to Cnemon. He,
smiling, turned the matter into pleasantry.
"You will not find a severe censor in me," said he; "whoever is but
moderately acquainted with the passion of love, will easily forgive
its excesses. But there is one part of your conduct, Theagenes, which
I cannot approve of--indeed I was ashamed to see it--when you fell
down, and bewailed in so lamentable a manner a foreign woman, and
one of no good character, while I was all the time assuring you, that
she, whom you professed to love best, was alive and near you. "--"Have
done, Cnemon," he replied; "do not traduce me to Chariclea. You know
I lamented her, under the person of another; but since the kind gods
have shewn me that I was in an error, pray call to mind a little your
own fortitude. You joined your tears, at first, with mine; but when you
recognized the body which lay before you, you started as from a demon
on the stage, you in armour, and with a sword, from a woman; you, a
Grecian warrior, from a corpse! "
This raillery drew a short and forced smile from them, mingled with
tears; for such was their calamitous situation, that grief and thought
soon overpowered this gleam of cheerfulness. A short silence ensued;
when Chariclea[4] gently moving her finger upon her cheek under the
ear, exclaimed, "I shall always esteem her blest, whoever she be, for
whom Theagenes is concerned; but, if you do not think that love makes
me too inquisitive, I should be glad to know who is this happy damsel
who has been thought worthy of his tears; and by what error he could
take a stranger for me. "--"You will wonder when you hear," replied
Theagenes. "Cnemon affirms, that these are the remains of Thisbe, the
Athenian singer, the plotter against him and Demæneta. "--"How," said
the astonished Chariclea, "could she be brought here, from the middle
of Greece to the extremity of Egypt, like a deity in a tragedy? [5] and
how could she be concealed from us at our entrance? "--"As to that, I am
as much at a loss about it as you can be," said Cnemon; "all I know of
her adventures is this: After the tragical end of Demæneta, my father
laid before the people what had happened. They pitied and pardoned him;
and he was earnestly employed in soliciting my recall. Thisbe made use
of the leisure she had upon her hands; and at different entertainments
set her musical skill and her person to sale.
"She[6] now received more favour from the public than Arsinoë, who
grew careless in practising her talents; while Thisbe shewed greater
perfection, both in voice and execution. But she was not aware that
by this she had excited the inextinguishable envy of a courtezan.
This was increased by her having seduced Nausicles, a rich merchant
of Naucratium, formerly a lover of Arsinoë; but who had left her on
pretence of being disgusted with the distortions of her eyes and
countenance, while she was playing on the flute. Anger and jealousy
raging in her bosom, she went to the relations of Demæneta, and
discovered to them the snare which Thisbe had laid for their kinswoman;
partly from her own conjectures, and partly from what Thisbe had told
her. Their anger, however, fell first upon my father; and they engaged
the most skilful counsel to accuse him to the people, as if he had put
Demæneta to death without trial or conviction; and had made use of
the adultery only as a pretext for her murder; and loudly called upon
him to produce the adulterer, or at least to name him; they concluded
by insisting that Thisbe should be put to the torture. My father
readily agreed to this, but she was not to be found; for, upon the
first stirring of the matter, she had taken flight with her merchant.
The people, angry at her escape, were in an ill humour to hear the
defence of the accused. They did not indeed convict him of the murder,
but found him guilty of being concerned in the contrivance against
Demæneta, and of my unjust banishment. They exiled him from the city,
and fined him to the amount of the greatest part of his fortune. Such
were the fruits of his second marriage.
"The wretched Thisbe, whose punishment I now see before me, sailed safe
from Athens: this is all I know about her, and this I had from Anticles
at Ægina. I sailed with him to Egypt in hopes of finding Thisbe at
Naucratium, that I might bring her back to Athens, and clear my father
from the suspicions and accusations he laboured under, and procure her
to be justly punished for her crimes against us. What I have since
undergone you shall hear at a more convenient season; let us now
examine into the cause of the tragedy which is here presented to us.
But how Thisbe came into this cavern, and how she has been murdered in
it, must be explained to us, I believe, by some deity, for it passes
human comprehension; let us examine, however, the tablet that was found
in her bosom; perhaps that will give us some information. " With this he
took it, and began to read as follows:
"Thisbe, formerly his enemy, but now his avenger, to her master,
Cnemon:
"In the first place I inform you of the death of Demæneta, brought
about on your account by my means; how it happened, if you will
admit me to your presence, I will relate to you in person. I have
been ten days on this island, having been made captive by one of the
robbers, who boasts that he is lieutenant to the chief, and keeps
me closely confined--as he says, out of love; as I suppose, lest I
should be taken from him. By the kindness of the gods, I have seen and
recognized you, and send this tablet to you privately by an old woman
who waits upon me, commanding her to deliver it to a handsome Greek,
a favourite of the chief. Deliver me from the power of these pirates,
and receive to yourself your handmaid; and, if you can prevail upon
yourself, preserve her; knowing that in what I acted against you I was
compelled, but the revenging you of your enemy was my own voluntary
act. But, if you still feel an inextinguishable resentment against
me, satiate it as you please; only let me be in your hands, even if I
am to die by them; I prefer death from you, and to have the rites of
my country performed over my remains, to a life that is more dreadful
than death; and to the love of a barbarian, more odious to me than the
hatred of a Greek. "--This was the contents of the tablet.
"O Thisbe," said Cnemon, "the gods have wisely ordained your death;
and that you should become, even after your slaughter, the relater of
your calamities; the Fury[7] who has driven you through the world,
has not ceased her avenging pursuit, till she has made me, whom you
have injured, even in Egypt, a spectator of your punishment. But what
accident is it which has stopped your career, while perhaps this
letter of yours was only the forerunner of some new practice against
me? for I cannot help suspecting you even now that you are dead. I fear
lest the account of Demæneta's death should be a fiction; lest those
who have informed me of it should have deceived me; lest you should
have crossed the seas with a design to renew in Egypt the tragedies you
have acted against me in Attica. "--"Ο you courageous fellow! " cries out
Theagenes, "will you never cease to terrify yourself with shades and
fancies? You cannot pretend that she has bewitched me, at any rate,
for I have had no part in the drama; assure yourself that no harm can
arise to you from this dead corpse, and pluck up your spirits: but who
has been so far your benefactor as to slay your enemy, and how and when
she descended here, I am utterly at a loss to imagine. "--"As to the
matter in general I am so too," replied Cnemon; "but he who slew her
was certainly Thyamis, as I conjecture from the sword which was found
near the body; I know it to be his, by the ivory hilt carved into the
form of an eagle. "--"But can you conjecture," said the other, "how,
and when, and for what cause, he committed this murder? "--"How should
I know that? " he answered. "This cavern has not had the virtue of
inspiring me, like that of Delphi or Trophonius. "
The mention of Delphi seemed to agitate Theagenes, and drew tears
from Chariclea; they repeated the name with great emotion. Cnemon was
surprised, and could not conceive why they were so affected by it. In
this manner they were engaged in the cave. Meanwhile Thermuthis, the
lieutenant of Thyamis, after he had been wounded and had got to land in
the manner we have related, when night came on, hastened towards the
cavern in search of Thisbe; for he it was who had placed her there. He
had some days before taken her by force from the merchant Nausicles
in a narrow mountain pass. On the tumult and attack which soon after
ensued, when he was sent by Thyamis in search of a victim, he let her
down into this cavern, that she might be out of the reach of danger,
and in his hurry and confusion left her near the entrance of it. Here
she remained out of fear, and ignorance of the winding passages which
led to the bottom; and here Thyamis found and killed her by mistake for
Chariclea. Thermuthis proceeded on his way to Thisbe. Upon reaching
the island he hastened to the tents; these he found in ashes: and
having with some difficulty discovered the entrance of the cavern, by
means of the stone covering, he lighted a handful of reeds which yet
remained there, and hastened to descend into it.
He called Thisbe by her name, in Greek; but when he saw her lying dead
at his feet, he stood motionless with horror and surprise. At length
he heard a murmur and distant sound of voices issuing from the hollow
recesses of the cave; for Theagenes and Cnemon were still conversing
together.
These he concluded to be the murderers of Thisbe, and was in doubt
what he should do; for as was natural in a ferocious pirate, his rage,
raised to the highest pitch by this disappointment of his desires,
urged him to rush at once upon the supposed authors of it; but his want
of arms made him unwillingly more cautious. He concluded therefore that
it was best at first not to present himself as an enemy, but if by
any means he could possess himself of arms, then to attack them on a
sudden. With this design he advanced towards Theagenes, throwing wild
and fierce glances around him, and discovering in his looks the purpose
of his heart.
They were surprised at the sudden appearance of a stranger, almost
naked, wounded, and with his face bloody. Chariclea, startled and
ashamed, retired into the inmost part of the cave. Cnemon too drew
a little back, knowing Thermuthis, seeing him unexpectedly, and
fearing that he came there on no good account. But Theagenes was more
irritated than terrified, and presenting the point of his sword, called
out, "Stand where you are, or you shall receive another wound; thus
far I spare you, because I know your face, and am not sure of your
designs. "--Thermuthis stretched out his unarmed hands, and besought
his compassion; forced, notwithstanding his rugged temper, from the
circumstance he was in, to become a supplicant. He called on Cnemon
for assistance, and said he deserved help from him, having never
injured him; having lived with him as a comrade, and coming now as
a friend. Cnemon was moved by his entreaties; raised him from the
knees of Theagenes which he had embraced, and eagerly inquired where
was Thyamis. The latter related all he knew--how his leader had
attacked the enemy; how he had rushed into the midst of the battle,
sparing neither his foes nor himself; the slaughter he made of them;
and the protection which the proclamation to take him alive afforded
him. He mentioned his own wound and escape, but knew nothing of his
captain's fate; and was come here in search of Thisbe. They inquired
how he became so interested about Thisbe; and how she came into his
possession. He told them everything: how he had taken her from a
merchant; how he fell violently in love with her, and had concealed
her some time in his tent, and at the approach of the attacking party
had placed her in the cave where he now saw her slain; that he was
perfectly ignorant of the authors of her death, but would most gladly
find them out if he could, and ascertain their motive.
Cnemon, eager to free himself from suspicion, told him it was certainly
Thyamis who slew her; and shewed him the sword which was found beside
her; which, when Thermuthis saw, still reeking with blood, and warm
from the wound, and knew it to have belonged to Thyamis, he uttered a
deep groan, still more perplexed how to account for the accident, and
in dumb gloomy astonishment moved towards the mouth of the cave. Here
throwing himself upon the bosom of the deceased, he embraced the body,
and repeating nothing but the name of Thisbe, fainter by degrees and
fainter, oppressed with grief and fatigue, sunk at last into a sleep.
The remainder of the company in the cave began now to consult what
steps it was proper for them to pursue. But the multitude of their
past calamities, the pressure of the present misfortunes, and the
uncertainty of what might happen to them, obscured the light, and
weakened the force, of their reason. Each looked at the other,
expecting him to say something; and being disappointed, turned his eyes
to the ground; and raising them again, sighed, lightening a little
his grief by this expression of it. At length Cnemon sat down on the
ground; Theagenes threw himself on a rock, and Chariclea reclined upon
him. In this posture they a long time resisted the attacks of sleep,
desirous, if they could, to devise some scheme of action; but, overcome
at last with grief and fatigue, they unwillingly yielded to the law of
nature, and fell into a sweet slumber from the very excess of sorrow.
Thus is the intelligent soul obliged sometimes to sympathise with the
affections of the body.
When sleep had for a little while just weighed their eye-lids down,
the following vision appeared to Chariclea. A man with his hair in
disorder, a downcast look, and bloody hands, seemed to come and thrust
out her right eye with a sword. She instantly cried out, and called
upon Theagenes. He was soon awakened, and felt for her uneasiness,
though it was only in a dream. She lifted her hand to her face, as
if in search of the part she had lost, and then exclaimed, "It was a
dream; my eye is safe! "--"I am glad," replied Theagenes, "that those
bright sunbeams are uninjured. But what has ailed you? how came you so
terrified? "--"A savage and violent man," says she, "not fearing even
your valour, attacked me with a sword as I lay at your feet; and, as
I thought, deprived me of my right eye; and would that it had been a
reality and not a vision! "--"Now Heaven forefend! why do you make so
shocking a wish? "--"Because I would much rather lose one of my eyes
than be under apprehensions for you; for I greatly fear that the dream
regards you, whom I esteem as my eyes, my soul, my all. "--"Cease,"
called out Cnemon (who had heard all that had passed, having been
awakened by the first exclamation of Chariclea), "for I think the
vision has another interpretation. Had you any parents living when
you left Greece? "--"I had," she replied. --"Believe then now that your
father is dead. I form my conjecture from hence: Our parents are the
authors of our being; therefore they may properly enough in a dream be
shadowed out under the similitude of eyes, the organs of light, which
convey to us things visible. "
"The loss of my father," replied Chariclea, "would be a heavy blow; but
let even your interpretation be the true one, rather mine. I consent
to pass for a false prophet! "--"Be it so," replied Cnemon; "but we are
indeed dreaming, while we are examining fancies and visions, and forget
to apply ourselves to our real business, especially while the absence
of the Egyptian (meaning Thermuthis), who is employed in lamenting his
deceased love, gives us an opportunity. "--"Ο Cnemon," said Theagenes,
"since some god has joined you to us, and made you a partaker in our
calamities, do you advise us what to do, for you are acquainted with
the country and language; and we, oppressed with a greater weight of
misfortunes, are less fit for counsel. "
"Which of us has the greater load of misfortunes to struggle with, is
by no means clear," said Cnemon. "I have my full share of them; but,
however, as I am the elder, and you command me to speak, I will obey
you. The island where we are, you see, is desolate, and contains none
but ourselves. Of gold, silver, and precious garments, plundered from
you and others, and heaped together by the pirates, there is plenty;
but of food and other necessaries, it is totally destitute. If we stay
here, we are in danger of perishing by famine, or of being destroyed
by some of the invaders, or by the buccaneers, if, knowing of the
treasures which are left here, they return again in search of them.
There will then be no escape; either we shall perish, or be exposed
to their violence and insults. They are always a faithless race, and
will now be more disorderly and dreadful, having lost their chief. We
must fly, therefore, from this place, as from a snare and a prison,
sending Thermuthis away first, if we can, under pretext of inquiring
after Thyamis, for we shall be more at liberty to consult and act by
ourselves. It is prudent, too, to remove from us a man of an unconstant
temper, of savage manners, and who, besides, suspects us on account
of the death of Thisbe, and probably only waits for an opportunity to
commit some violence against us. "
The advice of Cnemon was approved of; and they determined to follow
it; and moving towards the mouth of the cave, the day now beginning to
dawn, they roused Thermuthis, who was still sunk in sleep; and telling
him as much as they thought proper of their design, easily persuaded a
fickle-minded man. They then took the body of Thisbe, drew it into a
hollow of the rock, covered it as well as they could with ashes from
the tents, and performed what funeral rites the time and place would
admit of, supplying what was deficient by tears and lamentations.
They next proceeded to send out Thermuthis on the expedition they had
projected for him. He set out, but soon returned, declaring he would
not go alone, nor expose himself to the danger of so perilous a search,
unless Cnemon would bear him company. Theagenes, observing that this
proposal was by no means agreeable to Cnemon, who betrayed evident
marks of fear and apprehension when informed of it, said to him, "You
are valiant in council, Cnemon, but a laggard in action; you have
shown this more than once; pluck up your spirits, and prove yourself
a man. It is necessary that this fellow should have no suspicion, at
present, of our design to leave him. Seem to agree, therefore, to what
he proposes, and go with him at first; for there is no danger to be
apprehended from an unarmed man, especially by you who are armed. You
may take your opportunity, and leave him privately, and come to us at
some place which we shall fix upon; and we will, if you please, mention
some neighbouring town, if you know any, where the inhabitants are a
little civilized. "
Cnemon agreed to this, and named Chemmis, a rich and populous place,
situated on a rising ground on the banks of the Nile, by way of defence
against the incursions of the pirates, about one hundred furlongs
distant from the lake directly south. "I fear," said Theagenes, "that
Chariclea will find some difficulty in getting thither, as she is
unused to walking; however, we will attempt it, and pretend that we are
beggars who seek our living by showing juggling tricks. "
"Truly," said Cnemon, "your faces are sufficiently disfigured for such
a business, particularly Chariclea's, who has just lost an eye; after
all, though, I fear you will rather appear guests for the table than
petitioners for scraps at the door. "[8]--This sally was received with
a forced and languid smile, which played only on the lips. They then
prepared to depart, swearing never to desert each other, and calling
the gods to witness it.
Cnemon and Thermuthis set out early in the morning; and, crossing the
lake, took their way through a thick and difficult wood. Thermuthis
went first, at the persuasion of Cnemon, on the pretext that, as he
was acquainted with the country, he was better qualified to lead;
in reality, that the other might more easily find an opportunity
of deserting him. They met with some flocks in their way; and the
shepherds fled, at their approach, into the thickest of the wood. They
seized a ram, roasted him at a fire the shepherds had lighted, and
hardly staying till it was sufficiently dressed, devoured the flesh
with eagerness. Hunger pressed them; they fell upon it like wolves;
swallowed whole pieces, just warmed through, and still dropping with
blood. When they had satisfied their hunger, and allayed their thirst
with milk, they pursued their way. Evening now approached, and they
were ascending a hill under which was situated a town, where Thermuthis
said it was very probable that Thyamis was either detained a captive
or had been slain. Here Cnemon pretended that he felt great pain; that
his stomach was exceedingly disordered by his inordinate repast of meat
and drink, and that he must retire to ease it. This he did two or three
times, that his companion might suspect nothing, and complained that it
was with great difficulty he could follow him. When he had accustomed
the Egyptian to his staying behind, he took an opportunity at last to
let him go on forwards farther than usual; and then, turning suddenly
back, he ran down the hill as fast as he could into the thickest part
of the bushes. Thermuthis, when he had arrived at the summit, sat
himself down on a rock, expecting the approach of night, which they had
agreed to wait for before they entered into the town to inquire after
Thyamis. He looked about for his companion, having no good designs
against him, for he was still persuaded that he had slain Thisbe, and
was considering how he might serve him in the same manner; proposing
afterwards to attack Theagenes. But when Cnemon appeared nowhere, and
night advanced, he fell asleep--a deadly[9] and last sleep it proved to
him, for an asp, which had lain concealed in a thicket, bit him, and
put a fitting end to his life.
But Cnemon, after he had left Thermuthis, stopped not in his flight
till the darkness of the night obliged him to make a halt. He then
endeavoured to conceal himself by lying down and covering himself as
well as he could with leaves. Here he passed a restless and almost
sleepless night, taking every noise, every gust of wind, and motion of
a leaf, for Thermuthis. If at any time he dropped into a slumber, he
thought he was fleeing;[10] and looking behind, imagined he saw him
pursuing, who was now unable to follow him; till at last he resisted
all approaches of sleep, his dreams becoming more dreadful to him than
even his waking apprehensions.
He was uneasy at the duration of the night, which appeared to him the
longest he had ever spent. At length, to his great joy, day appeared.
He[11] then proceeded to cut his hair short, which he had suffered
to grow, in imitation of, and to recommend himself to, his piratical
companions, for the pirates, willing to render themselves as formidable
as they can, among other things, cherish long hair, which they suffer
to grow down their foreheads, and play over their shoulders, well
knowing that flowing locks, as they make the lover more amiable, so
they render the warrior more terrible. When Cnemon, therefore, had
shaped his hair into the common form, he proceeded to Chemmis, where
he had appointed to meet Theagenes. As he drew near the Nile, and was
preparing to pass over it to Chemmis, he perceived an old man wandering
upon its banks, walking several times up and down the stream, as if
he were communicating his cares to the river. His locks were as white
as snow, and shaped like those of a priest; his beard flowing and
venerable; his habit Grecian. Cnemon stopped a little; but when the
old man passed by many times, seemingly unconscious that any one was
near (so entirely was he immersed in care and meditation), he placed
himself before him, and, in the Grecian manner of salutation, bid him
be of good cheer. [12] The other replied, his fortunes were such that
good cheer was out of the question. Cnemon, surprised, asked: "Are you
a stranger from Greece, or from whence? "--"I am neither a Grecian nor
a stranger," said he, "but an Egyptian of this country. "--"Why, then,
have you a Grecian dress? "--"My misfortunes," says he, "have put me
into this splendid habit. " The other, wondering how misfortunes could
improve a man's appearance, and seeming desirous to be informed--"You
carry me into a 'tale of Troy divine,'"[13] replied the old man; "and
a swarm of evils, the recital of which would oppress you. But whence
do you come, Ο young man, and whither are you going? and how come I
to hear the Greek tongue in Egypt? "--"It is a little unreasonable in
you," replied Cnemon, "to ask these questions of me, you who will
tell nothing about yourself, though I made the first inquiries. "--"I
admit it," said the other; "but do not be offended. You seem to be a
Greek, and to have yourself undergone some transformation from the
hand of fortune. You are desirous to hear my adventures; I am no less
so to relate them. Probably I had told them to these reeds, as the
fable[14] goes, if I had not met with you. But let us leave the Nile
and its banks; for a situation exposed to the meridian sun is not a
proper place for a long narration. If you have no urgent business which
hinders you, let us go to the town which you see opposite to us. I
will entertain you, not in my own house, but in that of a good man who
received me when I implored his protection. There you may listen to my
story, and in your turn relate your own. "--"With all my heart," said
Cnemon, "for I myself was going to this town to wait for some friends
of mine, whom I had appointed to meet there. " Getting, therefore, into
a boat, many of which were lying by the river's side, to transport
passengers, they crossed over into the town, and arrived at the house
where the stranger was lodged. The master of the house was not at home;
but his daughter, a marriageable maiden, received them with great
cheerfulness, and the servants waited upon the old man as if he had
been their father, most probably by their master's orders. One washed
his feet, and wiped off the dust from under his knees; another got
ready his bed, and strewed it with soft coverings; a third brought an
urn, and filled it with fire; a fourth prepared the table, and spread
it with bread and various kinds of fruit.
Cnemon, wondering at their alacrity, exclaimed, "We have certainly got
into the house of Jove the Hospitable,[15] such is the attention and
singular benevolence with which we are received. "--"You have not got
into the habitation of Jove," replied the other, "but into that of
a man who exactly imitates his hospitable and charitable qualities:
for his life[16] has been a mercantile and wandering one; he has seen
many cities, and observed the manners of many nations; he is naturally
therefore inclined to compassionate the stranger, and receive the
wanderer, as he did me not many days ago. "--"And how came you to be
a wanderer, father? "--"Being deprived," said he, "of my children by
robbers; knowing those who had injured me, but unable to contend with
them; I roam about this spot, mourning and sorrowing; not unlike a
bird whose nest a serpent[17] has made desolate, and is devouring
her young before her eyes. She is afraid to approach, yet cannot
bear to desert them; terror and affection struggle within her; she
flies mournfully round the scene of her calamities, pouring in vain
her maternal complaints into ears deaf to her waitings and strangers
to mercy. "--"Will you then relate," said Cnemon, "when and how you
encountered this grievous war of woe? "--"By-and-bye," he replied; "but
let us now attend to our craving stomach; which, because it considers
itself of more consequence than any other organ, is called by Homer
_destructive_. [18] And first, as is the custom of the Egyptian sages,
let us make a libation to the gods. Nothing shall make me omit this;
nor shall grief ever so entirely possess my mind, as to render me
forgetful of what I owe to heaven. " With this he poured pure water
out of the vase, and said, "I make this libation to the gods of this
country, and those of Greece; to the Pythian Apollo, and also to
Theagenes and Chariclea, the good and beautiful, since I reckon them
also among the gods:" and then he wept, as if he were making another
libation to them with his tears.
newer or more unworthy," he replied, "than the breaking of vows and
promises? than that Chariclea, entirely forgetting me, should give her
consent to another marriage? "--"God forbid! " replied the maiden; "let
not your reproaches increase the load of my calamities; nor, after so
long an experience of my fidelity, lightly suspect a measure which
the immediate necessity of the moment compelled me to adopt: sooner
will you change than find me changed in regard to you. I can bear
ill fortune; nor shall any force compel me to do anything unworthy
of the modesty and virtue of my sex. In one thing alone, I own, I
am immoderate, my love for you; but then it is a lawful one; and,
however great, it did not throw me inconsiderately into your power;
I resigned myself to you on the most honourable conditions; I have
hither to lived with you in the most inviolate purity, resisting all
your solicitations, and looking forward to a lawful opportunity of
completing that marriage to which we are solemnly pledged. Can you
then be so unreasonable as to think it possible that I should prefer
a barbarian to a Greek? a pirate, to one to whom I am bound by so
many ties? "--"What, then," said Theagenes, "was the meaning of that
fine speech of yours? To call me your brother, indeed, was prudent
enough, to keep Thyamis from suspecting the real nature of our love,
and to induce him to let us continue together. I understood, too, the
meaning of your veiling the true circumstances of our voyage under the
fictions of Ionia and Delos. But so readily to accept his proposals,
to promise to marry him, nay, to fix a time for the ceremony--this, I
own, disturbs me, and passes my comprehension; but I had rather sink
into the earth than see such an end of all my hopes and labours on your
account. "
Chariclea flung her arms round Theagenes, gave him a thousand kisses,
and bedewing him with tears, cried out, "How delightful to me are these
apprehensions of yours! They prove that all the troubles you have
undergone have in no degree weakened your love; but know, Ο my dear
Theagenes, that unless I had promised as I did, we should not now be
talking together. You must be sensible that contradiction only adds
force to violent passion; seeming compliance allays the impulse in its
birth, and the allurement of promises lulls the violence of desire.
Your rough lovers think they have got something when they have obtained
a promise: and, relying upon the faith of it, become quieter, feeding
themselves with hope. I, being aware of this, in words resigned myself
up to him, committing what shall follow to the gods, and to that genius
who presides over our loves.
"A short interval of time has frequently afforded means of safety,
which the wisest counsels of men could not have foreseen. I saw nothing
better to be done than to endeavour to ward off a certain and imminent
danger, by a present, though uncertain, remedy. We must, therefore, my
dearest Theagenes, use this fiction as our best ally, and carefully
conceal the truth even from Cnemon; for though he seems friendly to
us, and is a Greek, yet he is a captive, and likely, perhaps, to do
anything which may ingratiate him with his master. Our friendship
with him is as yet too new, neither is there any relation between us
sufficiently strong to give us a certain assurance of his fidelity. If
he suspects, therefore, and inquires into our real situation, we must
deny it: for even a falsehood is commendable when it is of service to
those who use it, and does no injury to the hearers of it. "
While Chariclea was thus suggesting this course, Cnemon comes running
in, with an altered countenance, and seemingly in much agitation. "Ο
Theagenes," he cried, "I have brought you the herb I mentioned; apply
it, and it will heal your wounds; but you must now, I fear, prepare
yourself for others, and a slaughter equal to that which you have
lately been an actor in. " Theagenes desiring him to explain himself,
"There is no time at present;" he replied, "for explanation; action
will probably anticipate words; but do you and Chariclea follow me as
fast as you can;" and taking them with him, he brought them to Thyamis.
They found him employed in burnishing his helmet and sharpening his
spear. "Very seasonably," he exclaimed, "are you employed about your
arms; put them on as fast as you can, and command all your men to
do the same, for a hostile force is approaching greater than ever
threatened us before, and they must now be very near. I saw them
advancing over the top of the neighbouring hill, and have made all
possible haste to bring you information, giving the alarm to every one
I met with in my passage. "
Thyamis, at these tidings, started up and cried out, "Where is
Chariclea? " as if he were more apprehensive for her than for himself.
When Cnemon showed her standing near the door. "Lead this maiden
privately," says he, "into the cave where I keep my treasures, and
forget not to replace as usual the covering of it; having done this,
return to me as fast as you can: meanwhile, I will prepare for the
storm of battle which awaits us. " Having said this, he ordered his
lieutenant to bring forth a victim, that he might begin the engagement
after a due sacrifice to his country's gods. Cnemon proceeded to
execute his commission, and leading off Chariclea, who turned earnestly
towards Theagenes, and lamented her hard fate, he let her down into
the cave. This was not, as many are, the work of nature, an accidental
excavation, but the contrivance of the pirates, who, imitating her
operations, had hollowed out an artificial cavern for the reception
of their treasures. It was formed in this manner: its entrance,[23]
narrow and dark, was under the doors of a hidden chamber, the threshold
became, in case of need, a second door, for farther descent; it fitted
exactly, and could be lifted up with great facility; the rest of the
cave was cut into various winding passages, which, now diverging,
now returning, with a multitude of ramifications, converged at last
into an open space at the bottom, which received an uncertain light
from an aperture at the extremity of the lake. Here Cnemon introduced
Chariclea, and led her to the farthest recess, encouraging and
promising her that he and Theagenes would come to her in the evening;
and that he would not suffer him to engage in the battle which
impended. Chariclea was unable to answer him; and he went out of the
cave, leaving her half dead, silent, and stupified, as if her soul
had been separated from her with Theagenes. He shut down the door,
dropping a tear for her as he did it, and for the necessity he was
under of burying her in a manner alive, and consigning the brightest of
human forms to darkness and obscurity. He made what haste he could to
Thyamis. He found him burning with ardour for the fight, and Theagenes
by his side splendidly armed; he was even to frenzy rousing the spirits
of his followers who surrounded him, and thus began to address them:
"There is no need, comrades, to address you in a long exhortation;
you want no encouragement, to whom war is the breath of life; and the
sudden approach of the enemy cuts off all space for words; it becomes
us to prepare to resist force by force; not to do so would betray an
absence of all energy. I do not put you in mind of your wives and
children as is usual on these occasions, though nothing but victory can
preserve them from destruction and violation. This contest is for our
very being and existence; no quarter, no truce, ever takes place in
piratic warfare; we must either conquer or die. Let us exert, then, our
force to the utmost, and with determined minds fall upon the enemy. "
Having said this, he looked round for his lieutenant, Thermuthis,
and called him several times by his name. When he nowhere appeared,
throwing out hasty threats against him, he rushed on towards the ferry.
The battle was already begun, and he could see at a distance those who
inhabited the extremities and approaches of the lake in the fact of
being routed by the enemy, who set on fire the boats and huts of those
who fell or fled. The flames spread to the neighbouring morass, caught
hold of the reeds which grew there in great abundance, dazzled every
eye with an almost intolerable blaze, and, crackling and roaring,
stunned their ears.
War[24] now appeared in all its horrid forms: the inhabitants for some
time, with readiness and energy, supported and repelled the attack; but
being astonished by the sudden incursion, and pressed by the superior
numbers of the enemy, those on the land gave way, and many of those on
the lake, together with their boats and habitations, were overwhelmed
in the waters! every dreadful sound now struck the air, as the conflict
raged both by land and water; groans and shouts were mingled, the
lake was discoloured with blood, all were involved in fire or water.
Thyamis, at this sight, called to mind his dream, and the temple of
Isis shining with lamps, and flowing with the blood of victims; he saw
a resemblance in it to the scene before him, and began to fear that
he must give up his former favourable interpretation; that Chariclea
was destined to fall in this tumult, and that so having had her in
his possession, he should now have her no longer; that she would be
slain, not merely be wounded in her virginity; exclaiming, therefore
against the goddess, for having deceived him, and unable to bear the
thought that any one else should possess Chariclea, he ordered the men
who were about him to halt, and if they were obliged to engage, to
defend themselves as well as they could, by retiring behind, and making
sallies from, the numerous little islands: as by so doing they might,
for some time, be able to resist the attack of the enemy. He then,
under pretence of going to seek Thermuthis, and sacrificing to his
household gods, returned in great agitation to his tent, suffering no
one to follow him.
The disposition of the barbarians is obstinate and determined;[25]
when they despair of their own safety, they are accustomed to destroy
those who are most dear to them; either wildly imagining that they
shall enjoy their company after death; or thinking that by so doing
they shall deliver them from the injuries and insults of the enemy.
Stimulated by some of these motives, Thyamis, forgetting the urgent
danger which pressed upon him, and the enemies by whom he was
surrounded as by a net; burning with anger, love, and jealousy, rushed
headlong to the cave: he poured out his Egyptian exclamations with a
loud voice, and soon after his entrance, being addressed by some one
in the Greek tongue, the voice guided him to the person; he seized her
hair with his left hand, and with his right plunged his sword into her
bosom: the unfortunate creature sank down, uttering a last and piteous
groan. Issuing forth and closing the trap-door, he threw a little
dust over her, and dropping a tear he exclaimed, "Are these then the
nuptial presents you were to expect from me! " When he arrived at the
boats, he saw his people ready to fly as the enemy approached near,
and Thermuthis having now made his appearance, preparing to begin the
sacrifice: having abused him for his unseasonable absence, and told
him that he had already offered up the most beauteous of victims, he,
Thermuthis and the rower got into a boat: their small vessels would
not hold more, being made out of the trunk of a tree rudely hollowed.
Theagenes and Cnemon got into another, and in the same manner all the
rest embarked.
When they had proceeded a little from the shore, rowing round the side
rather than launching out into the deep, they lay upon their oars,
and drew up in a line, to receive the enemy; but at their approach, a
sudden panic seized the pirates, and not sustaining the first hostile
shout of their opponents, they fled in disorder: Cnemon and Theagenes
gradually retired, but not from fear: Thyamis alone disdained to fly;
and perhaps not wishing to survive Chariclea, rushed into the midst
of his foes. A cry was instantly heard among them, "This is Thyamis,
let all have an eye to him:" immediately they turned their boats and
surrounded him; he, vigorously fighting, wounded some and killed
others, and yet strange was that which ensued: out of so great a
multitude no one lifted up a sword, or cast a dart at him, but every
one did their utmost to capture him alive. He continued manfully to
resist, till at length his spear was wrested from him, and he had lost
his lieutenant, who had nobly seconded him; and who, having received,
as he thought, a mortal wound, leaped into the lake, and with great
difficulty reached the shore, no one offering to pursue him; for now
they had laid hold on Thyamis, and esteemed the capture of one man a
victory; and though he had destroyed so many of their men, their joy
at having taken him alive far exceeded their grief for the loss of
their comrades; for gain is dearer to robbers than their lives; and
friendship and relationship are only so far considered among them as
they conduce to this main end.
The leaders of this attack were the men who had fled from Thyamis and
his followers at the Heracleotic mouth of the Nile: they, enraged
at the loss of a booty, which through plunder, they considered as
their own, gathered their friends together, and many others from the
neighbouring towns, by proposing to them an equal division of the
spoils; and became their guides in the expedition.
The reason why they were so desirous of taking Thyamis alive was
this: Petosiris, who resided at Memphis, was his younger brother; by
his artifices he had unlawfully deprived Thyamis of the priesthood,
and hearing that he was now at the head of the pirates, he feared
that he might take some opportunity to attack him, or that in time
his treachery might be discovered; he was besides suspected of
having made away with his brother, who nowhere appeared. For these
reasons he proclaimed great rewards among all the nests of pirates
in his neighbourhood, to any one who should capture him alive: they,
stimulated by these offers, and in the heat of battle, not losing sight
of gain, took him prisoner at the price of many of their lives. They
sent him, under a strong guard, to the main land, he reproaching them
all the while for their seeming lenity, and bearing bonds much more
indignantly than he would have borne death. The rest proceeded towards
the island in quest of treasures and spoil; but when, after a long and
strict search, they found nothing of any consequence, some few things
excepted, which out of hurry or forgetfulness were left out of the
cavern, they set fire to the tents; and the evening coming on, fearing
to remain there any longer, lest they should be surprised by the enemy
whom they had driven thence, they returned to their companions upon the
continent.
[Footnote 1: Piracy was not in those times considered dishonorable; but
the contrary. --Thucyd. B. i. 4. ]
[Footnote 2: Called by Herodotus, B. ii. 17, the Bucolic mouth. "It
seems clear that the phrase was derived from the inhabitants of
the region, a horde of piratical herdsmen, apparently of different
race from the agricultural Egyptians. They haunted the most marshy
part of the Delta, where the papyrus reeds effectually masked their
retreats. "--Blakesley's Herodotus. ]
[Footnote 3: ἐπὶ τρίτον ζωστῆρα--to the third wale. The wales are
strong planks extending along a ship's side through the whole length at
different heights, serving to strengthen the decks and form the curves.
A passage in the Cyclops of Euripides may illustrate the above--
γάνυμας δὲ δαιτὸς ἤβης,
σκάφος ὁλκὰς ὥς γεμισθεὶς
ποτὶ σέλμα γαστρὸς ἂκρας. --Cyclops. 503.
]
[Footnote 4:
Indum sanguineo veluti violaverat ostro
Si quis ebur. --Æn. xii. 67.
]
[Footnote 5: ἤ γέγoνας πολέμου πάρεργον. The expression πολέμου
πάρεργον means a by-work; something done by the by. --Thucyd. B. i. 112. ]
[Footnote 6: Iliad, B. i. 45. ]
[Footnote 7: A full description of the personal appearance of the
buccaneers will be found in Achilles Tatius. --B. iii. c. 9. ]
[Footnote 8: Ή μὲν ταῦτα ἐπετραγῴδει. ]
[Footnote 9: For a further description of the buccaneer stronghold, see
Achilles Tatius, B. iv. c. 14.
Perhaps Heliodorus (afterwards a bishop) had derived the materials
for his graphic description of their haunts and manners from personal
residence among them, as was the case (so Horace Walpole informs us)
with Archbishop Blackburne (_temp. _ Geo. II,) who in his younger days
is said to have been a buccaneer. In Herod. v. 16, is a curious account
of a fishing-town built in the lake Prasias, exactly corresponding with
the description of _The Pasturage_ in Heliodorus. ]
[Footnote 10: Ἔμπνουν ἄγαλμα.
"And there she stood, so calm and pale
That, but her breathing did not fail,
And motion slight of eye and head,
And of her bosom, warranted
That neither sense nor pulse she lacks,
You might have thought a form of wax,
Wrought to the very life, was there;
But still she was, so pale, so fair. "--Marmion, c. xxi
]
[Footnote 11: Βουλῆς δὲ τῆς ἅνω. The Council of the 500, who were
a kind of Committee of the Ἐκκλησία to prepare measures for that
assembly. ]
[Footnote 12: Cnemon and his stepmother will recall to the reader's
memory Phædra and Hippolytus. ]
[Footnote 13: In the Ceramicus, without the city, was an engine, built
in the form of a ship, upon which the πέπλος, or robe of Minerva, was
hung, in the manner of a sail, and which was put in motion by concealed
machinery. It was conveyed to the temple of Ceres Eleusinia, and from
thence to the citadel, where it was put upon Minerva's statue, which
was laid upon a bed strewed with flowers, and called πλακὶς. ]
[Footnote 14: The public hall at Athens, in which the Prytanes for
the time being, and some other magistrates, had their meals, and
entertained foreign ambassadors. ]
[Footnote 15: Literally, "I had him enrolled in his proper ward
(φρατρία), in his proper house (γένος), and among those arrived at
puberty (ἕφηβοι)," the successive steps to Athenian citizenship. ]
[Footnote 16: The Barathrum was a yawning cleft behind the Acropolis,
into which criminals were cast. ]
[Footnote 17: Hesiod, "Works and Days," 221.
"Justice. . . .
When mortals violate her sacred laws,
When judges hear the bribe and not the cause,
Close by her parent god behold her stand,
And urge the punishment their sins demand. "--Lee.
Ammianus Marcellinus says, B. xxix. , "_Inconnivens_ justitiæ oculus;
arbiter et vindex perpetuus rerum. "
Rarò antecedentem scelestum
Descruit pede Pœna claudo. --Hor. Od. iii. II. 31.
]
[Footnote 18: Ὄν θυμόν κατέδων. Il. vi. 202. ]
[Footnote 19: Δεύτερος ἔσται πλοῦς, we will go on a fresh tack. ]
[Footnote 20: Κακή κακῶς. ]
[Footnote 21: The succession to the Egyptian priesthood was
hereditary. --Vide Herod. , ii. 37. ]
[Footnote 22: θεωρίαν ἤγομεν. The Athenians made a solemn voyage
to Delos every year; the deputation was called θεωρία; the persons
employed in it, θεωροὶ; the ship, θεωρὶς. See Robinson's Antiquities of
Greece. ]
[Footnote 23: This description is very obscure in the original; the
meaning seems to be, that the descent to the cavern was effected by
lifting up an oblong stone, bearing the appearance of a threshold,
but serving as a door. The following is the version of the Italian
translator: "L'entrata era stretta e oscura, sottoposta all' entrata
d'uno occulto edificio, in guisa che la soglia della prima entrata
faceva un' altra porta ad uso di scendere," &c. The poet, Walter Lisle,
gives the passage thus:--
"A cave there was, it opened well and shut
With narrow door of stone, that threshold was
T'an upper room. Within, a maze it has
Of sundrie wayes, entangled (like the roots
Of thicke-set trees, amids and all abouts),
That meet in plaine. "
And wishing to embellish the picture, he adds--
"With scales of crocodile
The roofe is pav'd, brought hither from the Nile. "
]
[Footnote 24: See a passage, already referred to, in Achilles Tatius
(B. iv. c. 14), containing a spirited picture of pirate warfare. ]
[Footnote 25: There is a curious example of this disposition of the
barbarians in the conduct of Mithridates, after his defeat by Lucullus.
See Ferguson's Rom. Hist. vol. ii. p. 24. He ordered his wives and
sisters to destroy themselves, fearful of their falling into the
enemy's hands. ]
BOOK II.
In this manner, as we have related, were the flames spread over the
lake; the conflagration escaped the notice of Theagenes and Cnemon
while the sun was above the horizon, the superior lustre of that planet
overcoming the blaze; but when it set, when night came on, and the fire
had no longer any rival to contend with, it appeared at a distance to
their great consternation, as they began to raise themselves out of
the morass. Theagenes tearing his hair, thus broke out into passionate
exclamations; "May this day be the last of my life; may my fears,
cares, and dangers now have an end, and my hopes and love conclude
together. Chariclea is no more, and I am undone; in vain, wretch, that
I am, have I become a coward, and submitted to an unmanly flight, that
I might preserve myself for you, the delight of my life. For you,
alas! I live no longer; you have fallen by an untimely death, nor
was he on whom you doated present to receive your latest breath; but
you are become the prey of flames, and these are the nuptial torches
which cruel fate has lighted up for you. All is consumed, and there
now remains no trace of the most perfect of human forms: O! most cruel
and envious deities! a last embrace is denied me:" and thus lamenting,
he felt about for his sword--Cnemon arrested his hand, and cried out,
"Why, Theagenes, do you lament her who is safe? Chariclea is alive;
be comforted. " "Away! " he replied, "this is a tale for children; why
do you keep me from the death I long for? " Cnemon swore to the truth
of what he had said, told him the orders of Thyamis, described the
cave where he had placed Chariclea; and assured him there was not the
smallest danger of the flames (cut off as they would be) penetrating
through the deep and winding avenues by which she was protected.
Theagenes at these assurances began to recover his spirits, and
hastened towards the island, having Chariclea, and a joyful meeting in
the cave before his eyes, ignorant, alas! of the woes which awaited
him there. They proceeded forwards with great ardour, plying the oars
themselves, for their rower had fallen overboard in the confusion
of the first flight; they went on with an unsteady course from
inexperience in rowing, not able to keep stroke, and the wind being
against them; but their ardour overcame their unskilfulness, and with
great difficulty at last, and bathed in sweat, they reached the shore,
and ran eagerly towards the tents. Of these they saw only the ashes,
they having been totally consumed; the stone, however, which formed
the threshold and entrance of the cavern, was conspicuous enough; for
the huts being built of reeds and such slender materials, were soon
consumed and turned into a light ash, which the wind scattering away,
left the earth bare in many places for a passage, cooling it at the
same time with the blast.
Finding some torches half burnt, and lighting some reeds which
remained, they opened the cave's mouth, and under the guidance of
Cnemon, descended into it. When they had gone a little way, Cnemon
suddenly exclaimed, "Ο God! what is this? we are undone, Chariclea is
slain;" and flinging his torch on the ground, extinguished it, and
falling on his knees, and covering his face with his hands, began to
weep. Theagenes threw himself upon the body, and held it a long time
in his arms, closely embraced; Cnemon seeing him overwhelmed with this
stroke, and fearing when he recovered his senses he would make some
attempt upon himself, took away unobserved the sword which hung by his
side, and leaving him for a moment, ran out to light his torch. While
he was gone, the unhappy lover broke out into mournful and tragic
exclamations, "Ο intolerable calamity, and never-to-be-appeased wrath
of the gods! what insatiable demon thus rages to my destruction? who,
after having driven me from my country through a thousand dangers of
seas and pirates, having delivered me up to marauders, and stript me
of all I had, when one only comfort was left me, has now deprived me
of that! Chariclea is no more, she lies slain by a violent death;
doubtless, she has fallen in defence of her chastity, determined to
preserve herself unspotted for my sake. In vain has her beauty bloomed
both for herself and me; but, Ο my love! have not you one last word
left to speak to me? Are life and breath for ever gone? Alas! you
are silent; that mouth, formerly the interpreter of the will of
heaven, is dumb, and darkness and destruction have overwhelmed the
priestess of the gods. Those eyes glance no more whose lustre dazzled
all beholders, whose brightness, if your murderer had met, he could
not have executed his purpose; what shall I call you, my wife? but we
were not married; my contracted spouse?
but the contract has been a
fruitless one; let me call you by the sweetest of all appellations,
Chariclea. Ο Chariclea! if, where you are, you are capable of receiving
comfort, be comforted; you have a faithful lover; we shall soon meet
again; behold, I sacrifice myself to your Manes, to you I pour out my
own blood in libations;[1] this cavern, a rude sepulchre, shall retain
both our bodies; we shall be united in our deaths, though fate forbade
it in our lives. " Saying this, he felt for his sword, and not finding
it, "Ο Cnemon," he exclaimed, "you have undone me, and Chariclea too,
for the second time depriving her shade of the company it desires. "
While he was thus speaking, a voice from the windings of the cave was
heard, calling Theagenes; he, not in the least alarmed, replied, "I
come, my dearest life; your soul, I see, still hovers above the earth,
partly, perhaps, because unwilling to leave that body, from which it
has by violence been expelled; and partly, because[2] wanting the rites
of sepulture, you may be refused admittance in the shades below. "
Cnemon now approached with the torch; again the voice was heard,
calling Theagenes; Cnemon instantly exclaimed, "Ye gods! is not this
the voice of Chariclea? Theagenes, I think she is safe, for the sound
seems to me to proceed from that very part of the cavern where I know
I left her. "--"Will you never cease attempting to deceive me," replied
Theagenes? --"I am much deceived myself," replied the other, "if we find
this corpse which lies before us to be that of Chariclea;" and stooping
down to examine the countenance, "O heavens! " he cried out, "what do
I see? the face of Thisbe! " and starting back, he stood petrified
with astonishment. Theagenes, on the contrary, now began to recover
his spirits, and in his turn supported and encouraged Cnemon, who was
ready to faint; and besought him that he would lead him instantly to
Chariclea; Cnemon, by degrees coming to himself, again examined the
body, which really was that of Thisbe; he knew, too, by its hilt, the
sword which Thyamis from rage and haste had left sticking in the wound.
He perceived also a tablet appearing out of her bosom; he took it, and
was beginning to read what was written upon it; but Theagenes would
not suffer him, and earnestly entreated him, if all he saw was not the
illusion of some demon, that he would take him to Chariclea; you may
afterwards, said he, read this tablet. Cnemon obeyed; and, taking up
the tablet and the sword, hastened towards Chariclea. She, creeping
on hands and knees towards the sound of their voices as well as she
could, at length saw the light, flew to Theagenes, and hung upon his
neck. And mutually exclaiming, "And are you restored to me, my dear
Theagenes? "--"Do you live,[3] sweetest Chariclea? " they fell in each
others' arms upon the ground; their voices murmuring and themselves
dying away. So much does a sudden rush of joy overpower the human
faculties, and excess of pleasure passes into pain. Thus these lovers,
unexpectedly preserved, seemed again in danger, till Cnemon, observing
a little water in a cleft of the rock, took it up in the hollow of his
hand, and sprinkling it over their faces and nostrils, they came by
degrees to themselves. But when they discovered their situation, lying
on the ground in each other's arms, they rose immediately, and blushing
a little, especially Chariclea, began to make excuses to Cnemon. He,
smiling, turned the matter into pleasantry.
"You will not find a severe censor in me," said he; "whoever is but
moderately acquainted with the passion of love, will easily forgive
its excesses. But there is one part of your conduct, Theagenes, which
I cannot approve of--indeed I was ashamed to see it--when you fell
down, and bewailed in so lamentable a manner a foreign woman, and
one of no good character, while I was all the time assuring you, that
she, whom you professed to love best, was alive and near you. "--"Have
done, Cnemon," he replied; "do not traduce me to Chariclea. You know
I lamented her, under the person of another; but since the kind gods
have shewn me that I was in an error, pray call to mind a little your
own fortitude. You joined your tears, at first, with mine; but when you
recognized the body which lay before you, you started as from a demon
on the stage, you in armour, and with a sword, from a woman; you, a
Grecian warrior, from a corpse! "
This raillery drew a short and forced smile from them, mingled with
tears; for such was their calamitous situation, that grief and thought
soon overpowered this gleam of cheerfulness. A short silence ensued;
when Chariclea[4] gently moving her finger upon her cheek under the
ear, exclaimed, "I shall always esteem her blest, whoever she be, for
whom Theagenes is concerned; but, if you do not think that love makes
me too inquisitive, I should be glad to know who is this happy damsel
who has been thought worthy of his tears; and by what error he could
take a stranger for me. "--"You will wonder when you hear," replied
Theagenes. "Cnemon affirms, that these are the remains of Thisbe, the
Athenian singer, the plotter against him and Demæneta. "--"How," said
the astonished Chariclea, "could she be brought here, from the middle
of Greece to the extremity of Egypt, like a deity in a tragedy? [5] and
how could she be concealed from us at our entrance? "--"As to that, I am
as much at a loss about it as you can be," said Cnemon; "all I know of
her adventures is this: After the tragical end of Demæneta, my father
laid before the people what had happened. They pitied and pardoned him;
and he was earnestly employed in soliciting my recall. Thisbe made use
of the leisure she had upon her hands; and at different entertainments
set her musical skill and her person to sale.
"She[6] now received more favour from the public than Arsinoë, who
grew careless in practising her talents; while Thisbe shewed greater
perfection, both in voice and execution. But she was not aware that
by this she had excited the inextinguishable envy of a courtezan.
This was increased by her having seduced Nausicles, a rich merchant
of Naucratium, formerly a lover of Arsinoë; but who had left her on
pretence of being disgusted with the distortions of her eyes and
countenance, while she was playing on the flute. Anger and jealousy
raging in her bosom, she went to the relations of Demæneta, and
discovered to them the snare which Thisbe had laid for their kinswoman;
partly from her own conjectures, and partly from what Thisbe had told
her. Their anger, however, fell first upon my father; and they engaged
the most skilful counsel to accuse him to the people, as if he had put
Demæneta to death without trial or conviction; and had made use of
the adultery only as a pretext for her murder; and loudly called upon
him to produce the adulterer, or at least to name him; they concluded
by insisting that Thisbe should be put to the torture. My father
readily agreed to this, but she was not to be found; for, upon the
first stirring of the matter, she had taken flight with her merchant.
The people, angry at her escape, were in an ill humour to hear the
defence of the accused. They did not indeed convict him of the murder,
but found him guilty of being concerned in the contrivance against
Demæneta, and of my unjust banishment. They exiled him from the city,
and fined him to the amount of the greatest part of his fortune. Such
were the fruits of his second marriage.
"The wretched Thisbe, whose punishment I now see before me, sailed safe
from Athens: this is all I know about her, and this I had from Anticles
at Ægina. I sailed with him to Egypt in hopes of finding Thisbe at
Naucratium, that I might bring her back to Athens, and clear my father
from the suspicions and accusations he laboured under, and procure her
to be justly punished for her crimes against us. What I have since
undergone you shall hear at a more convenient season; let us now
examine into the cause of the tragedy which is here presented to us.
But how Thisbe came into this cavern, and how she has been murdered in
it, must be explained to us, I believe, by some deity, for it passes
human comprehension; let us examine, however, the tablet that was found
in her bosom; perhaps that will give us some information. " With this he
took it, and began to read as follows:
"Thisbe, formerly his enemy, but now his avenger, to her master,
Cnemon:
"In the first place I inform you of the death of Demæneta, brought
about on your account by my means; how it happened, if you will
admit me to your presence, I will relate to you in person. I have
been ten days on this island, having been made captive by one of the
robbers, who boasts that he is lieutenant to the chief, and keeps
me closely confined--as he says, out of love; as I suppose, lest I
should be taken from him. By the kindness of the gods, I have seen and
recognized you, and send this tablet to you privately by an old woman
who waits upon me, commanding her to deliver it to a handsome Greek,
a favourite of the chief. Deliver me from the power of these pirates,
and receive to yourself your handmaid; and, if you can prevail upon
yourself, preserve her; knowing that in what I acted against you I was
compelled, but the revenging you of your enemy was my own voluntary
act. But, if you still feel an inextinguishable resentment against
me, satiate it as you please; only let me be in your hands, even if I
am to die by them; I prefer death from you, and to have the rites of
my country performed over my remains, to a life that is more dreadful
than death; and to the love of a barbarian, more odious to me than the
hatred of a Greek. "--This was the contents of the tablet.
"O Thisbe," said Cnemon, "the gods have wisely ordained your death;
and that you should become, even after your slaughter, the relater of
your calamities; the Fury[7] who has driven you through the world,
has not ceased her avenging pursuit, till she has made me, whom you
have injured, even in Egypt, a spectator of your punishment. But what
accident is it which has stopped your career, while perhaps this
letter of yours was only the forerunner of some new practice against
me? for I cannot help suspecting you even now that you are dead. I fear
lest the account of Demæneta's death should be a fiction; lest those
who have informed me of it should have deceived me; lest you should
have crossed the seas with a design to renew in Egypt the tragedies you
have acted against me in Attica. "--"Ο you courageous fellow! " cries out
Theagenes, "will you never cease to terrify yourself with shades and
fancies? You cannot pretend that she has bewitched me, at any rate,
for I have had no part in the drama; assure yourself that no harm can
arise to you from this dead corpse, and pluck up your spirits: but who
has been so far your benefactor as to slay your enemy, and how and when
she descended here, I am utterly at a loss to imagine. "--"As to the
matter in general I am so too," replied Cnemon; "but he who slew her
was certainly Thyamis, as I conjecture from the sword which was found
near the body; I know it to be his, by the ivory hilt carved into the
form of an eagle. "--"But can you conjecture," said the other, "how,
and when, and for what cause, he committed this murder? "--"How should
I know that? " he answered. "This cavern has not had the virtue of
inspiring me, like that of Delphi or Trophonius. "
The mention of Delphi seemed to agitate Theagenes, and drew tears
from Chariclea; they repeated the name with great emotion. Cnemon was
surprised, and could not conceive why they were so affected by it. In
this manner they were engaged in the cave. Meanwhile Thermuthis, the
lieutenant of Thyamis, after he had been wounded and had got to land in
the manner we have related, when night came on, hastened towards the
cavern in search of Thisbe; for he it was who had placed her there. He
had some days before taken her by force from the merchant Nausicles
in a narrow mountain pass. On the tumult and attack which soon after
ensued, when he was sent by Thyamis in search of a victim, he let her
down into this cavern, that she might be out of the reach of danger,
and in his hurry and confusion left her near the entrance of it. Here
she remained out of fear, and ignorance of the winding passages which
led to the bottom; and here Thyamis found and killed her by mistake for
Chariclea. Thermuthis proceeded on his way to Thisbe. Upon reaching
the island he hastened to the tents; these he found in ashes: and
having with some difficulty discovered the entrance of the cavern, by
means of the stone covering, he lighted a handful of reeds which yet
remained there, and hastened to descend into it.
He called Thisbe by her name, in Greek; but when he saw her lying dead
at his feet, he stood motionless with horror and surprise. At length
he heard a murmur and distant sound of voices issuing from the hollow
recesses of the cave; for Theagenes and Cnemon were still conversing
together.
These he concluded to be the murderers of Thisbe, and was in doubt
what he should do; for as was natural in a ferocious pirate, his rage,
raised to the highest pitch by this disappointment of his desires,
urged him to rush at once upon the supposed authors of it; but his want
of arms made him unwillingly more cautious. He concluded therefore that
it was best at first not to present himself as an enemy, but if by
any means he could possess himself of arms, then to attack them on a
sudden. With this design he advanced towards Theagenes, throwing wild
and fierce glances around him, and discovering in his looks the purpose
of his heart.
They were surprised at the sudden appearance of a stranger, almost
naked, wounded, and with his face bloody. Chariclea, startled and
ashamed, retired into the inmost part of the cave. Cnemon too drew
a little back, knowing Thermuthis, seeing him unexpectedly, and
fearing that he came there on no good account. But Theagenes was more
irritated than terrified, and presenting the point of his sword, called
out, "Stand where you are, or you shall receive another wound; thus
far I spare you, because I know your face, and am not sure of your
designs. "--Thermuthis stretched out his unarmed hands, and besought
his compassion; forced, notwithstanding his rugged temper, from the
circumstance he was in, to become a supplicant. He called on Cnemon
for assistance, and said he deserved help from him, having never
injured him; having lived with him as a comrade, and coming now as
a friend. Cnemon was moved by his entreaties; raised him from the
knees of Theagenes which he had embraced, and eagerly inquired where
was Thyamis. The latter related all he knew--how his leader had
attacked the enemy; how he had rushed into the midst of the battle,
sparing neither his foes nor himself; the slaughter he made of them;
and the protection which the proclamation to take him alive afforded
him. He mentioned his own wound and escape, but knew nothing of his
captain's fate; and was come here in search of Thisbe. They inquired
how he became so interested about Thisbe; and how she came into his
possession. He told them everything: how he had taken her from a
merchant; how he fell violently in love with her, and had concealed
her some time in his tent, and at the approach of the attacking party
had placed her in the cave where he now saw her slain; that he was
perfectly ignorant of the authors of her death, but would most gladly
find them out if he could, and ascertain their motive.
Cnemon, eager to free himself from suspicion, told him it was certainly
Thyamis who slew her; and shewed him the sword which was found beside
her; which, when Thermuthis saw, still reeking with blood, and warm
from the wound, and knew it to have belonged to Thyamis, he uttered a
deep groan, still more perplexed how to account for the accident, and
in dumb gloomy astonishment moved towards the mouth of the cave. Here
throwing himself upon the bosom of the deceased, he embraced the body,
and repeating nothing but the name of Thisbe, fainter by degrees and
fainter, oppressed with grief and fatigue, sunk at last into a sleep.
The remainder of the company in the cave began now to consult what
steps it was proper for them to pursue. But the multitude of their
past calamities, the pressure of the present misfortunes, and the
uncertainty of what might happen to them, obscured the light, and
weakened the force, of their reason. Each looked at the other,
expecting him to say something; and being disappointed, turned his eyes
to the ground; and raising them again, sighed, lightening a little
his grief by this expression of it. At length Cnemon sat down on the
ground; Theagenes threw himself on a rock, and Chariclea reclined upon
him. In this posture they a long time resisted the attacks of sleep,
desirous, if they could, to devise some scheme of action; but, overcome
at last with grief and fatigue, they unwillingly yielded to the law of
nature, and fell into a sweet slumber from the very excess of sorrow.
Thus is the intelligent soul obliged sometimes to sympathise with the
affections of the body.
When sleep had for a little while just weighed their eye-lids down,
the following vision appeared to Chariclea. A man with his hair in
disorder, a downcast look, and bloody hands, seemed to come and thrust
out her right eye with a sword. She instantly cried out, and called
upon Theagenes. He was soon awakened, and felt for her uneasiness,
though it was only in a dream. She lifted her hand to her face, as
if in search of the part she had lost, and then exclaimed, "It was a
dream; my eye is safe! "--"I am glad," replied Theagenes, "that those
bright sunbeams are uninjured. But what has ailed you? how came you so
terrified? "--"A savage and violent man," says she, "not fearing even
your valour, attacked me with a sword as I lay at your feet; and, as
I thought, deprived me of my right eye; and would that it had been a
reality and not a vision! "--"Now Heaven forefend! why do you make so
shocking a wish? "--"Because I would much rather lose one of my eyes
than be under apprehensions for you; for I greatly fear that the dream
regards you, whom I esteem as my eyes, my soul, my all. "--"Cease,"
called out Cnemon (who had heard all that had passed, having been
awakened by the first exclamation of Chariclea), "for I think the
vision has another interpretation. Had you any parents living when
you left Greece? "--"I had," she replied. --"Believe then now that your
father is dead. I form my conjecture from hence: Our parents are the
authors of our being; therefore they may properly enough in a dream be
shadowed out under the similitude of eyes, the organs of light, which
convey to us things visible. "
"The loss of my father," replied Chariclea, "would be a heavy blow; but
let even your interpretation be the true one, rather mine. I consent
to pass for a false prophet! "--"Be it so," replied Cnemon; "but we are
indeed dreaming, while we are examining fancies and visions, and forget
to apply ourselves to our real business, especially while the absence
of the Egyptian (meaning Thermuthis), who is employed in lamenting his
deceased love, gives us an opportunity. "--"Ο Cnemon," said Theagenes,
"since some god has joined you to us, and made you a partaker in our
calamities, do you advise us what to do, for you are acquainted with
the country and language; and we, oppressed with a greater weight of
misfortunes, are less fit for counsel. "
"Which of us has the greater load of misfortunes to struggle with, is
by no means clear," said Cnemon. "I have my full share of them; but,
however, as I am the elder, and you command me to speak, I will obey
you. The island where we are, you see, is desolate, and contains none
but ourselves. Of gold, silver, and precious garments, plundered from
you and others, and heaped together by the pirates, there is plenty;
but of food and other necessaries, it is totally destitute. If we stay
here, we are in danger of perishing by famine, or of being destroyed
by some of the invaders, or by the buccaneers, if, knowing of the
treasures which are left here, they return again in search of them.
There will then be no escape; either we shall perish, or be exposed
to their violence and insults. They are always a faithless race, and
will now be more disorderly and dreadful, having lost their chief. We
must fly, therefore, from this place, as from a snare and a prison,
sending Thermuthis away first, if we can, under pretext of inquiring
after Thyamis, for we shall be more at liberty to consult and act by
ourselves. It is prudent, too, to remove from us a man of an unconstant
temper, of savage manners, and who, besides, suspects us on account
of the death of Thisbe, and probably only waits for an opportunity to
commit some violence against us. "
The advice of Cnemon was approved of; and they determined to follow
it; and moving towards the mouth of the cave, the day now beginning to
dawn, they roused Thermuthis, who was still sunk in sleep; and telling
him as much as they thought proper of their design, easily persuaded a
fickle-minded man. They then took the body of Thisbe, drew it into a
hollow of the rock, covered it as well as they could with ashes from
the tents, and performed what funeral rites the time and place would
admit of, supplying what was deficient by tears and lamentations.
They next proceeded to send out Thermuthis on the expedition they had
projected for him. He set out, but soon returned, declaring he would
not go alone, nor expose himself to the danger of so perilous a search,
unless Cnemon would bear him company. Theagenes, observing that this
proposal was by no means agreeable to Cnemon, who betrayed evident
marks of fear and apprehension when informed of it, said to him, "You
are valiant in council, Cnemon, but a laggard in action; you have
shown this more than once; pluck up your spirits, and prove yourself
a man. It is necessary that this fellow should have no suspicion, at
present, of our design to leave him. Seem to agree, therefore, to what
he proposes, and go with him at first; for there is no danger to be
apprehended from an unarmed man, especially by you who are armed. You
may take your opportunity, and leave him privately, and come to us at
some place which we shall fix upon; and we will, if you please, mention
some neighbouring town, if you know any, where the inhabitants are a
little civilized. "
Cnemon agreed to this, and named Chemmis, a rich and populous place,
situated on a rising ground on the banks of the Nile, by way of defence
against the incursions of the pirates, about one hundred furlongs
distant from the lake directly south. "I fear," said Theagenes, "that
Chariclea will find some difficulty in getting thither, as she is
unused to walking; however, we will attempt it, and pretend that we are
beggars who seek our living by showing juggling tricks. "
"Truly," said Cnemon, "your faces are sufficiently disfigured for such
a business, particularly Chariclea's, who has just lost an eye; after
all, though, I fear you will rather appear guests for the table than
petitioners for scraps at the door. "[8]--This sally was received with
a forced and languid smile, which played only on the lips. They then
prepared to depart, swearing never to desert each other, and calling
the gods to witness it.
Cnemon and Thermuthis set out early in the morning; and, crossing the
lake, took their way through a thick and difficult wood. Thermuthis
went first, at the persuasion of Cnemon, on the pretext that, as he
was acquainted with the country, he was better qualified to lead;
in reality, that the other might more easily find an opportunity
of deserting him. They met with some flocks in their way; and the
shepherds fled, at their approach, into the thickest of the wood. They
seized a ram, roasted him at a fire the shepherds had lighted, and
hardly staying till it was sufficiently dressed, devoured the flesh
with eagerness. Hunger pressed them; they fell upon it like wolves;
swallowed whole pieces, just warmed through, and still dropping with
blood. When they had satisfied their hunger, and allayed their thirst
with milk, they pursued their way. Evening now approached, and they
were ascending a hill under which was situated a town, where Thermuthis
said it was very probable that Thyamis was either detained a captive
or had been slain. Here Cnemon pretended that he felt great pain; that
his stomach was exceedingly disordered by his inordinate repast of meat
and drink, and that he must retire to ease it. This he did two or three
times, that his companion might suspect nothing, and complained that it
was with great difficulty he could follow him. When he had accustomed
the Egyptian to his staying behind, he took an opportunity at last to
let him go on forwards farther than usual; and then, turning suddenly
back, he ran down the hill as fast as he could into the thickest part
of the bushes. Thermuthis, when he had arrived at the summit, sat
himself down on a rock, expecting the approach of night, which they had
agreed to wait for before they entered into the town to inquire after
Thyamis. He looked about for his companion, having no good designs
against him, for he was still persuaded that he had slain Thisbe, and
was considering how he might serve him in the same manner; proposing
afterwards to attack Theagenes. But when Cnemon appeared nowhere, and
night advanced, he fell asleep--a deadly[9] and last sleep it proved to
him, for an asp, which had lain concealed in a thicket, bit him, and
put a fitting end to his life.
But Cnemon, after he had left Thermuthis, stopped not in his flight
till the darkness of the night obliged him to make a halt. He then
endeavoured to conceal himself by lying down and covering himself as
well as he could with leaves. Here he passed a restless and almost
sleepless night, taking every noise, every gust of wind, and motion of
a leaf, for Thermuthis. If at any time he dropped into a slumber, he
thought he was fleeing;[10] and looking behind, imagined he saw him
pursuing, who was now unable to follow him; till at last he resisted
all approaches of sleep, his dreams becoming more dreadful to him than
even his waking apprehensions.
He was uneasy at the duration of the night, which appeared to him the
longest he had ever spent. At length, to his great joy, day appeared.
He[11] then proceeded to cut his hair short, which he had suffered
to grow, in imitation of, and to recommend himself to, his piratical
companions, for the pirates, willing to render themselves as formidable
as they can, among other things, cherish long hair, which they suffer
to grow down their foreheads, and play over their shoulders, well
knowing that flowing locks, as they make the lover more amiable, so
they render the warrior more terrible. When Cnemon, therefore, had
shaped his hair into the common form, he proceeded to Chemmis, where
he had appointed to meet Theagenes. As he drew near the Nile, and was
preparing to pass over it to Chemmis, he perceived an old man wandering
upon its banks, walking several times up and down the stream, as if
he were communicating his cares to the river. His locks were as white
as snow, and shaped like those of a priest; his beard flowing and
venerable; his habit Grecian. Cnemon stopped a little; but when the
old man passed by many times, seemingly unconscious that any one was
near (so entirely was he immersed in care and meditation), he placed
himself before him, and, in the Grecian manner of salutation, bid him
be of good cheer. [12] The other replied, his fortunes were such that
good cheer was out of the question. Cnemon, surprised, asked: "Are you
a stranger from Greece, or from whence? "--"I am neither a Grecian nor
a stranger," said he, "but an Egyptian of this country. "--"Why, then,
have you a Grecian dress? "--"My misfortunes," says he, "have put me
into this splendid habit. " The other, wondering how misfortunes could
improve a man's appearance, and seeming desirous to be informed--"You
carry me into a 'tale of Troy divine,'"[13] replied the old man; "and
a swarm of evils, the recital of which would oppress you. But whence
do you come, Ο young man, and whither are you going? and how come I
to hear the Greek tongue in Egypt? "--"It is a little unreasonable in
you," replied Cnemon, "to ask these questions of me, you who will
tell nothing about yourself, though I made the first inquiries. "--"I
admit it," said the other; "but do not be offended. You seem to be a
Greek, and to have yourself undergone some transformation from the
hand of fortune. You are desirous to hear my adventures; I am no less
so to relate them. Probably I had told them to these reeds, as the
fable[14] goes, if I had not met with you. But let us leave the Nile
and its banks; for a situation exposed to the meridian sun is not a
proper place for a long narration. If you have no urgent business which
hinders you, let us go to the town which you see opposite to us. I
will entertain you, not in my own house, but in that of a good man who
received me when I implored his protection. There you may listen to my
story, and in your turn relate your own. "--"With all my heart," said
Cnemon, "for I myself was going to this town to wait for some friends
of mine, whom I had appointed to meet there. " Getting, therefore, into
a boat, many of which were lying by the river's side, to transport
passengers, they crossed over into the town, and arrived at the house
where the stranger was lodged. The master of the house was not at home;
but his daughter, a marriageable maiden, received them with great
cheerfulness, and the servants waited upon the old man as if he had
been their father, most probably by their master's orders. One washed
his feet, and wiped off the dust from under his knees; another got
ready his bed, and strewed it with soft coverings; a third brought an
urn, and filled it with fire; a fourth prepared the table, and spread
it with bread and various kinds of fruit.
Cnemon, wondering at their alacrity, exclaimed, "We have certainly got
into the house of Jove the Hospitable,[15] such is the attention and
singular benevolence with which we are received. "--"You have not got
into the habitation of Jove," replied the other, "but into that of
a man who exactly imitates his hospitable and charitable qualities:
for his life[16] has been a mercantile and wandering one; he has seen
many cities, and observed the manners of many nations; he is naturally
therefore inclined to compassionate the stranger, and receive the
wanderer, as he did me not many days ago. "--"And how came you to be
a wanderer, father? "--"Being deprived," said he, "of my children by
robbers; knowing those who had injured me, but unable to contend with
them; I roam about this spot, mourning and sorrowing; not unlike a
bird whose nest a serpent[17] has made desolate, and is devouring
her young before her eyes. She is afraid to approach, yet cannot
bear to desert them; terror and affection struggle within her; she
flies mournfully round the scene of her calamities, pouring in vain
her maternal complaints into ears deaf to her waitings and strangers
to mercy. "--"Will you then relate," said Cnemon, "when and how you
encountered this grievous war of woe? "--"By-and-bye," he replied; "but
let us now attend to our craving stomach; which, because it considers
itself of more consequence than any other organ, is called by Homer
_destructive_. [18] And first, as is the custom of the Egyptian sages,
let us make a libation to the gods. Nothing shall make me omit this;
nor shall grief ever so entirely possess my mind, as to render me
forgetful of what I owe to heaven. " With this he poured pure water
out of the vase, and said, "I make this libation to the gods of this
country, and those of Greece; to the Pythian Apollo, and also to
Theagenes and Chariclea, the good and beautiful, since I reckon them
also among the gods:" and then he wept, as if he were making another
libation to them with his tears.
