No More Learning

Life is intolerable to one who, in addition
to being a murderer, loves her of whose death he has been the cause. "

Every one in court was utterly astounded at the unexpected tenour of
my speech, especially Melitta. The advocates of Thersander already
claimed a triumph,[6] while those engaged in Melitta's behalf anxiously
questioned her as to the truth of what I had said. She was in great
confusion; denied some points, virtually admitted others, confessed to
having known Leucippe, and indeed confirmed most of what I had said,
with the exception of the murder. This general agreement on her part
with the facts advanced by me, created a suspicion against her, even
in the minds of her own counsel, and they were at a loss what line
of defence to adopt on her behalf. At this critical juncture, while
the court was being a scene of great clamour, Clinias came forward
and requested to be heard, for "Remember," said he, "a man's life is
now in jeopardy. " Obtaining permission to speak, "Men of Ephesus! " he
began, (his eyes filling with tears,) "do not precipitately condemn
to die one who eagerly longs for death, the natural refuge of the
unfortunate. He has been calumniating himself, and has taken upon him
the guilt of others. Let me briefly acquaint you with what has befallen
him. What he has said respecting his mistress, her being carried off
by pirates, about Sosthenes, and other circumstances which happened
before the pretended murder, are strictly true. The young woman has
undoubtedly disappeared; but whether she is still alive, or has been
made away with, it is impossible to say; one thing is certain, that
Sosthenes conceived a passion for her, that he used her cruelly for
not consenting to his desires, and that he was leagued with pirates.
My friend believing her to be murdered, is disgusted with life, and
has, therefore invented this charge against himself; he has already
confessed with his own mouth that he is anxious to die owing to grief
at the loss which he has sustained. Consider, I pray you, whether it
is likely that one who is really a murderer would be so desirous of
dying with his victim, and would feel life so insupportable. When do
we ever find murderers so tender-hearted, and hatred so compassionate?
In the name of the gods, therefore, do not believe his words; do not
condemn to death a man who is much more deserving of commiseration than
of punishment. If, as he says, he really planned this murder, let him
bring forward the hired assassin; let him declare what has become of
the body. If neither the one nor the other can be produced, how can
any belief be attached to such a murder? 'I was in love with Melitta,'
he says, 'and therefore I caused Leucippe to be killed! ' How comes
he to implicate Melitta, the object of his affection, and to be so
desirous of dying for Leucippe, whose death he compassed? Is it usual
for persons to hate the object of their love, and to love the object of
their hatred? Is it not much more probable that in such circumstances
he would have denied the crime (even had it been brought home to him)
in order to save his mistress, instead of throwing away his own life
afterwards, owing to a vain regret for her loss? What can possibly,
therefore, be his motive for charging Melitta with a crime of which she
is not guilty? I will tell you, and in so doing do not suppose that I
have any desire of inculpating this lady,--my sole wish is to make you
acquainted with the real truth.

"Before this sea-faring husband of hers came to life again so suddenly,
Melitta took a violent fancy to this young man, and proposed marriage
to him; he on his part was not at all disposed to comply with her
wishes, and his repugnance became yet greater when he discovered that
his mistress, whom he had imagined dead, was in slavery, under the
power of Sosthenes. Until aware who she was, Melitta, taking pity upon
her, had caused her to be set at liberty, had received her into her own
house, and treated her with the consideration due to a gentlewoman in
distress; but after becoming acquainted with her story, she was sent
back into the country, and she has not been heard from since. The truth
of what I say can be attested by Melitta herself and the two maids
in whose company she was sent away. This was one thing which excited
suspicions in my friend's mind that Leucippe had been foully dealt with
through her rival's jealousy; a circumstance which took place after
he was in prison confirmed these suspicions, and has had the effect
of exasperating him not only against Melitta but against himself.
One of the prisoners, in the course of lamenting his own troubles,
mentioned that he had unwittingly fallen into the company of a man
who had committed murder for the sake of gold; the victim was named
Leucippe, and the crime, he said, had been committed at the instigation
of Melitta. Of course I cannot say whether this be true or not, it is
for you to institute inquiries. You can produce the prisoner who made
mention of the hired assassin; Sosthenes, who can declare from whom he
purchased Leucippe, and the maids, who can explain her disappearance.
Before you have thoroughly investigated each of these particulars, it
is contrary to all law, whether human or divine, to pass sentence upon
this unfortunate young man, on the bare evidence of his frenzied words,
for there can be no doubt that the violence of his grief has affected
his intellect. "

The arguments of Clinias appeared just and reasonable to many of those
present, but Thersander's counsel, together with his friends, called
out that sentence of death ought to be pronounced without delay upon
the murderer who, by the providence of the gods, had been made his own
accuser. Melitta brought forward her maids, and required Thersander to
produce Sosthenes, who might probably turn out to be the murderer. This
was the challenge[7] mainly insisted upon by her counsel. Thersander,
in great alarm, secretly despatched one of his dependants into the
country, with orders to Sostratus to get out of the way at once,
before the arrival of those who were about to be sent after him.

Mounting a horse without delay, the messenger rode full speed to inform
the bailiff of the danger he ran of being put to the torture, if taken.
Sosthenes was at that moment with Leucippe, doing his best to soothe
her irritated feelings. Hearing himself summoned in a loud voice, he
came out of the cottage; and, upon learning the state of matters,
overcome with fear, and thinking the officers were already at his
heels, he got upon the horse, and rode off towards Smyrna; after which
the messenger returned to his master. It is a true saying that fear
drives away the power of recollection, for Sosthenes in his alarm for
his own safety was so forgetful of everything else, that he neglected
to secure the door of Leucippe's cottage. Indeed slaves, generally
speaking, when frightened, run into the very excess of cowardice.
Melitta's advocates having given the above-mentioned challenge,
Thersander came forward and said, "We have now surely had quite enough
of this man's silly stories; and I cannot but feel surprised at your
want of sense, who, after convicting a murderer upon the strongest
possible evidence, his own admission of his guilt, do not at once
pass sentence of death upon him; whereas, instead of doing this, you
suffer yourselves to be imposed upon by his plausible words and tears.
For my part I believe him actuated by personal fears, and to be an
accomplice in the murder; nor can I see what possible need there can
be for having recourse to the rack in a matter so clear already. Nay,
more, I fully believe him to have had a hand in another murder; for
three days have now elapsed since I saw Sosthenes, the man whom they
call upon me to bring forward; it is not at all improbable that this is
owing to their contrivance, since it was he who informed me of the act
of adultery which has taken place, and having put him to death, they
now craftily call upon me to produce the man, knowing it to be out of
my power to do so. But even supposing he were alive and present, what
difference could it make? What questions would he put to him? 'Did he
ever purchase a certain female? '--'Yes. ' 'Was this female in the power
of Melitta? '--'Yes. ' Here would be an end of the examination, and
Sosthenes would be dismissed. Let me now, however, address myself to
Clitopho and Melitta.

"What have you done, I ask, with my slave? --for a slave of mine she
assuredly was, having been purchased by Sosthenes, and were she still
alive, instead of having been murdered by them, my slave she would
still be. " Thersander said this from mingled malice and cunning, in
order that if Leucippe should turn out to be still alive, he might
detain her in a state of servitude. He then continued:--"Clitopho
confessed that he killed her, he has therefore pronounced judgment upon
himself. Melitta, on the other hand, denies the crime--her maids may
be brought forward and tortured in order to refute what she says. If
it should appear that they received the young woman from her, but have
not brought her back again, the question will arise, What has become
of her? Why was she sent away? And to whom was she sent? Is it not
self-evident that some persons had been hired to commit the murder,
and that the maids were kept in ignorance of this, lest a number of
witnesses might render discovery more probable? No doubt they left her
at some spot where a gang of ruffians were lying in concealment, so
that it was out of their power to witness what took place. He has also
trumped up some story about a prisoner who made mention of the murder.
I should like to know who this prisoner is, who has not said a word on
the subject to the chief magistrate, but has communicated, it seems,
every particular to him, except the name of his informer. Again, I ask,
will you not make an end of listening to such foolery, and taking any
interest in such transparent absurdities? Can you imagine that he would
have turned a self-accuser without the intervention of the deity? "
Thersander, after speaking to this effect, concluded by solemnly
swearing that he was ignorant what had become of Sosthenes.

The presiding judge, who was of royal extraction,[8] and who took
cognizance of cases of blood, had, in accordance with the law, a
certain number of assessors,[9] men of mature age, whose province it
was to assist him in judicial investigations. After conferring with
them, he determined to pronounce sentence of death upon me, agreeably
to a law which awarded capital punishment to any one standing convicted
upon his own accusation. Melitta was to have a second trial, and her
maids were to be examined by torture, Thersander was to register his
oath, declaratory of his ignorance as to Sosthenes. I, as already
condemned to death, was to be tortured in order to make me confess
whether Melitta was privy to the murder. Already was I bound, stripped,
and suspended aloft by ropes, while some were bringing scourges, others
the fire and the wheel, and Clinias was lamenting loudly, and calling
upon the gods, when lo! the priest of Diana crowned with laurel, was
beheld approaching: the sign of a sacred embassy coming to offer
sacrifices to the goddess. In such cases there is suspension[10] of
all judicial punishments during the days occupied in the performance
of the sacrifice, and in consequence of this I was released. The chief
of the sacred embassy was no other than Leucippe's father. Diana had
appeared to the Byzantians, and had secured them victory in the war
against the Thracians, in consequence of which they felt bound to send
her a sacrifice in token of their gratitude. In addition to this, the
goddess had appeared to Sostratus himself at night, signifying to him
that he would find his daughter and his nephew at Ephesus. Just about
this time, Leucippe perceived the door of the cottage to be left open;
and as, after a careful examination, Sosthenes was nowhere to be seen,
her usual presence of mind and sanguine hopes returned. She remembered
how often, contrary to all expectation, she had been preserved, and
the thought of this gave her increased boldness. Fortune moreover
favoured her, since the temple of Diana was near the spot. Accordingly,
hurrying thither, she sought refuge within its precincts. The temple
afforded sanctuary to men and virgins,--any other woman incurred death
by entering it, unless she happened to be a slave who had some cause
of complaint against her master; in which case she was permitted to
take refuge there, and the matter was submitted to the decision of
the magistrates; supposing the master was acquitted, he took back his
slave, being bound by oath to bear her no ill will on account of her
having run away; but if, on the contrary, the slave was proved to have
justice on her side, she remained in the temple, and was employed in
the service of the goddess. Leucippe arrived at the temple just at
the time when Sostratus was conducting the priest to the scene of
the trial, in order to suspend the proceedings, and was very near
encountering her father.

When I was set free, the court broke up, and I was surrounded by a
concourse of people, some pitying me, some calling upon the gods in my
behalf, others questioning me. Sostratus, coming by at the time, no
sooner saw than he recognized me; for, as I before mentioned, he had
formerly been at Tyre upon the occasion of a festival of Hercules, and
had passed a considerable time there before the period of our flight.
He at once knew me, and the more readily because his dream had led him
to expect that he should find me and his daughter there. Coming up to
me, therefore, "Do I see Clitopho? " said he; "and where is Leucippe? "
Instantly recognizing him, I cast my eyes to the ground and remained
silent, while the bystanders related to him every particular relative
to my self-accusation. He no sooner heard what they had to say than
with an ejaculation of bitter grief, and smiting his head he made a
rush at me, and was very near pulling out my eyes, for I remained
altogether passive and offered no resistance to his violence. At length
Clinias coming forward, checked his fury, and endeavoured to pacify
him. "What are you about? " said he: "why are you venting your wrath
against him; he loves Leucippe more dearly than you do, for he has
courted death from belief that she was no longer in existence;" and he
added a great deal more in order to calm his irritation. He, on the
other hand, continued to vent his grief, and to call upon Diana. "Is
it for this that thou hast summoned me hither, Ο goddess? Is this the
fulfilment of my vision? I gave credence to the dreams which thou didst
send, and flattered myself that I should find my daughter! In lieu of
which thou offerest me, forsooth, a welcome present,--my daughter's
murderer! " Hearing of the vision sent by Diana, Clinias was overjoyed.
"Take courage, sir," he said; "the goddess will not belie herself! Rest
assured your daughter is alive; believe me, I am prophesying truth; do
you not remark how wonderfully she has rescued your nephew from the
clutches of his torturers? "

While this was going on, one of the ministers of the goddess came
hurriedly to the priest, and announced that a foreign maiden had taken
refuge in the temple. [11] This intelligence, given in my hearing,
inspired me with new life; my hopes revived, and I summoned courage
to look up. "My prediction is being fulfilled, sir," said Clinias,
addressing Sostratus; and then turning to the messenger he inquired,
"Is the maiden handsome? "--"She is second in beauty only to Diana
herself," was the reply.

At these words I leaped for joy, and exclaimed, "It must be
Leucippe! "--"You are right in your conjecture," said he; "this was the
very name she gave; saying likewise that she was the daughter of one
Sostratus, and a native of Byzantium. " Clinias now clapped his hands
and shouted with delight, while Sostratus, overcome by his emotions,
was ready to sink upon the ground. For my part, in spite of my fetters,
I made a bound into the air, and then shot away towards the temple,
like an arrow from a bow. The keepers pursued me, supposing that I was
trying to escape, and bawled out to every one "Stop him! stop him! "
At that moment, however, I seemed to have wings upon my heels, and
it was with much difficulty that some persons at length caught hold
of me in my mad career. The keepers upon coming up were disposed to
use violence, to which, however, I was no longer inclined to submit;
nevertheless they persisted in dragging me towards the prison. By this
time Clinias and Sostratus had arrived at the spot; and the former
called out, "Whither are you taking this man? --he is not guilty of
the murder for which he has been condemned! " Sostratus spoke to the
same effect, and added that he was father to the maiden supposed to
have been murdered. The bystanders, learning the circumstances which
had taken place, were loud in their praises of Diana, and surrounding
me would not permit me to be taken to prison; on the other hand, the
keepers declared that they had no authority to set a prisoner at
liberty who had been condemned to death. In the end, the priest, at the
urgent entreaty of Sostratus, agreed to become bail, and to produce me
in court whenever it should be required. Then at length freed from my
fetters, I hurried on towards the temple, followed by Sostratus, whose
feelings of joy could hardly, I think, equal my own.

Rumour,[12] who outstrips the swiftest of men, had already reached
Leucippe, and informed her of all particulars respecting me and
Sostratus. Upon catching sight of us she darted out of the temple, and
threw her arms around her father, but at the same time her looks were
turned on me; the presence of Sostratus restrained me from embracing
her, though I gazed intently upon her face; and thus our greetings were
confined to eyes.


[Footnote 1:

"And thoughts on thoughts, a countless throng,
Rushed, chasing countless thoughts along;
Until, the giddy whirl to cure,
He rose. "--Scott.
]

[Footnote 2: ἀνοιμώξας πάνυ κακούργως. ]

[Footnote 3: εἰ κληρωθείη τὸ δικαστήριον. ]

[Footnote 4: χρή δὲ πᾶν ἔρδoντα μανρῶσαι τὸν ἐχθρόν.

"Dolus, an virtus, quis in hoste requirit? "
Æn. ii. 390.
]

[Footnote 5: παρασκιύη; see the opening of the oration of Æschines
against Ctesiphon. ]

[Footnote 6: ἀνεβόησαν ἐπινίκιον. ]

[Footnote 7: πρόκλησιν, a formal challenge proposed by a party to his
opponent that the decision of a disputed point should be determined by
the evidence of a third party. One of the most common was the demand
or offer to examine by torture a slave supposed to be cognizant of the
matter in dispute. --See Dict. of Grk. and Roman Antiq. ]

[Footnote 8: The events of this romance are supposed to take place when
Asia was still subject to the Persian Empire, but Tatius borrows his
judicial forms from those in use among the Greeks. He describes the
πρoέδρος to be of _royal extraction_, probably because cases of blood
were tried before that archon, who was styled βασιλεύς. --Jacobs. ]

[Footnote 9: Each of the three superior archons was at liberty to have
two assessors (πάρεδροι) chosen by himself, to assist him by advice and
otherwise in the performance of his various duties. --Dict. of Grk. and
Rom. Antiq. ]

[Footnote 10: During the absence of the sacred vessel (θεωρίς) on its
mission to Delos, the city of Athens was purified, and no criminal was
allowed to be executed. ]

[Footnote 11: See a very full description of the magnificent temple of
Diana in Anthon's "Lemprière. "]

[Footnote 12: "Nec tamen Fama volucris, pigrâ pennarum tarditate
cessaverat; sed protinus in patriâ, Deæ providentia adorabile
beneficium, meamque ipsius fortunam memorabilem, narraverat
passim. "--Apul. Met. xi. ]




BOOK VIII.


Just as we were sitting down and beginning to converse upon the
various events which had taken place, Thersander, accompanied by
several witnesses, arrived in a great bustle, and addressing himself
to the priest in a loud voice said, "I warn you, in the presence of
these witnesses, that you have acted illegally in setting at liberty
a prisoner condemned to death; besides which, what right have you to
detain my slave, a lewd woman, who is insatiable in her appetite for
men? " Exasperated by this language, and not enduring to hear her called
a slave and accused of lewdness, I interrupted him, "You are trebly a
slave[1] yourself, and the rankest lecher who ever existed, where as
she is free born, and pure and worthy of her guardian goddess! "--"Dare
you vent your insolence on me, convicted felon that you are? " exclaimed
he, accompanying his words with a couple of blows, which, given with
all his might, caused the blood to flow from my nose in streams; in
his haste to deal me a third, he struck me on the mouth, and my teeth
inflicting a severe wound upon his fingers avenged the insult offered
to my nostrils. Uttering a cry of pain, he drew back his hand, and did
not offer any further violence; while, pretending not to notice that
he was hurt, I filled the temple with outcries at the usage which I
had received. "Whither," I exclaimed, "shall we henceforth flee to
escape the hands of violence? Where shall we seek sanctuary, if Diana
is despised? Lo! I have been attacked in the very temple, and struck in
front of the holy curtain! [2] I had supposed that such acts could take
place only in some howling wilderness, with no human witness to behold
them; but you--abandoned wretch that you are! --exercise your brutality
in the very presence of the gods! Temples are wont to afford an asylum,
even to the guilty; but I, who am wholly innocent and a suppliant of
the goddess, have suffered violence before the altar,--nay, before the
eyes of the goddess! The blows inflicted on me have virtually fallen
upon Diana herself! Nor has your drunken fury been content with blows,
you have even dealt wounds, such as one receives in battle, and you
have defiled the sacred pavement with human blood! Who ever poured out
such drink offerings to the Ephesian goddess? Barbarians do so, and so
do the Tauri, and blood is sprinkled upon the altars of the Scythian
Diana;[3] but you have made a savage Scythia of the polished Ionia,
and the gore fit only for Tauris is seen to flow at Ephesus! Why not
proceed yet farther, and draw your sword against me? Though what need
is there of swords, the work of a weapon has already been accomplished
by your naked hand! Yes! your blood-stained and homicidal hand has done
deeds fit only for a scene of murder! "

Attracted by my outcries, a crowd of those who were in the temple
flocked together, who rated him soundly for his conduct, and the priest
himself said, "Are you not ashamed to exhibit such behaviour openly
and in the temple? " Encouraged by their presence, "Men of Ephesus! " I
said, "you see how foully I have been treated. Yes! I, a free man and
a native of no mean city, have had a plot contrived against my life by
this wicked man, and have been preserved only by the intervention of
Diana, who has brought to light the falsehood of the charge against
me. It behoves me now to go forth in order to cleanse my face; I may
not do so within the temple, lest the holy water should be defiled by
the blood of violence. " Thersander was with difficulty forced out, and
muttered to himself as he departed: "Your fate is already sealed, and
ere long the law shall have its due; as for this strumpet who would
fain pass for a virgin, she shall undergo the ordeal of the syrinx. "
When at last we were rid of him, I went out and cleansed my face; it
was now supper-time, and the priest entertained us very hospitably.

I could not summon up courage to look Sostratus in the face, from a
recollection of what had been my conduct towards him, and he perceiving
this, and guessing my feelings, was equally unwilling to look towards
me; Leucippe also sat with downcast eyes, so that the supper was
altogether a very solemn affair. When however the wine circulated, and
reserve began to disappear under the influence of Bacchus, patron
of freedom and ease,[4] the priest, addressing Sostratus, said, "My
worthy guest, will you not favour us with your own history? --it must, I
imagine, contain some interesting passages, and the listening to such
subjects adds zest to the wine. " Sostratus readily availed himself of
the opportunity to speak, and replied, "My own story is a very simple
one; you are already acquainted with my name and country, and when I
have added that I am uncle to this young man and father to the maiden,
you have heard all. --Do you, son Clitopho, (turning to me) lay aside
all bashfulness and relate whatever you have to say worth hearing; the
grief and vexation which I have endured is to be attributed to Fortune
not to you; besides, to tell of past troubles when one has escaped from
them, is a source of pleasure rather than of grief. "[5]

Upon this, I detailed all the events which had occurred since leaving
Tyre--the voyage, the shipwreck, our being cast upon the coast of
Egypt, our falling among the buccaneers, the carrying off of Leucippe,
the adventures of the false stomach contrived by Menelaus, the passion
conceived for her by the commander, the discovery of the love potion
by Chæreas, Leucippe's second rape by corsairs, and the wound received
by me of which I exhibited the scar. When I approached the subject of
Melitta, I related the story in such a manner as to give an exalted
idea of my own continence, yet without being guilty of any falsehood.
I spoke of her violent passion for me, her urgent but unsuccessful
entreaties to obtain its gratification, her munificent promises, her
grief at being disappointed, our subsequent voyage to Ephesus, the
supper, my sharing her bed, and (invoking at the same time Diana's
name) my rising from her side as pure as one female would from another,
my being seized and put in prison, my false accusation of myself; this
and every other matter I detailed down to the appearance of the Sacred
Embassy, suppressing only the disgrace of my connexion with Melitta. [5]

"Leucippe's adventures," said I, in continuation, "are stranger even
than mine. She has been sold to slavery, has been compelled to labour
in the field, has been despoiled of the honours of her head,[6] of
which you can see the tokens;" and then passing on to the conduct of
Sosthenes and Thersander, I entered much more into detail than I had
done, when speaking of myself. My object in doing this, was to gratify
Leucippe, in the hearing of her father. "She has endured every ill in
her person," said I, "excepting one, and to avoid that one, she has
submitted to all the others; and has continued, to this day, father
(addressing Sostratus), pure as when first you sent her from Byzantium.
It is no merit in me to have abstained from consummating the object for
which we fled; the merit is entirely on her side for having preserved
inviolate her chastity in the midst of villains, nay, against that arch
villain, the shameless and violent Thersander. Our flight from home was
caused by mutual love; but I can assure you, father, that during the
voyage we were quite platonic, our intercourse was no other than that
of a brother and a sister; and if there be such a thing as virginity
in men, I am still a virgin as regards Leucippe; she, long since bound
herself by a vow to Diana. [7]

"Queen of love," ejaculated I, "be not wroth nor deem thyself to have
been slighted by us! we were but unwilling to celebrate our nuptials
in the absence of the maiden's father; he has now happily arrived; be
thou present therefore, and smile propitiously upon us. " The priest
had listened open-mouthed to my story, and Sostratus had been shedding
tears during the recital of his daughter's sufferings. "Now that you
have heard the account of our adventures," said I to our host, "I have
a favour to ask of you. What did Thersander's parting words refer to,
when he made mention of the syrinx? "--"You have a right to make the
inquiry," replied he; "and I am both able and willing to comply with
your request.
It will be some return for the narrative with which you
have just favoured us. You see the grove in the rear of the temple; in
it is a cave, entrance into which is forbidden to women in general,
but is permitted to maidens who have preserved their purity. A little
within the doors a syrinx is suspended; perhaps you Byzantians are
already acquainted with the nature of this instrument; should it be
otherwise, I will give you a description of it, and will likewise
relate the legend of Pan, with which it is connected.

"The syrinx is composed of a certain number of reed pipes, which
collectively produce the same sounds as a flute; these reeds are placed
in regular order and mutually compacted, presenting the same appearance
on either side; beginning from the shortest, they ascend in gradation
to the longest, and the central one holds a medium proportion between
the two extremities. The principle of this arrangement arises from
the laws of harmony, the two extremes of sound (as well as of length)
are found at either end, and the intervening pipes convey downwards
a gradation of notes so as to combine the first and shrillest with
the last and deepest of all. The same variety of sounds, (as before
observed) are produced by Minerva's flute[8] as by the syrinx of Pan;
but in the former case, the fingers direct the notes, in the latter,
the mouth supplies the place; in the one case, the performer closes
every opening except the one through which the breath is intended to
proceed; in the other case, he leaves open the aperture of every other
reed, and places his mouth upon that one only which he wishes to emit
a sound; his lips leap (as we may say) from reed to reed and dance[9]
along the syrinx; as the laws of harmony require. [10] Now, this syrinx
was originally neither pipe nor reed, but a damsel[11] whose charms
made her most desirable. Smitten by love, Pan pursued her, and she fled
for refuge to a thicket; the god still closely following her, stretched
forth his hand to seize as he supposed her hair, but lo! instead of
hair, he grasped a bunch of reeds, which, so the legend says, sprang
from the earth as she descended into it. Enraged at his disappointment,
Pan cut them down, imagining that they had stolen from him the object
of his love; but when his search after her still proved unavailing, he
supposed the maiden to have been changed into these reeds, and wept
at his hasty act, thinking that in so doing he had caused the death
of his beloved. He then proceeded to collect and place together what
he imagined to be her limbs, and holding them in his hands, continued
to kiss what fancy pictured to be the mangled remains of the maiden's
body. Deeply sighing as he imprinted kisses on the reeds, his sighs
found a passage through these hollow pipes, forming sounds of music,
and thus the syrinx came to have a voice. This instrument Pan suspended
within the cave, and he is said often to resort hither in order to play
upon it. At a period subsequent to the event of which I am speaking,
he conveyed the place as a gift to Diana, upon the condition that
none save a spotless maiden should be allowed to enter it. Whenever
therefore the virginity of any female comes into suspicion, she is
conducted to the entrance of this cavern, and it is left to the syrinx
to pronounce judgment upon her. She enters in her usual dress, and
immediately the doors are closed. If she proves to be a virgin, a
sweetly clear and divinely ravishing sound is heard, caused either by
the air which is there stored up, finding its way into the syrinx,[12]
or by the lips of the god himself. After a short space, the doors open
of their own accord, and the maiden makes her appearance, wearing a
crown of pine leaves. If, on the other hand, the female has falsely
asserted her claim to virginity, the syrinx is silent, and instead of
music, the cave sends forth a doleful sound, upon which those who
attended her to the entrance depart and leave her to her fate. Three
days after, the priestess of the temple enters, and finds the syrinx
fallen to the ground, but the female is no where to be seen. I have
now told you everything, and it is for you maturely to deliberate upon
what course you intend pursuing. If, as I sincerely hope, the maiden
is a virgin, you may fearlessly submit to the ordeal, for the syrinx
has never falsified its character. Should the case be otherwise, it is
needless to suggest what is the safer course; and you well know, what
a female, exposed as she has been to various perils, may have been
compelled to submit to, quite against her will. "

Eagerly interrupting the priest, Leucippe said, "You need be under
no alarm on my account, I am quite ready to enter, and be shut up
within the cave. "--"I rejoice to hear you say so," replied he, "and I
congratulate you on the good fortune which has preserved your virtue. "
As it was near evening we retired to the chambers prepared for us
by the priest; Clinias had not supped with us from fear of being
burdensome to our kind host, but had returned to his former lodgings.
The legend of the syrinx caused Sostratus much uneasiness, as he
evidently feared, that out of regard to him, we had been advancing
undue claims to chastity; perceiving this, I made a sign to Leucippe to
remove as best she could, the suspicions of her father. His anxiety had
not escaped her observation, and even before receiving a hint from me,
she had been devising how to set his mind at rest. Upon embracing him,
therefore, as he retired to rest, "Father," she said, in a low voice,
"you need be under no apprehension; I solemnly swear to you by Diana,
that both of us have spoken nothing but the truth. " The following day,
Sostratus and the priest were occupied in performing the object of the
sacred embassy, by offering the victims; the members of the Senate were
present at the solemnity, and hymns of praise resounded in honour of
the goddess. Thersander also was there, and coming to the president he
desired to have his case postponed to the next day, as the condemned
criminal had been set at liberty by some meddling persons, and
Sosthenes could no where be found. His request was complied with, and
we on our part, made every preparation for meeting the charge which was
to be brought against us. When the morning of trial arrived, Thersander
spoke as follows:--"I am utterly at a loss how to begin, and against
whom first to direct my charges; the offence which has given rise to
this trial involves various others equal in importance, and implicates
several parties, and each of their offences might supply matter for a
separate trial; my words must almost unavoidably fail in doing justice
to each division of the subject, and in my eagerness to hasten to some
point hitherto untouched, I must necessarily deal imperfectly with
that upon which I am engaged. How indeed can it be otherwise in a
case like this, wherein is mixed up adultery, impiety, bloodshed and
lawless excesses of every kind! Where adulterers are found murdering
other people's slaves, murderers corrupting other people's wives,
whoremongers and harlots interrupting and disgracing with their
presence holy solemnities and the most sacred places? Nevertheless I
will proceed. You condemned a criminal to death--on account of what
cause, it matters not--you sent him back in chains to prison, there
to be kept until the execution of the sentence; yet this man who is
virtually your prisoner, now stands before you at liberty and attired
in white; aye, and no doubt will venture to raise his voice in order to
declaim against me--or rather, I should say, against you and against
the justice of your verdict. I demand to have the sentence of the Court
read aloud. --There, you have now heard it. 'The sentence of the Court
is that Clitopho be put to death. '--Where then is the executioner? Let
the prisoner be led away, let the hemlock[13] be administered--he is
already dead in law, and has lived a day too long. And now, what excuse
have you to plead, holy and reverend priest? In which of the sacred
laws do you find it laid down that prisoners, duly condemned by a
sentence of the court, and delivered up to chains and death, are to be
rescued and set at liberty? On what grounds do you arrogate to yourself
a power superior to that of the judges and the Court? President! it is
time for you to quit your chair and to abdicate to him your place and
power! Your authority is gone, your decrees are good for nought! He
takes upon himself to reverse the sentence you have passed. --Why any
longer stand among us, sir Priest, as a mere private individual? By all
means go up higher, take your place upon the bench; issue henceforth
your judgments, or if it please you better, your arbitrary and
tyrannical decrees; spurn law and justice under your feet; believe that
you are more than man; claim for yourself worship next after Diana,
since you have already arrogated her peculiar privilege. Hitherto she
alone has afforded sanctuary to suppliants, but to suppliants, be it
remembered, whom the law has not yet condemned;--not those to whom
chains and death have been decreed, for the altar should be a refuge
not to the wicked but to the unfortunate! You, forsooth, liberate a
prisoner; you acquit a condemned criminal! You therefore arrogate a
power superior to that of Diana's self! Who, until now, ever heard of a
murderer and adulterer inhabiting the chamber of a temple, instead of
the dungeon of a prison? A foul adulterer under the same roof with a
virgin goddess, and having for his partner a shameless woman, a slave
and runaway! You it is who have entertained the worthy pair at bed and
board; nay, probably have shared her bed. You have converted the temple
of the goddess into a common brothel. You have made her sanctuary,
a den of whoremongers and harlots; your doings would hardly find a
parallel in the vilest stew! So far as regards these two I have now
done, one will I trust meet with his just deserts, let the sentence of
the law be put in force against the other.

"My second charge is against Melitta for adultery; and here I need not
speak at any length, as it has already been decided that her maids
shall be submitted to the torture, in order to ascertain the truth. I
demand, therefore, to have them produced; and if, after undergoing the
question, they persist in denying their knowledge that the accused has
for a considerable time cohabited with her in my house, not only in the
character of paramour but of husband, then I am bound freely to acquit
her of all blame. But should the contrary be proved, then I claim that
in accordance with the laws she be deprived of her marriage portion,
and that it be given up to me,[14] in which case the prisoner must
suffer death, the punishment awarded to adulterers. Whether, however,
he shall suffer under this charge or as a murderer, matters little;
he is guilty of both crimes, and though suffering punishment will, in
fact, be evading justice,[15]--for whereas he owes two deaths, he will
have paid but one. One other subject there remains for me to touch
upon: this slave of mine and her respectable pretended father. I shall,
however, reserve what I have to say on this head until you have come to
a decision respecting the other parties. "

Thersander having now ended, it was for the priest to speak. He
was possessed of eloquence, and had in him a large share of the
Aristophanic vein; accordingly he attacked Thersander's debauched
manner of life with great wit and humour. "By the goddess," said he,
"it is the sign of having a foul tongue, thus shamelessly to rail
against honest folks,--but it is nothing new to this worthy gentleman,
for throughout his life the filthiness of his tongue has been
notorious. [16] The season of his youth was passed among the lewdest of
mankind, among whom he gave himself up to the most abandoned practices,
and while affecting gravity, sobriety, and a regard for learning, his
body was made the slave of all impurity. After a time he left his
father's house, and hired a miserable lodging, where he took up his
abode. And how do you suppose he earned his living? Why, partly by
strolling about the town and singing ballads, partly by receiving at
home fellows like himself, for purposes which I shall not now name. All
this time he was supposed to be cultivating his mind, and improving
his education; whereas, accomplished hypocrite! he was but throwing
a veil over his iniquities. Even in the wrestling school his manner
while anointing his body, and his attitudes, and his always choosing
to engage in wrestling with the stoutest and comeliest of the youths,
showed his detestable propensities. Such was his character during
his youthful days. Upon arriving at manhood, he threw off the mask,
and exhibited before the eyes of all the vices which hitherto he had
endeavoured to keep concealed.

"As he could no longer turn any other part of his body to account,
he determined thenceforth to exercise his tongue, and admirably has
he succeeded in sharpening it upon the whetstone of impurity,[17]
making his mouth the vehicle for shameless speech, pouring out its
torrents of abuse on every one, and having his effrontery stamped upon
his very face, he has gone the length (as you have seen) of coarsely
insulting in your presence an individual whom you have honoured with
the priesthood. Were I a stranger to you, and had not my life been
passed among you, I should deem it necessary to dwell upon my own
character, and that of my usual associates; but there is no occasion
for doing this. You well know how opposite has been my way of living
to the slanderous imputations which he has cast upon me. I therefore
pass on at once to his recent charges. I have set at liberty, he says,
a convicted criminal; and upon these grounds he proceeds to inveigh
bitterly against me, and applies to me the epithet of tyrant, and I
know not how many other hard words. Now a tyrant is one who oppresses
the innocent, not one who steps forward to defend the victim of false
accusation. What law, I demand, sanctioned your committing this young
man to prison? Before what tribunal had he been condemned? What judge
had pronounced his sentence? Granting the truth of every charge
advanced against him, he has at all events a right to a fair trial;
he has a right to be heard in his own defence; he has a right to be
legally convicted! If need be, let the law (which is supreme over all
alike,) imprison him; until it has altered its decrees not one of us
can claim authority over another. But if proceedings such as we have
seen, are to be countenanced, it would be advisable at once to close
the courts, to abolish the tribunals, to depose the magistrates. With
far greater justice may I retort against him the expressions which
he has employed respecting me. I may say, President, make way for
Thersander, for your presidentship is but an empty name,--it is he who
really exercises your powers; nay, more, exercises powers which you do
not possess. You have assessors, without whose concurrence you can pass
no sentence. You can exercise no authority except upon the judgment
seat; you cannot sit at home and condemn a man to chains and prisons.
This worshipful gentleman, however, is both judge and jury;[18] all
offices are, forsooth, concentrated in his single person; he makes
his house his court of justice; there he inflicts his punishments;
thence he issues his decrees and condemns a man to chains; and to
make matters yet better, he holds his court at night! [19] And what
is it which now finds employment for his lungs? 'You have set free,'
he says, 'a criminal condemned to death. ' I ask, What death? I ask,
What criminal? --for what crime condemned? 'For murder,' he replies. A
murderer! Where, then, is the murdered victim? She whom you declared to
have been done to death, stands before you alive and well. The charge,
therefore, at once falls to the ground, for you cannot consider this
maiden as an airy phantom, sent up by Pluto from the realms below! You
are yourself a murderer,--aye, and a double murderer. Her you have
slain by lying words; him you wished in reality to slay. I may add her
also; for we know of your doings in the country. The great goddess
Diana has, however, happily preserved them both, by delivering the
maiden from the hands of Sosthenes, and this young man from you. As
for Sosthenes, you have purposely got him out of the way, in order to
escape detection. Are you not ashamed to have your charges against
these strangers proved to be the vilest calumnies? What I have said
will have sufficed to clear myself; the defence of the strangers I
shall leave to others. "

An advocate of considerable reputation as an orator, and a member
of the senate, was about to address the court on behalf of me and
Melitta, when he was interrupted by one of Thersander's counsel, named
Sopater:--"Brother Nicostralus," said he, "I must claim the right of
being first heard against this adulterous couple; it will be your turn
to reply afterwards.

"What Thersander said related only to the priest, and scarcely
touched upon the case of the prisoner; and when I shall prove him to
be richly deserving of a two-fold death, then will be the time for
you to rebut my charges. " Then, stroking his chin, and with a great
flourish of words, he proceeded:--"We have listened to the buffoonery
of this priest, venting his scurrilous falsehoods against Thersander,
and endeavouring to turn against him the language so justly directed
against himself. Now, I maintain, that throughout Thersander has
adhered to truth; the priest has taken upon himself to liberate a
prisoner; he has received a harlot beneath his roof; he has been on
friendly terms with an adulterer. Not a word has he uttered against
Thersander but what savours of the vilest calumny, but if anything
especially becomes a priest, surely it is to keep a civil tongue
in his head,--and in saying this I am but borrowing his own words.
However, after edifying us with his wit and jests, he went on to adopt
a tragic strain, and bitterly inveighed against us for handcuffing an
adulterer, and sending him to prison. I wonder what it cost to kindle
in him this prodigious warmth of zeal? Methinks I can give a tolerably
shrewd guess. He has looked with a longing eye upon the features
of these two shameless guests of his; the wench is handsome, the
youth has a goodly countenance; both are well suited for the private
pleasures of a priest! Which of the two best served your turn? At any
rate you all slept together; you all got drunk together; and there
are no witnesses to depose how your nights were passed. I sadly fear
me that Diana's fane has been perverted into Aphrodite's temple! It
will furnish matter for future discussion whether you are fit to be
a priest. As to my client Thersander, every one knows that from his
earliest years he has been a pattern of sobriety and virtue; no sooner
was he arrived at manhood, than he contracted a marriage according to
the laws; his choice was indeed unfortunate, and trusting to her rank
and wealth, he found himself the husband of a wife very different from
what he had expected. There can be little doubt that she long ago went
astray, unknown to this most exemplary of men; it is plain enough that
latterly she has cast off all shame, and has indulged her disgraceful
propensities to the utmost. No sooner had her husband set out on a long
voyage than she thought it a favourable opportunity for indulging her
loose desires; and then it was that, unfortunately for her, she lighted
upon this 'masculine whore;'[20] a paramour who among women is a man,
and among men a woman.

"Not content to cohabit with him in impunity in a foreign land, she
must needs transport him with her over an extent of sea, and on the
voyage must needs take her lascivious sport in the sight of all the
passengers. O, shameless adultery, in which sea and land, had both
a share. Ο shameless adultery, prolonged even from Egypt to Ionia!
Generally, when women are guilty of adultery they confine themselves
to a single act, or if they repeat their crime, it is with every
precaution which may ensure concealment. In the present case, however,
she commits the sin by sound of trumpet, if I may so say. The adulterer
is known to every one in Ephesus, and she herself is not ashamed to
have brought him hither like so much merchandise; making an investment
in good looks, taking in a paramour by way of freight! She will say,
'I concluded my husband to be dead. ' 'In that case,' I reply, 'were
your husband dead, you would be free from criminality, for there would
then be no sufferer by the adulterous act, nor is any dishonour cast on
marriage if the husband is no longer in existence; but if the husband
be alive, the marriage bond is still in force, his rights over his wife
continue, and he has, by her criminality, suffered a grievous wrong. '"

Thersander here interrupted him, "It is needless to examine any one
by torture, as was formerly proposed. I offer two challenges: one to
this wife of mine, Melitta; the other to the pretended daughter of
this ambassador, who is lawfully my slave. " He then read aloud; "I
Thersander challenge Melitta and Leucippe (such I understand is the
strumpet's name) to submit to the following ordeal:--If the former,
as she asserts, has had no intercourse with this stranger during the
period of my absence, let her go unto the sacred fountain of the Styx,
declare her innocence upon oath, and then stand acquitted of any
further guilt. Let the latter, if free-born and no longer a maiden,
remain my slave, for the temple of the goddess affords sanctuary to
slaves alone; if, on the other hand, she asserts herself to be a
virgin, let her be shut into the cave of the syrinx. " We immediately
accepted this challenge, being already aware that it would be made.

Melitta, likewise conscious that nothing improper had taken place
during the actual absence of Thersander, said, "I accept the challenge;
and will here add, that during the period referred to I had criminal
intercourse with no one, whether foreigner or citizen; and I will ask
you," addressing Thersander, "to what penalty will you submit, provided
the charge prove groundless and calumnious? "--"I will submit to
whatever the law decrees," was his reply. The court then broke up, the
following day being appointed for the respective ordeals referred to in
the challenge. The following is the legend of the Stygian fountain:--

"There was once a beauteous maiden, named Rhodopis, whose supreme
delight was in the chase. She was swift of foot, unerring in her
aim; she wore a head-band, had her robe girt up to the knee, and her
hair short, after the fashion of men. Diana met her, bestowed many
commendations on her, and made her her companion in the chase. The
maiden bound herself by oath to observe perpetual virginity, to avoid
the company of men, and never to humiliate herself by submitting to
amorous indulgence. [21] Venus overheard the oath, and was incensed
at it, and determined to punish the damsel for her presumption.
There happened to be a youth of Ephesus, named Euthynicus, as much
distinguished among men for beauty as Rhodopis was among those of her
own sex. He was as ardently devoted to the chase as the maiden, and
like her was averse to the delights of love. One day when Diana was
absent, Venus contrived to make the game which they were following
run in the same direction; then addressing her archer son, she said,
'Do you see yon frigid and unloving pair, enemies to us and to our
mysteries? The maiden has even gone the length of registering an oath
against me! Do you see them both following a hind? Join the chase, and
begin by making an example of the maiden;--your arrows never miss. '
Both at the same moment bend their bows,--she against the hind, but
Cupid against her,--and both hit the mark, but the successful huntress
herself becomes a victim; her arrow pierces the shoulder of the deer,
but Cupid's shaft penetrates her heart, and the result of the wound was
love for Euthynicus. Cupid then aims a shaft at him, and with the same
effect. For a time they stand and gaze upon each other; their eyes are
fascinated; they cannot turn away;[22] gradually their inward wounds
become inflamed; the fire kindles,[23] and love urges their steps to
the cavern where now the fountain flows, and there they violate their
oath. [24] Diana soon after saw Venus laughing, and readily comprehended
what had taken place, and as a punishment changed the maiden into a
fountain, upon the spot where her chastity was lost. For this reason,
when any female is suspected of impurity, she is made to step into
the fountain, which is shallow, reaching only to midleg, and then it
is that the ordeal takes place. The oath declarative of chastity is
written on a tablet, and suspended from her neck; if truly sworn, the
fountain remains unmoved; if falsely taken, it swells and rages, rises
to her neck, and flows over the tablet. "

Next morning a great concourse assembled, and at the head came
Thersander, with a confident expression of countenance, and looking at
us with a contemptuous smile. Leucippe was attired in a sacred robe
of fine white linen, reaching to the feet and girded about her waist;
round her head she had a purple fillet, and her feet were bare. She
entered the cavern with an air of becoming modesty. Upon seeing her
disappear within, I was overcome by agitation, and said mentally, "I
doubt not your chastity, dearest Leucippe, but I am afraid of Pan;
he is a virgin-loving god, and for aught I know, you may become a
second syrinx. His former mistress easily escaped him, for her course
lay over an open plain; whereas you are shut up within doors, and so
blockaded that flight is out of the question, however much you may
wish to fly. Ο Pan! be thou propitious; do not violate the statutes
of the place, which we have religiously observed; grant that Leucippe
may again return to us a virgin; remember thy compact with Diana, and
do no injury to the maiden. " While talking to myself in this manner,
sounds of music proceeded from the cavern, more ravishingly sweet, I
was assured, than had been heard on any former occasion: the doors
were immediately opened, and when Leucippe sprang forth, the multitude
shouted with delight, and vented execrations upon Thersander. What my
own feelings were, I cannot pretend to describe. After gaining this
first signal triumph, we left the spot, and proceeded to the place
which was to be the scene of the remaining ordeal, the people following
again to behold the spectacle. Everything was in readiness, the tablet
was suspended to Melitta's neck, and she descended into the shallow
fountain with a smiling countenance. No change was perceptible in the
water, which remained perfectly still, and did not in the slightest
degree exceed its usual depth, and at the expiration of the allotted
time the president came forward, and taking Melitta by the hand,
conducted her out of the fountain. Thersander, already twice defeated,
and surely anticipating a third defeat, took to his heels and fled to
his own house, fearing that the people would, in their fury, stone him.
His apprehensions were well founded, for some young men were seen at a
distance dragging Sosthenes along; two of them were Melitta's kinsmen,
and the others were servants, whom she had despatched in quest of him.
Thersander had caught sight of him, and feeling sure that when put to
the torture he would confess everything, he secretly left the city,
as soon as night came on. Sosthenes was committed to prison by order
of the magistrates, and we returned triumphant upon every point, and
accompanied by the shouts and good wishes of the people.

Next morning they whose business it was[25] conducted Sosthenes before
the magistrates. Aware that he was about to be put to the question, he
made a full confession of everything, stating how far Thersander had
been the prime agent, and how far he had himself assisted in carrying
out his schemes! nor did he omit to repeat the conversation which had
taken place between his master and him before the cottage-door. He
was sent back to prison there to await his sentence, and a decree of
banishment was pronounced against Thersander. When this business was
concluded, we again returned to the hospitable dwelling of the priest,
and while at supper resumed the subject of our former conversation,
mutually relating any incidents which had previously been omitted.
Leucippe, now that the purity of her character was fully established,
no longer stood in awe of her father, but took pleasure in narrating
the events which had befallen her. When she came to that part of her
story which referred to Pharos and the pirates, I requested her to give
us every particular about them, and especially to explain the riddle of
the severed head, as this alone was wanting to complete the history of
her adventures. "The recital will interest us all," I said, "especially
your father. "

"The unhappy female to whom you allude," replied Leucippe, "was one of
that class who sell their charms for money. She was inveigled on board,
under pretence of becoming the wife of a sea captain, and remained
there in ignorance of the real cause for which she had been brought,
passing her time in the company of one of the pirates, who pretended
to have a passion for her. When I was seized, they placed me, as you
saw, in a boat, and rowed off with all their might; and afterwards
when they perceived that the vessel despatched in pursuit was gaining
upon them, they stripped the wretched woman of her clothes, which they
put on me, making her dress herself in mine; then placing her at the
stern in sight of the pursuers, they cut off her head and cast the body
overboard, doing the same with the head, when the pursuit was given
up. Whether she had been brought on board for the above purpose, or in
order to be sold, as they afterwards told me, I cannot say; certain
it is that she was put to death by way of eluding the pursuers, the
pirates imagining that I should fetch more money as a slave than she
would do. It was this determination on their part which earned his
just reward for Chæreas, who had suggested the murder of the female in
place of me. The pirates refused to let him retain exclusive possession
of me, saying that on his account one woman had already been lost to
them, who would have been a source of gain. They proposed, therefore,
that I should be sold to make up the loss, and that the money should
be equally divided. He replied in an angry and threatening manner,
asserting his prior claims, and reminding them of their compact, and
that I had been carried off, not in order to be sold, but to be his
mistress. Upon this, one of the pirates came behind him, and dealt him
his measure of justice by striking off his head and flinging his body
into the sea,--a worthy requital of his perfidious conduct towards me.

"After two days' sail, the pirates put in at some place, the name of
which I do not know, where they sold me to a merchant who used to
traffic with them, and from his hands I passed into the possession of
Sosthenes. "

"My children," said Sostratus, when Leucippe had concluded, "I will
now relate what has happened to Calligone, for it is but fair that I
should contribute my share to the conversation. "[26] Upon hearing my
sister's name mentioned, I became all attention, and said, "Prithee,
sir, proceed; I shall rejoice to hear that she is still alive. " He
commenced by repeating what has already been mentioned respecting
Callisthenes, the oracle given to the Byzantians, the sacred embassy
sent to Tyre, and the stratagem for carrying off Calligone. He went on
to say: "Callisthenes discovered during the voyage that she was not my
daughter; but although matters had thus turned out quite contrary to
his intentions, he conceived a strong passion for his fair captive, and
throwing himself at her knees: 'Lady,' he said, 'do not imagine that I
am a corsair or a villain; I am of good birth, and second in rank to
none in Byzantium. It is Love who has compelled me to turn pirate, and
to employ this stratagem against you. Deign, therefore, to consider
me your slave from this day forth.