BOOK XIII.

Footnotes.[1]This is a blunder of Athenæus. Mars does not say this, but it is the observation made by the gods to each other.Ὧδε δέ τις εἴπεσκε ἰδὼν ἐς πλήσιον ἄλλον. Odys. viii. 328.[2]From κείρω, to cut and dress the hair.[3]Κόλαξ, a flatterer.[4]Πορφύρεος is a common epithet of death in Homer. Liddell and Scott say—"The first notion of πορφύρεος was probably of the troubled sea, υ. πορφύρω,"—and refer the use of it in this passage to the colour of the blood, unless it be = μέλας θάνατος.[5]The modern Palermo.[6]Iliad. i. 225.[7]Odyss. ii. 418.[8]Soph. Ant. 1169.[9]Εὐεργέτης, from εὖ, well; Κακεργέτης, from κακῶς, ill; and ἔργον, a work.[10]The artabe was equivalent to the Greek medimnus, which was a measure holding about twelve gallons.[11]Cacodæmonistæ, from κακὸς, bad, and δαίμων, a deity. Numeniastæ, from Νουμήνια, the Feast of the New Moon.

Footnotes.

[1]This is a blunder of Athenæus. Mars does not say this, but it is the observation made by the gods to each other.Ὧδε δέ τις εἴπεσκε ἰδὼν ἐς πλήσιον ἄλλον. Odys. viii. 328.

[1]This is a blunder of Athenæus. Mars does not say this, but it is the observation made by the gods to each other.

Ὧδε δέ τις εἴπεσκε ἰδὼν ἐς πλήσιον ἄλλον. Odys. viii. 328.

[2]From κείρω, to cut and dress the hair.

[3]Κόλαξ, a flatterer.

[4]Πορφύρεος is a common epithet of death in Homer. Liddell and Scott say—"The first notion of πορφύρεος was probably of the troubled sea, υ. πορφύρω,"—and refer the use of it in this passage to the colour of the blood, unless it be = μέλας θάνατος.

[5]The modern Palermo.

[6]Iliad. i. 225.

[7]Odyss. ii. 418.

[8]Soph. Ant. 1169.

[9]Εὐεργέτης, from εὖ, well; Κακεργέτης, from κακῶς, ill; and ἔργον, a work.

[10]The artabe was equivalent to the Greek medimnus, which was a measure holding about twelve gallons.

[11]Cacodæmonistæ, from κακὸς, bad, and δαίμων, a deity. Numeniastæ, from Νουμήνια, the Feast of the New Moon.

LACEDÆMONIAN MARRIAGES.

1.Antiphanesthe comic writer, my friend Timocrates, when he was reading one of his own comedies to Alexander the king, and when it was plain that the king did not think much of it, said to him, "The fact is, O king, that a man who is to appreciate this play, ought to have often supped at picnic feasts, and must have often borne and inflictedblows in the cause of courtesans," as Lycophron the Chalcidian relates in his treatise on Comedy. And accordingly we, who are now about to set out a discussion on amatory matters, (for there was a good deal of conversation about married women and about courtesans,) saying what we have to say to people who understand the subject, invoking the Muse Erato to be so good as to impress anew on our memory that amatory catalogue, will make our commencement from this point—

Come now, O Erato, and tell me truly

what it was that was said by the different guests about love and about amatory matters.

2. For our admirable host, praising the married women, said that Hermippus stated in his book about lawgivers, that at Lacedæmon all the damsels used to be shut up in a dark room, while a number of unmarried young men were shut up with them; and whichever girl each of the young men caught hold of he led away as his wife, without a dowry. On which account they punished Lysander, because he left his former wife, and wished to marry another who was by far more beautiful. But Clearchus the Solensian, in his treatise on Proverbs, says,—"In Lacedæmon the women, on a certain festival, drag the unmarried men to an altar, and then buffet them; in order that, for the purpose of avoiding the insult of such treatment, they may become more affectionate, and in due season may turn their thoughts to marriage. But at Athens, Cecrops was the first person who married a man to one wife only, when before his time connexions had taken place at random, and men had had their wives in common. On which account it was, as some people state, that Cecrops was called διφυὴς,[12]because before his time people did not know who their fathers were, by reason of the numbers of men who might have been so."

And beginning in this manner, one might fairly blame those who attributed to Socrates two wives, Xanthippe and Myrto, the daughter of Aristides; not of that Aristides who was surnamed the Just, (for the time does not agree,) but of his descendant in the third generation. And the men who made this statement are Callisthenes, and Demetrius Phalereus, and Satyrus the Peripatetic, and Aristoxenus; who were preceded in it by Aristotle, who relates the same story in histreatise on Nobleness of Birth. Unless perhaps this licence was allowed by a decree at that time on account of the scarcity of men, so that any one who pleased might have two wives; to which it must be owing that the comic poets make no mention of this fact, though they very often mention Socrates. And Hieronymus of Rhodes has cited the decree about wives; which I will send to you, since I have the book. But Panætius the Rhodian has contradicted those who make this statement about the wives of Socrates.

HERCULES.

3. But among the Persians the queen tolerates the king's having a number of concubines, because there the king rules his wife like her master; and also because the queen, as Dinon states in his history of Persia, receives a great deal of respect from the concubines. At all events they offer her adoration. And Priam, too, had a great many women, and Hecuba was not indignant. Accordingly, Priam says—

Yet what a race! ere Greece to Ilion came,The pledge of many a loved and loving dame.Nineteen one mother bore—dead, all are dead![13]

Yet what a race! ere Greece to Ilion came,

The pledge of many a loved and loving dame.

Nineteen one mother bore—dead, all are dead![13]

But among the Greeks, the mother of Phœnix does not tolerate the concubine of Amyntor. And Medea, although well acquainted with the fashion, as one well established among the barbarians, refuses to tolerate the marriage of Glauce, having been forsooth already initiated in better and Greek habits. And Clytæmnestra, being exceedingly indignant at a similar provocation, slays Cassandra with Agamemnon himself, whom the monarch brought with him into Greece, having given in to the fashion of barbarian marriages. "And a man may wonder," says Aristotle, "that Homer has nowhere in the Iliad represented any concubine as living with Menelaus, though he has given wives to every one else. And accordingly, in Homer, even old men sleep with women, such as Nestor and Phœnix. For these men were not worn out or disabled in the time of their youth, either by intoxication, or by too much indulgence in love; or by any weakness of digestion engendered by gluttony; so that it was natural for them to be still vigorous in old age. The king of Sparta, then, appears to have too much respect for his wedded wife Helena, on whose account he collected all the Grecian army; and on this account he keeps aloof from anyother connexion. But Agamemnon is reproached by Thersites, as a man with many wives—

'Tis thine, whate'er the warrior's breast inflames, The golden spoil, and thine the lovely dames; With all the wealth our wars and blood bestow, Thy tents are crowded and thy chests o'erflow.[14]

"But it is not natural," says Aristotle, "to suppose that all that multitude of female slaves were given to him as concubines, but only as prizes; since he also provided himself with a great quantity of wine,—but not for the purpose of getting drunk himself."

4. But Hercules is the man who appears to have had more wives than any one else, for he was very much addicted to women; and he had them in turn, like a soldier, and a man employed at different times in different countries. And by them he had also a great multitude of children. For, in one week, as Herodorus relates, he relieved the fifty daughters of Thestias of their virginity. Ægeus also was a man of many wives. For, first of all he married the daughter of Hoples, and after her he married one of the daughters of Chalcodous, and giving both of them to his friends, he cohabited with a great many without marriage. Afterwards he took Æthra, the daughter of Pittheus; after her he took Medea. And Theseus, having attempted to ravish Helen, after that carried off Ariadne. Accordingly Istrus, in the fourteenth book of his History of the Affairs of Athens, giving a catalogue of those women who became the wives of Theseus, says that some of them became so out of love, and that some were carried off by force, and some were married in legal marriage. Now by force were ravished Helen, Ariadne, Hippolyta, and the daughters of Cercyon and Sinis; and he legally married Melibœa, the mother of Ajax. And Hesiod says that he married also Hippe and Ægle; on account of whom he broke the oaths which he had sworn to Ariadne, as Cercops tells us. And Pherecydes adds Pherebœa. And before ravishing Helen he had also carried off Anaxo from Troy; and after Hippolyta he also had Phædra.

5. And Philip the Macedonian did not take any women with him to his wars, as Darius did, whose power was subverted by Alexander. For heused to take about with him three hundred and fifty concubines in all his wars; as Dicæearchus relates in the third book of his Life in Greece. "But Philip," says he, "was always marrying new wives in war time. For, in the twenty-two years which he reigned, as Satyrus relates in his History of his Life, having married Audata the Illyrian, he had by her a daughter named Cynna; and he also married Phila, a sister of Derdas and Machatas. And wishing to conciliate the nation of the Thessalians, he had children by two Thessalian women; one of whom was Nicesipolis of Pheræ, who brought him a daughter named Thessalonica; and the other was Philenora of Larissa, by whom he had Aridæus. He also acquired the kingdom of the Molossi, when he married Olympias, by whom he had Alexander and Cleopatra. And when he subdued Thrace, there came to him Cithelas, the king of the Thracians, bringing with him Meda his daughter, and many presents: and having married her, he added her to Olympias. And after all these, being violently in love, he married Cleopatra, the sister of Hippostratus and niece of Attalus. And bringing her also home to Olympias, he made all his life unquiet and troubled. For, as soon as this marriage took place, Attalus said, 'Now, indeed, legitimate kings shall be born, and not bastards.' And Alexander having heard this, smote Attalus with a goblet which he had in his hand; and Attalus in return struck him with his cup. And after that Olympias fled to the Molossi; and Alexander fled to the Illyrians. And Cleopatra bore to Philip a daughter who was named Europa."

Euripides the poet, also, was much addicted to women: at all events Hieronymus in his Historical Commentaries speaks as follows,—"When some one told Sophocles that Euripides was a woman-hater, 'He may be,' said he, 'in his tragedies, but in his bed he is very fond of women.'"

6. But our married women are not such as Eubulus speaks of in his Female Garland-sellers—

By Jove, we are not painted with vermilion.Nor with dark mulberry juice, as you are often:And then, if in the summer you go out,Two rivulets of dark discoloured hueFlow from your eyes, and sweat drops from your jaws,And makes a scarlet furrow down your neck;And the light hair, which wantons o'er your face,Seems grey, so thickly is it plastered over.

By Jove, we are not painted with vermilion.

Nor with dark mulberry juice, as you are often:

And then, if in the summer you go out,

Two rivulets of dark discoloured hue

Flow from your eyes, and sweat drops from your jaws,

And makes a scarlet furrow down your neck;

And the light hair, which wantons o'er your face,

Seems grey, so thickly is it plastered over.

RAPACITY OF COURTESANS.

And Anaxilas, in his Neottis, says—

The man whoe'er has loved a courtesan,Will say that no more lawless worthless raceCan anywhere be found: for what ferociousUnsociable she-dragon, what Chimæra,Though it breathe fire from its mouth, what Charybdis,What three-headed Scylla, dog o' the sea,Or hydra, sphinx, or raging lioness,Or viper, or winged harpy (greedy race),Could go beyond those most accursed harlots?There is no monster greater. They aloneSurpass all other evils put together.And let us now consider them in order:—First there is Plangon; she, like a chimæra,Scorches the wretched barbarians with fire;One knight alone was found to rid the world of her,Who, like a brave man, stole her furnitureAnd fled, and she despairing, disappear'd.Then for Sinope's friends, may I not sayThat 'tis a hydra they cohabit with?For she is old: but near her age, and like her,Greedy Gnathæna flaunts, a two-fold evil.And as for Nannion, in what, I pray,Does she from Scylla differ? Has she notAlready swallow'd up two lovers, andOpen'd her greedy jaws t' enfold a third?But he with prosp'rous oar escaped the gulf.Then does not Phryne beat Charybdis hollow?Who swallows the sea-captains, ship and all.Is not Theano a mere Siren pluck'd?Their face and voice are woman's, but their legsAre feather'd like a blackbird's. Take the lot,'Tis not too much to call them Theban Sphinxes.For they speak nothing plain, but only riddles;And in enigmas tell their victims howThey love and dote, and long to be caress'd."Would that I had a quadruped," says one,That may serve for a bed or easy chair"Would that I had a tripod"—"Or a biped,"That is, a handmaid. And the hapless foolWho understands these hints, like Œdipus,If saved at all is saved against his will.But they who do believe they're really lovedAre much elated, and raise their heads to heaven.And in a word, of all the beasts on earthThe direst and most treacherous is a harlot.

The man whoe'er has loved a courtesan,

Will say that no more lawless worthless race

Can anywhere be found: for what ferocious

Unsociable she-dragon, what Chimæra,

Though it breathe fire from its mouth, what Charybdis,

What three-headed Scylla, dog o' the sea,

Or hydra, sphinx, or raging lioness,

Or viper, or winged harpy (greedy race),

Could go beyond those most accursed harlots?

There is no monster greater. They alone

Surpass all other evils put together.

And let us now consider them in order:—

First there is Plangon; she, like a chimæra,

Scorches the wretched barbarians with fire;

One knight alone was found to rid the world of her,

Who, like a brave man, stole her furniture

And fled, and she despairing, disappear'd.

Then for Sinope's friends, may I not say

That 'tis a hydra they cohabit with?

For she is old: but near her age, and like her,

Greedy Gnathæna flaunts, a two-fold evil.

And as for Nannion, in what, I pray,

Does she from Scylla differ? Has she not

Already swallow'd up two lovers, and

Open'd her greedy jaws t' enfold a third?

But he with prosp'rous oar escaped the gulf.

Then does not Phryne beat Charybdis hollow?

Who swallows the sea-captains, ship and all.

Is not Theano a mere Siren pluck'd?

Their face and voice are woman's, but their legs

Are feather'd like a blackbird's. Take the lot,

'Tis not too much to call them Theban Sphinxes.

For they speak nothing plain, but only riddles;

And in enigmas tell their victims how

They love and dote, and long to be caress'd.

"Would that I had a quadruped," says one,

That may serve for a bed or easy chair

"Would that I had a tripod"—"Or a biped,"

That is, a handmaid. And the hapless fool

Who understands these hints, like Œdipus,

If saved at all is saved against his will.

But they who do believe they're really loved

Are much elated, and raise their heads to heaven.

And in a word, of all the beasts on earth

The direst and most treacherous is a harlot.

7. After Laurentius had said all this, Leonidas, finding fault with the name of wife (γαμετὴ), quoted these verses out of the Soothsayers of Alexis—

Oh wretched are we husbands, who have soldAll liberty of life, all luxury,And live as slaves of women, not as freemen.We say we have a dowry; do we notEndure the penalty, full of female bile,Compared to which the bile of man's pure honey?For men, though injured, pardon: but the womenFirst injure us, and then reproach us more;They rule those whom they should not; those they shouldThey constantly neglect. They falsely swear;They have no single hardship, no disease;And yet they are complaining without end.

Oh wretched are we husbands, who have sold

All liberty of life, all luxury,

And live as slaves of women, not as freemen.

We say we have a dowry; do we not

Endure the penalty, full of female bile,

Compared to which the bile of man's pure honey?

For men, though injured, pardon: but the women

First injure us, and then reproach us more;

They rule those whom they should not; those they should

They constantly neglect. They falsely swear;

They have no single hardship, no disease;

And yet they are complaining without end.

And Xenarchus, in his Sleep, says—

Are then the grasshoppers not happy, say you?When they have wives who cannot speak a word.

Are then the grasshoppers not happy, say you?

When they have wives who cannot speak a word.

And Philetærus, in his Corinthiast, says—

O Jupiter, how soft and bland an eyeThe lady has! 'Tis not for nothing weBehold the temple of Hetæra here;But there is not one temple to a wifeThroughout the whole of Greece.

O Jupiter, how soft and bland an eye

The lady has! 'Tis not for nothing we

Behold the temple of Hetæra here;

But there is not one temple to a wife

Throughout the whole of Greece.

And Amphis says in his Athamas—

Is not a courtesan much more good-humour'dThan any wedded wife? No doubt she is,And 'tis but natural; for she, by law,Thinks she's a right to sulk and stay at home:But well the other knows that 'tis her mannersBy which alone she can retain her friends;And if they fail, she must seek out some others.

Is not a courtesan much more good-humour'd

Than any wedded wife? No doubt she is,

And 'tis but natural; for she, by law,

Thinks she's a right to sulk and stay at home:

But well the other knows that 'tis her manners

By which alone she can retain her friends;

And if they fail, she must seek out some others.

8. And Eubulus, in his Chrysille, says—

May that man, fool as he is, who marriesA second wife, most miserably perish;Him who weds one, I will not blame too much,For he knew little of the ills he courted.But well the widower had proved allThe ills which are in wedlock and in wives.

May that man, fool as he is, who marries

A second wife, most miserably perish;

Him who weds one, I will not blame too much,

For he knew little of the ills he courted.

But well the widower had proved all

The ills which are in wedlock and in wives.

And a little further on he says—

O holy Jove, may I be quite undone,If e'er I say a word against the women,The choicest of all creatures. And supposeMedea was a termagant,—what then?Was not Penelope a noble creature?If one should say, "Just think of Clytæmnestra,"I meet him with Alcestis chaste and true.Perhaps he'll turn and say no good of Phædra;But think of virtuous . . . who? . . . Alas, alas!I cannot recollect another good one,Though I could still count bad ones up by scores.

O holy Jove, may I be quite undone,

If e'er I say a word against the women,

The choicest of all creatures. And suppose

Medea was a termagant,—what then?

Was not Penelope a noble creature?

If one should say, "Just think of Clytæmnestra,"

I meet him with Alcestis chaste and true.

Perhaps he'll turn and say no good of Phædra;

But think of virtuous . . . who? . . . Alas, alas!

I cannot recollect another good one,

Though I could still count bad ones up by scores.

FOLLY OF MARRYING.

And Aristophon, in his Callonides, says—

May he be quite undone, he well deserves it,Who dares to marry any second wife;A man who marries once may be excused;Not knowing what misfortune he was seeking.But he who, once escaped, then tries another,With his eyes open seeks for misery.

May he be quite undone, he well deserves it,

Who dares to marry any second wife;

A man who marries once may be excused;

Not knowing what misfortune he was seeking.

But he who, once escaped, then tries another,

With his eyes open seeks for misery.

And Antiphanes, in his Philopator, says—

A.He's married now.B.How say you? do you meanHe's really gone and married—when I left him,Alive and well, possess'd of all his senses?

A.He's married now.

B.How say you? do you mean

He's really gone and married—when I left him,

Alive and well, possess'd of all his senses?

And Menander, in his Woman carrying the Sacred Vessel of Minerva, or the Female Flute-player, says—

A.You will not marry if you're in your sensesWhen you have left this life. For I myselfDid marry; so I recommend you not to.B.The matter is decided—the die is cast.A.Go on then. I do wish you then well over it;But you are taking arms, with no good reason,Against a sea of troubles. In the wavesOf the deep Libyan or Ægean seaScarce three of thirty ships are lost or wreck'd;But scarcely one poor husband 'scapes at all.

A.You will not marry if you're in your senses

When you have left this life. For I myself

Did marry; so I recommend you not to.

B.The matter is decided—the die is cast.

A.Go on then. I do wish you then well over it;

But you are taking arms, with no good reason,

Against a sea of troubles. In the waves

Of the deep Libyan or Ægean sea

Scarce three of thirty ships are lost or wreck'd;

But scarcely one poor husband 'scapes at all.

And in his Woman Burnt he says—

Oh, may the man be totally undoneWho was the first to venture on a wife;And then the next who follow'd his example;And then the third, and fourth, and all who follow'd.

Oh, may the man be totally undone

Who was the first to venture on a wife;

And then the next who follow'd his example;

And then the third, and fourth, and all who follow'd.

And Carcinus the tragedian, in his Semele (which begins, "O nights"), says—

O Jupiter, why need one waste one's wordsIn speaking ill of women? for what worseCan he add, when he once has call'd them women?

O Jupiter, why need one waste one's words

In speaking ill of women? for what worse

Can he add, when he once has call'd them women?

9. But, above all other cases, those who when advanced in years marry young wives, do not perceive that they are running voluntarily into danger, which every one else foresees plainly: and that, too, though the Megarian poet[15]has given them this warning:—

A young wife suits not with an aged husband;For she will not obey the pilot's helmLike a well-managed boat; nor can the anchorHold her securely in her port, but oftShe breaks her chains and cables in the night,And headlong drives into another harbour.

A young wife suits not with an aged husband;

For she will not obey the pilot's helm

Like a well-managed boat; nor can the anchor

Hold her securely in her port, but oft

She breaks her chains and cables in the night,

And headlong drives into another harbour.

And Theophilus, in his Neoptolemus, says—

A young wife does not suit an old man well;For, like a crazy boat, she not at allAnswers the helm, but slips her cable offBy night, and in some other port is found.

A young wife does not suit an old man well;

For, like a crazy boat, she not at all

Answers the helm, but slips her cable off

By night, and in some other port is found.

10. And I do not think that any of you are ignorant, my friends, that the greatest wars have taken place on account of women:—the Trojan war on account of Helen; the plague which took place in it was on account of Chryseis; the anger of Achilles was excited about Briseis; and the war called the Sacred War, on account of another wife (as Duris relates in the second book of his History), who was a Theban by birth, by name Theano, and who was carried off by some Phocian. And this war also lasted ten years, and in the tenth year was brought to an end by the cooperation of Philip; for by his aid the Thebans took Phocis.

The war, also, which is called the Crissæan War (as Callisthenes tells us in his account of the Sacred War), when the Crissæans made war upon the Phocians, lasted ten years; and it was excited on this account,—because the Crissæans carried off Megisto, the daughter of Pelagon the Phocian, and the daughters of the Argives, as they were returning from the Pythian temple: and in the tenth year Crissa was taken. And whole families also have been ruined owing to women;—for instance, that of Philip, the father of Alexander, was ruined on account of his marriage with Cleopatra; and Hercules was ruined by his marriage with Iole, the daughter of Eurytus; and Theseus on account of his marriage with Phædra, the daughter of Minos; and Athamas on account of his marriage with Themisto, the daughter of Hypseus; and Jason on account of his marriage with Glauce, the daughter of Creon; and Agamemnon on account of Cassandra. And the expedition of Cambyses against Egypt (as Ctesias relates) took place on account of a woman; for Cambyses, having heard that Egyptian women were far more amorous than other women, sent to Amasis the king of the Egyptians, asking him for one of his daughters in marriage. But he did not give him one of his own daughters, thinking that she would not be honoured as a wife, but only treated as a concubine; but he sent him Nitetis, the daughter of Apries.

LOVE.

And Apries had been deposed from the sovereignty of Egypt, because of the defeats which had been received by him from the Cyreneans; and afterwards he had been put to death by Amasis. Accordingly, Cambyses, being much pleased with Nitetis, and being very violently in love with her, learns the whole circumstances of the case from her; and she entreated him to avenge the murder of Apries, and persuaded him to make war upon the Egyptians. But Dinon, in his History of Persia, and Lynceas of Naucratis, in the third book of his History of Egypt, say that it was Cyrus to whom Nitetis was sent by Amasis; and that she was the mother of Cambyses, who made this expedition against Egypt to avenge the wrongs of his mother and her family. But Duris the Samian says that the first war carried on by two women was that between Olympias and Eurydice; in which Olympias advanced something in the manner of a Bacchanalian, with drums beating; but Eurydice came forward armed like a Macedonian soldier, having been already accustomed to war and military habits at the court of Cynnane the Illyrian.

11. Now, after this conversation, it seemed good to the philosophers who were present to say something themselves about love and about beauty: and so a great many philosophical sentiments were uttered; among which, some quoted some of the songs of the dramatic philosopher, Euripides,—some of which were these:—

Love, who is wisdom's pupil gay,To virtue often leads the way:And this great godIs of all others far the best for man;For with his gentle nodHe bids them hope, and banishes all pain.May I be ne'er mixed up with those who scornTo own his power, and live forlorn,Cherishing habits all uncouth.I bid the youthOf my dear country ne'er to flee from Love,But welcome him, and willing subjects prove.[16]

Love, who is wisdom's pupil gay,

To virtue often leads the way:

And this great god

Is of all others far the best for man;

For with his gentle nod

He bids them hope, and banishes all pain.

May I be ne'er mixed up with those who scorn

To own his power, and live forlorn,

Cherishing habits all uncouth.

I bid the youth

Of my dear country ne'er to flee from Love,

But welcome him, and willing subjects prove.[16]

And some one else quoted from Pindar—

Let it be my fate always to love,And to obey Love's will in proper season.

Let it be my fate always to love,

And to obey Love's will in proper season.

And some one else added the following lines from Euripides—

But you, O mighty Love, of gods and menThe sovereign ruler, either bid what's fairTo seem no longer fair; or else bring aidTo hapless lovers whom you've caused to love,And aid the labours you yourself have prompted.If you do this, the gods will honour you;But if you keep aloof, you will not evenRetain the gratitude which now they feelFor having learnt of you the way to love.[17]

But you, O mighty Love, of gods and men

The sovereign ruler, either bid what's fair

To seem no longer fair; or else bring aid

To hapless lovers whom you've caused to love,

And aid the labours you yourself have prompted.

If you do this, the gods will honour you;

But if you keep aloof, you will not even

Retain the gratitude which now they feel

For having learnt of you the way to love.[17]

12. And Pontianus said that Zeno the Cittiæan thought that Love was the God of Friendship and Liberty, and also that he was the great author of concord among men; but that he had no other office. On which account, he says in his Polity, that Love is a God, being one who cooperates in securing the safety of the city. And the philosophers, also, who preceded him considered Love a venerable Deity, removed from everything discreditable: and this is plain from their having set up holy statues in his honour in their Gymnasia, along with those of Mercury and Hercules—the one of whom is the patron of eloquence, and the other of valour. And when these are united, friendship and unanimity are engendered; by means of which the most perfect liberty is secured to those who excel in these practices. But the Athenians were so far from thinking that Love presided over the gratification of the mere sensual appetites, that, though the Academy was manifestly consecrated to Minerva, they yet erected in that place also a statue of Love, and sacrificed to it.

LOVE.

The Thespians also celebrate Erotidia, or festivals of Love, just as the Athenians do Athenæa, or festivals of Minerva, and as the Eleans celebrate the Olympian festivals, and the Rhodians the Halæan. And in the public sacrifices, everywhere almost, Love is honoured. And the Lacedæmonians offer sacrifices to Love before they go to battle, thinking that safety and victory depend on the friendship of those who stand side by side in the battle array. And the Cretans, in their line of battle, adorn the handsomest of their citizens, and employ them to offer sacrifices to Love on behalf of the state, as Sosicrates relates. And the regiment among the Thebans which is called the Sacred Band, is wholly composed of mutual lovers, indicating the majesty of the God, as these men prefer a glorious death to a shameful and discreditable life. But the Samians (as Erxias says, in his History of Colophon), having consecrated a gymnasium to Love, called the festival which was instituted in his honour the Eleutheria, or Feast of Liberty; and it was owing to this God, too, that the Athenians obtained their freedom. And the Pisistratidæ, after their banishment, were the first people who ever endeavoured to throw discredit on the events which took place through his influence.

13. After this had been said, Plutarch cited the following passage from the Phædrus of Alexis:—

As I was coming from Piræus lately,In great perplexity and sad distress,I fell to thoughts of deep philosophy.And first I thought that all the painters seemIgnorant of the real nature of Love;And so do all the other artists too,Whoe'er make statues of this deity:For he is neither male nor female either;Again, he is not God, nor yet is he man:He is not foolish, nor yet is he wise;But he's made up of all kinds of quality,And underneath one form bears many natures.His courage is a man's; his cowardiceA very woman's. Then his folly isPure madness, but his wisdom a philosopher's;His vehemence is that of a wild beast,But his endurance is like adamant;His jealousy equals any other god's.And I, indeed,—by all the gods I swear,—Do not myself precisely understand him;But still he much resembles my description,Excepting in the name.

As I was coming from Piræus lately,

In great perplexity and sad distress,

I fell to thoughts of deep philosophy.

And first I thought that all the painters seem

Ignorant of the real nature of Love;

And so do all the other artists too,

Whoe'er make statues of this deity:

For he is neither male nor female either;

Again, he is not God, nor yet is he man:

He is not foolish, nor yet is he wise;

But he's made up of all kinds of quality,

And underneath one form bears many natures.

His courage is a man's; his cowardice

A very woman's. Then his folly is

Pure madness, but his wisdom a philosopher's;

His vehemence is that of a wild beast,

But his endurance is like adamant;

His jealousy equals any other god's.

And I, indeed,—by all the gods I swear,—

Do not myself precisely understand him;

But still he much resembles my description,

Excepting in the name.

And Eubulus, or Ararus, in his Campylion, says—

What man was he, what modeller or painter,Who first did represent young Love as wing'd?He was a man fit only to draw swallows.Quite ignorant of the character of the god.For he's not light, nor easy for a manWho's once by him been master'd, to shake off;But he's a heavy and tenacious master.How, then, can he be spoken of as wing'd?The man's a fool who such a thing could say.

What man was he, what modeller or painter,

Who first did represent young Love as wing'd?

He was a man fit only to draw swallows.

Quite ignorant of the character of the god.

For he's not light, nor easy for a man

Who's once by him been master'd, to shake off;

But he's a heavy and tenacious master.

How, then, can he be spoken of as wing'd?

The man's a fool who such a thing could say.

And Alexis, in his Man Lamenting, says—

For this opinion is by all the SophistsEmbraced, that Love is not a winged god;But that the winged parties are the lovers,And that he falsely bears this imputation:So that it is out of pure ignoranceThat painters clothe this deity with wings.

For this opinion is by all the Sophists

Embraced, that Love is not a winged god;

But that the winged parties are the lovers,

And that he falsely bears this imputation:

So that it is out of pure ignorance

That painters clothe this deity with wings.

14. And Theophrastus, in his book on Love, says that Chæremon the tragedian said in one of his plays, that—

As wine adapts itself to the constitutionOf those who drink it, so likewise does LoveWho, when he's moderately worshipp'd,Is mild and manageable; but if loosedFrom moderation, then is fierce and troublesome.

As wine adapts itself to the constitution

Of those who drink it, so likewise does Love

Who, when he's moderately worshipp'd,

Is mild and manageable; but if loosed

From moderation, then is fierce and troublesome.

On which account the same poet afterwards, distinguishing his powers with some felicity, says—

For he doth bend a double bow of beauty,And sometimes men to fortune leads,But sometimes overwhelms their livesWith trouble and confusion.[18]

For he doth bend a double bow of beauty,

And sometimes men to fortune leads,

But sometimes overwhelms their lives

With trouble and confusion.[18]

But the same poet also, in his play entitled The Wounded Man, speaks of people in love in this manner:—

Who would not say that those who love aloneDeserve to be consider'd living men?For first of all they must be skilful soldiers,And able to endure great toil of body,And to stick close to th' objects of their love:They must be active, and inventive too,Eager, and fertile in expedients,And prompt to see their way in difficulties.

Who would not say that those who love alone

Deserve to be consider'd living men?

For first of all they must be skilful soldiers,

And able to endure great toil of body,

And to stick close to th' objects of their love:

They must be active, and inventive too,

Eager, and fertile in expedients,

And prompt to see their way in difficulties.

LOVE.

And Theophilus, in his Man fond of the Flute, says—

Who says that lovers are devoid of sense?He is himself no better than a fool:For if you take away from life its pleasures,You leave it nothing but impending death.And I myself am now indeed in loveWith a fair maiden playing on the harp;And tell me, pray, am I a fool for that?She's fair, she's tall, she's skilful in her art;And I'm more glad when I see her, than youWhen you divide your salaries among you.

Who says that lovers are devoid of sense?

He is himself no better than a fool:

For if you take away from life its pleasures,

You leave it nothing but impending death.

And I myself am now indeed in love

With a fair maiden playing on the harp;

And tell me, pray, am I a fool for that?

She's fair, she's tall, she's skilful in her art;

And I'm more glad when I see her, than you

When you divide your salaries among you.

But Aristophon, in his Pythagorean, says—

Now, is not Love deservedly cast outFrom his place among the twelve immortal gods?For he did sow the seeds of great confusion,And quarrels dire, among that heavenly band,When he was one of them. And, as he wasBold and impertinent, they clipp'd his wings,That he might never soar again to heaven;And then they banished him to us below;And for the wings which he did boast before,Them they did give to Victory, a spoilWell won, and splendid, from her enemy.

Now, is not Love deservedly cast out

From his place among the twelve immortal gods?

For he did sow the seeds of great confusion,

And quarrels dire, among that heavenly band,

When he was one of them. And, as he was

Bold and impertinent, they clipp'd his wings,

That he might never soar again to heaven;

And then they banished him to us below;

And for the wings which he did boast before,

Them they did give to Victory, a spoil

Well won, and splendid, from her enemy.

Amphis, too, in his Dithyrambic, speaks thus of loving—

What say'st thou?—dost thou think that all your wordsCould e'er persuade me that that man's a loverWho falls in love with a girl's manners only,And never thinks what kind of face she's got?I call him mad; nor can I e'er believeThat a poor man, who often sees a rich one,Forbears to covet some of his great riches.

What say'st thou?—dost thou think that all your words

Could e'er persuade me that that man's a lover

Who falls in love with a girl's manners only,

And never thinks what kind of face she's got?

I call him mad; nor can I e'er believe

That a poor man, who often sees a rich one,

Forbears to covet some of his great riches.

But Alexis says in his Helena—

The man who falls in love with beauty's flower,And taketh heed of nothing else, may beA lover of pleasure, but not of his love;And he does openly disparage Love,And causes him to be suspect to others.

The man who falls in love with beauty's flower,

And taketh heed of nothing else, may be

A lover of pleasure, but not of his love;

And he does openly disparage Love,

And causes him to be suspect to others.

15. Myrtilus, having cited these lines of Alexis, and then looking round on the men who were partisans of the Stoic school, having first recited the following passage out of the lambics of Hermeas the Curian—

Listen, you Stoiclings, traffickers in nonsense,Punners on words,—gluttons, who by yourselvesEat up the whole of what is in the dishes,And give no single bit to a philosopher.Besides, you are most clearly proved to doAll that is contrary to those professionsWhich you so pompously parade abroad,Hunting for beauty;—

Listen, you Stoiclings, traffickers in nonsense,

Punners on words,—gluttons, who by yourselves

Eat up the whole of what is in the dishes,

And give no single bit to a philosopher.

Besides, you are most clearly proved to do

All that is contrary to those professions

Which you so pompously parade abroad,

Hunting for beauty;—

went on to say,—And in this point alone you are imitators of the master of your school, Zeno the Phœnician, who was always a slave to the most infamous passions (as Antigonus the Carystian relates, in his History of his Life); for you are always saying that "the proper object of love is not the body, but the mind;" you who say at the same time, that you ought to remain faithful to the objects of your love, till they are eight-and-twenty years of age. And Ariston of Ceos, the Peripatetic, appears to me to have said very well (in the second book of his treatise on Likenesses connected with Love), to some Athenian who was very tall for his age, and at the same time was boasting of his beauty, (and his name was Dorus,) "It seems to me that one may very well apply to you the line which Ulysses uttered when he met Dolon—

Great was thy aim, and mighty is the prize.[19]

16. But Hegesander, in his Commentaries, says that all men love seasoned dishes, but not plain meats, or plainly dressed fish. And accordingly, when seasoned dishes are wanting, no one willingly eats either meat or fish; nor does any one desire meat which is raw and unseasoned. For anciently men used to love boys (as Aristophon relates); on which account it came to pass that the objects of their love were called παιδικά. And it was with truth (as Clearchus says in the first book of his treatise on Love and the Affairs of Love) that Lycophronides said—

No boy, no maid with golden ornaments,No woman with a deep and ample robe,Is so much beautiful as modest; for'Tis modesty that gives the bloom to beauty.

No boy, no maid with golden ornaments,

No woman with a deep and ample robe,

Is so much beautiful as modest; for

'Tis modesty that gives the bloom to beauty.

And Aristotle said that lovers look at no other part of the objects of their affection, but only at their eyes, in which modesty makes her abode. And Sophocles somewhere represents Hippodamia as speaking of the beauty of Pelops, and saying—

And in his eyes the charm which love compelsShines forth a light, embellishing his face:He glows himself, and he makes me glow too,Measuring my eyes with his,—as any builderMakes his work correspond to his careful rule.[20]

And in his eyes the charm which love compels

Shines forth a light, embellishing his face:

He glows himself, and he makes me glow too,

Measuring my eyes with his,—as any builder

Makes his work correspond to his careful rule.[20]

LOVE.

17. And Licymnius the Chian, saying that Somnus was in love with Endymion, represents him as refusing to close the eyes of the youth even when he is asleep; but the God sends his beloved object to sleep with his eyelids still open, so that he may not for a single momentbe deprived of the pleasure of contemplating them. And his words are these—

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