Chapter 7

But Somnus much delightedIn the bright beams which shot from his eyes,And lull'd the youth to sleep with unclosed lids.

But Somnus much delighted

In the bright beams which shot from his eyes,

And lull'd the youth to sleep with unclosed lids.

And Sappho says to a man who was admired above all measure for his beauty, and who was accounted very handsome indeed—

Stand opposite, my love,And open upon meThe beauteous grace which from your eyes doth flow.

Stand opposite, my love,

And open upon me

The beauteous grace which from your eyes doth flow.

And what says Anacreon?—

Oh, boy, as maiden fair,I fix my heart on you;But you despise my prayer,And little care that you do hold the reinsWhich my soul's course incessantly do guide.[21]

Oh, boy, as maiden fair,

I fix my heart on you;

But you despise my prayer,

And little care that you do hold the reins

Which my soul's course incessantly do guide.[21]

And the magnificent Pindar says—

The man who gazes on the brilliant raysWhich shoot from th' eyesOf beautiful Theoxenus, and yet can feel his heartUnmoved within his breast, nor yields to love,Must have a heartBlack, and composed of adamant or iron.[22]

The man who gazes on the brilliant rays

Which shoot from th' eyes

Of beautiful Theoxenus, and yet can feel his heart

Unmoved within his breast, nor yields to love,

Must have a heart

Black, and composed of adamant or iron.[22]

But the Cyclops of Philoxenus of Cythera, in love with Galatea, and praising her beauty, and prophesying, as it were, his own blindness, praises every part of her rather than mention her eyes, which he does not; speaking thus:—

O Galatea,Nymph with the beauteous face and golden hair,Whose voice the Graces tune,True flower of love, my beauteous Galatea.

O Galatea,

Nymph with the beauteous face and golden hair,

Whose voice the Graces tune,

True flower of love, my beauteous Galatea.

But this is but a blind panegyric, and not at all to be compared with the encomium of Ibycus:—

Beauteous Euryalus, of all the GracesThe choicest branch,—object of love to allThe fair-hair'd maidens,—sure the soft-eyed goddess,The Cyprian queen, and soft PersuasionCombin'd to nourish you on beds of roses.

Beauteous Euryalus, of all the Graces

The choicest branch,—object of love to all

The fair-hair'd maidens,—sure the soft-eyed goddess,

The Cyprian queen, and soft Persuasion

Combin'd to nourish you on beds of roses.

And Phrynichus said of Troilus—

The light of love shines in his purple cheeks.

18. But you prefer having all the objects of your love shaved and hairless. And this custom of shaving the beard originated in the age of Alexander, as Chrysippus tells us in the fourth book of his treatise on The Beautiful and on Pleasure. And I think it will not be unseasonable if I quote what he says; for he is an author of whom I am very fond, on account of his great learning and his gentle good-humoured disposition. And this is the language of the philosopher:—"The custom of shaving the beard was introduced in the time of Alexander, for the people in earlier times did not practise it; and Timotheus the flute-player used to play on the flute having a very long beard. And at Athens they even now remember that the man who first shaved his chin, (and he is not a very ancient man indeed,) was given the surname of Κόρσης;[23]on which account Alexis says—

Do you see any man whose beard has beenRemoved by sharp pitch-plasters or by razors?In one of these two ways he may be spoken of:Either he seems to me to think of war,And so to be rehearsing acts of fierceHostility against his beard and chin;Or else he's some complaint of wealthy men.For how, I pray you, do your beards annoy you?—Beards by which best you may be known as men?Unless, indeed, you're planning now some deedUnworthy of the character of men.

Do you see any man whose beard has been

Removed by sharp pitch-plasters or by razors?

In one of these two ways he may be spoken of:

Either he seems to me to think of war,

And so to be rehearsing acts of fierce

Hostility against his beard and chin;

Or else he's some complaint of wealthy men.

For how, I pray you, do your beards annoy you?—

Beards by which best you may be known as men?

Unless, indeed, you're planning now some deed

Unworthy of the character of men.

And Diogenes, when he saw some one once whose chin was smooth, said, 'I am afraid you think you have great ground to accuse nature, for having made you a man and not a woman.' And once, when he saw another man, riding a horse, who was shaved in the same manner, and perfumed all over, and clothed, too, in a fashion corresponding to those particulars, he said that he had often asked what a Ἱππόπορνος was; and now he had found out. And at Rhodes, though there is a law against shaving, still no one ever prosecutes another for doing so, as the whole population is shaved. And at Byzantium, though there is a penalty to which any barber is liable who is possessed of a razor, still every one uses a razor none the less for that law." And this is the statement of the admirable Chrysippus.

BEAUTY.

19. But that wise Zeno, as Antigonus the Carystian says, speaking, as it should seem, almost prophetically of the lives and professeddiscipline of your sect, said that "those who misunderstood and failed rightly to enter into the spirit of his words, would become dirty and ungentlemanlike-looking; just as those who adopted Aristippus's sect, but perverted his precepts, became intemperate and shameless." And the greater portion of you are such as that, men with contracted brows, and dirty clothes, sordid not only in your dispositions, but also in your appearance. For, wishing to assume the character of independence and frugality, you are found at the gate of covetousness, living sordidly, clothed in scanty cloaks, filling the soles of your shoes with nails, and giving hard names to any one who uses the very smallest quantity of perfume, or who is dressed in apparel which is at all delicate. But men of your sect have no business to be attracted by money, or to lead about the objects of their love with their beards shaved and smooth, who follow you about the Lyceum—

Thin, starved philosophers, as dry as leather,

as Antiphanes calls them.

20. But I am a great admirer of beauty myself. For, in the contests [at Athens] for the prize of manliness, they select the handsomest, and give them the post of honour to bear the sacred vessels at the festivals of the gods. And at Elis there is a contest as to beauty, and the conqueror has the vessels of the goddess given to him to carry; and the next handsomest has the ox to lead, and the third places the sacrificial cakes on the head of the victim. But Heraclides Lembus relates that in Sparta the handsomest man and the handsomest woman have special honours conferred on them; and Sparta is famous for producing the handsomest women in the world. On which account they tell a story of king Archidamus, that when one wife was offered to him who was very handsome, and another who was ugly but rich, and he chose the rich one, the Ephori imposed a fine upon him, saying that he had preferred begetting kinglings rather than kings for the Spartans. And Euripides has said—

Her very mien is worthy of a kingdom.[24]

And in Homer, the old men among the people marvelling at the beauty of Helen, are represented as speaking thus to one another—

They cried, "No wonder such celestial charmsFor nine long years have set the world in arms;—What winning graces! what majestic mien!She moves a goddess, and she looks a queen."[25]

They cried, "No wonder such celestial charms

For nine long years have set the world in arms;—

What winning graces! what majestic mien!

She moves a goddess, and she looks a queen."[25]

And even Priam himself is moved at the beauty of the woman, though he is in great distress. And also he admires Agamemnon for his beauty, and uses the following language respecting him—

Say, what Greek is heAround whose brow such martial graces shine,—So tall, so awful, and almost divine?Though some of larger stature tread the green,None match his grandeur and exalted mien.[26]

Say, what Greek is he

Around whose brow such martial graces shine,—

So tall, so awful, and almost divine?

Though some of larger stature tread the green,

None match his grandeur and exalted mien.[26]

And many nations have made the handsomest men their kings on that account. As even to this day that Æthiopian tribe called the Immortals does; as Bion relates in his History of the Affairs of Æthiopia. For, as it would seem, they consider beauty as the especial attribute of kings. And goddesses have contended with one another respecting beauty; and it was on account of his beauty that the gods carried off Ganymede to be their cup-bearer—

The matchless Ganymede, divinely fair,Whom Heaven, enamour'd, snatch'd to upper air.[27]

The matchless Ganymede, divinely fair,

Whom Heaven, enamour'd, snatch'd to upper air.[27]

And who are they whom the goddesses have carried off? are they not the handsomest of men? And they cohabit with them; as Aurora does with Cephalus and Clitus and Tithonus; and Ceres with Jason; and Venus with Anchises and Adonis. And it was for the sake of beauty also that the greatest of the gods entered through a roof under the form of gold, and became a bull, and often transformed himself into a winged eagle, as he did in the case of Ægina. And Socrates the philosopher, who despised everything, was, for all that, subdued by the beauty of Alcibiades; as also was the venerable Aristotle by the beauty of his pupil Phaselites. And do not we too, even in the case of inanimate things, prefer what is the most beautiful? The fashion, too, of Sparta is much praised, I mean that of displaying their virgins naked to their guests; and in the island of Chios it is a beautiful sight to go to the gymnasia and the race-courses, and to see the young men wrestling naked with the maidens, who are also naked.

BEAUTY.

21. And Cynulcus said:—And do you dare to talk in this way, you who are not "rosy-fingered," as Cratinus says, but who have one foot made of cow-dung? and do you bring up again the recollection of that poet your namesake, who spends all his time in cookshops and inns? although Isocrates the orator has said, in his Areopagitic Oration, "But not one of their servants ever would have ventured to eat or drink in a cookshop; for they studied to keep up the dignity of their appearance, and not to behave like buffoons." And Hyperides, in his oration against Patrocles, (if, at least, the speech is a genuine one,) says that they forbade a man who had dined at a cookshop from going up to the Areopagus. But you, you sophist, spend your time in cookshops, not with your friends (ἑταίρων), but with prostitutes (ἑταιρῶν), having a lot of pimps and procuresses about you, and always carrying about these books of Aristophanes, and Apollodorus, and Ammonius, and Antiphanes, and also of Gorgias the Athenian, who have all written about the prostitutes at Athens.

Oh, what a learned man you are! how far are you from imitating Theomandrus of Cyrene, who, as Theophrastus, in his treatise on Happiness, says, used to go about and profess that he gave lessons in prosperity. You, you teacher of love, are in no respect better than Amasis of Elis, whom Theophrastus, in his treatise on Love, says was extraordinarily addicted to amatory pursuits. And a man will not be much out who calls you a πορνογράφος, just as they call Aristides and Pausanias and Nicophanes ζωγράφοι. And Polemo mentions them, as painting the subjects which they did paint exceedingly well, in his treatise on the Pictures at Sicyon. Think, my friends, of the great and varied learning of this grammarian, who does not conceal what he means, but openly quotes the verses of Eubulus, in his Cercopes—

I came to Corinth; there I ate with pleasureSome herb called basil (ocimum), and was ruin'd by it;And also, trifling there, I lost my cloak.

I came to Corinth; there I ate with pleasure

Some herb called basil (ocimum), and was ruin'd by it;

And also, trifling there, I lost my cloak.

And the Corinthian sophist is very fine here, explaining to his pupils that Ocimum is the name of a harlot. And a great many other plays also, you impudent fellow, derived their names from courtesans. There is the Thalassa of Diodes, the Corianno of Pherecrates, the Antea of Eunicus or Philyllus, the Thais, and the Phanion of Menander, the Opora ofAlexis, the Clepsydra of Eubulus—and the woman who bore this name, had it because she used to distribute her company by the hour-glass, and to dismiss her visitors when it had run down; as Asclepiades, the son of Areas, relates in his History of Demetrius Phalereus; and he says that her proper name was Meticha.

22. There is a courtesan . . . . .

(as Antiphanes says in his Clown)—

. . . who is a positiveCalamity and ruin to her keeper;And yet he's glad at nourishing such a pest.

. . . who is a positive

Calamity and ruin to her keeper;

And yet he's glad at nourishing such a pest.

On which account, in the Neæra of Timocles, a man is represented as lamenting his fate, and saying—

But I, unhappy man, who first loved PhryneWhen she was but a gatherer of capers,And was not quite as rich as now she is,—I who such sums of money spent upon her,Am now excluded from her doors.

But I, unhappy man, who first loved Phryne

When she was but a gatherer of capers,

And was not quite as rich as now she is,—

I who such sums of money spent upon her,

Am now excluded from her doors.

And in the play entitled Orestantoclides, the same Timocles says—

And round the wretched man old women sleep,Nannium and Plangon, Lyca, Phryne too,Gnathæna, Pythionica, Myrrhina,Chrysis, Conallis, Hieroclea, andLapadium also.

And round the wretched man old women sleep,

Nannium and Plangon, Lyca, Phryne too,

Gnathæna, Pythionica, Myrrhina,

Chrysis, Conallis, Hieroclea, and

Lapadium also.

And these courtesans are mentioned by Amphis, in his Curis, where he says—

Wealth truly seems to me to be quite blind,Since he ne'er ventures near this woman's doors,But haunts Sinope, Nannium, and Lyca,And others like them, traps of men's existence,And in their houses sits like one amazed,And ne'er departs.

Wealth truly seems to me to be quite blind,

Since he ne'er ventures near this woman's doors,

But haunts Sinope, Nannium, and Lyca,

And others like them, traps of men's existence,

And in their houses sits like one amazed,

And ne'er departs.

COURTESANS.

23. And Alexis, in the drama entitled Isostasium, thus describes the equipment of a courtesan, and the artifices which some women use to make themselves up—

For, first of all, to earn themselves much gain,And better to plunder all the neighbouring men,They use a heap of adventitious aids.—They plot to take in every one. And when,By subtle artifice, they've made some money,They enlist fresh girls, and add recruits, who ne'erHave tried the trade, unto their cunning troop,And drill them so that they are very soonDifferent in manners, and in look, and semblanceFrom all they were before. Suppose one's short—They put cork soles within the heels of her shoes:Is any one too tall—she wears a slipperOf thinnest substance, and, with head depress'dBetween the shoulders, walks the public streets,And so takes off from her superfluous height.Is any one too lean about the flank—They hoop her with a bustle, so that allWho see her marvel at her fair proportions.Has any one too prominent a stomach—They crown it with false breasts, such as perchanceAt times you may in comic actors see;And what is still too prominent, they forceBack, ramming it as if with scaffolding.Has any one red eyebrows—those they smearWith soot. Has any one a dark complexion—White-lead will that correct. This girl's too fair—They rub her well with rich vermilion.Is she a splendid figure—then her charmsAre shown in naked beauty to the purchaser.Has she good teeth—then she is forced to laugh,That all the bystanders may see her mouth,How beautiful it is; and if she beBut ill-inclined to laugh, then she is keptClose within doors whole days, and all the thingsWhich cooks keep by them when they sell goats' heads,Such as a stick of myrrh, she's forced to keepBetween her lips, till they have learnt the shapeOf the required grin. And by such artsThey make their charms and persons up for market.

For, first of all, to earn themselves much gain,

And better to plunder all the neighbouring men,

They use a heap of adventitious aids.—

They plot to take in every one. And when,

By subtle artifice, they've made some money,

They enlist fresh girls, and add recruits, who ne'er

Have tried the trade, unto their cunning troop,

And drill them so that they are very soon

Different in manners, and in look, and semblance

From all they were before. Suppose one's short—

They put cork soles within the heels of her shoes:

Is any one too tall—she wears a slipper

Of thinnest substance, and, with head depress'd

Between the shoulders, walks the public streets,

And so takes off from her superfluous height.

Is any one too lean about the flank—

They hoop her with a bustle, so that all

Who see her marvel at her fair proportions.

Has any one too prominent a stomach—

They crown it with false breasts, such as perchance

At times you may in comic actors see;

And what is still too prominent, they force

Back, ramming it as if with scaffolding.

Has any one red eyebrows—those they smear

With soot. Has any one a dark complexion—

White-lead will that correct. This girl's too fair—

They rub her well with rich vermilion.

Is she a splendid figure—then her charms

Are shown in naked beauty to the purchaser.

Has she good teeth—then she is forced to laugh,

That all the bystanders may see her mouth,

How beautiful it is; and if she be

But ill-inclined to laugh, then she is kept

Close within doors whole days, and all the things

Which cooks keep by them when they sell goats' heads,

Such as a stick of myrrh, she's forced to keep

Between her lips, till they have learnt the shape

Of the required grin. And by such arts

They make their charms and persons up for market.

24. And therefore I advise you, my Thessalian friend with the handsome chairs, to be content to embrace the women in the brothels, and not to spend the inheritance of your children on vanities. For, truly, the lame man gets on best at this sort of work; since your father, the boot-maker, did not lecture you and teach you any great deal, and did not confine you to looking at leather. Or do you not know those women, as we find them called in the Pannuchis of Eubulus—

Thrifty decoys, who gather in the money,—Fillies well-train'd of Venus, standing nakedIn long array, clad in transparent robesOf thinnest web, like the fair damsels whomEridanus waters with his holy stream;From whom, with safety and frugality,You may buy pleasure at a moderate cost.

Thrifty decoys, who gather in the money,—

Fillies well-train'd of Venus, standing naked

In long array, clad in transparent robes

Of thinnest web, like the fair damsels whom

Eridanus waters with his holy stream;

From whom, with safety and frugality,

You may buy pleasure at a moderate cost.

And in his Nannium, (the play under this name is the work of Eubulus, and not of Philippides)—

For he who secretly goes hunting forIllicit love, must surely of all menMost miserable be; and yet he maySee in the light of the sun a willing rowOf naked damsels, standing all array'dIn robes transparent, like the damsels whomEridanus waters with his holy stream,And buy some pleasure at a trifling rate,Without pursuing joys he's bound to hide,(There is no heavier calamity,)Just out of wantonness and not for love.I do bewail the fate of hapless Greece,Which sent forth such an admiral as Cydias.

For he who secretly goes hunting for

Illicit love, must surely of all men

Most miserable be; and yet he may

See in the light of the sun a willing row

Of naked damsels, standing all array'd

In robes transparent, like the damsels whom

Eridanus waters with his holy stream,

And buy some pleasure at a trifling rate,

Without pursuing joys he's bound to hide,

(There is no heavier calamity,)

Just out of wantonness and not for love.

I do bewail the fate of hapless Greece,

Which sent forth such an admiral as Cydias.

Xenarchus also, in his Pentathlum, reproaches those men who live as you do, and who fix their hearts on extravagant courtesans, and on freeborn women; in the following lines—

It is a terrible, yes a terrible andIntolerable evil, what the youngMen do throughout this city. For althoughThere are most beauteous damsels in the brothels,Which any man may see standing all willingIn the full light of day, with open bosoms,Showing their naked charms, all of a row,Marshall'd in order; and though they may chooseWithout the slightest trouble, as they fancy,Thin, stout, or round, tall, wrinkled, or smooth-faced,Young, old, or middle-aged, or elderly,So that they need not clamber up a ladder,Nor steal through windows out of free men's houses,Nor smuggle themselves in in bags of chaff;For these gay girls will ravish you by force,And drag you in to them; if old, they'll call youTheir dear papa; if young, their darling baby:And these a man may fearlessly and cheaplyAmuse himself with, morning, noon, or night,And any way he pleases; but the othersHe dares not gaze on openly nor look at,But, fearing, trembling, shivering, with his heart,As men say, in his mouth, he creeps towards them.And how can they, O sea-born mistress mine,Immortal Venus! act as well they ought,E'en when they have the opportunity,If any thought of Draco's laws comes o'er them?

It is a terrible, yes a terrible and

Intolerable evil, what the young

Men do throughout this city. For although

There are most beauteous damsels in the brothels,

Which any man may see standing all willing

In the full light of day, with open bosoms,

Showing their naked charms, all of a row,

Marshall'd in order; and though they may choose

Without the slightest trouble, as they fancy,

Thin, stout, or round, tall, wrinkled, or smooth-faced,

Young, old, or middle-aged, or elderly,

So that they need not clamber up a ladder,

Nor steal through windows out of free men's houses,

Nor smuggle themselves in in bags of chaff;

For these gay girls will ravish you by force,

And drag you in to them; if old, they'll call you

Their dear papa; if young, their darling baby:

And these a man may fearlessly and cheaply

Amuse himself with, morning, noon, or night,

And any way he pleases; but the others

He dares not gaze on openly nor look at,

But, fearing, trembling, shivering, with his heart,

As men say, in his mouth, he creeps towards them.

And how can they, O sea-born mistress mine,

Immortal Venus! act as well they ought,

E'en when they have the opportunity,

If any thought of Draco's laws comes o'er them?

COURTESANS.

25. And Philemon, in his Brothers, relates that Solon at first, on account of the unbridled passions of the young, made a law that women might be brought to be prostituted at brothels; as Nicander of Colophon also states, in the third book of his History of the Affairs ofColophon,—saying that he first erected a temple to the Public Venus with the money which was earned by the women who were prostituted at these brothels.

But Philemon speaks on this subject as follows:—

But you did well for every man, O Solon;For they do say you were the first to seeThe justice of a public-spirited measure,The saviour of the state—(and it is fitFor me to utter this avowal, Solon);—You, seeing that the state was full of men,Young, and possess'd of all the natural appetites,And wandering in their lusts where they'd no business,Bought women, and in certain spots did place them,Common to be, and ready for all comers.They naked stand: look well at them, my youth,—Do not deceive yourself; a'nt you well off?You're ready, so are they: the door is open—The price an obol: enter straight—there isNo nonsense here, no cheat or trickery;But do just what you like, and how you like.You're off: wish her good-bye; she's no more claim on you.

But you did well for every man, O Solon;

For they do say you were the first to see

The justice of a public-spirited measure,

The saviour of the state—(and it is fit

For me to utter this avowal, Solon);—

You, seeing that the state was full of men,

Young, and possess'd of all the natural appetites,

And wandering in their lusts where they'd no business,

Bought women, and in certain spots did place them,

Common to be, and ready for all comers.

They naked stand: look well at them, my youth,—

Do not deceive yourself; a'nt you well off?

You're ready, so are they: the door is open—

The price an obol: enter straight—there is

No nonsense here, no cheat or trickery;

But do just what you like, and how you like.

You're off: wish her good-bye; she's no more claim on you.

And Aspasia, the friend of Socrates, imported great numbers of beautiful women, and Greece was entirely filled with her courtesans; as that witty writer Aristophanes (in his Acharnenses[28]) relates,—saying, that the Peloponnesian war was excited by Pericles, on account of his love for Aspasia, and on account of the girls who had been carried away from her by the Megarians.

For some young men, drunk with the cottabusGoing to Megara, carry off by stealthA harlot named Simætha. Then the citizensOf Megara, full of grief and indignation,Stole in return two of Aspasia's girls;And this was the beginning of the warWhich devastated Greece, for three lewd women.

For some young men, drunk with the cottabus

Going to Megara, carry off by stealth

A harlot named Simætha. Then the citizens

Of Megara, full of grief and indignation,

Stole in return two of Aspasia's girls;

And this was the beginning of the war

Which devastated Greece, for three lewd women.

26. I therefore, my most learned grammarian, warn you to beware of the courtesans who want a high price, because

You may see other damsels play the flute,All playing th' air of Phœbus, or of Jove;But these play no air save the air of the hawk,

You may see other damsels play the flute,

All playing th' air of Phœbus, or of Jove;

But these play no air save the air of the hawk,

as Epicrates says in his Anti-Lais; in which play he also uses the following expressions concerning the celebrated Lais:—

But this fair Lais is both drunk and lazy,

And cares for nothing, save what she may eat

And drink all day. And she, as I do think,Has the same fate the eagles have; for they,When they are young, down from the mountains stoop,Ravage the flocks and eat the timid hares,Bearing their prey aloft with fearful might.But when they're old, on temple tops they perch,Hungry and helpless; and the soothsayersTurn such a sight into a prodigy.And so might Lais well be thought an omen;For when she was a maiden, young and fresh,She was quite savage with her wondrous riches;And you might easier get access toThe satrap Pharnabazus. But at present,Now that she's more advanced in years, and ageHas meddled with her body's round proportions,'Tis easy both to see her and to scorn her.Now she runs everywhere to get some drink;She'll take a stater—aye, or a triobolus;She will admit you, young or old; and isBecome so tame, so utterly subdued,That she will take the money from your hand.

And drink all day. And she, as I do think,

Has the same fate the eagles have; for they,

When they are young, down from the mountains stoop,

Ravage the flocks and eat the timid hares,

Bearing their prey aloft with fearful might.

But when they're old, on temple tops they perch,

Hungry and helpless; and the soothsayers

Turn such a sight into a prodigy.

And so might Lais well be thought an omen;

For when she was a maiden, young and fresh,

She was quite savage with her wondrous riches;

And you might easier get access to

The satrap Pharnabazus. But at present,

Now that she's more advanced in years, and age

Has meddled with her body's round proportions,

'Tis easy both to see her and to scorn her.

Now she runs everywhere to get some drink;

She'll take a stater—aye, or a triobolus;

She will admit you, young or old; and is

Become so tame, so utterly subdued,

That she will take the money from your hand.

Anaxandrides also, in his Old-Man's Madness, mentions Lais, and includes her with many other courtesans in a list which he gives in the following lines:—

A.You know Corinthian Lais?B.To be sure;My countrywoman.A.Well, she had a friend,By name Anthea.B.Yes; I knew her well.A.Well, in those days Lagisca was in beauty;Theolyta, too, was wondrous fair to see,And seemed likely to be fairer still;And Ocimon was beautiful as any.

A.You know Corinthian Lais?

B.To be sure;

My countrywoman.

A.Well, she had a friend,

By name Anthea.

B.Yes; I knew her well.

A.Well, in those days Lagisca was in beauty;

Theolyta, too, was wondrous fair to see,

And seemed likely to be fairer still;

And Ocimon was beautiful as any.

27. This, then, is the advice I want to give you, my friend Myrtilus; and, as we read in the Cynegis of Philetærus,—

Now you are old, reform those ways of yours;Know you not that 'tis hardly well to dieIn the embraces of a prostitute,As men do say Phormisius perished?

Now you are old, reform those ways of yours;

Know you not that 'tis hardly well to die

In the embraces of a prostitute,

As men do say Phormisius perished?

Or do you think that delightful which Timocles speaks of in his Marathonian Women?—

HETÆRÆ.

How great the difference whether you pass the nightWith a lawful wife or with a prostitute!Bah! Where's the firmness of the flesh, the freshnessOf breath and of complexion? Oh, ye gods!What appetite it gives one not to findEverything waiting, but to be constrain'dTo struggle a little, and from tender handsTo bear soft blows and bullets; that, indeed,Is really pleasure.

How great the difference whether you pass the night

With a lawful wife or with a prostitute!

Bah! Where's the firmness of the flesh, the freshness

Of breath and of complexion? Oh, ye gods!

What appetite it gives one not to find

Everything waiting, but to be constrain'd

To struggle a little, and from tender hands

To bear soft blows and bullets; that, indeed,

Is really pleasure.

And as Cynulcus had still a good deal which he wished to say, and as Magnus was preparing to attack him for the sake of Myrtilus,—Myrtilus, being beforehand with him (for he hated the Syrian), said—

But our hopes were not so clean worn out,As to need aid from bitter enemies;

But our hopes were not so clean worn out,

As to need aid from bitter enemies;

as Callimachus says. For are not we, O Cynulcus, able to defend ourselves?

How rude you are, and boorish with your jokes!Your tongue is all on the left side of your mouth;

How rude you are, and boorish with your jokes!

Your tongue is all on the left side of your mouth;

as Ephippus says in his Philyra. For you seem to me to be one of those men

Who of the Muses learnt but ill-shaped letters,

as some one of the parody writers has it.

28. I therefore, my friends and messmates, have not, as is said in the Auræ of Metagenes, or in the Mammacythus of Aristagoras,

Told you of female dancers, courtesansWho once were fair; and now I do not tell youOf flute-playing girls, just reaching womanhood,Who not unwillingly, for adequate pay,Have borne the love of vulgar men;

Told you of female dancers, courtesans

Who once were fair; and now I do not tell you

Of flute-playing girls, just reaching womanhood,

Who not unwillingly, for adequate pay,

Have borne the love of vulgar men;

but I have been speaking of regular professional Hetæræ—that is to say, of those who are able to preserve a friendship free from trickery; whom Cynulcus does not venture to speak ill of, and who of all women are the only ones who have derived their name from friendship, or from that goddess who is named by the Athenians Venus Hetæra: concerning whom Apollodorus the Athenian speaks, in his treatise on the Gods, in the following manner:—"And they worship Venus Hetæra, who brings together male and female companions (ἑταίρους καὶ ἑταίρας)—that is to say, mistresses." Accordingly, even to this day, freeborn women and maidens call their associates and friends their ἑταῖραι; as Sappho does, where she says—

And now with tuneful voice I'll singThese pleasing songs to my companions (ἑταίραις).

And now with tuneful voice I'll sing

These pleasing songs to my companions (ἑταίραις).

And in another place she says—

Niobe and Latona were of oldAffectionate companions (ἑταῖραι) to each other.

Niobe and Latona were of old

Affectionate companions (ἑταῖραι) to each other.

They also call women who prostitute themselves for money, ἑταῖραι. And the verb which they use for prostituting oneself for money is ἑταιρέω, not regarding the etymology of the word, but applying a more decent term to the trade; as Menander, in his Deposit, distinguishing the ἑταῖροι from the ἑταῖραι, says—

You've done an act not suited to companions (ἑταίρωv),But, by Jove, far more fit for courtesans (ἑταιρῶν),These words, so near the same, do make the senseNot always easily to be distinguished.

You've done an act not suited to companions (ἑταίρωv),

But, by Jove, far more fit for courtesans (ἑταιρῶν),

These words, so near the same, do make the sense

Not always easily to be distinguished.

29. But concerning courtesans, Ephippus, in his Merchandise, speaks as follows:—

And then if, when we enter through their doors,They see that we are out of sorts at all,They flatter us and soothe us, kiss us gently,Not pressing hard as though our lips were enemies,But with soft open kisses like a sparrow;They sing, and comfort us, and make us cheerful,And straightway banish all our care and grief,And make our faces bright again with smiles.

And then if, when we enter through their doors,

They see that we are out of sorts at all,

They flatter us and soothe us, kiss us gently,

Not pressing hard as though our lips were enemies,

But with soft open kisses like a sparrow;

They sing, and comfort us, and make us cheerful,

And straightway banish all our care and grief,

And make our faces bright again with smiles.

And Eubulus, in his Campylion, introducing a courtesan of modest deportment, says—

How modestly she sat the while at supper!Not like the rest, who make great balls of leeks,And stuff their cheeks with them, and loudly crunchWithin their jaws large lumps of greasy meat;But delicately tasting of each dish,In mouthfuls small, like a Milesian maiden.

How modestly she sat the while at supper!

Not like the rest, who make great balls of leeks,

And stuff their cheeks with them, and loudly crunch

Within their jaws large lumps of greasy meat;

But delicately tasting of each dish,

In mouthfuls small, like a Milesian maiden.

And Antiphanes says in his Hydra—

But he, the man of whom I now was speaking,Seeing a woman who lived near his house,A courtesan, did fall at once in love with her;She was a citizen, without a guardianOr any near relations, and her mannersPure, and on virtue's strictest model form'd,A genuine mistress (ἑταῖρα); for the rest of the crewBring into disrepute, by their vile manners,A name which in itself has nothing wrong.

But he, the man of whom I now was speaking,

Seeing a woman who lived near his house,

A courtesan, did fall at once in love with her;

She was a citizen, without a guardian

Or any near relations, and her manners

Pure, and on virtue's strictest model form'd,

A genuine mistress (ἑταῖρα); for the rest of the crew

Bring into disrepute, by their vile manners,

A name which in itself has nothing wrong.

And Anaxilas, in his Neottis, says—

HETÆRÆ.

A.But if a woman does at all times useFair, moderate language, giving her servicesFavourable to all who stand in need of her,She from her prompt companionship (ἑταιρίας) does earnThe title of companion (ἑταῖρα); and you,As you say rightly, have not fall'n in loveWith a vile harlot (πόρνη), but with a companion (ἑταῖρα).Is she not one of pure and simple manners?B.At all events, by Jove, she's beautiful.

A.But if a woman does at all times use

Fair, moderate language, giving her services

Favourable to all who stand in need of her,

She from her prompt companionship (ἑταιρίας) does earn

The title of companion (ἑταῖρα); and you,

As you say rightly, have not fall'n in love

With a vile harlot (πόρνη), but with a companion (ἑταῖρα).

Is she not one of pure and simple manners?

B.At all events, by Jove, she's beautiful.

30. But that systematic debaucher of youths of yours, is such a person as Alexis, or Antiphanes, represents him, in his Sleep—

On this account, that profligate, when suppingWith us, will never eat an onion even,Not to annoy the object of his love.

On this account, that profligate, when supping

With us, will never eat an onion even,

Not to annoy the object of his love.

And Ephippus has spoken very well of people of that description in his Sappho, where he says—

For when one in the flower of his ageLearns to sneak into other men's abodes,And shares of meals where he has not contributed,He must some other mode of payment mean.

For when one in the flower of his age

Learns to sneak into other men's abodes,

And shares of meals where he has not contributed,

He must some other mode of payment mean.

And Æschines the orator has said something of the same kind in his Speech against Timarchus.

31. But concerning courtesans, Philetærus, in his Huntress, has the following lines:—

'Tis not for nothing that where'er we goWe find a temple of Hetæra there,But nowhere one to any wedded wife.

'Tis not for nothing that where'er we go

We find a temple of Hetæra there,

But nowhere one to any wedded wife.

I know, too, that there is a festival called the Hetæridia, which is celebrated in Magnesia, not owing to the courtesans, but to another cause, which is mentioned by Hegesander in his Commentaries, who writes thus:—"The Magnesians celebrate a festival called Hetæridia; and they give this account of it: that originally Jason, the son of Æson, when he had collected the Argonauts, sacrificed to Jupiter Hetærias, and called the festival Hetæridia. And the Macedonian kings also celebrated the Hetæridia."

There is also a temple of Venus the Prostitute (πόρνη) at Abydus, as Pamphylus asserts:—"For when all the city was oppressed by slavery, the guards in the city, after a sacrifice on one occasion (as Cleanthus relates in his essays on Fables), having got intoxicated, took several courtesans; and one of these women, when she saw that the men were all fast asleep, taking the keys, got over the wall, and brought the news to the citizens of Abydus. And they, on this, immediately came in arms, and slew the guards, and made themselves masters of the walls, and recovered their freedom; and to show their gratitude to the prostitute they built a temple to Venus the Prostitute."

And Alexis the Samian, in the second book of his Samian Annals, says—"The Athenian prostitutes who followed Pericles when he laid siege to Samos, having made vast sums of money by their beauty, dedicated a statue of Venus at Samos, which some call Venus among the Reeds, and others Venus in the Marsh." And Eualces, in his History of the Affairs of Ephesus, says that there is at Ephesus also a temple to Venus the Courtesan (ἑταῖρα). And Clearchus, in the first book of his treatise on Amatory Matters, says—"Gyges the king of the Lydians was very celebrated, not only on account of his mistress while she was alive, having submitted himself and his whole dominions to her power, but also after she was dead; inasmuch as he assembled all the Lydians in the whole country, and raised that mound which is even now called the tomb of the Lydian Courtesan; building it up to a great height, so that when he was travelling in the country, inside of Mount Tmolus, wherever he was, he could always see the tomb; and it was a conspicuous object to all the inhabitants of Lydia." And Demosthenes the orator, in his Speech against Neæra (if it is a genuine one, which Apollodorus says it is), says—"Now we have courtesans for the sake of pleasure, but concubines for the sake of daily cohabitation, and wives for the purpose of having children legitimately, and of having a faithful guardian of all our household affairs."

32. I will now mention to you, O Cynulcus, an Ionian story (spinning it out, as Æschylus says,) about courtesans, beginning with the beautiful Corinth, since you have reproached me with having been a schoolmaster in that city.

It is an ancient custom at Corinth (as Chamæleon of Heraclea relates, in his treatise on Pindar), whenever the city addresses any supplication to Venus, about any important matter, to employ as many courtesans as possible to join in the supplication; and they, too, pray to the goddess, and afterwards they are present at the sacrifices. And when the king of Persia was leading his army against Greece (as Theopompus also relates, and so does Timæus, in his seventh book), the Corinthian courtesans offered prayers for the safety of Greece, going to the temple of Venus. On which account, after the Corinthians had consecrated a picture to the goddess (which remains even to this day), and as in this picture they had painted the portraits of the courtesans who made this supplication at the time, and who were present afterwards, Simonides composed this epigram:—

COURTESANS.

These damsels, in behalf of Greece, and allTheir gallant countrymen, stood nobly forth,Praying to Venus, the all-powerful goddess;Nor was the queen of beauty willing everTo leave the citadel of Greece to fallBeneath the arrows of the unwarlike Persians.

These damsels, in behalf of Greece, and all

Their gallant countrymen, stood nobly forth,

Praying to Venus, the all-powerful goddess;

Nor was the queen of beauty willing ever

To leave the citadel of Greece to fall

Beneath the arrows of the unwarlike Persians.

And even private individuals sometimes vow to Venus, that if they succeed in the objects for which they are offering their vows, they will bring her a stated number of courtesans.

33. As this custom, then, exists with reference to this goddess, Xenophon the Corinthian, when going to Olympia, to the games, vowed that he, if he were victorious, would bring her some courtesans. And Pindar at first wrote a panegyric on him, which begins thus:—

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