[1].... "Nec secus omnes in unguem,Arboribus positis secto via limite quadret."—Virg. G. ii. 278.
[1]
.... "Nec secus omnes in unguem,Arboribus positis secto via limite quadret."—Virg. G. ii. 278.
[2]Plutarch, speaks of the practice of setting off the beauties (we may also add, the fragrance) of roses and violets, by planting them side by side with leeks and onions. The originator of this fashion went upon the principle, no doubt, of"Omne tulit punctum qui miscuit utile dulci."
[2]Plutarch, speaks of the practice of setting off the beauties (we may also add, the fragrance) of roses and violets, by planting them side by side with leeks and onions. The originator of this fashion went upon the principle, no doubt, of
"Omne tulit punctum qui miscuit utile dulci."
[3].... "Oriens tibi victus, adusqueDecolor extremo quæ cingitur India Gange,Penthea tu, venerande, bipenniferumque Lycurgum,Sacrilegos mactas; Tyrrhenaque mittas in æquorCorpora."—Ovid. Met. iv. 20.
[3]
.... "Oriens tibi victus, adusqueDecolor extremo quæ cingitur India Gange,Penthea tu, venerande, bipenniferumque Lycurgum,Sacrilegos mactas; Tyrrhenaque mittas in æquorCorpora."—Ovid. Met. iv. 20.
[4]σκαφίδων καινών, καὶ γαυλῶν πολλῶν.The same distinction of milking vessels is found in the Odyssey, ix. 223.Γαυλοί τε σκαφίδες τε."His pails and bowls."—Cowper.
[4]σκαφίδων καινών, καὶ γαυλῶν πολλῶν.
The same distinction of milking vessels is found in the Odyssey, ix. 223.
Γαυλοί τε σκαφίδες τε."His pails and bowls."—Cowper.
[5]ὥσπερ συμπεφυκότων...."She rose ... and threwHerself upon his breast and there shegrew."—Byron.
[5]ὥσπερ συμπεφυκότων....
"She rose ... and threwHerself upon his breast and there shegrew."—Byron.
[6]Compare the admirable picture of Gnatho'a prototype in the Eunuchus of Terence, Act II. Sc. II."Videnme?Qui color, nitor vestitus, quæ habitus est corporis,Omnia habeo, nec quicquam habeo; nil quum eat, nil defit tamen."
[6]Compare the admirable picture of Gnatho'a prototype in the Eunuchus of Terence, Act II. Sc. II.
"Videnme?Qui color, nitor vestitus, quæ habitus est corporis,Omnia habeo, nec quicquam habeo; nil quum eat, nil defit tamen."
[7]In the Greek there is a play upon words: Ό δὲ Γνάθων oὐδὲν ἄλλο ὢν, ἢ, γνάθος καὶ γαστὴρ, καὶ τὰ ὺπὸ γαστέρα.
[7]In the Greek there is a play upon words: Ό δὲ Γνάθων oὐδὲν ἄλλο ὢν, ἢ, γνάθος καὶ γαστὴρ, καὶ τὰ ὺπὸ γαστέρα.
[8]"Deinde, ut more caprarum, hircis sui copiam facientium, sibi tergum obvertat, precatur. Hæc cum serius animadvertisset Daphnis dixit, capras quod ineant hirci, id quidem se rectè habere, sed hircum nunquam et nusquam gentium vidisse inire hircum, neque arietem pro ovibus arietem, neque gallos gallinarum loco gallos."
[8]"Deinde, ut more caprarum, hircis sui copiam facientium, sibi tergum obvertat, precatur. Hæc cum serius animadvertisset Daphnis dixit, capras quod ineant hirci, id quidem se rectè habere, sed hircum nunquam et nusquam gentium vidisse inire hircum, neque arietem pro ovibus arietem, neque gallos gallinarum loco gallos."
[9]μεσαιπόλιoς.
[9]μεσαιπόλιoς.
[10]κρητῆρας στήσασθαι. To set up bowls as a sign of feasting.—See Odyss. ii. 431.κρητῆρας στήσασθαι θιοῖς. To do the same in honour of the gods.—Il. vi. 628.
[10]κρητῆρας στήσασθαι. To set up bowls as a sign of feasting.—See Odyss. ii. 431.
κρητῆρας στήσασθαι θιοῖς. To do the same in honour of the gods.—Il. vi. 628.
[11]τὸ νόμιον.
[11]τὸ νόμιον.
[12]Γναθωνάριον.
[12]Γναθωνάριον.
[13]Of a very dark hue.—The locks of Ulysses are in two passages of the Odyssey compared to "hyacinthine flowers."—vi. 231. xxiii. 158.
[13]Of a very dark hue.—The locks of Ulysses are in two passages of the Odyssey compared to "hyacinthine flowers."—vi. 231. xxiii. 158.
[14]"That Dionysius in the valleys greenOnce tended kine, she never heard, I ween;Nor knows that Cypris on a cowherd doted,And on the Phrygian hills herself devotedTo tend his herd; nor how the same DionisIn thickets kiss'd, in thickets wept, Adonis.Who was Endymion? him tending kineStooped down to kiss Selene the divine;Who from Olympus to the Latmian grove,Glided to slumber with her mortal love.Didst not thou, Rhea, for a cowherd weep?And didst not thou, high Zeus! the heaven sweep,In form of winged bird, and watch indeed,To carry off the cowherd Ganymede?"—Chapman's Theoc.
[14]
"That Dionysius in the valleys greenOnce tended kine, she never heard, I ween;Nor knows that Cypris on a cowherd doted,And on the Phrygian hills herself devotedTo tend his herd; nor how the same DionisIn thickets kiss'd, in thickets wept, Adonis.Who was Endymion? him tending kineStooped down to kiss Selene the divine;Who from Olympus to the Latmian grove,Glided to slumber with her mortal love.Didst not thou, Rhea, for a cowherd weep?And didst not thou, high Zeus! the heaven sweep,In form of winged bird, and watch indeed,To carry off the cowherd Ganymede?"—Chapman's Theoc.
[15]"Eὖρε δὲ Φαίηκων ἡγήτορας, ἠδὲ μέδονταςΣπένδοντας δεπάεσσιν ἐῦσκόπῳ ἈργειφόντῃὮ πυμάτῳ σπένδεσκον, ὅτε μνησαίατο κοίτον."—Odyss. vii. 136.
[15]
"Eὖρε δὲ Φαίηκων ἡγήτορας, ἠδὲ μέδονταςΣπένδοντας δεπάεσσιν ἐῦσκόπῳ ἈργειφόντῃὮ πυμάτῳ σπένδεσκον, ὅτε μνησαίατο κοίτον."—Odyss. vii. 136.
[16]Εἰς χορηγίας καὶ τριηραρχίας ἐξίδαπάνησα. The business of the Choregus, or chorus master, was to defray the expenses of the scenical representations, and those of the solemn festivals; the Trierarch had to fit out a ship of war, the state providing only the vessel and the crew. Both offices involved of course very heavy expenses.
[16]Εἰς χορηγίας καὶ τριηραρχίας ἐξίδαπάνησα. The business of the Choregus, or chorus master, was to defray the expenses of the scenical representations, and those of the solemn festivals; the Trierarch had to fit out a ship of war, the state providing only the vessel and the crew. Both offices involved of course very heavy expenses.
[17].... "Stat Fortuna improba noctu,Arridens nudis infantibus; hos fovet omnesInvolvitque sinu; domibus tunc porrigit altis."—Juv. vi. 605.
[17]
.... "Stat Fortuna improba noctu,Arridens nudis infantibus; hos fovet omnesInvolvitque sinu; domibus tunc porrigit altis."—Juv. vi. 605.
[18]A lover of the flock.
[18]A lover of the flock.
[19]A lover of the herd.
[19]A lover of the herd.
[20]"Καθάπερ τριάιναις γῆν ἀναῥρηγνύντες, οὐχ υμέναιον ἄδοντες."
[20]"Καθάπερ τριάιναις γῆν ἀναῥρηγνύντες, οὐχ υμέναιον ἄδοντες."
Sidon is situated upon the coast of the Assyrian sea; it is the mother[1]city of the Phœnicians, and its inhabitants were the founders of Thebes. It has a harbour of capacious extent, which gradually admits within it the waters of the sea; it is double, because, to the right, a passage has been dug into an inner basin, which likewise admits the sea; in this manner the first harbour becomes the entrance to a second, which affords a secure haven to vessels during summer, while in winter they can ride at anchor safely in the former. Upon arriving here after encountering a severe storm, I made thank-offerings[2]on account of my preservation, to the goddess of the Phœnicians, called by the Sidonians, Astarte.[3]As I was wandering about the city, surveying the votive offerings in the temples, I saw a painting containing a view both of sea and land. Europa[4]formed the subject, and the scene was laid partly on the Phœnician sea, partly on the coast of Sidon. In a meadow was seen a band of maidens; a bull was swimming in the sea, directing his course towards Crete, and having a fair damsel seated upon his back. The meadow was diversified with flowers intermixed with trees and shrubs; the trees were near to one another, and their branches[5]and leaves united so closely overhead, as to form a cover for the flowers below. The artist had shewn great skill in managing the shade; for the sun-rays were seen dispersedly breaking through the overarching roof of leaves, and lighting up the meadow, which, situated as I have said, beneath a leafy screen, was surrounded on all sides by a hedge. Under the trees, beds of flowers were laid out, in which bloomed the narcissus, the rose, and the myrtle. Bubbling up from the ground, a stream flowed through the midst of this enamelled meadow, watering the flowers and shrubs; and a gardener was represented with his pickaxe opening a channel for its course. The maidens above mentioned were placed by the painter, in a part of the meadow bordering upon the sea. Their countenances wore a mingled expression of joy and fear; they had chaplets upon their heads, their hair fell dishevelled about their shoulders; their legs were entirely bare—for a cincture raised their garments above the knee—and their feet were unsandalled; their cheeks were pale and contracted through alarm; their eyes were directed towards the sea; their lips were slightly opened as if about to give vent to their terror in cries; their hands were stretched out towards the bull; they were represented upon the verge of the sea, the water just coming over their feet; they appeared eager to hasten after the bull, but at the same time fearful of encountering the waves. The colour of the sea was twofold: towards the land it had a ruddy hue;[6]farther out it was dark blue; foam also, and rocks and waves were represented; the rocks projecting from the shore, and whitened with foam, caused by the crests of the waves breaking upon their rugged surface.
In the midst of the sea, the bull was represented swimming, the waves rising in mountains from the motion of his legs. The maiden was seated upon his back, not astride, but sideways; she grasped his horn with her left hand, as a charioteer would hold the reins; and the bull inclined his head in that direction, as if guided by her hand.
She was dressed in a white tunic as far as her middle, the rest of her body was clothed in a purple robe; the whole dress, however, was so transparent[7]as to disclose the beauties of her person. You could discern the deep-seated navel, the well proportioned[8]stomach, the narrow waist, gradually widening until it reached the chest, the gently budding breasts.[9]—These, as well as the tunic, were confined by a cincture, and from its transparency, the tunic became, so to speak, a mirror to reflect her person. Both her hands were extended, one towards the horn, the other towards the tail; and with either of them she held an extremity of the veil which was expanded above her shoulders, and which appeared in every part inflated by the artist's "painted wind."[10]
Thus seated upon the bull, the maiden resembled a vessel in full sail, her veil serving for the canvass.[11]Dolphins[12]leaped, Loves sported round the bull; you might have sworn that they moved "instinct with life." Cupid, in person, was drawing on the bull; Cupid, in guise of a little child, was spreading his wings, bearing his quiver, holding his torch, and turning towards Jove, was archly laughing as if in mockery of him, who, on his account had become a bull.
I admired every part of this painting, but my attention was more especially rivetted upon Cupid leading forward the bull; and I exclaimed, "How wonderfully does a mere child lord it over heaven and earth and sea!"[13]
Upon this, a young man, who happened to be standing near, said, "I can speak from experience of the power of Love, having suffered so severely from his caprices."—"Pray," said I, "what are the ills which you have suffered? To speak the truth, your countenance betokens you to be not unacquainted with the mysteries of this deity."—"You are stirring up a whole swarm of words," replied he, "mystery will sound like a fable."—"In the name of Jupiter and Love himself, my good fellow," rejoined I, "do not hesitate to gratify my curiosity, however fabulous may seem your story."
After this, taking him by the hand, I led him to a neighbouring grove, thickly planted with plane trees, through which flowed a stream of water, cold and transparent as that which proceeds from newly melted snow.[14]Having placed him upon a low seat, I sat down beside him, and said, "Now is the time for hearing your tale; this spot is in every way agreeable and exactly suited for a love story." Upon this, he began as follows:—
I am a native of Phœnicia, was born at Tyre, and am named Clitopho; my father's name is Hippias; Sostratus is the name of his brother by the father's side—for the two had different mothers—the latter having a Byzantian, the former a Tyrian lady for his mother. Sostratus always resided at Byzantium, having inherited large property in that city from his mother; my father lived at Tyre. I never saw my mother, she having died during my infancy: after her decease, my father married a second wife, by whom he had a daughter named Calligone, whom he designed to unite to me in marriage.[15]The will of the Fates, however, more powerful than that of men, had in store for me a different wife. Now, the Deity is often wont to reveal the future to mortals, in dreams by night; not in order that they may ward off suffering (for it is impossible to defeat destiny[16]), but that they may bear more lightly their load of evils. Calamity, when it comes suddenly and in a "whole battalion," paralyses, and, as it were, overwhelms the soul by its unexpectedness, whereas when anticipated and dwelt upon by the mind, the edge of grief becomes blunted. It was when I had reached the age of nineteen, and when my father was preparing to have my marriage celebrated, the following year, that the drama of my fate began. During my sleep, in thought I had coalesced with, andgrowninto, the person of a maiden, as far as the middle, and that from thence upward we formed two bodies. A tall and terrible-looking woman, savage in aspect, with blood-shot eyes, inflamed cheeks, and snaky hair, stood over us. In her right hand she held a scimitar, in her left, a torch. Angrily raising her falchion, she let it fall exactly upon the loins where was the juncture of our bodies, and severed the maiden from me. Leaping up in terror, I mentioned the dream to no one, but foreboded evil in my own mind. Meanwhile, a messenger arrived from Byzantium, bringing a letter from my father's brother; it contained the following words:—
"Sostratus to his brother Hippias, sends greeting,"My daughter Leucippe, and my wife Panthea, are on their way to you, for war has broken out between the Thracians and Byzantians; till it is concluded, keep under your protection those dearest objects of my affection. Farewell."
"Sostratus to his brother Hippias, sends greeting,
"My daughter Leucippe, and my wife Panthea, are on their way to you, for war has broken out between the Thracians and Byzantians; till it is concluded, keep under your protection those dearest objects of my affection. Farewell."
No sooner had my father read the letter than, rising from his seat, he hurried down to the harbour; and not long after returned, followed by a number of male and female slaves, whom Sostratus had sent with his wife and daughter. Among them was a tall lady, richly dressed: while looking at her, I remarked at her left hand, a maiden, the beauty of whose countenance at once dazzled my eyes—she resembled the Europa, whom, in the picture I had seen sitting upon the bull. Her sparkling[17]eyes had a pleasing expression, her hair was golden-hued, short and curling, her eyebrows were jet black, her cheeks were fair, save that in the middle they had a tinge bordering upon purple, like that with which the Lydian women stain the ivory;[18]her mouth was like the rose when it begins to bud. No sooner did I see her than my fate was sealed—for beauty[19]inflicts a wound sharper than any arrow, finding a passage to the soul through the eyes, for it is the eye which makes a way for the wounds of love. I was overwhelmed by conflicting feelings; admiration, astonishment, agitation, shame, assurance: I admired her figure, I was astonished at her beauty; my heart palpitated, I gazed upon her with assurance, yet I was ashamed at the idea of being remarked. I endeavoured to withdraw my eyes from the maiden; they however were unwilling to obey, and, following the fascination of her countenance, in the end completely gained the day.
Upon the arrival of the visitors, my father assigned a part of the house for their use, and then ordered the supper to be prepared. At the appointed time we reclined by twos on couches, for such was my father's order. He and I were in the centre, the two elder ladies occupied the right-hand couch, the maidens were to the left. Upon hearing the proposed arrangement I was very near embracing my father, for thus placing the maiden within my view. As to what I ate, on my faith I cannot tell you, for I was like a man eating in a dream; all I know is, that leaning upon my elbow, and bending forwards, my whole attention was given to stealing furtive glances at her—this was the sum total of my supper. When the meal was ended, a slave came in with the lyre; he first ran over the strings with his fingers, then sounded a few chords in an under tone, and afterwards taking the plectrum, began to play, accompanying the sounds with his voice. The subject of his strain was[20]Apollo in his irritation pursuing the flying Daphne, and upon the point of seizing her, how she was transformed into a laurel, and how the god crowns himself with its leaves. The song had the effect of adding fuel to my flame, for amatory strains[21]act as a powerful incentive to desire: and however inclined a person may be to chastity, example serves as a stimulant to imitation, more especially when the example is supplied by one in superior[22]station; for the feeling of shame which was a check upon doing wrong becomes changed into assurance by the rank of the offender.
Accordingly, I thus reasoned with myself—"See, Apollo falls in love, he is not ashamed of his weakness, he pursues the fair one! and art thou a laggard and the slave of shame and ill-timed continence? Art thou, forsooth, superior to a god?"[23]In the evening the ladies retired to rest first, and afterwards we ourselves. The others had confined the pleasures of the table to their stomachs.[24]I, for my part, carried away the banquet in my eyes; I had taken my fill of the maiden's sweet looks, and, from the effect of merely gazing upon her, I rose from table intoxicated with love. Upon entering my accustomed chamber, sleep was out of the question. It is the law of nature that diseases and bodily wounds always become exasperated at night; when we are taking our rest their strength increases, and the pain becomes more acute, for the circumstance of the body being in repose affords leisure for the malady to do its work. By the same rule, the wounds of the soul are much more painful while the body is lying motionless; in the day, both the eyes and ears are occupied by a multiplicity of objects; thus, the soul has not leisure to feel pain, and so the violence of the disease is for a time mitigated; but let the body be fettered by inactivity, and then the soul retains all its susceptibility, and becomes tempest-tossed by trouble; the feelings which were asleep then awaken. The mourner feels his grief, the anxious his solicitude, he who is in peril his terrors, the lover his inward flame.
Towards morning Love took compassion upon me, and granted me some short repose; but not even then would the maiden be absent from my mind; Leucippe[25]was in all my dreams, I conversed with her, I played with her, I supped with her, I touched her fair body; in short, I obtained more favours then than in the day-time, for I kissed her, and the kiss was really given. Accordingly, when the slave awoke me, I cursed[26]him for coming so unseasonably, and for dissipating so sweet a dream; getting up, however, I went out of my part of the house, and walked in front of the apartment where the maiden was; with my head hanging down over a book, I pretended to be reading, but whenever I came opposite her door I cast sidelong glances, and after taking a few turns, and drinking in fresh draughts of love I returned desperately smitten; three whole days did I continue burning with this inward fire.
I had a cousin named Clinias, who had lost both his parents; he was two years older than myself, and an adept in matters of love. He had a male favourite, for whom his affection was so strong, that when he had one day purchased a horse, and the other admired it, he immediately presented him with the animal. I was always joking him for having so much leisure as to fall in love, and for being a slave to tender passions; he used to laugh and reply with a shake of the head, "Depend upon it the day of slavery is in store for you." Well, proceeding to his house, I saluted him, and sitting down, said, "Clinias, I am paying the penalty of my former gibes;[27]I am at last myself the slave of love!" Upon hearing this, he clapped his hands and laughed outright; then rising and kissing my face, which bore traces of a lover's wakefulness, "There is no doubt of your being in love," said he, "for your eyes declare it."
While he was yet speaking, Charicles, his favourite, comes in hurriedly and in great perturbation, exclaiming, "My fate is sealed, Clinias!" With a tremulous voice, and sighing as deeply as though his own life hung[28]upon that of the youth, Clinias replied, "Speak out, your silence will be my death; say what grief assails you—with what adversary have you to contend?" Charicles rejoined,—"My father is negotiating a marriage for me, a marriage moreover with an ill-favoured woman; a double evil therefore: even were she comely, a female[29]would be repulsive to my taste, and she becomes doubly so, if ugly. My father, however, looks only to money, and is therefore anxious for the match, so that I, such is my ill fate, am made the victim of this woman's money; I am sold to be her husband."[30]Clinias turned pale upon hearing this announcement, and strongly urged the youth to decline the match, bitterly inveighing against the race of womankind. "Your father, forsooth, would have you marry! pray what crime have you committed, that you should be given over to such bondage? Do you not remember the words of Jove?
'Son of Iapetus, o'er-subtle, go,And glory in thy artful theft below;Now of the fire you boast by stealth retriev'd,And triumph in almighty Jove deceiv'd;But thou too late shalt find the triumph vain,And read thy folly in succeeding pain;Posterity the sad effect shall know,When in pursuit of joy they grasp their woe.'[31]
Woman is a 'bitter sweet;'[32]in her nature she is akin to the Sirens, for they too, slay their victims with a dulcet voice; the very "pomp and circumstance" of marriage shews the magnitude of the evil; there is the din[33]of pipes, the knocking at the doors, the bearing about of torches. With all this noise and tumult, who will not exclaim, 'Unhappy is the man who has to wed!'—to me, he seems like a man ordered off to war. Were you unacquainted with classic lore, you might plead ignorance of women's doings, whereas you are so well read, as to be capable of teaching others. How many subjects for the stage have been furnished by womankind! Call to mind the necklace of Eriphyle, the banquet of Philomela, the calumny of Sthenobœa, the incest of Aerope, the murderous deed of Procne.[34]Does Agamemnon sigh for the beauty of Chryseis?—he brings pestilence upon the Grecian host; does Achilles covet the charms of Briseis?—he prepares misery for himself; if Candaules has a fair wife, that wife becomes the murderess of her husband! The nuptial torches of Helen[35]kindled the fire which consumed Troy! How many suitors were done to death through the chastity of Penelope? Phædra, through love, became the destroyer of Hippolytus; Clytemnestra, through hate, the murderess of Agamemnon! Ο! all-audacious[36]race of women! they deal death whether they love or hate! The noble Agamemnon must needs die, he whose beauty is described to have been cast in a heavenly mould,
'Jove o'er his eyes celestial glories spread,And dawning conquest play'd around his head.[37]
and yet this very head was cut off by—a woman! All that I have been saying relates only to the handsome among the sex; in this case, then, there is a lessening of the evil, for beauty is a palliative, and under such circumstances a man may be said to be fortunate in the midst of his calamity; but if, as you say, the woman boasts no charms, why then the evil becomes two-fold. Who would submit in such a case, especially who that is young and handsome like yourself? In the name of the gods, Charicles, do not stoop to such a yoke; do not mar the flower of your beauty before the time; for remember, in addition to the other ills of marriage, there is this evil, it saps the vigour: do not, Charicles, I pray, expose yourself to this; give not the beauteous rose to be plucked by the ill-favoured rustic's hand."
"Leave this matter," replied Charicles, "to the care of the gods and of myself; the marriage will not take place for some days yet; much may be done in a single night, and we will deliberate at our leisure. Meanwhile, I will go and take a ride, for since the day you gave me that fine horse, I have never made use of your kind present." With these words he left the house, little imagining that this his first ride was to be his last. After he was gone, I related every particular to Clinias, describing how my passion began; the arrival, the supper, the beauty of the maiden. Feeling, at last, how absurdly I was beginning to talk, I exclaimed, "Clinias, I can no longer endure this misery. Love has assailed me with such violence as to drive sleep from my eyes; I see no object but Leucippe; no one can suffer like myself, for the source of my trouble dwells with me under the same roof."
"What folly it is," replied Clinias, "for you who are so fortunate in love to talk after this fashion! You have no need to go to another person's doors; you do not require a go-between; fortune gives the loved object into your hands, brings her into your very house, and there sets her down.[38]Other lovers are well content with catching a glimpse of the maiden for whom they sigh, and to gratify their eyes is with them no small good fortune; they consider themselves most favoured, indeed, if they can now and then exchange a word with their mistress. But what is your case? You continually see her, you continually hear her voice, you sup with her, you drink with her; and yet, fortunate that you are, you are complaining! You are guilty of base ingratitude towards love, and without the slightest cause. Do you not know that seeing the object whom you love gives far deeper pleasure than enjoying her?[39]And why so? Because the eyes, when encountering each other, receive bodily impressions, as in a looking-glass, and the reflection of beauty glancing into the soul,[40]begets union even in separation, and affords a pleasure not much inferior to corporeal intercourse, which, after all, is hollow and unsatisfying.[41]I augur, moreover, that you will soon obtain the object of your wishes, for to be always in the society of the loved one, exerts a most persuasive power; the eye is a wondrous vehicle of love,[42]and constant intercourse is most influential in begetting kindly feelings. Habit and the company of each other will tame savage beasts. How much more will they act upon a woman's heart. Parity of age also has great weight with a maiden, and the animal passion which is felt in the flower of youth, added to the consciousness of being loved, very frequently call forth a return of tender feeling. Every maiden wishes to be thought beautiful, and exults in being loved; and approves the testimony borne by the lover to her beauty; because, if no one love her, she believes herself devoid of any personal charms. This one piece of advice I give you, make her feel certain that she is beloved, and she will soon follow your example in returning your affection."
"And how," asked I, "is this sage oracle of yours to be accomplished? Put me in the right way; you are more experienced than myself; you have been longer initiated in the mysteries of love. What am I to do? What am I to say? How am I to obtain her for whom I sigh? For my part I am ignorant how to set about the work."
"There is small need," replied Clinias, "to learn these matters from the mouths of others. Love is a self-taught master of his craft.[43]No one teaches new-born babes where to find their food; they have already learnt by intuition, and know that a table has been spread for them by nature in their mothers' breasts. In like manner, the youth who for the first time is pregnant with love, needs no teaching to bring it to the birth; only let your pains have come on, and your hour have arrived, and though it be for the first time, you will not miscarry, but will be safely brought to bed, midwifed by the god himself. I will, however, give you a few common-place hints relating to matters which require general observance. Say nothing to the maiden directly bearing upon love; prosecute the wished-for consummation quietly. Youths and maidens are alike sensible of shame, and however much they may long for sexual enjoyment, they do not like to hear it talked of; they consider the disgrace of the matter to be altogether in the words. Matrons take pleasure even in the words. A maiden will show no objection to acts of dalliance upon her lover's part, but will express her willingness by signs and gestures; yet if you come directly to the point, and put the question to her, your very voice will alarm her ears; she will be suffused with blushes; she will turn away from your proposals; she will think an insult has been done her; and however willing to comply with your desires, she will be restrained by shame; for the pleasurable sensations excited by your words will make her consider herself to be submitting to the act. But when by other means you have brought her to a compliant mood, so that you can approach her with some degree of freedom, be as wise and guarded as though you were celebrating the mysteries;[44]gently approach and kiss her: a kiss given by a lover to a willing mistress is a silent way of asking for her favours; and the same given to the fair one who is coy, is a supplication to relent. Even when maidens are themselves ready to comply, they often like some appearance of force to be employed,[45]for the plea of seeming necessity will remove the shame of voluntary compliance upon their part. Do not be discouraged if she repulses your advances,[46]but mark the manner of her repulse: all these matters require tact. If she persists in being uncompliant, use no force; for she is not yet in the right humour; but if she show signs of yielding, act still with proper caution, lest after all you should lose your labour."[47]
"You have given me store[48]of good advice," said I, "and may everything turn out successfully; nevertheless I sadly fear that success will prove the beginning of even greater calamity, by making me more desperately in love. What am I to do if my malady increase? I cannot marry, for I am already engaged to another maiden; my father, too, is very urgent with me to conclude the match, and he asks nothing but what is fair and reasonable. He does not barter me away like Charicles for gold; he does not wish me to marry either a foreigner or an ugly girl; he gives me his own daughter, a maiden of rare beauty, had I not seen Leucippe; but now I am blind to all other charms excepting hers, in short, I have eyes for her alone. I am placed midway between two contending parties; Love on one side, my father on the other; the latter wields his paternal authority, the former shakes his burning torch; how am I to decide the cause? Stern necessity and natural affection are opposed. Father, I wish to give a verdict for you, but I have an adversary too strong for me; he tortures and overawes the judge,[49]he stands beside me with his shafts; his arguments are flame. Unless I decide for him, his fires will scorch me up."
While we were thus discussing the subject of the god of Love, a slave of Charicles suddenly rushed in bearing his evil tidings on his face so plainly, that Clinias immediately cried out, "Some accident has befallen Charicles." "Charicles," hastily exclaimed the slave, "is dead." Utterance failed Clinias, upon hearing this, he remained without the power of motion, as if struck by lightning. The slave proceeded to relate the sad particulars. "Charicles," he said, "after mounting, went off at a moderate pace, then after having had two or three gallops, pulled up, and still sitting on the animal, wiped off from its back the sweat, leaving the reins upon its neck. There was a sudden noise from behind, and the startled horse rearing bounded forward and dashed wildly on.[50]Taking the bit between his teeth, with neck thrown up and tossing mane, maddened with fright, he flew through the air.[51]Such was his speed, that his hind feet seemed endeavouring to overtake and pass the fore feet in the race; and owing to this rivalry of speed between the legs, the animal's back rose and fell as does a ship when tossing upon the billows. Oscillating from the effect of these wave-like movements,[52]the wretched Charicles was tossed up and down like a ball upon the horse's back, now thrown back upon his croup, now pitched forward upon his neck. At length overmastered by the storm,[53]and unable to recover possession of the reins, he gave himself up to this whirlwind of speed, and was at Fortune's mercy. The horse still in full career, turned from the public road, made for a wood, and dashed his unhappy rider against a tree. Charicles was shot from off his back as from an engine, and his face encountering the boughs, was lacerated with a wound from every jagged point. Entangled by the reins, he was unable to release his body, but was dragged along upon the road to death; for the horse, yet more affrighted by the rider's fall, and impeded by his body, kicked and trampled the miserable youth who was the obstacle to his farther flight;[54]and such is his disfigurement that you can no longer recognize his features."
After listening to this account, Clinias was for some moments speechless through bewilderment, then awakening from his trance of grief, he uttered a piercing cry, and was rushing out to meet the corpse, I following and doing my best to comfort him. At this instant the body of Charicles was borne into the house, a wretched and pitiable sight, for he was one mass of wounds,[55]so that none of the bystanders could restrain their tears. His father led the strains of lamentation, and cried out, "My son, in how different a state hast thou returned from that in which thou didst leave me! Ill betide all horsemanship! Neither hast thou died by any common death, nor art thou brought back a corpse comely in thy death; others who die preserve their well-known lineaments, and though the living beauty of the countenance be gone, the image is preserved, which by its mimickry of sleep consoles the mourner.[56]In their case, death has taken away the soul, but leaves in the body the semblance of the individual: in thy case, fate has destroyed both, and, to me, thou hast died a double death, in soul and body, so utterly has even the shadow of thy likeness perished! Thy soul has fled, and I find thee no more, even in body! Oh, my son, when shall be now thy bridal day? When, ill-starred horseman and unwedded bridegroom, when shall be the joyous nuptial festivities? The tomb will be thy bridal bed, death thy partner, a dirge thy nuptial song, wailing thy strains of joy![57]I thought, my son, to have kindled for thee a very different flame, but cruel fate has extinguished both it and thee, and in its stead lights up the funeral torch. Oh, luckless torch bearing, where death presides and takes the place of marriage!"
Thus bitterly did the father bewail the loss of his son, and Clinias vied with him in the expression of his grief, breaking forth into soliloquy. "I have been the death of him who was master of my affection! Why was I so ill-advised as to present him with such a gift! Could I not have given him a golden beaker, out of which, when pouring a libation, he might have drunk, and so have derived pleasure from the gift? Instead of doing this, wretch that I was, I bestowed upon this beauteous youth a savage brute, and moreover decked out the beast with a pectoral and frontlet and silver trappings.[58]Yes, Charicles, I decked out your murderer with gold! Thou beast, of all others most evil, ruthless, ungrateful, and insensible to beauty, thou hast actually been the death of him who fondled thee, who wiped away thy sweat, promised thee many a feed, and praised the swiftness of thy pace! Instead of glorying in being the bearer of so fair a youth, thou hast ungratefully dashed his beauty to the earth! Woe is me, for having bought this homicide, who has turned out to be thy murderer!"
No sooner were the funeral obsequies over, than I hastened to the maiden, who was in the pleasance belonging to the house. It consisted of a grove, which afforded a delightful object to the eyes; around it ran a wall, each of the four sides of which had a colonnade supported upon pillars, the central space being planted with trees, whose branches were so closely interwoven, that the fruits and foliage intermingled in friendly union.[59]Close to some of the larger trees grew the ivy and the convolvulus; the latter hanging from the plane-trees, clustered round it, with its delicate foliage; the former twining round the pine, lovingly embraced its trunk, so that the tree became the prop of the ivy, and the ivy furnished a crown for the tree. On either side were seen luxuriant vines, supported upon reeds; these were now in blossom, and hanging down from the intervening spaces were the ringlets of the plant;[60]while the upper leaves, agitated by the breeze and interpenetrated by the rays of the sun, caused a quivering gleam to fall upon the ground, which partially lighted up its shade. Flowers also displayed the beauty of their various hues. The narcissus, the rose, and violet, mingling together, imparted a purple colour to the earth; the calyx of both these flowers was alike in its general shape, and served them for a cup; the expanded rose-leaves were red and violet above, milky white below, and the narcissus was altogether of the latter hue; the violet had no calyx, and its colour resembled that of the sea when under the influence of a calm. In the midst of the flowers bubbled a fountain, whose waters received into a square basin, the work of art, served the flowers for their mirror, and gave a double appearance to the grove, by adding the reflection to the reality. Neither were there wanting birds: some of a domestic kind, reared by the care of man, were feeding in the grove; while others, enjoying their liberty of wing, flew and disported themselves among the branches. The songsters were grasshoppers[61]and swallows,[62]of which the one celebrated the rising of Aurora, the other the banquet of Tereus. Those of a domestic kind were the peacock, the swan, and the parrot; the swan was feeding near the fountain; a cage suspended from a tree contained the parrot; the peacock drew after him his splendid train; nor was it easy to decide which surpassed the other in beauty, the tints of the flowers themselves, or the hues of his flower-like feathers.
Leucippe happened at this time to be walking with Clio, and stopped opposite the peacock who was just then spreading his train, and displaying the gorgeous semicircle of his feathers.[63]Wishing to produce amorous sensations in her mind, I addressed myself to the slave Satyrus,[64]making the peacock the subject of our discourse. "The bird," I said, "does not do this without design; he is of an amorous nature, and always bedecks himself in this manner when he wishes to attract his favourite mate. Do you see," I added, (pointing in the direction) "the female, near the plane-tree yonder? It is to her that he is now displaying the 'enamelled meadow' of his plumes, and this meadow of his is assuredly more beautiful than any mead in nature, each plume has in it a spot of gold, and the gold is encircled by a purple ring, and so in every plume there is seen an eye." Satyrus readily comprehended the drift of my discourse, and in order to give me scope for continuing the subject, he asked "whether Love could possibly possess such power as to transmit his warmth even unto the winged tribes?" "Yes," I replied, "not only unto them—for there is no marvel in this, since he himself is winged—but also into reptiles and wild beasts and plants; nay, in my opinion even unto stones. The magnet, for instance loves the iron, and upon the first sight and touch draws that metal towards it, as if containing within itself the fire of love. Is there not in this, a manifest embrace between the amorous stone and the iron the object of its affection? Philosophers, moreover, tell, concerning plants, what I should deem an idle tale were it not confirmed by the experience of husbandmen. They maintain that one plant becomes enamoured of another, and that the palm is most sensible of the tender passion; there are, you must know, male[65]and female palms; supposing the female is planted at a distance from it, the male droops and withers; the husbandman upon seeing this, easily understands the nature of the malady, and ascending an eminence he observes in what direction the tree inclines—which is always towards the beloved object; having ascertained this point, he employs the following remedy: taking a shoot from the female he inserts it into the very heart of the male; this immediately revives it, and bestows new life upon its sinking frame, so that it recovers its pristine vigour; and this arises from delight in embracing its beloved; such are the loves of the plants.[66]
"The same holds true concerning streams and rivers also; for we hear of the loves of the river Alpheus and the Sicilian fountain Arethusa.[67]This river takes its course through the sea as through a plain, and the sea instead of impregnating it with its saltness, divides and so affords a passage for the river, performing the part of bridesman,[68]by conducting it to Arethusa; when, therefore, at the Olympic Festival, persons cast various gifts into the channel of this river, it immediately bears them to its beloved, these being its nuptial gifts.[69]A yet stranger mystery of Love is seen in reptiles, not merely in those of like race, but of different kind. The viper[70]conceives a violent passion for the lamprey, which though in form a serpent, is to all intents and purposes a fish. When these reptiles wish to copulate, the viper goes down to the shore and hisses in the direction of the sea, which is a signal to the lamprey; she understands the sound, and issues from the water, but does not immediately hasten to her lover, knowing that he carries deadly poison in his teeth, but gliding up a rock, there waits until he has cleansed his mouth. After looking at one another for a space, the loving viper vomits forth the poison so dreaded by his mistress, and she upon perceiving this, descends and entwines him in her embrace, no longer dreading his amorous bite."
During my discourse, I kept observing Leucippe to see how she took these amatory topics, and she gave indications that they were not displeasing to her. The dazzling beauty of the peacock which I just now mentioned seemed to me far inferior to her attractions; indeed the beauty of her countenance might vie with the flowers of the meadow; the narcissus was resplendent in her general complexion, the rose blushed upon her cheek, the dark hue of the violet sparkled in her eyes, her ringlets curled more closely than do the clusters of the ivy;—-her face, therefore, was a reflex of the meadows.[71]Shortly after this, she left the pleasance, it being time for her to practise upon the harp. Though absent she appeared to me still present, for her form and features remained impressed upon my eyes.
Satyrus and I congratulated each other upon our mutual performances. I for the subjects I had chosen, he for having given me the opportunity of discussing them. Supper time soon arrived and we reclined at table as before.