Our friendship
with him is as yet too new, neither is there any relation between us
sufficiently strong to give us a certain assurance of his fidelity.
with him is as yet too new, neither is there any relation between us
sufficiently strong to give us a certain assurance of his fidelity.
Scriptori Erotici Graeci
Now was the time for me to
punish him as he deserved; and that I should go in, sword in hand, lest
he should escape.
"I did as Thisbe exhorted me; and taking my sword, she going before
me with a torch, went towards my mother's bedchamber. When I arrived
there, and perceived there was a light burning within, my passion
rising, I burst open the door, and, rushing in, cried out, 'Where is
the villain, the vile paramour of this paragon of virtue? ' and thus
exclaiming, I advanced, prepared to transfix them both, when my father,
Ο ye gods! leaping from the bed, fell at my feet, and besought me, 'Ο
my son! stay your hand, pity your father, and these grey hairs which
have nourished you. I have used you ill, I confess, but not so as to
deserve death from you. Let not passion transport you; do not imbrue
your hands in a parent's blood! '
"He was going on in this supplicatory strain, while I stood
thunderstruck, without power either to speak or stir. I looked about
for Thisbe, but she had withdrawn. I cast my eyes in amaze round the
chamber, confounded and stupified: the sword fell from my hand.
"Demæneta, running up, immediately took it away; and my father, now
seeing himself out of danger, laid hands upon me, and ordered me to be
bound, his wife stimulating him all the time, and exclaiming, 'This is
what I foretold; I bid you guard yourself from the attempts of this
youth; I observed his looks, and feared his designs. '--'You did,' he
replied; 'but I could not have imagined he would carry his wickedness
to such a pitch. ' He then kept me bound; and though I made several
attempts to explain the matter, he would not suffer me to speak.
"When the morning was come, he brought me out before the people, bound
as I was; and flinging dust upon his head, thus addressed them: 'I
entertained hopes, Ο Athenians, when the gods gave me this son, that
he would have been the staff of my declining age. I brought him up
genteelly; I gave him a first-rate education;[15] I went through every
step needful to procure him the full privileges of a citizen of Athens;
in short, my whole life was a scene of solicitude on his account. But
he, forgetting all this, abused me first with words, and assaulted my
wife with blows; and at last broke in upon me in the night, brandishing
a drawn sword, and was prevented from committing a parricide only by a
sudden consternation which seized him, and made the weapon drop from
his hand. I have recourse, therefore, to this assembly for my own
defence and his punishment. I might, I know, lawfully have punished
him even with death myself; but I had rather leave the whole matter to
your judgment than stain my own hands with his blood:' and, having said
this, he began to weep.
"Demæneta too accompanied him with her tears, lamenting the untimely
but just death which I must soon suffer, whom my evil genius had armed
against my parent; and thus seeming to confirm by her lamentations the
truth of her husband's accusations.
"At length I desired to be heard in my turn, when the clerk arising put
this pointed question to me: Did I attack my father with a sword? When
I replied, 'I did indeed attack him, but hear how I came so to do'--the
whole assembly exclaimed that, after this confession, there was no room
for apology or defence. Some cried out I ought to be stoned; others,
that I should be delivered to the executioner, and thrown headlong
into the Barathrum. [16] During this tumult, while they were disputing
about my punishment, I cried out, 'All this I suffer on account of my
mother-in-law; my step-mother makes me to be condemned unheard. ' A few
of the assembly appeared to take notice of what I said, and to have
some suspicions of the truth of the case; yet even then I could not
obtain an audience, so much were all minds possessed by the disturbance.
"At length they proceeded to ballot: one thousand seven hundred
condemned me to death; some to be stoned, others to be thrown into the
Barathrum. The remainder, to the number of about a thousand, having
some suspicions of the machinations of my mother-in-law, adjudged me
to perpetual banishment; and this sentence prevailed: for though a
greater number had doomed me to death, yet there being a difference in
their opinions as to the kind of death, they were so divided, that the
numbers of neither party amounted to a thousand.
"Thus, therefore, was I driven from my father's house and my country:
the wicked Demæneta, however, did not remain unpunished; in what manner
you shall hear by-and-by. --But you ought now to take a little sleep;
the night is far advanced, and some rest is necessary for you. "
"It will be very annoying to us," replied Theagenes, "if you leave
this wicked woman unpunished. "--"Hear, then," said Cnemon, "since you
will have it so.
"I went immediately from the assembly to the Piræus, and finding a ship
ready to set sail for Ægina, I embarked in her, hearing there were
some relations of my mother's there. I was fortunate enough to find
them on my arrival, and passed the first days of my exile agreeably
enough among them. After I had been there about three weeks, taking
my accustomed solitary walk, I came down to the port; a vessel was
standing in; I stopped to see from whence she came, and who were on
board. The ladder was no sooner let down, when a person leapt on shore,
ran up to me, and embraced me. He proved to be Charias, one of my
former companions. --'Ο Cnemon! ' he cried out, 'I bring you good news.
You are revenged on your enemy: Demæneta is dead. '--'I am heartily
glad to see you, Charias,' I replied; 'but why do you hurry over
your good tidings as if they were bad ones? Tell me how all this has
happened; I fear she has died a natural death, and escaped that which
she deserved. '--'Justice,' said he, 'has not entirely deserted us (as
Hesiod[17] says); and though she sometimes seems to wink at crime for
a time, protecting her vengeance, such wretches rarely escape at last:
neither has Demæneta. From my connexion with Thisbe, I have been made
acquainted with the whole affair.
"'After your unjust exile, your father, repenting of what he had done,
retired from the sight of the world, into a lonely villa, and there
lived; "gnawing his own heart," according to the poet. [18] But the
furies took possession of his wife, and her passion rose to a higher
pitch in your absence than it had ever done before. She lamented your
misfortunes and her own, calling day and night in a frantic manner
upon Cnemon, her dear boy, her soul; insomuch that the women of her
acquaintance, who visited her, wondered at and praised her; that,
though a step-dame, she felt a mother's affection. They endeavoured to
console and strengthen her; but she replied that her sorrows were past
consolation, and that they were ignorant of the wound which rankled at
her heart.
"'When she was alone she abused Thisbe for the share she had in the
business. "How slow were you in assisting my love! How ready in
administering to my revenge! You deprived me of him I loved above all
the world, without giving me an instant to repent and be appeased. " And
she gave plain hints that she intended some mischief against her.
"'Thisbe seeing her disappointed, enraged, almost out of her senses
with love and grief, and capable of undertaking anything, determined
to be beforehand with her; and by laying a snare for her mistress, to
provide for her own security. One day, therefore, she thus accosted
her: "Why, Ο my mistress, do you wrongfully accuse your slave? It
has always been my study to obey your will in the best manner I
could; if anything unlucky has happened, fortune is to blame; I am
ready now, if you command me, to endeavour to find a remedy for your
distress. "--"What remedy can you find? " cried she. "He who alone could
ease my torments is far distant; the unexpected lenity of his judges
has been my ruin: had he been stoned or otherwise put to death, my
hopes and cares would have been buried with him. Impossibility of
gratification extinguishes desire, and despair makes the heart callous.
But now I seem to have him before my eyes: I hear, and blush at hearing
him upbraid me with his injuries. Sometimes I flatter my fond heart
that he will return again, and that I shall obtain my wishes; at other
times I form schemes of seeking him myself, on whatever shore he
wanders. These thoughts agitate, inflame, and drive me beside myself.
Ye gods! I am justly served. Why, instead of laying schemes against
his life, did I not persist in endeavouring to subdue him by kindness?
He refused me at first, and it was but fitting he should do so; I was
a stranger, and he reverenced his father's bed. Time and persuasion
might have overcome his coldness; but I, unjust, and inhuman as I was,
more like a tyrant, than his mistress, cruelly punished his first
disobedience. Yet with how much justice might he slight Demæneta, whom
he so infinitely surpassed in beauty! But, my dear Thisbe, what remedy
is it you hint at? " The artful slave replied: "Ο Mistress, Cnemon, as
most people think, in obedience to the sentence, has departed both
from the city and from Attica; but I, who inquire anxiously into
everything that you can have any concern in, have discovered that he
is lurking somewhere about the town. You have heard perhaps of Arsinoë
the singer: he has long been connected with her. After his misfortune,
she promised to go into exile with him, and keeps him concealed at her
house till she can prepare herself for setting out. "--"Happy Arsinoë! "
cried Demæneta; "happy at first in possessing the love of Cnemon, and
now in being permitted to accompany him into banishment. But what is
all this to me? "--"Attend, and you shall hear," said Thisbe. "I will
pretend that I am in love with Cnemon. I will beg Arsinoë, with whom I
am acquainted, to introduce me some night to him in her room; you may,
if you please, represent Arsinoë, and receive his visit instead of me.
I will take care that he shall have drunk a little freely when he goes
to bed. If you obtain your wishes, perhaps you may be cured of your
passion. The first gratification sometimes extinguishes the flame of
desire. Love soon finds its end in satiety: but if yours (which I hope
will not be the case) should still continue, we may perhaps find some
other scheme to satisfy it;[19] at present let us attend to this which
I have proposed. "
"'Demæneta eagerly embraced the proposal, and desired her to put it
into immediate execution. Thisbe demanded a day only for preparation;
and going directly to Arsinoë, asked her if she knew Teledemus. Arsinoë
replying that she did, "Receive us then," says she, "this evening
into your house; I have promised to sleep with him to-night: he will
come first; I shall follow, when I have put my mistress to bed. " Then
hastening into the country to Aristippus, she thus addressed him: "I
come, master, to accuse myself; punish me as you think fit. I have
been the cause of your losing your son; not indeed willingly, but yet
I was instrumental in his destruction: for when I perceived that my
mistress led a dissolute life, and injured your bed, I began to fear
for myself, lest I should suffer if she should be detected by anybody
else. I pitied you too, who received such ill returns for all your
affection; I was afraid, however, of mentioning the matter to you, but
I discovered it to my young master; and coming to him by night, to
avoid observation, I told him that an adulterer was sleeping with my
mistress. He, hurried on by resentment, mistook my meaning, and thought
I said that an adulterer was then with her. His passion rose; he
snatched a sword, and ran madly on towards your bedchamber. It was in
vain I endeavoured to detain him, and to assure him that no adulterer
was then with my mistress; he regarded not what I said, either made
deaf by rage, or imagining that I changed my purpose. The rest you
know. You have it in your power at least to clear up the character of
your banished son, and to punish her who has injured both of you; for
I will shew you to-day Demæneta with an adulterer, in a strange house
without the city, and in bed. "
"'"If you can do that," said Aristippus, "your freedom shall be your
reward. I shall, perhaps, take some comfort in life, when I have got
rid of this wicked woman. I have for some time been uneasy within
myself: I have suspected her; but, having no proofs, I was silent. But
what must we do now? "--"You know," said she, "the garden where is the
monument of the Epicureans: come there in the evening, and wait for
me. " And having so said, away she goes; and coming to Demæneta, "Dress
yourself," she cries, "immediately; neglect nothing that can set off
your person; everything that I have promised you is ready. "--Demæneta
did as she was desired, and adorned herself with all her skill; and
in the evening Thisbe attended her to the place of assignation. When
they came near she desired her to stop a little; and going forwards she
begged Arsinoë to step into the next house, and leave her at liberty
in her own; for she wished to spare the young man's blushes, who was
but lately initiated into love affairs; and, having persuaded her, she
returned, introduced Demæneta, put her to bed, took away the light
(lest, forsooth, you, who were then safe at Ægina, should discover
her), and entreated her to enjoy the good fortune which awaited her
in silence. "I will now go," said she, "and bring the youth to you;
he is drinking at a house in the neighborhood. "--Away she flies where
Aristippus was waiting, and exhorts him to go immediately and bind
the adulterer fast. He follows her, rushes into the house, and, by
help of a little moonlight which shone, with difficulty finding the
bed, exclaims, "I have caught you now, you abandoned creature! " Thisbe
immediately upon this exclamation bangs to the door on the other side,
and cries out, "What untoward fortune! the adulterer has escaped; but
take care at least that you secure the adulteress. "--"Make yourself
easy," he replied; "I have secured this wicked woman, whom I was
the most desirous of taking:" and seizing her, he began to drag her
towards the city. But she feeling deeply the situation she was in,
the disappointment of her hopes, the ignominy which must attend her
offences, and the punishment which awaited them, vexed and enraged at
being deceived and detected, when she came near the pit which is in the
Academy (you know the place where our generals sacrifice to the Manes
of our heroes), suddenly disengaging herself from the hands of the old
man, flung herself headlong in: and thus she died[20] a wretched death,
suited for a wretch like herself.
"'Upon this Aristippus cried out, "You have yourself anticipated the
justice of the laws," and the next day he laid the whole matter before
the people; and having with difficulty obtained his pardon, consulted
his friends and acquaintance how best he could obtain your recall.
What success he has met with I cannot inform you of; for I have been
obliged, as you see, to sail here on my own private business. But I
think you have the greatest reason to expect that the people will
consent to your return, and that your father will himself come to seek
you, and conduct you home. '--Here Charias ended his recital. How I came
to this place, and what have been my fortunes since, would take up more
time and words than there is at present opportunity for. "
Having said this, he wept; the strangers wept with him, seemingly
for his calamities, really, perhaps, in remembrance of their own:
nor would they have ceased from lamentation, had not sleep coming
over them through the luxury of grief, at length dried their tears.
They then lay in repose, but Thyamis (for that was the name of the
pirate captain) having slept quietly the first part of the night, was
afterwards disturbed by wandering dreams; and starting from his sleep,
and pondering what they should mean, was kept awake by his perplexities
the remainder of the night. For about the time when the cocks crow
(whether a natural instinct induces them to salute the returning sun,
or a feeling of warmth and a desire of food and motion excites them to
rouse those who are about them with their song) the following vision
appeared to him.
He seemed to be in Memphis, his native city; and entering into the
temple of Isis, he saw it shining with the splendour of a thousand
lighted lamps; the altars were filled with bleeding victims of all
sorts; all the avenues of the temple were crowded with people, and
resounded with the noise of the passing throngs. When he had penetrated
to the inmost sanctuary of the edifice, the goddess seemed to meet him,
to give Chariclea into his hands, and to say, "Ο Thyamis, I deliver
this maiden to you; but though having you shall not have her, but shall
be unjust, and kill your guest; yet she shall not be killed. "--This
dream troubled him, and he turned it every way in his mind; at length,
wearied with conjectures, he wrested its signification to his own
wishes. You shall have her, and not have her; that is, you shall have
her as a wife, not as a virgin: and as for the killing, he understood
it to mean, thou shalt wound her virginity, but the wound shall not be
mortal. And thus, led by his desires, he interpreted his vision. --When
the morning dawned, he called his principal followers about him, and
ordered their booty, which he called by the specious name of spoils,
to be brought out into the midst; and sending for Cnemon, directed
him to bring with him the captives whom he had the care of. When they
were being brought, "What fortune," they exclaimed, "awaits us now? "
and besought the protection and assistance of Cnemon. He promised to
do all that was in his power for them, and comforted and encouraged
them. He told them that the pirate captain had nothing barbarous in
his disposition; that his manners were rather gentle; that he belonged
to an illustrious family, and from necessity alone had embraced this
kind of life. When all were met together, and they too made their
appearance, Thyamis, seating himself on an eminence, and ordering
Cnemon, who understood the Egyptian tongue, (whereas he himself could
not speak Greek) to interpret what he said to the captives, thus
addressed the assembly:--
"You know, comrades, what my sentiments have always been towards
you. You are not ignorant, how being the son of the high-priest of
Memphis, and being frustrated of succeeding to the office[21] after the
departure of my father, my younger brother against all law depriving
me of it, I fled to you, that I might revenge the injury, and recover
my dignity. I have been thought worthy to command you, and yet I have
never arrogated any particular privileges to myself: if money was to
be distributed, I desired only an equal share of it; if captives were
to be sold, I brought their price into the common stock; for I have
always deemed it to be the part of a valiant leader, to take the larger
share of toil, and only an equal share of spoils. As to the captives,
those men whose strength of body promised to be serviceable to us, I
kept for ourselves; the weaker I sold. I never abused the women. Those
of any rank I suffered to redeem themselves with money; and sometimes,
out of compassion, dismissed them without ransom: those of inferior
condition, who, if they had not been taken, would have passed their
lives in servile offices, I employed in such services as they had been
accustomed to. But now I _do_ ask of one part of these spoils for
myself, this foreign maiden. I might take her by my own authority,
but I would rather receive her by your common consent; for it were
foolish in me to do anything with a prisoner against the will of my
friends. Neither do I ask this favour of you gratis; I am willing, in
recompense for it, to resign my share in all the other booty. For since
the priestly caste despises common amours, I am determined to take this
maiden to myself, not out of mere lust, but for the sake of offspring.
And I will explain to you the reasons which induce me to do so.
"In the first place she appears to me to be well born: I form this
conjecture both from the riches which were found about her, and
from her not being depressed by her calamities, but, seeming to rise
superior to them; I am convinced that her disposition is good and
virtuous; for, if in beauty she surpasses all, and by her looks awes
all beholders into respect, can we do otherwise than think highly of
her? But what recommends her above every thing to me is, that she
appears to be a priestess of some god; for, in all her misfortunes,
she has with a pious regard refused to lay aside her sacred robe and
chaplet. Where then can I a priest find a partner more fitting for me,
than one who is herself a priestess? "
The applause of the whole company testified their approbation. They
exhorted him to marry, and wished him all possible happiness. He then
pursued his discourse:--"I thank you, comrades; but it will now be
proper to inquire how far my proposal is agreeable to this maiden. Were
I disposed to use the power which fate has put into my hands, my will
would be sufficient; they who can compel have no need to entreat. But
in lawful marriage, the inclination of both parties ought to coincide. "
And turning to Chariclea, he said, "How, maiden, do you like my offer?
What is your country, and who were your parents? " She, keeping her eye
a considerable time on the ground, and moving slowly her head, seemed
to meditate what she should answer. At length, raising herself gently
towards Thyamis, and dazzling him with more than her usual charms (for
her eyes shone with uncommon lustre, and the circumstances she was in
gave an additional glow to her cheeks), Cnemon serving as interpreter,
she thus addressed him:
"It might perhaps have been more proper for my brother Theagenes to
speak on this occasion; for silence, I think, best becomes women,
especially in a company of men. Since, however, you address yourself to
me, and shew this first mark of humanity, in that you seek to obtain
what you desire, by persuasion rather than force; since the main
subject of your discourse relates to me alone; I am compelled to lay
aside the common reserve of my sex, and to explain myself in regard
to the proposal of marriage which you have made, even before such an
audience. Hear then what is our state and condition.
"Our country is Ionia; our family one of the most illustrious in
Ephesus. In early youth, as the laws appointed, we entered into the
priesthood. I was consecrated to Diana, my brother to Apollo. But as
the office is an annual one, and the time was elapsed, we were going
to Delos to exhibit games[22] according to the custom of our country,
and to lay down the priesthood. We loaded a ship therefore with gold,
silver, costly garments, and other things necessary for the show and
the entertainment which we were to give to the people. We set sail; our
parents being advanced in years, and afraid of the sea, remained at
home: but a great number of our fellow citizens attended us, some on
board our ships, others in vessels of their own. When we had completed
the greatest part of our voyage, a tempest suddenly arose; winds and
hurricanes, raising the waves, drove the ship out of its course. The
pilot yielded at length to the fury of the storm; and deserting the
government of the ship, let her drive at the mercy of the winds. We
scudded before them for seven days and nights; and at length were cast
upon the shore where you found us, and where you saw the slaughter
which had happened there. Rejoicing at our preservation, we gave an
entertainment to the ship's company. In the midst of it, a party of the
sailors, who had conspired to make themselves masters of our riches, by
taking away our lives, attacked us; our friends defended us; a dreadful
combat ensued, which was continued with such rage and animosity, on
both sides, that of the whole number engaged we alone survived (would
to God we had not! ), miserable remains of that unhappy day; in one
thing alone fortunate, in that some pitying deity has brought us into
your hands; and, instead of death which we feared, we are now to
deliberate upon a marriage. I do not by any means decline the offer.
Prisoner as I am, I ought to esteem it an honour and a happiness to be
permitted to aspire to the bed of my conqueror. It seems too, to be
by a particular providence of the gods, that I, a priestess, should
be united to the son of a high priest. One thing alone I beg of you,
Ο Thyamis. Permit me, at the first city I arrive at in which there is
a temple or altar of Apollo, to resign my priesthood, and lay aside
these badges of my office: this perhaps would with most propriety be
done in Memphis, when you shall have recovered the dignity you are
entitled to. Thus would our wedlock be celebrated with better auspices,
joined with victory and prosperous success: but, if you would have it
sooner, be it as you please; let me only first perform those rites
which the custom of my country demands. This I know you will not refuse
me, as you have yourself been, as you say, dedicated to holy things
from childhood, and have just and reverend notions of what relates to
the gods. "
Here she ceased, and her tears began to flow. Her speech was followed
by the approbation and applause of the company, who bid her do thus,
and promised her their aid. Thyamis could not help joining with them,
though he was not entirely satisfied, for his eager desire to possess
Chariclea made him think even the present hour an unreasonable delay.
Her words, however, like the siren's song, soothed him, and compelled
his assent; he thought, too, he saw in this some relation to his dream,
and brought himself to agree that the wedding should be celebrated
at Memphis. He then dismissed the company, having first divided the
spoils, a great part of the choicest of which were forced upon him by
his people.
He gave orders that, in ten days, they should all be ready to march
to Memphis; and sent the Greeks to the habitation in which he had
before placed them. Cnemon, too, by his command, attended them no
longer now as a guard, but as a companion: their entertainment was
the best which Thyamis could afford; and Theagenes, for his sister's
sake, partook of the same handsome treament. He determined within
himself to see Chariclea as seldom as possible, lest the sight of
her should inflame the desire which tormented him, and urge him on
to do anything inconsistent with what he had agreed to and promised.
He deprived himself, therefore, of that company in which he most
delighted, fearing that to converse with her, and to restrain himself
within proper bounds, would be more than he could answer for. When the
crew had dispersed, each to his habitation in the lake, Cnemon went
to some distance from it, in search of the herb which he had promised
to procure for Theagenes; and Theagenes, taking the opportunity of
his absence, began to weep and lament, not addressing himself to
Chariclea, but calling earnestly upon the gods: and she with tender
solicitude inquiring whether he was only lamenting their common
misfortunes, or suffering any new addition to them? --"What can be
newer or more unworthy," he replied, "than the breaking of vows and
promises? than that Chariclea, entirely forgetting me, should give her
consent to another marriage? "--"God forbid! " replied the maiden; "let
not your reproaches increase the load of my calamities; nor, after so
long an experience of my fidelity, lightly suspect a measure which
the immediate necessity of the moment compelled me to adopt: sooner
will you change than find me changed in regard to you. I can bear
ill fortune; nor shall any force compel me to do anything unworthy
of the modesty and virtue of my sex. In one thing alone, I own, I
am immoderate, my love for you; but then it is a lawful one; and,
however great, it did not throw me inconsiderately into your power;
I resigned myself to you on the most honourable conditions; I have
hither to lived with you in the most inviolate purity, resisting all
your solicitations, and looking forward to a lawful opportunity of
completing that marriage to which we are solemnly pledged. Can you
then be so unreasonable as to think it possible that I should prefer
a barbarian to a Greek? a pirate, to one to whom I am bound by so
many ties? "--"What, then," said Theagenes, "was the meaning of that
fine speech of yours? To call me your brother, indeed, was prudent
enough, to keep Thyamis from suspecting the real nature of our love,
and to induce him to let us continue together. I understood, too, the
meaning of your veiling the true circumstances of our voyage under the
fictions of Ionia and Delos. But so readily to accept his proposals,
to promise to marry him, nay, to fix a time for the ceremony--this, I
own, disturbs me, and passes my comprehension; but I had rather sink
into the earth than see such an end of all my hopes and labours on your
account. "
Chariclea flung her arms round Theagenes, gave him a thousand kisses,
and bedewing him with tears, cried out, "How delightful to me are these
apprehensions of yours! They prove that all the troubles you have
undergone have in no degree weakened your love; but know, Ο my dear
Theagenes, that unless I had promised as I did, we should not now be
talking together. You must be sensible that contradiction only adds
force to violent passion; seeming compliance allays the impulse in its
birth, and the allurement of promises lulls the violence of desire.
Your rough lovers think they have got something when they have obtained
a promise: and, relying upon the faith of it, become quieter, feeding
themselves with hope. I, being aware of this, in words resigned myself
up to him, committing what shall follow to the gods, and to that genius
who presides over our loves.
"A short interval of time has frequently afforded means of safety,
which the wisest counsels of men could not have foreseen. I saw nothing
better to be done than to endeavour to ward off a certain and imminent
danger, by a present, though uncertain, remedy. We must, therefore, my
dearest Theagenes, use this fiction as our best ally, and carefully
conceal the truth even from Cnemon; for though he seems friendly to
us, and is a Greek, yet he is a captive, and likely, perhaps, to do
anything which may ingratiate him with his master.
Our friendship
with him is as yet too new, neither is there any relation between us
sufficiently strong to give us a certain assurance of his fidelity. If
he suspects, therefore, and inquires into our real situation, we must
deny it: for even a falsehood is commendable when it is of service to
those who use it, and does no injury to the hearers of it. "
While Chariclea was thus suggesting this course, Cnemon comes running
in, with an altered countenance, and seemingly in much agitation. "Ο
Theagenes," he cried, "I have brought you the herb I mentioned; apply
it, and it will heal your wounds; but you must now, I fear, prepare
yourself for others, and a slaughter equal to that which you have
lately been an actor in. " Theagenes desiring him to explain himself,
"There is no time at present;" he replied, "for explanation; action
will probably anticipate words; but do you and Chariclea follow me as
fast as you can;" and taking them with him, he brought them to Thyamis.
They found him employed in burnishing his helmet and sharpening his
spear. "Very seasonably," he exclaimed, "are you employed about your
arms; put them on as fast as you can, and command all your men to
do the same, for a hostile force is approaching greater than ever
threatened us before, and they must now be very near. I saw them
advancing over the top of the neighbouring hill, and have made all
possible haste to bring you information, giving the alarm to every one
I met with in my passage. "
Thyamis, at these tidings, started up and cried out, "Where is
Chariclea? " as if he were more apprehensive for her than for himself.
When Cnemon showed her standing near the door. "Lead this maiden
privately," says he, "into the cave where I keep my treasures, and
forget not to replace as usual the covering of it; having done this,
return to me as fast as you can: meanwhile, I will prepare for the
storm of battle which awaits us. " Having said this, he ordered his
lieutenant to bring forth a victim, that he might begin the engagement
after a due sacrifice to his country's gods. Cnemon proceeded to
execute his commission, and leading off Chariclea, who turned earnestly
towards Theagenes, and lamented her hard fate, he let her down into
the cave. This was not, as many are, the work of nature, an accidental
excavation, but the contrivance of the pirates, who, imitating her
operations, had hollowed out an artificial cavern for the reception
of their treasures. It was formed in this manner: its entrance,[23]
narrow and dark, was under the doors of a hidden chamber, the threshold
became, in case of need, a second door, for farther descent; it fitted
exactly, and could be lifted up with great facility; the rest of the
cave was cut into various winding passages, which, now diverging,
now returning, with a multitude of ramifications, converged at last
into an open space at the bottom, which received an uncertain light
from an aperture at the extremity of the lake. Here Cnemon introduced
Chariclea, and led her to the farthest recess, encouraging and
promising her that he and Theagenes would come to her in the evening;
and that he would not suffer him to engage in the battle which
impended. Chariclea was unable to answer him; and he went out of the
cave, leaving her half dead, silent, and stupified, as if her soul
had been separated from her with Theagenes. He shut down the door,
dropping a tear for her as he did it, and for the necessity he was
under of burying her in a manner alive, and consigning the brightest of
human forms to darkness and obscurity. He made what haste he could to
Thyamis. He found him burning with ardour for the fight, and Theagenes
by his side splendidly armed; he was even to frenzy rousing the spirits
of his followers who surrounded him, and thus began to address them:
"There is no need, comrades, to address you in a long exhortation;
you want no encouragement, to whom war is the breath of life; and the
sudden approach of the enemy cuts off all space for words; it becomes
us to prepare to resist force by force; not to do so would betray an
absence of all energy. I do not put you in mind of your wives and
children as is usual on these occasions, though nothing but victory can
preserve them from destruction and violation. This contest is for our
very being and existence; no quarter, no truce, ever takes place in
piratic warfare; we must either conquer or die. Let us exert, then, our
force to the utmost, and with determined minds fall upon the enemy. "
Having said this, he looked round for his lieutenant, Thermuthis,
and called him several times by his name. When he nowhere appeared,
throwing out hasty threats against him, he rushed on towards the ferry.
The battle was already begun, and he could see at a distance those who
inhabited the extremities and approaches of the lake in the fact of
being routed by the enemy, who set on fire the boats and huts of those
who fell or fled. The flames spread to the neighbouring morass, caught
hold of the reeds which grew there in great abundance, dazzled every
eye with an almost intolerable blaze, and, crackling and roaring,
stunned their ears.
War[24] now appeared in all its horrid forms: the inhabitants for some
time, with readiness and energy, supported and repelled the attack; but
being astonished by the sudden incursion, and pressed by the superior
numbers of the enemy, those on the land gave way, and many of those on
the lake, together with their boats and habitations, were overwhelmed
in the waters! every dreadful sound now struck the air, as the conflict
raged both by land and water; groans and shouts were mingled, the
lake was discoloured with blood, all were involved in fire or water.
Thyamis, at this sight, called to mind his dream, and the temple of
Isis shining with lamps, and flowing with the blood of victims; he saw
a resemblance in it to the scene before him, and began to fear that
he must give up his former favourable interpretation; that Chariclea
was destined to fall in this tumult, and that so having had her in
his possession, he should now have her no longer; that she would be
slain, not merely be wounded in her virginity; exclaiming, therefore
against the goddess, for having deceived him, and unable to bear the
thought that any one else should possess Chariclea, he ordered the men
who were about him to halt, and if they were obliged to engage, to
defend themselves as well as they could, by retiring behind, and making
sallies from, the numerous little islands: as by so doing they might,
for some time, be able to resist the attack of the enemy. He then,
under pretence of going to seek Thermuthis, and sacrificing to his
household gods, returned in great agitation to his tent, suffering no
one to follow him.
The disposition of the barbarians is obstinate and determined;[25]
when they despair of their own safety, they are accustomed to destroy
those who are most dear to them; either wildly imagining that they
shall enjoy their company after death; or thinking that by so doing
they shall deliver them from the injuries and insults of the enemy.
Stimulated by some of these motives, Thyamis, forgetting the urgent
danger which pressed upon him, and the enemies by whom he was
surrounded as by a net; burning with anger, love, and jealousy, rushed
headlong to the cave: he poured out his Egyptian exclamations with a
loud voice, and soon after his entrance, being addressed by some one
in the Greek tongue, the voice guided him to the person; he seized her
hair with his left hand, and with his right plunged his sword into her
bosom: the unfortunate creature sank down, uttering a last and piteous
groan. Issuing forth and closing the trap-door, he threw a little
dust over her, and dropping a tear he exclaimed, "Are these then the
nuptial presents you were to expect from me! " When he arrived at the
boats, he saw his people ready to fly as the enemy approached near,
and Thermuthis having now made his appearance, preparing to begin the
sacrifice: having abused him for his unseasonable absence, and told
him that he had already offered up the most beauteous of victims, he,
Thermuthis and the rower got into a boat: their small vessels would
not hold more, being made out of the trunk of a tree rudely hollowed.
Theagenes and Cnemon got into another, and in the same manner all the
rest embarked.
When they had proceeded a little from the shore, rowing round the side
rather than launching out into the deep, they lay upon their oars,
and drew up in a line, to receive the enemy; but at their approach, a
sudden panic seized the pirates, and not sustaining the first hostile
shout of their opponents, they fled in disorder: Cnemon and Theagenes
gradually retired, but not from fear: Thyamis alone disdained to fly;
and perhaps not wishing to survive Chariclea, rushed into the midst
of his foes. A cry was instantly heard among them, "This is Thyamis,
let all have an eye to him:" immediately they turned their boats and
surrounded him; he, vigorously fighting, wounded some and killed
others, and yet strange was that which ensued: out of so great a
multitude no one lifted up a sword, or cast a dart at him, but every
one did their utmost to capture him alive. He continued manfully to
resist, till at length his spear was wrested from him, and he had lost
his lieutenant, who had nobly seconded him; and who, having received,
as he thought, a mortal wound, leaped into the lake, and with great
difficulty reached the shore, no one offering to pursue him; for now
they had laid hold on Thyamis, and esteemed the capture of one man a
victory; and though he had destroyed so many of their men, their joy
at having taken him alive far exceeded their grief for the loss of
their comrades; for gain is dearer to robbers than their lives; and
friendship and relationship are only so far considered among them as
they conduce to this main end.
The leaders of this attack were the men who had fled from Thyamis and
his followers at the Heracleotic mouth of the Nile: they, enraged
at the loss of a booty, which through plunder, they considered as
their own, gathered their friends together, and many others from the
neighbouring towns, by proposing to them an equal division of the
spoils; and became their guides in the expedition.
The reason why they were so desirous of taking Thyamis alive was
this: Petosiris, who resided at Memphis, was his younger brother; by
his artifices he had unlawfully deprived Thyamis of the priesthood,
and hearing that he was now at the head of the pirates, he feared
that he might take some opportunity to attack him, or that in time
his treachery might be discovered; he was besides suspected of
having made away with his brother, who nowhere appeared. For these
reasons he proclaimed great rewards among all the nests of pirates
in his neighbourhood, to any one who should capture him alive: they,
stimulated by these offers, and in the heat of battle, not losing sight
of gain, took him prisoner at the price of many of their lives. They
sent him, under a strong guard, to the main land, he reproaching them
all the while for their seeming lenity, and bearing bonds much more
indignantly than he would have borne death. The rest proceeded towards
the island in quest of treasures and spoil; but when, after a long and
strict search, they found nothing of any consequence, some few things
excepted, which out of hurry or forgetfulness were left out of the
cavern, they set fire to the tents; and the evening coming on, fearing
to remain there any longer, lest they should be surprised by the enemy
whom they had driven thence, they returned to their companions upon the
continent.
[Footnote 1: Piracy was not in those times considered dishonorable; but
the contrary. --Thucyd. B. i. 4. ]
[Footnote 2: Called by Herodotus, B. ii. 17, the Bucolic mouth. "It
seems clear that the phrase was derived from the inhabitants of
the region, a horde of piratical herdsmen, apparently of different
race from the agricultural Egyptians. They haunted the most marshy
part of the Delta, where the papyrus reeds effectually masked their
retreats. "--Blakesley's Herodotus. ]
[Footnote 3: ἐπὶ τρίτον ζωστῆρα--to the third wale. The wales are
strong planks extending along a ship's side through the whole length at
different heights, serving to strengthen the decks and form the curves.
A passage in the Cyclops of Euripides may illustrate the above--
γάνυμας δὲ δαιτὸς ἤβης,
σκάφος ὁλκὰς ὥς γεμισθεὶς
ποτὶ σέλμα γαστρὸς ἂκρας. --Cyclops. 503.
]
[Footnote 4:
Indum sanguineo veluti violaverat ostro
Si quis ebur. --Æn. xii. 67.
]
[Footnote 5: ἤ γέγoνας πολέμου πάρεργον. The expression πολέμου
πάρεργον means a by-work; something done by the by. --Thucyd. B. i. 112. ]
[Footnote 6: Iliad, B. i. 45. ]
[Footnote 7: A full description of the personal appearance of the
buccaneers will be found in Achilles Tatius. --B. iii. c. 9. ]
[Footnote 8: Ή μὲν ταῦτα ἐπετραγῴδει. ]
[Footnote 9: For a further description of the buccaneer stronghold, see
Achilles Tatius, B. iv. c. 14.
Perhaps Heliodorus (afterwards a bishop) had derived the materials
for his graphic description of their haunts and manners from personal
residence among them, as was the case (so Horace Walpole informs us)
with Archbishop Blackburne (_temp. _ Geo. II,) who in his younger days
is said to have been a buccaneer. In Herod. v. 16, is a curious account
of a fishing-town built in the lake Prasias, exactly corresponding with
the description of _The Pasturage_ in Heliodorus. ]
[Footnote 10: Ἔμπνουν ἄγαλμα.
"And there she stood, so calm and pale
That, but her breathing did not fail,
And motion slight of eye and head,
And of her bosom, warranted
That neither sense nor pulse she lacks,
You might have thought a form of wax,
Wrought to the very life, was there;
But still she was, so pale, so fair. "--Marmion, c. xxi
]
[Footnote 11: Βουλῆς δὲ τῆς ἅνω. The Council of the 500, who were
a kind of Committee of the Ἐκκλησία to prepare measures for that
assembly. ]
[Footnote 12: Cnemon and his stepmother will recall to the reader's
memory Phædra and Hippolytus. ]
[Footnote 13: In the Ceramicus, without the city, was an engine, built
in the form of a ship, upon which the πέπλος, or robe of Minerva, was
hung, in the manner of a sail, and which was put in motion by concealed
machinery. It was conveyed to the temple of Ceres Eleusinia, and from
thence to the citadel, where it was put upon Minerva's statue, which
was laid upon a bed strewed with flowers, and called πλακὶς. ]
[Footnote 14: The public hall at Athens, in which the Prytanes for
the time being, and some other magistrates, had their meals, and
entertained foreign ambassadors. ]
[Footnote 15: Literally, "I had him enrolled in his proper ward
(φρατρία), in his proper house (γένος), and among those arrived at
puberty (ἕφηβοι)," the successive steps to Athenian citizenship. ]
[Footnote 16: The Barathrum was a yawning cleft behind the Acropolis,
into which criminals were cast. ]
[Footnote 17: Hesiod, "Works and Days," 221.
"Justice. . . .
When mortals violate her sacred laws,
When judges hear the bribe and not the cause,
Close by her parent god behold her stand,
And urge the punishment their sins demand. "--Lee.
Ammianus Marcellinus says, B. xxix. , "_Inconnivens_ justitiæ oculus;
arbiter et vindex perpetuus rerum. "
Rarò antecedentem scelestum
Descruit pede Pœna claudo. --Hor. Od. iii. II. 31.
]
[Footnote 18: Ὄν θυμόν κατέδων. Il. vi. 202. ]
[Footnote 19: Δεύτερος ἔσται πλοῦς, we will go on a fresh tack. ]
[Footnote 20: Κακή κακῶς. ]
[Footnote 21: The succession to the Egyptian priesthood was
hereditary. --Vide Herod. , ii. 37. ]
[Footnote 22: θεωρίαν ἤγομεν. The Athenians made a solemn voyage
to Delos every year; the deputation was called θεωρία; the persons
employed in it, θεωροὶ; the ship, θεωρὶς. See Robinson's Antiquities of
Greece. ]
[Footnote 23: This description is very obscure in the original; the
meaning seems to be, that the descent to the cavern was effected by
lifting up an oblong stone, bearing the appearance of a threshold,
but serving as a door. The following is the version of the Italian
translator: "L'entrata era stretta e oscura, sottoposta all' entrata
d'uno occulto edificio, in guisa che la soglia della prima entrata
faceva un' altra porta ad uso di scendere," &c. The poet, Walter Lisle,
gives the passage thus:--
"A cave there was, it opened well and shut
With narrow door of stone, that threshold was
T'an upper room. Within, a maze it has
Of sundrie wayes, entangled (like the roots
Of thicke-set trees, amids and all abouts),
That meet in plaine. "
And wishing to embellish the picture, he adds--
"With scales of crocodile
The roofe is pav'd, brought hither from the Nile. "
]
[Footnote 24: See a passage, already referred to, in Achilles Tatius
(B. iv. c. 14), containing a spirited picture of pirate warfare. ]
[Footnote 25: There is a curious example of this disposition of the
barbarians in the conduct of Mithridates, after his defeat by Lucullus.
See Ferguson's Rom. Hist. vol. ii. p. 24. He ordered his wives and
sisters to destroy themselves, fearful of their falling into the
enemy's hands. ]
BOOK II.
In this manner, as we have related, were the flames spread over the
lake; the conflagration escaped the notice of Theagenes and Cnemon
while the sun was above the horizon, the superior lustre of that planet
overcoming the blaze; but when it set, when night came on, and the fire
had no longer any rival to contend with, it appeared at a distance to
their great consternation, as they began to raise themselves out of
the morass. Theagenes tearing his hair, thus broke out into passionate
exclamations; "May this day be the last of my life; may my fears,
cares, and dangers now have an end, and my hopes and love conclude
together. Chariclea is no more, and I am undone; in vain, wretch, that
I am, have I become a coward, and submitted to an unmanly flight, that
I might preserve myself for you, the delight of my life. For you,
alas! I live no longer; you have fallen by an untimely death, nor
was he on whom you doated present to receive your latest breath; but
you are become the prey of flames, and these are the nuptial torches
which cruel fate has lighted up for you. All is consumed, and there
now remains no trace of the most perfect of human forms: O! most cruel
and envious deities! a last embrace is denied me:" and thus lamenting,
he felt about for his sword--Cnemon arrested his hand, and cried out,
"Why, Theagenes, do you lament her who is safe? Chariclea is alive;
be comforted. " "Away! " he replied, "this is a tale for children; why
do you keep me from the death I long for? " Cnemon swore to the truth
of what he had said, told him the orders of Thyamis, described the
cave where he had placed Chariclea; and assured him there was not the
smallest danger of the flames (cut off as they would be) penetrating
through the deep and winding avenues by which she was protected.
Theagenes at these assurances began to recover his spirits, and
hastened towards the island, having Chariclea, and a joyful meeting in
the cave before his eyes, ignorant, alas! of the woes which awaited
him there. They proceeded forwards with great ardour, plying the oars
themselves, for their rower had fallen overboard in the confusion
of the first flight; they went on with an unsteady course from
inexperience in rowing, not able to keep stroke, and the wind being
against them; but their ardour overcame their unskilfulness, and with
great difficulty at last, and bathed in sweat, they reached the shore,
and ran eagerly towards the tents. Of these they saw only the ashes,
they having been totally consumed; the stone, however, which formed
the threshold and entrance of the cavern, was conspicuous enough; for
the huts being built of reeds and such slender materials, were soon
consumed and turned into a light ash, which the wind scattering away,
left the earth bare in many places for a passage, cooling it at the
same time with the blast.
Finding some torches half burnt, and lighting some reeds which
remained, they opened the cave's mouth, and under the guidance of
Cnemon, descended into it. When they had gone a little way, Cnemon
suddenly exclaimed, "Ο God! what is this? we are undone, Chariclea is
slain;" and flinging his torch on the ground, extinguished it, and
falling on his knees, and covering his face with his hands, began to
weep. Theagenes threw himself upon the body, and held it a long time
in his arms, closely embraced; Cnemon seeing him overwhelmed with this
stroke, and fearing when he recovered his senses he would make some
attempt upon himself, took away unobserved the sword which hung by his
side, and leaving him for a moment, ran out to light his torch. While
he was gone, the unhappy lover broke out into mournful and tragic
exclamations, "Ο intolerable calamity, and never-to-be-appeased wrath
of the gods! what insatiable demon thus rages to my destruction? who,
after having driven me from my country through a thousand dangers of
seas and pirates, having delivered me up to marauders, and stript me
of all I had, when one only comfort was left me, has now deprived me
of that! Chariclea is no more, she lies slain by a violent death;
doubtless, she has fallen in defence of her chastity, determined to
preserve herself unspotted for my sake. In vain has her beauty bloomed
both for herself and me; but, Ο my love! have not you one last word
left to speak to me? Are life and breath for ever gone? Alas! you
are silent; that mouth, formerly the interpreter of the will of
heaven, is dumb, and darkness and destruction have overwhelmed the
priestess of the gods. Those eyes glance no more whose lustre dazzled
all beholders, whose brightness, if your murderer had met, he could
not have executed his purpose; what shall I call you, my wife? but we
were not married; my contracted spouse? but the contract has been a
fruitless one; let me call you by the sweetest of all appellations,
Chariclea. Ο Chariclea! if, where you are, you are capable of receiving
comfort, be comforted; you have a faithful lover; we shall soon meet
again; behold, I sacrifice myself to your Manes, to you I pour out my
own blood in libations;[1] this cavern, a rude sepulchre, shall retain
both our bodies; we shall be united in our deaths, though fate forbade
it in our lives. " Saying this, he felt for his sword, and not finding
it, "Ο Cnemon," he exclaimed, "you have undone me, and Chariclea too,
for the second time depriving her shade of the company it desires. "
While he was thus speaking, a voice from the windings of the cave was
heard, calling Theagenes; he, not in the least alarmed, replied, "I
come, my dearest life; your soul, I see, still hovers above the earth,
partly, perhaps, because unwilling to leave that body, from which it
has by violence been expelled; and partly, because[2] wanting the rites
of sepulture, you may be refused admittance in the shades below. "
Cnemon now approached with the torch; again the voice was heard,
calling Theagenes; Cnemon instantly exclaimed, "Ye gods! is not this
the voice of Chariclea? Theagenes, I think she is safe, for the sound
seems to me to proceed from that very part of the cavern where I know
I left her. "--"Will you never cease attempting to deceive me," replied
Theagenes? --"I am much deceived myself," replied the other, "if we find
this corpse which lies before us to be that of Chariclea;" and stooping
down to examine the countenance, "O heavens! " he cried out, "what do
I see? the face of Thisbe! " and starting back, he stood petrified
with astonishment. Theagenes, on the contrary, now began to recover
his spirits, and in his turn supported and encouraged Cnemon, who was
ready to faint; and besought him that he would lead him instantly to
Chariclea; Cnemon, by degrees coming to himself, again examined the
body, which really was that of Thisbe; he knew, too, by its hilt, the
sword which Thyamis from rage and haste had left sticking in the wound.
He perceived also a tablet appearing out of her bosom; he took it, and
was beginning to read what was written upon it; but Theagenes would
not suffer him, and earnestly entreated him, if all he saw was not the
illusion of some demon, that he would take him to Chariclea; you may
afterwards, said he, read this tablet. Cnemon obeyed; and, taking up
the tablet and the sword, hastened towards Chariclea. She, creeping
on hands and knees towards the sound of their voices as well as she
could, at length saw the light, flew to Theagenes, and hung upon his
neck. And mutually exclaiming, "And are you restored to me, my dear
Theagenes? "--"Do you live,[3] sweetest Chariclea? " they fell in each
others' arms upon the ground; their voices murmuring and themselves
dying away. So much does a sudden rush of joy overpower the human
faculties, and excess of pleasure passes into pain.
punish him as he deserved; and that I should go in, sword in hand, lest
he should escape.
"I did as Thisbe exhorted me; and taking my sword, she going before
me with a torch, went towards my mother's bedchamber. When I arrived
there, and perceived there was a light burning within, my passion
rising, I burst open the door, and, rushing in, cried out, 'Where is
the villain, the vile paramour of this paragon of virtue? ' and thus
exclaiming, I advanced, prepared to transfix them both, when my father,
Ο ye gods! leaping from the bed, fell at my feet, and besought me, 'Ο
my son! stay your hand, pity your father, and these grey hairs which
have nourished you. I have used you ill, I confess, but not so as to
deserve death from you. Let not passion transport you; do not imbrue
your hands in a parent's blood! '
"He was going on in this supplicatory strain, while I stood
thunderstruck, without power either to speak or stir. I looked about
for Thisbe, but she had withdrawn. I cast my eyes in amaze round the
chamber, confounded and stupified: the sword fell from my hand.
"Demæneta, running up, immediately took it away; and my father, now
seeing himself out of danger, laid hands upon me, and ordered me to be
bound, his wife stimulating him all the time, and exclaiming, 'This is
what I foretold; I bid you guard yourself from the attempts of this
youth; I observed his looks, and feared his designs. '--'You did,' he
replied; 'but I could not have imagined he would carry his wickedness
to such a pitch. ' He then kept me bound; and though I made several
attempts to explain the matter, he would not suffer me to speak.
"When the morning was come, he brought me out before the people, bound
as I was; and flinging dust upon his head, thus addressed them: 'I
entertained hopes, Ο Athenians, when the gods gave me this son, that
he would have been the staff of my declining age. I brought him up
genteelly; I gave him a first-rate education;[15] I went through every
step needful to procure him the full privileges of a citizen of Athens;
in short, my whole life was a scene of solicitude on his account. But
he, forgetting all this, abused me first with words, and assaulted my
wife with blows; and at last broke in upon me in the night, brandishing
a drawn sword, and was prevented from committing a parricide only by a
sudden consternation which seized him, and made the weapon drop from
his hand. I have recourse, therefore, to this assembly for my own
defence and his punishment. I might, I know, lawfully have punished
him even with death myself; but I had rather leave the whole matter to
your judgment than stain my own hands with his blood:' and, having said
this, he began to weep.
"Demæneta too accompanied him with her tears, lamenting the untimely
but just death which I must soon suffer, whom my evil genius had armed
against my parent; and thus seeming to confirm by her lamentations the
truth of her husband's accusations.
"At length I desired to be heard in my turn, when the clerk arising put
this pointed question to me: Did I attack my father with a sword? When
I replied, 'I did indeed attack him, but hear how I came so to do'--the
whole assembly exclaimed that, after this confession, there was no room
for apology or defence. Some cried out I ought to be stoned; others,
that I should be delivered to the executioner, and thrown headlong
into the Barathrum. [16] During this tumult, while they were disputing
about my punishment, I cried out, 'All this I suffer on account of my
mother-in-law; my step-mother makes me to be condemned unheard. ' A few
of the assembly appeared to take notice of what I said, and to have
some suspicions of the truth of the case; yet even then I could not
obtain an audience, so much were all minds possessed by the disturbance.
"At length they proceeded to ballot: one thousand seven hundred
condemned me to death; some to be stoned, others to be thrown into the
Barathrum. The remainder, to the number of about a thousand, having
some suspicions of the machinations of my mother-in-law, adjudged me
to perpetual banishment; and this sentence prevailed: for though a
greater number had doomed me to death, yet there being a difference in
their opinions as to the kind of death, they were so divided, that the
numbers of neither party amounted to a thousand.
"Thus, therefore, was I driven from my father's house and my country:
the wicked Demæneta, however, did not remain unpunished; in what manner
you shall hear by-and-by. --But you ought now to take a little sleep;
the night is far advanced, and some rest is necessary for you. "
"It will be very annoying to us," replied Theagenes, "if you leave
this wicked woman unpunished. "--"Hear, then," said Cnemon, "since you
will have it so.
"I went immediately from the assembly to the Piræus, and finding a ship
ready to set sail for Ægina, I embarked in her, hearing there were
some relations of my mother's there. I was fortunate enough to find
them on my arrival, and passed the first days of my exile agreeably
enough among them. After I had been there about three weeks, taking
my accustomed solitary walk, I came down to the port; a vessel was
standing in; I stopped to see from whence she came, and who were on
board. The ladder was no sooner let down, when a person leapt on shore,
ran up to me, and embraced me. He proved to be Charias, one of my
former companions. --'Ο Cnemon! ' he cried out, 'I bring you good news.
You are revenged on your enemy: Demæneta is dead. '--'I am heartily
glad to see you, Charias,' I replied; 'but why do you hurry over
your good tidings as if they were bad ones? Tell me how all this has
happened; I fear she has died a natural death, and escaped that which
she deserved. '--'Justice,' said he, 'has not entirely deserted us (as
Hesiod[17] says); and though she sometimes seems to wink at crime for
a time, protecting her vengeance, such wretches rarely escape at last:
neither has Demæneta. From my connexion with Thisbe, I have been made
acquainted with the whole affair.
"'After your unjust exile, your father, repenting of what he had done,
retired from the sight of the world, into a lonely villa, and there
lived; "gnawing his own heart," according to the poet. [18] But the
furies took possession of his wife, and her passion rose to a higher
pitch in your absence than it had ever done before. She lamented your
misfortunes and her own, calling day and night in a frantic manner
upon Cnemon, her dear boy, her soul; insomuch that the women of her
acquaintance, who visited her, wondered at and praised her; that,
though a step-dame, she felt a mother's affection. They endeavoured to
console and strengthen her; but she replied that her sorrows were past
consolation, and that they were ignorant of the wound which rankled at
her heart.
"'When she was alone she abused Thisbe for the share she had in the
business. "How slow were you in assisting my love! How ready in
administering to my revenge! You deprived me of him I loved above all
the world, without giving me an instant to repent and be appeased. " And
she gave plain hints that she intended some mischief against her.
"'Thisbe seeing her disappointed, enraged, almost out of her senses
with love and grief, and capable of undertaking anything, determined
to be beforehand with her; and by laying a snare for her mistress, to
provide for her own security. One day, therefore, she thus accosted
her: "Why, Ο my mistress, do you wrongfully accuse your slave? It
has always been my study to obey your will in the best manner I
could; if anything unlucky has happened, fortune is to blame; I am
ready now, if you command me, to endeavour to find a remedy for your
distress. "--"What remedy can you find? " cried she. "He who alone could
ease my torments is far distant; the unexpected lenity of his judges
has been my ruin: had he been stoned or otherwise put to death, my
hopes and cares would have been buried with him. Impossibility of
gratification extinguishes desire, and despair makes the heart callous.
But now I seem to have him before my eyes: I hear, and blush at hearing
him upbraid me with his injuries. Sometimes I flatter my fond heart
that he will return again, and that I shall obtain my wishes; at other
times I form schemes of seeking him myself, on whatever shore he
wanders. These thoughts agitate, inflame, and drive me beside myself.
Ye gods! I am justly served. Why, instead of laying schemes against
his life, did I not persist in endeavouring to subdue him by kindness?
He refused me at first, and it was but fitting he should do so; I was
a stranger, and he reverenced his father's bed. Time and persuasion
might have overcome his coldness; but I, unjust, and inhuman as I was,
more like a tyrant, than his mistress, cruelly punished his first
disobedience. Yet with how much justice might he slight Demæneta, whom
he so infinitely surpassed in beauty! But, my dear Thisbe, what remedy
is it you hint at? " The artful slave replied: "Ο Mistress, Cnemon, as
most people think, in obedience to the sentence, has departed both
from the city and from Attica; but I, who inquire anxiously into
everything that you can have any concern in, have discovered that he
is lurking somewhere about the town. You have heard perhaps of Arsinoë
the singer: he has long been connected with her. After his misfortune,
she promised to go into exile with him, and keeps him concealed at her
house till she can prepare herself for setting out. "--"Happy Arsinoë! "
cried Demæneta; "happy at first in possessing the love of Cnemon, and
now in being permitted to accompany him into banishment. But what is
all this to me? "--"Attend, and you shall hear," said Thisbe. "I will
pretend that I am in love with Cnemon. I will beg Arsinoë, with whom I
am acquainted, to introduce me some night to him in her room; you may,
if you please, represent Arsinoë, and receive his visit instead of me.
I will take care that he shall have drunk a little freely when he goes
to bed. If you obtain your wishes, perhaps you may be cured of your
passion. The first gratification sometimes extinguishes the flame of
desire. Love soon finds its end in satiety: but if yours (which I hope
will not be the case) should still continue, we may perhaps find some
other scheme to satisfy it;[19] at present let us attend to this which
I have proposed. "
"'Demæneta eagerly embraced the proposal, and desired her to put it
into immediate execution. Thisbe demanded a day only for preparation;
and going directly to Arsinoë, asked her if she knew Teledemus. Arsinoë
replying that she did, "Receive us then," says she, "this evening
into your house; I have promised to sleep with him to-night: he will
come first; I shall follow, when I have put my mistress to bed. " Then
hastening into the country to Aristippus, she thus addressed him: "I
come, master, to accuse myself; punish me as you think fit. I have
been the cause of your losing your son; not indeed willingly, but yet
I was instrumental in his destruction: for when I perceived that my
mistress led a dissolute life, and injured your bed, I began to fear
for myself, lest I should suffer if she should be detected by anybody
else. I pitied you too, who received such ill returns for all your
affection; I was afraid, however, of mentioning the matter to you, but
I discovered it to my young master; and coming to him by night, to
avoid observation, I told him that an adulterer was sleeping with my
mistress. He, hurried on by resentment, mistook my meaning, and thought
I said that an adulterer was then with her. His passion rose; he
snatched a sword, and ran madly on towards your bedchamber. It was in
vain I endeavoured to detain him, and to assure him that no adulterer
was then with my mistress; he regarded not what I said, either made
deaf by rage, or imagining that I changed my purpose. The rest you
know. You have it in your power at least to clear up the character of
your banished son, and to punish her who has injured both of you; for
I will shew you to-day Demæneta with an adulterer, in a strange house
without the city, and in bed. "
"'"If you can do that," said Aristippus, "your freedom shall be your
reward. I shall, perhaps, take some comfort in life, when I have got
rid of this wicked woman. I have for some time been uneasy within
myself: I have suspected her; but, having no proofs, I was silent. But
what must we do now? "--"You know," said she, "the garden where is the
monument of the Epicureans: come there in the evening, and wait for
me. " And having so said, away she goes; and coming to Demæneta, "Dress
yourself," she cries, "immediately; neglect nothing that can set off
your person; everything that I have promised you is ready. "--Demæneta
did as she was desired, and adorned herself with all her skill; and
in the evening Thisbe attended her to the place of assignation. When
they came near she desired her to stop a little; and going forwards she
begged Arsinoë to step into the next house, and leave her at liberty
in her own; for she wished to spare the young man's blushes, who was
but lately initiated into love affairs; and, having persuaded her, she
returned, introduced Demæneta, put her to bed, took away the light
(lest, forsooth, you, who were then safe at Ægina, should discover
her), and entreated her to enjoy the good fortune which awaited her
in silence. "I will now go," said she, "and bring the youth to you;
he is drinking at a house in the neighborhood. "--Away she flies where
Aristippus was waiting, and exhorts him to go immediately and bind
the adulterer fast. He follows her, rushes into the house, and, by
help of a little moonlight which shone, with difficulty finding the
bed, exclaims, "I have caught you now, you abandoned creature! " Thisbe
immediately upon this exclamation bangs to the door on the other side,
and cries out, "What untoward fortune! the adulterer has escaped; but
take care at least that you secure the adulteress. "--"Make yourself
easy," he replied; "I have secured this wicked woman, whom I was
the most desirous of taking:" and seizing her, he began to drag her
towards the city. But she feeling deeply the situation she was in,
the disappointment of her hopes, the ignominy which must attend her
offences, and the punishment which awaited them, vexed and enraged at
being deceived and detected, when she came near the pit which is in the
Academy (you know the place where our generals sacrifice to the Manes
of our heroes), suddenly disengaging herself from the hands of the old
man, flung herself headlong in: and thus she died[20] a wretched death,
suited for a wretch like herself.
"'Upon this Aristippus cried out, "You have yourself anticipated the
justice of the laws," and the next day he laid the whole matter before
the people; and having with difficulty obtained his pardon, consulted
his friends and acquaintance how best he could obtain your recall.
What success he has met with I cannot inform you of; for I have been
obliged, as you see, to sail here on my own private business. But I
think you have the greatest reason to expect that the people will
consent to your return, and that your father will himself come to seek
you, and conduct you home. '--Here Charias ended his recital. How I came
to this place, and what have been my fortunes since, would take up more
time and words than there is at present opportunity for. "
Having said this, he wept; the strangers wept with him, seemingly
for his calamities, really, perhaps, in remembrance of their own:
nor would they have ceased from lamentation, had not sleep coming
over them through the luxury of grief, at length dried their tears.
They then lay in repose, but Thyamis (for that was the name of the
pirate captain) having slept quietly the first part of the night, was
afterwards disturbed by wandering dreams; and starting from his sleep,
and pondering what they should mean, was kept awake by his perplexities
the remainder of the night. For about the time when the cocks crow
(whether a natural instinct induces them to salute the returning sun,
or a feeling of warmth and a desire of food and motion excites them to
rouse those who are about them with their song) the following vision
appeared to him.
He seemed to be in Memphis, his native city; and entering into the
temple of Isis, he saw it shining with the splendour of a thousand
lighted lamps; the altars were filled with bleeding victims of all
sorts; all the avenues of the temple were crowded with people, and
resounded with the noise of the passing throngs. When he had penetrated
to the inmost sanctuary of the edifice, the goddess seemed to meet him,
to give Chariclea into his hands, and to say, "Ο Thyamis, I deliver
this maiden to you; but though having you shall not have her, but shall
be unjust, and kill your guest; yet she shall not be killed. "--This
dream troubled him, and he turned it every way in his mind; at length,
wearied with conjectures, he wrested its signification to his own
wishes. You shall have her, and not have her; that is, you shall have
her as a wife, not as a virgin: and as for the killing, he understood
it to mean, thou shalt wound her virginity, but the wound shall not be
mortal. And thus, led by his desires, he interpreted his vision. --When
the morning dawned, he called his principal followers about him, and
ordered their booty, which he called by the specious name of spoils,
to be brought out into the midst; and sending for Cnemon, directed
him to bring with him the captives whom he had the care of. When they
were being brought, "What fortune," they exclaimed, "awaits us now? "
and besought the protection and assistance of Cnemon. He promised to
do all that was in his power for them, and comforted and encouraged
them. He told them that the pirate captain had nothing barbarous in
his disposition; that his manners were rather gentle; that he belonged
to an illustrious family, and from necessity alone had embraced this
kind of life. When all were met together, and they too made their
appearance, Thyamis, seating himself on an eminence, and ordering
Cnemon, who understood the Egyptian tongue, (whereas he himself could
not speak Greek) to interpret what he said to the captives, thus
addressed the assembly:--
"You know, comrades, what my sentiments have always been towards
you. You are not ignorant, how being the son of the high-priest of
Memphis, and being frustrated of succeeding to the office[21] after the
departure of my father, my younger brother against all law depriving
me of it, I fled to you, that I might revenge the injury, and recover
my dignity. I have been thought worthy to command you, and yet I have
never arrogated any particular privileges to myself: if money was to
be distributed, I desired only an equal share of it; if captives were
to be sold, I brought their price into the common stock; for I have
always deemed it to be the part of a valiant leader, to take the larger
share of toil, and only an equal share of spoils. As to the captives,
those men whose strength of body promised to be serviceable to us, I
kept for ourselves; the weaker I sold. I never abused the women. Those
of any rank I suffered to redeem themselves with money; and sometimes,
out of compassion, dismissed them without ransom: those of inferior
condition, who, if they had not been taken, would have passed their
lives in servile offices, I employed in such services as they had been
accustomed to. But now I _do_ ask of one part of these spoils for
myself, this foreign maiden. I might take her by my own authority,
but I would rather receive her by your common consent; for it were
foolish in me to do anything with a prisoner against the will of my
friends. Neither do I ask this favour of you gratis; I am willing, in
recompense for it, to resign my share in all the other booty. For since
the priestly caste despises common amours, I am determined to take this
maiden to myself, not out of mere lust, but for the sake of offspring.
And I will explain to you the reasons which induce me to do so.
"In the first place she appears to me to be well born: I form this
conjecture both from the riches which were found about her, and
from her not being depressed by her calamities, but, seeming to rise
superior to them; I am convinced that her disposition is good and
virtuous; for, if in beauty she surpasses all, and by her looks awes
all beholders into respect, can we do otherwise than think highly of
her? But what recommends her above every thing to me is, that she
appears to be a priestess of some god; for, in all her misfortunes,
she has with a pious regard refused to lay aside her sacred robe and
chaplet. Where then can I a priest find a partner more fitting for me,
than one who is herself a priestess? "
The applause of the whole company testified their approbation. They
exhorted him to marry, and wished him all possible happiness. He then
pursued his discourse:--"I thank you, comrades; but it will now be
proper to inquire how far my proposal is agreeable to this maiden. Were
I disposed to use the power which fate has put into my hands, my will
would be sufficient; they who can compel have no need to entreat. But
in lawful marriage, the inclination of both parties ought to coincide. "
And turning to Chariclea, he said, "How, maiden, do you like my offer?
What is your country, and who were your parents? " She, keeping her eye
a considerable time on the ground, and moving slowly her head, seemed
to meditate what she should answer. At length, raising herself gently
towards Thyamis, and dazzling him with more than her usual charms (for
her eyes shone with uncommon lustre, and the circumstances she was in
gave an additional glow to her cheeks), Cnemon serving as interpreter,
she thus addressed him:
"It might perhaps have been more proper for my brother Theagenes to
speak on this occasion; for silence, I think, best becomes women,
especially in a company of men. Since, however, you address yourself to
me, and shew this first mark of humanity, in that you seek to obtain
what you desire, by persuasion rather than force; since the main
subject of your discourse relates to me alone; I am compelled to lay
aside the common reserve of my sex, and to explain myself in regard
to the proposal of marriage which you have made, even before such an
audience. Hear then what is our state and condition.
"Our country is Ionia; our family one of the most illustrious in
Ephesus. In early youth, as the laws appointed, we entered into the
priesthood. I was consecrated to Diana, my brother to Apollo. But as
the office is an annual one, and the time was elapsed, we were going
to Delos to exhibit games[22] according to the custom of our country,
and to lay down the priesthood. We loaded a ship therefore with gold,
silver, costly garments, and other things necessary for the show and
the entertainment which we were to give to the people. We set sail; our
parents being advanced in years, and afraid of the sea, remained at
home: but a great number of our fellow citizens attended us, some on
board our ships, others in vessels of their own. When we had completed
the greatest part of our voyage, a tempest suddenly arose; winds and
hurricanes, raising the waves, drove the ship out of its course. The
pilot yielded at length to the fury of the storm; and deserting the
government of the ship, let her drive at the mercy of the winds. We
scudded before them for seven days and nights; and at length were cast
upon the shore where you found us, and where you saw the slaughter
which had happened there. Rejoicing at our preservation, we gave an
entertainment to the ship's company. In the midst of it, a party of the
sailors, who had conspired to make themselves masters of our riches, by
taking away our lives, attacked us; our friends defended us; a dreadful
combat ensued, which was continued with such rage and animosity, on
both sides, that of the whole number engaged we alone survived (would
to God we had not! ), miserable remains of that unhappy day; in one
thing alone fortunate, in that some pitying deity has brought us into
your hands; and, instead of death which we feared, we are now to
deliberate upon a marriage. I do not by any means decline the offer.
Prisoner as I am, I ought to esteem it an honour and a happiness to be
permitted to aspire to the bed of my conqueror. It seems too, to be
by a particular providence of the gods, that I, a priestess, should
be united to the son of a high priest. One thing alone I beg of you,
Ο Thyamis. Permit me, at the first city I arrive at in which there is
a temple or altar of Apollo, to resign my priesthood, and lay aside
these badges of my office: this perhaps would with most propriety be
done in Memphis, when you shall have recovered the dignity you are
entitled to. Thus would our wedlock be celebrated with better auspices,
joined with victory and prosperous success: but, if you would have it
sooner, be it as you please; let me only first perform those rites
which the custom of my country demands. This I know you will not refuse
me, as you have yourself been, as you say, dedicated to holy things
from childhood, and have just and reverend notions of what relates to
the gods. "
Here she ceased, and her tears began to flow. Her speech was followed
by the approbation and applause of the company, who bid her do thus,
and promised her their aid. Thyamis could not help joining with them,
though he was not entirely satisfied, for his eager desire to possess
Chariclea made him think even the present hour an unreasonable delay.
Her words, however, like the siren's song, soothed him, and compelled
his assent; he thought, too, he saw in this some relation to his dream,
and brought himself to agree that the wedding should be celebrated
at Memphis. He then dismissed the company, having first divided the
spoils, a great part of the choicest of which were forced upon him by
his people.
He gave orders that, in ten days, they should all be ready to march
to Memphis; and sent the Greeks to the habitation in which he had
before placed them. Cnemon, too, by his command, attended them no
longer now as a guard, but as a companion: their entertainment was
the best which Thyamis could afford; and Theagenes, for his sister's
sake, partook of the same handsome treament. He determined within
himself to see Chariclea as seldom as possible, lest the sight of
her should inflame the desire which tormented him, and urge him on
to do anything inconsistent with what he had agreed to and promised.
He deprived himself, therefore, of that company in which he most
delighted, fearing that to converse with her, and to restrain himself
within proper bounds, would be more than he could answer for. When the
crew had dispersed, each to his habitation in the lake, Cnemon went
to some distance from it, in search of the herb which he had promised
to procure for Theagenes; and Theagenes, taking the opportunity of
his absence, began to weep and lament, not addressing himself to
Chariclea, but calling earnestly upon the gods: and she with tender
solicitude inquiring whether he was only lamenting their common
misfortunes, or suffering any new addition to them? --"What can be
newer or more unworthy," he replied, "than the breaking of vows and
promises? than that Chariclea, entirely forgetting me, should give her
consent to another marriage? "--"God forbid! " replied the maiden; "let
not your reproaches increase the load of my calamities; nor, after so
long an experience of my fidelity, lightly suspect a measure which
the immediate necessity of the moment compelled me to adopt: sooner
will you change than find me changed in regard to you. I can bear
ill fortune; nor shall any force compel me to do anything unworthy
of the modesty and virtue of my sex. In one thing alone, I own, I
am immoderate, my love for you; but then it is a lawful one; and,
however great, it did not throw me inconsiderately into your power;
I resigned myself to you on the most honourable conditions; I have
hither to lived with you in the most inviolate purity, resisting all
your solicitations, and looking forward to a lawful opportunity of
completing that marriage to which we are solemnly pledged. Can you
then be so unreasonable as to think it possible that I should prefer
a barbarian to a Greek? a pirate, to one to whom I am bound by so
many ties? "--"What, then," said Theagenes, "was the meaning of that
fine speech of yours? To call me your brother, indeed, was prudent
enough, to keep Thyamis from suspecting the real nature of our love,
and to induce him to let us continue together. I understood, too, the
meaning of your veiling the true circumstances of our voyage under the
fictions of Ionia and Delos. But so readily to accept his proposals,
to promise to marry him, nay, to fix a time for the ceremony--this, I
own, disturbs me, and passes my comprehension; but I had rather sink
into the earth than see such an end of all my hopes and labours on your
account. "
Chariclea flung her arms round Theagenes, gave him a thousand kisses,
and bedewing him with tears, cried out, "How delightful to me are these
apprehensions of yours! They prove that all the troubles you have
undergone have in no degree weakened your love; but know, Ο my dear
Theagenes, that unless I had promised as I did, we should not now be
talking together. You must be sensible that contradiction only adds
force to violent passion; seeming compliance allays the impulse in its
birth, and the allurement of promises lulls the violence of desire.
Your rough lovers think they have got something when they have obtained
a promise: and, relying upon the faith of it, become quieter, feeding
themselves with hope. I, being aware of this, in words resigned myself
up to him, committing what shall follow to the gods, and to that genius
who presides over our loves.
"A short interval of time has frequently afforded means of safety,
which the wisest counsels of men could not have foreseen. I saw nothing
better to be done than to endeavour to ward off a certain and imminent
danger, by a present, though uncertain, remedy. We must, therefore, my
dearest Theagenes, use this fiction as our best ally, and carefully
conceal the truth even from Cnemon; for though he seems friendly to
us, and is a Greek, yet he is a captive, and likely, perhaps, to do
anything which may ingratiate him with his master.
Our friendship
with him is as yet too new, neither is there any relation between us
sufficiently strong to give us a certain assurance of his fidelity. If
he suspects, therefore, and inquires into our real situation, we must
deny it: for even a falsehood is commendable when it is of service to
those who use it, and does no injury to the hearers of it. "
While Chariclea was thus suggesting this course, Cnemon comes running
in, with an altered countenance, and seemingly in much agitation. "Ο
Theagenes," he cried, "I have brought you the herb I mentioned; apply
it, and it will heal your wounds; but you must now, I fear, prepare
yourself for others, and a slaughter equal to that which you have
lately been an actor in. " Theagenes desiring him to explain himself,
"There is no time at present;" he replied, "for explanation; action
will probably anticipate words; but do you and Chariclea follow me as
fast as you can;" and taking them with him, he brought them to Thyamis.
They found him employed in burnishing his helmet and sharpening his
spear. "Very seasonably," he exclaimed, "are you employed about your
arms; put them on as fast as you can, and command all your men to
do the same, for a hostile force is approaching greater than ever
threatened us before, and they must now be very near. I saw them
advancing over the top of the neighbouring hill, and have made all
possible haste to bring you information, giving the alarm to every one
I met with in my passage. "
Thyamis, at these tidings, started up and cried out, "Where is
Chariclea? " as if he were more apprehensive for her than for himself.
When Cnemon showed her standing near the door. "Lead this maiden
privately," says he, "into the cave where I keep my treasures, and
forget not to replace as usual the covering of it; having done this,
return to me as fast as you can: meanwhile, I will prepare for the
storm of battle which awaits us. " Having said this, he ordered his
lieutenant to bring forth a victim, that he might begin the engagement
after a due sacrifice to his country's gods. Cnemon proceeded to
execute his commission, and leading off Chariclea, who turned earnestly
towards Theagenes, and lamented her hard fate, he let her down into
the cave. This was not, as many are, the work of nature, an accidental
excavation, but the contrivance of the pirates, who, imitating her
operations, had hollowed out an artificial cavern for the reception
of their treasures. It was formed in this manner: its entrance,[23]
narrow and dark, was under the doors of a hidden chamber, the threshold
became, in case of need, a second door, for farther descent; it fitted
exactly, and could be lifted up with great facility; the rest of the
cave was cut into various winding passages, which, now diverging,
now returning, with a multitude of ramifications, converged at last
into an open space at the bottom, which received an uncertain light
from an aperture at the extremity of the lake. Here Cnemon introduced
Chariclea, and led her to the farthest recess, encouraging and
promising her that he and Theagenes would come to her in the evening;
and that he would not suffer him to engage in the battle which
impended. Chariclea was unable to answer him; and he went out of the
cave, leaving her half dead, silent, and stupified, as if her soul
had been separated from her with Theagenes. He shut down the door,
dropping a tear for her as he did it, and for the necessity he was
under of burying her in a manner alive, and consigning the brightest of
human forms to darkness and obscurity. He made what haste he could to
Thyamis. He found him burning with ardour for the fight, and Theagenes
by his side splendidly armed; he was even to frenzy rousing the spirits
of his followers who surrounded him, and thus began to address them:
"There is no need, comrades, to address you in a long exhortation;
you want no encouragement, to whom war is the breath of life; and the
sudden approach of the enemy cuts off all space for words; it becomes
us to prepare to resist force by force; not to do so would betray an
absence of all energy. I do not put you in mind of your wives and
children as is usual on these occasions, though nothing but victory can
preserve them from destruction and violation. This contest is for our
very being and existence; no quarter, no truce, ever takes place in
piratic warfare; we must either conquer or die. Let us exert, then, our
force to the utmost, and with determined minds fall upon the enemy. "
Having said this, he looked round for his lieutenant, Thermuthis,
and called him several times by his name. When he nowhere appeared,
throwing out hasty threats against him, he rushed on towards the ferry.
The battle was already begun, and he could see at a distance those who
inhabited the extremities and approaches of the lake in the fact of
being routed by the enemy, who set on fire the boats and huts of those
who fell or fled. The flames spread to the neighbouring morass, caught
hold of the reeds which grew there in great abundance, dazzled every
eye with an almost intolerable blaze, and, crackling and roaring,
stunned their ears.
War[24] now appeared in all its horrid forms: the inhabitants for some
time, with readiness and energy, supported and repelled the attack; but
being astonished by the sudden incursion, and pressed by the superior
numbers of the enemy, those on the land gave way, and many of those on
the lake, together with their boats and habitations, were overwhelmed
in the waters! every dreadful sound now struck the air, as the conflict
raged both by land and water; groans and shouts were mingled, the
lake was discoloured with blood, all were involved in fire or water.
Thyamis, at this sight, called to mind his dream, and the temple of
Isis shining with lamps, and flowing with the blood of victims; he saw
a resemblance in it to the scene before him, and began to fear that
he must give up his former favourable interpretation; that Chariclea
was destined to fall in this tumult, and that so having had her in
his possession, he should now have her no longer; that she would be
slain, not merely be wounded in her virginity; exclaiming, therefore
against the goddess, for having deceived him, and unable to bear the
thought that any one else should possess Chariclea, he ordered the men
who were about him to halt, and if they were obliged to engage, to
defend themselves as well as they could, by retiring behind, and making
sallies from, the numerous little islands: as by so doing they might,
for some time, be able to resist the attack of the enemy. He then,
under pretence of going to seek Thermuthis, and sacrificing to his
household gods, returned in great agitation to his tent, suffering no
one to follow him.
The disposition of the barbarians is obstinate and determined;[25]
when they despair of their own safety, they are accustomed to destroy
those who are most dear to them; either wildly imagining that they
shall enjoy their company after death; or thinking that by so doing
they shall deliver them from the injuries and insults of the enemy.
Stimulated by some of these motives, Thyamis, forgetting the urgent
danger which pressed upon him, and the enemies by whom he was
surrounded as by a net; burning with anger, love, and jealousy, rushed
headlong to the cave: he poured out his Egyptian exclamations with a
loud voice, and soon after his entrance, being addressed by some one
in the Greek tongue, the voice guided him to the person; he seized her
hair with his left hand, and with his right plunged his sword into her
bosom: the unfortunate creature sank down, uttering a last and piteous
groan. Issuing forth and closing the trap-door, he threw a little
dust over her, and dropping a tear he exclaimed, "Are these then the
nuptial presents you were to expect from me! " When he arrived at the
boats, he saw his people ready to fly as the enemy approached near,
and Thermuthis having now made his appearance, preparing to begin the
sacrifice: having abused him for his unseasonable absence, and told
him that he had already offered up the most beauteous of victims, he,
Thermuthis and the rower got into a boat: their small vessels would
not hold more, being made out of the trunk of a tree rudely hollowed.
Theagenes and Cnemon got into another, and in the same manner all the
rest embarked.
When they had proceeded a little from the shore, rowing round the side
rather than launching out into the deep, they lay upon their oars,
and drew up in a line, to receive the enemy; but at their approach, a
sudden panic seized the pirates, and not sustaining the first hostile
shout of their opponents, they fled in disorder: Cnemon and Theagenes
gradually retired, but not from fear: Thyamis alone disdained to fly;
and perhaps not wishing to survive Chariclea, rushed into the midst
of his foes. A cry was instantly heard among them, "This is Thyamis,
let all have an eye to him:" immediately they turned their boats and
surrounded him; he, vigorously fighting, wounded some and killed
others, and yet strange was that which ensued: out of so great a
multitude no one lifted up a sword, or cast a dart at him, but every
one did their utmost to capture him alive. He continued manfully to
resist, till at length his spear was wrested from him, and he had lost
his lieutenant, who had nobly seconded him; and who, having received,
as he thought, a mortal wound, leaped into the lake, and with great
difficulty reached the shore, no one offering to pursue him; for now
they had laid hold on Thyamis, and esteemed the capture of one man a
victory; and though he had destroyed so many of their men, their joy
at having taken him alive far exceeded their grief for the loss of
their comrades; for gain is dearer to robbers than their lives; and
friendship and relationship are only so far considered among them as
they conduce to this main end.
The leaders of this attack were the men who had fled from Thyamis and
his followers at the Heracleotic mouth of the Nile: they, enraged
at the loss of a booty, which through plunder, they considered as
their own, gathered their friends together, and many others from the
neighbouring towns, by proposing to them an equal division of the
spoils; and became their guides in the expedition.
The reason why they were so desirous of taking Thyamis alive was
this: Petosiris, who resided at Memphis, was his younger brother; by
his artifices he had unlawfully deprived Thyamis of the priesthood,
and hearing that he was now at the head of the pirates, he feared
that he might take some opportunity to attack him, or that in time
his treachery might be discovered; he was besides suspected of
having made away with his brother, who nowhere appeared. For these
reasons he proclaimed great rewards among all the nests of pirates
in his neighbourhood, to any one who should capture him alive: they,
stimulated by these offers, and in the heat of battle, not losing sight
of gain, took him prisoner at the price of many of their lives. They
sent him, under a strong guard, to the main land, he reproaching them
all the while for their seeming lenity, and bearing bonds much more
indignantly than he would have borne death. The rest proceeded towards
the island in quest of treasures and spoil; but when, after a long and
strict search, they found nothing of any consequence, some few things
excepted, which out of hurry or forgetfulness were left out of the
cavern, they set fire to the tents; and the evening coming on, fearing
to remain there any longer, lest they should be surprised by the enemy
whom they had driven thence, they returned to their companions upon the
continent.
[Footnote 1: Piracy was not in those times considered dishonorable; but
the contrary. --Thucyd. B. i. 4. ]
[Footnote 2: Called by Herodotus, B. ii. 17, the Bucolic mouth. "It
seems clear that the phrase was derived from the inhabitants of
the region, a horde of piratical herdsmen, apparently of different
race from the agricultural Egyptians. They haunted the most marshy
part of the Delta, where the papyrus reeds effectually masked their
retreats. "--Blakesley's Herodotus. ]
[Footnote 3: ἐπὶ τρίτον ζωστῆρα--to the third wale. The wales are
strong planks extending along a ship's side through the whole length at
different heights, serving to strengthen the decks and form the curves.
A passage in the Cyclops of Euripides may illustrate the above--
γάνυμας δὲ δαιτὸς ἤβης,
σκάφος ὁλκὰς ὥς γεμισθεὶς
ποτὶ σέλμα γαστρὸς ἂκρας. --Cyclops. 503.
]
[Footnote 4:
Indum sanguineo veluti violaverat ostro
Si quis ebur. --Æn. xii. 67.
]
[Footnote 5: ἤ γέγoνας πολέμου πάρεργον. The expression πολέμου
πάρεργον means a by-work; something done by the by. --Thucyd. B. i. 112. ]
[Footnote 6: Iliad, B. i. 45. ]
[Footnote 7: A full description of the personal appearance of the
buccaneers will be found in Achilles Tatius. --B. iii. c. 9. ]
[Footnote 8: Ή μὲν ταῦτα ἐπετραγῴδει. ]
[Footnote 9: For a further description of the buccaneer stronghold, see
Achilles Tatius, B. iv. c. 14.
Perhaps Heliodorus (afterwards a bishop) had derived the materials
for his graphic description of their haunts and manners from personal
residence among them, as was the case (so Horace Walpole informs us)
with Archbishop Blackburne (_temp. _ Geo. II,) who in his younger days
is said to have been a buccaneer. In Herod. v. 16, is a curious account
of a fishing-town built in the lake Prasias, exactly corresponding with
the description of _The Pasturage_ in Heliodorus. ]
[Footnote 10: Ἔμπνουν ἄγαλμα.
"And there she stood, so calm and pale
That, but her breathing did not fail,
And motion slight of eye and head,
And of her bosom, warranted
That neither sense nor pulse she lacks,
You might have thought a form of wax,
Wrought to the very life, was there;
But still she was, so pale, so fair. "--Marmion, c. xxi
]
[Footnote 11: Βουλῆς δὲ τῆς ἅνω. The Council of the 500, who were
a kind of Committee of the Ἐκκλησία to prepare measures for that
assembly. ]
[Footnote 12: Cnemon and his stepmother will recall to the reader's
memory Phædra and Hippolytus. ]
[Footnote 13: In the Ceramicus, without the city, was an engine, built
in the form of a ship, upon which the πέπλος, or robe of Minerva, was
hung, in the manner of a sail, and which was put in motion by concealed
machinery. It was conveyed to the temple of Ceres Eleusinia, and from
thence to the citadel, where it was put upon Minerva's statue, which
was laid upon a bed strewed with flowers, and called πλακὶς. ]
[Footnote 14: The public hall at Athens, in which the Prytanes for
the time being, and some other magistrates, had their meals, and
entertained foreign ambassadors. ]
[Footnote 15: Literally, "I had him enrolled in his proper ward
(φρατρία), in his proper house (γένος), and among those arrived at
puberty (ἕφηβοι)," the successive steps to Athenian citizenship. ]
[Footnote 16: The Barathrum was a yawning cleft behind the Acropolis,
into which criminals were cast. ]
[Footnote 17: Hesiod, "Works and Days," 221.
"Justice. . . .
When mortals violate her sacred laws,
When judges hear the bribe and not the cause,
Close by her parent god behold her stand,
And urge the punishment their sins demand. "--Lee.
Ammianus Marcellinus says, B. xxix. , "_Inconnivens_ justitiæ oculus;
arbiter et vindex perpetuus rerum. "
Rarò antecedentem scelestum
Descruit pede Pœna claudo. --Hor. Od. iii. II. 31.
]
[Footnote 18: Ὄν θυμόν κατέδων. Il. vi. 202. ]
[Footnote 19: Δεύτερος ἔσται πλοῦς, we will go on a fresh tack. ]
[Footnote 20: Κακή κακῶς. ]
[Footnote 21: The succession to the Egyptian priesthood was
hereditary. --Vide Herod. , ii. 37. ]
[Footnote 22: θεωρίαν ἤγομεν. The Athenians made a solemn voyage
to Delos every year; the deputation was called θεωρία; the persons
employed in it, θεωροὶ; the ship, θεωρὶς. See Robinson's Antiquities of
Greece. ]
[Footnote 23: This description is very obscure in the original; the
meaning seems to be, that the descent to the cavern was effected by
lifting up an oblong stone, bearing the appearance of a threshold,
but serving as a door. The following is the version of the Italian
translator: "L'entrata era stretta e oscura, sottoposta all' entrata
d'uno occulto edificio, in guisa che la soglia della prima entrata
faceva un' altra porta ad uso di scendere," &c. The poet, Walter Lisle,
gives the passage thus:--
"A cave there was, it opened well and shut
With narrow door of stone, that threshold was
T'an upper room. Within, a maze it has
Of sundrie wayes, entangled (like the roots
Of thicke-set trees, amids and all abouts),
That meet in plaine. "
And wishing to embellish the picture, he adds--
"With scales of crocodile
The roofe is pav'd, brought hither from the Nile. "
]
[Footnote 24: See a passage, already referred to, in Achilles Tatius
(B. iv. c. 14), containing a spirited picture of pirate warfare. ]
[Footnote 25: There is a curious example of this disposition of the
barbarians in the conduct of Mithridates, after his defeat by Lucullus.
See Ferguson's Rom. Hist. vol. ii. p. 24. He ordered his wives and
sisters to destroy themselves, fearful of their falling into the
enemy's hands. ]
BOOK II.
In this manner, as we have related, were the flames spread over the
lake; the conflagration escaped the notice of Theagenes and Cnemon
while the sun was above the horizon, the superior lustre of that planet
overcoming the blaze; but when it set, when night came on, and the fire
had no longer any rival to contend with, it appeared at a distance to
their great consternation, as they began to raise themselves out of
the morass. Theagenes tearing his hair, thus broke out into passionate
exclamations; "May this day be the last of my life; may my fears,
cares, and dangers now have an end, and my hopes and love conclude
together. Chariclea is no more, and I am undone; in vain, wretch, that
I am, have I become a coward, and submitted to an unmanly flight, that
I might preserve myself for you, the delight of my life. For you,
alas! I live no longer; you have fallen by an untimely death, nor
was he on whom you doated present to receive your latest breath; but
you are become the prey of flames, and these are the nuptial torches
which cruel fate has lighted up for you. All is consumed, and there
now remains no trace of the most perfect of human forms: O! most cruel
and envious deities! a last embrace is denied me:" and thus lamenting,
he felt about for his sword--Cnemon arrested his hand, and cried out,
"Why, Theagenes, do you lament her who is safe? Chariclea is alive;
be comforted. " "Away! " he replied, "this is a tale for children; why
do you keep me from the death I long for? " Cnemon swore to the truth
of what he had said, told him the orders of Thyamis, described the
cave where he had placed Chariclea; and assured him there was not the
smallest danger of the flames (cut off as they would be) penetrating
through the deep and winding avenues by which she was protected.
Theagenes at these assurances began to recover his spirits, and
hastened towards the island, having Chariclea, and a joyful meeting in
the cave before his eyes, ignorant, alas! of the woes which awaited
him there. They proceeded forwards with great ardour, plying the oars
themselves, for their rower had fallen overboard in the confusion
of the first flight; they went on with an unsteady course from
inexperience in rowing, not able to keep stroke, and the wind being
against them; but their ardour overcame their unskilfulness, and with
great difficulty at last, and bathed in sweat, they reached the shore,
and ran eagerly towards the tents. Of these they saw only the ashes,
they having been totally consumed; the stone, however, which formed
the threshold and entrance of the cavern, was conspicuous enough; for
the huts being built of reeds and such slender materials, were soon
consumed and turned into a light ash, which the wind scattering away,
left the earth bare in many places for a passage, cooling it at the
same time with the blast.
Finding some torches half burnt, and lighting some reeds which
remained, they opened the cave's mouth, and under the guidance of
Cnemon, descended into it. When they had gone a little way, Cnemon
suddenly exclaimed, "Ο God! what is this? we are undone, Chariclea is
slain;" and flinging his torch on the ground, extinguished it, and
falling on his knees, and covering his face with his hands, began to
weep. Theagenes threw himself upon the body, and held it a long time
in his arms, closely embraced; Cnemon seeing him overwhelmed with this
stroke, and fearing when he recovered his senses he would make some
attempt upon himself, took away unobserved the sword which hung by his
side, and leaving him for a moment, ran out to light his torch. While
he was gone, the unhappy lover broke out into mournful and tragic
exclamations, "Ο intolerable calamity, and never-to-be-appeased wrath
of the gods! what insatiable demon thus rages to my destruction? who,
after having driven me from my country through a thousand dangers of
seas and pirates, having delivered me up to marauders, and stript me
of all I had, when one only comfort was left me, has now deprived me
of that! Chariclea is no more, she lies slain by a violent death;
doubtless, she has fallen in defence of her chastity, determined to
preserve herself unspotted for my sake. In vain has her beauty bloomed
both for herself and me; but, Ο my love! have not you one last word
left to speak to me? Are life and breath for ever gone? Alas! you
are silent; that mouth, formerly the interpreter of the will of
heaven, is dumb, and darkness and destruction have overwhelmed the
priestess of the gods. Those eyes glance no more whose lustre dazzled
all beholders, whose brightness, if your murderer had met, he could
not have executed his purpose; what shall I call you, my wife? but we
were not married; my contracted spouse? but the contract has been a
fruitless one; let me call you by the sweetest of all appellations,
Chariclea. Ο Chariclea! if, where you are, you are capable of receiving
comfort, be comforted; you have a faithful lover; we shall soon meet
again; behold, I sacrifice myself to your Manes, to you I pour out my
own blood in libations;[1] this cavern, a rude sepulchre, shall retain
both our bodies; we shall be united in our deaths, though fate forbade
it in our lives. " Saying this, he felt for his sword, and not finding
it, "Ο Cnemon," he exclaimed, "you have undone me, and Chariclea too,
for the second time depriving her shade of the company it desires. "
While he was thus speaking, a voice from the windings of the cave was
heard, calling Theagenes; he, not in the least alarmed, replied, "I
come, my dearest life; your soul, I see, still hovers above the earth,
partly, perhaps, because unwilling to leave that body, from which it
has by violence been expelled; and partly, because[2] wanting the rites
of sepulture, you may be refused admittance in the shades below. "
Cnemon now approached with the torch; again the voice was heard,
calling Theagenes; Cnemon instantly exclaimed, "Ye gods! is not this
the voice of Chariclea? Theagenes, I think she is safe, for the sound
seems to me to proceed from that very part of the cavern where I know
I left her. "--"Will you never cease attempting to deceive me," replied
Theagenes? --"I am much deceived myself," replied the other, "if we find
this corpse which lies before us to be that of Chariclea;" and stooping
down to examine the countenance, "O heavens! " he cried out, "what do
I see? the face of Thisbe! " and starting back, he stood petrified
with astonishment. Theagenes, on the contrary, now began to recover
his spirits, and in his turn supported and encouraged Cnemon, who was
ready to faint; and besought him that he would lead him instantly to
Chariclea; Cnemon, by degrees coming to himself, again examined the
body, which really was that of Thisbe; he knew, too, by its hilt, the
sword which Thyamis from rage and haste had left sticking in the wound.
He perceived also a tablet appearing out of her bosom; he took it, and
was beginning to read what was written upon it; but Theagenes would
not suffer him, and earnestly entreated him, if all he saw was not the
illusion of some demon, that he would take him to Chariclea; you may
afterwards, said he, read this tablet. Cnemon obeyed; and, taking up
the tablet and the sword, hastened towards Chariclea. She, creeping
on hands and knees towards the sound of their voices as well as she
could, at length saw the light, flew to Theagenes, and hung upon his
neck. And mutually exclaiming, "And are you restored to me, my dear
Theagenes? "--"Do you live,[3] sweetest Chariclea? " they fell in each
others' arms upon the ground; their voices murmuring and themselves
dying away. So much does a sudden rush of joy overpower the human
faculties, and excess of pleasure passes into pain.
