Tag: Longus

Οἷον οὖν εἰκὸς ἐν ἑορτῇ Διονύσου καὶ οἴνου γενέσει αἱ μὲν γυναῖκες ἐκ τῶν πλησίον ἀγρῶν εἰς ἐπικουρίαν κεκλημέναι τῷ Δάφνιδι τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς ἐπέβαλλον καὶ ἐπῄνουν ὡς ὅμοιον τῷ Διονύσῳ τὸ κάλλος· καί τις τῶν θρασυτέρων καὶ ἐφίλησε καὶ τὸν Δάφνιν παρώξυνε, τὴν δὲ Χλόην ἐλύπησεν· οἱ δὲ ἐν ταῖς ληνοῖς ποικίλας φωνὰς ἔρριπτον ἐπὶ τὴν Χλόην καὶ ὥσπερ ἐπί τινα Βάκχην Σάτυροι μανικώτερον ἐπήδων καὶ ηὔχοντο γενέσθαι ποίμνια καὶ ὑπ᾽ ἐκείνης νέμεσθαι· ὥστε αὖ πάλιν ἡ μὲν ἥδετο, Δάφνις δὲ ἐλυπεῖτο. ηὔχοντο δὲ δὴ ταχέως παύσασθαι τὸν τρυγητὸν καὶ λαβέσθαι τῶν συνήθων χωρίων καὶ ἀντὶ τῆς ἀμούσου βοῆς ἀκούειν σύριγγος ἢ τῶν ποιμνίων αὐτῶν βληχωμένων. καὶ ἐπεὶ διαγενομένων ὀλίγων ἡμερῶν αἱ μὲν ἄμπελοι τετρύγηντο, πίθοι δὲ τὸ γλεῦκος εἶχον, ἔδει δὲ οὐκέτ᾽ οὐδὲν πολυχειρίας, κατήλαυνον τὰς ἀγέλας εἰς τὸ πεδίον καὶ μάλα χαίροντες τὰς Νύμφας προσεκύνουν, βότρυς αὐταῖς κομίζοντες ἐπὶ κλημάτων, ἀπαρχὰς τοῦ τρυγητοῦ. οὐδὲ τὸν πρότερον χρόνον ἀμελῶς ποτε παρῆλθον, ἀλλ᾽ ἀεί τε ἀρχόμενοι νομῆς προσήδρευον καὶ ἐκ νομῆς ἀνιόντες προσεκύνουν, καὶ πάντως τι ἐπέφερον, ἢ ἄνθος ἢ ὀπώραν ἢ φυλλάδα χλωρὰν ἢ γάλακτος σπονδήν. καὶ τούτου μὲν ὕστερον ἀμοιβὰς ἐκομίσαντο παρὰ τῶν θεῶν· τότε δὲ κύνες, φασίν, ἐκ δεσμῶν λυθέντες, ἐσκίρτων, ἐσύριττον, ᾖδον, τοῖς τράγοις καὶ τοῖς προβάτοις συνεπάλαιον.
(Longus, Daphnis & Chloe 2.2)

As is only natural at a festival celebrating Dionysus and the birth of wine, the women called from the neighboring fields to help with the work made eyes at Daphnis and paid him compliments, saying he was as beautiful as Dionysus. One of the cheekier ones even kissed him—which excited him and hurt Chloe. Meanwhile the men in the winepresses hurled all sorts of comments at Chloe and jumped madly around her like satyrs excited by a bacchant. They prayed to be turned into sheep and to be led to pasture by her—so this time she was pleased, and Daphnis was hurt. They both prayed that they would finish the grape harvest quickly so that they could go back to their usual haunts again and hear the pipes and their own flocks bleating instead of this disharmonious chatter. A few days later, the vines were harvested, the sweet new wine was in jars, and there was no longer any need for many hands. Daphnis and Chloe drove their flocks down to the plain and, in a happy mood, worshiped the Nymphs, bringing them bunches of grapes still on the shoots as firstfruits of the grape harvest. Not that they ever went past them and neglected them before; they always visited them when they went to pasture and worshiped them when they left the pasture and without fail brought them some kind of offering, a flower or a fruit or some green leaves or a libation of milk. For this, they received a reward from the goddesses later on. But at that time, as people say, “The dogs were let off the lead”: they jumped, played the pipes, sang, and wrestled with their goats and sheep. (tr. Bryan Peter Reardon)

Πρὸ τῆς αὐλῆς τοῦ Δρύαντος ἐπ’ αὐτῇ τῇ αὐλῇ μυρρίναι μεγάλαι δύο καὶ κιττὸς ἐπεφύκει, αἱ μυρρίναι πλησίον ἀλλήλων, ὁ κιττὸς ἀμφοτέρων μέσος, ὥστε ἐφ’ ἑκατέραν διαθεὶς τοὺς ἀκρεμόνας ὡς ἄμπελος ἄντρου σχῆμα διὰ τῶν φύλλων ἐπαλλαττόντων ἐποίει, καὶ ὁ κόρυμβος πολὺς καὶ μέγας ὅσος βότρυς κλημάτων ἐξεκρέματο. ἦν οὖν πολὺ πλῆθος περὶ αὐτὸν τῶν χειμερινῶν ὀρνίθων ἀπορίᾳ τῆς ἔξω τροφῆς· πολὺς μὲν κόψιχος, πολλὴ δὲ κίχλη, καὶ φάτται καὶ ψᾶρες καὶ ὅσον ἄλλο κιττοφάγον πτερόν. τούτων τῶν ὀρνίθων ἐπὶ προφάσει θήρας ἐξώρμησεν ὁ Δάφνις, ἐμπλήσας μὲν τὴν πήραν ὀψημάτων μεμελιτωμένων, κομίζων δὲ ἐς πίστιν ἰξὸν καὶ βρόχους. τὸ μὲν οὖν μεταξὺ σταδίων ἦν οὐ πλέον δέκα, οὔπω δὲ ἡ χιὼν λελυμένη πολὺν αὐτῷ κάματον παρέσχεν. ἔρωτι δὲ ἄρα πάντα βάσιμα, καὶ πῦρ καὶ ὕδωρ καὶ Σκυθικὴ χιών.
(Longus, Daphnis & Chloe 3.5)

Right in front of Dryas’ farmyard grew two large myrtles and an ivy bush, the myrtles close together and the ivy between them, so that it spread its tendrils over each of them like a vine and with its intertwining leaves formed a kind of cave, and many a cluster of berries, as big as grapes, hung from the stems. So there was a crowd of winter birds around it, owing to the scarceness of food outside: many a blackbird, many a thrush, pigeons and starlings and every other winged ivy-eater. Daphnis set out on the pretext of hunting these birds, filling his knapsack with honeyed tidbits and packing birdlime and snares to add credibility. Although the trip was no longer than ten stades, the still unmelted snow made considerable work for him. But love finds a way through everything, be it fire, water, or Scythian snow. (tr. Jeffrey Henderson)

Ἤιτει δὴ τὴν Χλόην χαρίσασθαί οἱ πᾶν ὅσον βούλεται καὶ γυμνὴν γυμνῷ συγκατακλιθῆναι μακρότερον ἢ πρόσθεν εἰώθεσαν· τοῦτο γὰρ δὴ λείπειν τοῖς Φιλητᾶ παιδεύμασιν ἵνα γένηται τὸ μόνον ἔρωτα παῦον φάρμακον. τῆς δὲ πυνθανομένης τί πλέον ἐστὶ φιλήματος καὶ περιβολῆς καὶ αὐτῆς κατακλίσεως καὶ τί ἔγνωκε δρᾶσαι γυμνὸς γυμνῇ συγκατακλινείς, “τοῦτο” εἶπεν “ὃ οἱ κριοὶ ποιοῦσι τὰς ὄϊς καὶ οἱ τράγοι τὰς αἶγας. ὁρᾷς ὡς μετὰ τοῦτο τὸ ἔργον οὔτε ἐκεῖναι φεύγουσιν ἔτι αὐτοὺς οὔτε ἐκεῖνοι κάμνουσι διώκοντες ἀλλ̓ ὥσπερ κοινῆς λοιπὸν ἀπολαύσαντες ἡδονῆς συννέμονται; γλυκύ τι ὡς ἔοικεν ἐστὶ τὸ ἔργον καὶ νικᾷ τὸ ἔρωτος πικρόν.” “εἶτα οὐχ ὁρᾷς,  ὦ Δάφνι, τὰς αἶγας καὶ τοὺς τράγους καὶ τοὺς κριοὺς καὶ τὰς ὄϊς ὡς ὀρθοὶ μὲν ἐκεῖνοι δρῶσιν, ὀρθαὶ δὲ ἐκεῖναι πάσχουσιν, οἱ μὲν πηδήσαντες, αἱ δὲ κατανωτισάμεναι; σὺ δέ με ἀξιοῖς συγκατακλινῆναι καὶ ταῦτα γυμνήν; καίτοιγε ἐκεῖναι πόσον ἐνδεδυμένης ἐμοῦ λασιώτεραι.” πείθεται Δάφνις καὶ συγκατακλινεὶς αὐτῇ πολὺν χρόνον ἔκειτο καὶ οὐδὲν ὧν ἕνεκα ὤργα ποιεῖν ἐπιστάμενος ἀνίστησιν αὐτὴν καὶ κατόπιν περιεφύετο μιμούμενος τοὺς τράγους. πολὺ δὲ μᾶλλον ἀπορηθείς, καθίσας ἔκλαεν εἰ καὶ κριῶν ἀμαθέστερος εἰς τὰ ἔρωτος ἔργα.
(Longus, Daphnis & Chloe 3.14)

He pressed Chloe to give him all that he wanted and to lie together naked for longer than they used to before, since this was the last untried step in Philetas’ instructions, so that the sole antidote for love could take effect. She asked what more there was than kissing, hugging, and actually lying down, and what he meant to do once they were lying together naked. “What the rams are doing to the ewes,” he replied, “and the he-goats to the she-goats. Do you notice that after they do that, the females no longer run away from the males and the males no longer wear themselves out chasing the females, but instead they graze together afterwards as if having shared a mutual pleasure? Apparently this behavior has a sweetness that overcomes the bitterness of love.” “Don’t you also notice, Daphnis, that the rams and the he-goats stand when they do this, and the ewes and the she-goats stand when they have it done, the males hopping onto the females and the females carrying them on their backs? And you ask me to lie down with you, and naked to boot? Yet how much woollier these females are than I am, even with my clothes on!” Daphnis agreed. Reclining with her, he lay there a long time, and not knowing how to do any of what he grew taut for, he stood her up and clung to her from behind, imitating the he-goats. But much more frustrated than before, he sat down and started to weep, for being more inept than he-goats in making love. (tr. Jeffrey Henderson)