The Idylliums of Theocritus Translated from the Greek. With notes critical and explanatory. By Francis Fawkes |
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| I. |
| II. |
| III. |
| IV. |
| V. |
| VI. |
| VII. |
| VIII. |
| IX. | IDYLLIUM IX. Daphnis and Menalcas. |
| X. |
| XI. |
| XII. |
| XIII. |
| XIV. |
| XV. |
| XVI. |
| XVII. |
| XVIII. |
| XIX. |
| XXI. |
| XXII. |
| XXII. |
| XXIII. |
| XXIV. |
| XXV. |
| XXVI. |
| XXVIII. |
| XXIX. |
| XXX. |
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 | The Idylliums of Theocritus |  |
89
IDYLLIUM IX. Daphnis and Menalcas.
ARGUMENT.
The herdsman Daphnis, and the shepherd Menalcas are urged by a neighbouring shepherd to contend in singing; the song is in alternate strains, and each receives a prize; Daphnis a finely-finished club, and Menalcas a conch. The beauty of this Idyllium consists in the true character of low life, full of self-commendation, and boastful of its own fortune.
Daphnis, begin! for merrily you play,
Daphnis, begin the sweet bucolic lay;
Menalcas next shall sing; while pasturing near
Calves mix with cows, the heifer with the steer;
The bulls together with the herd may browze,
Rove round the copse, and crop the tender boughs;
Daphnis, begin the sweet bucolic strain;
Menalcas next shall charm the shepherd-swain.
Daphnis, begin the sweet bucolic lay;
Menalcas next shall sing; while pasturing near
Calves mix with cows, the heifer with the steer;
The bulls together with the herd may browze,
Rove round the copse, and crop the tender boughs;
Daphnis, begin the sweet bucolic strain;
Menalcas next shall charm the shepherd-swain.
90
Sweet low the herds along the pastur'd ground,
Sweet is the vocal reed's melodious sound;
Sweet pipes the jocund herdsman, sweet I sing,
And lodge securely by yon cooling spring,
Where the soft skins of milk-white heifers, spread
In order fair, compose my decent bed:
Ah luckless! browsing on the mountain's side
The south-wind dash'd them headlong, and they died.
There I regard no more bright summer's fires
Than youthful lovers their upbraiding sires.
Sweet is the vocal reed's melodious sound;
Sweet pipes the jocund herdsman, sweet I sing,
And lodge securely by yon cooling spring,
Where the soft skins of milk-white heifers, spread
In order fair, compose my decent bed:
Ah luckless! browsing on the mountain's side
The south-wind dash'd them headlong, and they died.
There I regard no more bright summer's fires
Than youthful lovers their upbraiding sires.
Thus Daphnis chanted his bucolic strain;
And thus Menalcas charm'd the shepherd-swain.
And thus Menalcas charm'd the shepherd-swain.
MENALCAS.
Ætna's my parent; there I love to dwell,
Where the rock-mountains form an ample cell:
And there, with affluence blest, as great I live,
As swains can wish, or golden slumbers give;
By me large flocks of goats and sheep are fed,
Their wool my pillow, and their skins my bed:
In caldrons boil'd their flesh sustains me well;
Dry beechen faggots wintry frosts expell.
Thus I regard no more the cold severe
Than toothless men hard nuts when pulse is near.
Where the rock-mountains form an ample cell:
And there, with affluence blest, as great I live,
As swains can wish, or golden slumbers give;
By me large flocks of goats and sheep are fed,
Their wool my pillow, and their skins my bed:
91
Dry beechen faggots wintry frosts expell.
Thus I regard no more the cold severe
Than toothless men hard nuts when pulse is near.
Here ceas'd the youths; I prais'd their pastoral strains,
And gave to each a present for his pains:
A well-form'd club became young Daphnis' due,
Which in my own paternal woodlands grew,
So exquisitely shap'd from end to end,
An artist might admire, but could not mend.
A pearly conch, wreath'd beautifully round,
Late on th'Icarian rocky beach I found,
The shell I gave Menalcas for his share;
Large was the conch, its flesh was rich and rare,
(This in five equal portions I divide)
And to five friends a plenteous meal supply'd.
Pleas'd he receiv'd, and lik'd his present well,
And thus he sweetly blew the shining shell:
And gave to each a present for his pains:
A well-form'd club became young Daphnis' due,
Which in my own paternal woodlands grew,
So exquisitely shap'd from end to end,
An artist might admire, but could not mend.
A pearly conch, wreath'd beautifully round,
Late on th'Icarian rocky beach I found,
The shell I gave Menalcas for his share;
Large was the conch, its flesh was rich and rare,
(This in five equal portions I divide)
And to five friends a plenteous meal supply'd.
92
And thus he sweetly blew the shining shell:
Hail, rural Muses! teach your bard those strains
Which once I sung, and charm'd the listening swains:
Then would my tongue repeat the pleasing lore,
And painful blisters never gall it more.
To grashoppers the grashoppers are friends,
And ant on ant for mutual aid depends;
The ravenous kite protects his brother kite;
But me the Muse and gentle song delight.
O, may my cave with frequent song be blest!
For neither roseat spring, nor downy rest
So sweet the labourer soothe; nor to the bee
Are flowers so grateful, as the Muse to me:
For Circe's strongest magic ne'er can harm
Those whom the Muses with soft rapture charm.
Which once I sung, and charm'd the listening swains:
Then would my tongue repeat the pleasing lore,
And painful blisters never gall it more.
To grashoppers the grashoppers are friends,
And ant on ant for mutual aid depends;
The ravenous kite protects his brother kite;
But me the Muse and gentle song delight.
93
For neither roseat spring, nor downy rest
So sweet the labourer soothe; nor to the bee
Are flowers so grateful, as the Muse to me:
For Circe's strongest magic ne'er can harm
Those whom the Muses with soft rapture charm.
| The Idylliums of Theocritus | |