Delphi Complete Works of Longus

by Longus

  For the time, however, he was unable to carry out his plans, for Dionysophanes, the master of the estate, now arrived with his wife Clearista ; and great was the stir occasioned by their horses, varlets and maids. Pending the time when he might find Astylus alone, Gnatho busied himself in preparing a fine discourse in regard to the young goatherd.

  Dionysophanes’ hair was already turning grey, but he was tall and handsome, and could compare favourably with many young men. In wealth he had but few equals, and in virtues he had none. On the day of his arrival he sacrificed to the rural deities, to Ceres, Bacchus, Pan, and the Nymphs, and caused one common bowl to be prepared for all present. On the morrow he visited the estate that was in Lamon’s charge, and when he saw the well-ploughed fields, the carefully tended vines, and the beauty of the garden — for Astylus had taken the blame about the flowers on himself — he was highly delighted, and bestowed praises upon Lamon, and promised to give him his freedom. After inspecting the farm he went to see the goats and their young herdsman; and on his approach Chloe fled to the woods, ashamed and frightened to appear before so many strangers. Daphnis, however, stood still: a shaggy goatskin served him as a coat, a new scrip was suspended from his shoulder, in one hand he carried some fine cheeses that had just been made, whilst with the other he held two sucking kids. If ever Apollo tended the herds of Laomedon, he must have appeared as Daphnis appeared now. The youth did not speak a word, but with a flush suffusing his face, bowed his head and presented his offerings.

  “This, master,” said Lamon, “is the young man who tends your goats. Fifty she-goats, and two he-goats were the number I received from you: this youth has increased the former to a hundred, and the latter to ten. Observe what fine sound horns they have; and how fat and long-haired they are in body. Moreover, he has taught them to understand music, and all their movements are regulated by the pipe.”

  Clearista, who was present and heard what was said, expressed a wish for some proof of this assertion and desired Daphnis to pipe to his goats in his usual manner, promising him for his pains a cloak, a tunic, and a pair of sandals. Then Daphnis, standing under the shade of a beech-tree with all the company disposed in a semi-circle around him, took his pipe from his scrip and breathed into it very softly. The goats stood still, merely raising their heads. Then he piped to pasture and forthwith they all lowered their heads and began to graze. Next he piped some sweeter notes and all the herd lay down; whilst when he suddenly changed to a sharper key, they scampered off to the wood as if a wolf had been in sight. After a short interval the youth piped a recall, and then darting from their covert the animals ran to his feet. Few servants obey their masters so well as the goats obeyed Daphnis’s pipe. The whole company were surprised at the youth’s skill, and Clearista, who was particularly astonished, vowed that she would keep the promise she had made to the handsome goatherd who played so skilfully. The party then returned to the farm for dinner, and sent Daphnis some dainties from their own table.

  These he shared with Chloe, delighted at partaking of viands prepared according to city cookery; and he now felt sanguine of obtaining his master’s consent to his marriage.

  Gnatho had been greatly struck by Daphnis’s display of skill, and was now more desirous than ever of inducing Astylus to make him a present of the young goat-herd. Accordingly, on finding Astylus alone in the garden, he accosted him, and leading him into the temple of Bacchus began to kiss his hands and feet. Astylus forthwith inquired why he did this, and urged him to speak out; whereupon Gnatho made known his request in very pressing terms. Astylus was moved by his entreaties, and promised, as a first step, that under pretence of requiring Daphnis as a slave, he would ask his father to take the youth to the city. Gnatho thereupon renewed his entreaties, and Astylus engaged to take an early opportunity of mentioning the subject to Dionysophanes.

  It happened, however, that the conversation in the temple was overheard by Eudromus, the runner, who was greatly attached to the young goatherd on account of his amiable disposition. Unable to support the idea that one of so much comeliness and worth should be handed over to a sot like Gnatho, Eudromus gave information of what he had heard both to Daphnis and Lamon. The former was so much alarmed at the tidings that he resolved either to fly the country with Chloe, or else to destroy both himself and the young shepherdess at the same time. Lamon, on his side, at once called Myrtale out of the house, and addressed her in these words:

  “We are undone, my dear wife! It is time for us to reveal what we have so long concealed. Whatever may become of our herds and all that belongs to us, though I myself be left without employment, like an old ox in the stall (as the saying is), I swear by Pan and the Nymphs that I will no longer keep the history of Daphnis a secret. I will tell how and where I found him exposed, I will explain how he was nursed, and I will show the tokens which were left with him. That vile Gnatho shall be enlightened concerning the youth whom he would fain carry away. All that I ask of you is to have the tokens ready!”

  Having come to this resolution, Lamon and his wife went into the house again.

  In the meantime Astylus having found his father disengaged, had begged his permission to take Daphnis home with them on their return, alleging that such a handsome youth was above his present rustic condition, and that under Gnatho’s tuition he would soon be able to discharge an attendant’s duties in the city. Dionysophanes willingly complied with his son’s request — and, having sent for Lamon and Myrtale, informed them as a piece of good news, that Daphnis was no longer to remain a goatherd, but would henceforth wait upon Astylus. At the same time he promised them two goatherds to supply the young man’s place. Then, whilst the servants who had gathered around were rejoicing to hear that such a handsome youth was coming among them, Lamon begged leave to speak, and thus addressed his master:

  “Be pleased, master,” said he, “to listen to an old man and hear the truth. I swear by Pan and the Nymphs that I will not utter anything that is false. I am not the father of Daphnis, nor was Myrtale so fortunate as to be his mother. The parents of this youth, whosoever they were, exposed him in his infancy; possibly because they already had more children than they knew how to maintain. I found him lying on the ground, and one of my she-goats was suckling him. When she died, I buried her in the garden, for I was attached to her by reason of the way in which she discharged a mother’s duty towards the child. I found several tokens which had been left with the infant — that I confess; and I still preserve these tokens, which prove that the child was born to a higher station than that which he now fills. I am not so presumptuous as to slight the offer that he should become an attendant upon Astylus — an excellent servant to a virtuous and excellent master — but I cannot bear that he should fall into the hands of Gnatho.”

  As Lamon finished his speech, he burst into tears. Gnatho, who was in a violent passion, threatened to strike him, but Dionysophanes darted a stern look at the parasite and ordered him to be silent. Then, quieting Lamon, he urged him to speak the truth and not to invent falsehoods merely in view of keeping his son at home. Lamon, however, persisted in his assertions, calling upon the Gods to be his witnesses and declaring that he was ready to submit to torture as proof that he was not speaking falsely.

  Thereupon Dionysophanes and Clearista, who sat beside him, began as follows to examine the probability of the tale: “ What motive could Lamon have to tell a falsehood, when two goatherds are offered him in lieu of one? How could a common rustic possibly invent such a tale? Besides it seems improbable that this old man and that plain old woman should be the parents of such a handsome son.”

  Thereupon they both decided that further conjectures were out of place, and that they must forthwith examine the tokens to see whether they bespoke an illustrious parentage.

  Accordingly Myrtale went to fetch the tokens from the old bag in which they had been preserved; Dionysophanes was the first to examine them, and when he saw the purple mantle, the golden clasp, and the little knife with the ivory hilt
, he exclaimed, “Lord Jupiter!” and called to his wife to come and look at them. No sooner had Clearista beheld them than, on her side, she gave a loud shriek, and cried out, “O! ye propitious Fates! Are not these the very tokens which we placed with our little one, when we sent Sophrosyne to leave him in this part of the country! They are, indeed, they are the very same. My husband! The child is ours. Daphnis is our son, and he has been tending his own father’s goats!”

  Before she had ceased speaking, and whilst Dionysophanes was kissing the tokens and shedding tears of joy, Astylus, understanding that Daphnis was his brother, threw off his cloak, and ran through the garden to give him the first salute. But when Daphnis saw him approaching so swiftly, followed by a number of servants, and heard them all calling him by name, he imagined that they were coming to seize him and carry him off by violence. Accordingly he threw down his scrip and his pipe and ran towards the sea, with the determined resolution of throwing himself into it from the summit of a high rock; and (strange to relate!) perhaps his parents might only have found him to lose him at once and forever. Indeed it would have proved so, if Astylus had not realised the occasion of his alarm, and called out to him as follows:

  “Stop, stop, Daphnis, I am your brother; and they who have hitherto been your masters are now your parents. Lamon has just now given us a full account of the she-goat, and has shown us all the tokens which were found with you! Look back! See how joyful and happy we are! But let me have the first kiss, brother. I swear by the Nymphs that I am not deceiving you.”

  After no little hesitation, Daphnis was induced by this last solemn assertion to stop, and, waiting for Astylus, he received him with a kiss. While they were yet embracing, his father and mother came up together with Lamon and Myrtale and all the men and maid servants, and threw their arms around him, and kissed him with tears of joy. Daphnis saluted his father and mother before all the rest, and as if he had long known them, he clasped his arms around them to press them to his breast. It seemed as though he wished never to part from their embrace: thus do the ties of Nature assert themselves.

  For a time even he almost forgot his Chloe. His parents led him back to the house and gave him a costly garment; and when he had put it on, he sat down beside his real father, who spoke to the following effect :

  “I married, my dear children, when I was very young; and in a short space of time I became, so I considered, a very happy father. First a son was born to us, then a daughter, and then you, my Astylus. I thought my family now large enough, and accordingly, when Daphnis was born shortly after the others, I resolved to expose him, placing with him this cloak, knife and clasp, not as tokens by which he might hereafter be identified, but rather as funereal ornaments. Fortune, however, had other plans in view. My eldest son and my daughter died of the same disease in one day; but by the providence of the Gods, you, Daphnis, have been preserved that we might have additional support in our old age. Do not bear any ill will towards me because I exposed you; it was the Gods, not I, that willed it; nor do you, Astylus, grieve that you will now have but a part of my estate instead of the whole of it; for to a wise man no wealth is equal to the possession of a brother. Love each other, and you will be able to vie with princes. Extensive estates, numerous and dexterous servants, stores of gold and silver, indeed all that the happy and prosperous possess, will I leave to you in common. Only I reserve for Daphnis this particular estate with Lamon and Myrtale and the goats which he himself has tended.”

  Dionysophanes had scarcely finished speaking when Daphnis rose from his seat and said:

  “Father, you have recalled my memory. I must go and lead my goats to water. They must be thirsty and are no doubt waiting to hear my pipe, whilst I sit idle here.”

  All those present laughed on hearing that Daphnis, albeit now a master, was still willing to act as goatherd. One of the servants was sent to tend the goats; and Daphnis and the rest of the company after sacrificing to Jove the Preserver sat down to a banquet. Gnatho was the only person absent; for so great was his fear on account of Daphnis that he remained in the Temple of Bacchus as a suppliant throughout the day and night. The report that Dionysophanes had found his son and that Daphnis was master of the estate soon spread abroad; and early the next morning numbers of people flocked to the cottage from different parts, offering congratulations to the youth and presents to the father. Dryas, Chloe’s foster-father, was among the first that arrived. Dionysophanes insisted that as they all shared in his joy, they should likewise all have a share in the entertainment that he had prepared. Wine and wheaten bread were provided in plenty, with wild fowl, sucking pigs, and sweetmeats of various kinds. Numerous victims were sacrificed to the rural deities and Daphnis collected all his pastoral equipments, and distributed them in separate offerings to the Gods. To Bacchus he presented his scrip and goatskin coat. To Pan his pipe and transverse flute. To the Nymphs his crook, and the milkpails which he had made with his own hands. But the happiness to which we have been accustomed is often dearer than unexpected good fortune, however great, and thus as Daphnis parted with each offering, he wept, as if he were parting from some old family friend. He could not suspend his milkpails in the grotto without milking his goats into them once more; he could not part with his coat without once more putting it on; nor could he quit his pipe without once more playing on it. He kissed each offering in turn before giving it up; he talked to his goats and called them by name and he once more drank from the fountain, because he and Chloe had so often quenched their thirst with its water. Still he did not yet venture to declare his love, preferring to wait for a more favourable opportunity.

  While Daphnis was engaged in these rites, this is what happened to Chloe, as she sat watching her flock, weeping and complaining: “Daphnis has forgotten me. He is dreaming of marrying some wealthy maiden. Ah! Why did I make him swear by his goats instead of by the Nymphs! He has forgotten them as he has forgotten me; he has been sacrificing to the Nymphs and to Pan, and yet he has never come to see his Chloe. Perhaps he has seen some other girl whom he deems preferable to me among his mother’s maids. Farewell Daphnis! May you be happy; as for myself I cannot survive it.”

  Whilst she was thus giving expression to her thoughts, Lampis, the herdsman, suddenly came up with some rustics in view of carrying her off. Imagining that Daphnis would no longer think of marrying her, Lampis believed that if he once had the maiden in his power, Dryas would be well content to let him keep her as a wife. Whilst she was being borne away, crying and shrieking, someone who had witnessed this act of violence hastened to inform Nape of it. Nape thereupon informed Dryas, and Dryas communicated the tidings to Daphnis. Distracted at the intelligence, and, albeit desirous of succouring Chloe, yet afraid to explain matters to his father, the youth repaired to the outer walk of the garden and thus gave vent to the bitterness of his grief:

  “What a source of sorrow has the discovery of my parents become to me! How much better would it have been for me had I continued tending my herds! How much happier I was as a slave, for then I could behold my Chloe! But now Lampis has borne her away, and perhaps this very night she will become his wife, whilst I am here drinking and feasting! Was it in vain then that I swore by Pan, by my goats, and by the Nymphs as well?”

  Now, it happened that Gnatho, who was lurking in the garden, overheard this lament, and conceived that a favourable opportunity had now arrived for effecting a reconciliation with Daphnis. Accordingly he collected some of Astylus’s varlets, and repairing to Dryas, desired that he would conduct them to the place where Lampis dwelt. They overtook the herdsman as he was dragging Chloe into his house, rescued her from him, and gave his companions, the rustics, a severe beating. Gnatho also wished to seize and bind Lampis, and lead him off like a prisoner of war, but the rogue was too nimble and managed to effect his escape.

  After accomplishing this exploit Gnatho returned to the farm. It was already night, and Dionysophanes had retired to rest. However, Gnatho found Daphnis still in the garden, where he was
weeping and lamenting bitterly. He thereupon presented Chloe to him, and gave him an account of the whole affair, beseeching him to forget all his resentment, and to retain him in his service (in which he would prove himself of use) rather than banish him from his father’s table, which would deprive him of his bread. When Daphnis saw Chloe restored to him by Gnatho, he speedily became reconciled to the latter, and began to apologise to the maiden for his apparent neglect.