Daphnis and Chloe

by Longus

  This was the garden that Lamon tended to, cutting away the dry wood and tying up the vines. He put a garland on Dionysus and watered the flowers from a spring that Daphnis had found for the flowers; the spring was used just for the flowers, but still it was called Daphnis’ spring. Lamon encouraged Daphnis to fatten his goats as much as possible, saying that the master would certainly want to see them after such a long absence. Daphnis was confident that he would be praised for them; he had doubled the number he had received, and not a single one had been snatched by a wolf, and they were fatter than sheep. But since he wanted to make his master more ready to consent to his wedding, he devoted all his care and attention to them. He took the goats out very early in the morning and drove them back very late in the evening; twice a day, he led them to drink, and looked out for the richest pastures. He also secured new bowls and many milk pails and larger cheese baskets. He was so careful that he oiled the goats’ horns and combed their hair; they looked like a flock that was sacred to Pan. Chloe shared in all the work on them and neglected her own flock to give more of her time to the goats, so that Daphnis thought that it was because of her that his flocks seemed more beautiful.

  While they were occupied with these matters, a second messenger came from the city and told them to strip the vines as soon as possible, and he said that he himself would stay until they had made the grapes into new wine, and then he would return to the city to bring his master for the completion of the autumn harvest. They welcomed this Eudromus (for that was his name) very warmly, and at once they began stripping the vines, bringing the clusters of grapes to the presses and pouring the new wine into the jars; they set aside the most luscious grapes and left them on their shoots, so that even the people from the city might have some idea of the harvest and its pleasures.

  When Eudromus was about to run off to the city, Daphnis gave him many presents, especially such as a goatherd might give, firm cheeses, a late-born kid and a woolly white goatskin so that Eudromus would have something to put on when running messages in the winter. He was thrilled and kissed Daphnis and promised to put in a word on his behalf with the master. And so Eudromus left with a friendly goodbye, but Daphnis was in suspenseful agony while he grazed his flock with Chloe. She also was full of fear: the young man, who was used to seeing goats and a hill and farmers and Chloe, was now, for the first time, about to see his master, when previously he had only heard his name. So she was anxious for her Daphnis and the meeting with his master, and she was troubled in her heart about their marriage and feared that their dreams would be in vain. They kissed continually and they embraced each other like two shoots of ivy that had grown into one, but their kisses were timid and their embraces had a melancholy aspect, as though their master were already there and they were frightened by that or were avoiding his gaze. And then this new development also added to their worries.

  There was an arrogant cowherd called Lampis who had also said to Dryas that he wished to marry Chloe and had already given him many presents in his desire for the marriage. When he learned that Daphnis would marry her if his master should consent, he thought of a scheme to make the master turn bitter against Daphnis and Lamon. He knew that the master took special pleasure in the garden, and decided to damage it and spoil its beauty as much as he could. He realized that if he cut down the trees, he would almost certainly be caught because the noise would betray him, and so he decided to destroy the flowers instead. He waited for night, jumped over the fence, and then dug up some of the flowers, smashed others and trampled on the rest like a pig; then he escaped into the night without being caught. On the following day, Lamon came to the garden to draw water for the flowers from the spring; he saw the whole place devastated, the work of an enemy, clearly, and not a thief. He tore his tunic into pieces and shouted so loudly to the gods that Myrtale dropped what she was doing and ran out and Daphnis left his goats and ran up. They saw the ruined garden, they saw it and shouted and wept; theirs was a new kind of lament, a mourning for flowers.

  They wept for fear of their master, but even a stranger would have wept had he been there. The place was in a state of complete disarray, and the ground was wholly a muddy ruin, except that the flowers that escaped the violent attack still retained their bloom and shone and were still beautiful though they lay on the ground. Bees settled over them too, buzzing and humming, continually, ceaselessly, as though in sorrow. Lamon was struck by the disaster, and said, ‘O, the poor roses, how they’re broken! O, the poor violets, how they’ve been trampled down! And the hyacinths and the narcissus, dug up by some vile man. Spring will come, but they will not bloom; summer will come, but they will not flower; and another autumn, but they will not be a part of anyone’s garland. And you, Lord Dionysus, did you not feel pity for these wretched flowers? You used to live with them, to look at them. So often I made garlands for you from them. How shall I show the garden to my master now? What will he do when he has seen it? He’ll string up this old man on one of the pines and have him flayed like Marsyas, and perhaps he’ll do the same to Daphnis as well thinking that his goats were responsible.’

  At the thought of this, the tears they were shedding grew hotter still, and they were in mourning no longer for the flowers but for their own selves. Chloe also went into mourning at the thought that Daphnis would be strung up, and prayed that their master might never come; she lived through days of distress as if she was already watching Daphnis being whipped. At nightfall, Eudromus brought the message that the older master would arrive in three days’ time, but that the son would come ahead of him the next day. So they considered and discussed what had happened, and made Eudromus a part of their deliberations. He liked Daphnis and advised him to admit to everything to the young master first and promised he would help him and the others; the young master respected him, he said, because the two were foster-brothers nursed on the same milk. And on the next day, they followed his suggestion.

  Astylus arrived riding on his horse, and with him, and also on horseback, was his hanger-on, the kind they call a ‘parasite’. Astylus was a young man whose beard was just showing, but Gnathon (that was the parasite’s name) had been shaving and trimming his beard for a long time. Lamon fell at Astylus’ feet, together with Myrtale and Daphnis, and pleaded with him to take pity on an unfortunate old man and to turn away his father’s anger from a man who had done no wrong; and at the same time, he told him everything. Astylus felt pity for his shepherd, and when he went to the garden and saw the destroyed flowers, he said that he would himself intercede with his father on their behalf and blame the horses saying that they had turned violent after being tethered there, and had broken loose and smashed up, trampled on and uprooted the flowers. At these words, Lamon and Myrtale prayed for his happiness in all things, and Daphnis gave him several presents, kids, cheeses, birds with their chicks, clusters of grapes on vines and apples on boughs. Among the gifts there was also a wine with an exquisite bouquet, a Lesbian wine, the loveliest of all drinks.

  Astylus thanked and praised them for these gifts, and then turned his attention to hunting hares; he was, after all, a wealthy young man who never tired of the finer divertissements, and he had come to the country to savour new pleasures. Gnathon was, on the other hand, a man who knew how to eat and drink himself drunk and then have sex while drunk. He was nothing other than the sum of his mouth, his stomach and his loins, and he had observed Daphnis with care when he brought the gifts. He was a pederast by nature, and finding beauty such as he had never seen in the city, he decided to make a pass at Daphnis, and thought he would easily seduce a mere goatherd. With this idea in mind, he stayed out of Astylus’ hunt, and went down to where Daphnis was grazing, on the pretext of looking at goats, but in truth to gaze at Daphnis. To soften him, he praised his goats and asked him to play a shepherd’s melody on his pipes and said that he would quickly make him a free man since his influence was great.

  When he saw that Daphnis was tame and receptive, he lay in wait for him at night as he was dri
ving his goats from the pasture. Running up to Daphnis, Gnathon first kissed him, and then asked him to do for him what the she-goats do for the he-goats. Daphnis slowly realized what Gnathon was saying, and said that it was fine for he-goats to mount she-goats, but that no one had ever seen a he-goat mounting a he-goat, or a ram mounting a ram instead of a ewe, or cocks mounting cocks instead of hens. Gnathon was ready to use force and was laying his hands on him, but since the man was drunk and could barely stand up, Daphnis pushed him back and threw him sprawling to the ground. Then he scampered off like a puppy and left Gnathon lying down, needing a man’s hand (not a boy’s) to help him to his feet and guide him home. After that, Daphnis did not let him come close at all, but grazed his flocks in different places at different times, keeping far from Gnathon and watching over Chloe. For his part, Gnathon did not persist further, having learned that Daphnis was both strong and beautiful, but instead he looked out for the opportunity to discuss him with Astylus and hoped he would get Daphnis as a gift from the young man, who was often willing to grant great favours.

  That moment was not at hand, however: Dionysophanes was arriving with Cleariste, and there was much noise and commotion from pack animals and servants and men and women. Later, Gnathon did begin to compose a lengthy and passionate speech on the subject. Dionysophanes, by now a grey-haired man, was tall and handsome and able to compete with youths half his age; few men were as wealthy as he, and none as worthy. On the day of his arrival, he sacrificed to the gods who watch over the countryside, Demeter and Dionysus and Pan and the Nymphs, and set a large bowl of wine for everyone there to share in. On the next few days, he inspected Lamon’s work and saw the well-ploughed fields, the trimmed vine shoots and the beautiful garden (Astylus had taken the blame for the flowers). He was very pleased with what he saw, praised Lamon and promised to set him free. Afterward, he went down to the pasture as well, to see the goats and their goatherd.

  Chloe ran away to the wood, because the crowd frightened her and made her feel shy, but Daphnis stood there, wrapped in a shaggy goatskin, a newly sewn bag hanging from his shoulders, his hands full, one holding cheeses freshly made, the other unweaned kids. If Apollo ever worked for Laomedon as a cowherd, he must have looked just like Daphnis did at that moment. He said nothing, but blushing and looking down, held out the gifts. Lamon said, ‘This fellow, Master, is the herdsman of your goats. You gave me fifty she-goats to graze and two he-goats, but he has turned them into a hundred she-goats and ten he-goats. Do you see how sleek they are, how thick their hair, how full their horns? He has even given them an ear for music and makes them follow all his instructions through his pipes!’

  Cleariste heard him and wanted to test what he said, so she told Daphnis to play the pipes as he did usually, and she promised to give him a tunic and cloak and sandals if he should play. He made them sit down as if they were in the theatre, while he himself stood under the beech tree and brought out the pipes from his bag. He began: first he breathed into them very gently, and the goats stood still and raised their heads; then he blew the melody for grazing, and the goats lowered their heads and grazed; then he struck up a shrill tune, and the goats lay down together; then he piped a sweet song, and they ran away to the wood as if a wolf was approaching; after a few moments, he sounded the retreat, and they came out of the wood and ran together around his feet. No one had ever seen human slaves so obedient to the orders of their master! All of them were amazed, but Cleariste most of all, and she swore that she would give him her presents since he was an excellent goatherd and an excellent musician. Then they went up to the farmhouse and had lunch, and they sent Daphnis some of the food intended for their own table. He ate his meal with Chloe; he took pleasure in tasting city food and had great expectations of obtaining his master’s consent to the proposed marriage.

  But the fire in Gnathon’s heart was kindled still more by what had happened in the pasture, and he came to think life was not worth living if he could not possess Daphnis. He watched for Astylus to walk into the garden and then brought him into the temple of Dionysus and kissed his hands and feet. Astylus asked him why he was doing this and told him to speak his mind and vowed that he would help him. To this he replied, ‘Master, your Gnathon is ruined! Once, I used to love only the food in your house, I used to swear that nothing was lovelier than old wine of a good vintage, I used to say that your cooks were better than all the boys of Mytilene: but now the only thing I consider beautiful is Daphnis. I’ve lost my taste for rich food; so much of it is prepared every day, meat, fish, honey cakes, but no more for me! I’d much rather be a she-goat and eat grass and leaves, if only I could hear Daphnis’ piping, if only I could be pastured by him. Save me, save your Gnathon, and conquer Love the unconquerable. If not, I swear by you, by my own god, I will take a dagger, fill my stomach with food and kill myself in front of Daphnis’ door, and then you’ll no longer cry out for your little Gnathon as you often like to do when you’re playing around.’

  Since he was a young man with a large heart and, moreover, since he was familiar with the sickness that love could bring, Astylus could not resist him as he wept and kissed his feet again, but he promised to ask his father for Daphnis and to take him to the city, as a slave for himself and as a lover for Gnathon. But Astylus also wanted to bring the man himself to some level of reflection and he asked, smiling, if Gnathon wasn’t ashamed of his love for Lamon’s son or of his eagerness to lie down with a young man who grazed goats, and as Astylus said this he sniffed in disgust at the stench of goats. But the other was well schooled in love talk of all kinds, thanks to drinking parties in the city, and he did not miss his mark as he spoke on behalf of himself and Daphnis: ‘No lover is bothered by such things, my master. He is captivated by beauty in whatever body he finds it. That’s why people have fallen in love with plants and rivers and beasts – and who would not take pity on a lover who would have to be frightened by what he loved? The one I love has a slave’s body, but the beauty of a free man. You see how his hair is like hyacinth, how his eyes gleam beneath his brows like a jewel in a golden setting, his face pink and glowing, and his mouth full of white teeth like ivory? What lover would not pray for sweet kisses from him? In my love for a herdsman, I imitate the gods. Anchises was a cowherd, and he swept Aphrodite off her feet; Branchus used to graze goats, and Apollo fell in love with him; Ganymede was a shepherd, and the king of the universe snatched him away. Let us not scorn a boy who is, we see, obeyed even by his goats as if they love him, but rather let us be grateful to Zeus’ eagles for allowing such beauty to remain on earth.’

  Astylus laughed pleasantly at Gnathon’s fine discourse, and especially at his last comment, and said that Love made men into great orators. He would wait for the right opportunity to speak to his father about Daphnis. But Eudromus had secretly heard everything that passed between the two. He liked Daphnis and thought him a decent, honest young man, and was disturbed at the thought of such a beautiful boy being the target of Gnathon’s drunken cravings, so he immediately told him and Lamon all that he had heard. Daphnis was stricken with horror and decided to risk running away with Chloe or to take his own life and hers also. But Lamon called Myrtale out of the farm and said, ‘We’re ruined, wife. The time has come to disclose our secret. We’ll be all alone and abandoned, you and I, not to mention that the goats will be too, along with everything else. But by Pan and the Nymphs, even if I am left like an ox in the stall, as they say, I shall not remain silent about Daphnis’ origins. I’ll tell how I found him abandoned, I’ll reveal how I found him being nursed, I’ll show the things that were left out beside him. Let that disgusting Gnathon learn what sort of person he’s elected to love. Just get those tokens ready for me, please.’

  They agreed to do as he said, and went back inside. Meanwhile, Astylus made his way to his father when the older man was at leisure and asked him if he could take Daphnis to the city, on the grounds that he was a handsome youth, too good for the country, and could quickly be educated in city mann
ers by Gnathon. His father was happy to grant him his request, and he sent for Lamon and Myrtale and told them that henceforth Daphnis would look after Astylus instead of she-goats and he-goats and that he would give them two goatherds in place of this one. All the slaves now gathered around and were pleased at the idea that they would have a handsome fellow slave, but then Lamon asked for permission to speak and began with these words: ‘Listen to the truth from an old man, Master. I swear by Pan and the Nymphs that I am not telling a lie. I am not Daphnis’ father nor did Myrtale ever have the good fortune to be his mother. Another father and another mother abandoned this boy, perhaps because they had as many children as they wanted. I found him abandoned and being suckled by one of my she-goats. I buried her at the edge of the garden when she died, loving her because she had done a mother’s work. I also found tokens lying beside the child, I admit, Master, and I have kept them with me. They are signs of a higher station in life than ours. I do not scorn that he become a slave of Astylus, in which case he’d be a fine servant for a fine and honest master, but I cannot overlook his becoming a drunkard’s butt and let Gnathon take the boy to Mytilene to make him his mistress.’

  When Lamon finished, he fell silent and wept profusely, while Gnathon turned belligerent and threatened to strike him. But Dionysophanes was himself struck by Lamon’s words, and frowning at Gnathon, he ordered him to be still. He questioned Lamon again and asked him to speak the truth and not to make up a story to keep his son with him. Lamon stood by his account and swore to its truth by all the gods and offered himself up for torture so that they could test him and judge the truth of his words. With Cleariste sitting by his side, Dionysophanes reflected on what they had heard: ‘Why is Lamon lying when he can have two goatherds in place of his one? How can a rustic invent such a story? Was it not incredible from the very beginning for so handsome a son to be born to this old man and his plain wife?’