Mitchell Starrett Buck

“ Among the faintly tinted throng there is one who never smiles and who speaks no word . . . How many years ago she lived! How many years ago lived the youth who loved her! . . .
The temple of my goddess is racked and broken. Few people are seen here, now. And I, an old man, a servant of the gods, would spend an hour dreaming of dead days . . .
There was one mortal woman, only, in my life. In this mad age wherein this arid land blooms with a sinister and pulsing growth of women's flesh, certainly the remembrance of one woman only is strange enough. ”

“ I think it is less disbelief than perplexity which troubles thee. But the gods do not ask understanding. How couldst thou hope to understand, or why? Perhaps the gods themselves are but manifestations of something which lies beyond. Can we question that greater spirit, of which our Pan was but the earliest conception, which moves in the heart of all things, which brings the grain forth from the ground into the sunlight, which stirs the sap of the trees and loads the vine with grapes, because men work injustice on one another? ”

“ Lysidice did not know who played, but her light steps quickened to the hurrying notes and soon she danced over the grass, waving her arms and turning her sweet face up toward the green leaves murmuring overhead.
An old man, passing the edge of the grove, saw the bright, dancing figure.
"There was a time when I, also, danced," he murmured to himself as he moved away. "I danced, yes, and others with me. But those days are past. Now it is the young ones' turn . . . It is not for long that they dance alone; Pan and Aphrodite will take care of that." ”

“ He had hoped now, for a son, for an heir beyond question to the kingdom he had so struggled to hold. The oracles had, in fact promised him a child who should rule Egypt; this very priest, Nargases, had assured him of it. So he had expected a son; but the oracles had deceived men since time began. He was bitterly disappointed. A son and heir held aloft to meet the plaudits of a nation . . .
What chance had Egypt, in the hands of a woman, before the Roman wolves? Osiris blast them with their big hands and urbane, smiling faces! . . . A daughter—a plaything for the sons of other men! ”

“ The tremble of a step upon the earth roused her. Languidly, she raised her head and saw a man, one of the poor Egyptians, standing near her.
Two days before, she would have welcomed one of these men who sometimes entered the wood, paying a few oboli for the favors of the poor courtesans. But, this night, she felt that her life was over; she felt that she was going to die. The thought of love sickened her.
She shook her head wearily and dropped it once more upon her arms. But the man, with a rough laugh, bent down and clasped her. She struggled weakly for a moment, but had no strength. ”

“ Often there comes to me the thought that the mission of woman to man is less to comfort than to wound. Many a noble man, greater than I, would gladly live in quiet, with his wife, the years allotted to him. Yet, how often such men have been shocked into action and a search for greater things by the faithlessness of the mortal woman held most dear! Even a woman taken as the plaything of a day, may do this great but thankless thing. ”

“ Thy lips are like a flower at my throat . . .
—This roasted fowl, I swear, is daintier than a beautiful woman. Now I maintain that pleasures such as this . . .
—Let her alone, thou ape; she is a Lesbian . . . What is it to thee? . . . Who threw that cup? O shame! It was a rare Etruscan glaze! How strangely the fragments gleam . . .
—O lovely, glowing limbs! O skin like petals of the rose! More maddening than all wines the fair breath sobbing past thy crimsoned lips . . .
—Gods! Gods! I weep. See, my sleeve is all wet with tears! I can drink . . . no more . . . I can drink . . . ”

“ There were Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, Jews, dwellers of the desert. There were innumerable women, clad in costumes of all colors, laden with jewels in gold or silver or the blue clay of the Egyptians. Many of these were courtesans who moved proudly in conscious beauty among the groups of men. Here and there, a poor girl, clad simply in a rough tunic, walked with downcast eyes, darting an occasional appealing glance at men who turned carelessly away to admire her more richly bedecked rivals. ”

“ True, women were not without power; he knew that. Their way was different from that of a man, but, forewarned, they were not without resource. Hatshepsu had ruled; no one had known her for a woman . . . The glory of the Lagidae was a heavy trust. He himself had bribed the Romans with prodigious sums. A son might bribe again, or fight. A daughter—true, a daughter might obtain again all the riches, and more. That was not beyond thought. The Romans, his enemies, who cast covetous eyes on his kingdom: they were notoriously weak before women. ”

“ Thou art a sorceress with thine eyes blue as the sky and thine hair where the sunlight gleams enmeshed.
Who, in past ages, stole thee from those languid beaches where the sunny waters ripple and where the cadenced songs of the Sirens rise to enchant the hearts of men? Or didst thou come from the shadowy woodland, born of some clear, cool spring and the sunbeams glancing among the trees?
Even the least word of thy lips is like a song; the glory of thine eyes is priceless happiness; within thine arms, one could dream forever or burn forever insatiate. ”

“ But thou art not; and it is only unhappiness and disbelief which thou canst give to others. If the priests thou disdainest can give no truth, and cannot argue the injustice out of life, at least they can give solace. Has thou realized that, my friend?
"It is not difficult to believe in the gods, although their ways may be strange to us . . . Forget for a moment, the life about thee. Is Amon of the Egyptians only a name, a statue, a painting? Is Zeus an idealism, whose thunderbolts must be the accidents of a blind nature only? ”

“ Thersites, a little disturbed, rose also.
"Bring her here, by all means. But I cannot say I approve thy project. There are innumerable women who, I think, would be more to thee than a young girl. At least, if thou must venture it, I beg of thee to shed no blood. The game is not worth that. For my shelter, wilt thou promise me this?"
"I will promise thee, unless it becomes a question of my life."
And Antonius went out quickly.
Thersites, leaning over the parapet, watched his departure. Crobyle spoke from the shadow of a couch.
"He is a fool." ”

“ Who shall be my love, this year? For it is spring; the breeze is sweet and the flowers are stirring within the earth. The ground is softer; the skies warmer. There are even green spots on the pastures. ”

“ Soft wind of the sea, bring me the perfume of pines and of roses, an echo of the brooklets of Arcadia.
Where the meadows flow upon the low slopes of the hills; where the warm air murmurs with the distant song of summer; where the sunlight glows upon the wood-flowers among the trees . ”

“ So the years had flown, unnoticed, over her head. A life of unceasing pleasure had shortened the hours. Her body had become harder, the contours more pronounced; her breasts had softened.
Then, one by one, her lovers had turned from her. Guests who had made merry at her banquets, bathing their bodies in her choicest wines, left her for rivals less beautiful, less accomplished, but more youthful. Even the young men passed quickly by her door . . . She knew she was still beautiful. She had doubled her offerings to the goddess ”

“ Thou shouldst build thyself a new dwelling, at the border of a forest where silence holds no corruption. And, with the nymphs, thou shouldst sacrifice to other gods, at a flat rock lit by slanting rays of sunlight through the trees. ”

“ With the gods, there is no love nor torment nor burden, nor pulsing anger to wrench the spirit from its native element. But only silence, perfect peace, and shadows redolent of the highest mystery. And, thereafter, a blossom on the River of Death . ”

“ Lying on the couches about the tables in the great hall were the chief priests of the city, priests of Isis, Amon, Serapis, Zeus and Aphrodite, teachers and philosophers from the schools, chief functionaries and officers, the most important visitors on the lists of the city, and a sprinkling of keen-eyed Romans. Auletes, in the prime of his life, quick, graceful, lay at a table slightly raised on a dais. ”

“ Thersites smiled, but said nothing. The next moment, the young girl, half naked, trembling with fright and anger, stood in the moonlight. Her eyes sought Thersites and remained fixed on him. Antonius sat down, still breathing heavily.
"She is a wild animal. I spoke to her. I threatened and prayed. But the old woman, I suppose, told the truth, and she could not understand me. Will she remain as she is now?"
He took a step toward the girl. Her mouth opened, about to scream. Her hand clutched Thersites' cloak. Antonius stopped, preplexed. ”

“ Then lay upon thy slender nudity this tunic, these silken scarves and, over all, this purple vestment broidered with fine gold.
When thou hast done these things—return. If thou art smiling, warm with desire: if I find thee fair: perhaps thou wilt be loved. ”

“ But I would not venture, for all my bravery, a siege of Crobyle's experienced heart."
"Crobyle and I are hardly on speaking terms, these days," said Thersites, glancing from Antonius to the girl. "I think she enjoys provoking more fire than comes from such a temperament as mine. And she thinks my verses a poor substitute for more substantial adoration. What a shame she cannot leave me. ”

“ If these, even, are not all thou wishest, then I will sing thee other songs. Voluptuousness will overwhelm thee; thou wilt forget the purpled night; even the wine cup will fall unheeded to the ground. ”

“ Already the coronals were not wanting at her door; and Lacon, who was browned by the sun and smooth-limbed as Adonis, had offered to teach her how to play on his pipes. Her heart was full from the very joy of being alive, feeling about her the warm air and the wide world full of a thousand happy mysteries and promises. ”

“ He is the spirit of youth renewed; thy son and thine heir.
See, he sleeps, dreaming of mighty deeds. He will grow, as thou didst grow; he will become strong and beautiful and brave. He will bear thy name, as those after him will bear it, and will revere thee. The sons of his sons will revere thee through long ages. ”

“ The grasses and vines overwhelm them and unite with the hair of their heads and, in the end, they die—in silence. How strange such men are to our instinct! Others say the object of life is life itself and that each day should be lived for what it is, for whatever it brings us. ”

“ Look at these women! A whole people mad with luxury and lust, to snatch the pleasures of a moment. While, in the schools, priests and philosophers deliberate the essence of the soul and the manifestations of the gods!"
The two men had turned from the crowded promenade along a wide street and into the cool green of the Gardens.
"All these abuses," remarked Nisos, "are lamentable. Yet unhappiness, or disbelief in the gods, will not mend them. With sorrows and abuses, there are also beauties in life, if one can see them." ”

“ But we soldiers have not the money power of such leisurely beings as thou art; what we want, and cannot buy, we must take by force.
"I followed the girl and found the house where she lives. The old woman stood upon the door-step; I believe I have bribed her. At least, I am going there tonight and I shall carry the girl away. I will make a Sabine of an Egyptian. That is why I have come to thee, as I have no other safe place to leave her until my boat sails tomorrow. Before any investigation can be made in this dead city, we shall be far away." ”

“ Poverty overwhelmed her. She became thinner; a delicate pallor settled over her cheeks. Weeping, uncomprehending, she had at last parted with her house and had entered the wood to dwell among the courtesans who were old or suffering from misfortune like herself. ”

“ Others will question nothing. These men live by faith alone, and the inscrutable condescension of deity, thanking the gods for every breath they draw, for everything and anything which comes to them, their eyes turned continually toward the heavens or their quaking forms prostrate before the altars in the sanctuaries. ”

“ They expect us there, to teach them how to understand our philosophers, how to appreciate our statues, how to copy our architecture; but they hate us for the birthright they can never have, yet which is ours without asking. ”

“ Is it less present because we cannot understand, because we have seen the grain broken by hail and the grapes torn from the vines by bellowing winds?
"These very gardens are a place of worship for that Aphrodite whose ways displease thee but of whom thou really knowest nothing. Her spirit is in all things and in all creatures. The most wretched prostitute is not ignorant of her, nor the richest and most voluptuous empress and queen. The very beasts of the fields warm to her touch ”

“ The longest-living author of this work died in 1959, so this work is in the public domain in countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 64 years or less. This work may be in the public domain in countries and areas with longer native copyright terms that apply the rule of the shorter term to foreign works. ”

“ I have seen people starving, begging on their knees for even a piece of bread, that they might sustain themselves yet a little longer for future misfortunes. Men are slain in the night, for a piece of silver. ”

“ Some say that nothing is real to us except our souls, all else being a delusion born of ignorance. These men sit for untold years in silent, motionless meditation, fed by the charity of passers-by, watching without emotion their limbs consumed by ulcers and sores. ”