Epistulae

I swear to you by the God of love, by whom let me never be abandoned, and by the sacred nine, those deities whom I adore, that when first told (I hardly know by whom) that you and all my joys had fled, I had neither the power of speaking nor of weeping; my eyes did not grant me the relief of tears, and my tongue was deprived of all motion; a death-like coldness seized my boding heart: but when impetuous grief at last found a vent, I beat my breast, and rent my scattered locks, raving in all the wildness of furious despair; like a pious mother who bears to the funeral-pile the breathless body of her darling son. My brother Charaxus rejoices at the disaster, and barbarously triumphs in my griefs: his hated image is ever before my eyes; and, to reproach me with the shameful cause, he asks, Why all this sadness? Your daughter still lives. Love and shame are ever inconsistent. With garments torn, and my bosom bare, I proclaim to all the world my

guilt. You, Phaon, take up all my thoughts; my care by day, and the nightly object of my dreams; dreams that charm more than the brightest day. In these I find you, though fled to remote regions; but, alas! the joys of sleep are vain and short-lived. Oft you seem to wind your arms round my yielding neck. Oft my arms fondly encircle thine. I soothe and address you in softest words, and my mouth is prompt to utter the language of my heart. I seem to give and take endearing kisses; and yield to joys which I blush to mention, while yet I must confess how much they please. But when the rising sun spreads his light over all; as if once more deserted, I complain that sleep has fled so soon. I retire to the caves and groves, as if caves and groves could yield relief; and fondly court the haunts that have witnessed your dear embraces. Thither I run, my hair loose and disheveled, like those who are infatuated by some powerful sorceress. There I behold the caves beset with rugged cliffs, that to me were more pleasant than the finest Phrygian marble. I find the grove that hath often afforded us a flowery bed, and sheltered us from the heat by