Priapeia

Priaepia

by divers poets in English verse and prose. Translated by Sir Richard Burton and Leonard C. Smithers

  1. And tender Bacchus owneth virginal form;
  2. Pallas hath grey-blue eyes, Venus a cast;
  3. Th' Arcadian Fauns thou seest bloody-browed
  4. And the Gods' Messenger shows proper feet;
  5. The Guard of Lemnos moves unequal steps;
  6. Ever untrimmed is Aesculapius' beard;
  7. None hath a broader breast than bully Mars;
  8. But, an Priapus' rank 'mid these remain,
  9. There be no better-membered deity.
  1. Why on memorial tablet do they limn
  2. (You ask) the member which begets us all?
  3. Whenas by accident my yard was hurt
  4. And I (unhappy!) feared the surgeon's hand
  5. To such legitimate almighty gods--
  6. Phoebus for instance take or Phoebus' son--