Pindar and Anacreon/Anacreon/Ode 10

by Anacreon

ODE X.—ON A WAXEN CUPID.

A waxen Cupid, nicely wrought,
A rustic youth for sale had brought.
"Say, what's your price, my friend?" I cried,
When thus the silly clown replied,
In Doric phrase,^[1] devoid of skill:
"E'en take him, sir, for what you will:
'Tis cheap, you'll say; but, truth to tell,
No images I make or sell.
But as for this young rogue you see,
He must not—shall not dwell with me."
"If so, my pretty youth," I said,
"Our bargain shall be quickly made:
To you this little coin I'll give,^[2]
And, Cupid, thou with me shalt live.
And do thou now my breast inspire,
There kindle all thy former fire;
Oh let me boast a lover's name,
Or thou thyself shalt melt in flame."^[3]

1. The Doric dialect was remarkable for its broadness and harshness. It was the most ancient of the four, and was used only by the common people of Greece. It is not therefore without reason, as the commentators have remarked, that Anacreon makes this young rustic speak it, since he was so insensible to the charms of love as to wish to get rid even of his image.
2. In the Greek it is a drachm, an Attic coin worth about nine pence English, or, according to some, only seven pence, three farthings, or, eight pence farthing.
3. Barnes observes that the ancient heathens used to treat the images of their gods in the same manner as they fancied they had been treated by them. The modern Indians, when any calamity befalls them, are accustomed to chastise their idols with scourges.