Pindar and Anacreon/Anacreon/Ode 55

by Anacreon

ODE LV.—THE LOVER'S MARK.

The courser bears a brand of fire,
To mark his owner, or his sire;
The turban, twisted round his brows,^[1]
The fiery foreign Parthian shows;
And I by instinct sure can tell
The lover's mark—I know it well:
For love in vain concealment tries,
The soul peeps through the telltale eyes.^[2]

1. The tiara worn by the ancient Parthians resembled the modern turban. Addison has translated from Dionysius the following description of the situation and manners of this ancient people:—
   

   "Beyond the Caspian straits those realms extend,
   Where circling bows the martial Parthians bend.
   Versed only in the rougher arts of war,
   No fields they wound, nor urge the shining share;
   No ships they boast to stem the rolling tide,
   Nor lowing herds o'er flow'ry meadows guide:
   But infants wing the feather'd shaft for flight,
   And rein the fiery steed with fond delight.
   On every plain the whistling spear alarms,
   The neighing courser, and the clang of arms;
   For there no food the little heroes taste
   Till warlike sweat has earn'd the short repast."

2. The eyes, the windows of the soul, are notorious telltales of what is passing within.