thy death, to set an
example to others, tell me thy name, and the name of thy parents, and
thy country, and why thou dost attend the sacred rites of a new
fashion." He, void of fear, says, "My name is Acoetes; Maeonia[86] is my
country; my parents were of humble station. My father left me no fields
for the hardy oxen to till, no wool-bearing flocks, nor any herds. He
himself was {but} poor, and he was wont with line, and hooks, to deceive
the leaping fishes, and to take them with the rod. His trade was his
{only} possession. When he gave that calling over {to me}, he said,
'Receive, as the successor and heir of my employment, those riches which
I possess;' and at his death he left me nothing but the streams. This
one thing alone can I call my patrimony. {But} soon, that I might not
always be confined to the same rocks, I learned with a steadying right
hand to guide the helm of the ship, and I made observations with my eyes
of the showery Constellation of the Olenian she-goat,[87] and
Taygete,[88] and the Hyades,[89] and the Bear, and the quarters of the
winds, and the harbors fit for ships. By chance, as I was making for
Delos, I touched at the coast of the land of Dia,[90] and came up to the
shore by {plying} the oars on the right side; and I gave a nimble leap,
and lighted upon the wet sand. When the night was past, and the dawn
first began to grow red, I arose and ordered {my men} to take in fresh
water, and I pointed out the way which led to the stream. I myself, from
a lofty eminence, looked around {to see} what the breeze promised me;
and {then} I called my companions, and returned to the vessel. 'Lo! we
are here,' says Opheltes, my chief mate; and having found, as he
thought, a prize in the lonely fields, he was leading along the shore,
a boy with {all} the beauty of a girl. He, heavy with wine and sleep,
seemed to stagger, and to follow with difficulty. I examined his dress,
his looks, and his gait, {and} I saw nothing there which could be taken
to be mortal. I both was sensible of it, and I said to my companions, 'I
am in doubt what Deity is in that body; but in that body a Deity there
is. Whoever thou art, O be propitious and assist our toils; and pardon
these as well.' 'Cease praying for us,' said Dictys, than whom there was
not another more nimble at climbing to the main-top-yards, and at
sliding down by catching hold of a rope. This Libys, this the
yellow-haired Melanthus, the guardian of the prow, and this A