# The Anglo-Saxon Version of the Story of Apollonius of Tyre/Translation

In the city of Antioch was a king named Antiochus. After this king's name the city was called Antioch. This king's queen had departed from life, by whom he had a very beautiful daughter of incredible fairness. When she came to marriageable age, then yearned for her many a great man, promising many splendid things.
Then it happened, through a painful mishap, that while the father was thinking to whom he might, in preference to others, give her, then fell his own mind on her love with unlawful desire, so violently that he forgot paternal piety, and desired his own daughter to himself for a mate: and that desire did not long delay; but one day, in the morning, when he from sleep awoke, he brake into the [2] chamber wherein she lay, and bade his domestics all go away from him, as if he would speak some secret speech with his daughter. He then engaged in that sinful crime, and ​the struggling damsel with great difficulty overcame; and the perpetrated crime sought to conceal.
Then it happened that the maiden's foster-mother went into the chamber, and saw her sitting in great affliction, and said to her, "Why art thou, lady, of so afflicted mind?" The maiden answered her, "Dear foster-mother, now today two noble names have perished in this chamber." The foster-mother said, "Of whom sayest thou that?" She answered her and said, "Ere the day of my nuptials, I am with sinful crime polluted." Then said the foster-mother, "Who was ever of so daring mind that durst defile a King’s daughter, ere the day of her nuptials, end not dread the king’s ire?" The maiden said, "Impiety hath perpetrated the crime against me." The foster-mother said, "Why sayest thou it not to thy father?" The maiden said, "Where is the father? truly in me wretched hath my father’s name cruelly perished, and to me now therefore death is exceedingly desirable." The foster-mother, truly, when she heard that the maiden longed for her death, then she called her to her with gentle speech, and entreated that she would turn her mind from that desire, and bow to her father's will, notwithstanding that she were compelled thereto. [3] In this state of things, truly, continued the impious king Antiochus, and with a feigned mind showed himself to his fellow-citizens as though he were the pious father of his daughter, and among his familiar ​men. He rejoiced in that he was the husband of his daughter; and in order that he might the longer enjoy his daughter's impious bride-bed, and drive from him those who desired her in lawful marriage, he set then a riddle, thus saying: "Whatever man who shall read my riddle aright, let him receive my daughter to wife, and he who shall misread it, be he beheaded." What is now more to say about it, but that kings came from every quarter and princes, on account of the incredible beauty of the maiden, and they despised death, and ventured to read the riddle; but if any one of them, through meditation of booklike wisdom, read the riddle aright, then was he led to beheading the same as he who did not read it aright: and all the heads were set over the gate.
Now while Antiochus the cruel king continued in this cruelty, then was a young man called Apollonius, who was very wealthy and prudent, and was prince of the province of Tyre, who trusted to his prudence and to his book-learning, and began to row till that he came to Antioch. Then went he in to the king, [4] and said: "Good health, king; behold, I come now to thee as to a good and pious father. I am truly come of kingly race, and I beg thy daughter for me to wife."
When the king heard that he would not listen to his will, he with a very angry countenance looked on the young man (prince), and said: "Thou young man ​knowest thou the condition of my daughter's nuptials?" Apollonius said, "I know the condition, and I saw it at the gate." Then said the king with anger: "Hear now the riddle—Scelere vehor, materna carne vescor: That is in English; By crime I am carried away, on maternal flesh I feed." Again he said: "Quæro patrem meum, meæ matris virum, uxoris meæ filiam, nec invenio: That is in English; I seek my father, my mother's consort, my wife's daughter, and I find not."
Apollonius then truly, having received the riddle, turned him a little from the king, and when he considered the sense, he gained it with wisdom; and with God's support, he guessed the truth. Then turned him to the king, and said: "Thou good king, thou proposest a riddle; hear now the solution of that which thou hast said.—That thou bearest crime, thou art not lying in that; look to thyself. And what thou saidst, 'on maternal flesh I feed,' in that thou art not lying; look to thy daughter." [5] When the king heard that Apollonius read the riddle so rightly, then he dreaded that it were too widely known; looked then with angry countenance at him, and said: "Thou young man, thou art far from right, thou errest, and what thou sayest is naught, but thou hast earned ​decapitation. I will now dismiss thee for a space of thirty days, that thou mayest consider the riddle aright, and thou then shalt receive my daughter to wife: and if thou doest that not, thou shalt suffer the appointed doom." Then was Apollonius sorely grieved, and with his comrades went on shipboard, and rowed till that he came to Tyre.
Verily after that, when Apollonius was gone, Antiochus the king called to him his steward who was called Thaliarchus. "Thaliarchus most trusty minister of all my secrets; knowest thou that Apollonius hath rightly read my riddle? mount now speedily on shipboard, and go after him, and when thou comest to him, then kill thou him, with iron or with poison, that thou mayest receive freedom when thou again comest." Thaliarchus, as soon as he heard that, he took with him both money and poison, and mounted on shipboard, and went after the innocent Apollonius, till that he came to his country: but Apollonius, however, first came to his own, and went into his house, and opened his book-chest, and examined the riddle according to the wisdom of all the philosophers and Chaldeans.
When he found nothing else, save what he erst thought, he said then to himself: "What wilt thou do now, Apollonius? Thou has guessed the king's riddle, and thou his [6] daughter hast not received: ​therefore thou art now condemned that thou shouldst be killed." And he then went out and ordered his ship to be loaded with wheat, and with a great weight of gold and silver, and with divers and sufficient garments; and so with a few of his most trusty men he mounted on shipboard, in the third hour of the night, and struck out to sea. On the following day, Apollonius was sought and inquired for, hut he was nowhere found. There was then great murmuring and excessive weeping, so that the wail resounded over all the city. Indeed so great love had all the township for him, that they for a long time went all unshorn, and long-haired, and forsook their theatrical plays, and locked their baths.
While these things were thus done in Tyre, then came the beforesaid Thaliarchus, who was from Antiochus the king sent for the purpose of killing Apollonius. When he saw that these places were locked, he said to a boy; "So be thou in health, tell me for what reasons this city continueth in so great lament and wail?" The boy answered him and thus said: "Ah how wicked a man thou art, thou who knowest that which thou askest after! Or what man is there who knoweth not that this township continueth in lamentation, because that Apollonius the prince all at once nowhere appeareth, since he came hack from Antiochus the king?" When Thaliarchus heard that, he with great joy turned to his ship, and with prudent ​sailing, [7] within one day came to Antioch, and went in to the king, and said: "Lord king, be glad now and rejoice, for that Apollonius dreads the powers of the realm, so that he dares continue nowhere." Then said the king: "Flee he can, but escape he cannot." He, Antiochus, then set forth his proclamation, thus saying: "What man soever that shall bring me Apollonius living, I will give him fifty pounds of gold, and to him who shall bring me his head, I will give him a hundred pounds of gold."
When this proclamation was thus set forth, then were seduced by avarice not only his foes but also his friends, and went after him, and sought him over all the earth, as well in downlands as woodlands, and in obscure places, but he was nowhere found. Then the king commanded ships to be prepared, and to pursue him, but it was long ere the ships were prepared, and Apollonius arrived before at Tharsus. When he one day was going by the strand, he saw one of his people who was called Hellanicus, who had first come thither. He then went to Apollonius and said: "Well hail, lord Apollonius." Then he, Apollonius, despised the greeting of a humble man, after the custom of great men. Hellanicus greeted him forthwith again, and said: "Well hail, Apollonius, and despise not thou a humble man that is adorned with honourable endowments; but hear now from me what thou thyself knowest not. It is in sooth very needful to ​thee that thou [8] be on thy guard, because thou art condemned." Then said Apollonius: "Who could condemn me, the Prince of my own nation?" Hellanicus said, "Antiochus the king." Apollonius said, "For what reasons hath he condemned me?" Hellanicus said, "Because thou desiredst to be what the father is." Apollonius said, "I am sorely condemned." Hellanicus said, "Whatever man bringeth thee to him alive, he will receive fifty pounds of gold; he who bringeth thy head will receive a hundred pounds of gold. Therefore I counsel thee to flee, and save thy life."
After these words, Hellanicus turned from him, and Apollonius bode him again be called to him, and said to him: "The worst thing thou hast done, that thou warnedst me: take now from me a hundred pounds of gold, and go to Antiochus the king, and say to him that my head is cut from my neck, and bring that word to the delight of the king: then thou wilt have reward and also hands clean of the blood of the innocent." Then said Hellanicus: "That may not be, lord, that I take reward from thee on this account; because with good men, neither gold nor silver is compared with a good man's friendship." They parted then with these words, and Apollonius immediately met another acquaintance coming towards him, whose name was called Stranguilio. "Young lord Apollonius, what doest thou with mind thus afflicted in this ​country?" Apollonius said, "I heard say that I was condemned." Stranguilio [9] said, "Who hath condemned thee?" Apollonius said, "Antiochus the king." Stranguilio said, "For what reasons?" Apollonius said, "Because I asked his daughter for me to wife, of whom I may in truth say that she was his own wife: therefore, if it may be, I will conceal myself in your country." Then said Stranguilio: "Lord Apollonius, our city is in want and may not suit your nobility, because we are suffering the severest and fiercest famine, and for my citizens is no hope of salvation; but the most cruel [death] stands before our eyes."
Then said Apollonius: "My dearest friend Stranguilio, thank God that he hath led me to flee hither to your frontiers. I will give your citizens a hundred thousand measures of wheat, if ye will conceal my flight." When Stranguilio heard that, he prostrated himself at his feet, and said: "Lord Apollonius, if thou helpest these hungry citizens, we will not only conceal thy flight, but also, if it shall be needful to thee, we will fight for thy safety." Then Apollonius mounted on the tribunal in the street, and said to the citizens present: "Ye citizens of Tharsus, I Apollonius, the Tyrian prince, make known to you, that I believe that ye will be mindful of this benefit, and ​conceal my flight. Know, also, that Antiochus the king hath driven me from my home; but for your advantage, under favour [10] of God, I am come hither. I will in sooth sell you a hundred thousand measures of wheat, at the value for which I bought it in my country."
When the people heard that, they became joyful, and fervently thanked him, and eagerly carried up the wheat. In short, Apollonius forsook his honourable kingdom, and took there the name of a merchant rather than of a giver: and the value that he received for the wheat he immediately disbursed again for the benefit of the city. The people then became so glad at his munificence, and so thankful, that they wrought to him a statue of brass, which stood in the street, and with the right hand shed wheat, and with the left foot trod the measure; and thereon thus wrote: "This gift gave the citizens of Tharsus to Apollonius the Tyrian, because he saved the people from famine, und restored their city."
After these things, it happened, within a few months, that Stranguilio and Dionysias his wife advised Apollonius that he could go in a ship to Pentapolis the Cyrenian city, and said that he might be there concealed and there remain; and the people then conducted him with unspeakable honour to the ship; and Apollonius bade greet them all, and went on shipboard. When they begun then to row, and were ​forward on their way, then was the serenity of the sea changed suddenly between two tides, and a great storm was raised, so that the sea [11] dashed the heavenly stars, and the rolling of the waves raged with the winds, and the fierce south-west wind stood against him, and the ship brake all to pieces in this terrible tempest. The companions of Apollonius all perished, and Apollonius alone came with swimming to Pentapolis the Cyrenian country, and there went up on the strand. Then he stood naked on the strand, and beheld the sea, and said: "O thou Neptune of the sea, bereaver of men, and deceiver of the innocent! thou art more cruel than Antiochus the king; on my account hast thou reserved this cruelty, that I through thee might become poor and needy, and that the cruel king might the more easily destroy me. Whither can I now go? for what can I beg, or who will give an unknown the support of life?"
While he was speaking these things to himself, then on a sudden he saw a fisherman going, towards whom he looked, and thus mournfully spake: "Pity me, thou old man! be whatever thou mayest, pity me naked, shipwrecked! I was not born of poor birth; and that thou mayest already know beforehand whom thou pitiest, I am Apollonius, the Tyrian prince." Then immediately as the fisherman saw that the young man was lying at his feet, he with compassion raised him up, and led him with him to his house, and ​laid before him those provisions which he had to offer him. Still he would, as far as in his power, show him greater constancy: he then tore his coat in two, and gave [12] to Apollonius the half part, thus saying: "Take what I have to give thee, and go into the city: there is hope that thou mayest meet with one who will pity thee. If thou findest no one who will pity thee, turn then again hither, and my little possessions shall suffice for us both, and go thee a fishing with me. Nevertheless I admonish thee, if thou, through supporters, comest to thy former dignity, that thou forget not my poor garment." Then said Apollonius, "If I think not of thee, when it shall be better with me, I wish that I again may suffer shipwreck, and not again find thy like."
After these words, he went on the way that was pointed out to him, till that he came to the city gate, und there entered. While he was thinking of whom lie might beg support of life, he saw a naked boy running through the street, who was smeared with oil, and begirt with a sheet, and bare young men's games in his hand, belonging to the bath-place, and cried with a loud voice and said, "Hear ye citizens! hear ye strangers, free and servile, noble and ignoble! the bath-place is open!" When Apollonius heard that, he stripped himself of the half cloak that he had on, and went into the bagnio; and while he beheld each of them at their work, he sought his like, but ​he could not find him in the company. Then suddenly came Arcestrates, king of all that people, with a great company of his men, and went into the bath. Then [13] began the king to play with his companions at ball, and Apollonius mingled himself, so as God would, in the king's play, and, running, caught the ball, and struck with swift promptitude sent it again to the playing king. Again he sent it back; he promptly struck, so that he never let it fall. The king then perceived the young man's activity, so that he knew that he had not his like in the play. Then said he to his companions, "Go ye hence; this young man, as it seemeth to me, is my equal."
When Apollonius heard that the king praised him, he ran quickly and approached the king, and with skilful hand he swang the top with so great swiftness that it seemed to the king as if he were turned from age to youth; and after that he agreeably ministered to him on his royal seat; and when he went out of the bath, he led him by the hand, and then afterwards turned thence the way that he before came. Then said the king to his men, after Apollonius was ​gone, "I swear by our common salvation, that I never bathed myself better than I did to-day; I know not through what young man's ministry." Then looked he to one of his men, and said, "Go and find out what the young man is who to-day so well obeyed me." The man then went after Apollonius. When he saw that he was clad with a squalid cloak, then returned he to the king, and said, [14] "The young man after whom thou askedst is a shipwrecked man." Then said the king, "Through what knowest thou that?" The man answered him and said, "Though he does not mention it himself, his raiment betrayeth him." Then said the king, "Go quickly, and say to him, that the king desires thee that thou come to his repast."
When Apollonius heard that, he obeyed it, and went forth with the man, till that he came to the king's hall. Then went the man in before to the king, and said, "The shipwrecked man is come, after whom thou sentest; but, for shame, he may not enter without clothing." Then the king commanded him to be instantly clothed with honourable clothing, and bade him enter to the repast. Then went Apollonius in, and sat where it was pointed out to him, opposite the king. Then was the refection brought in, and after that was a royal entertainment; and Apollonius ate nothing, though all the other men ate and were merry; but he beheld the gold and the silver. ​and the precious hangings and the tables, and the royal dishes. While he beheld all this with pain, there sat an old and envious noble by the king, [who] when he saw that Apollonius sat so painfully, and beheld all things and ate nothing, then said he to the king, "Thou good king, this very man towards whom thou hast so well done, he is very envious of thy prosperity." Then said the king, "Thou art mistaken; in sooth this young man envieth nothing that he here seeth, but he showeth that he hath lost much." Then Arcestrates, the king, looked to Apollonius with a cheerful countenance, and said, "Thou young man, be merry with [15] us, and hope in God, that thou mayest come to better [days]."
While the king was saying these words, suddenly there came in the king's young daughter, and kissed her father and those sitting around. When she came to Apollonius, then she turned towards her father, and said: "Thou good king, and my dearest father, what is this young man, who sitteth opposite to thee on so honourable a seat, with painful countenance? I know not what he sorroweth for." Then said the king: "Dear daughter, this young man has been shipwrecked, and he of all men pleased me best at the play, therefore I invited him to this our entertainment. I know not what he is, nor whence he is; but if thou wilt know what he is, ask him, because it is fitting that thou shouldest know." Then went the maiden ​to Apollonius, and, with respectful speech, said: "Though thou art still and sad, yet I see thy nobility in thee: now, then, if it seem to thee not too tedious, tell me thy name and relate thy misfortune to me." Then said Apollonius; "If thou must needs ask after my name, I tell thee, I lost it at sea. If thou wilt know my nobility, know thou that I left it at Tharsus." The maiden said, "Tell me more plainly, that I may understand it." Apollonius then truly related to her all his misfortune, and at the end of the speech tears fell from his eyes.
[16] When the king saw that, then he turned him to the daughter, and said: "Dear daughter, thou didst sin when thou wouldest know his name and his misfortune; thou hast now renewed his old grief; but I beseech thee that thou give him whatever thou wilt." When the maiden heard that that was allowed her from her father, what she herself wished to do, then said she to Apollonius: "Apollonius, thou in sooth art ours; leave off thy complaining, and now I hare my father's leave, I will make thee wealthy." Apollonius thanked her therefore, and the king rejoiced in his daughter's benevolence, and said to her, "Dear daughter, bid thine harp be fetched, and address thee to thy friends, and remove from the young man his affliction."
Then she went out, and bade her harp be fetched; and as soon as she began to harp, she with pleasant ​song mingled the sound of the harp. Then began all the men to praise her for her music; and Apollonius alone was silent. Then said the king, "Apollonius, now thou dost evilly; because all men praise my daughter for her music, and thou alone findest fault by being silent." Apollonius said, "O thou good king! if thou allowest me, I will say what I feel, that truly your daughter hath failed in her music, for she hath not well learned it; but bid the harp be now given to me, then thou soon shalt know what thou yet knowest not." Arcestrates the king said, "Apollonius, I know in sooth that thou art well instructed in all things." Then the king [17] bade the harp be given to Apollonius. Apollonius then went out, and clothed himself, and set a crown upon his head, and took the harp in his hand, and went in, and so stood that the king, and all those sitting around, thought that he was not Apollonius, but that he was Apollo the god of the heathens. Then there was stillness and silence within the hall, and Apollonius took. his harp-nail, and he began with skill to move the harp-strings, and the sound of the harp mingled with pleasant song: and the king himself, and all that were there present, cried with a loud voice and praised him. After this, Apollonius left the harp, and played, and exhibited many agreeable things there, which were unknown and uncommon to the people. ​Verily when the king's daughter saw that Apollonius was so well bred in all good arts, then fell her mind on his love. Then, after the end of the entertainment, the maiden said to the king: "Dear father, thou didst allow me a little before that I might give to Apollonius whatsoever I would of thy treasure." Arcestrates the king said to her, "Give him whatsoever thou wilt." She then very joyfully went out, and said; "Master Apollonius, I give thee, by my father's leave, two hundred pounds of gold, and four [18] hundred pounds of silver, and a vast quantity of precious raiment, and twenty serving men." And she then thus said to the serving men: "Bear these things with you which I have promised to my master Apollonius, and lay them in the apartment before my friends." This was then thus done, after the queen's bidding, and all the men praised her gift who saw it. Then indeed the entertainment was at an end, and the men all arose, and greeted the king and the queen, and bade them farewell, and went home. In like manner Apollonius said, "Thou good king, and pitier of the wretched, and thou queen, lover of learning, fare ye well!" He looked also to the serving men that the maiden had given him, and said to them: "Take these things with you that the queen hath given me, and go we seek our hostel that we may rest.
Then the maiden dreaded that she never again ​should see Apollonius so quickly as she would, and went then to her father, and said, "Thou good king, doth it well please thee that Apollonius, who through us to-day is enriched, should thus go hence, and evil men come and rob him?" The king said, "Well hast thou spoken; bid that there be found for him where he may rest most honourably." Then did the maiden as was ordered her, and Apollonius accepted the dwelling that was assigned him, and entered, thanking God who had not denied him royal honour and comfort. But the maiden had an unquiet night, inflamed with love [19] of the words and songs that she had heard from Apollonius; and she waited no longer than it was day, but went as soon as it was light, and sat before her father's bed. Then said the king, "Dear daughter, why art thou thus early awake?" The maiden said, "The accomplishments which I heard yesterday awakened me: now, therefore, I beseech thee that thou commit me to our guest Apollonius for instruction." Then was the king exceedingly delighted, and bade Apollonius be fetched, and said to him, "My daughter desireth that she may learn from thee the happy lore that thou knowest: and if thou wilt be obedient in these things, I swear to thee by the powers of my kingdom, that whatever thou hast lost at sea, I will make it good to ​thee on land." When Apollonius heard that, he received the maiden for instruction, and taught her as well as he himself had learned.
It happened then, after this, within a few hours, that Arcestrates the king held Apollonius hand in hand, and so went out into the street of the city. Then at length there came walking towards them three learned and noble men, who long before had desired the king's daughter. These then all three together, with one voice, greeted the king. Then the king smiled, and looked on them, and thus said: "Why is it that ye greet me with one voice?" Then answered one of them and said: "We, a long time ago, demanded thy daughter, and thou often hast deliberately tormented us with delay: therefore we come hither to-day thus together. [20] We are thy fellow-citizens, born of noble lineage: now we beseech thee that thou choose thee one of us three, which thou wilt have for thy son-in-law." Then said the king: "Ye have not chosen a good time: my daughter is now very busy about her learning; but lest that I should always longer put you off, write your names in a letter, and her dower; then I will send the letters to my daughter, and she herself shall choose which of you she will." Then the young men did so, and the king took the letters, and sealed them with his ring, and gave them to Apollonius, thus saying: "Take now, Master Apollonius, if it be ​not displeasing to thee, and bring them to thy pupil." Then Apollonius took the letters, and went to the royal hall.
When the maiden saw Apollonius, then said she, "Master, why goest thou alone?" Apollonius said: "Lady *** take these letters which thy father sends thee, and read." The maiden took them, and read the names of the three youths, but she found not the name therein that she would. When she had read over the letters, she then looked to Apollonius, and said: "Master, will it not vex thee if I thus choose a husband?" Apollonius said: "No; but I shall much more rejoice that thou, through the instruction which thou hast received from me, canst thyself in writing show which of them thou wilst. My will is that thou choose thee a husband where thou thyself desirest." The maiden said: "Alas, master! if thou didst love me, thou wouldst be sorry at it." [21] After these words, she, with firmness of mind, wrote another letter, and sealed it, and gave it to Apollonius. Apollonius then carried it out into the street, and gave it to the king. The letter was thus written. "Thou good king, and my most beloved father, now that thy tenderness hath given me leave that I myself might choose what husband I would, I will say to thee in sooth that I desire the shipwrecked man: and if thou wonderest that so bashful a damsel so boldly should write these words, then know thou ​that I have through wax, which knoweth no shame, declared to thee what I myself could not for shame say to thee."
When the king had read over the letter, then he knew not what shipwrecked man she named. He looked then to the three young men, and said: "Which of you has been shipwrecked?" Then said one of them, who was called Ardalius: "I have been shipwrecked." The second answered him and said: "Be thou silent! May disease consume thee, so that thou be neither hale nor sound! With me thou didst learn book-knowledge, and thou hast never gone from me without the gate of the city. Where didst thou suffer shipwreck?" When the king could not find which of them had been shipwrecked, he looked at Apollonius, and said: "Take thou, Apollonius, this letter, and read it: it may easily chance that thou knowest what I know not, thou who there wast present." Then Apollonius took the letter and read; and as soon as he discovered that he was beloved by the maiden, his countenance all reddened. When the king saw that, then took he Apollonius's hand, and turned him a little from the young men, [22] and said, "Dost thou know the shipwrecked man?" Apollonius said: "Thou good king, if it be thy will, I know him." When the king saw that Apollonius was all suffused with rose red, then understood he the saying, and thus said to him: "Rejoice, rejoice. ​Apollonius, because my daughter desireth that which is my will. Verily in such things nothing can take place without God's will." Arcestrates looked to the three youths, and said: "It is true what I before said to you, that ye came not in proper time to request my daughter; but when she can find leisure from her learning, then I will send you word."
Then they returned home with this answer; and Arcestrates the king continued holding Apollonius's hand, and led him home with him; not as if he were a stranger, but as if he were his son-in-law. Then at last the king let go Apollonius's hand, and went alone into the chamber wherein his daughter was, and thus said: "Dear daughter, whom hast thou chosen to thee for mate?" The maiden then fell at her father's feet, and said: "Thou kind father, hear thy daughter's will. I love the shipwrecked man who was betrayed by misfortune: but lest thou be in doubt of that speech, I desire Apollonius my master, and if thou wilt not give me to him, thou forsakest thy daughter." The king then in sooth could not endure his daughter's tears, but raised her up, and said to her: "Dear daughter, dread thou not for anything; [23] thou hast chosen the man that well pleaseth me." He then went out and looked at Apollonius, and said: "Master Apollonius, I have inquired into the desire of my daughter's mind, when she related to me with weeping, among other speech, ​these things, thus saying: "Thou sworest to Apollonius, if he would obey my will in teaching, that thou wouldest make good to him whatever the sea took from him. Now, since he has been obedient to thy command and my will, [I desire thou wilt reward him by giving me to him for wife." The following morning he sent messengers to the neighbouring cities to invite the nobles. When they arrived, he said: "My lords, my daughter would marry her master; I desire you, therefore, to be merry, for my child will be united to a wise man." Saying this, he fixed the period of their spousals.
Now it happened, after she became pregnant, that she walked with her husband, prince Apollonius, by the sea-shore, and a fine ship riding at anchor in the distance, the latter perceived that it was of his own country. Turning to a sailor, he said: "Whence are you?" "From Tyre," replied the man. "You speak of my own land, my friend." "Indeed! and are you a Tyrian?" "As you have said." "Do you know," continued the sailor, "a prince of that country, called Apollonius? I seek him; and whenever you happen to see him, bid him exult. King Antiochus and his daughter, at the very same instant, were blasted with lightning. The kingdom has fallen to Apollonius." ​Full of pleasure at the unexpected intelligence he had received, the prince said to his wife: "Will you acquiesce in my setting out to obtain the throne?" The lady instantly burst into tears. "O my lord," said she, "the journey is long, and yet you would leave me! If, however, it is necessary that you should go, we will go together." Instantly hastening to her father, she communicated the happy news which had just been heard, that Antiochus and his daughter, by the just judgement of an offended God, had been struck with lightning, and his wealth and diadem reserved for her husband: and, lastly, she entreated his permission to accompany him. The old king, much exhilarated with the intelligence, was easily prevailed upon to assent; and ships were accordingly prepared for their conveyance. They were laden with everything necessary for the voyage; and a nurse, called Ligoridis, was embarked, in anticipation of the young queen's parturition. Her father accompanied them to the shore, and, with an affectionate kiss of each, took his leave.
When they had been at sea some days, there arose a fearful tempest; and the lady, brought by this circumstance into premature labour, to all appearance perished. The moaning and tears of her family almost equalled the storm; and Apollonius, alarmed at the outcry, ran into the apartment, and beheld his lovely wife like an inhabitant of the grave. He tore ​his garments from his breast, and cast himself withtears and groans upon her inanimate body. "Dear wife!" he exclaimed, "daughter of the great Arcestrates, how shall I console thy unhappy parent?" Here the pilot, interrupting him, observed: "Sir, it will prejudice the ship to retain the dead body on board; command that it he cast into the sea."
"Wretch that you are!" returned Apollonius, "would you wish me to hurl this form into the waves, that succoured me shipwrecked and in poverty?" Then calling his attendants, he directed them to prepare a coffin, and smear the lid with bitumen. He also commanded a leaden scroll to accompany the body, which, arrayed in regal habiliments, and crowned, was deposited in the coffin. He kissed her cold lips, and wept bitterly. Afterwards, giving strict charge respecting the new-bora infant, he committed all that remained of his wife to the sea.
On the third day the chest was driven by the waves to the shores of Ephesus, not far from the residence of a physician called Cerimon, who happened at that hour to be walking with certain of his pupils upon the sands. Observing the chest deserted by the waters, he commanded his servants to secure it with all speed, and convey it to his house: this done, he opened it, and discovered a beautiful girl, attired in royal apparel. Her uncommon loveliness struck all the spectators with astonishment; for she was as a ​sunbeam of beauty, in which nature had created everything pure and perfect, and failed in nothing but in denying her the attribute of immortality. Her hair glittered like the snow, beneath which a brow of milky whiteness, smooth and unwrinkled as a plain, peacefully rested. Her eyes resembled the changeableness, not the prodigality, of two luminous orbs; for their gaze was directed by an unshaken modesty, which indicated a constant and enduring mind. Her eyebrows were naturally and excellently placed; and her shapely nose, describing a straight line, rose centrically upon the face: It possessed neither too much length, nor too little. Her neck was whiter than the solar rays, and ornamented with precious stones; while her countenance, full of unspeakable joy, communicated happiness to all who looked on her. She was exquisitely formed; and the most critical investigation could not discover more or less than there ought to be. Her beautiful arms, like the branches of some fair tree, descended from her well-turned breast; to which delicately chisseled fingers, not outshone by the lightning, were attached. In short, she was outwardly a perfect model, flashing through which the divine spark of soul her Creator had implanted might be gloriously distinguished. Works of power ought to accord with each other: and hence all corporal beauty originates in the soul's loveliness. It has even been said that mental excellence, however ​various, adapts the mass of matter to itself. Be this as it may, the most perfect adaptation of soul and body existed in this lady, now discovered by Cerimon. "Fair girl," said he, "how earnest thou so utterly forsaken?" The money, which had been placed beneath her head, now attracted his attention, and then the scroll of lead presented itself. "Let us examine what it contains." He opened it accordingly, and read as follows:
"Whosoever thou art that findest this chest, I entreat thy acceptance of ten pieces of gold; the other ten expend, I pray thee, on a funeral. For the corse it shrouds hath left tears and sorrows enough to the authors of her being. If thou dost neglect my request, I imprecate upon thee curses against the day of judgement, and devote thy body to death, unhonoured and uninhumed."
When the physician had read, he directed his servants to comply with the mourner's injunction. "And I solemnly vow," added he, "to expend more than his wretchedness requires." Immediately he bade them prepare a funeral pile. When this was done, and everything laid in order, a pupil of the physician, a young man, but possessing the wisdom of old age, came to look upon the lady. As he considered her fair form attentively, already laid upon the pile, his preceptor said to him, "You come opportunely; I have expected you this hour. Get a vial of precious ​ointment, and in honour of this bright creature, pour it upon the funeral pile." The youth obeyed, approached the body, and drawing the garments from her breast, poured out the ointment. But accidentally passing his hand over her heart, he fancied that it beat. The youth was electrified. He touched the veins, and searched if any breath issued from the nostrils. He pressed his lips to hers, and he thought he felt life struggling with death. Calling hastily to the servants, he bade them place torches at each corner of the bier. When they had done this, the blood, which had been coagulated, presently liquefied; and the young man, attentive to the change, exclaimed to his master, "She lives! she lives! You scarcely credit me; come and see." As he spoke, he bore the lady to his own chamber. Then heating oil upon his breast, he steeped in it a piece of wool, and laid it upon her body. By these means the congealed blood being dissolved, the spirit again penetrated to the marrows. Thus the veins being cleared, her eyes opened, and respiration returned. "What are you?" said she. "You touch me not as I ought to be touched; for I am the daughter and the wife of a king." Full of rapture at the sound of her voice, the young man hurried into his master's room, and related what had occurred. "I approve your skill," returned he; "I magnify your art, and wonder at your prudence. Mark the results of learning, and be not ungrateful ​to science. Receive now thy reward; for the lady brought much wealth with her." Cerimon then directed food and clothes to be conveyed to her, and administered the best restoratives. A few days after her recovery she declared her birth and misfortunes; and the good physician, commiserating her situation, adopted her as his daughter. But it cost him many tears when she solicited permission to reside among the vestals of Diana. However, he objected not; and placed her with certain female attendants in the magnificent temple of the goddess.
In the mean while, Apollonius, guided by the good providence of God, arrived at Tharaus; and disembarking, sought the mansion of Stranguilio and Dionysias. After mutual greetings, he narrated his adventures. "Wretched as I am in the death of a beloved wife, I have yet cause for joy in the existence of this infant. To you I will entrust her; for never, since his offspring haB perished, will I again revisit the old Arcestrates. But educate my girl with your own daughter Philothemia, and call her, after your city, by the name of Tharsia. I would, moreover, pray you to take charge of her nurse, Ligoridis, whose unremitting fidelity deserves a better reward." With such words, he gave the child up to them, accompanied by large presents of gold and silver and valuable raiment. He then took an oath that he would neither cut his beard, or hair, or nails, until ​his daughter were bestowed in marriage. Grieving at the rashness of the vow, Stranguilio took the infant, and promised to educate it with the utmost care: and Apollonius, satisfied with the assurance, went on board his vessel, and sailed to other countries.
While these things were transacting, Tharsia attained her fifth year, and commenced a course of liberal studies with the young Philothemia, her companion. When she was fourteen, returning from school, she found her nurse, Ligoridis, taken with a sudden indisposition; and seating herself near the old woman, kindly inquired the cause. "My dear daughter," replied she, "hear my words, and treasure them in your heart. Whom do you believe to be your father and mother? and which is your native country?" "Tharsus," returned she, "is the place of my nativity; my father, Stranguilio, and my mother, Dionysias." The nurse groaned, and said: "My daughter, listen to me; I will tell you to whom you owe your birth, in order that, when I am dead, you may have some guide for your future actions. Your father is called Apollonius, and your mother's name is Arcestrate, the daughter of king Arcestrates. She died the moment you were born; and Apollonius, adorning her with regal vesture, cast the chest which contained her into the sea. Twenty sestertia of gold were placed beneath her head; and whosoever discovered it, were entreated to give her burial. The ship in which your unhappy ​father sailed, tossed to and fro by the winds which formed your cradle, at last put into this port, where we were hospitably received by Stranguilio and Dionysias, to whom your sire also recommended me. He then made a vow never to clip his beard, or hair, or nails, untill you were married. Now I advise, that if, after my death, your present friends would do you an injury, hasten into the forum, and there you will find a statue of your father. Cling to it, and state yourself the daughter of him whose statue that is. The citizens, mindful of the benefits received from him, will avenge your wrong." "My dear nurse," answered Tharsia, "you tell me strange things, of which, till now, I was ignorant." After some further discourse, Ligoridis gave up the ghost. Tharsia attended her obsequies, and lamented her a full year.
After this she returned to her studies in the schools. Her custom was, on returning, never to eat until she had been to the monument erected in honour of her nurse. She carried with her a flask of wine; and there tarried, invoking the name of her beloved and lamented parents. While she was thus employed, Dionysias, with her daughter Philothemia, passed through the forum; and the citizens, who had caught a glimpse of Tharsia's form, exclaimed, "Happy father of the lovely Tharsia! but as for her companion, she is a shame and a disgrace." The mother, hearing her daughter vilified, while the stranger was ​commended, turned away in a madness of fury. She retired to solitary communication with herself. "For fourteen years," muttered she, "the father has neglected his daughter; he has sent no letters, and certainly he is dead. The nurse is also dead, and there is no one to oppose me. I will kill her, and deck my own girl with her ornaments." As she thus thought, her steward, named Theophilus, entered. She called him, and promising a vast reward, desired him to put Tharsia to death. "What hath the maid done?" asked he. "She hath done the very worst things; you ought not, therefore, to deny me. Do what I command you; if you do it not, you will bring evil on yourself." "Tell me, lady, how is it to be done?" "Her custom is," replied Dionysias, "on coming from the schools, not to take food until she has entered her nurse's monument. Arm yourself with a dagger, seize her by the hair of the head, and there stab her; then throw her body into the sea, and come to me; I will give you your liberty, with a large reward." The steward, taking the weapon, went with much sorrow to the monument. "Alas!" said he, "shall I deserve liberty by the sacrifice of a virgin's life?" He entered the monument, where Tharsia, after her occupations in the schools, had as usual retired; the flask of wine was in her hand. The steward attacked the poor girl, and seizing her by the hair, threw her upon the ground; but as he was on the point of ​striking, Tharsia cried out, "Theophilus! what crime have I committed against you, or against any other, that I should die?" "You are innocent," answered he, "of everything, save possessing a sum of money and certain royal ornaments left you by your father." "O sir!" said the forsaken orphan, "if I have no hope, yet suffer me to supplicate my Maker before I die." "Do so," answered the steward, "and God knows that it is upon compulsion that I slay thee." Now, while the girl was engaged in prayer, certain pirates rushed into the monument, expecting to carry off a booty; and observing a young maid prostrated, and a man standing over her in the act to destroy her, they shouted out: "Stop, barbarian! that is our prey, not your victory." Theophilus, full of terror, fled hastily from the monument, and hid himself by the shore.
The pirates carried off the maid to sea; and the steward, returning to his mistress, assured her that he had obeyed her commands. "I advise you," said he, "to put on a mourning garment, which I also will do, and shed tears for her death. This will deceive the citizens, to whom we will say that she was taken off by a sickness." When Stranguilio heard what bad been done, his grief was sincere and violent. "I will clothe myself in deep mourning," cried he, "for I, too, am involved in this fearful enormity, Alas! what can I do? Her father freed our city from ​a lingering death. Through our means he suffered shipwreck; he lost his property, and underwent the extreme of poverty. Yet we return him evil for good! He entrusted his daughter to our care, and a savage lioness hath devoured her! Blind wretch that I was! Innocent, I grieve. I am overthrown by a base and venomous serpent." Lifting up his eyes to heaven, he continued: "O God! thou knowest that I am free from the blood of this girl; require her of Dionysias." Then fixing a stern look upon his wife: "Enemy of God, and disgrace of man, thou hast destroyed the daughter of a king."
Dionysias made much apparent lamentation; she put her household into mourning, and wept bitterly before the citizens. "My good friends," said she, "the hope of our eyes, the beloved Tharsia, is gone; she is dead. Our tears shall bedew the marble which we have raised to her memory." The people then hastened to the place where her form, moulded in brass, had been erected, in gratitude for the benefits conferred upon that city by her father.
The pirates transported the maid to Machilenta, where she was placed among other slaves for sale. Leno, a most wretched and debauched fellow, hearing of her perfections, endeavoured to buy her; but Athanagoras, prince of that city, observing her lofty port, her beautiful countenance, and wise conduct, offered ten golden sestertia.
​Leno. I will give twenty.
Athanag. And I thirty.
Leno. Forty.
Athanag. Fifty.
Leno. Eighty.
Athanag. Ninety.
Leno. I will give a hundred sestertia in ready money; if any one offer more, I will give ten golden sestertia above.
"Why should I contend any further with Leno?" thought Athanagoras: "I may purchase a dozen for the price she will cost him. Let him have her, and by and by I will enter covertly his dwelling and solicit her love."
Tharsia was conducted by Leno to a house of ill fame, in an apartment of which there was a golden Priapus, richly ornamented with gems.
"Girl! worship that image," said Leno.
Tharsia. I may not worship any such thing. O my lord! are you not a Lapsatenarian?
Leno. Why?
Tharsia. Because the Lapsateni worship Priapus.
Leno. Know you not, wretched girl, that you have entered the house of the miser Leno?
Casting herself at his feet, she exclaimed: "O sir! do not dishonour me; be not guilty of such a flagrant outrage."
​Leno. Are you ignorant that with Leno, and the torturer, neither prayers nor tears are available?
He sent for the overseer of the women, and desired him to array Tharsia in the most splendid apparel, and proclaim around the city the price of her dishonour. The overseer did as he was ordered; and on the third day a crowd of people arrived, preceded by Leno with music. But Athanagoras came first in a mask; and Tharsia, looking despairingly upon him, threw herself at his feet. “Pity me, my lord; pity me, for the love of heaven. By that heaven I adjure you to save me from dishonour. Hear my story; and knowing from whom I sprung, respect my descent, and defend my innocence.” She then detailed the whole fortunes of her life; and Athanagoras, confused and penitent, exclaimed: “Alas! and I, too, have a daughter, whom fate may in like manner afflict. In your misfortunes I may apprehend hers. Here are twenty gold pieces; it is more than your barbarous master exacts from you. Relate your narrative to the next comers, and it will ensure your freedom.” Full of gratitude for the generous treatment she experienced, Tharsia returned him thanks; but entreated that her story might not be communicated to others. “To none but my own daughter,” said he, “for it will be replete with moral advantage.” So saying, and shedding some tears over her fallen estate, he departed. As he went out he met a friend, who ​stopped him, and asked how the girl had behaved. "None better," returned the prince, "but she is very sorrowful." The youth entered, and she closed the door, as on the former occasion. "How much has the prince given you?" asked he. "Forty pieces," answered the girl. "Here, then, take the whole pound of gold." Tharsia took the present, but falling at his feet, explained her situation. Aporiatus (for that was the young man's name,) answered, "Rise, lady: we are men; all of us are subject to misfortunes." He went out, and observing Athanagoras laughing, said to him, "You are a fine fellow! Have you nobody to pledge in tears but me?" Afraid that these words should betray the matter, they gave another turn to the discourse, and awaited the coming of some other person. Great numbers appeared, but they all returned in tears, having given her sums of money. Tharsia having obtained the sum which Leno had fixed as the price of her dishonour, presented it to him. "Take care," said the monster, "that you bring me whatever money is presented to you." But the next day, understanding that she yet preserved her honour, his rage knew no bounds; and he immediately commissioned the overseer of the women to complete the iniquity. When he appeared, the poor girl's tears flowed in profusion. "Pity me, sir," said she, falling at his feet; "my misfortunes have created the compassion of others, and surely ​you will not alone spurn my request. I am the daughter of a king; do not dishonour me." "Leno," replied he, "is avaricious; I know not what I can do." "Sir," answered Tharsia, "I have been educated in liberal pursuits. I understand music: if, therefore, you will lead me to the forum, you shall hear my performance. Propose questions to the people, and I will expound them: I have no doubt but I shall receive money enough." "Well," said the fellow, "I will do as you would have me."
Proclamation being made, the people crowded to the forum; and her eloquence and beauty impressed them all. Whatever question they proposed, she lucidly answered; and by these means drew much wealth from the curious citizens. Athanagoras, also, watched over her with much anxiety, with little less, indeed, than he showed to his only child. He recommended her to the care of the overseer, and bought him to his interest by valuable presents.
Let us now return to Apollonius. After a lapse of fourteen years, he again made his appearance at the house of Stranguilio and Dionysias in the city of Tharsus. No sooner had the former beheld him, than he strode about like a madman. "Woman," said he, addressing his wife, "what wilt thou do now? Thou saidst that the shipwrecked Apollonius was dead; behold, he comes to demand his daughter: what answer shall we make?" "Foolish man," returned she, ​"let us resume our mourning and have recourse to tears. He will believe that his child died a natural death." As she said this, Apollonius entered. Observing their funeral habiliments, he asked, "Do you grieve at my return? I believe that those tears are not yours, but mine." "Alas!" replied the wicked woman, "I would to heaven that another, and not I or my husband, had to detail to you what I must say: your daughter Tharsia died suddenly." Apollonius trembled through every limb, and then stood fixed as a statue. "O woman! if my daughter be really as you describe, have her money and clothes also perished?" "Some part of both," replied Dionysias, "is of course expended; but that you may not hesitate to give faith to our assurances, we will produce testimony in our behalf. The citizens, mindful of your munificence, have raised a brazen monument to her memory, which your own eyes may see." Apollonius, thus imposed upon, said to his servants, "Go ye to the ship; I will visit the grave of my unhappy child." There he read the inscription, as we have detailed above, and then, as if imprecating a curse upon his own eyes, he exclaimed in a paroxysm of mental agony, "Hateful, cruel sources of perception! do ye now refuse tears to the memory of my lamented girl?" With expressions like these he hastened to his navy, and entreated his servants to cast him into the sea; for the world, and all that it contained, had become odious to him.
​They set sail for Tyre, and for a tame the breezes blew prosperously; but changing, they were driven considerably out of their course. Guided by the good providence of God, they entered the port of Machilena, where his daughter still abode. The pilot and the rest of the crew shouted loudly on their approach to land, and Apollonius sent to inquire the cause. "My lord," answered the pilot, "the people of Machilena are engaged in celebrating a birthday." Apollonius groaned—"All can keep their birthdays except me. But it is enough that I am miserable; I give my attendants ten pieces of gold, and let them enjoy the festival; and whosoever presumes to utter my name, or rejoice in my hearing, command that his legs be immediately broken." The steward took the necessary sums, and having purchased supplies, returned to the ship. Now the bark which conveyed Apollonius being more honourable than the rest, the feast was celebrated there more sumptuously. It happened that Athanagoras, who was enamoured of the fair Tharsia, walked upon the sea-shore near the king's ship. "Friends," said he to those who accompanied him, "that vessel pleases me." The sailors with which she was manned, hearing him applaud their vessel, invited him on board. He went accordingly; and laying down ten gold pieces upon the table, observed, "You have not invited me for nothing." They thanked him; and in answer to certain ​questions he had put, informed the prince that their lord was in great affliction, and wished to die; they added that he had lost a wife and a daughter in a foreign country. "I will give you two pieces of gold," said Athanagoras to Ardalius, one of his servants, "if you will go and say to him that the prince of this city desires a conference." "Two gold pieces," answered the person he spoke to, "will not repair my broken legs. I pray you send another; for he has determined thus to punish any one who approaches him." "He made this law for you," returned the prince, "but not, I think, for me: I will descend myself; tell me his name." They told him, Apollonius. "Apollonius!" said he to himself; "so Tharsia calls her father."
He hastened into his presence, and beheld a forlorn and desolate person. His beard was matted, and his head in the wildest disorder. In a low, subdued tone of voice, he said: "Hail, Apollonius!" Apollonius, supposing it to be one of his own people, fixed on him a furious look; but seeing an honourable and handsome man, he leaped from his seat. "You are doubtless surprised," said the prince, "at my intrusion. I am called Athanagoras, and am prince of this city. Observing your fleet riding at anchor from the shore, I was attracted by it; and, amongst other things, being struck with the superior structure of this vessel, your sailors invited me on board. I inquired ​for their lord, and they answered that he was overwhelmed with grief. I have therefore ventured hither in the hope of administering comfort to you, and drawing you once more into the light of joy. I pray God that it may prove so." Apollonius raised his head: "Whosoever you are, go in peace; I am unworthy to appear at the banquet, and I do not desire to live." Perplexed, yet anxious to console the unhappy king, Athanagoras returned upon deck, and despatched a messenger to Leno to require the immediate presence of Tharsia, whose musical skill and eloquence he thought could not but produce some effect. She came, and received instructions from the prince. "If you succeed," said he, "in softening this royal person's affliction, I will present to you thirty gold sestertia, and as many of silver; moreover, for thirty days redeem you from the power of Leno." The girl accordingly prepared herself for the task. Approaching the mourner, "Heaven keep you," said she in a low plaintive voice, "and make you happy!" She then sang to an instrument with such a sweet and ravishing melody, that Apollonius was enchanted. Her song related to the fortunes she had experienced, and was to the following effect. That she fell into the hands of dishonest people, who sought to traffic with her virtue; but that she passed innocent through all her trials. "Thus," continued she, "the rose is protected by its thorns. They who bore me off, beat ​down the sword of the smiter. I preserved my virtue when attacked by the brutal Leno. The wounds of the mind linger, and tears fail. In me behold the only offspring of a royal house. Restrain your tears, and limit your anxiety. Look up to heaven, and raise your thoughts above. The Creator and Supporter of mankind is God; nor will He permit the tears of his virtuous servants to be shed in vain." As she concluded, Apollonius fixed his eyes upon the girl, and groaned deeply. "Wretched man that I am," said he, "how long shall I struggle with my sorrows? But I am grateful for your attentions; and if again permitted to rejoice in the zenith of my power, your memory will support me. You say you are royally descended; who are your parents? But begone: here are a hundred gold pieces; take them, and speak to me no more. I am consumed with new afflictions." The girl received his donation, and would have left the ship, but Athanagoras stopped her. "Whither are you going?" said he, "you have as yet done no good: is your heart so pitiless that you can suffer a man to destroy himself without striving to prevent it?" "I have done everything that I could," answered Tharsia: "he gave me a hundred gold pieces, and desired me to depart."
"I will give you two hundred pieces if you will return the money to him, and say, 'My lord, I seek your safety, not your money.'"
​Tharsia complied; and seating herself near to the king, said, "If you are determined to continue in the squalid state to which you have accustomed yourself, give me leave to reason with you. I will propose a question; if you can answer it, I will depart; if not, I will return your present and go." "Keep what I have given; I will not deny your request. For though my evils admit of no cure, yet I determine to hearken to you. Put your question, then, and depart."
"Hear me: there is a house in a certain part of the world which bounds and rebounds, but it is closed against mankind. This house loudly echoes, but its inhabitant is ever silent; and both the house and inhabitant move forward together. Now if you are a king, as you aver, you should be wiser than I am. Resolve the riddle."
"To prove to you that I am no impostor," said Apollonius, "I will reply. The house which bounds and rebounds, and echoes, is the wave: the mute inhabitant is a fish, which glides along with its residence." Tharsia continued: "I am borne rapidly along by the tall daughter of the grove, which equally incloses an innumerable company. I glide over various paths, and leave no footstep." "When I have answered your questions," said Apollonius, "I will show you much that you know not. Yet I am astonished that one so young should be endowed with ​wit so keen and penetrating. The tree inclosing a host, and passing through various ways without a trace, is a ship."
"A person passes through circumferences and temples without injury. There is a great heat in the centre which no one removes. The house is not uncovered, but it suits a naked inhabitant. If you would allay pain, you must enter into fire."
"I would enter then into a hath, where fire is introduced by means of round tables. The covered house suits a naked inhabitant; and he who is naked in this situation will perspire."
When she had said these and similar things, the girl threw herself before Apollonius, and drawing aside his hands, embraced him. "Hear," said she, "the voice of your supplicant; regard a virgin's prayers. It is wicked in men of so much wisdom to destroy themselves. If you lament your lost wife, the mercy of God can restore her to you; if your deceased child, He can bestow another. You ought to live and be glad." Apollonius, irritated at the girl's pertinacity, arose, and pushed her from him with his foot. She fell and cut her cheek, from which the blood copiously flowed. Terrified at the wound she had received, she burst into tears, and exclaimed, "O thou eternal Architect of the heavens! ​look upon my afflictions. Born amid the waves and storms of the ocean, my mother perished in giving life to her daughter. Denied rest even in the grave, she was deposited in a chest, with twenty gold sestertia, and thrown into the sea. But I, unhappy, was delivered by my remaining parent to Stranguilio and Dionysias, with the ornaments befitting a royal extract. I was by them devoted to death; but whilst I invoked the assistance of God, a number of pirates rushed in, and the murderer fled. I was brought hither; and in his own good time God will restore me to my father Apollonius." Here she concluded; and the royal mourner, struck with her relation, shouted with a loud voice, "Merciful God! thou who lookest over heaven and earth, and revealest that which is hidden, blessed be thy holy name." Saying this, he fell into the arms of his daughter. Tenderly he embraced her, and wept aloud for joy. "My best and only child," said he, "half of my own soul! I shall not die for thy loss. I have found thee, and I wish to live." Exalting his voice yet more: "Run hither, my servants, my friends! all of ye; my misery is at an end. I have found what I had lost; my child, my only daughter." Hearing his exclamations, the attendants ran in, and with them the prince Athanagoras. They discovered the enraptured king weeping upon his daughter's neck. "See, see!" said he; "this is she whom I lamented. ​Half of my soul! now will I live." Participating in their master's happiness, they all wept.
Apollonius now divested himself of his mourning dress, and attired himself in regal habiliments. "O my lord!" said his followers, "how much your daughter resembles you! Were there no other guide, that would indicate her birth." The delighted girl overwhelmed her recovered parent with kisses. "Blessed be God," cried she, "who has been so gracious to me, and given me to see, and live, and die with you." Then entering into a more detailed account of her adventures, she related what she endured from the wretched Leno, and how the Almighty had protected her.
Athanagoras, fearing lest another might demand her in marriage, threw himself at the king's feet, and modestly intimating how instrumental he had been in promoting their happy reunion, besought him to bestow his child upon him. "I cannot deny you," returned Apollonius, "for you have alleviated her sorrows, and been the means of my present and future happiness. Take her. But deeply shall Leno feel my vengeance." Athanagoras immediately returned to the city, and convoked an assembly of the people. "Let not our city perish," said he, addressing them, "for the crimes of one impious wretch. I know that king Apollonius, the father of the beautiful Tharsia, has arrived. Behold where his navy rides. ​He threatens us with instant destruction, unless Leno, who would have prostituted his daughter, be given up to him." Scarcely had he spoken, when the whole population, men and women, hurried off to implore the king's clemency. Seizing the execrable Leno, they tied his hands to his back, and carried him along to the presence of offended majesty. Apollonius, clad in royal robes, his hair shorn, and crowned, ascended the tribunal with his daughter. The citizens stood round, in expectation of his address. "Men of Machilena," said he, "today I have recovered my daughter, whom the villainous Leno would have corrupted. Neither pity, nor prayers, nor gold, could prevail with him to desist from his atrocious purposes. Do ye, therefore, avenge my daughter." The people, with one voice, answered, "Let Leno be burnt alive, and his wealth given to the lady." Instantly the wretch was brought forward and burnt. "I give you your liberty," said Tharsia to the overseer, "because by your kindness, and the kindness of the citizens, I remained unsullied. I also present to you two hundred gold sestertia." Turning to the other girls whom Leno had purchased, she added: "Be free, and forget your past habits." Apollonius, again addressing the people, returned them thanks for their compliance with his wishes, and bestowed on them a donation of five hundred weight of gold. Shouts and applauses followed; and they immediately set about ​erecting a statue to their benefactor in the midst of the city. Upon the base was the following inscription:
To Apollonius of Tyre, The Preserver of our State; And to the most holy Tharsia, His Virgin Daughter.
A few days after, the lady was espoused to Athanagoras, amid the universal joy of the city.
Intending to sail with his daughter and son-in-law and followers to his own country by way of Tharsus, an angel admonished him in a dream to make for Ephesus, and there, entering the temple, relate in a loud voice all the varied turns of fortune to which he had been subject from his earliest youth. Accordingly he sailed for Ephesus. Leaving his ship, he sought out the temple to which his long-lost wife had retired; and then, arrayed in all his regal ornaments, he entered with an honourable escort.] Then was made known to her who was chief there, that there was a king come, with his son-in-law and with his daughter, with great gifts. When she heard thet, she adorned herself with a royal robe, and clothed herself with purple, and decorated her head with gold and with gems, and, surrounded by a large assemblage of damsels, came towards the king. She was indeed ​exceedingly beautiful, and, for [24] her great love of purity, they all said that there was no Diana so estimable as she.
When Apollonius saw that, he with his son-in-law and with his daughter ran to her, and all fell at her feet, and thought that she was Diana the goddess, for her great brightness and beauty. The holy house was then opened, and the offerings were brought in, and Apollonius began then to speak and say: "I from childhood was named Apollonius, born in Tyre. When I came to full understanding, there was no art that was cultivated by kings or noblemen that I knew not. I interpreted the riddle of Antiochus the king, to the end that I might receive his daughter to wife; but he himself was associated with her in the foulest pollution, and then laid snares to slay me. When I fled from them, then I was wrecked at sea, and came to Cyrene; then Arcestrates the king received me with so great love, that I at last merited so that he gave me his own daughter to wife. She then went with me to receive my kingdom, and this my daughter, whom I, before thee, Diana, have present, gave birth to at sea, and resigned her spirit. I then clothed her with a royal robe, and, with gold and a letter, laid her in a coffin, that he who might find her should worthily bury her, and committed this my daughter to a most wicked man to support. I then journeyed to the land of Egypt fourteen years in mourning: when ​I returned, they told me that my [25] daughter was dead, and my pain was all renewed to me."
When he had related all these things, Arcestrate, his wife, rose up and embraced him. Apollonius then neither knew nor believed that she was his wife, but shoved her from him. She then with loud voice cried, and said with weeping: "I am Arcestrate thy wife, daughter of Arcestrates the king; and thou art Apollonius my master, who didst teach me; thou art the shipwrecked man that I loved, not for lust, but for wisdom. Where is my daughter?" He turned himself then to Tharsia, and said: "This is she." And they all wept and also rejoiced. And the story ran through all that land that Apollonius the great king had found his wife; and there was infinite joy, and the organs were played, and the trumpets blown; and there was a joyful feast prepared between the king and the people; and she (Arcestrate) placed her young damsel, who attended her, as priestess; and with joy and weeping of all the province of Ephesus, she went with her husband, and with her son-in-law and with her daughter, to Antioch, where the kingdom was reserved for Apollonius. He went from thence to Tyre, and there established Athanagoras his son-in-law as king; went thence to Tharsus with his wife and with his daughter, and with a royal train, and immediately ordered Stranguilio and Dionysias to be seized and led before him where he sat on his throne.
​[26] When they were brought, then said he before all the assembly: "Ye citizens of Tharsus, say ye that I, Apollonius, ever did you any injury?" They all with one voice said: "We said always that thou wert our king and father, and for thee we would gladly die, because thou redeemedst us from famine." Apollonius then said: "I entrusted my daughter to Stranguilio and Dionysias, and they would not restore her to me." That wicked woman said: "Did you, my lord, not really read the letters over her sepulchre?" Then Apollonius called very loud, and said: "Dear daughter Tharsia, if there be any understanding in hell, leave thou that house of torment, and hear thou thy father's voice." The maiden then came forth, clad in a royal robe, and uncovered her head, and said aloud to the wicked woman: "Dionysias, hail to thee! I now greet thee, called from hell." The guilty woman trembled then in all her limbs when she looked on her, and the townsfolk wondered and rejoiced. Then Tharsia commanded Theophilus, the steward of Dionysias, to be led before her, and said to him: "Theophilus, in order to save thyself, say, with loud voice, who commanded thee to slay me." The steward said: "Dionysias, my lady." Whereupon the townspeople seized Stranguilio and his wife, and led them out into the city, and stoned them to death, and would also slay Theophilus; but Tharsia interceded for him, and said: "But that this man ​granted me the time to pray to God, I should not have [27] come to this honour." She then truly extended her hand to him, and bade him go in safety; and Philothemia, the daughter of the accused, Tharsia took to her. Apollonius then, indeed, gave the people great gifts to rejoice them, and their walls were reestablished. He then dwelt there six mouths, and went then in a ship to the Cyrenian town Pentapolis, and came to Arcestrates the king: and the king rejoiced in his old age that he saw his granddaughter with her husband. They remained together one year entire; and the king Arcestrates then departed in ripe old age among them all, and bequeathed half his kingdom to Apollonius, half to his daughter.
All these things being thus done, Apollonius the great king went towards the sea, when he saw the old fisherman who had formerly received him naked. Then the king ordered him to be suddenly seized and led to the royal hall. When the fisherman saw that the soldiers would take him, then he thought at first that they were to slay him; but when he came into the king's hall, then the king ordered him to be led before the queen, and thus said: "O thou happy queen! this is my benefactor, who received me naked, and directed me so that I came to thee." Then Apollonius looked to the fisherman, and said: "O benevolent old man! I am Apollonius the Tyrian, to whom thou gavest half thy coat." Then the king ​gave him two hundred pence in gold, and had him as a companion the time he lived.
[28] Hellanicus also then came to him, who had before announced to him what king Antiochus had decreed concerning him; and he said to the king: "Lord king, remember Hellanicus thy servant." Then Apollonius took him by the hand, and raised him up and kissed him, and made him wealthy, and placed him as companion to him. After all this, Apollonius begat a son by his consort, whom he established as king in the kingdom of Arcestrates his grandfather; and he himself lived lovingly with his consort seventy-seven years, and held the kingdom in Antioch, and in Tyre, and in Cyrene. And he lived in quiet and in bliss all the time of his life after his hardship; and two books he himself composed concerning his adventure, and set one in the temple of Diana, the other in the library.
Here endeth both the woe and the weal of Antiochus the Tyrian: read it who will; and if any one read it, I beg that he blame not the translation, but that he conceal whatever may be therein blameworthy.
* ↑ In the edition of the Gesta of 1494 the passage reads thus: "Scelere vehor, materna carne vescor, quero fratrem meum, matris mee virum, nec invenio."
* ↑ oncnawan.
* ↑ Deað has been omitted in the Saxon text. The latin has mors.
* ↑ I have here retained the Saxon word, being in doubt as to its signification. The whole passage, however, is probably mistranslated from the Latin, as it agrees neither with the text given by Welser, nor with that of the Gesta. The former has, "Apollonius ut audivit se laudari, const ant er accessit ad regem, et accepto ceromate, cum docta manu circumlavit ex cum subtilitate." The latter reads, "accepto curamoco, docta manu circulavit eum," &c.
* ↑ This is the literal translation, but I suspect an error in the Saxon text.
* ↑ Here the Saxon breaks off. The words "ic for æfter him" are not easily to be connected with what follows in the translation.
* ↑ Priapus, the Latin god of gardens.
* ↑ Per rotas et ædes.
* ↑ Here the A. S. text recommences.