a time he would fain have awakened her, that he might
see them. But so much fairer seemed she to him
than any other woman that he had seen, that he doubted
she must be a goddess; and as he was not so devoid
of sense but that he deemed things divine more worthy
of reverence than things mundane, he forbore, and
waited until she should awake of her own accord; and
though he found the delay overlong, yet, enthralled
by so unwonted a delight, he knew not how to be going.
However, after he had tarried a long while, it so
befell that Iphigenia—such was the girl’s
name—her slaves still sleeping, awoke,
and raised her head, and opened her eyes, and seeing
Cimon standing before her, leaning on his staff, was
not a little surprised, and said:—“Cimon,
what seekest thou in this wood at this hour?”
For Cimon she knew well, as indeed did almost all the
country-side, by reason alike of his uncouth appearance
as of the rank and wealth of his father. To Iphigenia’s
question he answered never a word; but as soon as
her eyes were open, nought could he do but intently
regard them, for it seemed to him that a soft influence
emanated from them, which filled his soul with a delight
that he had never before known. Which the girl
marking began to misdoubt that by so fixed a scrutiny
his boorish temper might be prompted to some act that
should cause her dishonour: wherefore she roused
her women, and got up, saying:—“Keep
thy distance, Cimon, in God’s name.”
Whereto Cimon made answer:—“I will
come with thee.” And, albeit the girl refused
his escort, being still in fear of him, she could
not get quit of him; but he attended her home; after
which he hied him straight to his father’s house,
and announced that he was minded on no account to go
back to the farm: which intelligence was far
from welcome to his father and kinsmen; but nevertheless
they suffered him to stay, and waited to see what might
be the reason of his change of mind. So Cimon,
whose heart, closed to all teaching, love’s
shaft, sped by the beauty of Iphigenia, had penetrated,
did now graduate in wisdom with such celerity as to
astonish his father and kinsmen, and all that knew
him. He began by requesting his father to let
him go clad in the like apparel, and with, in all respects,
the like personal equipment as his brothers:
which his father very gladly did. Mixing thus
with the gallants, and becoming familiar with the manners
proper to gentlemen, and especially to lovers, he very
soon, to the exceeding great wonder of all, not only
acquired the rudiments of letters, but waxed most
eminent among the philosophic wits. After which
(for no other cause than the love he bore to Iphigenia)
he not only modulated his gruff and boorish voice
to a degree of smoothness suitable to urbane life,
but made himself accomplished in singing and music;
in riding also and in all matters belonging to war,
as well by sea as by land, he waxed most expert and
hardy. And in sum (that I go not about to enumerate
each of his virtues in detail) he had not completed