_The beauties of Corinna._
|Twas summer time, [051] and the day had passed the hour of noon; _when_ I
threw my limbs to be refreshed on the middle of the couch. A part of the
window [053] was thrown open, the other part shut; the light was such as
the woods are wont to have; just as the twilight glimmers, when Phoebus
is retreating; or _as_ when the night has gone, and still the day is not
risen. Such light should be given to the bashful fair, in which coy
modesty may hope to have concealment.
Behold! Corinna [054] came, clothed in a tunic [055] hanging loose, her
flowing hair [056] covering her white neck.
Beauteous Semiramis [057] is said to have entered her chamber, and Lais,
[058] beloved by many a hero. I drew aside the tunic; in its thinness
[059] it was but a small impediment; still, to be covered with the tunic
did she strive; and, as she struggled as though she was not desirous
to conquer, without difficulty was she overcome, through betrayal
of herself. When, her clothing laid aside, she stood before my eyes,
throughout her whole body nowhere was there a blemish. What shoulders,
what arms I _both_ saw and touched! The contour of her breast, how
formed was it to be pressed! How smooth her stomach beneath her
faultless bosom! How full and how beauteous her sides! How plump with
youthfulness the thigh! _But_ why enlarge on every point? Nothing did I
behold not worthy of praise; and I pressed her person even to my own.
The rest, who knows not? Wearied, we both reclined. May such a midday
often prove my lot.