III. - THE DEATH OF ADONIS

Encircled by an incest, Myrrha was changed in a tree the trunk of which half-opens by the work of Lucine. He ( it ? ) takes out a child of it in graceful nudity which the paintbrush lends to the courtship. It is Adonis, the most beautiful of the children. He ( it ? ) reaches the adolescence and, young man, is more beautiful than ever. He pleases even Venus and so avenges the misfortunes of his mother. Been in love of a mortal, the goddess of the beauty forgets Cythère and her ( its ? ) sacred banks, she abandons the sky itself. The sky is not worth Adonis. She ( it ? ) becomes attached to her ( its ? ) steps, she is her diligent partner. She ( it ? ) disdains the care of her ( its ? ) beauty and the expenses shades; mountains, wood, scrub-covered cliffs see her ( it ? ) roaming the bare leg, the dress raised ( found ? ) in the style of Diane; she ( it ? ) animates ( stimulates ? ) dogs, but against of sweet and acquit preys.

She ( It ? ) avoids the wild wild boar, the wolf kidnapper, the bear armed with cruel claws, the lion which stuffs itself with some blood of crowds.

She wants that Adonis imitates his caution. Resting ( basing ? ) with him on the green lawn, to tighten ( stretch out to ? ) them coat ( layer ? ), she ( it ? ) presses on the breast of the young man the graceful head and sends him ( her ? ) these words often interrupted by kisses:

« Of grace ( favour ? ), ô my lover, be not rash at the risk of my happiness. Your glory could too much be expensive to me. Neither your age, nor your beauty, nor anything of it which knew how to get ( touch ? ) Venus, would not know how to move the monsters of the forest. Avoid ( flee ? ) them, dear Adonis; avoid ( flee ? ) this wild race which always makes forehead ( front ? ) for the attack of the hunter. Be afraid that your value is fatal us in both. »

Hitching the swans of her tank, the goddess rises in the airs ( sights ? ). But the shy advices revolt the value; forced in its pension, a wild boar by whom dogs followed the track gets ready to go out of some wood, when an oblique sting thrown ( launched ? ) by the hand of Adonis reaches ( affects ? ) him ( it ? ). He ( it ? ) shakes the stained with blood spear, turns around furious against the young man, plunges him ( her ? ) into the groin his ( its ? ) quite whole defences and throws ( casts ? ) him ( it ? ) dying on the reddened earth ( ground ? ).

The delivery boys in the wing of alabaster who took the tank of Cythérée had not reached ( affected ? ) the banks of Cyprus yet; by far, she recognized the complaints of her expiring Adonis; she ( it ? ) comes down ( falls ? ) from the sky towards him: what a spectacle! Ice-cold Adonis swims in his blood! She ( it ? ) tears her ( its ? ) veils ( sails ? ), tears away ( extracts ? ) hair, bruises itself the breast:

« Ah! Cruel fates, she exclaims, I shall know how to to overcome the rigour of your laws; my pain will give to my Adonis the immortality. Every year the funeral ( dismal ? ) solemnities will call back ( remind ? ) his ( her;its ? ) death and my regrets; a delicate flower will arise from its blood. » She says and the hand pays ( pours ? ) a nectar embalmed on the blood which at first shivers and bubbles, as the surface of waters which whips a violent rain. One hour did not pass by and of the pool of blood rose a red flower as the grains ( beads ? ) of brilliant pomegranate ( grenade ? ). But his ( her;its ? ) brightness is short-lived; too frail, she ( it ? ) falls and the wind which gives him ( her ? ) his ( her ? ) name (anemone of [Greek: anemos]) the breeze and her ( it ? ) destroyed ( annulled ? ).

In every anniversary ( birthday ? ) of the death of Adonis we sang the following hymn:

« I tears Adonis; beautiful Adonis died. He died, beautiful Adonis and the Amur are in tears. Leave, ô Venus, purple sensational; banish the sleep; get up, unfortunate mistress, strike your breast and say in all: beautiful Adonis died!

« I lament Adonis; the courtship are in tears. Beautiful Adonis is lying on the mountain, the white thigh opened by a white tooth, and by expiring slowly he fills ( performs ? ) Venus of pain; a black blood dyes his ( her ? ) members whiter than the snow; the eyes are closed under his ( her;its ? ) eyebrows and the pink ( roses ? ) of his ( her;its ? ) lips disappeared; with them avoided ( fled ? ) the kiss from which Venus will never get loose. Because Venus will always like the kiss of the lover which she ( it ? ) lost; but Adonis ignores the kiss that, died, he received from Venus.

« I lament Adonis; the courtship are in tears. Cruel, three times cruel is the gaping wound of the elder son ( brother ? ) of Adonis, but crueler still is the wound made in the heart of Venus! The scattered hair, hardly dressed, barefoot, she ( it ? ) roams in wood; bushes tear her ( it ? ) and drink his ( her;its ? ) sacred blood; the wide valleys ring far off with his ( her;its ? ) piercing shouts which call her Syrian husband, _ses délices_.

« Streams of blood bathe the inanimate body of Adonis up to the breast and redden its breast of alabaster.

« Regrettably, regrettably [124]! The choir of the courtship moans on Venus! At the same time as her magnificent lover, her lost her sacred beauty. Because Venus was beautiful when Adonis lived, and his beauty died with him. Regrettably, regrettably! All the mountains and all the trees repeat: regrettably, Adonis! The sacred streams join to the mourning of Venus; the pure sources of mountains also lament Adonis; flowers dry out themselves of pain; during this time Venus, on all the hills, in all the valleys, makes this complaint listen: misfortune, misfortune with Venus! Beautiful Adonis died. The echo repeats: beautiful Adonis died.

[ Note 124: we were not able to translate that by the word: regrettably, the shout which pushed pleureuses and procession of the dead man. The Greek or Latin word has no equivalent in French.]

« Why a rash hunting? Beautiful, as you were him ( her ? ), why to fight ( dispute ? ) a monster? » And so Venus exhaled its pain and the courtship joined his ( her;its ? ) complaint. Regrettably, regrettably, Venus! Beautiful Adonis died. Venus sheds so many tears as Adonis spreads of blood. Flowers rise of the earth so watered ( ground so watered;earth so soaked;ground so soaked ? ), - a rose arises from every drop ( gout ? ) of blood, an anemone of every tear.

« I lament Adonis; beautiful Adonis died. Respite, ô Venus, to roam desperate person in the forest. Here is a soft coat ( layer ? ); here is a bed prepared for Adonis. He ( it ? ) is in Venus, but, you, you died, ô Adonis! And although died, you are beautiful, beautiful as in the sleep. Put down ( deposit ? ) him ( it ? ) dressed in the light clothing with which he slept near you of a divine sleep on a golden bed; this bed tightens ( stretches out ? ) itself arms to quite bloody Adonis. When he ( it ? ) will be lying there, crown him ( it ? ) with gold and with flowers; in his ( her;its ? ) death, all the flowers withered ( branded ? ) with him. Anoint his ( her ? ) members of the most precious oil, the richest essences. All the flavors die; because your flavor, Adonis, died. Regrettably! Regrettably! Who could refuse his ( her ? ) tears to the misfortune of Venus hurt ( damaged ? ) in his ( her ? ) love.

As soon as she lives, as soon as she knew the mortal wound of Adonis, as soon as she lives the blood to redden the half-opened thigh, tightening ( stretching out to ? ) him ( her ? ) arms, she exclaimed: « saw, Adonis, lived, unfortunate, so that I embrace you until the last moment, so that I squeeze ( tighten ? ) you in my arms and so that I confuse ( merge ? ) my lips with yours. Get up, Adonis, to give me a supreme kiss, during the time only that lasts a kiss, a kiss by which the breath of your life will pass by in my mouth and your soul in my heart; a sweet kiss which I shall exhaust by drinking your love; a kiss which I shall keep ( guard ? ) in me as very Adonis, because you, unfortunate, you run away far from me, for ever, towards somber Achéron, towards terrible and inexorable king; and _moi _, unfortunate, I saw! Goddess, I may not die to follow you.

« Receive my husband, ô Proserpine!

« You are more powerful than me, because all which is beautiful goes towards you. Regrettably, my despair is unlimited and my inconsolable pain!

« And I lament Adonis whom I lost and the sorrow waste ( destroy ? )! You die, ô three times regretted! My beloved passed as a dream! Now, Venus is a widow and the courtship are in mourning. His ( her;its ? ) belt does not exist any more.

« Adonis is spread ( widened ? ) slept on the purple; around him moan the tearful courtship, the hair shaved for his ( her;its ? ) mourning; one of them breaks of the foot its arrows, other his ( her;its ? ) bow, third one its empenné quiver; the fourth removes the shoes of him ( it ? ); others bring some water in golden ponds, a love washes its wound, the other one airs Adonis of his wings.

« Regrettably! Regrettably! The choir of the Amur moans on Cythérée.

« The marriage put out ( switched off ? ) its quite whole torch at the beginning of its temple. The marriage refuses to develop the bridal crown today, because his is broken. The song of nuptials does not repeat any more marriage! Marriage! He ( it ? ) moans: regrettably, regrettably! Regrettably, regrettably, Adonis! More still regrettably, marriage!

« The graces ( favours ? ) lament the son of Cinyre, exclaiming of concert: regrettably, regrettably! He died beautiful Adonis! And their shouts are even more piercing than yours, ô Dioné.

Muses lament themselves Adonis; they call Adonis by their song; but he remain deaf in their call ( appeal ? ). It is not because Adonis disdains to answer it. But Proserpine holds ( retains ? ) in his ( her ? ) links his ( her ? ) captive.

« Stop your mourning, ô Cythérée; do not strike any more your breast, make keep silent about the plaintive shouts; in the next anniversary ( birthday ? ) it will be necessary to resume the mourning and the tears. »