Thou hast heard that heaven and earth are subject to my son
because of his lordship over gods and men. But what shall I say of the
power that he exercises over irrational animals, whether celestial or
terrene? It is through him that the turtle is fain to follow her mate;
it is through him that my pigeons have learned to caress his ringdoves
with fondest endearments. And there is no creeping or living creature
that has ever at any time attempted to escape from his puissance: in the
woods the timid stag, made fierce by his touch, becomes brave for sake
of the coveted hind and by bellowing and fighting, they prove how strong
are the witcheries of Love. The ferocious boars are made by Love to
froth at the mouth and sharpen their ivory tusks; the African lions,
when Love quickens them, shake their manes in fury. But leaving the
groves and forests, I assert that even in the chilly waters the
numberless divinities of the sea and of the flowing rivers are not safe
from the bolts of my son. Neither can I for a moment believe that thou
art ignorant of the testimony thereof which has been rendered by
Neptune, Glaucus, Alpheus, and others too numerous to mention: not only
were they unable to quench the flame with their dank waters, but they
could not even moderate its fury, which, when it had made its might
felt, both on the earth and in the waters, continued its onward course,
and rested not until it had penetrated into the gloomy realms of Dis.
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