Book V, 254

Ye gods! I swore to stay away from thee, bright maiden, till the twelfth day dawned, but I, the long-enduring, could not endure it. Yea, by thyself I swear, the morrow seemed more than a twelvemonth. But pray to the gods, dear, not to engrave this oath of mine on the surface of the page that records my sins, and comfort my heart, too, with thy charm. Let not thy burning scourge, gracious lady, as well as the immortals’ flay me.