Nature
Idyll XIX: Love Stealing Honey
Translated by C. S. Calverley (1869) · From Idylls
Nature
Once thievish Love the honeyed hives would rob,
When a bee stung him: soon he felt a throb
Through all his finger-tips, and, wild with pain,
Blew on his hands and stamped and jumped in vain.
To Aphroditè then he told his woe:
'How can a thing so tiny hurt one so?'
She smiled and said; 'Why thou'rt a tiny thing,
As is the bee; yet sorely thou canst sting.'
Cite this poem
MLA
Theocritus. “Idyll XIX: Love Stealing Honey.” Translated by C. S. Calverley. Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/theocritus/18/.
Chicago
Theocritus. “Idyll XIX: Love Stealing Honey.” Translated by C. S. Calverley. Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/theocritus/18/.
Read this poem with the Codex →