Page:Catullus, Tibullus and Propertius.djvu/163

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A charmer with so perfect a tout ensemble was certain to command the passionate admiration of so inflammable a lover; and hence the history of his erotic poetry consists in an alternation of his raptures, his remonstrances, his despairs, according as Cynthia was kind, or volatile, or cruel. And to tell the truth, a lover of Cynthia could have had little smooth sailing on a sea where the winds of jealousy were evermore rising to a hurricane. He may not have been worthy of ideal fidelity, but certainly from the traits we have of Cynthia's faulty character, she must have given her bard and lover only too much cause for uneasiness. Fitful in her fancies, alike jealous and inconstant, she was expensive in her tastes,