Page:Edward Prime-Stevenson - The Intersexes.djvu/284



One of Beza's longer Latin poems, entitled "Theodorus Beza de Sua in Candidam et Audebertum Benevolentia", deals with feeza's young friend, the lad Audebert, and with a young woman named Candide; depicting Beza's conflict in loving the young man as much as he loves the lady, and his inability to lessen his passion for Audebert, even though Candide jealously demands that he shall do so. One passage beginning "Sed utrum rogo proferam decorum? Utrum invisere me decet priorum?"—may be translated thus: "But which of these two, I ask myself, is most to me? Which one should I first seek to see again? Who could be dearer to me than, art thou, Candide? But whom could I ever place in my heart before thee, Audebert? Yes, if I should cut myself into two parts, one part would be Candide's but the other would be Audebert's". There are several such episodes. Beza's fierce Catholic enemy, Bolsec, in one of his attacks on the historian, in the lines "Spintria nunc fueras" etc., declares—"Awhile ago you were a passive sodomite and a filthy poet; now all at once you have turned yourself into a man learned in the Holy Scriptures!" Also Laingeaus exclaims, in an arraignment of Beza—"He was tortured by burning lust for his young Audebert, a remarkably handsome boy, with whom he was united in a sodomistic love". Beza was even accused of being ill, owing to certain sexual excesses, in Paris. Says Xaintes (de Sanctis) "Instead of your Audebert, now you have embraced Calvin, and so have substituted a spiritual male-whore for a carnal one; thus being still what you were,—a sodomist." All which may be called rather plain talking between holy conversationalists!