“It is the birthplace of Apelles the painter and of Epicharmus the poet-philosopher and inventor of comedy. It is a place of beauty and art, is it not, Cora?”
“It is like a most charming garden, my lord. It contains the temples of Æsculapius and Aphrodite. I was born there in the slave-school. I had a delightful childhood. There was a big garden in which I used to play.... Forgive me, my lord....”
“Go on.”
“I was trained there and tended. I was bathed and carefully anointed and rubbed. This was done by the negresses. I learned to dance when I was very young. That is why I am lithe, my lord; and I hope that I dance well. But I also loved music; I sang. We had masters, who taught us to sing and play the harp, and mistresses, who taught us to dance. Dryope, who was in charge of the slave-school, was stern, but she was not unkind. My parents also were her slaves. My father was a runner and my mother was a dancer too. There were wagers when my father ran in a race; and he but seldom failed to win the prize for our mistress. She would have him flogged when he did not win the prize, but not hard, for she did not want to injure his precious body. Dryope was a good mistress to us, for my mother stopped dancing after she had once sprained her foot and Dryope nevertheless remained kind and gentle to her slave. But, when I was able to sing and dance, my lord, Dryope sold me for a big sum to a slave-dealer who was going to Rome with a number of slaves, male and female. I embraced Dryope and my parents and went with the dealer. He also was not harsh to me, because I was a valuable slave, my lord; he was not harsh to his slaves; he was careful of them as of precious merchandise. Thrasyllus bought me for you, my lord, on the slave-market in Rome; and I was proud when he paid a big sum for me after hearing my trial song and seeing my trial dance. And now ... now I am happy, my lord, to belong to a master like yourself. But still my thoughts often wander to Cos, to the slaves’ quarters, to my parents, to my fellow-slaves there and to Dryope. Forgive me, my lord.”
“And would you like to go back to Cos, Cora?”
“My lord, our native land remains dear to us. But I belong to you; and where you are there I will be.”
“And shall you be happy there too, Cora, so far from Cos?”
“I shall be happy where you are happy, my lord, and unhappy where you are unhappy.”
Lucius looked at her. He did not take her words to be more than the politeness of a courteous slave, who came from a famous slave-school and for whom he had paid a high price, because of her delicate beauty and her accomplishments. But still the sound of Cora’s voice was pleasant to his ear; and he said, graciously and with a gentle smile:
“You know how to speak the word that sounds well, even as you sing true and play true.”