Be Thy remembrance mortal of our sin:
By Thee in paths of peace Thy sheep be led,
And in the vale of terror comforted.
[NOTES]
NOTE ON EROS AND PSYCHE.
This Poem is in all essentials a faithful translation of Apuleius’ story, the chief differences being that first, in the way of form, I have, for the sake of balance and contrast, chosen to lengthen the introductory portion; I have also located the story in Crete, and this gives rise to occasional description.—The description of the sunset on [p. 83] is a portrait of the phenomena which followed the great eruption of Krakatoa.—Secondly, in the way of ethic I have made a gentler characterization of Psyche, who deserves more care in handling the motives of her conduct than was perhaps felt in Apuleius’ time and country.
The acrostic on [p. 102] is a remnant of my original dedication. In the first edition there was a note acknowledging the frequent translations from the Greek, and other robberies: and in the second, in which I altered the spelling, I gave my reasons for that, in so far as it is unusual. These reasons I need not repeat here, especially as the spelling is not at all as I should wish to see it. I advocate liberty in these matters instead of the conventional tyranny. But I will add here that the main inconsistencies of the punctuation are owing to this volume being a reprint of three separate books. The stops are intended solely for the readers’ convenience; and almost anything is better than the regulations of a methodic punctuation, which by assuming the possibility of indicating all the varieties of grammatical structure and rhythmic pause by four symbols, cannot be applied without perpetual vexation and injury.