ὁπόσον τῷ ποδὶ
περρέχει τᾶς γᾶς, τοῦτο χάρις → every inch of his stature is grace
Theocritus, Idylls, 30.3,
περιέχω - Ancient Greek (LSJ)
Ωαι τὼ χαλέπω καἰνομόρω τῶδε νοσήματος· τετόρταιος ἔχει παῖδος ἔρος μῆνά με δεύτερον, κάλω μὲν μετρίως, ἀλλ’ ὄποσον τῲ πόδι περρέχει τὰς γᾶς, τοῦτο χάρις, ταὶς δὲ παραύαις γλύκυ μειδίαι. καὶ νῦν μὲν τὸ κάκον ταῖς μὲν ἔχει ταῖς δ’ ὀν<ίησί με>, τάχα δ’ οὐδ’ ὄσον ὔπνω ’πιτύχην ἔσσετ’ ἐρωία. ἔχθες γὰρ παρίων ἔδρακε λέπτ’ ἄμμε δι’ ὀφρύων, αἰδέσθεις προσίδην ἄντιος, ἠρεύθετο δὲ χρόα· ἔμεθεν δὲ πλέον τὰς κραδίας ὦρος ἐδράξατο· εἰς οἶκον δ’ ἀπέβαν ἔλκος ἔχων καῖνο<ν ἐν ἤπατι>. πόλλα δ’ εἰσκαλέσαις θῦμον ἐμαύτῳ διελεξάμαν· “τί δῆτ’ αὖτε πόης; ἀλοσύνας τί ἔσχατον ἔσσεται; λεύκαις οὐκέτ’ ἴσαισθ’ ὄττι φόρης ἐν κροτάφοις τρίχας; ὤρα τοι φρονέην· μὴ <οὔτ>ι νέος τὰν ἰδέαν πέλων πάντ’ ἔρδ’ ὄσσαπερ οἰ τὼν ἐτέων ἄρτι γεγεύμενοι.
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Alas for this cruel and fateful malady of mine! For two months now I have been in the grip of a quartan passion for a boy; he is only moderately handsome, but from top to toe he’s a complete charmer, with a sweet smile on his cheeks. At present the fever grips me on some days and abates on others, but soon there will not be enough respite even for me to get to sleep. Yesterday as he passed he stole a quick glance at me from beneath his eyelids, too shy to look at me directly, and blushed; love seized my heart even more, and I went home with a fresh wound inside me.2 I called up my soul and had a long debate: “What are you up to again? When will there be an end to your folly? Have you forgotten that you have gray hair at your temples? It’s high time to show sense: you are not young in looks, and you should not keep behaving like those just getting a taste
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The reference to the boy’s charm is an elaboration on the acknowledgment of his physical plainness. His charm is no greater than the distance of a walker’s foot from the ground, but the narrator is infatuated with his winsome smile.
Theocritus and His Native Muse: A Syracusan Among Many [ebook ed.]
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