Xenophon of Ephesus, An Ephesian Tale 1.15.1 · 1.15.1
Corymbus holds back at sea
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Καὶ ἐν μὲν τῷ πλῷ οὔτε πεῖσαι δυνατὸν ἐδόκει εἶναι· ἑώρα γὰρ ὡς διάκειται μὲν ὑπʼ ἀθυμίας πονήρως, ἑώρα δὲ καὶ τῆς Ἀνθείας ἐρῶντα· ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸ βιάζεσθαι χαλεπὸν εἶναι αὐτῷ κατεφαίνετο· ἐδεδοίκει γὰρ μή τι ἑαυτὸν ἐργάσηται δεινόν·
On the voyage it did not seem possible to persuade him. Corymbus saw that the youth was in a bad way from low spirits, and saw too that he was in love with Anthia. But force also seemed hard to him, for he was afraid the youth might do himself some terrible harm.
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The setting
Book 1, chapter 15. Sailing to Tyre, the pirate Corymbus has fallen in love with his captive Habrocomes.
A note on this passage
Corymbus weighs the two ways of making a captive comply, persuasion (πεῖσαι) and force (τὸ βιάζεσθαι). Gorgias, defending Helen, counts both among the causes that could have sent her to Troy: "seized by force," "persuaded by words" (Encomium of Helen 6). Force is ruled out for fear the youth will harm himself, so persuasion is left, and it will have to overcome what Corymbus has already seen: Habrocomes loves Anthia, and on the voyage the two swore an oath to stay faithful if they were ever parted (1.11.4–6).
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