XXVII.—THE LOVERS’ TALK
This poem in its complete form was a match between a shepherd and another whom he had challenged, the stake being the shepherds pipe. The missing part comprised the lines introducing the match, the whole of the rival’s piece, and the prelude of the shepherd’s piece. What is left is the main part of the shepherds piece, its epilogue, and the award of the umpire. The umpire returns the shepherd his pipe, and adds a compliment in the form of a request that now he will play him another of his tunes, as, not having lost his pipe in the match, he will still be able to do. In the dialogue supposed to be recited, or perhaps to be sung, by the shepherd, one speaker answers the other speaker line for line except in two places where the same speaker has two lines. These exceptions, necessary in order to shift the role of answerer, have brought about a wrong arrangement of lines 9 and 19 in the manuscripts. The poem may be ascribed to an imitator of Theocritus. Line 4 he has taken bodily from him.
