(Boylove Documentary Sourcebook) - "To an English Boy" by Hilary the Englishman, Early 12th Century (full-text poem)
From "Medieval Latin Literature" by Thomas Stehling and James J. Wilhelm, in Gay and Lesbian Poetry: An Anthology from Sappho to Michelangelo, edited by James J. Wilhelm (Abingdon, Oxon; New York: Routledge, 2013). First published in 1995 by Routledge.
[2] To an English Boy
Hail, handsome boy, you who seek no gain,
Who think that to be purchased by a gift is the highest vice,
In whom beauty and integrity choose their dwelling place,
Whose appearance captures the eyes of all who see.
Golden hair, beautiful face, and white neck,
Soft, sweet conversation—why praise things one by one?
You are completely handsome; there is no flaw in you—
Except this worthless decision to devote yourself to chastity.
When nature created you, it wavered for a moment,
Deciding whether to produce you as a girl or a male.
But while she fixed her mind on this choice,
Look! you came forth, a boy born for all to see.
Later, when she put her final touches on you,
She marveled that she could have made such a creature.
Yet it was true that nature had made one mistake:
Assembling so many good things, she made you mortal.
Any other mortal is worthless when compared to you,
Whom nature made as a unique son for herself.
You Beauty chooses as her very domicile;
Your dear flesh shines as radiantly as the lily.
Believe me, if the ancient times of Jove ever returned,
Ganymede would no longer be Jove’s private servant;
But you—swept away on high—would offer Jupiter
Cups pleasing by day and draughts more pleasing by night.
You stand out, an object honored by young men and girls;
They sigh and long for you, knowing you are unique.
Those who call you an Angle truly make a mistake—or sin.
Let them reverse the vowel and call you “angel.”
See also
- Adult friend (dictionary)
- Age of attraction (dictionary)
- Boylove
- Ephebophilia
- Greek love
- Loved boy (dictionary)
- Minor-attracted person (dictionary)
- Pederasty
- Pedophilia
- Young friend (dictionary)
