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The share that Sir Richard Burton had in the translation of the Priapeia has been the subject of dispute; but we are able to state positively that he was the author of the metrical portion. Indeed, he made no secret of it among his intimates.
The Priapeia, in its Latin form Priapeia sine Diversoreun poetarum in Priapum Lusus, is a work that has long been well known to scholars, and in the 16th and 17th centuries editions were common. The image of Priapus, the god of fruitfulness, was generally a grotesque figure made of rough wood painted red and carrying a gardener's knife and a cornucopia.
A Jew Named Mardocheus Becomes My Travelling Companion He Persuades Me to Lodge in His House I Fall in Love With His Daughter Leah After a Stay of Six Weeks I Go to Trieste Some time elapsed before I had time to examine the Marquis of Mosca's collection of Latin poets, amongst which the 'Priapeia' found no place.
In the Priapeia is an inscription which has thus been translated: "You see this organ, after which I'm called And which is my certificate, is humid; This moisture is not dew nor drops of rain, It is the outcome of sweet memory, Recalling thoughts of a complacent maid." The translator supposes that semen is referred to, but without doubt the allusion is to the theologians' distillatio.
A letter, however, written by Burton to Mr. W. F. Kirby, sets the matter entirely at rest. "I am at present," he says, "engaged in translating the Priapeia, Latin verse, which has never appeared in English, French, or German garb; it will have the merit of novelty."
At this the girl seemed to reflect a moment, and then recited some verses from the Priapeia to the effect that unripe fruit is often more piquant than that which is ripe. This was enough to set me on fire, and Campioni, seeing that he was not wanted, went back to his room. I drew her gently to me and asked her if her father was at Vienna.
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