human
What had he to say about the Lady Aphrodite?
gpt
Aphrodite, yes, that was her name. How clever you are! Oh, the priest said that he thought the reason why we were so given to the sins of the flesh was that we were of the old Greek blood, and had never forgotten the worship of this lady who came from the sea.
human
What an intelligent priest it is! O Peronella, you are a true daughter of Aphrodite.
gpt
Tell me about her, Normano. She was the goddess of Love!
human
Yes, and she has a son called Cupid and is drawn in a chariot by violet-throated doves. Also, Peronella, she has a little silver broom, with which she drives away the cobwebs from a man's soul when he has read too many books.
gpt
And when did she wear the shining black?
human
O! this book is not about Aphrodite, it is about Isis, an Egyptian goddess.
gpt
Egyptian? That must be interesting. Was she as beautiful as Aphrodite? Tell me all about her.
human
There are different sorts of beauty. Aphrodite was a graceful, careless and happy woman, rather like you to look at, and very much like you in character.
gpt
How charming of you to say so!
human
While Isis had all Nature to manage, and the moon and the sea. She was a terrible goddess, with snakes in her hair, and a great disc between her breasts. Men loved her none the less; she was the spirit of all Nature, and required purity and endurance from her worshippers.
gpt
Purity and endurance! And snakes in her hair! Aphrodite must have been far more pleasant, especially if she was like me. She was the patroness of our city, the Father said; and Dr Sforelli wrote to the papers once to say that the image of the Virgin in the Cathedral Church was a heathen statue that some King put up there and that clothes had been made for it later. I know that because Father Algio was so furious at the time that he preached three sermons against the Jews. But why do you read such rubbish?
human
What an ass I am, he said to himself,