ABSTRACT
Thyrsis opens with a couplet that is almost literally prosaic2 in style, depicting a common way of honouring Priapus on an annual basis from small revenues and thus reflecting how the god protects simple farming. Although the construction here is not elliptic as in Corydon's case, haec liba recalls hoc caput in Corydon's quatrain and shows that we have to do with a dedication made to Priapus, evidently by Thyrsis himself. His quatrain shows a Steigerung outdoing Corydon's stanza by far: To begin with, his offering seems modest indeed and his god is moreover less respected, but then he surprises his audience with having dedicated a marble statue to the god whereupon he ends with a promise out of all proportion.
