A beautiful youth, named Hermaphroditus, is beloved by a river nymph, who surprises him while bathing, and entreats the gods to unite them in one body; a request which is granted by the indulgent deities.
“How Salmacis, with weak, enfeebling streams, Softens the body, and unnerves the limbs, And what the secret cause, shall here be shown; The cause is secret, but the effect is known.