The Epigrams  

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"Tu, O Papilo, hai una mentula si smisurata, ed un si gran naso, che potesti, ogni volta che arrigi, fiutarla."

{{Template}} This page features volume 1 and 2 of The Epigrams by Martial in a translation by Walter C. A. Ker.

Contents


Full text volume 1[1]

THE LOEB CLASSICAL LIBRARY

EDITED BY E.CAPPS, PH.D., LL.I). T. E. PAGE, Lrrr.D. W. IT. I). ROUSE, Lnr.D.


MARTIAL

EPIGRAMS I


MARTIAL

EPIGRAMS

WITH AN ENGLISH TRANSLATION BY WALTER C. A. KER, M.A.

SOMETIMB SCHOLAR OF TRINITY COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE OK THK INNKR TEMPI.K, BARRISTER-AT-LAW


IN TWO VOLUMES I



LONDON : WILLIAM HEINEMANN NEW YORK : G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS

MCMXIX


CONTENTS


I'ACiE

INTRODUCTION vii

BIBLIOGRAPHY xix

ON THE SPECTACLES . . 2

BOOK I 27

BOOK II 107

BOOK III 163

HOOK IT-- . T 229

BOOK v 293

BOOK vi 357

BOOK VII 421


INTRODUCTION

AN epigram, as its etymology denotes, was originally merely an inscription, such as is put on a statue or a monument, a temple, or a triumphal arch. 1 But in process of time it came to mean ;i short poem dealing with some .person, thing, or incident which the writer thinks worthy of observation and record, and by which he seeks to attract attention in the same way as a passer-by would be attracted by an inscription on a physical object. " It must have," says Professor Mackail, " the compression and conciseness of a real inscription, and in proportion to the smallness of its bulk must be highly finished, evenly balanced, simple, lucid." The comment of the writer on the subject-matter of the epigram is called the point, and this is generally satirical " Dost thou think," says Benedick, 2 " I care fora satire or an epigram ?"- but it is not necessarily so : it may even be pathetic.

Martial has several poems 3 which by reason of their length are not strictly epigrams within the definition.

1 Even as a brand on the forehead of a runaway slave (FUG) : Petr. ciii. - Shak. Much Ado, v. iv. 103.

3 t.g. HI. Iviii. ; x. xxx.


INTRODUCTION

But these are of the nature of epigrams, being written in order to lead up to the point at the end.

Marcus Valerius Martialis, the greatest of epigram- matists, and the father of the epigram as we understand it, was born at Bilbilis, or Augusta l Bilbilis, in Hispania Tarraconensis. The town stood on a rocky height surrounded by the rushing Salo, a confluent of the Ebro, and was a municipium celebrated for the manufacture of iron, to which the cold waters of the Salo gave a peculiar temper. It also produced gold. 2 The year of the poet's birth cannot be fixed with certainty, but it was one of the years A.D. 38 to 41. It has been inferred from one of his epigrams 3 that his parents were named Pronto and Flaccilla. Though they were probably not rich, they gave the future poet a good education, a fact he afterwards acknowledges * some- what bitterly, having regard to its uselessness in that corrupt age as a means of making money. About A.D. 63 or 64 he came to Rome in the last days of Nero, and attached himself to his countrymen Quintilian, Lucan the poet, and the Senecas, who introduced him to the Pisos. The ruin and death of Seneca the philosopher and of Lucan, for partici- pation in the abortive conspiracy of L. Calpurnius

1 cf. x. ciii. 1. 2 xn. xviii. 9.

3 v. xxxiv. 1. 4 In ix. Ixxiii. 7.

viii


INTRODUCTION

Piso in A.I). 65 threw Martial on his own resources. Quintilian seems to have advised him to take up a profession/ perhaps the bar, but Martial preferred, as he says, to make the most of life while he could, a note which he strikes consistently throughout his writings.

Of his life up to A.D. 84 or 85, the date of the publication of Book I. of his epigrams, we know nothing. In A.D. 80, however, the collection known as the Liber Spectaculorum was published to cele- brate the opening of the Colosseum by Titus. On the strength of this book, and the Xenia and Apophoreta (Books XIII. and XIV.) which were issued in A.D. 84 or 85, or of other writings that have not come down to us, Martial by A.D. 85 enjoyed an assured position as a poet, as he himself says, 2 "known all over the world," and equally widely plagiarised.

At Rome he remained continuously for thirty-five years, and here all his books were published except Book III., which was issued from Gallia Cisalpina, whither he had gone in a fit of spleen at the poor rewards of literature. 3 In Book I. he speaks of him- self 4 as living in a garret up three high flights of


1 cf. n. xc. - cf. i. i. 2.

3 cf. in. iv. 8. * cf. i. cxvii. 7.


ix


INTRODUCTION

stairs. Later on, by A.D. 94, he had a house of his own in the same quarter, the Quirinal, and a country villa at Nomentum, 1 which according to his own account was a poor place. Whether these houses were purchased or given to him is unknown. During his thirty-five years' sojourn he led the ordinary life of the needy client dependent on rich patrons, and he never ceases to complain of the weariness of levees to be attended, complimentary duties to be discharged at unreasonable hours and in all weathers- and of the insolence and stinginess of wealthy men. Yet he was not without compensations. Domitian rejected his petition for a sum of money, but he received from Titus the jus trium liberorum, a right confirmed by Domitian, and the tribunatus semestrix, a kind of honorary tribuneship carrying with it the title of a knight. 2 Moreover, he mixed in the best society in the capital, numbering among his friends Quintilian, the poets Silius and Valerius Flaccus, the younger Pliny, and Juvenal. That Martial was capable of a very sincere and lusting friendship is shown by many of his epigrams. It is curious that he never mentions Statius, nor is he mentioned by him. At the end of his thirty-five years' residence in

1 cf. ix. xviih -2.

cf. in. xcv. 9, 10 ; ix. xcvii. 5.


INTRODUCTION

Rome, either as recognizing the fact that the new regime under Nerva or Trajan was not favourable to adulation of emperors, or from that general weariness of City life of which he complains, and a longing to see again the patrii anmes and the saturae xordida rura casae of his native Bilbilis on the rough hill-side, he returned in A.D. 100 to Spain. The means of travel were supplied by Pliny, as Pliny tells us, 1 from friendliness towards the poet, and in recompense for the complimentary verses 2 Martial had written upon him. Three years afterwards Book XII. was sent from Spain. In the meantime a Spanish lady, Marcella, of whom he writes with great affection, 3 and whom some have supposed to be his wife, gave him a country house, where he lived until his death. "She," he says, "alone made a Rome for him." But the delights and the freedom of the country, of which at first he speaks exultingly, began to pall upon him, and this fact and the narrow-minded jealousy 4 of his neighbours made him look back fondly to- wards the fuller life of the Imperial City. But he was destined never to see it again. His death cannot be dated later than A.D. 104.


1 Ep. iii. 21. 2 rf. x. xix.

3 cf. xn. xxi. and xxxi. * cj\ xii. K/iial.

xi


INTRODUCTION

Whether Martial was married is uncertain. In several epigrams l he speaks as if he had a wife, and in two 2 (and those of the foulest) he assumes to address her. Again, a daughter is alluded to in one epigram, and perhaps in two, 3 for the read- ing is uncertain. A writer, however, does not always speak in his own person, and also (as Martial did 4 ) sometimes writes on a subject sub- mitted to him. In other epigrams 5 the poet speaks of a wife as an aspiration of the future, and, as Professor Sellar says, " the general tone of his epi- grams is that of an easy-living bachelor who knew nothing of the cares or consolations of family life." The probability is that he was never married, and it may be said with some degree of certainty that he had no children ; for the poet who touched so tenderly on the deaths of Erotion, Urbicus, and Canace, and who showed so loving a disposition towards the young and the helpless, could not have been silent if he had had children of his own.

Pliny says 6 of him, " I hear that Valerius Martialis is dead, and I am sorry. He was a man of genius,

] cf. iv. xxiii. 2 ; vn. xcv. 7 ; xi. Ixxxiv. 15. - xi. xliii. and civ.

3 cf. vii. xcv. 8; x. Ixv. 11. 4 cf. xi. xlii. 1.

s n. xc. 9 ; ii. xcii. * Ep. iii. 21.


INTRODUCTION

of subtle, quick intelligence, and one who in his writings showed the greatest amount of wit and pungency, and no less of fairness. . . . But it may be said his writings will not last. Perhaps they will not, but he wrote as if they would." The quality of candor which Pliny emphasises agrees with what Martial claimed l for himself. " I spare the person, I denounce the vice." Much of his work is poor, and some of it even stupid, as might have been expected in an author with so large an output. And indeed he says himself that, to con- stitute a book, the good must be mixed with the bad and the indifferent 2 : "the equal book," he says, 3 " is the bad one." But Martial at his best is without a rival. If the highest form of art be to conceal art, then he was a consummate artist. The point, whether dependent on a pun, or an ambiguous phrase, on a new meaning given to a word, or an antithesis, or Trapa TrpovSoKtav, is sharply brought out. And the words fall into their places with a fitness that suggests the solution of a puzzle : the reader feels that no other words could have been employed. He is never turgid or pompous : all he touches with a light hand. A

1 cf. x. xxxiii. 10 ; vu. xii. 2 cf. I. xvi. ; vri.- Ixxxi. 3 cf. vu. xc. 4.


INTRODUCTION

master of terse and pregnant phrase, he has left us lines that linger in the memory, such as perdideril indium vita reversa diem ; vivere bis vifrt est posse priorc fnti ; non est vivere, scd valerc vita ; cineri gloria sera venit ; aestate pueri si valenl, .satis discitnt ; non bene servo servitur amico ; sera minis vita esl crastina, vive. hodie and many others ; and above them all that tender sigh for the shortness of mortality, which has framed a thousand dials, and has from the Temple walls reminded many a generation of lawyers of the fleeting hours, pereunt et imputantnr.

Life was his subject, not outworn mythologies or tragic bombast. 1 And what a medley of detail that life presents ! Fops, fortune-hunters and dinner-touters, dabblers and busybodies, orators and lawyers, school- masters, street hawkers, barbers, cobblers, jockeys, architects, auctioneers, debtors, bores, quidnuncs, doc- tors, plagiarists, hypocritical philosophers, poisoners, jugglers and acrobats, the slave who has become a knight, or the knight without a qualification, per- sonal peculiarities, the faults and vices of fashionable life. He describes a gown or a cup, a picture or a statue, a rich debauchee's banquet, the courses of a dinner, or the produce of a farm, a greenhouse, a triumphal arch, a lion in the amphitheatre, a 1 cf. iv. xlviii. 7, 8 ; x. iv. 7 -12.


INTRODUCTION

suburban or country villa, a private bath, a beauti- ful slave, the noises, duties, and distractions of the town, its topography, the parties, theatres, public games, exercise grounds, the baths and the Satur- nalia. He gives us a birthday or a marriage poem, the eulogy of a friend or of a Roman matron, the praise of conjugal or of fraternal love, or of a life well spent, the elements of a happy life, the death of a good man, epitaphs, verses on the eruption of Vesuvius, on a fragment of the Argo, or on an insect embedded in amber. The list might be indefinitely prolonged.

No account of the work of Martial would be com- plete without two features being touched upon which have darkened his fame, namely his indecency, and his adulation of Domitian. With regard to the first, however, of the 1171 epigrams in the first twelve books, those open to objection do not exceed a fourth, and if the 350 epigrams in Books XIII. and XIV. be included, the proportion is still smaller. On the other hand, of the objectionable epigrams the greater part are indescribably foul. But it should not be inferred that Martial was a peculiarly immoral man. " My page is wanton," he says, 1 " my life is good." And borrowing the excuse made by 1 cf. i, iv. 8.

XV

ft


INTRODUCTION

his master Catullus, he says l that jocosa carmina cannot please without prurience. That was as much a feature of sportive epigrams as the nudity of the performers at the Festival of Flora, and to \vrite licentious verse was, as Pliny tells us, 2 fashionable with summi et gramssimi viri. A notable example of the outspoken indecency in which even Augustus indulged is to be found in xi. xx. 3 As an epigram- matist Martial had to adapt himself to the manners of his age or starve.

The poet's adulation of Domitian sounds to modern ears shameless and disgusting. But it must be re- membered that the title " deus " was an official one, and it would have been dangerous in those critical times to omit it. Moreover, Martial had to live ; the patronage of the Emperor and of his suite was essential, and Martial had to pay the price of recognition. A modern scholar, Professor Verrall, has sought 4 to exculpate him on the ground that " the worship of the Emperor was the best and truest form which religion took in that ' inter-religious ' period . . . When [the provincials] called the Emperor 'deus' they took the simplest way of saying that the Empire

1 cf. I. xxxv. 11 ; following Cat. xvi. 9.

  • Ep. iv. xiv. 4. He gives a long list of such authors in v. iii.

1 All epigrams possible of translation by the use of dashes or paraphrases have been rendered in English, the wholly impossible ones only in Italian. 4 Literary Estaya, 8.


INTRODUCTION

deserved from them, as human beings, gratitude and veneration. And so it did." But Martial, unfor- tunately for his future fame, has deprived himself of this excuse. His changed tone after the accession of Nerva and Trajan l shows that his previous flattery of Domitian was insincere. In fact, inferentially he admits it.

The terseness and vividness of Martial's style makes the interpretation of particular words in readable English at times peculiarly difficult. To explain a phrase is easy, to translate it is often hard. And the commentators, even the most noted of them, often fail to bring out the point. Two instances only may be given. In an epigram 2 which Pliny possibly had in his mind when he summed up Martial's style in a passage already quoted the poet, criticising another poet, says that his rival's epigrams were cerussata candidiora cute. Here the epithet candidiora has to do service, not only in comparison with the physical feature of a white-leaded skin, but also in comparison with the style of epigram, which should contain wit and gall. Again, in another epigram 3 he speaks of the viva quies ponti. This, conversely put, is exactly Tennyson's " such a tide as moving seems

1 cf. x. Ixxii. ; XI. iv. and v.

2 vii. xxv. 3 x. xxx. 12.


INTRODUCTION

asleep." But Tennyson has used seven words, Martial only three.

Of the poet's personal appearance we know- nothing beyond the slight sketch he has himself drawn, 1 where, comparing himself with an effeminate fop, he alludes to his " stiff Spanish hair/ ' and his " hairy legs and cheeks."

The dust of Martial has mingled this many a year with the soil of his native land, and over it has passed unregarding the life of the centuries, the Visigoth, the Moor, and the Spaniard ; and of the stones of Bilbilis none survive save in the structure of a Moorish city. 2 The written word, as he has told us, 3 is the only memorial that cannot die. His writings have lived, as he prophesied, when the stones of Messalla have been sundered by the wild fig, 4 the towering marble of Licinus has fallen in dust, 5 the work of Apelles has perished. 6 And they will continue to live so long as the finest literary art shall be held worthy to be had in remembrance, and the classics be read and loved.

7 FIG TREE COURT, TEMPLE. April 22, 1919.

1 cf. x. Ixv. 7, 9.

2 Calatayud (Job's Castle) two miles E.

3 cf. x. ii. 12. * cf. x. ii. 9 ; viu. iii. 5. 5 cf. viu. iii. 6. 8 cf. vii. Ixxxiv. 8.

xviii


BIBLIOGRAPHY

MANUSCRIPTS

THE acknowledgment of the translator is due to Messrs. George Bell & Sons for kind permission to use the text of Martial as published in their Corpus Poetarum Latinomm (1905). According to the learned editor of this text the MSS. of Martial may be divided into three families :

The first is represented by H in the Vienna Library ; R in the Leyden Library, both of the 9th century ; and T (a transcript of H, and supplementing it) of the 9th-10th century in the Paris Library.

The agreement of T and R is in the following pages denoted by the letter o.

The second family is represented by L (13th century), discovered at Lucca, and now at Berlin ; by P (15th century) at the Vatican ; by Q (loth century) in the British Museum ; and by f (15th century) in the Laurentian Library at Florence. These MSS. contain the text as emended by Torquatus Gennadius, A.D. 401. The agreement of these codices is denoted by /8.

The third family is represented by E (10th century) in the Advocates' Library at Edinburgh; by X (10th century) in the Paris Library ; by A (llth century) at Leyden ; and by V (10th century) at the Vatican. These are the four best, their agreement being denoted by 7.

Of the same family are B (12th century) at Leyden ; C (14th century) also at Leyden ; and G (12th century) at Wolfenblittel.

Recent codices, not dependent on old recensions, but often giving true emendations, are denoted by $-.

EDITIONS

Among the editions are the following. A fuller list will be found in Brunet's Manuel du Libraire (Paris, 1862) :

1. The Variorum Edition with the notes of T. Farnabius and others, edited by Corn. Schrevelius, Lugd. Bat. 1661.


BIBLIOGRAPHY

2. The Delphin Edition by Vine. Collesso, with a para- phrase and variorum notes, Paris, 1680, 1823. Published by command of Louis XIV.

3. An edition, containing old and new notes and occasional Greek versions, by five Professors of the French Academy, Lemaire, Paris, 1825.

4. An edition by F. G. Schneidewin, Grimae, 1842

5. Select Epigrams of Martial, with English notes by F. A. Paley and W. H. Stone ("Grammar School Classics"), Whittaker & Co. and George Bell, 1868. A useful and handy edition.

6. The Epigrams of Martial, with explanatory notes by L. Friedlander, Leips. 1886, 2 vols. A standard edition.

7. Selected Epigrams of Martial, edited, with introduction, notes, and appendices, by Rev. H. M. Stephenson, Mac- millan, 1880-1895.

8. Select Epigrams of Martial, edited according to the text of Prof. Lindsay, by R. T Bridge and E. D. C. Lake, Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1908, 2 vols.

There is a good introduction by Prof. Sellar in Extracts from Martial, Edinburgh, 1884 ; and a valuable discussion of the epigrams in Lessing's Prose Works.


TRANSLATIONS

An English prose translation (the obscene epigrams being, however, in Graglia's Italian) is published in Bonn's "Classical Library." The versions are not unsatisfactory as regards correctness, but the style in the case of the more serious epigrams often falls below the dignity of the subject. A selection of 150 epigrams has also been translated, with an introduction and notes, by Alfred S. West ( Wit and Wisdom from Martial, Hampstead Priory Press, 1912).

Among verse translations are : a MS. of the age of Eliza- beth ; Thomas May, poet and playwright, 1629 ; R. Fletcher, J656 ; Anon. 1695 ; J. Hughes, 1737 ; William Hay, M.P. for Seaford, 1755 ; Wright, 1763; E. B. Greene, 1774. Specimens of the preceding and of many others will be found in the Bohn Martial. Other translators are W. F. Shaw (Juvenal, Persius, Martial and Catullus, an experiment in translation, 1882), forty-three epigrams in unrhymed trochaics, a close ren- dering, the metre being, however, sometimes rugged ; Goldwin


BIBLIOGRAPHY

Smith (Bay Leaves, Toronto, 1890), anonymously ; W. T. Courthope (Selections Translated or Imitated in English Verse, Murray, 1914) ; both excellent. The most satisfactory of the translations as a whole are Hay's, but his versions are often imitations only.

Of foreign translations in prose we have in French : Marolles, 1655; Volland, 1807; Verger, Dubois, and Man- geart, 18345 (with a memoir of the author supposed to have been written by himself) ; since reissued by the Librairie Gamier Freres, Paris ; Nisard, 1842 ; J. B. (order re- arranged, with notes and commentaries), Paris, 1842-3 ; the obscene epigrams forming the 3rd vol.; and in Italian, Giuspanio Graglia (London, 1782 and 1791), whose versions of the obscene epigrams have been utilized in the following work. In German is the version of K. W. Ramler, Leipzig, 1787-91.

Foreign translators in verse areMarolles, Paris, 1655, 1671, 1675 ; Volland, 1807 ; E. T. Simon and P. R. Auguis, 1819 ; Constant Dubois (with an essay on Martial's life and works by Jules Janin), Paris, 1841 ; in German, Zimmermann, Frankfort, 1783 ; and Willemann, Cologne, 1825 ; the latter being expurgated.

Imitations in French verse are by Ant. P. (Antoine Pericaud), L'an de Rome 2569 (A.D. 1816) ; and by C. B. D. L. (Claude Breghot du Lut), L'an de Rome 2569 ; and by E. T. Simon, supra.

If a " bad eminence " confer any title to fame, James Elphinston (1721-1809) deserves special notice. He was the son of an Episcopalian clergyman, and was educated at the High School and at the University of Edinburgh. In 1750 he superintended the issue of a Scotch edition of Johnson's Rambler, supplying English translations of the mottoes, for which he was thanked by Johnson. From 1752 to 1776 he was successively a schoolmaster at Brompton and at Kensington. He published in 1778 a Specimen of the Translations of Epigrams of Martial, with a preface informing the public that he awaited subscriptions to enable him to publish a version of Martial's works complete. With regard to this work, it is recorded by Boswell under date of April 9, 1778 that Garrick, being consulted, told Elphinston frankly that he was no epigrammatist, and advised him against publishing ; that Johnson's advice was not asked, and was not forced upon the translator ; and that Elphinston's


BIBLIOGRAPHY

own brother-in-law, Strahan, the printer, in sending him a subscription of fifty pounds, promised him fifty more if he would abandon his project.

The offer was not accepted, and in 1782 the whole work appeared in a handsome quarto. It was received with derision, the poet Beattie saying, "It is truly an unique the specimens formerly published did very well to laugh at, but a whole quarto of nonsense and gibberish is too much." And Mrs. Piozzi records that "of a modern Martial, when it came out, Dr. Johnson said ' there are in these verses too much folly for madness, I think, and too much madness for folly.'" And the unhappy author was gibbeted in the following epigram by Robert Burns :

" O thou whom Poesy abhors, Whom Prose has turned out of doors ! Heardst thou that groan ? Proceed no further : 'Twas laurell'd Martial roaring ' Murther !' "


XXH


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL


VOL. I.


M. VALERI MARTIALIS DE SPECTACULIS LIBER


BARBARA pyramidum sileat miracula Memphis,

Assyrius l iactet nee Babylona labor ; nee Triviae templo molles laudentur lones, 2

dissimulet Delon cornibus ara frequens ; acre nee vacuo pendentia Mausolea

laudibus inmodicis Cares in astra ferant. omnis Caesareo cedit labor Amphitheatre ;

unum pro cunctis fama loquetur opus.

II

Hit: ubi sidereus propius videt astra colossus et crescunt media pegmata celsa via,

invidiosa feri radiabant atria regis

unaque iam tota stabat in urbe domus.

hie ubi conspicui venerabilis Amphitheatri erigitur moles, stagna Neronis erant.

1 Assy r iiin Alciatus, awiduu* T.

  • lones Scaliger, honor en T.


1 The Temple of Diana at Ephesus.

2 Constructed by Apollo of the horns of the beasts slain by his sister Diana.


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL ON THE SPECTACLES

I

LET not barbaric Memphis tell of the wonder of her Pyramids, nor Assyrian toil vaunt its Babylon ; let not the soft lonians be extolled for Trivia's fane x ; let the altar wrought of many hoi-ns 2 keep hid its Delos ; let not Carians exalt to the skies with boundless praise the Mausoleum 3 poised on empty air. All labour yields to Caesar's Amphitheatre : one work in place of all shall Fame rehearse.

II

HERE where, rayed with stars, the Colossus 4 views heaven anear, and in the middle way tall scaffolds 6 rise, hatefully gleamed the palace of a savage king, and but a single house now stood in all the City. Here, where the far-seen Amphitheatre lifts its mass august, was Nero's mere. Here, where we admire

3 The tomb of Mausolus, king of Caria, constructed by his wife Artemisia.

4 A statue of Nero, afterwards turned by Vespasian into a statue of the Sun with rays surrounding the head : cf. i. Ixx. 7.

6 Either the scaffolding of the new works, or movable cranes (pegmata) which could lengthen or contract, open or shut, and were used at shows as part of the appointments.


B 2


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

hie ubi miramur, velocia munera, thermas, abstulerat miseris tecta superbus ager.

Claudia diffusas ubi porticus explicat umbras,

ultima pars aulae deficientis erat. 10

reddita Roma sibi est et sunt te praeside, Caesar, deliciae populi, quae fuerant domini.

Ill

QUAE tarn seposita est, quae gens tarn barbara, Caesar,

ex qua spectator non sit in urbe tua ? venit ab Orpheo cultor Rhodopeius Haemo,

venit et epoto Sarmata pastus equo, et qui prima bibit deprensi flumina Nili, 5

et quern supremae Tethyos unda ferit ; festinavit Arabs, festinavere Sabaei,

et Cilices nimbis hie maduere suis. crinibus in nodum tortis venere Sugambri,

atque aliter tortis crinibus Aethiopes. 10

vox diversa sonat populorum, turn tamen una est,

cum verus patriae diceris esse pater.

IV

TURBA gravis paci placidaeque inimiea qviieti, quae semper miseras sollicitabat opes,

traducta est, ingens l nee cepit harena nocentis : et delator habet quod dabat exilium.

1 ingens Housman, getitH* T. 1 The Baths of Titus. 2 Nero's Golden House.


ON THE SPECTACLES, n-iv

the warm-baths., 1 a gift swiftly wrought, a proud domain 2 had robbed their dwellings from the poor. Where the Claudian Colonnade extends its outspread shade the Palace ended in its furthest part. Rome has been restored to herself, and under thy govern- ance, Caesar, that is now the delight of a people which was once a master's.

Ill

WHAT race is set so far, what race so barbarous, Caesar, wherefrom a spectator is not in thy city ? There has come the farmer of Rhodope from Orphic Haemus, there has come too the Sarmatian fed on draughts of horses' blood, and he who quaffs at its spring the stream of first-found Nile, and he 3 whose shore the wave of farthest Tethys beats ; the Arab has sped, Sabaeans have sped, and Cilicians have here been drenched in their own saffron dew. 4 With hair twined in a knot have come Sygambrians, and, with locks twined elsewise, Aethiopians. Diverse sounds the speech of the peoples, yet then is it one when thou art acclaimed thy country's Father true.


IV

A CROWD dangerous to peace and a foe to tranquil rest, that ever vexed unhappy riches, has been paraded, nor could the huge Arena hold the guilty ; and the informer has the exile he once bestowed. 5

3 Probably the Briton.

4 With which the stage was sprinkled : rf. v. xxv. 7 ; vm. xxxiii. 4.

5 This epigram is sometimes joined to the following.


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

IVu

EXULAT Ausonia profugus delator ab urbe : [5]

haec licet inpensis principis adnumeres.


IUNCTAM Pasiphaen Dictaeo credite tauro : vidimus, accepit fabula prisca fidem.

nee se miretur, Caesar, longaeva vetustas : quidquid fama canit, praestat harena tibi.

VI

BELLIGER invictis quod Mars tibi servit in armis, non satis est, Caesar ; servit et ipsa Venus.

VlB

PROSTRATUM vasta Nemees in valle leonem uobile et Herculeum fama canebat opus.

prisca fides taceat : nam post tua munera, Caesar, hoc iam femineo l


VII

QUALITER in Scythica religatus rupe Prometheus

adsiduam nimio pectore pavit avem, nuda Caledonio sic viscera praebuit urso

non falsa pendens in cruce Laureolus.

1 Marte fatemur ayi suppl. Buecheler.

1 Because, by suppressing the informers, he lost the con- fiscated estates.

2 Women sometimes fought in the Amphitheatre : Juv. i. 22.

6


ON THE SPECTACLES, iv B-VII

IVB

THE informer is an outcast and an exile from the Ausonian City : this may you reckon to our Prince's cost. 1

V

THAT Pasiphae was mated to the Dictaean bull, believe : we have seen it, the old-time myth has won its warrant. And let not age-long eld, Caesar, marvel at itself : whatever Fame sings of, that the Arena makes real for thee.

VI

THAT warring Mars served thee in arms uncon- quered suffices not, Caesar ; Venus herself too serves. 2

V!B

OK the lion laid low in Nemea's vasty vale, a deed renowned and worthy of Hercules, Fame used to sing. Dumb be ancient witness ! for after thy shows, O Caesar, we declare that such things are wrought by woman's prowess now.

VII

As, fettered on a Scythian crag, Prometheus fed the untiring fowl with his too prolific heart, so Laureolus, 3 hanging on no unreal cross, gave up his vitals defenceless to a Caledonian bear. His mangled

3 A condemned criminal representing in the Amphitheatre Laureolus, a robber who had been crucified and torn to pieces by wild beasts, and whose death had been represented in a Mime (fabula, 1. 12) under Caligula {Juv. 8, 187 ; Suet. Gal. 57), but in this case was enacted realistically in the Amphi- theatre.

7


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

vivebant laceri membris stillantibus artus 5

inque omni nusquam corpora corpus erat. denique supplicium 1

vel domini iugulum foderat ense nocens, templa vel arcano demens spoliaverat auro,

subdiderat saevas vel tibi, Roma, faces. 10

vicerat antiquae sceleratus crimina famae,

in quo, quae fuerat fabula, poena fuit.

VIII

DAEDALE, Lucano cum sic lacereris ab urso, quam cuj)eres pinnas nunc habuisse tuas !

IX

PRAESTITIT exhibitus tota tibi, Caesar, harena

quae non promisit proelia rhinoceros, o quam terribilis exarsit pronus in iras !

quantus erat taurus, cui pila taurus erat !


LAESEIIAT ingrato leo perfidus ore magistrum,

ausus tam notas contemerare manus ; sed dignas tanto persolvit crimine poenas,

et qui non tulerat verbera, tela tulit. quos decet esse hominum tali sub principe mores, 5

qui iubet ingenium mitius esse feris !

1 dignum tulit ; Me parentis suppl. Schneidewiu.


ON THE SPECTACLES, vn-x

limbs lived, though the parts dripped gore, and in all his body was nowhere a body's shape. A punish- ment deserved at length he won he in his guilt had with his sword pierced his parent's or his master's throat, or in his madness robbed a temple of its close-hidden gold, or had laid by stealth his savage torch to thee, O Rome. Accursed, he had outdone the crimes told of by ancient lore ; in him that which had been a show before was punishment.

VIII

DAEDALUS, now thou art being so mangled by a Lucanian boar, how wouldst thou wish thou hadst now thy wings !

IX

SHOWN along thy Arena's floor, O Caesar, a rhino- ceros afforded thee an unpromised fray. Oh, into what dreadful rage fired he with lowered head ! How great was the bull ] to which a bull was as a dummy !

X

A TREACHEROUS lion had with ungrateful fang wounded his master, daring to violate hands so familiar ; but a penalty fitted to a crime so great he paid ; and he that would not brook stripes brooked the steel. What manners befit men under such a Prince who bids the nature of wild beasts to grow more mild !

1 Probably the rhinoceros was known as bo$ Aethiophis : cf. xiv. liii. As to the dummy (piln), cf. n. xliii. 6 ; x. Ixxxvi. 4.


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

XI

PRAECEPS sanguinea dum se rotat ursus harena,

inplicitam visco perdidit ille fugam. splendida iam tecto cessent venabula ferro,

nee volet excussa lancea torta manu ; deprendat vacuo venator in acre praedam, 5

si captare feras aucupis arte placet.

XII

INTER Caesareae discrimina saeva Dianae fixisset gravidam cum levis hasta suem, exiluit partus miserae de vulnere matris.

Lucina ferox, hoc peperisse fuit ?

pluribus ilia mori voluisset saucia telis, 5

omnibus ut natis triste pateret iter. quis negat esse satum materno f'unere Bacchum ?

sic genitum iiumen credite : nata fera est.

XIII

ICTA gravi telo confossaque vulnere mater sus pariter vitam perdidit atque dedit.

o quam certa fuit librato dextera ferro ! hanc ego Lucinae credo fuisse manum.

experta est numen moriens utriusque Dianae, 5

quaque soluta parens quaque perempta fera est.

1 i.e. What now remains but that beasts should fly if they can be caught like birds ?

10


ON THE SPECTACLES, xi-xm

XI

WHILE on the bloody sand a bear whirled with lowered head, he lost the escape that bird-lime clogged. Let now the burnished hunting spears, their steel hidden, lie at rest, nor the lance fly hurled from projected arm ; let the hunter take his prey in the empty air, if by the fowler's art one may catch beasts. 1


XII

WHEN, amid the cruel hazards of Caesar's hunt, a light spear had pierced a pregnant sow, there sprang forth one of her offspring from the wound of its unhappy dam. O fell Lucina, was this a birth ? Yet would she, wounded by more darts than one, have welcomed death, that a sad path should open for all her brood. Who gainsays the birth of Bacchus from his mother's death ? 2 Believe ye, thus sprang a deity : thus was born a beast.


XIII

SMIT by a fatal spear, and pierced by the wound, the mother sow at once lost life and gave it. Oh, how sure was the hand with its poised steel ! this, I ween, was Lucina's hand. Dying, the beast proved the deity of either Dian of her that delivered the dam, and of her that slew the brute. 3

2 cf. v. Ixxii.

3 Diana, the huntress goddess, was also Lncina, who assisted at child-birth.

II


XIV

Sus fera iam gravior maturi pignore ventris

emisit fetum, vulnere facta parens ; nee iacuit partus, sed matre cadente cucurrit.

quantum est subitis casibus ingenium !

XV

SUMMA tuae, Meleagre, fuit quae gloria famae,

quantast Carpophori portio, fusus aper ! ille et praecipiti venabula condidit urso,

primus in Arctoi qui fuit arce poli, stravit et ignota spectandum mole leonem, 5

Herculeas potuit qui decuisse manus, et volucrem longo porrexit vulnere pardum.

praemia cum laudum ferret, adhuc poterat.

XVI

RAPTUS abit media quod ad aethera taurus harena, non fuit hoc artis sed pietatis opus.

XVlB

VEXEIIAT Europen fraterna per aequora taurus :

at nunc Alciden taurus in astra tulit. Caesaris atque lovis confer nuno, fama, iuvencos :

par onus ut tulerint, altius iste tulit.

1 There is a play here on the two meanings of "fall," to descend or to happen.

2 A celebrated beatiari-us, or hunter of wild beasts, in the Amphitheatre : cf. xxiii. and xxvii. of this Book.

" A passage hopelessly corrupt. MSS. read Pratmia cum laudem ferre adhuc poteram. Buecheler suggested Pr. cui


ON THE SPECTACLES, xiv-xvi B

XIV

A WILD sow, now full-heavy with the pledge of her quick womb, gave forth her brood, made by her wound a mother ; nor lay her offspring still-born, but, as its mother fell, it ran. Sudden chances that fall, 1 how ingenious are they !

XV

THAT which was the highest glory of thy renown, Meleager, how small a part is it of Carpophorus' - fame, a stricken boar ! He plunged his hunter's spear also in a headlong-rushing bear, the king of beasts beneath the cope of Arctic skies ; and he laid low a lion, magnificent, of bulk unknown before, one worthy of Hercules' might ; and with a far-dealt wound stretched in death a rushing pard. He won the prize of honour ; yet unbroken still was his strength. 3

XVI

A BULL, borne aloft from the Arena's midst mounts to the skies ; this was no work of art, but one of piety. 4

XVlB

A BULL carried Europa along fraternal seas 5 ; but now a bull has borne Alcides to the stars. 6 Compare now, Fame, the steers of Caesar and of Jove : let the burden be the same, yet CJaesar's bore his more high.

laudem ftrre duo poterant. ? Praemia cum laudem (or cur laudtin ?) ferrea adhnc poterat.

4 A fragment, but sometimes combined with the succeeding.

6 Jupiter, in the guise of a bull, carried off Europa over his brother Neptune's seas.

A bestiarius representing Hercules, or a figure of Her- cules, was tossed by a bull.

13


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

XVII

QUOD pius et supplex elephas te, Caesar, adorat hie modo qui tauro tarn metuendus erat,

non facit hoc iussus, nulloque docente magistro ; crede mihi, nostrum sentit et ille deum.

XVIII

LAMBERE securi dextram consueta magistri

tigris, ab Hyrcano gloria rara iugo, saeva ferum rabido laceravit dente leonem :

res nova, non ullis cognita temporibus. ausa est tale nihil, silvis dum vixit in altis : 5

postquam inter nos est, plus feritatis habet.

XIX

Qui modo per totam flammis stimulatus h'arenam

sustulerat raptas taurus in astra pilas, occubuit tandem cornuto ardore petitus,

dum facilem tolli sic elephanta putat.

XX

CUM peteret pars haec Myrinum, pars ilia Triumphum, promisit pariter Caesar utraque manu.

non potuit melius litem finire iocosam. o dulce invicti principis ingenium !

1 cf. n. xliii. 6. 14


ON THE SPECTACLES, xvu-xx

XVII

IN that, loyal and suppliant, the elephant adores thee which here but now was so fearful a foe to a bull, this it does unbidden, at the teaching of no master ; believe me, it too feels the presence of our God!

XVIII

WONT to lick the hand of its fearless master, a tigress, sprung, their unmatched glory, from Hyr- canian hills, savagely tore a fierce lion with mad- dened fang : strange was the thing, unknown in any age ! She ventured no such deed what time she dwelt in her deep woods : she is in our midst, and shows more fierceness now.


XIX

A BULL that but now, goaded by fire through the Arena's length, had seized and flung the dummies l skyward, fell at length, countered by a fiery tusk, 2 while he deemed that with like ease an elephant might be tossed.

XX

WHEN this faction called for Myrinus, that faction for Triumphus, 3 Caesar with either hand uplifted promised both. In no wise better could he end the friendly debate. O pleasant device of an uncon- quered Prince !

2 Buecheler explains flammis de cornibus ; Friedlander reads cornuto ut ab ore.

8 Probably names of popular fighters against beasts.




THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

XXI

QUIDQUID in Orpheo Rhodope spectasse theatre

dicitur, exhibuit, Caesar, harena tibi. repserunt scopuli mirandaque silva cucurrit,

quale fuisse nemus creditur Hesperidum. adfuit inmixtum pecori genus omne ferarum, 5

et supra vatem multa pependit avis, ipse sed ingrato iacuit laceratus ab urso.

haec tantum res est facta irap' la-roptav. 1

XXlB

ORPHEA quod subito tellus emisit hiatu ursam invasuram, venit ab Eurydice. 2

XXII

SOLLICITANT pavidi duni rhinocerota magistri

seque diu magnae colligit ira ferae, desperabantur promissi proelia Martis ;

sed tandem rediit cognitus ante furor, namque gravem cornu gemino sic extulit ursum, 5

iactat ut inpositas taurus in astra pilas : 3 Norica tarn certo venabula derigit ictu [XXIII

fortis adhuc teneri dextera Carpophori. ille tulit geminos facili cervice iuvencos,

illi cessit atrox bubalus atque vison : 1

hunc leo cum fugeret, praeceps in tela cucurrit.

i nunc et lentas corripe, turba, moras.

1 The MSS. read haec tamen res t<it facta ita pictoria. The text is as amended by Housman.

2 So Postgate. The MSS. text versam is amur venit is unintelligible. Ursam mersitram (Housman).

a From this point some editors begin a sep.irate epigram on the prowess of Carpophorus.

16


ON THE SPECTACLES, xxi-xxm

XXI

WHATE'ER Rhodope saw, 'tis said, on the Orphic stage, that the Arena, Caesar, has shown l to thee. Cliffs crept, and a marvellous wood sped swiftly on, one such as was in belief of men the grove of the Hesperides. Every kind of wild beast was there mingled with the flock, and above the minstrel hovered many a bird, but he fell, mangled by an ungrateful 2 bear. This thing alone was done untold by history.

XXlB

WHEREAS the earth yawned suddenly and sent forth a she-bear to attack Orpheus, the bear came from Eurydice. 3

XXII

WHILE in fear the trainers were goading a rhin- oceros, and long was the great beast's wrath gather- ing strength, all despaired of the conflict of the promised war ; yet at length the fury, known ere- while, returned. For a heavy bear he tossed with his double horn, even as a bull hurls dummies heavenward, and with as sure an aim as that where- with the stout right hand of Carpophorus, as yet young, levels the Noric hunting-spear. That beast, agile with pliant neck, stood up against (?) a pair of steers, to him yielded the fierce buffalo and bison ; a lion in flight from him ran headlong upon the spears. Go now, ye rabble, and gird at slow delays !

1 A representation of Orpheus' magic power and death.

2 Giving ill return for the sweetness of O.'s song.

3 The epigram seems to be connected with XXI., and Eurydice sends the bear because she wants Orpheus back.

17 VOL. I. C


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

XXIV

Si quis ades longis serus spectator ab oris,

cui lux prima sacri muneris ista fuit, ne te decipiat ratibus navalis Enyo

et par unda fretis, hie modo terra fuit. non credis ? specta, dum lassant aequora Martem : 5

parva mora est, dices " Hie rnodo pontus erat."

XXV

QUOD nocturna tibi, Leandre, pepercerit unda desine mirari : Caesaris unda fuit.

XXVe

CUM peteret dulces audax Leandros amores et fessus tumidis iam premeretur aquis,

sic miser instantes adfatus dicitur undas : " Parcite dum propero, mergite cum redeo."

XXVI

LUSIT Nereidum docilis chorus aequore toto,

et vario faciles ordine pinxit aquas, fuscina dente minax recto fuit, ancora curvo :

credidimus remum credidimusque ratem,

1 Either as sacred to Neptune, or as having been given by the Emperor.

2 While the sea-fight lasts.

3 Artificially admitted into the Arena.

18


ON THE SPECTACLES, XXTV-XXVI

XXIV

WHOEVER you are who come from distant shores, a late spectator, for whom this day of the sacred 1 show is your first, that this naval battle with its ships, and the waters that represent seas, may not mislead, I tell you "here but now was land." Be- lieve you not? Look on while the seas weary the God of war. 2 Wait one moment you will say " Here but now was sea."

XXV

THAT the nightly wave spared thee, Leander, cease to wonder : it was Caesar's wave. 3

XX\'B

WHILE bold Leander was swimming to his sweet love, and his weary head was now being engulphed by the swelling waters, thus in misery ('tis said) he spake to the on-surging waves : " Spare me while I hasten, o'erwhelm me when I return." 4

XXVI

A TRAINED bevy of Nereids pla} r ed along the sea, and with their varied marshalling prankt the yielding waters. 5 Threatful with straight tooth, was a trident, with curved tooth an anchor : we deemed an oar, and we deemed a bark was there, and

4 This epigram seems out of place, and, like xiv. clxxxi., to refer to a statue.

  • In a water spectacle, possibly by artificial light, in which

groups of Nereids presented somehow the picture of a boat and rowers.

T9 c 2


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

et gratum nautis sidus fulgere Laconum, 5

lataque perspicuo vela tumere sinu. quis tantas liquidis artes invenit in undis ?

aut docuit lusus hos Thetis aut didicit.

XXVII

SAECULA Carpophorum, Caesar, si prisca tulissent,

non Parthaoniam barbara terra feram, non Marathon taurum, Nemee frondosa leoneni,

Areas Maenalium lion timuisset aprum. hoc armante manus hydrae mors una fuisset, 5

huic percussa foret tota Chimaera semel. igniferos possit sine Colchide iungere tauros,

possit utramque feram vincere Pasiphaes. si sit, ut aequorei revocetur fabula monstri,

Hesionem solvet solus et Andromedan. 10

Herculeae laudis numeretur gloria : plus est

bis denas pariter perdomuisse feras.

XXVIII

AUGUSTI labor hie fuerat committere classes

et freta navali sollicitare tuba. Caesaris haec nostri pars est quota ? vidit in undis

et Thetis ignotas et Galatea feras ; vidit in aequoreo ferventes pulvere currus 5

et domini Triton isse putavit equos : dumque parat saevis ratibus fera proelia Nereus,

horruit in liquidis ire pedestris aquis.


1 Castor and Pollux, the Constellation of Gemini.

2 i.e. of the Emperor. 8 cf. Lib. Spect. xv. 2.

4 For every head of the hydra that was cut off two fresh ones grew.


ON THE SPECTACLES, xxvi-xxvm

that the Laconians' star l glittered in welcome to the seamen, and sails bellied broad for all to see. Who imagined arts so wondrous in liquid waves ? These pastimes either Thetis taught or herself she learned. 2

XXVII

IF the ages of old, Caesar, had begotten Carpo- phorus, 3 a barbarous land had not dreaded Parthaon's wild-boar, nor Marathon the bull, leafy Nemea the lion, Arcadia the Maenalian boar. When he armed his hand the hydra had died a single death, 4 all the shapes of Chimaera r> had been stricken by him once. The fire-breathing bulls he might have yoked without the Colchian's aid, 6 he might have van- quished either monster of Pasiphae. Were the story of the sea monster renewed, he alone would loose Hesione and Andromeda. Let the glories of Her- cules' honour be summed : tis more to have quelled twice ten beasts at one time.

XXVIII

IT was Augustus' work here 7 to embattle fleets, and to wake the seas with the trump of naval war. How small a part of our Caesar's task ! Thetis and Galatea both saw on the wave beasts unknown ; Triton saw on that seafloor 8 chariots in hot rivalry, and deemed his Master's 9 steeds had sped ; and Nereus, what time he set abroach fierce battle for the hostile ships, shuddered to tread a-foot amid

5 A fabulous monster, part lion, part goat, and part dragon. Of Medea.

7 In the gardens of Caesar beyond the Tiber.

  • Some commentators translate pulvis as "spray."

9 Neptune's.

21


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

quidquid et in Circo spectatur et Amphitheatre, id dives, Caesar, praestitit unda tibi. 10

Fucinus et diri taceantur stagna Neronis : . hanc norint unam saecula naumachiam.

XXIX

CUM traheret Priscus, traheret certamina Verus,

esset et aequalis Mars utriusque diu, missio saepe viris magno clamore petita est ;

sed Caesar legi paruit ipse suae : lex erat, ad digitum posita concurrere palma ; 1 5

quod licuit, lances donaque saepe dedit. inventus tamen est finis discriminis aequi :

pugnavere pares, succubuere pares, misit utrique rudes et palmas Caesar utrique :

hoc pretium virtus ingeniosa tulit. 10

contigit hoc nullo nisi te sub principe, Caesar :

cum duo pugnarent, victor uterque fuit.

XXX

CONCITA veloces fugeret cum damma Molossos

et varia lentas necteret arte moras, Caesaris ante pedes supplex similisque roganti

constitit, et praedam non tetigere canes.

1 p>ilma H, parma Wagner.

1 He found the water sinking, and he was treading on land.

22


ON THE SPECTACLES, xxvm-xxx

the liquid waters. 1 Whatever is viewed in Circus and in Amphitheatre, that have Caesar's waters, rich in sights, made sure to thee. Let not the Fucine lake 2 and the mere of dreadful Nero 3 be told of : of this sea-fight alone let the ages know !


XXIX

WHILE Priscus drew out, and Verus drew out the contest, and the prowess of both stood long in balance, oft was discharge for the men claimed with mighty shouts ; but Caesar himself obeyed his own law : that law was, when the prize was set up, to fight until the finger was raised ; what was lawful he did, oft giving dishes and gifts therein. Yet was an end found of that balanced strife : they fought well matched, matched well they together yielded. To each Caesar sent the wooden sword, 4 and rewards to each : this prize dexterous valour won. Under no prince but thee, Caesar, has this chanced : while two fought, each was victor.


XXX

WHILE a roused hind was flying from the swift Molossian hounds, and tangled the drawn-out chase by divers wiles, before Caesar's feet, suppliant and as in prayer, she stayed, and the hounds touched not

2 Where the Emperor Claudius had exhibited a sea-fight : Tac. Ann. xn. Ivi.-lvii.

3 Who had also represented a sea-fight : Suet. Nero xii. Rudis, symbolic of discharge from service.

23


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

5


haec intellecto principe dona tulit. numen habet Caesar : sacra est haec, sacra potestas ; credite : mentiri non didicere ferae.


XXXI (XXXII)

DA veniam subitis : non displicuisse meretur, festinat, Caesar, qui placuisse tibi.

XXXII (XXXI)

CEDERE maiori virtutis fama secunda est.

ilia gravis palma est, quam minor hostis habet.


XXXIII

Hoc epigramma post lihrum XI V invenies.


ON THE SPECTACLES, xxx-xxxin

their prey .... This boon she won for that she avowed her Prince ! Power divine hath Caesar : sacred, sacred is this puissance. Believe it ye : beasts have not learned to lie.


XXXI

PARDON my hurried offering. He desei'ves not to displease you, Caesar, who hastes to please you.

XXXII

To yield to the stronger is valour's second prize. Heavy l is the palm the weaker foeman wins.

1 i.e. painful to the stronger, though defeated, man.


BOOK I


M. VALERI MARTIALIS EPIGRAMMATON

LIBER PRIMUS

SPERO me secutum in libellis meis tale tempera- mentum ut de illis queri non possit quisquis de se bene senserit, cum salva infimarum quoque persona- rum reverentia ludant ; quae adeo antiquis auctoribus defuit ut nominibus non tantum veris abusi sint sed et magnis. mihi fama vilius constet et probetur in me novissimum ingenium. absit a iocorum nostrorum simplicitate malignus interpres nee epigrammata mea scribat : inprobe facit qui in alieno libro ingeniosus est. lascivam verborum veritatem, id est epigram- maton linguam, excusarem, si meum esset exemplum : sic scribit Catullus, sic Marsus, sic Pedo, sic Gaetu- licus, sic quicumque perlegitur. si quis tamen tarn ambitiose tristis est ut apud ilium in nulla pagina Latine loqui fas sit, potest epistula vel potius titulo contentus esse. epigrammata illis scribuntur qui

28


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL


BOOK I

I TRUST that I have followed in my little books such a mean that none who forms a right judgment of himself can complain of them, inasmuch as their sprightliness does not violate that respect for persons even of the lowest degree which was so little shown by ancient authors that they maltreated the names, not merely of real persons, but even of great ones. May my fame be bought at lesser cost, and the last thing to be approved in me be cleverness. May the frankness of my jests find no malicious inter- preter, and no such man rewrite my epigrams : it is a shameless business when anyone exercises his ingenuity on another man's book. For the undis- guised freedom of my expressions, that is to say, the language of epigram, I would apologise, if mine were the example set : in this style writes Catullus, in this style Marsus, in this style Pedo, in this style Gaetulicus, in this style every one who is read through. Yet, if there be any man so pre- tentiously prudish that to his mind in no page is it permissible to speak plain Latin, he may content himself with the introductory epistle, or rather with the title. Epigrams are written for those who are

29


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

solent spectare Florales. non intret Cato theatrum ineuni aut, si intraverit, spectet. videor mihi meo iure facturus si epistulam versibus clusero :

Nosses iocosae dulce cum sacrum Florae festosque lusus et licentiam volgi, cur in theatrum, Cato severe, venisti ? an ideo tantum veneras, ut exires ?

I

Hie est quern legis ille, quern requiris,

toto notus in orbe Martialis

argutis epigrammaton libellis :

cui, lector studiose, quod dedisti

viventi decus atque sentienti 5

rari post cineres habent poetae.

II

Qui tecum cupis esse meos ubicumque libellos

et comites longae quaeris habere viae, hos erne, quos artat brevibus membrana tabellis :

scrinia da magnis, me manus una capit. ne tamen ignores ubi sim venalis et erres 5

urbe vagus tota, me duce certus eris : libertum docti Lucensis quaere Secundum

limina post Pacis Palladiumque forum.

1 The reference is to a story told in Valer. Max. n, x. 8, to the effect that at the Floralia in B.C. 55 Cato left the theatre on finding that his presence checked the licence of the actors.

3


BOOK I. i-n

accustomed to look on the Games of Flora. Let no Cato l enter my theatre, or if he enters, let him look on.

I think I may justifiably close my epistle in verse :

You knew the rites to jocund Flora dear, The festive quips and licence of the rout ;

Why on our scene, stern Cato, enter here ? Did you then enter only to go out ?

I

HERE is he whom you read, he whom you ask for, Martial, known throughout the whole world for his witty little books of Epigrams. To him, studious reader, while he lives and feels, you have given the glory that poets win but rarely after they are dust.

II

You, who wish my poems should be everywhere with you, and look to have them as companions on a long journey, buy these which the parchment confines in small pages. Assign your book-boxes to the great; this copy of me one hand can grasp. Yet, that you may not fail to know where I am for sale, or wander aimlessly all over the town, if you accept my guidance you will be sure. Seek out Secundus, the freedman of learned Lucensis, behind the en- trance to the temple of Peace and the Forum of Pallas. 2

1 The Temple of Peace was dedicated by Vespasian in A.D. 75 after his triumph for the capture of Jerusalem. The Forum of Pallas was the Forum of Nerva, or transitorium, begun by Domitian and completed by Nerva. It contained a temple to Minerva.

3'


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

III

ARGILETANAS mavis habitare tabernas,

cum tibi, parve liber, scrinia nostra vacent ? nescis, heu, nescis dominae fastidia Romae :

crede mihi, nimium Martia turba sapit. maiores nusquam rhonchi : iuvenesque senesque 5

et pueri nasum rhinocerotis habent. audieris cum grand e sophos, dum basia iactas,

ibis ab excusso missus in astra sago, sed tu ne totiens domini patiare lituras

neve notet lusus tristis harundo tuos, 10

aetherias, lascive, cupis volitare per auras.

i, fuge ! sed poteras tutior esse domi.


IV

CONTIGERIS nostros, Caesar, si forte libellos,

terrarum dominum pone supercilium. consuevere iocos vestri quoque ferre triumphi,

materiam dictis nee pudet esse ducem. qua Thymelen spectas derisoremque Latinum,

ilia fronte precor carmina nostra legas. innocuos censura potest permittere lusus :

lasciva est nobis pagina, vita proba.


Do tibi naumachiam, tu das epigrammata nobis : vis, puto, cum libro, Marce, natare tuo.

1 Varro. Ling. Lat. v. 157, derives the word from argilla, "clay"; Virgil, Aen. viii. 346, explains, letum docet hovpitis A rqi.

2 It was customary for Roman soldiers, following a triumph,

32


BOOK I. IH-V

III

WOULD you rather dwell in the shops of the Potters' Field 1 although, small volume, my book- case stands empty for you ? You don't know, alas, you don't know the superciliousness of Mistress Rome ; believe me, the crowd of Mars is too clever for you. Nowhere are heard louder sneers ; young men and old, even boys, have noses tilted like a rhinoceros. When you have heard a deep "Bravo," while you are throwing kisses, up you will go, shot heavenward from a jerked blanket. But you, to avoid your master's constant erasures, and the scoring of your playfulness by his critical pen, are eager, wanton one, to flit through the airs of heaven. Go ! fly ! yet you might have been safer at home.

IV

IF perchance, Caesar, you shall come upon my books, lay aside the frown that rules the world. Your triumphs too have been wont to endure jests, and no shame is it to a commander to be matter for wit. 2 With the air that views Thymele and the mime Latinus, therewith I pray you to read my verses. A censor 3 can permit harmless trifling : wanton is my page ; my life is good.

V

I OFFER you a sea-fight : you offer me epigrams. You wish, I think, Marcus, to swim along with your book. 4

to indulge in scurrile jests against their general. This was <lone possibly to avert the evil eye. See vn. viii. 7.

3 Domitian became censor for life A.D. 85.

4 The Emperor will throw it into the water. For a similar idea cf. ix. Iviii. 8.

33


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

VI

AETHERIAS aquila puerum portante per auras inlaesum timidis unguibus haesit onus :

mine sua Caesareos exorat praeda leones, tutus et ingenti ludit in ore lepus.

quae maiora put-as miracula ? summus utrisque 5 auctor adest : haec sunt Caesaris, ilia lovis.

VII

STEI.LAE delicium mei columba,

Verona licet audiente dicam,

vicit, Maxime, passerem Catulli.

tanto Stella meus tuo Catullo

quanto passere maior est columba. 5

VIII

QUOD magni Thraseae consummatique Catonis dogmata sic sequeris salvos ut esse velis,

pectore nee nudo strictos incurris in ensis, quod fecisse velim te, Deciane, facis.

nolo virum facili redemit qui sanguine famani ; 5 hunc volo, laudari qui sine morte potest.

IX

BEI.LUS homo et mngnus vis idem, Cotta, videri : sed qui bellus homo est, Cotta, pusillus homo est.

1 Ganymede, the cupbearer of Jove.

1 Stella (see Index) had written a poem on a dove : the word delicium may be a quotation.

34


BOOK I. vi-iv

VI

WHILE the eagle was bearing the boy 1 through the airs of heaven, its burden clung unscathed to those timorous talons : now their natural prey bewitches Caesar's lions, and safely the hare gambols in their monstrous jaws. Which think you the greater miracle ? To each belongs a supreme Cause : this is Caesar's miracle, that Jove's.

VII

MY Stella's "Dove," that "pretty pet," 2 (I must say it, though Verona hear me !) has surpassed, Maximus, the "Sparrow " of Catullus. 3 So much is my Stella greater than your Catullus as a dove is greater than a sparrow.

VIII

IN that you follow the maxims of great Thrasea and of Cato the perfect, and yet are willing to live, and rush not with unarmed breast upon drawn swords, you do, Decianus, what I would have you do. No hero to me is the man who, by easy shed- ding of his blood, purchases his fame ; my hero is he who, without death, can win praise.

IX

A PRETTY 4 fellow you wish to appear, and yet, Cotta, a great man. But a pretty fellow, Cotta, is a puny fellow.

3 Cat. ii. and iii. Catullus was born at Verona.

4 For bcllus cf, n. vii.; in. Ixiii.

35 i) 2


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

X

PETIT Gemellus nuptias Maronillae et cupit et instat et precatur et donat. adeone pulchra est ? immo foedius nil est. quid ergo in ilia petitur et placet ? tussit.

XI

CUM data sint equiti bis quina nomismata, quare

bis decies solus, Sextiliane, bibis ? iam defecisset portantis calda ministros,

si non potares, Sextiliane, merum.

XII

ITUR ad Herculeas gelidi qua Tiburis ai-ces

canaque sulpureis Albula fumat aquis, rura nemusque sacrum dilectaque iugera Musis

signat vicina quartus ab urbe lapis, hie rudis aestivas praestabat porticus umbras, 5

lieu quam paene novum porticus ausa nefas ! nam subito conlapsa ruit, cum mole sub ilia

gestatus biiugis Regulus esset equis. nimirum timuit nostras Fortuna querellas,

quae par tarn magnae non erat invidiae. 10

nunc et damna iuvant ; sunt ipsa pericula tanti :

stantia non poterant tecta probare deos.


BOOK I. x-xn

X

GEMELLUS seeks wedlock with Maronilla ; he de- sires it, he urges her, he implores her, and sends her gifts. Is she so beautiful? Nay, no creature is more disgusting. What then is the bait and charm in her? Her cough.

XI

WHILE twice five wine-tokens 1 are a knight's allowance, why do you, Sextilianus, all to yourself take twice ten drinks ? By this time the warm water would have failed the attendants who bring it, were it not, Sextilianus, that you drank your wine un- mixed.

XII

WHERE runs the road to the heights of cool Tibur, sacred to Hercules, and milky-hued Albula steams with its sulphurous waters, the fourth milestone from the neighbouring city marks a farm and sacred grove, acres dear to the Muses. Here a rustic- portico secured a summer shade ; alas, how did that portico all but dare a crime unheard of ! For sud- denly it fell in ruin when, under that mighty mass, Regulus had but now driven in his two-horse carriage. Assuredly Fortune was fearful of our plaints ; she could not brave odium so great. Now even losses please ; dangers themselves bring repay- ment : a standing roof could not witness to the Gods.

1 Tesserae vinariae entitling to an allowance of wine at a show : ef. i. xxvi. 3.

37


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

XIII

CASTA suo gladium cum traderet Arria Paeto, quem de visceribus strinxerat ipsa suis,

" Si qua fides, vulnus quod feci non dolet ; " inquit " sed tu quod facies, hoc mihi, Paete, dolet."

XIV

DELICIAS, Caesar, lususque iocosque leonum vidimus (hoc etiam praestat harena tibi)

cum prensus blando totiens a dente rediret et per aperta vagus curreret ora lepus.

unde potest avidus captae leo parcere praedae ? 5 sed tamen esse tuus dicitur : ergo potest.

XV

O MIHI post nullos, luli, memorande sodales,

si quid longa fides canaque iura valent, bis iam paene tibi consul tricensimus instat,

et numerat paucos vix tua vita dies, non bene distuleris, videas quae posse negari, 5

et solum hoc ducas, quod fuit, esse tuuni. exspectant curaeque catenatique labores ;

gaudia non remanent, sed fugitiva volant, haec utraque manu conplexuque adsei'e toto :

saepe fluunt imo sic quoque lapsa sinu. 10

non est, crede mihi, sapientis dicere " Vivam " ;

sera nimis vita est crastina : vive hodie.

38


BOOK I. xii i-xv

XIII

WHEN chaste Arria was offering to her Paetus that sword which with her own hand she had drawn from out her breast : " If thou believest me," she said, " the wound I have inflicted has no smart ; but the wound thou shalt inflict this for me, Paetus, lias the smart."

XIV

THE tricks, Caesar, the play and pranks of the lions we have seen this tribute, too, the Arena pays thee when the hare was seized, and yet so oft was let loose from the fondling fangs, and ran here and there through the open jaws. Whence inspired can a ravaging lion spare his captured prey ? But he is called thine ; therefore can he spare.

XV

JULIUS, O thou who art to be named second to none of my comrades, if long-continued faith and ancient claims are worth aught, already thy sixtieth consul's year is well-nigh treading on thy heels, yet thy life scarce numbers a few days. Not well shalt thou put off what thou seest may be denied ; and count that only which has been as thine own. Cares and linked l toils await us ; joys abide not, but fugitive they fly. Grasp these with both thy hands, and hold them in thy full embrace ; oft they glide away, even so, slipping out of the inmost bosom. It sorts not, believe me, with wisdom to say "I shall live." Too late is to-morrow's life; live thou to-day. 1 But Friedlamler explains labores quales #unt catenatorum.

39


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

XVI

SUNT bona, sunt quaedam mediocria, sunt mala plura quae legis hie. aliter non fit, Avite, liber.


XVII

COGIT me Titus actitare causas

et dicit mihi saepe " Magna res est."

res magna est, Tite, quam facit colonus.


XVIII

QUID te, Tucca, iuvat vetulo miscere Falerno

in Vaticanis condita musta cadis ? quid tantum fecere boni tibi pessima vina ?

aut quid fecerunt optima vina mali ? de nobis facile est : scelus est iugulare Falernum 5

et dare Campano toxica saeva mero. convivae meruere tui fortasse perire :

amphora non meruit tarn pretiosa mori.

XIX

Si meminij fuerant tibi quattuor, Aelia, denies :

expulit una duos tussis et una duos, iam secura potes totis tussire diebus :

nil istic quod agat tertia tussis habet.

1 Possibly the meaning is : it needs a good farmer to make a good thing of a farm, and a good advocate which I am

40


BOOK I. xvi-xix

XVI

THERE are good things, there are some indifferent, there are more things bad that you read here. Not otherwise, Avitus, is a book produced.


XVII

TITUS urges me to plead causes, and often says to me: "There is fine profit." But the "fine profit" of a farm, Titus, is the work of the farmer. 1

XVIII

WHY do you choose, Tucca, to mix with old Faler nian the must stored in Vatican casks ? 2 What is this great benefit the vilest wines have bestowed on you, or what harm have the best wines caused you ? As to us, 'tis no matter ; it is a crime to murder Falernian, to apply to Campanian wine deadly poison. Your guests perhaps have deserved ex- tinction : a jar so priceless did not deserve to die.


XIX

IF I remember right, you had, Aelia, four teeth : one fit of coughing shot out two, and another two more. Now in peace you can cough all day : a third fit has nothing left there to discharge.

not to make a fortune by advocacy. Friedlauder suggests that M. hints that the gift of a farm would suit him Better than advice.

2 Vatican wine was very inferior : cf. vi. xcii.

41


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

XX

Die mihi, quis furor est ? turba spectante vocata

solus boletos, Caeciliane, voras. quid dignum tanto tibi ventre gulaque precabor ?

boletum qualem Claudius edit, edas.


XXI

CUM peteret regem decepta satellite dextra

ingessit sacris se peritura focis. sed tarn saeva pius miracula 11011 tulit hostis

et raptum flammis iussit abire virum : urere quam potuit contempto Mucius igne, 5

hanc spectare manum Porsena non potuit. maior deceptae fama est et gloria dextrae :

si non errasset, fecerat ilia minus.

XXII

QUID non ' saeva fugis placidi, lepus, ora leonis ~' frangere tarn parvas non didicere feras.

servantur magnis isti cervicibus ungues nee gaudet tenui sanguine tanta sitis.

praeda canum lepus est, vastos non implet hiatus : 5 non timeat Dacus Caesaris arma puer.

1 non Dousa, mine codd.


1 The Emperor Claudius was poisoned by a mushroom : cf. Juv. v. 147, where Juvenal probably had this passage in his mind.

42


BOOK I. xx-xxii

XX

TELL me, what madness is this ? While the throng of invited guests looks on, you, Caecilianus, alone devour the mushrooms ! What prayer shall I make suitable to such a belly and gorge ? May you eat such a mushroom as Claudius 1 ate !


XXI

THE right hand which, aimed at the king, was cheated by an attendant,' 2 laid itself, doomed to perish, upon the sacred hearth. But a prodigy so cruel the kindly foe could not brook, and he bade the warrior go rescued from the flame. The hand which, scorning the fire, Mucius, endured to burn, Porsena could not endure to behold. Greater, because it was cheated, is the fame and glory of that right hand ; had it not erred, it had achieved less.


XXII

WHY fliest thou, hare, the lion's jaws unstirred to rage ? They have not learned to crunch beasts so small. Those talons are kept for mighty necks ; thirst so great delights not in a draught of blood so meagre. The hare is the prey of dogs, it fills not vasty mouths ; a Dacian boy would not dread Caesar's arms.

2 Mucius Scaevola mistook an attendant for Porsena, the king of Etruria. The story had no doubt been enacted in the theatre. . rf. vm. xxx. on the same subject.

43


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

XXIII

INVITAS nullum nisi cum quo, Cotta, lavaris et dant convivam balnea sola tibi.

mirabar quare numquam me, Cotta, vocasses : iam scio me nudum displicuisse tibi.

XXIV

ASPICIS incomptis ilium, Deciane, capillis, cuius et ipse times triste supercilium,

qui loquitur Curios adsertoresque Camillos ? nolito fronti credere : nupsit heri.

XXV

EDE tuos tandem populo, Faustine, libellos

et cultum docto pectore profer opus, quod nee Cecropiae damnent Pandionis arces

nee sileant nostri praetereantque senes. ante fores stantem dubitas admittere Famam

teque piget curae praemia ferre tuae ? post te victurae per te quoque vivere chartae

incipiant : cineri gloria sera venit.

XXVI

SEXTILIANE, bibis quantum subsellia quinque solus : aqua totiens ebrius esse potes ;

nee consessorum vicina nomismata tantum, aera sed a cuneis ulteriora petis.


44


BOOK I. xxin-xxvi

XXIII

You invite no man to dinner, Cotta, but your bath-companion ; the baths alone provide you with a guest. I was wondering why you had never asked me ; now I understand that when naked I displeased you.

XXIV

You see that fellow with unkempt hair, Decianus, whose gloomy scowl you too fear, who prates of the Curii, and of the Camilli, champions of liberty ? Don't credit his appearance ; he was a bride yesterday.

XXV

GIVE at length to the people, Faustinus, your books, and send forth a work, polished by your learned skill, which Pandion's Cecropian heights would not condemn, 1 nor our sages dismiss in silence and pass by. Do you hesitate to admit Fame that stands before your doors, and shrink from winning the reward of your care ? Let writings that will live after you by your aid also begin to live now ; to the ashes of the dead glory comes too late.

XXVI

SEXTILIANUS, you drink as much as five rows of benches to your own share ; drinking water so often could make you drunk. It is not only the tokens of those who sit near you, but you ask for the bronze tickets from those in remoter blocks. This vintage 1 i.e. which the Athenians would not despise.

45


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

non haec Paelignis agitur vindemia prelis 5

uva nee in Tuscis nascitur ista iugis, .testa seel antiqui felix siccatur Opimi,

egerit et nigros Massica cella cados. a copone tibi faex Laletana petatur,

si plus quam decies, Sextiliane, bibis. 10

XX VII

HESTERNA tibi nocte dixeramus,

quincunces puto post decera peractos,

cenares hodie, Procille, mecum.

tu f'actam tibi rem statim putasti

et non sobria verba subnotasti 5

exemplo nimium periculoso.

/xicroJ fjLvu.fj.ova crvyujroTav, Procille.

XXVIII

HESTERNO fetere mere qui credit Acerram, fallitur. in lucem semper Acerra bibit.

XXIX

FAMA refert nostros te, Fideutine, libellos

non aliter populo quam recitare tuos. si mea vis dici, gratis tibi carmina mittam :

si dici tua vis, hoc erne, ne mea shit.

XXX

CHIRURGUS fuerat, mine est vispillo Diaulus. coepit quo poterat clinicus esse modo.

1 Consul B.C. 121, a famous year for wine. Massic was also a choice vintage ; the others mentioned were poor.

46


BOOK I. xxvi-xxx

is not pressed in Pelignian wine-presses ; nor is that grape of yours born on Tuscan hills ; nay, a choice jar of ancient Opimius l is drained ; 'tis a Massic store-room sends forth its smoked jars. Get from the taverner dregs of Laletanian if you take more than ten drinks, Sextilianus.

XXVII

LAST night I said to you (I think it was after I had got through ten half- pints) : " Dine with me to- day, Procillus." You at once thought the matter settled for you, and took secret note of my unsober remark a precedent too dangerous ! " I hate a messmate with a memory," Procillus.

XXVIII

HE who fancies that Acerra reeks of yesterday's wine is wrong. Acerra always drinks till daylight.

XXIX

RUMOUR assei-ts, Fidentinus, that you recite my works to the crowd, just as if they were your own. If you wish they should be called mine, I will send you the poems gratis ; if you wish them to be called yours, buy my disclaimer 2 of them.

XXX

DIAUL.US has been a doctor, he is now an under- taker. He begins to put his patients to bed in his old effective way.

2 cf. I. Ixvi. 13.

47


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

XXXI

Hos tibi, Phoebe, vovet totos a vertice crines

Encolpos, domini centurionis amor, grata Pudens meriti tulerit cum praemia pili.

quam primum longas, Phoebe, recide comas, dum nulla teneri sordent lanugine voltus

dumque decent fusae lactea colla iubae ; utque tuis longum dominusque puerque fruantur

muneribus, tonsum fac cito, sero virum.

XXXII

NON amo te, Sabidi, nee possum dicere quare : hoc tantum possum dicere, non amo te.

XXXIII

AMISSUM non flet cum sola est Gellia patrem, si quis adest, iussae prosiliunt lacrimae.

non luget quisquis laudari, Gellia, quaerit : ille dolet vere qui sine teste dolet.

XXXIV

INCUSTODITIS et apertis, Lesbia, semper liminibus peccas nee tua furta tegis,

et plus spectator quam te delectat adulter nee sunt grata tibi gaudia si qua latent.

at meretrix abigit testem veloque seraque raraque Summoeni l fornice rima patet. 1 submemmi codd.

48


BOOK I. xxxi-xxxiv

XXXI

THESE, all the tresses from his head, Encolpos, the darling of his master the centurion, vows, Phoebus, to thee, when Pudens shall bring home the glad guerdon of his merit, a chief centurion's rank. 1 Sever, Phoebus, with all speed these long locks while his soft cheeks are darkened not with any down, and while tumbled curls grace his milk- white neck ; and, so that both master and boy may long enjoy thy gifts, make him soon shorn, but a man late !

XXXII

I DO not love you, Sabidius ; and I can't say why. This only I can say : I do not love you.


XXXIII

GELI.IA weeps not while she is alone for her lost lather ; if any one be present, her tears leap forth at her bidding. He does not lament who looks, Gellia, for praise ; he truly sorrows who sorrows unseen.

XXXIV

IT is always with doors unguarded and open, Lesbia, you offend, nor do you conceal your intrigues ; and it is the spectator more than the adulterer that pleases you ; no joys are grateful to you if they are hidden. But a harlot repels a witness both by curtain and bolt, and rarely a chink gapes in the

1 cf. v. xlviii. , where the vow was fulfilled.

49

VOL. I, E


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

a Chione saltern vel ab lade disce pudorem : abscondunt spurcas et monumenta lupas.

numquid dura tibi nimium censura videtur ?

deprendi veto te, Lesbia, non futui. 10

XXXV

VERSUS scribere me parum severos

nee quos praelegat in schola magister,

Corneli, quereris : sed hi libelli,

tamquam coniugibus suis mariti,

non possunt sine mentula placere. 5

quid si me iubeas thalassionem

verbis dicere non thalassionis ?

quis Floralia vestit et stolatum

permittit meretricibus pudorem ?

lex haec carminibus data est iocosis, 10

ne possiiit, nisi pruriant, iuvare.

quare deposita severitate

parcas lusibus et iocis rogamus,

nee castrare velis meos libellos.

Gallo turpius est nihil Priapo. 15

XXXVI

Si, Lucane, tibi vel si tibi, Tulle, darentur

qualia Ledaei fata Lacones habent, nobilis haec esset pietatis rixa duobus,

quod pro fratre mori vellet uterque prior, diceret infernas et qui prior isset ad umbras : 5

" Vive tuo, frater, tempore, vive meo."


1 Summoenium was the name of a street or quarter in a low neighbourhood, and the resort of prostitutes.

2 A reminiscence of Cat. xvi. 7-8.

5


BOOK I. xxxiv-xxxvi

archway under the walls. 1 From Chione at least, or from las learn modesty : for dirty drabs even tombs are hiding-places. Does my censure appear to you too hard ? I forbid you, Lesbia, to be caught, not to be a strumpet.

XXXV

THAT I write verses little squeamish, and not such as a schoolmaster would dictate in school, is your complaint, Cornelius ; but these poems cannot please, any more than husbands can please their wives, without amorousness. What if you bade me indite a marriage song not in the words of a marriage song ? Who brings garments into Flora's festival, and permits prostitutes the modesty of the stole ? This is the rule assigned to jocular poems, to be unable to please unless they are prurient. 2 Where- fore lay aside your squeamishness, and spare my pleasantries and my jokes, I beg you, and do not seek to castrate my poems. Than a Priapus as Cybele's priest 8 nothing is more disgusting.

XXXVI

IF, Lucanus, to thee, or if to thee, Tullus, were given the fate of Leda's Spartan sons, 4 now would there be proud rivalry of love betwixt you twain, for each would wish to be the first to die for his brother ; and he who first had passed to the nether shades would say : " Live, brother, thy own share of life, and live thou mine ! "

3 The priests of Cybele were eunuchs.

4 Castor and Pollux, who divided alternately between them life in the shades and in heaven.

5 1 E 2


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

XXXVII

VENTRIS onus misero, nee te pudet, excipis auro, Basse, bibis vitro, carius ergo cacas.

XXXVIII

QUEM recitas meus est, o Fidentine, libellus : sed male cum recitas, incipit esse tuus.

XXXIX

Si quis erit raros inter mnnerandus amicos,

quales prisca fides famaque novit anus, si quis Cecropiae madidus Latiaeque Minervae

artibus et vera simplicitate bonus, si quis erit recti custos, mirator honesti

et nihil arcano qui roget ore deos, si quis erit magnae subnixus robore mentis :

dispeream si non hie Decianus erit.

XL

Qui ducis vultus et non legis ista libenter, omnibus invideas, livide, nemo tibi.

XLI

URBANUS tibi, Caecili, videris. non es, crede mihi. quid ergo ? verna, hoc quod Transtiberinus ambulator, qui pallentia sulpurata fractis

5 2


BOOK I. XXXVII-XLI

XXXVII

YOUR bowels' load and you are not ashamed you receive in a golden vessel unhappy urn ! Bassus, you drink out of crystal ; therefore your evacuations are the more costly.

XXXVIII

THAT book you recite, O Fidentinus, is mine. But your vile recitation begins to make it your OAVH.

XXXIX

IF any shall be found to be counted among rare friends, such as old-time loyalty and aged fame knows; if any shall be found steeped in the accom- plishments of Attic and Latin learning, and good with a true singleness of heart ; if any shall be found the guardian of right, admirer of honour, and not such as will sue the Gods for anything under his breath ; if any shall be found pillared on the strength of a great mind may I perish if Decianus will not be he !

XL

You who make faces, and grudgingly read that eulogy above, may you envy all men, you jaundiced fellow, no man envy you !

XLI

A WIT, Caecilius, you fancy yourself. You are none, believe me. What then ? A buffoon. You are just like the tramping hawker from beyond the Tiber who exchanges pale sulphur matches for


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

permutat vitreis, quod otiosae 5

vendit qui madid um cicer coronae,

quod custos dominusque viperarum,

quod viles pueri salariorum,

quod fumantia qui tomacla raucus

circumfert tepidis cocus popinis, 10

quod non optimus urbicus poeta,

quod de Gadibus inprobus magister,

quod bucca est vetuli dicax cinaedi.

quare desine iam tibi videri,

quod soli tibi, Caecili, videris, 15

qui Gabbam salibus tuis et ipsum

posses vincere Tettium Caballum.

non cuicumque datum est habere nasuni :

ludit qui stolida procacitate,

non est Tettius ille, sed caballus. 20

XLII

CONIUGIS audisset fatum cum Porcia Bruti et subtracta sibi quaereret arma dolor,

' Nondum scitis " ait " mortem non posse negari ? credideram fatis hoc docuisse patrem."

dixit et ardentis avido bibit ore favillas. 5

i mine et ferrum, turba molesta, nega.

XLI1I

Bts tibi triceni fuimus, Mancine, vocati

et positum est nobis nil here praeter aprum,

non quae de tardis servantur vitibus uvae dulcibus aut certant quae melimela favis,


A street improvisatore : Friedlander.

A court-fool of Augustus: cf. x. ci.: Juv. xi. 162. So


54


BOOK I. XLI-XLIII

broken glass ; like him, who sells to the idle ring warm pease-pudding ; like the keeper and owner of vipers ; like the cheap slaves of the saltsellers ; like the pieman, who bawls as he carries round in his warm pans smoking sausages ; like a second-rate street poet l ; like the lewd dance-master from Gades ; like the chaps of an old foul-mouthed de- bauchee. Wherefore cease to fancy yourself to be what you alone, Caecilius, fancy yourself, one who could surpass in wit Gabba, 2 and even Tettius Caballus himself. Not to everyone is given a critic's nose. He who jests with a pointless impudence, is no Tettius, but a dull hack.


XLII

WHEN Porcia had learned the fate of her husband Brutus, 3 and grief looked for the weapons that had been stolen from it, "Know ye not yet," she said, " that death cannot be denied ? I had be- lieved my sire by his fate had taught you this ! " She spake, and with greedy throat drank down the glowing embers. Go to now ! officious throng : deny the steel !

XLIIl

TWICE thirty were we, Mancinus, your invited guests, and nothing was served us last night but a boar. There were no grapes such as are left to hang late upon the vine, nor honey-apples that vie

too, probably, was Caballus, a word which also means " horse," on which M. plays. s The assassin of Julius Caesar.

55


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

noil pira quae longa pendent religata genesta J

aut imitata brevis Punica grana rosas, rustica lactantis nee misit Sassina metas

nee de Picenis venit oliva cadis, nudus aper, sed et hie minimus qualisque necari

a non armato pumilione potest. 10

et nihil inde datum est ; tantum spectavinufl omnes :

ponere aprum nobis sic et harena solet. ponatur tibi nullus aper post talia facta,

sed tu ponaris cui Charidemus apro.

XLIV

LASCIVOS leporum cursus lususque leonum quod maior nobis charta minorque geiit

et bis idem facimus, nimium si, Stella, videtur hoc tibi, bis leporem tu quoque pone mihi.

XLV

EDITA ne brevibus pereat mihi cura libellis, dicatur potius Tov 8' a7ra/Aiy3o/xevos.

XLVI

CUM dicis " Propero, fac si facis," Hedyle, languet

protinus et cessat debilitata Venus, expectare iube : velocius ibo retentus.

Hedyle, si properas, die mihi, ne properem.

1 Some criminal who had been exposed to a wild boar in the Arena.

2 Perhaps the single sheets on which some epigrams wire

56


BOOK I. XLIH-XLVI

with luscious combs ; nor pears that hang tied with the pliant broom ; nor pomegranates that copy the transient roses. Rural Sassina sent no cones of cheese ; there came no olive from Picenian jars. A boar, and nothing else ! and this too a tiny one, and such as could be slaughtered by an unarmed dwarf. And nothing after that was provided : all of us merely looked on. Even the Arena serves us up a boar in this style ! May no boar be served up to you after such behaviour, but may you be served up to the same boar as Charidemus ! l

XLIV

BECAUSE a larger and a lesser page 2 of mine pre- sents the airy gambols of hares, and the lions' play, and twice I do the same thing if this seem to you excessive, Stella, do you in turn serve up to me twice a dish of hare !

XLV

THAT my labour be not lost because published in tiny volumes, rather let there be added rw 8' dira- fj.tif36p.evos. 3

XLV1

WHEN thou sayest " I haste ; now is the time," then, Hedylus, my ardour at once flags and weakens. Bid me wait : more quickly, stayed, shall I speed on. Hedylus, if thou dost haste, tell me not to haste !

circulated before publication. Thus i. vi. and xxii. would take " a lesser," i. civ. " a larger," page.

3 i.e. if the public won't buy a small book, I must stuff it out with repetitions. The Greek words occur many hundreds of times in Homer,

57


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

XLVII

NUPER erat medieus, nunc est vispillo Diaulus : quod vispillo facit, fecerat et medieus.

XLVIII

RICTIBUS his tauros non eripuere magistri,

per quos praeda fugax itque reditque lepus ; quodque magis minim, velocior exit ab hoste

nee nihil a tanta nobilitate refert. tutior in sola non est cum currit harena, 5

nee caveae tanta conditur ille fide, si vitare caiium morsus, lepus-inprobe, quaeris,

ad quae confugias ora leonis habes.

XLIX

VIK Celtiberis non tacende gentibus

nostraeque laus Hispaniae, videbis altam, Liciniane, Bilbilin,

equis et armis nobilem, senemque Caium 1 nivibus, et fractis 2 sacrum 5

Vadaveronem montibus, et delicati dulce Boterdi nemus,

Pomona quod felix amat. tepidi natabis lene Congedi vadum

mollesque Nympharum lacus, 10

quibus remissum corpus adstringes brevi

Salone, qui ferrum gelat. praestabit illic ipsa figendas prope

Vobesca prandenti feras. aestus serenos aureo franges Tago 15

obscurus umbris arborum ;

1 Caium Vossius, calrum ft, catum y.

2 effractis codd.


BOOK I. XLVII-XLIX

XLVII

LATELY was Diaulus a doctor, now he is an under- taker. What the undertaker now does the doctor too did before.

XLVIII

THE trainers have not torn bulls from these yawn- ing mouths wherethrough, a nimble prey, the hare comes and goes, and greater marvel yet ! issues out of the foe's jaws more agile than before ; some spirit from a beast so noble he wins. No safer is he while he speeds along the lonely sand, nor is he in such ward when shut in a cage. If thou wouldst shun, impudent hare, the bite of dogs, thou hast thy refuge, the lion's mouth.

XLIX

You, a man worthy to be acclaimed by Celtiberian tribes, and the glory of our Spain, you, Licinianus, will see high-set Bilbilis, renowned for steeds and armour, and Caius x with its aged snows, and sacred Vadavero on the rugged hills, and the pleasant grove of delightful Boterdus which blest Pomona loves. You will swim in the smooth shal- lows of tepid Congedus, and the mild lake of the Nymphs, and brace your limbs, by them relaxed, in shallow Salo that chills iron. There shall Vobesca's self provide her own wild beasts to be speared near by even while you lunch. The cloud- less heat you, by boughs o'ershadowed, will assuage in golden Tagus' stream ; your eager thirst icy Der-

1 Some peak in the Pyrenees.

59


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

avidam rigens Dercenna placabit sitim

et Nutha, quae vincit nives. at cum December canus et bruma impotens

Aquilone rauco mugiet, 20

aprica repetes Tarraconis litora

tuamque Laletaniam. ibi inligatas mollibus dammas plagis

mactabis et vernas apros leporemque forti callidum runipes equo, 25

cervos relinques vilico. vicina in ipsum silva descendet focum

infante cinctum sordido ; vocabitur venator et veniet tibi

con viva clamatus prope ; 30

lunata nusquam pellis et nusquam toga

olidaeque vestes murice ; procul horridus Liburnus et querulus cliens,

imperia viduarum procul ; non rumpet altum pallidus somnum reus, 35

sed mane totum dormies. mereatur alius grande et insanum sophos :

miserere tu felicium veroque fruere non superbus gaudio,

duin Sura laudattir tuus. 40

non inpudenter vita quod relicum est petit,

cum fama quod satis est habet.


L

Si tibi Mistyllos cocus, Aemiliane, vocatur. dicatur quare non Taratalla mihi ?

1 As an advocate : see Index. 60


BOOK I. xi.ix-i,

cenna will allay, and Nutha colder than the snows. But when hoar December and wild winter shall moan with the hoarse northern blast, you will repair to Tarraco's sunny shores and your own Laletania. There will you slay does enmeshed in yielding toils, and home-bred boars, and with your stout steed ride down the cunning hare, to your bailiff resign the stags. To your very hearth, ringed with un- kempt boy-slaves, shall come down the neighbouring- wood ; the hunter will be invited, and he will come as your guest when you shout for him hard by; nowhere will be seen the crescent shoe, nowhere the toga, and clothes smelling strong of purple dye ; far off will be the odious Liburnian messenger, and querulous client ; the haughty commands of widows will be far off; your deep slumber the pale defendant will not break, but all through the morning will you dream. Let another win the loud and frantic " bravo " ; do you pity the " fortunate," and without pride enjoy true happiness, while your Sura earns applause. 1 Not presumptuously doth life seek what remains to it when fame hath its sufficiency.


IF your cook, Aemilianus, is called Mistyllus, 2 why should not Taratalla be the name for mine ?


1 From recollection of the Homeric line, Mtffrv\\6v r' \\a /cot au<' b$t\o'iffiv Hirfiuv.


61


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

LI

NON facit ad saevos cervix, nisi prima, leones.

quid fugis hos denies, ambitiose lepus ? scilicet a magnis ad te descendere tauris

et quae non cernuiit frangere colla velis. desperanda tibi est ingentis gloria fati :

non potes hoc tenuis praeda sub hoste mori.


LII

COMMENDO tibi, Quintiane, nostros nostros dicere si tamen libellos possum, quos recitat tuus poeta : si de servitio gravi queruntur, adsertor venias satisque praestes, et, cum se dominum vocabit ille, dicas esse meos manuque missos. hoc si terque quaterque clamitaris, inpones plagiario pudorem.

LIII

UN T A est in nostris tua, Fidentine, libellis pagina, sed certa domini signata figura, quae tua traducit manifesto carmina furto. sic interpositus villo contaminat uncto urbica Lingonicus Tyrianthina bardocucullus, sic Arretinae violant crystallina testae, sic niger in ripis errat cum forte Caystri, inter Ledaeos ridetur corvus olores,


1 As asaertor in libertatem, who takes up their claim to freedom, not allowing the plagiarist to claim them when manumitted by M.

62


HOOK I. LI-LIU. .

LI

No neck, save the chiefest, sorts 'with savage lions. Why fliest thou these fangs, ambitious hare? Thou wouldst forsooth have them come down from huge bulls to thee, and crunch the neck which they can- not see ! Not to be hoped for by thee is the glory of a mighty death : thou canst not, slender quarry, die under such a foe as this.

LII

To your charge I entrust, Quintianus, my works if, after all, I can call those mine which that poet of yours recites. If they complain of their grievous servitude, come forward as their champion l and give bail for them ; and when that fellow calls himself their owner, say that they are mine, sent forth from my hand. 2 If thrice and four times you shout this, you will shame the plagiarist.

LIII

THERE is one page of yours, Fidentinus, in a book of mine a page, too, stamped by the distinct like- ness of its master which convicts your poems of palpable theft. So, when set among them, a Lin- gonian cowled cloak defiles with greasy wool the violet-purple robes of town ; so crocks from Arre- tium degrade crystal glass ; so a black raven, per- chance wandering on Cayster's banks, is laughed at among Leda's swans ; so, when a sacred grove is afire

2 " To send forth from the hand" was to make free a slave. So, in another sense, a book on publication is sent forth from the hand.

63


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

sic ubi multisona fervet sacer Atthide lucus,

in pro ha Cecropias offendit pica querellas. 10

indice non opus est nostris nee iudice libris ;

stat contra dicitque tibi tua pagina " Fur es."

L1V

Si quid, Fusee, vacas adhuc amari

(nam sunt hinc tibi, sunt et hinc amici),

unum, si superest, locum rogamus,

nee me, quod tibi sim novus, recuses :

omnes hoc veteres tui fuerunt. 5

tu tantum inspice qui novus paratur

an possit fieri vetus sodalis.

LV

VOTA tui breviter si vis cognoscere Marci,

clarum militiae, Fronto, togaeque decus, hoc petit, esse sui nee magni ruris arator,

sordidaque in parvis otia rebus amat. quisquam picta colit Spartani frigora saxi 5

et matutinum portat ineptus Have, cui licet exuviis nemoris rurisque beato

ante focum plenas explicuisse plagas et piscem tremula salientem ducere saeta

flavaque de rubro promere mella cado ? 10

pinguis inaequales onerat cui vilica mensas

et sua non emptus praeparat ova cinis ? non amet hanc vitam quisquis me non amat, opto,

vivat et urbanis albus in officiis.

LVI

CONTINUIS vexata madet vindemia nimbis : non potes, ut cupias, vendere, copo, merum.

64


BOOK I. LIII-LVI

with the varied notes of the Athenian nightingale, an impudent jay jars on those Attic notes of woe. My books need no title or judge to prove them ; your page stares you in the face, and calls you "thief."

LIV

IF, Fuscus, you have still any room for love for you have friends on this side, friends on that a single niche, if one remains, I ask. Nor should you reject me because I am a "new" friend; all your old friends were that once. Look only for this in the new friend is he worthy to become an old comrade ?

LV

IF you wish briefly to learn your Marcus' wishes, Fronto, bright ornament of war and of the gown, he seeks this to be tiller of land that is his own, though not large ; and rough ease he delights in amid small means. Does any man court halls gaudy and chill with Spartan stone, and bring with him O fool ! the morning salute, who, blest with spoils of wood and field, can before his hearth open his crowded nets, and draw with trembling line the leaping fish, and bring forth from the red jar his golden honey ? For whom the bailiff's portly dame loads his rickety table, and charcoal unbought cooks his home-laid eggs ? May he, I pray, who loves not me love not this, and live, pale-faced, amid the duties of the town.

LVI

THE vineyard drips, lashed by continued rains. Mine host, you can't, though you would, sell undiluted wine.

65

VOL. I. F


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

LVII

QUALEM, Flacce, velim quaeris nolimve puellam ?

nolo nimis facilem difficilemque nimis. illud quod medium est atque inter utrumque pro- bamus :

nee volo quod crucial nee volo quod satiat.

LVII I

MILIA pro puero centum me mango poposcit : risi ego, sed Phoebus protinus ilia dedit.

hoc dolet et queritur de me mea mentula secum laudaturque meam Phoebus in invidiam.

sed sestertiolum donavit mentula Phoebo 5

bis decies : hoc da tu mihi, pluris emam.

LIX

DAT Baiana mihi quadrantes sportula centum.

inter delicias quid facit ista fames ? redde Lupi nobis tenebrosaque balnea Grylli :

tarn male cum cenem, cur bene, Flacce, laver ?

LX

INTRES ampla licet torvi lepus ora leonis,

esse tamen vacuo se leo dente putat. quod ruet in tergum vel quos procumbet in armos,

alta iuvencorum volnera figet ubi ? quid frustra nemorum dominum regemque fatigas ? 5

non nisi delecta pascitur ille fera. 66


BOOK I. LVII-I.X

LVII

Do you ask, Flaccus, what sort of girl I like or dislike ? I dislike one too yielding, and one too coy. That middle type between the two I approve : I like not that which racks me, nor like I that which cloys.

LVIII

THE dealer asked me a hundred thousand for the lad ; I laughed, but Phoebus straightway paid the price. Thereat my grieves and complains about me to itself, and Phoebus is applauded to my de- spite. But his - presented Phoebus with a nice two millions : do you give me as much, and I'll bid higher.

LIX

MY dole at Baiae gives me a hundred farthings. What avails that starvation allowance amid luxury? Give me back the gloomy baths of Lupus and of Gryllus. Seeing that so badly I dine, why, Flaccus, sumptuously should I bathe ?


LX

ALBEIT, O hare, you enter the lion's yawning mouth, the lion yet regards his fang as unfleshed. Upon what back, upon what shoulders shall he throw his weight ? The deep wounds that lay low steers where shall he plant them ? Why vainly tease the woodland's lord and king ? 'Tis not save on the beast he has chosen that he feeds.

6? F 2


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

LXI

VERONA docti syllabas amat vatis,

Marone felix Mantua est, censetur Aponi Livio suo tellus

Stellaque nee Flacco minus, Apollodoro plaudit imbrifer Nilus, 5

Nasone Paeligni sonant, duosque Senecas unicumque Lucanum

facunda loquitur Corduba, gaudent iocosae Canio suo Gades,

Emerita Deciano meo : 10

te, Liciniane, gloriabitur nostra

nee me tacebit Bilbilis.

LXI I

CASTA nee antiquis cedens Laevina Sabinis

et quamvis tetrico tristior ipsa viro dum modo Lucrino, modo se permittit Averno,

et dum Baianis saepe fovetur aquis, incidit in flammas : iuvenemque secuta relicto 5

eoniuge Penelope venit, abit Helene.

LXI1I

UT recitem tibi nostra rogas epigrammata. nolo. non audire, Celer, sed recitare cupis.

LXIV

BELLA es, novimus, et puella, verum est, et dives, quis enim potest negare ? sed cum te nimium, Fabulla, laudas, nee dives neque bella nee puella es.

68


BOOK I. LXI-LXIV

LXI

VERONA loves the syllables of her learned bard, Mantua is blest in Maro. The land of Aponus is apprised by its Livy, and by Stella, by Flaccus no less ; the flooding Nile applauds Apollodorus ; Pe- lignians are loud in Naso's praise. The two Senecas and matchless Lucan eloquent Corduba proclaims ; laughing Gades delights in her Canius, Emerita in my Decianus. Of you, Licinianus, shall our Bilbilis boast, nor of me shall she be silent.

LXI I

CHASTE, and not inferior to the old-world Sabines, straiter-laced, too, than her husband in his sternest mood, Laevina, while she entrusted herself, now to the Lucrine lake and now to Avernus, and was oft refreshed by the waters of Baiae, fell into flames. 1 She went after a youth, leaving a husband : she arrived a Penelope and departed a Helen !

LXIII

You ask me to recite to you my epigrams. I decline. You don't wish to hear them, Celer, but to recite them.

LXIV

You are beautiful, we know, and young, that is true, and rich for who can deny it ? But while you praise yourself overmuch, Fabulla, you are neither rich, nor beautiful, nor young.

1 The looseness of morals at Baiae, Rome's fashionable watering-place, was notorious.

6 9


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

LXV

CUM dixi ficus, rides quasi barbara verba

et dici ficos, Caeciliane, iubes. dicemus ficus, quas scimus in arbore nasci,

dicemus ficos, Caeciliane, tuos.


LXV 7 1

EKKAS, meorum fur avare librorun),

fieri poetam posse qui putas tanti,

scriptura quanti constet et tomus vilis :

non sex paratur aut decem sophos nummis.

secreta quaere carmina et rudes curas 5

quas novit unus scrinioque signatas

custodit ipse virginis pater chartae,

quae trita duro non inhorruit mento.

inutare dominum non potest liber notus.

sed pumicata fronte si quis est nondum 10

nee umbilicis cultus atque membrana,

mercare : tales habeo ; nee sciet quisquam.

aliena quisquis recitat et petit famam,

non emere librum sed silentium debet.


LXVII

" LIBER homo es nimium " dicis mihi, Ceryle, semper, in te quis dicit, Ceryle, "liber homo es " ?

1 i.e. piles, or some tumour: cf. iv. li ; vn. Ixxi. ; xiv. Ixxxvi.

2 By being held under the chin while being rolled up (Friedlander) ; or by being kissed in compliment in the recitation room (Paley) : c/. x. xciii. 6.

70


BOOK I. LXV-LXVII

LXV

WHEN I called figs "ficus" you laughed at it as an outlandish word, and you require them, Caecil- ianus, to be called "ficos." We will call those " ficus " which we know grow on a tree ; we will call your figs, 1 Caecilianus, "ficos."

LXVI

You mistake, you greedy thief of my works, who think you can become a poet at no more than the cost of a transcript and a cheap papyrus roll. Ap- plause is not acquired for six or ten sesterces. Look out for unpublished poems and unfinished studies, which one man only knows of, and which the sire of the virgin sheet not yet grown rough by the contact of hard chins, 2 keeps sealed up in his book-wallet. A well-known book cannot change its author. But if there be one with ends not yet smoothed with pumice, and not yet smart with its bosses and wrapper, buy it : such I possess, and no man shall know. Whoever recites another man's work, and so woos fame, ought not to buy a book, but silence.

LXVII

" YOU'RE too free a man," you are always saying to me, Cerylus. In your case, Cerylus, who says " you're a free man " ? 3

y Cerylus was a wealthy freed man of Vespasian who changed his name to Laches and pretended to be a free man (ingenmis) ; see Suet. Vesp. xxiii. The emendation of the text est. (or est ?) is due to Wagner and accepted by Friedlander.

71


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

LXVIII

QUIDQUID agit Rufus, nihil est nisi Naevia Rufo.

si gaudet, si flet, si tacet, hanc loquitur, cenat, propinat, poscit, negat, innuit : una est

Naevia ; si non sit Naevia, mutus erit. scriberet hesterna patri cum luce salutem,

"Naevia lux," inquit "Naevia lumen, have." haec legit et ridet demisso Naevia voltu.

Naevia non una est : quid, vir inepte, furis ?


LXIX

COEPIT, Maxime, Pana quae solebat, nunc ostendere Canium Tarentos.


LXX

VADE salutatum pro me, liber : ire iuberis

ad Proculi nitidos, officiose, lares, quaeris iter, dicam. vicinum Castora canae

transibis Vestae virgineamque domum. inde sacro veneranda petes Palatia clivo, 5

plurima qua summi fulget imago ducis.

1 i.e. the preceding part of the epigram, which the husband (or lover) thinks must allude to his particular li Naevia "

1 Since he had gone there the City of Tarentum was as proud of his laughing, face (rf. in. xr. 21) as of a famous image of the laughing Pan. Tarentos (fern.) is probably a literary form of Tarentum.

72


BOOK I. LXVUI-LXX

LXVIII

WHATEVER Rufus is doing, Naevia is to Rufus his all in all. If glad, if tearful, if mute, of her he speaks. He dines, drinks healths, asks, denies, or nods : Naevia is everything ; be there no Naevia, he will be dumb. When yesterday he was writing a greeting to his father, " Naevia, light of my eyes," he wrote, " Naevia, my sunbeam, I salute thee."

Naevia reads these lines l with face down-dropt, and laughs. There is more than one Naevia ; why, you silly husband, do you rage ?


LXIX

TARENTOS, that used, Maximus, to display a statue of Pan, now begins to display Canius. 2


LXX

Go forth, my book, to bear my greeting for me ; 'tis to the smart house of Proculus you are bidden to go, a duteous messenger. You ask the way ? I'll tell you. 3 You will pass the temple of Castor near time-honoured Vesta, and the house of the Vestals. Thence by the Sacred Slope you will make for the august Palatine, where gleams many a statue of our

3 M. is sending his book from his house on the Quirinal to Proculus on the Palatine across the Via Sacra and Forum Romanum, and he points out the various temples, etc., on the way. As to the Colossus (formerly a statue of Nero, afterwards of the Sun), cf. Lib. Sped. ii. 1. It stood in M.'s time on the Via Sacra, near the arch of Titus, and was afterwards set by Hadrian near the Flavian Amphitheatre, to which it gave the name of Colosseum.

73


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

nee te detineat miri radiata colossi

quae Rhodium moles vincere gaudet opus, flecte vias hac qua madidi sunt tecta Lyaei

et Cybeles picto stat Corybante tholus. 10

protinus a laeva clari tibi fronte Penates

atriaque excelsae sunt adeunda domus. hanc pete : ne metuas fastus limenque superbum.

nulla magis toto iaiiua poste patet, nee propior quam Phoebus amet doctaeque sorores.

si dicet "Quare non tamen ipse venit ? " 16

sic licet excuses " Quia qualiacumque leguntur

ista, salutator scribere non potuit."

LXXI

LAEVIA sex cyathis, septem lustina bibatur, quinque Lycas, Lyde quattuor, Ida tribus.

omnis ab infuso numeretur arnica Falerno, et quia nulla venit, tu mihi, Somne, veni.

LXXII

NOSTRIS versibus esse te poetam,

Fidentine, putas cupisque credi ?

sic dentata sibi videtur Aegle

emptis ossibus Indicoque cornu ;

sic quae nigrior est cadente moro, 5

cerussata sibi placet Lycoris.

hac et tu ratione qua poeta es,

calvus cum fueris, eris comatus.

1 Domitian. 74


BOOK I. LXX-LXXII

illustrious Commander. 1 Let not the mass, girt with rays, of the wondrous Colossus that exults to surpass the labour of Rhodes, detain you. Bend round here where is the roof of wine-drenched Lyaeus, and Cybele's dome stands with its painted Corybants. Right before you on the left a dwelling with shining front and the hall of a lofty house invite approach. Make for this ; and, that you may not fear any dis- dain and a proud threshold, know that 110 portal gapes so wide to show its doorposts, nor is there one whereto Phoebus and the learned Sisters draw more near in love. If he shall say, " Yet why did he not come himself? " thus you may excuse me : " Because those poems, whatever their worth, no man could have written who attends levees."

LXXI

LET Laevia be drunk in six measures, in seven Justina, in five Lycas, Lyde in four, Ida in three.' 2 Let every mistress' name be numbered by outpoured Falernian. And, since none of them comes, do you, Sleep, come to me !

LXXI I

Is it by borrowing my verses, Fidentinus, that you think yourself a poet, and would have it believed ? So Aegle imagines she has teeth when she has pur- chased bone and ivory ; so she who is blacker than a falling mulberry, Lycoris, fancies herself when plastered with white lead. On this principle that makes you too a poet you will be well thatched when you are bald.

2 One cyathus ( = one-twelfth of a sextarius) is to be poured into the cup for each letter of the name : cf. vui. li. 21 ; xi. xxxvi. 7.

75


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

LXXIII

NULLUS in urbe fuit tota qui tangere vellet

uxorem gratis, Caeciliane, ttiam, dum licuit : sed nunc positis custodibus ingens

turba fututorum est. ingeniosus homo es.

LXXIV

MOECHUS erat : poteras tamen hoc tu, Paula, negare ecce vir est : numquid, Paula, negare potes ?

LXXV

DIMIDIUM donare Lino quam credere totum qui mavolt, mavolt perdere dirnidium.

LXXVI

O MIHI curarum pretium non vile mearuni,

Flacce, Antenorei spes et alumne laris, Pierios differ cantus citharamque sororum ;

aes dabit ex istis nulla puella tibi. quid petis a Phoebo ? nummos habet area Minervae ;

haec sapit, haec omnes fenerat una deos. 6

quid possunt hederae Bacchi dare ? Pallados arbor

inclinat varias pondere nigra comas, praeter aquas Helicon et serta lyrasque dearum

nil habet et magnuni sed perinane sophos. 10

1 Divorced or widowed, she has married her lover, and so confesses the charge.

76


BOOK I. LXXIII-LXXVI

LXXIII

THERE was no one in the whole town willing to touch your wife, Caecilianus, gratis, while he was allowed ; but, now you have set your guards, there is a huge crowd of gallants. You are an ingenious person !

LXXIV

HE was your lover; yet this, Paula, you once could deny. Behold, he is your husband ; 1 can you deny it now ?

LXXV

HE who prefers to give Linus half rather than trust him with the whole, prefers to lose the half.

LXXVI

O YOU, whose friendship is no cheap reward for my labours, Flaccus, the hope and nursling of An- tenor's settlement, 2 put aside your Pierian lays and the lute of the Sisters ; no maid among them will give you a penny. What seek you from Phoebus ? 'Tis Minerva's box holds the coin ; she is shrewd, she^ alone is usurer to all the gods. 3 What can ivy wreaths of Bacchus give you ? The tree of Pallas bows its varied leafage, and is dark with weight of fruit. Beyond its streams and the chaplets and lyres of the goddesses, Helicon has nought, nought beyond the loud but empty " bravo." What have you to do with

2 Patavium, or Padua: cf. Virg. Aen. i. 246.

3 Friedlander takes deos as = deonim dona, ' ' lends all that the gods can bestow," i.e. wealth, beauty, and the like.

77


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

quid tibi cum Cirrha ? quid cum Permesside nuda ?

Romanum propius divitiusque forum est. illie aera sonant : at circum pulpita nostra

et steriles cathedras basia sola crepant.

LXXVII

PULCHRE valet Charinus et tamen pallet.

parce bibit Charinus et tamen pallet.

bene concoquit Charinus et tamen pallet.

sole utitur Charinus et tamen pallet.

tinguit cutem Charinus et tamen pallet. 5

cunnum Charinus lingit et tamen pallet.

LXXVIII

INDIGNAS premeret pestis cum tabida fauces

inque ipsos vultus serperet atra lues, siccis ipse genis flentes hortatus amicos

decrevit Stygios Festus adire lacus. nee tamen obscuro pia polluit ora veneno 5

aut torsit lenta tristia fata fame, sanctam Romana vitam sed morte peregit

dimisitque animam nobiliore rogo. 1 hanc mortem fatis magni praeferre Catonis

fama potest : huius Caesar amicus erat. 10

LXXIX

SEMPER agis causas et res agis, Attale, semper : est, non est quod agas, Attale, semper agis.

si res et causae desunt, agis, Attale, mulas. Attale, ne quod agas desit, agas animam.

1 rogo B, vita y, unde via 5-.


1 The nymph of the river Permessus, which rises on Mount Helicon.


BOOK I. LXXVI LXXIX

Cirrha ? what with naked Permessis ? * Rome's forum is nearer and richer. There is the ring of coin : but around the platforms of us poets and our sterile chairs there is only the chink of kisses.

LXXVII

CHARINUS has good health, and yet he is pale. Charinus drinks moderately, and yet he is pale. Cha- rinus has good digestion, and yet he is pale. Charinus enjoys the sunshine, and yet he is pale. Charinus rouges his skin, and yet he is pale. Charinus in- dulges in every debauchery and yet he is pale. 2

LXXVIII

WHEN wasting disease choked his guiltless throat, and o'er his very face crept black contagion, Festus, dry-eyed himself, spake to his weeping friends, and purposed to pass to the lake of Styx. Howbeit he marred not his righteous face with secret poison, nor with slow starvation tortured his sad fate ; but his sacred life he closed by a Roman's death, and set free his soul by a nobler end. This death may Fame prize more than great Cato's doom : Caesar was this man's friend.

LXXIX

You are always doing the pleader and always doing the man of business, Attalus ; whether there is or is not something to do, Attalus, you are always doing something. If business and pleadings fail you, you do the mule-driver, Attalus. Attalus, that some- thing to do may not fail you, do for yourself. 3

2 i.e. does not blush.

3 This epigram cannot satisfactorily be translated : it plays on the meanings of agere, which means (inter alia) "conduct," "do," or " drive.""

79


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

LXXX

SPORTULA, Cane, tibi suprema nocte petita est. occidit puto te, Cane, quod una fuit.

LXXXI

A SERVO scis te genitum blandeque fateris, cum dicis dominum, Sosibiane, patrem.

LXXXII

HAEC quae pulvere dissipata multo

longas porticus explicat ruinas,

en quanto iacet absoluta casu !

tectis nam modo Regulus sub illis

gestatus fuerat recesseratque, 5

victa est pondere cum suo repente,

et postquam domino nihil timebat,

securo ruit incruenta damno.

tantae, Regule, post metum querellae

quis curam neget esse te deorum, 10

propter quern fuit innocens ruina ?

LXXXIII

Os et labra tibi lingit, Manneia, catellus : non miror, mei'das si libet esse cani.

LXXXI V

UXOREM habendam non putat Quirinalis, cum velit habere filios, et invenit quo possit istud more : futuit ancillas domumque et agros implet equitibus vernis. pater familiae verus est Quirinalis. 5

80


BOOK I. LXXX-LXXXIV

LXXX

ON the night you died, Canus, you looked for a dole. What killed you, I think, Canus, was that there was but one.

LXXXI

You know you were begotten by a slave, and you blandly confess it, Sosibianus, when you address your father as "master."

LXXXII

THIS portico which, scattered in clouds of dust, spreads its length of ruin, lo ! of how great a mishap does it lie guiltless ! For under that roof Regulus had but lately driven and had passed out, when, suddenly o'ercome by its own weight, now it felt no misgiving for its lord, it crashed harmless in careless downfall. Now, Regulus, that fear of such heavy complaining is past, who could deny you are the charge of the gods, you, for whose sake ruin wrought no harm ?

LXXXIII

You ii face and lips, Manneia, your little dog licks ; I don't wonder that a dog likes to eat filth.

LXXXIV

QUIRINALIS does not think he should take a wife, meanwhile he wishes to have sons ; and he has dis- covered how to secure that object : he has relations with maid-servants, and fills his town-house and his country-place with home-born slave-knights. A genuine " father of a family " l is Quirinalis.

1 The meaning of "paterfamilias," i.e. "head of a house- hold," is altered to give a new sense.

81

VOL. I. G


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

LXXXV

VENDERET excultos colles cum praeco facetus

atque suburban! iugera pulchra soli, " Errat " ait " si quis Mario putat esse necesse

vendere : nil debet, fenerat immo magis." " Quae ratio est igitur?" " Servos ibi perdidit omnes 5

et pecus et fructus, non amat inde locum." quis faceret pretium nisi qui sua perdere vellet

omnia ? sic Mario iioxius haeret ager.

LXXXVI

V r iciNus meus est manuque tangi

de nostris Novius potest fenestris.

quis non invideat mihi putetque

horis omnibus esse me beatum,

iuncto cui liceat frui sodale ? 5

tarn longe est mihi quam Terentianus,

qui nunc Niliacam regit Syenen.

non convivere, nee videre saltern,

non audire licet, nee urbe tota

quisquam est tarn prope tarn proculque nobis. 10

migrandum est mihi longius vel illi.

vicinus Novio vel inquilinus

sit, si quis Novium videre non volt.

LXXXVII

NE gravis hesterno fragres, Fescennia, vino,

pastillos Cosmi luxuriosa voras. ista linunt dentes iantacula, sed nihil opstant,

extremo ructus cum redit a barathro.

1 Used in two senses, unhealthy, or unsaleable. 82


BOOK I. LXXXV-LXXXVII

LXXXV

WHEN a humorous auctioneer was selling a well- cultivated hill-estate, and some beautiful acres of land near the town, he said : " He is wrong who thinks that Marius need sell ; he owes nothing, but lends money rather." " What is the reason, then ? " " He has lost there all his slaves, and his flocks, and his crops; hence he does not like the place." Who would make a bid but a man who was willing to lose all his possessions ? So his injurious x land sticks to Marius.

LXXXVI

Novius is my neighbour, and can be touched by the hand from my windows. Who would not envy me, and think me every hour of the day happy in being able to enjoy so close a comrade ? He is as far from me as Terentianus who now governs Syene on the Nile. I can't dine with him, nor even see him or hear him, and in all the city there is no man who is so near and yet so far from me. I must shift farther, or he must. You should be Novius's neighbour, or fellow-lodger, if you don't wish to see Novius.

LXXXVI I

THAT you may not smell strong of yesterday's wine, Fescennia, you devour immoderately Cosmus's pastilles. That snack discolours your teeth, but is no preventive when an eructation returns from your abysmal depths. What if the stench is stronger

83 G 2


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

quid quod olet gravius mixtum diapasmate virus 5 atque duplex animae longius exit odor ?

notas ergo nimis fraudes deprensaque furta iam tollas et sis ebria simpliciter.

LXXXVIII

ALCIME, quern raptum domino crescentibus annis

Lavicana levi caespite velat humus, accipe non Pario nutantia pondera saxo,

quae cineri vanus dat ruitura labor, sed faciles buxos et opacas palmitis umbras 5

quaeque virent lacrimis roscida prata meis accipe, care puer, nostri monimenta doloris :

hie tibi perpetuo tempore vivet honor, cum mihi supremos Lachesis perneverit annos,

non aliter cineres mando iacere meos. 10

LXXXIX

GARRIS in aurem semper omnibus, Cinna, garrire et illud teste quod licet turba. rides in aurem, quereris, arguis, ploras, cantas in aurem, iudicas, taces, clamas, adeoque penitus sedit hie tibi morbus, 5

ut saepe in aurem, Cinna, Caesarem laudes.

XC

QUOD numquam maribus iunctam te, Bassa, videbam quodque tibi moechum fabula nulla dabat,

omne sed officium circa te semper obibat turba tui sexus, non adeunte viro,

esse videbaris, fateor, Lucretia nobis : 5

at tu, pro facinus, Bassa, fututor eras.

84


BOOK I. LXXXVII-XC

when mixed with drugs, and redoubled the reek of your breath carries farther ? So away with tricks too well known, and detected dodges, and be just simply drunk !

LXXXVIII

ALCIMUS, whom, snatched from thy master in thy burgeoning years, Lavican earth shrouds with its light turf, take from me, not a nodding weight of Parian stone, the perishable gift which vain toil makes to the dust, but pliant box, and the vine's dense shadow, and grass that grows green, dewy with my tears. Take them, loved boy, as tokens of my sorrow. Here for all time shall thy honour live. When Lachesis shall have spun to their end my latest years, I charge that in none other sort my ashes lie.

LXXXIX

You are always chattering in everybody's ear, China, and even what one may chatter with the crowd listening. You laugh in the ear, grumble, make accusations, complain ; you sing in the ear, give opinions, are silent, shout. And so deep-seated is this malady of yours that often 'tis in the ear. Cinna, you speak Caesar's praise.

XC

IN that I never saw you, Bassa, intimate with men, and that no scandal assigned you a lover, but every office a throng of your own sex round you performed without the approach of man you seemed to me, I confess, a Lucretia ; yet, Bassa oh, monstrous !

85


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

inter se geminos audes committere cunnos

mentiturque virum prodigiosa Venus, commenta es dignum Thebano aenigmate monstrum,

hie, ubi vir non est, ut sit adulterium. 10

XCI

CUM tua non edas, carpis mea carmina, Laeli. carpere vel noli nostra vel ede tua.

XCII

SAEPE mihi queritur non siccis Cestos ocellis,

tangi se digito, Mamuriane, tuo. non opus est digito : totum tibi Ceston habeto,

si dest nil aliud, Mamuriane, tibi. sed si nee focus est nee nudi sponda grabati 5

nee curtus Chiones Antiopesve calix, cerea si pendet lumbis et scripta lacerna

dimidiasque nates Gallica paeda tegit, pasceris et nigrae solo nidore culinae

et bibis inmundam cum cane pronus aquam, 10 non culum, neque enim est culus, qui non cacat olim,

sed fodiam digito qui superest oculum : nee me zelotypum nee dixeris esse malignum.

denique pedica, Mamuriane, satur.

XCIII

FABRICIO iunctus fido requiescit Aquinus, qui prior Elysias gaudet adisse domos.

ara duplex primi testatur munera pili :

plus tamen est, titulo quod breviore legis :

" Iunctus uterque sacro laudatae foedere vitae, 5 famaque quod raro novit, amicus erat."

1 This epigram closely copies Cat. xxi, xxiii, xxiv. In lines 11 and 12 there is a pun on culus and oculua.

86


BOOK I. XC-XCIH

you are, it seems, a nondescript. You dare things unspeakable, and your portentous lust imitates man. You have invented a prodigy worthy of the Theban riddle, that here, where no man is, should be adultery !

XCI

ALTHOUGH you don't publish your own, you carp at my poems, Laelius. Either do not carp at mine, or publish your own.

XCII

OFTEN Cestos complains to me with overflowing eyes that he is pawed by your finger, Mamurianus. No need of a finger : take Cestos altogether to your- self if he, Mamurianus, is all that you lack. But if you possess no fire, nor frame of a bare truckle-bed, nor a broken cup like Chione's and Antiope's ; if a cloak, white with age and threadbare, hangs over your loins, and a Gaulish cape covers but half your buttocks ; and if you batten on the steam only of a sooty kitchen, and on all fours like a dog drink from dirty puddles, I will not prod that latter-end of yours it isn't a latter-end, being unused but I will gouge out your remaining eye. And don't say I am jealous or malicious. In a word, follow your bent, Mamurianus on a full stomach ! l

XCIII

By the side of leal Fabricius rests Aquinus, who is glad to have passed first to the Elysian abodes. A double altar-tomb attests the rank of first cen- turion, yet more is what you read in the brief inscription : " Both were knit in the sacred bond of a life with honour ; and (what fame but seldom knows) both were friends."

87


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

XCIV

CANTASTI male, dum fututa es, Aegle. iam cantas bene ; basianda non es.

XCV

QUOD clamas semper, quod agentibus obstrepis, Aeli, non facis hoc gratis : accipis, ut taceas.

XCVI

Si non molestum est teque non piget, scazon,

nostro rogamus pauca verba Materno

dicas in aurem sic ut audiat solus.

amator ille tristium lacernarum

et baeticatus atque leucophaeatus, 5

qui coccinatos non putat viros esse

amethystinasque mulierum vocat vestes,

nativa laudet, habeat et licet semper

fuscos colores, galbinos habet mores.

rogabit unde suspicer virum mollem. 10

una lavamur : aspicit nihil sursum,

sed spectat oculis devorantibus draucos

nee otiosis mentulas videt labris.

quaeris quis hie sit ? excidit mihi nomen.

XCVII

CUM clamant omnes, loqueris tune, Naevole, tantum,

et te patronum causidicumque putas. hac ratione potest nemo non esse disertus.

ecce, tacent omnes : Naevole, die aliquid.

1 Lit. "halting verse," or iambics ending with two long syllables.

2 Garments of this colour were worn by women or effemi- nate men : Juv. ii. 97.

88


BOOK I. xciv-xcvn

XCIV

You sang badly while your practices were normal, Aegle. Now you sing well but I won't kiss you.

XCV

You are always shouting, always interrupting the pleaders, Aelius. You don't do this for nothing : you take pay to hold your tongue.

XCVI

IF it is not a burden nor irksome to you, my verse, 1 I beg you speak a few words into Maternus' ear, just so, that he alone may hear. Admirer as he is of sad-coloured cloaks, and clad in Baetic wool and in grey, one who thinks that men in scarlet are not men at all, and styles violet mantles the vesture of women, although he praises native colours and always affects sober hues, grass-green 2 are his morals. He will ask you whence springs my suspicion of his effeminacy. We bathe together ; he never lifts his gaze, but with eyes devouring the catamites he looks on and surveys their members with no untwitching lips. Do you enquire who this man is ? The name has dropped 3 from me.

XCVIJ

WHEN everybody is shouting, then only, Naevolus, you speak, and think yourself an advocate and pleader. On this principle there is none but may be eloquent. See, everybody is silent : Naevolus, say something.


3 Used in an ambiguous sense, either as meaning "I let the name out by accident just now," or "I have forgotten the name."

89


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

XCVIII

LITIGAT et podagra Diodorus, Flacce, laborat. sed nil patrono porrigit : haec cheragra est.

XCIX

NON plenum modo viciens habebas,

sed tarn prodigus atque liberalis

et tarn lautus eras, Calene, ut omnes

optarent tibi centies amici.

audit vota deus precesque nostras 5

atque intra, puto, septimas Kalendas

mortes hoc tibi quattuor dederunt.

at tu sic quasi non foret relictum

sed raptum tibi centies, abisti

in tantam miser esuritionem, 10

ut convivia sumptuosiora,

toto quae semel apparas in anno,

nigrae sordibus explices monetae,

et septem veteres tui sodales

constemus tibi plumbea selibra. 15

quid dignum meritis precemur istis ?

optamus tibi milies, Calene.

hoc si contigerit, fame peribis.


MAMMAS atque tatas habet Afra, sed ipsa tatarum dici et mammarum maxima mamma potest.

CI

ILLA manus quondam studiorum fida meorum et felix domino notaque Caesaribus,


1 Friedlander explains selibra as a piece of plate of that 90


BOOK I. xcvin-ci

XCVIII

DIODORUS goes to law, and suffers, Flaccus, from gout in the feet. But he offers his advocate no fee : this is gout in the hand.

XCIX

LATELY you did not possess a full two millions, and yet so profuse and open-handed, and so large in en- tertainment were you, Calenus, that all your friends wished you ten. The god heard our vows and prayers, and within, I think, seven months, four deaths gave you this sum. But you, just as if nothing had been left you, but rather your two millions robbed from you, came down wretched man ! to such starvation parsimony that those more sumptuous banquets which you provide just once in the whole year you now set out at the squalid expenditure of dirty coppers ; and we, your seven old comrades, cost you only a half-pound of bad silver. 1 What reward for merits like those should we pray for ? We wish you a hundred millions, Calenus. If this sum fall to you, you will die of hunger.


AFKA has "mammas" and "dadas," but she her- self may be called the most immemorial mamma among these dadas and mammas.

CI

ONCE the trusty copyist of my poems, his hand a treasure to his master and to the Caesars known,

weight which he sells to save his money, and plumbea as " trumpery."

9 1


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

destituit primes viridis Demetrius annos :

quarta tribus lustris addita messis erat. ne tamen ad Stygias famulus descenderet umbras, 5

ureret inplicitum cum scelerata lues, cavimus, et domini ius omne remisimus aegro :

munere dignus erat convaluisse meo. sensit deficiens sua praemia meque patronum

dixit ad infernas liber iturus aquas. 10


CII

Qui pinxit V^enerem tuam, Lycori, blanditus, puto, pictor est Minervae.


cm

" Si dederint superi decies mihi milia centum "

dicebas, nondum, Scaevola, iustus eques, " qualiter o vivam, quam large quamque beate ! "

riserunt faciles et tribuere dei. sordidior multo post hoc toga, paenula peior, 5

calceus est sarta terque quaterque cute : deque decem plures semper servantur olivae,

explicat et cenas unica mensa duas, et Veientani bibitur faex crassa rubelli,

asse cicer tepidum constat et asse Venus. 10

in ius, o fallax atque infitiator, eamus :

aut vive aut decies, Scaevola, redde deis.


BOOK I. ci-ciii

Demetrius in his fresh prime has left behind him years yet young : a fourth summer had been added to three lustres. Yet, that he should not go down to the shades of Styx a slave, when a cursed con- tagion held him fevered in its toils to this I took heed, and to his sickness resigned all a master's rights : worthy was he by my gift to have seen health once more ! He felt with failing strength the boon and called me "patron," now that he was passing down, a free man, to the nether wave.


CII

HE who painted this Venus of yours, Lycoris, was a painter, I think, who paid court to Minerva.


cm

" IF the high gods shall give me a million," you said, Scaevola, when not yet a knight complete, 1 "oh, how I shall live ! how bounteously and how richly! " Easy-going, the gods laughed and gave it you. After this your toga is much dirtier than before, your surtout shabbier, and your shoe has been thrice and four times patched. And out of ten olives the larger number is always put by, and one catering furnishes forth two dinners ; and you drink thick dregs of red Veientan wine ; your pea-soup costs you a penny, and a penny your amours. Let us go into court, you fraudulent trustee ! Either learn to live, or, Scaevola, restore the gods that million !

1 He had not yet the full qualification of 400,000 sesterces.

93


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

CIV

PICTO quod iuga delicata collo

pardus sustinet inprobaeque tigres

indulgent patientiam flagello,

mordent aurea quod lupata cervi,

quod frenis Libyci domantur ursi 5

et, quantum Calydoii tulisse fertur,

paret purpureis aper capistris,

turpes esseda quod trahunt visontes

et molles dare iussa quod choreas

nigro belua non negat magistro : 10

quis spectacula non putet deorum r

haec transit tamen, ut minora, quisquis

venatus humiles videt leonum,

quos velox leporum timor fatigat.

dimittunt, repetunt, amantque captos, 15

et securior est in ore praeda,

laxos cui dare perviosque rictus

gaudent et timidos tenere dentes,

mollem f range re dum pudet rapinam,

stratis cum modo venerint iuvencis. 20

haec dementia non paratur arte,

sed norunt cui serviant leones.


cv

IN Nomentanis, Ovidi, quod nascitur agris, accepit quotiens tempora longa, merum

exuit annosa mores nomenque senecta ; et quidquid voluit, testa vocatur anus.


1 Nomentan wine, harsh when new, so improves with age 94


BOOK I. civ-cv

CIV

THE leopard carries a spangled yoke on its spotted neck, and savage tigers give obedience to the whip ; stags champ jagged golden bits ; Libyan bears are cowed by the i-ein ; a boar, as huge as the Calydo- nian of legend, yields to a purple halter; ugly bisons draw two-wheeled Gallic cars, and the ele- phant, bid lightly to dance, does not say nay to its black master. Who would not think here were sights fit for the gods ? Yet he passes these by as lesser marvels, who sees lions hunting humble quarry and wearied by the timorous speed of the hares. They let them go, they retrieve them and fondle their catch, and the prey is safer in their mouths. To receive it the lions delight to offer their jaws loose and gaping, and to keep their teeth careful not to wound, ashamed as they are to crunch such gentle booty when they have just come from laying low steers. Such mercy is not won by training, but the lions know whom they serve !


CV

THE new wine, Ovidius, that is born in Nomentan fields, oft as it has taken upon it length of days, by hoary age puts off its nature and its name, and when old the jar is called by whatever name it chooses. 1

that J T OU can consider it as good as any brand : cf. xin. cxvii. of Mamertine.

95


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

CVI

INTERPONIS aquam subinde, Rufe,

et si cogeris a sodale, raram

diluti bibis unciam Falerni.

numquid pollicita est tibi beatam

noctem Naevia sobriasque mavis 5

certae nequitias fututionis ?

suspiras, retices, gemis : negavit.

crebros ergo licet bibas trientes

et durum iugules mero dolorem.

quid parcis tibi, Rufe ? dormiendum est. 10

CVI I

SAEPE mihi dicis, Luci carissime luli,

" Scribe aliquid magnum : desidiosus homo es." otia da nobis, sed qualia fecerat olim

Maecenas Flacco Vergilioque suo : condere victuras temptem per saecula curas 5

et nomen flammis eripuisse meum. in steriles nolunt campos iuga ferre iuVenci :

pingue solum lassat, sed iuvat ipse labor.

CVI II

EST tibi (sitque precor multos crescatque per annos) pulchra quidem, verum Transtiberina domus :

at mea Vipsanas spectant cenacula laurus, factus in hac ego sum iam regione senex ;


= ^ sexlarius = 4 cyathi. In 1. 3 uncia = 1 cyathus. 2 In the Campus of Vipsanius Agrippa, the sou-in-law of Augustus. Here stood the Porticus Agrippae. This was on the right bank of the Tiber, and east of the Campus Martius.

96


BOOK I. cvi-cvin

CVI

You often put water in your wine, Rufus, and, if you are pressed by a friend, drink but seldom a twelfth-part measure of diluted Falernian. Is it that Naevia has promised you a night of joy, and you prefer the lecheries by sobriety assured ? You sigh, you are dumb, you groan : she has denied "you. So you may drink full cup l after full cup, and throttle with wine your cruel pain. Why spare yourself, Rufus? Remains but to sleep.


CVII

OFT you say to me, dearest Lucius Julius : " Write something great ! You are a lazy man." Give me leisure, and leisure such as once Maecenas provided for Flaccus and his own Virgil ; then would I essay to build up works that should live throughout ages, and to rescue my name from the fire. Into unfruitful fields steers care not to bear the yoke ; a fat soil wearies, but the very labour delights.


CVIII

You have and may it stand, I pray, and flourish for many years ! a house, beautiful indeed, but beyond the Tiber, whereas my garret looks out on the Vipsanian laurels, 2 and in this region I have already grown old : I must shift my quarters if I am

Beyond the Tiber the population was of a low class (cf. i. xli. 3), but this epigram shows there were some better- class residents.

97

VOL. I. H


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

migrandum est, ut mane domi te, Galle, salutem. 5

est tanti, vel si longius ilia foret. sed tibi non multum est, unum si praesto togatum :

multum est hunc unum si mihi, Galle, nego. ipse salutabo decuma te saepius hora :

mane tibi pro me dicet havere liber. 10


CIX

ISSA est passere nequior Catulli,

Issa est purior osculo columbae,

Issa est blandior omnibus puellis,

Issa est carior Indicis lapillis,

Issa est deliciae catella Publi. 5

hanc tu, si queritur, loqui putabis ;

sentit tristitiamque gaudiumque.

collo nixa cubat capitque somnos,

ut suspiria nulla sentiantur ;

et desiderio coacta ventris 10

gutta pallia non fefellit ulla,

sed blando pede suscitat toroque

deponi monet et rogat levari.

castae tantus inest pudor catellae,

ignorat Venerem ; nee invenimus 15

dignum tarn tenera virum puella.

hanc ne lux rapiat suprema totam,

picta Publius exprimit tabella,

in qua tarn similem videbis Issam,

ut sit tarn similis sibi nee ipsa. 20

Issam denique pone cum tabella :

aut utramque putabis esse veram,

aut utramque putabis esse pictam.


98


BOOK I. cvm-cix

to salute you, Gallus, in the morning at your house. Tis worth my while, even if that house of yours were farther off. But to you 'tis not much my pro- viding one gowned client ; 'tis much if I refuse this one man to myself. 1 In person I will full fre- quently salute you at the tenth hour 2 ; in the morn- ing, on my behalf, my book will bid " good day."

CIX

ISSA is naughtier than Catullus' sparrow ; Issa is more pure than kiss of dove ; Issa is more coaxing than any maid ; Issa is more precious than Indian pearls ; Issa is Publius' darling lap-dog. If she whines you think she is speaking ; she feels sadness and joy. Resting on his neck she lies and takes her sleep so softly that her breathings are not heard ; and when o'ercome by nature's longing never did she by a single drop betray the coverlet, but with wheedling paw she rouses you, warns you to put her down from the bed, and asks to be lifted. So great is the modesty of this chaste lap-dog that she knows not of love, nor can we find a mate worthy of a maid so tender. That death should not rob him of her alto- gether, Publius portrays her in a picture, wherein you will see an Issa so like that not even the dog herself is so like herself. In fine, set Issa alongside her picture ; you will think either that each is genuine, or you will think that each is painted.


1 If I rob myself of my leisure.

2 The dinner hour.


99 H 2


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

CX

SCRIBERE me quereris, Velox, epigrammata longa, ipse nihil scribis. tu breviora facis.

CXI

CUM tibi sit sophiae par fama et cura deorum,

ingenio pietas nee minor ipsa tuo : ignorat meritis dare munera, qui tibi librum

et qui miratur, Regule, tura dari.

CXII

CUM te non nossenr, dominum regemque vocabam iiunc bene te novi ; iam mihi Priscus eris.

CXIII

QUAECUMQUE lusi iuvenis et puer quondam

apinasque nostras, quas nee ipse iam novi,

male conlocare si bonas voles horas

et invidebis otio tuo, lector,

a Valeriano Pollio petes Quinto,

per quern perire non licet meis nugis.

CXIV

Hos tibi vicinos, Faustine, Telesphorus hortos Faenius et breve rus udaque prata tenet.


100


BOOK I. cx-cxiv

CX

You complain, Velox, that I write long epigrams, you yourself write nothing. Yours are snorter.

CXI

SINCE the fame of your scholarship is as great as your allegiance to the gods, your piety no less than your genius, he knows not how to reward merit who wonders that a book, and who wonders, Regulus, that incense is given to you.

CXII

WHEN I did not know you, I called you my master and my king. 1 Now I know you well ; henceforth you shall be to me Priscus.

CXIII

ALL the light verse I penned once as youth and boy, and my worthless efforts which not even I myself now recognise these, if you want to spend good hours badly, and have a grudge against your leisure time, reader, you can get from Pollius Quintus Valerianus. It is through him my trifles are not allowed to perish.

CXIV

THESE gardens near to thee, Faustinas, arid the narrow field and water-meadows, Telesphorus Faenius

1 i.e. patron. M. has now found that his patron will do nothing for him : cf. II. Ixviii.

101


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

condidit hie natae cineres nomenque sacravit quod legis Antullae, dignior ipse legi.

ad Stygias aequum fuerat pater isset ut umbras quod quia non licuit, vivat, ut ossa colat.

cxv

QUAEDAM me cupit, (invide, Procille !)

loto candidior puella cycno

argento nive lilio ligustro :

sed quandam volo nocte nigriorem

formica pice graculo cicada.

iam suspendia saeva cogitabas :

si novi bene te, Procille, vives.

CXVI

Hoc nemus aeterno cinerum sacravit honori Faenius et culti iugera pulchra soli.

hoc tegitur cito rapta suis Antulla sepulchre, hoc erit Antullae mixtus uterque parens.

si cupit hunc aliquis, moneo, ne speret agellum perpetuo dominis serviet iste suis.

CXVII

OCCURRIS quotiens, Luperce, nobis, " Vis mittam puerum " subinde dicis "cui tradas epigrammaton libellum, lectum quern tibi protinus remittam ? " non est quod puerum, Luperce, vexes, longum est, si velit ad Pirum venire, et scalis habito tribus sed altis. quod quaeris propius petas licebit.

102


BOOK I. cxiv-cxvn

owns. Here has he buried the ashes of his daughter and made holy the name you read, Antulla, though 'twere fitter his own name were read there ! More justly had the sire passed to the shades of Styx ! But as it could not be, let him live to honour her bones.

cxv

ONE I could name desires me (be jealous, Pro- cillus !), a girl whiter than a washed swan, than silver, snow, lily, privet. But I woo one I could name darker than night, than an ant, pitch, a jackdaw, a cicada. Just now you were contem- plating a cruel death by the rope. If I know you well, Procillus, you will keep alive !

CXV I

THIS grove, and the fair acres of tilled land, Faenius has consecrated to the eternal honour of the dead. In this sepulchre is shut Antulla, snatched too quickly from her own ; in this shall both An- tulla's parents blend their dust. If someone covets this small field, I warn him not to hope : for all time shall it lie subject to its lords.

CXVII

As often as you run across me, Lupercus, at once you say : " May I send a boy to get from you your book of epigrams ? When I have read it I will at once return it." There is no call, Lupercus, to trouble your boy. It is a long way if he sets out for the Pear-tree, and Ilive up three flights of stairs, and high ones ; you can look for what you want

103


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

Argi nempe soles subire Letum :

contra Caesaris est forum taberna 10

scriptis postibus hinc et inde totis,

ornnis ut cito perlegas poetas.

illinc me pete, nee roges Atrectum

(hoc nomen dominus gerit tabernae) :

de primo dabit alterove nido 15

rasum pumice purpuraque cultum

denaris tibi quinque Martialem.

"Tanti non es" ais ? sapis, Luperce.

CXVIII

GUI legisse satis non est epigrammata centum, nil illi satis est, Caediciane, mali.


104


BOOK I. cxvn-cxviii

nearer. Of course you often go down to the Potter's Field. 1 There is a shop opposite Caesar's Forum with its door-posts from top to bottom bearing advertise- ments, so that you can in a moment read through the list of poets. Look for me in that quarter. No need to ask Atrectus (that is the name of the shopkeeper) : out of the first or second pigeon-hole he will offer you Martial smoothed with pumice and smart with purple, for three shillings. " You're not worth it," you say ? You are wise, Lupercus.

CXVIII

HE who is not glutted with the reading of a hundred epigrams is not glutted, Caecilianus, with any amount of badness.

1 cf. I. iii. 1.


BOOK II


LIBER SECUNDUS

VAL. MARTIALIS DECIANO Suo SAL.

" QUID nobis " inquis "cum epistula ? parum enim tibi praestamus, si legimus epigrammata ? quid hie porro dicturus es quod non possis versib?/* dicere ? video quare tragoedia atque comoedia epistulam ac- cipiant, quibus pro se loqui non licet : epigrammata curione non egent et contenta sunt sua lingua : in quacumque pagina visum est, epistulam faciunt. noli ergo, si tibi videtur, rem facere ridiculam et in toga saltantk 1 inducere personam. denique videris an te delectet contra retiarium ferula, ego inter illos sedeo qui protinus reclamant." puto me hercules, Deciane, verum dicis. quid si scias cum qua et quam longa epistula negotium fueris habiturus ? itaque quod exigis fiat, debebunt tibi si qui in hunc librum inciderint, quod ad primam paginam non lassi per- venient.

I

TER centena quidem poteras epigrammata ferre, sed quis te ferret perlegeretque, liber ?

1 scdtantis Pontanus, saltanti codd. 108


BOOK II

VALERIUS MARTIALIS TO HIS DECIANUS SENDS GREETING.

"WHAT have I to do," you say, "with a letter? Why, am I not bountiful enough if I read epi- grams ? What further are you going to say here that you cannot say in verse ? I see why tragedy and comedy admit of a prefatory epistle, for they cannot speak for themselves. Epigrams need no crier, but are content with their own tongue : in whatever page they choose they constitute an epistle. Do not then, if it please you, do a ridiculous thing and introduce the character of one dancing in a toga. Lastly, consider whether you are inclined to encounter the net-caster with a wand. 1 I sit with those who at once protest." I think, so help me Hercules ! Decianus, you say truly. But if you knew what an epistle, and how long a one, you were about to deal with ! So let what you require be done. It will be owing to you that any persons who come across this book will not be weary before they come to the first page !

I

You might certainly have borne with you thrice a hundred epigrams, but who would have borne with you, my book, and have read you through ? But now

1 i.e. with such a poor weapon as a prefatory epistle to encounter the critic.

109


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

at nunc succinct! quae sint bona disce libelli.

hoc primum est, brevior quod rnihi charta perit ; deinde, quod haec una peragit librarius hora, 5

nee tantum nugis serviet ille nieis ; tertia res haec est, quod si cui forte legeris,

sis licet usque malus, non odiosus eris. te conviva leget mixto quincunce, sed ante

incipiat positus quam tepuisse calix. 10

esse tibi tanta cautus brevitate videris ?

ei mihi, quam multis sic quoque longus eris !

II

GRETA dedit magnum, maius dedit Africa nomen, Scipio quod victor quodque Metellus habet ;

nobilius domito tribuit Germaiiia Rheno ; et puer hoc dignus nomine, Caesar, eras.

frater Idumaeos meruit cum patre triumphos ; 5

quae datur ex Chattis laurea, tota tua est.

Ill

SEXTE, nihil debes, nil debes, Sexte, fatemur. debet enim, si quis solvere, Sexte, potest.

IV

O QUAM blandus es, Ammiane, matri !

quam blanda est tibi mater, Ammiane !

fratrem te vocat et soror vocatur.

cur vos nomina nequiora tangunt ?

quare non iuvat hoc quod estis esse ? 5

1 Presumably he was drinking a hot mixture.

2 He assumed the name Germanicus in 84, after his triumph


BOOK II. i-iv

learn what are the merits of a concise book. This first : less of my paper is wasted ; next, my copyist gets through it in a single hour, and he will not be wholly busied with my trifles ; the third thing is this, that, if you are perhaps read to anyone, bad as you may be all through, you will not be a bore. The guest will read you after his five measures have been mixed, and before the cup he has put aside begins to grow cool. 1 Do you fancy yourself guarded by such brevity ? Alas, to how many even so will you be long !

II

CRETE gave a great name, Africa gave a greater, the one victorious Scipio, the other Metellus bears; a nobler yet Germany bestowed when the Rhine was subdued ; and of this name thou, Caesar, wert worthy while still a boy ! 2 Along with his sire thy brother 3 won his Idumaean triumph ; the bay given for the Chatti is wholly thine.

Ill

SEXTUS, you are no debtor, you are no debtor, Sextus, we allow. For he is a debtor, Sextus, who can pay.

IV

OH, how fondling you are, Ammianus, to your mother ! How fondling is your mother to you, Ammianus ! Brother is what she calls you, and she is called sister. Why do disreputable names attract you ? Why are you not content to be what you are ?

over the Chatti, but he had taken part in an expedition into Germany in A.D. 70.

3 Titus : the reference is to the capture of Jerusalem, A.D. 70.


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

lusum creditis hoc iocumque ? non est : matrem, quae cupit esse se sororem, nee matrem iuvat esse nee sororem.


NE valeam, si non totis, Deciane, diebus

et tecum totis noctibus esse velim. sed duo sunt quae nos disiungunt milia passum :

quattuor haec fiunt, cum rediturus earn, saepe domi non es; cum sis quoque, saepe negaris; 5

vel tantum causis vel tibi saepe vacas. te tamen ut videam, duo milia non piget ire :

ut te non videam, quattuor ire piget.

VI

1 NUNC, edere me iube libellos.

lectis vix tibi paginis duabus

spectas eschatocollion, Severe,

et longas trahis oscitationes.

haec sunt, quae relegente me solebas 5

rapta exscribere, sed Vitellianis ;

haec sunt, singula quae sinu ferebas

per convivia cuncta, per theatra ;

haec sunt, aut meliora, si qua nescis.

quid prodest mihi tarn macer libellus, 10

nullo crassior ut sit umbilico,

si totus tibi triduo legatur?

numquam deliciae supiniores.

lassus tarn cito deficis viator

et, cum currere debeas Bovillas, 15

interiungere quaeris ad Camenas ?

i nunc, edere me iube libellos.

1 Small, delicate tablets, often used for love-messages : cf. xiv. viii. and ix.

112


BOOK II. iv-vi

Do you imagine this conduct is play and amusement ? It isn't. A mother who desires that she should be a "sister," is not content to be a mother or a sister either.

V

MAY I be shot but I should like, Decianus, to be with you all day and all night. But there are two miles that part us ; these become four when I go and have to return. Often you are not at home ; even although you are, often you are denied ; or you have spare time only for clients or for yourself. Yet to see you I do not mind going the two miles ; not to see you and to go four I do mind.

VI

So much for your bidding me publish my poems ! When you have read scarcely two pages, you glance at the last sheet, Severus, and pull interminable yawns ! These are the poems which, when I read them again to you, you used to snatch from me and copy, and on Vitellian tablets a too ! These are they, which, every one, you used to carry in your pocket at all the parties, at the theatres these are they, or others better you don't know of. What advantage to me is a volume so thin that it is not thicker than a roller-stick, if it takes three days to read it all ? Never was dilettante so indolent ! A weary traveller, do you give in so soon, and, although you have to drive to Bovillae, 2 want to change horses at the Camenae ? So much for your bidding me publish my poems !

2 Twelve miles from Rome on the Appian Way ; the fountain and temple of the Camenae weru just outside the Porta Capena.

JI 3 VOL. I. I


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

VII

DECLAMAS belle, causas agis, Attice, belle,

historias bellas, carmina bella facis. componis belle mimos, epigrammata belle ;

bell us grammaticus, bellus es astrologus ; et belle caiitas et saltas, Attice, belle ; 5

bellus es arte lyrae, bellus es arte pilae. nil bene cum facias, facias tamen omnia belle,

vis dicam quid sis ? magnus es ardalio.

VIII

Si qua videbuntur chartis tibi, lector, in istis

sive obscura nimis sive Latina parum, non meus est error : nocuit librarius illis

dum properat versus adnumerare tibi. quod si non ilium sed me peccasse putabis, 5

tune ego te credam cordis habere nihil. " Ista tamen mala sunt." quasi nos manifesta ne- gemus !

haec mala sunt, sed tu non meliora facis.


IX

SCRIPSI ; rescripsit nil Naevia ; non dabit ergo, sed puto quod scripsi legerat : ergo dabit.


BASIA dimidio quod das mihi, Postume, labro, laudo : licet demas hinc quoque dimidium.

vis dare maius adhuc et inenarrabile munus ? hoc tibi habe totum, Postume, dimidium.

114


BOOK II. VH-X

VII

You declaim nicely ; you plead causes, Atticus, nicely ; you write nice histories, nice poems. You compose nicely mimes, epigrams nicely ; you are a nice litterateur, a nice astronomer, and you sing nicely and dance nicely, Atticus ; you are a nice performer on the lyre, you are a nice player at ball. Seeing that you do nothing well, yet do everything nicely, would you have me describe you ? You are a great dabbler.

VIII

IF any poems in those sheets, reader, seem to you either too obscure or not quite good Latin, not mine is the mistake : the copyist spoiled them in his haste to complete for you his tale of verses. But if you think that not he, but I am at fault, then I will believe that you have no intelligence. " Yet, see, those are bad." As if I denied what is plain ! They are bad, but you don't make better.

IX

I WROTE ; Naevia wrote me no reply ; so she will not receive me. But, I think, she read what I wrote : so she will.

X

IN that you give me kisses, Postumus, with only half your lips, I thank you ; you may subtract a half even from this half. Will you give me a gift still greater, and one inexpressible ? Keep to yourself the whole of this half, Postumus.


i 2


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

XI

QUOD fronte Selium nubila vides, Rufe,

quod ambulator porticum terit seram,

lugubre quiddam quod tacet piger voltus,

quod paene terrain nasus indecens tan git,

quod dextra pectus pulsat et comam vellit, 5

non ille amici fata luget aut fratris ;

uterque natus vivit et precor vivat ;

salva est et uxor sarcinaeque servique ;

nihil colonus vilicusque decoxit.

maeroris igitur causa quae ? domi cenat. 10

XII

ESSE quid hoc dicam quod olent tua basia murrain quodque tibi est numquam non alienus odor ?

hoc mihi suspectum est, quod oles bene, Postume,

semper : Postume, non bene olet qui bene semper olet.

XIII

ET iudex petit et petit patronus. solvas censeo, Sexte, creditori.

XIV

NIL intemptatum Selius, nil linquit inausum, cenandum quotiens iam videt esse domi.

currit ad Europen et te, Pauline, tuosque laudat Achilleos, sed sine fine, pedes.


1 In the Campus Martins. It was built by Vipsania Polla, the sister of Agrippa, and was adorned with paintings of the

116


BOOK II. xi-xiv

XI

You see, Rufus, how Selius wears a cloudy brow, how he paces up and down the colonnade late ; how his heavy countenance silently bespeaks some me- lancholy thought ; how his ugly nose almost touches the ground ; how with his right hand he beats his breast and plucks his hair. Yet he is not lamenting the death of a friend or of a brother ; each of his sons is living and 1 hope may live ; his wife, too, is safe, and his chattels and his slaves ; neither his tenant nor his steward has made default. His sorrow then what is the cause of it ? He dines at home !

XII

How shall I explain this, that your kisses smell of myrrh, and that there is about you invariably some foreign odour ? This is suspect to me, your being well-scented, Postumus, always. Postumus, he is not well scented who always is well-scented !

XIII

THE judge wants his fee, and your counsel wants his. My advice, Sextus, is : pay your creditor.

XIV

NOTHING Selius leaves untried, nothing unventured, as often as he perceives at last that he must dine at home. He scurries to Europa's Portico 1 and pours forth praise and interminable praise of you, Pau- linus, and of your feet that vie with Achilles'. If

rape of Europa. As to its connection with running matches, cf. vii. xxxii. 12.

117


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

si nihil Europe fecit, tune Saepta petuntur, 5

si quid Phillyrides praestet et Aesonides. hie quoque deceptus Memphitica templa frequentat,

adsidet et cathedris, maesta iuvenca, tuis. inde petit centum pendentia tecta columnis,

illinc Pompei dona nemusque duplex. 10

nee Fortunati spernit nee balnea Fausti

nee Grylli tenebras Aeoliamque Lupi : nam thermis iterum ternis iterumque lavatur.

omnia cum fecit, sed renuente deo, lotus ad Europes tepidae buxeta recurrit, 15

si quis ibi serum carpat amicus iter. per te perque tuarn, vector lascive, puellam,

ad cenam Selium tu, rogo, taure, voca.

XV

QUOD nulli calicem tuum propinas, humane facis, Horme, non superbe.

XVI

ZOILUS aegrotat : faciunt hanc stragula febrem.

si fuerit sanus, coccina quid facient ? quid torus a Nilo, quid Sidone tinctus olenti ?

ostendit stultas quid nisi morbus opes ?

1 The Saepta Julia, an enclosure in the Campus Martius, begun by Julius Caesar, and completed by Agrippa. It con- tained shops, and became a fashionable place of resort : cf. li. lix.; ix. lix. Pliny (Nat. Hist, xxxvi. 29) mentions it as containing a group of Chiron (Philyrides) and Achilles. Aesonides ( = Jason) probably refers to the neighbouring Porticus Argonautarwm : cf. in. xx. ; XI. i. 12.

118


BOOK II. xiv-xvi

Europa has produced nothing, then he makes for the Saepta, 1 to see if the son of Philyras and the son of Aeson will guarantee him anything. Baffled in this quarter, too, he haunts the temple of Isis, 2 and takes his seat beside the chairs, sad heifer, of thy worship- pers. Thence he seeks the roof poised on a hundred columns ; 3 from there Pompey's gift with its double groves. Neither of Fortunatus nor of Faustus does he spurn the bath, nor Gryllus' gloom and Lupus' cave of the winds ; as to the three hot baths 4 he bathes again and again. When he has done every- thing the god still refusing his wishes after his bath he runs again to the box-groves of sun-warmed Europa, in hope that there some friend may be walk- ing late. Wanton carrier, I pray thee by thyself and by thy virgin freight, 5 do thou, O bull, ask Selius to dinner. 6

XV

To no one do you pass your cup to pledge you. This is human feeling. 7 Hormus, not pride.

XVI

ZOILUS is ill : it is his bed-trappings cause this fever. Suppose him well ; what will be the use of scarlet coverlets ? What of a mattress from Nile, or of one dipped in strong-smelling purple of Sidon ? What but illness displays such foolish wealth ?

2 Also in the Campus Martius.

3 The so-called Hecatostylon, close to the Portico and Theatre of Pompey.

4 i.e. of Agrippa, Nero, and Titus. 6 Europa.

6 i.e. M. prays that S. should be thrown to a bull in the Arena (Friedlander) : cf. I. xliii. 14. Others explain that M. hopes Jupiter will remove S. from the world.

7 Because his lips polluted the cup (Friedlander).


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

quid tibi cum medicis ? dimitte Machaonas omnis. 5 vis fieri sanus ? stragula sume mea.

XVII

TONSTRIX Suburae faucibus sedet primis,

cruenta pendent qua flagella tortorum

Argique Letum multus obsidet sutor.

sed ista tonstrix, Ammiane, non tondet,

non tondet, inquam. quid igitur facit ? radit. 5

XVIII

CAPTO tuam, pudet heu, sed capto, Maxime, cenam,

tu captas aliam : iam sumus ergo pares, mane salutatum venio, tu diceris isse

ante salutatum : iam sumus ergo pares, sum comes ipse tuus tumidique anteambulo regis, 5

tu comes alterius : iam sumus ergo pares. esse sat est servum, iam nolo vicarius esse.

qui rex est, regem, Maxime, non habeat.

XIX

FELICEM fieri credis me, Zoile, cena ?

felicem cena, Zoile, deinde tua ? debet Aricino conviva recumbere clivo,

quern tua felicem, Zoile, cena facit.


1 cf. I. iii. 1 ; cxvii. 9. z Sensu obsceno. 3 cf. 11. xxxii. I2O


BOOK II. xvi-xix

What do you want with doctors? Dismiss all your physicians. Do you wish to become well ? Take my bed-trappings !

XVII

A FEMALE barber sits just at the entrance of the Subura, where the blood-stained scourges of the executioners hang, and many a cobbler faces the Potter's Field. 1 But that female barber, Ammianus, does not crop you ; she does not crop you, I say. What, then, does she do ? She skins you. 2


XVIII

I FISH for your invitation to dinner ; I am ashamed, alas ! yet, Maximus, I fish for it ; you fish for another man's ; so now we are a pair. In the morning I attend your levee ; you, they tell me, have gone before to another levee ; so now we are a pair. I in person am your attendant, and the escort of a haughty lord ; you are escort of another ; so now we are a pair. To be a slave is enough ; I won't any longer be a slave's slave. He who is a lord, Maxi- mus, should not have his own lord. 3


XIX

D'YE think I am made happy, Zoilus, by a dinner ? Happy by a dinner, Zoilus, and above all by yours ? That guest should lie at his meals on Aricia's slope 4 whom your dinner, Zoilus, makes happy.

4 A favourite resort of begears : cf. xii. xxxii. 10 ; Juv. iv. 117.

121


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

XX

CARMINA Paulus emit, recital sua carmina Paulus. nam quod emas possis hire vocare tuum.

XXI

BASIA das aliis, aliis das, Postume, dextram. dicis " Utrum mavis ? elige." malo manum.

XXII

QUID mihi vobiscum est, o Phoebe novemque sorores?

ecce nocet vati Musa iocosa suo. dimidio nobis dare Postumus ante solebat

basia. nunc labro coepit utroque dare.

XXIII

NON dicam, licet usque me rogetis,

qui sit Postumus in meo libello,

non dicam : quid enim mihi necesse est

has offendere basiationes

quae se tarn bene vindicare possunt ? 5

XXIV

" Si det iniqua tibi tristem fortuna reatum,

squalidus haerebo pallidiorque reo : si iubeat patria damnatum excedere terra,

per freta, per scopulos exulis ibo comes." Dat tibi divitias : ecquid sunt ista duorum ? 5

das partem? " Multum est." Candide, das aliquid? mecum eris ergo miser : quod si deus ore sereno

adnuerit, felix, Candide, solus eris.

1 cf. n. xv.


BOOK II. xx-xxiv

XX

PAULUS purchases poetry, Paulus recites the poetry as his. For what you purchase you may rightly call your own.

XXI

KISSES you give to some ; to others you give, Postumus, your hand. You say, " Which do you prefer ? Choose." I prefer the hand. 1

XXII

WHAT do I want with you, O Phoebus, and ye Sisters Nine ? See how the jesting Muse injures her own bard ! Postumus used before to give me kisses with half his lips ; now he begins to give them with both.

XXIII

I WILL not say, however repeatedly you ask me, who is the Postumus in my little book ; I will not say. For why must I offend those kisses which can so well avenge themselves ?

XXIV

" SHOULD unkind Fortune give you the sad lot of one accused, in squalid guise will I cling to you, paler than the accused. Should she bid you, a con- demned man, to leave your fatherland, over seas, over rocks will I go, companion of the exile." She gives you wealth ; does that belong to two ? Do you give half? " 'Tis much." Candidus, do you give something ? My comrade then you will be in trouble ; but let the god smile with sunny face, Candidus, your good luck you will enjoy alone.

123


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

XXV

DAS numquam, semper promittis, Galla, roganti. si semper fallis, iam rogo, Galla, nega.

XXVI

QUOD querulum spirat, quod acerbum Naevia tussit, inque tuos mittit sputa subinde sinus,

iam te rem factam, Bithynice, credis habere ? erras : blanditur Naevia, non moritur.


XXVII

LAUDANTEM Selium cenae cum retia tendit

accipe, sive legas sive patronus agas : " Effecte ! graviter ! cito ! nequiter ! euge ! beate ! "

hoc volui : facta est iam tibi cena, tace.


XXVIII

RIDETO multum qui te, Sextille, cinaedum dixerit et digitum porrigito medium.

sed nee pedico es nee tu, Sextille, fututor, ealda Vetustinae nee tibi bucca placet.

ex istis nihil es fateor, Sextille : quid ergo es ? nescio, sed tu scis res superesse duas.

XXIX

RUFE, vides ilium subsellia prima terentem, cuius et hinc lucet sardonychata manus,

1 cf. i. x. 2 The digitus infamis ; cf. Pers. ii. 33. 124


BOOK II. xxv-xxix

XXV

You never grant my prayer, Galla, but are always promising. If you are always false my prayer is now, " Galla, refuse."

XXVI

BECAUSE Naevia wheezes, because Naevia has a racking cough, and oft flings her spittle into your bosom, do you imagine, Bithynicus, that you have your object already attained ? l You are mistaken. Naevia is wheedling you ; she is not dying.

XXVII

WHEN Selius is spreading his nets for a dinner, take him with you to applaud, whether you are re- citing or acting as counsel. " A good point ! Weighty that ! How ready ! A hard hit ! Bravo ! That's happy ! " That is what I wanted. You have now earned your dinner ; hold your tongue.

XXVIII

SCOFF much at him who calls you, Sextillus, a ,

and push out your middle finger. 2 Indeed you are

no , nor are you, Sextillus, an adulterer, nor

have Vetustina's hot lips delight for you. None of those things are you, I confess, Sextillus : what then are you ? I don't know ; but you know two things remain.

XXIX

RUFUS, you see that fellow lolling in the front seats, whose hand even at this distance shines with sardonyx, and whose mantle has so often absorbed all

125


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

quaeque Tyron totiens epotavere lacernae

et toga non tactas vincere iussa nives, cuius olet toto pinguis coma Marcelliano 5

et splendent volso bracchia trita pilo. non hesterna sedet lunata lingula planta,

coccina non laesum pingit aluta pedem, et numerosa linunt stellantem splenia frontem.

ignoras quid sit ? splenia tolle, leges. 10

XXX

MUTUA viginti sestertia forte rogabam, quae vel donanti non grave munus erat.

quippe rogabatur felixque vetusque sodalis et cuius laxas area flagellat opes.

is mihi " Dives eris, si causas egeris " inquit. 5

quod peto da, Gai : non peto consilium.

XXXI

SAEPE ego Chrestinam futui. det quam bene quaeris ? supra quod fieri nil, Mariane, potest.

XXXII

Lis mihi cum Balbo est, tti Balbum ofFendere non vis, Pontice : cum Licino est, hie quoque magnus homo est.


1 South of the Circus Flaminius. Begun by Julius Caesar, and finished by Augustus, who dedicated it B.C. 11 in the name of Marcellus.

  • i.e. brand-new, not twenty-four hours old.

126


BOOK II. xxix-xxxn

the purple of Tyre, and whose toga has been made to outshine the untrodden snow ; whose greasy hair is smelt all over Marcellus' theatre l ; and whose arms gleam smooth with the hair plucked off. His shoe-latchet, not of yesterday, 2 rests on a crescent- decked 3 shoe ; scarlet leather adorns his ungalled foot; and his brow numerous patches 4 star and plaster. Don't you know what is the reason ? Lift the patches : you will read.

XXX

I ASKED, as it chanced, the loan of twenty thousand sesterces, which, even to a giver, would have been no burden. The fact was I asked them of a well- to-do and old friend, and one whose money-chest keeps in control 5 o'erflowing wealth. His answer was : " You will be rich if you plead causes." Give me what I ask, Gaius : I don't ask for advice.

XXXI

I HAVE often enjoyed Chrestina's favours. Do you ask how generously she grants them ? Beyond them, Marianus, nothing is possible.

XXXII

I HAVE a lawsuit with Balbus : you don't wish to offend Balbus, Ponticus ; I have one with Licinus :

  • The crescent on the shoe was a mark of senatorial or

patrician rank : Juv. vii. 192.

4 Often used to set off beauty (cf. vni. xxxiii. 22), here to hide the marks of the branding-iron.

5 Others take flayellat as = " urges into activity."

127


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

vexat saepe meum Patrobas confinis agellum ;

contra libertum Caesaris ire times, abnegat et retinet nostrum Laronia servum ;

respondes " Orba est, dives, anus, vidua." non bene, crede mihi, servo servitur amico :

sit liber, dominus qui volet esse meus.

XXXIII

CUR non basio te, Philaeni ? calva es. cur non basio te, Philaeni ? rufa es. cur non basio te, Philaeni ? lusca es. haec qui basiat, o Philaeni, fellat.

XXXIV

CUM placeat Phileros tota tibi dote redemptus, tres pateris natos, Galla, perire fame.

praestatur cano tanta indulgentia cunno quern nee casta potest iam decuisse Venus.

perpetuam di te faciant Philerotis amicam, o mater, qua nee Pontia deterior.

XXXV

CUM sint crura tibi simulent quae cornua lunae, in rhytio poteras, Phoebe, lavare pedes.

XXXVI

FLECTERE te nolim sed nee turbare capillos ; splendida sit nolo, sordida nolo cutis ;

128


BOOK II. \\.\ii-xxxvi

he, too, is a great man. My next-door neighbour, Patrobas, often trespasses on my small field : you are afraid to oppose Caesar's freed-man. Laronia denies that I lent her my slave, and keeps him : you will answer me, "She is childless, rich, old, a widow." It is useless, believe me, to be the slave of a slave, though he is a friend : let him be free who shall wish to be my lord.

XXXIII

WHY do I not kiss you, Philaenis? You are bald. Why do I not kiss you, Philaenis ? You are carroty. Why do I not kiss you, Philaenis ? You are one-eyed. He who kisses these things, Philaenis, is capable of anything.

XXXIV

WHILE Phileros, whom with your whole dowry you have redeemed from slavery, is your favourite, you allow your three sons, Galla, to perish of hunger. Your hoary carcass is assured such indulgence as this, although riot even chaste love can any longer become it. For ever may the gods make you the mistress of Phileros, O mother, than whom not even Pontia l was viler !

XXXV

SEEING that your legs resemble the horns of the moon, you could bathe your feet, Phoebus, in a drinking-horn.

XXXVI

I WOULD not have you curl your hair, nor yet ruffle it ; I do not want your skin to be sleek, I do not 1 She poisoned her two sons (.Tuv. vi. 638).

129 VOL. I. K


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

nee tibi mitrarum nee sit tibi barba reorum : nolo virum nimium, Pannyche, nolo parum.

nunc sunt crura pilis et sunt tibi pectora saetis 5 horrida, sed mens est, Pannyche, volsa tibi.

XXXVII

QUIDQUID ponitur hinc et inde verris,

mammas suminis imbricemque porci

communemque duobus attagenam,

mullum dimidium lupumque totum

muraenaeque latus femurque pulli 5

stillantemque alica sua palumbum.

haec cum condita sunt madente mappa,

traduntur puero domum ferenda :

nos accumbimus otiosa turba.

ullus si pudor est, repone cenam : 10

eras te, Caeciliane, non vocavi.

XXXVIII

QUID mihi reddat ager quaeris, Line, Nomentanus ? hoc mihi reddit ager : te, Line, non video.

XXXIX

COCCINA famosae donas et ianthina moechae : vis dare quae meruit munera ? mitte togam.

1 M. is probably thinking of the eunuch and depilated priests of Cybele (Friedlander).

130


BOOK II, xxxvi xxxix

want it to be dirty ; do not let your beard be that of Orientals l nor yet that of men on trial ; 2 I dp not want one too much a man, Pannychus ; I do not want one too little. As it is, your shanks are shaggy with hair and your chest is with bristles : but it is your mind, Pannychus, that is depilated.

XXXVII

WHATEVER is served you sweep off from this or that part of the table : the teats of a sow's udder and a rib of pork, and a heathcock meant for two, half a mullet, and a bass whole, and the side of a lamprey, and the leg of a fowl, and a pigeon dripping with its white sauce. These dainties, when they have been hidden in your sodden napkin, are handed over to your boy to carry home : we recline at table, an idle crowd. If you have any decency, restore our dinner ; I did not invite you, Caecilianus, to a meal to-morrow.

XXXVIII

Do you ask, Linus, what my Nomentan farm returns me ? This my land returns me : 1 don't see you, Linus.

XXXIX

You present a notorious adulteress with scarlet and violet dresses. Do you want to give her the present she has deserved? Send her a toga. 3

2 Who let their beards grow unkempt to excite the jury's compassion.

3 Courtesans, or women in adulterio deprthennae, were compelled by law to wear the toga.

IS'

K 2


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

XL

URI Tongilius male dicitur hemitritaeo.

novi hominis fraudes : esurit atque sitit. subdola tenduntur crassis nunc retia turdis,

hamus et in mullum mittitur atque lupum. Caecuba saccentur quaeque annus coxit Opimi, 5

condantur parco fusca Falerna vitro, omnes Tongilium medici iussere lavari :

o stulti, febrem creditis esse ? gula est.

XLI

" RIDE si sapis, o puella, ride "

Paelignus, puto, dixerat poeta.

sed non dixerat omnibus puellis.

verum ut dixerit omnibus puellis,

non dixit tibi : tu puella non es, 5

et tres sunt tibi, Maximina, dentes,

sed plane piceique buxeique.

quare si speculo mihique credis,

debes non aliter timere risum,

quam ventum Spanius manumque Prisons, 10

quam cretata timet Fabulla nimbum,

cerussata timet Sabella solem.

voltus indue tu magis severos

quam coniunx Priami nurusque maior.

mimos ridiculi Philistionis 15

et convivia nequiora vita,

et quidquid lepida procacitate

laxat perspicuo labella risu.

1 Ovid ; but the passage is not found in his extant works. He, however, gives a warning against laughing if the teeth are bad (Art. Am. iii. 279 seqq.).

132


BOOK II. XL-XLI

XL

'Tis a false report that Tongilius is being consumed by a semi-tertian fever. I know the tricks of the man : he is hungry and thirsty. Crafty nets are now being stretched for dull-witted thrushes, and the hook is being let down for the mullet and the bass. Let the Caecuban be strained, and the wines Opimius' year ripened ; let the dark Falernian be poured in small glasses. All his doctors have ordered Tongilius to take baths. O you fools ! Think you this is a fever ? 'Tis gluttony.

XLI

" LAUGH, if you are wise, O girl, laugh," the Pe- lignian bard, 1 I think, said. But he did not say it to all girls. However, granted he said it to all girls, he did not say it to you : you are not a girl, and you have three teeth, Maximina, but they are altogether of the hue of pitch or boxwood. So, if you trust your mirror and me, you ought to dread laughing as much as Spanius dreads a breeze, 2 and Priscus the touch of a hand ; as' much as pearl- powdered Fabulla dreads a shower, white-leaded Sabella dreads the sun. Do you put on an aspect more grave than that of Priam's. spouse and of his eldest son's wife. Avoid the mimes of laughter- moving Philistion, and revelries of looser kind, and anything that by witty wantonness unseals the lips

2 i.e. that might disorder the arrangement of his hair that conceals his baldness (cf. x. Ixxxiii.). Priscus is a fop who is afraid a touch might disorder or soil his dress (cf. in. Ixiii. 10).

.'33


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

te maestae decet adsiderc matri

lugentive virum piumve fratrem, 20

et tantum tragicis vacare Musis.

at tu iudicium secuta nostrum

plora, si sapis, o puella, plora.

XLII

ZOILE, quid solium subluto podice perdis ? spurcius ut fiatj Zoile, merge caput.

XLIII

Koti/a <iAa>v haec sunt, haec sunt tua, Candide, Kowd,

quae tu magnilocus iiocte dieque sonas ? te Lacedaemonio velat toga lota Galaeso

vel quam seposito de grege Parma dedit : at me, quae passa est furias et cornua tauri, 5

noluerit dici quam pila prima suam. misit Agenoreas Cadmi tibi terra lacernas :

non vendes nummis coccina nostra tribus. tu Libycos Indis suspendis dentibus orbis :

fulcitur testa fagina mensa mihi. 10

inmodici tibi flava tegunt chrysendeta mulli :

concolor in riostra, cammare, lance rubes. grex tuus Iliaco pbterat certare cinaedo :

at mihi succurrit pro Ganymede manus. ex opibus tantis veteri fidoque sodali 15

das nihil et dicis, Candide, KOIVO.


1 The pila was a dummy figure thrown into the Arena to enrage the bull: cf. Lib. Spect. ix. 4; x. Ixxxvi. The first one thrown would be the worst gored.

134


BOOK II. XLI-XUH

in manifest laughter. You should rightly sit by some sorrowing mother, or by one who weeps for her hus- band or loving brother, and you should be free only for the tragic Muse. Nay, follow my advice, and weep, if you are wise, O girl, weep.

XLII

ZOILUS, why do you defile the bath by immersing your latter end ? To make it dirtier, Zoilus, plunge in your head.

XLIII

"FRIENDS have all in common." Is this, is this, Candidus, that "all in common" which you night and day mouth pompously ? A toga dipt in Lacedaemo- nian Galaesus enwraps you, or one which Parma has supplied you out of a choice flock ; as for mine, it is one which has suffered the fury and horns of a bull, one which the first straw-dummy 1 would refuse to have called its own. The land of Cadmus has sent you Tyrian mantles ; my scarlet one you could not sell for sixpence. You poise round Libyan table-tops on legs of Indian ivory ; my beechen table is propped on a tile. Mullets of huge size cover your yellow gold-inlaid dishes ; thou, O crab, 2 matching its hue, dost blush upon my plate. Your train of slaves might have vied with the cup-bearer from Ilium ; but my own hand is Ganymede to serve me. Out of such wealth to your old and trusty comrade do you give nothing, and then say, Candidus, " Friends have all in common " ?

a The cammarus was cheap food (cf. Juv. v. 84), and was served on common red earthenware.

135


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

XL1V

EMI seu puerum togamve pexam

seu tres, ut puta, quattuorve libras,

Sextus protinus ille fenerator,

quern nostis veterem meum sodalem,

ne quid forte petam timet cavetque, 5

et secum, sed ut audiam, susurrat :

" Septem milia debeo Secundo,

Phoebo quattuor, undecim Phil etc,

et quadrans mihi nullus est in area."

o grande ingenium mei sodalis ! 10

durum est, Sexte, negare, cum rogaris,

quanto durius, antequam rogeris !


XLV

QUAE tibi rion stabat praecisa est mentula, Glypte. demens, cum ferro quid tibi ? Gallus eras.


XLVI

FLORIDA per varies ut pingitur Hybla colores,

oum breve Sicaniae ver populantur apes, sic tua subpositis conlucent prela lacernis,

sic micat innumeris arcula synthesibus, atque unam vestire tribum tua Candida possunt, "j

Apula non uno quae grege terra tulit. tu spectas hiemem succincti lentus amici

pro scelus ! et lateris frigora trita tui. 1 quantum erat, infelix, pannis fraudare duobus

quid metuis ? non te, Naevole, sed tineas ? 10

1 tni Friedlander, times codd. 136


BOOK II. XLIV-XLVI

XLIV

SUPPOSE I have bought a slave or a long-napped toga, or three, say, or four pounds of plate ; straight- way Sextus, the money-lender yonder whom you know to be mine ancient comrade, is timorous and careful lest perchance I should ask a loan, and mur- murs to himself, but so that I may hear : " Seven thousand I owe to Secundus, to Phoebus four, eleven to Philetus, and there isn't a farthing in my chest ! " O grand device of my comrade ! It is harsh to refuse, Sextus, when you are asked ; how much harsher before you are asked !

XLV

NERVELESS as you are, you have been operated upon, Glyptus. Madman, what use had you for the knife ? You were a Gaul l before.

XLVI

LIKE the flowers of Hybla painted in varied hues, what time Sicilian bees ravage the brief-lived spring, so shine your presses with mantles laid between, so gleams your chest with countless dinner suits, and a whole tribe might be clothed in the white togas which Apulia's land has brought you out of more flocks than one. You regard without concern your shivering, thin-clad friend what an outrage ! and your escort, threadbare and cold. What sacrifice were it, wretched man, to cheat of a couple of rags why be afraid ? not yourself, Naevolus, but the moths?

1 See note to in. xxiv. 13.

'37


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

XLVII

SUBDOLA famosae moneo fuge retia moechae,

levior o conchis, Galle, Cytheriacis. confidis natibus ? non est pedico maritus :

quae facial duo sunt : irrumat aut futuit.

XLVII I

COPONEM laniumque balneumque,

tonsorem tabulamque calculosque

et paucos, sed ut eligam, libellos :

unum non nimium rudem sodalem

et grandem puerum diuque levem 5

et caram puero meo puellam :

haec praesta mihi, Rufe, vel Butuntis,

et thermas tibi habe Neronianas.

XLIX

UXOREM nolo Telesinam ducere : quare ?

moecha est. sed pueris dat Telesina. volo.

L

QUOD fellas et aquam potas, nil, Lesbia, peccas. qua tibi parte opus est, Lesbia, sumis aquam.

LI

UNUS saepe tibi tota denarius area

cum sit et hie culo tritior, Hylle, tuo, non tamen hunc pistor, non auferet hunc tibi copo,

sed si quis nimio pene superbus erit. infelix venter spectat convivia culi 5

et semper miser hie esurit, ille vorat.

138


BOOK II. xi.vn-i.1

XLVI1

FLY, Gallus, I warn you, from the crafty toils of the infamous adulteress, smoother though you are than conch-shells of Cytherea. Do you trust in your own charms ? The husband is not of that sort : there are two things he can do, and neither is what you offer.

XLVIII

A TAVERNER, and a butcher and a bath, a barber, and a draught-board and pieces, and a few books but to be chosen by me a single comrade not too unlettered, and a tall boy and not early bearded, and a girl dear to my boy warrant these to me, Rufus, even at Butunti, 1 and keep to yourself Nero's warm baths.

XLIX

I WILL not take Telesina to wife : why ? she is an adulteress. But Telesina is kindly to boys. I will.

L

You and drink water : 'tis no error, Lesbia. Just where you need it, Lesbia, you take water.

LI

QUANTUNQUE tutto il tuo danaro sorvente noil con- sista, O Hyllo, che in una sola moneta, e questa piu rimenata del tuo culo ; con tutto ci6 il panatiere non te la tirer& dalle mani, ne tampoco 1'oste ; ma bensi se qualcuno sar baldanzoso per esser bene in mem- bro. Lo sfortunato ventre sta a videre i banchetti del culo, e mentre miserabile, questo ha sempre fame, quello divora.

1 An insignificant town in Calabria : cj\ iv. Iv.

139


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

LII

NOVIT loturos Dasius numerare : poposcit mammosam Spatalen pro tribus : ilia dedit.

LIII

Vis liber fieri ? mentiris, Maxima, noil vis :

sed fieri si vis, hac ratione potes. liber eris, cenare foris si, Maxime, nolis,

Veientana tuam si domat uva sitim, si ridere potes miseri chrysendeta Cinnae, 5

contentus nostra si potes esse toga, si plebeia Venus gemino tibi iungitur asse,

si tua non rectus tecta subire potes. haec tibi si vis est, si mentis tanta potestas,

liberior Partho vivere rege potes. 10

LIV

QUID de te, Line, suspicetur uxor

et qua parte velit pudiciorem,

certis indiciis satis probavit.

custodem tibi quae dedit spadonem.

nil nasutius hac maligniusque. 5

LV

Vis te, Sexte, coli : volebam amare. jiarenduni est tibi ; quod iubes, col ere : sed si te oolo, Sexte, non araabo.


140


BOOK II. Lit-i.v

LI I

DASIUS knows how to count his bathers. He demanded of Spatale, that full-breasted lady, the entrance-moneys of three ; she gave them.

LIII

Do you wish to become free ? You lie, Maximus ; you don't wish. But if you do wish, in this way you can become so. You will be free, Maximus, if you refuse to dine abroad, if Veii's grape l quells your thirst, if you can laugh at the gold-inlaid dishes of the wretched Cinna, if you can content yourself with a toga such HS mine, if your plebeian amours are handfasted at the price of twopence, if you can endure to stoop as you enter your dwelling. If this is your strength of mind, if such its power over itself, you can live more free than a Parthian king.

LIV

WHAT your wife's suspicion of you is, Linus, and in what particular she wishes you to be more re- spectable, she has sufficiently proved by unmistak- able signs, in setting as watcher over you a eunuch. Nothing is more sagacious and more spiteful than this lady.

LV

You wish to be courted, Sextus ; I wished to love you. I must obey you ; as you demand, you shall be courted. But if I court you, Sextus, I shall not love you.

1 Veientan wine was turbid and inferior : cf. I. eiv. 9 ; in. xlix.

141


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

LVI

GENTIBUS in Libycis uxor tua, Galle, male audit

inmodicae foedo crimine avaritiae. sed mera narrantur mendacia : non solet ilia

accipere omnino. quid solet ergo ? dare.

LVI I

Hie quern videtis gressibus vagis lentum, amethystinatus media qui secat Saepta, quern non lacernis Publius meus vincit, non ipse Cordus alpha paenulatorum, quern grex togatus sequitur et capillatus 5

recensque sella linteisque lorisque, oppigneravit modo modo ad Cladi mensam vix octo nummis anulum, unde cenaret.

LVI 1 1

PEXATUS pulchre rides mea, Zoile, trita.

sunt haec trita quidem, Zoile, sed mea sunt.

LIX

MICA vocor : quid sim cernis, cenatio parva : ex me Caesareum prospicis ecce tholum.

frange toros, pete vina, rosas cape, tinguere nardo : ipse iubet mortis te meminisse deus.

1 Where Gallus was perhaps governor.

  • See note to IL xiv. 5.
ef. v. xxvi., where M. apologises to Cordus.

4 Generally supposed to refer to a banqueting-hall said to have been built by Domitian, and having a view of the

142


BOOK II. LVI-LIX

LVI

AMONGST Libyan tribes l your wife, Gallus, has a bad reputation ; they charge her foully with insatiate greed. But these stories are simply lies ; she is not at all in the habit of receiving favours. What, then, is her habit ? To give them.

LVI I

THIS fellow, whom you observe languidly wander- ing ; who, in an amethystine gown, parts the crowd in the middle of the Saepta ; 2 whom my Publius does not outshine with his mantle, not Cordus him- self, A 1 in cloaks; 3 whom a throng of clients in togas and of long-haired slaves attends, and whose sedan has new blinds and straps this fellow has only just now with difficulty pawned for eighteenpence, at Cladus' counter, a ring to get a dinner !

LVIII

SMART in a long-napped toga, you laugh, Zoilus, at my threadbare garb. 'Tis threadbare no doubt, Zoilus, but 'tis my own.

LIX

" THE Tiny " 4 am I called ; what I am thou seest, a small dining-room ; from me thou lookest, see, upon Caesar's dome. Crush the couches, call for wine, wear roses, anoint thee with nard ; the god 5 himself bids thee to remember death.

Mausoleum August!, which stood about 650 yards S. of the Porta Flamiuia, the N. gate of Rome. Burn, however (Rome and C. p. 223), places the Mica Aurea on the Coelian and identifies " Caesar's dome " as the Palace on the Palatine. s Augustus, buried in the Mausoleum : cf. v. Ixiv. 5.

MS


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

LX

UXOREM armati futuis, puer Hylle, tribuni, supplicium tantum dum puerile times.

vae tibi ! dum ludis, castrabere. iam mihi dices "Non licet hoc." quid? tu quod facis, Hylle, licet?

LXI

CUM tibi vernarent dubia lanugine malae,

lambebat medios inproba lingua viros. postquam triste caput fastidia vispillonum

et miseri meruit taedia carnificis, uteris ore aliter nimiaque aerugine captus 5

adlatras nomen quod tibi cumque datur. haereat inguinibus potius tarn noxia lingua :

nam cum fellaret, purior ilia fuit.

LXII

QUOD pectus, quod crura tibi, quod bracchia vellis, quod cincta est brevibus mentula tonsa pilis,

hoc praestas, Labiene, tuae (quis nescit ?) amicae. cui praestas, culum quod, Labiene, pilas?


LXIII

SOLA tibi fuerant sestertia, Miliche, centum, quae tulit e sacra Leda redempta via.

Miliche, luxuria est si tanti dives amares.

" Non amo " iam dices : haec quoque luxuria est.

1 Domitian forbade castration : cf. vi. 2; Suet. Dom. vii. For supp. puerile, cf. n. xlvii. and xlix.

144


BOOK II. LX-LXIII

LX

You have relations, boy Hyllus, with the wife of an armed tribune, and all the time are dreading only a boy's punishment. Alas for you ! in the midst of your enjoyments you will be gelded. You will reply "This is not permitted." J Well ? Is what you are doing, Hyllus, permitted ?

LXI

ALLORCHE un'apparente laiiugine spontava su '1 tuo volte, la sozza tua lingua lambiva i centri virili. Dopo che la tua odiata testa si tir6 1'aversione de' beccamorti, e lo schiffo del carnefice, fai altr'uso della tua lingua, ossesso da un'eccessivo livore, la scateni contro chiunque ti viene in mente. Sia la tua esecrabil lingua piu tosto appesa alle pudenda, imperocche essa mentre fellava, era meno impura.

LXII

IL perche ti dissetoli il petto, le gambe, le braccia, il perche la rasa tua mentola e cinta di curti peli, chi non sa che tutto questo, O Labieno, prepari per la tua arnica? Per chi, O Labieno, prepari tu il culo che dissetoli ?

LXIII

ONLY a hundred thousand sesterces was what you possessed, Milichus, and these the purchase of Leda in the Sacred Way made off with. Milichus, 'tis ex- travagance to love at such a price even if you were rich. " I am not in love," you will reply ; that too 2 is extravagance.

2 i.e. all the more.

MS VOL. I. L


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

LXIV

DUM modo causidicum, dum te modo rhetora fingis

et non decernis, Laure, quid esse velis, Peleos et Priami transit et Nestoris aetas

et fuerat serum iam tibi desinere. incipe, tres uno perierunt rhetores anno, 5

si quid habes animi, si quid in arte vales, si schola damnatur, fora litibus omnia fervent,

ipse potest fieri Marsua causidicus. heia age, rumpe moras : quo te sperabimus usque ?

dum quid sis dubitas, iam potes esse nihil. 10


LXV

CUR tristiorem cerniinus Saleianum ? " An causa levis est ? " inquis "extuli uxorem." o grande fati crimen ! o gravem casum ! ilia, ilia dives mortua est Secundilla, centena defies quae tibi dedit dotis ? nollem accidisset hoc tibi, Saleiane.


LXVI

UNUS de toto peccaverat orbe comarum

anulus, incerta non bene fixus acu. hoc facinus Lalage speculo, quo viderat, ulta est,

et cecidit saevis icta Plecusa comis. desine iam, Lalage, tristes ornare capillos, 5

tangat et insanum nulla puella caput.

1 A statue of Marsyas stood near the Rostra in the Forum Romanum, and was a rendezvous of lawyers : rf. Hor. I. Sat. vi. 120 ; Juv. ix. 2.

146


BOOK II. LXIV-LXVI

LXIV

WHILE you are shaping yourself, now into a pleader, now into a teacher of rhetoric, and don't decide, Taurus, what you want to be, the age of Peleus and of Priam and of Nestor has passed, and by now 'twere late for you even to be retiring. Begin three rhetoricians have died in a single year if you have any spirit, if any proficiency in your calling. If your vote is against the schools, all the courts are alive with suits : even Marsyas l himself may turn into a pleader. Up, then ! put off delay ; how long shall we be waiting for you ? While you cannot resolve what you are, at last you may be nothing. 2

LXV

WHY see we in Saleianus unwonted melancholy ? " Is the reason light? " you answer, " I have buried my wife." O grievous crime of Fate ! O heavy chance ! Is that Secundilla, that rich Secundilla, dead she who brought you as dower a million ? I am sorry this has happened to you, 3 Saleianus !

LXVI

ONE curl of the whole round of hair had gone astray, badly fixed by an insecure pin. This crime Lalage avenged with the mirror in which she had observed it, and Plecusa, smitten, fell because of those cruel locks. Cease any more, Lalage, to trick out your ill-omened tresses ; and let no maid touch

2 A play on words, i.e. "of no calling," or "dead." 8 Intentionally ambiguous.

M7 L 2


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

hoc salamandra notet vel saeva novacula nudet, ut digna speculo fiat imago tua.

LXVII

OCCURRIS quocumque loco mihi, Postume, clamas protinus et prima est haec tua vox " Quid agis ? "

hoc, si me decies una conveneris hora,

dicis : habes puto tu, Postume, nil quod agas.

LXVIII

QUOD te nomine iam tuo saluto,

quem regem et dominum prius vocabam,

ne me dixeris esse contumacem :

totis pillea sarcinis redemi.

reges et dominos habere debet 5

qui se non habet atque concupiscit

quod reges dominique concupiscunt.

servom si potes, Ole, non habere,

et regem potes, Ole, non habere.

LXIX

INVITUM cenare foris te, Classice, dicis :

si non mentiris, Classice, dispeream. ipse quoque ad cenam gaudebat Apicius ire :

cum cenaret, erat tristior ille, domi. si tamen invitus vadis, cur, Classice, vadis ? 5

"Cogor" ais : verum est; cogitur et Selius. en rogat ad cenam Melior te, Classice, rectam.

grandia verba ubi sunt ? si vir es, ecce, nega.

1 It was supposed that contact with a salamander acted as a depilatory : Plin. N.H. x. 188.

148


BOOK II. LXVI-LXIX

your distempered head. May salamander l mark it, or ruthless razor rasp it bare, that your features may befit your mirror.

LXVII

IN whatever place you meet me, Postumus, you immediately cry out and this is your first remark " How d'ye do ? " This if you meet me ten times in a single hour you say. You have, 1 think, Postumus, nothing "to do."

LXVIII

BECAUSE I greet you now by your own name whom formerly I used to call "patron" and "master," do not proclaim me insolent : I have bought my cap of liberty at the cost of all my goods and chattels. "Patrons" and "masters" a man should possess who is not possessor of himself, and who eagerly covets what patrons and masters eagerly covet. If you can endure not having a slave, Olus, you can also endure, Olus, not having a patron.

LXIX

UNWILLINGLY you dine out, you say, Classicus. If you don't lie, Classicus, may I be hanged ! Even Apicius himself was glad to go out to dinner ; when he dined at home he was the more depressed. Yet if you go unwillingly, Classicus, why do you go ? "I am obliged," you say: 'tis true; Selius 52 is also obliged. See, Melior asks you, Classicus, to a grand dinner. Where are your fine professions ? If you are a man, come, refuse !

! Who fishes for invitations : cf. II. xi.

149


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

LXX

NON vis in solio prius lavari

quemquam, Cotile. causa quae, nisi haec est,

undis ne fovearis irrumatis ?

primus te licet abluas : necesse est

ante hie mentula quam caput lavetur. 5

LXX I

CANDIDIUS nihil est te, Caeciliaiie. notavi, si quando ex nostris disticha pauca lego,

protinus aut Marsi recitas aut scripta Catulli. hoc mihi das, tamquam deteriora legas,

ut conlata magis placeant mea ? credimus istud. 5 malo tamen recites, Caeciliane, tua.

LXXII

HESTERNA factum narratur, Postume, cena

quod nollem (quis enim talia facta probet ?) os tibi percisum quanto non ipse Latinus

vilia Panniculi percutit ora sono : quodque magis minim est, auctorem criminis huius 5

Caecilium tota rumor in urbe sonat. esse negas factum : vis hoc me credere ? credo.

quid quod habet testes, Postume, Caecilius?

LXXIII

tQuio faciat volt scire Lyris : quod sobria : fellat.t

1 i.e. you are as great a source of pollution as the others you complain of : cf. n. xlii.


BOOK II. LXX-LXXIII

LXX

You are unwilling that anyone should wash in the bath before you, Cotilus. What reason is there but this, that you be not touched by polluted waters ? Be first then in the bath, but needs must be that your - - is washed here before your head. 1

LXXI

You are candour itself, Caecilianus. I have noticed that if I ever read a few distichs of my poems, at once you recite passages either of Marsus or Catullus. Is this your compliment to me, as if you were read- ing what was inferior, that, compared, my own should please me the more ? I believe that. Yet I would rather you recited your own, Caecilianus.

LXXII

A THING is said to have been done at dinner last night, Postumus, which I should deprecate for who could approve such doings ? it is said that your face was mauled, and by an assault even noisier than when Latinus smacks the beggarly cheeks of Panniculus ; 2 and what is more wonderful it is Caecilius whom as author of this outrage rumour proclaims all over the city. You say this was not done ; do you wish me to believe this ? I believe it. What if Caecilius has witnesses, Postumus ?

LXXIII

LVKIS wishes to know what she is doing. What she does when she is sober. She is .

2 Comic actors, like clown and pantaloon : cf. i. iv. 5 ; v. Ixi. 11.


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL


LXXIV

CINCTUM togatis post et ante Saufeium,

quanta reduci Regulus solet turba,

ad alta tonsum templa cum reum misit,

Materne, cernis ? invidere nolito.

comitatus iste sit precor tuus numquam. 5

hos illi amicos et greges togatorum

Fuficulenus praestat et Faventinus.

LXXV

VERBERA securi solitus leo ferre magistri

insertamque pati blandus in ora manum dedidicit pacem subito feritate reversa,

quanta nee in Libycis debuit esse iugis. nam duo de tenera puerilia corpora turba, 5

sanguineam rastris quae renovabat humum, saevos et infelix furiali dente peremit.

Martia non vidit maius harena nefas. exclamare libet " Crudelis, perfide, praedo,

a nostra pueris parcere disce lupa ! " 10

LXXVI

ARGENTI libras Marius tibi quinque reliquit. cui nihil ipse dabas, hie tibi verba dedit.

LXXVII

COSCONI, qui longa putas epigrammata nostra, utilis unguendis axibus esse potes.

1 i.e. to return thanks that his advocacy has secured their acquittal. Before trial the accused dressed in dark clothes, and let his hair and beard grow, to excite pity by his un- kempt appearance : cf. Ovid, Met. xv. 38.

'52


BOOK II. LXXEV-LXXV1I

LXXIV

SAUFEIUS is surrounded behind and in front with gowned clients, a crowd as big as escorts Regulus home when he has sent the accused with trimmed hair to the temples of the high gods. 1 Do you see him, Maternus ? Don't envy him. May such a com- pany, I pray, never be yours. These friends and troop of gowned clients 'tis Fuficulenus and Faventinus 2 who provide.

LXXV

A LION, wont to stand the blows of its fearless master, and with gentleness to suffer a hand thrust into its mouth, unlearned its peaceful ways ; a fierce- ness suddenly returned greater than he should have shown even on Libyan hills. For two boys of the youthful band that was smoothing with rakes the bloody sand, the savage, ill-starred beast slew with furious fang ; the sand of Mars never saw a greater crime. One may cry aloud : " Cruel, perfidious, robber, from our Roman wolf learn to spare boys ! "

LXXVI

MARIUS has left you five pounds of silver plate. He, whom you yourself gave nothing, has given you words. 3

LXXVI I

COSCONIUS, who think my epigrams long, you would be useful for greasing axles. 4 On this principle you

2 Moneylenders, who supply the means of display.

3 i.e. has cheated you.

4 He is a lump of stupidity, fit only for axle-grease ; cf. the proverb pingui Minerva (of stupid wit).

'53


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

hac tu credideris longum ratione colosson

et puerum Bruti dixeris esse brevem. disce quod ignoras : Marsi doctique Pedonis 5

saepe duplex unum pagina tractat opus, non sunt longa quibus nihil est quod demere possis,

sed tu, Cosconi, disticha longa facis.

LXXVIII

AESTIVO serves ubi piscem tempore, quaeris ? in thermis serva, Caeciliane, tuis.

LXXIX

INVITAS tune me cum scis, Nasica, vocasse. 1 excusatum habeas me rogo : ceno domi.

LXXX

HOSTEM cum fugeret, se Fannius ipse peremit. hie, rogo, non furor est, ne moriare, mori ?

LXXXI

LAXIOR hexaphoris tua sit lectica licebit :

cum tamen haec tua sit, Zoile, sandapila est.

LXXXII

ABSCISA servom quid figis, Pontice, lingua ? nescis tu populum, quod tacet ille, loqui ? 1 vocatum 7.

1 A statuette admired by Brutus, the assassin of Caesar : ef. ix. li. 5.

2 If vocatum (have an invitation) be read, M. returns an excuse known by N. to be false, as a hint that M. knows N.'s invitation was unreal.

154


BOOK II. i.xxvii-Lxxxn

would fancy the Colossus to be tall, and would de- scribe Brutus' boy 1 as short. Learn what you are ignorant of: often two pages of Marsus and of learned Pedo treat of a single theme. Things are not long from which you can subtract nothing ; but you, Cosconius, make your distichs long.

LXXVIII

Do you ask where to keep your fish in summer ? Keep them, Caecilianus, in your warm bath.

LXXIX

You ask me, Nasica, to dinner just when you know I have guests. 2 I beg you to hold me excused ; I dine at home.

LXXX

BECAUSE he was flying from an enemy, Fannius 3 slew himself. Is not this, I ask, madness to die to avoid death?

LXXXI

YOUR litter may be roomier than one borne by six ; but, seeing that it is yours, Zoilus, it is a pauper's bier. 4

LXXXII

WHY cut your slave's tongue out and crucify him, Ponticus ? Don't you know that the people speak of what he cannot ?

3 Fannius Caepio, condemned for conspiring against Augus- tus : Suet. Aitff. xix. and Tib. viii.

4 Which was ordinarily borne by four: cf. vi. Ixxvii.; viii. Ixxv. Z. is such a worthless 'fellow (or, perhaps, so foul a man) that he is no better than a rile cadaver.

  • 55


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

LXXX1II

FOEDASTI miserum, marite, moechum,

et se, qui fuerant prius, requirunt

trunci naribus auribusque voltus.

credis te satis esse vindicatum ?

erras : iste potest et irrumare. 5

LXXXIV

MOLLIS erat facilisque viris Poeantius heros :

volnera sic Paridis dicitur ulta Venus, cur lingat cunnum Siculus Sertorius, hoc est :

fab hocf occisus, Rufe, videtur Eryx.

LXXXV

VIMINE clausa levi niveae custodia coctae,

hoc tibi Saturni tempore munus erit. dona quod aestatis misi tibi mense Decembri

si quereris, rasam tu mihi mitte togam.

LXXXVI

QUOD nee carmine glorior supino

nee retro lego Sotaden cinaedum,

nusquam Graecula quod recantat echo

nee dictat mihi luculentus Attis

mollem debilitate galliambon, 5

non sum, Classice, tarn malus poeta.

1 cf. in. Ixxxv.

2 cf. xiv. cxvi., and Plin. N. H. xxxi. 23, and the famous Haec est Neronis decocta (Suet. Ner. xlviii.).

3 i.e. that read backward as well as forward.

4 Sotades was an obscene and scurrilous Alexandrian poet. Perhaps the reference is to verses which, read one way, are complimentary, read the other, the reverse.

156


BOOK II. LXXXIII-LXXXVI

LXXXIII

You have disfigured, O husband, the wretched adulterer, and his face, shorn of nose and ears, misses its former self. Do you believe you are suf- ficiently avenged ? You mistake ; he has still other activities. 1

LXXXIV

L'EROE Peanzio era efFeminato e compiacente agli uomini : si dice che Venere cosi abbia vendicato le ferite di Paride. II perche Sertoria Siculo sia cun- nilingo, si e, O Rufo, per quel che pare, dall'aver ucciso Erice.

LXXXV

A FLASK enclosed in light wicker-work, and pre- serving water boiled and iced, 2 this shall be your present at Saturn's season. If you complain that I have sent you the gift of summer in the month of December, do you send me a thin, smooth toga.


LXXXVI

BECAUSE I do not pride myself on topsy-turvy verses, 3 nor read backwards in obscene Sotadics; 4 because nowhere does a Greekling echo 5 answer you, nor does graceful Attis dictate to me galli- ambics, voluptuous and broken, I am not, Classicus,

5 Versus echoici, where a concluding word echoes a pre- ceding one (e.g. rerits and eris) ; or where the first words of an hexameter are repeated at the end of the pentameter.

6 A beautiful youth, beloved by Cybele, the Great Mother of the Gods, who gives his name to a poem by Catullus (Ixiii.) in the Galliambic metre.

157


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

quid si per gracilis vias petauri

invitum iubeas subire Ladan ?

turpe est difficiles habere nugas

et stultus labor est ineptiarum. 10

scribat carinina circulis Palaemon :

me raris iuvat auribus placere.

LXXXVII

DICIS amore tui bellas ardere puellas,

qui faciem sub aqua, Sexte, natantis habes.

LXXXVIII

NIL recitas et vis, Mamerce, poeta videri. quidquid vis esto, dummodo nil recites.

LXXXIX

QUOD nimio gaudes noctem producere vino, ignosco : vitium, Gaure, Catonis habes.

carmina quod scribis Musis et Apolline nullo, laudari debes : hoc Ciceronis habes.

quod vomis, Antoni : quod luxuriaris, Apici. 5

quod fellas, vitium die mihi cuius habes ?

XC

QUINTILIANE, vagae moderator summe iuventae,

gloria Romanae, Quintiliane, togae, vivere quod propero pauper nee inutilis annis,

da veniam : properat vivere nemo satis.

1 A famous Spartan runner, and winner at the Olympic games : ef. x. c.

I5S


BOOK II. LXXXVI-XC

a bad poet after all. What if you bade Ladas * unwillingly to mount the narrow ways of a spring- board ? 'Tis degrading to undertake difficult trifles ; and foolish is the labour spent on puerilities. Let Palaemon 2 write poems for the general throng; my delight is to please listeners few and choice.

LXXXVII

You say that beautiful girls burn with love for you, Sextus, who have a face like that of a man swimming under water ! 3

LXXXVIII

You recite nothing, and yet wish, Mamercus, to be held a poet. Be what you like provided you recite nothing.

LXXXIX

YOUR joy in prolonging the night with too much wine I pardon ; this vice of yours, Gaurus, was Cato's. Your writing poems, aided by no Muse and no Apollo, must merit praise ; this gift of yours was Cicero's. Your vomiting, 'twas Antony's vice ; your luxury, Apicius'. Your beastliness tell me, whose vice was that ?

XC

QUINTILIAN, illustrious trainer of errant youth ; Quintilian, glory of the Roman toga ; because, though still poor, yet of an age not worn out, I am quick to enjoy life, pardon me ; no man is quick

2 A grammarian and improvisatore of the day, who com- posed in unusual metres : Suet. De Gram. xxii.

3 i.e. bloated and disfigured : c/. in. Ixxxix.


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

differat hoc patrios optat qui vincere census 5

atriaque inmodicis artat imaginibus. me focus et nigros non indignantia fumos

tecta iuvant et fons vivus et herba rudis. sit mihi verna satur, sit non doctissima coniuux,

sit nox cum somno, sit sine lite dies. 10

XCI

RERUM certa salus, terrarum gloria, Caesar,

sospite quo magnos credimus esse deos, si festinatis totiens tibi lecta libellis

detinuere oculos carmina nostra tuos, quod fortuna vetat fieri permitte videri, 5

natorum genitor credar ut esse trium. haec, si displicui, fuerint solacia nobis ;

haec fuerint nobis praemia, si placui.

XCII

NATORUM mihi ius trium roganti Musarum pretium dedit mearum solus qui poterat. valebis, uxor. non debet domini perire munus.

XCIII

" PRIMUS ubi est" inquis "cum sit liber iste secundus?" quid faciam si plus ille pudoris habet ?

tu tamen hunc fieri si mavis, Regule, primum, unum de titulo tollere iota potes.

1 By the Lex Julia et Papia Poppaea in A.D. 9 certain privileges were conferred on the fathers of three sons (jus trium liberorum). These privileges were afterwards often

1 60


BOOK II. xc-xrm

enough to enjoy life. Let him delay who craves to surpass his father's means and crowds beyond measure his hall with busts. My hearth and a roof-tree that disdains not sooty smoke delight me, and a bubbling spring and untrimmed sward. Let me have a plump home-born slave, have a wife not too lettered, have night with sleep, have day without a lawsuit.

XCI

SURE saviour of our State, the world's glory, Caesar, from whose safety we win belief that the great gods exist, if, so oft read by thee in hurried books, my poems have held thine eyes captive, vouchsafe me in repute what Fortune denies me, that I be deemed the sire of three sons. 1 This, if I have displeased, shall be my solace ; this shall be my reward if I have pleased.

XCII

WHEN I begged for the right of a father of three sons, 1 he, who alone could, gave me the reward of my Muse. Good bye, wife ! The bounty of my master should not perish.

XCIII

"WHERE is the first book," you say, "if that is the second ? " What can I do if my first book is too shy ? Yet if you, Regulus, prefer that this should become the first, you can take one " I " from

its title.


given even to childless or unmarried persons. Both Titus and Domitian conferred them on M.: cf. ill. xcv. 5 ; ix. xcvii. 5.

161 VOL. I. M


BOOK III


LIBER TERTIUS


Hoc tibi quidquid id est longinquis mittit ab oris Gallia Romanae nomine dicta togae.

hunc legis et laudas librum fortasse priorem : ilia vel haec mea sunt, quae meliora putas.

plus sane placeat domina qui natus in urbe est : debet enim Gallum vincere verna liber.


II

Cuius vis fieri, libelle, munus ?

festina tibi vindicem parare,

ne nigram cito raptus in culinam

cordylas madida tegas papyro

vel turis piperisve sis cucullus. 5

Faustini fugis in sinum ? sapisti.

cedro nunc licet ambules perunctus

et frontis gemino decens honore

pictis luxurieris umbilicis,

et te purpura delicata velet, 10

et cocco rubeat superbus index.

illo vindice nee Probum timeto.

1 Gallia Togata, that part of Cisalpine Gaul where the toga was worn, i.e. on the Roman side of the Po. M. was here at the time : cf. HI. iv. 4.

164


BOOK III


THIS, whate'er its worth, Gaul, named after Rome's toga, 1 sends you from distant snores. You read this book, and perhaps praise the former one ; that or this I claim as mine, the one you deem the better. Let that which was born in the Queen City by all means please you more : for the home-born book should surpass the Gaul.

II

FOR whom, my little book, would you become a present? Haste to get to yourself a protector, lest, hurried off to a sooty kitchen, you wrap tunny-fry in your sodden papyrus, or be a cornet for incense or pepper. Fly you to Faustinus' bosom ? You are wise. Now may you strut abroad, anointed with cedar-oil, and, spruce with the twin deckings of your brow, wax insolent with painted bosses, 2 and a delicate purple clothe you, and your title proudly blush with scarlet. With him for your protector do not fear even Probus. 3

2 The two edges of the papyrus roll (called brows) were gaily coloured. The bosses were the ends of the cylinder round which the roll was wrapped. The outer membrane or envelope of all was coloured purple.

3 A celebrated critic of the day : Suet. De. Gram. xxiv.


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

III

[FORMOSAM faciem nigro medicamine celas, sed non formoso corpore laedis aquas.

ipsam crede deam verbis tibi dicere nostris : "Aut aperi faciem, aut tunicata lava."]


ROMAM vade, liber : si, veneris unde, requiret,

Aemiliae dices de regione viae. si, quibus in terris, qua simus in urbe, rogabit,

Corneli referas me licet esse Foro. cur absim, quaeret : breviter tu multa fatere :

"Non poterat vanae taedia ferre togae." " Quando venit ? " dicet : tu respondeto : " Poeta

exierat : veniet, cum citharoedus erit."


Vis commendari sine me cursurus in urbem,

parve liber, multis, an satis unus erit ? unus erit, mihi crede, satis, cui non eris hospes,

lulius, adsiduum nomen in ore meo. protinus hunc primae quaeres in limine Tectae : 5

quos tenuit Daphnis, nunc tenet ille lares, est illi coniunx, quae te manibusque sinuque

excipiet, tu vel pulverulentus eas.

1 Ran from Ariminum (Rimini) to Placentia (Piacenza) in Cisalpine Gaul. Cornelii Forum, a town called after the Dictator Sulla ; now Imola.

166


BOOK III. m-v

III

A BEAUTEOUS face you conceal with black ointment but with a body not beauteous you insult the waters. Believe that the very goddess of the spring says to you in my words : " Either disclose your face or bathe in your shift ! "

IV

Go, book, to Rome ; if she shall ask whence you came, you will say " From the district of the Aemi- lian Way." l If she shall ask in what lands, in what city, I am, you may report that I am in Cornelii Forum. 1 She will ask why I am abroad ; in brief do you make full confession : "He could not en- dure the weariness of the futile toga." "When comes he?" she will say; do you reply: "A poet he departed ; he will return when he is a harp- player." 2


Now you purpose hurrying to the city without me, little book, do you wish to be recommended to many, or will one be enough ? One will be enough, believe me, one to whom you will be no stranger, Julius, a name perpetually in my mouth. Right before you, just at the very threshold of the Covered Way, 3 you must look for him ; he now occupies the house which Daphnis occupied. He has a wife who with hand and heart will welcome you, however dusty

2 A lucrative calling : cf. \. Ivi. 9.

3 A colonnade closed at both ends, in the N. of Rome, not far from the Mausoleum of Augustus.

167


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

hos tu seu pariter sive hanc illumve priorem

videris, hoc dices " Marcus havere iubet," 10

et satis est ; alios cornmendet epistula : peccat qui commendandum se putat esse suis.

VI

Lux tibi post Idus numeratur tertia Maias,

Marcelline, tuis bis celebranda sacris. inputat aetherios ortus haec prima parenti ;

libat florentes haec tibi prima genas. magna licet dederit iucundae munera vitae, 5

plus numquam patri praestitit ille dies.

VII

CENTUM miselli iam valete quadrantes, anteambulonis congiarium lassi, quos dividebat balneator elixus. quid cogitatis, o fames amicorum ? regis superbi sportulae recesserunt. 5

" Nihil stropharum est : iam salarium dandum est."

VIII "THAiDAQuintusamat." "Quam Thaida?" "Thaida

luscam." unum oculum Thais non habet, ille duos.


1 The first shaving of the beard was considered the first day of manhood, and was sacred. The hair was often dedi- cated to a god : cf. i. xxxi. Nero dedicated his to Jupiter Capitolinus in a gold box studded with pearls, and instituted

168


BOOK III. v-vm

you arrive. Whether you see them both at once, or her or him first, you will say this : " Marcus sends greeting/' and it is enough. A letter may recom- mend others : he errs who thinks he should be recommended to his friends.

VI

THIS is the third morn counted to you after the tdes of May, Marcellinus, one twice to be honoured by your rites. This first made your father debtor for his birth into the light of heaven ; this first takes toll of your blooming cheeks. 1 Though that day gave him the great gift of a joyous life, yet it has not given thy sire more than it gives now.


VII

FAREWELL now, ye hundred wretched farthings, the largess of the jaded escort, ye whom the parboiled bath-man parcelled out. What think ye, my famished friends ? The doles of a haughty patron are gone. " No wriggling serves ; at once he must give a salary." 2

VIII

" QUINTUS loves Thais." " Which Thais ? " " Thais the one-eyed." Thais lacks one eye, he both.

the festival of the Juvenalia in honour of the event ; Suet. Nzr. xii. ; Tac. Ann. xiv. xv.

2 Nero substituted for a dinner a dole to clients of a hundred farthings. Uomitian restored the dinner. But many clients (the "famished friends" of the epigram) de- pended on the money dole, for which a dinner was a bad substitute : cf. in. xxx. and Ix.

169


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

IX

VERSICULOS in me narratur scribere Cinna. non scribit, cuius carmina nemo legit.

X

CONSTITUIT, Philomuse, pater tibi inilia bina menstrua perque omnis praestitit ilia dies,

luxuriam premeret cum crastina semper egestas et vitiis essent danda diurna tuis.

idem te moriens heredem ex asse reliquit. 5

exheredavit te, Philomuse, pater.

XI

Si tua nee Thais nee lusca est, Quinte, puella, cur in te factum distichon esse putas ?

sed simile est aliquid. pro Laide Thaida dixi ? die mihi, quid simile est Thais et Hermione ?

tu tamen es Quintus : mutemus nomen amantis : 5 si non vult Quintus, Thaida Sextus amet.

XII

UNOUENTUM, fateor, bonum dedisti

convivis here, sed nihil scidisti.

res salsa est bene olere et esurire.

qui non cenat et unguitur, Fabulle,

hie vere rnihi mortuus videtur. 5

1 in. viii.

2 If, instead of Thais, I had said Hermione, you would not

170


BOOK III. ix-xn

IX

CINNA is said to write verses against me. He doesn't write at all whose poems no man reads.

X

PHILOMUSUS, your father an-anged to allow you two thousand sesterces a month, and every day he handed you that allowance, seeing that on the heels of luxury trod ever to-morrow's beggary, and your vices called for a daily wage. Dying he also left you heir to every penny. Your father has disinherited you, Philomusus !

XI

IK your mistress is neither Thais nor one-eyed, Quintus, why do you think my distich J was aimed at you ? But there is some likeness. Did I say " Thais" and mean " Lais " ? Tell me, what likeness is there between "Thais" and Hermione ? Yet you are Quintus ; let us change the lover's name. If Quintus is unwilling, let Sextus be Thais' lover. 2


XII

GOOD unguent, I allow, you gave your guests yes- terday, but you carved nothing. Tis a droll thing to be scented and to starve. He who doesn't dine, and is anointed, Fabullus, seems to me to be in very truth a corpse. 8

have seen any likeness. Let us call her Hermione, and Sextus her lover.

3 Which was anointed.

171


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL


XIII

DUM non vis pisces, dum non vis carpere pullos et plus quam putri, 1 Naevia, parcis a pro,

accusas rumpisque cocum, tamquam omnia cruda attulerit. numquam sic ego crudus ero.

XIV ROMAM petebat esuritor Tuccius

profectus ex Hispania. occurrit illi sportularum fabula :

a ponte rediit Mulvio.

XV

PLUS credit nemo tota quam Cordus in urbe.

"Cum sit tarn pauper, quomodo ? " caecus amat.

XVI

DAS gladiatores, sutorum regule cerdo, quodque tibi tribuit subula, sica rapit.

ebrius es : neque enim faceres hoc sobrius umquam, ut velles corio ludere, cerdo, tuo.

lusisti corio : sed te, mihi crede, memento 5

nunc in pellicula, cerdo, tenere tua.

1 putri Heins. , patri codd.

1 Crudus means "raw," and also " suffering from indiges- tion." Milton uses the word in the latter sense (Com. 476), and this has been adopted in the translation. See also "crude or intoxicate" (Par. Reg. iv. 328).

2 Without even entering Rome. The Mulvian Bridge was just outside the Porta Flaminia, the N. Gate of Rome. As to the dole, cf. in. vii.

172


BOOK III. xm-xvi

XIII

WHILE you are unwilling to carve your fish, while you are unwilling to carve your fowls, and spare, Naevia, your boar although more than high, you rate and cut up your cook, saying he sent up every- thing crude. Mine will be no " crude surfeit " l on these terms.

XIV

THE starveling Tuccius made for Rome, setting out from Spain. A report of the clients' dole met him : home he returned from the Mulvian Bridge. 2


XV

No man in all the city gives more credit than Cordus. " Seeing he is so poor, how's that ? " He is a blind lover. 3

XVI

You give a show of gladiators, 4 cobbler, little king of stitchers, and what the awl has earned for you the poniard hurries off with. You are drunk ; for you would never do this sober, to take your pleasure, cobbler, at the expense of your own hide. 5 You have played with your hide ! but bear this in mind trust my word ! to keep yourself, cobbler, now in your own little skin. 6

3 A play on the word "credit," i.e. "gives credit," or " trusts," "believes." Cordus believes more than he sees : cf. vin. xlix. 4 c,f. in. lix. and xcix.

5 Proverbial for " at your own expense."

t; Stick to your last. Perhaps also an allusion to the ass in a lion's skin.

173


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

XVII

CIRCUMLATA diu mensis scribilita secundis

urebat nimio saeva calore man us ; sed magis ardebat Sabidi gula : protinus ergo

sufflavit buccis terque quaterque suis. ilia quidem tepuit digitosque admittere visa est, 5

sed nemo potuit tangere : merda fuit.

XVIII

PERFRIXISSE tuas questa est praefatio fauces, cum te excusaris, Maxime, quid recitas ?

XIX

PROXIMA centenis ostenditur ursa columnis,

exornant fictae qua platanona ferae, huius duna patulos adludens temptat hiatus

pulcher Hylas, teneram mersit in ora manuni. vipera sed caeco scelerata latebat in acre 5

vivebatque anima deteriore fera. non sensit puer esse dolos, nisi dente recepto

dum perit. o facinus, falsa quod ursa fuit !

XX

Die, Musa, quid agat Canius meus Rufus : utrumne chartis tradit ille victuris legenda temporum acta Claudianorum ? an quae Neroni falsus adstruit scriptor,

1 A live bear might have done no harm.

  • There are many references to Nero's poetry. Tacitus

(Ann. xiv. xvi.) says it was not his own ; but Suetonius

174


BOOK III. xvn-xx

XVII

A TART, repeatedly handed round at the second course, burnt the fingers cruelly with its excessive heat. But Sabidius' gluttony was more ardent still ; straightway, therefore, three and four times he blew upon it with his full cheeks. The tart, indeed, grew cooler, and seemed to allow the fingers ; but not a man could touch it 'twas filth !

XVIII

YOUR opening address complained that you had a cold in your throat. Now you have excused yourself, Maximus, why do you recite ?

XIX

NEXT to the Hundred Columns, where wild beasts in effigy adorn the plane-grove, is shown a bear. While fair Hylas was in play challenging its yawning mouth he plunged into its throat his youthful hand. But an accursed viper lay hid in the dark cavern of the bronze, alive with a life more deadly than that of the beast itself. The boy perceived not the guile but when he felt the fang and died. Oh, what a crime was this, that unreal was the bear ! l

XX

TELL me, Muse, what my Canius Rufus is doing. Is he committing to immortal pages, for men to read, the deeds of Claudian times ? or does he emulate the works the lying chronicler ascribes to Nero ? 2 or the

denies this : Ner, lii. Some editions put a ? at scriptor, making the sense: "is his theme the deeds the lying chronicler etc. ? "

175


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

an aemulatur inprobi iocos Phaedri ? 5

lascivus elegis an severus herois ?

an in coturnis horridus Sophocleis ?

an otiosus in schola poetarum

lepore tinctos Attico sales narrat ?

hinc si recessit, porticum terit templi 10

an spatia carpit lentus Argonautarum ?

an delicatae sole rursus Europae

inter tepentes post meridiem buxos

sedet ambulatve liber acribus curis ?

Titine thermis an lavatur Agrippae 15

an inpudici balneo Tigillini ?

an rure Tulli fruitur atque Lucani ?

an Pollionis dulce currit ad quartum ?

an aestuantis iam profectus ad Baias

piger Lucrino nauculatur in stagno ? 20

"Vis scire quid agat Canius tuus ? ridet."

XXI

PROSCRIPTUM famulus servavit fronte notata. non fuit haec domini vita, sed invidia.

XXII

DEDERAS, Apici, bis trecenties ventri, et adhuc supererat centies tibi laxum. hoc tu gravatus ut famem et sitim ferre

1 The translator of Aesop ; but the reference must be to lost works.

  • Not known, unless it was the Schola Oc'aviat, part of

the Porttcus Liviae et Octaviae.

3 Perhaps the Temple of Isis : cf. II. xiv. 7.

4 The Porticus Argonautarum : cf. ir. xiv. 6.

5 The Porticus Europae : cf. n. xiv. 5. ' cf. I. Ixix.

I 7 6


BOOK III. xx-xxn

jests of naughty Phaedrus f l is he wanton in elegy or severe in heroics ? or terrible in Sophoclean buskin ? or does he, idling in the Poets' School, 2 tell witty stories touched with Attic grace ? If he has gone hence, does he tread the Temple's 3 piazza, or idly stroll along the expanse of the Argonauts ? 4 Or again, does he sit or walk, free of anxious care, amid the box-trees, warm after noon, of Europa 5 luxuriat- ing in the sun ? Does he bathe in Titus' or Agrippa's warm baths, or in the bath of shameless Tigellinus ? Does he enjoy the country seat of Tullus and Lu- canus? or is he driving to Pollio's charming house at the fourth milestone ? or setting out for steaming Baiae does he now sail lazily on the Lucrine mere ? " Do you wish to know what your Canius is doing ? He is laughing." 6

XXI

A SLAVE he had branded saved the life of a pro- scribed man. 7 This was to give his master not life, but lifelong shame. 8


XXII

You had expended, Apicius, twice thirty millions on your gorging, and still there remained to you a full ten millions. This you scorned to endure, as

T Antius Restio, proscribed bv the Triumvirs, whose life was saved by his slave's pretence to the soldiers in pursuit that the corpse of a man he had slain, or had found, and was burning, was his master's: Macrob. Sat. ii. 11; Val. Max. vi. viii. 7.

8 For branding such a slave. The assonance in vita and inuidia is intentional.

177 VOL. I. N


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

sunima venenum potione perduxti.

nihil est, Apici, tibi gulosius factuni. 5

XXIII

OMNIA cum retro pueris opsonia tradas, cur non mensa tibi ponitur a pedibus ?

XXIV

VITE nocens rosa stabat moriturus ad aras

hircus, Bacche, tuis victima grata sacris. quem Tuscus mactare deo cum vellet aruspex,

dixerat agresti forte rudique viro ut cito testiculos et acuta falce secaret, 5

taeter ut inmundae carnis abiret odor, ipse super virides aras luctantia pronus

dum resecat cultro colla premitque maim, ingens iratis apparuit hirnea sacris.

occupat hanc ferro rusticus atque secat, 10

hoc ratus antiques sacrorum poscere ritus

talibus et fibris numina prisca coli. sic, modo qui Tuscus fueras, mine Gall us aruspex,

dum iugulas hircum, factus es ipse caper.

XXV

Si temperari balneum cupis ferveiis, Faustine, quod vix lulianus intraret, roga lavetur rhetorem Sabineium. Neronianas is refrigerat thermas.

1 i.e. for the benefit of your slaves. They stood behind their masters at dinner. The epigram is taken by some as addressed to one who (cf. n. xxxvii.) handed viands to his slave to be carried home.

I 7 8


BOOK III. xxn-xxv

mere hunger and thirst, and, as the last draught of all, quaffed poison. You never did anything, Apicius, more gluttonous !

XXIII

SEEING that you hand all your viands to your slaves behind you, why is not the table laid out at your feet? 1 "

XXIV

GUILTY of having gnawed a vine, a he-goat, doomed to die, stood at the altar, a victim, Bacchus, welcome to thy rites. When the Tuscan soothsayer was minded to sacrifice this to the god, he chanced to bid a country clown quickly to sever with his sharp sickle the tes- ticles of the beast that the foul odour of unclean flesh should pass away. While he himself, leaning over the turf altar, was cutting with his knife the throat of the struggling beast and pressing it down with his hand, a huge hernia was revealed to the scandal of the rites ; this the clown at once seized and severed, thinking that the ritual's ancient mode required this offering, and that by such entrails the old-world deities were honoured. So you, just lately a Tuscan soothsayer, now a Gaul, 2 in slaughtering a he-goat have been made a gelding. 3

XXV

IF you wish, Faustinus, that a bath, so hot that even Julianus could scarcely get into it, should be cooled, ask the rhetorician Sabineius to bathe in it. He makes icy the warm baths of Nero.

2 The priests of Cybele were eunuchs, and called Galli.

3 Caper meant "goat" or " castrated goat": Gell. ix. ix.

179


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

XXVI

PRAEDIA solus habes et solus, Candida, nummos, aurea solus habes, murrina solus habes,

Massica solus habes et Opimi Caecuba solus, et cor solus habes, solus et ingenium.

omnia solus habes hoc me puta l velle negare ! 5 uxorem sed habes, Candide, cum populo.

XXVII

NUMQUAM me revocas, venias cum saepe vocatus : ignosco, nullum si modo, Galle, vocas.

invitas alios : vitium est utriusque. " Quod ? " inquis. et mihi cor non est et tibi, Galle, pudor.

XXVIII

AURICULAM Mario graviter miraris olere. tu facis hoc : garris, Nestor, in auriculam.

XXIX

HAS cum gemina compede dedicat catenas, Saturne, tibi Zoilus, anulos priores.

XXX

SPORTULA mil la datur ; gratis conviva recumbis : die mihi, quid Romae, Gargiliane, facis ?

1 nee me puta Madvig.

1 cf. ii. xliii.

2 Probably porcelain : cf. xiv. cxiii.

1 80


BOOK III. xxvi-xxx

XXVI

LANDS are yours alone, and yours alone, Candidus, 1 are moneys; gold plate is yours alone; murrine 2 cups are yours alone ; Massic wines are yours alone, and Caecuban of Opimius' year yours alone, and talent is yours alone; yours alone genius. All things are yours alone fancy I waijt to deny it ! but you have a wife, Candidus, who is also the people's property.

XXVII

You never invite me in return, though you come often when invited ; I pardon you, Gallus, if only you invite no one else. You invite others. This is a fault in each of us. " What fault ? " you say. I have no sense, and you, Gallus, no decency.

XXVIII

You wonder that Marius' ear smells abominably. You are the cause : you whisper, Nestor, into his ear.

XXIX

THESE chains with their double fetter Zoilus dedi- cates to you, Saturnus. 3 They were formerly his rings. 4

XXX

No dole is given ; you recline an unbought guest at dinner 5 : tell me, what do you, Gargilianus, at

3 Slaves, on gaining freedom, dedicated their fetters to Saturn, during whose festival, the Saturnalia, they had some degree of freedom.

4 Z. now wears the ring of a knight : cf, xr. xxxvii. 3.

5 cf. in. vii.

181


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

unde tibi togula est et fuscae pensio cellae ?

unde datur quadrans ? unde vir es Chiones ? cum ratione licet dicas te vivere summa,

quod vivis, nulla cum ratione facis.

XXXI

SUNT tibi, confiteor, difFusi iugera campi urbanique tenent praedia multa lares,

et servit dominae numerosus debitor arcae sustentatque tuas aurea massa dapes.

fastidire tamen noli, Rufine, minores :

plus habuit Didymos, plus Philomelus habet.

XXXII

" AN possim vetulam " quaeris, Matronia : possum et vetulam, sed tu mortua, lion vetula es.

possum Hecubam, possum Nioben, Matronia, sed si nondum erit ilia cams, nondum erit ilia lapis.

XXXIII

INGENUAM malo, sed si tamen ilia uegetur, libertina mihi proxuma condicio est :

extreme est ancilla loco, sed vincet utramque, si facie nobis haec erit ingenua.

XXXIV

DIGNA tuo cur sis indignaque nomine, dicam. frigida es et nigra es : non es et es Chione.


1 For the l>aths.

2 D. a wealthy eunuch ; P. a harp-player : -cf. in. iv. 8.

3 H. was turned into a bitch, N. into stone. H. was also

182


BOOK III. xxx-xxxiv

Rome ? Whence comes your poor toga and the rent of your grimy garret ? Whence is provided the far- thing ? l whence the support of Chione your mistress ? You may say that you live with the most reasonable economy : your living at all is unreasonable.

XXXI

You have, I allow, acres of land widely spread, and houses in town occupy many sites, and many a debtor is a slave to your imperious money-chest, and gold plate supports your banquets. Yet do not scorn, Rufinus, lesser men. More had Didymus ; more Philomelus has. 2

XXXII

"CAN I love an old woman ?" you ask me, Matronia. 1 can even an old woman ; but you are a corpse, not an old woman. I can love Hecuba, I can Niobe, Matronia, but only if the one is not yet a bitch, the other not yet a stone. 3

XXXIII

I PREFER one free-born, yet if she be denied me, a freedwoman's quality is next in worth to me. In the last rank is the servant-maid ; yet she shall surpass either of the others if her face be to me that of a free-born maid.

XXXIV

I WILL tell you why you suit, and do not suit, your name. You are cold and you are dark ; you are, and are not, Chione. 4

called c.anis from the virulence of her vituperation : Cic. Tusc. in xxvi. and Plant. Men. 718, 4 Derived from x 1 ^ (snow).

183


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

XXXV

ARTIS Phidiacae toreuma clarum pisces aspicis : adde aquam, natabunt.

XXXVI

QUOD novus et nuper factus tibi praestat amicus,

hoc praestare iubes me, Fabiane, tibi : horridus ut primo te semper mane salutem

per mediumque trahat me tua sella lutuiii. lassus ut in thermas decuma vel serius hora 5

te sequar Agrippae, cum laver ipse Titi. hoc per triginta merui, Fabiane, Decembres,

ut sim tiro tuae semper amicitiae ? hoc merui, Fabiane, toga tritaque meaque,

ut nondum credas me meruisse rudem ? 10

XXXVII

IRASCI tantum felices nostis amici.

non belle facitis, sed iuvat hoc facere.

XXXVIII

QUAE te causa trahit vel quae fiducia Romam, Sexte ? quid aut speras aut petis inde ? refer.

"Causas" inquis "agam Cicerone disertior ipso atque erit in triplici par mihi nemo foro."

egit Atestinus causas et Civis (utrumque 5

noras) ; sed neutri pensio tota fuit,


BOOK III. xxxv-xxxvm

XXXV

You see these fish carved finely in relief by Phidian art. Add water : they will swim.

XXXVI

THE duties of a new and recent friend you bid me perform towards you, Fabianus ; that shivering at early morn I should pay my respects to you con- tinually ; that your chair should drag me through the midst of the mud ; that when I am fagged out I should follow you at the tenth hour, or later, to the warm baths of Agrippa, although I myself bathe at those of Titus. Is this what I have deserved, Fabianus, for my thirty Decembers of service, to be always a raw recruit to your friendship? Is this what I have deserved, Fabianus, that, when my toga (my own purchase) is threadbare, you think that I have not yet deserved my discharge ?

XXXVII

To be angry is all you know, you rich friends. You do not act prettily, but it pays to do this. 1

XXXVIII

WHAT reason or what confidence draws you to Rome, Sextus ? What do you either hope or look for from that quarter? tell me. "I will conduct cases," you say, " more eloquently than Cicero himself, and there shall be in the three Forums no man my match." Atestinus and Civis each conducted cases you knew

1 It is an excuse for not being liberal in presents : cf. xu. xiii.


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

" Si nihil hinc veniet, pangentur carmina nobis :

audieris, dices esse Maronis opus." insanis : omnes, gelidis quicumque lacernis

sunt ibi, Nasones Vergiliosque vides. 10

" Atria magna colam." vix tres aut quattuor ista

res aluit, pallet cetera turba fame. " Quid faciam ? suade : nam certum est vivere Romae."

si bonus es, casu vivere, Sexte, potes.

XXXIX

JLIACO similem pueruni, Faustine, ministro lusca Lycoris amat. quam bene lusca videt !

XL

MUTUA quod nobis ter quinquagena dedisti ex opibus tantis, quas gravis area premit,

esse tibi magnus, Telesine, videris amicus.

tu magnus, quod das ? immo ego, quod recipis.

XLI

INSERTA phialae Mentoris manu ducta lacerta vivit et timetur argentum.

XLII

LOMENTO rugas uteri quod condere temptas, Polla, tibi ventrem, non mihi labra linis.

1 Jove's cupbearer Ganymede. 186


BOOK III. XXXVIII-XLII

both but neither made his full rent. " If nothing- comes from this source, I will compose poems ; hear them, you will call them Maro's work." You are crazy ; in all those fellows there with their chill mantles you see Nasos and Virgils. " I will court the halls of great men." Barely three or four has that procedure supported ; all the rest of the crowd are pale with hunger. "What shall I do ? Advise me, for I am bent on living in Rome." If you are a good man you may live, Sextus, by accident.

XXXIX

ONE-EYED Lycoris loves a youth like to the cup- bearer from Ilium. 1 How well the one-eyed sees !

XL

BECAUSE you made me a loan of one hundred and fifty thousand sesterces out of all the wealth on which your heavy money-chest shuts tight, you fancy yourself, Telesinus, a great friend. You a great friend because you give ? I, rather, because you get back.

XLI

SET 011 the bowl, portrayed by Mentor's 2 hand the lizard lives ; and we fear to touch the silver. 3

XLII

You try to conceal your wrinkles by the use of bean-meal, but you plaster your skin, Polla, not my

- A celebrated artist in relief of some centuries before. 3 cf. in. xxxv. on a similar subject.

187


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

simpliciter pateat vitium fortasse pusillum : quod tegitur, maius creditur esse malum.


XLIII

MENTIRIS iuvenem tirictis, Laetine, capillis, tarn subito corvus, qui modo cycnus eras.

non omnes fallis ; scit te Proserpina canum : personam capiti detrahet ilia tuo.


XLIV

OCCURRIT tibi nemo quod libeiiter,

quod, quacumque venis, fuga est et ingens

circa te, Ligurine, solitudo,

quid sit, scire cupis ? nimis poeta es.

hoc valde vitium periculosum est. 5

non tigris catulis citata raptis,

non dipsas niedio perusta sole^

nee sic scorpios inprobus timetur.

nam tantos, rogo, quis ferat labores ?

et stanti legis et legis sedenti, 10

currenti legis et legis cacanti.

in thermas fugio : sonas ad aureni.

piscinam peto : non licet natare.

ad cenam propero : tenes euntem.

ad cenam venio : fugas edentem. 15

lassus dormio : suscitas iacentem.

vis, quantum facias mali, videre ?

vir iustus probus innocens timeris.

1 To "plaster the face" (on sublinere} meant to deceive: Plaut. Merc. n. iv. 17, et passim. The idea was taken from

188


BOOK III. XMI-XMV

lips. 1 Let a blemish, which perhaps is small, simply show. The flaw which is hidden is deemed greater than it is.


You falsely ape youth, Laetinus, with dyed hair, so suddenly a raven who were but now a swan. You don't deceive all ; Proserpine 2 knows you are hoary : she shall pluck the mask from off your head.


XLIV

THAT no man willingly meets you, that, wherever you arrive, there is flight and vast solitude around you, Ligurinus, do you want to know what is the matter ? You are too much of a poet. This is a fault passing dangerous. No tigress roused by the robbery of her cubs, no viper scorched by tropic suns, nor deadly scorpion is so dreaded. For who, I ask you, would endure such trials ? You read to me while I am standing, and read to me when I am sitting ; while I am running you read to me, and read to me while I am using a jakes. I fly to the warm baths : you buzz in my ear ; 1 make for the swimming bath : I am not allowed to swim ; I haste to dinner : you detain me as I go ; I reach the table : you rout me while I am eating. Wearied out, I sleep : you rouse me up as I lie. Do you want to appreciate the evil you cause ? Though you are a man just, upright, and harmless, you are a terror.

the practical joke of blackening the face of a drunken man. 2 Queen of the shades below.

189


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

XLV FUGERIT an Phoebus niensas cenamque Thyestae

ignore : fugimus nos, Ligurine, tuam. ilia quidem lauta est dapibusque instructa superbis,

sed nihil omiiino te recitante placet, nolo mihi ponas rhombos mullumve bilibrem 5

nee volo boletos, ostrea nolo : tace.

XLVI

EXIGIS a nobis operam sine fine togatam :

non eo, libertum sed tibi mitto meum. " Non est" inquis "idem." multo plus esse probabo.

vix ego lecticam subsequar, ille feret. in turbam incideris, cunctos umbone repellet : 5

invalidum est nobis ingenuumque latus. quidlibet in causa narraveris, ipse tacebo :

at tibi tergeminum mugiet ille sophos. lis erit, ingenti faciet convicia voce :

esse pudor vetuit fortia verba mihi. 10

" Ergo nihil nobis " inquis "praestabis amicus ? "

quidquid libertus, Candide, non poterit.

XLVII

CAPENA grandi porta qua pluit gutta Phrygiumque Matris Almo qua lavat ferrum, Horatiorum qua viret sacer campus et qua pusilli fervet Herculis fanum,


1 Atreus, king of Argos, in revenge for an injury, served up to his brother Thyestes the bodies of T. 's two sons, which T. unknowingly ate. The Sun is said to have veiled his face in horror : cf. x. iv. 1.

190


BOOK III. XLV-XI.VII

XLV

WHETHER Phoebus fled from the table and banquet of Thyestes l I don't know : we fly from yours, Li- gurinus. It is undoubtedly choice, and laid out with rich viands, but nothing at all pleases us while you recite. I don't want you to serve me turbots, or a two-pound mullet, nor do I want mushrooms, oysters I do not want : hold your tongue !

XLVI

You exact from me gowned service without end ; I don't attend, but I despatch to you my freedman. " It isn't the same thing," you say. I will prove it is much more : I could hardly escort a litter, lie will carry it. Supposing you get into a crowd, he will thrust them all back with his elbow ; my flanks are weak, and a gentleman's. Supposing you tell a story in your pleading, I myself will hold my peace ; but he will bellow for you a thrice-redoubled " Bravo ! " If you have a lawsuit he will pour abuse in stentorian tones ; shyness has forbidden me strong language. " So you, though a friend, will give me no service ? " you say. Whatever, Candidus, 2 my freedman cannot.

XLVII

WHERE the Capene Gate drips with heavy drops, and where Almo washes the Phrygian Mother's knife, 3 where the plain, hallowed by the Horatii, is green, and where the temple of the little Hercules

2 Addressed also in n. xliii. and HI. xxvi.

3 The priests of Cybele annually washed the statue of the Goddess, and the sacred implements, in the Almo : Ov. Fast. iv. 339.

T9I


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

Faustine, plena Bassus ibat in raeda, 5

omnis beati copias trahens runs.

illic videres frutice nobili caules

et utrumque porrum sessilesque lactucas

pigroque ventri non inutiles betas ;

illic coronam pinguibus gravem turdis 10

leporemque laesum Gallici canis dente

nondumque victa lacteum faba poi'cum.

nee feriatus ibat ante carrucam

sed tuta faeno cursor ova portabat.

urbem petebat Bassus? immo rus ibat. 15

XLVIII

PAUPERIS extruxit cellam, sed vendidit Olus praedia : nunc cellam pauperis Olus habet.

XLIX

VEIENTANA mihi misces, ubi Massica potas : olfacere haec malo pocula quam bibere.


HAEC tibi, non alia, est ad cenam causa vocandi,

versiculos recites ut, Ligurine, tuos. deposui soleas, adfertur protinus ingens

inter lactucas oxygarumque liber : alter perlegitur, duru fercula prima morantur : 5

tertius est, nee adhuc mensa secunda venit :

1 And so had to carry his supplies with him, for his country villa produced nothing : cf. ill. Iviii. 49.

2 He has become poor in earnest. "A poor man's box " was ordinarily a modest apartment in rich men's houses,

192


BOOK III. XLVII-I.

is thronged, Bassus was riding, Faustinas, in a travel ling carriage crammed full, dragging with him all the abundance of the rich country. There might you see cabbages with noble heads, and each kind of leek, and squat lettuces, and beets not unserviceable to a sluggish stomach ; there a hoop heavy with fat fieldfares, and a hare that had been wounded by the fang of a Gallic hound, and a sucking-pig too young to munch beans. Nor was the runner taking holiday ; he went before the vehicle carrying eggs protected by straw. Was Bassus making for the city? On the contrary : he was going into the country. 1

XLVIII

OLUS built "a poor man's box," but sold his lands. Now Olus occupies a "poor man's box."

XLIX

You mix Veientan wine 3 for me, whereas you drink Massic. I would rather smell these cups of mine than drink them.


THIS, no other, is your reason for inviting me to dine, that you may recite your verses, Ligurinus. I have put off my shoes ; at once a huge volume is brought along with the lettuce and the fish sauce. A second is read through while the first course stands waiting ; there is a third, and the dessert

constructed either for variety, or to be used on unceremonious occasions : Sen. Ep. xviii. and c. Sen. associates it with "quidquid est per quod luxuria divitiarum taedio ludit." 3 Poor wine : cf. r. ciii. 9. Massic was one of the finest.

193

VOL. I. O


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

et quartum recitas et quintum denique librum.

puticlus est, totiens si mihi pom's aprum. quod si non scombris scelerata poemata donas,

cenabis solus iam. Ligurine, domi. 10

LI

CUM faciem laudo, cum miror crura manusque, dicere, Galla, soles " Nuda placebo magis,"

et semper vitas communia balnea nobis.

numquid, Galla, times ne tibi non placeam ?

LII

EMPTA domus fuerat tibi, Tongiliane, ducentis : abstulit hanc nimium casus in urbe frequens.

conlatum est deciens. rogo, non potes ipse videri incendisse tuam, Tongiliane, domum?

LIII

ET voltu poteram tuo carere

et collo manibusque cruribusque

et mammis natibusque clunibusque,

et, ne singula persequi laborem,

tota te poteram, Chloe, carere. 5

LIV

CUM dare non possim quod poscis, Galla, rogantem, multo simplicius, Galla, negare potes.


194


BOOK III. L-LIV

does not yet appear ; and you recite a fourth, and finally a fifth book. Sickening is a boar if you serve it to me so often. If you don't consign your ac- cursed poems to the mackerel, 1 in future, Ligurinus, you shall dine at home alone.

LI

WHEN I compliment your face, when I admire your legs and hands, you are accustomed to say, Galla : " Naked I shall please you more," and yet you con- tinually avoid taking a bath with me. Surely you are not afraid, Galla, that I shall not please you ?

LII

You had bought a house, Tongilianus, for two hun- dred thousand sesterces : an accident too common in the city destroyed it. A million was subscribed. I ask you, are you not open to the suspicion, Tongili- anus, of having yourself set fire to your house ? 2

LIII

1 COULD dispense with your face, and neck, and hands, and legs, and bosom, and back, and hips. And not to labour details I could dispense with the whole of you, Chloe.

LIV

As I cannot give the price, Galla, you demand of your suitor, you may more simply, Galla, say "No" outright.

1 cf. iv. Ixxxvi. K. 2 cf. Juv. iii. 220.

'95

o 2


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

LV

QUOD quacumque venis Cosmum migrare putamus

et fluere excusso cinnama fusa vitro, nolo peregrinis placeas tibi, Gellia, nugis.

scis, puto, posse nieum sic bene olere canem.

LVI

SIT cisterna mihi quam vinea malo Ravemiae, cum possim multo vendere pluris aquam.

LVII

CALLIDUS inposuit nuper mihi copo Ravennae : cum peterem mixtum, vendidit ille merum.

LVIII

BAIANA nostri villa, Basse, Faustini

non otiosis ordinata myrtetis

viduaque platano tonsilique buxeto

ingrata lati spatia detinet campi,

sed rure veto barbaroque laetatur. 5

hie farta premitur angulo Ceres omni

et multa fragrat testa senibus autumnis ;

hie post Novembres imminente iam bruma

seras putator horridus refert uvas.

truces in alta valle mugiunt tauri 10

vitulusque inermi fronte prurit in pugnam.

vagatur omnis turba sordidae chortis,

1 A perfumer of the period. 8 R. suffered from lack of water. 3 ef. note to last epigram. 196


BOOK III. LV-LVITI

LV

WHEREVER you come we fancy Cosmus 1 is on the move, and that oil of cinnamon flows streaming from a shaken out glass bottle. I would not have you, Gellia, pride yourself upon alien trumpery. You know, I think, my dog can smell sweet in the same way.

LVI

I PREFER a cistern at Ravenna to a vineyard, seeing that I can get a much better price for water. 2

LVII

A CUNNING taverner imposed on me lately at Ra- venna. Whereas I asked for negus, he sold me wine neat. 3

LVIII

THE Baian villa, Bassus, ot our friend Faustinas keeps unfruitful no spaces of wide field laid out in idle myrtle-beds, and with widowed planes and clipped clumps of box, but rejoices in a farm, honest and artless. 4 Here in every corner corn is tightly packed, and many a crock is fragrant of ancient autumns. Here, when November is past, and winter is now at hand, the unkempt primer brings home' late grapes. Fiercely in the deep valley roar bulls, and the steer with brow unhorned itches for the fray. All the crowd of the untidy poultry-yard wanders here and there, the shrill-cackling goose, and the

4 Friedlander takes barbaro as "uncultivated," But this is inconsistent with what follows. The whole epigram is a comparison between Faustinus' uncivilised farm ana Bassus' artificial and unfruitful villa.

197


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

argutus anser gernmeique pavones

nomenque debet quae rubentibus pinnis

et picta perdix Numidicaeque guttatae 15

et impiorum phasiana Colchorum ;

Rhodias superbi feminas premunt galli ;

sonantque turres plausibus columbarum,

gemit hinc palumbus, inde cereus turtur.

avidi secuntur vilicae sinum porci 20

matremque plenam mollis agnus expectat.

cingunt serenum lactei focum vernae

et larga festos lucet ad lares silva.

non segnis albo pallet otio copo,

nee perdit oleum lubricus palaestrita ; 25

sed tendit avidis rete subdolum turdis

tremulave captum linea trahit piscem

aut inpeditam cassibus refert dammam.

exercet hilares facilis hortus urbanos,

et paedagogo non iubente lascivi 30

parere gaudent vilico capillati,

et delicatus opere fruitur eunuchus.

uec venit inanis rusticus salutator :

fert ille ceris cana cum suis mella

imtamque lactis Sassinate de silva ; 35

somniculosos ille porrigit glires,

hie vagientem niatris hispidae fetum, .

alius coactos non amare capones.

et dona matrum vimine offerunt texto

grandes proborum virgines colonorum. 40

facto vocatur laetus opere vicinus ;

nee avara servat crastinas dapes rnensa,

vescuntur omnes ebrioque non novit

satur minister invidere convivae.

at tu sub urbe possides famem mund&m 45

et turre ab alta prospicis meras laurus,


198


BOOK III. i.vin

spangled peacocks, and the bird that owes its name to its flaming plumes, 1 and the painted partridge, and speckled guinea-fowls, and the impious 2 Col- chians' pheasant. Proud cocks tread their Rhodian dames, and cotes are loud with the pigeons' croon ; on this side moans the ringdove, on that the glossy turtle. Greedily pigs follow the apron of the bailiff's wife, and the tender lamb waits for its dam's full udder. Infant home-born slaves ring the clear-burning hearth, and thickly piled billets gleam before the household gods on holidays. The wine seller 3 does not idly sicken with pale-faced ease, nor the anointed wrestling-master make waste of oil, but he stretches a crafty net for greedy fieldfares, or with tremu- lous line draws up the captured fish, or brings home the doe entangled in his nets. The kindly garden keeps the town slaves cheerfully busy, and, without the overseer's order, even the wanton long-curled pages gladly obey the bailiff; even the delicate eunuch delights in work. Nor does the country visitor come empty handed : that one brings pale honey in its comb, and a pyramid of cheese from Sassina's woodland ; that one offers sleepy dormice ; this one the bleating offspring of a shaggy mother ; another capons debarred from love. And the strapping daughters of honest farmers offer in a wicker basket their mother's gifts. When work is done a cheerful neighbour is asked to dine ; no niggard table reserves a feast for the morrow ; all take the meal, and the full-fed attendant need not envy the well-drunken guest. But you in the suburbs possess what is ele- gant starvation, and from your high tower survey

1 Phoenicopterus, or flamingo. 3 An allusion to Medea's sorceries.

3 The slaves mentioned are employed in town for profit or hmiry ; in the country they have healthy exercise.

199


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

furem Priapo non timente securus

et vinitovem farre pascis urbano

pictamque portas otiosus ad villain

holus, ova, pullos, poma, caseum, mustum. 50

rus hoc vocari debet, an domus longe ?

LIX

SUTOR cerdo dedit tibi, culta Bononia, munus, fullo dedit Mutinae : nunc ubi copo dabit?

LX

CUM vocer ad cenam non iam venalis ut ante,

cur mihi non eadem quae tibi cena datur ? ostrea tu sumis stagno saturata Lucrino,

sugitur inciso mitulus ore mihi : sunt tibi boleti, fungos ego sumo suillos : 5

res tibi cum rhombo est, at mihi cum sparulo. aureus inmodicis turtur te clunibus implet,

ponitur in cavea mortua pica mihi. cur sine te ceno cum tecum, Pontice, cenem ?

sportula quod non est prosit, edamus idem. 10

LXI

ESSE nihil dicis quidquid petis, inprobe Cinna : si nil, Cinna, petis, nil tibi, Cinna, nego.

1 cf. in. xlvii. rf. in. xvi.


BOOK III. LVIII-LXI

laurels alone ; you are not nervous, for your Priapus fears no thief; and your vine-dresser you feed on corn brought from town, and indolently cart to your frescoed villa cabbages, eggs, fowls, apples, cheese, must. 1 Ought this to be called a farm, or a town- house away from town ?

LIX

A COBBLER gave you a show, 2 lettered Bononia, a bleacher gave one to Mutina. Now where will the taverner give one ?

LX

SINCE I am asked to dinner, no longer, as before, a purchased guest, 3 why is not the same dinner served to me as to you ? You take oysters fattened in the Lucrine lake, 4 I suck a mussel through a hole in the shell ; 5 you get mushrooms, I take hog funguses ; you tackle turbot, but I brill. Golden with fat, a turtle- dove gorges you with its bloated rump ; there is set before me a magpie that has died in its cage. Why do I dine without you although, Ponticus, I am dining with you ? The dole has gone : let us have the benefit of that ; let us eat the same fare.


LXI

" 'Tis nothing," you say, whatever you ask, impor- tunate Cinna. If you ask "nothing," Cinna, nothing I deny you, Cinna.

3 The money dole having been abolished : cf. III. vii.

4 Its waters imparted a flavour to oysters : cf. xm. Ixxxii. 6 Or (perhaps) " with lips cut by the shell."

2OI


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

LXII

CENTENIS quod emis pueros et saepe ducenis,

quod sub rege Numa condita vina bibis, quod constat decies tibi non spatiosa supellex,

libra quod argenti milia quinque rapit, aurea quod fundi pretio carruca paratur, 5

quod pluris mula est quam domus empta tibi : haec animo credis magno te, Quinte, parare ?

falleris : haec animus, Quinte, pusillus emit.

LXIII

COTILE, bellus homo es : dicunt hoc, Cotile, multi.

audio : sed quid sit, die mihi, bellus homo ? " Bellus homo est, flexos qui digerit ordine crines,

balsama qui semper, cinnama semper olet ; cantica qui Nili, qui Gaditana susurrat, 5

qui movet in varios bracchia volsa modos ; inter femineas tota qui luce cathedras

desidet atque aliqua semper in aure sonat, qui legit hinc illinc missas scribitque tabellas ;

pallia vicini qui refugit cubiti ; 10

qui scit quam quis amet, qui per convivia currit,

Hirpini veteres qui bene novit avos." quid narras ? hoc est, hoc est homo, Cotile, bellus ?

res pertricosa est, Cotile, bellus homo.


BOOK III. LXII-LXIII

LXII

You buy slaves for a hundred thousand, and often for two hundred thousand sesterces apiece ; you drink wines laid down in King Numa's reign ; no vast amount of furniture stands you in a million ; a pound of silver plate runs off with five thousand ; a gilt coach is acquired at the price of a farm ; you buy a mule for more than a town mansion. Do you think, Quintus, that you acquire these things be- cause you have a great mind ? You are deceived. These are what a puny mind buys, Quintus.


LXIII

COTIUJS, you are "a pretty fellow" : many call you so, Cotilus; I hear them. But, tell me, what is a pretty fellow ? "A pret'ty fellow is one who arranges neatly his curled locks, who continually smells of balsam, continually of cinnamon; who hums catches from the Nile and Gades ; who waves his depilated arms in time to varied measures ; who all the day lolls amid the women's chairs, and is ever whispering in some ear ; who reads billets sent from one quarter or another, and writes them ; who shrinks from con- tact with the cloak on his neighbour's elbow ; l who knows who is the lover of whom ; who hurries from one party to another ; who has at his fingers' ends the long pedigree of Hirpinus." 2 What do you say? Is this thing, Cotilus, this thing a pretty fellow? A very trumpery thing, Cotilus, is your pretty fellow.

1 For fear it should soil or disarrange his dress : cf. n. xli. 10. - A racehorse : Juv. viii. 62.

203


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

LXIV

Si REN AS hilarem navigantium poenam blandasque mortes gaudiumque crudele, quas nemo quondam deserebat auditas, fallax Ulixes dicitur reliquisse. non miror : illud, Cassiane, mirarer, si fabulantem Canium reliquisset.


LXV

QUOD spirat tenera malum mordente puella,

quod de Corycio quae venit aura croco ; vinea quod primis cum floret cana racemis,

gramina quod redolent, quae modo carpsit ovis ; quod myrtus, quod messor Arabs, quod sucina trita, 5

pallidus Eoo ture quod ignis olet ; gleba quod aestivo leviter cum spargitur imbre,

quod madidas nardo passa corona comas : hoc tua, saeve puer Diadumene, basia fragrant.

quid si tota dares ilia sine invidia? 10


LXVI

PAR scelus admisit Phariis Antonius armis :

abscidit voltus ensis uterque sacros. illud, laurigeros ageres cum laeta triumphos,

hoc tibi, Roma, caput, cum loquereris, erat. Antoni tamen est peior quam causa Pothini : 5

hie facinus domino praestitit, ille sibi.

1 cf. m. xx. 8.

9 Antony, the Triumvir, was the murderer of Cicero ; Pothinus, the eunuch of Ptolemy, king of Egypt, of Pompey.

204


BOOK III. I.XIV-LXVI

LXIV

THE sirens, who brought on mariners jocund punishment, and alluring death, and cruel delight, from whom, when their song was heard, no man could of old rescue himself, the wily Ulixes is said to have escaped. I don't wonder ; that I should wonder at, Cassianus, if he had escaped from Canius 1 and his anecdotes.

LXV

BREATH of a young maid as she bites an apple ; effluence that comes from Corycian saffron ; perfume such as when the blossoming vine blooms with early clusters ; the scent of grass which a sheep has just cropped ; the odour of myrtle, of the Arab spice-gatherer, of rubbed amber ; of a fire made pallid with Eastern frankincense ; of the earth when lightly sprinkled with summer rain, of a chaplet that has felt locks dewy with nard ; with all these, Diadumenus, cruel boy, thy kisses are fragrant. What if thou wouldst give those kisses in fulness without grudging ?

LXVI

A CRIME equal to that of Egypt's armed hand Anton ius wrought ; this steel and that destroyed H sacred life." That head, O Rome, was thine when thou didst with joy lead on thy laurelled triumphs ; this was thine when thou wert speaking. 3 Yet could Antonius plead worse excuse than Pothinus : he by his deed served his master, Antonius himself.

3 The pun on "head" is not happy. Cicero and Pompey were both decapitated.

205


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

LXVII

CESSATIS, pueri, nihilque nostis,

Vaterno Rasinaque pigriores,

quorum per vada tarda navigantes

lentos tinguitis ad celeuma remos.

iam prono Phaethonte sudat Aethon 5

exarsitque dies et hora lassos

interiungit equos meridiana.

at vos, tarn placidas vagi per undas

tuta luditjs otium carina,

non nautas puto vos, sed Argonaiitas. 10


LXVIII

Hue est usque tibi scriptus, matrona, libellus.

cui sint scripta rogas interiora ? mihi. gymnasium, thermae, stadium est hac parte : recede.

exuim-ur : nudos parce videre viros. hinc iam deposito post vina rosasque pudore, 5

quid dicat nescit saucia Terpsichore : schemate nee dubio sed aperte nominat illam

quam recipit sexto mense superba Venus, custodem medio statuit quam vilicus horto,

opposita spectat quam proba virgo manu. 10

si bene te novi, longum iam lassa libellum

ponebas, totum nunc studiosa legis.


1 One of the horses of the Sun.

2 Aryonautas, which may be interpreted "Argonauts" or " lazy sailors " (apyovs vavras).

3 The muse of dancing.


206


BOOK III. LXVll-LXVIII

LXVII

SLACK are ye, O youths, and no watermen, more sluggish than Vaternus and Hasina, along whose slow shallows ye float, and dip lazy oars in time to the boatswain's call. Already, while Phaethon slopes downwards, Aethon 1 sweats, and the day has burst in flame, and the noontide hour unyokes weary steeds. But you, straying along waves so placid, play in idleness on a safe keel. Not tars do I hold you, but tarriers. 2


LXVIII

THUS far, O matron, my book has been written for you. Do you ask for whom were writ the later parts ? For me. A gymnasium, warm baths, a running ground are in this part of the book ; depart, we are stripping ; forbear to look on naked men. From this point Terp- sichore, 3 overcome with liquor, after the wine and the roses lays aside shame and knows not what she says, and in no ambiguous trope, but in plain speech, men- tions that symbol which Venus proudly welcomes in the sixth month, 4 which the bailiff sets up as warder in the midst of the garden, which a modest virgin looks at with hand before her face. If I know you well, you were laying down my long book, already wearied ; now you are eagerly reading it all.

  • An image of Priapus was carried in procession by Roman

matrons to the Temple of Venus Eryciua, outside the Colline Gate in the N.E. of Rome. This was part of the rites of Isis.


207


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

LXIX

OMNIA quod scribis castis epigrammata verbis

inque tuis nulla est mentula carminibus, admiror, laudo ; nihil est te sanctius uno :

at mea luxuria pagina nulla vacat. haec igitur nequam iuvenes facilesque puellae,

haec senior, sed quern torquet arnica, legat. at tua, Cosconi, venerandaque sanctaque verba

a pueris debent virginibusque legi.

LXX

MOECHUS es Aufidiae, qui vir, Scaevine. fuisti ;

rivalis fuerat qui tuus, ille vir est. cur aliena placet tibi, quae tua non placet, uxor ?

numquid securus non potes arrigere ?

LXXI

MENTULA cuin doleat puero, tibi, Naevole, culus, non sum divinus, sed scio quid facias.

LXXII

Vis futui nee vis niecum, Saufeia, lavari.

nescio quod magnum suspicor esse nefas. aut tibi pannosae dependent pectore mammae

aut sulcos uteri prodere nuda times


208


BOOK III. LXIX-I.XXII

LXIX

BECAUSE you write all your epigrams in decent language, and in your poems no obscenity is found, I admire, I applaud ; nothing is more chaste than you of all men ; but no page of mine is without wantonness. These then let naughty youths and girls of easy virtue read, these any old sire, and he too one whom his mistress tortures. But your language, Cosconius, woi-thy of respect and chaste as it is, should be read by boys and virgins. 1

LXX

You are the paramour of Aufidia, and you were, Scaevinus, her husband; 2 he who was your rival is her husband. Why does another man's wife please you when she as your own does not please you ? Is it that when secure you lack appetite ?

LXXI

SEEING that the boy is sore, and you too, Naevolus. though I am no diviner, I know what you are up to.

LXXII

You wish to have an amour with me, and yet you do not wish, Saufeia, to bathe with me ; I suspect that some monstrous blemish is in question. Either your dugs hang in wrinkles from your bosom, or you fear by nakedness to betray the furrows in your

1 The epigram is ironical. C.'s milk-and-water stuff is fit only for boys and girls. 2 S. had divorced A.

209 VOL. I. P


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

aut infinite lacerum patet inguen hiatu aut aliquid cunni prominet ore tui.

sed nihil est horum, credo, pulcherrima nuda es. si verum est, vitium peius habes : fatua es.


LXXIII

DORMIS cum pueris mutuniatis, et non stat tibi, Galle, quod stat illis. quid vis me, rogo, Phoebe, suspicari ? mollem credere te virum volebam, sed rumor negat esse te cinaedum.

LXXIV

PSILOTHRO faciem levas et dropace calvam.

numquid tonsorem, Gargiliane, times ? quid facient ungues ? nam certe noil potes illos

resina Veneto nee resecare luto. desine, si pudor est, miseram traducere calvam :

hoc fieri cunno, Gargiliane, solet.

LXXV

STARE, Luperce, tibi iam pridem mentula desit,

luctaris demens tu tamen arrigere. sed nihil erucae faciunt bulbique salaces

inproba nee prosunt iam satureia tibi. coepisti puras opibus corrumpere buccas :

sic quoque non vivit sollicitata Venus, mirari satis hoc quisquam vel credere possit,

quod non stat, magno stare, Luperce, tibi ?


BOOK III. LXXII-LXXV

belly, or your person is lacerated and used up, or you have a protuberance somewhere. But there is nothing such, I am sure ; naked you are most beauti- ful. But if there really is anything, you have a worse delect : you are stupid.

LXXIII

Tu dormi con giovani membruti, e non ti sta, O Gallo, quel che sta a loro. Che vuoi, dimmi, O Febo. ch'io ne sospetti ? Volevo crederti un cinedo : ma quel che si dice non e che sti un cinedo.

LXXIV

WITH salve you smooth your cheeks, and with hair-eradicator your bald pate : surely you are not afraid, Gargilianus, of a barber ? l How will your nails fare ? for those at least you cannot trim with resin or Venetian clay. Give over, if you have any shame, making a sight of your wretched bald pate : this is wont to be done by women elsewhere, Gar- gilianus.

LXXV

GIA da lungo tempo, O Luperco, il tuo membro cessa stare, tuttavia tu arrabiato ti sforzi arrigere. Ma nulla fanno le rughe, e gli incitevoli bolbi, ne tampoco ti giova la oltre modo lasciva satureia. Tentasti corrompere con ricchezze le innocenti bocche. Venere sollecitata cosi non ha vigore. Nes- suno c'e che possa cid bastantemente ammirare o credere, che cio che non ti consta, tanto, O Luperco, ti costi.

1 Like Diouysius, tyrant of Syracuse, who, fearing assas- sination, would not allow himself to be shaved, but burned his hair off with lighted charcoal : Cic. De Off, II. vii. 25.

211 P 2


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

LXXVI

ARRIGIS ad vetulas, fastidis, Basse, puellas,

nee formosa tibi sed moritura placet, hie, rogo, non furor est, non haec est mentula demens ?

cum possis Hecaben, 11011 potes Andromachen !


LXXVII

NEC mullus nee te delectat, Baetice, turdus,

nee lepus est umquam nee tibi gratus aper ; nee te liba iuvant nee sectae quadra placentae,

nee Libye mittit iiec tibi Phasis aves : capparin et putri cepas allece natantis 5

et pulpani dubio de petasone voras, teque iuvant gerres et pelle melandrj^a cana ;

resinata bibis vina, Falerna fugis. nescio quod stomachi vitium secretius esse

suspicor: ut quid enim, Baetice, oa7rpo</>ayeis? 10


LXXVIII

MINXISTI currente semel, Pauline, cariiia. meiere vis iterum ? iam Palimmis eris.


LXXIX

REM peragit nullam Sertorius, inchoat omnes. hunc ego, cum futuit, non puto perficere.


1 The inferior parts of tunny salted, and called " heart of oak" from its appearance : Plin. N.H. ix. 18.

2 Caused by lascivious practices : cf. in. Ixxxi.


212


BOOK III. I.XXVI-LXXIX

LXXVI

You are ardent for old women, you show disgust, Bassus, for girls ; it is not the beautiful, but the moribund attracts you. Is not this, I ask, frenzy, is not this amorous madness ? Although you can woo Hecuba, Andromache you cannot !

LXXVII

NOR mullet nor fieldfare gratifies you, Baetieus, nor is hare or boar ever palatable to you. Nor do rolls please you, nor a square of scored cake, nor does Libya or Phasis send you her birds. You de- vour capers, and onions floating in stale fish-pickle, and the lean from a dubious ham ; and sprats salted please you, and heart-of-oak tunny 1 with white skin; you drink resined wine, avoid Falernian. Your stomach has some secret failing I suspect ; 2 for why, Baeticus, do you feed on carrion?

LXXVIII

You made water on one occasion, Paulinus, while the ship was on her course. Do you wish to exude a second time ? At once you will be a Palinurus. 3

LXXIX

THERE is no undertaking which Sertorius com- pletes : he begins all. This fellow, I fancy, does not in his amours achieve accomplishment.

3 Palinurus was the helmsman of Aeneas. The word na\ivovpos may also be translated "one who makes water again." For a similar pun on Argonauts, cf. m. Ixvii.

213


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

LXXX

DE nullo quereris, nulli maledicis, Apici : rumor ait linguae te tamen esse malae.

LXXXI

QUID cum femineo tibi, Baetice Galle, barathro ?

haec debet medios lambere lingua viros. abscisa est quare Samia tibi mentula testa,

si tibi tarn gratus, Baetice, cunnus erat ? castrandum caput est : nam sis licet inguine Gallus, 5

sacra tamen Cybeles decipis : ore vir es.

LXXXII

CONVIVA quisquis Zoili potest esse,

Summoenianas cenet inter uxores

curtaque Ledae sobrius bibat testa :

hoc esse levius puriusque contendo.

iacet occupato galbinatus in lecto 5

cubitisque trudit hinc et inde convivas

effultus ostro Sericisque pulvillis.

stat exoletus suggeritque ructanti

pinnas rubentes cuspidesque lentisci,

et aestuanti tenue ventilat frigus 10

supina prasino concubina flabello,

fugatque muscas myrtea puer virga.

percurrit agili corpus arte tractatrix

manumque doctam spargit omnibus membris ;

digiti crepantis signa novit eunuchus 1 5

et delicatae sciscitator urinae


1 Sensu obsceno.

2 Prostitutes : cf. i. xxiv. 6 ; xii. xxxii. 22.


214


BOOK III. LXXX-LXXXII

LXXX

You complain of no man, no man you slander, Apicius ; yet rumour asserts that you are one of evil tongue. 1

LXXXI

CHE affari hai tu, O Betico Gallo, col femineo baratro ? Questa tua lingua e fatta per lambire a mezzo gli uomini. A che motivo la mentola fu a te con Samia tegola recisa, se a te, O Betico, si grato era il c o ? II tuo capo merita esser castrato : imperocche, quantunque sii Gallo nelle pudenda, tuttavia inganni i sacrifici di Cibele : sei uomo nella bocca.

LXXXII

WHOEVER can endure to be the guest of Zoilus should dine among the wives by the Walls, 2 and drink, though sober, out of Leda's broken jar ; this is a lighter and more decent thing, I maintain. Garbed in green 3 he lies on a couch he alone fills, and with his elbows thrusts off his guests on either side, propped up as he is on purple and on silken cushions. There stands a catamite by him and offers his belching throat red feathers, and slips of mastick, 4 and a concubine, lying on her back, with a green fan stirs a gentle breeze to cool his heat, and a boy flaps away the flies with a sprig of myrtle. With her nimble art a shampooer runs over his body, and spreads her skilled hand over all his limbs. A eunuch knows the signal of a snapped finger, and, being the inquisitor of that fastidious water, guides his boozy

1 A mark of effeminacy : cf. I. xcvi. 9. J Toothpicks : cf. xiv. xxii.


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

domini bibentis ebrium regit penem.

at ipse retro flexus ad pedum turbam

inter catellas anserum exta lambentis

partitur apri glandulas palaestritis 20

et concubino turturum natis donat ;

Ligurumque nobis saxa cum ministrentur

vel cocta fumis musta Massilitanis,

Opimianum morionibus nectar

crystallinisque murrinisque propinat. 25

et Cosmianis ipse fusus ampullis

non erubescit murice aureo nobis

dividere moechae pauperis capillare.

septunce multo deinde perditus stertit :

nos accubamus et silentium rhonchis 30

praestare iussi nutibus propinamus.

hos Malchionis patimur inprobi fastus,

nee vindicarij Rufe, possumus : fellat.


UT faciam breviora mones epigrammata, Corde. "fac mihi quod Chione " : non potui brevius.

LXXXIV

QUID uarrat tua moecha ? non puellam dixi, Gongylion. quid ergo ? linguam.

LXXXV

Quis tibi persuasit naris abscidere moecho ? non hac peccatum est parte, marite, tibi.

1 And so bad : cf. \. xxxvj. - cf. in. Iv.

216


BOOK III. LXXXII-LXXXV

master's drunken person. But he himself, bending back to the crowd at his feet, in the midst of his lapdogs who are gnawing goose's livers portions among his wrestlers the kernel of a boar, and gives his concubine the rumps of turtledoves. And, while to us is supplied wine from Ligurian rocks, or must ripened in Massylian smoke, 1 he pledges his naturals in Opimian nectar from crystal and murrine cups. And, though he himself is drenched with all the scent-bottles of Cosmus, 2 he does not blush to parcel out to us in a gold shell a starving whore's pomatum. Then after many a half-pint he is done up and snores ; we lie there, and being ordered to compliment his snorts with silence, drink our pledges by nods. This is the insolence of unconscionable Malchio 3 which we endure, and cannot avenge ourselves, Rufus : he is a

LXXXIII

You advise me to make my epigrams shorter, Cordus. " Do me what Chione does " : 4 I could not put it shorter.

LXXXIV

WHAT does yon drab say ? I did not mean your mistress, Gongylion. What then ? Your tongue.


LXXXV

WHO induced you to cut off the adulterer's nose : It was not by this part, husband, you were sinned

1 From /j.a\ai(6s (effeminate .
  •  ?f. m. Ixxxvii. and xcvii.

21 7


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

stulte, quid egisti ? nihil hie tibi perdidit uxor, cum sit salva tui inentula Deiphobi.

LXXXVI

NE legeres partem lascivi, casta, libelli, praedixi et monui : tu tamen, ecce, legis.

sed si Panniculum spectas et, casta, Latinum, (non sunt haec mimis inprobiora,) lege.

LXXXVII

NARRAT te, Chione, rumor numquam esse fututam

atque nihil cunno purius esse tuo. tecta tamen non hac, qua debes, parte lavaris :

si pudor est, transfer subligar in faciem.

LXXXVIII

SUNT gemini fratres, diversa sed inguina lingunt. dicite, dissimiles sunt magis an similes ?

LXXXIX

UTERE lactucis et mollibus utere malvis : nam faciem durum, Phoebe, cacantis habes.

1 Son of Priam, and husband, after Paris, of Helen. Menelaus, her first husband, mutilated him: rf. Virg. Aen. vi. 494.

218


BOOK III. LXXXV-LXXXIX

against. You fool, what have you done ? Your wife has lost nothing in this quarter, seeing the organ of your Deiphobus l is safe and sound.


LXXXVI

" DON'T read part of my wanton volume, chaste madam," I told you before and warned you; 2 and yet, behold ! you read it. However, if you look on Pan- iiiculus ; and if, chaste madam, you look on Latinus these writings of mine are not worse than mimes read on.

LXXXVII

RUMOUR reports that you, Chione, have never had amours with men, and that nothing is purer than your person. Yet you bathe covered, but not in your appropriate part ; if you have any modesty, shift your drawers to your face !


LXXXVIII

Vi sono due fratelli somigliantissimi, ma lambis- cono contrarie pudenda. Dite se sieno piu dissimili o simili ?

LXXXIX

TAKE lettuces and take aperient mallows, for you have the appearance, Phoebus, of one straining at stool. 8

  • In in. Ixviii.

3 The same cast of countenance was ascribed to the Em- peror Vespasian : Suet. Vesp. xx.

219


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

XC

VOLT, non volt dare Galla mihi, nee dicere possum, quod volt et non volt, quid sibi Galla velit.

XCI

CUM peteret patriae missicius arva Ravennae,

semiviro Cybeles cum grege iunxit iter. huic comes haerebat domini fugitivus Achillas

insignis forma nequitiaque puer. hoc steriles sensere viri : qua parte cubaret ~>

quaerunt. sed tacitos sensit et ille dolos : mentitur, credunt. somni post vina petuntur :

continuo ferrum noxia turba rapit exciduntque senem spondae qui parte iacebat ;

namque puer pluteo vindice tutus erat. 10

suppositam fama est quondam pro virgine cervam :

at nunc pro cervo mentula supposita est.

XCII

UT patiar moechum rogat uxor, Galle, sed unum. huic ego non oculos eruo, Galle. duos ?

XCIII

CUM tibi trecenti consules, Vetustilla, et tres capilli quattuorque sint dentes,

1 Iphigenia's, when the latter was about to be sacrificed by her father. Agamemnon,

22Q


BOOK III. xc-xcin

xc

GALLA is willing and yet unwilling to favour me. And 1 cannot say, as she is willing and unwilling, what Galla means.

XCI

WHILE a discharged soldier was returning to the h'elds of his native Ravenna, he joined on the way Cybele's sexless company. Close companion was his master's fugitive slave, Achillas, a boy renowned for beauty and for wanton ways. This those unfruitful men perceived : they ask him in what part of the bed he lay. But that boy, too, perceived the guile ; he lied, they believed him. They seek their slumber after their wine; straightway that harmful throng snatch the steel and mutilate the old sire who lay in his part of the bed ; for the boy was safe in the ward of the inner side. Fame hath it that of old a hind took a virgin's place ; l but now part of a man took the place of a stag. 2

XCII

MY wife asks me, Gallus, to put up with a lover of hers, but only one. 3 Am 1 not then, Gallus. to gouge out this fellow's two "eyes " 4

XCIII

As you have seen out three hundred consuls. Vetustilla, and have three hairs and four teeth, the

2 A runaway slave was called "a stag" because of its speed. 3 cf. vi. xc. 4 i.e. testicuios.

221


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

pectus cicadae, crus colorque fonnicae ;

rugosiorem cum geras stola frontem

et araneorum cassibus pares mammas ; 5

cum conparata rictibus tuis ora

Niliacus habeat corcodilus angusta,

meliusque ranae garriant Ravennates

et Atrianus dulcius culix cantet,

videasque quantum noctuae vident mane, 1

et illud oleas quod viri capellarum,

et anatis habeas orthopygium macrae,

senemque Cynicum vincat osseus cunnus ;

cum te lucerna balneator extincta

admittat inter bustuarias moechas ; 1 5

cum bruma mensem sit tibi per Augustum

regelare nee te pestilenties possit :

audes ducentas nupturire post mortes

virumque demens cineribus tuis quaeris

prurire. quid sarrire si l velit saxum ? 20

quis coniugem te, quis vocabit uxorem,

Philomelus aviam quam vocaverat nuper ?

quod si cadaver exiges tuum scalpi.

sternatur Orci 2 de triclinio lectus,

thalassionem qui tuum decet solus, 25

ustorque taedas praeferat novae nuptae :

intrare in istum sola fax potest cunnum.

XCIV

ESSE negas coctum leporem poscisque flagella. mavis, Rufe, cocum scindere quam leporem.

1 Or quid ? sarrire quis. si mtias or satira codd.

2 Orci Roeper, Achori codd.


BOOK III. xcin-xciv

breast of a grasshopper, the leg and complexion of an ant ; as you carry a forehead more wrinkled than a woman's stole, and dugs as limp as spiders' webs ; as, compared with those chaps of yours, the crocodile of Nile has narrow jaws, and Ravenna's frogs croak more agreeably, and the Atrian gnat hums more sweetly, and your vision is on a par with an owl's in the morning, and your odour is that of the hus- bands of she-goats, and you have the latter-end of a skinny duck, and your bony person would be too much for an old Cynic ; as the bathmaii admits you among the tomb-frequenting whores only when he has ex- tinguished his lamp ; as winter continues for you all through the month of August, and not even a ma- larious fever can melt you ; you venture, after having buried two hundred husbands, to yearn for marriage, and madly look for a man to itch for your burned out remnants. What, if he should wish to hoe a rock ? Who will call you spouse, who wife, whom Philo- melus has lately called his grandmother ? But if you require your carcase to be clawed, let the marriage-bed from the dining-room of Orcus be laid out this alone befits your nuptials and let the corpse-cremator carry before the new bride the torches : only a funeral link can tickle those ancient sides.

XCIV

You say the hare is underdone, and call for a whip. You prefer, Rufus, cutting up your cook rather than your hare.

223


THE EPIGRAMS OF MAKTIAI.

XCV

NOMQUAM dicis have sed reddis, Naevole, semper.

quod prior et corvus dicere saepe solet. cur hoc expectes a me, rogo, Naevole, dicas :

nam, puto, nee melior, Naevole, nee prior es. praemia laudato tribuit mihi Caesar uterque 5

natorumque dedit iura paterna trium. ore legor multo notumque per oppida nomen

non expectato dat mihi fama rogo. est et in hoc aliquid : vidit me Roma tribunum

et sedeo qua te suscitat Oceanus. 10

quot mihi Caesareo facti sunt munere cives,

nee famulos totidem suspicor esse tibi. sed pedicaris, sed pulchre, Naevole, ceves.

iam iam tu prior es, Naevole, vincis : have.

XCVI

LIN GIS, non futuis meam puellam et garris quasi moechus et fu tutor. si te prendero, Gargili, tacebis.

XCVII

NE legat hunc Chione, mando tibi, Ilufe, libellum. carmine laesa meo est, laedere et ilia potest.


1 cf. xiv. Ixxiv. and Macrob. Sat. vn. iv. 29.: "occurrit ei (Augusto) inter gratulantes corvum tenens, quern instituerat hoc dicere : Ave Caesar Victor Imperator ! " And see Pliny's account (N.H. x. 60) of a crow that learned to salute


BOOK III. xcv-xcvn

xcv

You never volunteer, but always return, Naevolus, that "good day " which even a crow 1 is often wont to say the first. Why expect this of me ? Tell me, Naevolus : for I fancy you are neither a better man, Naevolus, than I, nor above me. Each Caesar 2 has praised me and bestowed on me rewards, and given me the privileges of a father of three sons. 3 By many a reader am I read, and fame, without waiting for my death, gives me a name celebrated throughout the towns. There is something in this too : Rome has seen in me a tribune, and I sit in seats out of which Oceanus 4 rouses you. As many have been made citizens through me by Caesar's bounty as ex- ceed, I suspect, even your household of slaves. But you submit to foul lust ; but you, Naevolus, are a fine practitioner. Now, now I see you are my superior, Naevolus ; you beat me : good day !


Tu liiigi, non immembri la mia ragazza ; et ti milanti qual drudo, e qual' immembratore. Se t'acchiappo, O Gargilio, tacerai.

XCVII

Do not let Chione read this book, Rufus, I charge you. She has been hurt by my verse, and she too can hurt. 5

the three Caesars, and was considered sacred, and honoured with a funeral procession and a pyre on the Appian Way.

  • Titus and Domitian. 3 cf. n. xci. 6.

4 The attendant of the theatre : cf. v. xxiii. 4 ; vi. ix. 2. 6 cf. in. Ixxxiii. and Ixxxvii.

225 VOL. i. g


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

XCVIII

SIT culus tibi quam macer, requiris ? pedicare potes, Sabelle, culo.

XCIX

IRASCI nostro non debes, cerdo, libello.

ars tua noil vita est carmine laesa meo. non nocuos permitte sales, cur ludere nobis

non liceat, licuit si iugulare tibi ?


CURSOREM sexta tibi, Rufe, remisimus hora, carmina quern madidum nostra tulisse reor

imbribus inmodicis caelum nam forte ruebat. non aliter mitti debuit ille liber.


226


BOOK III. xcvni-c

XCVIII

Vuoi tu sapere quanto '1 tuo orripigio sia magro ? Tu puoi, O Sabello, sodomizar con quello.


XCIX

You should not be angry, cobbler, at my book. It was your trade, not your character, that was wounded by my verse. 1 Allow harmless witticisms. Why may not I be permitted to jest, if you have been permitted to cut throats ?


I SENT you my messenger, Rufus, at the sixth hour, and I think that he was drenched when he delivered my poems ; for it chanced the sky descended with a downpour of rain. In no other way should that book of mine have been sent. 2

1 In in. xvi.

  • The poems were fit only to be rubbed out.


227 Q 2


BOOK IV


LIBER QUARTUS

I

CAESARIS alma dies et luce sacratior ilia

conscia Dictaeum qua tulit Ida lovem, longa, precor, Pylioque veni numerosior aevo,

semper et hoc voltu vel meliore nite. hie colat Albano Tritonida multus in auro 5

perque manus tantas plurima quercus eat ; hie colat ingenti redeuntia saecula lustro > et quae Romuleus sacra Tarentos habet. inagna quidem, superi, petimus sed debita terris :

pro tanto quae sunt inproba vota deo ? 10

II

SPECTABAT modo solus inter omnes

nigris munus Horatius lacernis,

cum plebs et minor ordo maximusque

sancto cum duce candidus sederet.

toto nix cecidit repente caelo : 5

albis spectat Horatius lacernis.

1 Domitian's birthday, October 24, 88 A.D., when he was 37.

2 Nestor's.

8 Some explain of D.'s golden palace, some of the golden olive- wreath, the poet's prize at the annual contest in honour of Minerva at D.'s Alban villa. M. is deliberately vague.

230


BOOK IV


PROPITIOUS day 1 of Caesar, and more hallowed than that morn whereon consenting Ida gave bii-th to Jove in Dicte's cave, come thou oft, I pray, and in fuller number than the Pylian's 2 years, and ever shine with countenance such as now, or with one fairer still ! May he full oft honour the Tritonian maid amid Alba's gold, 3 and through those mighty hands may many an oak-wreath pass ! 4 May he honour the ages as they come round in their mighty lustre, 5 and the holy festival that Romulean Tarentos keeps. 6 Great things, ye Lords of Heaven, we ask for, howbeit due to earth : for so great a god what vows are too profuse ?

II

ALONE among all the rest the other day, Horatius viewed the show in a black cloak, although the com- mon people and the lower and the highest orders, together with our hallowed Chief, sat in white. From every door of heaven snow suddenly fell : it is in a white cloak now that Horatius looks on.

4 D. founded a quinquennial contest, in honour of Jupiter Capitolinus, in music, gymnastics, etc. The prize was a gold oak-leaf crown.

8 Every hundred and ten years nominally, when the Secular Games were held : Hor. Carm. Saec. 21.

9 Sacrifices to Pluto at a spot in the Campus Martius : cf. i. Ixix.

231


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

III

ASPICE quam densum tacitarum vellus aquarum

defluat in voltus Caesaris inque sinus, indulget tamen ille lovi, nee vertice moto

concretas pigro frigore ridet aquas, sidus Hyperborei solitus lassare Bootae 5

et madidis Helicen dissimulare comis. quis siccis lascivit aquis et ab aethere ludit ?

suspicor has pueri Caesaris esse nives.

IV

QUOD siccae redolet palus lacunae,

crudarum nebulae quod Albularum,

piscinae vetus aura quod marinae,

quod pressa piger hircus in capella,

lassi vardaicus quod evocati, 5

quod bis murice vellus inquinatum,

quod ieiunia sabbatariarum,

maestorum quod anhelitus reorum,

quod spurcae moriens lucerna Ledae,

quod ceromata faece de Sabina, 10

quod volpis fuga, viperae cubile,

mallem quam quod oles olere, Bassa.


Via bonus et pauper linguaque et pectore verus, quid tibi vis urbem qui, Fabiane, petis ?

qui nee leno potes nee comissator haberi nee pavidos tristi voce citare reos

1 An allusion to Domitian's campaigns against the Chatti and against the Dacians.

232


BOOK IV. IH-V

III

MARK how thickly the still fleecy shower flows down on Caesar's face and on his bosom ! Yet he humours Jove, and with head unmoved smiles at the waters congealed by numbing frost, wont as he has been l to tire Bootes' Northern Star, and, with drenched locks, to disregard the Greater Bear. Who wantons with this dry shower and frolics from heaven ? I deem these were snows sent by Caesar's child. 2

IV

THE stench of the bed of a drained marsh ; of the raw vapours of sulphur springs ; the putrid reek of a sea-water fishpond ; of a stale he-goat in the midst of his amours ; of the military boot of a fagged- out veteran ; of a fleece twice dyed with purple ; 3 of the breath of fasting Sabbatarian Jews ; of the sighs of depressed defendants ; of filthy Leda's lamp as it expires ; of ointment made of dregs of Sabine oil ; of a wolf in flight ; of a viper's lair all these stenches would I prefer to your stench, Bassa !


A GOOD man and poor, true in tongue and heart, what is your aim, Fabianus, you who come to Rome ? You who cannot endure to be counted a pandar, or boon-companion, or with ominous tone to cite

2 Who died in infancy, and is assumed to have been deified.

  • The purple dye gave garments an unpleasant smell : cf.

l. xlix. 32 ; ix. Ixiii.

2 33


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

nee potes uxorem cari corrumpere amici 5

nee potes algentes arrigere ad vetulas,

vendere nee vanos circum Palatia fumos, plaudere nee Cano plaudere nee Glaphyro :

unde miser vives ? " Homo certus, fidus amicus " hoc nihil est : numquam sic Philomelus eris. 10


VI

CREDI virgine castior pudica et frontis tenerae cupis videri, cum sis inprobior, Malisiane, quam qui compositos metro Tibulli in Stellae recitat domo libellos.


VII

CUR, here quod dederas, hodie, puer Hylle, negasti, durus tarn subito qui modo mitis eras ?

sed iam causaris barbamque annosque pilosque. o nox quam longa es quae facis una senem !

quid nos derides ? here qui puer, Hylle, fuisti, 5

die nobis, hodie qua ratioiie vir es ?


VIII

PRIMA salutantes atque altera conterit l hora ;

exercet raucos tertia causidicos ; in quintam varios extendit Roma labores ;

sexta quies lassis ; septima finis erit ; 1 continet B.

1 To make baseless promises of favour by the Emperor. Proverbial, cf. Erasm. Adag. *.v.

234


BOOK IV. v-vm

trembling defendants, nor endure to seduce the wife of a dear friend, or to lecher after bloodless old women, or to sell about the palace empty smoke, 1 or to applaud Canus, or applaud Glaphyrus, 2 whence, wretched man, will you get your living ? "A man trustworthy, a loyal friend " That is nothing : never in this way will you be a Philomelus. 8

VI

You desire to be thought chaster than a pure virgin, and to win the semblance of bashful mien. Yet you are more dissolute, Malisianus, than the man who recites in Stella's house poems composed in the metre of Tibullus.

VII

WHY, Hyllus boy, have you denied to-day what yesterday you gave, hard so suddenly who erewhile were gentle ? But now you plead your beard, and your years, and hair: O night, how long thou art, one night that makest an old man ! Why do you laugh at me ? Hyllus, who yesterday were boy, tell me how you are man to-day ?

VIII

THE first and the second hour wearies clients at the levee, the third hour sets hoarse advocates to work ; till the end of the fifth Rome extends her various tastes ; the sixth gives rest to the tired ; 4


2 A flute-player and a musician respectively.

3 A rich freedman of evil repute : cf. in. xxxi.

4 The siesta.


2 35


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

sufficit in nonam nitidis octava palaestris ; 5

imperat extructos frangere nona toros ; hora libellorum decuma est, Eupheme, meorum,

temperat ambrosias cum tua cura dapes et bonus aetherio laxatur nectare Caesar

ingentique tenet pocula parca manu. 10

tune admitte iocos : gressu timet ire licenti

ad matutinum nostra Thalia lovem.

IX

SOTAE filia clinici, Labulla, deserto sequeris Clytum marito et donas et amas : eeis durwrtos-


X

DUM novus est nee adhuc rasa mihi fronte libellus,

pagina dum tangi non bene sicca timet, i puer et caro perfer leve munus amico

qui meruit nugas primus habere meas. curre, sed instructus : comitetur Punica librum 5

spongea : muneribus convenit ilia meis. non possunt nostros multae, Faustine, liturae

emendare iocos : una litura potest.

XI

DUM nimium vano tumefactus nomine gaudes et Saturninum te pudet esse, miser,

1 This and the following epithets are meant to suggest Domitian's divinity.

2 According to Suetonius (Dom. xx.) Domitian was tem- perate in his drinking.

236


BOOK IV. VHI-XI

the seventh will be the end. The eighth to the ninth suffices for the oiled wrestlers ; the ninth bids us crush the piled couches. The tenth hour is the hour for my poems, Euphemus, when your care sets out the ambrosial * feast, and kindly Caesar soothes his heart with heavenly nectar, and holds in mighty hand his frugal 2 cup. Then admit my jests : my Thalia fears with unlicensed step to approach a morning Jove.

IX

DAUGHTER of Doctor Sotas, Labulla, you leave your spouse and depart with Clitus ; you give him gifts and your love. You don't act like Sotas' daughter. 3

X

WHILE my book is new and with its edges not yet smoothed, while the page, not well dry, fears the touch, go, boy, and bear a trifling present to a dear friend who has deserved first to possess my trifles. Run, but equipped : let a Punic sponge attend the book ; that sorts with the gifts I give. Many corrections, Faustinus, cannot emend my jokes : one wiping-out can ! 4

XI

WHILE, swollen with pride, you rejoiced o'ermuch in an empty name, 5 and were ashamed, wretched man, to be Saturninus, you awoke such impious

' The pun is untranslatable. The Greek may mean as in the text, or "you act profligately." * III. c.

5 Antonius, the same as the Triumvir's. His other name was Saturninus.

237


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

impia Parrhasia movisti bella sub ursa,

qualia qui Phariae coniugis arma tulit. excideratne adeo fatum tibi nominis huius, 5

obruit Actiaci quod gravis ira freti ? an tibi promisit Rhenus quod non dedit illi

Nilus, et Arctois plus licuisset aquis ? ille etiam nostris Antonius occidit armis,

qui tibi conlatus, perfide, Caesar erat. 10

XII

NULLI, Thai, negas ; sed si te non pudet istud, hoc saltern pudeat, Thai, negare nihil.

XIII

CLAUDIA, Rufe, meo nubit Peregrina Pudenti :

macte esto taedis, O Hymenaee, tuis. tarn bene rara suo miscentur cinnama nardo,

Massica Theseis tarn bene vina favis ; nee melius teneris iunguntur vitibus ulmi, 5

nee plus lotos aquas, litora myrtus amat. Candida perpetuo reside, Concordia, lecto,

tamque pari semper sit Venus aequa iugo : diligat ilia senem quondam, sed et ipsa marito

turn quoque, cum fuerit, non videatur anus. 10

XIV

SILI, Castalidum decus sororum, qui periuria barbari furoris

1 He revolted in upper Germany at the end of A.D. 88. 238


BOOK IV. xi-xiv

war under the Northern Bear 1 as he awoke who wore his Pharian consort's arms. 2 Had you so forgotten the doom of this name, which the heavy wrath of Actium's strait o'erwhelmed? Or did Rhine promise you what Nile gave not to him, and should larger rights have been given to Polar seas ? Even that famous Antony fell beneath our arms, and he, traitor, compared with you, was a Caesar.

XII

No lover, Thais, you deny. But if you are not ashamed of that, at least be ashamed of this, Thais of denying nothing.

XIII

CLAUDIA PEREGRINA weds, Rufus, with my own Pudens ; a blessing, O Hymenaeus, be upon thy torches ! So well does rare cinnamon blend with its own nard ; so well Massic wine with Attic combs. Not closer are elms linked to tender vines, nor greater love hath the lotos for the waters, the myrtle for the shore. Fair Concord, rest thou unbroken on that bed, and may Venus be ever kindly to a bond so equal knit ! May the wife love her husband when anon he is grey, and she herself, even when she is old, seem not so to her spouse !

XIV

Siuus, 3 the pride of the Castalian Sisters, who with your mighty tones crush the perjuries of bar-

2 Cleopatra. Antony and Cleopatra were defeated by Octavian (Augustus) at the battle of Actium, B.C. 31. 8 The poet of the Punic Wars.

239


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

ingenti premis ore perfidosque

astus Hannibalis levisque Poenos

magnis cedere cogis Africanis, 5

paulum seposita severitate,

dum blanda vagus alea December

incertis sonat hinc et hinc fritillis

et ludit tropa l nequiore talo,

nostris otia commoda Camenis, 10

nee torva lege fronte sed remissa

lascivis rnadidos iocis libellos.

sic forsan tener ausus est Catullus

magno mittere Passerem Maroni.


XV

MILLE tibi nummos hesterna luce roganti in sex aut septem, Caeciliane, dies

" Non habeo " dixi : sed tu, causatus amici adventum, lancem paucaque vasa rogas.

stultus es ? an stultum me credis, amice ? negavi mille tibi nummos, milia quinque dabo ?


XVI

PRIVIGNUM non esse tuae te, Galle, novercae rumor erat, coniunx dum fuit ilia patris.

non tamen hoc poterat vivo genitore probari. iam nusquam pater est, Galle, noverca domi est.

magnus ab infernis revocetur Tullius umbris 5

et te defendat Regulus ipse licet,

1 tropa Buddaeus, popa 0, rota y.


1 Tropa was the game of pitching knuckle-bones into a 240


BOOK IV. xiv-xvi

baric frenzy, and compel Hannibal's false wiles and the faithless Carthaginians to yield to the great Africani, awhile lay aside your mien austere, what time December, idling amid alluring hazard, rings on this side and on that with risky dice-box, and tropa 1 sports with the licentious knuckle-bone. Lend thy leisure to my Muse, and read with a smooth, not frowning brow, poems steeped in wanton quips. So belike tender Catullus ventured to send his Sparrow 2 to great Maro.

XV

WHEN you asked me yesterday to lend you a thousand sesterces on six or seven days' credit, Caecilianus, " I haven't got them," I said ; yet you, on the pretext of a friend's arrival, ask me for a dish and a few vases. 3 Are you a fool, or do you think me a fool, my friend? I refused you a thousand sesterces ; shall I give five thousand ?

XVI

STEPSON to your stepmother, Gallus, rumour had it you never were while she was your father's wife. But this could not be proved while your progenitor lived. Now your father lives nowhere, Gallus, your stepmother lives with you. Though great Tully were recalled from the nether shades, and Regulus himself

hole, or the mouth of a jar (Pers. iii. 50), probably played with a good deal of disorder and cheating.

4 Cat. ii. and iii. 3 Evidently of silver.

241 VOL. I. R


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

non potes absolvi : nam quae non desinit esse post patrem, numquam, Galle, noverca fuit.

XVII

FACERE in Lyciscam, Paule, me iubes versus, quibus ilia lectis rubeat et sit irata. o Paule, malus es : irrumare vis solus.

XVIII

QUA vicina pluit Vipsanis porta columnis

et madet adsiduo lubricus imbre lapis, in iugulum pueri, qui roscida tecta subibat,

decidit hiberno praegravis unda gelu ; cumque peregisset miseri crudelia fata, 5

tabuit in calido volnere mucro tener. quid non saeva sibi voluit Fortuna licere ?

aut ubi non mors est, si iugulatis, aquae ?

XIX

HANC tibi Sequanicae pinguem textricis alumnam, quae Lacedaemonium barbara nomen habet,

sordida sed gelido non aspernanda Decembri dona, peregrinam mittimus endromida,

seu lentuin ceroma teris tepid um ve trigona 5

sive harpasta manu pulverulenta rapis,

1 Some archway in the region of the Campus Agrippae, over which passed an aqueduct, perhaps the Aqua Virgo : cf. ill. xlvii.

242


BOOK IV. xvi-xix

were to defend you, you cannot be acquitted; for she who has not ceased to be such after your father's death, never, Gallus, was a stepmother.


XVII

You bid me, Paul us, write against Lycisca verses at which she would blush and be enraged. O Paulus, you are a rogue ! You want to keep her to yourself !

XVIII

WHERE the gate 1 drips near the Vipsanian Columns, and the slippery stone is wet with the constant shower, on a boy's throat, as he passed under that dewy roof, fell water weighted with winter frost; and when it had wrought the unhappy victim's cruel death, the frail dagger melted on the warm gash. What stretch of power has not ruthless Fortune willed for herself? Or where is not death, if ye, O Waters, are cut-throats ? 2

XIX

THIS shaggy nursling of a weaver on the Seine, a barbarian garb that has a Spartan name, a thing uncouth, but not to be despised in cold December we send you as a gift, a foreign endromis, whether you rub the sticky ointment, 3 or catch oft the warm- ing hand-ball, or snatch the scrimmage-ball amid the dust, or bandy to and fro the feather weight of the

2 cf. a Greek epigram on a similar subject : Anth. Pal. ix. 56.

3 Or, perhaps, "whether you tread the lists of the oiled wrestler": cf. vn. xxxii. 7.

243 R 2


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

plumea seu laxi partiris pondera follis sive levem cursu vincere quaeris Athan :

ne niadidos intret penetrabile frigus in artus

neve gravis subita te premat Iris aqua. 10

ridebis ventos hoc munere tectus et imbris nee sic in Tyria sindone tutus l eris.

XX

DIGIT se vetulam, cum sit Caerellia pupa :

pupam se dicit Gellia, cum sit anus, ferre nee hanc possis, possis, Colline, nee illam :

altera ridicula est, altera putidula.

XXI

NULLOS esse deos, inane caelum adfirmat Segius : probatque, quod se factum, dum negat haec, videt beatum.

XXII

PitiMos passa toros et adhuc placanda marito

merserat in nitidos se Cleopatra lacus, dum fugit amplexus. sed prodidit unda latentem ;

lucebat, totis cum tegeretur aquis. condita sic puro numerantur lilia vitro, 5

sic prohibet tenues gemma latere rosas. insilui mersusque vadis luctantia carpsi

basia : perspicuae plus vetuistis aquae.

1 cidt-ua y.

1 Whether you wrestle or play at ball. Three balls are mentioned. The trigon was a small hand-ball bandied by players standing in a triangle ; the harpastum a similar ball

244


BOOK IV. xix-xxn

flaccid bladder- ball, 1 or strive to outrun in the race the light-footed Athas ; that searching cold may not pass into your moist limbs, or Iris 2 overwhelm you with a sudden shower. You will laugh at winds and rains, clad in this gift. In Tyrian muslin you will not be so secure.

XX

CAERELLIA calls herself an old woman, although she is a girl ; Gellia calls hei'self a girl, although she is a crone. One cannot put up with either this woman, Collinus, or that : one is ridiculous, the other disgusting.

XXI

"THERE are no gods: heaven is empty," Segius asserts ; and he proves it, for in the midst of these denials he sees himself made rich !

XXII

NEW to the marriage-bed, and yet unreconciled to her husband, Cleopatra had plunged into the gleaming pool, seeking to escape embrace. But the wave betrayed the lurking dame ; brightly she showed, though covered by the o'erlapping water. So, shut in pellucid glass, lilies may be counted, so crystal forbids tender roses to lurk hidden. 3 I leapt in, and, plunged in the waters, plucked reluctant kisses : ye, O transparent waters, forbad aught beyond !

scrambled for by two sets of players : it was a dusty game. Thefollis was a large ball filled with air and struck with the hand. See generally xiv. xlv. to xlviii. 2 The goddess of the rainbow. 3 cf. vm. xiv. 3.

245


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

XXHI

DUM tu lenta nimis diuque quaeris

quis primus tibi quisve sit secundus,

Graium quos : epigramma conparavit,

palmam Callimachus, Thalia, de se

facuiido dedit ipse Brutiano. 5

qui si Cecropio satur lepore

Romanae sale luserit Minervae,

illi me facias, precor, secundum.

XXIV

OMNES quas habuit, Fabiane, Lycoris arnicas extulit. uxori fiat arnica meae.

XXV

AEMULA Baianis Altini litora villis

et Phaethontei conscia silva rogi, quaeque Antenoreo Dryadum pulcherrima Fauno

nupsit ad Euganeos Sola puella lacus, et tu Ledaeo felix Aquileia Timavo, 5

hie ubi septenas Cyllarus hausit aquas : vos eritis nostrae requies portusque senectae,

si iuris fuerint otia nostra sui.

XXVI

QUOD te mane domi toto non vidimus anno, vis dicam quantum, Postume, perdiderim ? 1 Graium quos Koestlin, gratumque codd.

1 i.e Callimachus and Brutianus.

_ 2 A Greek poet of Alexandria of the third century B.C. 3 The scene is laid in Venetia. Sola is the nymph (here

246


BOOK IV. xxm-xxvi

XXIII

WHILE you were considering, Thalia, very carefully and long, which in your judgment was first, and which second, of the pair whom Greek epigTam has matched in rivalry, 1 Callimachus 2 of his own accord resigned the palm to eloquent Brutianus. Should he, cloyed with Attic wit, trifle with the Roman epigram, make me, I pray, second to him.

XXIV

ALL the friends she had, Fabianus, Lycoris has buried. May she become a friend to my wife !

XXV

ALTINUM'S shores 3 that vie with Baiae's villas, and the wood that saw the pyre of Phaethon, and the maid Sola, fairest of Dryads, who wed with Paduan Faunus by the Euganean meres, and thou, Aquileia, blest with Timavus 4 honoured by Leda's sons, where Cyllarus quaffed its sevenfold waters ye shall be the refuge and harbour of my old age, if I be free to choose the place of my repose.

XXVI

BECAUSE I have not seen you at home in the morning for a whole year, would you have me tell

put for the lake) of a lake in the Eugauean hills (La Solana).

4 A river with seven, or, according to Virgil (Aen. i. 245), nine mouths, probably the river down which (cf. Plin. N. H. iii. 22) the Argo floated to the Adriatic. Cyllarus was the horse of Castor, one of the Argonauts : cf. viii. xxi. 5.

247


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

tricenos, puto, bis, vicenos ter, puto, nuramos. ignosces : togulam, Postume, pluris emo.


XXVII

SAEPE meos laudare soles, Auguste, libellos.

invidus ecce negat : num minus ergo soles ? quid quod honorato non sola voce dedisti,

non alius poterat quae dare dona mihi ? ecce iterum nigros conrodit lividus ungues.

da, Caesar, tanto tu magis, ut doleat.

XXVIII

DONASTI tenero, Chloe, Luperco Hispanas Tyriasque coccinasque et lotam tepido togam Galaeso, Indos sardonychas, Scythas zmaragdos, et centum dominos novae monetae, et quidquid petit usque et usque donas, vae glabraria, vae tibi misella : nudam te statuet tuus Lupercus.

XXIX

OBSTAT, care Pudens, nostris sua turba libellis lectoremque frequens lassat et implet opus.

rara iuvant : primis sic maior gratia pomis, hibernae pretium sic meruere rosae ;

248


BOOK IV. xxvi-xxix

you, Posturuus, how much I have lost ? Twice thirty sesterces, perhaps, perhaps thrice twenty. Your pardon ! On a poor toga, Postumus, I spend more !

XXVII

OFT are you wont to praise my poems, Augustus. See, a jealous fellow denies it ; are you wont to praise them the less for that? Have you not besides given me, honoured not in words alone, gifts that none other could give ? See, the jealous fellow again gnaws his filthy nails ! Give me, Caesar, all the more, that he may writhe !

XXVIII

You have given, Chloe, to young Lupercus cloaks of Spanish wool dyed with Tyrian purple and with scarlet, and a toga dipt in the mild Galesus, Indian sardonyxes, Scythian emeralds, and a hundred sove- reigns of new-minted money, and whatever he asks you give over and over again. Woe to you, enamoured of smooth-skinned boys, woe to you, wretched woman ! Your Lupercus l will leave you naked.

XXIX

DEAR Pudens, their very number hampers my poems, and volume after volume wearies and sates the reader. Rare things please one ; so greater charm belongs to early apples, so winter roses win value ;

1 Perhaps with a reference to the Luperci, priests of Pan, who ran naked through Rome on the festival of the Luper- calia. " Yon will be bare as Lupercus."

249


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

sic spoliatricem commendat fastus amicam, 5

ianua nee iuvenem semper aperta tenet.

saepius in libro numeratur Persius uno quam levis in tota Marsus Amazonide.

tu quoque, de nostris releges quemcumque libellis, esse puta solum : sic tibi pluris erit. 10

XXX

BAIANO procul a lacu, monemus,

piscator, fuge, ne nocens recedas.

sacris piscibus hae natantur undae,

qui norunt dominum manumque lambunt

illam, qua nihil est in orbe maius. 5

quid quod nomen habent et ad magistri

vocem quisque sui venit citatus ?

hoc quondam Libys impius profundo,

dum praedam calamo tremente ducit,

raptis luminibus repente caecus 10

captum non potuit videre plscem,

et nunc sacrilegos perosus hamos

Baianos sedet ad lacus rogator.

at tu, dum potes, innocens recede

iactis simplicibus cibis in undas, 15

et pisces venerare delicatos.

XXXI

QUOD cupis in nostris dicique legique libellis

et nonnullus honos creditur iste tibi, ne valeam si non res est gratissima nobis

et volo te chartis inseruisse meis.

1 An epigrammatic poet : cf. vn. xcix. 7 ; vni. Iv. 24. He seems to have also written an epic on the Amazons.

250


BOOK IV. xxtx-xxxi

so her pride commends a mistress who pillages you, and a door always open holds fast no lover. Oftener Persius wins credit in a single book than trivial Marsus x in his whole Amazonid. Do you, too, what- ever of my books you read again, think that it is the only one : so 'twill be to you of fuller worth.

XXX

FROM Baiae's lake, fisherman, I warn thee, fly afar, lest with guilt thou depart ! These waters swim with hallowed fish, that know their lord, 2 and fondle that hand greater than anything on earth. Aye, do they not bear his name, and at its master's voice does not each when summoned come ? While aforetime an impious Libyan was drawing up out of this deep his prey with tremulous line, his eyes were snatched from him, and in sudden blindness he could not see the taken fish, and now, loathing his sacrilegious hooks, he sits by Baiae's lake a beggar. But do thou, while thou canst, depart yet innocent when thou hast cast into the water guileless bait, and revere these dainty fish.

XXXI

SEEING that you wish to be mentioned and read of in my poems, and that honour you deem to be some- thing, may I perish, but the idea is one most pleasant to me ; and I wish to include you in my writings.

2 The Emperor.

251


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

sed tu nomen habes averse fonte sororum 5

inpositum, mater quod tibi dura dedit ;

quod nee Melpomene, quod nee Polyhymnia possit nee pia cum Phoebo dicere Calliope.

ergo aliquod gratum Musis tibi nomen adopta :

non semper belle dicitur "Hippodame." 10


XXXII

ET latet et lucet Phaethontide condita gutta, ut videatur apis nectare clusa suo.

dignum tantorum pretium tulit ilia laborum : credibile est ipsam sic voluisse mori.


XXXIII

PLENA laboratis habeas cum scrinia libris,

emittis quare, Sosibiane, nihil ? "Edent heredes" inquis "mea carmina." quando ?

tempus erat iam te, Sosibiane, legi.

XXXIV

SORDIDA cum tibi sit, verum tamen, Attale, dicit, quisquis te niveam dicit habere togam.

1 A fanciful reproduction of some Latin name incapable of being brought into M.'s metre, whether elegiac, lyric, or heroic.

2 Similar epigrams are iv. lix. and vi. xv. See on the subject generally, Tac. Germ. xlv. and Plin. N.H.ujmvu. 31.

252


BOOK IV. xxxi-xxxiv

But you have a name, given you by your hard-hearted mother, which was laid upon you when the sister Muses' fountain was unkind, and which neither Melpomene nor Polyhymnia could utter, nor kindly Calliope, with Phoebus' aid. So assume for yourself some name the Muses like : it is not pretty to be always saying " Hippodame." l


XXXII

IN an amber-drop the bee lies hid and lightens, so that it seems to be shut in its native sweets. Worthy reward for all its toils it has won ; methinks itself would have wished so to die. 2


ALTHOUGH you possess bookcases crammed with books, arduously compiled, why, Sosibianus, do you send forth nothing? " My heirs," you say, "will publish my lays." When, oh, when ? 'Tis already high time, Sosibianus, you should be read. 3


XXXIV

ALTHOUGH your toga is dirty, Attalus, yet he says truly who says that you have a snowy 4 toga.

3 There is an intentional ambiguity here. " You should have by now given us a chance of reading you," or " By now you should have been dead/'

4 A threadbare toga seems to have been called nivea, as giving no warmth : c/. ix. xlix. 8.

253


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

XXXV

FRONTIBUS adversis molles concurrere dammas

vidimus et fati sorte iacere pan. spectavere canes praedam, stupuitque superbus

venator cultro nil superesse suo. unde leves animi tanto caluere furore ? o

sic pugnant tauri, sic cecidere viri.

XXXVI

CANA est barba tibi, nigra est coma : tinguere barbam non potes (haec causa est) et potes, Ole, comam.

XXXVII

" CENTUM Coranus et ducenta Mancinus,

trecenta debet Titius, hoc bis Albinus,

decies Sabinus alterumque Serranus ;

ex insulis fundisque triciens soldum,

ex pecore redeunt ter ducena Parmensi " : 5

totis diebus, Afer, hoc mihi narras

et teneo melius ista quam meum nomen.

numeres oportet aliquid, ut pati possim :

cotidianam refice nauseam nummis :

audire gratis, Afer, ista non possum. 10

XXXVIII

GALLA, nega : satiatur amor nisi gaudia torquent : sed noli nimium, Galla, negare diu.

1 cf. iv. Ixxiv. 254


BOOK IV. xxxv-xxxvm

XXXV

WITH opposing brows we have seen gentle does meet in fight, and lie stricken by an equal fate of death. Dogs have gazed upon the quarry, and the proud huntsman has stood amazed that no task re- mained for his knife. Whence have gentle spirits drawn such furious heat ? So battle bulls, so have fallen men. 1


XXXVI

WHITE is your beard, black is your hair ; dye your beard you cannot this is the reason but you can your hair, Olus. 2


XXXVII

"A HUNDRED thousand sesterces Coranus owes me, and two hundred Mancinus, three hundred Titius, twice as much Albinus, a million Sabinus, and another million Serranus ; from my flats and farms come in a clear three millions, from my flocks at Parma is a return of six hundred thousand." Every and all day, Afer, you prate of this to me, and I remember it all better than my own name. You must count out something to make me endure this ; cure by cash my daily nausea ; I can't hear that tale, Afer, for nothing.

XXXVIII

REFUSE me, Galla; love cloys if its pleasures torture not : but refuse not, Galla, too long.

2 Perhaps the meaning is 0. is suffering from some disease of the chin (cf. Plin. N.H. xxvi. 2) preventing the use of dye : cf. i. Ixxvii. 5.

255


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

XXXIX

ARQENTI genus omne conparasti,

et solus veteres Myronos artes,

solus Praxitelus manum Scopaeque,

solas Phidiaci toreuma caeli,

solus Mentoreos habes labores. ;">

nee desunt tibi vera Grattiana

nee quae Callaico linuntur auro

nee mensis anaglypta de paternis.

argentum tamen inter omne miror

quare non habeas, Charine, purum. 10

XL

ATRIA Pisonum stabant cum stemmate toto

et docti Senecae ter numeranda domus, praetulimus tantis solum te, Postume, regnis ;

pauper eras et eques sed mihi consul eras, tecum ter denas numeravi, Postume, brumas : 5

communis nobis lectus et unus erat. iam donare potes, iam perdere, plenus honorum,

largus opum : expecto, Postume, quid facias, nil facis et serum est alium mihi quaerere regem.

hoc, Fortuna, placet ? "Postumus inposuit." 10

XLI

QUID recitaturus circumdas vellera collo? conveniunt nostris auribus ista magis.

1 i.e. Spanish. The Gallaeci or Callaici inhabited the modern Galicia where gold was found : cf. x. xvi. 3 ; xrv. xcv. 1.

2 A play on the double meaning of "unadorned " and " undenled by your lips": cf. I. Ixxvii. 6.


BOOK IV. xxx.x-xu

XXXIX

You have collected every kind of silver plate, and you alone possess Myron's antique works of art, you alone the handiwork of Praxiteles and of Scopas, you alone the chased product of Phidias' graving chisel, you alone the results of Mentor's toil. Nor do you lack genuine works of Grattius, or dishes overlaid with Gallician l gold, or pieces in relief from an- cestral tables. Nevertheless I wonder why, amid all your silver plate, you, Charinus, have nothing chaste. 2

XL

WHEN the Pisos' hall stood with all its ances- try, 3 and learned Seneca's house illustrious for its triple names, 4 you alone, Postumus, I chose before patronage so great ; poor were you, and a knight, but to me you were a consul. With you I summed, Postumus, twice ten winters ; common to us both was one couch. Now you can make gifts, now squander, full as you are of honours, copious in wealth ; I await, Postumus, to see what you will do. You do nothing, and 'tis too late for me to seek another patron. Does this, Fortune, please you ? "Postumus is a fraud." 5

XLI

WHY, when about to recite, do you put a muffler round your neck ? That is more suitable to our ears !

3 The house had declined since C. Calpurnius Piso's con- spiracy against Nero, A.D. 65.

4 Probably M. means Seneca, the philosopher and tutor of Nero, his brother Gallio, and Annaeus Pomponius Mela, the writer on geography.

6 This is Fortune's reply. P. has deceived her.

257 VOL. I. S


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

XLII

Si quis forte mihi possit praestare roganti,

audi, quern puerum, Flacce, rogare velim. Niliacis primum puer hie nascatur in oris :

nequitias tellus scit dare nulla magis. sit nive candidior : namque in Mareotide fusca 5

pulchrior est quanto rarior iste color, lumina sideribus certent mollesque flagellent

colla comae : tortas non amo, Flacce, comas, frons brevis atque modus leviter sit naribus uncis,

Paestanis rubeant aemula labra rosis. 10

saepe et nolentem cogat nolitque volentem,

liberior domino saepe sit ille suo ; et timeat pueros, excludat saepe puellas ;

vir reliquis, uni sit puer ille mihi. " lam scio, nee fallis : nam me quoque iudice verum est. 15

talis erat " dices " noster Amazonicus."

XLIII

NON dixi, Coracine, te cinaedum :

non sum tarn temerarius nee audax

nee mendacia qui loquar libenter.

si dixi, Coracine, te cinaedum,

iratam mihi Pontiae lagonam, 5

iratum calicem mihi Metili :

iuro per Syrios tibi tumores,

iuro per Berecyntios furores.

quid dixi tamen ? hoc leve et pusillum,

quod notum est, quod et ipse non negabis : 10

dixi te, Coracine, cunnilingum.

1 Pontia (cf. n. xxxiv.) and Metilius were poisoners. 258


BOOK IV. XLII-XLIII

XLII

IF any could by chance guarantee me the boon at my asking, hear, Flaccus, what kind of boy I would wish to ask for. First of all, let this boy be born on the shores of the Nile ; no country knows better how to beget roguish ways. Let him be fairer than snow ; for in swarthy Mareotis that hue is more beautiful by its rarity. Let his eyes vie with stars, and his soft locks tumble over his neck ; I like not, Flaccus, braided locks. Let his brow be low and his nose slightly aquiline, let his lips rival the red of Paestan roses. And let him oft compel endearments when I am loth, and refuse them when I am fain ; may he oft be more free than his lord ! And let him shrink from boys, oft exclude girls ; man to all else, to me alone let him be a boy. " Now I know him ; you do not deceive me ; 'tis in my judgment true. Such was," you will say, "my Amazonicus."

XLIII

1 DID not call you, Coracinus, an unnatural lecher ; I am not so rash or daring, nor one willingly to tell lies. If I called you, Coracinus, an unnatural lecher, may I feel the wrath of Pontia's flagon, the wrath of Metilius' cup ! ] I swear to you by the swellings of Syrian votaries, 2 I swear by Berecynthian frenzies. Yet what did I say? This light and in- significant thing a known fact which you yourself, too, will not deny: I said that you, Coracinus, were, as regards women, " evil-tongued."

2 Perhaps a reference to the swellings with which Isis punished misdeeds : cf. Deos inflantes corpora, Pers. v. 187.

2 59 S 2


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

XLIV

Hie est pampiiieis viridis modo Vesbius umbris ;

presserat hie madidos nobilis uva lacus ; haec iuga, quam Nysae colles plus Bacchus amavit ;

hoc nuper Satyri monte dedere chores ; haec Veneris sedes, Lacedaemone gratior illi ; 5

hie locus Herculeo numine clarus erat. cuncta iacent flammis et tristi mersa favilla :

nee superi vellent hoc licuisse sibi.

XLV

HAEC tibi pro nato plena dat laetus acerra,

Phoebe, Palatinus muiiera Parthenius, ut qui prima novo signal quinquennia lustro,

impleat innumeras Burrus Olympiadas. fac rata vota patris : sic te tua diligat arbor, 5

gaudeat et certa virginitate soror, perpetuo sic flore mices, sic denique 11011 sint

tarn longae Bromio quam tibi, Phoebe, comae.

XLVI

SATURNALIA divitem Sabellum

fecerunt : merito tumet Sabellus,

nee quemquam putat esse praedicatque

inter causidicos 'beatiorem.

hos fastus animosque dat Sabello 5

farris semodius fabaeque fresae,

1 Mount Vesuvius, which erupted A.U. 79, and destroyed Pompeii and Herculaneum.

2 Herculaneum. 3 Domitian's secretary : rf. xi. i.

260


BOOK IV. XLIV-XLVI

XLIV

THIS is Vesbius, 1 green yesterday with viny shades ; here had the noble grape loaded the dripping vats ; these ridges Bacchus loved more than the hills of Nysa; on this mount of late the Satyrs set afoot their dances ; this was the haunt of Venus, more pleasant to her than Lacedaemon ; this spot was made glorious by the name of Hercules. 2 All lies drowned in fire and melancholy ash ; even the High Gods could have wished this had not been permitted them.

XLV

THESE offerings to thee for his son from flowing censer, O Phoebus, Palatine Parthenius 3 gives with joy, that Burrus, who crowns his first five years with a new lustrum, may complete countless Olympiads. 4 Make good a father's vows ! So may thy laurel love thee, and thy sister 5 rejoice in her assured virginity, so mayst thou shine in endless youth, so too may the locks of Bromius 6 be not longer, Phoebus, than are thine !

XLVI

THE Saturnalia have made Sabellus rich: with reason Sabellus is puffed up ; and there is no man, he thinks and declares, among the lawyers 7 more fortunate. This pride and conceit is inspired in Sabellus by half a peck of spelt and crushed beans,

4 The lustrum was five years, the Olympiad four. M. treats them as the same. 5 Diana. 6 Bacchus.

7 Who received presents from their clients at the Satur- nalia : cf. xii. Ixxii.

261


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

et turis piperisqtie tres selibrae,

et Lucanica ventre cum Falisco,

et nigri Syra defruti lagona,

et ficus Libyca gelata testa 10

cum bulbis cocleisque caseoque.

Piceno quoque venit a cliente

parcae cistula non capax olivae,

et crasso figuli polita caelo

septenaria synthesis Sagunti, 15

Hispanae luteum rotae toreuma,

et lato variata mappa clavo.

Saturnalia fructuosiora

annis non habuit decem Sabellus.

XLVII

ENCAUSTUS Phaethon tabula tibi pictus in hac est. quid tibi vis, dipyrum qui Phaethonta facis ?

XLVIII

PERCIDI gaudes, percisus, Papyle, ploras.

cur, quae vis fieri, Papyle, facta doles? paenitet obscenae pruriginis ? an rnagis illud

fles, quod percidi, Papyle, desieris ?

XLIX

NESCIT, crede inihi, quid sint epigrammata, Flacce,

qui tantum lusus ista iocosque vocat. ille magis ludit qui scribit prandia saevi

Tereos aut cenam, crude Thyesta, tuam,

1 Sarcastic, relief work being appropriate to gold or silver, not to clay : cf. vm. vi. and xiv. cviii. Saguntine cups were of clay : cf. xiv. cviii.

262


BOOK IV. XLVI-XLIX

and three half-pounds of frankincense and pepper, and Lucanian sausages together with a Faliscan paunch, and a Syrian flagon of black boiled must, and fig-jelly in a Libyan jar, together with bulbs, snails, and cheese. There arrived also from a Picenian client a small box scarcely large enough for a few olives, and a set of seven cups smoothed at Saguntum by the potter's clumsy chisel (the embossed l work in clay of the Spanish wheel), and a napkin diversified with a broad 2 stripe. Saturnalia more fruitful these ten years Sabellus has not enjoyed. 3

XLVII

ON this tablet you have an encaustic painting of Phaethon. What is your object in getting Phaethon* burnt twice ?

XLVIII

Tu godi d'essere immembrato ; e dopo d'esserlo stato, tu, O Papilo, piangi. Perche, O Papilo, ti lagni tu di ci6 che vuoi che ti si faccia ? Ti penti tu dell'osceno prurito, ovvero piangi tu, Papilo, per desiderarlo maggiormente ?

XLIX

HE does not know, believe me, what epigrams are, Flaccus, who styles them only frivolities and quips. He is more frivolous who writes of the meal of savage Tereus, or of thy banquet, dyspeptic Thyestes,

2 Which was the distinction only of a senator, which S. was not.

3 Ironical, the gifts being poor ones. * cf. IV. xxv.

263


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

aut puero liquidas aptantem Daedalon alas, 5

pascentem Siculas aut Polyphemon ovis.

a nostris procul est omnis vesica libellis, Musa nee insano syrmate iiostra tumet.

"Ilia tamen laudant omnes, mirantur, adorant." confiteor : laudant ilia sed ista legunt. 10

L

QUID me, Thai, senem subinde dicis? nemo est, Thai, senex ad irrumandum.

LI

CUM tibi non essent sex milia, Caeciliane,

ingenti late vectus es hexaphoro : postquam bis decies tribuit dea caeca sinumque

ruperunt nummi, factus es, ecce, pedes. quid tibi pro meritis et tantis laudibus optem ? 5

di reddant sellam, Caeciliane, tibi.

LII

GESTAHI iunctis nisi desinis, Hedyle, capris, qui modo ficus eras, iam caprificus eris.

LIII

HUNC, quern saepe vides intra penetralia nostrae Pallados et templi limina, Cosme, novi

1 The epigram is possibly an attack on the poet Statius, whom M. never mentions. * cf. i. xcix.

3 Haemorrhoids : cf. I. Ixv. ; vn. Ixxi. The caprificus was a wild fig. M.'s pun is a cumbrous one.

264


BOOK IV. XLIX-LIII

or of Daedalus fitting to his son melting wings, or of Polyphemus pasturing Sicilian sheep. Far from poems of mine is all turgescence, nor does my Muse swell with frenzied tragic train. " Yet all men praise those tragedies, admire, worship them." I grant it : those they praise, but they read the others. 1

L

WHY, Thais, do you constantly call me old ? No one, Thais, is too old for some things.

LI

WHEN you did not possess six thousand, Caecili- anus, you were carried all over the town in a huge litter and six ; now the blind goddess has bestowed on you two millions, and your moneys have burst through your purse, see, you go on foot ! What should I wish you for merits and excellencies so great ? May the gods restore you your litter, Caecilianus ! 2

LII

UNLESS you leave off, Hedylus, being drawn by a yoke of goats, you, who just now were adorned with figs, 3 will soon be a goat-fig.

LIII

THIS fellow, whom you often see in the inner pre- cincts of our patron Pallas 4 and on the threshold, Cosmus, of the New Temple, 5 a dotard with staff

4 The Temple of Minerva, lately founded by Domitian in honour of the Flavian family : cf. ix. i. 8.

8 The Templum divi Augusti on the Palatine facing the Capitol, or the Temple of Minerva already mentioned.

265


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

cum baculo peraque senem, cut cana putrisque stat coma et in pectus sordida barba cadit,

cerea quern nudi tegit uxor abolla grabati, 5

cui dat latratos obvia turba cibos,

esse putas Cynicum deceptus imagine ficta.

non est hie Cynicus, Cosme : quid ergo ? canis.

LIV

O cui Tarpeias licuit contingere quercus

et meritas prima cingere fronde comas, si sapis, utaris totis, Colline, diebus

extremumque tibi semper adesse putes. lanificas nulli tres exorare puellas 5

contigit : observant quern statuere diem, divitior Crispo, Thrasea constantior ipso,

lautior et nitido sis Meliore licet, nil adicit penso Lachesis fusosque sororum

explicat et semper de tribus una secat. 10

LV

Luci, gloria temporum tuorum,

qui Caium veterem Tagumque nostrum

Arpis cedere non sinis disertis,

Argivas generatus inter urbes

Thebas carmine cantet aut Mycenas, 5

aut claram Rhodon aut libidinosae

Ledaeas Lacedaemonos palaestras.


1 " Cynic" was derived from KVUV (dog).

2 See iv. i. 6. The Fates.

4 Either Passienus Crispus, consul A.D. 42, Nero's step- father, or Vibius Crispus, the delator : Tac. Hist. ii. 10 ; Juv. iv. 85.

266


BOOK IV. UII-LV

and wallet, whose hair stands up white and shaggy, and whose filthy beard falls over his breast, whom a threadbare cloak, the partner of his bare truckle- bed, covers, to whom the crowd, as it meets him, gives the scraps he barks for you, deceived by his get-up, imagine to be a Cynic. This fellow is no Cynic, Cosmus. What is he, then ? A dog. 1

LIV

O THOU, to whom it has been given to reach the Tarpeian crown of oak, 2 and to wreathe worthy locks with peerless leafage, if thou art wise use to the full, Colliiius, all thy days, and ever deem that each is thy last. The three wool-spinning sisters 3 it has been no man's lot to move by prayer; they keep their appointed day. Though thou wert richer than Crispus, 4 more firm of soul than Thrasea's self, 5 more refined even than sleek Melior, yet Lachesis addeth nought to her tale of wool, and the sisters' spindles she unwinds, and ever one of the three cuts the thread.

LV

Lucius, the glory of your time, who let not hoary Gaius 6 and our native Tagus yield to eloquent Arpi, 7 let him who was born amid Argive cities chant in his song Thebes, or Mycenae, or illustrious Rhodes, or of the wanton wrestling-grounds of Ledaean Lace-

8 Thrasea Paetus, a Stoic philosopher, put to death by Nero. Called by Tacitus (Ann. xvi. 21) virtiis ipaa '(virtue itself).

8 cf. I. xlix. 5. Probably Lucius is the Licinianus of that epigram.

7 i.e. to the birthplace of Cicero.

267


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

nos Celtis genitos et ex Hiberis

nostrae nomina duriora terrae

grato non pudeat referre versu : 10

saevo Bilbilin optimam metallo,

quae vincit Chalybasque Noricosque,

et ferro Plateam suo sonantem,

quatn fluctu tenui set inquieto

armorum Salo temperator ambit, 15

tutelamque chorosque Rixamarum,

et convivia festa Carduarum,

et textis Peterin rosis rubentem,

atque antiqua patrum theatra Rigas,

et certos iaculo levi Silaos, 20

Turgontique lacus Perusiaeque,

et parvae vada pura Tuetonissae,

et sanctum Buradonis ilicetum,

per quod vel piger ambulat viator,

et quae fortibus excolit iuvencis 25

curvae Manlius arva Vativescae.

haec tarn rustica, delicate lector,

rides nomina ? rideas licebit :

haec tarn rustica malo, quam Butuntos.

LVI

MUNERA quod senibus viduisque ingentia mittis,

vis te munificum, Gargiliane, vocem ? sordidius nihil est, nihil est te spurcius uiio,

qui potes insidias dona vocare tuas. sic avidis fallax indulget piscibus hamus, 5

callida sic stultas decipit esca feras. quid sit largiri, quid sit donare docebo,

si nescis : dona, Gargiliane, mihi.

1 cf. i. xlix. 52. 268


BOOK IV. LV-LVI

daemon. Let not us, sprung from Celts and from Iberians, be ashamed to recall in grateful verse the harsher names of our native land, Bilbilis, excellent in steel for war, that surpasses the Chalybes and the Noricans, and Platea ringing with her native iron, which with its small but troublous stream, Salo, armour's temperer, 1 encircles ; and the guardian god and choruses of Rixamae, and the festive feasts of Carduae, and Peteris blushing with twined roses, and Rigae, our fathers' ancient theatre, and the Silai un- erring with the light javelin, and the lakes of Tur- gontum and'Perusia, and the clear shallows of small Tuetonissa, and Buradon's hallowed oak-wood, where- through even a lazy wayfarer is fain to walk, and the fields of Vativesca on the slope which Manlius tills with sturdy steers. Do you laugh, nice reader, at these names as so rustic ? You may laugh : these names, so rustic, I prefer to Butunti. 2

LVI

BECAUSE you send huge presents to old men and to widows, do you want me, Gargilianus, to call you munificent? There is nothing more sordid, nothing more filthy than your unrivalled self who venture to call your enticements gifts. So the perfidious hook flatters greedy fish, so the crafty bait deceives foolish wild beasts. What is generosity, what is giving, I will teach you if you don't know ; give, Gargilianus, to me.

  • A small town in Apulia, which M. elsewhere laughs at :

cf, n. xlviii.

269


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

LVII

DUM nos blanda tenent lascivi stagna Lucrini

et quae pumiceis fontibus antra calent, tu colis Argei regnum, Faustina, coloni,

quo te bis decimus ducit ab urbe lapis, horrida sed fervent Nemeaei pectora monstri, 5

nee satis est Baias igne calere suo. ergo sacri fontes et litora grata valete,

Nympharum pariter Nereidumque domus. Herculeos colles gelida vos vincite bruma,

nunc Tiburtinis cedite frigoribus. 10

LVIII

IN tenebris luges amissum, Galla, maritum. nam plorare pudet te, puto, Galla, virum.

LIX

FLENTIBUS Heliadum ramis dum vipera repit, fluxit in obstantem sucina gutta feram ;

quae dura miratur pingui se rore teneri, concreto riguit vincta repente gelu.

ne tibi regali placeas, Cleopatra, sepulchro, 5

vipera si tumulo nobiliore iacet.

LX

ARDEA solstitio Castranaque rura petantur quique Cleonaeo sidere fervet ager,


1 Tibur, founded by Catillus the Argive.

  • The Constellation Leo. The "heart" is a star in the

Constellation particularly bright.

3 Because she had been unfaithful to him while alive.

270


BOOK IV. LVII-LX

LVII

WHILE the seductive waters of the wanton Lucrine lake keep me here, and the grots warm with their volcanic springs, you, Faustinus, sojourn in the realm 1 of the Argive colonist, whither the twice-tenth mile- stone draws you from the city. But terribly glows the heart of Nemea's monstrous lion, 5 * and Baiae is not content with her own fire. So, ye sacred founts and pleasant shores, farewell, the abode alike of Nymphs and of Nereids ! Surpass ye the hills of Hercules in cold winter; now yield ye to Tibur's cool !

LVIII

IN darkness you lament, Galla, your husband lost. For, I think, you are ashamed, Galla, to deplore your spouse openly. 3

LIX

WHILE a viper crept along the weeping poplar- boughs there flowed a gummy drop o'er the beast that met its path, and while she marvelled to be stayed by that clinging dew, suddenly she grew stiff, en- fettered by the congealing mass. Pride not thyself, Cleopatra, on thy royal sepulchre if a viper lies in a nobler tomb ! 4

LX

SEEK ye Ardea in summer's heat, and the fields of Castrum, and meads scorched by Cleonae's

  • cf. iv. xxxii. ; vi. xv. Notwithstanding his comparison

of Cleopatra's asp, M. by "viper" must mean some small creeping thing. Pliny (N.ff. xxxvii. 11) speaks of ants, gnats, and lizards.

271


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

cum Tiburtinas damnet Curiatius auras

inter laudatas ad Styga missus aquas, nullo fata loco possis excludere ; cum mors 5

venerit, in medio Tibure Sardinia est.

LXI

DONASSE amicum tibi ducenta, Mancine,

nuper superbo laetus ore iactasti.

quartus dies est, in schola poetarum

dum fabulamur, milibus decem dixti

emptas lacernas munus esse Pompullae ; 5

sardonycha verum lineisque ter cinctum

duasque similes fluctibus maris gemmas

dedisse Bassam Caeliamque iurasti.

here de theatro, Pollione cantante,

cum subito abires, dum fugis, loquebaris, 10

hereditatis tibi trecenta venisse,

et mane centum, et post meridiem centum.

quid tibi sodales fecimus mali tantum ?

miserere iam crudelis et sile tandem.

aut, si tacere lingua non potest ista, 15

aliquando narra quod velimus audire.

LXII

TIBUR in Herculeum migravit nigra Lycoris, omnia dum fieri Candida credit ibi.

1 Ardea and Castrum Inui in Latium were hot places, as was also Baiae (ager) in summer : cf. iv. Ivii. 5. " Cleonae's star " is the Constellation of Leo.

8 Proverbially unhealthy.

3 Sardonyx is the Sardian onyx (so called from Sardis, the capital of Lydia : Skeat's Etym. Diet. 5,35), i.e. agate of a deep red colour, which, when cut transversely, has the

272


BOOK IV. LX-LXII

star, 1 seeing that Curiatius condemns Tibur's air ; from amid waters so belauded was he sent to Styx. In no spot canst thou shut out fate ; when death comes even in Tibur's midst is a Sardinia. 2


LXI

PROUDLY and joyfully the other day you boasted, Maiicinus, that a friend had bestowed on you two hundred thousand sesterces. Three days ago, while we were chatting in the Poets' Club, you told me that a cloak, Pompulla's present, cost ten thousand ; you swore that Bassa and Caelia had given you a genuine sardonyx, one girt with triple lines, 3 and two gems like the sea-waves. 4 Yesterday, though your exit from the theatre, while Pollio 5 was singing, was sudden, in your very flight you said that three hundred thousand sesterces had come to you by will, and this morning you added a hundred, and afterwards at noon another hundred. What great injury have we, your friends, done you ? Cruel fellow, at length pity us, and at length hold your peace. Or, if that tongue of yours can't be still, prate some- times of what we want to hear.

LXII

DARK Lycoris shifted her quarters to Herculean Tibur, fancying that everything became white there. 6

main body of the stone surrounded by concentric rings of a different colour. Such stones were much valued for signet- rings : see King, Ant. Gems, i. 224 ; Skeat, supra.

4 Aquamarines.

8 A celebrated player on the cithara. 6 c/. vn. xiii.

273 VOL. I. T


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

LXIII

DUM petit a Baulis mater Caerellia Baias, occidit insani crimine mersa freti.

gloria quanta perit vobis ! haec monstra Neroni nee iussae quondam praestiteratis, aquae.


LXIV

IULI iugera pauca Martialis

hortis Hesperidum beatiora

longo laniculi iugo recumbunt :

lati collibus imminent 1 recessus

et planus modico tumore vertex 5

caelo perfruitur sereniore

et curvas nebula tegente valles

solus luce nitet peculiar! :

puris leniter admoventur astris

celsae culmina delicata villae. 10

hinc septem dominos videre montis

et totam licet aestimare Romam,

Albanos quoque Tusculosque colles,

et quodcumque iacet sub urbe frigus,

Fidenas veteres brevesque Rubras, 15

et quod virgineo cruore gaudet

Annae pomiferum nemus Perennae.

illinc Flaminiae Salariaeque

gestator patet essedo tacente,

ne blando rota sit molesta somno, 20

quern nee rumpere nauticum celeuma

1 eminent 0.

1 Who had attempted to drown his mother Agrippina in a boat with a collapsible bottom.

274


BOOK IV. LXIII-LXIV

LXIII

WHILE Caerellia, a mother, was sailing from Bauli to Baiae, she perished o'erwhelmed by the guilt of a maddened sea. What glory ye lost, ye waters ! Such monstrous service, even at his bidding, ye once refused to Nero. 1

LXIV

THE few fields of Julius Martialis, more favoured than the gardens of the Hesperides, rest on the long ridge of Janiculum : wide sheltered reaches look down 2 on the hills, and the flat summit, gently swelling, enjoys to the full a clearer sky, and, when mist shrouds the winding vales, alone shines with its own brightness ; the dainty roof of the tall villa gently rises up to the unclouded stars. On this side may you see the seven sovereign hills and take the measure of all Rome, the Alban hills and Tusculan too, and every cool retreat nestling near the city, old Fidenae and tiny Rubrae, and Anna Perenna's fruitful grove that joys in maiden blood. 3 On that side the traveller shows on the Flaminian or Salarian way, though his carriage makes no sound, that wheels should not disturb the soothing sleep which neither

2 Munro explains : deep clefts with their heights tower over the fields.

3 A difficult passage. Anna Perenna was a native Latin deity, at whose festival on the Ides of March women sang lascivious songs. Munro accordingly suggests riryine nequiore yaudet. Nothing is known of viryineus cruor.

275 T 2


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

nee clamor valet helciariorum,

cum sit tarn prope Mulvius sacrumque

lapsae per Tiberim volent carinae.

hoc rus, seu potius domus vocanda est, 25

commendat dominus : tuam putabis,

tam non invida tamque liberalis,

tarn comi patet hospitalitate :

credas Alcinoi pios Penates

aut, facti modo divitis, Molorchi. 30

vos nunc omnia parva qui putatis,

centeno gelidum ligone Tibur

vel Praeneste domate pendulamque

uni dedite Setiam colono,

dum me iudice praeferantur istis 35

lull iugera pauca Martialis.

LXV

OCULO Philaenis semper altero plorat. quo fiat istud quaeritis modo ? lusca est.

LXVI

EGISTI vitam semper, Line, municipalem,

qua nihil omnino vilius esse potest. Idibus et raris togula est excussa Kalendis,

duxit et aestates synthesis una decem. saltus aprum, campus leporem tibi misit inemptum, 5

silva gravis turdos exagitata dedit. captus flumineo venit de gurgite piscis,

vina ruber fudit non peregrina cadus.

1 King of Phaeacia, who entertained Ulysses on his jour- ney to Ithaca homeward : Horn. Od. vii. seqq.

276


BOOK IV. LXIV-LXVI

boatswain's call nor bargemen's shout is loud enough to break, though the Mulvian Bridge is so near, and the keels that swiftly glide along the sacred Tiber. This country seat if it should not be called a town mansion its owner commends to you : you will fancy it is yours, so ungrudgingly, so freely, and with such genial hospitality it lies open to you ; you will believe it to be the kindly dwelling of Alcinous, 1 or of Molorchus 2 just become rich. You who to-day deem all this but small, subdue ye cool Tibur's soil, or Praeneste, with an hundred hoes, and assign to one tenant Setia on the hill, so that ye let me as judge prefer to that the few fields of Julius Martialis.

LXV

PHILAENIS always weeps with one eye. Do you ask how that happens ? She is one-eyed.

LXVI

You have lived a provincial life always, Linus, and nothing in the world can be more inexpensive than that. On the Ides, and now and again on the Kalends, your poor toga has been shaken out, and a single dinner-suit has gone through ten summers. The glade has sent you boar, the field the unbought hare ; the wood, when beaten, has given plump field- fares. The captured fish has come from the river's eddies, a red jar has poured out no foreign wine.

'* A shepherd who unknowingly entertained Hercules.

277


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

nee tener Argolica missus de gente minister

sed stetit inculti rustica turba foci. 10

vilica vel duri conpressa est nupta coloni,

incaluit quotiens saucia vena mero. nee nocuit tectis ignis nee Sirius agris,

nee mersa est pelago nee fluit ulla ratis. subposita est blando numquam tibi tessera talo, 15

alea sed parcae sola fuere nuces. die ubi sit decies, mater quod avara reliquit.

nusquam est : fecisti rem, Line, difficilem.

LXVII

PRAETOREM pauper centum sestertia Gaurus

orabat cana notus amicitia, dicebatque suis haec tantum desse trecentis,

ut posset domino plaudere iustus eques. praetor ait " Scis me Scorpo Thalloque daturum, 5

atque utinam centum milia sola darem." a pudet ingratae, pudet a male divitis arcae :

quod non vis equiti, vis dare, praetor, equo ?

LXVIII

INVITAS centum quadrantibus et bene cenas. ut cenem invitor, Sexte, an ut invideam ?

1 Greek, and so costly.

2 i.e. adopted the more expensive methods of gaming.

3 To make up a knight's qualification : cf. v. xxxviii.

278


BOOK IV. LXVI-LXVIII

No boy-slave has been sent from an Argolic tribe, 1 but a country troop has stood by a homely hearth. You have intrigued with your housekeeper, or with a rough tenant-farmer's wife oft as your passions pricked have warmed with wine. Fire has not harmed your house nor the Dog-star your fields, nor has your ship there swims no ship of yours sunk in the sea. You have never substituted the die for the alluring knuckle-bone, 2 but your sole stake has been a few nuts. Tell me, where is the million your grasping mother left you ? 'Tis nowhere ; you have achieved, Linus, a difficult feat !

LXVII

THE poor Gaurus known to him by a friendship of many years besought the Praetor for a hundred thousand sesterces, and said his own three hundred thousand were short 3 only by this sum, to enable him, as a qualified knight, to applaud our Master. The Praetor said : " You know I am about to make a gift to Scorpus and Thallus, 4 and would that I were giving only a hundred thousand!" Ah, shame on your ungrateful money-chest, shame on its ignoble riches ! That which you will not give to the knight will you give, Praetor, to the horse ?

LXVIII

You invite me for a hundred farthings to dine with you, and you dine well. Am I invited to dine, Sextus, or to envy ? 5

4 Famous charioteers : cf. (for Scorpus) v. xxv. ; x. 1., liii. , and Ixxiv.

6 Being entertained with fare inferior to your own : cf. vi. xi.

379


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

LXIX

Tu Setina quidem semper vel Massica ponis, Papyle, sed rumor tam bona vina negat :

diceris hac factus caeleps quater esse lagona. nee puto nee credo, Papyle, nee sitio.

LXX

NIHIL Ammiano praeter aridam restem moriens reliquit ultimis pater ceris. fieri putaret posse quis, Marulline, ut Ammianus mortuum patrem nollet ?

LXXI

QUAERO diu totam, Safroni Rufe, per urbem, si qua puella neget : nulla puella negat.

tamquam fas non sit, tamquam sit turpe negare, tamquam non liceat, nulla puella negat.

casta igitur nulla est? sunt castae mille. quid ergo 5 casta facit ? non dat, non tamen ilia negat.

LXXII

EXIGIS ut donem nostros tibi, Quinte, libellos.

non habeo, sed habet bybliopola Tryphon. " Aes dabo pro nugis et emam tua carmina sanus ?

non" inquis "faciam tam fatue," nee ego.


280


BOOK IV. LXIX-LXXII

LXIX

You indeed put on your table always Setine or Massic, Papilus, but rumour says your wines are not so very good : you are said by means of this brand to have been made a widower four times. I don't think so, or believe it, Papilus, but I am not thirsty.

LXX

His father, when he was dying, left by his last will nothing to Ammianus but a shrivelled rope. Who would have thought, Marullinus, it was possible Ammianus should regret his father's death?


LXXI

I HAVE long been looking all through the city, Safronius Rufus, for a girl who says " No " : no girl says " No." As if it were not right, as if it were disgraceful to say " No," as if it were not allowable, no girl says " No." Is none therefore chaste ? A thousand are chaste. What, then, does a chaste girl do ? She does not offer, yet she does not say "No." 1

LXXII

You press me to give you my books, Quintus. I haven't any, but bookseller Tryphon has. " Shall I pay money for trifles," you say, "and buy your poems in my sober mind ? I won't act so foolishly." Nor will I.

1 The subject is continued in iv. Ixxxi.

281


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

LXXIII

CUM gravis extremas Vestinus duceret horas,

et iam per Stygias esset iturus aquas, ultima volventis oravit pensa sorores,

ut traherent parva stamina pulla mora. iam sibi defunctus caris dum vivit amicis,

moverunt tetricas tarn pia vota deas. tune largas partitus opes a luce recessit

seque mori post hoc credidit ille senem.

LXXIV

ASPICIS inbelles temptent quam fortia dammae proelia ? tarn timidis quanta sit ira feris ?

in mortem parvis concurrere frontibus ardent, vis, Caesar, dammis parcere ? mitte canes.


LXXV

O FELIX animo, felix, Nigrina, marito

atque inter Latias gloria prima nurus ; te patrios miscere iuvat cum coniuge census,

gaudentem socio participique viro. arserit Euhadne flammis iniecta mariti,

nee minor Alcestin fama sub astra ferat. tu melius : certo meruisti pignore vitae

ut tibi non esset morte probandus amor.

1 The Fates. 2 Hounds would be less savage. 282


BOOK IV. LXXIII-LXXV

LXXIII

WHEN Vestinus in illness was drawing out his latest hours, and now was bound beyond the Stygian waters, he prayed the Sisters 1 as they unwound the last strands to stay awhile the drawing of those black threads. While, dead now to himself, he lived for his dear friends, a prayer so kindly moved the stern goddesses. Then, parcelling his ample wealth, he parted from the sun, and death thereafter he deemed a death in age.


LXXIV

SEE you what strong battle unwarlike does essay ? how great the rage in beasts so timid ? Hot are they to clash with puny brows, and die. Wouldst thou, Caesar, spare the does ? Set on thy hounds. 2


LXXV

O BLEST in soul, Nigrina, in husband blest ! and among Latin wives the chiefest glory ! blithe art thou to share with thy spouse thy father's wealth, glad that thy husband should be partner and sharer with thee. Let Evadne burn, cast on her hus- band's pyre ; nor any lesser fame lift Alcestis to the stars. 3 Thou doest better : this hast thou earned by a sure pledge given in life that death was not needed to prove thy love !

8 Both sacrificed themselves for their husbands.

283


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

LXXVI

MILIA misisti mihi sex bis sena petenti. ut bis sena feram, bis duodena petam.

LXXVII

NUMQUAM divitias deos rogavi

contentus modicis meoque laetus :

paupertas, veniam dabis, recede.

causast quae subiti novique voti ?

pendentem volo Zoilum videre. 5

LXXVIII

CONDITA cum tibi sit iam sexagensima messis

et facies multo splendeat alba pilo, discurris tota vagus urbe, nee ulla cathedra est

cui non mane feras inrequietus " Have " ; et sine te nulli fas est prodire tribune, 5

nee caret officio consul uterque tuo ; et sacro decies repetis Palatia clivo

Sigerosque meros Partheniosque sonas. haec faciant sane iuvenes : deformius, Afer,

omnino nihil est ardalione sene. 10

LXXIX

HOSPES eras nostri semper, Matho, Tiburtini. hoc emis. inposui : rus tibi vendo tuum.

1 With envy of my wealth. As to Z. cf. u. xvi. and xix.

2 Gentlemen-in-waiting to the Emperor.

284


BOOK IV. LXXVI-LXXIX

LXXVI

You sent me six thousand when I asked for twice six. To get twice six I will ask for twice twelve.

LXXVII

I HAVE never asked the gods for riches, content as I am with moderate means, and pleased with what is mine. Poverty I ask your pardon ! depart. What is the reason of this sudden and strange prayer ? I wish to see Zoilus hanging by the neck. 1

LXXVIII

ALTHOUGH your sixtieth summer is already buried, and your face shines white with many a hair, you gad with roaming feet all over the city, and there is no woman's chair but in your fussiness you bring it in the morning your " How d'ye do ? " ; and without you no praetor may go abroad, and neither consul misses your attendance ; and ten times you make for the palace by the Sacred steep, and pomp- ously talk only of Sigeruses and Partheniuses. 2 Young men may no doubt do this : nothing in the world, Afer, is more ugly than an old busybody. 3

LXXIX

You were my constant guest, Matho, at my villa at Tibur. This you buy. I have cheated you ; I am selling you your own country place. 4

3 An ardelio was a fussy, pretentious person : rf. n. vii. 8 ; Phaedr. ii. 7 ; and Sen. de Tranq. An. xii.

4 i.e. you were so often there, it was practically yours.

285


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

LXXX

DECLAMAS in febre, Maron : hanc esse phrenesin

si nescis, non es sanus, amice Maron. declamas aeger, declamas hemitritaeos :

si sudare aliter non potes, est ratio. " Magna tamen res est." erras; cum viscera febris 5

exurit, res est magna tacere, Maron.


LXXXI

EPIGRAMMA nostrum cum Fabulla legisset negare nullam quo queror puellarum, semel rogata bisque terque neglexit preces amantis. iam, Fabulla, promitte : negare iussi, pernegare non iussi.


LXXXII

Hos quoque commenda Venuleio, Rufe, libellos,

inputet et nobis otia parva roga, immemor et paulum curarum operumque suorum

non tetrica nugas exigat aure meas. sed nee post primum legat haec summumve trientem,

sed sua cum medius proelia Bacchus amat. 6

si nimis est legisse duos, tibi charta plicetur

altera : divisum sic breve net opus.


LXXXIII

SECURO nihil est te, Naevole, peius ; eodem sollicito nihil est, Naevole, te melius.

286


BOOK IV. Lxxx-Lxxxm

LXXX

You declaim in a fever, Maron ; if you don't know that this is frenzy, you are not sane, friend Maron. You declaim when you are ill, you declaim in a semitertian : if otherwise you can't perspire, there is some reason in it. " Yet it is a great thing." You are wrong ; when fever burns up your vitals 'tis a great thing to hold your tongue, Maron.

LXXXI

WHEN Fabulla had read my epigram x in which I complain that no girl says " No," she, though solicited once, twice, and three times, disregarded her lover's prayers. Now promise, Fabulla : I bade you refuse, I did not bid you to refuse for ever.

LXXXII

THESE little books 2 too commend, Rufus, to Venu- leius, and ask him to put to my account a few idle hours, and, forgetting awhile his cares and tasks, to criticise my trifles with no ungracious ear. But let him not read these poems either after his first or his last cup, but when Bacchus in mid-revel loves his bouts of wine. If it is too much to read two, let one book be rolled up : divided the work will thus become brief.

LXXXIII

WHEN you are easy in mind, Naevolus, nothing is more odious than you ; again, when you are worried,

1 iv. Ixxi. 2 The third and fourth books.

287


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

securus nullum resalutas, despicis omnes, nee quisquam liber nee tibi natus homo est :

sollicitus donas, dominum regemque salutas, invitas. esto, Naevole, sollicitus.


LXXXIV

NON est in populo nee urbe tota a se Thaida qui probet fututam, cum multi cupiant rogentque multi. tam casta est, rogo, Thais ? immo fellat.


LXXXV

Nos bibimus vitro, tu murra, Pontice. quare prodat perspicuus ne duo vina calix.


LXXXVI

Si vis auribus Atticis probari,

exhortor moneoque te, libelle,

ut docto placeas Apollinari.

nil exactius eruditiusque est,

sed nee candidius benigniusque. 5

si te pectore, si tenebit ore,

nee rhonchos metues maligniorum,

nee scombris tunicas dabis molestas.

si damnaverit, ad salariorum

curras scrinia protinus licebit, 10

inversa pueris arande charta.

1 Sensu obsceno.

2 Good for yourself, inferior for your guests : cf. iv. Ixviii. ; x. xlix. The excellence of a murrine cup was its opacity : cf. X. Ixxx. 1 ; and Plin. N.H. xxxvii. 8.

288


BOOK IV. LXXXIII-LXXXVI

nothing is more pleasant. Easy in mind, you return no man's greeting, you look down on all men ; none to you is a free man, or even a created being : worried, you make presents, give the title of " master " and " lord," ask one to dinner. Naevolus, be worried.

LXXXIV

THERE is no one of the people, or in the whole city, who can show that he has been favoured by Thais, although many desire her favours, and many ask for them. Is Thais so chaste then ? I ask. Quite the contrary : she is evil-tongued. 1

LXXXV

WE drink from glass, you from murrine, Ponticus. Why ? That a transparent cup may not betray your two wines. 2

LXXXVI

IF you would be approved by Attic ears, I exhort and warn you, little book, to please the cultured Apollinaris. 3 No man is more precise and scholarly than he, at the same time no man more fair and kindly. If he shall hold you in his heart, if on his lips, you will neither fear the loud sneers of envy nor supply dolorous wrappers 4 for mackerel. 5 If he shall condemn you, you must fly at once to the drawers of the salt-fish sellers, fit only to have your back ploughed by boys' pens !

3 A critic much relied upon by M. : cf. VH. xxvi. 9.

4 M. compares the paper of his book to the tunica molesta, smeared with pitch, in which criminals were sometimes burned, as in the case of Nero's treatment of the Christians : cf. x. xxv. 5 ; and Juv. i. 155. 5 cf. ill. 1. 9.

289

VOL. I. U


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

LXXXVII

INFANTEM secum semper tua Bassa, Fabulle,

conlocat et lusus deliciasque vocat, et, quo mireris magis, infantaria non est.

ergo quid in causa est ? pedere Bassa solet.

LXXXVIII

NULLA remisisti parvo pro munere dona,

et iam Saturni quinque fuere dies, ergo nee argenti sex scripula Septiciani

missa nee a querulo mappa cliente fuit, Antipolitani nee quae de sanguine thynni 5

testa rubet, nee quae cottana parva gerit, nee rugosarum vimen breve Picenarum,

dicere te posses ut meminisse mei ? decipies alios verbis voltuque benigno ;

nam mihi iam notus dissimulator eris. 10

LXXXIX

OHE, iam satis est, ohe, libelle.

iam pervenimus usque ad umbilicos :

tu procedere adhuc et ire quaeris,

nee summa potes in schida teneri,

sic tamquam tibi res peracta non sit, 5

quae prima quoque pagina peracta est.

iam lector queriturque deficitque ;

iam librarius hoc et ipse dicit

"Ohe, iam satis est, ohe, libelle."

1 Considered inferior : cf. vin. Ixxi. 6. 290


BOOK IV. LXXXVII-I.XXXIX

LXXXVII

YOUR Bassa, Fabullus, constantly sets an infant by her side and calls it her plaything and her darling, and yet that you may wonder the more she is not partial to infants. So what is the reason ? Bassa is apt to break wind.

LXXXVIII

You have sent me no presents in return for my small offering, and already Saturn's five days are over. So not even six scruples of Septician l silver plate have been sent me, nor a napkin given you by a peevish client, nor a jar ruddy with the blood of Antipolitan tunny, 2 nor one containing small Syrian figs, nor a stumpy basket of wrinkled Picenian olives, so that you could say that you remembered me ? You may deceive others with words and benignant face, for to me in future you will be a detected pi'etender.

LXXXIX

Ho, there ! Ho, there ! 'tis now enough, my little book. We have now come to the very end : you still want to go on further and continue, and cannot be held in even in your last strip, just as if your task was not finished which was finished, too, on the first page ! Already my reader is grumbling and giving in ; already even my scribe says : " Ho, there ! Ho, there ! 'tis now enough, little book."

- i.e. the inferior pickle called muria, as compared with the pickle compounded of mackerel : cf. xm. ciii. Antipolis (Antibes) in Gallia Narbonensis was an important seat of the tunny fishery.


291 u 2


BOOK V


LIBER QUINTUS


HAEC tibi, Palladiae seu collibus uteris Albae,

Caesar, et hinc Triviam prospicis, inde Thetin, seu tua veridicae discunt responsa sorores,

plana suburban! qua cubat unda freti, seu placet Aeneae nutrix seu filia Solis 5

sive salutiferis eandidus Anxur aquis, mittimus, o rerum felix tutela salusque,

sospite quo gratum credimus esse lovem tu tantum accipias : ego te legisse putabo

et tumidus Galla credulitate fruar. 10


II

MATRONAE puerique virginesque, vobis pagina nostra dedicatur. tu, quern nequitiae procaciores delectant nimium salesque nudi, lascivos lege quattuor libellos : quintus cum domino liber iocatur ; quern Germanicus ore non rubenti coram Cecropia legat puella.


1 The temple of Diana of the Crossways at Aricia.

2 Two goddesses of fortune worshipped at Antium.


294


BOOK V


THIS to thee, Caesar, whether them art enjoying the hills of Alba dear to Pallas, and dost look forth, here on Trivia's fane, 1 there on the waves of Thetis ; or whether the truth-speaking Sisters 2 learn the oracles thou dost inspire, where, hard by the town, sleeps the ocean's level wave ; whether Aeneas' nurse delights thee, or the daughter of the Sun, 3 or gleam- ing Anxur with its healthful waters, this book I send, O thou blest guardian and saviour of the state, whose safety assures us that Jove is grateful. 4 Do thou but receive it ; 1 will deem that thou hast read it, and in my pride have the joy of my Gallic trustfulness. 5

II

MATRONS, and boys, and maids, to you my page is dedicated. Do thou, whom bolder wantonness de- lights o'errnuch, and wit unashamed, read my four wanton little books ; the fifth laughs with its Master ; this one Germanicus may, with unblushing face, read in the presence of the Attic Maid. 6

3 Whether you are at Caieta, called after the nurse of Aeneas, or at Circeii, called after Circe.

  • For the rebuilding by Domitian of Jupiter's Temple on

the Capitoline : cf. ix. iii. 7.

8 For the credulity of the Gauls cf. Caes. B. G. iv. 5.

6 Pallas, claimed by Domitian (Germanicus) as his patroness.

295


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

III

ACCOLA iam nostrae Degis, Germanice, ripae,

a famulis Histri qui tibi venit aquis, laetus et attonitus viso modo praeside mundi,

adfatus comites dicitur esse suos : " Sors mea quara fratris melior, cui tarn prope fas est

cernere, tarn longe quern colit ille deum." 6


IV

FETERE multo Myrtale solet vino, sed fallat ut nos, folia devorat lauri merumque cauta fronde, non aqua, miscet. hanc tu rubentem prominentibus venis quotiens venire, Paule, videris contra, dicas licebit " Myrtale bibit laurum."


SEXTK, Palatinae cultor facunde Minervae,

ingenio frueris qui propiore dei (nam tibi nascentes domini cognoscere curas

et secreta ducis pectora nosse licet), sit locus et nostris aliqua tibi parte libellis, 5

qua Pedo, qua Marsus quaque Catullus erit. ad Capitolini caelestia carmina belli

grande coturnati pone Maronis opus.

1 Brother of Decebalus, king of Dacia, sent to treat for peace.

2 i.e. is inspired. The priestess of Apollo at Delphi chewed laurel-leaves to acquire inspiration.

296


BOOK V. in-v

III

A DWELLER, Germanicus, on the bank that is now our own, Degis, 1 who came to thee from Ister's subject waves, with joy and wonder saw of late the Governor of the world, and addressed so 'tis said his com- pany : " Prouder is my lot than my brother's ; I may behold so near the god whom he worships from so far."

IV

MYRTALE is wont to reek with much wine, but, to mislead us, she devours laurel leaves and mixes her neat liquor with this artful frond, not with water. As often as you see her, Paulus, flushed and with swollen veins, coming to meet you, you can say : " Myrtale has drunk the laurel." 2


SEXTUS, eloquent votary of Palatine Minerva, 3 you who enjoy more near the genius of the god 4 for you are permitted to learn our lord's cares as they are born, and to know our chief's secret heart let there, I pray, be found also for my little books somewhere a niche where Pedo, where Marsus, and where Catullus shall be set. By the song divine of the Capitoline war 5 place the grand work of buskined Maro. 6

8 S. was probably curator of the Palatine library.

4 cf. note to v. viii. 1.

8 The civil disturbances of A. D. 69, in which the Capito- line Temple was burnt. Perhaps Domitian was the author of the poem. 6 The Aeneid of Virgil.

297


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

VI

Si non est grave nee nimis molestum,

Musae, Parthenium rogate vestrum :

sic te serior et beata quondam

salvo Caesare finiat senectus

et sis invidia favente felix, 5

sic Burrus cito sentiat parentem :

admittas timidam brevemque chartam

intra limina sanctions aulae.

nosti tempora tu lovis sereni,

cum fulget placido suoque vultu, 10

quo nil supplicibus solet negare.

non est quod metuas preces iniquas :

numquam grandia nee molesta poscit

quae cedro decorata purpuraque

nigris pagiiia crevit umbilicis. 15

nee porrexeris ista, sed teneto

sic tamquam nihil offeras agasque.

si novi dominum novem sororum,

ultro purpureum petet libellum.

VII

QUALITER Assyrios renovant incendia nidos,

una decem quotiens saecula vixit avis, taliter exuta est veterem nova Roma senectam

et sumpsit vultus praesidis ipsa sui. iam precor oblitus notae, Vulcane, querellae 5

parce : sumus Martis turba sed et Veneris : parce, pater : sic Lemniacis lasciva catenis

ignoscat coniunx et patienter amet.

1 Domitian's secretary, and himself a poet : cf. iv. xlv. ; xi. i. 2 cf. iv. xlv.

298


BOOK V. vi-vn

VI

IF it is not a burden, or unduly irksome, ye Muses, make to your own Parthenius l this request : "So full late may happy age one day close your course while Caesar is still safe, and you by Envy's favour be fortunate ; so may Burrus 2 soon learn his sire's worth admit this timid and brief volume within the threshold of the hallowed hall. You know the seasons when Jove's brow is unruffled, when he beams with that calm look, all his own, that is wont to deny suppliants nought. You need not fear extravagant petitions ; never does a book which, spruce with cedar oil and purple, has fully grown with its black knobs, make a great or trouble- some request. 3 Do not protrude that book, but so hold it, as if you offered and intended nothing." If I know the Master of the Sisters Nine, of his own accord he will ask for the little book in its purple.

VII

As when the fire renews the Assyrian nest, when- ever one bird 4 has lived its ten cycles, so has new Rome shed her bygone age and put on herself the visage of her Governor. Now, I pray thee, Vulcan, forget thy well-known plaint against us, 5 and spare ; we are the crowd of Mars, but that of Venus withal. Spare us, father; so may thy wanton spouse pardon her Lemnian fetters and love thee with submission.

3 i.e. its very appearance shows it is nob a petition.

4 The phoenix. 6 As descendants from Mars.

299


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

VIII

EDICTUM domini deique nostri,

quo subsellia certiora fiunt

et puros eques ordines recepit,

dum laudat modo Phasis in theatro,

Phasis purpureis ruber lacernis, 5

et iactat tumido superbus ore :

" Tandem commodius licet sedere,

nunc est reddita dignitas equestris ;

turba non premimur, nee inquinamur " :

haec et talia dum refert supinus, 10

illas purpureas et adrogantes

iussit surgere Leitus lacernas.

IX

LANGUEBAM : sed tu comitatus protinus ad me venisti centum, Symmache, discipulis.

centum me tetigere manus Aquilone gelatae : non habui febrem, Symmache, nunc habeo.

X

" ESSE quid hoc dicam vivis quod fama negatur et sua quod rarus tempora lector amat ? "

hi sunt invidiae nimirum, Regule. mores, praeferat antiquos semper ut ilia novis.

sic veterem ingrati Pompei quaerimus umbram, 5 sic laudant Catuli vilia templa senes.

1 In 89 A.D. Domitian ordered his procurators to speak of him as Dominus et Deus noster in official documents : Suet. Dom. xiii.

2 By the Lex Julia of Roscius Otho in B.C. 67, which assigned fourteen rows in the theatre to the knights. This law Avas revived and strictly enforced by Domitian.

300


BOOK V. VIH-X

VIII

THE edict of our master and god, 1 whereby the seating has been made more definite and knights have got back 2 their ranks uncontaminated, Pliasis was lately approving in the theatre, Phasis glowing in a purple mantle ; and he was proudly boasting with swelling words : " At length can we sit more conveniently, now the knightly dignity has been restored ; we are not elbowed or besmirched by the mob." While, lolling back, he made these and similar remarks, Leitus 3 commanded that purple and arrogant mantle to get up.


IX

I WAS sickening ; but you at once attended me, Symmachus, with a train of a hundred apprentices. A hundred hands frosted by the North wind have pawed me : I had no fever before, Symmachus ; now I have.


" How shall I explain this that to living men fame is denied, and that few readers love their own times ? " 4 Of a truth, Regulus, this is envy's way : ever to prefer the men of old to those new-born. Thus ungratefully we sigh for Pompey's old shadowy colonnade, so old men extol the poor temple 5 re-

3 The attendant. Phasis was not a knight, and could not claim a seat. * Regulus is supposed to ask the question.

6 Of Jupiter, on the Capitol, consumed by fire B.C. 84, and restored B.C. 62 by Q. Lutatius Catulus. The Dictator Sulla had undertaken the restoration, but predeceased its completion, "the only boon," says Tacitus (Hist. in. Ixxii. ), " denied to his good fortune."

301


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

Ennius est lectus salvo tibi, Roma, Marone,

et sua riserunt saecula Maeoniden ; rara coronato plausere theatra Menandro ;

norat Nasonem sola Corinna suum. 10

vos tamen o nostri ne festinate libelli :

si post fata venit gloria, rion propero.

XI

SARDONYCHAS, zmaragdos, adamantas, iaspidas uno versat in articulo Stella, Severe, meus.

multas in digitis, plures in carmine gemmas invenies : inde est haec, puto, culta manus.

XII

QUOD nutantia fronte perticata

gestat pondera Masclion superbus,

aut grandis Ninus omnibus lacertis

septem quod pueros levat vel octo,

res non difficilis mihi videtur, 5

uno cum digito vel hoc vel illo

portet Stella meus decem puellas.

XIII

SUM, fateor, semperque fui, Callistrate, pauper sed non obscurus nee male notus eques,

sed toto legor orbe frequens et dicitur " Hie est," quodque cinis paucis hoc mihi vita dedit.

1 Homer. 2 Ovid.

3 i.e. it is from that the brilliants derive their real bril- liancy a somewhat far-fetched conceit.

4 Explained (but doubtfully) of a ring with ten stones, to symbolise the nine Muses, together with Minerva, or S.'s mistress Violentilla.

302


BOOK V. x-xin

stored by Catulus ; you read Ennius, O Rome, though Maro is to your hand, and his own times laughed at Maeonides ; l seldom did the theatres applaud the crowned Menander ; Corinna alone knew her Naso.- Yet be not too eager, O ye books of mine ! So after death come glory, I hurry not.


XI

SARDONVXES, emeralds, diamonds, jaspers, my Stella, Severus, twists on a single finger. Many gems will you find on his hands, more in his verse ; therefrom, methinks, is his hand adorned. 3


XII

THAT Masclion on his pole-supporting brow proudly bears a nodding weight, or huge Ninus with all the strength of his arms lifts seven boys or eight, does not seem to me a difficult feat, when on a single finger, this one or that, my Stella carries ten maids. 4

XIII

I AM, I confess, and I have always been poor, Cal- listratus, yet no obscure or ill-famed knight 5 am I ; yet am I read through all the world by many, and they say of me "'Tis he!", 6 and what death has given to few this has life given to me. But your

5 Titus (confirmed by Domitian) conferred on M. an honorary knighthood and military tribuneship (tribunatus semestris : cf. Suet. Claud, xxv. ; Juv. vii. 88). M. alludes to this in in. xcv. 9.

8 cf. "At pulcrum est digito monstrari et dicier Hie est": Pers. i. 28.

33


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

at tua centenis incumbunt tecta columnis 5

et libertinas area flagellat opes, magnaque Niliacae servit tibi gleba Syenes

tondet et innumeros Gallica Parma greges. hoc ego tuque sumus : sed quod sum noil potes esse ;

tu quod es e populo quilibet esse potest. 10

XIV

SEDERE primo solitus in gradu semper

tune, cum liceret occupare, Nanneius

bis excitatus terque transtulit castra,

et inter ipsas paene tertius sellas

post Gaiumque Luciumque consedit. 5

illinc cucullo prospicit caput tectus

oculoque ludos spectat indecens uno.

et hinc miser deiectus in viam transit,

subsellioque semifultus extremo

et male receptus altero genu iactat 10

equiti sedere Leitoque se stare.

XV

QUINTUS nostrorum liber est, Auguste, iocorum et queritur laesus carmine nemo meo,

gaudet honorato sed multus nomine lector, cui victura meo munere fama datur.

Quid tamen haec prosunt quamvis venerantia mul- tos ? " 5

non prosint sane, me tamen ista iuvant.


34


BOOK V. xni-xv

roof rests on a hundred columns, and } r our money- chest keeps close a freedman's wealth, and the broad tillage of Nile's Syene serves you as lord, and Gallic Parma shears for you unnumbered flocks. Such are we you and I ; but what I am you cannot be : what you are that anyone of the people can be.

XIV

ACCUSTOMED always to sit in the front row in days when to seize a place was lawful, 1 Nanneius was twice and thrice roused up and shifted camp, and sat down right between the seats, making almost a third behind Gaius and Lucius. Thence with his head buried in a cowl he peers out, and views the show indecently with one eye. Expelled even from here, the wretched fellow passes into the gangway, and, half propped up at the end of a bench and allowed small room, with one knee pretends to the knight by him that he is sitting, with the other to Leitus 2 that he is standing.


XV

THIS, Augustus, is my fifth 'book of jests, and no man complains as being wounded by my verse ; nay, many a reader rejoices in an honoured name, to whom, by bounty of mine, is given undying fame. " Yet what profit is there in these poems, however much they pay homage to many?" Let profit, in truth, be none, yet those poems are at least my delight.

1 i.e. when the Lex Julia was not enforced : cf. v. viii.

2 cf. v. viii. 12.

305 VOL. I. X


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

XVI

SERIA cum possim, quod delectantia malo

scribere, tu causa es, lector amice, mihi, qui legis et tota cantas mea carmina Roma :

sed nescis quanti stet mihi talis amor, nam si falciferi defendere templa fTonantis 5

sollicitisve velim vendere verba reis, plurimus Hispanas mittet mihi nauta metretas

et fiet vario sordidus acre sinus, at mine conviva est comissatorque libellus

et tantum gratis pagina nostra placet. 1

sed non et veteres contenti laude fuerunt,

cum minimum vati munus Alexis erat. " Belle " inquis "dixti : iuvat et laudabimus usque."

dissimulas ? facies me, puto, causidicum.


XVII

DUM proavos atavosque refers et nomina magna, dum tibi noster eques sordida condicio est,

dum te posse negas nisi lato, Gellia, clavo nubere, nupsisti, Gellia, cistibero.

1 i.e. take a brief for the Treasury, which was located in the Temple of Saturn. But Saturn is nowhere else called Tonans. Baehrens suggests togatus.

  • Is only read at banquets where guests have not to pa}*

for it.

3 A slave presented to Virgil by Maecenas : cf. vm. Ivi. 12.

306


BOOK V. xvi-xvn


XVI

THAT I, who could write what is serious, prefer to write what is entertaining, you, friendly reader, are the cause, who read and hum my poems all over Rome ; but you do not know what such love costs me. For, were I willing to appear for the Temple of the scythe-bearing Thunderer 1 or to sell my speech to anxious men accused, many a sailor will send me firkins of oil from Spain, and my purse become soiled with odd moneys. But, as it is, my book is but a guest and boon-companion, 2 and only when 'tis unpaid for does my page charm. But our ancestors were not as we, content \vith praise ; then an Alexis 3 was the smallest offering to a bard. "You have written nicely," you say; "we enjoy, and will to the end praise you." Do you pretend not to understand ? You will make me, I think, a lawyer. 4


XVII

WHILE you were recalling your great grandfathers, and their grandfathers, and the mighty names of your ancestors ; while a knight like me is a poor match for you ; while you said, Gellia, that you could not marry except a broad stripe, 5 you married, Gellia, a box-bearer ! 6

  • One of a more lucrative profession.
  • i.e. & senator.

' Either a common carrier, or the priest who carried the sacra arcana in a religious procession : cf, Hor. Od. i. xviii. 12. Some take the reference as meant for a Jew ; Juv. iii. 14.

307 x 2


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

XVIII

QUOD tibi Decembri mense, quo volant mappae

gracilesque ligulae cereique chartaeque

et acuta senibus testa cum Damascenis,

praeter libellos vernulas nihil misi,

fortasse avarus videar aut inhumanus. 5

odi dolosas munerum et malas artes :

imitantur hamos dona : namque quis nescit

avidum vorata decipi scarum musca ?

quotiens amico diviti nihil donat,

o Quintiane, liberalis est pauper. 10

XIX

Si qua fides veris, praeferri, maxime Caesar,

temporibus possunt saecula nulla tuis. quando magis dignos licuit spectare triumphos ?

quando Palatini plus meruere del ? pulchrior et maior quo sub duce Martia Roma ? 5

sub quo libertas principe tanta fuit ? est tamen hoc vitium sed non leve, sit licet unum,

quod colit ingratas pauper amicitias. quis largitur opes veteri fidoque sodali,

aut quern prosequitur non alienus eques ? 10

Saturnaliciae ligulam misisse selibrae

tflammarisvet togae J scripula tota decem luxuria est, tumidique vocant haec munera reges :

qui crepet aureolos forsitan unus erit.

1 The text is probably corrupt. Damnatiave togae (Hous- man), e lamniave Tagi (Munro), and flammantisve auri (Fried- lander) have been suggested.

1 cf. v. lix. 4 for the same idea. 308


BOOK V. xvm-xix

XVIII

BECAUSE in December's month, when napkins fly about, and slender spoons, and wax tapers, and paper, and pointed jars of dried damsons, I have sent you nothing but my home-bred little books, perhaps I may seem stingy or impolite. I abhor the crafty and cursed trickery of presents ; gifts are like hooks ; for who does not know that the greedy sea-bream is deceived by the fly he has gorged ? Every time he gives nothing to a rich friend, O Quintianus, a poor man is generous. 1

XIX

IF one may trust truth, no ages, most mighty Caesar, can be set above your times. When could we view more noble triumphs ? when have the Palatine gods more deserved our thanks? under what chief was Rome, city of Mars, fairer and greater ? under what prince was liberty so great ? Yet is there this blot, no small one, though it be but one : that a poor man courts ungrateful friend- ships. Who lavishes his wealth on an old and loyal comrade, or whom does a knight he himself made escort ? 2 To have dispatched at the Saturnalia 3 a table-spoon weighing half a pound, or a flame- hued toga worth ten scruples 4 in all, is to them extravagance, and our puffed-up lords call these bounties, though perhaps just one of them may

2 To whom he has given the amount of a knightly qualification.

3 The epithet Salunialiciae may perhaps convey a sug- gestion that the silver was poor : cf. iv. Ixxxviii. 3.

  • The scruple was a gold coin worth twenty sesterces,

about three and sixpence.

309


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

quatenus hi non sunt, esto tu, Caesar, amicus : 15

nulla ducis virtus dulcior esse potest. iam dudum tacito rides, Germanice, naso ;

utile quod nobis do tibi consilium.


XX

Si tecum mihi, care Martialis,

securis liceat frui diebus,

si disponere tempus otiosum

et verae pariter vacare vitae,

nee iios atria nee domos potentum 5

nee litis tetricas forumque triste

nossemus nee imagines superbas ;

sed gestatio, fabulae, libelli,

campus, porticus, umbra, Vii-go, thermae,

haec essent loca semper, hi labores. 10

nunc vivit necuter sibi, bonosque

soles effugere atque abire sentit,

qui nobis pereunt et inputantur.

quisquam, vivere cum sciat, moratur ?


XXI

QUINTUM pro Decimo, pro Crasso, Regule, Macrum

ante salutabat rhetor Apollodotus. nunc utrumque suo resalutat nomine, quantum

cura laborque potest ! scripsit et edidicit.

1 Cold baths from the Aqua Virgo, one of the aqueducts : cf. vi. ilii. 18.

310


BOOK V. xix-xxi

make sovereigns chink. So long as these men are no friends, be you, Caesar, our friend ; no merit in a chief can be more pleasing. All this while you are smiling, Caesar, with a quiet sneer because I am giving you advice profitable to myself.


XX

IF I and you, dear Martial, were permitted to enjoy careless days, if permitted to dispose an idle time, and both alike to have leisure for genuine life, we should not know the halls or mansions of men of power, nor worrying lawsuits and the anxious forum, nor lordly ancestral busts ; but the promenade, the lounges, the bookshops, the plain, the colonnade, the garden's shade, the Virgin water, 1 the warm baths these should be our haunts always, these our tasks. To-day neither lives for himself, and lie feels the good days are flitting and passing away, our days that perish and are scored to our account. Does any man, when he knows how to live, delay ?


XXI

APOLLODOTUS the rhetorician, Regulus, used to greet Quintus for Decimus, Macer for Crassus ; now he returns the greeting of each by his proper name. What power has care and labour ! He wrote the names down and learned them by heart ! 2

2 cf. v. liv.


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

XXII

MANE domi nisi te volui meruique videre,

sint mihi, Paule, tuae longius Esquiliae. sed Tiburtinae sum proximus accola pilae,

qua videt anticum rustica Flora lovem : alta Suburani vincenda est semita clivi 5

et numquam sicco sordida saxa gradu, vixque datur longas mulorum rumpere mandras

quaeque trahi multo marmora fune vides. illud adhuc gravius quod te post mille labores,

Paule, negat lasso ianitor esse domi. 10

exitus hie operis vani togulaeque madentis :

vix tanti Paulum mane videre fuit. semper inhumanos habet officiosus amicos :

rex, nisi dormieris, non potes esse meus.

XXIII

HEHBARUM fueras indutus, Basse, colores,

iura theatralis dum siluere loci, quae postquam placidi censoris cura renasci

iussit et Oceanum certior audit eques, non nisi vel cocco madida vel murice tincta 5

veste nites et te sic dare verba putas. quadringentorum nullae sunt, Basse, lacernae

aut meus ante omnis Cordus haberet equum.

1 Otherwise unknown.

2 The Temple of Flora and the Capitolium Vetus, a temple dedicated to Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva ; both stood on the Quirinal where M. lived.

3 i.e. BO that I can see you. M. also hints that P.'s absence

312


BOOK V. xxii-xxm

XXII

IF I did not wish, and deserve, to see you " at home " in the morning, Paulus, may your Esquiline house be for me still farther off! But I am next- door neighbour to the Tiburtine column, 1 where rustic Flora looks upon our ancient Jove ; 2 I must surmount the track up the hill from the Subura and the dirty pavement with its steps never dry, and I can scarce break through the long droves of mules and the blocks of marble you see hauled by many a cable. And more annoying still after a thousand exertions, Paulus, when I am fagged out, your door- keeper says you are " not at home " ! Such is the result of misspent toil, and my poor toga drenched ! To see Paulus in the morning was scarcely worth the cost. A diligent client always has inhuman friends : my patron if you do not stay in bed 3 you cannot be.

XXIII

You were clad, Bassus, in the colour of grass so long as the rules of seating 4 in the theatre were unheard. Now that our serene Censor's care has bid them revive, and knights more genuine obey Oceanus, 'tis never, but in robes steeped in scarlet or dyed with purple, that you are resplendent, and you fancy that thereby you cheat him ! No mantles, Bassus, are reckoned at four hundred thousand sesterces, or else my Cordus 5 before all men would have his knighthood.

is caused by his dancing attendance on other patrons : cf. n. xxxii. 8.

4 cf. viii., xiv., xxv., and xxxviii. of this Book. Oceanus was one of the attendants of the theatre. 8 cf. n. Ivii.

313


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

xxrv

HERMES Martia saeculi voluptas,

Hermes omnibus eruditus armis,

Hermes et gladiator et magister,

Hermes turba sui tremorque ludi,

Hermes, quern timet Helius sed unum. 5

Hermes, cui cadit Advolans sed uni,

Hermes vincere nee ferire doctus,

Hermes subpositicius sibi ipse,

Hermes divitiae locariorum,

Hermes cura laborque ludiarum, 10

Hermes belligera superbus hasta,

Hermes aequoreo minax tridente,

Hermes casside languida timendus,

Hermes gloria Martis universi,

Hermes omnia solus et ter unus. 15


XXV

" QUADKINGENTA tibi non suiit, Chaerestrate : surge,

Leitus ecce venit : sta, fuge, curre, late." ecquis, io, revocat discedentemque reducit ?

ecquis, io, largas pandit amicus opes ? quern chartis famaeque damus populisque loquendum ?

quis Stygios non volt tobus adire lacus ? 6

hoc, rogo, non melius quam rubro pulpita nimbo

spargere et effuso permaduisse croco ?


1 Never vanquished, and so no other gliidiator being substituted for him.

  • Or "the anxiety of gladiators' wives," fearing the death

of their husbands at his hands.


BOOK V. xxiv-xxv

XXIV

HERMES, the age's delight to the Sons of Mars ; Hermes, schooled in all weapons; Hermes, gladiator and trainer both ; Hermes, the confusion and terror of his own school ; Hermes, whom, but whom alone, Helius fears ; Hermes, whom, but whom alone, Ad- volans goes down before ; Hermes, skilled to vanquish without slaying ; Hermes, himself his own substi- tute ; l Hermes, fount of wealth to seat-contractors ; Hermes, the darling and passion of gladiators' women ; 2 Hermes, proud with the warrior's spear ; Hermes, threatful with the sea-trident ; 3 Hermes, terrible in the drooping casque ; 4 Hermes, the pride of Mars in every shape ; Hermes is all things in his single self, and trebly one.


XXV

" You don't possess four hundred thousand, Chaerestratus ; get up ; see, Leitus is coming ! Stand up, fly, run, hide ! " Ho, there ! does anyone call him back, and bring him back as he departs ? Ho, there ! does any friend unlock his abounding wealth ? Whom am I to give to my pages, and to fame and the tongues of nations ? Who is loth to pass, all unknown, to the lake of Styx ? Is not this, I ask, better than to sprinkle the stage with a ruddy shower, and be drenched with streams of saffron ?

3 As a retiarius, or net-caster, who was also armed with a trident.

4 As an andabata, a gladiator who fought on horseback, and more or less blindfolded by his helmet.

315


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

quam non sensuro dare quadringenta caballo,

aureus ut Scorpi nasus ubique micet ? 10

o frustra locuples, o dissimulator amici, haec legis et laudas ? quae tibi fama perit !

XXVI

QUOD alpha dixi, Corde, paenulatorum te nuper, aliqua cum iocarer in charta, si forte bilem movit hie tibi versus, dicas licebit beta me togatorum.

XXVII

INGENIUM studiumque tibi moresque genusque sunt equitis, fateor : cetera plebis habes.

bis septena tibi non sint subsellia tanti, ut sedeas viso pallidus Oceano.

XXVIII

UT bene loquatur sentiatque Mamercus,

efficere nullis, Aule, moribus possis,

pietate fratres Curvios licet vincas,

quiete Nervas, comitate Rusones,

probitate Macros, aequitate Mauricos, 5

oratione Regulos, iocis Paulos :

robiginosis cuncta dentibus rodit.

hominem malignum forsan esse tu credas :

ego esse miserum credo, cui placet nemo.


1 Than to set up a gilded statue of Scorpus, the jockey : cf. x. 1. and liii. 2 u. Ivii.

316


BOOK V. xxv-xxvni

Than to give four hundred thousand sesterces to an unconscious horse, that the nose of Scorpus l may twinkle everywhere in gold ? O man uselessly rich, O disguiser of your friendship ! Read you these words, and praise them ? What renown you are losing !

XXVI

I CALLED you lately, 2 Cordus, when I was cracking a joke in some page of mine, "A 1 in cloaks." If as may be this verse has stirred your bile, you may call me B 2 in togas.

XXVII

THE wit, and the taste, and the manners, and the birth that fit a knight are yours, I grant : the rest is plebeian. A place in the fourteen rows should not seem to you worth having if you have to turn pale in your seat at the sight of Oceanus. 3


XXVIII

THERE is no virtue, Aulus, by which you could induce Mamercus to speak and think kindly of you. You may in affection surpass the brothers Curvii, in calm the Nervas, 4 in courtesy the Rusos, in goodness the Macri, 5 in justice the Maurici, in oratory the Reguli, in wit the Pauli he gnaws all with cankered teeth. Malicious you perhaps may deem the fellow : I deem him miserable whom no man pleases.

3 Because you are still "plebeian" as not having the money-qualification of a knight. * cf. vm. Ixx.

5 cf. x. xvii. and Ixxvii. The rest of the names are unknown.

317



Si quando leporem mittis mihi, GeHia, dicis : "Formosus septem, Marce, diebus eris."

si non derides, si verum, lux mea, narras, edisti numquam, Gellia, tu leporem.

XXX

VARRO, Sophocleo non infitiande coturno

nee minus in Calabra suspiciende lyra, differ opus nee te facundi scaena Catulli

detineat cultis aut elegia comis ; sed lege fumoso non aspernanda Decembri -5

carmina, mittuntur quae tibi mense suo, commodius nisi forte tibi potiusque videtur

Saturnalicias perdere, Varro, nuces.

XXXI

ASPICE quam placidis insultet turba iuvencis

et sua quam facilis pondera taurus amet. cornibus hie pendet summis, vagus ille per armos

currit et in toto ventilat arma bove. at feritas inmota riget : non esset harena 5

tutior et poterant fallere plana magis. nee trepidant gestus, sed de discrimine palmae

securus puer est sollicitumque pecus.


1 It was a vulgar superstition that eating a hare made the eater beautiful for that time or longer : Plin. N.H. xxviii. 19.


BOOK V. xxix-xxxi

XXIX

IF at any time you send me a hare, } 7 ou say, Gellia : " Marcus, you will be comely for seven days." l If you are not laughing at me, if you speak truly, my love, you, Gellia, have never eaten a hare.


XXX

VAKRO, whom the Sophoclean buskin would not disclaim, nor less to be looked up to for your Calabriaii lyre, 2 put off your studies and let not the stage of the clever Catullus 3 keep you busy, or Elegy with her trim locks ; rather read poems, not to be despised in smoky December, which are sent you in their appro- priate month. But perhaps it seems to you, Varro, more suitable and better to lose your Saturnalian nuts. 4

XXXI

SEE how the troupe leaps on the placid steers, and how complacently the bull accepts his appointed burden ! This boy hangs on the tips of his horns, that one runs here and there along his shoulders and waves his weapons all over the ox. But the fierce beast stands unmoved and stark ; the sand would not be safer ; rather might the level ground cause a slip. Nor are their movements troubled ; but of the award of the prize the boy is sure, the beast solicitous.

2 For lyrics like Horace's. Varro is unknown.

3 A writer of mimes or comic plays.

4 To gamble for nuts at the Saturnalia.

319


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

XXXII

QUADRANTEM Crispus tabulis, Faustine, supremis non dedit uxori. " Cui dedit ergo ? " sibi.

XXXIII

CARPERE causidicus fertur mea carmina. qui sit nescio : si sciero, vae tibi, causidice.

XXXIV

HANC tibi, Fronto pater, genetrix Flaccilla, puellam

oscula commendo deliciasque meas, parvola ne nigras horrescat Erotion umbras

oraque Tartarei prodigiosa canis. inpletura fuit sextae modo frigora brumae, 5

vixisset totidem ni minus ilia dies, inter tarn veteres ludat lasciva patronos

et nomen blaeso garriat ore meum. mollia non rigidus caespes tegat ossa nee illi,

terra, gravis fueris : non fuit ilia tibi. 1

XXXV

DUM sibi redire de Patrensibus fundis ducena clamat coccinatus Euclides Corinthioque plura de suburbano longumque pulchra stemma repetit a Leda et suscitanti Leito reluctatur, 5

equiti superbo nobili locupleti cecidit repente magna de sinu clavis. mnnquam, Fabulle, nequior fuit clavis.

1 i.e. he dissipated it in his lifetime.

2 Supposed to be M.'a father and mother.

320


BOOK V. xxxn-xxxv

XXXII

CRISPUS in his last will, Faustinas, did not give his wife a farthing. " To whom, then, did he give his estate ? " To himself. 1

XXXIII

A LAWYER is said to carp at my poems ; who he is I don't know : if I do know, woe to you, lawyer !

XXXIV

To thee, father Pronto, to thee, mother Flacilla, 2 I commend this maid, my sweetheart and my darling, that tiny Erotion may not shudder at the dark shades and the Tartarean hound's stupendous jaws. She would have completed only her sixth cold winter had she not lived as many days too few. Beside protectors so aged let her lightly play, and prattle my name with lisping tongue. And let not hard clods cover her tender bones, nor be thou heavy upon her, O earth : she was not so to thee !

XXXV

WHILE Euclides in scarlet was loudly proclaiming that two hundred thousand sesterces a year were the return of his farms at Patrae, and more that of his property in the suburbs of Corinth, and was tracing a long pedigree from beauteous Leda, and arguing with Leitus who was making him stir out of the pocket of this proud, high-born, rich knight there suddenly fell a big key. Never, Fabullus, was there a key more wicked ! 3

3 As showing that E. was only a door-keeper, or in some other menial position.

321 VOL. I. Y


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

XXXVI

LAUUATUS nostro quidam, Faustina, libello dissimulat, quasi nil debeat : inposuit.

XXXVII

PUKLLA senibus dulcior mihi cycnis,

agna Galaesi mollior Phalantini,

concha Lucrini delicatior stagni,

cui nee lapillos praeferas Erythraeos

nee modo politum pecudis Indicae dentem 5

nivesque primas liliumque non tactum ;

quae crine vicit Baetici gregis vellus

Rhenique nodos aureamque nitellam ;

fragravit ore quod rosarium Paesti,

quod Atticarum prima mella cerarum, 10

quod sucinorum rapta de manu gleba ;

cui conparatus indecens erat pavo,

inamabilis sciurus et frequens phoenix,

adhuc recenti tepet Erotion busto,

quam pessimorum lex amara fatorum 15

sexta peregit hieme, nee tarn en tota,

nostros amores gaudiumque lususque.

et esse tristem me meus vetat Paetus,

pectusque pulsans pariter et comam vellens :

" Deflere non te vernulae pudet mortem ? 20

ego coniugem " inquit "extuli et tamen vivo,

notam superbam nobilem locupletem."

quid esse nostro fortius potest Paeto ?

ducentiens accepit et tamen vivit.


1 The water of the Baetis ^Guadalquivir) gave wool a golden hue : ef. ix. Ixi. 3.

322


BOOK V. xxxvi-xxxvn

XXXVI

A CERTAIN individual, Faustinus, whom I praised in my book, pretends he owes me nothing. He has cheated me.

XXXVII

A MAID, sweeter-voiced to me than aged swans, more tender than the lamb by Phalanthian Galaesus, more dainty than mother of pearl of Lucrine's mere, before whom thou wouldst not choose Eastern pearls, nor the tusk new polished of India's beast, and snows untrodden, and the unfingered lily ; whose locks out- shone the Baetic fleece, 1 the knotted hair of Rhine, 2 and the golden dormouse ; whose breath was fragrant as Paestan bed of roses, as the new honey of Attic combs, as a lump of amber snatched from the hand; 3 compared with Avhom the peacock was unsightly, no darling the squirrel, and less rare the phoenix ; warm on a pyre yet new Erotion lies, whom the bitter decree of the most evil Fates carried off ere her sixth winter was full, my love, my joy, my playfellow. And my friend Paetus forbids me to be sad, while he beats his breast with both his hands and plucks his hair. " Are you not ashamed to bewail the death of a paltry home-bred slave? I," he says, "have buried my wife, and yet I live, a wife known to all, proud, high-born, wealthy." What can be more steadfast than our Paetus ? He has received twenty millions and goes on living still !

2 Which was yellow and knotted : cf. Lib. Spect. iii. 9 ; Juv. xiii. 164.

3 The warmth of the hand brought out the fragrance of amber.

323 Y 2


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

XXXVIII

CALLIODORUS habet censum (quis nescit?) equestrem,

Sexte, sed et fratrem Calliodorus habet. " Quadringenta seca " qui dicis, O-VKO. /xe/ai^e :

uno credis equo posse sedere duos ? quid cum fratre tibi, quid cum Polluce molesto ? 5

non esset Pollux si tibi, Castor eras, unus cum sitis, duo, Calliodore, sedebis ?

surge : o-oAoi*io-ju.6V, Calliodore, facis. aut imitai'e genus Ledae : cum fratre sedere

non potes : alternis, Calliodore, sede. 10

XXXIX

SUPREMAS tibi triciens in anno

signanti tabulas, Charine, misi

Hyblaeis madidas thymis placentas.

defeci : miserere iam, Charine :

signa rarius, aut semel fac illud, 5

mentitur tua quod subinde tussis.

excussi loculosque sacculumque :

Croeso divitior licet fuissem,

Iro pauperior forem, Charine,

si conchem totiens meam comesses. 10

XL

PINXISTI Venerem, colis, Artemidore, Minervam : et miraris opus displicuisse tuum ?

1 The point of the epigram is that the knight's qualifica- tion (400,000 sesterces) possessed by C. cannot serve for his brother also.

8 Who, of the Twins, was the horseman : cf. vu. Ivii. 2.

3 Your procedure amounts to saying "two sits," i.e. on the knight's horse.

324


BOOK V. XXXVIII-XL

XXXVIII

CALLIODORUS has who does not know it? a knight's estate, Sextus, but Calliodorus also has a brother. You, who say " Divide four hundred," go, halve a fig : on one horse do you think that two can sit ? 1 What have you to do with your brother, what with troublesome Pollux ? If you had had no Pollux, you would have been Castor. 2 Although you two are one, will you, Calliodorus, sit as two ? Get up ! You are guilty of a solecism, Calliodorus. 3 Or else copy the sons of Leda you can't sit with your brother sit alternately, 4 Calliodorus.

XXXIX

WHILE you were thirty times in the year sealing your last will, Charinus, I sent you cakes steeped with Hybla's thyme-fed honey. I am used up : pity me now, Charinus ; seal more seldom, or do once for all what your cough constantly suggests falsely. I have shaken out my boxes and my money-bag ; had I been richer than Croesus, yet I should now be poorer than Irus, 5 Charinus, had you so often eaten beans of mine. 6

XL

You who have painted Venus, Artemidorus, are a votary of Minerva ; 7 do you wonder that your work has not found favour ?

4 Like Castor and Pollux, who lived alternately in Heaven and in the vShades : cf. i. xxxvi.

5 The typical beggar : see Horn. Od. xvii.

6 Though beans are cheap : cf. Juv. iii. 293.

7 The tutelary goddess of art. Venus had defeated Minerva in the contest of beauty decided by Paris.

325


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

XLI

SPADONE cum sis eviratior fluxo, et concubino mollior Celaenaeo, quern sectus ululat matris entheae Gallus, theatra loqueris et gradus et edicta trabeasque et Idus fibulasque censusque, et pumicata pauperes manu monstras. sedere in equitum liceat an tibi scamnis videbo, Didyme : non licet maritorum.

XLII

CALLIDUS efFracta nummos fur auferet area,

prosternet patrios irapia flamma lares : debitor usuram pariter sortemque negabit,

non reddet sterilis semina iacta seges : dispensatorem fallax spoliabit arnica,

mercibus extructas obruet unda rates, extra fortunam est quidquid donatur amicis :

quas dederis solas semper habebis opes.

XLIII

THAIS habet nigros, niveos Laecania dentes. quae ratio est ? emptos haec haljet, ilia suos.

XLIV

QUID factum est, rogo, quid repente factum, ad cenam mihi, Dento, quod vocanti (quis credat ?) quater ausus es negare ?

1 Attis. 2 Cybele.

3 Of July, when there was a procession of the knights

326


BOOK V. XLI-XLIV

XLI

ALTHOUGH you are more unmanned than a flaccid eunuch, and more effeminate than the Ganymede of Celaenae l whose name the emasculated priest of the soul-maddening Mother 2 howls, you talk of theatres, and rows of seats, and edicts, and gowns of purple stripe, and Ides, 3 and clasps, and estates, and with a pumice-smoothed hand point at poor men. Whether you should sit on the knights' benches I will consider, Didymus : you can't sit on those of husbands. 4

XLII

A CUNNING thief will break your money-box and carry off your coin, cruel fire will lay low your an- cestral home ; your debtor will repudiate interest alike and principal, your sterile crop will not return you the seed you have sown ; a false mistress will despoil your treasurer, the wave will overwhelm your ships stored with merchandise. Beyond Fortune's power is any gift made to your friends ; only wealth bestowed will you possess always.

XLIII

THAIS has black, Laecania snowy teeth. What is the reason ? One has those she purchased, the other her own.

XLIV

WHAT has happened, I ask, what has happened suddenly* that, when I asked you, Dento, to dinner, four times (who would believe it ?) you made bold

(equilum transvectio) crowned with olive, and in their state robes (trabeae) : Dion. Hal. vi. 13 ; Val. Max. n. ii. 9.

  • Assigned seats in the theatre by Augustus.

3 2 7


sed nee respicis et fugis sequentem,

quern thermis modo quaerere et theatris 5

et conclavibus omnibus solebas.

sic est, captus es unctiore mensa

et maior rapuit canem culina.

iam te, sed cito, cognitum et relictum

cum fastidierit popina dives, 10

antiquae venies ad ossa cenae.

XLV

DICIS formosam, dicis te, Bassa, puellam. istud quae non est dicere, Bassa, solet.

XLVI

13 ASIA dum nolo nisi quae luctantia carpsi et placet ira mihi plus tua quam facies,

ut te saepe rogem, caedo, Diadumene, saepe : consequor hoc, ut me nee timeas nee ames.

XLVII

NUMQUAM se cenasse domi Philo iurat, et hoc est : non cenat, quotiens nemo vocavit eum.

XLVIII

QUID non cogit amor ? secuit nolente capillos

Encolpos domino, non prohibente tamen. 328


BOOK V. XLIV-XI.VIII

to refuse? Moreover, you don't even look back, but fly, when I follow you, from me whom but lately in warm baths, and in theatres, and in every dining- room you used to look for. So it is : you have been captured by a richer dinner, and a bigger kitchen has carried off the dog ! Presently and that soon when you are known and discarded, and the wealthy eating-house is sick of you, to the bones of the old dinner you will return.


XLV

You say, Bassa, that you are beautiful; you say that you are a girl. That is what she who is neither is wont to say, Bassa.

XLVI

KISSES I reject save those I have ravished from reluctance, and your anger pleases me more than your face ; so I often beat you, Diadumenus, to make myself solicit you often. I achieve this : you neither fear nor love me.


XLVII

PHILO swears he has never dined at home, and it is so. He doesn't dine at all whenever no one has invited him.

XLVIII

WHAT does not love compel ? Encolpos has shorn his locks against his master's will, yet not forbidden.

329


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

permisit flevitque Pudens : sic cessit habenis audaci questus de Phaethonte pater ;

talis raptus Hylas, talis deprensus Achilles deposuit gaudens, matre dolente, comas.

sed tu ne propera (brevibus ne crede capillis) tardaque pro tanto munere, barba, veni.


XLIX

VIDISSEM modo forte cum sedentem

solum te, Labiene, tres putavi.

calvae me numerus tuae fefellit.

sunt illinc tibi, sunt et hinc capilli

quales vel puerum decere possunt : 5

nudumst in medio caput nee ullus

in longa pilus area notatur.

hie error tibi profuit Decembri,

turn cum prandia misit Imperator :

cum panariolis tribus redisti. 10

talem Geryonem fuisse credo.

vites censeo porticum Philippi :

si te viderit Hercules, peristi.


CENO domi quotiens, nisi te, Charopine, vocavi, protinus ingentes sunt inimicitiae,

1 E. had dedicated his long hair to Phoebus if his master Pudens became first centurion (primi pili) (see i. xxxi.), and now proceeds to fulfil the vow.

2 Helios, the Sun, allowed Phaethon to drive his chariot.

3 A beautiful youth drawn under the water by the ena- moured Nymphs.

33


BOOK V. XLVIII-L

Pudens allowed it and wept : l in such wise did his sire 2 yield the reins, sighing at Phaethon's bold- ness ; so fair was ravished Hylas, 3 so fair discovered Achilles, 4 when amid his mother's tears with joy he laid aside his locks. Yet haste not thou, O beard trust not those shortened tresses 5 and spring slow in return for sacrifice so great !

XLIX

WHEN, as it chanced, I saw you just now in your seat, I fancied your single self, Labienus, was three persons : my calculation of your bald pate came out wrong. You have on that side hairs, you have hairs on this, such as might grace even a boy ; and your head in the middle is bare, and no single shoot is noticed in its long expanse. This confusion was profitable to you in December, just when the Em- peror sent round lunches ; you went home with three baskets of bread. Geryon 6 was like you, I am sure. You should avoid in my opinion the Portico of Philippus; 7 if Hercules sees you, you are undone !


IF, as often as I dine at home, I have not invited you, Charopinus, immediately you become my deadly

4 Who had been hidden by Thetis in woman's clothes to prevent him going to the Trojan war. An early instance of Pacificism !

8 Do not imagine him yet a man.

8 A three-headed herdsman slain by Hercules.

7 Where there was a Temple of Hercules and the Muses, containing a statue of Hercules.

331


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

meque velis stricto medium transfigere ferro, si nostrum sine te scis caluisse focum.

nee semel ergo mihi furtum fecisse licebit ? inprobius nihil est hac, Charopine, gula.

desine iam nostram, precor, observare culinam, atque aliquando meus det tibi verba cocus.


LI

Hie, qui libellis praegravem gerit laevam, iiotariorum quern premit chorus levis, qui codicillis hinc et inde prolatis epistulisque commodat gravem voltum similis Catoni Tullioque Brutoque, exprimere, Rufe, fidiculae licet cogant, have Latinum, x a V non Ptest Graecum. si fingere istud me putas, salutemUs.

LII

QUAE mihi praestiteris memini semperque tenebo.

cur igitur taceo, Postume ? tu loqueris. incipio quotieus alicui tua dona referre,

protinus exclamat "Dixerat ipse mihi." non belle quaedam faciunt duo : sufficit unus

huic operi : si vis ut loquar, ipse tace. crede mihi, quamvis ingentia, Postume, dona

auctoris pereunt garrulitate sui.


1 Perhaps containing notes taken in shorthand of forth- coming speeches.

332


BOOK V. L-MI

enemy, and you would wish to run me through with a drawn sword if you discover that my kitchen fire has been aglow without you as guest. Cannot I then, not even once in a way, hoodwink you? Nothing is more insatiable, Charopinus, than this gluttony of yours. Cease, I pray, by now to watch my kitchen, and let my cook occasionally cheat you !

LI

THAT fellow who has his left hand weighted with documents, round whom a smooth-cheeked band of shorthand-writers crowds, who, when note-books 1 and letters are offered to him on this side and on that, lends them a severe countenance, looking like a very Cato, and Tully, and Brutus ! that fellow cannot bring out, even though the fiddle-strings 2 forced him, a " How d'ye do ? " in Latin, a x a 'P e m Greek. If you think I am inventing that, let us greet him. 3


LII

YOUR bounty to me I remember and shall always keep in mind. Why, then, am I silent about it, Postumus ? You speak of it. As often as I begin to report to someone your presents, he at once ex- claims : " He himself had told me." These are things which two persons do not do nicely : one suf- fices for this work ; if you want me to speak, be you yourself silent. Trust me ; gifts, however great, Pos- tumus, lose their value by the chattering of the giver.

2 A method of torture : Sen. de Ir. in. 3.

3 An epigram on a pretentious and surly lawyer, possibly the Pontilianus of v. Ixvi.

333



COLCHIDA quid scribis, quid scribis, amice, Thyesten ?

quo tibi vel Nioben, Basse, vel Andromachen ? materia est, mihi crede, tuis aptissiina chartis

Deucalion vel, si non placet hie, Phaethon.

LIV

EXTEMPORALIS factus est tneus rhetor : Calpurnium non scripsit, et salutavit.


LV

Die mihi, quern portas, volucrum regina? "Tonantem." nulla manu quare fulmina gestat? " Amat."

quo calet igne deus ? " Pueri." cur mitis aperto respicis ore lovem? "De Ganymede loquor."


LVI

GUI tradas, Lupe, filium magistro quaeris sollicitus diu rogasque. omnes grammaticosque rhetorasque devites moneo : nihil sit illi cum libris Ciceronis aut Maronis. famae Tutilium suae relinquat ;


1 Medea.

2 i.e. they should be drowned or burned : cf. a similar Greek epigram (Anth. Pal. xi. ccxiv.) which M. copies.

3 cf. v. xxi.

334


BOOK V. LIII-LVI

LIII

WHY write of the Colchian dame/ why write, my friend, of Thyestes ? What does it avail you, Bassus, to write of Niobe or Andromache ? The fittest matter, believe me, for those sheets of yours is Deucalion, or if he doesn't please you Phaethon. 2

LIV

MY friend the rhetorician has become spontaneous. He did not write down "Calpurnius," and yet greeted him by name. 3

LV

TELL me, whom bearest thou, queen of birds ? "The Thunderer." Why carries he in his hand no thunderbolts? "He loves." With what flame burns the god ? " With love for a boy." Why lookest thou mildly back with open mouth towards Jove ? " I am speaking of Ganymede." 4

LVI

To what master should you entrust your son, Lupus ? This you have long been anxiously considering and asking me. All teachers of grammar and rhetoric I warn you to avoid ; let him have nothing to do with the works of Cicero or Maro; leave Tutilius 5

4 A Phrygian youth carried off by the eagle to be Jove's cupbearer : cf. I. vi., an epigram referring to the masterpiece of Leochares, a Greek sculptor contemporary with Praxi- teles : cf. Plin. N.H. xxxiv. 19 (17). M. now probably alludes to some similar representation of Jupiter.

5 An advocate and author of some note in the time of Augustus.

335


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

si versus facit, abdices poetam.

artes discere vult pecuniosas ?

fac discat citharoedus aut choraules ;

si duri puer ingeni videtur, 10

praeconem facias vel architectuni.

LVU

CUM voco te dominum, noli tibi, Cinna, placere : saepe etiam servum sic resaluto tuum.

LVIII

CHAS te victurum, eras dicis, Postume, semper.

die mihi, eras istud, Postume, quando venit ? quam longe eras istud, ubi est ? aut unde petendum r

numquid apud Parthos Armeniosque latet ? iam eras istud habet Priami vel Nestoris annos.

eras istud quanti, die mihi, possit emi ? eras vives ? hodie iam vivere, Postume, serum est :

ille sapit quisquis, Postume, vixit heri.

LIX

QUOD lion argentum, quod non tibi mittimus aurum,

hoc facimus causa, Stella diserte, tua. quisquis magna dedit, voluit sibi magna remitti ;

fictilibus nostris exoneratus eris.

1 r/. in. iv. 33 6


BOOK V. LVI-LIX

to his own fame. If he make verses, disinherit the bard. Does he wish to learn money-making arts ? make him learn to be harper or flutist for the chorus ; 1 if the boy seem to be of dull intellect, make him an auctioneer or architect.


LVII

WHEN I call you "master" 2 don't pride yourselr, China. I often return even your slave's greeting so.

LVIII

" TO-MORROW you will live, to-morrow," you are always saying, Postumus. Tell me, when does that "morrow" of yours arrive, Postumus? How distant is that morrow ? where is it ? or in what quarter should we look for it ? Surely it does not lie hid among the Parthians and Armenians ? Already that morrow is as old as Priam or as Nestor. That morrow tell me for how much it can be bought ? To-morrow will you live ? To live to-day, Postumus, is already too late. He is wise, whoever he be, Postumus, who " lived " yesterday. 3

LIX

IN sending you no silver plate, no gold plate, I act in your interest, eloquent Stella. He who has given great presents has desired great presents in return : your burden will be lightened by my earthenware. 4

2 Apparently a form of address to a person whose name had been forgotten.

3 cf. i. xv. * cf. v. xviii. 9.

337

VOL. I. Z


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

LX

ADLATRES licet usque nos et usque

et gannitibus inprobis lacessas,

certum est hanc tibi pernegare famam,

olim quam petis, in meis libellis

qualiscumque legaris ut per orbem. 5

nam te cur aliquis sciat fuisse ?

ignotus pereas, miser, necesse est.

non derunt tarn en hac in urbe forsan

unus vel duo tresve quattuorve,

pellem rodere qui velint caninam : 10

nos hac a scabie tenemus ungues.

LXI

CRISPULUS iste quis est, uxori semper adhaeret

qui, Mariane, tuae ? crispulus iste quis est ? nescio quid dominae teneram qui garrit in aurem

et sellam cubito dexteriore premit ? per cuius digitos currit levis anulus omnis,

crura gerit nullo qui violata pilo ? nil mihi respondes ? " Uxoris res agit " inquis

" iste meae." sane certus et asper homo est, procuratorem voltu qui praeferat ipso :

acrior hoc Chius non erit Aufidius. 10

o quam dignus eras alapis, Mariane, Latini :

te successurum credo ego Panniculo. res uxoris agit ? res ullas crispulus iste ?

res non uxoris, res agit iste tuas.

1 Alluding to the proverb "dog does not bite dog." AJ. says "I will not retort." See Erasm. Adag. s.v. Caninam pellem rodere.

1 i.e. the aestivum aurum of Juv. i. 28. Roman fops wore the heavier hibernum aurum in winter.

338


BOOK V. LX-LXI

LX

BARK at me as you may for ever and ever, and assail me with your ceaseless snarlings, resolved am I to refuse you the fame you seek so long to be read of in whatever shape in my works throughout the world. For why should some one or other know you existed ? Unknown, you must perish, you miser- able fellow. Yet there may be found in this city perhaps one or two, or three or four, who are ready to gnaw a dog's hide. 1 I keep my nails from such an itch.

LXI

WHO is that curled spark who is always clinging to your wife's side, Marianus ? Who is that curled spark, he who whispers some trifle into the lady's tender ear, and leans on her chair with his right elbow, round each of whose fingers runs a light 2 ring, who carries legs unmarred by any hair ? Do you make no reply ? "That individual does my wife's jobs," you say. To be sure ! he is a trusty and rugged fellow who flaunts factor in his very face : Chian Aufidius 3 will not be sharper than he. Oh, Marianus, how you deserve the buffets of Latinus ! 4 You will be successor I fancy to Panniculus. He does your wife's jobs, does he ? Thnt curled spark do any ? That fellow doesn't do your wife's jobs : he does yours.

8 Aufidius was a notorious libertine : Juv. ix. 25.

4 Latinus and Panniculus were comic actors in mimes, like clown and pantaloon, the latter being the stupid character, who gets his ears boxed by Latinus : cf. n. Ixxii. 4. M. means that Marianus is a fool.

339 z 2


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL


IURE tuo nostris maneas licet, hospes, in hortis,

si potes in nudo ponere membra solo, aut si portatur tecum tibi magna supellex :

nam mea iam digitum sustulit hospitibus. nulla tegit fractos nee inanis culcita lectos, 5

putris et abrupta fascia reste iacet. sit tamen hospitium nobis commune duobus :

emi hortos ; plus est : instrue tu ; minus est.

LXIII

" QUID sentis " inquis " de nostris, Marce, libellis? " sic me sollicitus, Pontice, saepe rogas.

admiror, stupeo : nihil est perfectius illis, ipse tuo cedet Regulus ingenio.

" Hoc sentis ? " inquis " faciat tibi sic bene Caesar, 5 sic Capitolinus luppiter." immo tibi.

LXIV

SEXTANTES, Calliste, duos infunde Falerni, tu super aestivas, Alcime, solve nives,

pinguescat nimio madidus mihi crinis amomo lassenturque rosis tempora sutilibus.

tarn vicina iubent nos vivere Mausolea, 5

cum doceant ipsos posse perire deos.

1 i.e. asked for mercy, like a gladiator : cf. Lib. Spect. xxix. 5.

2 Ponticus' blessing being based on the truth of M.'s opinions was an empty one. M. with ironical politeness returns the blessing : cf. vm. Ixxvi.

34


BOOK V. LXII-LXIV

LXII

OF your own right you may remain, my guest, in my gardens if you can lay your limbs on the bare ground, or if a pile of furniture is brought with you ; for mine has already held up its finger J to my guests. No cushion not even one without stuffing covers my broken couches, and the rotten girth lies, its band burst, upon the floor. Nevertheless, let hospitality be divided between us two ; I bought the gardens : that is the larger share; do you furnish them: that is the smaller.

LXIII

You say " what is your opinion, Marcus, of my little books ? " Such is the question, Ponticus, you often ask me anxiously. I admire them ; I am over- powered ; nothing is more perfect than they are ; Regulus himself will give place to you in genius. "Is this your opinion?" you say: "so may Caesar bless you, so may Capitoline Jove." Rather be that blessing yours. 2

LXIV

POUR in, Callistus, two double-measures 3 of Falernian ; do thou, Alcimus, dissolve upon them the summer's snow ; let my dripping locks be rich with over-bounteous balm, and my temples droop beneath the knitted roses. Yon tombs, 4 so nigh, bid us enjoy life, forasmuch as they teach us that the very gods can die.

3 Four cyathi, the sextans being equal to two cyathi.

4 The Mausoleum of Augustus (described by Strabo, v. iii.), which M. could see from his house on the Quirinal : cf. n. lix. M. probably imagines himself drinking in the Mica.

341


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

LXV

ASTRA polumque dedit, quamvis obstante noverca,

Alcidae Nemees terror et Areas aper et castigatum Libycae ceroma palaestrae

et gravis in Siculo pulvere fusus Eryx, silvarumque tremor, tacita qui fraude solebat 5

ducere non rectas Cacus in antra boves. ista tuae, Caesar, quota pars spectatur harenae !

dat maiora novus proelia mane dies, quot graviora cadunt Nemeaeo pondera monstro !

quot tua Maenalios conlocat hasta sues ! 10

reddatur si pugna triplex pastoris Hiberi,

est tibi qui possit vincere Geryonem. saepe licet Graiae numeretur belua Lernae,

inproba Niliacis quid facit Hydra feris ? pro meritis caelum tantis, Auguste, dederunt 15

Alcidae cito di sed tibi sero dabunt.

LXVI

SAEPE salutatus numquam prior ipse salutas. sic erit ; aeternum, Pontiliane, vale.

LXVII

HIBERNOS peterent solito cum more recessus Atthides, in nidis una remansit avis.

1 Hercules, son of Jupiter, who, having accomplished his labours, was deified.

1 The Nemean lion, afterwards the Constellation Leo. 3 i.e. by their tails. * cf. v. xlix. 11.

342


BOOK V. LXV-LXVII

LXV

THE starry heaven, albeit his stepmother said nay, was granted to Alcides l by his slaughter of Nemea's dread beast, 2 and by Arcadia's boar, and by the chastisement of the oiled wrestler of Libyan lists, and by the laying low of huge Eryx in Sicilian dust, and of Cacus, the terror of the woods, wont with secret guile to drag into his den the back- turned 3 oxen. How small a part are such things of the sights of thy Arena, Caesar ! Each new day gives us at morn conflicts more great. How many massive beasts, heavier than Nemea's monster, are laid low ! How many Maenalian boars does thy spear expose in death ! Were the threefold fight 4 with Iberia's shepherd fought anew, one 5 thou hast that can vanquish Geryon. Though the heads of Grecian Lerna's beast were counted oft, 6 what is the prodigious hydra to the brutes of Nile ? Heaven for worth so great, Augustus, the gods quickly granted to Alcides; but to thee they shall grant it late. 7

LXVI

THOUGH often greeted, you are never the first to greet. So it shall be : Pontilianus, " farewell for ever." 8

LXVII

WHEN the Attic birds 9 in wonted wise sought their winter retreats, one bird remained within the nest.

5 Carpophorus, a famous bestiarius : cf. Lib. Spect. xv. , xxiii., and xxvii

6 When one of the hydra's heads was cut off by Hercules, two grew in its place.

7 i.e. that you may live long to benefit earth.

8 The last salutation to the dead 9 Swallows.

343


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

deprendere nefas ad tempera verna reversae

et profugam volucres diripuere suae. sero dedit poenas : discerpi noxia mater J3

debuerat, sed tune cum laceravit Ityn.

LXVIII

ARCTOA de gente comam tibi, Lesbia, misi, ut scires quanto sit tua flava magis.

LXIX

ANTONI Phario nihil obiecture Pothino

et levius tabula quam Cicerone nocens, quid gladium demens Romana stringis in ora ?

hoc admisisset nee Catilina nefas. impius infando miles corrumpitur auro, 5

et tantis opibus vox tacet una tibi. quid prosunt sacrae pretiosa silentia linguae ?

incipient omnes pro Cicerone loqui.

LXX

INFUSUM sibi nuper a patrono

plenum, Maxime, centiens Syriscus

in sellariolis vagus popinis

circa balnea quattuor peregit.

o quanta est gula, centiens cornesse ! 5

quanto maior adhue, nee accubare !

1 Progne slew and served up her son Itys to his father Tereus. She was turned into a swallow.

2 The eunuch of Ptolemy, king of Egypt, who slew Pompey.

344


BOOK V. LXVII-LXX

This crime they detected when they returned in the spring time, and her own mates tore asunder the deserter. Late was the penalty she paid : the guilty mother had deserved to be rent in twain, but it was when she mangled Itys. 1

LXVIII

FROM a Northern race I sent you, Lesbia, a lock of hair, that you might know how much more golden is your own.

LXIX

ANTONY, who canst ne'er reproach Pharian Pothi- nus, 2 and less guilty for thy list of doom than for Cicero's death, why, madman, drawest thou the sword against the lips 3 of Rome? A crime like this not even Catiline had wrought. An impious soldier is bribed with gold accursed, and a price so great bought thee the stillness of that one voice ! What avails the dear-bought silence of that hal- lowed tongue ? All men shall begin to speak for Cicero. 4

LXX

THE fortune showered upon him lately by his patron a full ten millions, Maximus Syriscus, gadding about, got through on tavern stools 6 about the four baths. Oh, what stupendous gluttony, to gorge ten millions ! And still more stupendous, not even to recline at table !

3 The mouthpiece of Roman eloquence.

4 cf. in. Ixvi.

5 Much like our quick-lunch counters.

345


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL


LXXI

UMIDA qua gelidas summittit Trebula valles et viridis Cancri mensibus alget ager,

rura Cleonaeo numquam temerata Leone et domus Aeolio semper arnica Noto

te, Faustine, vocant : longas his exige messes collibus ; hibernum iam tibi Tibur erit.

LXXII

Qui potuit Bacchi matrem dixisse Tonantem, ille potest Semelen dicere, Rufe, patrem.

LXXIII

NON donem tibi cur meos libellos oranti totiens et exigenti miraris, Theodore ? magna causa est : dones tu mihi ne tuos libellos.


LXXIV

POMPEIOS iuvenes Asia atque Europa, sed ipsum terra tegit Libyes, si tamen ulla tegit.

quid mirum toto si spargitur orbe ? iacere uno non poterat tanta ruina loco.

LXXV

QUAE legis causa nupsit tibi Laelia, Quinte, uxorem potes hanc dicere legitimam.

1 The Constellation of Leo.

2 A summer resort. It will seem, in comparison, warm enough to be a winter resort.

3 Bacchus was called bimater because, on the death of his

346


BOOK V. LXXI-LXXV

LXXI

WHERE moist Trebula stands above the cool vales, and the green field is chill in the months of the Crab, a farm by Cleonae's lion l never spoilt, and a house ever welcoming the Aeolian south-west wind, summon you, Faustinus ; on these hills spend your long harvest-time : presently Tibur 2 will seem to you a winter place.

LXXII

HE who could call the Thunderer the mother 01 Bacchus, 3 can, Rufus, call Semele his father.

LXXIII

WHY don't I give you my works, although so often you beseech me for them, and press me ? Do you wonder, Theodorus ? There is great reason : that you may not give me your works.

LXXIV

POMPEY'S sons Asia and Europe entomb, to himself the land of Libya gives if grave he has a grave. What wonder if o'er the whole world 'tis scattered ? In one spot so vast a ruin could not lie.

LXXV

LAELIA, who married you, Quintus, to satisfy the law, 4 you may call your " lawful " spouse.

mother Semele, Jupiter placed him in his thigh till his birth was due : cf. Lib. Sped. xii. 7.

4 The Lex Julia against adultery, revived by Domitian cf. vi. vii.

347


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

LXXVI

PKOFECIT poto Mithridates saepe veneno

toxica ne possent saeva nocere sibi. tu quoque cavisti cenando tarn male semper

ne possis umquam, Cinna, perire fame.

LXXVII

NARRATUR belle quidam dixisse, Marulle, qui te ferre oleum dixit in auricula.

LXXVIII

Si tristi domicenio laboras,

Torani, potes esurire mecum.

non derunt tibi, si soles irpottivuv,

viles Cappadocae gravesque porri,

divisis cybium latebit ovis. 5

ponetur digitis tenendus ustis

nigra coliculus virens patella,

algentem modo qui reliquit hortum.

et pultem niveam premens botellus,

et pallens faba cum rubente lardo. 10

mensae munera si voles secundae,

marcentes tibi porrigentur uvae

et nomen pira quae ferunt Syrorum,

et quas docta Neapolis creavit,

lento castaneae vapore tostae : 15

vinum tu facies bonum bibendo.

post haec omnia forte si movebit

Bacchus quam solet esuritionem,

1 You listen to great men with an ear as inclined as if you carried oil in it. Said "of flatterers, who say pleasant rather than salutary things": Erasm. Adag. s.v. Oleum in auricula ferre.

348


BOOK V. LXXVI-LXXVIII

LXXVI

MITHRIDATES, by often drinking poison, achieved protection against deadly drugs. You too, Cinna, have taken care, by dining so badly always, against ever perishing of hunger.

LXXVII

A CERTAIN person is said to have made this neat remark, Marullus : he remarked that you carried oil in your ear. 1

LXXVIII

IF you are troubled by the prospect of a cheerless dinner at home, Toranius, you may fare modestly with me. You will not lack, if you are accustomed to an appetizer, 2 cheap Cappadocian lettuces and strong- smelling leeks ; a piece of tunny will lie hid in sliced eggs. There will be served to be handled with scorched fingers on a black-ware dish light green broccoli, which has just left the cool garden, and a sausage lying on white pease-pudding, and pale beans with ruddy bacon. If you wish for what a dessert can give, grapes past their prime shall be offered you, and pears that bear the name of Syrian, and chest- nuts which learned Neapolis has grown, roasted in a slow heat ; the wine you will make good by drink- ing it. 3 After all this spread, if as may be Bac- chus rouses a usual appetite, choice olives which

2 Here begins the promulsis or gustus, consisting of a draught of mulsum together with appetizers, such as lettuces, etc. : cf. xiii. xiv. The dinner proper begins at 1. 6.

3 This seems to have been a common formula of politeness : Petr. xxxix. and xlviii. " Your drinking will be sufficient to recommend the wine."

349


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

succurrent tibi nobiles olivae,

Piceni modo quas tulere rami, 20

et fervens cicer et tepens lupinus.

parva est cenula (quis potest negare r)

sed finges nihil audiesve fictum

et voltu placidus tuo recumbes ;

nee crassum dominus leget volumen, 25

nee de Gadibus inprobis puellae

vibrabunt sine fine prurientes

lascivos docili tremore lumbos ;

sed quod nee grave sit nee infacetum,

parvi tibia Condyli sonabit. 30

haec est cenula. Claudiam sequeris.

quam nobis cupis esse tu priorem ?

LXXIX

UNDECIES una surrexti, Zoile, cena,

et mutata tibi est synthesis undecies, sudor inhaereret madida ne veste retentus

et laxam tenuis laederet aura cutem. quare ego non sudo, qui tecum, Zoile, ceno ? 5

frigus enim magnum synthesis una facit.

LXXX

NON totam mihi, si vacabis, horam

dones et licet inputes, Severe,

dum nostras legis exigisque nugas.

" Durum est perdere ferias " : rogamus

iacturam patiaris hanc ferasque. 5

1 M. keeps a surprise for the end. But the text, and meaning, is obscure.

35


BOOK V. LXXVIII-I.XXX

Picenian branches have but lately borne will relieve you, and hot chick-peas and warm lupines. My poor dinner is a small one who can deny it ? but you will say no word insincere nor hear one, and, wearing your natural face, will recline at ease ; nor will your host read a bulky volume, nor will girls from wanton Gades with endless prurience swing lascivious loins in practised writhings ; but the pipe of little Con- dylus shall play something not too solemn nor unlively. Such is your little dinner. You will follow Claudia. What girl do you desire to meet before me ? l

LXXIX

ELEVEN times during one dinner you got up, Zoilus, and your evening dress was changed eleven times, that sweat, kept in by your moist garb, should not cling to you, and a searching draught affect your opened pores. How is it that I don't sweat, who dine with you, Zoilus ? Why, a single evening suit produces great coolness ! 2


LXXX

LESS than an hour, if you are at leisure, you may give me, and charge to my account, Severus, while you read and criticise my trifles. " 'Tis hard to spoil one's holiday." Yet I ask you to endure and put up

2 Having no change, I cannot pretend perspiration as an excuse for showing off.

351


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

quod si legeris ista cum diserto

(sed numquid sumus inprobi ?) Secundo,

plus multo tibi debiturus hie est

quam debet domino suo libellus.

nam securus erit, nee inquieta 10

lassi marmora Sisyphi videbit,

quern censoria cum meo Severe

docti lima momoi'derit Secundi.

LXXXI

SEMPER pauper eris, si pauper es, Aemiliane. dantur opes nullis nunc nisi divitibus.

LXXXII

QUID promittebas mihi milia, Gaure, ducenta, si dare non poteras milia, Gaure, decem ?

an potes et non vis ? rogo, non est turpius istud ? i, tibi dispereas, Gaure : pusillus homo es.

LXXXIII

INSEQUERIS, fugio ; fugis, insequor ; haec mihi mens est : velle tuum nolo, Dindyme, nolle volo.

LXXXIV

IAM tristis nucibus puer relictis

clamoso revocatur a magistro,

et blando male proditus fritillo,

arcana modo raptus e popina,

aedilem rogat udus aleator. 5


1 i.e. regard its labour wasted.

2 cf. vui. xix. 3 Playthings.


352


BOOK V. LXXX-LXXXIV

with this loss. If you read them am I too pre- sumptuous ? along with eloquent Secundus, this little book is likely to owe you much more than it owes its author. For it will be free from anxiety, nor will it look upon the restless stone of weary Sisyphus, 1 when the censorial file of the learned Secundus, aided by my Severus, has scored it.

LXXXI

. You will always be poor, if you are poor, Aemili- anus. Wealth is given to-day to none save the rich. 2

LXXXII

WHY were you promising me, Gaurus, two hundred thousand if you, Gaurus, could not give me ten thousand ? Can you and won't you ? I ask you is not that more disgraceful ? Go to the devil your own way, Gaurus : you are a paltry fellow.

LXXXIII

You pursue me, I fly ; you fly, I follow. Such is my mind ; your willingness I reject, Dindymus, your coyness I prize.

LXXXIV

Now the boy, sad to desert his nuts, 3 is recalled to school by his clamorous master; and, ill-betrayed by the sound of his fascinating dice-box, and just .dragged out of the secluded cook-shop, the boozy gambler is begging for mercy of the Aedile. 4 The

4 Who punished gambling except during the Saturnalia : cf. iv. xiv. 7-9 ; xiv. i. 3.

353

VOL. I. A A


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

Saturnalia transiere tota,

nee munuscula parva nee minora

misisti mihi, Galla, quam solebas.

sane sic abeat meus December.

scis certe, puto, vestra iam venire 10

Saturnalia, Martias Kalendas ;

tune reddam tibi, Galla, quod dedisti.


354


BOOK V. LXXXIV

Saturnalia are all over, yet you, Galla, have not sent me any small presents, not even any smaller than usual. By all means let my December so depart; you know at any rate, I fancy, that your Saturnalia are coming presently, the Kalends of March ; l then I will return you, Galla, what you gave.

1 Presents were made to women at the Matronalia on March 1.


355


BOOK VI


LIBER SEXTUS


SEXTUS mittitur hie tibi libellus,

in primis mihi care Martialis :

quern si terseris aure diligenti,

audebit minus anxius tremensque

magnas Caesaris in manus venire. 5

II

Lusus erat sacrae conubia fallere taedae,

lusus et inmeritos exsecuisse mares, utraque tu prohibes, Caesar, populisque f'uturis

succurris, nasci quod sine fraude iubes. nee spado iam nee moechus erit te praeside quisquam :

at prius (o mores !) et spado moechus erat. 6


III

NASCERE Dardanio promissum nomen lulo, vera deum suboles ; nascere, magne puer,

cui pater aeternas post saecula tradat habenas, quique regas orbem cum seniore senex.

ipsa tibi niveo trahet aurea pollice fila 5

et totam Phrixi lulia nebit ovem.

1 See notes to v. Ixxv. and n. Ix.

  • i.e. to the Romans.
Niece of Domitian, deified after her death. She shall

358


BOOK VI


THIS, my sixth book, is sent to you, Martial, dear to me above all men. If you, with a critic's careful ear, will emend it, it will venture with less anxiety and fear to pass into Caesar's mighty hands.


II

'TWAS pastime once to betray wedlock with its hallowed torch, and pastime to mutilate unoffending males. 1 Both thou forbiddest, Caesar, and thou suc- courest generations yet to come, in that thou biddest births to be without dishonour. No man shall now be eunuch or adulterer while thou art governor ; but aforetime (shame on our morals !) even a eunuch was adulterer.

Ill

BE born, thou name promised to Dardan lulus,' 2 true scion of the gods ; be born, illustrious boy, that thy sire, after long years have passed, may yield to thee everlasting reins of empire, and thou mayst sway the world in old age with one more aged still. Julia 3 with her own snow-white finger shall draw thy golden threads, and spin for them all the fleece of Phryxus' ewe.

watch over the destiny of Domitian's expected child instead of the Fates, and spin his life's threads in gold.

359


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

IV

CENSOR maxime principumque princeps, cum tot iam tibi debeat triumphos, tot nascentia templa, tot renata, tot spectacula, tot deos, tot urbes, plus debet tibi Roma quod pudica est.


RUSTICA mercatus multis sum praedia nummis : mutua des centum, Caeciliane, rogo.

nil mihi respondes ? taciturn te dicere credo "Non reddes " : ideo, Caeciliane, rogo.

VI

COMOEDI tres sunt, sed amat tua Paula, Luperce, quattuor : et K<a<f>ov Paula irpocrwirov amat.

VII

IULIA lex populis ex quo, Faustine, renata est atque intrare domos iussa Pudicitia est,

aut minus aut certe non plus tricesima lux est, et nubit decimo iam Telesilla viro.

quae nubit totiens, non nubit : adultera lege est. offendor moecha simpliciore minus.


VIII

PRAETORES duo, quattuor tribuni, septem causidici, decem poetae cuiusdam modo nuptias petebant

360


BOOK VI. iv-vm


IV

GREATEST of censors and Prince of Princes, albeit she already owes thee so many triumphs, so many temples rising, so many renewed, so many spectacles, so many gods, so many cities yet more Rome owes thee, in that she is chaste.


I HAVE bought a country property at a tall price ; I ask you, Caecilianus, to lend me a hundred thousand sesterces. You make me no answer? I fancy you say to yourself: "You won't repay them." That is why, Caecilianus, I ask.

VI

THERE are three actors in Comedy, but your Paula, Lupercus, loves four. Paula loves a " walker-on " as well.

VII

SINCE the Julian law, Faustinus, was re-enacted for the peoples, and Chastity was commanded to enter our homes, 'tis the thirtieth day perhaps less, at least no more and Telesilla is now marrying her tenth husband. She who marries so often does not marry ; she is adulteress by form of law ; l by a more straightforward prostitute I am offended less.

VIII

Two pi-aetors, four tribunes, seven lawyers, ten poets, lately sued a certain old man for the hand of 1 cf. V. Ixxv. ; VI. xxii.

361


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

a quodam sene. non moi'atus ille

praeconi dedit Eulogo puellam. 5

die, numquid fatue, Severe, fecit ?

IX

IN Pompeiano dormis, Laevine, theatre : et quereris si te suscitat Oceanus ?

X

PAUCA lovem nuper cum milia forte rogarem,

"Ille dabit " dixit " qui mihi templa dedit." templa quidem dedit ille lovi sed milia nobis

nulla dedit : pudet, a, pauca rogasse lovem. at quam non tetricus, quam nulla nubilus ira, 5

quam placido nostras legerat ore preces ! talis supplicibus tribuit diademata Dacis

et Capitolinas itque reditque vias. die precor, o nostri die conscia virgo Tonantis,

si negat hoc vultu, quo solet ergo dare ? 10

sic ego : sic breviter posita mihi Gorgone Pallas :

"Quae nondum data sunt, stulte, negata putas ? "

XI

QUOD non sit Pylades hoc tempore, non sit Orestes miraris ? Pylades, Marce, bibebat idem,


1 Auctioneers were wealthy: cf. v. Ivi. Eulogus ("the man of fair speech") is an invented name.

362


BOOK VI. vm-xi

a certain maid. Without hesitation, he gave the girl to Eulogus the auctioneer. 1 Tell me, you don't thinly he acted foolishly, Severus?

IX

Do you go to sleep, Laevinus, in Pompey's theatre, and grumble if Oceanus 2 rouse you ?


X

WHEN for some poor thousands, as it chanced, I was praying Jupiter, " He will give them," he said, "who gave me temples." Temples, 'tis true, he gave to Jupiter, but to me he gave no thousands ; alas ! ashamed am I to have asked so few of Jove ! ' 6 Yet how little severe was he, how unclouded by anger ! With a look how calm had he read my petition ! Such his guise when he bestows diadems on suppliant Dacians, and goes and returns along Capitoline ways. 4 Tell me, I pray, tell me, thou Maid, our Thunderer's confidant, if with such a face he denies, with what is he wont to give ? Thus I : so briefly Pallas, laying aside her shield, answered me : " That which has not yet been given, thinkest thou, O foolish one, has been refused ? "


XI

Do you wonder that to-day there is no Pylades, that there is no Orestes ? Pylades, Marcus, drank

a See note to v. xxiii. "Rouse" is intentionally am- biguous.

3 Domitian. M. regrets having asked so little of one so great : cf, xi, Ixviii. 4 In triumph.

363


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

nee melior panis turdusve dabatur Orestae,

sed par atque eadem cena duobus erat. tu Lucrina voras, me pascit aquosa peloris : 5

non minus ingenua est et mihi, Marce, gula. te Cadmea Tyros, me pinguis Gallia vestit :

vis te purpureum, Marce, sagatus amem ? ut praestem Pyladen, aliquis mihi praestet Oresten.

hoc non fit verbis, Marce : ut ameris, ama. 10


XII

IURAT capillos esse, quos emit, suos Fabulla : numquid ergo, Paule, peierat ?

XIII

Quis te Phidiaco formatam, lulia, caelo,

vel quis Palladiae non putet artis opus ? Candida non tacita respondet imagine lygdos

et placido fulget vivus in ore decor. 1 ludit Acidalio, sed non manus aspera, nodo, 5

quern rapuit collo, parve Cupido, tuo. ut Martis revocetur amor summique Tonantis,

a te luno petat ceston et ipsa Venus.

1 liquor (quick blood) y.

1 The epigram is on a statue of Julia, the deified niece of Domitian, along with Venus and Cupid : cf. vi. iii,

3 6 4


BOOK VI. XI-XIH

the same wine as Orestes, and no better bread or field-fare was given to Orestes ; but equal and the same was the dinner of the two. You gorge Lucrine oysters, watery mussels from Pelorus feed me ; yet my palate too, Marcus, is that of a gentleman. Cadmean Tyre clothes you, Gaul with her greasy wool me : would you have me, Marcus, in a coarse wrapper love you in purple ? That I may prove myself a Pylades, let someone prove himself to me an Orestes. That does not come about by talk, Marcus : by love win love.


XII

FABULLA swears that the hair she buys is hers. Does she therefore swear falsely, Paulus?


XIII

WHO would not think, Julia, 1 that thou wert shaped by the chisel of Phidias ? or who that thou wert not the work of Pallas' 2 skill ? The white Lygdian 3 marble answers me with its speaking likeness, and a live beauty glows in the placid face. Her hand with no rough touch plays with the Acidalian girdle 4 which it has snatched, small Cupid, from thy neck. To win back the love of Mars and of the imperial Thunderer, from thee let Juno ask for thy cestos, and Venus herself too.

1 The goddess.

! Parian marble from the Cyclades.

4 The girdle or ceattis of Venus, which inspired love.

365


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

XIV

VERSUS scribere posse te disertos adfirmas, Laberi : quid ergo non vis ? versus scribere qui potest disertos, f non scribatf , Laberi : virum putabo.

XV

DUM Phaethontea formica vagatur in umbra,

inplicuit tenuem sucina gutta feram. sic modo quae fuerat vita contempta manente,

funeribus facta est nunc pretiosa suis.

XVI

Tu qui pene viros terres et falce cinaedos,

iugera sepositi pauca tuere soli, sic tua non intrent vetuli pomaria fures

sed puer et longis pulchra puella comis.

XVII

CINNAM, Cinname, te iubes vocari. non est hie, rogo, Cinna, barbarismus ? tu si Furius ante dictus esses, Fur ista ratione dicereris.

XVIII

SANCTA Salonini terris requiescit Hiberis, qua melior Stygias non videt umbra domos.

1 I render Schneidewin's conjecture c,onscribat, which is accepted by Friedlander. 1 cf. iv. xxxii. and lix.

366


BOOK VI. xiv-xvm

XIV

You affirm, Laberius, that you can write elegant verses : why, then, are you unwilling ? He who can write elegant verses should write them down, 1 La- berius : then I shall think him a hero.


XV

WHILE an ant was roaming in the poplar shade a gummy drop enfolded the tiny insect. Thus, despised but now while life remained, it has become to-day precious by its death. 2

XVI

THOU who with thy appurtenance scarest men, and, with thy sickle, rascals, guard these few acres of secluded ground. So may no hoary thieves enter thy orchard ; only a boy or a fair girl with flowing locks !

XVII

CiNNAMus, 3 you bid us address you as Cinna. Is not this, I ask, Cinna, a barbarism ? If you had been called Furius before, you would, on that principle, be called Fur. 4

XVIII

THE holy shade of Saloninus sleeps in Iberia's land, than whom no nobler shade views the abodes

3 Probably a freedman who wished to adopt a genuine Roman name : cf. vii. Ixiv. A thief.

367


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

sed lugere nefas : nam qui te, Prisce, reliquit, vivit qua voluit vivere parte magis.


XIX

NON de vi neque caede nee veneno, sed lis est mihi de tribus capellis : vicini queror has abesse furto. hoc iudex sibi postulat probari : tu Cannas Mithridaticumque bellum et periuria Punici furoris et Sullas Mariosque Muciosque magna voce sonas manuque tota. iam die, Postume, de tribus capellis.


XX

MUTUA te centum sestertia, Phoebe, rogavi, cum mihi dixisses "Exigis ergo nihil ? "

inquiris, dubitas, cunctaris meque diebus

teque decem crucias : iam rogo, Phoebe, nega.


XXI

PERPETUAM Stellae dum iungit lanthida vati laeta Venus dixit " Plus dare non potui."

haec coram domina ; sed nequius illud in aure : " Tu ne quid pecces, exitiose, vide.

saepe ego lascivom Martem furibunda cecidi, legitimos esset cum vagus ante toros.

1 cf. the Pythagorean saying q>i\wv aia^ara. pfv 5i5o fila.

368


BOOK VI. xvm-xxt

of Styx. But grief is guilt ; for he who has left thee, Priscus, behind him yet lives in that half wherein he wished to live. 1


XIX

MY action is not one for assault, or wounding, or poisoning : it concerns my three she-goats ; I com- plain that they are lost by my neighbour's theft ; this is the fact which the judge prescribes to be proved to him. You, with a mighty voice and every gesture you know, make the court ring with Cannae, and the Mithridatic war, and insensate Punic per- juries, and Sullas, and Mariuses, and Muciuses. Now mention, Postumus, my three she-goats. 2

XX

1 ASKED you, Phoebus, for a hundred thousand ses- terces on loan, seeing that you had said to me, " Do you then beg for nothing? " You enquire, hesitate, delay, and for ten days you torture both yourself and me. I now ask you, Phoebus, to say "No."

XXI

WHILE she was uniting lanthis to Stella the poet in lasting bonds, Venus joyfully said, " More I could not give." This was in the presence of the bride, but her word in his ear was naughtier. " See that you make no slip, you rogue ! Oft in my fury have I smitten wanton Mars when not then my lawful spouse he strayed from me. But, now he is my

2 Copied from a Greek epigram of the age of Nero : Anth. Pal. xi. cxli.

369 VOL. I. B B


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

sed postquam meus est, nulla me paelice laesit : tarn frugi luno vellet habere virum."

dixit et arcauo percussit pectora loro.

plaga iuvat : sed tu iam, dea, caede duos.

XXII

QUOD iiubis, Proculina, concubino

et, moechum modo, nunc facis maritum,

ne lex lulia te notare possit,

non nubis, Proculina, sed fateris.

XXIII

STARE iubes nostrum semper tibi, Lesbia, penem : crede mihi, non est mentula quod digitus.

tu licet et manibus blandis et vocibus instes, te contra facies imperiosa tua est.

XXIV

NIL lascivius est Charisiano : Saturnalibus ainbulat togatus.

XXV


MARCELLINE, boni suboles sincera parentis, horrida Parrhasio quern tegit Ursa iugo,

ille vetus pro te patriusque quid optet amicus, accipe et haec memori pectore vota tene,


1 cf. i. Ixxiv. and vi. vii.

2 When the wearing of the toga was unusual. Perhaps

37


BOOK VI. xxi-xxv

own, he has wounded me by no paramour ; Juno would wish to possess so virtuous a spouse." She spake, and struck his breast with her mystic lash. The blow aids him ; but do thou, goddess, now smite two.

XXII

IN that you wed your paramour, Proculina, and make him, but now your leman, your husband, to avoid the brand of the Julian law, you are not wedding, Proculina, but confessing. 1


XXIII

You bid me, Lesbia, to be always prepared to serve you ; believe me, one's faculties are not all equally at hand. You may urge me with toyings and wheedling words, but your face is imperious to defeat you.

XXIV

CHARISIANUS is rakishness itself: he walks about in the Saturnalia 2 in a toga !

XXV

MARCELLJNUS, true offspring of a good father, you whom the numbing Bear covers with her Parrhasian 3 car, hear what an old friend, and your father's, wishes for you, and keep these prayers in a remembering

M. means that C. was too poor to buy the usual dress (synthesis).

3 Helice, of Parrhasia, a district of Arcadia, was changed into the Constellation.

371


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

cauta sit ut virtus nee te temerarius ardor 5

in medios enses saevaque tela ferat. bella velint Martemque ferum rationis egentes,

tu potes et patris miles et esse ducis.

XXVI

PEKICLITATUR capite Sotades noster. reum putatis esse Sotaden ? non est. arrigere desit posse Sotades : lingit.

XXVII

Bis vicine Nepos (nam tu quoque proxima Florae

incolis et veteres tu quoque Ficelias) est tibi, quae patria signatur imagine voltus,

testis maternae nata pudicitiae. tu tamen annoso nimium ne parce Falerno, 5

et potius plenos acre relinque cados. sit pia ; sit locuples, sed potet filia mustum :

amphora cum domina nunc nova fiet anus. Caecuba non solos vindeinia nutriat orbos :

possunt et patres vivere, crede mihi. 10

XXVIII

LIBERTUS Melioris ille notus, tota qui cecidit dolente Roma, cari deliciae breves patroni,

1 " Your father has claims upon you, as well as the Emperor."

2 " To have the head (civil status) in jeopardy " was said of a man under a charge. There is a play on words here.

372


BOOK VI. xxv-xxvni

heart. See that your valour be wary ; let no rash ardour bear you into the midmost fray of swords and savage spears. Let those who lack sense be eager for wars and fierce Mars ; you can be your father's soldier and your Captain's l too.

XXVI

OUR friend Sotades has his head in jeopardy. 2 Do you fancy Sotades an accused man ? He is not. Sotades' other powers have become nerveless : he uses his tongue.

XXVII

NEPOS, doubly my neighbour for you too dwell full nigh to Flora, 3 you too in old Ficeliae 4 a daughter you have, whose face is stamped with the semblance of her sire, a witness to her mother's virtue ! Yet spare not overmuch your old Falernian ; rather leave your jars filled with coin. Loving let her be, let her be rich, but let your daughter drink new wine : a flagon, new to-day, will grow aged with its mistress. Let not a Caecuban vintage cheer only childless men ; fathers, too, can enjoy life : believe my word.


MELIOR'S freedman, known to all men, he who perished while all Rome grieved, his dear patron's

! The Temple of Flora, on the Quirinal, not far from the

Capitolinm Vetus : cf. v. xxii. 4.

4 Near M.'s house at Nomentum, or (perhaps) a street or district on the Quirinal: Burn's Rome and the Campagna, pp. 251, 393.

373


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

hoc sub marmore Glaucias humatus

iuncto Flaminiae iacet sepulchre : 5

castus moribus, integer pudore,

velox ingenio, decore felix.

bis senis modo messibus peractis

vix unum puer adplicabat annum.

qui fles talia, nil fleas, viator. 10


XXIX

NON de plebe domus nee avarae verna catastae,

sed dommi sancto dignus amore puer, munera cum posset nondum sentire patroni,

Glaucia libertus iam Melioris erat. moribus hoc formaeque datum : quis blandior illo ?

aut quis Apollineo pulchrior ore fuit ? inmodicis brevis est aetas et rara senectus.

quidquid ames, cupias non placuisse nimis.


XXX

SEX sestertia si statim dedisses,

cum dixti mihi "Sume, tolle, dono,"

deberem tibi, Paete, pro ducentis.

at nunc cum dederis diu moratus,

post septem, puto, vel novem Kalendas,

vis dicam tibi veriora veris ?

sex sestertia, Paete, perdidisti.


cf. x. Ixi.

Excessive excellence or good fortune, and the praise of


374


BOOK VI. XXVHI-XXX

brief-lived darling, beneath this marble Glaucias lies in a tomb next the Flaminian way. Pure was he in manners, of modesty unstained, nimble of wit, with charm richly blest. To but twice six summers sped the boy was scarcely adding a single year. Traveller, who weepest for such a fate, never mayst thou have cause to weep ! l

XXIX

HOME-BRED, no slave of the household's crowd nor of the grasping auction mart, but a boy worthy of his master's pure love, Glaucia, albeit not yet could lie apprize his patron's gift, was already Melior's freedman. To character and grace was this boon given ; who was more witching than he ? or who fairer with his Apollo's face ? To unwonted worth comes life but short, and rarely old age. Whate'er thou lovest, pray that it may not please thee too much ! 2


XXX

HAD you given at once six thousand sesterces when you said to me, "Take them, off with them, I give them," I should be your debtor, Paetus, for two hundred thousand. But now you have given them after long delay, after seven, I think, or nine Kalends have gone, would you have me tell you what is truer than truth ? You have lost your six thousand, Paetus.

it, was supposed to rouse the jealousy of the gods, and amulets were worn as charms.

375


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

XXXI

UXOREM, Charideme, tuam scis ipse sinisque a medico futui. vis sine febre mori.


XXXII

CUM dubitaret adhuc belli civil is Enyo, forsitan et posset v'incere mollis Otho,

damnavit multo staturum sanguine Martem et fodit certa pectora tota manu.

sit Cato, dum vivit, sane vel Caesare maior : dum moritur, numquid rnaior Othone fuit ?


XXXIII

NIL miserabilius, Matho, pedicone Sabello

vidisti, quo nil laetius ante fuit. furta, fugae, mortes servorum, incendia, luctus

adfligunt hominem, iam miser et ftituit.


XXXIV

BASIA da nobis, Diadumene, pressa. " Quot " inquis ?

oceani fluctus me numerare iubes et maris Aegaei sparsas per litora conchas

et quae Cecropio monte vagantur apes,


1 But by poison.

2 See his dying speech in Plut. Otho xv. ; Tac. Hint. ii. 47-48. Suet. (Otho x.) adds: " etiam privation usque adeo detestatum civilia bella. "

376


BOOK VI. xxxi-xxxiv

XXXI

You are quite aware, Charidemus, of your wife's misconduct with your doctor, and you wink at it. It is not by fever that you want to die. 1

XXXII

ALBEIT the goddess of civil strife wavered yet, and effeminate Otho belike might win, he cursed war that should cost so much blood, 2 and with unflinching hand pierced deep his breast. Certes let Cato in life be greater even than Caesar ; was he in death greater than Otho ? 3

XXXIII

You have seen, Matho, nothing more miserable than the unnatural Sabellus, and yet once nothing was more cheerful than he. Thefts, flight, deaths of slaves, fires, griefs, afflict the fellow : now the miserable man actually runs after women !

XXXIV

GIVE me, Diadumenus, kisses closely pressed. " How many ? " thou sayest. Thou biddest me sum Ocean's waves, and the shells strewn o'er Aegean shores, and the bees that stray on Cecrops' hill, 4 the

3 Cato died when his cause was clearly lost ; not so Otho, at the time of his defeat by Vitellius at Bedriacum, A.D. 69, the " ingen* annua " of vn. Ixiii. 9.

4 Hymettus in Attica, noted for fragrant thyme, the food of bees.

377


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

quaeque sonant pleno vocesque man usque theatre, 5 cum populus subiti Caesaris ora videt.

nolo quot arguto dedit exorata Catullo Lesbia : pauca cupit qui numerate potest.

XXXV

SEPTEM clepsydras magna tibi voce petenti

arbiter invitus, Caeciliane, dedit. at tu multa diu dicis vitreisque tepentem

ampullis potas semisupinus aquam. ut tandem saties vocemque sitimque, rogamus 5

iam de clepsydra, Caeciliane, bibas.

XXXVI

MENTULA tam magna est, tantus tibi, Papyle, nasus, ut possis, quotiens arrigis, olfacere.

XXXVII

SECTI podicis usque ad umbilicum

nullas relliquias habet Charinus,

et prurit tamen usque ad umbilicum.

o quanta scabie miser laborat !

culum non habet, est tamen cinaedus. 5

XXXVIII

ASPICIS ut parvus nee adhuc trieteride plena Regulus auditum laudet et ipse patrem ?

maternosque sinus viso genitore relinquat et patrias laudes sentiat esse suas ?

1 Cat. v. and vii.

2 Perhaps M. also means it is unlucky to count: see Cat. vii.

378


BOOK VI. xxxiv-xxxvm

voices and hands that resound in the full theatre when the people see Caesar's unexpected face. Not for me the number that .Lesbia, won by prayer, gave to tuneful Catullus. 1 He wishes but few who is able to count. 2

XXXV

SEVEN water-clocks' allowance 3 you asked for in loud tones, and the judge, Caecilianus, unwillingly gave them. But you speak much and long, and, with back-tilted head, swill tepid water out of glass flasks. That you may once for all sate your oratory and your thirst, we beg you, Caecilianus, now to drink out of the water-clock.

XXXVI

Tu, O Papilo, hai una mentula si smisurata, ed un si gran naso, che potesti, ogni volta che arrigi, fiutarla.

XXXVII

CARINO ha nessuna reliqui del suo podice raso sino all' umbillico, e tuttavia gli prude sino all' um- billico ; oh, da quanta scabie 1' infanie e travagliato ! culum habet sectum, e tuttavia e cinedo.

XXXVIII

SEE you how little Regulus, not yet full three years old, himself too listens, and applauds his father's speech, and, when he sees his sire, leaves his mother's lap and feels his father's glory also his own ? Already

3 The length of speeches was regulated by the dropping of water from clepsydrae, shaped like modern hour-glasses.

379


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

iam clamor centumque viri densumque corona 5

volgus et infant! lulia tecta placent. acris equi suboles magno sic pulvere gaudet,

sic vitulus inolli proelia fronte cupit. di, servate, precor, matri sua vota patrique,

audiat ut natum Regulus, ilia duos. 10

XXXIX

PATER ex Manilla, Cinna, factus es septem non liberorum : namque nee tuus quisquam nee est amici filiusve vicini, sed in grabatis tegetibusque concept! materna produnt capitibus suis furta. 5

hie qui retorto crine Maurus incedit subolem fatetur esse se coci Santrae. at ille sima nare, turgidis labris ipsa est imago Pannychi palaestritae. pistoris esse tertium quis ignorat, 10

quicumque lippum novit et videt Damam ? quartus cinaeda fronte, candido voltu ex concubino natus est tibi Lygdo : percide, si vis, filium : nefas non est. hunc vero acuto capite et auribus longis, 15

"quae sic moventur ut solent asellorum, quis morionis filium negat Cyrtae ? duae sorores, ilia nigra et haec rufa, Croti choraulae vilicique sunt Carpi, iam Niobidarum 1 grex tibi foret plenus 20

si spado Coresus Dindymusque non esset.

1 iamni ubida pniit g. y, iamque hybridarum g. $-. 380


BOOK VI. xxxvm-xxxix

the acclaim, and the Hundred Court, 1 and the crowd in a dense ring, and the Julian Basilica, please his infant mind. The offspring of a mettled steed so rejoices in the thick dust of the course, so the steer with unarmed brow longs for battle. Ye gods, fulfil, I pray, for mother and father their prayer, that Regulus may listen to his son, she to both ! 2


You have been made, Cinna, by Marulla the father of seven not children, for there is no son of yours, nor son of a friend or neighbour ; but creatures con- ceived on truckle-beds and mats betray by their features their mother's adulteries. This one who struts with curly hair, a Moor, confesses he is the offspring of Santra the cook ; but that other with flat nostrils, blubber lips is the very image of Pan- nichus the wrestler. Who is not aware, if he has known and seen blear-eyed Dama, that the third is the baker's son ? The fourth, with his shameless brow, pallid face, was born to you from your minion Lygdus : use your son as you do him, if you wish ; 'tis no crime. But this creature with pointed head, and long ears which move just as donkeys' ears are wont who could deny he is the son of Cyrta the cretin? Two sisters one is dark, the other red- haired are the children of Crotus, fluter to the chorus, and of Carpus the bailiff. By now your troupe of slaves would have been made up of as many sons as Niobe's if Coresus and Dindymus had not been eunuchs.

1 The Court of the Cenlumviri (strictly 105).

2 The prayer was not granted ; the boy died young : Plin.


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

XL

FEMINA praef'erri potuit tibi mil la. Lycori : praeferri Glycerae femina nulla potest.

haec erit hoc quod tu : tu non potes esse quod haec est. tempera quid faciunt ! hanc volo, te volui.

XLI

Qui recitat lana fauces et colla revinctus, hie se posse loqui, posse tacere negat.

XLII

ETRUSCI nisi thermulis lavaris,

inlotus morieris, Oppiane.

nullae sic tibi blandientur undae,

non fontes Aponi rudes puellis,

non mollis Sinuessa fervidique 5

fluctus Passeris aut superbus Anxur,

non Phoebi vada principesque Baiae.

nusquam tarn nitidum vacat serenum :

lux ipsa est ibi longior, diesque

nullo tardius a loco recedit. 10

illic Taygeti virent metalla

et certant vario decore saxa,

quae Phryx et Libys altius cecidit ;

siccos pinguis onyx anhelat aestus

et flamma tenui calent ophitae. 15

ritus si placeant tibi Laconum,


1 Said to break into flame if a woman bathed after a mau. Perhaps the allusion is only to the known chastity of Pata- vian (Paduan) women : cf. xi. xvi. 8, and Plin. Ep. i. 14.

382


BOOK VI. XL-XLII

XL

No woman could once be preferred to you, Lycoris, no woman can be preferred to Glycera now ; she shall be the thing you are ; you cannot be what she is. Such is the might of Time ! I long for her, for you I longed.

XLI

HE who recites with throat and neck wrapped up in wool declares that he can neither speak nor keep silence.

XLII

IF you do not bathe in the warm baths of Etruseus, you will die unbathed, Oppianus. No other waters will so allure you, not even the springs of Aponus 1 unknown to women ; not mild Sinuessa, and the waves of steaming Passer, or towering Anxur ; not the waters of Phoebus,- and peerless Baiae. Nowhere is the sunlit sheen so cloudless ; the very light is longer there, and from no spot does day withdraw more lingeringly. There the quarries of Taygetus 3 are green, and in varied beauty vie the rocks which the Phrygian and Libyan 4 has more deeply hewn. The rich alabaster pants with dry heat, and snake- stone is warm with a subtle fire. If Lacedaemonian methods 5 please you, you can content yourself with

2 The Aquae Passerianae in Etruria, where were also the Aquae ApolliiMres, now Bagni di Vicarello.

3 The green Laconian marble : cf. ix. Ixxv. 9.

4 Synnadic and Numidian marble, one streaked with purple, the other yellow.

5 A hot-air bath followed by a cold plunge. There was a special apartment called Laconicum.

383


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

contentus potes arido vapore

cruda Virgine Marciave mergi ;

quae tarn Candida, tarn serena lucet

ut nullas ibi suspiceris undas 20

et credas vacuam nitere lygdoii.

non adtendis et aure me supina

lam dudum quasi neglegenter audis.

inlotus morieris, Oppiane.


XLIII

DUM tibi felices indulgent, Castrice, Baiae

canaque sulpureis unda natatur aquis, me Nomentani confirmant otia ruris

et casa iugeribus non onerosa suis. hoc mihi Baiani soles mollisque Lucrinus, 5

hoc sunt mihi vestrae, Castrice, divitiae. quondam laudatas quocumque libebat ad undas

currere iiec longas pertimuisse vias : nunc urbis vicina iuvant facilesque recessus,

et satis est, pigro si licet esse mihi. 10


XLIV

FESTIVE credis te, Calliodore, iocari et solum multo permaduisse sale.

omnibus adrides, dicteria dicis in omnis ; sic te convivam posse placere putas.

at si ego non belle sed vere dixero quiddam, nemo propinabit, Calliodore, tibi.


1 Roman aqueducts.

2 rf. vi. xiii. 3.

384


BOOK VI. XLII-XLIV

dry warmth, and then plunge in the natural stream of the Virgin or of Marcia, 1 which glistens so bright and clear that you would not suspect any water there, but would fancy the Lygdian marble 2 shines empty. You don't attend, but have been listening to me all this time with a casual ear, as if you didn't care. You will die unbathed, Oppianus !


XLIII

WHILE happy Baiae lavishes on you, Castricus, its bounty, and the Nymph's spring, white with sul- phurous water, is your swimming-bath, the quiet of my Nomentan farm, and a small house not too large for its fields, recruit me. This to me is Baian sun- shine and mild Lucrine lake ; this to me is the riches, Castricus, you enjoy. Erewhile I gladly hurried everywhere to famous waters, and did not fear long journeys ; now places near the city attract me, and quiet retreats easy to reach, and 'tis enough for me if I am allowed to be lazy.


XLIV

You believe yourself to be a pleasant jester, Cal- liodorus, and alone overflowing with streams of wit. At all you sneer, you shoot your scoffs against all ; so, as a guest, you opine you can please. But if I may make a remark, not smart indeed, but true, no man, Calliodorus, will pass the cup in pledge to you. 3

3 Because it would be passed back to him defiled : cf. n. xv. ; xn. Ixxiv. 9.

385


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

XLV

LUSISTIS, satis est : lascivi nubite cunni : permissa est vobis non nisi casta Venus.

haec est casta Venus ? nubit Laetoria Lygdo : turpior uxor erit quam modo moecha fuit.

XLVI

VAPULAT adsidue veneti quadriga flagello nee currit : magnam rem, Catiane, facis.

XLVII

NYMPHA, mei Stellae quae fonte domestica puro

laberis et domini gemmea tecta subis, sive Numae coniunx Triviae te misit ab antris

sive Camenarum de grege nona venis, exsoluit votis hac se tibi virgine porca

Marcus, furtivam quod bibit aeger aquam. tu contenta meo iam crimine gaudia fontis

da secura tui : sit mihi sana sitis.


XLVIII

QUOD tarn grande sophos clamat tibi turba togata, non tu, Pomponi, cena diserta tua est.

1 cf. vi. iv. and vii.

2 The charioteers of the circus were divided into four factions, red, white, green, and blue, the last being out of favour with Domitian. M. means that the Bine driver pulled his horses, not wishing to win : cf. xiv. Iv.

3 The Nymph Egeria.

386


BOOK VI. XLV-XLVIII

XLV

You have had your fling : enough ! Wed, you wantons ; you are allowed only chaste love. 1 Is this chaste love? Laetoria weds Lygdus : she will be viler as wife than she was just now as adulteress.

XLVI

THE four-horse car of the Blue charioteer 2 is re- peatedly lashed on, and yet goes slow. You are doing a great feat, Catianus.

XLVII

NYMPH that, welcomed to my Stella's house, glidest with thy pure spring and enterest beneath its master's jewelled halls, whether Numa's spouse 3 sent thee from Trivia's grots, 4 or thou comest, the ninth of the Camenae, 5 Marcus with this vii'gin porker acquits him to thee of his vow 6 made because in sickness he quaffed thy stream by stealth. Be thou content to-day with my fault, and grant me without scathe the delights of thy spring: may my thirst be again without harm !

XLVIII

THE full-dressed throng shout a loud "Bravo" to applaud you. 'Tis not you, Pomponius : it is your dinner that is eloquent.

4 From Aricia, where Diana of the Crossways (Trivia) was worshipped.

6 Native Nymphs of Italy, afterwards identified with the Muses, and probably so here.

6 M., contrary to doctor's orders (see vi. Ixxxvi.), had drunk cold water from the spring, and had made a vow to the Nymph if the water did him no harm.

387 c c 2


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL


XLIX

NON sum de fragili dolatus ulmo,

nee quae stat rigida supina vena

de ligno mihi quolibet columna est,

sed viva generata de cupressu,

quae nee saecula centiens peracta 5

nee longae cariem timet senectae.

hanc tu, quisquis es o malus, timeto,

nam si vel minimos manu rapaci

hoc de palmite laeseris racemos,

nascetur, licet hoc velis negare, 10

inserta tibi ficus a cupressu.


CUM coleret puros pauper Telesinus amicos, errabat gelida sordidus in togula :

obscenos ex quo coepit curare cinaedos, argentum, mensas, praedia solus emit.

vis fieri dives, Bithynice ? conscius esto. nil tibi vel minimum basia pura dabunt.


LI

QUOD convivaris sine me tarn saepe, Luperce,

inveni noceam qua ratione tibi. irascor : licet usque voces mittasque rogesque

" Quid facies ? " inquis. quid faciam ? veniam.

1 The epigram is on a statue of Priapus : cf. I. xxxv. 15 vi. Ixxiii.

388


BOOK VI. XLIX-LI


XLIX

NOT hewn am I of fragile elm, nor is my column, which stands upright with rigid shaft, 1 shaped of common wood; but it was born of the long-lived cypress, that dreads not cycles an hundred times accomplished, nor the decay of prolonged age. This fear thou, whoever thou art, O evil man! For if with robber hand thou shalt wound of yonder vine even its smallest shoots, there shall be born though thou wouldst deny it grafted on thee by this cypress-rod, a bunch of figs. 2


WHEN Telesinus a poor man then cultivated decent friends, he went about, a shabby figm-e, in a poor shivering toga ; ever since he began to court obscene rakes he buys rivalled by none silver- plate, tables, landed properties. Do you wish to become rich, Bithynicus ? Be an accomplice ; not a stiver will pure kisses give you.


LI

BECAUSE you entertain so often without inviting me, Lupercus, I have discovered a way to annoy you. I am angry : though you go on asking me, sending, begging " What will you do ? " you say. What will I do ? I'll come.

2 A tumour : cf. I. Ixv. ; iv. lii.

389


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

LIT

Hoc iacet in tumulo raptus puerilibus minis Pantagathus, domini cura dolorque sui,

vix tangente vagos ferro resecare capillos doctus et hirsutas excoluisse genas.

sis licet, ut debes, tellus, placata levisque, artificis levior non potes esse manu.


LIII

LOTUS nobiscum est, hilaris cenavit, et idem inventus mane est mortuus Andragoras.

tarn subitae mortis causam, Faustina, requiris ? in somnis medicum viderat Hermocraten.


LIV

TANTOS et tantas si dicere Sextilianum, Aule, vetes, iunget vix tria verba miser.

" Quid sibi vult ? " inquis. dicam quid suspicer esse : tantos et tantas Sextilianus amat.


LV

QUOD semper casiaque cinnamoque

et nido niger alitis superbae

fragras plumbea Nicerotiana,

rides nos, Coracine, nil olentis,

malo quam bene olere nil olere. I

1 Copied from a Greek epigram : Anth. Pal. xi. cclvii. cf. cxviii., which M, probably had also in his eye.

2 i.e. praegrandes draucos eorumque caudas.

39


BOOK VI. LII-LV

LII

WITHIN this tomb lies Pantagathus, snatched away in boyhood's years, his master's grief and sorrow, skilled to cut with steel that scarcely touched the straggling hairs, and to trim the bearded cheeks. Gentle and light upon him thou mayst be, O earth, as behoves thee ; lighter than the artist's hand thou canst not be.

LIII

ANDRAOORAS bathed With us, took a cheerful dinner, and nevertheless was found in the morning dead. Do you ask, Faustinus, the cause of a decease so sudden ? He had in a dream seen Doctor Her- mocrates ! 1

LIV

IF, Aulus, you forbid Sextilianus to say the words "so tall" masculine or feminine he can put scarcely three words together, the wretched fellow. " What is the matter with him ? " you say. I'll tell you what I suspect. Sextilianus has " so tall " attractions 2 of both genders !

LV

BECAUSE, constantly smeared darkly with cassia and cinnamon and the perfumes from the nest of the lordly bird, 3 you reek of the leaden jars of Niceros, 4 you laugh at us, Coracinus, who smell of nothing. To smelling of scent I prefer smelling of nothing. 5

3 Cassia and cinnamon were said to be found in the nest of the phoenix : Plin. N.ff. xii. 42.

4 A celebrated perfumer of the day. 8 cf. u. xii.

391



QUOD tibi crura rigent saetis et pectora villis, verba putas famae te, Charideme, dare.

extirpa, mihi crede, pilos de corpora toto teque pilare tuas testificare natis.

" Quae ratio est? " inquis. scis multos dicere multa : 5 fac pedicari te, Charideme, putent.

LVII

MENTIRIS fictos unguento, Phoebe, capillos

et tegitur pictis sordida calva comis. tonsorem capiti non est adhibere necesse :

radere te melius spongea, Phoebe, potest.

LVIII

CERNERE Parrhasios dum te iuvat, Aule, triones

comminus et Getici sidera pigra poli, o quam paene tibi Stygias ego raptus ad uiidas

Elysiae vidi nubila fusca plagae ! quamvis lassa tuos quaerebant lumina vultus 5

atque erat in gelido plurimus ore Pudens. si mihi lanificae ducunt non pulla sorores

stamina nee surdos vox habet ista deos, sospite me sospes Latias reveheris ad urbes

et referes pili praemia clarus eques. 10

1 Aulus Pudens was campaigning against the Dacians.

  • i.e. grant me longer life.

392


BOOK VI. LVI-LVIII

LVI

PERCHE hai le gambe irsute di setole, ed il petto d'ispidi peli, tu t'imagini, O Caridemo, imporre alia fama. Credimi, strappati i peli da tutto il corpo : e commincia darne prova dalle natiche. " Per qual motive?" di tu. Tu sai che molti mormorano. Fa, O Caridemo, che piutosto pensino, che tu sei un cinedo.

LVII

You fob us off with fictitious hair by means of ointment, Phoebus, and your dirty bald scalp is covered with locks represented in paint. You need not call in a barber for your head ; to give you a better clearance, a sponge, Phoebus, is the thing.


LVIII

WHILE it pleased you, Aulus, to survey anear the Northern Bears and the slow-wheeling stars of Getic heavens, 1 oh, how nearly was I snatched away from you to the waves of Styx, and viewed the gloomy clouds of the Elysian plain ! Weary as they were, my eyes searched for your face, and on my chill lips oft was Pudens' name. If the wool-working Sisters draw not my threads of sable hue, 2 and this my prayer find not the gods deaf, I shall be safe, and you shall safe return to Latin cities and bring back a chief centurion's honour, 3 an illustrious knight withal.

3 cf. i. xxxi. 3.

393


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

LIX

ET dolet et queritur sibi non contingere frigus

propter sescentas Baccara gausapinas, optat et obscuras luces ventosque nivesque,

edit et hibernos, si tepuere, dies, quid fecere mali nostrae tibi, saeve, lacernae 5

tollere de scapulis quas levis aura potest? quanto simplicius, quanto est huinanius illud,

mense vel Augusto sumere gausapinas !

LX

LAUDAT, amat, cantat nostros mea Roma libellos, meque sinus omnes, me manus omnis habet.

ecce rubet quidam, pallet, stupet, oscitat, odit. hoc volo : nunc nobis carmina nostra placent.

LXI

REM factam Pompullus habet, Faustine : legetur

et nomen toto sparget in orbe suum. " Sic leve flavorum valeat genus Usiporum

quisquis et Ausonium non amat imperium." ingeniosa tamen Pompulli scripta feruntur. 5

" Sed famae non est hoc, mihi crede, satis : quam mtilti tineas pascunt blattasque diserti

et redimunt soli carmina docta coci ! nescio quid plus est, quod donat saecula chartis :

victurus genium debet habere liber." 10


394


BOOK VI. LIX-LXI

LIX

BACCARA is annoyed and grumbles that he meets with no cold weather : 'tis on account of his innu- merable frieze mantles ; and he wishes for dark hours, and winds, and snows ; and hates winter days if they are mild. What harm, you cruel fellow, has my cloak, which a light breeze can lift from my shoulder-blades, done you? How much more straightforward, how much more kind it would be, even in the month of August, to put on your frieze wrappers ! l

LX

MY Rome praises, loves, and hums my verses, and every pocket, every hand holds me. See, yonder fellow turns red, turns pale, is dazed, yawns, curses ! That is what I want ; now my verses please me !

LXI

POMPULLUS has his wish achieved, Faustinus ; he will be perused and will spread his name through the whole world. "So may the fickle race of the yellow- haired Usipi flourish, and everyone who does not love Ausonia's rule ! " 2 Yet the writings of Pompullus are said to be clever. " But this, trust me, is not enough to bring fame ; how many fluent writers feed moths and bookworms, and cooks alone buy their learned lays ! There is something more that gives immor- tality to writings ; a book, to live, must have a Genius."

1 i.e. if you must show off.

2 i.e. may they perish as P.'s works will.

395


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

LXII

AMISIT pater unicum Salanus : cessas munera mittere, Oppiane ? lieu crudele nefas malaeque Parcae ! cuius vulturis hoc erit cadaver ?

LXIII

Scis te captari, scis hunc qui captat, avarum,

et scis qui captat quid, Mariane, velit. tu tamen hunc tabulis heredem, stulte, supremis

scribis et esse tuo vis, furiose, loco. " Munera magna tamen misit." sed misit in ha mo ; 5

et piscatorem piscis amare potest ? hicine deflebit vero tua fata dolore ?

si cupis, ut ploret, des, Mariane, nihil.

LXIV

CUM sis nee rigida Fabiorum gente creatus nee qualem Curio, dum prandia portat aranti, hirsuta peperit deprensa sub ilice coniunx, sed patris ad speculum tonsi matrisque togatae films, et possit sponsam te sponsa vocare : 5

emendare meos, quos novit fama, libellos


1 In depriving S. of his only protection against fortune- hunters : cf. the next epigram.

396


BOOK VI. LXII-LXIV

LXII

SALANUS the father has lost his only son ; do you hesitate, Oppianus, to send a present ? Ah, mon- strous cruelty and malignant Fates ! 1 To what vulture shall this corpse belong?

LXIII

You know you are angled for, 2 you know this fellow who angles is greedy, and you know, Marianus, what your angler wants ; yet you write him down your heir, you fool, by your last will, and are willing he should step, you madman ! into your shoes. " Yet the presents he sent me were magnificent." But he sent them on a hook ; and can a fish love the fisher- man ? Will this man weep for your death with genuine grief? If you want him to lament, leave him, Marianus, nothing.

LXIV

ALTHOUGH you are not born of the stern Fabian race, nor are such a one as Curius' wife, taken in labour while she was carrying his midday meal to him at the plough, brought forth under a shaggy oak, 3 but the son of a father shorn in front of a mirror and of a harlot mother, and though your own wife might well call you wife, you take upon yourself to amend my poems that Fame knows well, and to carp

2 capture (to hunt) was the regular phrase to express fortune-hunting.

3 The rude Fabii and Curii might justly sneer at M.'s verses.

397


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

et tibi permittis felicis carpere nugas,

has, inquam, nugas, quibus aurem advertere totam

non aspernantur proceres urbisque forique,

quas et perpetui dignantur scrinia Sili 10

et repetit totiens facundo Regulus ore,

quique videt propius magni certamina Circi

laudat Aventinae vicinus Sura Dianae,

ipse etiam tanto dominus sub pondere rerum

non dedignatur bis terque revolvere Caesar. 15

sed tibi plus mentis, tibi cor limante Minerva

acrius et tenues finxerunt pectus Athenae.

ne valeam, si non multo sapit altius illud,

quod cum panticibus laxis et cum pede grandi

et rubro pulmone vetus nasisque timendum 20

omnia crudelis lanius per compita portat.

audes praeterea, quos nullus noverit, in me

scribere versiculos miseras et perdere chartas.

at si quid nostrae tibi bilis inusserit ardor,

vivet et haerebit totaque legetur in urbe, 25

stigmata nee vafra delebit Cinnamus arte.

sed miserere tui, rabido nee perditus ore

fumantem nasum vivi temptaveris ursi.

sit placidus licet et lambat digitosque manusque,

si dolor et bilis, si iusta coegerit ira, 30

ursus erit : vacua dentes in pelle fatiges

et tacitam quaeras, quam possis rodere, carnem.

1 Silius Italicus, the poet of the Punic wars : cf. vii. Ixiii.

2 The celebrated advocate.

3 The Temple of Diana on the Aventine. The Circus was in the hollow between the Aventine and Palatine hills.

398


BOOK VI. LXIV

at my happy triflings these triflings, I say, to which the chief men of state and courts of law do not disdain to turn an attentive ear ; these which the bookcases of immortal Silius 1 think worthy of them, and Regulus 2 with eloquent tongue repeats so often, and Sura commends, he who views hard by the struggles of the mighty Circus, Sura, the neighbour of Aventine Diana; 3 these which our lord, though he bears so vast a weight of empire, does not disdain twice and thrice to unroll, Caesar himself. But you have more understanding, Minerva sharpened your mind to a keener point, and subtle Athens shaped your intellect ! May I hang if there is not fuller flavour in that heart 4 which, together with protrud- ing guts, and huge hoof, and gory lights, decayed and a terror to the nose, the unfeeling butcher carries from street to street. You dare besides to write against me your paltry verses, which no one will know of, and to spoil your wretched paper. But if the heat of my wrath sets a brand upon you, that will remain and cling to you and be read all over the town, and Cinnamus, 5 for all his cunning skill, will not efface the marks. Nay, take pity on your- self, and do not, lost man, tempt with your rabid tooth the foaming snout of a live bear. He may be gentle and lick your fingers and your hands, yet if pain, and wrath, and righteous anger compel him, he will be a bear. Weary out your fangs on an empty hide, and look out for some flesh to gnaw that cannot reply.

4 A play on two meanings of aapere, " to have flavour," or " to have sense." Cor also has the two meanings of " heart," in a physical sense, and " intellect."

6 A barber of the day : cf. vi. xvii.; vn. Ixiv.

399


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

LXV

' HEXAMETRIS epigramma facis" scio dicere Tuccam.

Tucca, solet fieri, denique, Tucca, licet. "Sedtamen hoc longum est." solet hoc quoque,Tucca,

licetque :

si breviora probas, disticha sola legas. conveniat nobis ut fas epigrammata longa 5

sit transire tibi, scribere, Tucca, mihi.


LXVI

FAMAE non nimium bonae puellam, quales in media sedent Subura, vendebat modo praeco Gellianus. parvo cum pretio diu liceret, dum puram cupit adprobare cunctis, adtraxit prope se manu negantem et bis terque quaterque basiavit. quid profecerit osculo requiris ? sescentos modo qui dabat negavit.

LXVII

CUR tantum eunuchos habeat tua Caelia, quaeris, Pannyche ? volt futui Caelia nee parere.

LXVIII

FLETE nefas vestrum sed toto flete Lucrino, Naides, et luctus sentiat ipsa Thetis.

inter Baianas raptus puer occidit undas Eutychos ille, tuum, Castrice, dulce latus.


400


BOOK VI. LXV-LXVIII

LXV

"You make your epigram 1 in hexameters," says Tucca, as I know. Tucca, that is usual, in fact, Tucca, it is allowable. " Yet this one is long." That too is usual, Tucca, and allowable ; if you approve of what is shorter, read distichs only. Let us make a com- pact : you to be permitted to skip long epigrams ; I, Tucca, to write them.

LXVI

A GIRL of not too good a reputation, one of such as sit in the middle of the Subura, the auctioneer Gellianus was lately selling. As for some time she was going for small biddings, wishing to prove to all that she was clean, he drew the unwilling girl to him, and twice, thrice, four times kissed her. Do you ask what he achieved by the kiss ? A bidder of six hundred sesterces withdrew his bid !


LXVII

Do you ask, Pannychus, why your Caelia consorts with eunuchs only ? Caelia looks for the license of marriage, not the results.


LXVIII

WEEP for your crime, aye, weep o'er all the Lucrine lake, ye Naiads, and let even Thetis 2 hear the sound of your lament ! For the boy is dead, snatched away amid the waves of Baiae, that Eutychos, thy

1 i.e. the preceding one. 2 The goddess of the sea.

401

VOL. 1. D D


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

hie tibi curarum socius blandumque levamen, 5

hie amor, hie nostri vatis Alexis erat. numquid te vitreis nudum lasciva sub undis

vidit et Alcidae nympha remisit Hylan ? an dea femineum iam neglegit Hermaphroditum

amplexu teneri sollicitata viri ? 10

quidquid id est, subitae quaecumque est causa rapinae,

sit, precor, et tellus mitis et unda tibi.


LXIX

NON miror quod potat aquam tua Bassa, Catulle : miror quod Bassae filia potat aquam.


LXX

SEXAGESIMA, Marciane, messis

acta est et, puto, iam secunda Cottae

nee se taedia lectuli calentis

expertum meminit die vel uno.

ostendit digitum, sed inpudicum, 5

Alconti Dasioque Symmachoque.

at nostri bene conputentur anni

et quantum tetricae tulere febres

aut languor gravis aut mali dolores

a vita meliore separetur : 10

infantes sumus et senes videmur.

aetatem Priamique Nestorisque

longam qui putat esse, Marciane,

muitum decipiturque falliturque.

non est vivere, sed valere vita est. 15

1 A handsome youth celebrated by Virgil in his second Eclogue : cf. v. xvi. 12 ; viu. Ivi. 12.

402


BOOK VI. LXVHI-LXX

sweet companion, Castricus. He to thee was partner in thy studies, and thy soothing solace, he was the darling, he the Alexis l of our bard. Did some wanton nymph see thy nakedness under the glassy waves, and give back Hylas 2 to Alcides ? or does the goddess, 3 won by the embrace of a soft spouse, now slight womanly Hermaphroditus ? Whate'er it be, whate'er the cause of a rape so sudden, let earth, I pray, and wave, be gentle to thee !

LXIX

1 DON'T wonder, Catullus, your Bassa drinks water; 4 I wonder that the daughter of Bassa drinks water.

LXX

A SIXTIETH summer, Marcianus, has gone, and I think already a second one also, over Cotta's head, and yet he cannot recall that even for a single day he has felt the weariness of a fevered bed. He points his finger and the insulting finger 5 at Alcon, and Dasius, and Symmachus. 6 As for us, let our years be strictly counted, and so much of them as harsh fevers have carried off, or sore weakness, or racking pains, be parted from happier life : we are children, and seem old men. He who thinks the life of Priam and of Nestor long, Marcianus, is much deceived and mistaken : life is not living, but living in health.

2 See note to v. xlviii. 5. Alcides = Hercules.

3 Salmacis, originally the Nymph of a fountain in Caria, but here, and in x. xxx. , identified by M. with the Nymph of spring near the Lucrine lake. 4 cf. II. 1. 2.

5 The middle finger was called in/amis, and was used to point in scorn. 6 Doctors.

43 D D 2


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

LXXI

EDERE lascivos ad Baetica crusmata gestus

et Gaditanis ludere docta modis, tendere quae tremulum Pelian Hecubaeque maritum

posset ad Hectoreos sollicitare rogos, urit et excruciat dominum Telethusa priorem. 5

vendidit ancillam, nunc redimit dominam.


LXXII

FUR notae nimium rapacitatis conpilare Cilix volebat hortum, ingenti sed erat, Fabulle, in horto praeter marmoreum nihil Priapum. dum non vult vacua manu redire, ipsum subripuit Cilix Priapum.


LXXIII

NON rudis indocta fecit me falce colonus :

dispensatoris nobile cernis opus, nam Caeretani cultor ditissimus agri

hos Hilarus colles et iuga laeta tenet, aspice quam certo videar non ligneus ore 5

nee devota focis inguinis arma gerain, sed mihi perpetua numquam moritura cupresso

Phidiaca rigeat mentula digna manu. vicini, moneo, sanctum celebrate Priapum

et bis septenis parcite iugeribus. 10

1 cf. v. Ixxviii. 26-

2 The father of Jason and Priam respectively, both typical old men.

404


BOOK VI. LXXI-LXXIII

LXXI

SHE who was cunning to show wanton gestures to the sound of Baetic castanets and to frolic to the tunes of Gades, 1 she who could have roused passion in palsied Pelias, and have stirred Hecuba's spouse 2 even by Hector's pyre Telethusa burns and racks with love her former master. He sold her as his maid, now he buys her back as mistress.

LXXII

A THIEF of too notorious rapacity, a Cilician, was minded to plunder a garden ; but in the immense garden was nothing, Fabullus, but a marble Priapus. Being loth to return with empty hands, the Cilician carried off' Priapus 3 himself !


LXXIII

No rude husbandman shaped me with clumsy sickle ; you see the steward's noble work ; for Hi- larus, the most wealthy tiller of Caere's fields, pos- sesses these hills and smiling slopes. Mark with how distinct a likeness, and as though not in wood, I appear, and carry a weapon not doomed to the fire ; rather how an appendage, immortal, wrought of imperishable cypress, and worthy of the handiwork of Phidias, stands rigid. Ye neighbours, I charge you, pay honour to holy Priapus and spare these twice seven acres !

3 The guardian god of the garden could not protect himself !

45


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

LXXIV

MEDIO recumbit imus ille qui lecto, calvam trifilem semitatus unguento, foditque tonsis ora laxa lentiscis, mentitur, Aefulane : non habet denies.

LXXV

CUM mittis turdumve mihi quadramve placentae, sive femur leporis sive quid his simile est,

buccellas misisse tuas te. Pontia, dicis.

has ego non mittam, Pontia, sed nee edam.

LXXVI

ILLE sacri lateris custos Martisque togati,

credita cui summi castra fuere ducis, hie situs est Fuscus. licet hoe, Fortuna, fateri :

non timet hostilis iam lapis iste minas ; grande iugum domita Dacus cervice recepit 5

et famulum victrix possidet umbra nemus.

LXXVII

CUM sis tarn pauper quam nee miserabilis Iros, tarn iuvenis quam nee Parthenopaeus erat,

1 The place of honour at dinner.

2 The usual toothpick : cf. xiv. xxii. There may perhaps be a reference to the name given to those unduly solicitous of their personal appearance, who were called " toothpick- chewers " : cf. Erasm. Adag. s.v. lentiscum mandere.

3 A notorious poisoner : cf. n. xxxiv.

4 i.e. of the Emperor as warrior and statesman.

406


BOOK VI. LXXIV-LXXVII

LXXIV

HE who lies the lowest on the middle couch, 1 with his three-haired baldness laid out in paths with ointment, and who probes his loosened jaws with strips of mastich, 2 is a fraud, Aefulanus : he has no teeth.

LXXV

WHEN you send me either a fieldfare, or a section of cake, or a leg of hare, or something similar, you tell me, Pontia, 8 you have sent me your tit-bits. These dainties I won't send elsewhere, Pontia but neither will I eat them.

LXXVI

THAT guardian of a sacred life, of Mars in the civil gown, 4 he to whom our great captain's camp was given in trust, here Fuscus lies. This, Fortune, may we confess : that stone fears no longer a foe- man's threat. The Daciaii has taken on his bowed neck our mighty yoke, and the victor ghost holds in fee the subject grove. 5

LXXVII

ALTHOUGH you are poorer than even wretched Irus, 6 younger even than Parthenopaeus, 7 stronger than

8 The epigram is supposed to be an inscription on the tomb, in Dacia, of Cornelius Fuscus, a former captain of the Emperor's Praetorian guard at Rome. He was defeated and slain, A.D. 87, in an expedition against the Dacians, who were subsequently subdued : cf. Juv. iv. iii.

6 The typical beggar : Horn. Od. xvii.

7 A Greek warrior, young and handsome : cf. ix, vi. 7.


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

tarn fortis quam nee cum vinceret Artemidorus,

quid te Cappadocum sex onus esse iuvat ? rideris multoque magis traduceris, Afer, 5

quam nudus medio si spatiere foro. non aliter monstratur Atlans cum compare ginno

quaeque vehit similem belua nigra Libyn. invidiosa tibi quam sit lectica requiris ?

non debes ferri mortuus hexaphoro. 10

LXXVIII

POTOR nobilis, Aule, lumine uno

luscus Phryx erat alteroque lippus.

huic Heras medicus " Bibas caveto :

vinum si biberis, nihil videbis."

ridens Phryx oculo " Valebis " inquit. 5

misceri sibi protinus deunces

sed crebros iubet. exitum requiris ?

vinum Phryx, oculus bibit venenum.

LXXIX

TRISTIS es et felix. sciat hoc Fortuna caveto ingratum dicet te, Lupe, si scierit.

LXXX

UT nova dona tibi, Caesar, Nilotica tell us

miserat hibernas ambitiosa rosas. navita derisit Pharios Memphiticus hortos,

urbis ut intravit limina prima tuae :

1 A Greek athlete who won in the Capitoline contest, A.D. 86 ; or (perhaps) a pancratiast of Tralles, of the days of Galba and Vitellius. 2 A giant.

408


BOOK VI. LXXVII-LXXX

even Artemidorus l when he won in the contest, why do you like to be the load of six Cappadocians ? You are laughed at, and are much more a spectacle, Afer, than if you were to walk naked in the midst of the Forum. Similar would be the sight of an Atlas 2 with a small mule to match him, or a black elephant carrying a Libyan of the same hue. Do you want to know how offensive your litter is ? Even when dead you ought not to be carried in a litter and six. 3

LXXVIII

PHRYX, a notorious tippler, was blind, Aulus, ot one eye, and blear-eyed in the other. Heras, his doctor, said to him : " Beware of drinking ; if you drink wine you will not see at all." Phryx laughed, and said to his eye '"'Adieu." Immediately he orders eleven measures 4 to be mixed for him, and frequently. Do you ask the result ? Phryx drank a vintage, his eye venom.

LXXIX

You are sad, although fortunate. Take care For- tune does not know this ; " Ingrate" will be her name for you, Lupus, if she knows.

LXXX

As a novel gift to you, Caesar, the land of Nile had proudly sent winter roses. The sailor from Mem- phis scoffed at the gardens of Egypt when he first trod on the threshold of your city, so rich was the

3 But on a pauper's bier, borne by four at most : cf. vni. Ixxv. 9.

4 Nearly three times the usual quantity, eleven cyathi instead of four (triens, cf. vi. Ixxxvi. 1 ; i. cvi. 8).

409


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

tantus veris honos et odorae gratia Florae 5

tantaque Paestani gloria ruris erat ; sic, quacumque vagus gressumque oculosque ferebat,

tonsilibus sertis omne rubebat iter. at tu Romanae iussus iam cedere brumae

mitte tuas messes, accipe, Nile, rosas. 10

LXXXI

IRATUS tamquam populo, Charideme, lavaris :

inguina sic toto subluis in solio. nee caput hie vellem sic te, Charideme, lavare.

et caput ecce lavas : inguina malo laves.

LXXXII

QUID AM me modo, Rufe, diligenter

inspectum, velut emptor aut lanista,

cum vultu digitoque subnotasset,

" Tune es, tune " ait " ille Martialis,

cuius nequitias iocosque novit 5

aurem qui modo non habet Batavam ? "

subrisi modice, levique nutu

me quern dixerat esse non negavi.

" Cur ergo " inquit " habes malas lacernas ? "

respond i : " quia sum malus poeta." 10

hoc ne saepius accidat poetae,

mittas, Rufe, mihi boiias lacernas.

LXXXIII

QUANTUM sollicito fortuna parentis Etrusco, tantum, summe ducum, debet uterque tibi.


1 i.e.. thus polluting the water ; cf. n. xlii. and Ixx. For Charideraus, cf. vi. lyi,

410


BOOK VI. LXXX-LXXXIII

beauty of spring and the charm of fragrant Flora, so rich the glory of Paestan fields ; so ruddy, where'er he turned his wandering footsteps or his eyes, was every path with twining roses. But do thou, bidden now to yield to a Roman winter, send us thy harvests, receive, O Nile, our roses.

LXXXI

You wash, Charidemus, as if you were in a rage with the people ; such a cleaning you give your middle all over the bath. 1 Even your head I should not wish you to wash here in such a fashion, Charidemus. Lo ! you wash your head too : I prefer your washing your middle.

LXXXII

A CERTAIN person, Rufus, lately looked me up and down carefully, just as if he were a purchaser of slaves or a trainer of gladiators, and when he had furtively observed me and pointed me out : "Are you, are you," he said, "that Martial, whose naughty jests everyone knows who at least has not a barbarous ear?" I smiled quietly, and with a slight bow, did not deny I was the person mentioned. "Why, then," said he, "do you wear a bad cloak?" I replied: "Because I am a bad poet." That this may not happen too often to a poet, send me, Rufus, a good cloak.

LXXXIII

As much as his father's fortunes owe to Etruscus' solicitude, 2 so much both father and son, illustrious

2 He had accompanied his father into exile. As to the father's death, see vii. xl.

411


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

nam tu missa tua revocasti fulmina dextra : hos cuperem mores ignibus esse lovis ;

si tua sit summo, Caesar, natura Tonanti, utetur toto fulmine rara manus.

muneris hoc utrumque tui testatur Etruscus, esse quod et comiti contigit et reduci.

LXXXIV

OCTAPHORO sanus portatur, Avite, Philippus hunc tu si sanum credis, Avite, furis.


LXXXV

EDITUR en sextus sine te mihi, Rufe Camoni,

nee te lectorem sperat, amice, liber : impia Cappadocum tell us et numine laevo

visa tibi cineres reddit et ossa patri. funde tuo lacrimas orbata Bononia Rufo, 5

et resonet tota planctus in Aemilia. heu qualis pietas, heu quam brevis occidit aetas !

viderat Alphei praemia quinta modo. pectore tu memori nostros evolvere lusus,

tu solitus totos, Rufe, tenere iocos, 10

accipe cum fletu maesti breve carmen amici

atque haec apsentis tura fuisse puta.

1 cf. ix. Ixxiv. and Ixxvi.

2 The district served by the Via Aemilia running from Aritninum to Placentia.

412


BOOK VI. LXXXIII-LXXXV

chief, owe to thee. For thou hast recalled the bolts by thy right hand hurled ; I could pray that Jove's fire possessed such gentleness ! Were thy nature, Caesar, the almighty Thunderer's, rarely shall his hand employ his bolts' full force. To thy bounty, Etruscus ascribes a two-fold boon : partnership in his sire's exile, and his sire's return.


LXXXIV

PHILIPPUS, though sound, is carried in a litter and six, Avitus. If you think this fellow "sound," Avitus, you are crazy yourself.

LXXXV

Lo ! my sixth book goes forth without thee, Ca- monius Rufus, 1 and does not hope, my friend, that thou wilt read it. The Cappadocian land, unholy and with baleful omen visited by thee, gives back to thy sire thy ashes and thy bones. Pour forth thy tears, Bononia, widowed of thy Rufus ! and let lamentation be loud o'er all Aemilia ! 2 Alas, what filial love ! alas, what brief a life has perished ! it had seen but the fifth prize bestowed by Alpheus. 3 Thou, who with unforgetful heart wert wont to quote my casual lays, thou, Rufus, wont to recall whole epigrams, re- ceive, with his tears, thy sorrowing friend's brief song, and deem these lines incense shed upon thee from afar !

3 He had lived only five Olympiads, and thus was only twenty : cf. ix. Ixxvi. 3. Usually in M. an Olympiad == lustrum = 5 years.

413


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

LXXXVI

SETINUM dominaeque nives densique trientes, quando ego vos medico non prohibente bibam ?

stultus et ingratus nee tanto munere dignus qui mavult heres divitis esse Midae.

possideat Libycas messis Hermumque Tagumque, 5 et potet caldarn, qui mihi livet, aquam.

LXXXVII

Di tibi dent et tu, Caesar, quaecumque mereris : di mihi dent et tu quae volo, si merui.

LXXXVIII

MANE salutavi vero te nomine casu

nee dixi dominum, Caeciliane, meum. quanti libertas constet mihi tanta, requiris ?

centum quadrantes abstulit ilia mihi.

LXXXIX

CUM peteret seram media iam nocte matellam

arguto madidus pollice Panaretus, Spoletina data est sed quam siccaverat ipse,

nee fuerat soli tota lagona satis, ille fide summa testae sua vina remensus 5

reddidit oenophori pondera plena sui. miraris, quantum biberat, cepisse lagonam ?

desine rnirari, Rufe : merum biberat.

1 A line wine : cf. iv. Ixix.

2 Or "my lady's snows," i.e. Violentilla's. Wine was strained through snow : -cf. v. Ixiv. 2 ; xiv. ciii.

414


BOOK VI. LXXXVI-LXXXIX

LXXXVI

THOU, Setine, 1 and ye lordly snows, 2 and ye cups filled oft, when shall I drink you, nor my doctor say me nay ? Fool and ingrate, and unworthy such a boon is he who would sooner be heir of wealthy Midas ! May he possess Libyan harvests, and Hermus, and Tagus, who envies me and drink warm water ! 3

LXXXVII

MAY the gods and thou, Caesar, grant thee all thy deserts ; may the gods and thou grant me my wish if I have deserved it !

LXXXVIII

THIS morning I addressed you, as it chanced, by your own name, nor did I add " My lord," Caecili- anus. Do you ask how much such casual conduct has cost me ? It has robbed me of a hundred farthings. 4

LXXXIX

WHEN Panaretus in his cups was, by snapping his fingers, requiring it being now midnight a neces- sary vase, a Spoletian jar was handed him, one which he had already drained dry by himself, and the whole flagon had not been sufficient for his single self. He, with scrupulous accuracy, remeasured to the jar the wine he had drunk from it, and returned the full burden of his wine-holder. Do you wonder the flagon took all he had drunk ? Don't wonder any longer, Rufus : he had drunk his wine neat !

3 M. was ill : cf. vi. xlvii. and Iviii.

4 The client's usual dole : cf. in. vii. 1.

415


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

XC

MOECHUM Gellia non habet nisi unum. turpe est hoc magis : uxor est duorum.

XCI

SANCTA ducis summi prohibet censura vetatque moechari. gaude, Zoile : non futuis.

XCII

CAELATUS tibi cum sit, Anniane, serpens in patera Myronos arte, Vaticana bibis : bibis venenum.

XCIII

TAM male Thais olet quam non fullonis avari

testa vetus media sed modo fracta via, non ab amore recens hircus, non ora leonis,

non detracta cani Transtiberina cutis, pullus abortivo nee cum putrescit in ovo, 5

amphora corrupto nee vitiata garo. virus ut hoc alio fallax permutet odore,

deposita quotiens balnea veste petit, psilothro viret aut acida latet oblita creta

aut tegitur pingui terque quaterque faba. 10

cum bene se tutam per fraudes mille putavit,

omnia cum fecit, Thaida Thais olet.

1 cf. Sen. De Btn. xvi. " matrimonium vocari unius adul- terium": cf. in. xcii. 2 cf. V. Ixxv. ; vi. vii.

3 Vatican was very inferior wine : cf. I. xviii. 2 ; X. xlv. 5. M. assumes that the serpent poisoned the wine. He means that A. drank bad wine in costly cups.

416


BOOK VI. xc-xcm

xc

GELLIA has a paramour, but only one. That is all the more disgraceful : she is the wife of two. 1

XCI

THE sacred censor's edict of our illustrious chief forbids and debars adultery. 2 Congratulate yourself, Zoilus : you are impotent.

XCII

ALTHOUGH, Ammianus, you have on your cup a viper chased by Myron's art, you drink Vatican : you drink venom. 3

XCIII

THAIS smells worse even than a grasping fuller's long-used crock, 4 and that, too, just smashed in the middle of the street ; than a he-goat fresh from his amours ; than the breath of a lion ; than a hide dragged from a dog beyond Tiber ; 5 than a chicken when it rots in an abortive egg ; than a two-eared jar poisoned by putrid fish-sauce. In order craftily to substitute for such a reek another odour, whenever she strips and enters the bath she is green with depilatory, or is hidden behind a plaster of chalk and vinegar, or is covered with three or four layers of sticky bean-flour. When she imagines that by a thousand dodges she is quite safe, Thais, do what she will, smells of Thais.

4 Fullers used urine in their trade, and used to collect it at street-corners in jars.

5 Where tanners pursued their trade ; Juv. xiv. 203.

6 Ordinarily used to remove wrinkles : cf. in. xlii. 1 ; xiv. Ix.

417 VOL. I. E E


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

XCIV

PONUNTUR semper chrysendeta Calpetiano sive foris seu cum cenat in urbe domi.

sic etiam in stabulo semper, sic cenat in agro. non habet ergo aliud ? non habet immo suum.


418


BOOK VI. xciv

XCIV

GOLD-ENAMELLED plate is always served to Calpe- tianus, whether he dines away from home or when he is at home in town. In this way, too, he always dines at an inn, in this way in the country. Has he no other plate then ? Nay, he possesses none of his own ! l

1 C. is satirised for his ostentatious use of plate which is not his own, but borrowed : cf. n. Iviii.


419 E E 2


BOOK VII


LIBER SEPTIMUS


ACCIPE belligerae crudum thoraca Minervae, ipsa Medusaeae quern timet ira comae.

dum vacat, haec, Caesar, poterit lorica vocari : pectore cum sacro sederit, aegis erit.

II

INVIA Sarmaticis domini lorica sagittis

et Martis Getico tergore fida magis, quam vel ad Aetolae securam cuspidis ictus

texuit innumeri lubricus unguis apri, felix sorte tua, sacrum cui tangere pectus

fas erit et nostri mente calere dei. i comes et magnos inlaesa merere triurnphos

palmataeque ducem, sed cito, redde togae.


Ill

CUR non mitto meos tibi, Pontiliane, libellos ? ne mihi tu mittas, Pontiliane, tuos.

1 These lines allude to a cuirass, made of boars' hoofs, either taken from a temple of Minerva, or made for Domitian in imitation of her aegis with the Gorgon's head upon it, and worn by him in his Sarmatian expedition, A.D. 92. It is again alluded to in xiv. dkxix.

422


BOOK VII


RECEIVE the savage breast-plate of warrior Minerva, thou whom even Medusa's wrathful tresses dread. 1 While 'tis unworn, this, Caesar, may be called a cuirass ; when it shall repose on a sacred breast, 'twill be an aegis.

II

IMPENETRABLE by Sarmatian arrows, thou cuirass of our Lord, more trusty than the Getic shield of Mars, which, a safeguard even against the stroke of an Aetolian spear, 2 the burnished hooves of unnumbered boars inwove, blest art thou in thy lot ! whose right shall be to touch that sacred breast, and to warm with the spirit of our God ! Go with him and win, undinted, mighty triumphs, and bring home and that soon our chief to the palm-embroidered gown. 3

Ill

WHY do I not send you my works, Pontilianus ? That you, Pontilianus, may not send yours to me.

2 Meleager's, who slew the Calydonian boar : cf. Lib. Spect. xv. 1.

  • A general in his triumphal procession wore a toga of

purple and gold (toga picta) over a tunic embroidered with palm-leaves (tunica palmata).

423


THE EPIGRAMS OF MAHTIAL

IV

ESSEX, Castrice, cum mail coloris, versus scribere coepit Oppianus.


Si desiderium, Caesar, populique patrumque respicis et Latiae gaudia vera togae,

redde deum votis poscentibus. invidet hosti Roma suo, veniat laurea multa licet :

terrarum dominum propius videt ille tuoque terretur vultu barbarus et fruitur.


VI

ECQUID Hyperboreis ad nos conversus ab oris

Ausonias Caesar iam parat ire vias ? certus abest auctor sed vox hoc nuntiat omnis :

credo tibi, verum dicere, Fama, soles, publica victrices testantur gaudia chartae, 5

Martia laurigera cuspide pila virent. rursus, io, magnos clamat tibi Roma triumphos,

mvicTusque tua, Caesar, in urbe sonas. sed iam laetitiae quo sit fiducia maior,

Sarmaticae laurus nuntius ipse veni. 10

VII

HIBERNA quamvis Arctos et rudis Peuce et ungularum pulsibus calens Hister

1 For the "pallor" of poets tf. Hor. Ep. i. xix. 28.

2 Domitian in A.D. 92 was campaigning against the Sarma- tians. He returned in Jan. 93.

424


BOOK VII. iv-vn

IV

BECAUSE, Castricus, he was of a sickly hue, 1 Oppi- anus begins to write verses.

V

IF thou regardest, Caesar, the longing of the people and of the Fathers, and the Latin gown's true joy, bring back our God to our urgent prayers ! 2 Albeit there comes many a letter laurel-wreathed, 3 Rome envies her own foe ; he views more near the Master of the world, and in thy countenance the barbarian finds his terror and his joy.


VI

TURNED usward from Hyperborean shores, is Caesar now bent on treading Ausonian ways ? Sure witness is there none, yet every voice so tells us ; thee, Report, I trust ; thou art wont to speak the truth. Despatches of victory attest the public joy ; the pikes of war are green with laurel-crowned heads. Again O joy ! Rome shouts thy mighty triumphs, and in thy city, Caesar, thou art proclaimed Unconquered. But now, that faith in our delight be greater still, come, thyself the herald of thy Sarmatian bay.

VII

ALBEIT the wintry North, and savage Peuce, 4 and Hister glowing with the beat of hooves, and Rhine,

3 Despatches announcing victory were laurel- wreathed.

4 An island at the mouth of the Danube (Hister), so called from its pines : cf. vii. Ixxxiv. 3.

425


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

fractusque cornu iam ter inprobo Rhenus

teneat domantem regna perfidae gentis

te, summe mundi rector et parens orbis, 5

abesse nostris non tamen potes votis.

illic et oculis et animis sumus, Caesar,

adeoque mentes omnium tenes unus

ut ipsa magni turba nesciat Circi

utrumne currat Passerinus an Tigris. 10

VIII

NUNC hilares, si quando mihi, nunc ludite, Musae :

victor ab Odrysio redditur orbe deus. certa facis populi tu primus vota, December :

iam licet ingenti dicere voce " Venit ! " felix sorte tua ! poteras non cedere lano, 5

gaudia si nobis quae dabit ille dares, festa coronatus ludet convicia miles,

inter laurigeros cum comes ibit equos. fas audire iocos levioraque carmina, Caesar,

et tibi, si lusus ipse triumphus amat. 10


IX

CUM sexaginta numeret Cascellius annos, ingeniosus homo est : quando disertus erit ?


PEDICATUR Eros, fellat Linus : Ole, quid ad te de cute quid faciant ille vel ille sua ?

1 River gods were represented with horns. The shattering of the horn meant defeat : cf. x. vii. 6.

426


BOOK VII. vn-x

his presumptuous horn now shattered thrice, 1 detain thee, while thou dost subdue a false nation's realm, thou ruler supreme of the universe and father of the world, yet thou canst not be parted from our prayers. There, where thou art, are we in vision and in soul, Caesar ; and so alone dost thou possess the thoughts of all that the very throng of the mighty Circus knows not whether Passarinus runs or Tigris. 2

VIII

Now joyfully, if ever in page of mine, frolic, ye Muses ! in victory is our God being restored to us from the Odrysian world. Thou first, December, makest sure fulfilment of a people's prayers : now may we shout with a mighty voice, " He comes ! " Happy in thy lot ! Thou mightest not have made way for Janus, wert thou giving us the joys that he shall give ! In festive raillery shall the wreathed soldier sport when he shall tread attendant on the laurelled steeds. To hear the jest and lighter song is lawful even for thee, Caesar, if a triumph of itself woos mirthfulness. 3

IX

THOUGH Cascellius now numbers sixty years, he is only a clever man : when will he be eloquent ?


EROS has one filthy vice, Linus has another : Olus, what is it to you what one or the other does with

2 Race-horses.

3 For the licence allowed to soldiers in a triumphal pro- cession cf. i. iv. 3.

427


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

centenis futuit Matho milibus : Ole, quid ad te ?

non tu propterea sed Matho pauper erit. in lucem cenat Sertorius : Ole, quid ad te, 5

cum liceat tota stertere nocte tibi ? septingenta Tito debet Lupus : Ole, quid ad te ?

assem ne dederis crediderisve Lupo. illud dissimulas ad te quod pertinet, Ole,

quodque magis curae convenit esse tuae. 10

pro togula debes : hoc ad te pertinet, Ole.

quadrantem nemo iam tibi credit : et hoc. uxor moecha tibi est : hoc ad te pertinet, Ole.

poscit iam dotem filia grandis : et hoc. dicere quindecies poteram quod pertinet ad te : 15

sed quid agas ad me pertinet, Ole, nihil.

XI

COGIS me calamo manuque nostra emendare meos, Pudens, libellos. o quam me nimium probas amasque qui vis archetypas habere nugas !


XII

Sic me fronte legat dominus, Faustine, serena

excipiatque meos qua solet aure iocos, ut mea nee iuste quos odit pagina laesit

et mihi de nullo fama rubore placet, quid prodest, cupiant cum quidam nostra videri, 5

si qua Lycambeo sanguine tela madent, vipereumque vomat nostro sub nomine virus,

qui Phoebi radios ferre diemque negat ?

1 i.e. scurrilous. Lycambes was driven to suicide by the 428


BOOK VII. x-xn

his own hide ? Matho pays his whore a hundred thousand : Olus, what is it to you ? You will not be poor on that account, but Matho. Sertorius dines till daylight : Olus, what is it to you, seeing you can snore all night? Lupus owes seven hundred thou- sand sesterces to Titus : Olus, what is it to you ? don't give or lend Lupus a stiver. You ignore what is your own affair, Olus, what more concerns your careful thought. You owe for your sorry toga : this is your affair, Olus. Nobody now lends you a penny : this too. Your wife is a wanton ; this is your affair, Olus. Your strapping daughter now demands a dowry : this too. Fifteen times over I could mention what is your affair : but your doings, Olus, are no affair of mine.

XI

You compel me to correct my poems with my own hand and pen, Pudeiis. Oh, how overmuch you approve and love my work who wish to have my trifles in autograph !

XII

MAY my Master be as certain to read me, Fausti- nus, with an unruffled brow, and to welcome my jests with his wonted heed, as my page has not wounded even those it justly hates, and fame won from another's blush is not dear to me ! What does this avail me when certain folk would pass off as mine darts wet with the blood of Lycambes, 1 and under my name a man vomits his viperous venom who owns he cannot bear the light of day? My jests

lampoons of the poet Archilochus, to whom he had refused his daughter.

429


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

ludimus innocui : scis hoc bene : iuro potentis

per genium Famae Castaliumque gregem 10

perque tuas aures, magni mihi numinis instar, lector inhumana liber ab invidia.

XIII

DUM Tiburtinis albescere solibus audit

antiqui dentis fusca Lycoris ebur, venit in Herculeos colles. quid Tiburis alti

aura valet ! parvo tempore nigra redit.

XIV

ACCIDIT infandum nostrae scelus, Aule, puellae ;

amisit lusus deliciasque suas : non quales teneri ploravit arnica Catulli

Lesbia^ nequitiis passeris orba sui, vel Stellae cantata meo quas flevit lanthis, 5

cuius in Elysio nigra columba volat : lux mea non capitur nugis neque moribus istis

nee dominae pectus talia damna movent : bis senos l puerum numerantem perdidit annos,

mentula cui nondum sesquipedalis erat. 10

XV

Quis puer hie nitidis absistit lanthidos undis ?

effugit dominam Naida numquid Hylas ? o bene quod silva colitur Tirynthius ista

et quod amatrices tarn prope servat aquas !

1 senos Heins. , denos codd.

1 cf. iv. Ixii. The sulphurous exhalations of the springs at Tibur (cf. iv. iv. 2) were supposed to have the property of whitening things, especially ivory.

43


BOOK VII. xn-xv

are harmless : you know this well : I swear by the genius of mighty Fame, and the Castalian choir, and by your ears, which are to me as a great deity, O reader, who art free from ungentle envy.

XIII

HEARING that, under Tibur's suns, the ivory of an old tusk grows white, dusky Lycoris came to the hills of Hercules. What power high-set Tibur's air has ! In a short time she returned black ! l

XIV

AN unspeakable calamity has chanced to a girl of mine, Aulus : she has lost her plaything and her darling, not such a one as Lesbia, the mistress of tender Catullus, deplored when she was forlorn of her sparrow's roguish tricks, nor such as lanthis, sung of by my Stella, 2 wept for, whose black dove flits in Elysium. My love is not taken by trifles, nor by such passions as that ; nor do such losses move my mistress' heart : she has lost a boy just counting twice six years, whose parts were not as yet Gar- gantuan !

XV

WHAT boy is this who stands apart from lanthis' sparkling fount ? Is it Hylas, 3 who shuns the Naiad, its mistress ? Oh, well that he of Tiryns 4 is wor- shipped in that grove, and that so nigh he watches

2 L. Arruntius Stella, a poet, and the friend of M. : cf. v. xi. 3 ; i. vii. 4, His wife was Violentilla (lanthis), whose dove S. sang of : cf. I. vii.

3 The companion of Hercules. He was drawn under the water by an enamoured nymph : cf. v. xlviii. 5 ; ix. Ixv. 14.

4 Hercules.

431


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

securus licet hos fontes, Argynne, ministres : 5

nil facient Nymphae : ne velit ipse cave.

XVI

AERA domi non sunt, superest hoc, Regule, solum ut tua vendamus muriera : numquid emis ?

XVII

RURIS bybliotheca delicati,

vicinam videt unde lector urbem,

inter carmina sanctiora si quis

lascivae fuerit locus Thaliae,

hos nido licet inseras vel imo, 5

septem quos tibi misimus libellos

auctoris calamo sui notatos :

haec illis pretium facit litura.

at tu munere, delicata, 1 parvo

quae cantaberis orbe iiota toto, 10

pignus pectoris hoc mei tuere,

luli bybliotheca Martialis.

XVIII

CUM tibi sit facies de qua nee femina possit

dicere, cum corpus nulla litura notet, cur te tarn rarus cupiat repetatque fututor

miraris ? vitium est non leve, Galla, tibi.

1 ddicata y ; interpunctionem correxit Munro ; dedicala 0.

1 The epigram is on a statue of a boy running (probably one of Stella's slaves), placed beside a fountain, perhaps in Stella's garden (cf. vi. xlvii.), and named after Argynnus,

432


BOOK VII. XV-XVHI

the amorous waters ! Secure thou, Argynnus, mayst tend this fount : the nymphs will do thee no harm ; but ware the god himself! l

XVI

I HAVE not a copper at home ; this one thing alone remains, Regulus, to sell your presents : are you a buyer ?

XVII

O LIBRARY of a dainty country house, from which a reader surveys the City close at hand, if, amid poems more reverend, there shall be a place for wanton Thalia, thou mayst put in a niche, though it be the lowest one, these seven little books which I have sent thee, scored by their author's pen : such correc- tion gives them value ! But do thou, 2 dainty one, that, because of my small gift, shall be sung and known throughout the world, protect this pledge of my heart's love, O library of Julius Martialis !


XVIII

ALTHOUGH you have a face which not even a woman could criticise, although no blemish marks your body, do you wonder why it is so rarely a gallant desires you and seeks you a second time ? You have a defect, Galla, and no light one. Ogni

the favourite of Agamemnon. M. means that Hercules will protect Argynnus from the nymphs of the fountain, but that he will be in danger of being carried off by Hercules himself. 2 Or, without Munro's punctuation, "thou, who, because of my gift, shall be sung of as dainty."

433 VOL. I. F F


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

access! quotiens ad opus mixtisque movemur 5

inguinibus, cunnus non tacet, ipsa taces. di facerent ut tu loquereris et ille taceret :

offender cunni garrulitate tui. pedere te mallem : namque hoc nee inutile dicit

Symmachus et risum res movet ista siniul. 10

quis rid ere potest fatui poppysmata cunni ?

cum sonat hie, cui non mentula mensque cadit ? die aliquid saltern clamosoque obstrepe cunno

et, si adeo muta es, disce vel inde loqui.


XIX

FRAGMENTUM quod vile putas et inutile lignum, haec fuit ignoti prima carina maris.

quam nee Cyaneae quondam potuere ruinae frangere nee Scythici tristior ira freti,

saecula vicerunt : sed quamvis cesserit annis, sanctior est salva parva tabella rate.


XX

NIHIL est miserius neque gulosius Santra.

rectam vocatus cum cucurrit ad cenam,

quam tot diebus noctibusque captavit,

ter poscit apri glandulas, quater lumbum,

et utramque coxam leporis et duos armos, 5

nee erubescit peierare de turdo

et ostreorum rapere lividos cirros.

buccis placentae ] sordidam Unit mappam ;

1 Buccis placentae Scriver. ; buccis plangentcm & ; dulcis placenta y.

434


BOOK VII. xvm-xx

volta che venni teco alle prese, e nei mischiati pia- ceri s'aggitiamo coi lumbi, tu taci, e '1 tuo c o chiazza. Volessero gli del che tu parlassi ed esso tacesse : io sono nauseate dalla chiacchiera del tuo c o. Amerei meglio che tu petassi : imperocche Simaco dice che ci6 e giovevole, e nel tempo stesso muove il riso. Chi pu6 ridere ai poppismi d'un fatuo c o ? quando questo romba, a cui non cade la men- tola e la mente ? Di almeno qualche cosa, o serra il susurroso tuo c o : e se non sei affatto mutola, impara indi a parlare.

XIX

THE fragment thou regardest as cheap and useless wood, this was the first keel to stem the unknown sea. That which the clash of the Azure rocks l could not shatter of old, nor the wrath, more dread, of Scythia's ocean, ages have subdued : yet, however much it has submitted to time, more sacred is this small plank than the vessel unscathed.

XX

No miserliness or gluttony is equal to Santra's. When he has been invited and has hurried off to the grand dinner which he has for so many nights and days fished for, he asks thrice for kernels of boar, four times for the loin, and for each leg of a hare, and both wings ; nor does he blush to tell lies about a fieldfare, and to snatch the discoloured beards of oysters. With mouthfuls of cake he stains his soiled

1 Two rocks at the mouth of the Bosphorus, supposed to float and collide. They were, according to legend, discovered by the Argonauts. Perhaps the legend represents early experiences of icebergs.

435 F F 2


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

illic et uvae conlocantur ollares

et Punicorum pauca grana malorum 10

et excavatae pellis indecens volvae

et lippa ficus debilisque boletus.

sed mappa cum iam mille rumpitur furtis,

rosos tepenti spondylos sinu condit

et devorato capite turturem truncum. 15

colligere longa turpe nee putat dextra

analecta quidquid et canes reliquerunt.

nee esculenta sufficit gulae praeda :

mixto lagonam replet ad pedes vino.

haec per ducentas cum domum tulit scalas 20

seque obserata clusit anxius cella

gulosus ille, postero die vendit.


XXI

HAEC est ilia dies, quae magni conscia partus Lucanum populis et tibi, Polla, dedit.

heu ! Nero crudelis nullaque invisior umbra, debuit hoc saltern non licuisse tibi.


XXII

VATIS Apollinei magno memorabilis ortu lux redit : Aonidum turba, favete sacris.

haec meruit, cum te erris, Lucane, dedisset, mixtus Castaliae Baetis ut esset aquae.

1 i.e. a sow's matrix, a favourite dish : cf. Hor. Ep. I. xv. 41. It was stuffed with appetising herbs and condiments : cf. Athen. iii. 58, 59 ; which in this instance had already been eaten. Excavatae, may be however = ejectitiae, a matrix from

43 6


BOOK VII. xx-xxn

napkin ; there too are packed preserved grapes, and a few grains of pomegranate, and the unsightly skin of a scooped out haggis, 1 and an oozing fig, and a flabby mushroom. And when his napkin is already bursting under his thousand thefts, he secretes in the reeking folds of his gown gnawed vertebrae, and a turtle-dove shorn of its head already gobbled up. Nor does he think it disgraceful to pick up with a long arm whatever the sweeper and the dogs have left. Nor are eatables sufficient loot for him : he fills behind his back a flagon with the wine and water. When that greedy fellow has carried these things home up two hundred stairs, and anxiously shut himself in his locked garret, the next day he sells the lot !

XXI

THIS is that day which, conscious of a great birth, gave Lucan to the nations and, Polla, 2 to thee. Ah, Nero ! cruel, and for no death more hateful ! this deed at least should not have been permitted thee !

XXII

MADE glorious by the mighty birth of Apollo's bard, the day returns : ye Aonian throng, 3 look kindly on these rites ! These it earned, when it had given thee, Lucan, to the earth, that Baetis 4 might be mingled with the water of Castalia.

which the fetus has been removed before birth : cf. Plin. N.H. xi. 84.

2 Folia Argentaria, the widow of the poet Lucan. She was a patron of M. : cf. X. Ixiv. 1. * The Muses.

4 Lucan was born at Cordova on the Baetis (Guadalquiver).

437


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

XXIII

PHOEBE, veni, sed quantus eras cum bella tonanti ipse dares Latiae plectra secunda lyrae.

quid tanta pro luce precer ? tu, Polla, maritum saepe colas et se sentiat ille coli.


XXIV

CUM luvenale meo quae me committere temptas,

quid non audebis, perfida lingua, loqui ? te fingente nefas Pyladen odisset Orestes,

Thesea Pirithoi destituisset amor, tu Siculos fratres et maius nomen Atridas 5

et Ledae poteras dissociare genus, hoc tibi pro mentis et talibus inprecor ausis,

ut facias illud quod, puto, lingua, facis.

XXV

DULCIA cum tantum scribas epigrammata semper

et cerussata candidiora cute, nullaque mica salis nee amari fellis in illis

gutta sit, o demens, vis tamen ilia legi ! nee cibus ipse iuvat morsu fraudatus aceti, 5

nee grata est facies cui gelasinus abest. infanti melimela dato fatuasque mariscas :

nam mihi, quae novit pungere, Chia sapit.

1 " Inspire me now as thon didst inspire Lucan, the second poet after Virgil, when he sang of the civil war between Pompey and Caesar."

438


BOOK VII. xxm-xxv


XXIII

PHOEBUS, come thou, but in thy might, as thou wert when to him who thundered of war thou gavest with thy own hand the second quill of the Latin lyre. 1 What should be my prayer for a day so great ? Mayst thou, Polla, long revere thy spouse, and may he himself feel that he is revered !

XXIV

THOU that essayest to embroil me with my Juvenal, what wilt not thou, perfidious tongue, dare to say ? At thy imagining of wrong Orestes would have hated Pylades, Peirithous' love would have left Theseus lorn : thou couldst have parted the Sicilian brothers, 2 and a greater name the sons of Atreus, and Leda's generation. 3 This is my curse on thee for thy de- serts and for attempts so shameless : that thou mayst do that which, O tongue, I wot thou doest !

XXV

ALTHOUGH you continually write epigrams that are merely sweet, and more immaculate than a white- enamelled skin, and no grain of salt, nor drop of bitter gall is in them, yet, O madman ! you wish them to be read ! Not food itself is pleasant robbed of biting vinegar, nor is a face winning when no dimple is there. To an infant give honey-apples and insipid figs : for me the Chian fig with a tang has savour.

2 Amphinomus and Anapius, models of fraternal love and filial piety, who carried their parents from an eruption of Etna : Strabo, vi. 2. Claudian has a poem (De Piia Fra- tribus) on the subject. 3 Castor and Pollux,

439


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

XXVI

APOLLINAREM conveni meum, scazon,

et si vacabit (ne molestus accedas)

hoc qualecumque, cuius aliqua pars ipse est

dabis : hoc facetae * carmen inbuant aures.

si te receptum fronte videris tota, 5

noto rogabis ut favore sustentet.

quanto mearum, scis, amore nugarum

flagret : nee ipse plus amare te possum.

contra malignos esse si cupis tutus,

Apollinarem conveni rneum, scazon. 10


XXVII

TUSCAE glandis aper populator et ilice multa

iam piger, Aetolae fama secunda ferae, quern meus intravit splendenti cuspide Dexter,

praeda iacet nostris invidiosa focis. pinguescant madido laeti nidore penates 5

flagret et exciso festa culina iugo. sed cocus ingentem piperis consumet acervum,

addet et arcano mixta Falerna garo. ad dominum redeas, noster te non capit ignis,

conturbator aper : vilius esurio. 10


XXVIII

Sic Tiburtinae crescat tibi silva Dianae et properet caesum saepe redire nemus,

1 hoc 5-, haec codd.; facetae Gronov.,facetum codd. 440


BOOK VII. xxvi-xxvm

XXVI

SALUTE my Apolliiiaris, halting verse, 1 and if he be at leisure do not approach him unseasonably you will give him this, whate'er its worth, in which he too has some part : may cultivated ears be first to hear this verse ! If you see yourself welcomed by an un- ruffled brow, you will ask him to support you with his well-known favour. With what great love for my trifles he burns you know ; not even I myself can love you more. If against malice you wish to be safe, salute my Apollinaris, halting verse !


XXVII

THE ravager of Tuscan mast, now fat with many an acorn, second in renown to the Aetolian beast, 2 a boar which my Dexter pierced with his gleaming spear, lies here, a booty abhorrent to my hearth. Let my household gods joyously grow fat the steaming reek, and my festal kitchen blaze with felling of a hill top. But ah ! the cook will consume a huge heap of pepper, and add Falernian mixed with his treasured fish-sauce. Go back to your owner my fire is too small for you, O boar that would bankrupt me ! 'tis less ruinous to starve.


XXVIII

So may Diana's wood at Tibur burgeon for you, and the grove, oft lopped, be quick to grow anew ;

1 cf. i. xcvi. 1.

2 The boar slain by Meleager : cf. Lib. Spect. xv. 1.

441


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

nee Tartesiacis Pallas tua, Fusee, trapetis

cedat et inmodici dent bona musta lacus ; sic fora mirentur, sic te Palatia laudent, 5

excolat et geminas plurima palma fores : otia dum medius praestat tibi parva December,

exige, sed certa, quos legis, aure iocos. " Scire libet verum ? res est haec ardua." sed tu

quod tibi vis dici dicere, Fusee, potes. 10

XXIX

THESTYLE, Victoris tormentum dulce Voconi,

quo nemo est toto notior orbe puer, sic etiam positis formosus amere capillis

et placeat vati nulla puella tuo : paulisper domini doctos sepone libellos, 5

carmina Victori dum lego parva tuo. et Maecenati, Maro cum cantaret Alexin,

nota tamen Marsi fusca Melaenis erat.

XXX

DAS Parthis, das Germanis, das, Caelia, Dacis,

nee Cilicum spernis Cappadocumque toros ; et tibf de Pharia Memphiticus urbe fututor

navigat, a rubris et niger Indus aquis ; nee recutitorum fugis inguina ludaeorum, 5

nee te Sarmatico transit Alarms equo. qua ratione facis, cum sis Romana puella,

quod Romana tibi mentula nulla placet ?

1 Now Tarifa, in Spain.

2 i.e. the law courts. They were at this time three, the F. Romanum, F. Caesaris, and F. Augusti.

3 Palms were affixed to the doors of advocates after success in court : Juv. vii. 117.

4 i.e. the plain truth.

442


BOOK VII. xxvin-xxx

and your olive, Fuscus, yield not to presses of Tar- tessus, 1 and your overflowing vats give you goodly must ; so may the forums 2 admire you, so may the Palace praise you, and many a palm deck your fold- ing doors 8 while mid December secures you some small leisure, examine, and with unfailing ear, the jests you read, "Do you wish to learn the truth? that is a hard matter." But you can say to me, Fuscus, what* you wish said to you.

XXIX

THESTYLUS, the dear torment of Voconius Victor, O boy better known 5 than any in all the world, so may you, even now with your shorn locks, be beau- tiful and dear, and no maiden be pleasing to your bard lay aside awhile your master's learned books while I read some small verses to your Victor. Even to Maecenas, although Maro was singing of Alexis, still was Marsus' dusk Melaenis 6 known.

XXX

You grant your favours to Parthians, you grant them to Germans, you grant them, Caelia, to Dacians, and you do not spurn the couch of Cilicians and Cappadocians ; and for you from his Egyptian city comes sailing the gallant of Memphis, and the black Indian from the Red Sea; nor do you shun the lecheries of circumcised Jews, and the Alan on his Sarmatian steed does not pass you by. What is your reason that, although you are a Roman girl, no Roman lewdness has attraction for you ?

5 Because you are sung of in his poems (docti libelli) ; cf. vati in 1. 4.

6 On whom Marsus had written a poem. He was a younger contemporary of Horace, and wrote elegies, and epigrams, and an epic poem called Amazonis : cf. I. Epist. 12 ; iv. xxix. 8.

443


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

XXXI

RAUCAE chortis aves et ova matrum

et flavas medio vapore Chias

et fetum querulae rudem capellae

nee iam frigoribus pares olivas

et canum gelidis hoi us pruinis 5

de nostro tibi missa rure credis ?

o quam, Regale, diligenter erras !

nil nostri, nisi me, ferunt agelli.

quidquid vilicus Umber aut colonus

aut rus marmore tertio notatum 10

aut Tusci tibi Tusculive mittunt,

id tota mihi iiascitur Subura.


XXXII

ATTICE, facundae renovas qui nomina gentis

nee sinis ingentem conticuisse domum, te pia Cecropiae comitatur turba Minervae,

te secreta quies, te sophos omnis amat. at iuvenes alios fracta colit aure magister 5

et rapit inmeritas sordidus unctor opes, non pila, non follis, non te paganica thermis

praeparat aut nudi stipitis ictus hebes, vara nee in lento ceromate bracchia tendis,

non harpasta vagus pulverulenta rapis, 10

1 Frost-bitten. M. depreciates what he sends, lest R. should think him a rich man.

2 i.e. M. has to buy in the market ; cf. x. xciv. 5.

444


BOOK VII. xxxi-xxxn

XXXI

BIRDS of the cackling farmyard, and eggs of mother hens, and Chian figs yellow from insufficient heat, and the young offspring of the bleating she-goat, and olives unable now to stand the cold, 1 and cabbages whitened by chill hoar frosts do you believe these were sent you from my country-place ? Oh, how carefully wrong, Regulus, you are ! My small fields bear nothing but me. Whatever your Umbrian bailiff, or tenant sends you, or your country-house marked by the third milestone, or your lands in Etruria or at Tusculum, this for me is produced all over the Subura. 2


XXXII

ATTICUS, who make live anew the names of an elo- quent race, and suffer a mighty house to continue mute, on you the pious votaries of Cecropian Minerva attend, you cloistered leisure, you every philosopher holds dear. But other young men the boxing-master with his battered ear courts, and the dirty anointer makes off with wealth undeserved. No hand-ball, no bladder-ball, no feather-stuffed ball 3 makes you ready for the warm bath, nor the blunted stroke upon the unarmed stump ; 4 nor do you stretch forth squared arms besmeared with sticky ointment, nor, darting to and fro, snatch the dusty scrimmage-ball,

3 As to these, cj. iv. xix. 5 ; xiv. xlv.-xlviii.

4 The post (palus) on which sword-strokes with a blunted sword were practised : Juv. vi. 247. This was also done as exercise before the bath.

445


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

sed curris niveas tantum prope Virginis undas

aut ubi Sidonio taurus amore calet. per varias artes, omnis quibus area servit,

ludere, cum liceat currere, pigritia est.

XXXIII

SORDIDIOR caeno cum sit toga, calceus autem

candidior prima sit tibi, Cinna, nive : deiecto quid., inepte, pedes perfundis amictu ?

collige, Cinna, togam ; calceus ecce perit.

XXXIV

Quo possit fieri modo, Severe,

ut vir pessimus omnium Charinus

unam rem bene fecerit, requiris ?

dicam, sed cito. quid Nerone peius ?

quid thermis melius Neronianis ? 5

non dest protinus, ecce, de malignis

qui sic rancidulo loquatur ore :

" Quid tu tot domini deique nostri

praefers muneribus ? " l Neronianas

thermas praefero balneis cinaedi. 10

XXXV

INGUINA succinctus nigra tibi servos aluta stat, quotiens calidis tota foveris aquis.

sed meus, ut de me taceam, Laecania, servos ludaeum nuda sub cute pondus habet,


tu tot Housman, quid te tot , ut quid tu X V ; interpunxit post muneribus Housman, who explains that the maiignus wrests 1. 5 into an insnlt to Domitian. " No," says M., "I only said I prefer N. 'swarm baths to those of a cinaedus," thus keeping the description of the vir pessimus to the last word.

446


BOOK VII. xxxn-xxxv

but you run only by the clear Virgin water, 1 or where the Bull warms with passion for his Sidonian love. 2 To trifle in the various sports to which every open space is devoted, when one can run, is sloth.

XXXIII

As your toga is dirtier than mud, whereas your shoe, Cinna, is whiter than untrodden snow, why do you, foolish man, overspread your feet with your draggling garb ? Gather up your toga, Cinna ; see, your shoe is being spoilt. 3

XXXIV

How does it possibly come, Severus, that Charinus, the worst rascal in the world, did one thing well ? Do you ask ? I will tell you, and briefly. What was worse than Nero ? What is better than Nero's warm baths ? See, at once some one of the malicious crowd is ready to say in sour tones : " What do you set above the many structures erected by our Master and God?" I set Nero's warm baths above the baths of a pathic.

XXXV

Un- servo, cinto le pudende con un nero cuojo, attende a te ogni volta che tutta t'immergi nelle calde acque. Ma il mio servo, senza parlare di me, ha il giudaico peso sott'un nudo cuojo ; ma ed i

1 The Aqua Virgo. Here perhaps was a running ground, as there was in the Port. Eur. : cf. n. xiv. 4.

2 In the Porticua Europae : cf. n. xiv. 3 ; in. xx. 12.

3 M. means that C. prefers white shoes to a white toga, and yet allows the one to soil the other.

447


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

sed nudi tecum iuvenesque senesque lavantur. I

an sola est servi mentula vera tui ? ecquid femineos sequeris, matrona, recessus,

secretusque tua, cunne, lavaris aqua ?

XXXVI

CUM pluvias madidumque lovem perferre negaret

et rudis hibernis villa nataret aquis, plurima, quae posset subitos effundere nimbos,

muneribus venit tegula missa tuis. horridus, ecce, sonat Boreae stridore December : i

Stella, tegis villam, non tegis agricolam.

XXXVII

NOSTI mortiferum quaestoris, Castrice, signum ?

est operae pretium discere theta novum : exprimeret quotiens rorantem frigore nasum,

letalem iuguli iusserat esse notam. turpis ab inviso pendebat stiria naso, B

cum flaret media fauce December atrox : collegae tenuere manus : quid plura requiris ?

emungi misero, Castrice, non licuit.

XXXVIII

TANTUS es et talis nostri, Polypheme, Severi

ut te mirari possit et ipse Cyclops, sed nee Scylla minor, quod si fera monstra duorum

iunxeris, alterius fiet uterque timor.

448


BOOK VII. xxxv-xxxvm

giovani, ed i vecchi si lavano nudi teco. La mentola del tuo servo e solamente la vera ? O matrona, siegui tu i feminei recessi, e ti lavi tu di nascosto O c o, nella tua acqua ?

XXXVI

WHEN my rough country-house was refusing to en- dure any longer the rain and drenching sky, and was swimming in a winter deluge, many a tile, to carry off sudden storms, reached me by your bounty. See, rough December roars with the North wind's thunder ! Stella, you cover the farm, you don't clothe the farmer !

XXXVII

Do you know, Castricus, the quaestor's signal for death ? It is worth while to learn this new kind of death-warrant : he had given orders that, every time he blew his nose dripping with the cold, that should be the fatal sign of execution. An unsightly icicle was hanging from his hateful nose, when wild December was blowing a blast from the depths of its throat : his colleagues held his hands : what more do you ask ? The unhappy man, Castricus, was not allowed to blow his nose !

XXXVIII

So huge and so ugly are you, Polyphemus, slave of my Severus, that even the Cyclops himself might wonder at you. And Scylla is no smaller. Now, if you marry the two wild monstrosities, each will become the other's bogey !


o a


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

XXXIX

DISCURSUS varies vagumque mane

et fastus et have potentiorum

cum perferre patique iam negaret,

coepit fingere Caelius podagram.

quam dum volt nimis adprobare veram 5

et sanas linit obligatque plantas

inceditque gradu laborioso,

(quantum cura potest et ars doloris !)

desit fingere Caelius podagram.

XL

Hie iacet ille senex Augusta notus in aula,

pectore non humili passus utrumque deum ; natorum pietas sanctis quem coniugis umbris

miscuit : Elysium possidet ambo nemus. occidit ilia prior viridi fraudata iuventa : 5

hie prope ter senas vixit Olympiadas. sed festinatis raptum tibi credidit annis,

aspexit lacrimas quisquis, Etrusce, tuas.

XLI

COSMICOS esse tibi, Semproni Tucca, videris. cosmica, Semproni, tarn mala quam bona sunt.

XLII

MUNERIBUS cupiat si quis contendere tecum, audeat hie etiam, Castrice, carminibus.

1 i.e. pleased or angry. As to Claudius Etruscus, see Stat. Sylv. iii. 3. He had been banished and recalled by Domitiau : cf. vi. Ixxxiii.

2 Periods of five years, as generally in M. : cf. iv. xlv. 4.

45


BOOK VII. xxxix-xLii

XXXIX

WHEN he refused any longer to endure and put up with the various gaddings about, and the devious morning calls, and the pride and salutations of wealthy patrons, Caelius set up the pretence of gout. And while he was anxious to prove it was quite genuine, and plastered and swathed his sound feet, and got along with a labouring gait, Caelius what potency has the exercise and cultivation of illness ! has ceased to pretend gout !

XL

HERE lies that aged sire, famed in the Augustan hall as bearing with no abject soul our God in either mood ; l his sons' love has joined him to his wife's hallowed shade : Elysium's grove holds them both. She died the first, robbed of her fresh youth ; he lived well-nigh thrice six Olympiads. 2 Yet whoever has seen thy tears, Etruscus, accounts him snatched away from thee too swiftly.

XLI

THE very quintessence of Cosmus' shop you fancy yourself, Sempronius Tucca. Of Cosmus' essences, 3 Sempronius, as many are bad as good. 4

XLII

IP any one wish to vie with you in gifts, let him venture, Castricus, in poetry too. I am poorly

3 Another, but less likely, interpretation is to take cos- micnx as = man of the world, and cosmica as = worldly things.

4 cf. in. Iv. 1 ; I. Ixxxvii. 2.

451


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

nos tenues in utroque sumus vincique parati :

inde sopor nobis et placet alta quies. tarn mala cur igitur dederim tibi carmina, quaeris ? 5

Alcinoo nullum poma dedisse putas ?

XLin

PRIMUM est ut praestes, si quid te, Cinna, rogabo ;

illud deinde sequens ut cito, Cinna, neges. diligo praestantem ; non odi, Cinna, negantem :

sed tu nee praestas nee cito, Cinna, negas.

XLIV

MAXIMUS ille tuus, Ovidi, Caesonius hie est,

cuius adhuc vultum vivida cera tenet, hunc Nero damnavit ; sed tu damnare Neronem

ausus es et profugi, non tua, fata sequi : aequora per Scyllae magnus comes exulis isti, 5

qui modo nolueras consulis ire comes, si victura meis mandantur nomina chartis

et fas est cineri me superesse meo, audiet hoc praesens venturaque turba fuisse

illi te, Senecae quod fuit ille suo. 10


XLV

FACUNDI Senecae potens amicus, caro proxinius aut prior Sereno,


1 i.e. carried coals to Newcastle. Alcinous, the mythical king of Phaeacia, was celebrated for his orchards : cf. x. xciv. 2.

452


BOOK VII. XLII-XLV

furnished in both, and prepared to be surpassed ; hence repose and unbroken quiet are my delight. Why then, you ask, did I send you such bad poems ? Think you no man has given apples to Alcinous P 1

XLIII

THE first thing is that you should hand it over if I ask anything of you, Cinna ; the next thing after that, Cinna, is that you should refuse quickly. I like a man who hands over ; I do not hate, Cinna, a man who refuses ; but you neither hand over, nor do you, Cinna, quickly refuse.

XLIV

HERE, Ovidius, 2 is your Maximus Caesonius, whose lineaments the living wax still preserves. He it was Nero condemned ; but you dared to condemn Nero, and to follow the fortunes of a banished man, not your own : over Scylla's seas you went, that exile's high-souled comrade, you who had lately refused to be comrade of a consul. If those names shall live which are entrusted to my pages, and if it may be that I survive my own ashes, this shall the men of to-day and of to-morrow hear, that you were to him all that he was to his Seneca. 3

XLV

THE powerful friend of the eloquent Seneca, counted next to his dear Serenus, or dearer still,

2 Quintus Ovidius, M.'s friend and neighbour at Nomen- tum : cf. vn. xciii. 3 ; x. xliv.

3 Caesonius had followed Seneca into exile when he had been banished by the Emperor Claudius.

453


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

hie est Maximus ille, quern frequenti

felix littera pagina salutat.

hunc tu per Siculas secutus undas, 5

o nullis Ovidi tacende linguis,

sprevisti domini furentis iras.

miretur Pyladen suum vetustas,

haesit qui comes exuli parentis.

quis discrimina conparet duorum ? 10

haesisti comes exuli Neronis.

XLVI

COMMENDARE tuum dum vis mihi carmine munus

Maeonioque cupis doctius ore loqui, excrucias multis pariter me teque diebus,

et tua de nostro, Prisce, Thalia tacet. divitibus poteris musas elegosque sonantes 5

mittere : pauperibus munera ?rea 1 dato.

XLVII

DOCTOR UM Licini celeberrime Sura virorum,

cuius prisca gravis lingua reduxit avos, redderis (heu, quanto fatorum munere !) nobis

gustata Lethes paene remissus aqua, perdiderant iam vota metum securaque flebat 5

ftristitia 2 et lacrimisf iamque peractus eras : non tulit invidiam taciti regnator Averni

et raptas Fatis reddidit ipse colus. scis igitur quantas hominum mors falsa querellas

moverit et frueris posteritate tua. 10

1 iTf^d Palmer, pexa ft, plena, y.

2 flebant. tristitia Postgate, tristities Housman.

1 The S of salutem (greeting). These letters of Seneca are unknown.

454


BOOK VII. XLV-XLVII

that Maximus is here, whom in many a page the happy letter * greets. This is he whom you no tongue, Ovidius, but should speak your name ! followed over Sicilian waters, spurning the wrath of an infuriate despot. Let hoary time admire its Pylades, who as comrade clung to one 2 whom his parent banished. Who could compare the perils of the two ? You, as comrade, clung to one banished by Nero !

XLVI

WHILE you are wishing to recommend your present to me by a poem, and are anxious to speak more skilfully than Homeric lips, you rack both me and yourself alike for many days, and your Thalia, 3 Priscus, at my expense is dumb. You can send to rich men verses and sounding elegies : to poor men send prosaic gifts.

XLVII

MOST famed of learned men, Licinius Sura, whose old world tongue recalled our grave grandsires, thou art restored to us ah, by how great a boon of Fate ! sent back when thou hadst well-nigh tasted Lethe's wave. Already had our prayers lost their fear ; and sadness wept in calm despair, and to our tears thou wert already sped : the reproach the Lord of silent Avernus could not bear, and himself gave back their ravished distaff to the Fates. Wherefore thou knowest what plaints of men thy false death stirred, and dost enjoy

2 Orestes, banished by Clytemnestra after the murder of Agamemnon : Aeseh. Cho. 912.

3 The Muse of epigram : </. iv. viii. 12. P. was apparently a poet.

455


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

vive velut rapto fugitivaque gaudia carpe : perdiderit nullum vita reversa diem.

XLVIII

CUM mensas habeat fere trecentas, pro mensis habet Annius ministros : transcurrunt gabatae volantque lances, has vobis epulas habete, lauti : nos offendimur ambulante cena.

XLIX

PARVA suburbani munuscula mittimus horti : faucibus ova tuis, poma, Severe, gulae.


FONS dominae, regina loci quo gaudet lanthis,

gloria conspicuae deliciumque domus, cum tua tot niveis ornetur ripa ministris

et Ganymedeo luceat unda choro, quid facit Alcides silva sacratus in ista? 5

tarn vicina tibi cur tenet antra deus ? numquid Nympharum notos observat amores,

tarn multi pariter ne rapiantur Hylae ?

LI

MERCARI nostras si te piget, Urbice, nugas et lasciva tamen carmina nosse libet,

1 i.e. thy own after-fame. * Ravished from death.

3 A custom had arisen of handing the dishes round instead of placing them on the table. M. complains that they are handed round so quickly that the guest had no time to eat.

456


BOOK VII. XLVII-LI

succession to thyself. 1 Live thy life as it were spoil, 2 and pluck the joys that fly : life brought back should lose no day.

XL VIII

ALTHOUGH Annius has almost three hundred tables, he has servants instead of tables : the platters scud across and the dishes flit. 3 Keep such banquets to yourselves, you epicures ! We are annoyed by a peripatetic dinner.

XLIX

I SEND you these small offerings of my suburban garden, eggs for your hunger, Severus, apples for your palate.

L

FOUNT of thy mistress, in which lanthis, 4 queen of the spot, delights, glory and delight of a splendid house, when thy marge is decked with so many snow-white slaves and thy lucent wave reflects a band of Ganymedes, 5 what means Alcides consecrate in yonder grove ? Why holds the God a grot so near to thee ? Keeps he guard over the Nymphs, known wantons, lest so many Hylases be rapt away together ? 6

LI

IF you shrink from buying my trifles, Urbicus, and yet would be acquainted with my wanton verses,

4 The wife of M.'s friend Stella. As to the fountain, cf. vi. xlvii.

5 The fount appears to have been surrounded by marble statues of slaves as cupboarers. 6 cf. VH. xv. 6.

457


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

Pompeium quaeres, et nosti forsitan, Auctum :

Ultoris prima Martis in aede sedet iure madens varioque togae limatus in usu. 5

non lector metis hie, Urbice, sed liber est. sic tenet absentes nostros cantatque libellos

ut pereat chartis littera nulla meis : denique, si vellet, poterat scripsisse videri ;

sed famae mavult ille favere meae. 10

hunc licet a decuma (neque enim satis ante vacabit)

sollicites, capiet cenula parva duos, ille leget, bibe tu ; nolis licet, ille sonabit :

et cum " lam satis est" dixeris, ille leget.

LII

GRATUM est quod Celeri nostros legis, Aucte, libellos, si tamen et Celerem quod legis, Aucte, iuvat.

ille meas gentes et Celtas rexit Hiberos, nee fuit in nostro certior orbe fides.

maior me tanto reverentia turbat, et aures 5

non auditoris, iudicis esse puto.

LIII OMNIA misisti mihi Saturnalibus, Umber,

munera, contulerant quae tibi quinque dies : bis senos triplices et dentiscalpia septem ;

his comes accessit spongea mappa calix semodiusque fabae cum vimine Picenarum 5

et Laletanae nigra lagona sapae ; 458


BOOK VII. LI-LIU

you will seek out and perhaps you know him Pomponius Auctus : he sits at the entrance of Aveng- ing Mars, steeped in law, and versed in the many- sided practice of the gown. He is not a reader of my books, Urbicus, but himself the book. He so remembers my poems, though they are not before him, and declaims them, that not a letter is lost from my pages ; in fine, he might, if he chose, have been counted their author ; but he chooses rather to support my fame. After the tenth hour for he will not be fully at leisure before you may solicit him : a small dinner will do for two ; he will read : do you drink ; although you may not wish it, he will mouth my verses ; and when you have said " Hold ! enough ! " he will go on reading.

LII

I AM gratified that you read my poems to Celer, Auctus x if, that is, what you read, Auctus, pleases Celer too. He was Governor over my native tribes and Celtiberians, and in that world of mine was no man of honour more sure. Therefore greater awe confounds me ; and I deem his ears not those of a hearer, but of a judge.

LIII

You have sent me at the Saturnalia, Umber, all the presents the five days have contributed for you, twice six three-leaved tablets, and seven toothpicks ; these a sponge, a napkin, and a cup accompanied, and a half-peck of beans, together with a wicker crate of Picenian olives, and a black flagon of

1 The Auctus of the preceding epigram.

459


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

parvaque cum canis venerunt cottana prunis

et Libycae fici pond ere testa gravis. vix puto triginta nummorum tota fuisse

munera, quae grandes octo tulere Syri. 10

quanto commodius iiullo mihi ferre labore

argenti potuit pondera quinque puer !

LIV

SEMPER mane mihi de me mera somnia narras,

quae moveant animum sollicitentque meum. iam prior ad faecem, sed et haec vindemia, venit,

exorat noctes dum mihi saga tuas ; consumpsi salsasque molas et turis acervos ; 5

decrevere greges, dum cadit agna frequens ; non porcus, non chortis aves, non ova supersunt.

aut vigila aut dormi, Nasidiane, tibi.

LV

NULLI munera, Chreste, si remittis,

nee nobis dederis remiserisque :

credam te satis esse liberalem.

sed si reddis Apicio Lupoque

et Gallo Titioque Caesioque, 5

linges non mihi (nam proba et pusilla est)

sed quae de Solymis venit perustis

damnatam modo mentulam tributis.

1 Really to sponge on M. : cf. xi. 1. 7.

2 All these were used in expiations. 460


BOOK VII. Liii-Lv

Laletanian must ; and there came some small Syrian figs, together with dried prunes, and a jar heavy with the weight of Libyan figs. I hardly think these presents in all were worth thirty sesterces, and yet eight hulking Syrians carried them ! How much more conveniently, with no labour, might a boy have brought five pounds of silver plate !

LIV

EVERLASTINGLY 011 a morning you relate to me dreams nothing but dreams about myself, to fret and harass my mind. 1 Already last year's vintage, aye, and this one too, has come to the dregs, while the wise woman is exorcising for me your nightly visions ; I have used up salt cakes, as well as heaps of frankincense ; my flocks have decreased by the frequent slaughter of a lamb ; no porker, no poultry-yard fowls, no eggs remain. 2 Either keep awake, Nasidienus, or dream about yourself!

LV

IP you give presents in return to no man, Chrestus, 3 give and return none to me either : I will believe you to be generous enough. But if you give them to Apicius, and Lupus, and Gallus and Titius and Caesius, you shall assault, not my person (for that is chaste and petty), but the one that comes from Solyma now consumed by fire, 4 and is lately condemned to tribute. 5

" cf. ix. xxviii.

4 Jerusalem, captured by Titus, and burned A.D. 70.

5 The Jews were subject to a tax : Suet. Dom. xii.

461


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

LVI

ASTRA polumque pie cepisti mente, Rabiri, Parrhasiam mira qui struis arte domain.

Phidiaco si digna lovi dare templa parabit, has petet a nostro Pisa Tonante manus.

LVII

CASTORA de Polluce Gabinia fecit Achillan : TTV dya0ds fuerat, nunc erit iTnr6Sa.fj.os.

LVIII

IAM sex aut septem nupsisti, Galla, cinaedis,

dum coma te nimium pexaque barba iuvat. deinde, experta latus madidoque simillima loro

inguina nee lassa stare coacta manu, deseris inbelles thalamos mollemque maritum, 5

rursus et in similes decidis usque toros. quaere aliquem Curios semper Fabiosque loquentem,

hirsutum et dura rusticitate trucem : invenies : sed habet tristis quoque turba cinaedos :

difficile est vero nubere, Galla, viro. 10

1 A reference to the domed roof of Domitian's palace, built \>y R. , his architect (cf. x. Ixxi.), and completed in A.D. 92.

- In Elis. " Phidian Jove" is the statue at Olympia of Zeus by Phidias.

3 i.e. she has made a pugilist a knight. The reference is

462


BOOK VII. LVI-I.VIII

LVI

HEAVKN with its stars you, Rabirius, have con- ceived in your pious soul, who by wondrous art build the mansion of the Palatine. 1 If Pisa - shall be set to give Phidian Jove a temple worthy of him, she will beg of our Thunderer these hands of yours.

LVII

GABINIA has made Achillas a Castor out of a Pollux. 3 Pyxagathos he has been : now he will be Hippodamus.

LVIII

ALREADY you have married six or seven paederasts, Galla ; long hair and a combed-out beard much attract you. Next, when you have tested their capacity, and their flaccid and used-up powei's, you desert weaponless encounters, and an effeminate husband, and yet again you continually fall back upon the same amours as before. Look out for some fellow who is always prating of the Curii and Fabii, 4 shaggy, and with a savage look of stubborn rusticity : you will discover him ; but even the grim tribe 5 has its paederasts : it is difficult, Galla, to marry a genuine man. 6

to Horn. II. iii. 237, where Pyxagathos (TTI/ ayuffos) is the epithet of Pollux, the boxer, and Hippodamus ('nrirdSanos) that of Castor, the horseman. There is probably an obscene jest here: cf. Shak., Henry V., in. vii. 47-49.

4 Types of ancient Roman virtues : cf. ix. xxviii. G.

5 i.e. of so-called philosophers : cf. ix. xxvii. and xlvii. ' cf. i. xxiv.

463


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL


LIX

NON cenat sine apro noster, Tite, Caecilianus. bellum convivam Caecilianus habet.


LX

TARPEIAE venerande rector aulae,

quern salvo duce credimus Tonantem,

cum votis sibi quisque te fatiget

et poscat dare quae del potestis :

nil pro me mihi, luppiter, petenti 5

ne stiscensueris velut superbo.

te pro Caesare debeo rogare :

pro me debeo Caesarem rogare.

LXI

ABSTULERAT totarn temerarius institor urbem

inque suo nullum limine limen erat. iussisti tenuis, Germanice, crescere vicos,

et modo quae fuerat semita, facta via est. nulla catenatis pila est praecincta lagonis 5

nee praetor medio cogitur ire Into, stringitur in densa nee caeca novacula turba,

occupat aut totas nigra popina vias. tonsor copo cocus lanius sua limina servant.

nunc Roma est, nuper magna taberna fuit. 10

LXII

RECI.USIS foribus grandes percidis, Amille, et te depreiidi, cum facis ista, cupis,

1 On which he dines alone, whereas a boar is meant for a party : cf. Juv. i. 140.

464


BOOK VII. LIX-LXII

LIX

OUR friend Caecilianus does not dine, Titus, without boar. 1 A fine guest Caecilianus has !

LX

RULER revered of the Tarpeian hall, 2 whom, while our Chief is safe, we believe art Thunderer, while each man wearies thee with prayers for himself, and claims gifts ye Gods can give, with me, who ask naught for myself, be not wroth, as if I were proud. Thee on behalf of Caesar ought I to sue : for myself it behoves me to sue Caesar.

LXI

THE audacious huckster had robbed us of all the City, and never a threshold kept within its own bounds. You have ordered, 3 Germanicus, our narrow streets to expand, and what was but now a track has become a road. No pillar 4 is girt with chained flagons, nor is the praetor forced to walk in the middle of the mud, nor is any razor rashly drawn in the midst of a dense crowd, nor does the grimy cook-shop monopolise the whole of the way. Barber, taverner, cook, butcher keep to their own thresholds. Now Rome exists : of late it was a huge shop.

LXII

O AMILLO, tu precidi colle porte aperte, e brami esser sorpreso quando fai queste cose, per tema

z Jupiter of the Capitol, where was the Tarpeian rock. 3 Domitian (Germanicus) in A. D. 92 by edict forbade stalls protruding into the street. 4 Of a wine-shop.

465

VOL. I. H H


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

ne quid liberti narrent servique paterni et niger obliqua garrulitate cliens.-

non pedicari se qui testatur, Amille, illud saepe facit quod sine teste facit.


LXIII

PERPETUI numquam moritura volumina Sili

qui legis et Latia carmina digna toga, Pierios tantum vati placuisse recessus

credis et Aoniae Bacchica serta coinae ? sacra coturnati non attigit ante Maronis 5

implevit magni quam Ciceronis opus : hunc miratur adhuc centum gravis hasta virorum,

hunc loquitur grato plurimus ore cliens. postquam bis senis ingentem fascibus annum

rexerat, adserto qui sacer orbe fuit, 10

emeritos Musis et Phoebo tradidit annos

proque suo celebrat nunc Helicona foro.


LXIV

Qu tonsor tota fueras notissimus urbe

et post hoc dominae munere factus eques,

Sicanias urbes Aetnaeaque regna petisti, Cinname, cum fugeres tristia iura fori.

qua nunc arte graves tolerabis inutilis annos ? 5

quid facit infelix et fugitiva quies ?

1 Teste ia ambiguous. It also means 6px^.

2 cf. iv. xiv. ' i.e. advocacy.

4 A spear set in the ground was the sign of the Centumviral Court.

466


BOOK VII. LXII-LXIV

che i liberti ed i servi di casa dicano qualche cosa, ed il cliente, periculoso per la sua chiacchiera maliziosa. O Amillo, colui che testifica non esser pedicato, fa sovente cio che fa senza testimonio. 1

LXIII

You who read the undying works of immortal Silius, 2 poems worthy of the Latin gown, think you the Muses' retreats only have delighted the bard, and Bacchic chaplets on poetic locks ? Buskined Maro's sacred art he essayed not ere he had wrought to the full great Cicero's work 3 ; the stately spear 4 of the Hundred Court admires him still, of him many a client speaks in grateful tone. When, with the twice six axes, he had ruled the mighty year hallowed by the freedom of the world regained, 5 his veteran years he gave in their turn to the Muses and to Phoebus, and, instead of his own forum, courts Helicon now.

LXIV

You, who had been in all the City the most noted barber, and were afterwards by your lady's bounty made a knight, took refuge in Sicilian cities and Etna's kingdoms, Cinnamus, avoiding the stern laws of the forum." By what art now will you, a useless creature, support the heavy years ? What does that unhappy and exiled leisure do ? Rhetorician,

5 He was consul in A.D. 68, the year of Nero's death.

6 She had given him his qualification of 400,000 sesterces.

7 Perhaps to avoid an enquiry into his qualification, or into his free birth.

467 H H 2


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

non rhetor, non grammaticus ludive magister, non Cynicus, non tu Stoicus esse poles,

vendere nee vocem Siculis plausumque theatris. quod superest, iterum, Cinname, tonsor eris. 10


LXV

Lis te bis decumae numerantem frigora brumae content una tribus, Gargiliane, foris.

a miser et demens ! viginti litigat annis quisquam cui vinci, Gargiliane, licet ?


LXVI

HEREDEM Fabius Labienum ex asse reliquit : plus meruisse tamen se Labienus ait.


LXVII

PEDICAT pueros tribas Philaenis

et tentigine saevior mariti

undenas dolat in die puellas.

harpasto quoque subligata ludit

et flavescit haphe, gravesque draucis 5

halteras facili rotat lacerto,

et putri lutulenta de palaestra

uncti verbere vapulat magistri :

nee cenat prius aut recumbit ante

quam septem vomuit meros deunces ; 10

ad quos fas sibi tune putat redire,

cum colophia sedecim comedit.

post haec omnia cum libidinatur,

468


BOOK VII. LXIV-LXVU

grammarian, or schoolmaster you cannot be, nor Cynic, nor yet Stoic, nor can you sell your shouts and applause to Sicilian theatres. What remains is this, Cinnamus, you will be a barber again.

LXV

A LAWSUIT while you are counting its twentieth cold winter, still wears you out, Gargilianus, a single suit in three Courts. Ah, unhappy man, and mad ! Does anyone go to law for twenty years, Gargilianus, who can give in ?

LXVI

FABIUS left Labienus heir to all his property. Yet Labienus asserts he deserved still more. 1

LXVII

LA tribade Filene pedica i ragazzi, e piu libidi- nosa nella prurigine che un marito, liscia in un giorno ondici ragazze. sbracciata giuoca anche all' arpasto, ed ingialisce pel tatto della polvere, e getta con robusto braccio palle di piombo 2 pesanti agli irsuti, e strofinata d'unguento della putre palestra, e sferzata colla verga del maestro che la ugne. Ne prima ella cena, o si mette a tavola, che non abbia vomitato sette sestieri, al qual numero essa pensa poter far ritorno quando ha mangiato sedici colifie. Dopo tutte queste cose, quando e presa dalla libidine, non fella : pensa ci6

1 Because he had given F. in his lifetime more than the value of the estate.

3 Dumb-bells : cf. xiv. xlix. Juv. copies this passage in vi. 421 seqq.

469


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

non fellat (putat hoc parum virile),

sed plane medias vorat puellas. 15

di mentem tibi dent tuam, Philaeni,

cunnum lingere quae putas virile.

LXVIII

COMMENDARE meas, Instanti Rufe, Camenas parce precor socero ; seria forsan amat.

quod si lascivos admittit et ille libellos, haec ego vel Curio Fabricioque legam.

LXIX

HAEC est ilia tibi promissa Theophila, Cani,

cuius Cecropia pectora voce madent. hanc sibi iure petat magni senis Atticus hortus,

nee minus esse suam Stoica turba velit. vivet opus quodcumque per has emiseris aures ; 5

tarn non f'emineum nee populare sapit. non tua Pantaenis nimium se praeferat illi,

quamvis Pierio sit bene nota choro. carmina fingentem Sappho laudabat amatrix :

castior haec et non doctior ilia fuit. 10


LXX

IPSARUM tribadum tribas, Philaeni, recte, quam futuis, vocas amicam.

1 A friend of M. : cf. viu. 1. 21 ; vin. Ixxiii. 1 ; perhaps identical with the proconsul of Baetica : cf. xn. xcviii. 3.

- Typical embodiments of old Roman virtues : cf. VI. Ixiv. 2 ; ix. xxviii. 4.

470


BOOK VII. LXVII-LXX

esser poco maschile ; ma tutta strugge al mezzo le ragazze. Gli del, O Filene, ti dieno un' in- clinazione a te conveniente, tu che pensi esser maschile lingere un c o.

LXVIII

SPARE, I pray, Instantius Rufus, 1 to recommend my Muse to your father-in-law : perhaps he likes serious poems. But if he too condescends to wanton verse, these I would venture to read even to Curius and Fabricius. 2

LXIX

THIS is Theophila your affianced bride, Canius, she whose mind is steeped in Attic lore. Rightly might the Athenian garden of the great sage 3 claim her ; no less would the Stoic band wish her for its own. That work shall live, whate'er it be you pass through these ears, so little womanlike or common is her judgment. Your Pantaenis 4 though well known is she to the Pierian choir would not o'ermuch rank herself before her. Sappho the lover praised a poetess : more pure is Theophila, yet Sappho was not more learned.

LXX

O FILENE, tribade delle tribadi stesse, tu chiami con proprieta arnica colei che tu immembri.

3 Epicurus or Plato.

4 An unknown poetess of the time, whom Canius seems to have admired.

471


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

LXXI

FICOSA est uxor, ficosus et ipse maritus,

filia ficosa est et gener atque nepos, nee dispensator nee vilicus ulcere turpi

nee rigidus fossor sed nee arator eget. cum sint ficosi pariter iuvenesque senesque, 5

res mira est, ficos non habet unus ager.

LXXII

GRATUS sic tibi, Paule, sit December

nee vani triplices brevesque mappae

nee turis veniant leves selibrae,

sed lances ferat et scyphos avorum

aut grandis reus aut potens amicus : 5

seu, quod te potius iuvat capitque,

sic vincas Noviumque Publiumque

mandris et vitreo latrone clusos ;

sic palmam tibi de trigone nudo

unctae det favor arbiter coronae 10

nee laudet Polybi magis sinistras ;

si quisquam mea dixerit malignus

atro carmina quae madent veneno,

ut vocem mihi commodes patronam

et quantum poteris, sed usque, clames 15

"Non scripsit meus ista Martialis."

LXXIII

ESQUILIIS domus est, domus est tibi colle Dianae, et tua patricius culmina vicus habet ;

1 cf. i. Ixv.

2 In the game of latrunculi, like our draughts or chess. The latro (robber) was a superior piece to the mandra (pawn) : cf. xiv. xvii.

472


BOOK VII. LXXI-LXXIII

LXXI

TUBEROUS 1 is the wife, tuberous too even the husband, the daughter is tuberous, and the son-in- law, and the grandson ; nor is the steward, or the bailiff free from this unsightly wen, nor the sturdy ditcher, and not even the ploughman. Seeing that young and old alike are tuberous, the wonderful thing is not a single field bears tubers !

LXXII

So may December be pleasant to you, Paulus, and no worthless three-leaved tablets and scant)' nap- kins come to you, nor light half-pounds of frank- incense ; but may either some hulking defendant or wealthy friend bring you dishes and antique goblets ; or what pleases and attracts you more so may you beat Novius and Publius hemmed in by your pawns and glass robbers 2 ; so may the oiled ring's 3 favourable judgment award you victory over the thin-clad hand-ball players, and not praise more than yours the left-handers 4 of Polybus if some malignant fellow claim as mine poems that are steeped in black venom, do you lend me a patron's voice, and with all your strength and without stop- ping shout : " My Martial did not write that." 5

LXXIII

ON the Esquiline you have a house, you have a house on Diana's hill, and the Patrician Street

3 Of athletes looking on.

4 A left-hand stroke was considered a mark of skill. As to the game, cf. vii. xxxii. 7. 5 </ i. lii.

473


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

hinc viduae Cybeles, illinc sacraria Vestae, inde novum, veterem prospicis inde lovem.

die ubi conveniam, die qua te parte requiram : 5

quisquis ubique habitat, Maxime, nusquam habitat.

LXXIV

CVLLENES caelique decus, facunde minister,

aurea cui torto virga dracone viret : sic tibi lascivi noil desit copia furti,

sive cupis Paphien seu Ganymede cales ; maternaeque sacris ornentur frondibus Idus 5

et senior parca mole prematur avus : hunc semper Norbana diem cum coniuge Carpo

laeta colat, primis quo coiere toris. hie pius antistes sophiae sua dona ministrat,

hie te ture vocat fidus et ipse lovi. 10

LXXV

Vis futui gratis, cum sis deformis anusque. res perridicula est : vis dare nee dare vis.


1 A mountain in Arcadia on which Mercury was born.

  • The caduceus, or herald's wand, borne by Mercury as

the messenger of the gods.

3 The Ides of May : cf. xn. Ixvii. 1. Maia was the mother of Mercury.

474


BOOK VII. LXXIII-I.XXV

holds a roof of yours ; from this you survey the shrine of widowed Cybele, from that the shrine of Vesta ; from here the new, from there the ancient temple of Jove. Say where I may call upon you, say in what quarter I may look for you : he who lives everywhere, Maximus, lives nowhere.


LXXIV

PRIDE of Cyllene 1 and of Heaven, eloquent minister, whose golden rod 2 is alive with twining snakes, so mayst thou lack no occasion for wanton intrigue, whether 'tis Paphie thou desirest, or art warm with love for Ganymede ; and so may thy mother's Ides 3 be decked with holy boughs, and thy aged grandsire 4 be bowed by little weight let Norbana with her husband Carpus ever cele- brate with joy this day whereon they first joined in wedlock. A duteous high-priest, he devotes his gifts to wisdom, he invokes- thee with incense, he too 5 a leal votary of Jove.


LXXV

You wish to receive services without paying for them, although you are ugly and an old woman. It is a thing too ridiculous : you wish to give, and yet not to give. 6

4 Atlas, who sustained the weight of the sky.

8 "He is faithful to our Jupiter, the emperor, as thou art to the celestial Jupiter."

6 A play on two meanings of dare, one sensu obsceno, the other in the sense of payment : cf. in. xc.

475


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

LXXVI

QUOD te diripiunt potentiores per convivia porticus theatra, et tecum, quotiens ita incidisti, gestari iuvat et iuvat lavari, nolito nimium tibi placere. delectasj Philomuse, non amaris.

LXXVII

EXIGIS ut nostros donem tibi, Tucca, libellos. non faciam : nam vis vendere, non legere.

LXXVIII

CUM Saxetani ponatur coda lacerti

et, bene si cenas, conchis inuncta tibi,

sumen aprum leporem boletos ostrea mullos mittis : habes nee cor, Papyle, nee genium.

LXXIX

POTAVI modo consulare vinum. quaeris quam vetus atque liberale ? prisco l consule conditum : sed ipse qui ponebat erat, Severe, consul.

1 prisco Housman, ipso codd.


1 Possibly Al. is thinking of himself (Friedlander).

2 From Sex or Saxetanum in Hispania Baetica, where was a noted salt-fishery. But the lacerti, according to Pliny (N.H. xxxii. 53), were very small.

476


BOOK VII. LXXVI-LXXIX

LXXVI

BECAUSE men of influence vie in hurrying you off to entertainments, colonnades, theatres, and enjoy, whenever you happen to meet them, being carried in litters with you, and enjoy bathing with you, by no means fancy yourself too much. You entertain them, Philomusus, 1 you are not loved.


LXXVII

You demand that I should present you with my works, Tucca. I won't do it ; for you want to sell them, not to read.

LXXVIII

ALTHOUGH the tail of a Saxetan 2 lizard-fish is served, and, if you dine lavishly, beans dressed with oil are set before yourself, you send as presents sow's paunch, boar, hare, mushrooms, oysters, mullets : Papylus, you have neither sense nor taste. 3

LXXIX

I HAVE just drunk a consular wine. You ask how old and generous it was ? Laid down in the year of an ancient consul. But my host who served it, Severus, was consul. 4

3 P. dines poorly himself, but sends expensive eatables as presents.

4 A fine vintage was known by the name of the consul of the year, and a "consular wine" was generally "old and generous": cf. i. xxvi. 7 of Opimian. Housman's emendation follows a hint in $ that there isjocus de nomine commits.

477


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

LXXX

QUATENUS Odrysios iam pax Romana triones

temperat et tetricae conticuere tubae, hunc Marcellino poteris, Faustina, libellum

mittere : iam chartis, iam vacat ille iocis. sed si parva tui munuscula quaeris amici 5

commendare, ferat carmina nostra puer ; non qualis Geticae satiatus-lacte iuvencae

Sarmatica rigido ludit in amne rota, sed Mitylenaei roseus mangonis ephebus

vel non caesus adhuc matre iubente Lacon. 10 at tibi captivo famulus mittetur ab Histro

qui Tiburtinas pascere possit oves.


LXXXI

"TRIOINTA toto mala sunt epigrammata libro." si totidem bona sunt, Lause, bonus liber est.


LXXXII

MENOPHILI penem tarn grandis fibula vestit

ut sit comoedis omnibus una satis, hunc ego credideram (nam saepe lavamur in unum)

sollicitum voci pai-cere, Flacce, suae : dum ludit media populo spectante palaestra, 5

delapsa est misero fibula : verpus erat.


1 Who had been campaigning in Dacia : cf. vi. xxv.

2 Spartan boys used to be flogged at the altar of Diana to teach them endurance.

3 The Danube. Marcelliuus will give, in return for the

478


BOOK VII. I.XXX-LXXXII

LXXX

SEEING that now the Roman peace restrains the Thracian North,, and threatening clarions are un- blown, you can send this little book, Faustinus, to Marcellinus ; l he has leisure now for my writings, now for my jokes. But, if you wish to commend the small offering of your friend, let a boy carry my poems, not such a one as, full-fed on the milk of Getic cows, plays with Sarmatian hoop on the icebound stream, but the rosy stripling of Mitylene's slave-dealer, or a Spartan not yet scourged 2 at his mother's bidding. But to you will be sent a slave from subject Hister, 3 who can feed your sheep at Tibur.

LXXXI

"TAKE all your book, and there are thirty bad epigrams in it." If as many are good, Lausus, the book is a good one.

LXXXII

MENOPHILUS' person a sheath covers so enormous that it alone would be sufficient for the whole tribe of comic actors. 4 This fellow I had imagined for we often bathe together was solicitous to spare his voice, Flaccus ; but while he was exercising himself in the view of the people in the middle of the exercise ground, the sheath unluckily fell off' : lo, he was circumcised ! 6

boy, one of his Getic captives. For F.'s farm at Tibur, cf. iv. Ivii. 3 ; v. Ixxi. 6.

4 Comic actors and singers wore this, as a preventive of sexual indulgence, to save their voice : cf. xi. Ixxv. 3 ; xiv. ccxv.; Juv. vi. 73, 380. i.e. a Jew.

479


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

LXXXIII

EUTRAPELUS tonsor dum circuit ora Luperci expingitque genas, altera barba subit.


LXXXIV

DUM mea Caecilio formatur imago Secundo

spirat et arguta picta tabella manu, i, liber, ad Geticam Peucen Histrumque iacentem :

haec loca perdomitis gentibus ille tenet, parva dabis caro sed dulcia dona sodali : 5

certior in nostro carmine vultus erit : casibus hie nullis, nullis delebilis annis

vivet, Apelleum cum morietur opus.


LXXXV

QUOD non insulse scribis tetrasticha quaedam, disticha quod belle pauca, Sabelle, facis,

laudo nee admiror. facile est epigrammata belle scribere, sed librum scribere difficile est.


LXXXVI

AD natalicias dapes vocabar, essem cum tibi, Sexte, non amicus. quid factum est, rogo, quid repente factum est, post tot pignora nostra, post tot annos . quod sum praeteritus vetus sodalis ? 5

sed causam scio. nulla venit a me

1 In spite of the barber's name, " nimble " (evTpdire\os). 480


BOOK VII. I.XXXIII-LXXXVI

LXXXIII

WHILE Eutrapelus the barber goes round Lupercus' face, and trims his cheeks, a second beard grows. 1

LXXXIV

WHILE my likeness is taking form for Caecilius Secundus, 2 and the canvas breathes, painted by a cunning hand, go, book, to Getic Peuce 3 and prostrate Hister these regions with their conquered peoples he rules. Small, but welcome, shall be the gift you will make to my dear comrade : more truly in my song will my face be seen ; this my song, which no chances, no lapse of years, can efface, shall live when the work of Apelles shall perish.

LXXXV

YOUR writing, not without wit, certain quatrains, your composing nicely a few distichs, Sabellus, 1 applaud, yet am not surprised. 'Tis easy to write epigrams nicely, but to write a book is hard.

LXXXVI

I USED to be invited to your birthday feast, although, Sextus, I was no intimate of yours. What has happened, I ask, what has suddenly happened, that, after so many pledges of friendship between us, after so many years, I, your old comrade, am passed over? But I know the reason. There came

2 Probably the younger Pliny. 8 cf. vil. vii. 1.

481 VOL. I. I I


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

Hispani tibi libra pustulati

nee levis toga nee rudes lacernae.

non est sportula quae negotiator :

pascis munera, Sexte, non amicos. 10

iam dices mihi " Vapulet vocator."

LXXXVII

Si meus aurita gaudet lagalopece Flaccus,

si fruitur tristi Canius Aethiope ; Publius exiguae si flagrat amore catellae,

si Cronius similem cercopithecoii amat ; delectat Marium si perniciosus ichneumon, 5

pica salutatrix si tibi, Lause, placet : si gelidum collo nectit Glaucilla draconem,

luscinio tumulum si Telesilla dedit : blanda Cupidinei cur non amet ora Labycae

qui videt haec dominis monstra placere suis ? 10

LXXXVIII

FERTUR liabere meos, si vera est fama, libellos

inter delicias pulchra Vienna suas. me legit omnis ibi senior iuvenisque puerque

et coram tetrico casta puella viro. hoc ego maluerim quam si mea carmina cantent o

qui Nilum ex ipso protinus ore bibunt ; quam meus Hispano si me Tagus im pleat auro,

pascat et Hybla meas, pascat Hymettos apes, non nihil ergo sumus nee blandae munere linguae

decipimur : credam iam, puto, Lause, tibi. 1

1 "Who negligently omitted your name. This is. of course, an excuse.

1 What animal the lagalopex was is unknown.

482


BOOK VII. i.xxxvi-i. xxxvni

to you from me no pound of Spanish refined silver, nor smooth-napped toga, nor new mantles. Hospitality is not a matter of bargain ; you are feeding favours, Sextus, not friends. You will now reply: "Let my summoner 1 be flogged."

LXXXVII

IF my Flaccus delights in a long-eared lynx,- if Canius 3 appreciates a grim Ethiopian, if Publius is consumed with love for a tiny lapdog, 4 if Cronius loves a long-tailed monkey as ugly as himself; if a mischievous ichneumon is a joy to Marius, if you, Lausus, a talking magpie attracts ; if Glaucilla twines a clammy snake round her neck, if Telesilla has set up a monument over her nightingale ; why should he who sees such monsters as these please their masters not love the winning face of Labycas/ Cupid's boy?

LXXXVIII

FAIR Vienna 5 is said, if report speak true, to. hold my little books among her darling posses- sions. Every old sire and youth and boy reads me there, and the chaste bride in the presence of her strait-laced husband. I prize this more than if those who drink of Nile straight from its fount were to hum my poems, than if my own Tagus were to glut me with Spanish gold, and Hybla fed, and Hymettus fed my bees. Of some account then am I, nor am I deceived by the tribute of a flattering tongue : now, I think, I will believe you, Lausus.

3 A poet of Gades : cf. in. xx.

4 cf. I. cix. 5 Vienne on the Rhone.

Who had condemned M.'s book of epigrams: cf. vu. Ixxxi.

483 i i 2


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

LXXXIX

I, FELIX rosa, inollibusque sertis nostri cinge comas Apollinaris. quas tu nectere Candidas, sed olim, sic te semper amet Venus, memento.

XC

IACTAT inaequalem Matho me fecisse libellum : si verum est, laudat carmina nostra Matho.

aequales scribit libros Calvinus et Umber : aequalis liber est, Cretice, qui malus est.

XCI

DE nostro, facunde, tibi, luvenalis, agello

Saturnalicias mittimus, ecce, nuces. cetera lascivis donavit poma puellis

mentula custodis luxuriosa dei.

XCII

"Si quid opus fuerit, scis me non esse rogandum "

uno bis dicis, Baccara, terque die. appellat rigida tristis me voce Secundus :

audis et nescis, Baccara, quid sit opus, pensio te coram petitur clareque palamque : 5

audis et nescis, Baccara, quid sit opus. esse queror gelidasque mihi tritasque lacernas :

audis et nescis, Baccara, quid sit opus, hoc opus est, subito fias ut sidere mutus,

dicere ne possis, Baccara "Si quid opus." 10

1 cf. IV. Ixxxvi.; vii. xxvi. 484


BOOK VII. LXXXIX-XCH

LXXXIX

Go, happy rose, and with thy soft chaplet gird the locks of my Apollinaris. 1 And see that thou wreathe them when but may it be long hereafter they are white : so may Venus ever love thee !

XC

MATHO puts it abroad that I have composed an unequal book ; if that is true, Matho praises my poems. Equal books are what Calvinus and Umber write : the equal book, Creticus, is the bad one.

XCI

FROM my small ground, eloquent Juvenal, I send you, see, Saturnalian nuts. The rest of the fruit the rakish Guardian God has bestowed on frolicking girls.

XCII

" IF there be any need, you know you do not require to ask me " : that is what you say, Baccara, twice and thrice in a single day. Truculent Secundus duns me in stringent tones : you hear him, and don't know, Baccara, what my need is. My rent is claimed in your presence loudly and publicly : you hear, and don't know, Baccara, what my need is. I complain that my cloak is thin and threadbare : you hear, and don't know, Baccara, what my need is. This is my need, that you should be struck dumb by a sudden stroke from heaven, that you may be unable to say, Baccara, " If there be any need."

485


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

xcm

NARNIA, sulpureo quam gurgite candidus amnis

circuit, ancipiti vix adeunda iugo, quid tarn saepe meum nobis abducere Quintum

te iuvat et lenta detinuisse mora ? quid Nomentani causam mihi perdis agelli, 5

propter vicinum qui pretiosus erat ? sed iam parce mihi, nee abutere, Narnia, Quinto :

perpetuo liceat sic tibi ponte frui.

XCIV

UNGUENTUM fuerat, quod onyx modo parva gerebat : olfecit postquam Papylus, ecce, garumst.

XCV

BRUMA est et riget horridus December,

audes tu tamen osculo nivali

omnes obvius hinc et hinc tenere

et totam, Line, basiare Romam.

quid posses graviusque saeviusque 5

percussus facere atque verberatus ?

hoc me frigore basiet nee uxor

blandis filia nee rudis labellis,

sed tu dulcior elegantiorque,

cuius livida naribus caninis 10

dependet glacies rigetque barba,

qualem forficibus metit supinis

tonsor Cinyphio Cilix marito.


1 Quintus Ovidius, alluded to in vn. xliv. and xlv. : see also x. xliv.

486


BOOK VII. xcin-xcv

XCIII

NARNIA, girdled by a stream, white with its sulphur- ous eddies, thou whose twin peaks are scarce to be scaled, why so oft art thou glad to draw my Quintus l from me, and to keep him so weary a time ? Why destroy est thou for me the value of my small Nomentan farm, which was precious to me because he was my neighbour ? But spare me now, nor overdo, Narnia, thy welcome to Quintus : so for all time mayst thou enjoy thy bridge/ !

XCIV

IT was perfume that the small casket held just now : now Papylus has smelt it, see, it is fish- pickle 3 !

XCV

'Tis winter, and rough December is stiff' with frost, yet you dare with icy kiss, as you go here and there, to stop all you meet, and to kiss all Rome, Linus. What more severe and more cruel revenge could you take if you had been assaulted and beaten ? In this cold not even my wife should kiss me, nor my innocent daughter with her wheedling lips ; but you are more pleasant and refined, from whose dog-like nostrils a livid icicle hangs, whose beard is as stiff as that which, with up-turned scissors, a Cilician barber reaps off' a Cinyphian 4

2 A high-level bridge joining the two heights, part of which still stands.

3 Malodorous : cf. in. xvii. 6 : in. xxviii.

4 Cinyps or Cinyphus was a district on the N. coast of Africa, famous for the long hair of its goats : Virg. Geory. Hi. 312.

487


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

centum occurrere malo cunnilingis

et Gallum timeo minus recentem. 1 5

quare si tibi sensus est pudorque,

hibernas, Line, basiationes

in mensem rogo differas Aprilem.

XCVI

CONDITUS hie ego sum Bassi dolor, Urbicus infans,

cui genus et nomen maxima Roma dedit. sex mihi de prima derant trieteride menses,

ruperunt tetricae cum male l pensa deae. quid species, quid lingua mihi, quid profuit aetas ? 5

da lacrimas tumulo, qui legis ista, meo : sic ad Lethaeas, nisi Nestore serior, undas

non eat, optabis quern superesse tibi.

XCVII

NOSTI si bene Caesium, libelle,

montanae decus Umbriae Sabinum,

Auli municipem mei Pudentis,

illi tu dabis haec vel occupato.

instent mille licet premantque curae, 5

nostris carminibus tamen vacabit.

nam me diligit ille proximumque

Tumi nobilibus legit libellis.

o quantum tibi nominis paratur !

o quae gloria ! quam frequens amator ; 10

te convivia, te forum sonabit

aedes compita porticus tabernae.

uni mitteris, omnibus legeris.

1 male Heins., mala codd. 488


BOOK VII. xcv-xcvn

he-goat. I would sooner run across a hundred lewd rascals, and I fear less a priest of Cybele fresh from his vices. 1 So, if you have any feeling and shame, I ask you, Linus, to put off your wintry osculations till the month of April.

XCVI

BURIED am I here, by Bassus mourned, Urbicus, an infant, to whom mightiest Rome gave race and name. Six months were wanting of my first three years when the harsh Goddesses cruelly snapt my thread. What availed me my beauty, what my prattle, what my age ? Give thou, who readest this, tears to my tomb : so may he, 2 whom thou wouldst have survive thy years, pass not to the waters of Lethe, save when older than Nestor !


XCVII

IF you know well, little book, Caesius Sabinus, 3 the pride of hilly Umbria, fellow-townsman of my Aulus Pudens, you will give him these, though he be engaged. Though a thousand duties press on and distract him, yet he will be at leisure for my poems. For he loves me, and, next to Turnus' 4 famous satires, reads me. Oh, what a reputation is being stored up for you ! Oh, what glory ! How many an admirer ! With you banquets, with you the forum will echo, houses, by-ways, colonnades, book- shops ! You are being sent to one, by all will you be read.


1 cf. ill. Ixxxi. ; Juv. viii. 176. a i.e. thy son.

3 Alluded to in ix. Iviii. * cf. xi. x.


489


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

XCVIII OMNIA, Castor, emis. sic fiet ut omnia vendas.

XCIX

Sic placidum videas semper, Crispine, Tonantem

nee te Roma minus quam tua Memphis amet, carmina Parrhasia si nostra legentur in aula,

(namque soleiit sacra Caesaris aure frui) dicere de nobis ut lector candidus aude

" Tempo ribus praestat 11011 nihil iste tuis, nee Marso nimium minor est doctoque Catullo."

hoc satis est : ipsi cetera mando deo.


49


BOOK VII. xcviu-xcix

XCVIII

You buy everything, Castor ; so the result will be that you sell everything !

XCIX

So may you see the Thunderer always placid, Crispinus, 1 and Rome, no less than your native Memphis, love you if my poems shall be read iiithe Palatine hall (for they are wont to reach Caesar's sacred ear), venture, as a candid reader, to say this of me : " He brings your time some honour, and is not far behind Marsus and elegant Catullus." This is sufficient : I leave the rest to the God himself.

1 A rich upstart, and favourite of Domitian, the verna Canopi of Juv. i. 26 ; cf. also iv.


491


PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN BI RICHABD CLAT AKD SONS, LIMITED, BBUNSWICK STREET, STAMFORD STREET, 8.K. I, AND BUNGAT, SUFFOLK.


Full text volume 2[2]

THE LOEB CLASSICAL LIBRARY

EDITED BY E.CAPPS, PH.D., LL.D. T. E. PAGE, LiTT.D. W. H. D. ROUSE, Lrrr.U.


MARTIAL

EPIGRAMS II


MARTIAL

EPIGRAMS

WITH AN ENGLISH TRANSLATION BY WALTER C. A. KER, M.A.

SOMETIME SCHOLAR OF TRINITY COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE OF THE INNER TEMI'LK, BARR1STER-AT-LAW


IN TWO VOLUMES II



LONDON : WILLIAM HEINEMANN NEW YORK : G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS

MCMXX


CONTENTS


PAGE

BOOK VIII I

BOOK IX 67

BOOK X 151

BOOK xi 235

BOOK XII 315

BOOK xin 389

BOOK xiv 439

EPIGRAMS ASCRIBED TO MARTIAL 519

INDEX OF PROPER NAMES 535

INDEX OF FIRST LINES . . . 545


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL


VOL. II.


M. VALERI MARTIALIS EPIGRAMMATON

LIBER OCTAVUS

IMPERATORI DOMITIANO CAESARI AUGUSTO GERMANICO DACICO VALERIUS MARTIALIS S.

OMNES quidem libelli mei, domine, quibus tu famam, id est vitam, dedisti, tibi supplicant; et, puto propter hoc legentur. hie tamen, qui operis nostri octavus in- scribitur, occasione pietatis frequentius fruitur ; minus itaque ingenio laborandum fuit, in cuius locum mate- ria successerat: quam quidem subinde aliqua iocorum mixtura variare temptavimus, ne caelesti verecundiae tuae laudes suas, quae facilius te fatigare possint quam nos satiare, omnis versus ingereret. quamvis autem epigrammata a severissimis quoque et summae fortunae viris ita scripta sint ut mimicam verborum licentiam adfectasse videantur, ego tamen illis non permisi tam lascive loqui quam solent. cum pars libri et maior et melior ad maiestatem sacri nominis tui alligata sit, meminerit non nisi religiosa purifica- tione lustratos accedere ad templa debere. quod

1 This book appears by internal evidence to have been published towards the end of A.D. 93. The epigrams are not, however, in chronological order.


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL BOOK VIII

To THE EMPEROR DOMITIANUS, CAESAR, AUGUSTUS,

CONQUEROR OF GERMANY AND DACIA, VALERIUS

MARTIALIS SENDS GREETING 1

OF a truth all my little books, Sire, to which you have given fame, that is, life, are your suppliants, and I think will, for this reason, be read. This one, however, which is marked the eighth of my works, enjoys more frequently the opportunity of showing loyalty. Accordingly I had less occasion for the labour of invention, for which the subject-matter formed a substitute ; that, however, I have here and there attempted to diversify by some intermixture of pleasantry, so that every verse should not heap upon your divine modesty its meed of praise which would more easily weary you than satiate me. And although epigrams have been written in such a style, even by men the most austere and of the highest position, as apparently to have aimed at the verbal licence of mimes, yet I have not allowed these to speak with their usual playfulness. As part of my book and that the greater and better is attached to the Majesty of your sacred name, it should re- member that it is unfitting to approach the temple save cleansed by religious purification. 2 That readers

2 An allusion to the Emperor's assumption of deity : cf. viii. ii. G.

3 B 2


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

ut custoditurura me lecturi sciant, in ipso libelli huius limine profited brevissimo placuit epigram- mate.


LAURIGEROS domini, liber, intrature penates

disce verecundo sanctius ore loqui. nuda recede Venus ; non est tuus iste libellus :

tu mini, tu Pallas Caesariana, veni.

II

FASTORUM genitor parensque lanus

victorem modo cum videret Histri,

tot vultus sibi non satis putavit

optavitque oculos habere plures,

et lingua pariter locutus omni 5

terrarum domino deoque rerum

promisit Pyliam quater senectam.

addas, lane pater, tuam rogamus.

Ill

" QUINQUE satis fuerant : nam sex septemve libelli est nimium : quid adhuc ludere, Musa, iuvat ?

sit pudor et finis : iam plus nihil addere nobis fama potest : teritur noster ubique liber ;

et cum rupta situ Messallae saxa iacebunt 5

altaque cum Licini marmora pulvis erunt,

1 Because of the Emperor's recent victories on the Danube.

2 The god Janus presided over the year and the public records. He was represented with two faces turned in op- posite ways, i.e. towards the past and the future ; or with four to represent the four seasons.


BOOK VIII. i-m

may know I shall regard this obligation, I have deter- mined to make my profession on the very threshold of this little book by a very brief epigram.

I

THOU, my book, who art purposed to enter my Master's laurel-wreathed 1 abode, learn to speak more reverently in modest speech. Undraped Venus, stand back : this little book is not thine ; do thou come to me, thou, Pallas, patron of Caesar.

II

WHEN Janus, begetter and parent of our annals, 2 of late saw Hister's conqueror, he deemed his many faces were not enough for him, and wished to possess more eyes ; and, speaking alike with every tongue, he promised the Lord of Earth and God of the Universe a Pylian old age 3 four times over. Add, Father Janus, we entreat, your own.

Ill

" FIVE were sufficient ; for six or seven books are too much : why do you want, Muse, to frolic still ? Let there be some stint and an end : now nothing more can Fame give me ; my book is thumbed every- where ; and when Messalla's 4 pavements shall lie shivered by decay, and Licinus' 6 towering marble

J Nestor's.

4 M. Valerius Messalla Corvinus, the patron of Tibullus : cf. X. ii. 9. He repaired the Via Latina : cf. Tib. I. vii. 57. Or " saxa " may perhaps refer to his tomb.

5 A rich freedman of Augustus (cf. Juv. i. 109), who had a magnificent tomb.


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

me tamen ora legent et secum plurimus hospes

ad patrias sedes carmina nostra feret." finieram, cum sic respondit nona sororum,

cui coma et unguento sordida vestis erat : 10

" Tune potes dulcis, ingrate, relinquere nugas ?

die mihi, quid melius desidiosus ages ? an iuvat ad tragicos soccum transferre coturnos

aspera vel paribus bella tonare modis, praelegat ut tumidus rauca te voce magister, 15

oderit et grandis virgo bonusque puer ? scribant ista graves nimium nimiumque severi,

quos media miseros nocte lucerna videt. at tu Romanes lepido sale tingue libellos :

adgnoscat mores vita legatque suos. 20

angusta cantare licet videaris avena,

dum tua multorum vincat avena tubas."


IV

QUANTUS, io, Latias mundi conventus ad aras

suscipit et solvit pro duce vota suo ! non sunt haec hominum, Germanice, gaudia tantum,

sed faciunt ipsi nunc, puto, sacra dei.


DUM donas, Macer, anulos puellis, desisti, Macer, anulos habere.

J Thalia, the Muse of epigram. * Hexameters.

3 For Jan. 3, the day when vows were publicly offered for the Emperor (votorum nuncupatio : cf. Suet. Ner. xlvi.). 6


BOOK VIII. HI-V

shall be dust, yet me shall lips read, and many a sojourner shall carry my poems with him to his fatherland." I ended; when thus replied the ninth of the Sisters, 1 her hair and vesture stained with unguent : " Can you, ungrateful man, resign your pleasant trifles? Tell me, what better thing when idle will you do ? Wish you to adapt your comic shoe to the tragic buskin, or in even-footed measures 2 to thunder of rough wars, that a pompous pedagogue may dictate you in hoarse tones, and tall girl and honest boy hate you ? Let those themes be written by men grave overmuch, and overmuch austere, whom at midnight their lamp marks at their wretched toil. But do you dip your little Roman books in sprightly wit ; let Life recognize and read of her own man- ners. To a thin pipe you may appear to sing, if only your pipe outblow the trump of many."


IV

Ho ! How great a concourse of the world at Latin altars makes and pays their vows 3 for their Chief! These are not the joys of men only, Germanicus : nay, the very gods now, I ween, offer sacrifice.


WHILE you give rings to girls, Macer, you have ceased, Macer, to possess rings yourself. 4

4 i.e. you have lost your qualification as a knight: cf. Juv. xi. 43. The ius anulorum (right to wear a gold ring) was possessed by senators, knights, and magistrates.


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

VI

ARCHETYPIS vetuli nihil est odiosius Aucti

(ficta Saguntino cymbia malo luto), argenti furiosa sui cum stemmata narrat

garrulus et verbis mucida vina facit : " Laomedonteae fuerant haec pocula mensae : 5

ferret ut haec, muros struxit Apollo lyra. hoc cratere ferox commisit pi-oelia Rhoetus

cum Lapithis : pugna debile cernis opus, hi duo longaevo censentur Nestore fundi :

pollice de Pylio trita columba nitet. 10

hie scyphus est in quo misceri iussit amicis

largius Aeacides vividiusque merum. hac propinavit Bitiae pulcherrima Dido

in patera, Phrygio cum data cena viro est." miratus fueris cum prisca toreumata multum, 15

in Priami calathis Astyanacta bibes.

VII

Hoc agere est causas, hoc dicere, Cinna, diserte, horis, Cinna, decem dicere verba novem ?

sed modo clepsydras ingenti voce petisti quattuor. o quantum, Cinna, tacere potes !

VIII

PRINCIPIUM des, lane, licet velocibus annis et renoves voltu saecula longa tuo,

1 In the battle between the Lapithae and the Centaurs. ' Achilles : cf. Horn. II. ix. 203.

8


BOOK VIII. vi-vm

VI

THAN old Auctus' antiques nothing is more odious I prefer drinking vessels moulded from Saguntine clay when he prates of the crazy pedigrees of his silver plate, and by his chattering makes the wine vapid. " These are cups that once belonged to Laomedon's table : to win these Apollo by his harp-playing built the walls of Troy. With this mixing-bowl fierce Rhoetus joined battle with the Lapithae : ' you see the work- manship is dinted by the fight. These two goblets are valuable because of aged Nestor : the dove is burnished by the nibbing of the Pylian thumb. This is the tankard in which the grandson of Aeacus 2 ordered a fuller draught and stronger wine be mixed for his friends. In this bowl most beautiful Dido pledged Bitias when her banquet was given to the Phrygian hero." ; When you have much admired these ancient chasings, in Priam's cups you will drink Astyanax. 4

VII

Is this your pleading of causes, is this eloquence, Cinna, in ten hours, Cinna, to say nine words ? And just now in loud tones you asked for four water- clocks ! 5 Oh, what store of silence, Cinna, you possess !

VIII

ALBEIT thou, Janus, givest their beginning to the flying years, and dost with thy visage renew the

3 Aeneas : cf. Verg. Aen. i. 738.

4 i.e. something very young and immature. Astyanax was the grandson of Priam. 5 cf. vi. xxxv. 1.

9


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

te primum pia tura rogent, te vota salutent, purpura te felix, te colat omnis honos :

tu tamen hoc mavis, Latiae quod contigit urbi mense tuo reducem, lane, videre deum.

IX

SOLVERE dodrantem nuper tibi, Quinte, volebat lippus Hylas, luscus vult dare dimidium.

accipe quam primum ; brevis est occasio lucri : si fuerit caecus, nil tibi solvet Hylas.

X

EMIT lacernas milibus decem Bassus

Tyrias coloris optimi. lucrifecit.

" Adeo bene emit ? " inquis. immo non solvet,

XI

PERVENISSE tuam iam te scit Rhenus in urbem ;

nam populi voces audit et ille tui : Sarmaticas etiam gentes Histrumque Getasque

laetitiae clamor terruit ipse novae, dum te longa sacro venerantur gaudia Circo,

nemo quater missos currere sen sit equos. null urn Roma ducem, nee te sic, Caesar, amavit :

te quoque iam non plus, ut velit ipsa, potest. 10


BOOK VIII. vm-xi

long ages, albeit pious incense invokes thee, prayers salute thee first, to thee the consul's joyous purple, to thee every magistrate pays court, yet this thou countest more it has been thy fortune, Janus, in thine own month to see our god l returning home !


IX

HYLAS, when blear-eyed, Quintus, was willing lately to pay you three-quarters of his debt ; now he is one- eyed he is willing to give half. Take it at once : brief is the opportunity for gain ; if he become blind, Hylas won't pay you a penny.


BASSUS has bought a cloak for ten thousand ses- terces, a Tyrian of the best colour. He has made a bargain. " Did he buy so cheap ? " you ask. Aye, he is not going to pay.

XI

THAT thou hast come to thy city Rhine knows already, for he too hears the voices of thy people : Sarmatian tribes as well, and Hister and the Getae, the very shout of our new-found gladness has af- feared. While in the sacred Circus applause long sustained revered thee, 110 man perceived the steeds had four times been started. No chief has Rome so loved, nor thee so much, Caesar, as now ; thee too, albeit she would, she cannot now love more.

1 The Emperor.

II


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

XII

UXOREM quare locupletem ducere nolim quaeritis ? uxori nubere nolo meae.

inferior matrona suo sit, Prisce, marito : non aliter fiunt femina virque pares.

XIII

MORIO dictus erat : viginti milibus emi. redde mihi nummos, Gargiliane : sapit.

XIV

PALLIDA ne Cilicum timeant pomaria brumam,

mordeat et tenerum fortior aura nemus. hibernis obiecta Notis specularia puros

admittunt soles et sine faece diem, at mihi cella datur non tota clusa fenestra,

in qua nee Boreas ipse manere velit. sic habitare iubes veterem crudelis amicum ?

arboris ergo tuae tutior hospes ero.

XV

DUM nova Pannonici numeratur gloria belli, omnis et ad reducem dum litat ara lovem,

dat populus, dat gratus eques, dat tura senatus, et ditant Latias tertia dona tribus,


1 Naturals or cretins were kept as curiosit es : ff. in. Ixxxii. 24 ; xn. xciii. 3.


12


BOOK VIII. xn-xv

XII

" WHY am 1 unwilling to marry a rich wife ? " Do you ask? I am unwilling to take my wife as husband. Let the matron be subject to her husband, Priscus ; in no other way do woman and man become equal.

XIII

HE had been described as an idiot; 1 I bought him for twenty thousand sesterces. Give me back my money, Gargilianus ; he has his wits.

XIV

THAT your orchard trees from Cilicia may not grow wan and dread the winter, nor too keen an air nip the tender boughs, glass casements facing the wintry south winds admit the clear suns and daylight un- defiled. But to me is assigned a garret, shut in by an ill-fitting window, in which even Boreas himself would not care to abide. Is it in such a lodging you cruelly bid your old friend dwell ? Then as the guest of one of your trees I shall be more protected. 2

XV

WHAT time from Pannoniaii war new glory is added to the tale, and eveiy altar makes fair offerings to greet returning Jove, while the people gives, the grateful knights give, the Senate gives incense, and a third largess makes rich the Latin tribes, Rome

2 cf, a similar epigram, viu. Ixviii.

13


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

hos quoque secretes memoravit 1 Roma triumphos, 5 nee minor ista tuae laurea pacis erat, 2

quod tibi de sancta credis pietate tuorum. principis est virtus maxima nosse suos.

XVI

PISTOR qui fueras diu, Cypere,

causas nunc agis et ducena quaeris :

sed consumis et usque mutuaris.

a pistore, Cypere^ non recedis :

et panem facis et facis farinam. 5

XVII

EGI, Sexte, tuam pactus duo milia causam.

misisti nummos quod mihi mille quid est ? " Narrasti nihil " inquis " et a te perdita causa est."

tanto plus debes, Sexte, quod erubui.

XVIII

Si tua, Cerrini, prornas epigrammata vulgo,

vel mecum possis vel prior ipse legi : sed tibi tantus inest veteris respectus amici,

carior ut mea sit quam tua fama tibi.

1 memorabit j8. * erit 0.

1 Domitian had waived a formal triumph, merely dedicat- ing a laurel-wreath (ista laurea, 1. 6) to Jupiter Capitolinus : Suet. Dom. vi. ; Stat. Sylv. in. Hi. 171.


BOOK VIII. xv-xvm

has made memorable this triumph also, though con- cealed ; l nor was the laurel that marks the peace thou bringest of less account, because touching thy people's reverent love thou dost trust thyself. 2 A Prince's greatest virtue is to know his own.

XVI

You who were long a baker, Cyperus, now conduct cases, and look to make two hundred thousand ses- terces a year ; but you squander them, and are continually raising loans. You do not part from your role of baker, Cyperus ; you make your bread and make your dust fly too. 3

XVII

I HAVE pleaded your case, Sextus, for an agreed fee of two thousand sesterces. What is the reason you have sent me one thousand ? " You set out none of the facts," you remark, "and by you my case was ruined." You owe me all the more, Sextus; I blushed.

XVIII

WERE you, Cerrinius, to issue your epigrams to the public, you might be read in rivalry with me, or even as my superior ; but so great is your regard for your old friend that dearer to you is my fame than your

2 i.e. thou canst rely on the people understanding the greatness of thy victory without a triumph.

3 i.e. you dissipate your earnings, as grain is reduced to the dust of flour. Or perhaps the metaphor is taken from flour falling through the meshes of a sieve : cf. Pers. iii. 112.

15


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

sic Maro nee Calabri temptavit carmina Flacci, 5 Pindaricos nosset cum superare modos,

et Vario cessit Romani laude coturni, cum posset tragico fortius ore loqui.

aurum et opes et rura frequens donabit amicus : qui velit ingenio cedere rarus erit. 10

XIX

PAUPER videri Cinna vult ; et est pauper.

XX

CUM facias versus nulla non luce ducenos, Vare, nihil recitas. non sapis, atque sapis.

XXI

PHOSPHORE, redde diem : quid gaudia nostra moraris ?

Caesare venture, Phosphore, redde diem. Roma rogat. placidi numquid te pigra Bootae

plaustra vehunt, lento quod nimis axe venis ? Ledaeo poteras abducere Cyllaron astro : 5

ipse suo cedet nunc tibi Castor equo. quid cupidum Titana tenes ? iam Xanthus et Aethon

frena volunt, vigilat Memnonis alma parens. tarda tamen nitidae non cedunt sidera luci,

et cupit Ausonium luna videre ducem. 10

iam, Caesar, vel nocte veni : stent astra licebit,

non derit populo te veniente dies.

1 Horace.

'* It is fatal to appear poor : cf. v. Ixxxi.

  • The Constellation of the Lesser Bear.

16


BOOK VIII. xvm-xxi

own. So Maro did not even attempt the lyrics of Calabrian Flaccus, 1 although his skill might have surpassed the measures of Pindar, and he gave place to Varius in the renown of the Roman buskin, though he might have spoken in tragic tone with stronger voice. Gold and possessions and lands many a friend will bestow : he who is willing to yield in genius will be rare.

XIX CINNA wishes to appear poor, and he is poor. 2

XX

ALTHOUGH no day passes but you compose two hundred verses, Varus, you recite none of them. You have no wit and yet are wise.

XXI

PHOSPHOR, bring us back day ; why puttest thou off our joys ? Now Caesar comes, Phosphor, bring us back day, Rome begs thee. Doth the sluggish wain of slow-twisting Bootes 3 bear thee, that thou comest with too slow an axle ? Thou mightest have withdrawn Cyllarus 4 from Leda's constellation ; freely will Castor now yield his steed to thee. Why stayest thou eager Titan? Already Xanthus and Aethon 5 look for the reins ; Memnon's kindly Mother wakes. Yet the slow stars yield not to glowing light, and the moon longs to see Ausonia's Chief. Now, Caesar, come thou, even by night ; let the stars stand still ; the people, when thou comest, shall not want for day.

  • The horse of Castor : cf. vui. xxviii. 8.

5 Horses of the Sun : cf. in. Ixvii. 5.

6 Aurora, goddess of the morning.

17

VOL. II. C


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

XXII

INVITAS ad aprum, ponis mihi, Gallice, porcum. hybrida sum, si das, Gallice, verba mihi.

XXIII

ESSE tibi videor saevus nimiumque gulosus, qui propter cenam, Rustice, caedo cocum.

si levis ista tibi flagrorum causa videtur, ex qua vis causa vapulet ergo cocus?

XXIV

Si quid forte petam timido gracilique libello, inproba non fuerit si mea charta, dato.

et si non dederis, Caesar, permitte rogari : ofFendunt numquam tura precesque lovem.

qui fingit sacros auro vel marmore vultus, 5

non facit ille deos : qui rogat, ille facit.

XXV

VIDISTI semel, Oppiane, tantum aegrum me : male saepe te videbo.

XXVI

NON tot in Eois timuit Gangeticus arvis raptor, in Hyrcano qui fugit albus equo,

quot tua Roma novas vidit, Germanice, tigres, delicias potuit nee numerare suas.

1 Hybrids were supposed to want sense. A hybrid pri- marily meant the offspring of a sow and of a wild boar : cf. Plin. N. H. viii. 79.

18


BOOK VIII. XXH-XXVI


XXII

You invite me to a boar ; you set before me, Gal- licus, a pig. I am a hybrid l myself if you can deceive me, Gallicus.

XXIII

I APPEAR to you cruel and over gluttonous because, on account of the dinner, Rusticus, I lash my cook. If that seem to you a slight reason for a beating, for what reason, then, do you wish a cook to be flogged ?

XXIV

IF I may by chance ask for something in my bashful and slender little volume, if my page be not overbold, do thou grant it. And even if thou shalt not grant it, Caesar, allow the asking : incense and prayers never offend Jove. He who shapes sacred lineaments in gold or marble does not make gods : he makes them who prays.

XXV

You came to see me once only when I was ill. It will go badly with me if I see you often. 2

XXVI

TIGRESSES not so many has the robber 3 dreaded in Eastern fields by Ganges' side, as he flies with pale face on his Hyrcanian steed, as but now thy Rome, Germanicus, has seen, nor could she count what gave


s cf. v. ix. 3 i.e. of cubs.


19 c 2


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

vincit Erythraeos tua, Caesar, harena triumphos 5

et victoris opes divitiasque del : nam cum captives ageret sub curribus Indos,

contentus gemina tigride Bacchus erat.

XXVII

MUNERA qui tibi dat locupleti, Gaure, senique, si sapis et sentis, hoc tibi ait " Morere."

XXVIII

Die, toga, facundi gratum mihi munus amici,

esse velis cuius fama decusque gregis ? Apula Ledaei tibi floruit herba Phalanthi,

qua saturat Calabris culta Galaesus aquis ? an Tartesiacus stabuli nutritor Hiberi 5

Baetis in Hesperia te quoque lavit ove ? an tua multifidum numeravit lana Timavum,

quern pius astrifero Cyllarus ore bibit ? te nee Amyclaeo decuit livere veneno

nee Miletos erat vellere digna tuo. 10

lilia tu vincis nee adhuc delapsa ligustra

et Tiburtino monte quod albet ebur; Spartanus tibi cedet olor Paphiaeque columbae,

cedet Erythraeis eruta gemma vadis : sed licet haec primis nivibus sint aemula dona, 15

non sunt Parthenio candidiora suo.

1 Bacchus, according to myth, made an expedition into the East, where he taught the conquered nations the use of the vine. He was represented as drawn by tigers.


20


BOOK VIII. xxvi-xxvm

her delight. Thy Arena, Caesar, has surpassed Indian triumphs and the wealth and riches of the victor god ; 1 for Bacchus, while he drove beneath the yoke the captive Indians, was content with two tigresses alone.

XXVII

HE who gives presents, Gaurus, to you, a rich man and old, if you have wit and sense, says this to you "Die."

XXVIII

SAY, Toga, welcome gift to me of my eloquent friend, of what flock wouldst thou be the fame and glory ? Did the Apulian herbage of Spartan Phalan- thus flourish for thy sake, where Galaesus 2 floods the tilth with Calabrian waters ? or did Tartessian Baetis, nurse of Hiberian flocks, wash thee too on the back of a Spanish sheep ? 3 or has thy wool counted the mouths of many-cleft Timavus, whereof trusty Cyl- larus, 4 now amid the stars, once drank? Thee it beseemed not to darken with Spartan dye, nor was Miletus worthy to stain thy fleece. Lilies thou dost outshine, and privet yet unfallen, and the ivory that gleams white on Tibur's mount ; Sparta's swan shall yield to thee and Paphian doves, there shall yield the pearl plucked out from Eastern shoals. Yet, albeit this gift vies with new fallen snow, 'tis not more dazzling white 5 than Parthenius its giver.

2 A river near Tarentum founded by the Spartan Phalan- thus. The district was famed for the fine fleeces of its sheep : cf. Hor. Od. n. vi. 10.

1 cf. v. xxxvii. 7. * cf. iv. xxv. 6.

5 An allusion to the etymology of Parthenius' name (irp- Bfvtot = virgin- white),

21


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

non ego praetulerim Babylonos picta superbae

texta Samiramia quae variantur acu ; non Athamanteo potius me mirer in auro,

Aeolium dones si mihi, Phrixe, pecus. 20

o quantos risus pariter spectata movebit

cum Palatina nostra lacerna toga !

XXIX

DISTICHA qui scribit, puto, vult brevitate placere. quid prodest brevitas, die mihi, si liber est ?

XXX

Qui nunc Caesareae lusus spectatur harenae,

temporibus Bruti gloria summa fuit. aspicis ut teneat flammas poenaque fruatur,

fortis et attonito regnet in igne manus ! ipse sui spectator adest et nobile dextrae 5

funus amat : totis pascitur ilia sacris ; quod nisi rapta foret nolenti poena, parabat

saevior in lassos ire sinistra focos. scire piget post tale decus quid fecerit ante :

quam vidi satis hanc est mihi nosse manum. 10

XXXI

NESCIO quid de te non belle, Dento, fateris,

coniuge qui ducta iura paterna petis. sed iam supplicibus dominum lassare libellis

desine et in patriam serus ab urbe redi :

1 Phryxus' ram with the golden fleece : cf. vi. iii. 6. 1 A hint for a new cloak.

22


BOOK VIII. XXVIII-XAXI

I could not more prize proud Babylon's painted tapestry embroidered by Semiramis' needle ; no more should I admire myself in gold of Athamas, if thou, Phryxus, wert to give me the ram of Aeolus' son. 1 Oh, what laughter will my worn cloak excite seen together with this toga from the Palatine ! 2

XXIX

HE who writes distichs wishes, I imagine, to please by brevity. What is the use of brevity, tell me, if it constitute a book?

XXX

WHAT now entertains as a spectacle in Caesar's Arena was in Brutus' days their chiefest glory. 3 You see how the hand grasps the flame and relishes its punishment, and bravely lords it amid the astonished fire ! His own spectator is he, and he admires his right hand's noble death ; in the full sacrifice that hand delights. Had not, against its will, that penalty been denied it, his left hand fiercer still was ready to pass to the sated hearth. I care not, after such a feat, to learn what was its crime before : enough for me to have known the prowess of the hand I saw.

XXXI

'Tis not a pretty sort of confession, Dento, you make about yourself, who, after you have married a wife, ask for paternal rights. 4 Cease at last with suppliant petitions to weary our Master, and, though late, return from the city to your own country.

3 cf. x. xxv., where a different view is taken of Mucius' heroism. 4 cf. u, xci. and xcii.

23


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

nam dum tu longe deserta uxore diuque tres quaeris natos, quattuor invenies.


XXXII

AERA per taciturn delapsa sedentis in ipsos

fluxit Aratullae blanda columba sinus, luserat hoc casus, nisi inobservata maneret

permissaque sibi nollet abire fuga. si meliora piae fas est sperare sorori

et dominum mundi flectere vota valent, haec a Sardois tibi forsitan exulis oris,

fratre reversuro, nuntia venit avis.


XXXIII

DE praetoricia folium mihi, Paule, corona

mittis et hoc phialae nomen habere iubes. hac fuerat nuper nebula tibi pegma perunctum,

pallida quam rubri diluit unda croci. an magis astuti derasa est ungue ministri 5

brattea, de fulcro quam reor esse tuo ? ilia potest culicem longe sentire volantem

et minimi pinna papilionis agi ; exiguae volitat suspensa vapore lucernae

et leviter fuso rumpitur icta mero. 10

hoc linitur sputo lani caryota Kalendis,

quam fert cum parco sordidus asse cliens.

1 Paulus (cf. vii. Ixxii.) had sent M. a cup of such thin metal that it could hardly be called a cup. An epigram against paltry gifts.


BOOK VIII. xxxi-xxxm

Otherwise, after deserting your wife at such a dis- tance and for so long, while you are seeking three sons you will discover four !

XXXII

GLIDING down through the still air, a winsome dove fluttered into Aretulla's very bosom as she sat. Chance might have played the freak had not the bird stayed, all unguarded, and refused to take the flight permitted to it. If a loving sister may hope for happier things, and prayers avail to move the Master of the World, belike from Sardinia's shores this bird came to thee, the exile's messenger, to herald thy brother's return.

XXXIII

FROM your praetor's crown, Paulus, you send me a leaf and require this to be called a bowl. 1 With this film your platform 2 was lately coated, and the pale stream of red saffron 3 washed it away. Or rather was it a flake I think, belonging to the leg of your couch scraped off by the nail of a cunning slave ? It can from a distance feel the fluttering of a gnat, and be wafted by the wing of the very smallest but- terfly ; it floats in air, kept up by the heat of a tiny lamp, and, splashed with wine even lightly sprinkled, it dissolves. With such a layer is coated on the Kalends of January the nut 4 which a shabby client brings as a gift together with small coin. Pliant

2 cf. Lib. Sped. ii. 2. cf. Lib. Sped. iii. 8.

4 Symbolic gifts, like Easter eggs : cf. xni. xxvii : Ov. F. i. 189.

25


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

lenta minus gracili crescunt colocasia filo,

plena magis nimio lilia sole cadunt ; nee vaga tarn tenui discurrit aranea tela, 15

tarn leve nee bombyx pendulus urget opus, cvassior in facie vetulae stat creta Fabullae,

crassior offensae bulla tumescit aquae ; fortior et tortos servat vesica capillos

et mutat Latias spuma Batava comas. 20

hac cute Ledaeo vestitur pullus in ovo,

talia lunata splenia fronte sedent. quid tibi cum phiala, ligulam cum mittere possis,

mittere cum possis vel cocleare mihi, (magna nimis loquimur), cocleam cum mittere possis,

denique cum possis mittere, Paule, nihil ? 26


XXXIV

ARCHETYPUM Myos argentum te dicis habere.

quod sine te factum est hoc magis archetypum est ?


XXXV

CUM sitis similes paresque vita, uxor pessima, pessimus maritus, miror non bene convenire vobis.


XXXVI

REGIA pyramidum, Caesar, miracula ride ; iam tacet Eoum barbara Memphis opus :

1 A kind of soap giving the hair a light hue : cf. xiv. xxvi. 2 cf. n. xxix. 9.

8 An ancient Greek artist, famous for working in silver : cf. xiv. xcv. He was contemporary with Phidias.

26


BOOK VIII. xxxm-xxxvi

Egyptian beans grow with a less slender filament, of thicker mould are lily leaves that fall beneath the overpowering sun ; nor does the spider dart about a web so slender, nor the pendulous silkworm ply a work so light. Denser stands the chalk on old Fabulla's face, denser swells the bubble in tumbled water, and stronger is the bladder-net that confines knotted locks, and the Batavian pomade l that trans- forms Latin tresses. With skin like this is clothed the chick in a swan's egg, such are the patches that rest on a crescent-plastered 2 brow. What use have you for a bowl when you can send me a tablespoon, when you can send me even a snail-pick I am sug- gesting too great things when you can send me a snail-shell : in a word, when you, Paulus, can send me nothing?

XXXIV

You say you have a piece of silver, a genuine antique by Mys. 3 Is that which was made without your assistance any the more an antique ? 4

XXXV

SEEING that you are like one another, and a pair in your habits, vilest of wives, vilest of husbands, I wonder you don't agree !

XXXVI

LAUGH, Caesar, at the regal wonders of the Pyra- mids : now barbaric Memphis speaks not of her

4 Perhaps addressed to a silversmith who was in the habit of " faking " his antiques. " You may not have faked this," says M., " but that does not prove it genuine."

27


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

pars quota Parrhasiae labor est Mareoticus aulae !

clarius in toto nil videt orbe dies, septenos pariter credas adsurgere monies ; 5

Thessalicum brevior Pelion Ossa tulit ; aethei'a sic intrat nitidis ut conditus astris

inferiore tonet nube serenus apex et prius arcano satietur numine Phoebi

nascentis Circe quam videt ova patris. 10

haec, Auguste, tamen, quae vertice sidera pulsat,

par domus est caelo sed minor est domino.

XXXVII

QUOD Caietano reddis, Polycharme, tabellas,

milia te centum num tribuisse putas ? "Debuit haec " inquis. tibi habe, Polycharme, tabellas

et Caietano milia crede duo.


XXXVIII

Qui praestat pietate pertinaci

sensuro bona liberal itatis,

captet forsitan aut vicem reposcat.

at si quis dare nomini relicto

post manes tumulumque perseverat, 5

quaerit quid nisi parcius dolere ?

refert sis bonus an velis videri.

praestas hoc, Melior, sciente fama,

qui sollemnibus anxius sepulti

nomen non sinis interire Blaesi, 10

1 cf. vn. Ivi.

2 When the giants attempted to scale heaven in their war with the gods, they piled Pelion upon Ossa, both mountains in Thessaly.

28


BOOK VIII. xxxvi-xxxvm

Eastern work. How small a part of the Palatine hall l would Egypt's toil achieve ! Nothing so grand the eye of day sees in all the world. You would believe the seven hills uprose all together ; Ossa with Thessalian Pelion atop was not so high ; 2 Heaven it so pierces that, hidden amid the lustrous stars, its peak echoes sunlit to the thunder in the cloud below, and is sated with Phoebus' mystic power ere Circe 3 views her sire's springing face. And yet, Augustus, this palace that with its pinnacle touches the stars, though level with Heaven, is less than its lord.

XXXVII

BECAUSE, Polycharmus, you return to Caietanus his bond, do you really imagine you have given him a hundred thousand sesterces ? " He owed this sum," you say. Keep your bond, Polycharmus, and trust Caietanus with two thousand. 4

XXXVIII

HE who with constant devotion bestows gifts on one who will feel the bounty's good, fishes perhaps or claims return. But if any man persist in giving to the name that survives death and the tomb, what profit seeks he but assuagement of grief? Wide is the difference 'twixt goodness and pretence. This gift, as fame knows, you, Melior, make ; who, in your care, by solemn rites forbid to perish the name of buried Blaesus, and that his birthday should be

3 Daughter of the Sun, which was said to strike first upon her island. Here put for Circeii in Latium.

4 cf. a similar epigram, ix. cii.

29


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

et de munifica profusus area

ad natalicium diem colendum

scribarum memori piaeque turbae

quod donas, facis ipse Blaesianum.

hoc longum tibi, vita dum manebit, 15

hoc et post cineres erit tributum.


XXXIX

Qui Palatinae caperet convivia mensae ambrosiasque dapes non erat ante locus :

hie haurire decet sacrum, Germauice, nectar et Ganymedea pocula mixta manu.

esse velis, oro, serus conviva Tonantis : at tu si properas, luppiter, ipse veni.

XL

NON horti neque palmitis beati sed rari nemoris, Priape, custos, ex quo natus es et potes renasci, furaces, moneo, manus repellas et silvam domini focis reserves : si defecerit haec, et ipse lignum es.


XLI

" TRISTIS Athenagoras non misit munera nobis quae medio brumae mittere mense solet."

an sit Athenagoras tristis, Faustine, videbo : me certe tristem fecit Athenagoras.

1 He endows the guild of scribes with a fund out of which 3


BOOK VIII. XXXVIII-XLI

kept, in your lavish bounty out of a princely coffer to the school of scribes a company that remembers him and loves yourself celebrate a feast to Blaesus. 1 This shall be your long-enduring tribute while life shall last, this also after you are dust.

XXXIX

LARGE enough to hold the revels of the Palatine board and its ambrosial feasts, was no place hereto- fore ; here it beseems thee, Germanicus, to quaff thy nectar divine, and cups blent by Ganymede's hand. May it be late, I beseech thee, that thou dost consent to be the Thunderer's guest ; but do thou, Jupiter, if thou art impatient, come hither thyself.

XL

PRIAPUS, guardian, not of parterre or blooming vine, but of the thin wood wherefrom thou wert born and canst be born again, keep off, I warn thee, thievish hands, and preserve my copse for its master's hearth. If this copse fail, thou also art wood ! 2

XLI

" ATHENAGORAS regrets he did not send me the presents he is used to send in the middle of winter's month." Whether Athenagoras regrets, Faustinus, I will consider ; me, at any rate, Athenagoras made regret.

to celebrate annually the birthday of B. "In effect," says M., "you do this yourself every year."

2 i.e. and may be burned instead. Horace (Sat. i. viii. 2) with like flippancy treats Priapus as little better than wood.

3 1


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

XLII

Si te sportula maior ad beatos non corruperit, ut solet, licebit de nostro, Matho, centies laveris.

XLIII

EFFERT uxores Fabius, Chrestilla maritos, funereamque toris quassat uterque facem.

victores committe, Venus : quos iste manebit exitus, una duos ut Libitina ferat.

XLIV

TITULLE, moneo, vive : semper hoc serum est ;

sub paedagogo coeperis licet, serum est.

at tu, miser Titulle, nee senex vivis,

sed omne limen conteris salutator

et mane sudas urbis osculis udus, 5

foroque triplici sparsus ante equos omnis

aedemque Martis et colosson Augusti

curris per omnis tertiasque quintasque.

rape, congere, aufer, posside : relinquendum est.

superba densis area palleat nummis, 10

centum explicentur paginae Kalendarum :

iurabit heres te nihil reliquisse,

supraque pluteum te iacente vel saxum,

fartus papyro dum tibi torus crescit,

flentis superbus basiabit eunuchos ; 15

tuoque tristis films, velis nolis,

cum concubino nocte dormiet prima.

1 A hundred farthings (quadrantes) was the client's usual allowance (cf. in. vii. 1), and a quadrant was the price of a bath.

32


BOOK VIII. xm-xLiv

XLII

IF greater -dole has not, as is usual, bribed you to court wealthy men, you may bathe, Matho, a hundred times at my expense. 1

XLIII

FABIUS buries his wives, Chrestilla her husbands, and each of them waves the funeral torch over a marriage-bed. Match the victors, Venus ; this is the end that will await them one funeral to convey the pair.

XLIV

TITULLUS, I warn you, live your life : ever this comes late ; though you begin under a pedagogue, 'tis late. But you, wretched Titullus, do not live even in old age, but wear out every threshold at levees, and sweat at daybreak beslavered with the kisses of the town ; and in the three Forums, mud- bespattered in front of all the Equestrian statues, and the Temple of Mars, and the Colossus 2 of Augustus, you hurry ever from the third to the fifth hours. 3 Plunder, hoard, rob, possess: you must resign it all. Let your proud money-chest be yellow with crowded coins, an hundred pages of debts due on the Kalends be opened, your heir will swear you have left no- thing. And even when you are laid out on bier or stone, while, stuffed with papyrus, your pyre is growing high, he will in insolence kiss the weeping eunuchs ; and your mourning son, whether you wish it or not, will the first night sleep with your favourite.

- A bronze statue of Augustus in the Forum that bore his name.

3 i.e. during the business hours of the day : cf. iv. viii. 2, 3.

33 VOL. a. D


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

XLV

PRISCUS ab Aetnaeis tnihi, Flacce, Terentius oris

redditur : hanc lucem lactea gemma notet ; defluat et lento splendescat turbida lino

amphora centeno consule facta minor, continget nox quando meis tam Candida mensis ? 5

tarn iusto dabitur quando calere mero ? cum te, Flacce, mihi reddet Cythereia Cypros,

luxuriae fiet tam bona causa meae.

XLVI

QUANTA tua est probitas tanta est infantia formae,

Ceste puer, puero castior Hippolyto. te secum Diana velit doceatque natare,

te Cybele totum mallet habere Phryge ; l tu Ganymedeo poteras succedere lecto, 5

sed durus domino basia sola dares, felix, quae tenerum vexabit sponsa maritum

et quae te faciet prima puella virum !

XLVII

PARS maxillarum tonsa est tibi, pars tibi rasa est, pars vulsa est. unum quis putet esse caput ?

1 Phryge Brodaeus, phryga Codd. Housman suggests molli mallet habere Phryge.

1 cf. xiv. ciii. and civ. 34


BOOK VIII. XLV-XLVII

XLV

TERENTIUS PRISCUS is given back to me, Flaccus, from 'Etna's shore: this day let a milk-white pearl mark ! and let the wine-jar, shrunken through a hundred consulships, be outpoured, and its dull- ness grow bright, slowly strained through linen. 1 When shall a night so fair again bless my board ? When shall I be allowed to warm with wine so justly earned ? When Cytherean Cyprus shall give thee, Flaccus, back to me, as good a cause shall arise for my revelry.

XLVI

EVEN as thy modesty is thy childish grace of form, boy Cestus, than boy Hippolytus 2 more chaste. Thee would Diana 3 wish, and teach, to swim with her, thee, not unmanned, would Cybele prefer to the Phrygian; 4 thou mightest have succeeded to the bed of Ganymede, 5 but in thy hardness kisses only wouldst thou have given thy lord. Happy the bride that shall provoke her youthful spouse, the maid that first shall make of thee a man !


XLVII

PART of your jaws are clipped, part is shaved, part is plucked of hairs. Who would imagine this to be a single head ?

  • Who rejected the solicitation of his stepmother Phaedra.

8 The virgin goddess of chastity.

  • The emasculated Attis : cf. v. xli. 2.

5 cf. i. vi. 1.

35 D 2


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

XLVIII

NESCIT cui dederit Tyriam Crispinus abollam,

dum mutat cultus induiturque togam. quisquis habes, umeris sua munera redde, precamur :

non hoc Crispinus te sed abolla rogat. non quicumque capit saturatas murice vestes 5

nee nisi deliciis convenit iste color, si te praeda iuvat foedique insania lucri,

qua possis melius fallere, sume togam.

XLIX

FORMOSAM sane sed caecus diligit Asper.

plus ergo, ut res est, quam videt Asper amat.


QUANTA Gigantei memoratur mensa triumphi

quantaque nox superis omnibus ilia fuit, qua bonus accubuit genitor cum plebe deorum

et licuit Faunis poscere vina lovem, tanta tuas celebrant, Caesar, convivia laurus ; 5

exhilarant ipsos gaudia nostra deos. vescitur omnis eques tecum populusque patresque

et capit ambrosias cum duce Roma dapes. grandia pollicitus quanto maiora dedisti !

promissa est nobis sportula, recta data est. 10

1 A well-known fop : cf. Cum rerna Canopi \ Crwpinu# f Tyrias humero revocante lacenias : Juv. i. 27.

36


BOOK VIII. XLVHI-L

XLVIII

CRISPINUS l does not know to whom he gave his Tyrian cloak while he was changing his dress and putting on his toga. Whoever you are who have it, restore to his shoulders their own endowment, we beg you : Crispinus does not ask this of you, but the cloak does. Not everyone sets off a robe steeped in purple : only daintiness that colour suits. If looting attract you, and a mad rage for disgraceful gain, to escape notice the better, select a toga ! 2

XLIX

ASPER loves a woman who is undoubtedly lovely, but he is blind ; so Asper, as the fact is, loves more than he sees. 3


GREAT as was the storied feast for triumph over the Giants, and great as was to all the High gods that night on which the good Sire reclined at table with the common crowd of gods, and Fauns had licence to call on Jove for wine ; so great a banquet, Caesar, celebrates thy laurels won : our joys make glad the very gods themselves. Every knight feasts along with thee, the people too, and the Fathers, and Rome together with her Chief partakes am- brosial fare. Large things didst thou promise : how much greater hast thou given ! A dole was promised us, a banquet has been given.


As being universal wear. cf. v. xv.


37


i THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

LI

Quis labor in phiala ? docti Myos anne Myronos ?

Mentoris haec mantis est an, Polyclite, tua ? livescit nulla caligine fusca nee odit

exploratores, nubila massa, focos. vera minus flavo radiant electra metallo 5

et niveum felix pustula vincit ebur. materiae non cedit opus : sic alligat orbem,

plurima cum tola lampade luna nitet. stat caper Aeolio Thebani vellere Phrixi

cultus : ab hoc mallet vecta fuisse soror ; 10

hunc nee Cinyphius tonsor violaverit et tu

ipse tua pasci vite, Lyaee, velis. terga premit pecudis geminis Amor aureus alis ;

Palladius tenero lotos ab ore sonat : sic Methymnaeo gavisus Arione delphin 15

languida non taciturn per freta vexit onus, imbuat egregium digno mihi nectare munus

non grege de domini sed tua, Ceste, manus ; Ceste, decus mensae, misce Setina : videtur

ipse puer nobis, ipse sitire caper. 20

det numerum cyathis Istanti : littera Rufi :

'auctor enim tanti muneris ille mihi :

1 Istanti Munro, instanti 0, instantis y.

1 All Greek artists of past days, renowned for chasing or sculpture.

2 The, golden fleece of the ram that bore Phryxus and Helle over the sea : cf. vm. xxviii. 20. 3 cf. vn. xcv. 13.

38


BOOK VIII. LI

LI

WHOSE labour is in the bowl ? was it of artist Mys or of Myron ? Is this Mentor's hand, or, Poly- clitus, thine ? 1 No darkness gives it a dull leaden hue, nor is it a cloudy mass that shrinks from as- saying fires. True amber is less radiant than its yellow ore, and the fine frosted silver surpasses snow- white ivory. The workmanship yields not to the material : even so the moon rounds her orb when she shines in fullness with all her light. There stands a he-goat prankt in the Aeolian fleece of Theban Phryxus 2 ; by such his sister would more gladly have been borne ; such a goat no Cinyphian barber 3 would deform, and thou thyself, Lyaeus, wouldst consent to his cropping thine own vine. 4 A Love in gold, two-winged, loads the back of the beast; the pipe of Pallas sounds from his tender lips ; in such wise the dolphin, blithe with the burden of Methymnaean Arion, 5 bore him, no unmelodious freight, o'er tranquil seas. Let no hand from the master's crowd of slaves, only thy hand, Cestus, first fill this peerless gift for me with fitting nectar ; Cestus, the banquet's pride, mix thou the Setine : the very boy, the very goat, methinks, is athirst. Let the letters of Istantius Rufus' 6 name assign their number to our measures of wine, 7 for he was the source to me of so proud a gift. If Telethusa come,

4 Juv. alludes to this : i. 76 (stantem extra pocula caprum).

5 A celebrated harpist, who, to escape the crew of the vessel carrying him to Corinth with his wealth, leaped, it is said, into the sea after playing a last time on his harp : cf. Herod, i. 23, 24.

8 A friend of M. : cf. vui. Ixxiii. 1.

7 As to this practice, cf. ix. xciii. 8 ; xi. xxxvi. 8.

39


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

si Telethusa venit promissaque gaudia portat,

servabor dominae, Rufe, triente tuo ; si dubia est, septunce trahar ; si fallit amantem, 25

ut iugulem curas, nomen utrumque bibam.

LII

TONSOREM puerum sed arte talem

qualis nee Thalamus fuit Neronis,

Drusorum cui contigere barbae,

aequandas semel ad genas rogatus

Rufo, Caediciane, commodavi. 5

dum iussus repetit pilos eosdem,

censura speculi manum regente,

expingitque cutem facitque longam

detonsis epaphaeresin capillis,

barbatus mihi tonsor est reversus. 10

LIII

FORMOSISSIMA quae fuere vel sunt, sed vilissima quae fuere vel sunt, o quam te fieri, Catulla, vellem formosam minus aut magis pudicam !

LIV

MAGNA licet totiens tribuas, maiora daturus dona, ducum victor, victor et ipse tui,

diligeris populo non propter praemia, Caesar, te propter populus praemia, Caesar, amat.

1 cf. i. cvi.

2 M. intends to drink to the vocative, i.e. Rufe, Istanti, etc. s Probably the Emperors Claudius and Nero, who bore this

name before they became Emperors. 40


BOOK VIII. LI-LIV

and bring her promised joys, I will keep myself for my mistress, Rufus, by drinking your four measures ; l if she be doubtful, I shall while away the time by seven ; if she fail her lover, then, to throttle care, I will drink both your names. 2


LII

A BARBER, young, but such an artist as not even was Nero's Thalamus, to whom fell the beards of the Drusi, 3 I lent, on his request, Caedicianus, to Rufus to smooth his cheeks once. While at command he was going over the same hairs, guiding his hand by the judgment of the mirror, and smoothing the skin, and making a second thorough clip of the close-cut hair, my barber returned to me with a beard. 4

LIII

MOST beautiful of all women who have been or are, but vilest of all who have been or are, 5 oh, how I could wish, Catulla, you could become less beautiful or more pure !

LIV

ALBEIT thou givest so oft great gifts, and shalt give greater, O thou victor over Captains and victor withal over thyself, 6 thou art loved by the people, Caesar, not because of thy boons; 'tis because of thee, Caesar, the people loves thy boons.

4 c/. vu. Ixxxiii.

5 An echo of the style of Catullus : cf. xxi. 2 and xxiv. 2.

6 i.e. whose virtues (or bounties) increase day by day.

41


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

LV

AUDITOR quantum Massyla per avia murmur,

innumero quotiens silva leone furit, pallidus attonitos ad Poena mapalia pastor

cum revocat tauros et sine mente pecus, tantus in Ausonia fremuit modo terror harena. 5

quis non esse gregem crederet ? unus erat ; sed cuius tremerent ipsi quoque iura leones,

cui diadema daret marmore picta Nomas. o quantum per colla decus, quern sparsit honorem

aurea lunatae, cum stetit, umbra iubae ! 10

grandia quam decuit latum venabula pectus

quantaque de magna gaudia morte tulit ! unde tuis, Libye, tarn felix gloria silvis ?

a Cybeles numquid venerat ille iugo ? an magis Herculeo, Germanice, misit ab astro 15

hanc tibi vel frater vel pater ipse feram ?

LVI

TEMPORIBUS nostris aetas cum cedat avorum

creverit et maior cum duce Roma suo, ingenium sacri miraris desse Maronis

nee quemquam tanta bella sonare tuba, sint Maecenates, non derunt, Flacce, Marones 5

Vergiliumque tibi vel tua rura dabunt. iugera perdiderat miserae vicina Cremonae

flebat et abductas Tityrus aeger oves : risit Tuscus eques paupertatemque malignam

reppulit et celeri iussit abire fuga. 10

1 i.e. in the presence of the emperor.

  • A yoke of lions was the sign of Cybele.


BOOK VIII. LV-LVI

LV

LOUD as is heard the roar through M assy lian wilds, oft as the woodland riots with countless lion-hordes, what time the pale shepherd recalls to his Punic stead the startled bulls and flock dismayed, so great a terror roared but now on Ausonia's sand. Who but would deem it a herd ? 'Twas a single beast, but one whose laws even the very lions would tremble at, to whom marble-dight Numidia would assign a crown. Oh, what glory, what dignity did not the tawny cloud of his curved mane, when it stood erect, shed upon his neck ! How that broad breast became mighty spears, and how great joy he won by his noble death ! l Whence came, Libya, so blest an honour to thy woods ? Had he come down from Cybele's yoke? 2 Or rather, did thy brother, Ger- manicus, or thy sire himself, send down this beast from Hercules' star? 3

LVI

ALTHOUGH our grandsires' age yields to our own times, and Rome has waxed greater in company with her chief, you wonder divine Maro's genius is seen no more, and that no man with such a trump as his blows loud of war. Let there be many a Maecenas, many a Maro, Flaccus, will not fail, and even your fields will give you a Virgil. Tityrus, 4 sick at heart, had lost his lands nigh ill-starred Cremona, and was weeping for his plun- dered sheep : the Tuscan knight smiled, and dis- pelled malignant poverty, and bade it go in hurried

3 Had Titus or Vespasian, now gods, sent down the Nemean lion slain by Hercules from the constellation Leo ? cf. iv. Ivii. 5. * Representing Virgil in the Bucolics.

43


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

" Accipe divitias et vatum maximus esto ;

tu licet et nostrum" dixit " Alexin ames." adstabat domini mensis pulcherrimus ille

marmorea fundens nigra Falerna manu, et libata dabat roseis carchesia labris 15

quae poterant ipsum sollicitare lovem. excidit attonito pinguis Galatea poetae,

Thestylis et rubras messibus usta genas ; protinus " Italiam " concepit et " Arma virumque,"

qui modo vix Culicem fleverat ore rudi. 20

quid Varies Marsosque loquar ditataque vatum

nomina, magnus erit quos numerare labor? ergo ego Vergilius, si munera Maecenatis

des mihi ? Vergilius non ero, Marsus ero.

LVII

TRES habuit dentes, pariter quos expuit omnes, ad tumulum Picens dum sedet ipse suum ;

collegitque sinu fragmenta novissima laxi oris et adgesta contumulavit humo.

ossa licet quondam defuncti non legat heres : 5

hoc sibi iam Picens praestitit officium.

LVIII

CUM tibi tarn crassae sint, Artemidore, lacernae. possim te Sagarim iure vocare meo.

LIX

ASPICIS hunc uno contentum lumine, cuius lippa sub adtrita fronte lacuna patet ?


1 rf. v. xvi. 12.

2 Characters in the Bucolics.


44


BOOK VIII. LVI-LIX

flight. " Take wealth, and be greatest of bards : you," he said, "may love even my Alexis." 1 That boy most fair was standing by his master's board, pouring the dark Falernian with hand marble-fair, and offered the beaker tasted first by his rosy lips, lips that might tempt Jove himself. Plump Galatea 2 fell away from the inspired bard and Thestylis 2 with her cheeks burnt red by harvest; at once "Italy" he conceived, and " Arms and the man," 3 he who but now in song untrained had with effort wept for a gnat. 4 Why should I speak of Variuses and Mar- suses, and tell the names of poets enriched, whom 'twere a long task to number ? Shall I then be a Virgil if you give me the gifts of a Maecenas ? I shall not be a Virgil, a Marsus 5 shall I be.

LVII

PICENS had three teeth, all of which he spat out at once as he was sitting by his own tomb ; and he gathered up in his lap the latest fragments of his loosened jaws, and entombed them in piled-up earth. His heir some day need not gather up the dead man's bones : that office Picens has already per- formed for himself.

LVIII

SEEING that your cloaks, Artemidorus, are -so thick, I might rightly call you Sagaris. 6

LIX

You see this fellow who puts up with one eye, under whose shameless brow a sightless socket gapes ?

3 Italy = Georgics, "arms, etc." = Aeneid.

4 Culex, an early poem. 5 cf. iv. xxix. 8.

8 A play on words. Sagum was a thick military cloak.

45


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

ne contemne caput, nihil est furacius illo ;

non fuit Autolyci tarn piperata manus. hunc tu convivam cautus servare memento : 5

tune furit atque oculo luscus utroque videt. pocula solliciti perdunt ligulasque ministri

et latet in tepido plurima mappa sinu ; lapsa nee a cubito subducere pallia nescit

et tectus laenis saepe duabus abit ; 10

nee dormitantem vernam fraudare lucerna

erubuit fallax, ardeat ilia licet, si nihil invasit, puerum tune arte dolosa

circuit et soleas subripit ipse suas.

LX

SUMMA Palatini poteras aequare Colossi, si fieres brevior, Claudia, sesquipede.

LXI

LIVET Charinus, rumpitur, furit, plorat

et quaerit altos unde pendeat ramos :

non iam quod orbe cantor et legor toto,

nee umbilicis quod decorus et cedro

spargor per omnes Roma quas tenet gentes, 5

sed quod sub urbe rus habemus aestivum

vehimurque mulis non ut ante conductis.

quid inprecabor, o Severe, liventi ?

hoc opto : mulas habeat et suburbanum.

1 The son of Mercury, patron of thieves, and himself the typical thief.

46


BOOK VIII. LIX-LXI

Don't despise the man, he is thievishness itself; Auto- lycus' l hand was not so sharp. When he is your guest remember to watch him carefully : then he runs amok and, though one-eyed, sees with either. Cups and dessert-spoons the anxious servants lose, and there lurks many a napkin in his warm bosom ; nor is he ignorant how to withdraw by stealth even the mantle slipt from your elbow, and often he goes away clad in two cloaks ; and the cunning thief does not blush to rob a sleeping home-born slave of his lamp, although it is alight. If he has seized nothing, then with crafty skill he circumvents his slave and filches his very own slippers !


LX

You might reach to the top of the Palatine Colossus 2 if you, Claudia, were to grow shorter by a foot and a half.

LXI

CHARINUS is green with envy, is bursting, raging, weeping, and is looking out for high boughs to hang himself from ; not now because I am acclaimed and read through the whole world, nor because, smart with bosses and cedar oil, I am spread abroad over all the nations Rome sways, but because I have in the suburbs a summer country house, and am drawn by mules no longer, as before, hired. What curse shall I utter, Severus, on his green looks ? I wish him this : let him possess mules and a suburban property ! 3

2 ff. Lib. Sped. ii. 1.

3 With all their worries.

47



SCRIBIT in aversa Picens epigrammata charta, et dolet averse quod facit ilia deo.

LXIII

THESTYLON Aulus amat sed nee minus ardet Alexin, forsitan et nostrum nunc Hyacinthon amat.

i nunc et dubita vates an diligat ipsos, delicias vatum cum meus Aulus amet.

LXIV

UT poscas, Clyte, munus exigasque,

uno nasceris octiens in anno

et solas, puto, tresve quattuorve

non natalicias habes Kalendas.

sit vultus tibi levior licebit 5

tritis litoris ai'idi lapillis,

sit moro coma nigrior caduco,

vincas mollitia tremente plumas

aut massam modo lactis alligati,

et talis tumor excitet papillas ]

qualis cruda viro puella servat,

tu nobis, Cly te, Jam- senex videris :

tarn multos quis enim fuisse credat

natalis Priamive Nestorisve ?

sit tandem pudor et modus rapinis. 15

quod si ludis adhuc semelque nasci

uno iam tibi non sat est in anno,

natum te, Clyte, nee semel putabo.

1 Phoebus, who inspires poets.


BOOK VIII. LXII-LXIV

LXII

PICENS writes epigrams on the backside of his paper, and complains that when he does so the god ] turns his.

LXIII

AULUS is fond of Thestylus, and has no less warmth for Alexis ; perhaps now he is fond of my Hya- cinthus too. Go, now ! doubt after that whether my friend Aulus loves the poets themselves, seeing that he loves poets' favourites.

LXIV

THAT you may demand, Clytus, and exact a present, you are born eight times in a single year, and only three or four Kalends, I think, you do not keep as birthdays. Smoother though your face be than the dry beach's wave-worn pebbles, blacker your hair than a mulberry ripe to fall, though you surpass feathers in fluttering softness, or a lump of newly curdled milk, and though such a rounded fullness swells a breast as the virgin bride keeps for her spouse, yet you seem to us, Clytus, already old ; for who would believe so many birthdays were Priam's or Nestor's ? Let there be at length some decent limit and measure to your rapine. But if you still play with us, and a single birth in one year is now not sufficient for you, I shall regard you, Clytus, as not having been born even once. 2

2 "To regard a person as not born" was a common phrase to express that the person alluded to was a nobody : cf. IV. Ixxxiii. 4 ; x. xxvii. 4 ; Petr. 58.

49

VOL. II. E


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

LXV

Hie ubi Fortunae Reducis fulgentia late

templa nitent, felix area nuper erat : hie stetit Arctoi formosus pulvere belli

purpureum fundens Caesar ab ore iubar : hie lauru redimita comas et Candida cultu 5

Roma salutavit voce manuque ducem. grande loci meritum testantur et altera dona :

stat sacer et domitis gentibus arcus ovat. hie gemini currus numerant elephanta frequentem,

sufficit inmensis aureus ipse iugis. 10

haec est digna tuis, Germanice, porta triumphis ;

hos aditus urbem Martis habere decet.


LXVI

AUGUSTO pia tura victimasque

pro vestro date Silio, Camenae.

bis senos iubet en redire fasces,

nato consule, nobilique virga

vatis Castaliam domum sonare 5

rerum prima sal us et una Caesar.

gaudenti superest adhuc quod optet,

felix purpura tertiusque consul.

Pompeio dederit licet senatus

et Caesar genero sacros honores, 10

quorum pacificus ter ampliavit

lanus nomina, Silius frequentes

mavult sic numerare consulatus.

1 A temple was built to Fortuna Redux in honour of Domitian's Sarmatian campaign.

2 The temple of Fortuna Redux being the other.

The lictor, escorting the consul to his house, struck on the door with his staff: Liv. vi. 34.

5


BOOK VIII. LXV-LXVI

LXV

HERE, where far-gleaming shines the fane of For- tune that gives return/ was of late, happy in its lot, an open space ; here, graced by the dust of Northern war, stood Caesar, shedding from his face effulgent light ; here, her locks wreathed with bay, and white of vesture, Rome with voice and hand greeted her Chief. A second gift, too, 2 attests the high merit of the spot : a consecrated arch staiids in triumph over the conquered nations ; here stand two chariots and many an elephant ; he himself in gold is master of the mighty cars. This gate, Germanicus, is worthy of thy triumphs : such an approach it beseems the City of Mars to possess.

LXVI

To Augustus bring, ye Camenae, pious incense and victims on behalf of your Silius. Lo ! by a son's consulship Caesar, our chief and only ward, bids the twice six axes return, and the door of the poet sire resound to the lictor's noble staff. 3 Yet this re- mains for his joy to wish for, the blessed purple of a third consul. 4 Though to Pompeius the senate, to his son-in-law 5 Caesar, gave sacred honours, and peaceful Janus thrice enrolled their names, 6 yet thus would Silius rather reckon repeated consul- ships.

  • M. hopes that Silius' second son (who, however, died

shortly afterwards) may become consul, three consulships thus falling to one house. The father was consul A. D. 68 : vn. Ixiii. 9.

6 Agrippa, who married Julia, Augustus' daughter.

6 The consular Fasti were kept in the Temple of Janus.


E 2


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

LXVII

HORAS quinque puer nondum tibi nuntiat, et tu

iam conviva mihi, Caeciliane, venis, cum modo distulerint raucae vadimonia quartae

et Floralicias lasset harena feras. curre, age, et inlotos revoca, Calliste, ministros ; 5

sternantur lecti : Caeciliane, sede. caldam poscis aquam : nondum mihi frigida venit ;

alget adhuc nudo clusa culina foco. mane veni potius ; nam cur te quinta moretur ?

ut iantes, sero, Caeciliane, venis. 10


LXVIII

Qui Corcyraei vidit pomaria regis,

rus, Entelle, tuae praeferet ille domus. invida purpureos urat ne bruma racemos

et gelidum Bacchi munera frigus edat, condita perspicua vivit vindemia gemma 5

et tegitur felix nee tamen uva latet : femineum lucet sic per bombycina corpus,

calculus in nitida sic numeratur aqua, quid non ingenio voluit natura licere ?

autumnum sterilis ferre iubetur hiemps. 10

1 cf. iv. viii. 2.

2 i.e. adjourned the court. Vadimonia were bonds re- quired of the parties to a suit to ensure their appearance.

52


BOOK VIII. LXVIl-LXVIII


LXVII

THE boy does not yet announce to you the fifth hour, and yet you, Caecilianus, come already as my guest, although the fourth hour, hoarse with plead- ing, 1 has only just enlarged the bail-bonds, 2 and the arena still wearies the wild beasts at Flora's games. 3 Come, run, Callistus, and call back the unwashed servants ; let the couches be spread : Caecilianus, sit down. You ask for warm water : my cold has. not yet arrived ; 4 my kitchen is closed and chill, its fire unlaid. Come rather at daybreak ; for why should the fifth hour keep you waiting? For a breakfast you come late, Caecilianus.


LXVIII

HE who has seen the orchards of Corcyra's king 5 will prefer, Entellus, the country youi?- house con- tains. That jealous winter may not sear the purple clusters, and chill frost consume the gifts of Bacchus, your vineyard blooms shut in transparent glass, and the fortunate grape is roofed and yet unhid. So shine a woman's limbs through silk, so is the pebble counted in pellucid water. What power has not Nature wished for mind ? Barren winter is bidden to bear autumn's fruits. 6

3 Hares and goats were hunted in the arena at the Ludi Florales.

4 M. had no water laid on to his house : cf. IX. xix.

5 Alcinous : cf. vu. xlii. 6.

6 cf. a similar epigram, viu. xiv.

53


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

LXIX

MIRARIS veteres, Vacerra. solos nee laudas nisi mortuos poetas. ignoscas petimus, Vacerra : tanti non est, ut placeam tibi, perire.

LXX

QUANTA quies placidi tantast facundia Nervae,

sed cohibet vires ingeniumque pudor. cum siccare sacram largo Permessida posset

ore, verecundam maluit esse sitim, Pieriam tenui frontem rediniire corona

contentus, famae nee dare vela suae. sed tamen hunc nostri scit temporis esse Tibullum,

carmina qui docti nota Neronis habet.


LXXI

QUATTUOR argenti libras mihi tempore brumae

misisti ante annos, Postumiane, decem ; speranti plures (nam stare aut crescere debeiit

inunera) venerunt plusve minusve duae ; tertius et quartus multo inferiora tulerunt ;

libra fuit quinto Septiciana quidem ; besalem ad scutulam sexto pervenimus anno ;

post hunc in cotula rasa selibra data est ;


1 Afterwards emperor. His poetical ability is also alluded to in ix. xxvi.

54


BOOK VIII. LXIX-LXXI

LXIX

You admire, Vacerra, the ancients alone, and praise none but dead poets. Your pardon, pray, Vacerra : it is not worth my while, merely to please you, to die.

LXX

GREAT as is the restraint, so great is the eloquence of placid Nerva, 1 but modesty restrains his power and genius. Though he might have drained sacred Permessis 2 in full draughts, he chose to slake his thirst with diffidence, content to wreathe his poet's brow with a slender crown, and to leave his sail unspread to the breeze of his own fame. Yet that he is the Tibullus of our time each man knows who keeps in mind the lays of learned Nero. 3


LXXI

FOUR pounds of silver plate in winter's season you sent me, Postumianus, ten years ago. While I hoped for a greater weight for gifts should stand fixed or grow there arrived two pounds more or less. The third and the fourth year brought much inferior presents : in the fifth was one pound, Septicius' 4 work to boot. I came down to an eight-ounce oblong dish in the sixth year ; the next was given me a bare half-pound in the shape of a small cup.

2 A fountain (also called Aganippe) sacred to the Muses, and arising in Mt. Helicon.

3 Nero is said to have called Nerva his Tibullus.

  • i.e. inferior: cf. iv. Ixxxviii. 3.

55


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

octavus ligulam misit sextante minorern ;

nonus acu levius vix cocleare tulit. quod mittat nobis decumus iam non habet annus :

quattuor ad libras, Postumiane, redi.

LXXII

NONDUM murice cultus asperoque

morsu pumicis aridi politus

Arcanum properas sequi, libelle,

quern pulcherrima iam redire Narbo,

docti Narbo Paterna Votieni, 5

ad leges iubet annuosque fasces :

votis quod paribus tibi petendum est,

continget locus ille et hie amicus.

quam vellem fieri meus libellus !

LXXIII

ISTANTI, quo nec sincerior alter habetur

pectore nec nivea simplicitate prior, si dare vis nostrae vires animosque Thaliae

et victura petis carmina, da quod amem. Cynthia te vatem fecit, lascive Properti ; 5

ingenium Galli pulchra Lycoris erat ; fama est arguti Nemesis formosa Tibulli ;

Lesbia dictav'it, docte Catulle, tibi : non me Paeligni nec spernet Mantua vatem,

si qua Corinna mihi, si quis Alexis erit. 10

1 The full name appears to ha ve been Colonia Julia Paterna Narbo Marcia, .now Narbonne. It was the capital of Gallia Narbonensis.

56


BOOK VIII. LXXI-LXXIII

gf

The eighth sent me a dessert-spoon less than two ounces weight : the ninth produced with difficulty -a snail -pick lighter than a needle. The tenth year now has nothing to send me : to your four pounds, Postumianus, return '


LXXII

THOUGH you are not yet smart with purple and smoothed by the rough bite of dry pumice, you haste, little book, to follow Arcanus, whom most lovely Narbo Narbo Paterna x of the learned Vo- tienus now bids return to declare the laws and to yearly office. 'Twill be your lot to be sued for with equal prayers to see that spot and to have this friend. How I wish I could become my own little book '

LXXIII

IsTANTius, 2 than whom none other is held more true of heart, before whom is none in pure sin- cerity, if thou wouldst give strength and spirit to my Muse, and lookest for poems that shall live, give me something to love. 'Twas Cynthia made thee a poet, wanton Propertius ; of Gallus the. inspiration was fair Lycoris ; tuneful Tibullus' renown sprang from lovely Nemesis ; Lesbia prompted thee, learned Catullus. The Pelignians 3 will not spurn me, nor Mantua, 4 as a bard, if some Corinna, if some Alexis be my own.

2 Istantius Rufus : cf. vin. li. '21.

3 Counti-ymen of Ovid.

4 Birthplace of Virgil.

57


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

LXXIV

OPLOMACHUS nunc es, fueras opthalmicus ante, fecisti medicus quod facis oplomachus.

LXXV

DUM repetit sera conductos nocte penates

Lingonus a Tecta Flaminiaque recens, expulit offenso vitiatum pollice talum

et iacuit toto corpore fusus humi. quid faceret Gallus, qua se ratione moveret? 5

ingenti domino servulus unus erat, tarn macer ut minimam posset vix ferre lucernam :

succurrit misero casus opemque tulit. quattuor inscripti portabant vile cadaver,

accipit infelix qualia mille rogus ; 10

hos comes invalidus summissa voce precatur,

ut quocumque velint corpus inane ferant : permutatur onus stipataque tollitur alte

grandis in angusta sarcina sandapila. hie raihi de multis unus, Lucane, videtur 15

cui merito dici "mortue Galle " potest.

LXXVI

" Die verum mihi, Marce, die amabo ; nil est quod magis audiam libenter." sic et cum recitas tuos libellos, et causam quotiens agis clientis,

1 cf. similar epigrams, i. xxx. and xlvii.

  • cf. in. v. 5.


BOOK VIII. LXXIV-LXXVI

LXXIV

You are now a gladiator: you were an eye-special- ist before. You did as doctor what you do now as gladiator. 1

LXXV

WHILE late at night a Lingonian just returning from the Covered 2 and Flaminian Ways was making for his hired lodging, catching his big toe, he put out his ankle, and lay upset all his length on the ground. What should the Gaul do ? how could he move ? The huge master had a single tiny slave, so thin that he could barely carry the smallest lantern : chance came to the rescue of the wretched man, and brought aid. Four branded slaves were carrying a common corpse the pauper's burying-gi'ound re- ceives a thousand such these slaves the weak at- tendant besought in a low voice to shift the lifeless body wherever they wished. The load is changed and the cargo is lifted high and crammed in a huge cargo in a narrow bier. This individual seems to me, Lucanus, to be the one of many to whom can justly be said, "O dead Gaul." 3

LXXVI

" TELL me the truth, Marcus, tell me, please : there is nothing I would more gladly hear." Such, Gallicus, both when you recite your poems and whenever you plead a client's cause is your prayer

3 " Mortue Galle " was the refrain of the verses with which the retiarins (net-caster) used to provoke his oppo- nent, the mirmillo (who wore a Gaulish helmet).

59


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

oras, Galilee, me rogasque semper. 5

durum est me tibi quod petis negare. vero verius ergo quid sit audi : verum, Gallice, non libenter audis.

LXXVII

LIBER, amicorum dulcissima cura tuorum,

Liber, in aeterna vivere digne rosa, si sapis, Assyrio semper tibi crinis amomo

splendeat et cingaiit florea serta caput ; Candida nigrescant vetulo crystalla Falerno 5

et caleat blando mollis amore torus, qui sic vel medio finitus vixit in aevo,

longior huic facta est quam data vita fuit.

LXXVI1I

Quos cuperet Phlegraea suos victoria ludos,

Indica quos cuperet pompa, Lyaee, tuos, fecit Hyperborei celebrator Stella triumphi,

o pudor ! o pietas ! et putat esse parum. non illi satis est turbato sordidus auro 5

Hermus et Hesperio qui sonat orbe Tagus. omnis habet sua dona dies : nee linea dives

cessat et in populum multa rapina cadit ; nunc veniunt subitis lasciva nomismata nimbis,

nunc dat spectatas tessera larga feras, 10

nunc implere sinus securos gaudet et absens

sortitur dominos, ne laceretur, avis.


1 ff. a very similar epigram, v. Ixiii.

2 For a similar sentiment, cf. x. xxiii. 7, 8.

3 The victory of the gods over the giants in the Phlegraean Plains in Campania : cf. vin. 1. 1.

60


BOOK VIII. LXXVI-I.XXVIH

and request to me continually. It is hard for me to refuse what you want. Hear, then, what is truer than truth ; truth, Gallicus, you do not willingly hear. 1

LXXVII

LIBER, of thy friends the care most sweet, Liber, worthy to live amid deathless roses, if thou art wise, let thy locks glisten alway with Assyrian balm and chaplets of flowers encircle thy head ; let thy clear crystal darken with old Falernian, and thy soft couch warm with love's endearments. Whoever has so lived, to him, even did the end come in middle age, life has been made longer than was appointed. 2


LXXVIII

SPORTS which a Phlegraean victory 3 might have craved for its own, which thy Indian pageant, Lyaeus, 4 might have craved to be thine, Stella, honouring the Northern triumph, has given; and yet what modesty is his, what loyalty ! he holds them too small. Not for him suffices the wealth of Hermus, dark with tumbled gold, and of Tagus echoing in the Western world. Each day provides its own gifts ; the cord's rich burden 5 fails not, and full-laden spoil falls upon the people ; now come in sudden showers sportive tokens; 6 now the bounteous ticket assigns the beasts of the arena ; now the bird is glad to fill a lap that gives it safety, and that it be not torn asunder

4 cf. vni. xxvi. 7.

5 A cord hung with gifts for the populace.

6 Entitling the holder to receive presents.

6l


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

quid numerem currus ter denaque praemia palmae, quae dare non semper consul uterque solet ?

omnia sed, Caesar, tanto superantur honore, 15

quod spectatorem te tua laurus habet.

LXXIX

OMNIS aut vetulas habes arnicas

aut turpis vetulisque foediores.

has ducis comites trahisque tecum

per convivia porticus theatra.

sic formosa, Fabulla, sic puella es. 5

LXXX

SANCTORUM nobis miracula reddis avorum

nee pateris, Caesar, saecula cana mori, cum veteres Latiae ritus renovantur harenae

et pugnat virtus simpliciore manu. sic priscis servatur honos te praeside templis 5

et casa tarn culto sub love numen habet ; sic nova dum condis, revocas, Auguste, priora :

debentur quae sunt quaeque fuere tibi.

1 Birds are, instead of being scrambled for and so torn to pieces, assigned by lot. Statius (Syh: I. vi. 75 stq. ) describes one of Domitian's Saturnalian shows, where huge clouds of birds descend " mbito volatu" among the people, birds sup- posed by Verrall (Lit. Essays, 82) to have been toy ones with tickets for presents attached.

62


BOOK VIII. Lxxvm-Lxxx

wins, while apart, by lot its owner. 1 Why should I count the chariots, and victory's thrice ten prizes, which both consuls are not always wont to give ? 2 But all, Caesar, is surpassed by this great glory, that thy triumph hath thee a spectator.


LXXIX

ALL the female friends you have are either old crones or ugly, and fouler than old crones. These, as your companions, you conduct and drag about with you through parties, colonnades, theatres. In this way, Fabulla, you are lovely, in this way young.


LXXX

THOU restorest to us, Caesar, the wonders of our honoured grandsires' age, and lettest not the times of old die, now that the ancient fashions of the Latin arena are renewed and valour fights with more natural hand. 3 So also for the old-world fanes is kept their honour while thou art Governor, and the Cot 4 under a Jove so worshipped keeps its sanctity ; 5 so, while thou dost found the new, thou bringest back, Augustus, the former things : what is, and what was, are owed to thee !

2 There were thirty races. The consuls exhibited games on their entrance into office.

3 Domitian had restored pugilism in the amphitheatre.

4 The Cot (Casa Romuli) was a straw-thatched cottage on the Palatine, and was revered as the legendary dwelling of the Founder of Rome : cf. Virg. A en. viii. 654.

5 Jove is magnificently honoured, yet the humble Cot is hallowed.

63


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

LXXXI

NON per mystica sacra Dindymenes

nee per Niliacae bovem iuvencae,

nullos denique per deos deasque

iurat Gellia, sed per uniones.

hos amplectitur, hos perosculatur, 5

hos fratres vocat, hos vocat sorores,

hos natis amat acrius duobus.

his si quo careat misella casu,

victuram negat esse se nee horam.

eheu, quam bene mine, Papiriane, 10

Annaei faceret manus Sereni !

LXXXII

DANTE tibi turba querulos, Auguste, libellos

nos quoque quod domino carmina parva damus, posse deum rebus pariter Musisque vacare

scimus et haec etiam serta placere tibi. fer vates, Auguste, tuos : nos gloria dulcis, 5

nos tua cura prior deliciaeque sumus. non quercus te sola decet nee laurea Phoebi :

fiat et ex hedera civica nostra tibi.

1 Apis, the sacred Egyptian bull, representing Osiris, the husband of Isis, who was represented as a heifer: ef. n. xiv. 8.

2 An obscure allusion. Perhaps S. was notoriously a wearer of pearls. Some commentators take him for a noted thief. But M. would then hardly have mentioned his name.

'* Domitian had himself written poetry before he became emperor.


64


BOOK VIII. LXXXI-LXXXII

LXXXI

NOT by the mystic rites of Dindymene, nor by the bull, 1 the spouse of Nile's heifer, in a word by no gods and goddesses does Gellia swear, but by her pearls. These she hugs, these she kisses passion- ately, these she calls her brothers, these she calls her sisters, these she loves more ardently than her two sons. If by any chance the unhappy woman should lose them, she says she would not live even an hour. Ah, how usefully now, Papirianus, would the hand of Annaeus Serenus be employed ! 2

LXXXII

WHILE the throng offers to you, Augustus, its querulous petitions, the reason why we too offer to our Master a few poems, is because we know that a god can have leisure at once for business and for the Muses, and that even this wreath of song pleases you. Bear with your bards, Augustus : we are your treasured pride, we are your earlier 3 care, and your delight. Not alone does the oak 4 beseem you, or Phoebus' laurel ; 5 let there be made a civic crown for you of ivy 6 as well !

4 The corona civica of oak-leaves given to one who had preserved the life of a citizen, afterwards given to the emperor as the general preserver.

8 The crown of victory in war.

6 The distinction of a poet : cf. Virg. Eel. viii. 12.


65 VOL. II. F


BOOK IX


LIBER NONUS

HAVE, mi Torani, frater carissime. epigramma, quod extra ordinem paginarum est, ad Stertinium clarissimum virum scripsimus, qui imaginem meam ponere in bybliotheca sua voluit. de quo scribendum tibi putavi, ne ignorares Avitus iste quis vocaretur. vale et para hospitium.

Note, licet nolis, sublimi pectore vates,

cui referet serus praemia digna cinis, hoc tibi sub nostra breve carmen imagine vivat,

quam non obscuris iungis, Avite, viris : " Ille ego sum nulli nugarum laude secundus, 5

quern non miraris sed puto, lector, amas. maiores maiora sonent : mihi parva locuto

sufficit in vestras saepe redire manus."


DUM lanus hiemes, Domitianus autumnos, Augustus annis commodabit aestates, dum grande famuli nomen adseret Rheni Germanicarum magna lux Kalendarum,

1 Addressed as Avitus also in i. xvi. 1 i.e. a senator. S. was consul A.D. 92.

68


BOOK IX.

GREETING, my Toranius, dearest brother. The epigram which is supernumerary to my pages I have written to Stertinius, 1 a most illustrious man, 2 who wished to place my bust in his library. Concerning whom I thought I ought to write to you, that you might not be ignorant who was the Avitus there addressed. Farewell, and get ready your hospitality.

Famed, though against thy will, as a bard of sub- lime invention, to whom death long hence shall pay thy fitting meed, let this short stanza abide, I pray thee, beneath that bust of me, which thou addest, Avitus, to those of not ignoble men :

" Lo ! he am I whose light verse yields to none ; Reader, thy love, not awe, methinks I've won. Let greater men strike greater notes : I earn Enough if my small themes oft to thy hands return."


I

WHILE Janus shall lend winters to the year, Do- mitianus autumns, Augustus summers ; while the great day of the Germanic Kalends shall claim a mighty name from the subservient Rhine ; 3 while

3 Domitian, copying Augustus, who named August, gave the names Germanicus and Domitianus to September and October respectively, because he was made emperor in the one and was born in the other : Suet. Dom. 13.

69


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

Tarpeia summi saxa dum patris stabunt, 5

dum voce supplex dumque ture placabit matrona divae dulce luliae numen, . manebit altum Flaviae decus gentis cum sole et astris cumque luce Romana. invicta quidquid condidit manus, caeli est. 10

II

PAUPER amicitiae cum sis, Lupe, non es amicae

et queritur de te mentula sola nihil. ilia siligineis pinguescit adultera cunnis,

convivam pascit nigra farina tuum. incensura nives dominae Setina liquantur, 5

nos bibimus Corsi pulla venena cadi ; empta tibi nox est fundis non tota paternis,

non sua desertus rura sodalis arat ; splendet Erythraeis perlucida moecha lapillis,

ducitur addictus, te futuente, cliens ; 10

octo Syris suflfulta datur lectica puellae,

nudum sandapilae pondus amicus erit. i nunc et miseroSj Cybele, praecide cinaedos :

haec erat, haec cultris mentula digna tuis.

Ill

QUANTUM iam superis, Caesar, caeloque dedisti si repetas et si creditor esse velis,

1 cf. vi. iii. 6 ; vi. xiii.

1 The temple built by Domitian in honour of the gens Flavia : cf. ix. iii. 12.

70


BOOK IX. i-m

the Tarpeian rock of the Sire Supreme shall stand ; while, suppliant with prayer, and with incense, the matron shall propitiate the fair deity of Julia l now divine : the towering glory of the Flavian race 2 shall endure, coeternal with sun and stars, and with the light that shines on Rome. Whatever an un- conquered arm has founded, that is of Heaven !

II

ALTHOUGH you are a poor man to your friends, Lupus, you are not so to your mistress, and only your virility has no grievance against you. She, the adulteress, fattens on lewdly shaped loaves : 3 black meal feeds your guest. Setine wines are strained to inflame your lady's snow ; 4 we drink the black poison of a Corsican jar. Her favours not un- shared are bought at the price of your paternal estate ; your comrade, neglected, ploughs fields that are not his own : the adulteress is bright and shining with Eastern jewels ; your client is committed and dragged off to prison while you enjoy amours : a litter poised on eight Syrian slaves is given to your girl; your friend a naked corpse will be the burden of a pauper's bier. Go now, Cybele ! and castrate wretched paederasts : here, here is matter long since worthy of your knife !

Ill

WERE you, Caesar, to reclaim, and did you wish to be creditor for all you have already given to the

3 cf. xrv. Ixix.

4 cf. v. Ixiv. 2 ; xiv. cxvii.


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

grandis in aetherio licet auctio fiat Olympo

coganturque dei vendere quidquid habent, conturbabit Atlans et non erit uncia tota 5

decidat tecum qua pater ipse deum. pro Capitolinis quid enim tibi solvere templis,

quid pro Tarpeiae frondis honore potest ? quid pro culminibus geminis matrona Tonantis ?

Pallada praetereo : res agit ilia tuas. 10

quid loquar Alciden Phoebumque piosque Laconas ?

addita quid Latio Flavia templa polo ? expectes et sustineas, Auguste, necesse est :

nam tibi quod solvat non habet area lovis.

IV AUREOLIS futui cum possit Galla duobus

et plus quam futui, si totidem addideris, aureolos a te cur accipit, Aeschyle, denos ?

non fellat tanti Galla. quid ergo ? tacet.

V

NUBERE vis Prisco : non miror, Pau^ ; sapisti. ducere te non vult Priscus : et ille sapit.

VI

TIBI, summe Rheni domitor et parens orbis, pudice princeps, gratias agunt urbes :

1 An uncia for every as, i.e. a penny hi the shilling.

2 cf. iv. i. 6 : iv. liv. 1.

3 Domitian regarded himself as being peculiarly under the protection, and in fact the son, of Pallas.


BOOK IX. m-vi

high gods and to heaven, then, though a great auction were held on skyey Olympus and gods were forced to sell whatever they possess, Atlas will go bankrupt, and there will not be a full twelfth : wherewith the Sire of the gods himself may settle with you. For what can he pay you in return for Capitoline temples, what for the glory of the Tarpeian oak crown ? 2 What can the Thunderer's dame pay for her two temples ? Pallas I pass by : she is your partner. 3 Why should I speak of Alcides and Phoe- bus, and the loving Spartan twins ? 4 Why of the Flavian fane, a new gift to the Latin heaven? 5 You must wait and endure, Augustus ; for to pay you Jove's money-chest has not the wherewithal.

IV

ALTHOUGH Galla's favours may be secured for two gold pieces, and special favours if you add as much again, why does she receive ten pieces from you, Aeschylus ? Galla's self-abandonment is not so dear as that. What is, then ? Her silence.


You wish to marry Priscus; I don't wonder, Paula; you are wise. Priscus does not wish to marry you : he, too, is wise.

VI

To thee, Conqueror supreme of Rhine, and parent of the world, O modest Prince, the cities give their

4 Castor and Pollux.

5 i.e. to the Roman Pantheon, the deified emperors : cf. ix. xxxiv. 2.

73


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

populos habebunt ; parere iam scelus non est.

non puer avari sectus arte mangonis

virilitatis damna maeret ereptae,

nee quam superbus conputet stipeni leno

dat prostitute misera mater infanti.

qui nee cubili fuerat ante te quondam,

pudor esse per te coepit et lupanari.


VII

DICERE de Libycis reduci tibi gentibus, Afer, continuis volui quinque diebus "Have" :

"Non vacat " aut " Dormit " dictum est bis terque

reverse, iam satis est. non vis, Afer, havere: vale.

VIII

TAMQUAM parva foret sexus iniuria nostri

foedandos populo prostituisse mares, iam cunae lenonis erant, ut ab ubere raptus

sordida vagitu posceret aera puer : inmatura dabant infandas corpora poenas. 5

non tulit Ausonius talia monstra pater, idem qui teneris nuper succurrit ephebis,

ne faceret steriles saeva libido viros. dilexere prius pueri iuvenesque senesque,

at nunc infantes te quoque, Caesar, amant. 10


1 cf. n. Ix. 4 ; v. Ixxv.

2 " Vale" was said when the survivors took leave of the

74


BOOK IX. VI-VIH

thanks : population shall they have ; to bring forth is at last no crime. 1 The boy, mutilated by the grasping slave-dealer's art, does not lament the loss of his ravished manhood, nor does a needy mother give her prostituted infant the pittance which the haughty pander is to count out. The modesty which erewhile before thee not even the marriage-bed possessed, now by thy means even a brothel begins to show.

VII

WHEN you had returned from the tribes of Libya, Afer, five days running I wanted to say " Good day ! " " He is engaged," or " He is taking a siesta," was the message when I had returned twice and three times. Enough ! Afer, you don't want a " Good day " : " Good bye." 2

VIII

As if it were small injury to our sex to prostitute our males to pollution by the people, the cradle was but now so the pander's own that a boy snatched from his mother's breast begged with infant wail for sordid coin ; bodies immature suffered unutterable outrage. 3 The Father of Italy could not endure such enormities, even he who of late succoured 4 tender youths, that cruel lust might not make barren men. Boys loved thee before, and young men, and aged sires ; but now infants, too, love thee, Caesar.

corpse at a funeral : cf. v. Ixvi. 2. "I shall look upon you as dead in future," says M.

3 Domitian revived the Lex Scantinia, against unnatural crimes : Suet. Dom. viii.

4 cf. ix. vi. 4,

75


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

IX

NIL tibi legavit Fabius, Bithynice, cui tu

annua, si memini, milia sena dabas. plus nulli dedit ille : queri, Bithynice, noli :

annua legavit milia sena tibi.

X

CENES, Canthare, cum foris libenter, clamas et maledicis et minaris. deponas animos truces monemus : liber non potes et gulosus esse.

XI

NOMEN cum violis rosisque natum,

quo pars optima nominatur anni,

Hyblam quod sapit Atticosque flores,

quod nidos olet alitis superbae ;

nomen nectare dulcius beato, 5

quo mallet Cybeles puer vocari

et qui pocula temperat Tonanti,

quod si Parrhasia sones in aula,

respondent Veneres Cupidinesque ;

nomen nobile molle delicatum 10

versu dicere non nidi volebam :

sed tu, syllaba contumax, repugnas.

dicunt Eiarinon tamen poetae,

sed Graeci quibus est nihil negatum

et qu os 'Apes "Apes decet sonare : 15

nobis non licet esse tarn disertis

qui Musas colimus severiores.

1 "You now save the sum you spent on him."

2 The honey of Hybla, in Sicily, and of Hymettus respec- tively : cf. V. xxxix. 3 ; vn. Ixxxviii. 8.

7 6


BOOK IX. ix-xi

IX

FABIUS has bequeathed you nothing, Bithynicus, he to whom, if I remember, you used to give six thousand sesterces a year. More he gave to no man ; don't complain, Bithynicus : he has bequeathed you six thousand sesterces a year. 1


ALTHOUGH you gladly dine abroad, Cantharus, you bawl and abuse and threaten people. Discard such truculent spirits, I warn you ; you can't be both independent and a glutton.

XI

A NAME born with the violets and the roses, after which the year's best part is called, that savours of Hybla and Attic flowers, 2 that smells of the nest of the lordly fowl; 3 a name, sweeter than nectar divine, by which Cybele's loved boy 4 and he who blends his draught for the Thunderer, would fain be called ; whereto, shouldst thou sound it in the Palatine hall, Venuses and Cupids make answer ; a name noble, soft, delicate this I wished to Utter in no rugged verse : but you, an obstinate syllable, rebel. 5 Yet poets speak of Eiarinos ; but they were Greeks, to whom nothing is denied, and whom it becomes to sound Ares short as Ares long. 6 We cannot be so versatile, who court Muses more unbending.

3 The phoenix : cf. vi. Iv. 2.

4 Attis : cf. v. xli. 2.

8 The four short syllables in Earinos will not go into M.'s metre.

6 Homer (II. v. 31) uses both quantities in one line : ^Apes, poro\oiyf, fj.tai(f>6ve, Tixe<T(irA^TO.

77


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

XII

Si daret autumnus mihi nomen, Oporinos essem, horrida si brumae sidera, Chimerinos ;

dictus ab aestivo Therinos tibi mense vocarer : tempora cui nomen verna dedere, quis est ?

XIII NOMEN habes teneri quod tempora nuncupat anni,

cum breve Cecropiae ver populantur apes : nomen Acidalia meruit quod harundine pingi,

quod Cytherea sua scribere gaudet acu ; nomen Erythraeis quod littera facta lapillis, 5

gemma quod Heliadum pollice trita notet; quod pinna scribente grues ad sidera tollant ;

quod decet in sola Caesaris esse domo.

XIV HUNC quern mensa tibi, quern cena paravit amicum

esse putas fidae pectus amicitiae ? aprum amat et mullos et sumeii et ostrea, non te.

tarn bene si cenem, noster amicus erit.

1 The Greek adjectives expressing autumn, winter, and summer are respectively 'Orr<apiv6s, Xfifatpiv6s, and &tptv6s. " Of spring " is similarly 'Eaptv6s.

1 Acidalia was a name of Venus from a fountain in Boeotia. She was also called Cytherea from Cythera, an island off the coast of Laconia.

78


BOOK IX. xn-xiv

XII

WERE Autumn to give me my name, Oporinus should I be, or if rough winter's sky, Chimerinos ; named after summer's month, to you I should be called Therinos : who is he to whom spring's season has given his name ? 1

XIII

THOU hast a name that bespeaks the season of the budding year, when Attic bees lay waste the brief- lived spring ; a name meet to be writ in colour by Acidalia's 2 pen, which Cytherea joys to embroider with her own needle; a name which letters strung of Indian pearls, which a jewel of the Heliades 3 rubbed by the fingers, should mark; which cranes with wings that write upon the skies 4 should lift to heaven ; which it beseems to be in Caesar's house alone.

XIV

THIS man, whom your table, whom your dinner has made your friend think you his heart one of loyal friendship ? 'Tis boar he loves, and mullet, and sow's paps, and oysters, not you. Were I to dine so well, he will be my friend.

8 By amber, into which the tears of the H. for the death of their brother Phaethon were turned. It became fragrant by rubbing : cf. in. Ixv. 5 ; xi. viii. 6.

4 Palamedes was said to have invented the Greek T (the Latin V) by observing the formation of cranes in flight. V begins ver (spring), and represents Earinos : cf. xni. Ixxv.

79


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

XV

INSCRIPSIT tumulis septem scelerata virorum "Se fecisse " Chloe. quid pote simplicius ?

XVI

CONSILIUM formae speculum dulcisque capillos

Pergameo posuit dona sacrata deo ille puer tota domino gratissimus aula,

nomine qui signat tempora verna suo. felix quae tali censetur munere tellus ! 5

nee Ganymedeas mallet habere comas.

XVII

LATONAE venerande nepos, qui mitibus herbis

Parcarum exoras pensa brevesque colos, hos tibi laudatos domino, rata vota, 1 capillos

ille tuus Latia misit ab urbe puer ; addidit et nitidum sacratis crinibus orbem, 5

quo felix facies iudice tuta fuit. tu iuvenale decus serva, ne pulchrior ille

in longa fuerit quam breviore coma.

XVIII

EST mihi (sitque precor longum te praeside, Caesar) rus minimum, parvi sunt et in urbe lares.

1 sua vota 0, rata voce y.

1 The words are ambiguous. " Chloe fecit " was intended to mean " C. built this tomb." M. suggests "wrought the death of her husbands."

80


BOOK IX. xv-xvni

XV

ACCURSED Chloe inscribed the monuments of her seven husbands with " Chloe wrought this." What could be plainer ? l

XVI

His mirror, beauty's counsellor, and his darling locks gifts dedicated to the god of Pergamus 2 that boy 3 has offered, who, in all the palace most dear to his master, by his name denotes the time of spring. Happy the land whose worth is gauged by such a gift ! It would not choose instead even the tresses of Ganymede.

XVII

REVERED grandson of Latona, who with the magic of thy gentle herbs dost win over 4 the threads and brief distaffs of the Fates, these locks ' by his master praised thy 5 boy has sent, his vow's fulfil- ment, from Latium's city ; and to his consecrated hair has he added the bright disk, by whose judg- ment his happy beauty was assured. Do thou pre- serve his youthful bloom, that he be no fairer with long curls than with shortened locks !

XVIII

1 HAVE-r-and I pray I may have it long, Caesar, beneath thy guardianship a tiny country house, and

2 Aesculapius, the god of healing, who had a temple at Pergamus in Asia Minor.

3 Earinos, Domitian's cupbearer, mentioned in Epp. xi.-xiii.

4 i.e. who dost prolong human life.

5 Perhaps Earinos came from Pergamus.

81

VOL. II. O


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

sed de valle brevi quas det sitientibus hortis

curva laboratas antlia tollit aquas : sicca domus queritur nullo se rore foveri, 5

cum mihi vicino Marcia fonte sonet. quam dederis nostris, Auguste, penatibus undam,

Castalis haec nobis aut lovis imber erit.

XIX

LAUDAS balnea versibus trecentis cenantis bene Pontici, Sabelle. vis cenare, Sabelle, non lavari.

XX

HAEC, quae tota patet tegiturque et marmore et auro,

infantis domini conscia terra fuit. felix o, quantis sonuit vagitibus et quas

vidit reptantis sustinuitque manus ! hie steterat veneranda domus quae praestitit orbi 5

quod Rhodos astrifero, quod pia Creta, polo. Curetes texere lovem crepitantibus armis,

semiviri poterant qualia ferre Phryges : at te protexit superum pater et tibi, Caesar,

pro iaculo et parma fulmen et aegis erat. 10

1 The Aqua, Marcia was one of the great aqueducts. According to Strabo (v. 8) almost every house in Rome had water laid on ; see also Hor. Ep. i. x. 20. M.'s was an exception : cf. vin. Ixvii. 7.

  • An epigram on the building of the Flavian Temple on

the site of the house in which Domitian was born : Suet. Dom. i.

82


BOOK IX. XVIH-XX

I have, too, a small dwelling in the city. But my curved pole and bucket lift with labour from a shallow valley water to bestow on the thirsty garden; the arid house complains that it is freshened by no moisture, though Marcia babbles in my ears with neighbouring fount. 1 The water thou shalt give, Augustus, to my household gods will be to me a spring of Castaly or a shower of Jove.

XIX

You extol in infinite verse the baths of Ponticus who gives good dinners, Sabellus. You wish to dine, Sabellus, not to wash !

XX

THIS spot of earth, which now lies wholly open, and is being covered with marble and with gold, knew our lord's infant years. 2 O blessed spot ! With wail ings of how great a babe it echoed, and what hands it saw and upbore as they crept ! Here had stood the house august that made real to the world what Rhodes, what duteous Crete 3 made real to the starry heaven. Cybele's priests guarded Jove with their rattling arms, such arms as Phrygians, but half men, could wield ; 4 but thee the Sire of the gods safeguarded, and for thee, Caesar, thunderbolt and aegis stood for spear and buckler.

3 i.e. the birth of a god. Pallas (Find. 01. vii. 35) was said to have sprung from the head of Zeus at Rhodes. But some commentators think Poseidon is referred to. Zeus or Jupiter was born in Crete.

4 The Curetes (demi-gods) clashed their arms to drown the infant's cries, lest his father Cronos should hear and eat him.

83

G 2


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

XXI

ARTEMIDORUS habet puerum sed vendidit agrum ;

agrum pro puero Calliodorus habet. die uter ex istis melius rem gesserit, Aucte :

  • " Artemidorus amat, Calliodorus arat.

XXII

CREDIS ob haec me, Pastor, opes fortasse rogare

propter quae populus crassaque turba rogat, ut Setina meos consumat gleba ligones

et sonet innumera compede Tuscus ager ; ut Mauri Libycis centum stent dentibus orbes 5

et crepet in nostris aurea lamna toris, nee labris nisi magna meis crystalla terantur

et faciant nigras nostra Falerna nives ; ut canusinatus nostro Syrus assere sudet

et mea sit culto sella cliente frequens ; 10

aestuet ut nostro madidus conviva ministro,

quern permutatum nee Ganymede velis ; ut lutulenta linat Tyrias mihi mula lacernas

et Massy la meum virga gubernet equum. est nihil ex istis : superos ac sidera testor. 15

ergo quid ? ut donem, Pastor, et aedificem.

XXIII

O cui virgineo flavescere contigit auro, die ubi Palladium sit tibi, Care, decus.

1 Wine was strained through snow : cf. v. Ixiv. 2 ; XIV. cxvii. 2 cf. xiv. cxxvii. and cxxix. 3 cf. x. xiii. 2.

  • Possibly Pastor (like Gellius in rx. xlvi.) made "building"

an excuse for never " giving." Friedlander explains "carry out public works for the general good " ; but this is not in the Latin.

84


BOOK IX. xxi-xxiu

XXI

ARTEMIDORUS possesses a young slave, but has sold liis land ; the land Calliodorus possesses in ex- change for the slave. Say, which of those two made the better bargain, Auctus ? Artemidorus has his pleasure, Calliodorus his plough.

XXII

You believe, Pastor, I perhaps ask for riches for the same reasons as the vulgar and the dense-witted crowd ask, in order that Setia's glebe may wear away my hoes, and Tuscan fields clank with countless fet- ' tered slaves ; that a hundred round Moorish tables may stand on Libyan tusks, and golden plating tinkle on my couches ; that none but large crystal cups be rubbed by my lips, and that my Falernian darken the cooling snow; 1 that Syrian slaves in Canusian 2 wool may sweat beneath my litter-pole, and my chair be crowded by full-dressed clients ; that the tipsy guest may be hot for page of mine, whom you would not barter eyen for a Ganymede ; that a mud-bespattered 'mule may soil my Tyrian cloak, and the rod of a Massylian s guide my horse. 'Tis none of those things I call to witness the high gods and heaven ! Then what ? To make presents,

Pastor, and to build. 4


XXIII

O THOU whose lot has been to gleam with the Virgin's gold, 5 say, Carus, where is the prize Pallas

6 C. had won the golden olive-wreath, the prize for poetry, at the annual contest in honour of Minerva at Domitian's Alban villa : cf. iv. i. 5. This he had transferred to the Emperor's bust.

85


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

" Aspicis en domini fulgentes marmore vultus ?

venit ad has ultro nostra corona comas." Albanae livere potest pia quercus olivae, 5

cinxerit invictum quod prior ilia caput.


XXIV

Quis Palatinos imitatus imagine vultus Phidiacum Latio marmore vicit ebur ?

haec mundi fades, haec sunt lovis ora sereni : sic tonat ille deus cum sine nube tonat.

non solam tribuit Pallas tibi, Care, coronam ; 5

effigiem domini, quam colis, ilia dedit.

XXV

DANTEM vina tuum quotiens aspeximus Hyllum,

luinine nos, Afer, turbidiore notas. quod, rogo, quod seel us est mollem spectare minis- trum ?

aspicimus solem sidera templa deos. avertam vultus, tamquam mihi pocula Gorgon 5

porrigat atque oculos oraque nostra petat l ? trux erat Alcides, et Hylan spectare licebat ;

ludere Mercuric cum Ganymede licet, si non vis teneros spectet conviva ministros,

Phineas invites, Afer, et Oedipodas. 10

1 tegam /3, petat. 86


BOOK IX. xxni-xxv

gave thee ? " Seest thou there our master's face bright in marble ? My crown unprompted passed to those locks." The patriot oak 1 may envy Alba's olive for that it first wreathed that unconquered

brow.


XXIV

WHO, portraying in a bust Imperial features, has in Latin marble surpassed Phidian ivory? This is the aspect of a world, this the countenance of Jove in calm : so thundei's that god when he thunders in cloudless skies. Not a crown alone has Pallas granted thee, Carus ; our master's effigy which thou dost worship has she given.


XXV

As often as we have glanced at your Hyllus while he is serving wine, 'tis with a somewhat troubled eye you regard us, Afer. What, what offence, I ask you, is it to gaze on a gentle cup-bearer ? We look upon the sun, stars, temples, gods. Am I to turn away my face as if a Gorgon offered me the cup, and were assaulting my eyes and my face ? Fierce was Al- cides, and 'twas allowed to gaze on Hylas : Mercury is allowed to sport along with Ganymede. If you do not wish your guest to gaze on your youthful servants, Afer, you should invite Phineuses and Oedipuses. 2

1 The golden oak -leaf crown, the prize of the quinquennial contest in music, etc., in honour of Jup. Capitolinus : cf. iv. i. 6.

2 Both Phineus and Oedipus were blind.

8?


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

XXVI

AUDET facundo qui carmina mittere Nervae,

pallida donabit glaucina, Cosine, tibi, Paestano violas et cana ligustra colono,

Hyblaeis apibus Corsica mella dabit. sed tamen et parvae normulla est gratia Musae ; 5

appetitur posito vilis oliva lupo. nee tibi sit mirum modici quod conscia vatis

iudicium metuit nostra Thalia tuum : ipse tuas etiam veritus Nero dicitur aures,

lascivum iuvenis cum tibi lusit opus. 10

XXVII

CUM depilates, Chreste, coleos portes

et vulturino mentulam parem collo

et prostitutis levius caput culis,

nee vivat ullus in tuo pilus crure,

purgentque saevae cana labra volsellae, 5

Curios Camillos Quintios Numas Ancos

et quidquid usquam legimus pilosorum

loqueris sonasque grandibus minax verbis,

et cum theatris saeculoque rixaris.

occurrit aliquis inter ista si draucus, 10

iam paedagogo liberatus et cuius

refibulavit turgidum faber penem,

nutu vocatum ducis, et pudet fari

Catoniana, Chreste, quod facis lingua.

1 The future emperor : cf. vni. Ixx.

2 The celebrated perfumer : cf. in. Iv. 1. Glaucina seems to have been an unguent made from the plant ylaucium (? celandine).

3 i.e. will send things and inferior things where they are not wanted. Corsican honey was bitter from the abundance of yews in the island : cf. Verg. Eel. ix. 30.

88


BOOK IX. xxvi-xxvn

XXVI

HE who ventures to send poetry to eloquent Nerva l will present you, Cosmus, 2 with pale glaucine unguent, will give to a Paestan gardener violets and white privets, to bees of Hybla Corsican honey. 3 Yet even a humble Muse possesses some charm ; a cheap olive gives relish to a bass upon the board. And do not wonder that, conscious of the slender powers of her bard, my Thalia shrinks from your judgment ; even Nero himself 4 is said to have feared your critic ears when in youth he lightly touched for you some wanton theme.

XXVII

ALTHOUGH you carry about one part of your person, Chrestus, plucked of hair, and another matching a vulture's neck, and a head smoother than prosti- tuted - , and not a single bristle sprouts on your shanks, and pitiless pluckings clear your bloodless lips, you prate of Curii, Camilli, Quinctii, Numas, Ancuses, and of all the bristly philosophers we read of anywhere, 5 and you vociferate in loud and threatening words, and quarrel with the theatres and the age. But if, in the midst of that pother of yours, there meet you, now freed from his pedagogue, some sodomite di cui turgido membro abbia il fabro sfibbiato, tu lo conduci chiamatocon un segno ; e mi vergogno dire, O Chresto, cio che fai colla tua lingua da Catone.

4 Who made verses easily : Suet. Ner. lii.

5 M. constantly reviles the hypocrisy of dissolute scoun- drels assuming the guise of philosophers : cf. i. xxiv. ; ix. xlviii. ; and Juv. ii. 3 seqq.

. 89


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

XXVIII

DULCE decus scaenae, ludorum fama, Latinus

ille ego sum, plausus deliciaeque tuae, qui spectatorem potui fecisse Catonem,

solvere qui Curios Fabriciosque graves, sed nihil a nostro sumpsit mea vita theatro 5

et sola tantum scaenicus arte feror : nee poteram gratus domino sine moribus esse :

interius mentes inspicit ille deus. vos me laurigeri parasitum dicite Phoebi,

Roma sui famulum dum sciat esse lovis. 10

xxrx

SAECULA Nestoreae permensa, Philaeni, senectae

rapta es ad infernas tarn cito Ditis aquas ? Euboicae nondum numerabas longa Sibyllae

tempora : maior erat mensibus ilia tribus. heu quae lingua silet ! non illam mille catastae 5

vincebant, nee quae turba Sarapin amat, nee matutini cirrata caterva magistri,

nee quae Strymonio de grege ripa sonat. quae nunc Thessalico lunam deducere rhombo,

quae sciet hos illos vendere lena toros? 10

1 A celebrated mime or comic actor : cf. n. Ixxii. 3. He wa* also a delator, or informer.

  • Ben Jonson has evidently copied these lines in his tribute

to Shakespeare, " Th' applause, delight, the wonder of our stage." 3 cf. i. Intr. Epist.

  • My art is that of a mime, not my morals.

8 There appears to have been a fellowship of mimi (comic actors), called the "Parasites of Phoebus." At any rate mimi were so called : cf. Grub. Corp. Inscr. cccxxix. and cccxxx.

90


BOOK IX. xxvui-xxix

XXVIII

THE darling pride of the stage, the glory of the games, that Latinus l am I, the favourite of your applause, 2 who could have made a spectator of Cato, 3 who could have dissolved in laughter the stern Curii and Fabricii. But nought from Rome's theatre did my life assume ; and only through my art am I accounted of the stage ; * nor could I have been dear to my master had I not character : that God looks into the heart within. Call me, if ye will, the parasite of laurelled Phoebus, 5 so Rome but know that I am the servant of her Jove. 6


XXIX

PHILAENIS, who hast measured to the full the ages of Nestor's long life, hast thou been hurried so swiftly to the nether waters of Dis ? Not as yet wert thou reckoning the long years of Euboea's Sibyl : 7 older by three months was she. Alas, what a tongue is silent ! That tongue not a thousand slave-marts used to drown, nor the throng that worships Serapis, nor the curly-headed troop of the schoolmaster at morn, nor the river bank that echoes to Strymon's flock of cranes. Who now will be cunning with Thessalian wheel to draw earthward the moon, 8 what bawd to sell this or that marriage bed*? May upon thee

8 The emperor.

7 The Sibyl of Cumae in Campania, a colony from Chalcis in Euboea. Sibyls were women inspired with prophetic power. The Cumaean Sibyl. was said to have been 700 years old when Aeneas landed, centuries before Martial.

8 Witches were supposed to have this power : cf. xu. Ivii. 17.

91


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

sit tibi terra levis mollique tegaris harena, ne tua non possint eruere ossa canes.


XXX

CAPPADOCUM saevis Antistius occidit oris Rusticus. o tristi crimine terra nocens !

rettulit ossa sinu cari Nigrina mariti et questa est longas non satis esse vias ;

cumque daret sanctam turaulis, quibus invidet, urnam, visa sibi est rapto bis viduata viro. 6

XXXI

CUM comes Arctois haereret Caesaris armis

Velius, hanc Marti pro duce vovit avem. luna quater binos non tota peregerat orbes,

debita poscebat iam sibi vota deus : ipse suas anser properavit laetus ad aras 5

et cecidit sanctis hostia parva focis. octo vides patulo pendere nomismata rostro

alitis ? haec extis condita nuper erant. quae litat argento pro te, non sanguine, Caesar,

victima iam ferro non opus esse docet. 10


. XXXII

HANC volo quae facilis, quae palliolata vagatur, hanc volo quae puero iam dedit ante meo,

1 The last two lines are found in a Greek epigram (Anth. Pal. xi. 226) by Ammianus, a contemporary of M. . * Velius Paullus, who went with Domitian to the Sarma- tian war.

9 2


BOOK IX. xxix-xxxn

earth be light, and thou be covered with crumbling sand, that thy bones dogs may not be unable to root up ! x

XXX

ANTISTIUS RUSTICUS has died on Cappadocia's cruel shores : O land guilty of a dolorous crime ! Nigrina brought back in her bosom her dear husband's bones, and sighed that the way was all too short ; and when to the tomb she envies she was giving that sacred urn, she deemed herself twice widowed of her ravished spouse.

XXXI

VELius, 2 what time he looked to join Caesar's Arctic war, for his general's sake vowed this bird to Mars. 3 The moon had not rounded full her orb twice four times over 4 when the god was claiming the vow already due. Of its own accord 5 the goose gladly hasted to the altar, and fell, a humble victim, on the sacred hearth. See you eight coins hang- ing from the fowl's open beak ? These were but now hid in its entrails. The victim, Caesar, that for thee gives fair omens with silver, not with blood, teaches us there is now no need for steel.

XXXII

HER I wish for who is willing, who gads about in a mantilla, her I wish for who has already granted

8 A goose was representative of the safety of Rome.

4 The Sarmatian war did not last eight months.

5 It was a good omen when the victim went willingly to the sacrifice.

93


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

hanc volo quam redimit totam denarius alter, hanc volo quae pariter sufficit una tribus.

poscentem nummos et grandia verba sonantem 5 possideat crassae mentula Burdigalae.

XXXIII

AUDIERIS in quo, Flacce, balneo plausum, Maronis illic esse mentulam scito.

XXXIV

IUPPITER Idaei risit mendacia busti,

dum videt August! Flavia templa poli, atque inter mensas largo iam nectare fusus,

pocula cum Marti traderet ipse suo, respiciens Phoebum pariter Phoebique sororem, 5

cum quibus Alcides et pius Areas erat, " Gnosia vos" inquit "nobis monumenta dedistis :

cernite quam plus sit Caesaris esse patrem."

XXXV

ARTIBUS his semper cenam, Philomuse, mereris, plurima dum fingis, sed quasi vera refers.

scis quid in Arsacia Pacorus deliberet aula, Rhenanam numeras Sarmaticamque manum,

1 Such women were called diobolarea (worth two obols) : Plaut. Poen. i. ii. 58 ; and associated with slaves. Plant. (ibid. 53) thus calls them servilicolas sordidas.

94


BOOK IX. xxxn-xxxv

her favours to my slave ; her I wish for whom a second sixpence purchases altogether ; l her I wish for whose single self suffices three lovers at once. One who demands moneys, and who talks in a big style, the stupid Gascon may possess.


XXXIII

IN whatever bath, Flaccus, you hear sounds re- sembling applause, know that there Maron's yard is to be found.

XXXIV

JUPITER laughed at the lying tale of his tomb on Ida as he looked on the Flavian temple of the Augustan heaven ; 2 and amid the feast when now full steeped in nectar, as with his own hand he passed to Mars his son the beaker, looking back to Phoebus and Phoebus' sister side by side, with whom were Alcides and the leal Arcadian god, 3 he said: " Ye have given me a monument at Gnossos : ye see how much more it is to be Caesar's sire ! "


XXXV

BY such arts as these, Philomusus, you always earn your dinner : you invent much and retail it as truth. You know what counsel Pacorus 4 takes in his Arsacian palace ; you estimate the Rhenish

  • cf. ix. iii. 12.

3 Hercules and Mercury respectively.

4 King of Parthia, Rome's great rival in the East.

95


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

verba ducis Daci chartis mandata resignas, 5

victricem laurum quam venit ante vides, scis quotiens Phario madeat love fusca Syene,

scis quota de Libyco litore puppis eat, cuius luleae capiti nascantur olivae,

destinet aetherius cui sua serta pater. 10

tolle tuas artes ; hodie cenabis apud me

hac lege, ut narres nil, Philomuse, novi.

XXXVI

VIDERAT Ausonium posito- modo crine ministrum

Phryx puer, alterius gaudia nota lovis : " Quod tuus ecce suo Caesar permisit ephebo

tu permitte tuo, maxime rector" ait. "iam mihi prima latet longis lanugo capillis, p

iam tua me ridet luno vocatque virum." cui pater aetherius " Puer o dulcissime," dixit

" non ego quod poscis, res negat ipsa tibi : Caesar habet noster similis tibi mille ministros

tantaque sidereos vix capit aula mares; 10

at tibi si dederit vultus coma tonsa viriles,

quis mihi qui. nectar misceat alter erit? "

XXXVII

CUM sis ipsa domi mediaque ornere Subura, fiant absentes et tibi, Galla, comae,

1 i.e. you know whether corn, which comes from Egypt and Libya, is likely to be plentiful.

2 cf. ix. xxiii. 1. 3 r/. ix. xxiii. 5.

96


BOOK IX. xxxv-xxxvn

and Sarmatiaii armies ; the orders of Dacia's com- mander, committed to despatches, you unseal ; vic- tory's laurel ere it arrives you see ; you know how often dusky Syene is drenched by Egypt's showers ; you know how many ships set sail from Libya's shore ; l for whose brow are growing Julian olives, 2 for whom Heaven's father designs his chaplets. 3 A truce to your arts ! To-day you shall dine at my house on this condition, Philomusus, that you tell me no news ! 4

XXXVI

THE Phrygian boy, 5 famed darling of the other Jove, had seen Ausonia's cupbearer 6 with locks lately shorn, and said : " What thy Caesar, behold, has allowed his young attendant, that do thou, al- mighty ruler, allow thy own. Already early down lies hid by my long hair, already thy Juno laughs at me and calls me man." To whom Heaven's sire : "O sweetest boy," he said, "'tis not I refuse thy asking : 'tis very need refuses thee. My Caesar hath a thousand servants like to thee, and his hall, mighty as it is, scarce holds his youths divinely fair. But if shorn hair shall give thee face of man, what other shall there be to mix nectar for me ? "


XXXVII

ALTHOUGH, yourself at home, you are arrayed in the middle of the Subura, and your tresses, Galla,

4 cf. a similar description of a woman in Juv. vi. 398-412.

5 Ganymede.

6 Earinos : cf. ix. xi. to xiii. ; and, as to the cutting of the hair, ix. xvi. and xvii.

97


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

nee denies aliter quam Serica nocte reponas,

et iaceas centum condita pyxidibus, nee tecum facies tua dormiat, innuis illo 5

quod tibi prolatum est mane supercilio, et te nulla movet cani reverentia cunni,

quem potes inter avos iam numerare tuos. promittis sescenta tamen ; sed mentula surda est,

et sit lusca licet, te tamen ilia videt. 10

XXXVIII

SUMMA licet velox, Agathine, pericula Indus,

non tamen efficies ut tibi parma cadat. nolentem sequitur tenuisque reversa per auras

vel pede vel tergo, crine vel ungue sedet ; lubrica Corycio quamvis sint pulpita ninibo 5

et rapiant celeres vela negata Noti, secures pueri neglecta perambulat artus,

et nocet artifici ventus et unda nihil. ut peccare velis, cum feceris omnia, falli

non potes: arte opus est ut tibi parma cadat. 10

XXXIX

PRIMA Palatine lux est haec orta TonantL optasset Cybele qua peperrsse lovem ;

hac et sancta mei genita est Caesonia Rufi : plus debet matri nulla puella suae.

1 An epigram on a juggler tossing a shield. A mistake, says M., is impossible, unless intended.

98


BOOK IX. xxxvn-xxxix

are manufactured far away, and you lay aside your teeth at night, just as you do your silk dresses, and you lie stored away in a hundred caskets, and your face does not sleep with you yet you wink with that eyebrow which has been brought out for you in the morning, and no respect moves you for your outworn carcass which you may now count as one of your ancestors. Nevertheless you offer me an infinity of delights. But Nature is deaf, and although she may be one-eyed, she sees you anyhow.

XXXVIII

ALTHOUGH, Agathinus, you deftly play a game of highest risk, yet you will not achieve the falling of your buckler. 1 Though you avoid it, it follows you, and, returning through the yielding air, settles on foot or back, on hair or finger-tip. However slippery is the stage with a Corycian saffron-shower, and although rushing winds tear at the awning that cannot be spread, the buckler, though disregarded, pervades the boy's careless limbs, and wind and shower baffle the artist no whit. Although you try to miss, do what you will, you cannot be foiled : art is needed to make your buckler fall.

XXXIX

THIS day was the first that dawned upon the Thunderer of the Palatine, 2 a day whereon Cybele would have chosen to bring forth Jove ; on this day, too, was born Caesonia, my Rufus' 3 wife revered : no maid owes to her mother more than she. Her

2 Domitiaii, born Oct. 24.

3 Canius Rufus, the poet of Gades : cf. i. Ixi. 9 ; in. xx.

99 H 2


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

laetatur gemina votorum sorte maritus, 5

contigit hunc illi quod bis amare diem.

XL

TARPEIAS Diodorus ad coronas

Romam cum peteret Pharo relicta,

vovit pro reditu viri Philaenis

illam lingeret, ut puella simplex,

quam castae quoque diligunt Sabinae. 5

dispersa rate tristibus procellis

mersus fluctibus obrutusque ponto

ad votum Diodorus enatavit.

o tardus nimis et piger maritus !

hoc in litore si puella votum 10

fecisset mea, protinus redissem.


XLI

PONTICE, quod numquam futuis, sed paelice laeva

uteris et Veneri servit arnica manus, hoc nihil esse putas ? scelus est, mihi crede, sed ingens,

quantum vix animo concipis ipse tuo. nempe semel futuit, generaret Horatius ut tres ; 5

Mars semel, ut geminos Ilia casta daret. omnia perdiderat si masturbatus uterque

mandasset manibus gaudia foeda suis. ipsam crede tibi naturam dicere rerum

"Istud quod digitis, Pontice, perdis, homo est." 10


100


BOOK IX. XXXIX-XLI

spouse rejoices in a twofold granting of prayer : this day it has fallen to him to cherish with a double love.

XL

WHEN Diodorus, leaving Egypt, was travelling to Rome to receive the Tarpeian crown, 1 Philaenis made a vow for the return of her husband that, as an innocent girl, she would put her lips to what 2 even chaste Sabine women love. His ship shattered by grim tempests, though plunged in the waves, and o'erwhelmed by the deep, Diodorus, to claim the vow, swam safe to land. Oh, what a very tardy and sluggish husband ! If girl of mine had made this vow on the shore, I should have returned at once ! 3


XLI

O PONTICO, il perche tu mai immembri, ma usi 1'adultera tua sinistra, e 1'amica mano serve a Ve- nere, pensi tu che ci6 sia niente ? E una scele- ragine, credimi, ma si grande e tale, che appena tu stesso la concepisci nell'animo tuo. In fatti Orazio immembr6 una volta sola perche generasse tre fig- liuoli ; Marte una volta perche la casta Ilia dasse i gemelli. L'uno e 1'altro avrebbe distrutto ogni cosa se quel masturbatore avesse abbandonato i sozzi piaceri alle sue mani. Credi che la natura stessa delle cose ti dice : " ci6 che, O Pontico, distruggi colle dita e un uomo."

1 cf. ix. xxiii. 5. 2 i.e. mentulam.

3 Without embarking from Egypt at all.

101


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

XLII

CAMPIS dives Apollo sic Myrinis,

sic semper senibus fruare cycnis,

doctae sic tibi serviant sorores

nee Delphis tua mentiatur ulli,

sic Palatia te colant amentque : 5

bis senos cito te rogante fasces

det Stellae bonus adnuatque Caesar.

felix tune ego debitorque voti

casurum tibi rusticas ad aras

ducam cornibus aureis iuvencum. 10

iiata est hostia, Phoebe ; quid moraris ?

XLIII

Hie qui dura sedens porrecto saxa leone

mitigat, exiguo magnus in acre deus, quaeque tulit spectat resupino sidera vultu,

cuius laeva calet robore, dextra mero, non est fama recens nee nostri gloria caeli ; 5

nobile Lysippi munus opusque vides. hoc habuit numen Pellaei mensa tyranni,

qui cito perdomito victor in orbe iacet ; hunc puer ad Libycas iuraverat Hannibal aras ;

iusserat hie Sullam ponere regna trucem. 10

offensus variae tumidis terroribus aulae

privates gaudet nunc habitare lares,

1 A town in Mysia, in Asia Minor. In the neighbourhood was Grynium with a temple of Apollo.

2 i.e. in vocal swans. Swans were supposed to sing just before death : cf. xm. Ixxvii. 3 The Muses.

4 The insignia of the consul : cf. viu. Ixvi. 3.

5 Hercules for a time took the place of Atlas in upholding the sky : cf. vn. Ixxiv. 6.

IO2


BOOK IX. XLII-XLIII

XLII

So mayst thou, Apollo, be rich in plains of My- rina, 1 so mayst thou alway delight in hoary swans, 2 so may thy learned Sisters 3 serve thee, and thy Delphic priestess speak not falsely to any man ; so may the Palace court and love thee, if, at thy asking, our kindly Caesar's nod give quickly to Stella the twice six axes. 4 Then I, happy, and a debtor for my vow, will bring thee a victim to thy rustic altar, a steer with gold-gilt horns. The offering is born, Phoebus : why dost thou delay ?


XLIII

HE who seated makes softer the hard stones by a stretched lion's skin, a huge god in small shape of bronze, and who, with face upturned, regards the stars he shouldered, 5 whose left hand is aglow with strength, his right with wine 6 no recent work of fame is he, nor the glory of Roman chisel : Lysip- pus' noble gift and handiwork you see." This deity the board of Pella's tyrant displayed, he who lies in a world he swiftly subdued ; 8 by him Hannibal, then a boy, swore at Libyan altars ; 9 he bade fierce Sulla resign his power. Vexed by the boastful threats of fickle courts, he is glad now to dwell beneath a

6 He has a club in one hand, a wine-cup in the other.

7 This and the following epigram are on a statue by Lysip- pus, a contemporary of Alexander the Great, of Hercules reclining at the banquet of the gods (epitrnpezius). Statins (Sylv. iv. vi. ) has a poem on the same subject.

8 Alexander the Great.

9 H. when a boy swore undying hatred to Rome.

103


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

utque fuit quondam placidi conviva Molorchi, sic voluit docti Vindicis esse deus.

XLIV

ALCIDES modo Vindiceni rogabam

esset cuius opus laborque felix.

risit, nam solet hoc, levique nutu

" Graece numquid " ait " poeta nescis ?

inscripta est basis indicatque nomen." 5

AwriWov lego, Phidiae putavi.

XLV

MILES Hyperboreos modo, Marcelline, triones

et Getici tuleras sidera pigra poli : ecce Promethei rupes et fabula montis

quam prope sunt oculis nunc adeunda tuis ! videris inmensis cum conclamata querellis 5

saxa senis, dices " Durior ipse fuit." et licet haec addas : " Potuit qui talia ferre,

humanum merito finxerat ille genus."

XLVI

GELLIUS aedificat semper : modo limina ponit, nunc foribus claves aptat emitque seras,

nunc has, nunc illas reficit mutatque fenestras : dum tantum aedificet, quidlibet ille facit,

oranti nummos ut dicere possit amico 5

unum illud verbum Gellius " Aedifico."

1 The shepherd who entertained him unawares : cf. iv. Ixiv. 30.

2 Prometheus, according to myth, moulded man out of qlay (cf. x. xxxix. 4), giving them the qualities of various

104


BOOK IX. XUII-XLVI

private roof; and, as he was of old the guest of gentle Molorchus, 1 so has he now chosen to be the god of learned Vindex.

XLIV

I ASKED Vindex lately whose art and happy toil fashioned Alcides. He laughed for this is his way and slightly nodding, said: "Don't you, a poet, know your Greek ? The base has an inscription and shows the name." I read "of Lysippus " : I thought it was of Phidias !

XLV

A SOLDIER, Marcellinus, you had endured of late the cold of the Northern Wain, and the slow-circling stars of Getic skies : behold, how near the compass of your eyes are now Prometheus' crag, and the fabled mount ! When you shall have seen the rocks that echoed of old with his groans, you will say, " He himself was harder still." And this you may add : " He who could endure such things was fit to mould the race of man." 2

XLVI

GELLIUS is always building : now he lays down thresholds, now he fits keys to doors and buys bolts, now these, now those windows he repairs and alters ; provided only he be building, 3 Gellius does anything whatever, that to a friend who asks for money he may be able to say that one word : "Building."

animals : cf. Hor. Od. i. xvi. 13. Credulity in later times saw in stones at Panope in Phocis (still smelling of human flesh !) the remnants of P. clay : Paus. x. iv. 3.

3 Friedlander punctuates "fenestras, , . . aedificet. Quid- tibf.t . . . facit"


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

XLVII

DEMOCRITOS, Zenonas inexplicitosque Platonas

quidquid et hirsutis squalet imaginibus, sic quasi Pythagorae loqueris successor et heres ;

praependet sane nee tibi barba minor : sed, quod et hircosis serum est et turpe pilosis, - 5

in molli rigidam clune libenter habes. tu, qui sectarum causas et pondera nosti,

die mihi, percidi, Pannyche, dogma quod est ?

XLVIII

HEREDEM cum me partis tibi, Garrice, quartae

per tua iurares sacra caputque tuum, credidimus (quis enim damnet sua vota libenter?)

et spem muneribus fovimus usque datis ; inter quae rari Laurentem ponderis aprum 5

misimus : Aetola de Calydone putes. at tu continue populumque patresque vocasti ;

ructat adhuc aprum pallida l Roma meum : ipse ego (quis credat ?) conviva nee ultimus haesi,

sed nee costa data est caudave missa mihi. 10

de quadrante tuo quid sperem, Garrice ? nulla

de nostro nobis uncia venit apro.

XLIX

HAEC est ilia meis multum cantata libellis, quam meus edidicit lector amatque togam.

1 pallida Dousa, callida codd. 106


BOOK IX. XLVII-XLIX

XLVII

OF Democrituses, Zenos, and enigmatic Platos, and of every philosopher shown, dirty and hirsute, on a bust, you prate as if you were successor and heir of Pythagoras ; and before your chin hangs a beard cer- tainly no less than theirs. Ma cid che tardi si senti agli ircosi, e turpemente ai pelosi, tu volontieri lo comporti rigido nelle effeminate coscie. You, who know the origins of the schools and their argu- ments, tell me this : what dogma, Pannychus, is it to be a pathic ?

XLVIII

SEEING that you swore, Garricus, by your sacred rites and by your head, that I was heir to a quarter of your estate, I believed you for who would willingly damn his own wishes ? and I kept warm my hope by continual presents, among which I sent you a Laurentian boar of unusual weight : you would imagine it came from Aetolian Calydon. 1 But you at once invited both people and Senate ; a bilious Rome is still belching my boar. I myself who could believe it ? was not added even as your last guest, aye, and not even a rib was given me or tail sent me. Concerning that quarter-estate of yours, what should I expect, Garricus ? Not a twelfth of my own boar came to me !

XLIX

THIS is that toga much sung of in my poems, which my reader has heard of to the full, and loves. 2

1 i.e. it was as huge as the boar slain by Meleager : cf. vn. xxvii. 2. 2 cf. vin. xxviii.

107


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

Partheniana fuit quondam, memorabile vatis

munus : in hac ibam conspiciendus eques, dum nova, dum nitida fulgebat splendida lana, 5

dumque erat auctoris nomine digna sui : nunc anus et tremulo vix accipienda tribuli,

quam possis niveam dicere iure tuo. quid non longa dies, quid non consumitis anni ?

haec toga iam non est Partheniana, mea est. 10


INGENIUM mihi, Gaure, probas sic esse pusillum, carmina quod faciam quae brevitate placent.

confiteor. sed tu bis senis grandia libris qui scribis Priami proelia, magnus homo es ?

nos facimus Bruti puerum, nos Langona vivum : 5 tu magnus luteum, Gaure, Giganta facis.

LI

QUOD semper superos invito fratre rogasti,

hoc, Lucane, tibi contigit, ante mori. invidet ille tibi ; Stygias nam Tullus ad umbras

optabat, quamvis sit minor, ire prior, tu colis Elysios nemorisque habitator amoeni 5

esse tuo primum nunc sine fratre cupis ; et si iam nitidis alternus venit ab astris

pro Polluce, mones Castora ne redeat.

1 Parthenius (himself a poet : cf. XI. i.) was Domitian's secretary, his name being derived from -xapBtvos (virgin), on which M. plays. The cloak was once young and unspotted : now it is old.

2 i.e. threadbare, and therefore chill : cf. iv. xxxiv. 2.

3 It befits my poverty.

1 08


BOOK IX. xLix-i.i

Parthenian was it once, a bard's memorable gift: 1 in this I went conspicuous as a knight, while it was new, while it brightly shone with glossy wool, and while it was worthy of its giver's name. Now it is an old crone, and one scarcely to be accepted by a dodder- ing pauper, which you may without contradiction call "snowy." 2 What does not length of days, what do ye not consume, ye years ? This toga is no longer Parthenian : it is mine. 3


You prove to me, Gaurus, that my genius is in this way a puny one, because I make poems that please by their brevity. I confess it. But you, who in twice six books write of Priam's wars in grand style, are you a great man ? I make Brutus' boy, 4 I make Langon live : you, great man as you are, Gaurus, make a giant of clay.

LI

WHAT thou didst alway crave of the High Gods, though thy brother said nay, this has fallen to thee, Lucanus the earlier death. He envies thee ; for Tullus longed, though younger than thou, to go before thee to the Stygian shades. Thou dwellest in Elysian fields, and, denizen of that pleasant grove, now for the first time desirest to be without thy brother ; and, if Castor 5 has now come alternate from the lustrous stars in Pollux' stead, thou dost counsel him not to return again. 6

4 A statuette admired by Brutus, the assassin of Caesar : cf. II. Ixxvii. 4. Of Langon nothing is known.

6 cf. I. xxxvi. 2.

6 Another punctuation is a comma after astri* and none after Polluce. Alternus would then refer to Pollux, and not Castor.

109


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

LII

Si credis mihi, Quinte, quod mereris,

natalis, Ovidi, tuas Aprilis

ut nostras amo Martias Kalendas.

felix utraque lux diesque nobis

signandi melioribus lapillis ! 5

hie vitam tribuit sed hie amicum.

plus dant, Quinte, mihi tuae Kalendae.

LIII

NATALI tibi, Quinte, tuo dare parva volebam munera; tu prohibes : .inperiosus homo es.

parendum est monitis, fiat quod uterque volemus et quod utrumque iuvat : tu mihi, Quinte, dato.

LIV

Si mihi Picena turdus palleret oliva,

tenderet aut nostras silva Sabina plagas, aut crescente levis traheretur harundine praeda,

pinguis et iriplicitas virga teneret avis, Care, daret sollemne tibi cognatio munus 5

nee frater nobis nee prior esset avus. nunc sturnos inopes fringillorumque querellas

audit et arguto passere veriiat ager ; inde salutatus picae respondet arator,

hinc prope summa rapax milvus ad astra volat. 10

1 M.'s friend and neighbour at Nomentum : cf. vu. xciii. He addresses to him vu. xliv. and xlv., and the following epigram.

2 A cane smeared with birdlime, which could be elongated like a fishing-rod : cf. xiv. ccxviii.

no


BOOK IX. LII-LIV

LII

IF you believe me, Quintus Ovidius, 1 the kalends of your natal April I love 'tis your desert as much as my own of March. Happy is either morn ! and days are they to be marked by us with fairer stones. One gave me life, but the other a friend. Your kalends, Quintus, give me the more.


LIII

ON your birthday, Quintus, I was wishing to give you a small present ; you forbid me ; you are an imperious person ! I must obey your monition. Let be done what both of us wish, and what pleases both. Do you, Quintus, make me a present !

LIV

IF fieldfares were fattened for me on Picenian olives, or Sabine woodland saw my gins stretched out, or a fluttering prey were drawn down by the lengthening reed, 2 and a limed rod held fast the entangled birds, Carus, my kinship 3 would give you the customary offering, and neither brother nor grandsire would come before you. As it is, my fields listen only to useless starlings and the plaint of chaffinches, and are vernal with the shrill sparrow ; on that side the ploughman answers the magpie's call ; on this, hard by, the ravening kite towers to

3 On Feb. 22 was held the festival of the Caristia, when relations met and interchanged presents and arranged differ- ences. It was a kind of family love-feast: cf. Ov. Fast. ii. 617 ; Val. Max. n. i. 8.

Ill


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

mittimus ergo tibi parvae munuscula chortis, qualia si recipis, saepe propinquus eris.

LV

LUCE propinquorum, qua plurima mittitur ales,

dum Stellae turdos, dum tibi, Flacce, paro, succurrit nobis ingens onerosaque turba,

in qua se primum quisque meumque putat. demeruisse duos votum est ; offendere plures 5

vix tutum ; multis mittere dona grave est. qua possum sola veniam ratione merebor :

nee Stellae turdos nee tibi, Flacce, dabo.

LVI

SPENDOPHOROS Libycas domini petit armiger urbis :

quae puero dones tela, Cupido, para, ilia quibus iuvenes figis mollesque puellas :

sit tamen in tenera levis et hasta manu. loricam clipeumque tibi galeamque remitto ; 5

tutus ut invadat proelia, nudus eat : non iaculo, non ense fuit laesusve sagitta,

casside dum liber Parthenopaeus erat. quisquis ab hoc fuerit fixus morietur amore.

felix, si quern tarn bona fata manent ! 1 dum puer es, redeas, dum vultu lubricus, et te

non Libye faciat, sed tua Roma virum.

1 See note to preceding epigram.

- Stella, the poet mentioned in I. vii. and other epigrams, and (perhaps) Valerius Flaccus, the author of the epic poem, the Argonautica.

112


BOOK IX. LIV-LVI

the lofty stars. So I send you the small tributes of my scanty poultry-yard ; if you accept such things, you shall often be my kinsman.

LV

ON Kinsmen's Day, 1 when many a fowl is de- spatched, while I was preparing to send fieldfares to Stella, while also to you, Flaccus, 2 there came to my mind a big and burdensome crowd, of which each one thinks himself the chief, and my particular friend. To oblige two is my wish ; to offend more is hardly safe ; to despatch gifts to many is a heavy charge. In the only way I can I will earn their pardon : neither to Stella, nor to you, Flaccus, will I give fieldfares.

LVI

SPENDOPHORUS goes, his master's armour-bearer, to Libyan cities : get ready the shafts, Cupid, to give the boy those wherewith thou dost pierce youths and soft girls ; yet in his tender hand let there be a smooth spear too. Cuirass and shield and helm I leave to thee ; that he may plunge amid the war unscathed let him go bare ; by no javelin, by no sjrtord or arrow was Parthenopaeus 3 hurt when he was not disguised by a casque. Whoever shall be pierced by this boy shall perish of love oh, happy he, over whoever so fair a fate impends ! While thou art boy, return, while thy face is perilously bright ; 4 and thee let not Libya, but thy Rome, make man !

3 A young and handsome Greek warrior, one of the " Seven against Thebes " : cf. \i. Ixxvii. 2 ; x. iv. 3.

4 A reminiscence of Hor. Od. i. xix. 8 : et mdtun nimium lubriciis aspici.


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

LVII

NIL est tritius Hedyli lacernis :

non ansae veterum Corinthiorum,

nee crus compede lubricum decenni,

nee ruptae recutita colla mulae,

nee quae Flaminiani secant salebrae, 5

nee qui litoribus nitent lapilli,

nee Tusca ligo vinea politus,

nee pallens toga mortui tribulis,

nee pigri rota quassa mulionis,

nee rasum cavea latus visontis, 10

nee dens iam senior ferocis apri.

res una est tamen (ipse non negabit)

culus tritior Hedyli lacernis.

LVIII

NYMPHA sacri regina lacus, cui grata Sabinus

et mansura pio munere templa dedit, sic montana tuos semper colat Umbria foutes

nee tua Baianas Sassina inalit aquas, excipe sollicitos placide, mea dona, libellos ; 5

tu fueris Musis Pegasis unda meis. " Nympharum templis quisquis sua carmina donat,

quid fieri libris debeat, ipse docet." ^

LIX

IN Saeptis Mamurra diu multumque vagatus, hie ubi Roma suas aurea vexat opes,

1 The slower the progress, the greater would be the friction of the wheel, and its polish.

2 Caesius Sabinus, of Sassina, in Umbria, to whom M. presented his seventh book : cf. vu. xcvii. In ix. Ix. he sends him a wreath of roses.

114


BOOK IX. LVII-LIX

LVII

NOTHING is worn smoother than Hedylus' mantles: not the handles of antique Corinthian vases, nor a shank polished by a ten-years-worn fetter, nor the scarred neck of a broken-winded mule, nor the ruts that intersect the Flaminian Way, nor the pebbles that shine on the sea beach, nor a hoe polished by a Tuscan vineyard, nor the shiny toga of a defunct pauper, nor the ramshackle wheel of a lazy l carrier, nor a bison's flank scraped by its cage, nor the tusk, now aged, of a fierce boar. Yet there is one thing he himself will not deny it : Hedylus' rump is worn smoother than his mantle.

LVIII

NYMPH, Queen of the sacred mere, to whom Sa- binus 2 by pious gift has given a temple, welcome to thee and destined to endure so may hilly Umbria ever honour thy fount, and thy Sassina prize not more the waters of Baiae receive with placid brow my gift, these anxious 3 verses ; then shalt thou be to my Muse her spring of Pegasus. 4 " Whoever gives his poems to temples of the Nymphs, himself declares wjiat should be done with his books. 5 .

LIX

MAMURRA, long and often wandering in the Saepta, here where Golden Rome flings about her wealth,

3 i.e. as to its reception by the Nymph, or by Sabinus.

  • Hippocrene, the fountain of the Muses, created by the

stroke of the hoof of Pegasus.

6 i.e. to be thrown into the water. The supposed reply of the Nymph. For the same idea, cf. i. v. ; in. c. 4 ; iv. x. 6.


i 2


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

inspexit molles pueros oculisque comedit,

non hos quos primae prostituere casae, sed quos arcanae servant tabulata catastae 5

et quos non populus nee mea turba videt. inde satur mensas et opertos exuit orbes

expositumque alte pingue poposcit ebur, et testudineum mensus quater hexaclinon

ingemuit citro non satis esse suo. 10

consuluit nares an olerent aera Corinthon,

culpavit statuas et, Polyclite, tuas, et, turbata brevi questus crystallina vitro,

murrina signavit seposuitque decem. expendit veteres calathos et si qua fuerunt 15

pocula Mentorea nobilitata manu, et viridis picto gemmas numeravit in auro,

quidquid et a nivea grandius aure sonat. sardonychas veros mensa quaesivit in omni

et pretium magnis fecit iaspidibus. 20

undecima lassus cum iam discederet hora,

asse duos calices emit et ipse tulit.


LX

SEU tu Paestanis genita es seu Tiburis arvis, seu rubuit tellus Tuscula flore tuo,

seu Praenestino te vilica legit in horto, seu modo Campani gloria ruris eras,


1 cf. ii. xliii. 9.

2 Connoisseurs professed to detect an odour in genuine Corinthian bronze : Petr. 50.

3 Of Sicyon, a celebrated sculptor of the fifth century B.C.

116


BOOK IX. LIX-LX

inspected and devoured with his eyes dainty boys, not those the outer stalls made public, but those who are guarded by the platforms of a secret stand, and whom the people do not see, nor the crowd of such as I. Then, sated with the view, he had tables and round covered table-tops 1 laid bare, and must needs have their high-hung glistening ivory supports brought down; and, after four measurements of a tortoise-shell couch for six, he said with a sigh that it was too small for his citrus-wood table. He took counsel of his nose whether the bronzes smelt of Corinth, 2 and condemned even your statuary, Polyclitus ; 3 and, complaining that the crystal vases were disfigured by a small piece of glass, he put his seal on ten murrine 4 articles, and set them aside. He weighed antique tankards, and any cups made precious by Mentor's 5 handiwork, and counted the emeralds set in chased gold, and every larger pearl that tinkles from *a snow-white ear. Genuine sardonyxes he looked for on every table, and offered a price for some big jaspers. When at the eleventh hour, fagged out, he was at last departing, for a penny he bought two cups and bore them off himself ! 6


LX

WHETHER thou wert born in fields of Paestum or of Tibur, or the soil of Tusculum blushed with thy flower ; or a farmer's wife culled thee in a garden at Praeneste, or thou wert erewhile the glory of

4 Perhaps porcelain : cf. xiv. cxiii.

5 A celebrated worker in embossed metal of the fourth century B.C.: cf. in. xli. 1 ; iv. xxxix. 5.

6 He had not even a slave of his own,

117


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

pulchrior ut nostro videare corona Sabino, de Nomentano te putet esse meo.


LXI

IN Tartesiacis domus est notissima terris,

qua dives placidum Corduba Baetin amat, vellera nativo pallent ubi flava metallo

et Unit Hesperium brattea viva pecus. aedibus in mediis totos amplexa penates 5

stat platanus densis Caesariana comis, hospitis invicti posuit quam dextera felix,

coepit et ex ilia crescere virga manu. auctorem dominumque suum sentire videtur :

sic viret et ramis sidera celsa petit. 10

saepe sub hac madidi luserunt arbore Fauni

terruit et tacitam fistula sera domum :. dumque fugit solos nocturnum Pana per agros,

saepe sub hac latuit rustica fronde Dryas. atque oluere lares comissatore Lyaeo, 15

crevit et effuso laetior umbra mero ; hesternisque rubens deiecta est herba coronis

atque suas potuit dicere nemo rosas. o dilecta deis, o magni Caesaris arbor,

ne metuas ferrum sacrilegosque focos. 20

perpetuos sperare licet tibi frondis honores :

non Pompeianae te posuere manus.

1 Which produced nothing : cf. vu. xxxi. 8.

2 The Guadalquiver.

3 cf. v. xxxvii. 7 ; vm. xxviii. 6.

118


BOOK IX. LX-LXI

Campanian meads ; that thou mayst seem to my Sabinus a chaplet the more fair, let him think thou art from my Nomentan l farm.


LXI

A HOUSE renowned stands in the land of Tartessus where rich Corduba woos tranquil Baetis/ where fleeces are yellow-pale with native ore, and living gold o'erlays the Western flock. 3 In the middle of the house, shadowing all the abode, stands with dense leafage Caesar's 4 plane, which an unconquered Guest's propitious hand planted, and which then but a shoot began from that hand to grow. It seems to feel who was its creator and lord ; so green it is, and with its boughs it climbs high heaven. Ofttimes under this tree sported Fauns 5 flown with wine, and a late-blown pipe startled the still house ; and, while o'er lonely fields she fled by night from Pan, oft under these leaves the rustic Dryad 6 nestled hid. And fragrant has the dwelling been when Lyaeus held revel, and more luxuriant grown the tree's shade from spilth of wine, and the blushing flower has been scattered down from last night's wreath, and none could claim his own roses. O thou dear to the gods ! O tree of mighty Caesar ! fear not the steel and sacrilegious fires. Thou mayst hope thy leafy honours shall endure for ever : it was not Pompey's hands 7 set thee there !

4 Julius Caesar.

5 Rustic deities, half goat, half in human shape.

6 The Dryads were nymphs of the woods.

7 But those of his conqueror.

119


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

LXII

TINCTIS murice vestibus quod onmi et nocte utitur et die Philaenis, non est ambitiosa nee superba : delectatur odore, non colore.


LXIII

AD cenam invitant omnes te, Phoebe, einaedi. mentula quern pascit, non, puto, purus homo est.

LXIV

HERCULIS in magni voltus descendere Caesar

dignatus Latiae dat nova templa viae, qua Triviae nemorosa petit dum reg'na, viator

octavum domina marmor ab urbe legit, ante colebatur votis et sanguine largo,

raaiorem Alciden nunc minor ipse colit. hunc magnas rogat alter opes, rogat alter honores ;

illi securus vota minora facit.


LXV

ALCIDE, Latio nunc agnoscende Tonanti, postquam pulchra dei Caesaris ora geris,

si tibi tune isti vultus habitusque fuissent, cesseruni, manibus cum fera monstra tuis,

1 She wishes to drown her own peculiar odour. Tyrian- dyed garments had a rank smell : cf. iv. iv. 6.

2 Domitian dedicated a temple to Hercules with a statue hearing the features of the emperor.

120


BOOK IX. LXII-LXV


LXII

BECAUSE Philaenis night and day wears garments dipped in every kind of purple, she is not ambitious or proud. She is pleased with the smell, not with the hue. 1

LXIII

ALL the dissolute rascals invite you to dinner, Phoebus. He whom impurity feeds is not, I opine, a spotless person.

LXIV

CAESAR, deigning to descend to the features of great Hercules, 2 gives a new temple to the Latin Way, where the traveller, on his journey to Trivia's woody realm, 3 reads the eighth milestone from the Queen City. Aforetime was Alcides worshipped with prayer and full blood of victims ; now he, the lesser, himself worships a greater 4 Alcides. Of him, the greater, one man begs large wealth, another begs honours; to him, the lesser, carelessly he makes his more trifling prayers.

LXV

ALCIDES, worthy now to be owned by the Latin Thunderer, 5 after that thou wearest the features fair of Caesar our god, if thine had been then that face and guise when savage monsters yielded to thy arms, the nations had not seen thee the serf of the

3 To the temple and grove of Diana of the Crossways ( Trivia) at Aricia .

  • The emperor. 5 Jupiter of the Capitol.

121


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

Argolico famulum non te servire tyranno 5

vidissent gentes saevaque regna pati ; sed tu iussisses Eurysthea : nee tibi fallax

portasset Nessi perfida dona Lichas ; Oetaei sine lege rogi securus adisses

astra patris summi, quae tibi poena dedit ; 10

Lydia nee dominae traxisses pensa superbae

nee Styga vidisses Tartareumque canem. nunc tibi luno favet, nunc te tua diligit Hebe ;

nunc te si videat Nympha, remittet Hylan.

LXVI

UXOR cum tibi sit Formosa, pudica, puella, quo tibi natorum iura, Fabulle, trium ?

quod petis a nostro supplex dominoque deoque, tu dabis ipse tibi, si potes arrigere.

LXVII

LASCIVAM tota possedi nocte puellam,

cuius nequitias vincere nulla potest. fessus mille modis illud puerile poposci :

ante preces totas primaque verba dedit.

1 Hercules was the serf of Eurystheus until he had ac- complished his twelve labours.

2 Lichas, the servant of Hercules, at the bidding of Deianeira, his wife, gave him the shirt of Nessus steeped in the poison of the hydra slain by H. It clung to him, and he burnt himself on a pyre on Mt. Oeta.

122


BOOK IX. LXV-LXVII

despot of Argos, 1 and enduring a cruel thrall, but thou wouldst have commanded Eurystheus ; nor would false Lichas 2 have brought to thee the guile- ful gift of Nessus ; without the ordeal of Oeta's pyre wouldst thou unvexed have won that heaven of thy Sire supreme which thy penance gave thee ; nor wouldst thou have drawn out the wool of a haughty mistress, 3 nor have viewed Styx and the Tartarean hound. 4 Now to thee is Juno kind, now thy Hebe loves thee ; now, should she see thee, the nymph will send Hylas 5 back.


LXVI

WHEN you have a wife beautiful, modest, young, what is the use to you, Fabullus, of the rights b three sons bestow ? What you suppliantly ask of our Lord and God you will yourself supply if you can play the man.

LXVII

POSSEDEI per tutta la notte una lasciva ragazza, le di cui malizie nessuna pu6 sorpassare. Sazio in mille maniere, dimandai quel non so che alia fanciullesca : me lo accord6 avanti d'esserne pregata, ed alle prime

3 Oraphale, queen of Lydia, who wore H.'s lion-skin while hespun her wool.

4 It was one of the labours of Hercules to fetch Cerberus from the shades.

6 A beautiful youth, the attendant of Hercules, carried off by the enamoured Nymphs : cf. v. xlviii. 5.

6 Often given, as a compliment, even to childless persons : cf. ii. xci. 6.

123


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

inprobius quiddam ridensque rubensque rogavi : 5

pollicitast nulla luxuriosa mora. sed mihi pura fuit ; tibi non erit, Aeschyle, si vis

accipere hoc munus condicione mala.

LXVIII

QUID tibi nobiscum est, ludi scelerate magister,

invisum pueris virginibusque caput? nondum cristati rupere silentia galli :

murraure iam saevo verberibusque tonas. tarn grave percussis incudibus aera resultant, 5

causidicum medio cum faber aptat equo : mitior in magno clamor furit amphitheatro,

vincenti parmae cum sua turba favet. vicini somnum non tota nocte rogamus :

iiani vigilare leve est, pervigilare grave est. 10 discipulos dimitte tuos. vis, garrule, quantum

accipis ut clames, accipere ut taceas ?

LXIX

CUM futuis, Polycharme, soles in fine cacare. cum pedicaris, quid, Polycharme, facis ?

LXX

DIXERAT " O mores ! o tempora ! " Tullius olim, sacrilegum strueret cum Catilina nefas,

1 Some disgraceful complaisance was required in return, which M. says he refused, but which Aeschylus would not.

2 Successful lawyers were in the habit of erecting eques- trian statues of themselves in their vestibules : cf. Juv. vii. 124.


BOOK IX. LXVII-LXX

ricchieste. Fra '1 riso e la vergogna dimandai qualche cosa d'assai nefando : me lo promise senza la me- nonia interessata dilazione. Ma fu da me lasciata pura ; non lo sara da te, O Eschilo, se vuoi prendere questo dono ma a mala condizione. 1

LXVIII

WHAT have you to do with us, accursed pedagogue, a fellow odious to boys and girls? Not yet have crested cocks broken the hush of night, already with menacing voice and with thwacks you raise an up- roar. So heavily re-echoes brass on smitten anvils when a smith is fitting a pleader's statue astride a steed ; ' z milder in the huge amphitheatre riots the shout when its own faction acclaims the small shield. 3 We neighbours don't ask for sleep all the night ; 4 for some wakefulness is a trifle, to wake all night is no joke. Dismiss your pupils. Are you willing, you blatant fellow, to accept for holding your tongue as much as you accept for bawling ?

LXIX

QUANDO immembri, O Policarmo, suoli dopo sgra- varti. Quando sei sodomizato, che fai, O Policarmo ?

LXX

"O MANNERS! O times!" cried Tully once when Catiline was planning his sacrilegious crime, 1 when

8 Parma, carried by gladiators called Thracians. Domi- tian favoured the scufarii, the carriers of the large shield. Hence a victory of the parmularius would be more unex- pected. 4 As to the noises of Rome, cf. xn. Ivii.

6 Cic. Oat. I. i. 2.

125


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

cum gener atque socer diris concurreret armis

maestaque civili caede maderet humus, cur nunc " O mores!" cur nunc "O temporal " dicis ?

quod tibi non placeat, Caeciliane, quid est? 6

nulla ducum feritas, nulla est insania ferri ;

pace frui certa laetitiaque licet, non nostri faciunt tibi quod tua tempora sordent,

sed faciunt mores, Caeciliane, tui. 10


LXXI

MASSYLI leo fama iugi pecorisque maritus

lanigeri mirum qua coiere fide, ipse licet videas, cavea stabulantur in una

et pariter socias carpit uterque dapes : nee fetu nemorum gaudent nee mitibus herbis, 5

concordem satiat sed rudis agna famem. quid meruit terror Nemees, quid portitor Helles,

ut niteant celsi lucida signa poli ? sidera si possent pecudesque feraeque mereri,

hie aries astris, hie leo dignus erat. 10


LXXII

LIBER, Amyclaea frontem vittate corona, qui quatis Ausonia verbera Graia manu,

clusa rnihi texto cum prandia vimine mittas, cur comitata dapes nulla lagona venit ?

atqui digna tuo si nomine munera ferres, 5

scis, puto, debuerint quae mihi dona dari.

1 Porapey married Caesar's daughter Julia.

2 The lion slain by Hercules and the ram that carried Helle respectively, afterwards two of the signs of the Zodiac.

126


BOOK IX. LXX-LXXII

son-in-law and father-in-law 1 were clashing in dread- ful war, and the weeping earth was drenched with civil carnage. Why do you now cry " O manners ! " why now "O times!" What is it displeases you, Caecilianus ? No savagery of captains is here, no frenzy of the sword : we may enjoy unbroken peace and pleasure. 'Tis not our " manners " that make your "times" despicable to you, but your own manners, Caecilianus, make them so.

LXXI

A LION, the renown of Massy Han hills, and the husband of the fleecy flock, have allied themselves in wondrous confidence. You may yourself see them : they are stalled in one pen, and each with the other takes his social meal ; they relish not the breed of the woods, nor harmless herbs, but a young lamb sates their friendly hunger. What was the merit of the terror of Nemea, what of the carrier of Helle, 2 that they should glow, the tall sky's lustrous signs ? If both sheep and wild beasts could win by merit to heaven, this ram, this lion were worthy to become stars.

LXXII

Li BE n, 3 whose brow is wreathed with an Amy- claean 4 crown, who level with an Italian arm the Grecian boxer's blows, as you are sending me a lunch shut in a wicker basket, why does no flagon come attendant on the feast ? And yet, if you were to produce a gift to match your name, 5 you know, I think, what present should have been given me !

3 To whom also vni. Ixxvii. is addressed.

4 i.e. Spartan. Pollux, the son of Spartan Leda, invented boxing. 5 Liber was also a synonym of .Bacchus.

127


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

LXXIII

DENTIBUS antiquas solitus producere pelles

et mordere luto putre vetusque solum, Praenestina tenes defunct! rura l patroni,

in quibus indignor si tibi cella fuit ; rumpis et ardenti madidus crystalla Falerno 5

et pruris domini cum Ganymede tui. at me litterulas stulti docuere parentes :

quid cum grammaticis rhetoribusque mihi ? frange leves calamos et scinde, Thalia, libellos,,

si dare sutori calceus ista potest. 10


LXXIV

EFFIGIEM tantum pueri pictura Camoni servat, et infantis parva figura manet.

florentes nulla signavit imagine voltus, dum timet ora pius muta videre pater.


LXXV

NON silice duro structilive caemento

nee latere cocto, quo Samiramis longam

Babylona cinxit, Tucca balneum fecit,

sed strage nemorum pineaque conpage,

ut navigare Tucca balneo possit. 5

idem beatas lautus extruit thermas

de mat-more omni, quod Carystos invenit,

quod Phrygia Synnas, Afra quod Nomas misit

et quod virenti fonte lavit Eurotas.

sed ligna desunt : subice balneum thermis. 10

1 decepti regna 0. 128


BOOK IX. Lxxiii-Lxxv

LXXIII

WONT with your teeth to stretch out ancient hides, and to gnaw a shoe-sole rotten with mud and worn out, you possess the Praenestan fields of your dead patron, in which I think it shame if you ever had a garret ; and drunk, you fill to bursting your crystal with hot Falernian, and lewdly trifle with the cup- bearer of your master. But me foolish parents taught paltry letters : what is the use of teachers of grammar and rhetoric to me ? Break your worthless pens, Thalia, and tear up your books, if a shoe can give a cobbler a gift like that.

LXXIV

CAMONIUS' picture preserves but the image of a child, and only an infant's tiny form survives. On the face of manhood's bloom 1 a father stamped" no semblance : his love feared to see the lips that spake no more.

LXXV

NOT of hard flint or laid rubble, nor of burnt brick, wherewith Semiramis girt the long walls of Babylon, has Tucca made his bath ; but of the havoc of the woods and of balks of pine, so that Tucca may go to sea in his bath ! He also, luxurious man that he is ! builds costly warm baths of every kind of marble that Carystos discovers, that Phrygian Synnas, that African Numidia has sent him, and of that which Eurotas has washed green 2 with his spring. But firewood is lacking. Put the bath under the warm bath ! 3

1 cf. ix. Ixxvi. 3-5.

2 cf. vi. xlii. 11. Laconian marble was green.

3 The wooden bath might have made a boat (1. 5), but is now to make a fire.

129

VOL. II. K


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

LXXVI

HAEC sunt ilia mei quae cernitis ora Camoni,

haec pueri facies primaque forma fuit. creverat hie vultus bis denis fortior annis

gaudebatque suas pingere barba genas, et libata semel summos modo purpura cultros 5

sparserat. invidit de tribus una soror et festinatis incidit stamina pensis,

apsentemque patri rettulit urna rogum. sed ne sola tamen puerum pictura loquatur,

haec erit in chartis maior imago meis. 10

LXXVII

QUOD optimum sit disputat convivium

facunda Prisci pagina, et multa dulci, multa sublimi refert,

sed cuncta docto pectore. quod optimum sit quaeritis convivium ? 5

in quo choraules non erit.


U-A.A. JL11

FUNERA post septem nupsit tibi Galla virorum, Picentine : sequi vult, puto, Galla viros.

LXXIX

ODERAT ante ducum famulos turbamque priorem et Palatinum Roma supercilium :


1 The Fates.

2 C. died in Cappadocia : cf. vi. Ixxxv. 3.

130


BOOK IX. LXXVI-LXXIX

LXXVI

THIS face you see is that of my Camonius : this was his childish face and infant form. These features had grown manlier in twice ten years, and his beard gladly was tinging its native cheek, and darkening down, shaved but once, had newly besprent the scissors' tip. Jealous was one Sister of the Three, 1 and she cut the thread from the wool too quickly spun, and an urn gave back to the sire the ashes from afar. 2 Yet, that not alone be the picture that bespeaks a boy, in my lay shall this, a nobler likeness, be found.

LXXVII

Puiscus' pages fluently discuss what is the best kind of entertainment, and he .puts forward many views in a pleasant, many in a lofty style, and all with learning. Do you ask what is the best en- tertainment ? One where there will be no flute- player with his chorus. 3

LXXVIII

AFTER burying seven husbands, Galla has married you, Picentinus ; Galla wants, I imagine, to follow her husbands. 4

LXXIX

ONCE Rome abhorred the henchmen and the old retinue of her chiefs, and the haughtiness of the

8 To drown conversation. The choraules accompanied a chorus, as distinguished from the auletes or the citharoedus, a single player on flute or harp : cf. v. Ivi. 8.

4 Both G. and P. were poisoners : cf. vm. xliii.

131 K 2


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

at nunc tantus amor cunctis, Auguste, tuorum est ut sit caique suae cura secunda domus.

tarn placidae mentes, tanta- est reverentia nostri, tarn pacala quies, tantus in ore pudor.

nemo suos (haec est aulae natura potentis) sed domini mores Caesarianus habet.


LXXX

DUXERAT esuriens locupletem pauper anumque : uxorem pascit Gellius et futuit.

LXXXI

LECTOR et auditor nostros probat, Aule, libellos, sed quidam exactos esse poeta negat.

non nimium euro : nam cenae fercula nostrae malim convivis quam placuisse cocis.

LXXXII

DIXERAT astrologus periturum te cito, Munna, nee, puto, mentitus dixerat ille tibi.

nam tu dum metuis ne quid post fata relinquas, hausisti patrias luxuriosus opes,

bisque tuum deciens non toto tabuit anno, die mihi, non hoc est, Munna, perire cito ?

LXXXIII

INTER tanta tuae miracula, Caesar, harenae, quae vincit veterum munera clara ducum,

multum oculi sed plus aures debere fatentur se tibi, quod spectant qui recitare solent.


132


BOOK IX. LXXIX-LXXXHI

Palatine ; but now, Augustus, all men so love those that belong to you that to each his own household is but a second care. So gentle are their tempers, so great is their respect for us, so unruffled is their calm, such modesty is in their faces ! No servant of Caesar such is the mood of. an imperial hall displays his own manners, but those only of his master.

LXXX

HUNGRY, and a pauper, Gellius married a rich and old woman. He now feeds and tickles his wife.

LXXXI

READER and hearer approve of my works, Aulus, but a certain poet says they are not polished. 1 don't care much, for I should prefer the courses of my dinner to please guests rather than cooks.

LXXXII

AN astrologer said that you would quickly come to an end, Munna, and he did not lie, I think, when he said it to you. For you, in your fear of leaving anything after your death, have in extravagance ex- hausted your father's wealth, and your two millions have melted away in less than a year. Tell me, is not this, Munna, quickly coming to an end ?

LXXXIII

AMID the mighty wonders ot your arena, Caesar, which surpasses the grand spectacles of former chiefs, there is much our eyes admit they owe you, but our ears still more, for the usual reciters are now spectators. 1

1 And cannot bore us : cf. Juv. i. 7-14.

133


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

LXXXIV

CUM tua sacrileges contra, Norbane, furores

staret pro domino Caesare sancta fides, haec ego Pieria ludebam tutus in umbra,

ille tuae cultor notus amicitiae. me tibi Vindelicis Raetus narrabat in oris, 5

nescia nee nostri nominis Arctos erat : o quotiens veterem non infitiatus amicum

dixisti " Meus est iste poeta, meus ! " omne tibi nostrum quod bis trieteride iuncta

ante dabat lector, nunc dabit auctor opus. 10


LXXXV

LANGUIDIOR noster si quando est Paulus, Atili, non se, convivas abstinet ille suos.

tu languore quidem subito fictoque laboras, sed mea porrexit sportula, Paule, pedes.


LXXXVI

FESTINATA sui gemeret quod fata Sever!

Silius, Ausonio non semel ore potens, cum grege Pierio maestus Phoeboque querebar.

" Ipse meum flevi " dixit Apollo " Linon " : respexitque suam quae stabat proxima fratri 5

Calliopen et ait " Tu quoque vulnus habes.

1 Appius Norbanus had been sent in A.D. 88 to crush the revolt of Saturninus against Domitian : cf. iv. xi. He was absent six years, and M.'s works would be Books IV. -VIII.

2 i.e. is lost to me. Porrigere pedes was said of a corpse when laid out with the feet pointing to the outer door : Pers. iii. 105 ; Horn. II. xix. 212.

134


BOOK IX. LXXXIV-LXXXVI

LXXXIV

WHEN your inviolate loyalty, Norbanus, in defence of your master Caesar was withstanding impious frenzy, I, secure in the Pierian shade, the wooer, as men know, of your friendship, threw off these books. Me the Rhaetian quoted to you on Vindelicia's shores, and the North was not unknowing of my name. Oh, how often, not denying your old friend, you exclaimed : " My own is that poet, my own ! " All work of mine, which during three years twice counted l your reader gave you before, its author will give you now.

LXXXV

IF at any time, Atilius, our acquaintance Paulus is unwell, he practises abstinence, not on himself but on his guests. ' You are suffering no doubt, Paulus, from a sudden and fictitious illness : all the same my dinner has turned up its toes. 2

LXXXVI

BECAUSE Silius, the twofold master of the Latin tongue, 3 was lamenting the early death of his Se- verus, 4 I complained sadly to the Pierian band and to Phoebus. "I, too," said Apollo, " wept for my Linus." And he looked back to Calliope his sister, who stood next her brother, and said : " You, too, 5

3 i.e. as orator and poet : cf. vn. Ixiii.

4 S.'s younger son, for whom M. solicited the consulship (vm. Ixvi.), which, however, he never attained : Plin. Ep. in. vii. 2.

5 Calliope was the mother of Orpheus. So, too, Jupiter had lost Sarpedon, and Domitian a son ; cf. iv. iii.

135


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

aspice Tarpeium Palatinumque Tonantem : ausa nefas Lachesis laesit utrumque lovem.

nuniina cum videas duris obnoxia fatis,

jnvidia possis esonerare deos." 10

LXXXVII

SEPTEM post calices Opimiani

denso cum iaceam triente blaesus,

adfers nescio quas mihi tabellas

et dicis " Modo liberum esse iussi

Nastam (servolus est mihi paternus) : 5

signa." eras melius, Luperce, fiet :

nunc signal meus anulus lagonam.

LXXXVIII

CUM me captares, mittebas munera nobis : postquam cepisti, das mihi, Rufe, nihil.

ut captum teneas, capto quoque munera mitte, de cavea fugiat ne male pastus aper.

LXXXIX

LEGE nimis dura convivam scribere versus

cogis, Stella ? " Licet scribere nempe malos."


XC

Sic in gramine florido reclinis, qua gemmantibus hinc et inde rivis

1 t e. as a witness. But M. hints that Lupercus wishes him to sign a document which he would not sign when sober.

136


BOOK IX. LXXXVI-XC

have your wound. Mark the Thunderer of the Tar- peian and him of the Palatine : Lachesis, daring a crime, has hurt either Jove. Forasmuch as you see that deities are subject to the inflexible Fates, of jealousy you may acquit the gods."

LXXXVII

WHEN, after seven cups of Opimian, I lie lisping amid my frequent potations, you bring me some document or other and say : " I have just bade Nasta to go free he was my father's slave put your seal." 1 Better to-morrow, Lupercus : just now my ring only seals up 2 flagons.

LXXXVIII

WHEN you were trying to catch me you used to send me presents : after you have caught me, you, Rufus, give me nothing. To hold your catch, send presents to him also when caught, that the boar, being badly fed, may not escape from its pen.

LXXXIX

Do you by too hard a regulation compel your guest to write verses, Stella ? " Well, you are allowed to write bad ones."

xc

So, on flower-spangled sward reclining, where in the runnels sparkling here and there the pebble is

2 To prevent theft: Plin. N.H. xxxiii. 6; Juv. xiv. 132.

137


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

curva calculus excitatur unda,

exclusis procul omnibus molestis,

pertundas l glaciem triente nigro, 5

frontem sutilibus ruber coronis ;

sic uni tibi sit puer cinaedus

et castissima pruriat puella :

infamem nimio calore Cypron

observes moneo precorque, Flacce, 10

messes area cum teret crepantis

et fervens iuba saeviet leonis.

at tu, diva Paphi, remitte, nostris

inlaesum iuvenem remitte votis,

sic Martis tibi serviant Kalendae 15

et cum ture meroque victimaque

libetur tibi Candidas ad aras

secta plurima quadra de placenta.

XCI

AD cenam si me diversa vocaret in astra

hinc invitator Caesaris, inde lovis, astra licet propius, Palatia longius essent,

responsa ad superos haec referenda darem : " Quaerite qui malit fieri conviva Tonantis : 5

me meus in terns luppiter ecce tenet."

XCII

QUAE mala sint domini, quae servi commoda, nescis, Condyle, qui servum te gemis esse diu. 1 perfundas y.

1 Wine was strained through ice or snow : ef. v. Ixiv. 2 ; xiv. cxvii.

138


BOOK IX. xc-xcn

tumbled by the rippling wave, with all your frets banished afar, may you with measures of dark Vine break through the ice 1 while your brow blushes with rose-stitched chaplets ; so for you alone may a fair boy-slave and a mistress most pure be eager, if, as I warn and pray you, Flaccus, you beware of Cyprus of evil name in summer's height, when the threshing-floor shall bray the rustling harvests, and the Lion's mane 2 be hot with rage. But do thou, goddess of Paphos, send back to our prayers, send back the youth unscathed ; so may March's kalends 3 be in fealty to thee, and with incense, and new wine, and victim, there be offered to thee at thy fair altars many a quarter of parcelled cake.


XCI

WERE I invited to diverse heavens to feast, on this side by Caesar's summoner, on that by Jove's, though the stars were nearer, the Palace more far, this answer would I give to be returned to the High Gods : " Seek ye one who would choose to be the Thunderer's guest; me on earth, mark ye, my Jupiter detains ! "

XCII

WHAT are a master's ills, what a slave's bless- ings" you do not know, Condylus, who groan that

2 The constellation Leo.

3 At the festival of the Matronalia men sent presents to their mistresses : cf. v. Ixxxjv. 11,

'39


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

dat tibi secures vilis tegeticula somnos,

pervigil in pluma Gaius ecce iacet. Gaius a prima tremebundus luce salutat 5

tot dominos, at tu, Condyle, nee dominum. "Quod debes, Gai, redde " inquit Phoebus et illinc

Cinnamus : hoc dicit, Condyle, nemo tibi. tortorem metuis ? podagra cheragraque secatur

Gaius et mallet verbera mille pati. 10

quod nee mane vomis nee cunniim, Condyle, lingis,

non mavis quam ter Gaius esse tuus ?

XCIII

ADDERE quid cessas, puer, inmortale Falernum ?

quadrantem duplica de seniore cado. nunc mihi die, quis erit cui te, Calacisse, deorum

sex iubeo cyathos fundere? "Caesar erit." sutilis aptetur deciens rosa crinibus, ut sit 5

qui posuit sacrae nobile gentis opus, nunc bis quina mihi da basia, fiat ut illud

nomen ab Odrysio quod deus orbe tulit.

XCIV

SARDONICA medicata dedit mihi pocula virga, os hominis ! mulsum me rogat Hippocrates.

1 i.e. to extort confession of some offence : Juv. xiv. 21.

2 Domitian, who founded the temple of the Gens Flavia : cf. ix. i. 8 ; ix. iii. 12.

3 The six and the two tens represent respectively the names Caesar, Domitianus, and Germanicus. For this prac- tice, cf. I. Ixxi. ; xi. xxxvi. 7.

140


BOOK IX. xcii-xnv

you are so long a slave. Your common rush-mat affords you sleep untroubled ; wakeful all night on down, see, Gaius lies ! Gaius from early morn salutes trembling many masters ; but you, Condylus-, not even your master. " What you owe, Gaius, pay," says Phoebus, and after him Cinnamus : this no one, Condylus, says to you. Do you dread the torturer ? l By gout in foot and hand Gaius is stabbed, and would choose instead to endure a thousand blows. You do not vomit in the morning, nor are you given to filthy vice, Condylus : do you not prefer this to being your Gaius three times over ?


XCIII

WHY linger, boy, to pour in the undying Falernian? Double three measures from the older jar. Now tell me who shall it be of the Gods to whom I bid thee, Calocissus, pour six measures ? " Caesar it shall be." Let the stitched rose be ten times fitted to our locks, that he be shown who laid the noble temple of his hallowed race. 2 Now give me twice five kisses to shape the name he brought from the Thracian world. 3

XCIV

HIPPOCRATES 4 gave me such is his impudence^! a draught drugged with Sardinian root, 5 and asks me

4 H. of Cos was the founder of medicine. The name is here put for a doctor.

5 The herbs of Sardinia were bitter, and affected honey : Verg. Ed. vii. 41. Yet H. expects in return ordinary mulsum (wine and honey mixed).

141


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

tarn stupidus numquam nee tu, puto, Glauce, fuisti,

^aXfcea donanti xpvcrta qui dederas. dulce aliquis munus pro munere poscit amaro ? 5

accipiat, sed si potat in elleboro.

XCV

ALPHIUS ante fait, coepit nunc Olphius esse, uxorem postquam diixit Athenagoras.

XCVe

NOMEN Athenagorae quaeris, Callistrate, verum.

si scio, dispeream, qui sit Athenagoras. sed puta me verum, Callistrate, dicere nomen : 5

non ego sed vester peccat Athenagoras.

XCVI

CLINICUS Herodes trullam subduxerat aegro : deprensus dixit "Stulte, quid ergo bibis? "

XCVII

RUMPITUR invidia quidam, carissime lull, quod me Roma legit, rumpitur invidia.

1 The Trojan, who - exchanged" armour with Diomede the Greek, xpvata. \a\Ki<av, fKar6n^oi fvieaftoiuv : Horn. 11. vi. 234. Homer remarks, Kpovltiris <f>pti>as ff\fro (deprived him of sense).

142


BOOK IX. xciv-xcvn

for mead wine. So great a fool even you, Glaucus, 1 never were, I fancy, who gave gold to him who gave you bronze. Does any man ask a gift of sweets for a gift of bitters? He may have it, but only if he drinks it with hellebore. 2


XCV

ATHENAGORAS was Alphius before, now he becomes Olphius after that he has married a wife. 3


XCVs

" Is the name ' Athenagoras ' a real one," you ask, Callistratus. May I be hanged if I know who Athenagoras is ! But imagine, Callistratus, I men- tioned a real name : not I, but your friend Athen- agoras is at fault. 4

XCVI

DOCTOR Herodes had stolen a drinking-ladle from a sick patient. When detected he said : " You fool, why then do you drink ? " 5

XCVII

A CERTAIN fellow, dearest Julius, is bursting with envy ; because Rome reads me, he is bursting with

2 A supposed cure for madness : Hor. Sat. u. iii. 82, 166.

3 The point of this epigram is unknown.

4 i.e. that he has this name.

6 He professes care for his patient's health by removing the article.

M3


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

rumpitur invidia quod turba semper in omni

monstramur digito, rumpitur invidia. rumpitur invidia tribuit quod Caesar uterque 5

ius mihi natorum, rumpitur invidia. rumpitur invidia quod rus mihi dulce sub urbe est

parvaque in urbe domus, rumpitur invidia. rumpitur invidia quod sum iucundus amicis,

quod conviva frequens, rumpitur invidia. 10

rumpitur invidia quod amamur quodque probamur.

rumpatur quisquis rumpitur invidia.

XCVIII

VINDEMIARUM Jion ubique proventus cessavit, )vidi ; pluvia profuit grandis. centum Coranus amphoras aquae fecit.

XCIX

MARCUS amat nostras Antonius, Attice, Musas,

charta salutatrix si modo vera refert, Marcus Palladiae non inntianda Tolosae

gloria, quem l genuit Pacis alumna Quies. tu qui longa potes dispendia ferre viarum, 5

i, liber, absentis pignus amicitiae. vilis eras, fateor, si te nunc mitteret emptor :

grande tui pretium muneris auctor erit. multum, crede mihi, refert a fonte bibatur

quae fluit an pigro quae stupet unda lacu. 10

1 quam (Friedlander).

1 cf. ii. xcii. ; in. xcv. 6. 144


BOOK IX. xcvn-xcix

envy. He is bursting with envy because in every throng I am always pointed out with the finger, he is bursting with envy. He is bursting with envy because each Caesar gave me the right of a father of three sons, 1 he is bursting with envy. He is bursting with envy because I have a suburban farm and a small house in town, he is bursting with envy. He is bursting with envy because I am delightful to my friends, because I am often a guest, he is bursting with envy. He is bursting with envy be- cause I am loved and my works are approved. Let anyone, whoever he is, who is bursting with envy, burst ! 2

XCVIII

THE crop of the vineyards has not everywhere failed, Ovidius : heavy rains have been profitable. Coranus has made a hundred jars of water. 3

XCIX

MARCUS ANTONIUS loves my Muse, Atticus, if only his letter of greeting says true Marcus, cultured Tolosa's indisputable glory, whom Quietude, the nursling of Peace, begot. Do you, who can put up with long journeys, go, my book, pledge of an absent friendship. A poor gift you would be, I own, if a purchaser were sending you now; the author's giving will lend you goodly value. Great is the difference, believe me, whether water is drunk from the fountain as it flows, or as it stagnates in a sluggish pool.

2 i.e. be cl d. Rumpatur Siappayflrj. The point of the

epigram seems to lie in the two senses of rumioi.

3 i.e. to mix with his wine. Coranus is probably a fraudu- lent vintner : c/. I. Ivi.

145

VOL. II. (.


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

C

DENARIS tribus invitas et mane togatum

observare iubes atria, Basse, tua, deinde haerere tuo lateri, praecedere sellam,

ad viduas tecum plus minus ire decem. trita quidem nobis togula est vilisque vetusque

denaris tamen hanc non emo, Basse, tribus.


CI

APPIA, quam simili venerandus in Hercule Caesar

consecrat, Ausoniae maxima fama viae, si cupis Alcidae cognoscere facta prioris,

disce : Libyn domuit, aurea poma tulit, peltatam Scythico discinxit Amazona nodo, 5

addidit Arcadio terga leonis apro, aeripedem silvis cervum, Stymphalidas astris

abstulit, a Stygia cum cane venit aqua, fecundam vetuit reparari mortibus hydram,

Hesperias Tusco lavit in amne boves. 10

haec minor Alcides : maior quae gesserit audi,

sextus ab Albana quern colit arce lapis, adseruit possessa malis Palatia regnis,

prima suo gessit pro love bella puer ; solus luleas cum iam retineret habenas, 15

tradidit inque suo tertius orbe fuit ;


1 About two shillings, or double the usual dole (cf. in. vii. 1) of centum, quadrantes. Large doles were sometimes given: cf. IV. xxvi. 3; x. xxvii. 3.

146


BOOK IX. c-ci

c

FOR three denarii 1 you invite me, and bid me don my toga in the morning and wait in your hall, Bassus ; then closely to attend you, to walk before your chair, with you to call upon ten widows more or less. Worn indeed is my poor toga, and cheap and old yet for three denarii I cannot buy it, Bassus.


CI

THOU Appian Way, which revered Caesar in the guise of Hercules 2 hallows, chiefest glory of Auso- nian ways, if thou desirest to know the deeds of the ancient Alcides, learn them. The Libyan he subdued, the golden apples he won ; he ungirt the Amazonian targeteer of her Scythian girdle ; he crowned the spoil of the lion's skin with Arcadia's boar ; he freed the woods from the brazen-hoofed hind, the sky from the Stymphalian birds ; from the Stygian flood he returned with its hound ; the teeming hydra he let no more grow stronger by death ; he laved in the Tuscan stream Hesperian oxen. These things wrought the lesser Alcides ; hear what that greater 3 did, whom men worship at the sixth stone from Alba's height. He redeemed the Palatine held by an evil power ; 4 his first wars he waged, a boy, for his own Jove ; 5 albeit alone he already held the reins of Julian power, he gave them up, and in a world that had been his own

2 cf. ix. Ixiv. s Domitian.

4 By the party of Vitellius after the death of that emperor. 6 He was besieged in the Temple of Jupiter Capitolinus by the Vitellians.


L 2


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

cornua Sarmatici ter perfida contudit Histri,

sudantem Getica ter nive lavit equum ; saepe recusatos parcus duxisse triumphos

victor Hyperboreo nomen ab orbe tulit ; 20

templa dels, mores populis dedit, otia ferro,

astra suis, caelo sidera, serta lovi. Herculeum tantis numen non sufficit actis :

Tarpeio deus hie commodet ora patri.

CII

QUADRINGENTORUM reddis mihi, Phoebe, tabellas : centum da potius mutua, Phoebe, mihi.

quaere alium cui te tarn vano munere iactes :

quod tibi non possum solvere, Phoebe, meum e'st.

GUI QUAE nova tarn similis genuit tibi Leda ministros ?

quae capta est alio nuda Lacaena eycno ? dat faciem Pollux Hiero, dat Castor Asylo,

atque in utroque nitet Tyndaris ore soror. ista Therapnaeis si forma fuisset Amyclis, 5

cum vicere duas dona minora deas, mansisses, Helene, Phrygiamque redisset in Iden

Dardanius gemino cum Ganymede Paris.


1 Though he had been proclaimed Caesar, and was in possession of Rome, he resigned the empire to his father Vespasian and his brother Titus in precedence to himself, boasting, however, patri se et fratri imperium dedisse, illos tsibi reddidisse : Suet. Dom. xiii.

2 In his three campaigns against the tribes on the Danube. As to the shattering of the horn, cf. x. vii. 6.

148


BOOK IX. ci-cin

remained but the third; 1 thrice he shattered the treacherous horns of Sarmatian Hister ; 2 his sweat- ing steed thrice he bathed in Getic snow ; loth to lead on triumphs oft resigned, 3 he won a victor's name from the Hyperborean world ; temples he gave the Gods, morals to the people, rest to the sword, immortality to his own kin, to heaven stars, wreaths to Jove. The Deity of Hercules sufficed not for deeds so great : let him, our God, lend his features to the Tarpeian 4 Sire !

Oil

You return me, Phoebus, my bond for four hun- dred thousand sesterces ; rather give me on loan, Phoebus, a hundred thousand. Look out for some one else to whom you may boast of so empty a gift ; what I can't pay, Phoebus, is my own. 5

GUI

WHAT new Leda 6 bore you attendants so like? What nude Spartan maid was ravished by another swan ? Pollux gives his features to Hierns, Castor

  • gives his to Asylus, and in either face their sister

Tyndaris shines clear. Had such beauty existed at Spartan Amyclae 7 when a lesser gift o'erweighed the goddesses twain, 8 thou, Helen, wouldst have stayed at home, and Dardan Paris have returned to Phrygian Ida with twin Ganymedes !

3 cf. vin. xv. 5. 4 Jup. Capitolinus.

5 cf. for a similar idea vm. xxxvii.

6 The mother of Castor and Pollux, and of Helen of Troy (Tyndaris).

? Both Therapnae and Amyclae were associated with Castor and Pollux, but the use of . Therapnaeis is hard to explain.

8 When Venus' promise to Paris of Helen overweighed the promises of Hera (Juno) and Pallas in the contest of beauty.

J49


BOOK X


LIBER DECIMUS


Si nimius videor seraque coronide longus

esse liber, legito pauca : libellus ero. terque quaterque mihi finitur carmine parvo

pagina : fac tibi me quam cupis ipse brevem.

II

FESTINATA prior, decimi mihi cura libelli

elapsum manibus nunc revocavit opus, nota leges quaedam sed lima rasa recenti ;

pars nova maior erit : lector, utrique fave, lector, opes nostrae : quern cum mihi Roma dedisset,

" Nil tibi quod demus maius habemus " ait. 6

' pigra per hunc fugies ingratae flumina Lethes

et meliore tui parte superstes eris. marmora Messallae findit caprificus. et audax

dimidios Crispi mulio ridet equos : 10

at chartis nee furta nocent et saecula prosunt,

solaque non norunt haec monumenta mori."

1 i.e. by reading only the short epigrams.

2 This book is not the first edition, which may have been published in 95, but an enlarged edition published in 98 after Book XI. M. afterwards issued a selection from Books X. and XI. : cf. xn. v. 1-2.

152


BOOK X


IF I seem too big a book and long, with my colo- phon delayed, read a few epigrams : I shall be a little book. Often a page of mine ends with a small poem : make me as short for yourself as you like. 1

II

Too hurried before, the composition of my tenth book has made me now recall the work that had slipt from my hands. 2 You will read some things you know, but polished lately by the file ; the greater part will be new ; reader, be kind to both, reader, who are my wealth ; for when Rome had given you to me, she said: "We have nothing greater to give you. By him will you escape unthankful Lethe's sluggish stream, and will in your better part survive. Messalla's marble the wild-fig sunders, and boldly the mule-driver laughs at Crispus' steeds broken in two. 3 But writings thefts do not injure, and time befriends them, and alone these monuments know riot death."

3 M. is M. Val. Messalla Corvinus, the patron of the poet Tibullus : cf. vin. iii. 5. The Crispus is probably C. Pas- sienus Crispus of the time of Claudius, and stepfather of Nero.

153


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

III

VERNACULORUM dicta, sordidum dentem,

et foeda linguae probra circulatricis,

quae sulpurato nolit empta ramento

Vatiniorum proxeneta fractorum,

poeta quidam clancularius spargit 5

et volt videri nostra. credis hoc, Prisce ?

voce ut loquatur psittacus coturnicis

et concupiscat esse Canus ascaules ?

procul a libellis nigra sit meis fama,

quos rumor alba gemmeus vehit pinna : 1

cur ego laborem notus esse tarn prave,

constare gratis cum silentium possit ?


IV

Qui legis Oedipoden caligantemque Thyesten,

Colchidas et Scyllas, quid nisi monstra legis ? quid tibi raptus Hylas, quid Parthenopaeus et Attis,

quid tibi dormitor proderit Endymion ? exutusve puer pinnis labentibus ? aut qui 5

odit amatrices Hermaphroditus aquas ? quid te vana iuvant miserae ludibria chartae ?

hoc lege, quod possit dicere vita " Meum est." non hie Centauros, non Gorgonas Harpyiasque ,

invenies : hominem pagina nostra sapit. 10

sed non vis, Mamurra, tuos cognoscere mores

nee te scire : legas Aetia Callimachi.


1 Beakers with four nozzles, said to be in imitation of the nose of Vatinius, a Beneventan cobbler in Nero's thne : cf. xiv. xcvi.; Juv. v. 46. As to the sale of broken glass, c/. i. xli. 3-5.

154


BOOK X. in-iv

III

THE scurrilities of home-born slaves, low railing, and the foul insults of a hawker's tongue, which the broker of shattered Vatinian glasses l would reject as the price of a sulphur match, a certain skulking poet scatters abroad, and would have them appear as mine. Do you believe this, Priscus ? that a parrot speaks with the voice of a quail, and Canus 2 longs to be a bagpipe-player ? Far from poems of mine be black repute, poems which lustrous fame uplifts on pinions white. Why should I toil to be known so evilly when stillness can cost me nothing ?


IV

You, who read of Oedipus and Thyestes neath a darkened sun, of Colchian witches and Scyllas of what do you read but monsters ? What will the rape of Hylas avail you, what Parthenopaeus and Attis, what the sleeper Endymion ? or the boy stript of his gliding wings ? " or Hermaphroditus who hates the amorous waters ? Why does the vain twaddle of a wretched sheet attract you ? Read this of which Life can say : " 'Tis my own." Not here will you find Centaurs, not Gorgons and Harpies : 'tis of man my page smacks. But you do not wish, Mamurra, to recognize your own manners, or to know yourself. Read the Origins of Callimachus. 3

2 A famous flute-player : cf. iv. v. 8.

3 An Alexandrine grammarian and poet of the third cen- tury B.C. who wrote an epic on the origins (Afria) of mytho- logical stories.

'55


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL


QUISQUIS stolaeve purpuraeve contemptor

quos colere debet laesit impio versu,

erret per urbem pontis exul et clivi,

interque raucos ultimus rogatores

oret caninas panis inprobi buccas. 5

illi December longus et madens bruma

clususque fornix triste frigus extendat :

vocet beatos clamitetque felices

Orciniana qui feruntur in sponda.

at cum supremae fila venerint horae 10

diesque tardus, sentiat canum litem

abigatque moto noxias aves panno.

nee finiantur morte supplicis poenae,

sed modo severi sectus Aeaci loris,

nunc inquieti monte Sisyphi pressus, 15

nunc inter undas garruli senis siccus

delasset omnis fabulas poetarum ;

et cum fateri Furia iusserit verum,

prodente clamet conscientia "Scripsi."


VI

FELICES, quibus urna dedit spectare coruscum

solibus Arctois sideribusque ducem. quando erit ille dies quo campus et arbor et omnis

lucebit Latia culta fenestra nuru ?


1 i.e. of noble ladies, or of magistrates and senators.

2 Resorts of beggars : cf. n. xix. 3 ; xn. xxxii. 10, 25.

3 Where he took refuge.

4 i.e. the pauper's bier (sandapila) : cf, n. Ixxxi.; viu. Ixxv. B Ready to eat him.

156


BOOK X. v-vi


WHOE'ER he be who, scorner of either stole or purple/ has wounded with his wicked verse those he should respect, let him wander through the city, exile from bridge and hill, 2 and, last amid the hoarse- throated beggars, pray for dogs' morsels of vile bread. To him may December be long and winter wet, and the shutting of the archway 3 .; prolong his miserable chill ; let him call those blest, and acclaim those for- tunate, who are carried on the litter of Orcus. 4 But when the threads of his last hour have been spun, and his lingering day has come, let him feel the wrangling of dogs, 5 and flap away noxious birds with waving rags. Nor let his punishment, despite his prayers, be_ closed by death ; but now scored by the scourge of stern Aeacus, 6 now o'erwhelmed by the moun- tainous stone of restless Sisyphus, now parching amid the waters of the blabbing old man, 7 may he weary out all the fabled torments of the poets ; and when the Fury shall bid him confess the truth, may he shriek, his conscience betraying him : " I wrote it." 8

VI

HAPPY are they to whom Fortune's urn has given to see our Captain ablaze with northern suns and stars ! 9 When shall that day be whereon plain and tree shall be radiant, and every casement dight with

6 One of the three Judges of the Shades.

7 Tantalus, whp was doomed to thirst in Tartarus for revealing the secrets of the gods.

8 M. follows in this ep. , often closely, the Ibis of Ovid.

9 This ep. was written when the new emperor, Trajan, was expected from the Rhine in A.D. 98.

157


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

quando morae dulces longusque a Caesare pulvis 5

totaque Flaminia Roma videnda via ? quando eques et picti tunica Nilotide Mauri

ibitis et populi vox erit una " Venit ? " ?

VII

NYMPHARUM pater amniumque, Rhene,

quicumque Odrysias bibunt pruinas,

sic semper liquidis fruaris undis

nee te barbara contumeliosi

calcatum rota conterat bubulci ; 5

sic et cornibus aureis receptis

et Romanus eas utraque ripa :

Traianum populis suis et urbi,

Thybris te dominus rogat, remittas.

VIII

NUBERE Paula cupit nobis, ego ducere Paulam nolo : anus est. vellern, si magis esset anus.

IX

UNDENIS pedibusque syllabisque

et multo sale nee tamen protervo

notus gentibus ille Martialis

et notus populis (quid invidetis ?)

non sum Andraemone notior caballo. 5


CUM tu, laurigeris annum qui fascibus intras, mane salutator limina mille teras, -

1 Previously shattered by defeat : cf. vu. vii. 3 ; ix. ci. 17.

2 Elegiacs and hendecasyllables.

158


BOOK X. vi-x

Latin dames ? When shall be hope's sweet delays, and the long trail of dust behind Caesar, and all Rome visible on the Flaminian Way ? When will ye come, ye knights, and ye painted Moors in your tunics of Nile, and one voice of the people go up, " Does he come ? " ?

VII

FATHER, O Rhine, of Nymphs and of all rivers that drink the Thracian frosts, so mayst thou alway joy in limpid waters, and no insolent ox-driver's bar- barous wain trample roughly on thy head ; so mayst thou, with thy golden horns regained, 1 and a Roman stream on either bank, flow on send Trajan back to his .peoples and to his city : so doth thy Lord Tiber entreat thee.

VIII

PAULA wishes to marry me : I decline to take Paula to wife ; she is an old woman. I might be willing if she were older.

IX

W T ITH my eleven-footed and eleven-syllabled verse, 2 and flowing, yet not froward wit, I, that Martial, who am known to the nations and to Rome's peoples (why do you envy me ?) am not known better than the horse Andraemon.

X

WHEN you, who usher in the year with laurelled axes, 3 tread a thousand thresholds at morning levees,

3 As consul, and the first of the year. Men of position often did not scruple to add to their income by taking the sportida: cf. Juv. i. 99. Juv. (i. 117) also alludes to the grievances in consequence of poor clients.

159


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

hie ego quid faciam ? quid nobis, Paule, relinquis,

qui de plebe Numae densaque turba sumus ? qui me respiciet dominum regemque vocabo ? 5

hoc tu (sed quanto blandius !) ipse facis. lecticam sellamve sequar ? nee ferre recusas,

per medium pugnas et prior isse lutum. saepius adsurgam recitanti carmina ? tu stas

et pariter geminas tendis in ora manus. 10

quid faciet pauper cui non licet esse client! ?

dimisit nostras purpura vestra togas.

XI

NIL aliud loqueris quam Thesea Pirithoumque

teque putas Pyladi, Calliodore, parem. disperearn, si tu Pyladi praestare matellam

dignus es aut porcos pascere Pirithoi. " Donavi tamen " inquis "amico inilia quinque 5

et lotam, ut multum, terve quaterve l togam." quid quod nil umquam Pyladi donavit Orestes ?

qui donat quamvis plurima, plura negat.

XII

AEMILIAE gentes et Apollineas Vercellas

et Phaethontei qui petis arva Padi, ne vivam, nisi te, Domiti, dimitto libenter,

grata licet sine te sit mihi nulla dies : sed desiderium tanti est ut messe vel una 5

urbano releves colla perusta iugo.

1 lerve quaterve Haupt, terque quu.tf.rque codd.

1 A method of applauding : cf. Juv. iii. 106. Or perhaps the allusion is to throwing kisses : cf. i. iii. 7.

160


BOOK X. x-xn

what can I do here ? What do you leave to us, Paulus, us who are of the herd of Numa and a teeming crowd? Shall I greet as Lord and King him who but gives me a glance ? This, and how much more blandly ! you also do. Shall I follow a litter or chair ? You don't refuse even to shoulder one, and to struggle to pass first through the middle of the mud. Shall I repeatedly rise when a man recites poems ? You are already standing, and put to your lips both hands at once. 1 What shall a poor man do, debarred from being a client ? Your purple has ousted our togas.

XI

You talk of nothing but Theseus and Pirithous, and think yourself, Calliodorus, the peer of Pylades. May I be hanged if you are fit to hand Pylades a chamber-pot, or to feed Pirithous' swine. " Yet," you say, " I gave a friend five thousand, and a toga only three or four times washed, 2 a considerable gift." And what if Pylades never gave anything to Orestes? 3 He who gives however many gifts he makes denies more.

XII

You are going to the peoples on the Aemilian Way, and to Apollo's Vercellae, and the fields by the Po where Phaethon died. May I perish, but I let you go willingly, Domitius, although without you no day is pleasant to me ; but I can pay the price of regret that, even for a single summer, you may ease your neck galled by the city's yoke. Go, I pray, and

2 i.e. nearly new. The phrase was apparently common : Petr. 30.

3 P. and O. already shared in common.

161

VOL. II. M


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

i precor et totos avida cute conbibe soles: o quam formosus, dum peregrinus eris !

et venies albis non adgnoscendus amicis

livebitque tuis pallida turba genis. 10

sed via quern dederit rapiet cito Roma colorem, Niliaco redeas tu licet ore niger.

XIII

CUM cathedralicios portet tibi raeda ministros

et Libys in.longo pulvere sudet eques, strataque non unas cingant triclinia Baias

et Thetis unguento palleat uncta tuo, Candida Setini rumpant crystalla trientes, 5

dormiat in pluma nee meliore Venus : ad nocturna iaces fastosae limina moechae

et madet heu ! lacrimis ianua surda tuis, urere nee miserum cessant suspiria pectus.

vis dicam male sit cur tibi, Cotta ? bene est. 10

XIV

CEDERE de nostris nulli te dicis amicis.

sed, sit ut hoc verum, quid, rogo, Crispe, facis? mutua cum peterem sestertia quinque, negasti,

non caperet nummos cum gravis area tuos. quando fabae modium nobis farrisve dedisti, 5

cum tua Niliacus rura colonus aret ?


162


BOOK X. xn-xiv

drink into your greedy pores the fullness of the sun- shine oh, how comely you will be while you are abroad ! And you will return not to be recognized by your white-faced friends, and a pallid crowd will envy your cheeks. But Rome will quickly efface the tan your tour will have given you, though you came home swarthy with an Egyptian's face.

XIII

ALTHOUGH a travelling-coach carries your lolling minions, and a Libyan outrider sweats in a long trail of dust, and your cushioned couches surround more than one warm bath, and your sea-bath is pale with the tinge of your perfumes ; although draughts of Setine fill to bursting your transparent crystal, and in fairer down Venus herself does not repose ; by night you lie on the threshold of a capricious mistress, and her deaf door is wet, alas ! with your tears, and sighs do not cease to scorch your unhappy breast. Do you wish me to say why it is ill with you, Cotta? Because it is well. 1

XIV

You say that you yield to none of my friends in love. Yet to make this true, what, I ask, Crispus, do you do ? When I was asking you for a loan of five thousand sesterces you refused it, although your heavy coffer could not hold your moneys. When did you give me a peck of beans, or of spelt, al- though a tenant by the Nile tills fields of yours?

1 C. is so well off he has to invent miseries.

163

M 2


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

quando brevis getidae missa est toga tempore brumae ?

argenti venit quando selibra mihi ? nil aliud yideo quo te credamus amicum

quam quod me corarn pedere, Crispe, soles. 10

XV

DOTATAE uxori cor harundine fixit acuta, sed dum ludit, Aper. ludere novit Aper.

XVI

Si donare vocas promittere nee dare, Gai,

vincam te donis muneribusque meis. accipe Callaicis quidquid fodit Astur in arvis, aurea quidquid habet divitis unda Tagi, quidquid Erythraea niger invenit Indus in alga, 5

quidquid et in nidis unica servat avis, quidquid Agenoreo Tyros inproba cogit aheno :

quidquid habent omnes, accipe, quomodo das.

XVII

SATURNALICIO Macrum fraudare tribute

frustra, Musa, cupis : non licet : ipse petit ;

sollemnesque iocos nee tristia carmina poscit et queritur nugas obticnisse meas.

mensorum longis sed mine vacat ille libellis. 5

Appia, quid facies, si legit ista Macer ?


1 Pearls : cf. v. xxxvii. 4.

2 The phoenix : cf. vi. Iv. 2.

3 The purple of Tyre.

164


BOOK X. xiv-xvn

When was a short toga sent me in chill winter's season ? When did a half-pound of silver plate come to me? I see no other reason why I should believe you friend, than that you are wont> Crispus, to break wind in my presence.

XV

His well-dowered wife's heart Aper transfixed with a sharp arrow, but it was in sport. Aper is a clever sportsman.

XVI

IF you call it bounty to promise and not to give, Gaius, I will surpass you by my bounties and offer- ings. Receive all wealth the Asturian mines in Gallician fields, all wealth rich Tagus' golden wave possesses, all the swarthy Indian discovers in Eastern seaweed, 1 and all the solitary bird 2 treasures in its nest, all Agenor's city, cheating Tyre, stores in her caldron. 8 All wealth of all men receive in your fashion of giving !

XVII

You wish in vain, Muse, to defraud Macer of his Saturnalian tribute : it can't be ; he himself asks for it, and he claims the customary jokes and no melancholy poems, and complains that my flippancies have become dumb. But at present he has time to look at the long reports of his surveyors. Appian Way, 4 what will you do if Macer reads these poems ? 5

4 Of which Macer was curator.

6 i.e. you will be neglected if M. devotes his leisure, not to reports, but to poetry.

'65


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

XVIII

NEC vocat ad cenam Marius, nee munera mittit, nee spondet, nee volt credere, sed nee habet.

turba tamen non dest sterilem quae curet amicum. eheu ! quam fatuae sunt tibi, Roma, togae !

XIX

NEC doctum satis et parum severunr,

sed non rusticulum tamen libellum

facundo mea Plinio Thalia

i perfer : brevis est labor peractae

altum vincere tramitem Suburae. 5

illic Orphea protinus videbis

udi vertice lubricum theatri

mirantisque feras avemque regis,

raptum quae Phryga pertulit Tonanti ;

illic parva tui domus Pedonis 10

caelata est aquilae minore pinna.

sed ne tempore non tuo disertam

pulses ebria ianuam videto :

totos dat tetricae dies Minervae,

dum centum studet auribus virorum 15

hoc quod saecula posterique possint

Arpinis quoque conparare chartis.

seras tutior ibis ad lucernas :

haec hora est tua, cum furit Lyaeus,

cum regnat rosa; cum madent capilli : 20

tune me vel rigidi legant Catones.


1 Pliny the younger, advocate and letter-writer. M. mentions him also in v. Ixxx. 13, and vu. Ixxxiv. 1.

2 i.e. the ascent up the Esquiline from the Subura. Somewhere on this path was the Lacus Orphei, one of the reservoirs of Rome, where was a statue of Orpheus sur- rounded by beasts listening to his song.

166


BOOK X. XVIH-XIX

XVIII

MARIUS invites no one to dinner, and sends no presents, and is surety for no one, and is unwilling to lend in fact he has nothing. Yet a crowd is at hand to court so unprofitable a friend. Alas ! what dolts, O Rome, your clients are !

XIX

THIS little book, not learned enough, nor very strict in tone, yet not all unrefined, go, my Thalia, and carry to eloquent Pliny : l short is your labour, when you have crossed the Subura, in breasting the steep path. 2 There you will at once notice Orpheus, spray- sprinkled, crowning his drenched audience, 3 and the wild beasts marvelling at his song, and the Monarch's bird 4 that bore to the Thunderer the ravished Phry- gian ; there stands the modest dwelling of your own Pedo, 5 its frieze graven with eagle of lesser wing. But take heed you give no drunken knock on Elo- quence's door at a time that is not yours ; all the day he devotes to serious study, while he prepares for the ears of the Hundred Court 6 that which time and posterity may compare even with Arpinum's pages. 7 Safer will you go at the time of the late- kindled lamps ; that hour is yours when Lyaeus is in revel, when the rose is queen, when locks are drenched. Then let even unbending Catos read me.

8 Friedlander, however, explains thcatrum "semicircular pool with steps." For tkeatrum = audience, cf (as Housman does^ Ov. Met. xi. 25.

4 Jupiter's eagle that carried off Ganymede : cf. I. vi.

s P. Albinovanus, an epic poet and epigrammatist of the Augustan age.

' cf. vi. xxxviii. 5. 7 Cicero's.

167


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

XX

DUCIT ad auriferas quod me Salo Celtiber oras,

pendula quod patriae visere tecta libet, tu mihi simplicibus, Mani, dilectus ab annis

et praetextata cultus amicitia, tu facis ; in terns quo non est alter Hiberis 5

dulcior et vero dignus amore magis. tecum ego vel sicci Gaetula mapalia Poeni

et poteram Scythicas hospes amare casas. si tibi mens eadem, si nostri mutua cura est,

in quocumque loco Roma duobus erit. 10

XXI

SCRIBERE te quae vix intellegat ipse Modestus et vix Claranus quid rogo, Sexte, iuvat ?

non lectore tuis opus est sed Apolline libris : iudice te maior Cinna Marone fuit.

sic tua laudentur sane : mea carmina, Sexte, 5

grammaticis placeant, ut sine grammaticis.

XXII

CUR spleniato saepe prodeam mento albave pictus sana labra cerussa, Philaeni, quaeris ? basiare te nolo.

1 Learned commentators.

2 i.e. an interpreter.

168


BOOK X. xx-xxn

XX

THAT Celtiberian Salo draws me to gold-bearing shores, that I fain would see on the hillside the roofs of my native land, you are the cause, Manius, dear to me from my ingenuous years, and wooed with boyhood's friendship ; than whom none else in Hi- beria's land is more sweet to me, and of genuine love more worthy. At your side could I have wel- comed the sun-parched Carthaginian's Gaetulian huts and the hospitality of Scythian steads. If your heart be as mine, if you have a mutual love for me, then, in whatever place, for us twain it will be Rome.


XXI

WHY, I ask, do you, Sextus, like writing what hardly Modestus himself, and hardly Claranus, 1 could understand ? Your books do not require a reader, but an Apollo; 2 in your judgment Cinna 3 was greater than Maro. On these terms let your books be praised by all means ; let my poems, Sextus, please commentators so as to do without commentators.


XXII

" WHY do I often go abroad with a plastered chin, and my healthy lips painted with white lead ? " Do you ask, Philaenis ? I don't want to kiss you.

8 A friend of Catullus, who wrote a long and obscure epic called Zmyrna; cf. Cat. xciv. He is 'probably "Cinna the poet " of Shak. Jul. Caes. m. Hi. 32,

169


XXIII

IAM numerat placido felix Antonius aevo

quindecies actas Primus Olympiadas praeteritosque dies et totos respicit annos

nee metuit Lethes iam propioris aquas, nulla recordanti lux est irigrata gravisque ; 5

nulla fuit cuius non meminisse velit. ampliat aetatis spatium sibi vir bonus : hoc est

vivere bis, vita posse priore frui.

XXIV

NATALES mihi Martiae Kalendae, lux formosior omnibus Kalendis, qua mittunt mihi munus et puellae, quinquagensima liba septimamque vestris addimus hanc focis acerram. 5

his vos, si tamen expedit roganti, annos addite bis precor novenos, ut nondum nimia piger senecta sed vitae tribus areis l peractis lucos Elysiae petam puellae. 10

post hunc Nestora nee diem rogabo. 2

XXV

IN matutina nuper spectatus harena Mucius, inposuit qui sua membra focis,

1 areiS Aid., aureis codd., auribusli., arcubus Housman.

2 post hoc Friedl. , Nestora Heins. , nee hora vel nethora codd.

1 i.e. seventy-five years : cf. vii. xl. 6.

2 Tacitus draws a very different picture : cf. the Index under ' ' Primus. "

  • Who ordinarily received gifts on that day : cf. v.

Ixxxiv. 11.

170


BOOK X. xxin-xxv

XXIII

Now in his j>lacid age happy Antonius Primus reckons fifteen Olympiads gone, 1 and he looks back upon past days and the vista of his years, and fears not Lethe's wave now drawing nigh. No day, as he reviews it, is unwelcome and distressing to him, none has there been he would not wish to recall. A good man 2 widens for himself his age's span ; he lives twice who can find delight in life bygone.

XXIV

MY natal kalends of March, day fairer to me than all the kalends, on .which girls, too, send 3 me a gift, for the fifty-seventh time cakes and this censer of incense I lay on your altars. To these years but so that it be expedient on my asking add, I pray, twice nine years, that I, not as yet dull with too protracted age, but when life's three courses 4 -' are run, may reach the groves of the Elysian dame. 5 Beyond this Nestor's span I will not crave even a day more.

XXV

IF Mucius, 6 whom of late you saw one morning in the arena, when he laid his hand upon the fire,

  • Boyhood, manhood, old age. Housman's conjecture

arcitbus = arcs, i.e. the four segments into which the full circle of life (100 years) is divided : cf. Manil. ii. 844-55. M., being fifty -seven, would in eighteen years have com- pleted three arcs, and not have reached the last arc of too protracted age. 6 Proserpine.

6 cf. I. xxi. ; vin. xxx. In this ep. M. takes a different view of the event, saying that the criminal representing Mucius chooses the lesser evil of losing only a limb.

171


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

si patiens durusque tibi fortisque videtur, Abderitanae pectora plebis habes.

nam cum dicatur tunica praesente molesta " Ure manum/' plus est dicere " Non facio."


XXVI

VARE, Paraetonias Latia modo vite per urbes

nobilis et centum dux memorande viris, at nunc, Ausonio frustra promisse Quirino,

hospita Lagei litoris umbra iaces. spargere non licuit frigentia fletibus ora, 5

pinguia nee maestis addere tura rogis. sed datur aeterno victurum carmine nomen :

numquid et hoc, fallax Nile, negare potes ?

XXVII

NATALI, Diodore, tuo conviva senatus accubat et rarus non adhibetur eques,

et tua tricenos largitur sportula nummos. nemo tamen natum te, Diodore, putat.

XXVIII

ANNORUM nitidique sator pulcherrime mundi, publica quern primum vota precesque vocant,

1 The people of Abdera in Thrace were, like the Boeotians, notorious for their stupidity : cf. Juv. x. 50.

2 The tunica molesta : cf. iv. Ixxxvi. 8.

8 With which a centurion kept discipline among his soldiers.

4 i.e. whose return to Rome we were expecting.

172


BOOK X. xxv-xxviti

seem to you enduring, and unflinching, and strong, you have the intelligence of Abdera's x rabble. For, when it is said to you, while the torturing tunic 2 is~ by you, "Burn your hand," it is the bolder thing to say " I refuse."

XXVI

NOTABLE but lately with Latin vine-rod 3 mid Egypt's cities, and a captain of renown to thy hundred soldiers, yet now, O thou who wert pro- mised in vain to Ausonian Quirinus, 4 thou liest, an alien ghost, on the Lagaean shore. 'Twas not allowed me to sprinkle thy chill cheek with my tears, nor to shed rich incense on thy lamented pyre. But there is given thee a name that shall live in deathless song : nay, treacherous Nile, canst thou refuse that too ? 5

XXVII

ON your birthday, Diodorus, the Senate is your guest at dinner, and few are the knights not in- vited, and your dole lavishes thirty sesterces on each guest^ 6 Yet no one, Diodorus, imagines you had a father. 7

XXVIII

FATHER, most fair, of the years and of the bright universe, whom first of all Gods public vows and

6 i.e. as well as his body ?

6 About double the usual dole. A larger than the usual dole was sometimes given (sportula major) : cf. vm. xlii. 1 ; ix. c. 1.

7 Non natus, a phrase expressing insignificance : cf. vm. Ixiv. 18.

173


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

pervius J exiguos habitabas ante penates, plurima qua medium Roma terebat iter :

nunc tua Caesareis cinguntur limina donis 5

et fora tot numeras, lane, quot ora geris.

at tu, sancte pater, tanto pro munere gratus, ferrea perpetua claustra tuere sera.

XXIX QUAM mihi mittebas Saturni tempore lancem,

misisti dominae, Sextiliane, tuae ; et quam donabas dictis a Marte Kalendis,

de nostra prasina est synthesis empta toga, iam constare tibi gratis coepere .puellae : 5

muneribus futuis, Sextiliane, meis.

XXX

O TEMPERATAE dulce Formiae litus, vos, cum severi fugit oppidum Martis et inquietas fessus exuit curas, Apollinaris omnibus locis praefert. non ille sanctae dulce Tibur uxoris, 5

nee Tusculanos Algidosve secessus, Praeneste nee sic Antiumque miratur ; non blanda Circe Dardanisve Caieta desiderantur, nee Marica nee Liris, nee in Lucrina lota Salmacis vena. 10

1 perciua 5-, praevius codd.

1 The old temple of Janus was near the Roman Forum, and represented Janus with two faces (Janus Geminus). Domitian built a new temple, giving Janus four faces (quadri- frons), in the Forum Transitorium : cf. vui. ii. The other three forums were the F. Romanum, F. Julii, and F. August!.

174


BOOK X. xxvui-xxx

prayers implore, thou, pervious once, didst afore- time inhabit a petty house, wherethrough populous Rome wore her thoroughfare. Now is thy threshold encircled with Caesarean offerings, and as many forums thou numberest, Janus, as the faces thou bearest. 1 But do thou, hallowed sire, thankful for a gift so great, guard thy iron portals with a bolt ever undrawn. 2

XXIX

THE dish you used to send me at Saturn's season you have sent to your mistress, Sextilianus, and, at the cost of the toga you used to give me on the kalends named after Mars, has been bought a green dinner dress. Now your girls begin to cost you nothing : it is out of my presents, Sextilianus, you carry on your amours.

XXX

O TEMPERATE Formiae, darling shore ! When he flies from stern Mars' town, and weariedly puts off distracting cares, 'tis you Apollinaris prefers to every spot. Not so does he admire his blameless wife's darling Tibur, nor the retreats of Tusculum or Algidus, not so does he admire Praeneste and Antium ; Circe's witching headland or Dardan Caieta 3 are not longed for, nor Marica 4 nor Liris, nor Salmacis 6 bathed in the Lucrine's waters. Here

2 When the gate of the temple was shut, it was a sign that Rome was not at war.

3 Circeii and Caieta : cf. v. i. 5.

4 A Latin nymph, who had a temple and grove at Min- turnae at the mouth of the Liris in Campania.

5 Probably a spring that fell into the Lucrine lake, and bearing the same name as the spring in Caria associated with the legend of Hermaphroditus : cf. vi. Ixviii. 10. It is here alluded to under the name of the nymph S.

175


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

hie summa leni stringitur Thetis vento ;

nee languet aequor, viva sed quies ponti

pictam phaselon adiuvante fert aura,

sicut puellae non amantis aestatem

niota salubre purpura venit frigus. 15

nee saeta longo quaerit in mari praedam,

sed a cubili lectuloque iactatam

spectatus alte lineam trahit piscis.

si quando Nereus sentit Aeoli regnum,

ridet procellas tuta de suo mensa : 20

piscina rhombum pascit et lupos vernas,

natat ad magistruni delicata muraena,

nomenculator mugilem citat notum

et adesse iussi prodeunt senes mulli.

frui sed istis quando, Roma, permittis ? 25

quot Formianos inputat dies annus

negotiosis rebus urbis haerenti ?

o ianitores vilicique felices !

dominis parantur ista, serviunt vobis.

XXXI

ADDIXTI servum nummis here mille ducentis,

ut bene cenares, Calliodore, semel. nee bene cenasti : mullus tibi quattuor emptus

librarum cenae pompa caputque fuit. exclamare libet : " Non est hie, inprobe, non est 5

piscis : homo est ; hominem, Calliodore, comes."

XXXII

HAEC mihi quae colitur violis pictura rosisque, quos referat voltus, Caediciane, rogas ?

1 Nereus was a sea-god, and Aeolus the god of the winds. 176


BOOK X. xxx-xxxn

Ocean's surface is ruffled by a gentle breeze ; yet is not the sea-floor still, but a slumberous swell bears on the gaudy shallop with the assisting air, as from the fluttering of a girl's purple fan, when she shuns the heat, there comes refreshing cool. The line seeks not its prey in the distant sea, but the fish, descried from above, draws down the cord cast from bed or couch. If ever Nereus feel the power of Aeolus, 1 the table, safe-supplied from its own store, laughs at the storm; the fishpond feeds turbot and home-reared bass ; to its master's call swims the dainty lamprey ; the usher summons a favourite gurnard, and, bidden to appear, aged mullets put forth their heads. But when dost thou, Rome, permit to enjoy those delights ? How many days of Fo'rmiae does the year put to the credit of one tied to city business ? O happy porters and bailiffs ! Those delights are procured for your masters, they belong to you !

XXXI

You sold a slave yesterday for twelve hundred sesterces, Calliodorus, that you might dine well once. You have not dined well: 2 a four-pound mullet which you bought was the ornament and chief dish of your dinner. A man may cry, "This is not a fish, not a fish, you profligate : 'tis a man ; a man, Calliodorus, is what you eat."

XXXII

THIS picture which is honoured by me with violets and roses ask you, Caedicianus, whose features it

2 M. plays on the meaning of bene, "sumptuously," or " well " in a moral sense.

177 VOL. II. N


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

talis erat Marcus mediis Antonius annis

Primus : in hoc iuvenem se videt ore senex.

ars utinam mores animumque effingere posset ! 5 pulchrior in terris nulla tabella foret.

XXXIII

SIMPLICIOR priscis, Munati Galle, Sabinis,

Cecropium superas qui bonitate senem, sic tibi consoceri claros retinere penates

perpetua natae det face casta Venus, ut tu, si viridi tinctos aerugine versus 5

forte malus livor dixerit esse meos, ut facis, a nobis abigas, nee scribere quemquam

talia contendas carmina qui legitur. hunc servare modum nostri novere libelli,

parcere personis, dicere de vitiis. 10

XXXIV

Di tibi dent quidquid, Caesar Traiane, mereris et rata perpetuo quae tribuere velint :

qui sua restituis spoliate iura patrono (libertis exul non erit ille suis),

dignus es ut possis tutum l servare clientem : 5

ut (liceat tantum vera probare) potes.

1 tutum 5-, totum codd.

1 Referred to also in x. xxiii.

2 Epicurus (cf. vii. Ixix. 3) or Socrates.

I 7 8


BOOK X. xxxn-xxxiv

presents ? Such was Marcus Antonius Primus l in manhood's years : in this face the old man sees himself in youth. Would that art could limn his character 'and mind ! More beautiful in all the world would no painting be !


XXXIII

SIMPLER than the Sabines of old, Munatius Gallus, who surpass the old Athenian 2 in goodness, so may chaste Venus grant you, by your daughter's unsevered marriage tie, to keep your alliance with her father-in-law's illustrious house, if you, when perchance malicious envy shall call mine verses steeped in poisonous gall, thrust that envy from me, as you do, and urge that no man writes such poems who is read. This measure my books learn to keep, to spare the person, to denounce the vice.


XXXIV

MAY the gods grant you, Caesar Trajanus, what- e'er you deserve, and be willing to confirm for all time what they have bestowed. You, who give back to the plundered patron his rights (no more will he be his own freedman's exile), 3 are worthy of power to keep the client safe, power which may you only be allowed to prove it true ! you have.

3 Trajan had forbidden clients and freedmen to bring ac- cusations against their patrons : Plin. Pan. 42. M. now pleads for the client.

179


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

XXXV

OMNES Sulpiciam legant puellae uni quae cupiunt viro placere ; omnes Sulpiciam legant mariti uni qui cupiunt placere nuptae. non haec Colchidos adserit furorem, 5

diri prandia nee refert Thyestae ; Scyllam, Byblida.nec fuisse credit: sed castos docet et probos amores, lusus delicias facetiasque.

cuius carmina qui bene aestimarit, 10

nullam dixerit esse nequiorem, nullam dixerit esse sanctiorem. tales Egeriae iocos fuisse udo crediderim Numae sub antro. hac condiscipula vel hac magistra 15

t esses doctior et pudica, Sappho : sed tecum pariter simulque visam durus Sulpiciam Phaon amaret. frustra : namque ea nee Tonantis uxor nee Bacchi nee Apollinis puella 20

erepto sibi viveret Caleno.

XXXVI

INPROBA Massiliae quidquid fumaria cogunt, accipit aetatem quisquis ab igne cadus,

a te, Munna, venit : miseris tu mittis amicis per freta, per longas toxica saeva vias ;

1 Medea. 2 cf. in. xlv. 1. *

1 One of the native Italian Camenae, or Muses, said to

have been the wife of Nilnia, an early king of Rome : cf. vi.

xlvii. 3. . The grot was at the Porta Capena, or at Aricia. 4 cf. x. xxxviii.

180


BOOK X^ xxxv-xxxvi

XXXV

LET all young wives read Sulpicia, who wish to please their lords alone ; let all husbands read Sul- picia, who wish to please their brides alone. She claims not as her theme the frenzy of the Colchian dame, 1 nor does she recount Thyestes' dreadful feast ; 2 Scylla and Byblis she does not believe ever were ; but she describes pure and honest love, toyings, endearments, and raillery. He who shall weigh well her poems will say no maid was so roguish, will say no maid was so modest. Such I would believe were Egeria's 3 pleasantries in Numa's dripping grot. With her as your school-mate, or with her as your teacher, you would have been more learned, Sappho, and have been chaste ; but coy Phaon, had he seen her with Sappho and by her side, would have loved Sulpicia. In vain ; for neither as the Thunderer's spouse, nor as Bacchus' or Apollo's mistress, were her Calenus taken from her, would she live. 4

XXXVI

WHATEVER Massilia's vile smoke-rooms store, 5 what- ever jar acquires its age from the fire, comes from you, Munna ; to your wretched friends you consign over the sea, over long roads, deadly poison, and not

5 Wine was matured by being kept over the heat of the furnace, but at Massilia the process appears to have been overdone, and a taste of smoke clung to the wine : cf. in. Ixxxii. 23 ; xui. cxxiii.

181


THE EPIGRAMS "OF MARTIAL

nee facili pretio sed quo contenta Falerni 5

testa sit aut cellis Setia cara suis. non venias quare tarn longo tempore Romam,

haec puto causa tibi est, ne tua vina bibas.

XXXVII

IURIS et aequarum cultor sanctissime legum,

veridico Latium qui regis ore forum, municipi, Materne, tuo veterique sodali

Callaicum mandas si quid ad Oceanum . an Laurentino turpis in litore ranas 5

et satius tenues ducere credis acus, ad sua captivum quam saxa remittere mullum,

visus erit libris qui minor esse tribus ? et fatuam summa cenare pelorida mensa

quosque tegit levi cortice concha brevis 10

ostrea Baianis quam non liventia testis,

quae domino pueri non prohibente vorent ? hie olidam clamosus ages in retia volpem

mordebitque tuos sordida praeda canes : illic piscoso modo vix educta profundo 15

inpedient lepores umida lina meos. dum loquor ecce redit sporta piscator inani,

venator capta maele superbus adest : omnis ab urbano venit ad mare cena macello.

Callaicum mandas si quid ad Oceanum . 20

1 M. proceeds to compare, with regard to advantages, Laurentum with Spain, whither he is no\r returning. He is

182


BOOK X. xxxvi-xxxvn

at an easy price, but at one which would satisfy a crock of Falernian or Setine, dear to its own cellars. Why you do not come to Rome after such an interval this is, I think, your reason : you shun drinking your own wines.

XXXVII

MOST conscientious student of law and of just statutes, who with your truthful tongue rule the Latin forum, if you have any commission, Maternus, to the Spanish ocean for your townsman and old comrade or 1 do you think it better on Laurentum's shore to pull up ugly frogs and thin needle-fish, 2 than to return to its own rocks the captive mullet which shall seem to you of less than three pounds ? and to dine on a tasteless Sicilian lobster set at the top of the table, and on fish which with a smooth coating a small shell covers, 3 than on oysters that do not envy the shell-fish of Baiae, and which slaves devour, unforbid by their master ? Here with shouts you will drive into your toils a stinking vixen, and the foul quarry will bite your hounds ; there the net, scarce drawn just now from the deep that teems with fish, will, all dripping, enmesh my own hares. While I speak, see, your fisherman comes home with empty creel, your huntsman is at hand, exulting in a badger caught ! all your dinner by the sea comes from the city market. If you have any commission to the Spanish ocean

supposed to be at Laurentum paying a farewell visit to Maternus.

2 From the marshes of Laurentum.

8 Probably mussels (mituli) : cf. ill. Ix. 4.

i83


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

XXXVIII

O MOLLES tibi quindecim, Calene,

quos cum Sulpicia tua iugales

indulsit deus et peregit annos !

o nox omnis et hora, quae notata est

cans litoris Indici lapillis ! 5

o quae proelia, quas utrimque pugnas

felix lectulus et lucerna vidit

nimbis ebria Nicerotianis !

vixisti tribus, o Calene, lustris :

aetas haec tibi tota conputatur 10

et solos numeras dies mariti.

ex illis tibi si diu rogatam

lucem redderet Atropos vel unam,

malles quam Pyliam quater senectam.

XXXIX

CONSULE te Bruto quod iuras, Lesbia, natam.

mentiris. nata es, Lesbia, rege Numa ? sic quoque mentiris. namque, ut tua saecula narrant,

ficta Prometheo diceris esse luto.

XL

SEMPER cum mihi diceretur esse secreto mea Polla cum cinaedo, inrupi, Lupe. non erat cinaedus.

XLI

MENSE novo lani veterem, Proculeia, maritum deseris atque iubes res sibi habere suas.

1 cf. VL Iv. 3. 2 Fifteen years.

3 One of the Fates. * i.e. the age of Nestor. 184


BOOK X. XXXVIII-XLI

XXXVIII

OH, those fifteen years, rapturous to you, Calenus, those wedded years which, along with your Sulpicia, the god accorded and accomplished! O nights and hours, each marked with the precious pebbles of India's shore ! Oh, what conflicts of endearments, what rivalry of love between you did your happy couch witness, and the lamp o'ersated with showers of Nicerotian l perfume ! You have lived, O Calenus, three lustres : 2 this is all the life you sum, and you count your married days alone. Of them should Atropos 3 restore you even one long asked for, you would choose it rather than four spans of Pylian 4 old age.

XXXIX

You swear, Lesbia, you were born when Brutus was consul : you lie. Were you born, Lesbia, when Numa was king ? There, too, you lie ; for as your generations declare you are said to be fashioned of Promethean clay. 6

XL

SINCE my Polla was always being reported to me

as consorting in secret with a , I broke in

upon them, Lupus. He was not a 6

XLI

IN Janus' opening month you abandon your old husband, Proculeia, and bid him keep his own

8 i.e. incredibly old. P. fashioned the human race out of clay : cf. ix. xlv. 8. 6 i.e. but much worse.


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

quid, rogo, quid factum est? subiti quae causa doloris, nil mihi respondes ? dicam ego, praetor erat :

constatura fuit Megalensis purpura centum 5

milibus, ut nimium munera parca dares,

et populare sacrum bis milia dena tulisset. discidium non est hoc, Proculeia : lucrum est.

XLII

TAM dubia est lanugo tibi, tarn mollis ut illam

halitus et soles et levis aura terat. celantur simili ventura Cydonea lana,

pollice virgineo quae spoliata nitent. fortius inpressi quotiens tibi basia quinque, 5

barbatus labris, Dindyme, fio tuis.

' XLIII

SEPTIMA iam, Phileros, tibi conditur uxor in agro. plus nulli, Phileros, quam tibi reddit ager.


QUINTE Caledonios Ovidi visure Britannos et viridem Tethyn Oceanumque patrem,

ergo Numae colles et Nomentana relinquis otia, nee retinet rusque focusque senem ?

1 Tuas res tibi habeto was the legal formula of divorce.

2 In honour of Cybele, the Great Mother of the Gods. It was scenic, and held in April.

1 86


BOOK X. XLI-XLIV

property. 1 What, I ask, what is the matter ? What is the reason of this sudden resentment ? Do you answer me nothing ? I will tell you : he was praetor. The purple robe of the Megalensian 2 festival was likely to cost a hundred thousand sesterces, should you give even a too thrifty show, and the Plebeian festival 3 would have run off with twenty thousand. This is not divorce, Proculeia : it is good business.

XLII

So shadowy is the down on thy cheeks, so soft that a breath, or the sun, or a soft breeze, rubs it away. With such a fleecy film are veiled ripening quinces, that gleam brightly when plucked by maiden fingers. Whenever I have too strongly impressed upon thy cheek five kisses, I become, Dindymus, bearded from thy lips.

XLIII

ALREADY, Phileros, your seventh wife is being buried on your land. Better return than yours, Phileros, land makes to no man. 4

XLIV

QUINTUS OVIDIUS, purposing to visit the Caledonian Britons, and green Tethys, and father Ocean, can' it be you desert the hills of Numa and Nomentan ease, and do not your fields and fireside hold you

3 The Ludi Plebeii, held in November in the Flaminian Circus.

  • i.e. he succeeds to their estates : cf. n. Ixv. 4; v. xxxvii.

24.

187


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

gaudia tu differs : at non et stamina differt 5

Atropos atque omnis scribitur hora tibi.

praestiteris caro (quis non hoc laudet ?) amico ut potior vita sit tibi sancta fides ;

sed reddare tuis tandem mansure Sabinis

teque tuas numeres inter amicitias. 10

XLV

Si quid lene mei dicunt et dulce libelli, si quid honorificum pagina blanda sonat,

hoc tu pingue putas et costam rodere mavis, ilia Laurentis cum tibi demus apri.

Vaticana t>ibas, si delectaris aceto : 5

non facit ad stomachum nostra lagona tuum.

XLVI

OMNIA vis belle, Matho, dicere. die aliquando et bene ; die neutrum ; die aliquando male.

XLvn

VITAM quae faciunt beatiorem,

iucundissime Martial is, haec sunt : .

res non parta labore sed relicta ;

non ingratus ager, focus perennis ;

lis numquam, toga rara, mens quieta ; 5

vires ingenuae, salubre corpus ;

prudens simplicitas, pares amici,

convictus facilis, sine arte mensa ;

1 One of the Fates.

2 i. e. whom you promised to accompany.

3 Consider yourself as well as your friends.

4 This person requires (like Baeticus in in. cxxvii.) his edibles to be full-flavoured. Pliny (N.H. xv. 32 and 33) con-

188


BOOK X. XLIV-XLVII

back in your old age ? Enjoyment you put off, but Atropos l does not also put off her spinning, and every hour is scored against you. You will have shown to your dear friend 2 who would not praise this? that your sacred word is more to you than life ; yet return to your Sabine farm, and there at length abide, and count yourself one of your own friends. 3

XLV

IF my little books contain anything delicate and toothsome, if my flattering page has any ring of eulogy, this you call tasteless 4 and prefer to gnaw a rib, although I offer you the loin of a Laurentine boar. You may drink Vatican if you are pleased with vinegar : my wine-jar does not suit your stomach.

XLVI

You- want all you say to be smart, Matho. Say sometimes what also is good ; say what is middling ; say sometimes what is bad.

XLVII

THE things that make life happier, most genial Martial, are these : means not acquired by labour, but bequeathed ; fields not unkindly, an ever blazing hearth ; no lawsuit, the toga seldom worn, a quiet mind ; a free man's strength, 5 a healthy body ; frankness with tact, congenial friends, good-natured guests, a board plainly spread ; nights not spent

trasts the pinguis sapor of olives, bay-leaves, walnuts, and almonds with (inter alia) the sweetness of figs and the softness (lenitas) of milk.

6 i.e. the natural strength of a gentleman, not the coarse strength of a labourer : cf. in. xlvi. 6 ; vi. xi. 6.

189


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

nox non ebria sed soluta curis,

non tristis torus et tamen pudicus ; 10

somnus qui facial breves tenebras :

quod sis esse velis nihilque malis ;

summum nee metuas diem nee optes.


XLVIII

NUNTIAT octavam Phariae sua turba iuvencae,

et pilata redit tiamque subitque+ cohors. 1 temperat haec thermas, nimios prior hora vapores

halat, et inmodico sexta Nerone calet. Stella, Nepos, Cani, Cerialis, Flacce, venitis ? 5

septem sigma capit, sex sumus, adde Lupum. exoneraturas ventrem mihi vilica malvas

adtulit et varias quas habet hortus opes, in quibus est lactuca sedens et tonsile porrum,

nee dest ructatrix mentha nee herba salax ; 10 secta coronabunt rutatos ova lacertos

et madidum thynni de sale sumen erit. gustus in his ; una ponetur cenula mensa,

haedus inhumani raptus ab ore lupi, et quae non egeant ferro structoris ofellae 15

et faba fabrorum prototomique rudes ;

1 redit iam subiitque cohors Paley.

1 The goddess Isis, whose temple was closed at the eighth hour : cf. Boissier, Rel. Rom. vol. ii. ch. 2 (3).

4 Leeks were of two kinds (cf. in. xlvii. 8), capitatum, where the bulbs were allowed to grow ou the top of the

190


BOOK X. XLVII-XLVIII

in wine, but freed from cares, a wife not prudish and yet pure ; sleep such as makes the darkness brief: be content with what you are, and wish no change ; nor dread your last day, nor long for it.

XLVIII

HER crowd of priests announces to the Egyptian heifer l the eighth hour, and the praetorian guard now returns to camp and another takes its place. This hour tempers the warm baths, the hour before breathes heat too great, and the sixth is hot with the excessive heat of Nero's baths. Stella, Nepos, Canius, Cerialis, Flaccus, do you come ? My crescent couch takes seven : we are six, add Lupus. My bailiff's wife has brought me mallows that will un- load the stomach, and the various wealth the garden bears ; amongst which is squat lettuce and clipped leek, 2 and flatulent mint is not wanting nor the sa- lacious herfr; 3 sliced eggs shall garnish lizard-fish 4 served with rue, and there shall be a paunch drip- ping from the tunny's brine. Herein is your whet : the modest dinner shall be served in a single course a kid rescued from the jaws of a savage wolf, 5 and meat-balls to require no carver's knife, and beans, the food of artisans, and tender young sprouts ;

stalk, and sectile, tonsile, or sectivum, where the stalks were cut young : cf. xi. lii. 6 ; see Mayor on Juv. iii. 293. 8 Eruca, or rocket : cf. in. Ixxv. 3.

  • A poor fish : cf. vn. Ixxviii. 1.
  • i.e. damaged, and thus cheaper. But the flesh of an

animal that bad been mangled by a wolf or other savage beast was supposed to be more tender: ef. in. xlvii. 11; Plut. Symp. ii., qndest. 9.

191


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

pullus ad haec cenisque tribus iam perna superstes

addetur. saturis mitia poma dabo, de Nomentana vinum sine faece lagona,

quae bis Frontino consule trima 1 fuit. 20

accedent sine felle ioci nee mane timenda

libertas et nil quod tacuisse velis : de 'prasino conviva meus venetoque loquatur,

nee faciunt 2 quemquam pocula nostra reum.

XLIX

CUM potes amethystinos trientes et nigro madeas Opimiano, propinas modo conditum Sabinum et dicis mihi, Cotta, " Vis in auro ? " quisquam plumbea vina volt in auro ? 5


FRANGAT Idumaeas tristis Victoria palmas,

plange, Favor, saeva pectora nuda manu ; mutet Honor cultus, et iniquis munera flammis

mitte coronatas, Gloria maesta, comas, heu facinus ! prima fraudatus, Scorpe, iuventa 5

occidis et nigros tarn cito iungis equos. curribus ilia tuis semper properata brevisque

cur fuit et vitae tarn prope meta tuae ?

1 trima Heins, prima codd. * facient ft.

1 Friedlander (Int. p. 65) states that Frontinus was made "consul for the second time along with Trajan on Feb. 20, 98." But can bis = iteruml Housman takes it with trima, and Athenaeus, i. 27 B, says that the wine was " fit for drinking after five years." To read prima would make M. offer an undrinkable wine : cf. i. cv.

192


BOOK X. XLVIII-L

to these a chicken, and a ham that has already sur- vived three dinners, shall be added. When you have had your fill 1 will give you ripe apples, wine without lees from a Nomentan flagon, which was three years old in Frontinus' second consulship. 1 To crown these shall be jests without gall, and a freedom not to be dreaded the next morning, and no word you would wish unsaid ; let my guest converse of the Green and the Blue ; 2 my cups do not make any man a defendant.

XLIX

ALTHOUGH you drink from cups of amethyst and are drenched with dark Opimian, you give me to drink Sabine 3 just laid down, and say to me, Cotta : " Will you drink in gold ? " Does any man wish to drink leaden wines 4 in gold ?


LET Victory sadly break her Idumaean 5 palms ; beat, Favour, with cruel hand thy naked breast ; let Honour change her garb ; and do thou, sorrowful Glory, cast on the cruel flames the offering of thy crowned locks. Ah, crime of fate ! Robbed, Scorpus, 6 of thy first youth, art thou fallen, and so soon dost yoke Death's dusky steeds ! That goal, whereto thy car sped ever in brief course; and swiftly won, why to thy life also was it so nigh ?

2 Factions of the charioteers in the circus.

3 A cheap wine : cf. Hor. Od. i. xx. 1. Opimian was a celebrated vintage of Caecuban : cf. i. xxvi. 7 ; in. xxvi. 3.

4 i.e. worthless ones : cf. I. xcix. 15 (bad coin).

5 Idume was S. of Judaea, and was celebrated for its palms. 6 cf. X. liii.

193


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

LI

SIDERA iam Tyrius Phrixei respicit Agni

Taurus et alternum Castora fugit hiemps ; ridet ager, vestitur humus, vestitur et arbor,

Ismarium paelex Attica plorat Ityn. quos, Faustina, dies, quales tibi Roma fRavennaef l 5

abstulit ! o soles, o tunicata quies ! o nemus, o fontes solidumque madentis harenae

litus et aequoreis splendidus Anxur aquis, et non unius spectator lectulus undae,

qui videt hinc puppes fluminis, inde maris ! 10

sed nee Marcelli Pompeianumque, nee illic

sunt -triplices thermae nee fora iuncta quater, nee Capitolini summum penetrale Tonantis

quaeque nitent caelo proxima templa suo. dicere te lassum quotiens ego credo Quirino : 15

"Quae tua sunt, tibi habe: quae mea, redde mihi."


LII

THELYN viderat in toga spadonem, damnatam Numa dixit esse moecham.


LIII

ILLE ego sum Scofpus, clamosi gloria Circi, plausus, Roma, tui deliciaeque breves,

Friedl.


1 The Sun is in Gemini, having passed through Aries and Taurus. May has begun.

  • Philomela (the nightingale) laments Itys, whom her

sister Procne (the swallow) slew.

194


BOOK X. LI-LIII

LI

Now looks the Tyrian bull back on the star of Phryxus' ram, and winter has fled from Castor in Pollux' place ; l smiling is the field, earth is putting on her garb, the tree too its garb, the Attic adulteress mourns for Thracian Itys. 2 What days, Faustinus, what fair days of Ravenna 3 has Rome robbed you of ; O sunny hours, O rest in tunic clad ! O thou grove, O ye founts, and thou shore of firm moist sand, and Anxur gleaming in the ocean waves, and the couch that views more waters than one, that marks on this side the river's* ships, on that the sea's ! Aye, and no theatres of Marcellus and of Pompey are there, nor there are the three warm baths, 5 nor the four forums joined, nor the august shrine of the Capitoline Thunderer, and the temples that gleam nigh their own heaven. 6 How often do I fancy you in your weariness saying to Quirinus : "What is yours keep to yourself; what is mine restore to me."

Lir

NUMA saw the eunuch Thelys in a toga, and said he was a convicted adulteress. 7

LIII

THAT Scorpus am I, the glory of the clamorous Circus, thy applause, O Rome, and thy short-lived

8 Perhaps the name of his villa (Paley). But the text is corrupt.

4 The canal following the course of the Appian Way : cf. x. Iviii. 4. 6 Agrippa's, Nero's, and Titus'.

of the Ge


6 The temple of the Gens Flavia : cf. ix. i. S. cf. ii. xxxix. 2.


195 o 2


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

invida quern Lachesis raptum trieteride nona, dum numerat palmas, credidit esse senem.

LIV

M ENS AS, Ole, bonas ponis, sed ponis opertas. ridiculum est : possum sic ego habere bonas.


LV

ARUECTUM quotiens Marulla penem pensavit digitis diuque mensa est, libras scripula sextulasque dicit ; idem post opus et suas palaestras loro cum similis iacet remisso, quanto sit levior Marulla dicit. non ergo est manus ista, sed statera.

LVI

Tons, Galle, iubes tibi me servire diebus

et per Aventinum ter quater ire tuum. eximit aut reficit dentem Cascellius aegrum ;

infestos oculis uris, Hygine, pilos ; non secat et tollit stillantem Fannius uvam ;

tristia servorum stigmata delet Eros ; enterocelarum fertiir Podalirius Hermes :

qui sanet ruptos die mihi, Galle, quis est ?

1 One of the Fates. 196


BOOK X. LHI-LVI

darling. Me, snatched away in my ninth three years' span, jealous Lachesis, 1 counting my victories, deemed old in years.

LIV

You lay out, Olus, handsome tables, but you lay them out covered. Absurd ! I can possess in this fashion handsome tables.


LV

OGNI volta che Manilla ha pesato colle dita 1'eretto membro, e lungo tempo lo misurato, ne dice le libre, gli scrupoli ed i grani. Parimenti dopo 1'opera e le sue giostre, quando giace simile ad un rilasciato cuojo, Marulla dice di quanto sia piu leggiero. Questa dunque non e una mano ma una stadera.


LVI

ALL day, Gallus, you bid me serve you, and thrice, four times to mount your Aventine. Cascellius draws or stops the decayed tooth ; the hairs that wound the eyes you, Hyginus, sear ; without cutting Fan- nius heals a suppurating uvula; the degrading brands on slaves Eros obliterates ; of hernia Hermes is held a very Podalirius. 2 Who is there, Gallus, to mend the ruptured? 3

2 The physician of the Greek camp before Troy. 8 i.e. those broken down (cf. ix. Ivii. 4) by fatigue. There is a play on ruptos.


I 97


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

LVII

ARGENTI libram mittebas ; facta selibra est, sed piperis. tanti non emo, Sexte, piper.

LVIII

ANXURIS aequorei placidos, Frontine, recessus

et propius Baias litoreamque domum, et quod iiihumanae Cancro fervente cicadae

non novere nemus, flumineosque lacus dum colui, doctas tecum celebrare vacabat 5

Pieridas ; nunc nos maxima Roma terit. hie inihi quando dies meus est ? iactamur in alto

urbis, et in sterili vita labore perit, dura suburban! dum iugera pascimus agri

vicinosque tibi, sancte Quirine, lares. 10

sed non solus amat qui nocte dieque frequentat

limina nee vatem talia damna decent, per veneranda mihi Musarum sacra, per omnes

iuro deos, et non officiosus amo.

LIX

CONSUMPTA est uno si lemmate pagina, transis,

et breviora tibi, non meliora, placent. dives et ex omni posita est instructa macello

cena tibi, sed te mattea sola iuvat. non opus est nobis nimium lectore guloso ; 5

hunc volo, non fiat qui sine pane satur.

1 M. ironically assumes that the pepper must be as valu- able as the plate formerly sent.

198


BOOK X. LVH-LIX

LVII

A POUND of silver plate you used to send me ; it has become half a pound, and of pepper too ! I don't buy pepper so dear, 1 Sextus.

LVIII

THE calm retreat, Faustinus, of Anxur by the sea, and a nearer Baiae, and a house by the shore, and the wood which the troublesome 2 cicadas have not discovered when Cancer flames, and the fresh-water canal while I frequented these I had leisure along with you for allegiance to the learned Muses ; now mightiest Rome wears us out. Here when is a day my own ? I am tossed on the deep ocean of the city, and life is wasted in sterile toil while I main- tain 3 stubborn acres of suburban land and a house near to you, holy Quirinus. But he is not alone a lover who day and night haunts thresholds, and such loss of time ill befits a poet. By the Muses' rites, to be hallowed by me, by all the gods I swear : careless client as I am, I love you yet.

LIX

IF a column is taken up by a single subject, you skip it, and the shorter epigrams please you, not the better. A meal, rich and furnished from every market, has been placed before you, but only a dainty attracts you. I have no need of a reader too nice : I want him who is not satisfied without bread.

2 An English traveller compares the chirping of the cicada in Italy to the "scream of the corn-craik."

3 i.e. spend more on it than it brings in : c/I x. xcvi. 7 ; or, " live on the produce of": cf. ix. Ixxx. 2.

199


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

LX

IURA trium petiit a Caesare discipulorum adsuetus semper Munna docere duos.

LXI

Hie festinata requiescit Erotion umbra, crimine quam fati sexta peremit hiemps.

quisquis eris nostri post me regnator agelli, manibus exiguis annua iusta dato :

sic lare perpettio, sic turba sospite solus 5

flebilis in terra sit lapis iste tua.

LXII

LUDI magister, parce simplici turbae :

sic te frequentes audiant capillati

et delicatae diligat chorus mensae,

nee calculator nee notarius velox

maiore quisquam circulo coronetur. 5

albae Leone flammeo calent luces

tostamque fervens lulius coquit messem.

cirrata loris horridis Scythae pellis,

qua vapulavit "Marsyas Celaenaeus,

ferulaeque tristes, sceptra paedagogorum, 10

cessent et Idus dormiant in Octobres :

aestate pueri si valent, satis discunt.

LXIII

MARMORA parva quidem sed non cessura, viator, Mausoli saxis pyramidumque legis.

1 M. parodies the jus trium liberorum : cf. u. xci. 6 ; ix. xcvii. 6.

2 cf. on the same subject v. xxxiv. and xxxvii,

200


BOOK X. LX-LXIII

LX

MUNNA, who was accustomed always to teach two, begged of Caesar the rights attached to three pupils. 1

LXI

HERE in too early gloom rests Erotion whom, by crime of Fate, her sixth winter laid low. Whoe'er thou shalt be, the lord after me of my little field, to her tiny ghost pay thou year by year thy rites. So may thy roof-tree continue, so thy household live unscathed, and in thy fields this -gravestone alone call forth a tear ! 2

LXII

SCHOOLMASTER, spare your simple flock ; so in crowds may curly-headed boys listen to you, and a dainty bevy round your table be fond of you, and no arith- metic master or rapid shorthand teacher be ringed with a larger circle. The glaring days glow beneath flaming Leo, and blazing July ripens the parched grain. Let the Scythian's hide, thonged with brist- ling lashes, with which Marsyas 3 of Celaenae was scourged, and the alarming ferules, sceptres of pedagogues, rest and sleep till October's Ides. In summer if boys are well, they learn enough.

LXIII

A MARBLE, O traveller, you read small in truth, but one that shall not give place to the stones of

3 A famous piper who challenged Apollo to a musical contest on the terms that the loser should be dealt with as the winner chose. His statue stood in the Forum : cf. n. Ixiv. 8.

2OI


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

bis mea Romano spectata est vita Tarento et nihil extremos perdidit ante rogos :

quinque dedit pueros, totidem mihi luno puellas, 5 cluserunt omnes lumina nostra manus.

contigit et thalami mihi gloria rara fuitque una pudicitiae mentula nota meae.

LXIV

CONTIGERIS regina meos si Polla libellos, non tetrica nostros excipe fronte iocos.

ille tuus vates, Heliconis gloria nostri, Pieria caneret cum fera bella tuba,

non tamen erubuit lascivo dicere versu 5

" Si nee pedicor, Cotta, quid hie facio ? "

LXV

CUM te municipem Corinthiorum

iactes, Charmenion, negante nullo,

cur frater tibi dicor, ex Hiberis

et Celtis genitus Tagique civis ?

an voltu similes videmur esse ? 5

tu flexa nitidus coma vagaris,

Hispanis ego contumax capillis ;

levis dropace tu cotidiano,

hirsutis ego cruribus genisque ;

os blaesum tibi debilisque lingua est, 10

nobis ilia fortius loquentur : l

1 iliaf. loquentur Haupt, filia f. loquetur ; Friedlander suggests loqumtiur.

1 cf. Lib. Spect. i. 5. 202


BOOK X. LXIII-LXV

Mausolus l and of the Pyramids. Twice was my life approved at Roman Tarentos, 2 and ere my pyre at last was lit it forfeited no virtue. Five sons, as many daughters Juno gave me ; the hands of all closed my eyes. And rare honour fell to my wedded lot : one spouse alone was all that my pure life knew.

LXIV

POLLA, 3 queen of women, if you shall handle my little volumes, with no frowning look greet my jests. He, your own bard, the glory of our Helicon, although on Pierian trump he made resound wild wars, yet did not blush to write in playful verse : " If I am not a Ganymede, Cotta, what do I here?"f

LXV

SEEING that you boast yourself a townsman of the Corinthians, Charmenion and no one denies it why am I called "brother" by you, I, who was born of the Iberians and Celts, and am a citizen of Tagus? Is it in face we look alike ? You stroll about sleek with curled hair, my locks are Spanish and stiff; you are smoothed with depilatory daily, I am one with bristly shanks and cheeks ; your tongue lisps, and your utterance is feeble ; my guts will speak in

  • A spot in the Campus Martius, where was an altar of

Dis (Pluto) : cf. iv. i. 8. The Ludi Saeculares were cele- brated here, and had been held by Claudius in A.D. 47, and by Domitian in 88. Noble ladies (yvvdiicfs 4-iriffijfj.oi : Zos. n. v.) took part, and possibly they were bound to be of acknowledged character and virtue.

3 The wife of Lucan the poet : c/. vn. xxi.

4 This line does not appear in Lucan's extant works.

203


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

tarn dispar aquilae columba non est

nee dorcas rigido fugax leoni.

quare desine me vocare fratrem,

ne te, Charmenion, vocem sororem. 15


LXVI

Quis, rogo, tain durus, quis tarn fuit ille superbus

qui iussit fieri te, Theopompe, cocum ? hanc aliquis faciem nigra violare culina

sustinet, has undo polluit igne comas ? quis potius cyathos aut quis crystalla tenebit ?

qua sapient melius mixta Falerna manu ? si tarn sidereos manet exitus iste ministros,

luppiter utatur iam Ganymede coco.

LXVII

PVRRHAE filia, Nestoris noverca, quam vidit Niobe puella canam, Laertes aviam senex vocavit, nutricem Priamus, socrum Thyestes, iam cornicibus omnibus superstes, hoc tandem sita prurit in sepulchre calvo Plotia cum Melanthione.


LXVIII

CUM tibi non Ephesos nee sit Rhodos aut Mitylene, sed domus in vico/ Laelia, patricio,

1 "Brother" and "sister" were often used in a disreput- able sense : cf. n. iv. 3 ; Tib. in. i. 26.

204


BOOK X. LXV-LXVIII

stronger tone : a dove is not so unlike an eagle,, nor a timid doe a savage lion. Wherefore cease to call me " brother " lest 1 call you, Charmenion, " sister" ! *

LXVI

WHO was he, I ask, so harsh, who was he so insolent that bade you, Theopompus, become a cook ? Is this a face any man endures to mar with black kitchen-soot, these the locks he pollutes with greasy flame ? Who in your stead will hold the ladles, or who the crystal cups ? From whose hand shall the blended Falernian take sweeter savour? If such an end as that await attendants so heavenly- bright, let Jupiter now employ his Ganymede as cook.

LXVII

PYRRHA'S daughter, Nestor's step-mother, one whom Niobe, when a girl, saw as an old crone, old Laertes called his grandmother, Priam his nurse, Thyestes his mother-in-law, Plotia, having now outlived all the crows, 2 is laid in this tomb at last, and by the side of bald Melanthion itches with lust.


LXVIII

ALTHOUGH your home is not Ephesus, nor Rhodes, nor Mitylene, but a house, Laelia, in Patrician street, 8

2 Crows were said to outlive nine (Hes. apud Plut. De Def. Or. xi.), or at least five (Arist. Av. 609) generations of men.

3 Under the Esquiline in the middle of Rome : cf. vii. Ixxiii. 2.

205


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

deque coloratis numquam lita mater Etruscis,

durus Aricina de regione pater, Kvpte p-ov, fjii\i p.ov, i/w^i; p.ov congeris usque, 5

pro pudor ! Hersiliae civis et Egeriae. lectulus has voces, nee lectulus audiat omnis,

sed quern lascivo stravit arnica viro. scire cupis quo casta modo matrona loquaris ?

numquid, cum crisas, blandior esse potes ? 10

tu licet ediscas totam referasque Corinthon

non tamen omnino, Laelia, Lais eris.

LXIX

CUSTODES das, Polla, viro, non accipis ipsa. hoc est uxorem ducere, Polla, virum.

LXX

QUOD mihi vix unus toto liber exeat anno

desidiae tibi sum, docte Potite, reus. iustius at quanto mirere quod exeat unus,

labantur toti cum mihi saepe dies, non resalutantis video nocturnus amicos, 5

gratulor et multis ; nemo, Potite, mihi. nunc ad luciferam signat mea gemma Dianam,

nunc me prima sibi, nunc sibi quinta rapit.

1 i.e. Roman, not Greek. H. was the wife of Romulus. E. of Nuina, kings of Rome.

3 Juvenal (vi. 192-5) seems to have copied the last two sentences.

3 A celebrated Corinthian courtesan.

206


BOOK X. LXVIII-LXX

and though your mother was one of the sunburnt Etruscans, and never rouged, your sturdy father one from the district of Aricia, you are continually he'ap- ing on me in Greek "my lord/' "my honey/' "my soul" shameful! although you are a fellow-citizen of Hersilia and Egeria. 1 Let a couch hear such phrases, nor even every couch, but only that which his mistress has laid out for an amorous paramour. 2 You want to know how you are to speak as a chaste matron ? Can you be more alluring when your ges- tures are lewd ? You may learn by heart and repro- duce all the ways of Corinth, yet nohow, Laelia, will you be a Lais. 3

LXIX

You set watchers over your husband, Polla, but do not receive them yourself. This, Polla, is to take your husband to wife. 4

LXX

BECAUSE scarcely one book of mine is published in a whole year, I am by you, learned Potitus, accused of laziness. But how much mgre justly should you wonder that one is published at all, when often whole days of mine slip away. Before daybreak I call on friends who do not return my call, and I offer congratulations to many : no one, Potitus, offers them to me. Now my signet-ring seals a document at the temple of Diana the Light-bringer ; 5 now the first hour, now the fifth hurries me off. Now consul

4 Husbands often set watchers over their wives : cf. Tac. Ann. xi. 35. To return the compliment, says M., is to convert a husband into a wife : cf. viu. xii.

5 On the Aventine (cf. vi. Ixiv. 13), far from M.'s house on the Esquiline.

207


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

mine consul praetorve tenet reducesque choi-eae ;

auditur toto saepe poeta die. 10

sed nee causidico possis inpune negare,

nee si te rhetor grammaticusve rogent. balnea post decumam lasso centumque petuntur

quadrantes. net quando, Petite, liber ?

LXXI

QUISQUIS laeta tuis et sera parentibus optas

fata, brevem titulum marmoris huius ama. condidit hac caras tellure Rabirius umbras ;

nulli sorte iacent candidiore senes : bis sex lustra tori nox mitis et ultima clusit, 5

arserunt uno funera bina rogo. hos tamen ut primis raptos sibi quaerit in annis.

inprobius nihil his fletibus esse potest.

LXXII

FRUSTRA, Blariditiae, venitis ad me

adtritis miserabiles labellis :

dicturus dominum deumque non sum.

iam non est locus hac in urbe vobis ;

ad Parthos procul ite pilleatos 5

et turpes humilesque supplicesque

pictorum sola basiate regum.

non est hie dominus sed imperator,

sed iustissimus omnium senator,

208


BOOK X. LXX-LXXII

or praetor detains me, and his escorting band j 1 often a poet is listened to a whole day long. Then also you cannot with impunity refuse a pleader, nor if a rhetorician or grammarian were to ask you. After the tenth hour, fagged out, I make for the baths and my hundred farthings. 2 When, Potitus, shall a book be written ?

LXXI

WHOE'ER thou art who for thy parents prayest for a happy and a late death, regard with love this marble's brief inscription. In this earth Rabirius has hidden dearly-loved shades : with fairer lot none of the old lie in death. Twice six lustres of wedded life one night, kindly and their latest, closed ; on one pyre two bodies burned. Yet he looks for them as if they had been snatched away from him in early years : naught more unwarranted can be than such a lament.

LXXII

IN vain, O ye Flatteries, ye come to me, wretched creatures with your shameless lips ; I think not to address any man as Master and God. 3 No longer in this city is there place for you ; fly far off to the turbaned Parthians, and kiss base, crawling and suppliant as ye are the soles of bedizened kings. No master is here, but a commander, aye, a senator most just of all, 4 by whose means rustic Truth with

1 i.e. escorting a magistrate home from some function ; cf. II. Ixxiv. 2 ; xi. xxiv. 1.

2 cf. in. vii. 3.

3 A title assumed by Domitian, now dead. 4 Trajan.

209 vol.. n. P


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

per quern de Stygia domo reducta est 10

siccis rustica Veritas capillis. hoc sub principe, si sapis, caveto verbis, Roma, prioribus loquaris.

LXXIII

LITTERA facundi gratum mihi pignus amici

pertulit, Ausoniae dona f severaf l togae, qua non Fabricius, sed vellet Apicius uti,

vellet Maecenas Caesarianus eques. vilior haec nobis alio mittente fuisset ; 5

non quacumque manu victima caesa litat : a te missa venit : possem nisi munus araare,

Marce, tuum, poteram nomen amare meum. munere sed plus est et nomine gratius ipso

officium docti iudiciumque viri. 10

LXXIV

IAM parce lasso, Roma, gratulatori,

lasso clienti. quamdiu salutator

anteambulones et togatulos inter

centum merebor plumbeos die toto,

cum Scorpus una quindecim graves hora 5

ferventis auri victor auferat saccos ?

non ego meorum praemium libellorum

(quid enim merentur ?) Apulos velim campos ;

non Hybla, non me spicifer capit Nilus,

nee quae paludes delicata Pomptinas 10

1 sera (pro severa) y, superba Heins.

1 F. is a type of early simplicity ; A. and M. of modern luxury.

210


BOOK X. LXXII-LXXIV

her unperfumed locks has been brought home from her abode by Styx. Under such a prince, if thou art wise, beAvare, O Rome, to speak the words thou didst before.

LXXIII

THE letter of my eloquent friend has brought me a welcome pledge of love, the staid gift of an Italian toga, which not Fabricius, 1 but Apicius would have been glad to wear, glad too Maecenas, Caesar's knight. Less prized would it have been if another sent it : 'tis not the victim slain by every hand that wins favour. By you 'tis sent and comes ; if I could not love your gift, Marcus, I could love at least my own name. 2 But more than the gift, and more welcome than the name itself, is the attention and judgment of a learned man.

LXXIV

AT length spare, O Rome, the weary congratu- lator, the weary client ! How long, at levees, among the escort and the full-dressed throng, shall I earn a hundred worthless farthings 3 in a whole day, whereas in a single hour, Scorpus, a winner of the race, bears off fifteen bags of gleaming gold ? I would not as reward for my little books for what do they de- serve ? wish for Apulian plains ; * nor does Hybla or corn-bearing Nile allure me, nor the dainty Setine

2 M.'s name was perhaps embroidered on the toga. Or M. may mean, "I value the gift as coming from another Marcus."

3 The usual client's dole.

4 Celebrated for wool : cf. n. xlvi. 6 ; vni. xxviii. 3.

2 1 1 p 2


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

ex arce clivi spectat uva Setini.

quid concupiscam quaeris ergo ? dormire.


LXXV

MILIA viginti quondam me Galla poposcit

et, fateor, magno non erat ilia nimis. annus abit : "Bis quina dabis sestertia/' dixit.

poscere plus visa est.quam prius ilia mihi. iam duo poscenti post sextum milia mensem 5

mille dabam nummos. noluit accipere. transierant binae forsan trinaeve Kalendae,

aureolos ultro quattuor ipsa petit, non dedimus. centum iussit me mittere nummos ;

sed visa est nobis haec quoque summa gravis. 10 sportula nos iunxit quadrantibus arida centum ;

hanc voluit : puero diximus esse datam. inferius numquid potuit descendere ? fecit.

dat gratis, ultro dat mihi Galla : nego.


LXXVI

Hoc, Fortuna, tibi videtur aequum ? civis non Syriaeve Parthiaeve, nee de Cappadocis eques catastis, sed de plebe Remi Numaeque verna, iucundus probus innocens amicus, lingua doctus utraque, cuius unum est sed magnum vitium quod est poeta, pullo Maevius alget in cucullo : cocco mulio fulget Incitatus.


1 The noises of Rome are described in xn. Ivii. 2t2


BOOK X. LXXIV-LXXVI

grape which from the hill's crest looks on the Pomp- tine marshes. Do you ask, then, what I long for ? To sleep. 1

LXXV

GALLA formerly demanded of me twenty thousand sesterces, and I allow she was not too dear. A year goes by : " You will give ten thousand ? " she said ; she appeared to me to be demanding more than before. Then after six months, when she demanded two thousand, I offered a thousand : she would not accept them. Two, or perhaps three kalends had passed, and voluntarily she herself asked for four gold pieces : 2 I did not give them. She bade me send her a hundred sesterces, but this sum, too, seemed to me stiff. A starveling allowance of a hundred farthings allied me with a patron : this she wanted; I said I had given them to my slave. Could she come down to lower depths ? She achieved this. Galla offers me her favours for nothing, offers of her own accord : I decline.

LXXVI

DOES this, Fortune, seem to you to be fair ? Here is a citizen, not of Syria or Parthia, no knight from Cappadocian slave-stands, but home-born, one of the crowd of Remus and of Numa, a friend pleasant, honest, blameless, learned in either tongue, whose one fault and that a great one is that he is a poet : 'tis Maevius, 3 who shivers in a black cowl. Incitatus, the mule-driver, shines in scarlet.

2 The aureolus was a gold coin worth 25 denarii, intrin- sically about a pound of British money. Four, in terms of sesterces, would be 400.

3 Perhaps Martial means himself.

213


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

LXXVII

NEQUIUS a Caro nihil umquam, Maxime, factum est quam quod febre perit : fecit et ilia nefas.

saeva nocens febris saltern quartana fuisset : * servari medico debuit ilia 2 suo.


LXXVIII

IBIS litoreas, Macer,- Salonas ;

ibit rara fides amorque recti

et quae, cum comitem trahit pudorem,

semper pauperior redit potestas.

felix auri ferae colone terrae, 5

rectorem vacuo sinu remittes

optabisque moras, et exeuntem

udo, Dalmata, gaudio sequeris.

nos Celtas, Macer, et truces Hiberos

cum desiderio tui petemus. 10

sed quaecumque tamen feretur illinc

piscosi calamo Tagi notata,

Macrum pagina nostra nominabit :

sic inter veteres legar poetas,

nee multos mihi praeferas priores, 15

uno sed tibi sim minor Catullo.

LXXIX

AD lapidem Torquatus habet praetoria quartum ; ad quartum breve rus emit Otacilius.

1 fuiases /3. 2 ilia 5-, ille codd.

1 C. was a specialist in quartan fever, and should have been allowed to die by his own particular disease. With the


BOOK X. LXXVII LXXIX

LXXVII

NOTHING more scandalous, Maximus, was ever done by Carus than his dying of fever, and it too com- mitted an outrage. The cruel, fatal fever should have been at least a quartan ! That malady should have been reserved for its own doctor. 1


LXXVIII

You will go, Macer, to Salonae 2 by the sea ; with you will go rare loyalty and love of right, and power, which, with moderation in its train, ever returns the poorer. Happy dweller in that gold- bearing land, you will send home your Governor with empty pouch, and will beg him to linger, and as he goes you, Dalmatian, will speed him with a tearful joy. I, Macer, will seek the Celts and fierce Hiberians, longing the while for you. Yet, whatever page of mine shall be wafted from thence, scored with a reed-pen from fish-teeming Tagus, it shall speak of Macer's name. So may I be read among the old poets, and you prefer not many to me, but may I be to you less than Catullus alone !


LXXIX

AT the fourth milestone Torquatus possesses a palace : at the fourth Otacilius bought a narrow

reading ille in 1. 4 the meaning is that the disease should have taken the mild form of a quartan (cf. Juv. iv. 57), and the patient been left for his own doctor to kill.

2 The capital of Dalmatia, where M. was going as governor. He had been (cf, x. xvii.) curator of the Appian Way.

215


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

Torquatus nitidas vario de marmore thermas

extruxit ; cucumam feeit Otacilius. disposuit daphnona suo Torquatus in agro ; 5

castaneas centum sevit Otacilius. consule Torquato viei fuit ille magister,

non minor in tanto visus honore sibi. grandis ut exiguam bos ranam ruperat olim,

sic, puto, Torquatus rumpet Otacilium. 10

LXXX

PLORAT Eros, quotiens maculosae pocula mtirrae

inspicit aut pueros nobiliusve citrum, et gemitus imo ducit de pectore quod non

tota miser coemat Saepta feratque domum. quam multi faciunt quod Eros ! sed lumine sicco 5

pars maior lacrimas ridet et intus habet.

LXXXI

CUM duo venissent ad Phyllida mane fututum et nudam cuperet sumere uterque prior,

promisit pariter se Phyllis utrique daturam, et dedit : ille pedem sustulit, hie tunicam.

LXXXII

  • .- . ....-;...,, ..:. *.., -.., , # ^

Si quid nostra tuis adicit vexatio rebus, mane vel a media nocte togatus ero

1 Cucuma, literally, is a large seething pot.

2 Augustus divided Rome into regions and districts (Suet.

216


BOOK X. LXXIX--LXXXII

field. Torquatus built warm baths bright with variegated marble : Otacilius set up a geyser. 1 On his land Torquatus laid out a laurel-grove : Otacilius planted a hundred chestnuts. When Torquatus was consul the other was a vestryman, 2 in such a dignity deeming himself no lesser man. Just as the huge ox in the fable caused the frog to burst himself, so, I think, Torquatus will burst Otacilius.


LXXX

EROS weeps whenever he inspects cups of spotted 3 murrine, or slaves, or a citrus-wood table finer than usual, and heaves groans from the bottom of his chest because he wretched man cannot buy up the whole Saepta 4 and carry it home. How many act like Eros ! But with dry eyes the greater part laugh at his tears and havethem in their hearts.

LXXXI

Dui essendo venuti da Fillide di mattina per immembrarla, e 1'uno e 1'altro desiderando goderla nuda il primo, Fillide promise darsi in una volta a tutti e due, e si diede. Quello sollevo il piede, questo la tunica.

LXXXII

IF my discomfort bring any advantage to your affairs, at daybreak, or after midnight 1 will don my

Aug. 30), each of the latter being put under four vici magistri chosen from the vicinity.

3 Transparency or paleness was a defect : cf. iv. Ixxxv. 2.

  • cf. n. xiv. 5.

217


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

stridentesque feram flatus Aquilonis iniqui et patiar nimbos excipiamque nives.

sed si non fias quadrante beatior uno per gemitus nostros ingenuasque cruces,

parce, precor, fesso vanosque remitte labores qui tibi non prosunt et mini, Galle, nocent.


LXXXIII

RAROS colligis hinc et hinc capillos

et latum nitidae, Marine, calvae

campum temporibus tegis comatis ;

sed moti redeunt iubente vento

reddunturque sibi caputque nudum 5

cirris grandibus hinc et inde cingunt.

inter Spendophorum Telesphorumque

Cydae stare putabis Hermerotem.

vis tu simplicius senem fateri,

ut tandem videaris unus esse ? 10

calvo turpius est nilril comato.


LXXXIV

M i H A Hi>. quare dormitum non eat Afer ? accumbat cum qua, Caediciane, vides.


LXXXV

I AM senior Ladon Tiberinae nauta carinae proxima dilectis rura paravit aquis.

1 S. and T. are beautiful boys referred to in ix. Ivi.; xi. 218


BOOK X. LXXXII-LXXXV

toga, and bear the whistling blasts of the harsh North wind, and endure the storm-clouds and wel- come the snow. But if you don't become richer by a single farthing through my groans and the servile tortures of a free man, be merciful, I pray, to my weariness, and remit these useless labours that don't help you, Gallus, and hurt me.

LXXXIII

FROM the one side and the other you gather up your scanty locks and you cover, Marinus, the wide expanse of your shining bald scalp with the hair from both sides of your head. But blown about, they come back at the bidding of the wind, and return to themselves, and gird your bare poll with big curls on this . side and on that. You would think the Hermeros of Cydas is standing between Spendo- phorus and Telesphorus. 1 Will you, please, in simpler fashion confess yourself old, so as after all to appear a single person ? Nothing is more unsightly than a bald man covered with hair. 2

LXXXIV

Do you wonder why Afer does not go to bed ? You see, Caedicianus, the lady with whom he reclines at table.

LXXXV

Now grown old, Ladon, the master of a boat on Tiber, bought some land near his beloved stream.

xxvi. Hermeros is unknown, and may he someone so called on account of his ugliness and baldness. 2 cf. v. xlix. on a similar subject.

219


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

quae cum saepe vagus premeret torrentibus undis Thybris et hiberno rumperet arva lacu,

emeritam puppim, ripa quae stabat in alta, inplevit saxis opposuitque vadis.

sic nimias avevtit aquas, quis credere posset ? auxilium domino mersa carina tulit.


NEMO nova caluit sic inflammatus arnica,

flagravit quanto Laurus amore pilae. sed qui primus erat lusor dum floruit aetas,

nunc postquam desit ludere, prima pila est.

LXXXVII

OCTOBRES age sentiat Kalendas

facundi pia Roma Restituti :

linguis omnibus et favete votis ;

natalem colimus, tacete lites.

absit cereus aridi clientis, 5

et vani triplices brevesque mappae

expectent gelidi iocos Decembris.

certent muneribus beatiores :

Agrippae tumidus negotiator

Cadmi municipes ferat lacernas ; " 10

pugnorum reus ebriaeque noctis

cenatoria mittat advocato ;

1 cf. II. xliii. 6. L. is now good for nothing. Or perhaps the allusion may be to his dilapidated appearance through poverty.

220


BOOK X. I.XXXV-LXXXVII

As Tiber often o'erflowing was drowning it with rushing waters, and with a winter flood usurping the tilled fields, he filled with stones his boat, now past service, that stood on the high bank, and opposed it as a barrier to the waters. So he averted the deluge. Who could believe it ? The sinking of his ship brought succour to its owner !

LXXXVI


No man has been so inflamed with ardour for a new mistress as Laurus has been fired with the delight of playing at ball. But he, who was a prime player while life was in its bloom, now he has ceased to play is a prime dummy. 1

LXXXVII

COME, let duteous Rome recognise October's kalends, the birthday of eloquent Restitutus 2 r with all your tongues, and in all your prayers, utter well- omened words ; we keep a birthday, be still, ye law- suits ! Away with the needy client's wax taper ! and let useless three-leaved tablets and curt napkins wait for the jollity of cold December. 3 Let richer men vie in gifts : let Agrippa's 4 pompous tradesman bring mantles, the fellow-citizens of Cadmus 5 ; let the de- fendant in a charge of assault and drunkenness at night send his counsel dinner-suits. Has a slandered

2 An advocate, perhaps the Claudius R. spoken of by Pliny (Ep. m. ix. 16) as " vir exercitatus et vigilans, et quamlibet subitis paratus."

3 " Away with rubbishy gifts : let every one send his best ! "

4 In the Saepta where were fashionable shops : cf. n. xiv. 5; ix. lix. 1. B i.e. Tyrian.

221


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

infamata virum puella vicit ?

veros sardonychas, sed ipsa tradat ;

mirator veterum senex avorura 15

donet Phidiaci toreuma caeli ;

venator leporem, colonus haedum,

piscator ferat aequorum rapinas.

si mittit sua quisque, quid poetam

missurum tibi, Restitute, credis ? 20

LXXXVIII

OMNES persequeris praetorum, Cotta, libellos ; accipis et ceras. officiosus homo es.

LXXXIX

I UNO labor, Poly elite, tuus et gloria felix, Phidiacae cuperent quam meruisse manus,

ore nitet tanto quanto superasset in Ide iudice convictas non dubitante deas.

lunonem, Polyclite, suam nisi frater amaret, 5

lunonem poterat frater amare tuam.

XC

QUID vellis vetulum, Ligeia, cunnum ?

quid busti ciueres tui lacessis ?

tales munditiae decent puellas

(nam tu iam nee anus potes videri) ;

istud, crede mihi, Ligeia, belle 5

non mater facit Hectoris, sed uxor.

1 cf. iv. xxxix. 4.

2 This ep. is unintelligible (Friedlander). It depends on the meaning of libellos.

222


BOOK X. LXXXVII-XC

young wife defeated her husband ? Let her bestow, and with her own hands, genuine sardonyxes. Let the old admirer of ancient days give chased plate of Phidias' chisel, 1 the hunter a hare, the farmer a kid, the fisher bring the spoil of the sea. If every man send his own peculiar gift, what do you think, Re- stitutus, a poet will send you ?


LXXXVIII

You run after all the announcements of trials be- fore the Praetor, Cotta, and you accept note books. You are an attentive person ! 2

LXXXIX

JUNO, thy work, Polyclitus, bringing thee proud glory, such as the hands of Phidias might be eager to have won, shines in beauty such as on Ida would have o'ercome the goddesses condemned by no hesi- tating judge. 3 Did not her brother 4 love his own Juno, Polyclitus, that brother might well have loved this Juno of thine !

XC

WHY, Ligeia, do you depilate your aged charms ? Why do you stir the ashes of your dead self? Such trickings befit young girls (for you cannot now seem to be even an old crone) ; that which you do, Ligeia, believe me, is not pretty in Hector's mother, only

3 Paris, who adjudged Venus to be more beautiful than Juno or Minerva.

4 Jupiter.

223


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

erras si tibi cunnus hie videtur,

ad quern mentula pertinere desit.

quare si pudor est, Ligeia, noli

barbam vellere mortuo leoni. 10


XCI

OMNES eunuchos habet Almo nee arrigit ipse : et queritur pariat quod sua Polla nihil.


XCII

MARI, quietae cultor et comes vitae,

quo cive prisca gloriatur Atina,

has tibi gemellas barbari decus luci

conmendo pinus ilicesque Faunorum

et semidocta vilici manu structas 5

Tonantis aras horridique Silvani,

quas pinxit agni saepe sanguis aut haedi,

dominamque sancti virginem deam templi,

et quern sororis hospitem vides castae

Martem meavum principem Kalendarum, 10

et delicatae laureum nemus Florae,

in quod Priapo persequente confugit.

hoc omne agelli mite parvuli numen

seu tu cruore sive ture placabis,

" Ubicumque vester Martialis est/' dices 15

" hac ecce mecum dextei'a litat vobis

absers sacerdos ; vos putate praesentem

et date duobus quidquid alter optabit."


1 i.e. do not seek to stir passion now dead. 224


BOOK X. xc-xcii

in his wife. You are mistaken if you think those are charms, when gallantry has ceased to concern itself with them. So, if you have any shame, Ligeia, forbear to pluck the beard of a dead lion. 1

XCI

ALMO has eunuchs all about him, and he himself is inefficient, and yet he complains that his Pol la produces nothing.


MAHIUS, votary of that quiet life you shared with me, citizen in whom ancient Atina makes her boast, these twin pines, the ornament of an untrimmed wood, I commend to you, 2 and the holm-oaks of the Fawns, and the altars, built by my bailiff's unprac- tised hand, of the Thunderer and of shaggy Sil- vanus, that oft the blood of lamb or goat has stained ; and the virgin goddess, 3 queen of her hallowed shrine, and him whom you see, his pure sister's guest, Mars, who rules my birthday kalends ; and the laurel grove of dainty Flora, whereinto she fled when Priapus pursued. To all these gentle deities of my small field, whoe'er they be, whom you propitiate, whether with blood or incense, you shall say : " Wherever your Martial is, behold, by this right hand with me he sacrifices to you, an absent priest. Deem ye that he is here, and grant to both whatever either shall pray for ! "

2 Martial, being about to return to Spain, commends to M. the Nomentan farm, and the duty of keeping up its sacred rites. 3 Diana.

225

VOL. II. O


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

XCIII

Si prior Euganeas, Clemens, Helicaonis oras pictaque pampineis videris arva iugis,

perfer Atestinae nondum vulgata Sabinae carmina, purpurea sed modo culta toga.

ut rosa delectat metitur quae pollice primo, sic nova nee mento sordida charta iuvat.

XCIV

NON mea Massy] us servat pomaria serpens, regius Alcinoi nee mihi servit ager,

sed Nomentana securus germinal hortus arbore, nee furem plumbea mala timent.

haec igitur media quae sunt modo nata Subura mittimus autumni cerea poma mei.

xcv

INKANTEM tibi vir, tibi, Galla, remisit adulter. hi, puto, non dubie se futuisse negant.

XCVI

SAEPE loquar minium gentes quod, Avite, remotas

miraris, Latia factus in urbe senex, auriferumque Tagum sitiam patriumque Salonem

et repetam saturae sordida rura casae.


1 Euganei was the old name of the inhabitants of Venetia. Helicaon was the son of Antenor who founded Patavium (Padua).

a iugum is regularly used by Coluniella of the trellis to which the vine shoots were fastened. 3 cf. I. Ixvi. 8.

226


- BOOK X. xciu-xcvi

XCIII

IF before me, Clemens, you shall behold Helicaon's Euganean shores, 1 and the fields decked with vine- clad trellises, 2 carry to Sabina of Atesta poems, un- published as yet, and that too newly arrayed in purple wrapper. As the rose delights us that is first plucked by the finger, so a sheet pleases when 'tis new and unsoiled by the chin. 3

XCIV

No Massylian serpent 4 guards my orchard, nor does the royal plantation of Alcinous 5 serve my wants, but my garden burgeons in security with its Nomentan fruit-trees, and my poor fruits dread no thief. So I send you these yellow apples of my autumn crop, freshly grown in the midst of the Subura/'

XCV

YOUR husband, Galla, has sent you back the babe, your lover has sent it back. They, 1 think, in no doubtful fashion deny connection.

XCVI

You often wonder, Avitus, 7 why I speak overmuch of nations very far off, though I have grown old in Latium's city, and long for gold-bearing Tagus and my native Salo, and look back to the rough fields of

4 That guarded the golden apples of the Hesperides : cf. xni. xxxvii. 6 cf. vn. xlii. 6.

8 i.e. bought thereby M., as his own farm at Nomentum produced nothing worth sending : cf. vn. xxxi. 12.

7 cf. ix. i. Ep.

227 2


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

ilia placet tellus in qua res parva beatum 5

me facif et tenues luxuriantur opes : pascitur hie, ibi pascit ager ; tepet igne maligno

hie focus, ingenti lumine lucet ibi ; hie pretiosa fames conturbatorque macellus,

mensa ibi divitiis ruris operta sui ; 10

quattuor hie aestate togae pluresve teruntur,

autumnis ibi me quattuor una tegit. i, cole nunc reges, quidquid non praestat amicus

cum praestare tibi possit, Avite, locus.


XCVII

DUM levis arsura struitur Libitina papyro, dum murram et casias flebilis uxor emit,

Jam scrobe, iam lecto, iam pollinctore parato, heredem scripsit me Numa : convaluit.


XCVIII

ADDAT cum mihi Caecubum minister

Idaeo resolutior cinaedo,

quo nee filia cultior nee uxor

nee mater tua nee soror recumbit,

vis spectem potius tuas lucernas 5

aut citrum vetus Indieosque denies ?

suspectus tibi ne tamen recumbam,

praesta de grege sordidaque villa

tonsos horridulos mdes pusillos

hircosi mihi filios subulci. 10

perdet te dolor hie : habere, Publi,

mores non potes hos et hos ministros.

228


BOOK X. xcvi-xcvm

a fruitful country-house. That land is dear to me wherein small means make me rich, and a slender store is luxury. The soil is maintained l here, there it maintains you ; here your hearth is scarcely warm with its grudging fire, with a mighty blaze it shines there. Here hunger is dear and the market makes you bankrupt, there stands a table covered with its own country's wealth. Here four togas or more grow threadbare in a summer, there during four autumns one covers me. Go to, now ! and pay court to great men, when a place can afford you, Avitus, whatever a friend does not afford !

XCVII

WHILE the lightly-heaped pyre was being laid with papyrus for the flame, 2 while his weeping wife was buying myrrh and casia, when now the grave, when now the bier, when now the anointer was ready, Numa wrote me down his heir, and got well !

XCVIII

WHEN an attendant more voluptuous than the cupbearer of Ida 3 pours out my Caecuban, one than whom your daughter or wife, or mother or sister, is no smarter as she reclines at table, do you wish me instead to look at your lamps, or at your antique table of citrus- wood and its ivory legs ? Neverthe- less, that I may not be suspected by you at your table, produce for me from the throng in your rough farm- stead some short-haired, unkempt, clownish, puny fel- lows, sons of a malodorous swineherd. This jealousy of yours will betray you ! You cannot, Publius, possess such morals and such servants at once.

1 cf. x. Iviii. 9. 2 cf. vin. xliv. 14. 3 Ganymede.

229


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

XCIX

Si Romana forent haec Socratis ora, fuissent lulius in Saturis qualia Rufus habet.

C

QUID, stulte, nostris versibus tuos misces ? cum litigante quid tibi, miser, libro ? quid congregare cum leonibus volpes aquilisque similes facere noctuas quaeris ? habeas licebit alterum pedem Ladae, 5

inepte, frustra crure ligneo curris.

CI

ELYSIO redeat si forte remissus ab agro

ille suo felix Caesare Gabba vetus, qui Capitolinum pariter Gabbamque iocantes

audierit, dicet " Rustice Gabba, tace."

CII

QUA factus ratione sit requiris,

qui numquam futuit, pater Philinus ?

Gaditanus, Avite, dicat istud,

qui scribit nihil et tamen poeta est.

GUI

MUNICIPES, Augusta mihi quos Bilbilis acri monte creat, rapidis quern Salo cingit aquis,

1 Possibly on a portrait of R. as a frontispiece to his Satires. The portrait is as ugly as Socrates. Others, however, suggest t'n Satyris "amid a group of satyrs."

230


BOOK X. xrix-cin


XCIX

IF this face of Socrates had been a Roman's, it would have been just what Julius Rufus presents in his Satires. 1

C

WHY, you fool, do you mix your verses with mine ? What have you, wretched fellow, to do with a book that is at odds with you ? 2 Why do you try to herd foxes with lions, and to make owls like eagles ? You may possess one foot as swift as Ladas, 3 yet, you stupid, you run in vain with a leg of wood.

CI

IF, by chance sent back from the Elysian fields, the old Gabba, 4 fortunate in his master, Caesar, were to return, he who hears Capitolinus 6 and Gabba in a jesting match will say : "Boorish Gabba, hold your tongue ! "

CII

Do you ask how it comes that Philinus, who never sleeps with his wife, is yet a father? Gaditanus must answer that, Avitus : he writes nothing, and yet he is "a poet."

cm

FELLOW-TOWNSMEN, the children of Augustan Bil- bilis on its keen hillside, which Salo girds with

2 cf. i. liii. 3.

8 A celebrated Spartan i-unner, and winner at Olympia : cf. ii. Ixxxvi. 8.

4 The jester of the Emperor Augustus : cf. i. xli. 16.

5 Trajan's jester.

231


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

. ecquid laeta iuvat vestri vos gloria vatis ?

nam decus et nomen famaque vestra sunius, nee sua plus debet tenui Verona Catullo 5

meque velit dici non minus ilia suum. quattuor accessit tricesima messibus aestas,

ut sine me Cereri rustica liba datis, moenia dum colimus dominae pulcherrima Roinae :

mutavere meas Itala regna comas. 10

excipitis placida reducem si mente, venimus ;

aspera si geritis corda, redire licet.


CIV

I NOSTRO comes, i, libelle, Flavo

longum per mare, sed faventis undae,

et cursu facili tuisque ventis

Hispanae pete Tarraconis arces :

illinc te rota toilet et citatus 5

altam Bilbilin et tuum Salonem

quinto forsitan essedo videbis.

quid mandem tibi quaeris ? ut sodales

paucos, sed veteres et ante brumas

triginta mihi quattuorque visos 10

ipsa protinus a via salutes

et nostrum admoneas subinde Flavum

iucundos mihi nee laboriosos

secessus pretio paret salubri,

qui pigrum faciant tuum parentem. 15

haec sunt. iam tumidus vocat magister

castigatque moras, et aura portum

laxavit melior : vale, libelle :

navem, scis, puto, non moratur unus.


232


BOOK X. CIH-CIV

hurrying waters, does the glad renown of your bard delight you ? For I am your glory and repute, and your fame, and his own Verona owes no more to elegant Catullus, and would wish me to be called no less her own son. A thirtieth summer has been added to four harvests since without me you offered to Ceres rustic cakes, while I have so- journed within the fair walls of mistress Rome ; the realm of Italy has grizzled my locks. If you greet me with gentle will on my return, I come to you ; if you carry churlish hearts, I can go back. 1

CIV

Go, fellow wayfarer of my Flavus ; go, little book, over the wide sea but when the wave befriends you and, on easy course and with breezes all your own, seek the heights of Spanish Tarraco. From there the wheel will carry you, and, rapidly borne, you will perchance at the fifth stage see high-set Bilbilis and your Salo. Ask you what is my charge to you ? That you greet, even as you are on the way, my comrades few are they, but old ones, and last seen by me now thirty and four winters back and now and then remind my Flavus that he procure for me at a wholesome price some retreat, pleasant and not hard to keep up, which may make a lazy man of your begetter. This is my charge. Already the skipper calls in blustering tones, and is blaming the delay, and a fairer wind has opened the har- bour. Farewell, little book : you know, I think, one passenger does not delay a vessel.

1 M. appears to anticipate jealousy : cf. xii. Kp.


2 33


BOOK XI


LIBER UNDEC1MUS


Quo tu, quo, liber otiose, tendis

cultus Sidone l non cotidiana ?

numquid Parthenium videre ? certe :

vadas et redeas inevolutus.

libros non legit ille sed libellos ; 5

nee Musis vacat, aut suis vacaret.

ecquid te satis aestimas beatum,

contingunt tibi si manus minores ?

vicini pete porticum Quirini :

turbam non habet otiosiorem 10

Pompeius vel Agenoris puella,

vel primae dominus levis carinae.

sunt illic duo tresve qui revolvant

nostrarum tineas ineptiarum,

sed cum sponsio fabulaeque lassae 15

de Scorpo fuerint et Incitato.

II

TRISTE supercilium durique severa Catonis frons et aratoris filia Fabricii

1 sindone &.


1 He probably read these on behalf of the Emperor. The Temple of Quirinus near M.'s house ; cf. x. Iviii. 10.

f. i 236


The references are respectively to the Portion Pompeii (cf. II. xiv. 10) ; the Porticus Europae (cf. n. xiv. 15) ; and


BOOK XI


WHERE, where are you going, idle book, smart in purple not of every day? Can it be to. see Parthenius ? No doubt : go and return unopened ; publications he does not read, only petitions, 1 nor has he leisure for the Muses, or he would have leisure for his own. Do you not think yourself fortunate enough if lesser hands may await you ? Make for Quirinus' Colonnade 2 hard by ; a crowd more idle not Pompey contains, nor Agenor's daughter, nor the in- constant captain of the first ship. 3 There are two or three there who may unroll my twaddle, fit only for worms, but only when the bet and languid tales about Scorpus and Incitatus 4 are done with.


II

FORBIDDING frowns, and rigid Cato's brow austere, and the daughter of Fabricius 5 the ploughman, and

the Porticus Argonautarum (cf. n. xiv. 6). Jason is called levis because of his conduct to Medea.

4 Charioteers : cf. x. 1. and X. Ixxvi. 9.

5 Fabricius, a type of the old Roman simplicity of life. On account of their poverty, his daughters were dowered by the Senate.

237


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

et personati fastus et regula morum,

quidquid et in tenebris non sumus, ite foras.

clamant ecce mei "lo Saturnalia" versus : et licet et sub te praeside, Nerva, libet.

lectores tetrici salebrosum ediscite Santram : nil mihi vobiscum est : iste liber meus est.


Ill

NON urbana mea tantum Pimpleide gaudent

otia, nee vacuis auribus ista dainus, sed meus in Geticis ad Martia signa pruinis

a rigido teritur centurione liber, dicitur et nostros can tare Britannia versus. 5

quid prodest ? nescit sacculus ista meus. at quam victuras poteramus pangere chartas

quanta que Pieria proelia flare tuba, cum pia reddiderint Augustum numina terris,

et Maecenatem si tibi, Roma, darent I 1 10


IV

SACRA laresque Phrygum, quos Troiae maluit heres quam rapere arsuras Laomedontis opes,

scriptus et aeterno mine primum luppiter auro et soror et summi filia tota patris,

1 darent Heins., daret codd.

1 Who succeeded to the Empire in Oct. 96 A.D., this book being published at the Saturnalia in December.

2 A Roman grammarian in the time of Julius Caesar. He wrote a treatise on famous men, and a grammatical work, De verborum antiquitate. He is mentioned by later writers, including Jerome.

238


BOOK XI. n-iv

masked Conceit, and Propriety, and all things which in our private lives we are not, get ye gone ! See, my verses cry " Ho for the Saturnalia ! " 'tis allowed, and under you, Nerva, 1 our Governor, 'tis our joy as well. Ye strait-laced readers, learn by heart rugged Santra 2 : I have nothing to do with you : this book is mine !

Ill

'Tis not city idleness alone that delights in my Muse, nor do I give these epigrams to vacant ears, but my book, amid Getic frosts, beside martial stand- ards, is thumbed by the hardy centurion, and Britain is said to hum my verses. What profit is it ? My money-bag knows nothing of that. But what im- mortal pages could I frame, and of wars how mighty could I blow my Pierian trump, if the kindly deities, now they have restored Augustus 3 to earth, were also, Rome, to give you a Maecenas !


IV

YE sacred symbols and native gods of Phrygia, whom Troy's heir 4 chose to rescue rather than Lao- medon's wealth doomed to the fire, and thou, Jupiter, now for the first time depicted in everlasting gold, 5 and thou, sister and daughter all his own 6 pf the

s i.e. the Emperor Nerva.

  • Aeneas at the burning of Troy.

6 Some representation of Jupiter placed by Nerva in the Temple on the Capitol. Aeterno = never again to be destroyed by fire.

6 Juno and Minerva, the latter being "all his own," as having sprung from his head.

239


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

et qui purpureis iam tertia nomina fastis, lane, refers Nervae, vos precor ore pio :

hunc omnes servate ducem, servate senatum ; moribus hie vivat principis, ille suis.


TANTA tibi est recti revereiitia, Caesar, at aequi

quanta Numae fuerat : sed Numa pauper erat. ardua res haec est, opibus non tradere mores

et, cum tot Croesos viceris, esse Numam. si redeant veteres, ingentia nomina, patres, 5

Elysium liceat si vacuare nemus, te colet invictus pro libertate Camillus,

aurum Fabricius te tribuente volet ; te duce gaudebit Brutus, tibi Sulla cruentus

imperium tradet, cum positurus erit ; 10

et te private cum Caesare Magnus amabit,

donabit totas et tibi Crassus opes, ipse quoque infernis revocatus Ditis ab umbris

si Cato reddatur, Caesarianus erit.

VI

UNCTIS falciferi senis diebus, regnator quibus inperat fritillus, versu ludere non laborioso

1 Ne'rva being consul for the third time. The consular records were kept in the Temple of Janus : cf. vm. Ixvi. 11. '- The legendary second king of Rome.

3 The conqueror of Veii, and rescuer of Rome from the Gauls.

4 Who refused the presents of Pyrrhus, king of Epirus.

8 M. credits S. with patriotism. As a fact S. abdicated the dictatorship in B.C. 79 at the height of his power, as he

240


BOOK XI. iv-vi

Almighty Sire, and thou, Janus, who for the third time now addest Nerva's name to the annals of the purple, 1 'tis to you I pray with pious utterance. This our Chief preserve ye all, preserve ye the Senate ; by its Prince's pattern may it live, he by his own !


As great is thy reverence for right and justice, Caesar, as was Numa's, but Numa 2 was poor. 'Tis a hard task this, not to sacrifice manners to wealth, and, though thou hast surpassed many a Croesus, to be a Numa. Were our sires of old, mighty names, to return, were it allowed to empty the Elysian grove, to thee Camillus, 3 liberty's unconquered champion, will pay his court, gold at thy giving will Fabricius 4 accept, in thee as captain will Brutus be glad, to thee bloody Sulla will resign his power when he shall seek to lay it down ; 5 and thee the Great Captain, allied with Caesar, only a private citizen, will love, and Crassus will bestow on thee all his wealth. Cato, 7 too, himself, were he called back to return from the nether shades of Dis, will be Caesar's partizan.

VI

ON the old Scy the- bearer's 8 feastful^ days, whereof the dice-box 9 is king and lord, you, cap- had exterminated all his opponents and superstitiously fearing to trespass further on the kindness of Fortune, whose child he regarded himself.

" A member of the first Triumvirate (Pompey, Crassus and Caesar) and on of the richest Romans.

7 Who committed suicide rather than submit to Julius .Caesar.

8 Saturn, who gave his name to the Saturnalia.

9 Gambling was allowed at the Saturnalia: cf. v. Ixxxiv. 5.

241

VOL. II. R


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

permittis, puto, pilleata Roma.

risisti ; licet ergo, non vetamur. . 5

pallentes procul hinc abite curae ;

quidquid venerit obvium loquamur

morosa sine cogitatione.

misce dimidios, puer, trientes,

quales Pythagoras dabat Neroni, 10

misce, Dindyme, sed frequentiores :

possum nil ego sobrius ; bibenti

succurrent mihi quindecim poetae.

da nunc basia, sed Catulliana :

quae si tot fuerint quot ille dixit, 15

donabo tibi Passerem Catulli.

VII

I AM certe stupido non dices, Paula, marito,

ad moechum quotiens longius ire voles, " Caesar in Albanum iussit me mane venire,

Caesar Circeios." iam stropha talis abit. Penelopae licet esse tibi sub principe Nerva : 5

sed prohibet scabies ingeniumque vetus. infelix, quid ages ? aegram simulabis amicam ?

haerebit dominae vir comes ipse suae, ibit et ad fratrem tecum matremque patremque.

quas.igitur fraudes ingeniosa pares? 10

diceret hystericam se forsitan altera moecha

in Sinuessano velle sedere lacu. quanto tu melius, quotiens placet ire fututum,

quae verum mavis dicere, Paula, viro !

1 The pilleum, or cap of liberty worn by manumitted slaves (cf. n. Ixviii. 4) was also generally worn at the Saturnalia. It was a symbol of licence. Thus, on the death of Nero, the common people assumed it, and ran about the whole city : Suet. Nero Ivii.

242


BOOK XI. vi-vn

clad l Rome, allow me, I wot, to trifle in verse un- toilsome. You have smiled : I may then, I am not forbidden. Ye pallid cares, far hence away ! what- ever comes to my mind let me speak without wrinkled meditation. Blend, boy, cups half and half, such as Pythagoras - offered Nero ; blend them, thou, Dindymus, 3 and that more oft ; nothing sober can I do : as I drink a fifteen-poets power will bear me up. Give me kisses now, and by Catullus's measure ; if they be as many as he said, I will give thee a Sparrow of Catullus. 4


VII

Now at least you will not say, Paula, to your dolt of a husband, every time you want to go to a lover at a distance, " Caesar bade me come in the morning to his Alban villa, Caesar bade me come to Circeii." Now such a manoeuvre is off. 'Tis lawful for you to be a Penelope under Nerva as chief, but your itch and inveterate bent forbid you. Unfortunate woman, what will you do ? Will you pretend the sickness of a friend ? Your husband in person will cling to his dame's skirts, and will go with you to brother and mother and father. What fraud then would your ingenuity devise ? Another wanton would perhaps say she is hysterical, and wished to sit in Sinuessa's baths. How much better is your practice whenever you have a mind to stray ! You, Paula, prefer to tell your husband the truth !

2 Nero's cupbearer, with whom he went through the form of marriage : cf. Suet. Nero xxix. ; Tac. Ann. xv. 37.

8 M.'s attendant : cf. X. xlii.

4 C. asked Lesbia for thousands of kisses (Cat. v. 7-9) ; he also wrote a poem (Cat. iii.) on the death of her sparrow.

243 R 2


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL.

VIII

LAPSA quod externis spirant opobalsama truncis,

ultima quod curvo quae cadit aura croco ; poma quod hiberna maturescentia capsa,

arbore quod verna luxuriosus ager ; de Palatinis dominae quod Serica prelis, 5

'sucina virginea quod regelata manu ; amphora quod nigri, sed longe, fracta Falerni,

quod qui Sicanias detinet hortus apes ; quod Cosmi redolent alabastra focique deorum,

quod modo divitibus lapsa corona comis : 10

singula quid dicam ? non sunt satis ; omnia misce :

hoc fragrant pueri basia mane mei. scire cupis nomen ? si propter basia, dicam.

iurasti. nimium scire, Sabine, cupis.

IX

CLARUS fronde lovis, Romani fama coturni, spirat Apellea redditus arte Memor.


X

CONTULIT ad saturas ingentia pectora Turnus. cur non ad Memoris carmina ? frater erat.


XI

TOLLK, puer, calices tepidique toreumata Nili et mihi secura pocula trade manu

1 Which was sprinkled about the theatre or amphitheatre : cf. v. xxv. 8 ; viu. xxxiii. 4.

2 He swears too eagerly, and M. withholds the name.

244


BOOK XI. vni-xi

VIII

BREATH of balm shed from foreign trees, of the last effluence that falls from a curving jet of saffron; 1 perfume of apples ripening in their winter chest, of the field lavish with the leafage of spring ; of Augusta's silken robes from Palatine presses, of amber warmed by a maiden's hand ; of a jar of dark Falernian shattered, but far off, of a garden that stays therein Sicilian bees ; the scent of Cosmus' alabaster boxes, and of the altars of the gods ; of a chaplet fallen but now from a rich man's locks why should I speak of each ? Not enough are they : mix them all ; such is the fragrance of my boy's kisses at morn. Would you learn his name? If the kisses only make you ask, I will tell you. You have sworn. You want to know too much, Sabinus! 2

IX

ILLUSTRIOUS in Jove's leafage, 3 Memor, the glory of the Roman buskin, breathes here, rendered by Apelles' art.

X

TuRNUs 4 brought to Satire a mighty intellect, why not to Memor's song? He was his brother.

XI

AWAY, boy, with chalices and embossed glasses from the warm Nile, and offer me with fearless hand the

3 cf. iv. i. 6. Menior was a tragic poet, and brother of Turnus in the next epigram.

4 >/. vn. xcvii. 8. As to Meir.or see preceding epigram. Turnus would not compete with his own brother.

245


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

trita patrutn labris et tonso pura ministro ;

anticus mensis restituatur honor, te potare decet gemma qui Mentora t'rangis 5

in scaphium moechae, Sardanapalle, tuae.

XII

lus tibi natorum vel septem, Zoile, detur, dum matrem nemo det tibi, nemo patrem.

XIII

QUISQUIS Flaminiam teris, viator,

noli nobile praeterire marmor.

urbis deliciae salesque Nili,

ars et gratia, lusus et voluptas,

Romani decus et dolor theatri 5

atque omnes Veneres Cupidinesque

hoc sunt condita, quo Paris, sepulchro.

XIV

HEREDES, nolite brevem sepelire colonum : nam terra est illi quantulacumque gravis.

XV

SUNT chartae mihi quas Catonis uxor et quas horribiles legant Sabinae :

1 Not by the ringleted minion of the day.

2 cf. iv. xxxix. 5 ; ix. lix. 16.

  • cf. ii. xci. 6.

4 He is a mere terrae filius, a homo non luduis, i.e. of no account : cf. vin. Ixiv. 18.

246


BOOK XI. xi-xv

cups worn by our father's lips and cleansed by a short- haired attendant : l let its old-world honour be given back to the board. It becomes you to drink from a jewelled cup, who break up Mentor's 2 handiwork to shape. Sardanapallus, an utensil for your mistress.

XII

LET the rights of a father of sons, 3 even of seven, be granted you, Zoilus provided no man assign you a mother, no man a father. 4

XIII

WHOE'ER thou art, traveller, that treadest the Flaminian Way, give heed not to pass by a noble monument. The delight of the city and the wit of Nile, incarnate art and grace, frolic and joy, the fame and the affliction of Rome's theatre, and all the Venuses and Cupids, 5 are buried in this tomb where Paris 6 lies.

XIV

YE heirs, do not bury the dwarf farmer; for any earth would be heavy upon him. 7

XV

I HAVE writings that Cato's wife and that grim Sabine dames might read ; I wish this little book

5 An echo of Catullus, iii. 1.

6 A famous actor of mimes, put to death by Domitian because of an intrigue with Domitia, the Empress : cf. Suet. Dom. iii.

7 A common wish was "sit tibi terra levis": cf. v. xxxiv. 9; ix. xxix. 11.

247


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

hie totus volo rideat libellus

et sit nequior omnibus libellis.

qui vino madeat nee erubescat 5

pingui sordidus esse Cosmiano,

ludat cum pueris, amet puellas,

nee per circuitus loquatur il l;nn.

ex qua nascimur, omnium parentem,

quam sanctus Numa mentulam vocabat. 10

versus hos tamen esse tu memento

Saturnalicios, Apollinaris :

mores non habet hie meos libellus.

XVI

Qui gravis es nimium, potes hinc iam, lector, abire

quo libet : urbanae scripsimus ista togae ; iam l mea Lampsacio lascivit pagina versu

et Tartesiaca concrepat aera manu. o quotiens rigida pulsabis pallia vena, 5

sis gravior Curio Fabricioque licet ! tu quoque nequitias nostri lususque libelli

uda, puella, leges, sis Patavina licet, erubuit posuitque meum Lucretia librum,

sed coram Bruto ; Brute, recede : leget. 10

XVII

NON omnis nostri nocturna est pagina libri : invenies et quod mane, Sabine, legas.

1 IK i in y.

1 cf. in. lv. 1. 2 The second legendary king of Rome. 3 The same caution is found in i. iv. 8.

  • i.e. Priapean, L. being a town on the Hellespont where

Priapus was worshipped.

248


BOOK XI. xv-xvn

to laugh from end to end, and be naughtier than all my little books. Let it be drenched in wine and not ashamed to be stained with rich Cosmian l unguents ; let it play with the boys, love the girls, and in no roundabout phrase speak of that where- from we are born, the parent of all, which hallowed Numa 2 called by its own name. Yet remember that these verses are of the Saturnalia, Apollinaris : this little book does not express 3 my own morals.

XVI

You, reader, who are too strait-laced, can now go away from here whither you will : I wrote these verses for the citizen of wit ; now my page wantons in verse of Lampsacus, 4 and beats the timbrel with the hand of a figurante of Tartessus. 5 Oh, how often will you with your ardour disarrange your garb, 6 though you may be more strait-laced than Curius and Fabricius ! You also, O girl, may, when in your cups, read the naughtiness and sportive sallies of my little book, though you may be from Patavium. 7 Lucretia 8 blushed and laid down my volume ; but Brutus was present. Brutus, go away : she will read it.

XVII

NOT every page of my book is for reading at night ; you will find, too, what you may read in the morning," Sabinus.

5 i.e. of a female dancer from Gades : cf. v. Ixxviii. 26.

6 For the idea cf. Catullus, xxxii. 11.

7 Where the women had the reputation of chastity : cf. vi. xlii. 4. 8 Put here as symbolical of chastity.

9 i.e. when you are sober.

249


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

XVIII

DONASTI, Lupe, rus sub urbe nobis ;

sed rus est mihi mains in fenestra.

rus hoc dicere, rus potes vocare ?

in quo ruta facit nemus Dianae,

argutae tegit ala quod cicadae, 5

quod formica die comedit uno,

clusae cui folium rosae corona est ;

in quo non magis invenitur herba

quam Cosmi folium piperve crudum ;

in quo nee cucumis iacere rectus

iiec serpens habitare tola possit.

urucam male pascit hortus unam,

consumpto moritur culix salicto,

et talpa est mihi fossor atque arator.

non boletus hiare, non mariscae lo

ridere aut violae patere possunt.

finis mus populatur et colono

tamquam sus Calydonius timetur,

et sublata volantis ungue Procnes

in nido seges est hirundinino ; 'JO

et cum stet sine falce mentulaque,

non est dimidio locus Priapo.

vix implet cocleam peracta messis,

et mustum nuce condimus picata.

errasti, Lupe, littera sed una : "25

nam quo tempore praedium dedisti,

mallem tu mihi prandium dedisses.


1 " A leaf of rue " seems to have been proverbial for a narrow space : Petr. 37, 58 ; cf. also xi. xxxi. 17.

2 The swallow.


250


BOOK XI. xvin

XVIII

You have given me, Lupus, a suburban farm, but I have a bigger farm in my window. A farm can you call this, style this a farm, wherein a plant of rue 1 forms a grove of Diana, which the wing of a shrill cicala covers, which an ant eats up in a single day ; for which a shut rose's petal would be a canopy ; wherein grass is no more found than a leaf for Cosmus' per- fumes or green pepper ; wherein a cucumber cannot lie straight, nor a snake harbour its whole length ? The garden gives short commons to a single cater- pillar ; a gnat, when it has consumed the willow, expires, and a mole is my ditcher and ploughman. No mushroom can swell, no figs can split, or violets expand. My borders a mouse ravages, and is feared by the tenant as much as a Calydonian boar, and my crop, lifted by the claws of flying Procne, 2 lies in a swallow's nest ; and, though he stands shorn of his sickle and his appurtenances, there is no room by half for Priapus. My harvest, when gathered, hardly fills a snail-shell, and we store the must in a pitch-sealed nut. You have made a mistake, Lupus, but only by one letter ; for when you gave me a fee I would you had given me a feed. 3

3 Lupus gave a praedium (land), and M. wanted a prandium (lunch), the difference being the letter n. "Fee" in law means an estate in land that descends to the holder's heir ; here used in the. sense of landed property.

251


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

XIX

QUAEUIS cur nolim te ducere, Galla ? diserta es. saepe soloecismum mentula nostra facit.

XX

CAESARIS Augusti lascivos, livide, versus

sex lege, qui tristis verba Latina legis : "Quod futuit Glaphyran Antonius, hanc inihi poenani

Fulvia constituit, se quoque uti futuam. Fulviam ego ut futuam ? quod si me Manius oret 5

pedicem, faciam ? non puto, si sapiam. ' Aut futue, aut pugnemus ' ait. quid quod mihi vita

carior est ipsa mentula ? signa canant ! ' absolvis lepidos nimirum, Auguste, libellos,

qui scis Romana simplicitate loqui. 10

XXI

LYDIA tarn laxa est equitis quam culus aeni,' quam celer arguto qui sonat acre trochus,

1 ~cf. Juv. vi. 456, soloecismum liceat fecisse marito, of the husband of a learned wife. But here M. adds an obscene sense.

2 A beautiful hetaera, whose charms procured her son Archelaus at the hands of Antony the kingdom of Cappadocia.

3 These lines are historically interesting as giving the explanation attributed to Octavius of the origin of the civil war between him and Antony, namely, pique on the part of Fulvia, Antony's wife, at the rejection by Octavius of her advances. Montaigne (iii. 12) refers to them as showing for how small causes great emperors will go to .war.

The scene between Fulvia and Octavius was depicted on a

252


BOOK XL xix-xxi

XIX

Do you ask why I am loth to marry you, Galla ? You are a blue-stocking. My manhood often com- mits a solecism. 1

XX

READ six wanton verses of Caesar Augustus, you spiteful fellow, who with a sour face read words of Latin :

" Because Antony handles Glaphyra, 2 Fulvia has ap- pointed this penalty for me, that I, too, should handle her. I to handle Fulvia ? What if Manius were to implore me to treat him as a Ganymede ? Am I to do it ? I trow not, if I be wise. ' Either handle me or let us fight,' she says. And what that my person is dearer to me than my very life ? Let the trumpets sound." 3

You justify for certain my sprightly little books, Augustus, who know how to speak with Roman bluntness. 4

XXI

LYDIA is as widely developed as the rump of a bronze equestrian statue, as the swift hoop that re- sounds with its tinkling rings, 5 as the wheel so often

cameo by Arellius, probably the painter mentioned by Pliny, N.H. xxxv. 37, as having outraged his art by depicting prostitutes. Fulvia is represented as sitting nude upon a bed, and holding Octavius by the arm. He is in full armour, and is beckoning to two soldiers in the rear. The cameo has been reproduced in a rare book published at the Vatican Press in 1786, and entitled "Monumens de la vie privee des douze Ce'sars d'apres une suite de pierres gravies sur leur regne."

4 As to Augustus's plain speech, cf. Suet. Aug. Ixix.

5 cf. xiv. clxviii.

253


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

quam rota transmisso totiens inpacta petauro,

quam vetus a crassa calceus udus aqua, quam quae rara vagos expectant retia turdos, 5

quam Pompeiano vela negata Noto, quam quae de pthisico lapsa est armilla cinaedo,

culcita Leuconico quam viduata suo, quam veteres bracae Brittonis pauperis, et quam

turpe Ravennatis guttur onocrotali. 10

hanc in piscina dicor futuisse marina.

nescio ; piscinam me futuisse puto.


XXII

MOLLIA quod nivei duro teris ore Galaesi

basia, quod nudo cum Ganymede iaces, (quis negat?) hoc nimiumst. sed sit satis; inguina saltern

parce fututrici sollicitare manu. levibus in pueris plus haec quam mentula peccat 5

et faciunt digiti praecipitantque virum : inde tragus celeresque pili mirandaque matri

barba, nee in clara balnea luce placent. divisit natura marem : pars una puellis,

una viris genita est. utere parte tua. 10


1 A very obscure line, which may mean "so of ten struck by the acrobat in his flight." The nature of the petaurum has never been clearly known ; sometimes it seems to be a kind of springboard or seesaw, sometimes a wheel suspended in the air : cf. n. Ixxxvi. 7. The performance was dangerous : Fest. xiv. a.v. Pttaurista, quoting Arist. Fr. 234.


254


BOOK XI. xxi-xxn

struck from the extended springboard, 1 as a worn- out shoe drenched by muddy water, as the wide- meshed net that lies in wait for wandering fieldfares, as an awning that does not belly to the wind 2 in Pompey's theatre, as a bracelet that has slipped from the arm of a consumptive catamite, as a pillow widowed of its Leuconian stuffing, 8 as the aged breeches of a pauper Briton, and as the foul throat of a pelican 4 of Ravenna. This woman I am said to have embraced in a marine fishpond : I don't know ; I think I embraced the fishpond itself.


XXII

THAT with your hard mouth you rub the soft lips of white-cheeked Galaesus, that you consort with a naked Ganymede, 'tis too much who denies it ? but let that be enough ; at least refrain from waking passions with lascivious hand. Towards beardless boys this is a greater sinner than your yard, and your fingers create and hasten manhood. Thence comes a goatish odour, and quick-springing hair, and a beard, a wonder to mothers, and baths in broad day are displeasing. Nature has separated the male : one part has been produced for girls, one for men. Use your own part.

2 cf. ix. xxxviii. 6. 3 cf. xiv. clix.

4 Described by Pliny, N.H. x. 66. By "throat" M. means the large pouch under the mandibles (the alterius uteri genus of Pliny's description), where the pelican stores its catch of fish previously to consumption.


255


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

XXIII

NUBERE Sila mihi nulla non lege parata est ;

sed Silam nulla ducere lege volo. cum tamen instaret, " Deciens mihi dotis in auro

sponsa dabis " dixi ; " quid minus esse potest ? nee futuam quamvis prima te nocte maritus, o

communis tecum nee mihi lectus erit ; complectarque meam, nee tu prohibebis, amicam,

ancillam mittes et mihi iussa tuam. te spectante dabit iiobis lasciva minister

basia, sive meus sive erit ille tuus. 10

ad cenam venies, sed sic divisa recumbes

ut non tangantur pallia nostra tuis. oscula rara dabis nobis et non dabis ultro,

nee quasi nupta dabis sed quasi mater anus, si potes ista pati, si nil perferre recusas, 15

invenies qui te ducere, Sila, velit."

XXIV

DUM te prosequor et dbnuiin reduco,

aurem dum tibi praesto garrienti,

et quidquid loqueris facisque laudo,

quot versus poterant, Labujle, nasci !

hoc damnum tibi non videtur esse, 5

si quod Roma legit, requirit hospes,

non deridet eques, tenet senator,

laudat causidicus, poeta carpit,

propter te perit ? hoc, Labulle, verum est ?

hoc quisquam ferat ? ut tibi tuorum 10

sit maior numerus togatulorum,

librorum mihi sit minor meorum ?

256


BOOK XI. xxm-xxiv

XXIII

SILA is ready to marry me on any terms, but on no terms am I willing to take Sila to wife. Yet, when she urged me : " You shall bring me, as bride's dower, in gold a million sesterces," I said: "What can be smaller than that ? And I will have no marital re- lations with you even on the wedding-night, nor shall my bed be the same as yours ; and I will embrace my mistress, and you shall not forbid me, and, if bidden, you shall send me your own maid. Before your eyes an attendant shall give me wanton kisses, whether he is my own or yours. You shall dine with me, but you shall recline so apart from me that my robe is not touched by yours. Kisses you shall give me but rarely, and you shall not give them uninvited ; and you shall not give them like a bride, but like an aged mother. If you can suffer that, if there be nothing you refuse to endure you will find a man, Sila, who is willing to marry you ! "


XXIV

WWLE I escort you and bring you home, while I lend my ear to your babbling, and praise whatever you say and do, how many verses, Labullus, might have seen the light ! Does not this seem to you an injury if, what Rome reads, the stranger asks for, the knight does not laugh at, the senator knows by heart, the pleader praises, the poet carps at this because of you is lost ? Is this fair, Labullus ? Is this what any man would endure ? That the number of your wretched clients should increase, of my books the number decrease ? 'Tis now almost thirty

25?


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

triginta prope iam diebus una est

nobis pagina vix peracta. sic fit

cum cenare domi poeta non vult. 15

XXV

ILLA salax nimium nee paucis nota puellis stare Lino desit mentula. lingua, cave.

XXVI

O MIHI grata quies, o blanda, Telesphore, cura,

qualis in amplexu non fuit ante meo, basia da nobis vetulo, puer, uda Falerno,

pocula da labris facta minora tuis. addideris super haec Veneris si gaudia vera, 5

esse negem melius cum Ganymede lovi.

XXVII

FKRREUS es, si stare potest tibi mentula, Flacce,

cum te sex cyathos orat arnica gari, vel duo frusta rogat cybii tenuemve lacertum

nee dignam toto se botryone putat ; cui portat gaudens ancilla paropside rubra 5

allecem, sed quam protinus ilia voret ; aut cum perfricuit frontem posuitque pudorem,"

sucida palliolo vellera quinque petit, at mea me libram foliati poscat arnica

aut virides gemmas sardonychasve pares, 10

nee nisi prima velit de Tusco Serica vico

aut centum aureolos sic velut aera roget. nunc tu velle putas haec me donare puellae ?

nolo, sed his ut sit digna puella volo.

1 The foliatum or nardinum was a choice compound of nard, inyrrh, and other aromatic herbs: cf. Plin. N.Jf. xiii. 2.

258


BOOK XI. xxiv-xxvii

days, and scarce a single page has been finished. This is the result when a poet does not wish to dine at home !

XXV

QUELLA troppo salace mentola, rie nota^a poche ragazze, cessa stare a Lino : guardati, O lingua.

XXVI

O THOU, my pleasant solace, O thou, Telesphorus, my soothing care, whose peer has never yet lain in my embrace, give me kisses, boy, dewy with aged Falernian, give me the cup that has minished beneath thy lips. If, to crown these, thou shalt add love's true joys, then should I say Jove's lot with Ganymede is not more blest.

XXVII

You are a man of iron if you can show any amorous power, Flaccus, when your mistress prays you for six helpings of fish-pickle, or asks for two slices of tunny, or a skinny lizard-fish, and does not think her- self worth a whole bunch of grapes a woman to whom her maid delightedly carries anchovy sauce in a dark earthenware platter, to be immediately gulped down ; or, who, when she has hardened her brow and laid aside all shame, solicits five greasy skins to make a small mantle. But let my mistress demand of me a pound of nard, 1 or emeralds, or a pair of sardonyxes, and not look at any but prime silk from the Tuscan street, or let her beg a hundred gold coins just as if they were pence. Now do you imagine I am willing to give these things to a girl ? I am not ; but that a girl should be worthy of these things, I do wish.

259

s 2


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

XXVIII

INVASIT medici Nasica phreneticus Eucti et percidit Hylan. hie, puto, sanus erat.

XXIX

LANGUIDA cum vetula tractare virilia dextra

coepisti, iugulor pollice, Phylli, tuo : nam cum me murem, cum me tua lumina dicis,

horis me refici vix puto posse decem. blanditias nescis : " Dabo " die " tibi milia centum 5

et dabo Setini iugera culta soli ; accipe vina domum pueros chryseudeta mensas."

nil opus est digitis : sic mihi, Phylli, frica.

XXX

Os male causidicis et dicis olere poetis. sed fellatori, Zoile, peius olet.

XXXI

ATREUS Caecilius cucurbitarum

sic illas quasi filios Thyestae

in partes lacerat secatque mille.

gustu protinus has edes in ipso,

has prima feret alterave cena, ,5

has cena tibi tertia reponet,

hinc seras epidipnidas parabit.

hinc pistor fatuas facit placentas,

260


BOOK XI. xxvm-xxxi

XXVIII

NASICA, "a madman," attacked Doctor Euctus's Hylas and outraged him. This fellow was, I imagine, sane !

XXIX

WHEN you begin to paw my apathetic person with your antediluvian hands, I am murdered by that finger of yours, Phyllis ; for when you call me "mouse," when you call me "light of your eyes," I can scarcely, I think, get over it in ten hours. Blan- dishments you know nothing of : say, " I will give you a hundred thousand sesterces," and " I will give you well-tilled acres of Setine land ; accept wines, a town house, slaves, enamelled dishes, tables." I don't require your thumbing : scratch me in this way, Phyllis.

XXX

VILELY smells, you say, the breath of lawyers, and of poets. 1 But that of a - , Zoilus, smells worse !

XXXI

CAECILIUS is a very Atreus to gourds : he so mangles them and cuts them into a thousand pieces, just as if they were the sons of Thyestes. 2 Gourds you will eat at once even among. the hors d'ceuvre, gourds he will bring you in the first or second course, these in the third course he will set again before you, out of these he will furnish later on your dessert. Out of these the baker makes insipid cakes, and out of

1 From anxiety as to their cases or poems, like the rei of iv. iv. 8 ? 2 See note to in. xlv. 1.

261


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

hinc et multiplices struit tabellas

et notas caryotidas theatris. 10

hinc exit varium coco minutal,

ut lentem positam fabamque credas ;

boletos imitatur et botellos,

et caudam cybii brevesque maenas.

hinc cellarius experitur artes, 15

ut condat vario vafer sapore

in rutae folium Capelliana.

sic inplet gabatas paropsidesque

et leves scutulas cavasque lances.

hoc lautum vocat, hoc putat venustum, 20

unum ponere ferculis tot assem.

XXXII

NEC toga nee focus est nee tritus cimice lectus

nee tibi de bibula sarta palude teges, nee puer aut senior, nulla est ancilla nee infans,

nee sera nee clavis nee canis atque calix. tu tamen adfectas, Nestor, dici atque videri 5

pauper, et in populo quaeris habere locum, mentiris vanoque tibi blandiris honore.

non est paupertas, Nestor, habere nihil.

XXXIII

SAEPIUS ad palmam prasinus post fata Neronis pervenit et victor praemia plura refert.

i nunc, livor edax, die te cessisse Neroni : vicit nimirum non Nero, sed prasinus.

1 Possibly rare sweetmeats named after a famous maker ; cf. Cosmianum in xi. xv. 6 and xn. Iv. 7. The cellaring, by the use of various flavours, makes bits of gourd taste like the famous Capelliana.

2 A play on the two meanings of ponere, to serve up and to spend.

262


BOOK XI. XXXI-XXXHI

these he constructs sweets of all shapes, and dates such as the theatres know well. From these are turned out the cook's various mincemeats, so that you believe lentils and beans are set before you ; he imitates mushrooms and black-puddings, and tunny's tail, and tiny sprats. On these the store-keeper tries his art, with various flavours wrapping up cunning man ! Capellian sweetmeats l in a leaf of rue. So he fills his platters, and side-dishes, and polished saucers, and hollow plates. This he calls sumptuous, this he fancies elegant in so many courses to lay out 2 one penny !

XXXII

You have neither toga, nor fire, nor bug-haunted bed, nor have you a mat stitched of thirsty rushes, nor boy, nor older slave; you have no maid, nor infant, nor door-bolt, nor key, nor dog, nor cup. 3 Yet you aim, Nestor, at being called, and seeming a poor man, and look to having a place among the people. You are a fraud, and flatter yourself with an empty honour. It is not poverty, Nestor, to have nothing at all. 4

XXXIII

OFTENER after Nero's 5 death the green charioteer reaches the goal, and as winner bears off more prizes. Go to now, grudging envy, 6 say you yielded to Nero ! 'Twas not Nero, I wot, who won, but the Green.

3 Imitated from Cat. xxiii. 1-2. 4 But sheer beggary. 8 i.e. Domitian, the calvus Nero of Juv. iv. 38. He favoured the green faction of the charioteers. 8 i.e. of a rival charioteer.

263


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

XXXIV

AEDES emit Aper sed quas nee noctua vellet esse suas ; adeo nigra vetusque casa est.

vicinos illi nitidus Maro possidet hortos. cenabit belle, non habitabit Aper.

XXXV

IGNOTOS mihi cum voces trecentos, quare non veniam vocatus ad te miraris quererisque litigasque. solus ceno, Fabulle, non libenter.

XXXVI

GAIUS hanc lucem gemma mihi lulius alba

signat, io, votis redditus ecce meis : desperasse iuvat veluti iam rupta sororum

fila ; minus gaudent qui timuere nihil. Hypne, quid expectas, piger? inmortale Falernum 5

funde, senem poscunt talia vota cadum : quincunces et sex cyathos bessemque bibamus,

GAIUS ut fiat IULIUS et PROCULUS.

XXXVII

ZOILE, quid tota gemmam praecingere libra te iuvat et miserum perdei'e sardonycha ?

anulus iste tuis fuerat modo cruribus aptus : non eadem digitis pond era conveniunt.

1 The numbers represent the letters in the three names respectively, cf. note to ix. xciii. 8.

264


BOOK XI. xxxiv-xxxvn

XXXIV

APER bought a house, but one that not even an owl would wish its own, so dark and tumbledown is the cottage. Next door to him fashionable Maro owns gardens. Aper will dine but not lodge nicely.

XXXV

ALTHOUGH you invite three hundred guests un- known to me, you wonder why, when invited, I don't come to you, and you complain and quarrel with me. 'Tis no pleasure to me, Fabullus, to dine alone.

XXXVI

GAIUS JULIUS marks this day for me with a white stone : ho ! see he comes, given back to my vows ' Glad am I that I despaired, as though the Sisters' threads were already snapped : they rejoice less who have known no fear. Hypnus, why linger, you lag- gard ? Pour the immortal Falernian : such vows as mine call for an olden jar. Measures five and six and eight let us drink, that the name " Gaius Julius Proculus " be summed up. 1

XXXVII

ZOILUS, why do you like to .set your jewel in a whole pound of gold, and to overwhelm your un- happy sardonyx ? That ring of yours was lately suited to your shanks ; 2 the same weight does not suit fingers.

2 Z. had been a slave, and is now a knight : cf. in. xxix.

265


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

xxxvin

MULIO viginti venit modo milibus, Aule. miraris pretium tarn grave ? surdus erat.

XXXIX

CUNARUM fueras motor, Charideme, mearum

et pueri custos adsiduusque comes, iam mihi nigrescunt tonsa sudaria barba

et queritur labris puncta puella meis ; sed tibi non crevi l : te noster vilicus horret, 5

te dispensator, te domus ipsa pavet. ludere nee nobis nee tu permittis amare ;

nil mihi vis et vis cuncta licere tibi. corripisj observas, quereris, suspiria ducis,

et vix a ferulis temperat ira tua. 10

si Tyrios sumpsi cultus unxive capillos,

exclamas " Numquam fecerat ista pater " ; et numeras nostros adstricta fronte trientes,

tamquam de cella sit cadus ille tua. desine ; non possum libertum ferre Catonem. 15

esse virum iam me dicet arnica tibi.


XL

FORMOSAM Glyceran amat Lupercus et solus tenet imperatque solus, quam toto sibi mense non fututam cum tristis quereretur et roganti causam reddere vellet Aeliano, respondit Glycerae dolere dentes.

1 crevit Tj8V. 266


BOOK XI. XXXVIII-XL

XXXVIII

A MULE-DRIVER was lately sold, Aulus, for twenty thousand sesterces. Do you wonder at so heavy a price ? He was deaf. 1

XXXIX

You were the rocker of my cradle, Charidemus, and guardian of my boyhood, and my constant com- panion. By now the napkin grows black from the shav- ings of my beard, and my mistress complains of being pricked by my lips. But to you I have not grown : from you my steward shrinks, at you my treasurer, at you my very house is in a panic ! You don't allow me to frolic, nor do you allow me to woo : you wish me to have o liberty, and wish to have all liberty yourself. You take me up, watch me, grumble, heave sighs, and your wrath scarce keeps your hand off the ferule. If I have put on a purple dress or anointed my hair, you cry out : " Never did your father do that " ; and with knitted brow you count my cups, as if the jar they came from were one from your own cellar. Desist : I cannot stand a freedman Cato. That I am now a man my mistress will inform you.

XL

LUPERCUS loves the beautiful Glycera, and he is her sole possessor and her sole ct>mmander. When he was sadly regretting that for a whole month he had not enjoyed her favours, and wished to give the reason to Aelianus who asked him, he replied that Glycera had the toothache. 2

1 And so could not hear the talk of those in the carriage : cf. xn. xxiv. 8.

2 There appears to be an obscene inference here.

267


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

XLI

INDULGET pecori nimium dum pastor Amyntas

et gaudet fama luxuriaque gregis, cedentis oneri ramos silvamque fluentem

vicit, concussas ipse secutus opes, triste nemus dirae vetuit superesse ruinae 1

damnavitque rogis noxia ligna pater, pingues, Lygde, sues habeat vicinus lollas :

te satis est nobis adnumerare pecus.

XLII

VIVIDA cum poscas epigrammata, mortua ponis lemmata, qui fieri, Caeciliane, potest?

mella iubes Hyblaea tibi vel Hymettia nasci, et thyma Cecropiae Corsica ponis api !

XLIII

DEPRENSUM in puero tetricis me vocibus, uxor,

corripis et culum te quoque habere refers, dixit idem quotiens lascivo luno Tonanti !

ille tamen grandi cum Ganymede iacet. incurvabat Hylan posito Tirynthius arcu :

tu Megaran credis non habuisse natis ? torquebat Phoebum Daphne fugitiva : sed illas

Oebalius flammas iussit abire puer.

1 ruinae de Rooy, rapinae codd.

1 The acorns. 268


BOOK XI. XLI-XLIII


XLI

Too eager to indulge his charge, and proud of the fame and fatness of his herd, their keeper Amyntas broke the boughs that yielded to his weight, and the down-streaming foliage, himself following the spoil l he shook to earth. His sire forbade the ill- omened tree survive such dread ruin, and condemned the fatal timber to the funeral pyre.

Lygdus, 2 let neighbour lollas have his swine fat : 'tis enough for me that you keep well the reckoning of my herd.

XLII

ALTHOUGH you call for lively epigrams you set lifeless themes. How is that possible, Caecilianus ? You bid Hyblan or Hymettian honey be made for you, and serve up to the Cecropian bee Corsican thyme 3 !

XLIII

Tu, moglie, con arrabiate parole rimbrotti me sorpreso con ragazzo, ed adduci che anche tu hai il culo. Quante volte Giunone non disse lo stesso a Giove Tonante ! con tutto cio esso giace col grande Ganimede. Tirinzio, deposto 1'arco, incurvava Ila ; credi tu che Megara non avesse natiche ? Dafne fuggitiva torrnentava Febo ; ma il ragazzo Oebalio fece partire quelle fiamme. Quantunque Briseide

2 The swineherd of the writer, who is warned not to be venturesome like A., but to be content with not losing the swine. M. means that L.'s life is too precious to be risked.

3 Which produced the inferior honey of Corsica : cf. ix. xxvi. 4.

269


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

Briseis multum quamvis aversa iaceret,

Aeacidae projnor levis amicus erat. 10

parce tuis igitur dare mascula nomina rebus

teque puta cunnos, uxor, habere duos.


XLIV

OKBUS es et locuples et Bruto consule natus :

esse tibi veras credis amicitias ? sunt verae, sed quas iuvenis, quas pauper habebas.

qui novus est, mortem diligit ille tuam.


XLV

INTRASTI quotiens inscriptae limina cellae,

seu puer adrisit sive puella tibi, contentus non es foribus veloque seraque,

secretumque iubes grandius esse tibi : oblinitur minimae si qua est suspicio rimae

punctaque lasciva quae terebrantur acu. nemo est tarn teneri tarn sollicitique pudoris

qui vel pedicat, Canthare, vel futuit.


XLVI

IAM nisi per somnum non arrigis et tibi, Maevi, incipit in medios meiere verpa pedes,

truditur et digitis pannucea mentula lassis nee levat extinctum sollicitata caput.

quid miseros frustra cunnos culosque lacessis ? summa petas : illic mentula vivit anus.

1 i.e. you are incredibly old : cf. x. xxxix. 1. 270


BOOK XI. xLin-xLvt

giaeesse molto aversa, 1'imberbe amico era piu con- tiguo ad Eacide. Contieniti dunque di dar nomi mascolini alle cose tue, ed immaginati, O moglie, d'aver due c ni !

XLIV

You are childless and rich and were born in the consulship of Brutus : l do you imagine you have true friendships? True friendships there are, but those you possessed when young, those when poor. The new friend is one who has an affection for your death.

XLV

WHENEVER you have passed the threshold of a placarded cubicle, whether it be a boy or a girl who has smiled on you, you are not satisfied with a door and a curtain and a bolt, and you require that greater secrecy should be provided for you. If there be any suspicion of the smallest chink it is plastered up, as also the eyelets that are bored by a mischievous needle. No one is of a modesty so tender and so anxious, Cantharus, who is either a or a . 2

XLVI

Di gia non arrigi che in sogno, ed il tuo pene, O Mevio, incommincia pisciarti fra i piedi, e la corrugata mentola e provocata dalle stanche dita, ne sollicitata rizza 1' estinto capo. A che inutilmente importuni i poveri c ni e culi ? Va in alto : cola una vecchia mentola vive.

2 i.e. whose tastes are not abnormal.

271


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

XLVII

OMNIA femineis quare dilecta catervis

balnea devitat Lattara ? ne futuat. cur nee Pompeia lentus spatiatur in umbra

nee petit Inachidos limina ? ne futuat. cur Lacedaemonio luteum ceromate corpus 5

perfundit gelida Virgine ? ne futuat. cum sic feminei generis contagia vitet,

cur lingit cunnum Lattara ? ne futuat.

XLVIII

Sn.ius haec magni celebrat monimenta Maronis,

iugera facundi qui Ciceronis habet. heredem dominumque sui tumulive larisve

non alium mallet nee Maro nee Cicero.

XLIX v

IAM prope desertos cineres et sancta Maronis nomina qui coleret, pauper et unus erat.

1 f Silius optataef succurrere censuit umbrae, Silius et 2 vatem, non minor ipse, colit.

1 illius, Lindsay, orbatae Ribbeck, ut patriae Postgate, o pittas Lindsay, en tantae Gilbert, censuit umbrae Heins., cenis ut diabrae (vel diabrae) y.

2 filius ut Ribbeck. minor ipse colit Heins. , minus ipse tulit y.

1 cf. n. xiv. 10 ; xi. i. 11.

2 i.e. of Isis : cf. ij. xiV. 7. This temple is called by Juv.

272


BOOK XI. XLVII-XUX

XLVII

WHY does Lattara avoid all the baths affected by crowds of women ? that he may not be tempted. Why does he not idly stroll in the shade of Pompey's Porch, 1 nor resort to the threshold of the daughter of Inachus ? 2 that he may not be tempted. Why does he plunge in the cold Virgin water his body yellow with Lacedaemonian ointment?. 3 that he may not be tempted. Seeing that he so avoids the contagion of the generation of women, why is Lattara a woman's ? That he may not be tempted.

XLVIII

SILIUS, who possesses the land which was eloquent Cicero's, honours this monument of great Maro. 4 As heir and owner of his tomb or dwelling no other would either Maro or Cicero choose.


XLIX

To honour the ashes, now well-nigh abandoned, and the sacred name of Maro was there but one, 5 and he was poor. Silius resolved to rescue the regretted dead : and Silius no less himself a poet honours the bard.

(vi. 489) " Isiacae nacraria lenae," as being the resort of prostitutes, * cf. vn. xxxii. 9.

4 Silius the poet, who was a rich man and possessed one of Cicero's villas, had bought the ground on which Vergil's tomb stood. Pliny says (Ep. iii. 7) that he kept Vergil's birthday more religiously than his own, and regarded his tomb in the light of a temple.

5 t. e. the owner of the ground before Silius bought it.

273

VOL. II. T


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL


NULLA est hora tibi qua non me, Phylli, furentem

despolies : tanta calliditate rapis. nunc plorat speculo fallax ancilla relicto,

gemma vel a digito vel cadit aure lapis ; nunc furtiva lucri fieri bombycina possunt, 5

profertur Cosmi nunc mihi siccus onyx ; , amphora nunc petitur nigri cariosa Falerni,

expiet ut somnos garrula saga tuos ; nunc ut emam grandemve lupum mullumve bilibrem,

indixit cenam dives arnica tibi. 10

sit pudor et tandem veri respectus et aequi :

nil tibi, Phylli, nego ; nil mihi, Phylli, nega.

LI

TANTA est quae Titio columna pendet

quantam Lampsaciae colunt puellae.

hie nullo comitante nee molesto

thermis grandibus et suis lavatur.

anguste Titius tamen lavatur. 5

LII

CENABIS belle, luli Cerialis, apud me ;

condicio est melior si tibi nulla, veni. octavam poteris servare ; lavabimur una :

scis quam sint Stephani balnea iuncta mihi.


1 cf. vii. liv. 4.

2 See note to xi. xvi. 3.


274


BOOK XI. L-LII


THERE is not an hour comes amiss to you, Phyllis, for plundering me in my infatuation : with such cun- ning do you rob me. Now your lying maid laments because a mirror has been left behind, or a jewel drops from your finger, or a stone from your ear ; at one time silks lost by theft may be a means of profit, at another there is shown to me an empty casket of Cosmus' perfume ; now a crumbling jar of dark Falernian is asked for that a chattering wise-woman may exorcise your dreams ; l now, to induce me to buy, either a huge bass or a two-pound mullet, a rich woman friend has proposed a dinner at your house. Let there be some moderation and at length some regard for fairness and justice. I deny nothing to you, Phyllis : deny nothing, Phyllis, to me.


LI

Si grande e la colonna che pende a Tizio quanto quella che le zitelle Lampsiache 2 venerano. Costui senza compagno ne molestato si lava in ampie terme e nelle sue : con tutto ci6 angustamente Tizio si lava.

LII

You will dine nicely, Julius Cerialis, at my house ; if you have no better engagement, come. You will be able to observe the eighth hour; 3 we will bathe together : you know how near Stephanus' baths are

3 The usual hour for dining in summer, the bath being taken before : cf. x. xlviii. 1. There were sundials at the baths.

27? T 2


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

prima tibi dabitur ventri lactuca movendo 5

utilis, et porris fila resecta suis, raox vetus et tenui maior cordyla lacerto,

sed quam cum rutae frondibus ova tegant ; altera non derunt tenui versata favilla,

et Velabrensi massa coacta foco, 10

et quae Picenum senserunt frigus olivae.

haec satis in gustu. cetera nosse cupis ? mentiar, ut venias : pisces, conchylia, sumen,

et chortis saturas atque paludis aves, quae nee Stella solet rara nisi ponere cena. 15

plus ego polliceor : nil recitabo tibi, ipse tuos nobis relegas licet usque Gigantas,

rura vel aeterno proxima Vergilio.

LIII

CLAUDIA caeruleis cum sit Rufina Britannis

edita, quam Latiae pectora gentis habet ! quale decus formae ! Romanam credere matres

Italides possunt, Atthides esse suam. di bene quod sancto peperit fecunda marito, 5

quod sperat generos quodque puella nurus. sic placeat superis ut coniuge gaudeat uno

et semper natis gaudeat ilia tribus.

LIV

UNGUENTA et casias et olentem funera murrain turaque de medio semicremata rogo

,* Porrum stctivum : cf. x. xlviii. 9. 2 cf. xm. xxxii. 276


BOOK XI. LII-LIV

to me. First, there will be given you lettuce useful for relaxing the bowels, and shoots cut from their parent leeks ; L then tunny salted and bigger than a small lizard-fish, and one too which eggs will garnish in leaves of rue. Other eggs will not be wanting, roasted in embers of moderate heat, and a lump of cheese ripened over a Velabran hearth, 2 and olives that have felt the Picenian frost. These are enough for a whet : do you want to know the rest ? I will deceive you to make you come : fish, mussels, sow's paps, and fat birds of the poultry -yard and the marsh, which even Stella is not used to serve except at a special dinner. More I promise you : I will recite nothing to you, even although you yourself read again . your "Giants" straight through, or your " Pastorals " that rank next to immortal Virgil.

LIII

THOUGH Claudia R,ufina 3 has sprung from the woad- stained Britons, how she possesses the feelings of the Latin race ! What grace of form has she ! Mothers of Italy may deem her Roman, those of Attica their own. May the Gods bless her in that she, a fertile wife, has borne children to her constant spouse, in that she hopes, though youthful still, for sons- and daughters-in-law. So may it please the Gods above she should joy in one mate alone, and joy ever in three sons !

LIV

THE unguents and casia, and myrrh that smells of funerals, and the frankincense half-burned snatched

8 Probably the Claudia Peregrina of iv. xiii.

277


et quae de Stygio rapuisti cinnama lecto,

inprobe, de turpi, Zoile, redde sinu. a pedibus didicere manus peccare protervae. 5

non miror furem, qui fugitivus eras.

LV

HORTATUR fieri quod e Lupus, Urbice, patrem,

ne credas ; nihil est quod minus ille velit. ars est captandi quod nolis velle videri ;

ne facias optat quod rogat ut facias, dicat praegnantem tua se Cosconia tantum : 5

pallidior fiet iam pariente Lupus, at tu consilio videaris ut usus amici,

sic morere ut factum te putet esse patrem.

LVI

QUOD nimium mortem, Chaeremon Stoice, laudas,

vis animum mirer suspiciamque tuum ? hanc tibi virtutem fracta facit urceus ansa,

et tristis nullo qui tepet igne focus, et teges et cimex et nudi sponda grabati, 5

et brevis atque eadem nocte dieque toga, o quam magnus homo es qui faece rubentis aceti

et stipula et nigro pane carere potes ! Leuconicis agedum tumeat tibi culcita lanis

constringatque tuos purpura pexa toros, 10

dormiat et tecum modo qui dum Caecuba miscet

convivas roseo torserat ore puer :

278


BOOK XI. UV-LVI

from the midst of the pyre, and the cinnamon you have snatched from the bier of death these, rascally Zoilus, surrender out of your foul pocket. 'Tis from your feet your froward hands have learned mis- doings : I don't wonder you are a thief who were a runaway slave.

LV

LUPUS urges you, Urbicus, to become a father : don't believe him ; there is nothing he wishes less. The art of the legacy-hunter is to seem to wish what one does not wish : he prays you will not do what he asks you to do. Let your Cosconia only say she is pregnant, Lupus will become paler than a lady already in labour. But do you, by way of seeming to adopt your friend's counsel, die in such a way 1 that he may think you have become a father.

LVI

BECAUSE you, Stoic Chaeremon, so much praise death, do you want me to admire and look up to your mind ? 'Tis a jug with a broken handle that creates this virtue of yours, and a melancholy hearth chill with no fire, and a beggar's rug, and bugs and the framework of a bare truckle-bed, and a short toga, your one covering night and day alike. Oh, what a great man you are, who can do without dregs of red vinegar and straw and black bread ! Come, imagine your pillow swells with Leuconian wool, 2 and that close-napped purple binds your couches, and a boy waits upon you who, while he mixed the Caecuban yesterday, distracted your guests with his rosy lips !

1 i.e. leave him nothing. * cf. xiv. cli*.

279


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

o quam tu cupies ter vivere Nestoris annos

et nihil ex ulla perdere luce voles ! rebus in angustis facile est contemnere vitam : 15

fortiter ille facit qui miser esse potest.

LVII

Mi HA uis docto quod carmina mitto Severe, ad cenam cum te, docte Severe, vocem ?

luppiter ambrosia satur est et nectare vivit ; nos tamen exta lovi cruda merumque damus.

omnia cum tibi sint dono concessa deorum, 5

si quod habes non vis, ergo quid accipies ?

LVIII

CUM me velle vides tentumque, Telesphore, sentis,

magna rogas : puta me velle negare : licet ? et nisi iuratus dixi "Dabo," subtrahis illas,

permittunt in me quae tibi multa, natis. quid si me tonsor, cum stricta novacula supra est, 5

tune libertatem divitiasque roget ? promittam ; neque eiiim rogat illo tempore tonsor,

latro rogat ; res est inperiosa timor : sed fuerit curva cum tuta novacula theca,

frangam tonsori crura manusque simul. 10

at tibi nil faciam, sed lota mentula laeva

AaiKoeiv cupidae dicet avaritiae.


1 cf. 11. liii. a In its regular sense of "poetic."

' cf. xi. Ixxiii. 4; ix. xlii. 1.


280


BOOK XI. LVI-LVIII

Oh, how you will long to live Nestor's years thrice over, and wish to lose no moment of any day ! In narrow means 'tis easy to despise life : he acts the strong man who is wretched and can endure. 1


LVII

Do you wonder I send learned 2 Severus verse when I ask you, learned Severus, to dinner? Jupiter is cloyed with ambrosia and he lives on nectar, yet we offer to Jupiter raw entrails and new wine. As by the gift of the Gods all things have been granted to you, if you do not 'wish to receive what you possess, what then will you accept?


LVIII

WHEN you see that I am desirous, and perceive that I am on the stretch, Telesphorus, you ask a big price. Imagine I wish to refuse it : can I ? And unless I swear when I say " I will give it," you with- draw those charms that give you much licence with me. What if a barber, when his drawn razor is over my head, should then ask me for his liberty and for wealth ? I will promise it ; for it is not a barber who asks on that occasion^ a highwayman asks ; a thing imperious is fear : but when his razor is safe in its crooked case, I will break the barber's shanks and his hands to boot. To you, however, I will do nothing ; but, when it is otherwise sated, 3 my ardour will bid your grasping avarice to go hang. 4

4 The word \auiei>> is possibly only a coarse imprecation, and is not to be taken literally.

281


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

LIX

SENOS Charinus omnibus digitis gerit

nee nocte ponit anulos nee cum lavatur. causa quae sit quaeritis ?

dactyliothecam non habet.


LX

SIT Phlogis an Chione Veneri magis apta requiris ?

pulchrior est Chione ; sed Phlogis ulcus habet, ulcus habet Priami quod tendere possit alutam

quodque senem Peliaii non sinat esse senem ; ulcus habet quod habere suam vult quisque puellam, 5

quod sanare Criton, non quod Hygia potest. at Chione non sen tit opus nee vocibus ullis

adiuvat, absentem marmoreamve putes. exorare, dei, si vos tarn magna liceret

et bona velletis tarn pretiosa dare, 10

hoc quod habet Chione corpus faceretis haberet

ut Phlogis, et Chione quod Phlogis ulcus habet.


LXI

LINGUA maritus, moechus ore Nanneius, Summemmianis inquinatior buccis ; quern cum fenestra vidit a Suburana 1 obscena nudum Leda, fornicem cludit mediumque mavult basiare quam summum ; 5

1 Suburana $-, suburbana codd.

1 i.e. he has merely hired them. T.he reason given is a surprise.


BOOK XI. LIX-LXI

LIX

Six rings Charinus wears on each of his fingers, and he does not take them off at night nor when he bathes. Do you ask the reason ? He has not got a ring-case. 1

LX

Is Phlogis or Chione the more fitted for dalliance, do you ask ? More beautiful is Chione, but Phlogis has an itch ; she has an itch that would rejuvenate Priam's powers and would not permit the aged Pylian a to be aged ; she has an itch that every man wishes his own mistress to have, one Criton can cure, not Hygeia. 3 But Chione is impassive, nor does she encourage you by any wooing word : you would fancy she were away from you, or were a marble statue. Ye Gods, were it permitted to prevail on you to bestow so great a gift, and were ye willing to give a blessing so precious, you would make Phlogis 'to have this body that Chione has and Chione the itch that Phlogis has !

LXI

NANEJO e rnarito colla lingua, adultero colla bocca, piu sporco delle bocche Summemiane : il quale quando I'oscena Leda vede nudo dalla Suburana finestra ella chiude il lupanario, ed ama meglio baciare al mezzo che all' alto ; il quale poco fa entrava per

2 Nestor, the typical old man.

3 i.e. to be cured by male, not by female doctors : cf. XI. Ixxi. 9. Criton was a doctor of M.'s time; Hygeia, the Goddess of Health, the daughter of Aesculapius, is here put for female doctors generally.

283


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

modo qui per omnes viscerum tubos ibat et voce certa consciaque dicebat puer an puella matris esset in ventre, (gaudete cunni ; vestra namque res acta est) arrigere linguam non potest fututricem. 10

nam dum tumenti mersus haeret in volva et vagientes intus audit infantes, partem gulosam solvit indecens morbus. nee purus esse nunc potest nee inpurus.

LXII

LESBIA se iurat gratis numquam esse fututam. verum est. cum futui vult, numerare solet.

LXIII

SPECTAS nos, Philomuse, cum lavamur,

et quare mihi tarn mutuniati

sint leves pueri subinde quaeris.

dicam simpliciter tibi roganti :

pedicant, Philomuse, curiosos. 5

LXIV

NESCIO tarn multis quid scribas, Fauste, puellis : hoc scio, quod scribit nulla puella tibi.

LXV

SESCENTI cenant a te, lustine, vocati lucis ad officium quae tibi prima fuit.


284


BOOK XI. LXI-LV

tutti i tubi delle viscere, e con certa e consapevole asserzione diceva se era un maschio o una femina nel ventre della madre (rallegratevi, c ni, perche le vostre faccende sono finite) ; non puo erigere 1' immembratice lingua. Imperocche, mentre che sta immerso nella tumente volva, e dentro sente i vagi- enti bambini, un' indecente morbo 1 struge la parte golosa : ne ora pu6 esser puro ne impure.


LXII

LESBIA swears she has never granted her favours without a price. That is true : on those occasions she is wont herself to pay it.

LXIII

You eye me, Philomusus, when I bathe, and con- tinually enquire why I have with me smooth-cheeked boys so well developed. I will answer your question in plain terms : Philomusus, they assault meddlers.


LXIV

I DON'T know what you write, Faustus, to so many girls : this I know, what 2 no girl writes to you.


LXV

A CROWD of guests dine at your invitation, Justinus, to celebrate the day of your birth. Among them,

1 cf. xi. Ixxxv. 1. * i.e. " Come."

285


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

inter quos, memini, non ultimus esse solebam ;

nee locus hie nobis invidiosus erat. postera sed festae reddis sollemnia mensue : 5

sescentis hodie, eras mihi natus eris.

LXVI

Ex delator es et calumniator, et fraudator es et negotiator, et fellator es et lanista. miron* quare non habeas, Vacerra, nummos.

LXVII

NIL mihi das vivus ; dicis post fata daturum. si non es stultus, scis, Maro, quid cupiam.

LXVIII

PARVA rogas magnos ; sed non dant haec quoque

magni. ut pudeat levius te, Matho, magna roga.

LXIX

AMPHITHEATHALES inter nutrita magistros

venatrix, silvis aspera, blanda domi, Lydia dicebar, domino fidissima Dextro,

qui non Erigones mallet habere canem,

1 M. has been invited on the morrow to the remnants of to-day's birthday feast to J.'s fine friends. "To-morrow," he says, " it will be my turn to find out that you are a gentle- man." For this sense of natus, cf. iv. Ixxxiii. 3 ; vin. Ix iv. 18 ; and x. xxvii. 4.

286


BOOK XI. LXV-LXI*

1 recollect, I used not to be the last, and this place was not begrudged me. But to-morrow you repeat the festive ceremony : for the crowd you are born to-day, to-morrow you shall be born for me. 1

LXVI

You are an informer and a backbiter, and you are a cheat and a pimp, and you are a foul rascal and a master of gladiators. I wonder why you are not rich, Vacerra. 2

LXVII

NOTHING you give me while you are living : you say you will give after your death. If you are not a fool you know, Maro, what J desire. 3


LXVIII

FOR small gifts you solicit great men, but not even these do your great men give. That you may be the less ashamed, Matho, solicit great gifts.

LXIX

REARED among the trainers of the amphitheatre* a hunter, savage in the woods, gentle at home, I was called Lydia, most faithful to my master Dexter, who would not have prized Erigone's hound 4 more

2 See further as to this person, xi. Ixxvii. and xu. xxxii.

8 cf. vin. xxvii.

  • Maera, the dog that showed to Erigoue where her

murdered father Icarius lay. Erigone became the constella- tion Virgo and Maera Procyon.

287


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

nee qui Dictaea Cephalum de gente secutus 5

luciferae pariter venit ad astra deae. non me longa dies nee inutilis abstulit aetas,

qualia Dulichio fata fuere cani : fulmineo spumantis apri sum dente perempta,

quantus erat, Calydon, aut, Erymanthe, tuus. 10 nee queror infernas quamvis cito rapta sub umbras.

non potui fato nobiliore mori.

LXX

VENDERE, Tucca, potes centenis milibus emptos ?

plorantis dominos vendere, Tucca, potes ? nee te blanditiae, nee verba rudesve querellae,

nee te dente tuo saucia colla movent? a facinus ! tunica patet inguen utrimque levata, 5

inspiciturque tua mentula facta manu. si te delectat numerata pecunia, vende

argentum mensas murrina rura domum ; vende senes servos, ignoscent, vende paternos ;

ne pueros vendas omnia vende miser. 10

luxuria est emere hos (quis enim dubitatve negatve?)

sed multo maior vendere luxuria est.

LXXI

HYSTERICAM vetulo se dixerat esse marito et queritur futui Leda necesse sibi ;

1 Laelaps, given to Procris by Diana and by her to her husband Cephalus. When Cephalus was added to the stars by Aurora, his hound followed him.

288


BOOK Xt. LXIX-LXXI

than me, nor the one of Dicte's breed that followed Cephalus, 1 and with him passed to the heaven of the goddess, the Bringer of Light. Not length of days nor fruitless age carried me off, as was the fate of the Dulichian hound : 2 I was slain by the lightning tusk of a foaming boar, huge as was thine, Calydon, or, Erymanthus, thine. Yet I murmur not, albeit swiftly hurried to the Nether Shades : I could not die by nobler death.

LXX

CAN you endure to sell, Tucca, those you bought for a hundred thousand sesterces ? Can you endure, Tucca, to sell your weeping masters ? 3 Do not their caresses, or their prattle or artless plaints, or the necks wounded by your tooth, move you? Ah, shame ! Lift up the tunic of either, and his naked- ness is seen, and there is revealed the manhood, fashioned 4 by your hand. If money paid down is your attraction, sell silver plate, tables, porcelain cups, land, town-house ; sell aged slaves they will pardon sell paternal slaves : to avoid selling your boys, sell, wretched man, everything. 'Twas extrava- gance to buy these boys for who either doubts or denies it ? but much greater extravagance is it to sell them.

LXXI

LYDIA told her aged husband that she was hysterical, and regrets that intercourse is necessary

2 Argus, the hound of Ulysses, that recognised him after twenty years, and died : Horn. Od. xvii. 291-327.

3 This word has an indecent sense : cf. xn. Ixvi. 8.

  • This word is probably explained by xi. xxii. 6.

289


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

sed flens atque gemens tanti negat esse salutem seque refert potius proposuisse mori.

vir rogat ut vivat, virides nee deserat annos, et fieri quod iam non facit ipse sinit.

protinus accedunt medici medicaeque recedunt, tollunturque pedes. o medicina gravis !

LXXII

DRAUCI Natta sui vocat pipinnam, conlatus cui Gallus est Priapus.

LXXIII VENTURUM iuras semper mihi, Lygde, roganti

constituisque horam constituisque locum, cum frustra iacui longa prurigine tentus,

succurrit pro te saepe sinistra mihi. quid precer, o fallax, meritis et moribus istis ?

umbellam luscae, Lygde, feras dominae.

LXXIV

CURANDUM penem commisit Baccara Raetus 1 rivali medico. Baccara Gallus erit.

LXXV

THECA tectus ahenea lavatur tecum, Caelia, servus ; ut quid, oro,

Raetua Schneid. , graecus ft, vetiis y. 290


BOOK XI. LXXI-LXXV

for her ; yet with tears and groans she says her health is not worth the sacrifice, and declares she would rather choose to die. Her lord bids her live, and not desert the bloom of her years, and he permits to be done what he cannot do himself. Immediately men doctors come in, and lady doctors depart, and her feet are hoisted. Oh, what stringent treatment !

LXXII

NATTA chiama pipinna quella del suo drauco, alia quale Priapo * confrontato e un Gallo. 2


LXXIII

You always swear, Lygdus, you will come to me when I ask you, and you appoint the hour and you appoint the place. When I have lain fruitlessly racked with lingering desire, a substitute has often come to my rescue. What should be my curse, false boy, one fitted to deserts and habits like yours ? May you carry, Lygdus, the sunshade of a one-eyed mistress !

LXXIV

BACCARA, a Rhaetian, entrusted the care of his person to a doctor, his rival in love : Baccara will now be a Gaul. 2

LXXV

YOUR slave bathes with you, Caelia, covered with a sheath of brass ; to what end, I pray, seeing he is

1 cf. vi. xlix. 2.

2 i.e. a eunuch : see notes to i. xxxv. 15 and in. xxiv. 13.

291 u 2


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

non sit cum citharoedus aut choraules ?

non vis, ut puto, mentulam videre.

quare cum populo lavaris ergo ? 5

omnes an tibi nos sumus spadones ?

ergo, ne videaris invidere,

servo, Caelia, fibulam remitte.

LXXVI

SOLVERE, Paete, decem tibi me sestertia cogis,

. perdiderit quoniam Bucco ducenta tibi. ne noceant, oro, mihi non mea crhnina : tu qui bis centena potes perdere, perde decem.

LXXVII

IN omnibus Vacerra quod conclavibus consumit horas et die toto sedet, cenaturit Vacerra, non cacaturit.

LXXVIII

UTERE femineis conplexibus, utere, Victor,

ignotumque sibi mentula discat opus, flammea texuntur sponsae, iam virgo paratur,

tondebit pueros iam nova nupta tuos. pedicare semel cupido dabit ilia marito, 5

dum metuit teli vulnera prima novi : saepius hoc fieri nutrix materque vetabunt

et dicent : " Uxor, non puer, ista tibi est." heu quantos aestus, quantos patiere labores,

si fuerit cunnus res peregrina tibi ! 10

ergo Suburanae tironem trade magistrae.

ilia virum faciet ; non bene virgo docet.

1 cf. vn. Ixxxii. 1 ; xiv. ccxv. 292


BOOK XI. LXXV-LXXVIII

no harper or flutist in the chorus ? l You don't wish, as I suppose, to see his nakedness. Why, then, do you bathe with the crowd ? Are all of us eunuchs to you ? Therefore, that you may not appear to be jealous, undo, Caelia, your slave's fibula.

LXXVI

You compel me,'Paetus, to pay you ten thousand sesterces because Bucco has lost you your two hun- dred thousand. Don't let offences not mine injure me, I pray : do you, who can endure to lose two hundred, lose ten.

LXXVI I

VACERRA dallies for hours, and sits a whole day in all the closets. Vacerra wishes to dine, not to dis- embogue. 2

LXXVIII

FA uso, fa uso dei feminei amplessi, O Vittore, e la mentola impari 1'opra ad essa ignota. II velo e tessuto per la sposa, di gia la vergine e preparata, di gia la nuova maritata tosera 3 i tuoi i-agazzi. Essa dara una volta da pedicare all' avido marito mentre teme le prime ferite della nuova lancia ; la nutrice e la madre vieteranno che cio si facia troppo sovente, e diranno "questa ti e moglie, non ragazzo." Oh, quanti furori e quanti stenti se il c no sara a te cosa insolita ! Dunque consegnati qual novizio ad una Suburana maestra. Quella ti fara uomo ; una vergine insegna cio malamente.

' 2 He hopes to meet some acquaintance and to get an invitation. 3 Youths of that character wore long hair.

293


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

LXXIX

AD primum decuma lapidem quod venimus hora,

arguimur lentae crimine pigritiae. non est ista viae, non est mea, sed tua culpa est,

misisti mulas qui mihi, Paete, tuas.

LXXX

LITUS beatae Veneris aureum Baias, Baias superbae blanda dona Naturae, ut mille laudem, Flacce, versibus Baias, laudabo digne non satis tamen Baias. * sed Martialem malo, Flacce, quam Baias. 5

optare utrumque pariter inprobi votum est. quod si deorum munere hoc tibi l detur, quid gaudiorum est Martialis et Baiae !

LXXXI

CUM sene communem vexat spado Dindymus Aeglen

et iacet in medio sicca puella toro. viribus hie, operi non est hie utilis annis :

ergo sine effectu prurit utrique labor, supplex ilia rogat pro se miserisque duobus, 5

hunc iuvenem facias, hunc, Cytherea, virum.

LXXXII

A SINUESSANIS conviva Philostratus undis conductum repetens nocte iubente larem

1 tibi. tame.n Munro.


1 M. has arrived an hour late for dinner : cf. iv. viii. 6. a Taking this view tibi can have no meaning, so I have


294


BOOK XI. LXXIX-LXXXII

LXXIX

BECAUSE I have reached the first milestone at the tenth hour I am convicted on a charge of tardiness and sloth. 1 It is not the fault of the road ; it is not mine, but yours, who sent me your mules, Paetus.

LXXX

BAIAE, the golden shore of blessed Venus ; Baiae, the witching gift of proud Nature ! though in a thousand verses, Flaccus, I were to laud Baiae, yet I shall not laud Baiae as it deserves. But I prefer Martial, Flaccus, to Baiae : to ask for both at once were a presumptuous prayer. Yet if by heaven's bounty this could still be granted, what wealth of joy Martial and Baiae too ! 2

LXXXI

L'EUNUCO Dindimo vessa Egle in comune con un vecchio, e la giovane giace asciutta in mezzo al letto. Quello non ha vigore all' opra, questo e inutili per gli anni ; perci6 gli sforzi dell' uno e dell' altro in- citano senza effetto. Essa supplichevole prega per se e per i due sfortunati che tu, O Citerea, renda questo giovane, e quello uomo.

LXXXII

PHILOSTRATUS, returning from a party at the baths of Sinuessa to his hired house at the bidding of

rendered Munro's tamen. Some, however, take "Martialis" as meaning the poe.t, in which case "tibi" means Flaccus, and the last lines of the epigram are self-depreciatory.

2 95


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

paene imitatus obit saevis Elpenora fatis, praeceps per longos dum ruit usque gradus.

non esset, Nymphae, tarn magna pericula passus si potius vestras ille bibisset aquas.


NEMO habitat gratis nisi dives et orbus apud te. nemo domum pluris, Sosibiane, locat.

LXXXIV

Qui nondum Stygias descendere quaerit ad umbras

tonsorem fugiat, si sapit, Antiochum. alba minus saevis lacerantur bracchia cultris,

cum furit ad Phrygios enthea turba modos ; 'mitior inplicitas Alcon secat enterocelas 5

fractaque fabrili dedolat ossa manu. tondeat hie inopes Cynicos et Stoica menta

collaque pulverea nudet equina iuba. hie miserum Scythica sub rupe Promethea radat,

carnificem duro pectore poscet avem ; 10

ad matrem fugiet Pentheus, ad Maenadas Orpheus,

Antiochi tantum barbara tela sonent. haec quaecumque meo numeratis stigmata mento,

in vetuli pyctae qualia fronte sedent,

1 The companion of Ulysses, who, awaking suddenly from a drunken sleep in the house of Circe, fell from the roof : Horn. Od. x. 552 seqq.

2 And not wine. Moreover, the waters of Sinuessa were medicinal : cf. xi. vii. 12.

3 The votaries of Cybele.

296


BOOK XI. LXXXII-LXXXIV

night, nearly copied Elpenor, 1 and died by a cruel death while he was hurrying headlong down a long flight of steps. He would not have incurred such great danger, ye Nymphs, if he had drunk your waters instead. 2

LXXXIII

NOBODY lives scot-free with you, unless he be rich and childless. Nobody, Sosibianus, lets his house on better terms.

LXXXIV

HE who desires not yet to go down to Stygian shades, let him, if he be wise, avoid barber Antiochus. White arms are mangled with knives less cruel when the frenzied throng 3 raves to Phrygian strains ; with gentler touch Alcon 4 cuts the knotted hernia, and lops away broken bones with a workman's hand. Shearer let this man be of starveling Cynics and of Stoic chins, and let him bare the necks of steeds of their dusty manes. Let this man but rasp hapless Prometheus neath the Scythian crag, with bared breast will he summon the bird his torturer ; 5 to his mother will Pentheus fly ; to the Maenads Or- pheus, 6 at the mere clash of Antiochus' savage steel. These scars, whate'er they are thou numberest on my chin, scars such as are fixed on some time-worn

4 A surgeon of the day : cf. vi. Ixx. 6.

5 The eagle preyed upon his liver, which was always renewed.

6 Pentlieus, king of Thebes, for his hostility to the rites of Bacchus, was torn to pieces by his mother and other Maenads ; and Orpheus was similarly treated by the Thracian women because he slighted them.

297


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

non iracundis fecit gravis unguibus uxor : 15

Antiochi ferrum est et scelerata manus.

unus de cunctis animalibus hircus habet cor : barbatus vivit ne ferat Antiochum.

LXXXV

SIDERE percussa est subito tibi, Zoile, lingua, dum lingis. certe, Zoile, nunc futues.

LXXXVI

LENIAT ut fauces medicus, quas aspera vexat

adsidue tussis, Parthenopaee, tibi, mella dari nucleosque iubet dulcesque placentas

et quidquid pueros- non sinit esse truces, at tu non cessas totis tussire diebus.

non est haec tussis, Parthenopaee, gula est.

LXXXVII

DIVES eras quondam : sed tune pedico fuisti

et tibi nulla diu femina nota fuit. nunc sectaris anus, o quantum cogit egestas !

ilia fututorem te, Charideme, facit.

LXXXVIII

MULTIS iam, Lupe, posse se diebus pedicare negat Charisianus. causam cum modo quaererent sodales, ventrem dixit habere se solutum.

298


BOOK XL LXXXIV-LXXXVIII

boxer's face these a wife, formidable with wrathful talons, wrought not : 'tis Antiochus' steel and hand accursed. Alone among all beasts the he-goat has sense : bearded he lives to escape Antiochus.

LXXXV

IMPROVISAMENTE, O Zoilo, t'e da un contagio 1 per- cossa la lingua mentre lingi il c no. Almeno ora, O Zoilo, immembrerai.

LXXXVI

To soothe your throat, which a .racking cough incessantly afflicts, Parthenopaeus, your doctor pre- scribes honey, and nuts, and sweet cakes, and what- ever t thing stops the fractiousness of boys. Yet all and every day you don't cease coughing. This is no cough, Parthenopaeus : it is gluttony. 2

LXXXVII

You were once rich, but then young men were your favourites, and for long no woman was known to you. Now you run after old crones. Oh, how compelling is poverty ! It turns you, Charidemus, into a gallant.

LXXXVIII

CARISIANO dice, O Lupo, di non poter pedicare da molti giorni. Dimandandogliene poco fa i compagni la cagione, disse che aveva la diarrea. 3

1 i.e. planet-struck. This was called sideratio : Plin. N.H. ii. 41 ; Petr. 2. cf. vn. xcii. 9. * cf. II. xl.

3 Thus betraying the fact that he was a pathic.

299


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

LXXXIX

INTACTAS quare mittis mihi, Polla, coronas ? vexatas a te malo tenere rosas.

xc

CARMINA nulla probas molli quae limite currunt,

sed quae per salebras altaque saxa cadunt, et tibi Maeonio quoque carmine maius habetur,

" Lucili columella hie situ' Metrophanes " ; attonitusque legis "terrai frugiferai," 5

Accius et quidquid Pacuviusque vomunt. vis imiter veteres, Chrestille, tuosque poetas ?

dispeream ni scis mentula quid sapiat.

XCI

AEOLIDOS Canace iacet hoc tumulata sepulchre,

ultima cui parvae septima venit hiemps. a scelus, a facinus ! properas qui flere, viator,

non licet hie vitae de brevitate queri : tristius est leto leti genus : horrida vultus 5

apstulit et tenero sedit in ore lues, ipsaque crudeles ederunt oscula morbi

nee data sunt nigris tota label la rogis.

1 " Tenfold the length of this terrene." MILTON. Terrai filius is found in Ennius.

300


BOOK XI. LXXXIX-XCI

LXXXIX

WHY dost tliou send me, Polla, chaplets thou hast not fingered ? Liefer would I handle roses tumbled by thee.

XC

No poems win your favour that speed on a gentle path, only those that fall over rough places and high cliffs, and this appears to you ftner even than Homer's song :

" Pillar of Lucilius' house, here lieth Metrophanes."

And in amazed wonder you read of the "frugiferous terrene," 1 and whatever phrase Accius and Pacu- vius spew. 2 Do you want me, Chrestillus, to copy the old poets, your poets ? May I die, but you ap- preciate the flavour of virility ! 8

XCI

AEOUS' child, Cajiace, lies buried in this tomb, little Canace, whose seventh -winter came Iier last. Ah ! for Ihe guilt, the crime ! Thou, wayfarer, who art quick to weep, here mayst thou not lament the shortness of life : sadder than death is death's guise ; a dire canker wasted her face, and settled on her tender mouth, and her very kisses the cruel scourge consumed ; not whole were her lips surrendered to

2 Old Roman tragic poets. L. Accius died B.C. 180, M. Pacuvius about 131. Only fragments of their works remain. As to the preference for ancient poets in Horace's time : cf. Ep. n. i. 49 seq.

3 i.e. (ace. to Housman) a' virile style ; or (in another sense) "fellator es."

301


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

si tarn praecipiti fuerant ventura volatu,

debuerant alia fata venire via. 10

sed mors vocis iter properavit cludere blandae, ne posset duras flectere lingua deas.

XCII

MENTITUR qui te vitiosum, Zoile, dicit. non vitiosus homo es, Zoile, sed vitium.

XCIII

PIERIOS vatis Theodori flamma penates

abstulit. hoc Musis et tibi, Phoebe, placet ? o scelus, o magnum facinus crimenque deorum, non arsit pariter quod domus et dominus !

t XCIV

QUOD nknium lives nostris et ubique libellis

detrahis, ignosco : verpe poeta, sapis. . hoc quoque non euro, quod cum mea carmina carpas,

conpilas : et sic, verpe poeta, sapis. illud me cruciat, Solymis quod natus in ipsis 5

pedicas puerum, verpe poeta, meum. ecce negas iurasque mihi per templa Tonantis.

non credo : iura, verpe, per Anchialum.

1 Supposed to represent the ejaculation "as the Lord liveth " in Hebrew, and mistaken by Romans for the name of a deity. Another explanation (out of many) is that

302


BOOK XL xci-xciv

the smoky pyre. If it had to come with so mistimed a flight, fate should have come by other path. But death hasted to close the channel of her winsome speech, lest her tongue might have power to bend the hard goddesses.

XCII

HE lies who says you are vicious, Zoilus : you are not a vicious man, Zoilus, but vice.


XCIII

THE poetic abode of bard Theodorus a fire has destroyed. Does this please you, ye Muses, and you, Phoebus ? Oh, what guilt, oh, what a huge crime and scandal of the gods is here ! House and master did not burn together !

XCIV

YOUR overflowing malice, and your detraction every- where of my books, I pardon : circumcised poet, you are wise ! This, too, I disregard, that when you carp at my poems you plunder them : so, too, circumcised poet, you are wise ! What tortures me is this, that you, circumcised poet, although born in the very midst of Solyma, corrupt my boy. There ! you deny it, and swear to me by the Thunderer's Temple. I don't believe you : swear, circumcised one, by Anchialus. 1

Anchialus is the name of M.'s boy, and the name is common in inscriptions of slaves and freedmen. Friedlander considers it the name of some Rothschild of Jerusalem.

33


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

XCV

INCIDERIS quotiens in basia fellatorum, in solium puta te mergere, Flacce, caput.


XCVI

MARCIA, non Rhenus, salit hie, Germane : quid bbstas

et puerum prohibes divitis imbre lacus ? barbare, non debet, summoto cive, ministro

captivam victrix unda levare sitim.


XCVII

UNA nocte quater possum : sed quattuor annis si possum, peream, te, Telesilla, semel.


XCVIII

EFFUGERE non est, Flacce, basiatores.

instant, morantur, persecuntur, occurrunt

et hinc et illinc, usquequaque, quacumque.

non ulcus acre pusulaeve lucentes,

nee triste mentum sordidique Hellenes, 5

nee labra pingui delibuta cerato,

nee congelati gutta proderit nasi.

et aestuantem basiant et algentem,

1 Made foul by bathers of impure habits : cf. 11. xlii. ; vi. Ixxxi.

2 A German slave had prevented a freeborn Roman boy from drinking of a reservoir fed by the aqua Marcia.'

34


BOOK XI. xcv-xcvm

XCV

WHENEVER you run across the kisses of some rascals think you are plunging your head, Flaccus, into a bath-tub. 1

XCVI

Tis Marcia, not Rhine, that jets here, German ; why withstand and elbow the boy from the gush of the precious pool ? Barbarian, 'tis not meet that a citizen be thrust aside, and the victor's fountain slake a captive's thirst. -

XCVII

I CAN dally with four women in a single night, but may I die if I could in four years dally with you, Thelesilla, once !

XCVIII

'Tis impossible, Flaccus, to get free from kissers ; 3 they press on you, stay you, follow you up, meet you, and from this side and from that, no matter when, wherever. No malignant ulcer or inflamed pustules, nor diseased chin 4 and dirty scabs, nor lips smeared with oily salve, nor icicle on a frozen nose, will protect you. They kiss you both when you are hot and when you are cold, and when

1 See on the same subject vu. xcv. and xn. lix.

4 An allusion to the mentagra, a skin disease attacking first the chin, and propagated by kissing : cf. Pliny, N. H. xxvi. 2, 3. It was brought to Rome from Asia in Tiberius' reign. Pliny says that women, and slaves, and the plebs were immune.

35 VOL. II. X


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

et nuptiale basium reservantem.

non te cucullis adseret caput tectum, 10

lectica nee te tuta pelle veloque,

nee vindicabit sella saepius clusa :

rinias per omnis basiator intrabit.

non consulates ipse, non tribunatus

senive fasces nee superba clamosi 15

lictoris abiget virga basiatorem :

sedeas in alto tu licet tribunali

et e curuli iura gentibus reddas,

ascendet ilia basiator atque ilia.

febricitantem basiabit et flentem, 20

dabit oscitanti basium natantique,

dabit cacanti. remedium mali solum est,

facias amicum basiare quern nolis.

XCIX

DE cathedra quotiens surgis (iam saepe notavi),

pedicant miserae, Lesbia, te tunicae. quas cum conata es dextra, conata sinistra

vellere, cum lacrimis eximis et gemitu : sic constringuntur magni Symplegade culi 5

et nimias intrant Cyaneasque natis. emendare cupis vitium def.orme ? docebo :

Lesbia, nee surgas censeo nee sedeas.


1 The praetor was preceded by a lictor, or beadle, and by six attendants carrying bundles of rods surrounding an axe (fasces).


BOOK XI. xcvm-xctx

you are keeping a kiss for your bride. A head shrouded in a cowl will not free you, nor a litter defended with head and curtain ; nor will a sedan, though oftener closed, protect you : through any chink the kisser will enter. Not even the very consul's office, not the tribunate, nor the six fasces, nor the lordly rod of the clamorous lictor, 1 will drive off the kisser : you may be sitting on a high tribunal, and from curule chair be declaring the laws to the nations, the kisser will climb up to that place and to that. When you are fevered he will kiss you, and when you are in tears ; he will give a kiss to you when you are yawning, and when you are swim- ming ; he will give it when you are in the Jakes. Remedy for the evil is this alone : make a friend of a man you don't want to kiss. 2


XCIX

WHENEVER you get up from your chair I have often noticed it ere now your unhappy garments, Lesbia, treat you indecently. When you attempt with your rigjit hand, attempt with your left, to pluck them away, you wrench them out with tears and groans ; they are so gripped by the straits of your mighty rump, and enter a pass difficult and Cyanean. 3 Do you wish to cure this ugly defect ? I will instruct you : Lesbia, I advise you neither to get up nor to sit down !

2 i.e. who, if he be really your friend, will respect your wish not to be kissed.

3 The Symplegades, or Cyaneae rupes, were two rocks at the entrance of the Bosphorus that were said to clash together and crush ships : cf. vn. xix. 3.

37 x 2


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

C

HABERE amicam nolo, Flacce, subtilem,

cuius lacertos anuli mei cingant,

quae clune nudo radat et genu pungat,

cui serra lurabis, cuspis eminet culo.

sed idem amicam nolo mille librarum. 5

carnarius sum, pinguarius non sum.

CI

THAI DA tarn tenuem potuisti, Flacce, videre ? tu, puto, quod non est, Flacce, videre potes.

CII

NON est mentitus qui te mihi dixit habere

formosam carnem, Lydia, non faciem. est ita, si taceas et si tarn muta recumbas

quam silet in cera vultus et in tabula, sed quotiens loqueris, carnem quoque, Lydia, perdis 5

et sua plus nulli quam tibi lingua n&cet. audiat aedilis ne te videatque caveto :

portentum est, quotiens coepit imago loqui.

cm

TANTA tibi est animi probitas orisque, Safroni, ut mirer fieri te potuisse patrem.

1 It was the duty of the aedile to note and report all prodigies, such as a talking statue. M. means that Lydia is

308


BOOK XL c-cin

C

I DON'T wish, Flaccus, to have a mistress who is thin, whose arms my rings can go round, who rasps me with her skinny haunch and pricks me with her knee, from whose spine protrudes a saw, from whose latter-end a spear. But all the same I reject d mistress a thousand pounds' weight : I am an admirer of flesh of tallow, no !

CI

COULD you see Thais who is so thin, Flaccus ? You, I think, are able, Flaccus, to see what does not exist.

CII

HE was not wrong who told me that you had a beautiful complexion, Lydia, but no expression. 'Tis so, should you not speak, and should you recline as mute as a silent face depicted in wax and in a picture. But as often as you talk you ruin, Lydia, even your complexion, and her tongue spoils no woman more than you. Take care the aedile does not hear and see you ! l It is a portent whenever an image begins to speak.

GUI

SUCH is your modesty in mind and aspect, Safro- nius, that I wonder you have managed to become a father.

only a beautiful image. A similar idea is found in a Greek epigram : Pal. Aiith. xi, 420,

39


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

CIV

UXOR, vade foras aut moribus utere nostris :

non sum ego nee Curius nee Numa nee Tatius. me iucunda iuvant tractae per pocula noctes :

tu properas pota surgere tristis aqua, tu tenebris gaudes : me ludere teste lucerna 5

et iuvat admissa rumpere luce latus. fascia te tunicaeque obscuraque pallia celant :

at mihi nulla satis nuda puella iacet. basia me capiunt blandas imitata columbas :

tu mihi das aviae qualia mane soles. 10

nee motu dignaris opus iiec voce iuvare

nee digitis, tamquam tura merumque pares : masturbabantur Phrygii post ostia servi,

Hectoreo quotiens sederat uxor equo, et quamvis Ithaco stertente pudica solebat 15

illic Penelope semper habere manum. pedicare negas : dabat hoc Cornelia Graccho,

lulia Poinpeio, Porcia, Brute, tibi ; dulcia Dardanio nondum miscente ministro

pocula, luno fuit pro Ganymede lovi. 20

si te delectat gravitas, Lucretia toto

sis licet usque die ; Laida nocte volo.


CV

MITTEBAS libram, quadrantem, Garrice, mittis. saltern semissem, Garrice, solve mihi.

1 Types of ancient Roman manners.

2 i.e. for purposes of a vow, or of purification in a temple. Chastity on the previous night (sometimes for ten days : Prop. in. xxii. 62) was essential according to the rites of

3 IO


BOOK XI. tiv-cv

CIV

WIFE, out of my house, or conform to my ways ; no Curius am I, or Numa, or Tatius. 1 Nights drawn out by cheerful cups are my pleasure : you with a sad air haste to get up after drinking water. You delight in darkness : it pleases me to revel, with the lamp my witness, and to strain my flanks though I have admitted daylight. A breast-band, and a tunic, and opaque robes conceal you ; but for me no girl lies naked enough. Kisses that are like those of caressing doves attract me ; you give me such as you are wont in the morning to give your grandmother. Nor by gesture, nor by words, speech, or fingers, do you deign to accommodate me, just as if you were getting ready incense and wine. 2 I Frigii servi masturbavano dietro le porte ogni volta che la moglie sedeva su 1'Ettoreo cavallo, e Itaco quantunque russante, la pudica Penelope suoleva aver sempre cola la mano. Tu ricusi pedicare : Cornelia accordava ci6 a Gracco, Giulia a Pompeo, e Porzia a te, Bruto ; il Dardanio ministro quando non mischiava i dolci bicchieri, Giunone era a Giove in vece di Ganymede. If austerity please you, you may be Lucretia all through the day : Lais I wish for at night.

CV

You used to send me a pound's weight ; a quarter, Garricus, you now send. At least pay me half, Garricus. 3

Ceres (Ov. Am. in. x. 2) or of Isis : Ov. Am. i. viii. 74 ; Tib. i. iii. 25.

3 cf. x. Ivii. M. humorously treats the present as a debt. Moreover payment should be reduced gradually : cf. vm. Ixxi.

3"



THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

CVI

VIBI Maxima, si vacas havere,

hoc tantum lege : namque et occupatus

et non es nimium laboriosus.

transis hos quoque quattuor ? sapisti.


CVII

EXPLICITUM nobis usque ad sua cornua librum et quasi perlectum, Septiciane, refers.

omnia legisti. credo, scio, gaudeo, verum est. perlegi libros sic ego quinque tuos.


CVIII

Quamvis tarn longo possis satur esse libello, lector, adhuc a me disticha pauca petis.

sed Lupus usuram puerique diaria poscunt. lector, solve, taces dissimulasque ? vale.


1 The cornua were the knobs at the end of the roller (umbilicus) round which the parchment or papyrus was wrapped. The text means " unrolled to the very end."


312


BOOK XL cvi-cvin

CVI

VIBIUS MAXIMUS, if you have time for a greeting, read this only ; for you are both engaged and not over-industrious. Do you skip even these four lines ? You are wise.

CVII

You return me my book unrolled to its very horns, 1 and as if, Septicianus, you had read it through. " You have read it all." I believe it, I know it, I am glad, what you say is true. I have read through your five books in the same way. 2

CVIII

ALTHOUGH with so long a book you may well be sated, reader, you still ask for a few distichs from me. But Lupus 3 requires his interest, and my slaves their rations. Reader, pay me. Do you say nothing, and pretend you don't understand ? Good bye !

2 i.e.. not read it at all.

3 A moneylender


313


BOOK XII


VALERIUS MARTIALIS FRISCO suo SALUTEM

Scio me patrocinium debere contumacissimae trienni desidiae ; quo absolvenda non esset inter illas quoque urbicas occupationes, quibus facilius con- sequimur ut molesti potius quam ut officiosi esse videamur ; nedum in hac provincial! solitudine, ubi nisi etiam intemperanter studemus, et sine solacio et sine excusatione secessimus. accipe ergo rationem. in qua hoc maximum et primum est, quod civitatis aures quibus adsueveram quaero, et videor mihi in alieno'foro litigare ; si quid est enim quod in libellis meis placeat, dictavit auditor : i 1 lain iudiciorum sub- tilitatem, illud materiarum ingenium, bibliothecas theatra convictus, in quibus studere se voluptates non sentiunt, ad summam omnium ilia quae delicati reliquimus desideramus quasi destituti. accedit his municipalium robigo dentium et iudici loco livor, et unus aut alter inali, in pusillo loco multi ; adversus quod difficile est habere cotidie bonum stomachum ;


BOOK XII


VALERIUS MARTIALIS TO HIS PRISCUS SENDS GREETING

I KNOW that I ought to offer some plea in defence of a most obstinate three-years' indolence ; yet no such plea could have secured an acquittal even amid those City pursuits in which we more easily succeed in appearing troublesome than dutiful ; 1 much less in this provincial solitude, where, unless we study even immoderately, retirement is at once without solace and without excuse. Hear, then, my reasons. Of these this is the most important and first of all : I miss that audience of my fellow-citizens to which I had grown accustomed, and seem to myself a pleader in a strange court ; for whatever is popular in my small books my hearer inspired. That subtlety of judgment, that inspiration of the subject, the libra- ries, theatres, meeting-places, where pleasure is a student without knowing it to sum up all, those things which fastidiously I deserted I regret, like one desolate. Added to this is the back-biting of my fellow-townsmen, and envy ousting judgment, and one or other evilly disposed persons a host in a tiny place a circumstance against which it is

1 The allusion ia to the so-called "duties" of a client which in reality bored the patron.


THE EPfGRAMS OF MARTIAL

ne mireris igitur abiecta ab indignante quae a gestiente fieri solebant. ne quid tamen et advenienti tibi ab urbe et exigenti negarem (cui non refero gratiam, si tantum ea praesto quae possum), inperavi mihi quod indulgere consueram, et studui paucissimis diebus, ut familiarissimas mihi aures tuas exciperem adventoria sua. tu velim ista, quae tajitum apud te non periclitantur, diligenter aestimare et excutere non graveris ; et, quod tibi difficillimum est, de nugis nostris iudices candore l seposito ne Romam, si ita decreveris, non Hispaniensem librum mittamus sed Hispanum.


RETIA dum cessant latratoresque Molossi

et non invento silva quiescit apro, otia, Prisce, brevi poteris donare libello.

hora nee aestiva est nee tibi tota perit.

1 candore Housman, nidore 0, nitore y, ninniofavore Munro.


1 The cena adventoria was a dinner given to one arriving from abroad. The phrase here represents a book of epigrams whiqh was handed to Terentius Priscus on his arrival in Spain in the winter of 101, and immediately forwarded to Rpme. This book, having been written paucissimis diebus, is probably the brevis libellus of XII. i. 3, and not Book XII. as we have it, which was probably an enlarged edition, perhaps compiled even after Martial's death, and which


BOOK XII. i

difficult every day to keep a good stomach ; do not wonder therefore that occupations have been cast aside in repugnance which I used to follow with ardour. Yet, not to deny you anything on your arriving from the City and claiming it and I am not shewing you any fitting thanks if I do only what I can I have enjoined on myself a task that I used to allow myself as a pleasure, and have de- voted a very few days to study that I might greet your ears, my most friendly hearer, with their due feast of welcome. 1 I would wish you not to think it a trouble to weigh with care and to scrutinise those efforts that in your hands alone are in no danger, and what is most difficult for you to judge my trifling effusions with especial impartiality, so that, if you decide it should go, I may not transmit to Rome a book, not merely written in Spain, but Spanish.


WHILE the nets are idle, and your barking Mo- lossian hounds, and the wood is at rest, now you have found no boar, you will be able, Priscus, to bestow your leisure on my small volume. 2 The hour is neither summer's nor is it lost to you wholly. 3

certainly contains epigrams written earlier than 101, e.g. vi., viii., xi., and xv. So Fridlander.

2 Studious men used to read or write in the intervals of the chase : Plin. Ep. i. 6 ; v. 18.

3 " It will take you less time to read, and the time will be well spent." A Roman hour, being a twelfth of the time between sunrise and sunset, was shorter in winter.

3*9


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

II

QUAE modo litoreos ibatis carmina Pyrgos, ite Sacra, iam non pulverulenta, via.

Ill

AD populos mitti qui nuper ab urbe solebas,

ibis io Romam nunc peregrine liber auriferi de gente Tagi tetricique Salonis,

dat patrios amnes l quos mihi terra potens. non tamen hospes eris nee iam potes advena dici 5

cuius habet fratres tot domus alta Remi. iure tuo veneranda novi pete limina templi,

reddita Pierio sunt ubi templa choro. vel si malueris, prima gradiere Subura ;

atria sunt illic consulis alta mei : 10

laurigeros habitat facundus Stella penatis,

clarus lantheae Stella sititor aquae ; fons ibi Castalius vitreo torrente superbit,

unde novem dominas saepe bibisse ferunt : ille dabit populo patribusque equitique legendum 15

nee nimium siccis perleget ipse genis. quid titulum- poscis ? versus duo tresve legantur,

clamabunt omnes te, liber, esse meum. 1 amnes quos Housman, nianes quod y, manes quae 0. tibi /3.

1 The book went by sea to Pyrgi, an ancient town in Etruria on the Via Aurelia, about 26 English miles N.W. of Rome, and was to enter Rome by the Via Sacra, which in December would not be dusty. The distich seems to be a fragment.

320


BOOK XII. ii-iii

II

YE poems of mine that went of late to Pyrgi on the coast, go thence by the Sacred Way : it is not dusty now. 1

Ill

You that lately used to be sent from the City to the provinces, ho ! you will now go to Rome, O foreign book, from the people of gold-bearing Tagus and of rugged Salo, native streams that a great land makes mine. Yet you will not be a stranger, nor can you now be called a visitor, whose many brothers the lofty house of Remus holds. Of your own right make for the reverend threshold of the new temple where a fane has been restored to the Pierian choir. 2 Or, if you prefer, you will walk through the entrance to the Subura ; there stands the high hall of my consul ; eloquent Stella inhabits a house crowned with bay, 3 illustrious Stella, who thirsts for the stream of his lanthis; 4 a fount of Castaly there proudly wells with its glassy torrent, whereof the Nine Dames oft, they say, have drunk. He will give you to people and senate and knight to be read, nor with eyes over- tearless will he himself read you through. Why do you require a title ? Let two or three verses be read : all will cry that you, O book, are mine.

2 Either the Temple of Apollo on the Palatine, rebuilt by Augustus (cf. Hor. Od. i. xxxi), with a portico attached and library of Greek and Latin books : Suet. Aug. xxix. ; or the Temple of Augustus, to which was added a library dedicated to the Muses, M r hich Domitian removed and Trajan restored.

8 Stella was consul A.D. 101.

4 Stella had called a spring in his house after his wife lanthis : cf. vn. xv. 1.

321

VOL. II. Y


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

IV

QUOD Flacco Varioque fuit summoque Maroni

Maecenas, atavis regibus ortus eques, gentibus et populis hoc te mihi, Prisce Terenti,

fama fuisse loquax chartaque dicet anus, tu facis ingenium, tu, si quid posse videmur ; 5

tu das ingenuae ius mihi pigritiae.


LONGIOR undecimi nobis decimique libelli

artatus labor est et breve rasit opus, plura legant vacui, quibus otia tuta dedisti :

haec lege tu, Caesar ; forsan et ilia leges.

VI

CONTIGIT Ausoniae procerum mitissimus aulae

Nerva : licet toto l nunc Helicone frui : recta Fides, hilaris dementia, cauta Potestas

iam redeunt ; longi terga dedere Metus. hoc populi gentesque tuae, pia Roma, precantur : 5

dux tibi sit semper talis, et iste diu. macte animi, quern rarus habes, morumque tuorum,

quos Numa, quos hilaris possit habere Cato. largiri, praestare, breves extendere census

et dare quae faciles vix tribuere dei, 10

1 tuto Friedl.

1 A quotation from Hor. Od. i. i. 1.

2 Horace, Varius, and Virgil. 322


BOOK XII. iv-vi

IV

WHAT Maecenas, a knight sprung from ancestral kings, 1 was to Flaccus and Varius and illustrious Maro, 2 this chattering fame and antique records shall tell the nations and provinces, Priscus Teren- tius, that you were to me. You create my genius, you create whatever power I seem to show ; you give me the free man's right of idleness.


THE too lengthy labour of my eleventh and tenth books has been shortened, and has filed down my work to a brief compass. Let idle men, to whom you have given protected leisure, read a fuller number ; do you, Caesar, read these : perhaps you will read those too ! 3

VI

MILDEST of princes, Nerva 4 has attained the Ausonian hall : we may enjoy now full draughts of Helicon. Steadfast Honour, cheerful Clemency, chastened Power now return ; long lasting Terrors have turned to flight. This prayer thy peoples and nations make, duteous Rome may thy Chief be ever such as he, and he abide long ! Blessings on thy heart the heart of few and on thy manners, such as a Numa, such as a Cato in cheerful mood might possess ! To be bounteous, to lend protection, to enlarge narrow incomes, and to bestow gifts which even the gracious gods have scarce given, is now

3 M. had published a selection from Bks. X. and XI. He hopes Caesar will read the fuller work.

  • He became Emperor A. D. 96.

323 Y 2


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

nunc licet et fas est. sed tu sub principe duro temporibusque malis ausus es esse bonus.

VII

TOTO vertice quot gerit capillos annos si tot habet Ligeia, trima est.

VIII

TERRARUM dea gentiumque Roma,

cui par est nihil et nihil secundum,

Traiani modo laeta cum futures

tot per saecula conputaret annos,

et fortem iuvenemque Martiumque 5

in tanto duce militem videret,

dixit praeside gloriosa tali :

" Parthorum proceres ducesque Serum,

Thraces, Sauromatae, Getae, Britanni,

possum ostendere Caesarem ; venite." 10

".. * IX

PALMA regit nostros, mitissime Caesar, Hiberos,

et placido fruitur Pax peregrina iugo. ergo agimus laeti tanto pro munere grates :

misisti mores in loca nostra tuos.


HABET Africanus milieus, tamen captat. Fortuna multis dat nimis, satis nulli.

1 Under Domitian.

2 Nerva's successor, A.D. 98, in January.

3 Trajan was born A.D. 52 at Italica, near Seville.

324


BOOK XII. vi-x

permitted and is right ; but thou, under a hard prince and in evil times, 1 didst have courage to be good.

VII

IF Ligeia has as many years as the number of hairs she carries on the whole of her head, she is three years old.

VIII

WHAT time Rome, Goddess of Earth and of the nations, that has no peer and no second, was of late joyfully counting Trajan's 2 future years through so many generations, and saw a soldier strong, young, and warlike in so great a chief, glorying in such a governor, she said : " Ye rulers of the Parthians and chiefs of the Seres, Thracians, Sauromatians, Getians, Britons, I can show you a Caesar : come."


IX

PALMA governs our 3 native Iberians, most gentle Caesar, and Peace beyond the sea enjoys his placid sway. Gladly therefore we pay thee thanks for a boon so great : thou hast sent into our land the manners that are thine.

X

AFRICANUS possesses a hundred millions, yet he angles 4 for more. Fortune to many gives too much, enough to none.

4 As a captator or fortune-hunter : cf. ix. Ixxx. viii. ; xi. Iv.

325


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

XI

PARTHENIO die, Musa, tuo nostroque salutem :

nam quis ab Aonio largius amne bibit ? cuius Pimpleo lyra clarior exit ab antro ?

quern plus Pierio de grege Phoebus amat ? et si forte (sed hoc vix est sperare) vacabit, 5

tradat ut ipse duci carmina nostra roga, quattuor et tantum timidumque brevemque libellum

commendet verbis " Hunc tua Roma legit."

XII

OMNIA promittis cum tota nocte bibisti : mane nihil praestas. Pollio, mane bibe.

XIII

GENUS, Aucte, lucri divites habent iram : odisse quam donare vilius constat.

XIV

PARCIUS utaris moneo rapiente veredo,

Prisce, nee in lepores tarn violentus eas. saepe satislecit praedae venator et acri

decidit excussus nee rediturus equo. insidiae et campus habet : nee fossa nee agger 5

nee siiit saxa licet, fallere plana solent. non derit qui tanta tibi spectacula praestet l

invidia fati sed leviore cadat. 2

1 deerunt praestent fiy. 2 cadant /3.

1 The Emperor's secretary : cf. v. vi. 2 ; xi. i. He was murdered by the Praetorian guard in A.D. 97.

326


BOOK XII. xi-xiv

XI

BEAR greeting, Muse, to your Parthenius 1 and mine ; for who more fully drinks of the Aonian stream ? Whose lyre with clearer tone sounds forth from Pimpla's grot ? Whom of the Pierian band loves Phoebus more ? And if by chance yet can I scarce so hope he shall be at leisure, bid him offer with his own hand my verses to our Chief, and in four words only let him commend my shrinking and brief little 2 book: "This thy Rome reads."

XII

You promise everything when you have drunk all night : in the morning you make good no promise. Pollio, drink in the morning !

XIII

RICH men, Auctus, regard anger as a kind of profit ; to hate is cheaper than to give ! 3

XIV

USE more sparingly, I warn you, Priscus, your tearing hunter, nor rush so violently after hares. Often has the huntsman atoned to his prey, and, flung from his mettled horse, fallen to mount no more. Snares even a plain has : though there be no ditch, nor mound, nor stones, level ground can oft deceive. Never will you lack some one to offer you such a sight, but one whose fall brings lighter

2 Possibly the selection alluded to in xn. v.

3 Picking quarrels with clients saves you giving them presents : cf. in. xxxvii.

3 2 7


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

si te delectant animosa pericula, Tuscis- ~

(tutior est virtus) insidiemur apris. 10

quid te frena iuvant temeraria ? saepius illis,

Prisce, datum est equitem rumpere quam leporem.


XV

QUIDQUID Parrhasia nitebat aula

donatum est oculis deisque nostris.

miratur Scythicas virentis auri

flammas luppiter et stupet superbi

regis delicias gravesque luxus : 5

haec sunt pocula quae decent Tonantem,

haec sunt quae Phrygium decent ministrum.

omnes cum love nunc sumus beati ;

at nuper (pudet, a pudet fateri)

omnes cum love pauperes eramus. 10

XVI

ADDIXTI, Labiene, tres agellos ; emistij Labiene, tres cinaedos. pedicas, Labiene, tres agellos.

XVII

QUARE tarn multis a te, Laetine, diebus non abeat febris quacris et usque gemis.

gestatur tecum pariter tecumque lavatur ; cenat boletos, ostrea, sumen, aprum ;

1 The Palatine is called Parrhasian because Evander, who settled on the P., came from Parrhasia, a district of Arcadia : cf. vii. Ivi. 2 and xcix. 3.

328


BOOK XII. xiv-xvn

reproach of fate. If perilous hardihood delight you, let us then safer is such courage lay snares for Tuscan boars. Why does rash riding please you ? More often its issue, Priscus, is to break up the rider rather than the hare.

XV

ALL that glittered in the Palatine l hall has been given to our view and to our gods. 2 Jupiter wonders at the flashing of gold set with Scythian emeralds, and is amazed at the toys and grievous luxury of a haughty king 3 ; here are cups that befit the Thun- derer, here are such as befit his Phrygian cupbearer; 4 we all, together with Jove, are now rich ; but of late 'tis shame, ah, 'tis shame to confess it ! we all, together with Jove, were poor.


XVI

You have sold, Labienus, three pretty fields ; you have bought, Labienus, three handsome slaves. You debauch, Labienus, your three pretty fields.


XVII

You ask, Laetinus, why, after so many days, your fever doesn't leave you, and you are incessantly groaning. It rides in your litter with you, and with you it bathes ; it dines on mushrooms, oysters,

2 Trajan dedicated the Imperial jewels to Jupiter Capito- linus and other gods.

8 i.e. Domitian. M. chooses in "king" the term most offensive to a Roman ear. * Ganymede.

3 2 9


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

ebria Setino fit saepe et saepe Falerno 5

nee nisi per niveam Caecuba potat aquam ;

circumfusa rosis et nigra recumbit amomo, dorm it et in pluma purpureoque toro.

cum sit ei pulchre, cum tarn bene vivat apud te, ad Damam potius vis tua febris eat ? 10


XVIII

DUM tu forsitan inquietus erras

clamosa, luvenalis, in Subura

aut colleni dominae teris Dianae ;

dum per limina te potentiorum

sudatrix toga v ventilat vagumque 5

maior Caelius et minor fatigant :

me multos repetita post Decembres

accepit mea rusticumque fecit

auro Bilbilis et superba ferro.

hie pigri colimus labore dulci 10

Boterdum Plateamque (Celtiberis

haec sunt nomina crassiora terris) :

ingenti fruor inproboque somno

quern nee tertia saepe rumpit hora,

et totum mihi nunc repono quidquid 15

ter denos vigilaveram per annos.

ignota est toga, sed datur petenti

rupta proxima vestis a cathedra.

surgentem focus excipit superba

vicini strue cultus iliceti, 20

multa vilica quern coronat olla.

venator sequitur, sed ille quern tu


330


BOOK XII. xvii-xvni

".

sow's paps, boar ; it often gets drunk on Setine, and often on Falernian, and drinks Caecuban only when strained through snow-water ; wreathed with roses and dark with balsam it lies at board, and it sleeps in down and on a purple bed. Seeing it is so well- off, seeing it lives so comfortably with you, do you wish your fever to migrate in preference to Dama ? l


XVIII

WHILE perchance you are restlessly wandering, Juvenal, in the noisy Subura, or treading the hill of Queen Diana ; while, amid the thresholds of great men, your sweaty toga fans you, and, as you stray, the greater Caelian and the less 2 wearies you, me my Bilbilis, sought once more after many Decem- bers, has received and made a countryman, Bilbilis, proud of its gold and iron. Here indolently, with pleasant toil, I frequent Boterdus and Platea (such in Celtiberian lands are the uncouth names !) ; I enjov a huge unconscionable sleep which often not even the third hour breaks, and I pay myself now in full for all my sleeplessness for thrice ten years. Unknown is the toga ; rather, when I ask for it, the first covering at hand is given to me from a broken chair. When I get up, a fire, served with a lordly heap of logs from the neighbouring oak-wood, wel- comes me, and my bailiff's wife crowns it with many a pot. Next comes my huntsman, and he too a

1 A slave (cf. Hor. Sat. n. v. 18), or' a beggar. A Greek epigram (Pal. Anth. xi. 403), which M. may have remembered, has the same idea as the last line of this epigram.

2 The Mons Caelius properly consisted of the Caelius and the Caeliolus, a lesser height.

331


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

secreta cupias habere silva :

dispensat pueris rogatque longos

levis ponere vilicus capillos. 25

sic me vivere, sic iuvat perire.

XIX

IN thermis sumit lactucas, ova, lacertum, et cenare domi se negat Aemilius.

XX

QUARE non habeat, Fabulle, quaeris uxorem Themison ? habet sororem.

XXI

MUNICIPEM rigidi quis te, Marcella, Salonis

et genitam nostris quis putet esse locis ? tarn rarum, tarn dulce sapis. Palatia dicent,

audierint si te vel semel, esse suam ; null a nee in media certabit nata Subura 5

nee Capitolini collis alumna tibi ; nee cito ridebit : peregrini gloria partus,

Romanam deceat quam magis esse nurum. tu desiderium dominae mihi mitius urbis

esse iubes : Romam tu mihi sola facis. 10

XXII

QUAM sit lusca Philaenis indecenter vis dicam breviter tibi, Fabulle ? esset caeca decentior Philaenis.

1 ridebit. parebit Munro.

1 cf. v. xlvii. What he takes at the baths is all he will get. 33 2


BOOK XII. xvin-xxii

youth whom you would desire to consort with in some secret grove. The unbearded bailiff gives my slaves their rations, and asks permission to crop his long hair. So I love to live, so I love to die.

XIX

AT the warm baths Aemilius takes lettuce, eggs, lizard-fish, and says that he is not dining at home ! l


Do you ask, Fabullus, why Themison has not got a wife ? He has 2 a sister.

XXI

WHO would think, Marcella, 3 that you were a burgess of iron-tempering 4 Salo, who, that you were born in my native land ? So rare, so sweet is your quality ! The Palatine will declare, should it but hear you once, that you are its own ; nor will a daughter of mid Subura, nor a nursling of the Capitoline hill, vie with you ; nor soon shall the fairest of foreign birth laugh at one whom it would more befit to be a Roman bride. You bid my long- ing for the Queen City be allayed : you by yourself make a Rome for me !

XXII

WOULD you have me say shortly how uncomely one-eyed Philaenis is, Fabullus ? If she were blind Philaenis would be comelier.

2 Used ambiguously in two senses. As to one sense : cf. Quis heri Chryaidem habuit? Ter. And. 85; and line 23 of Ep. xviii. of this Book. So ex*^ in Grk. : Thuc. vi. 54.

cf. Intr. to vol. i. p. xi., and xn. xxxi. * cf. I. xlix. 12.

333


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

XXIII

DENTIBUS atque comis (nee te pudet) uteris emptis. quid facies oculo, Laelia ? non emitur.

XXIV

O IUCUNDA, covinne, solitude,

carruca magis essedoque gratum

facundi mihi munus Aeliani !

hie mecum licet, hie, lubate, 1 quidquid

in buccam tibi venerit loquaris. 5

non rector Libyci niger caballi

succinctus neque cursor antecedit ;

nusquam est mulio : mannuli tacebunt.

o si conscius esset hie Avitus,

aurem non ego tertiam tirnerem. 10

totus quam bene sic dies abiret !

XXV

CUM rogo te nummos sine pignore, ' Non habeo' inquis ;

idem, si pro me spondet agellus, habes. quod mihi non credis veteri, Telesine, sodali,

credis coliculis arboribusque meis ? ecce reum Carus te detulit : adsit agellus.

exilii comitem quaeris : agellus eat. 5

1 lubate Postgate, iuvate codd.

1 cf. Pal. Anth. xi. 310.

1 Stertinius Avitus, who had placed a bust of M. in his library : cf. ix. Intr. Ep.

334


BOOK XII. XXIH-XXV

XXIII

You use, and you are not ashamed, teeth and hair that you have bought. What will you do for an ' eye, Laelia ? That cannot be bought. 1

XXIV

O THOU chaise, that affordest pleasant solitude, the gift to me of eloquent Aelianus, more grateful than travelling-coach and curricle ! Here at my side, here may you, Jubatus, say whatever rises to your lips. No black driver of Libyan steed, nor runner with upgirt loins goes before ; nowhere is any muleteer ; the nags will be silent. Oh, if Avitus 2 were here to share our secrets, I should dread no third ear ! How well thus would a whole day pass !

XXV

WHEN I ask you for money without security, " I haven't any," you say ; all the same, if my little farm pledge itself on my behalf, you have. The credit you will not give me, your old comrade, Telesinus, do you give my cabbages and trees ? See, Carus 3 has informed against you : let my little farm appear for you ; you ask for a companion in exile : 4 let my little farm go with you.

8 Mettius Carus, a, favourite dwarf of Nero's and an in- former : Juv. i. 36. The name is here put generally for an informer.

4 To follow a friend into exile was the highest proof of friendship : cf. vu. xliv. and xlv.

335


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

XXVI

SEXAGENA teras cum limina mane senator,

esse tibi videor desidiosus eques, quod non a prima discurram luce per urbem

et referam lassus basia mille domum. sed tu, purpureis ut des nova nomina fastis 5

aut Nomadum gentes Cappadocumve regas : at mihi, quern cogis medios abrumpere somnos

et matutinum ferre patique lutum, quid petitur ? rupta cum pes vagus exit aluta

et subitus crassae decidit imber aquae 10

nee venit ablatis clamatus verna lacernis,

accedit gelidam servus ad auriculam, et f Rogat ut secum cenes Laetorius ' inquit.

viginti nummis ? non ego : malo famem quam sit cena mihi, tibi sit provincia merces, 15

et faciamus idem nee mereamur idem.

XXVII

A LATRONIBUS esse te fututam dicis, Saenia : sed negant latrones.

XXVIII

POTO ego sextantes, tu potas, Cinna, deunces : et quereris quod non, Cinna, bibamus idem ?

1 i.e. become a consul. Consul's names were entered in the Fasti in the Temple of Janus : cf. vm. Ixvi. 12 ; xi. iv. 5.

2 "Negant te impulsam ab iis ; vel negant hoc, aiuntque te inhonestius quippiam passam esse ": cf. xu. xxxv.

33 6


BOOK XII. xxvi-xxvm

XXVI

INASMUCH as you, though a senator, tread innumer- able thresholds in the morning, I, a knight, appear to you slothful because I do not scour the city from early dawn, and wearily bring home with me a thousand kisses. But you do this that you may add a new name to the purple records, 1 or be sent to govern Numidian or Cappadocian tribes. But I, whom you compel to break off my slumber in the middle, and to bear and endure the morning mud, what do I look for ? When my protruding foot gapes out of a broken shoe, and a sudden downpour of heavy rain falls, and my home-born slave, who has taken away my cloak, does not appear when I bawl for him, a slave approaches my frozen ear and " Lae- torius asks you to dine with him," he says. For twenty sesterces a head ? Not I : I prefer starva- tion to getting a dinner as reward, while you get a province, and to our performing the same services and not earning the same recompense.

XXVII

You say, Saenia, you were raped by footpads ; but the footpads deny it. 2

XXVIII

I DRINK cups containing two measures; you, Cinna, drink cups holding eleven. And do you then com- plain, Cinna, that we don't drink the same wine ? 3

3 It was a vulgar habit of some hosts to give their guests inferior food or wine to what the host and his particular friends ate or drank : cf. vi. xi. 2 ; Plin. Ep. u. vi. 2. See on the subject generally Juv. v. In the epigram in the text the host excuses himself : "You cannot expect the best wine if you drink so much." ,.,*

VOL. II. Z


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

XXIX

HERMOGENES tantus mapparum, Pontice, fur est

quantus nummorum vix, puto, Massa fuit ; tu licet observes dextram teneasque sinistram,

inveniet mappam qua ratione trahat : cervinus gelidum sorbet sic halitus anguem ; 5

casuras alte sic rapit Iris aquas, nuper cum Myrino peteretur missio laeso,

subduxit mappas quattuor Hermogenes ; cretatam praetor cum vellet mittere mappam,

praetori mappam surpuit Hermogenes. 10

attulerat mappam nemo dum furta timentur ;

mantele a mensa surpuit Hermogenes. hoc quoque si derit, medios discingere lectos

mensarumque pedes non timet Hermogenes. quamvis non modico caleant spectacula sole, 15

vela reducuntur cum venit Hermogenes. festinant trepidi substringere carbasa nautae,

ad portum quotiens paruit Hermogenes. linigeri fugiunt calvi sistrataque turba,

inter adorantes cum stetit Hermogenes. 20

ad cenam Hermogenes mappam non attulit umquam,

a cena semper rettulit Hermogenes.


1 Hermes was the thief among the gods : cf. Hor. Od. I. x. 7; accordingly M. invents the name "Sprung of Hermes."

2 Stealing napkins was common, and was satirised by Catullus (Cat. xii.).

3 Probably Baebius Massa, a mountebank of Nero's : Schol. on Juv. i. 35. He was, on the accusation of the younger Pliny, condemned A.D. 93 for embezzlement when proconsul of Hispania Baetica.

  • The left was the thievish hand (Cat. xlvii. 1 ; Ov. Met.

xiii. 110 (natasque ad furta sinisiras)) ; hence M.'s distinction between watching and holding.

338


BOOK XII. xxix

XXIX

HERMOGENEs 1 is as great a thief, Ponticus, of nap- kins 2 as I hardly imagine even Massa 3 was of money. You may watch his right hand and hold his left, 4 he will discover some method of withdrawing a napkin. So a stag's breath sucks up a clammy snake, 5 so Iris 6 plucks up the waters that will afterwards fall from on high. Of late when a discharge was sought for wounded Myrinus, Hermogenes filched four nap- kins ; 7 when the praetor wanted to throw his white napkin, 8 Hermogenes pilfered his napkin from the praetor. When no one had brought a napkin, in fear of theft, Hermogenes pilfered the table-cloth from off the table. If this, too, is not to be found, Hermogenes is not afraid to strip the valance from round the couches and the feet of the tables. Al- though the arena is burning under an immoderate sun, the awning is drawn back when Hermogenes arrives. Sailors in a panic hurry to brail up their canvas whenever Hermogenes has appeared at the port. Linen- clad, bald priests and the company with the timbrels 9 fly when Hermogenes has taken his stand among the worshippers. To a dinner Hermo- genes has never brought a napkin : from a dinner Hermogenes has always carried a napkin home.

5 According to PJiny (N.H. viii. 50) stags with their breath drew serpents out of their holes : cf. also Lucr. vi. 765.

6 The rainbow.

7 Handkerchiefs were waved when a discharge or quarter was wished by the spectators for a gladiator : cf. Lib. Sped. xxix. 3.

8 As a signal for the starting of the races in the circus. The praetor presided.

The priests and worshippers of Isis. The priests and initiates wore linen, and their heads were shaved : Juv. vi. 533.

339 z 2


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

XXX

Siccus, sobrius est Aper ; quid ad me? servum sic ego laudo, non amicum.

XXXI

Hoc nemus, hi fontes, haec textilis umbra supini

palmitis, hoc riguae ductile flumen aquae, prataque, nee bifero cessur.i rosaria Paesto,

quodque viret lani mense nee alget holus, quaeque natat clusis anguilla domestica lymphis, 5

quaeque gerit similes Candida turris aves, munera sunt dominae : post septima lustra reverso

has Marcella domos parvaque regna dedit. si mihi Nausicaa patrios- concederet hortos,

Alcinoo possem dicere " Malo meos." 10

XXXII

O IULIARUM dedecus Kalendarum,

vidi. Vacerra, sarcinas tuas, vidi ;

quas non retentas pensione pro bima

portabat uxor rufa crinibus septem

et cum sorore cana mater ingenti. 5

Furias putavi nocte Ditis emersas.

has tu priores frigore et fame siccus

et non recenti pallidus magis buxo

Irus tuorum temporum sequebaris.

migrare clivom crederes Aricinum. 10

1 Paestum in Campania was celebrated for roses : cf. vi. Ixxx. 6. "Twice-bearing" was a common epithet: Verg. O. iv. 119.

2 A Spanish lady to whom he also addresses xn. xxi.

34


BOOK XII. xxx-xxxn

XXX

APER is abstemious, sober : what is that to me ? A slave I praise so, not a friend.

XXXI

THIS grove, these founts, this matted shade of arching vine, this conduit of refreshing water, and the meadows, and the beds of rose that will not yield to twice-bearing Paestum, 1 and the pot-herb in January green, nor seared by frost ; and the tame eel that swims in its shut tank, and the white dove- cote that harbours birds as white these are my lady's gifts : to me returned after seven lustres has Marcella 2 given this house and tiny realm. If Nau- sicaa were to yield me her sire's gardens, I could say to Alcinous 3 " I prefer my own."

XXXII

O YOU disgrace of July's kalends, 4 I have seen your traps, Vacerra, I have seen them, the lot that was not distrained upon for two years' rent, and which your wife carried, red-headed with her seven curls, and your white-headed mother, together with your hulking sister. Furies were they, methought, emerged from the night of Dis ! These two ladies in front, you, parched with cold and hunger, and paler than faded boxwood, the Irus 5 of your day, followed : you would have thought Aricia's hill 6 was

8 " The gardens of Alcinous," king of Phaeacia, was pro- verbial. * Quarter-day.

5 The beggar in the Odyssey who was beaten by Ulysses. e Where beggars took their stand : cf. n. xix. 3.

341


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

ibat tripes grabatus et bipes mensa

et cum lucerna corneoque cratere

matella curto rupta latere meiebat ;

foco virenti suberat amphorae cervix ;

fuisse gerres aut inutiles maenas 15

odor inpudicus urcei fatebatur,

qualis marinae vix sit aura piscinae.

nee quadra derat casei Telosatis,

quadrima nigri nee corona pulei

calvaeque restes alioque caepisque, 20

nee plena turpi matris olla resina

Summemmianae qua pilantur uxores.

quid quaeris aedes vilicosque derides,

habitare gratis, o Vacerra, cum possis ?

haec sarcinarum pompa convenit ponti. 25

XXXIII

UT pueros etneret Labienus vendidit hortos. nil nisi ficetum nunc Labienus habet.


XXXIV

TRIGINTA mihi quattuorque messes

tecum, si memini, fuere, luli.

quarum dulcia mixta sunt amaris

sed iucunda tamen fuere plura ;

et si calculus omnis hue et illuc 5

diversus bicolorque digeratur,

vincet Candida turba nigriorem.

si vitare voles acerba quaedam

et tristis animi cavere morsus,

nulli te facias nimis sodalem : 10

gaudebis minus et minus dolebis.

342


BO'OK XII. XXXH-XXXIV

shifting ! There went along a three-legged truckle- bed and a two-legged table, and, alongside' a lantern and bowl of cornel, a cracked chamberpot was making water through its broken side ; the neck of a flagon was lying under a brazier green with verdigris ; that there were salted gudgeons, too, or worthless sprats, the obscene stench of a jug confessed such a stench as a whiff of a marine fish-pond would scarcely equal. Nor was there wanting a section of Tolosan cheese, nor a four-year-old chaplet of black pennyroyal, and ropes shorn of their garlic and onions, nor your mother's pot full of foul resin, the depilatory of dames under the walls. Why do you look for a house and scoff at rent-collectors when you can lodge for nothing, O Vacerra ? This procession of your traps befits Beggars' bridge.

XXXIII

To purchase slaves, Labienus sold gardens. Now Labienus has nothing but a clump of figs. 1

XXXIV

THIRTY summers and four there were which, if I mind me, I spent, Julius, 2 with you. Thereof the sweets were blended with the bitters, but yet were the pleasant things the more ; and if all the pebbles were sorted, on this side and on that, into two heaps of diverse colour, the white heap will outnumber that more dark. If you wish to shun some bitter- nesses and to beware of sorrows that gnaw the heart, to no man make yourself too much a comrade : your -joy will be less and less will be your grief.

1 A play on the two meanings otficus : rf. i. Ixv. ; iv. lii.

2 His friend and namesake Julius Martialis.

343


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

XXXV

TAMQUAM simpliciter mecum, Callistrate, vivas,

dicere percisum te mihi saepe soles, non es tarn simplex quam vis, Callistrate, credi.

nnin quisquis narrat talia plura tacet.

XXXVI

LIBRAS quattuor aut duas amico

algentemque togam brevemque laenam,

interdum aureolos manu crepantis,

possint ducere qui duas Kalendas,

quod nemo nisi tu, Labulle, donas, 5

non es, crede mihi, bonus, quid ergo ? .

ut verum loquar, optimus malorum es.

Pisones Senecasque Memmiosque

et Crispos mihi redde, sed priores :

fies protinus ultimus bonorum. 10

vis cursu pedibusque gloriari ?

Tigrim vince levemque Passerinum :

nulla est gloria praeterire asellos.

XXXVII

NASUTUS nimium cupis videri. nasutum volo, nolo polyposum.

xxx vm

HUNC qui femineis noctesque diesque cathedris incedit tota notus in urbe iiimis,

1 ef. iv. xlviii. 1.

2 Racehorses : cf. vir. vii. 10.

344


BOOK XII. XXXV-XXXVHI

XXXV

As if you lived with me on the frankest terms, Callistratus, you are used often to tell me you have been debauched. 1 You are not so frank as you would have it believed, Callistratus ; fpr a man who blabs of such things, conceals more.

XXXVI

FOUR pounds of plate, or two, to a friend, and a shivering toga and short cloak, sometimes sovereigns that chink in your hand, sufficient to last over two kalends because no one but you, Labullus, makes such presents, you are not, believe me, good at giving. What then ? To say the truth, you are the best of a bad lot. Give me back the Pisos, and the Senecas, and the Memmiuses, and the Crispuses but those of former days you will at once become the worst of a good lot. Would you pride yourself on your running and speed of foot ? Beat Tigris and nimble Passarinus : 2 there is no glory in outstripping donkeys.

XXXVII

You are over-anxious to appear a man with a nose. 3 I approve of a man with a nose : I object to one with a polypus.

XXXVIII

HERE is a fellow who day and night parades in women's chairs 4 one notorious through the whole

3 i.e. a fine critic : cf. i. iii. 6 ; xni. ii. 1. " Don't overdo it," says M. ; " your critical faculty has become a disease."

4 Effeminate men often used the woman's chair as a sedan : cf. x. xiii. 1 ; Juv. i. 65.

345


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

crine nitens, niger unguento, perlucidus ostro, ore tener, latus pectore, crure glaber,

axori qui saepe tuae comes inprobus haeret, 5

non est quod timeas, Candide : non futuit.

XXXIX

ODI te quia bellus es, Sabelle. res est putida, bellus et Sabellus ; bellum denique malo quam Sabellum. tabescas utinam, Sabelle, belle !

XL

MENTIRIS, credo : recitas inala carmina, laudo : cantaSj canto : bibis, Pontiliane, bibo :

pedis, dissimulo : gemma vis ludere, vincor : res una est sine me quam facis, et taceo.

nil tamen omnino praestas mihi. "Mortuus " inquis 5 "accipiam bene te." nil volo : sed morere.

XLI

NON estj Tucca, satis quod es gulosus : et dici cupis et cupis videri.

XLII

BARBATUS rigido nupsit Callistratus Afro hac qua lege viro nubere virgo solet.

1 Or " I prefer war" (Housman). 346


BOOK XII. xxxviii-xui

city sleek of hair, dark with unguent, bright with purple, languishing of eye, broad of breast, smooth of shank, who often clings to your wife as an offi- cious attendant. You need not be alarmed, Can- didus : he is no practitioner.

XXXIX

I DETEST you because you are a pretty fellow, Sabellus. 'Tis a disgusting object, and so is pretty Sabellus. In a word, I prefer a pretty fellow l to Sabellus. May you go off into a pretty decline, Sabellus. 2

XL

You tell fibs, I believe you ; you recite poor poems, I praise them ; you sing, I sing ; you drink, Pontili- anus, I drink ; you break wind, I pretend not to hear ; you want to play at draughts, I am beaten ; there is one thing you do without my privity, and I hold my tongue. Yet you guarantee me nothing at all. " When I am dead," you say, " I will treat you well." I want nothing nevertheless die !

XLI

IT is not enough, Tucca, that you are a glutton : you want to be called one, and you want to appear one.

XLII

BEARDED Callistratus as a bride wedded the brawny Afer in the usual form as when a virgin weds a

2 The ep. is untranslatable in English so as to keep up the puns on the syllable " bell."

347


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

praeluxere faces, velarunt flammea vultus, nee tua defuerunt verba, Talasse, tibi.

dos etiam dicta est. nondum tibi, Roma, videtur 5 hoc satis ? expectas numquid ut et pariat ?


XLIII

FACUNDOS mihi de libidinosis

legisti nimium, Sabelle, versus,

quales nee Didymi sciunt puellae

nee molles Elephantidos libelli.

sunt illic Veneris novae figurae, 5

quales perditus audeat fututor,

praestent et taceant quid exoleti,

quo symplegmate quinque copulentur,

qua plures teneantur a catena,

extinctam liceat quid ad lucernam. 10

tanti non erat esse te disertum.


XLIV

UNICE, cognato iunctum mihi sanguine nomen

qui geris et studio corda propinqua meis; carmina cum facias soli cedentia fratri,

pectore non minor es sed pietate prior. Lesbia cum lepido te posset amare Catullo,

te post Nasonem blanda Corinna sequi. nee derant Zephyri si te dare vela iuvaret ;

sed tu litus amas. hoc quoque fratris habes.


1 cf. the nuptials of Nero and Pythagoras described by Tac. 'Ann. xv. 37.

2 Unknown.

348


BOOK XII. XLII-XLIV

husband. The torches shone before him, a wedding- veil disguised his face, nor were the words of thy song, God of Marriage, unheard. A dower even was arranged. Do you not yet think, O Rome, this is enough ? Are you waiting also for an accouchement ? x


XLIII

Tu m'hai letto, O Sabello, dei versi troppo facondi di cose libidinose, che ne le ragazze di Didimo 2 sanno, ne gli effeminati Elefantidi 3 libri. Qui vi sono nuove figure di venere, che il piu scellerato immembratore avventurebbe ; che i vecchi libertini fanno e tacciono ; con qual accoppiamento cinque sono legati ; da qual catena parecchi sono tenuti, qual cosa e permessa, estinta la lucerna. La materia non era si sublime per comparire eloquente.


XLIV

UNICUS,* that bearest a name knit to mine by kin- dred blood, and a heart close allied to my studies, though thou shapest lays that yield the palm to thy brother alone, yet in genius art thou not less than he, albeit in mutual devotion greater. Lesbia might have loved thee as well as witty Catullus; to thee, after Naso, might winsome Corinna have clung. Winds failed not didst thou wish to spread thy sails ; but thou lovest the shore : herein, too, art thou like thy brother.

3 Elephantis was a Greek poetess of the period who wrote lascivious poems. The Emperor Tiberius had these at his villa at Capreae as guidebooks to his lusts : Suet. Tib. xliii.

4 " Possibly a Valerius Unicus, only mentioned here."

349


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

XLV

HAEDINA tibi pelle contegenti nudae tempora verticemque calvae festive tibi, Phoebe, dixit ille qui dixit caput esse calceatum.

XLVI

VENDUNT carmina Gallus et Lupercus. sanos, Classice, nunc nega poetas.

XLVII

DIFFICILIS facilis, iucundus acerbus es idem : nee tecum possum vivere nee sine te.

XLVIII

BOLETOS et aprum si tamquam vilia ponis

et non esse putas haec mea vota, volo : si fortunatum fieri me credis et heres

vis scribi propter quinque Lucrina, vale, lauta tamen cena est : fateor, lautissima, sed eras 5

nil erit, immo hodie, protinus immo nihil, quod sciat infelix damnatae spongea virgae

vel quicumque canis iunctaque testa viae : mullorum leporumque et suminis exitus hie est.

sulpureusque color carnificesque pedes. 10


1 As to such a covering cf. xiv. 1.

2 The last line is borrowed from Ovid, Ant. in. xi. 39.

  • Used for sanitary purposes. Seneca (Ep. 70) tells the

story of a bestiarius who asked leave to retire to the latrine and choked himself with the sponge.

35


BOOK XII. XLV-XLVIII


XLV

As you cover with a kid's skin l your temples and the crown of your bald pate, he made a happy re- mark to you, Phoebus, who told you your head was well shod.

XLVI

GALLUS and Lupercus sell their poems : now, Clas- sicus, tell us poets are not sane !

XLVII

DIFFICULT and easy-going, pleasant and churlish, you are at the same time : I can neither live with you nor without you. 2

XLVIII

IF you serve me mushrooms and boar as your usual fare, and don't imagine that these are what I pray for, I am willing to come ; if you believe I am be- coming wealthy, and you want to be written down my heir in return for five Lucrine oysters, good- bye ! Yet your dinner is sumptuous : I confess, most sumptuous, but to-morrow 'twill be nought, nay to- day, nay a moment hence, nought that the luckless sponge at the end of a degraded mop-stick 3 would discover, or any dog, 4 or crock by the highway. 5 Of mullets, and hares, and sow's paps, this is the re- sult a bilious complexion and torturing feet. No


4 Qui ad vomitum accurrit Schrev.

6 Set by the roadside as a urinal : cf. VI. xciii. 2.


35'


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

non Albana mihi sit comissatio tanti

nee Capitolinae pontificumque dapes ; inputet ipse deus nectar mihi, fiet acetum

et Vaticani perfida vappa cadi, convivas alios cenarum quaere magister 15

quos capiant mensae regna superba tuae : me meus ad subitas invitet amicus ofellas :

haec mihi quam possum reddere cena placet.

XLIX

CRINITAE Line paedagoge turbae,

rerum quern dominum vocat suarum

et credit cui Postumilla dives

gemmas, aurea, vina, concubines,

sic te perpetua fide probatum 5

nulli non tua praeferat patrona :

succurras misero, precor, furori

et serves aliquando neglegenter

illos qui male cor meum perurunt,

quos et noctibus et diebus opto 10

in nostro cupidus sinu videre,

formosos niveos pares gemellos

grandes, non pueros, sed uniones.


DAPHNONAS, platanonas et aerios pityonas

et non unius balnea solus babes, et tibi centenis stat porticus alta columnis

calcatusque tuo sub pede lucet onyx,

1 Such as Domitian gave at his Alban villa.

2 Banquets by the Epulones to Jupiter Capitolinus, or those given by the College of Pontiffs : as to the latter ef.

352


BOOK XII. XLVIII-L

Alban revel l would be worth it to me, or Capitoline and Pontifical feasts ; 2 should the God himself ac- count me his debtor for nectar, it will become vinegar and the deceptive vapidity of a Vatican 3 jar. Look out, as lord of the banquet, for other guests whom the royal magnificence of your table may attract: as for me, let my friend invite me to hasty collops. The dinner I like is the dinner I can return.

XLIX

LINUS, guardian of a long-haired troop, whom rich Postumilla calls the master of her fortune, and to whom she entrusts gems, gold plate, wines, para- mours ; so may your patroness prefer none other to you who are proved by constant fidelity ; come, I pray you, to the aid of my wretched frenzy, and sometimes guard negligently those that sadly con- sume my heart, those that night and day I long in eagerness to see in my bosom, beautiful, snowy- white, a pair, twins, big- I mean not boys, but pearls.


LAUREL-groves, plane-groves, and aery pine-groves, and a bath not. made for one, you keep to yourself, and your colonnade stands high on a hundred columns, and trodden under your foot gleams the alabaster ;

Hor. Od. ii. xiv. 28. Macrobiug (Sat. iii. 13) describes the courses of a pontifical feast given by Cecilius Metellus, who was pontiff before Julius Caesar. s cf. vi. xcii. 2.

353

VOL. It. A A


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

pulvereumque fugax hippodromon ungula plaudit 5 et pereuntis aquae fluctus ubique sonat ;

atria longa patent, sed nee cenantibus usquam , nee somno locus est. quam bene non habitas !


LI

TAM saepe nostrum decipi Fabullinum miraris, Aule ? semper homo bonus tiro est.


LII

TEMPORA Pieria solitus redimire corona

nee minus attonitis vox celebrata reis, hie situs estj hie ille tuus, Sempronia, Rufus,

cuius et ipse tui flagrat amore cinis. dulcis in Elysio narraris fabula campo 5

et stupet ad raptus Tjndaris ipsa tuos : tu melior quae deserto raptore redisti,

ilia virum voluit nee repetita sequi. audit l et Iliacos ridet Menelaus amores :

absolvit Phrygium vestra rapina Parim. 10

accipient olim cum te loca laeta piorum,

non erit in Stygia notior umbra domo : non aliena videt sed amat Proserpina raptas :

iste tibi dominam conciliabit amor.


1 audet ridet Stephenson, ridet audit codd. , ridet ut Postgate.

354


BOOK XII. L-LII

and the flying hoof makes ring your dusty drive, and on every side babbles the water of a stream crossing vour ground ; your halls lie open without end. But nowhere is there a place for dining or for sleep. How well you are not housed !


LI

Do you wonder, Aulus, that our friend Fabullinus is so often taken in ? A good man is always a greenhorn.

LII

HE who was wont to bind his temples with the Muses' crown, whose eloquence was no less famed among dismayed defendants, here, here he lies, Sem- pronia, who was once thy own Rufus, whose very ashes glow with love for thee. Sweetly mid Elysian fields is thy story told, and dazed is even Tyndarus' daughter l at thy ravishment ; thy fame is the hap- pier, for, quitting thy ravisher, thou didst return ; she, even when sought again, would not join her spouse. Menelaus 2 listens to a Trojan love-tale and smiles : the story of your rape makes Phrygian Paris guiltless. When the joyous abodes of pious souls shall some day receive thee, no shade more famed will dwell in the house of Styx ; Proserpina looks not strangely on the ravished, 3 but loves them : that love thou hast shown shall win thy Queen's good-will.

1 Helen of Troy.

3 King of Sparta, and husband of Helen. The meaning seems to be that the charm of the story of these two would make even M. pardon Paris.

  • For she was herself carried off by Pluto.

355

A A 2


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

LIII

NUMMI cum tibi sint opesque tantae

quantas civis habet, Paterne, rarus

largiris nihil incubasque gazae

ut magnus draco quern canunt poetae

custodem Scythici fuisse luci. 5

sed causa, ut memoras et ipse iactas,

dirae filius est rapacitatis.

ecquid tu fatuos rudesque quaeris

inludas quibus auferasque mentem ?

huic semper vitio pater fuisti. 10

LIV

CRINE ruber, niger ore, brevis pede, lumine laesus, rem magnam praestas, Zoile, si bonus es.

LV

GRATIS qui dare vos iubet, puellae,

insulsissimus inprobissimusque est.

gratis ne date, basiate gratis.

hoc Aegle negat, hoc avara vehdit

(sed vendat : bene basiare quantum est !) 5

hoc vendit quoque nee levi rapina : l

aut libram petit ilia Cosmiani

aut binos quater a nova moneta,

ne sint basia muta, ne maligna,

ne clusis aditum neget labellis. 10

humane tamen hoc facit : recusat 2

gratis quae dare basium, sed unum,

gratis lingere non recusat Aegle.


1 5, 6 oni. , post 8 transp. Friedl.

2 recusat Housman, sed unum codd.


356


BOOK XII. LIII-LV

LIII

THOUGH you have moneys and wealth such as only a citizen here and there owns, you bestow nothing, Paternus, and brood over your treasure like the great dragon that poets sing of as guardian once of the Scythian grove. 1 But the reason, as you report, and yourself repeat, is a son of dreadful rapacious- ness. Are you looking, then, for simpletons and ignoramuses to delude and rob of sense ? To this vice you have always been father.

LIV

OF hair red, swarthy of face, short of foot, of eye blear, you show yourself to be a portent, Zoilus, if you are virtuous. 2

LV

HE who bids you, girls, give your favours for no- thing, is a most foolish and impudent fellow. Do not give them for nothing, kiss for nothing. This Aegle refuses, this in her greed she sells. But let her sell it : how precious is a good kiss ! This she sells, I say, and for no small plunder too ; she asks for either a pound of Cosmian unguent, or four times two gold coins of the new mintage, that her kisses may not be silent ones or grudgingly given, that she may not with shut lips deny* their approach. Yet this one thing she does graciously ; Aegle, who refuses to give a kiss, a single kiss, for nothing, does not refuse to for nothing.


1 Guarding the golden fleece.

2 i.e. Heaven has marked you as one to be avoided.


357


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

LVI

AEGROTAS uno decies aut saepius anno,

nee tibi sed nobis hoc, Polycharme, nocet :

nara quotiens surgis, soteria poscis amicos. sit pudor : aegrota iam, Polycharme, semel.

LVII

CUR saepe sicci parva rura Nomenti

laremque villae sordidum petam, quaeris?

nee cogitandi, Sparse, nee quiescendi

in urbe locus est pauperi. negant vitam

ludi magistri mane, nocte pistores, 5

aerariorum marculi die toto ;

hinc otiosus sordidam quatit merisam

Neroniana nummularius massa,

illinc palucis 1 malleator Hispanae

tritum nitenti fuste verberat saxum ; 10

nee turba cessat entheata Bellonae,

nee fasciato naufragus loquax trunco,

a matre doctus nee rogare ludaeus,

nee sulpuratae lippus institoi- mercis.

numerare pigri damna qui potest somni, 15

dicet quot aera verberent man us ufbis,

cum secta Colcho Luna vapulat rhombo.

tu, Sparse, nescis ista nee potes scire,

1 palucis Friedl. , balucis Turnebus, paliidis &y, pollicent T.


1 i.e. either coins of light weight introduced by Nero, who debased the coinage, or small coins bearing the head of the emperor stamped in a particular way to distinguish them. The nummula/rius had a heap (massa) of these.

2 Palux is the smaller gold found by washing in Spain, not large enough to constitute a nugget : Plin. N.H,' x.T/m\.i\. 21.


BOOK XII. LVI-LVII

LVI

You are ill in a single year ten times, or often er, and this does not hurt you, but it hurts us, Poly- charmus ; for every time you rise from your bed you claim congratulatory gifts from your friends. Be moderate : now be ill, Polycharmus, once for all.

LVII

Do you ask why I often resort to my small fields in arid Nomentum, and the unkempt household of my villa ? Neither for thought, Sparsus, nor for quiet is there any place in the city for a poor man. Schoolmasters in the morning do not let you live ; before daybreak, bakers ; the hammers of the copper- smiths all day. On this side the money-changer idly rattles on his dirty table Nero's coins, 1 on that the hammerer of Spanish gold-dust 2 beats his well- worn stone with burnished mallet ; and Bellona's raving throng does not rest, nor the canting ship- wrecked seaman with his swathed body, 3 nor the Jew taught by his mother to beg, nor the blear-eyed huckster of sulphur wares. He who can count the losses lazy sleep must bear will say how many brass pots and pans city hands clash when the eclipsed moon is being assailed by the Colchian magic-wheel. 4 You, Sparsus, know nothing of these things, and cannot know, luxurious as you are in your

3 So pretending he had lost a limb. Some however under- stand fasciato trunco as a fragment of the wrecked vessel, or a picture of the ship, perhaps painted on a plank, swathed in a covering : cf. Pers. i. 88 ; JUT. xiv. 302.

  • An eclipse was attributed to witches, and the clashing

of brass vessels was in order to drive away evil demons : cf. Theocr. ii. 36 ; Tac. Ann. i. 28.

359


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

Petilianis delicatus in regnis, cui plana summos despicit domus mentis, 20 et rus in urbe est vinitorque Romanus (nee in Falerno colle maior autumnus) . intraque limen latus essedo cursus, et in profundo somnus et quies nullis ofFensa linguis, nee dies nisi admissus. '25

nos transeuntis risus excitat turbae, et ad cubile est Roma, taedio fessis dormire quotiens libuit, imus ad villam.

LVIII

ANCILLARIOLUM tua te vocat uxor, et ipsa lecticariola est. estis, Alauda. pares.

LIX

TANTUM dat tibi Roma basiorum

post annos modo quindecim reverse

quantum Lesbia non dedit Catullo.

te vicinia tota, te pilosus

hircoso premit osculo colonus ; 5

hinc instat tibi textor, inde fullo,

hinc sutor modo pelle basiata,

hinc menti dominus periculosi,

hinc fdexiocholusf, 1 inde lippus

fellatorque recensque cunnilingus. 10

iam tanti tibi non fuit redire.

1 dexiocholus et ft, dexiocolus E, dexioculua A, inline dexio- cholus Lindsay, nee deeat hinc oculis et Heins.


1 i.e. a palace that had once belonged to Petiliua, perhaps the P. Cerealis who had been in A.D. 71 the governor of Britain.

360


BOOK XII. LVII-LIX

Petilian * domain whose ground floor looks down on the hill tops, and where you have country in the town, and a Roman for your vine-dresser not on Falernian hills is there a greater crop and within your boundary a broad drive for your curricle, and unfathomed depths of slumber, and a stillness broken by no tongues, and no daylight unless you let it in. As for me, the laughter of the passing throng wakes me, and Rome is at my bed's head. Whenever, worn out with worry, I wish to sleep, I go to my villa.

LVIII

YOUR wife calls you an admirer of servant maids, 2 and she herself is an admirer of litter-bearers. You are a pair, Alauda.

LIX

ROME gives you as many kisses, when after fifteen years you have just returned, as Lesbia never gave Catullus. 3 Upon you all the neighbourhood presses, upon you the bristly farmer with a kiss like a he- goat's ; on this side the weaver crowds you, on that the fuller, on this the cobbler who has just been kissing his hide, on this the owner of a perilous chin ; 4 on this side the one-eyed and on that the blear-eyed, and many a rascal with foulest lips. By now you find it was not worth while to return.

' 2 This seems to have been, among Roman matrons, a term of reproach of those who kept mistresses of low degree : cf. Sen. De Ben. i. 9.

3 cf. Cat. v.

4 i.e. suffering from mentagra ; cf. iv. xxxvi. 2; xi. xcvjij. 5,


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

LX

MARTIS alurane dies, roseam quo lampada primum

magnaque siderei vidimus ora dei, si te rure coli viridisque pudebit ad aras,

qui fueras Latia cultus in urbe mihi : da veniam, servire meis quod nolo Kaleiidis 5

et qua sum genitus vivere luce volo. natali pallere suo, ne calda Sabello [LX b

desit ; et ut liquidum potet Alauda merum, turbida sollicito transmittere Caecuba sacco ;

atque inter mensas ire redire suas ; 10

excipere hos illos et tota surgere cena

marmora calcantem frigidiora gelu : quae ratio est haec sponte sua perferre patique

quae te si iubeat rex dominusque, neges ?

LXI

VERSUS et breve vividumque carmen

in te ne faciam times, Ligurra,

et dignus cupis hoc metu videi'i.

sed frustra metuis cupisque frustra.

in tauros Libyci ruunt leones, 5

non sunt papilionibus molesti.

quaeras censeo, si legi laboras,

nigri fornicis ebrium poetam,

qui carbone rudi putrique creta

scribit carmina quae legunt cacantes. 10

frons haec stigmate non meo notanda est.

1 M. is in Spain celebrating his birthday, the First of March, a day sacred to Mars. He contrasts the simplicity of his celebration with a birthday feast at Rome.

2 The Sun. The epithet is an allusion to the statue of the Sun in front of the Colosseum : r.f. Sped, ii. 1.

362


BOOK XII. LX-LXI

LX

THOU day, nursling of Mars, 1 whereon I first saw the rosy light and the mighty visage of the star- encircled god, 2 if it shall shame thee to be worshipped in the country and at green altars, who wert wor- shipped by me in the Latian city, grant thy pardon in that I refuse to be a slave on my kalends, but wish to live 3 on the day I was born. To grow pale on one's birthday lest Sabellus lack warm water; and, that Alauda may drink his wine strained, anxiously to pass the turbid Caecuban through the bag ; and to go to and fro among one's tables ; to receive these and- those guests, and all through the dinner to be getting up, treading on marble colder than ice* what reason is there why one should suffer and endure these things of one's own accord, which, if your lord and master 5 bade you, you would refuse ?

LXI

You are afraid, Ligurra, I should write verses on you, and some short and lively poem, and you long to be thought a man that justifies such fear. But vain is your fear, and your longing is vain. Against bulls Libyan lions rage, they are not hostile to but- terflies. Look out, I advise you, if you are anxious to, be read of, for some dark cellar's sottish poet, one who with coarse charcoal or crumbling chalk scrawls poems which people read in the jakes. Your brow is not one to be marked by my brand.

8 M. constantly harps upon this idea : cf. n. xo. 3 ; v. xxi. 11.

  • M. would be barefooted, as the shoes were not worn

during dinner.

6 Your patron.

363


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

LXH

ANTIQUI rex magne poll mundique prioris,

sub quo pigra quies nee labor ullus erat, nee regale nimis fulmen nee fulmine digni,

scissa nee ad Manes sed sibi dives humus : laetus ad haec facilisque veni sollemnia Prisci 5

gaudia : cum sacris te decet esse tuis. tu reducem patriae sexta, pater optime, bruma

pacific! Latia reddis ab urbe Numae. cernis ut Ausonio similis tibi pompa macello

pendeat et quantus luxurietur honos? 10

quam non parca manus largaeque nomismata mensae,

quae, Saturne, tibi pernumerentur opes ? utque sit his pr*etium meritis et gratia maior,

et pater et frugi sic tua sacra colit. at tu sancte (tuo sic semper amere Decembri) 15

hos illi iubeas saepe redire dies.

LXIII

UNCTO Corduba laetior Venafro,

Histra nee minus absoluta testa,

albi quae superas oves Galaesi

nullo murice nee cruore mendax,

sed tinetis gregibus colore vivo : -5

die vestro, rogo, sit pudor poetae

1 When there was no mining for precious metals.

2 Prisons' father is giving a feast to celebrate his son's return to Spain : cf. xii. Epiat.

8 Rome : cf. vui. yiii. 5.

4 Representing prizes to be taken away by guests. The fourteenth Book is wholly concerned with such prizes.

3 6 4


BOOK XII. LXII-I.XIII

LXII

GREAT king of the ancient heaven and of a by- gone world, under whose reign was lazy rest and no toil, nor over-tyrannous thunderbolt, nor men that deserved the bolt, when earth was not cleft to its nether deeps but kept her riches for herself, 1 gladly and graciously come thou to Priscus' 2 festival of joy : it befits thee to attend thy own rites. Thou in the sixth winter, Father most good, bringest him back to his fatherland from peaceful Numa's Latin city. 3 Seest thou how, as in a Roman market, hangs cheer, to honour thee, how full is festive luxury ? how un- sparing the hand ? and the tokens * on the loaded board? what rich gifts, Saturnus, are measured out to thee ? And, to give value and greater praise to such worth, 'tis a father and a frugal man who so celebrates thy rites. And do thou, hallowed Sire (so mayst thou be ever loved thus in thy own De- cember), bid days like these return upon him oft.

LXIII

CORDUBA, more prolific than oil-bearing Venafrum, 5 nor less perfect than the jars of Istria, 6 thou that dost outvie the sheep of white Galaesus, 7 not by the aid of any cheating shell-fish or blood, but by flocks coloured in native hues, 8 tell your poet, I beg you,

5 A town on the borders of Latiiim celebrated for the excellence of its olives : cf. Hor. Od. u. vi. 16.

6 A district on the N. of the Adriatic, celebrated for its oil.

7 A rivet flowing into the gulf of Tarentum, on the banks of which sheep fed, celebrated for the whiteness of their wool, which was protected by skins : cf. Hor. Od. II. vi. 10.

8 The fleeces of the sheep fed by the Baetis were not artificially dyed, but had a natural golden hue : cf. VIII. xxviii. 6.

365


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

nee gratis recitet meos libellos.

ferrem, si faceret bonus poeta,

cui possem dare mutuos dolores.

corrumpit sine talione caeleps ; 10

caecus perdere non potest quod aufert.

nil est deterius latrone nudo :

nil securius est malo poeta.

LXIV

VINCENTEM roseos facieque comaque ministros Cinna cocum fecit. Cinna, gulosus homo es.

LXV

FORMOSA Phyllis nocte cum mihi tota se praestitisset omnibus modis largam, et cogitarem mane quod darem munus, utrumne Cosmi, Nicerotis an libram, an Baeticarum pondus acre lanarum, 5

an de moneta Caesaris decem flavos, amplexa collum basioque tarn longo blandita quam sunt nuptiae columbarum, rogare coepit Phyllis amphoram vini.

LXVI

Bis quinquagenis domus est tibi milibus empta, vendere quam summa vel breviore cupis.

arte sed emptorem vafra corrumpis, Amoene, et casa divitiis ambitiosa latet.

gemmantes prima fulgent testudine lecti 5

et Maurusiaci pondera rara citri ;


1 His sight.

2 Because his poems are not worth stealing.


366


BOOK XII. LXIII-LXVI

to have some shame, and not to recite my poems scot-free. I could bear it if a good bard did this, one I could visit with pain in his turn. A bachelor debauches without reprisal, a blind man cannot lose that 1 whereof he robs you. Nothing is worse than a naked robber, nothing more safe than a bad poet. 2

LXIV

A SLAVE surpassing with his face and locks the rosy-chpeked attendants Cinna has made his cook. Cinna, you are a lickerish fellow !

LXV

WHEN lovely Phyllis had all the evening yielded herself bounteously to me in every way, and I was considering next morning what present to give her, whether a pound of unguent of Cosmus' or Niceros' 3 make, or full weight of Baetic wool, or ten yellow boys of Caesar's mintage, Phyllis, embracing my neck, and wheedling me with a kiss as lingering as that of wedded doves, began to ask me for a jar of wine !

LXVI

A TOWN house was bought by you for twice fifty thousand sesterces, and you long to sell it even for a scantier sum. But you seek to seduce a pur- chaser with crafty art, Amoenus ; and a cottage lies disguised pretentiously in riches. Couches gleam bright, inlaid with peerless tortoiseshell, and there are pieces, choice and weighty, of Moorish citrus-

8 Noted perfumers of the day, and often mentioned by M.

367


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

argentum atque aurum non simplex Delphica portat;

slant pueri, dominos quos precer esse meos. deinde ducenta sonas et ais non esse minoris.

instructam vili vendis, Amoene, domum. 10

, . LXVH

MAIAE Mercuriuni creastis Idus,

Augustis redit Idibus Diana,

Octobres Maro consecravit Idus.

Idus saepe colas et has et illas,

qui magni celebras Maronis Idus. 5

LXVIII

MATUTINE cliens, urbis mihi causa relictae,

atria, si sapias, ambitiosa colas, non sum ego causidicus nee ainaris litibus aptus

sed piger et senior Pieridumque comes ; otia me somnusque iuvant, quae magna negavit 5

Roma mihi : redeo, si vigilatur et hie.

LXIX

Sic tamquam tabulas scyphosque, Paule, omnes archetypes habes amicos.

1 This term has an indecent sense : cf. xi. Ixx. 2.

2 Amoenus disguised the poorness of the house, which was a mere cottage (1. 4), by fine furniture, which was not to be sold with the house. A. asks 200,000, although he had given only half that sum, and would take less (1. 2). M. ironically ignoring the fact that the house was not sold furnished, pretends to agree with A. that the house was cheap.

3 May 15 was the dedication day of the Temple of Mer-

368


BOOK XII. LXVI-I.XIX

wood ; jjn elaborate sideboard is loaded with silver and gold plate ; young slaves are standing there whom I would wish my masters ! 1 Then you loudly prate of two hundred thousand sesterces, and say the place is not worth less. Furnished as it is, Amoenus, you are selling your town house cheap. 2

LXVII

You, Ides of May, brought forth Mercurius ; on August's Ides return Diana's feasts ; Maro has hal- lowed the Ides of October. Oft may you keep these Ides and those, you, who celebrate great Maro's Ides ! 3

LXVIII

MORNING client, the cause of my leaving Rome, you would court, were you wise, the halls of greatness. No pleader am I, nor fitted for bitter lawsuits, but an indolent man and one growing 'old, and the com rade of the Muses. Ease and sleep attract me, and great Rome denied me these ; I return if I am sleepless even here. 4

LXIX

JUST like your pictures and cups, Paulus, all the friends you possess are "genuine antiques." 6

cury ; Aug. 13 that of the Temple of Diana on the Aventine ; and Oct. 15 the birthday of Virgil. The person addressed is probably Silius Italicus : ef. xi. xlix.

  • "It is no use your calling on me in the morning," says

M. ; " the duties of a client drove me from Rome : I don't expect to be a client in Spain, and lose my sleep. "

8 i.e. as false as they are ; or (perhaps) kept only for show (Paley). Housman, however, treats the epigram as laudatory of P.'s friends.

369


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

LXX -

LINTEA ferret AprO vatius cum vernula nuper

et supra togulam lusca sederet anus atque olei stillam daret enterocelicus unctor,

udorum tetricus censor et asper erat : frangendos calices efFundendumque Falernum 5

clamabat, biberet quod modo lotus eques. a sene sed postquam patruo venere trecenta,

sobrius a thermis nescit abire domum. o quantum diatreta valent et quinque comati !

tune, cum pauper erat, non sitiebat Aper. 10


LXXI

NIL non, Lygde, mihi negas roganti : at quondam mihi, Lygde, nil negabas.


LXXII

IUGERA mercatus prope busta latentis agelli et male compactae culmina fulta casae,

deseris urbanas, tua praedia, Pannyche, lites parvaque sed tritae praemia certa togae.

frumentum, milium tisauamque fabamque solebas vendere pragmaticus, mine emis agricola.

LXXIII

HEREDEM tibi me, Catulle, dicis. non credam, nisi legero, Catulle.


1 cf. xi. Ixxiii.

  • Lining the great roads leading out of Rome. It was so

small that the tombs dwarfed it.

370


BOOK XII. Lxx-Lxxnt

LXX

WHEN of late a bow-legged home-born slave carried his towels for Aper, and a one-eyed old crone sat guard over his scanty toga, and a ruptured anointer offered him his drop of oil, he was a stern and harsh censor of drinkers ; he used to shout that the cups ought to be smashed, and the Falernian poured away that the knight, just bathed, was drinking. But after three hundred thousand sesterces came to him from an old uncle, he doesn't know how to go home from the warm baths sober. Oh, how great is the influence of fretwork chalices and five long-haired slaves ! Then, \vhen he was poor, Aper was not thirsty !

LXXI

THERE is nothing you do not deny me, Lygdus, when I ask ; but once there was nothing, Lygdus, you denied. 1

LXXII

HAVING purchased the acres of a small farm lying hid near the tombs, 2 and an ill-built cottage with a shored-up roof, you desert the city law-suits, that were your landed estate, Pannychus, and the small but certain reward of your threadbare gown. Wheat, millet, and barley and beans you used to sell when you were an attorney : you buy them now you are a farmer.

LXXIII

You say I am your heir, Catullus. I won't believe it unless I read my name, Catullus. 3

3 i.e. in the will, which would be after C.'s death. A hint to him to die.

37' B B 2


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

LXXIV

DUM tibi Niliacus portat crystalla cataplus,

accipe de circo pocula Flaminio. hi magis au daces, an sunt qui talia mittunt

munera ? sed geminus vilibus usus inest : nullum sollicitant haec, Flacce, toreuniata furem 5

et nimium calidis nori vitiantur aquis. quid quod secure potat conviva ministro

et casum tremulae non timuere manus ? hoc quoque non nihil est, quod propinabis in istis,

frangendtis fuerit si tibi, Flacce, calix. 10

LXXV

FESTINAT Polytimus ad puellas ; invitus puerum fatetur Hypnus ; pastas glande natis habet Secundus ; mollis Dindymus est sed esse non vult ; Amphion potuit puella nasci. 5

horum delicias superbiamque et fastus querulos, Avite, malo quam dotis mihi quinquies ducena.

LXXVI

AMPHORA vigesis, modius datur acre quaterno. ebrius et crudus nil habet agricola.


1 The ninth region of Rome, N.W. of the Capitol, and including the Saepta, where were shops : cf. IX. lix. 1. It took its name from the Circus Flaminius on the Tiber, S. of the Campus Martins.

  • AttdacM calices were cups not valuable enough to cause

anxiety as to breakage : cf. xiv. xciv. It is a " bold " thing to send such cups to a man that imports crystal.

372


BOOK XII. LXXIV-LXXVI

LXXIV

WHILE a fleet from Nile is bringing you crystal glass, accept some cups from the Flaminian Circus. 1 Are these the more "dreadnought" 2 or are they who send such presents ? But in cheap vessels is a double advantage : these embossed cups attract no thief, Flaccus, and they are not cracked by water too hot. What of this, too, that the attendant is not nervous while a guest*drinks, and shaky hands do not fear a slip ? This, also, is something : you will drink a health in these vessels, Flaccus, if you have to break the cup afterwards. 3

LXXV

FOI.YTIMUS hurries off to girls, Hypnus unwillingly confesses that he is a boy, Secundus has buttocks yard-fed, 4 Dindymus is effeminate but wishes not to seem so, Amphiort might have been born a girl. The caprice of these boys, and their haughtiness, and their querulous disdain, 1 prefer, Avitus, to five times two hundred thousand sesterces of dower.


LXXVI

A FLAGON of wine is sold for twenty pence, a peck of corn for four. The husbandman is drunk and overfed, but has nothing. 5

3 As having been defiled by impure lips : cf. II. xv. and Anth. Pal. xi. 39.

4 There is a play in the Latin on glande. The metaphor is taken from the feeding of hogs on acorns. As to the ambiguous meaning of "yard," cf. Shak. L.L.L. v. ii. 676.

5 Things are so cheap it does not pay to sell.

373


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

LXXVII

MULTIS 'dum precibus lovem salutat

stans summos resupinus usque in ungues

Aethon in Capitolio, pepedit.

riserunt homines, sed ipse divom

offensus genitor trinoctiali 5

adfecit domicenio clientem.

post hoc flagitium misellus Aethon,

cum vult in Capit^iium venire,

sellas ante petit Paterclianas

et pedit deciesque viciesque. 10

sed quamvis sibi caverit crepando,

compressis natibus lovem salutat.

LXXVIII

NIL in te scripsi, Bithynice. credere non vis et iurare iubes ? malo satisfacere.

LXXIX

DONAVI tibi multa quae rogasti ; donavi tibi plura quam rogasti : non cessas tamen usque me rogare. quisquis nil negat, Atticilla, fellat.

LXXX

NE laudet dignos, laudat Callistratus omnes. cui malus est nemo, quis bonus esse potest ?

1 Aethon was a parasite, to whom " dining at home " was a penalty.

2 A plaintiff was entitled by Roman law to challenge the defendant to take an oath as to the justice of his own case, refusal being treated as tantamount to an admission of the

374


BOOK XII. LXXVII-LXXX

LXXVII

WHILE with many prayers he addressed Jupiter, standing all the time, with eyes upturned, on the tips of his toes, Aethon in the Capitol broke wind. Men laughed, but the Father of the Gods himself was offended, and amerced his client in domiciliary dinners for three nights. 1 After this outrage wretched Aethon, when he is minded to enter the Capitol, makes beforehand for Paterclius' latrines, and lets off his piece ten and twenty times. But/ however much he has taken precautions by this crepi- tation, 'tis with constricted buttocks he addresses Jove !

LXXVIII

I WROTE nothing against you, Bithynicus. Do you refuse to believe me, and require me to swear ? I prefer to pay the debt. 2

LXXIX

I HAVE given you much you asked ; I have given you more than you asked ; yet you do not cease continually to ask me. He who refuses nothing, Atticilla, is capable of anything.

LXXX

To avoid praising jthe worthy, Callistratus praises everybody. Who can be good in his eyes to whom no man is bad ?

plaintiff's claim. Hence the oath was called jusjurandum necessarium. Thus a debtor must deny the debt or pay it. M. being challenged by B. says that he prefers to discharge what he regards as an obligation, i.e. to write an offensive epigram.

375


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

LXXXI

BRUMAE diebus feriisque Saturni mittebat Umber aliculam mihi pauper ; nunc mittit alicam : factus est enim dives.

LXXXII

EFFUGERE in thermis et circa balnea non est

Menogenen, omni tu licet arte velis. captabit tepidum dextra laevaque trigonem,

inputet exceptas ut tibi saepe pilas. colligit et referet laxum de pulvere follem, 5

et si iam lotus, iam soleatus erit. lintea si sumes, nive candidiora loquetur,

sint licet infantis sordidiora sinu. exiguos secto comentem dente capillos

dicet Achilleas disposuisse comas. 10

fumosae feret ipse tropin l de faece lagonae,

frontis et umorem colligit ille tuae. omnia laudabit, mirabitur omnia, donee

perpessus dicas taedia mille " Veni ! "

Lxxxm

DERISOR Fabianus hirnearum, omnes quern modo colei timebant

1 tropin $-, propin codd.

The point of the epigram is that alicula, the first gift, is in form a diminutive of alica, the second (barley water : cf. xiii. 6), whereas in fact alica is a smaller gift than alicula.

Trigon was a game of handball played by three standing

176


BOOK* XII. I.XXXI-LXXXIII

LXXX1

IN the days of winter and at the feast of Saturn, Umber used to send me a cape : he was poor. Now he sends me capers : for he has become rich. 1

LXXXII

To escape Menogenes in the warm baths and about the baths is impossible, try what artifice you will. He will grab the warm hand-ball with right and left, that he may be able often to score to your account the balls he catches. 2 He picks up and will restore to you the flaccid bladder-ball from the dust, even if he has already bathed, is already in his dinner slip- pers. If you take your towels, he will speak of them as whiter than snow, although they are dirtier than an infant's bib. While you are arranging with a comb your scanty hairs, he will say these are Achilles' locks that you have ordered. He will with his own hands bring you the dregs from the bottom of the smoky wine-jar, 3 and he wipes the moisture on your brow. Everything he will praise, will ad- mire everything, until, having endured to the end a thousand boredoms, you say "Come and dine."

LXXXIII

FABIANUS, who derided hernia, whom of late all lewd fellows dreaded, 4 when he inveighed against

in a triangle : cf. iv. xix. 7. M. scores his own catches to Martial. But the meaning of 1. 4 is very uncertain.

8 Perhaps to be used as an emetic before dinner : cf. Sen. Ad Helv. x. 3 ; or as a detergent of the skin. The line may, however, mean " will put up with the dregs for himself."

4 Possibly his rivals in amours" whom he stigmatised as diseased.

377


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

dicentem tumidas in hydrocelas quantum nee duo dicerent Catulli, in thermis subito Neronianis 5

vidit se miser et tacere coepit.

LXXXIV

NOLUERAM, Poly time, tuos violate capillos, sed iuvat hoc precibus me tribuisse tuis.

talis eras, modo tonse Pelops, positisque nitebas crinibus ut totum sponsa videret ebur.

LXXXV

PEDICONIBUS os olere dicis.

hoc si, sicut ais, Fabulle, verum est,

quid tu credis olere cunnilingis ?

LXXXVI

TIUGINTA tibi sunt pueri totidemque puellae : una est nee surgit mentula. quid facies ?

LXXXVII

Bis Cotta soleas perdidisse se questus,

dum neglegentem ducit ad pedes vernam,

qui solus inopi praestat et facit turbam,

excogitavit homo sagax et astutus

ne facere posset tale saepius damnum : 5

excalceatus ire coepit ad cenam.

A writer of mimes : cf. v. xxxi. 3.

Now his hair is cut Polytinnjs' akin 'will be seen,

378


BOOK XII. LXXXIII LXXXVII

swelling ruptures in tones even two Catulluses l could not match, suddenly beheld himself wretched fellow ! in Nero's warm baths, and began to hold his tongue.

LXXXIV

I WAS loth, Polytimus, to mar those locks of thine, but glad am I to have granted that much to thy prayers. Such wert thou, O Pelops lately shorn, and thus, when thy hair was laid aside, didst thou shine, so that thy spouse saw all the ivory of thy shoulder. 2

LXXXV

You say that the breath of unnatural rascals smells. If this be, as you say, true, Fabullus, what do you imagine is the smell of some others ?

LXXXVI

Tu hai trenta ragazzi, ed altre tante ragazze : la mentola non e che una, ne si rizza. Che farai ?

LXXXVII

COTTA, after complaining that he had twice lost his house-shoes while he brought with him a careless attendant, the only slave that serves for and makes up his staff, thought out sagacious and acute man ! how to avoid such a loss too often. He now goes out to dine without outdoor shoes ! 3

as white as the shoulder of Pelops, which was made of ivory.

  • i.e. barefoot. He has in fact neither indoor nor outdoor

shoes.

379


, THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

LXXXVHI

TorioiLiANus habet nasum, scio, non nego. 1 sed iam nil praeter nasum Tongilianus habet.

LXXXIX

QUOD lana caput alligas, Charine, non aures tibi sed dolent capilli.

xc .

PRO sene, sed clare, votum Maro fecit amico, cui gravis et fervens hemitritaeos erat,

si Stygias aeger non esset missus ad umbras, ut caderet magno victima grata lovi.

coeperunt certain medici spondere salutem. 5

ne votum solvat nunc Maro vota facit.

XCI

COMMUNIS tibi cum viro, Magulla, cum sit lectulus et sit exoletus, quare, die mihi, non sit et minister, suspiras ; ratio est, times lagonam.

XCII

SAEPE rogare soles qualis sim, Prisce, futurus, si fiam locuples simque repente potens.

quemquam posse putas mores narrare futures ? die mihi, si fias tu leo, qualis eris ?

1 non nego $-, non ego codd.

1 He is all nose, i.e. critic and nothing else : cf. xm. ii. 2.

2 C. swathes his head really to conceal his baldness.

380


BOOK XII. Lxxxviti-xcii

LXXXVIH

TONGILIANUS has a nose : I know, I don't deny it. But now Torigilianus has nothing but a nose. 1

LXXXIX

You swathe your head in wool, Charinus ; but it is not with your ears that it goes sadly, but with your hair. 2

xc

FOR his old friend, ill of a severe and burning semi-tertian fever, Maro and aloud a made a vow that, if the sick man were not sent down to the Stygian shades, there should die a victim welcome to mighty Jove. The doctors begin to guarantee a certain recovery. Maro now makes vows not to pay his vow.

XCI

ALTHOUGH, Magulla, you have a couch, and have a concubine in commpn with your husband, tell me why you have not ^ cupbearer also. You sigh : the reason is, you fear the wine-cup. 4

XCII

You are often wont to ask me what sort of person I should be, Priscus, if I became rich and were sud- denly powerful. Do you think any man can declare his character in future ? Tell me, if you became a lion, what sort of lion will you be ?

3 i.e. that it should be reported to the sick man (Maro was a captator) ; or perhaps this was his public vow, his real vow for the patient's death being under his breath : cf. Pers. ii. 8 ; Juv. xii. 98. 4 i.e. poison.


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

XCIII

QUA moeehum ratione basiaret

coram coniuge repperit Labulla.

parvum basiat usque morionem ;

hunc multis rapit osculis madentem

moechus protinus et suis repletum 5

ridenti dominae statim remittit.

quanto morio maior est maritus !

XCIV

SCHIBEBAMUS epos ; coepisti scribere : cessi,

aemula ne starent carmina nostra tuis. transtulit ad tragicos se nostra Thalia cothurnos :

aptasti longum tu quoque syrma tibi. fila lyrae movi Calabris exculta Camenis : 5

plectra rapis nobis, ambitiose, nova, audemus saturas : Lucilius esse laboras.

ludo levis elegos : tu quoque ludis idem, quid minus esse potest ? epigrammata fingere coepi :

hinc etiam petitur iam mea pakna tibi. 10

elige quid nolis (quis enim pudor omnia velle ?)

et si quid non vis, Tucca, relinque mihi.

XCV

MUSAEI pathicissimos libellos, qui certant Sybariticis libellis,


1 By Horace, who however was not born in Calabria : cf. vni. xviii. 5.

2 The instrument with which the strings of the lyre were struck

3 The father of Roman satire.

382


BOOK XII. xcm-xcv

XCIII

LABULLA has discovered how to kiss her lover in the presence of her husband. She gives repeated kisses to her dwarf fool ; this creature, slobbered with many kisses, the lover at once pounces upon, fills him up with his own kisses, and hands him back to the smiling lady. How much bigger as a fool is the husband !

XCIV

I WAS writing an epic ; you began to write one : 1 left off, that my poems should not stand in rivalry with yours. My Thalia shifted to tragic buskins : you also fitted on yourself the long train of tragedy. I struck the strings of a lyre practised by the Cala- brian Muses : l you, ambitious man, snatch from me the new quill. 2 I venture satire : you strain to be a Lucilius. 3 I sport with light elegies : you, too, sport with the same thing. What lesser art can there be ? I begin to model epigrams : in this quarter, too, my fame is already sought after by you. Pick out something you do not want for what modesty is there in wanting everything ? and if there is any- thing you don't want, Tucca, leave it to me.

XCV

LEGGI, O Istantio Rufo, i paticissimi libelli di Museo che garreggiano coi Sibaritici libelli, 4 e le

4 By Hemitheon, "a Sybarite of the vilest character," and the author of an obscene work, a text-book of vice, probably called Sybaritis. ' He is called by Lucian 6 itivaiSos (adv. In- doctum, c. 23), and is probably alluded to by Ovid (Trist. ii. 417). If there the reading " nuper" be correct, H. flourished not long before Ovid.

383


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

et tinctas sale pruriente chartas

Instanti lege Rufe ; sed puella

sit tecum tua, ne thalassionem 5

indicas manibus libidinosis

et fias sine femina maritus.

XCVI

CUM tibi nota tui sit vita fidesque mariti

nee premat ulla tuos sollicitetve torps, quid quasi paelicibus torqueris inepta ministris,

in quibus et brevis est et fugitiva Venus ? plus tibi quam domino pueros praestare probabo : 5

hi faciunt u^ sis femina sola viro ; hi dant quod non vis uxor dare. " Do tamen " inquis

"ne vagus a thalamis coniugis erret amor." non eadem res est : Chiam volo, nolo mariscam :

ne dubites quae sit Chia, marisca tua est. 10

scire suos fines matrona et femina debet :

cede sua pueris, utere parte tua.

XCVII

UXOR cum tibi sit puella qualem

votis vix petat inprobus maritus,

dives nobilis erudita casta,

rumpis, Basse, latus, sed in comatis,

uxoris tibi dote quos parasti. 5

et sic ad dominam reversa languet

multis mentula milibus redempta ;

sed nee vocibus excitata blandis,

molli pollice nee rogata surgit.

sit tandem pudor aut eamus in ius. ' 10

non est haec tua, Basse : vendidisti.

384


BOOK XII. xcv-xcvn

carte asperse di sale solleticante ; ma la tua ragazza sia teco, affinche tu non public! Talassione alle mani libidinose, 1 e diventi marito senza donna.


XCVI

ESSENDO la vita e la fedelta del tuo marito a te nota, e veruna premendo o sollicitando il tuo talamo, a che, sciocca, ti tormenti tu dei servi come di con- cubine, coi quali il piacere di venere e breve e fuggi- tivo ? Ti proveri) che i ragazzi giovano piii a te che al loro padrone : questi son la cagione che tu sola sii moglie al tuo marito ; essi danno cio che tu, come moglie, non vuoi dare. " Peraltro il do," di tu, "af- finche 1'amore non travii incostante dai talami con- jugali." Non e la stessa cosa : voglio una Chia, non voglia una marisca. 2 Affinche non dubbiti cosa sia una Chia, la tua e una Marisca. Una matrona deve sapere i suoi limiti, ed una femina i suoi. Cedi ai ragazzi la loro parte : tu fa uso della tua.

XCVII

ANCORCHE tua moglie sia una pulcella quale un' improbo marito appena dimandarebbe, ricca, nobile, erudita, casta, tu, O Basso, ti rompi i lati, ma in Cin- cinnati, che ti procacciasti colla dote della tua moglie. E cosi la tua mentola, comparata con molti milliaja, sul ritorno alia padrona e fiacca ; si ; ne eccitata con dolci parole, ne pregata con tenera niano, surge. Vergognati finalmente, o andiamo in judicio. Questa mentola non e tua, O Basso : tu Thai venduto. 1 .

1 cf. ix. xli. * cf. vn. xxv. 7, 8.

3 i.e. to your wife at the price of her dower.

385

VOL. II. c c


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

XCVIII

BAETIS olivifera crinem redimite corona,

aurea qui nitidis vellera tinguis aquis ; quern Bromius, quern Pallas amat; cui rector aquarum

Albula navigerum per freta pandit iter : ominibus laetis vestras Instantius oras 5

intret, et hie populis ut prior annus eat. non ignorat onus quod sit succedere Macro ;

qui sua metitur pondera, ferre potest.

1 The Guadalquiver. 2 cf. v. xxxvii. 7 ; ix. Ixi. 3.

8 Bacchus. The province of Baetica abounds in wine and oil.


386


BOOK XII. xcvin

XCVIII

BAETis, 1 with thy hair wreathed with the olive crown, that dippest thy golden 2 fleeces in sparkling waters, whom Bromius, 3 whom Pallas loves, to whom the king of waters, Albula, 4 opens a path that wafts the ships over the seas, with glad omens may In- stantius 5 first tread thy shores, and this year pass for the peoples as the last. He is not blind to the burthen of succeeding Macer : he that gauges his load can bear it.

4 An old name of the Tiber : Ov. F. ii. 389.

5 Perhaps the same as is mentioned in vni. Ixxiii. 1 and vni. li. 21.


387 c c 2


BOOK XIII


[LIBER TERTIUS DECIMUS] XENIA


NE toga cordylis et paenula desit olivis

aut inopem metuat sordida blatta famem, perdite Niliacas, Musae, mea damna, papyros :

postulat ecce novos ebria bruma sales, non mea magnanimo depugnat tessera telo, 1 5

senio nee nostrum cum cane quassat ebur : haec mihi charta nuces, haec est mihi charta fritillus :

alea nee damnum nee facit ista lucrum.

II

NASUTUS sis usque licet, sis denique nasus, quantum noluerat ferre rogatus Atlans,

et possis ipsum tu deridere Latinum, non potes in nugas dicere plura meas

ipse ego quam dixi. quid dentem dente iuvabit 5 rodere ? carne opus est, si satur esse velis.

1 talo By.

1 i.e. wrappers : cf. m. ii. 4 ; iv. Ixxxvi. 8. - Often used to gamble with, especially by boys : cf. \. Ixxxiv. 1.

39


BOOK XIII GUEST-GIFTS


THAT tunny- fry may not lack a gown, and olives a capote, 1 nor the foul black beetle fear pinching hunger, destroy, ye Muses the loss is mine papyrus from the Nile : see tipsy winter calls for new pleasantries. No die of mine contends with dauntless weapon, nor does sice together with ace shake my ivory box : this paper is my nuts, 2 this paper is my dice-box ; hazard that brings me no loss nor yet any gain.


ALTHOUGH you have always a critic's nose, are in a word a nose so great that Atlas 3 on request would not have consented to shoulder it, and though you can deride even Latinus* himself, you cannot say more against my trifling effusions than I have said myself. What pleasure is there in tooth gnawing tooth ? you require flesh if you want to be fat.

3 Who bore the weight of heaven.

4 A celebrated mime or comic actor : cf. ix. xxviii.

5 i.e. something that can retort'/ Or (perhaps) "why gnaw something that cannot be hurt, like the viper in Aesop that gnawed a file ?"

39 1


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

ne perdas operam, qui se mirantur, in fllos virus habe ; nos haec novimus esse nihil.

non tamen hoc nimium nihil est, si Candidas aure nee matutina si mihi fronte venis. 10


III

OMNIS in hoc gracili XENIORUM turba libello

constabit numtnis quattuor empta tibi. quattuor est nimium ? poterit constare duobus,

et faciat lucrum bybliopola Tryphon. haec licet hospitibus pro munere disticha mittas,

si tibi tarn rarus quam mihi nummus erit. addita per titulos sua nomina rebus habebis :

praetereas, si quid non facit ad stomachum.

IV. Tus

SERUS ut aetheriae Germanicus imperet aulae utque diu terris, da pia tura lovi.


V. Piper

CEREA quae patulo lucet ficedula lumbo, cum tibi sorte datur, si sapis, adde piper.


VI. Alica

Nos alicam, poterit mulsum tibi mittere dives, si tibi noluerit mittere dives, ernes. 1

1 erne y.

1 i. e. too sober. 392


BOOK XIII. n-vi

Lest you should waste your time, keep your venom for those that fancy themselves ; I know these efforts of mine are nothing worth. And yet not altogether nothing if you come to me with a just ear, and not with a morning l aspect.

Ill

THE whole collection of Mottoes 2 in this slender little volume will cost you to buy four sesterces. Is four too much ? it can cost you two, and bookseller Tryphon would make his profit. These distichs you can send to your guests instead of a gift, if a coin shall be as rare with you as with me. In addition you will get the names of the things on the headings : pass it by if anything is not to your stomach.

IV. Incense

TH'AT it may be late ere Germanicus rule the palace of Heaven, and that he may long rule earth, give pious incense to Jove.

V. Pepper

WHEN a beccafico, with its bright waxen flesh and plump sides, falls to you by lot, if you have taste, add pepper.

VI. Barley-water

I CAN send you barley-water, 3 a rich man will be able to send you mead. If the rich man be unwilling to send it, you will buy.

2 Lit. Xenia (gifts to gueats). M. means here the headed distichs, which were like the mottoes on Christmas crackers. 8 A cheap drink : cf. xn. Ixxxi, 3.

393


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

VII. Faba

Si spumet rubra conchis tibi pallida testa, lautorum cenis saepe negare potes.

VIII. Far

INBUE plebeias Clusinis pultibus ollas, ut satur in vacuis dulcia musta bibas.


IX. Lens

ACCIPE Niliacam, Pelusia munera, lentem : vilior est alica, carior ilia faba.

X. Simula

NEC dotes simulae possis numerare nee usus, pistori totiens cum sit et apta coco.

XL Hordeum

Muuo quod noil det tacit uris, accipe, mulis. haec ego coponi, non tibi, dona dedi.

XII. Frumentum

TER centum Libyci modios de messe coloni sume, suburbanus ne moriatur ager.


1 " You will get such a go<jl dinner at home."

2 Pulse was probably supposed to ripen new wine.

3 Celebrated for its lentils : Verg. Georg. i. 228.


BOOK XIII. vii-xn

VII. Beans

IF pale beans bubble for you in a red earthenware pot you can often decline the dinners of sumptuous hosts. 1

VIII. Spelt

FLAVOUR common jars with pulse from Clusium, that, after dinner, you may drink from them, when empty, new wine. 2

IX. Lentils

RECEIVE lentils of Nile, a present from Pelusium 3 ; they are cheaper than spelt, dearer than beans.

X. Flow

ONE cannot enumerate the properties or the uses of flour, seeing that it is so often handy for the baker and the cook.

XI. Barley

RECEIVE something for your muleteer to withhold from your mules that will not blab. I have given this to the inn-keeper, not to you, 4 as a gift.

XII. Corn

TAKE three hundred pecks from the harvest of the Libyan farmer, that your suburban land may not grow sterile. 5

4 The muleteer steals the barley and sells it to the inn- keeper. ,

5 By being over-cropped, and not allowed to lie fallow. This gift of Libyan corn will maintain the farmer for a time.

395


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

Xlll.Betae

UT sapiant fatuae, fabrorum prandia, betae, o quam saepe petet vina piperque cocus !

XIV. Lactucae

CLUOERE quae cenas lactuca solebat avorum, die mihi, cur nostras inchoat ilia dapes ?

XV. Ligna Acapna

Si vicina tibi Nomento rura coluntur, ad villam moneo, rustice, ligna feras.

XVI. Rapa

HAEC tibi brumali gaudentia frigore rapa quae damus, in caelo Romulus esse solet.

XVII. Fastis CoticuU

NE tibi pallentes moveant fastidia caules, nitrata viridis brassica fiat aqua.

XVIII. Porn Sectivi

FILA Tarentini graviter redolentia porri edisti quotiens, oscula clusa dato.


1 cf. xi. lii. 5, where M. gives the reason.

2 Situated in a marshy district, where the wood would be wet and not smokeless. Wood was also made smokeless by special treatment, viz. soaking in water and drying, or in the lees of oil (Plin. N.H. xv. 8), or by scorching.

3 The deified Romulus retains his simple tastes in Heaven :

39 6


BOOK XIII. xiii-xviii

XIII. Beet

THAT insipid beet, the noon-meal of artizans, may acquire flavour, oh, how often will the cook ask for wine and pepper !

XIV. Lettuce

TELL me, why is it that lettuce, which used to end our grandsires' dinners, ushers in l our banquets ?

XV. Smokeless JVood

IF you till fields near to me at Nomeiitum, 2 I remind you, rustic, to bring wood to my villa.

XYL.Rape

THESE rapes, delighting in winter's cold, which I give you, in heaven Romulus is wont to eat. 3

XVII. A Bundle of Cabbage Sprouts

IN order that pale sprouts may not move your disgust, let the cabbage become green in water and soda.

XVIII. Cut Leeks

As often as you have eaten the strong-smelling shoots 4 of Tarentine leeks, give kisses with shut mouth.

</. Sen. Apoc. 9, where Hercules is of opinion that it is " to the interest of the state " that R. should have someone to "devour hot rape " with him, and therefore that the Emperor Claudius should be admitted as a God.

4 i. e. porrum sectivum : cf. x. xlviii. 9. Nero ate them in oil to improve his voice : Plin. N.H. xix. 33.

397


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

XIX. Porri Capitati

MITTIT praecipuos nemoralis Aricia porros : in niveo virides stipite cerne comas.

XX. Napi

Hos Amiternus ager felicibus educat hortis : Nursinas poteris parcius esse pilas.


XXI. Asparagi

MOLLIS in aequorea quae crevit spina Ravenna non erit incultis gratior asparagis.


XXII. Uvae Duracinae

NON habilis cyathis et inutilis uva Lyaeo, sed non potanti me tibi nectar ero.


XXIII. Ficm Chiae

CHIA seni similis Baccho, quern Setia misit, ipsa merum secum portat et ipsa salem.


1 But, according to Pliny (N.H. xix. 33), the finest came from Egypt, those from Ostia and Aricia ranking next.

  • The navew is also called the French turnip (Nap\ifi

broasica), in Greek frdfvs or ftovviks, and has a root elongated like a carrot. It likes a sloping situation, and a light and dry soil, whereas the ordinary rape thrives in the marsh : Col. ii. 10. Amiternum was famed for them, and Nursia came second: Plin. N.H. xix. 25.

3 Which often produced asparagus of three to the pound ;

398


BOOK XIII. xix-xxm


XIX. Headed Leeks

WOODY Aricia sends the finest leeks l : observe on the white stem the green blades.

XX. Nnvervs

THESE the land of Amiternum nurtures in its fertile gardens ; the round rapes of Nursia you will be able to eat at less cost. 2

XXI. Asparagus

THE succulent stalk that has grown in watery Ravenna 3 will not be more palatable than wild asparagus.

XXII. Hard-skinned Grapes

I AM a grape unfit for the wine-cup and worthless to Lyaeus, but, if you do not drink me, I shall be .nectar to you. 4

XXni Chian Figs

A CHIAN fig is like the old wine Setia has sent you ; it carries in itself new wine, and in itself salt too. 5

Pliny, N.H. xix. 19 (2). According to Athenaeus (ii. 62) the planted asparagus grew to a great size, but the best were not the cultivated. The wild was called corruda : Plin. supra.

4 These grapes were kept to be eaten, and not turned into wine. They were when eaten seemingly very palatable. The temperate Augustus speaks of himself (Suet. Aug. Ixxvi). as eating in his litter an ounce of bread and a few dnracinae.

5 The Chian fig was not only pungent (cf. vn. xxv. 8), but also juicy.

399


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

XXIV. Cydonea

Si tibi Cecropio saturata Cydonea melle

ponentur, dicas : " Haec melimela placent."

XXV. Nuces Pineae,

POMA sumus Cybeles : procul hinc discede, viator, ne cadat in miserum nostra ruina caput.

XXVI Sorfoi

SORBA sumus, molles nimium tendentia ventres : aptius haec puero quara tibi poma dabis.

XXVII. Pelalium l Caryotarum

AUREA porrigitur lani caryota Kalendis ; sed tamen hoc niuhus pan peris esse solet.

XXVIII Vas Cottanorum

HAEC tibi quae torta venerunt condita meta, si maiora forent cottana, ficus erat.

XXIX. Vas Damascenonoii

PRUNA peregrinae carie rugosa senectae sume : solent duri solvere ventris onus.

1 petadium &, petavivum T, palalhion Salmasius.


1 As recommended by Pliny (N.H. av. 18 (2)).

2 Because she turned her favourite Attis into a fir, which thus became sacred to her.

8 i.e. cinaedo. Pliny (N.H. xxiii. 73) says the dried berries were astringent. Wine was sometimes made of them : Verg. Oeorg. iii. 379.

400


HOOK XIII. xxiv-xxix

XXIV. Quinces

IF quinces steeped in Attic honey l shall be put before you, you would say : " These honey-apples are delicious."

XXV. Pine Cones

WE are Cybele's apples 2 ; depart far hence, tra- veller, lest our downfall descend on your wretched head.

XXVI. Service Berries

WE are service berries that astrict too relaxed bowels ; you will better give these apples to your boy 3 than to yourself.

XXVII. A Stem with Dates

A GILT date is offered on the kalends of January 4 ; but yet this is wont to be the gift of a poor man.

XXVIII. A Jar of small Syrian Figs

THESE Syrian figs, which, stored in a round conical jar, have reached you, would, if larger, 5 be figs.

XXIX. A Jar of Damascene Plums

TAKE plums wrinkled by shrivelling old age abroad 6 : they are used to lighten the load of an obstinate stomach.

4 By poor clients to their patrons : cf. vui. xxxiii. 11, 12.

8 Cottana were small figs from Syria : Plin. N.H. xiii. 10 ; cf. iv. Ixxxviii. 6 and vn. liii. 7.

6 cf. v. xviii. 8. Pliny (^V. H. xv. 12) says that D. plums grown in Italy did not shrivel for lack of sun.

401 VOL. II. D I)


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

XXX. Caseus Lunensis

CASEUS Etruscae signatus imagine Lunae praestabit pueris prandia mille tuis.

XXXI. Caseus Veslinus

Si sine carne voles ientacula sumere frugi. haec tibi Vestino de grege massa venit.

XXXII. Caseus Fumosus

NON quemcumque focum nee fumum caseus omnem, sed Velabrensem qui bibit, ille sapit.

XXXIII. Casei Trebulani

TREBULA nos genuit ; commendat gratia duplex, sive levi flamma sive domamur aqua.

XXXIV. Bulbi

CUM sit anus coniunx et sint tibi mortua membra, nil aliud bulbis quam satur esse potes.

XXXV. Lucanicae

FILIA Picenae venio Lucanica porcae : pultibus hinc niveis grata corona datur.

1 Cheeses were made very large at Luna : Plin. N. H. xi. 97, who says they were made of a thousand pounds' weight.

z Vestinian cheese was a favourite with the Romans. The Vestini were in central Italy, between the Apennines and the Adriatic.

3 A district of Rome on the W. slope of the Palatine. Cheeses were smoked here to improve their flavour.

  • A town in the Sabine country : cf. v. Ixxi. 1. The

402


BOOK XIII. xxx-xxxv

XXX. Cheese from Luna

CHEESE, stamped with the crest of Etruscan Luna, will afford your slaves a thousand lunches. 1

XXXI. A Vestinian Cheese

IF you wish without meat to take a frugal break- fast, this lump comes to you from a Vestinian 2 flock.

XXXII. Smoked Cheese

It is not every heat, or every smoke that a cheese imbibes ; but that which has imbibed Velabran 3 has flavour.

XXXIII. Cheese from Trebula

TREBULA 4 gave us birth ; a double excellence re- commends us ; we are tamed by a moderate fire or by water.

XXXIV. Bulbs

SINCE your wife is an old woman, and your members are nerveless, you can do nothing but satisfy your hunger with bulbs. 5

XXXV. Lucanian Sausages

DAUGHTER of a Picenian sow, 6 here I come, a Lu- canian sausage ; with me you may put a toothsome garnish round white pottage.

cheese was good to eat, whether toasted, or moistened in water.

5 Bulbs were eaten as aphrodisiacs : cf. ill. Ixxv. 3 ; Athen. ii. 64.

8 cf. iv. xlvi. 8 ; v. Ixxviii. 9. According to Apicius (ii. 4) the sausage was compounded of minced pork flavoured with pepper, cumin, savory, rue, parsley, and bay-leaves. It was called in Low Latin xalsicia, whence the word sausage.

403 DD 2


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

XXXVI. Cistella Olivannn

HAEC quae Picenis venit subducta trapetis inchoat atque eadem finit oliva dapes.

XXXVII. Mala Citrea

AUT Corcyraei sunt haec de frondibus horti, aut haec Massyli poma draconis erant.

X XX VIII. Cohutrum

SUBRIPUIT pastor quae nondum stantibus haedis de primo matrum lacte colustra damus.

XXXIX. Haedus

LASCIVUM pecus et viridi non utile Baccho det poenas ; nocuit iam tener ille deo.

XL. Ova

CANDIDA si croceos circumfluit unda vitellos, Hesperius scombri temperet ova liquor.

XLL Porcellus Lactans

LACTE mero pastum pigrae mihi matris alumnum ponat, et Aetolo de sue dives edat.


1 f/. i. xliii. 8.

2 They were either from King Alcinous' garden : cf. X. xciv. 2, or were golden apples of the Hesperides.

3 The first milk given by the mother : Plin. N. H. xxviii. 33.

404


BOOK XIII. xxxvi-xu

XXXVI. A Small Box of Olives

THESE olives which have reached you, withdrawn from the oil presses of Picenum, 1 begin and also end our repasts.

XXXVII. Citrons

THESE were either from the branches of Corcyra's garden, or they were apples, the Massylian dragon's charge. 2

XXXVIII. Beestings

BEESTINGS, 3 whereof the shepherd has robbed the kids while not yet able to stand, I give you from the first milk of the darns.

XXXIX. A Kid

LET the wanton beast, and one of no service to the green vine, pay the penalty ; though young, it has already injured the god. 4

XL. Eggs

IF a white liquid surround the saffron-coloured yolks, let the sauce 5 of Spanish mackerel season the


XLI.-J Sucking Pig

LET a rich man set before me the nursling, fed on milk alone, of a lazy mother, and let him eat of an Aetolian boar. 6

4 Bacchus. The kid lias nibbled the vine. In Auth. Pal. x. 75 and 79 the wounded vine retorts. The goat was a victim sacred to Bacchus. 6 i.e. garum: cf. xiu. cii.

8 Like that slain by Meleager : cf. vii. xxvii. 2.

405


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL


XLII. Apyrina et Tubures

NON tibi de Libycis tubures et apyrina ramis, de Nomentanis sed damns arboribus.


XLIIL Idem

LECTA suburbanis mittuntur apyrina rainis et vernae tubures. quid tibi cum Libycis ?


XL1V. Sumeti

ESSE putes nondum sunien ; sic ubere largo et fluit l et vivo lacte papilla tumet.


XLV. Piil/i

Si Libycae nobis volucres et Phasides essent, acciperes, at ntmc accipe chortis aves.

XL VI. Persica Praecocia 2

VILIA maternis fueramus Persica ramis : nunc in adoptivis Persica cara sumus.

1 effluet By. - pruecocta a, praecoqiia y.

1 According to Pliny (N.H. xv. 14) a kind of African apple, or rather berry, of two kinds, one white, the other red. At Verona grew a variety called Janata from having a down like a peach.

- Pliny says (N.H. xv. 14) the tuber-apple was introduced into Italy by Sextus Papinius, " quern confident vidimus," i.e. comparatively recently. .Suetonius (Dom. xvi, ) tells a

406


BOOK XIII. XLH-XLVI


XLII. Pomegranates and Tuber-apples

I DO not give you tuber-apples l and pomegranates from Libyan boughs, but from my Nomentan trees.


'KLlU. Tke Same

CULLED from suburban boughs are sent you pome- granates and home-grown tuber-apples. 2 What do you want with Libyans ?

XLIV. Sow's Paps

You would think it not yet a dish of udder, so full- flowing is the dug, and so does the pap swell with living milk. 3

XLV. Fowlt

IF I possessed guinea-fowls and pheasants you should receive them ; but now receive the birds of the farmyard.

XLVL Early Peaches

OF little worth should we peaches have been on the branches of our mother tree ; now on adoptive boughs we peaches are prized. 4

story bow Dotnitian on the day before his murder, beiug offered some tuber apples, commanded their being kept for the morrow, " si modo uti licuerit."

3 The thing sent is apparently the udder cooked, which is so full of milk it seems alive.

4 Friedlander explains of peaches grafted on an apricot (malum praecox) tree ; </. Calp. ii. 42-, of peaches grafted on a plum tree,

407


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

XLVII. Panes Picentini

PICENTINA Ceres niveo sic nectare crescit ut levis accepta spongea target aqua.

XL VIII. Boleti

ARGENTUM atque aurum facilest laenamque togamque mittere ; boletos mittere difficilest.

XLIX. Ficedulae

CUM me ficus alat, cum pascar dulcibus uvis, cur potius nomen non dedit uva mihi ?

L. Terrae Tuber a

RUMPIMUS altricem tenero quae vertice terrain tubera, boletis poma secunda sumus.

LI. Ttirdo rum Decu ria

TEXTA rosis fortasse tibi vel divite nardo, at mihi de turdis facta corona placet.

LII. Anates

TOTA quidem ponatur anas, sed pectore tantum et cervice sapit : cetera redde coco.


1 According to Pliny (N.H. xviii. 27) Picenian bread was made of spelt (alica), steeped for nine days, then mixed with raisin juice, and kneaded into the shape of a spool of wool (in speciem tractae), and then baked. He adds that it was not fit to eat till it had been moistened with milk mixed with honey (mulsum).

2 Either because they grow only at certain seasons (Fried- lander), or because they are so precious that one prefers to eat them oneself,

408


BOOK XIII. XLVII-LII

XLVII. Picenian Loaves

THE bread of Picenum grows big with its white nectar as a light sponge swells when it has taken in water. 1

XLVIII. Mushrooms

SILVER and gold, and a mantle, and a toga it is easy to send ; to send mushrooms is difficult. 2

XLIX. Becca/icos

SEEING that figs nourish me, seeing that I am fed on sweet grapes, why did not the grape rather give me my name ? 3

L. Truffles

WE truffles * that burst through the nurturing soil with our soft heads are of earth's apples second to mushrooms.

LI. A Decade of Fieldfares

A CIRCLET woven of roses or rich spikenard perhaps pleases you, but one made of fieldfares^ pleases me.

LIL Ducks

LET a duck certainly be served up whole ; but it is tasty only in the breast and neck : the rest return to the cook.

s "Why am I not called uvedula'!

4 In Greek vSva. See Athen. ii. 60 and Plin. xix. 11. They grow of their own accord, particularly in dry and sandy soil. Pliny calls them "callosities of the earth" (terrae cnllum). Juvenal (v. 115) refers to the fable (rejected by Plutarch : Quaest. Com-, iv. 2) that truffles were produced by thunderstorms.

8 Fieldfares were often strung round a hoop : cf. in. xlvii. 10.

409


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

LIII. Turtures

CUM pinguis mihi turtur erit, lactuca, valebis ; et cocleas tibi habe. perdere nolo famem.

LIV. Perna

CERRETANA mihi fiat vel missa licebit de Menapis : lauti de petasone vorent.

LV. Petaso

MUSTEUS est : propera, caros nee differ amicos. nam mihi cum vetulo sit petasone nihil.

LVL Voha

TE fortasse magis capiat de virgine porca ; me materna gravi de sue volva capit.

L VII. Cdlocasia

NILIACUM ridebis holus lanasque sequaces, inproba cum morsu fila manuque trahes.

LVIII. lecur Anserinum

ASPICE quam tumeat magno iecur ansere mains ! miratus dices " Hoc, rogo, crevit ubi ? "

1 By eating the lettuce and snails at the gustatio. - Spanish. The Cerritani were a people in the Pyrenees, celebrated for bacon.

3 A people on the left bank of the Rhine, near its mouth.

4 cf. vn. xx: 11. There is a long dissertation on the subject in Ath. iii. 57 seqq.

8 cf. vin. xxxiii. 13. Pliny (N.H. xxi. 51) says it is " caule

410


BOOK XIII. LIII-LVIII

LIII. -Turtle-doves

WHEN I shall have a fat turtle-dove, good-bye, lettuce ; and keep the snails for yourself. I don't want to spoil my appetite. 1

LIV. Gammon of Bacon

LET me have Cerretanian 2 gammon served to me, or it may be sent from the Menapians 3 ; let gourmets devour ham.

LV. Ham

IT is freshly cured : make haste, and do not put off your dear friends ; for let me have nothing to do with an old ham.


You perhaps the womb of a virgin pig may allure more : the maternal womb of a pregnant sow allures me. 4

LVII. Egyptian Beaux

You will scoff' at this vegetable from Nile and its tenacious threads when with teeth and hands you draw out its stubborn fibres. 6

LVIII. Goose's Liver

SEE how the liver is swollen bigger than a big goose ! In wonder you will say : " Where, I ask, did this grow ? " 6

araneoso in mandeiido," i.e. like spider's webs. Athenaeua (iii. 2) gives a long description of it from Theophrastus.

6 Geese were fattened on figs by gourmets : Hor. Sat. n. viii. 88 ; and their livers grew to a great size : Juv. v. 114. See generally Athen. ix. 32. The practice is recalled by the wordfegato, Italian for liver.

411


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

LIX. Glires

TOTA mihi dormitur hiemps et pinguior illo tempore sum quo me nil nisi somnus alit.

LX. Cuniculi

GAUDET in effossis habitare cuniculus antris. monstravit tacitas hostibus ille vias.

LXI. A ttagenae

INTER sapores fertur alitum prinaus lonicarum gustus attagenarum.

LXII. Gallinae Altiles

PASCITUR et dulci facilis gallina farina, pascitur et tenebris. ingeniosa gula est.

LXIII. Caponex

NE nimis exhausto macresceret inguine gallus, amisit testes. mine mihi Gallus erit.

LXIV. Idem

SUCCUMBIT sterili frustra gallina marito. hunc matris Cybeles esse decebat avem.

1 cf. ill. Iviii. 36. Dormice were kept in pens (glirarta), and, for purposes of fattening, even in casks : Varr. jR.R. iii 15. They were fattened on beech-nuts : Plin. N.H. xvi. 7.

2 Cuniculus is also a military term for a mine.

3 So, according to Pliny, N.H. X. Ixviii., who says the atlcfgen was formerly a rare bird, but in his day was found in Gaul and Spain and in the Alps,

412


BOOK XIII. LIX-I:XtV


LIX. Dormice

ALL my winter is passed in sleep, and 1 am fatter at that season during which nothing but sleep nourishes me. 1

LX. Rabbits

A RABBIT delights in dwelling in burrowed holes : he taught foes the art of secret paths. 2

LXI. Heathcocks

OK all flavours of fowls the most tasty is said to be that of Ionian 3 heathcocks.

LXIL Fatted Fowls

THE hen is easily fattened on sweetened meal ; it fattens, too, on the dark. 4 Ingenious is gluttony !

LXIII. Capons

THAT the cock might not grow thin by over in- dulgence, he has been gelded. Now he will be to me a Gaul. 5

LXIV. The Same'

IN vain the hen submits to her sterile husband. This bird it beseemed to have been the bird of

Mother Cybele. 6


4 Ut immotae facile pinguescant, in obscuro coittinentur : Sen. Ep. cxxii. 4.

5 M. plays on the meanings of gallim, viz. a cock, a Gaul, or a priest of Cybele. See next epigram.

6 Whose priests were called Galli : rf. n. xlv. 2 ; vui. Ixxv. 16.

413


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

LX V. Per dices

PONITUR Ausoniis avis haec rarissima mensis : hanc in piscina ludere saepe soles.

LXVI. Columbinae

NE violes teneras periuro dente columbas, tradita si Gnidiae sunt tibi sacra deae.

LXVIL Palumbi

INGUINA torquati tardant hebetantque palumbi : non edat hanc volucrem qui cupit esse salax.

LXVIIL Galbuli

GAI.BINA 1 decipitur calamis et retibus ales, turget adhuc viridi cum rudis uva mero.

LXIX. Cattae

PANNONICAS nobis numquain dedit Umbria cattas : mavult haec domino 2 mittere dona Pudens.

LXX. Pavones

MIRARIS, quotiens gemmantis explicat alas. et potes hunc saevo tradere, dure, coco?

1 Galbida y. - dominae &.

1 No explanation of this epigram is known.

2 Doves were sacred to Venus.

  • The identity of the bird, here called witwall, is very

obscure. It is generally supposed to be the same as the j, or vireo, and has been variously identified with the


414


BOOK XIII. LXV-LXX

LX V. - Partridges

THIS bird is very rarely served on Italian tables : one often sees it playing in the fishpond. 1

LXVL Doves

Do not violate with profane tooth tender doves, if the rites of the goddess of Cnidos 2 have been entrusted to you.

LXVII. Wood-pigeons

RINGDOVES check and blunt the manly powers : let not him eat this bird who wishes to be lickerish.


THE green bird 3 is beguiled by canes * and nets at the season when the young grape is swelling with juice yet immature.

LXIX. Cattae-

UMBRIA has never supplied us with Pannonian cattae ; these are the gifts Pudens prefers to send to his lord. 5

LXX. Peacocks

DOST thou admire it, oft as it spreads its spangled wings, and hast the heart, unfeeling man, to deliver this bird to a cruel cook ?

golden oriole (0. galbula), the greenfinch, and the green woodpecker.

4 Limed canes : rf. IX. liv. 3 ; xiv. ccxviii.

8 P., who came from Umbria, preferred to send these birds, which he had reared in Umbria, as a present to his patron, rather than birds of his native country. The caftu \a unknown.

4'5


EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL


LXXI. Phoenicopteri

DAT inihi pinna rubens iiomen, sed lingua gulosis nostra sapit. quid si garrula lingua foret ?

LXXII. Phasiani

ARGOA primum sum transportata carina : ante mihi notum nil nisi Phasis erat.

LXXIII. Numidicae

ANSERE Romano quamvis satur Hannibal esset, ipse suas numquam barbarus edit aves.

LXXI V. A nseres

HAEC servavit avis Tarpeia templa Tonantis. miraris ? nondum fecerat ilia deus.

LXXV. Grues

TUKBABIS versus nee littera tota volabit, unam perdideris si Palamedis avem.

LXX VI. Rusticulae

RUSTICA sim an perdix quid refert, si sapor idem est ? carior est perdix. sic sapit ilia magis.

1 This may be an allusion to Aesopus, the tragic actor, who served up a dish consisting only of singing birds : Plin, N.H. x. 72. Housman, however, thinks that garrula = telltale. and that the bird could say how impure the mouths were that fed on it.

2 A river of the Colchians from which the Argonauts are said to have brought the pheasant (the Phasian bird).

3 Because luxury had not at that time introduced them into Italy. As to Numidicae, cf. in. Iviii. 15.

416


BOOK XIII. LXXI-LXXVI

LXXI. Flamingoes

MY ruddy wing gives me a name, but my tongue is a delicacy to gluttons. What if my tongue were to speak ? l

LXXII. Pheasants

I WAS transported first by Argo's keel ; ere that Phasis 2 was all I knew.

LXXIII. Gtdnea- fowls

ALTHOUGH Hannibal ate his fill of Roman geese, yet the barbarian never ate the birds of his own land. 3

LXX1V. Geese

THIS bird saved the Thunderer's Tarpeian fane. Do you wonder ? a god had not yet built it. 4

LXXV. Cranes

You will disorder the lines, and the letter will not fly complete if you make away with a single bird of Palamedes. 5

LXXVL Woodcock

WHETHER I am woodcock or partridge, what does it matter if the flavour be the same ? A partridge is dearer. 'Tis thus it has better flavour. 6

4 The cackling of geese saved the Capitol B.C. 390 from a night attack by the Gauls. Now it can run no risk. Domi- tian rebuilt the Temple of Jupiter Capitolinus, which had been twice burnt : Suet. Dom. \ ; ix. iii. 7.

8 P. is said to have copied the shape of the letters he in- vented from the order of the flight of cranes. In ix. xiii. 7 the letter is T= F. M. is probably playing on two meanings of versus (line). See also Luc. v. 716, which M. had in mind.

6 cf. Afagis illajuvant qitae pluris emuntnr, Juv. xi. 16.

417 VOL. II. E E


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

LXX VII. Cycni

DULCIA defecta modulatur carmina lingua cantator cycnus funeris ipse sui.

LXXVIII. Porphyriones

NOMEN habet magni volucris tam parva gigantis ? et nomen prasini Porphyrionis habet.

LXXIX. Mulli Vim

SPIRAT in advecto sed iam piger aequore mullus languescit. vivum da mare : fortis erit.

LXXX. Muraenae

QUAE natat in Siculo grandis muraena profundo, non valet exustam mergere sole cutem.

LXXXI. Rhombi

QUAMVIS lata gerat patella rhombum, rhombus latior est tamen patella.


1 According to Aristotle (Athen. ix. 49), " eltrlv ySiicol KO.\ nd\iara TTfpl -ras T\evrds." Plin. (N.H. x. 32) denies it.

2 The porphyrion is unknown. It was a bird with a long and narrow neck, and long legs. The beak and legs were red. So Pliny, N.H. x. Txiii. and xi. Ixxix. It is distin- guished from the pelican in Arist. Av. 881. According to Athen. (ix. 40) it came from Libya, and was also a domestic bird.

8 P. one of the giants who made war on the gods : Hor. Od. in. iv. 54.

  • A charioteer of the Green faction of the Circus.

418


BOOK Xlll I.XXVH-LXXXI

LXXVII. Swans

THE swan gives forth its sweet measured song with failing tongue, itself the minstrel of its own death. 1

LXXVIII. Porphyrions

HAS so small a bird 2 the name of a great giant ? It has, too, the name of Porphyrion 8 of the Green. 4


LXXIX. Live Mullets

THE mullet breathes in the sea-water brought with him, but, already torpid, he begins to languish. Give him the fresh sea ; he will be strong. 5

LXXX. Lampreys

THE big lamprey that swims in the Sicilian deep sea has not the strength to plunge when its skin is scorched by the sun. 6

LXXXL Turbot*

HOWEVER wide is the dish that bears the turbot, yet the turbot is wider than the dish.

5 According to Friedliinder fish were brought alive to table in glass vessels and boiled before the eyes of the guests, who observed the changing hues of the dying fish : cf. Sen. Quaest, iii. 17, who observes that it sounds like a fable that the eyes were fed before the throat.

6 According to Arist. (H.A. vni. iii. 4) turtles, when their shells were scorched by the sun, were unable to sink, and so were caught ; see also Plin. N.H. ix. 12. M. says the same thing of the lamprey. Such animals were called wAwTeu or flutae : Macrob. Sat. iii. 15. The best lampreys came from the Straits of Messena : ibid.

419

E E 2


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

LXXXIL Ostrea

EBRIA Baiano modo veni concha Lucrino : nobile nunc sitio luxuriosa garum.

LXXXIIL Squillae

CAERULEUS nos Liris amat, quern silva Maricae protegit : hinc squillae maxima turba sumus.

LXXXIV. Scans

Hie scarus, aequoreis qui venit adesus ab undis, visceribus bonus est, cetera vile sapit.

LXXXV. Coracinns

PRINCEHS Niliaci raperis, coracine, macelli : Pellaeae prior est gloria nulla gulae.

LXXXVI. Echini

ISTE licet digitos testudine pungat acuta, cortice deposita mollis echinus erit.

1 Which produced the finest oysters : c/. in. Ix. 3 ; Macrob. Sat. iii. 15. - Garum : cf. xiv. cii.

3 A river in Campania near Minturnae. Marica was its tutelary nymph who had a grove near it : Hor. Od. in. xvii. 7.

4 The scants is really unknown. It was a favourite fish, brought originally, according to Pliny (N.H. ix. 29), by Tiberius from the Carpathian Sea, and planted by Optatus, praefectus classis, in the sea between Ostia and Campania. It was preserved for the first five years. Athenaeus (vii. 113) gives a description.

420


BOOK XIII. LXXXII-LXXXVI

LXXXIL Oysters

DRUNKEN with the water of Baiae's Lucrine, 1 have I, a shell-fish, just arrived. Now, luxurious that I am, I thirst for the noble pickle. 2

LXXXIII. Prawns

CERULEAN Liris, 3 which Marica's wood guards, is fond of us : from hence we prawns come in greatest numbers.

LXXXI V. Sea-bream

OF this sea-bream, 4 which has come lean from the sea-waves, the entrails are good eating; as to the rest it has poor flavour.

LX X X V. Cor acinus

You of all fish are scrambled for, Coracinus, 5 in the markets of Nile ; to Alexandria's gourmets no fish has renown surpassing yours.

LXXX VI. Sea-urchins

ALTHOUGH that sea-urchin may prick your fingers with its sharp shell, yet, when it lays aside its husk, it will be soft. 6

5 An unknown but valued fish peculiar to the Nile : Plin. N.H. xxxii. 19, who says it was not caught in winter except on the same few days : N.H. ix. 9A. See also Athen. vii. 81, who says it was so called from its continually moving the pupils of its eyes (iciipai). It was regarded as in every way superior to the midlus : Athen. iii. 93.

6 It was eaten with vinegar and honey sauce, parsley, and mint : Athen. iii. 41. Athenaeus (loc. cit.) tells the story of a Spartan who at a dinner bit a sea-urchin, shell and all, in ignorance and cursed the viand (Qdyrina. /j.tapbv), adding he would not be beaten by it, but would never eat another.

421


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

LXXXVIL Muricet

SANGUINE de nostro tinctas, ingrate, lacernas induis, et non est hoc satis : esca sumus.

LXXXVIIL Gobii

IN Venetis shit lauta licet convivia terris, principium cenae gobius esse solet.

LXXXIX. Lupus

LAN BUS Euganei lupus excipit ora Timavi, aequoreo dulces cum sale pastus aquas.

XC. Aural a

NON omnis laudes pretiumque aurata meretur, sed cui solus erit concha Lucrina cibus.

XCI. Acipensis

AD Palatinas acipensem mittite mensas : ambrosias ornent munera rara dapes.

1 cf. v. xxiii. 5. Pliny (ix. 60) says that luxury had made the fish as preoious as pearls. Travellers speak of a hill still standing at Tarentum of the debris of the miirex.

2 cf. Col. viii. 16 ; Hor. Sat. n. iv. 32.

3 A small fish, ordinarily little esteemed, but common in the lagoons of Venice. Inferior to a blenny : Diog. L. ii. 67. Juv. (xi. 37) treats the price of a gobius as an insignificant sum, as compared with the price of a mullus.

4 The most prized lupi were called lanati or lanei from the whiteness and softness of their flesh : Plin. N.H. ix. 28. The lupus may have been the bass, one name of which is the sea-wolf, from its rapaciousnes (Grk. A.a/3pa|); cf. the proverb \dBpaxs yit\r)fftoi of greedy persons ; and generally Atheu. vii. 86,


BOOK XIII. LXXXVII-XCI

LXXXVIL Purple Mussels

CLOAKS dyed in our blood, 1 ingrate, you put on ; and this is not enough : we are your food. 2

LXXXVIIL Gudgeons

IN Venetian territory, however choice may be the entertainment, the beginning of the dinner is wont to be a gudgeon. 3

LXXXIX. The Bass

SOFT and white 4 the bass breasts the mouths of Euganean Timavus, 5 fed on fresh water and the salt of the sea.

XC. The GiUhead

NOT every gilthead ' deserves praise and a big price, but the one that feeds only on Lucrine shell- fish.

XCL The Sturgeon

SEND sturgeon to Palatine tables ; let rare offer- ing adorn ambrosial 8 feasts.

5 A river, now the Timavo, forming the boundary of Istria and Venetia and falling into the Adriatic.

6 The same as the Greek xp^^o^pvs (the zoological name of which is Chrysophrys aurata), and probably not the John Dory, the name of which is Zeus faber. It feeds on molluscs.

7 According to Pliny (N.H. ix. 27) the fish, though rare, was little esteemed in his time.

8 i.e. of the emperor. M. anticipates the English common law whereby " whales and sturgeons are royal fish, and belong to the King by his prerogative " : 7 Coke's Reports, 16 A. Macrob. (Sat. iii. 16) says that, at a banquet of the Emperor Septimius Severus, the fish was ushered in by crowned attendants to the sound of flutes, quasi numinis pompa.

423


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

XCII. Lepores

INTER aves turdus, si quid me iudice certum est, inter quadripedes mattea prima lepus.


Qui Diomedeis metuendus saetiger agris Aetola cecidit cuspide, talis erat.

XCIV. Dammae

DENTE timetur aper, defendant cornua cervum : inbelles dammae quid nisi praeda sumus ?

XCV. Oryx

MATUTINARUM non ultima praeda ferarum saevos oryx constat quot mihi morte canum !

XCVI. Cervus

Hie erat ille tuo domitus, Cyparisse, capistro. an magis iste tuus, Silvia, cervus erat?

XCVIL Lalisio

DUM tener est onager solaque lalisio matre pascitur, hoc infans sed breve nomen habet.

1 Meleager's, who slew the Calydonian. boar : cf. ix. xlviii. 6 ; xi. Ixix. 10. 2 cf. vin. Ixvii. 4.

3 A one-horned, cloven-hoofed animal, not unlike a wild goat : Plin. N_.H. xi. 106. It was a ferocious animal, and came from Caetulia : Opp. De Ven. ii. .445. Its flesh was esteemed by rich epicures : Juv. xi. 140.

4 C. , having by accident shot his favourite stag, prayed the gods to grant him perpetual grief, and was turned iiite a cypress, the symbol of mourning : Ov. Met. x. 109 et -seqq.

424


BOOK XIII. xcn-xcvii

XCIL Hares

AMONGST birds the fieldfare, if my judgment can aught decide, amongst quadrupeds the primest deli- cacy is a hare.

XCIIL A Boar

THE terror in the land of Diomedes, the bristly beast that fell beneath an Aetolian spear, 1 was such as this.

XCIV. Does

FOR his tusk is the boar dreaded, his horns defend the stag ; we, unwarlike does, what are we but a prey ?

XCV.The Oryx

NOT the meanest quarry among the beasts of morning shows, 2 the savage oryx 3 costs me the death of how many dogs !

XCVL The Stag

WAS this the stag tamed by your halter, Cypa- rissus, 4 or rather was it your stag, Silvia 5 ?

XCVIL The Milk-foal of the Wild Ass

WHILE he is a young wild ass, and is fed by his mother alone, the lalisio 6 has, as a nursling, this name, but one short-lived. 7

5 Silvia was the daughter of Tyrrheus, the huntsman of King Latinus. Ascanius, the son of Aeneas, shot her favourite stag, and thus brought about the war between the Trojans and the Latins : cf. Verg. Aen. vii. 483 et seqq.

6 Pliny (N.H. viii. 69) says that the flesh of the lalisio was much appreciated.

7 When weaned it is called a wild ass.

425


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

XCVIIL Caprea

PENDENTEM summa capream de rupe videbis : casuram spares ; despicit ilia canes.

XCIX. Dorcas

DELICIUM parvo donabis dorcada nato : iactatis solet hanc mittere turba togis.

C. Onager

PULCHER adest onager : mitti venatio debet dentis Erythraei : iam removete sinus.

CI. Oleum Venafrum

Hoc tibi Campani sudavit baca Venafri : unguentum quotiens sumis, et istud olet.

CII. Garum Sociorum

EXPIRANTIS adhuc scombri de sanguine prinio accipe fastosum, munera cara, garum.

CIII. Amphora Muriae

ANTIPOUTANI, fateor, sum filia thynni : essem si scombri, non tibi missa forem.

1 Perhaps a reminiscence of Verg. Ed. i. 76.

2 i.e. in the Amphitheatre.

3 It is no use to supplicate for the return of the elephant hunt. As to this practice, cf. Ov. Am. ill. ii. 74.

4 Which was celebrated for its olives : cf. xu. Ixiii.; Hor. Od. ii. vi. 16.

3 Garum, made of the intestines and offal of mackerel. The

426


BOOK XIII. xcvin-cin

XCV1IL The Roe

You will see a roe poised on the summit of a rock ; l one can only hope she will fall ; she is showing contempt of the dogs.

XCIX. The Gazelle

You shall give a gazelle as a pet to your little son. The crowd loves to procure its dismissal by fluttering their togas. 2

C._ The Wild Ass

A BEAUTIFUL wild ass comes ; the hunt of the Indian tusk must be sent away; now shake your togas no longer. 3

CI. Venafran Oil

THIS oil the berry of Campanian Venafrum 4 has distilled for you ; your unguent, as often as you use it, smells too of that oil.

CIL Fish Sauce of the Allies

RECEIVE this proud sauce, 5 made of the first blood of a mackerel breathing still, an expensive gift.

CIII. A Jar of Tunny-fish Sauce

DAUGHTER of the tunny of Antipolis I confess I am. 6 Were I of the mackerel, I should not have been sent to you. 7

finest was called garum sociorum, and came from a manu- factory at New Carthage in Spain : Plin. N.H. xxxi. 43, who says it was almost as dear as unguent, and was sold for a thousand sesterces (8) for 2 congii = 12 pints.

8 i.e. I am the inferior fish sauce called mttria, made of the entrails of other fish than mackerel, principally tunny.

' But to a rich man.

427


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

CIV. Mel Atticum

Hoc tibi These! populatrix misit Hymetti Pallados a silvis nobile nectar apis.

GV.Favi Siculi

CUM dederis Siculos mediae de collibus Hyblae, Cecropios dicas tu licet esse favos.

CVLPauum

GNOSIA Minoae genuit vindemia Cretae hoc tibi, quod mulsum pauperis esse solet.

CVIL Picatum

HAEC de vitifera venisse picata Vienna ne dubites, misit Romulus ipse mihi.


ATTICA nectareum turbatis mella Falernum. misceri decet hoc a Ganymede merum.

CIX. A Ibanum

Hoc de Caesareis mitis vindemia cellis misit, luleo quae sibi monte placet.

1 A hill near Athens famous for its thyme.

2 Sicilian honey was inferior to Attic, though Hyblan and Hymettian honey are constantly mentioned together : c/1 xi. xlii. 3. Pliny calls each optimum: N.H. xi. 13.

8 Midsum was wine and honey mixed : cf. Ep. cviii. Possum was made from a grape called apiana (? muscatel) dried in the sun : Plin. N.H. xi. 11.

4 Vienne in Oallia Narbone.nsis, The district bore vines

428


BOOK XIII. civ-nx

CIV.. Attic Honey

THIS the bee, spoiler of Thesean Hymettus, 1 has sent you, noble nectar from the woods of Pallas.

CV. Sicilian Honeycombs

WHEN you make a present of Sicilian combs from amid Hybla's hills 2 you may say they are Attic combs.

CVI. Raisin Wine

THE vintage of Gnossos in Minoan Crete brought forth for you this, which is wont to be the poor man's mead. 3

CVll.~ Pitch-favoured Wine

THAT this pitch-flavoured wine came from vine- bearing Vienna 4 do not doubt; Romulus 5 himself sent it to inc.

CVIII. Honeyed Wine or Mead You, Attic honey, thicken the nectarous 6 Faler- nian. It is meet that such a drink be mixed by a Ganymede.

GIX.AU>an Wine

THIS wine the mild grape, proud of itself on the Julian mount, 7 sends you from Caesar's cellars.

producing wine with a natural taste of pitch : Plin. N.H. xiv. 3 ; xxiii. 24.

5 Some friend at V. where Martial was known : cf. vn. Ixxxviii. 2.

To blend with honey the wine had to be old : Plin. N. H. xxii. 53.

7 It was inferior only to Falernian and Setine : Plin. N.H. xiv. 8 (3). One variety was sweet (Athen. i. 48). Juv. (xiii. 214) speaks of its pretiosa senectus.

429


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

CX. Surrentinum

SURRENTINA bibis ? nee murrina picta nee aurunl sume : dabunt calices haec tibi vina sues.

CXI. Falernum

DE Sinuessanis venerunt Massica prelis : condita quo quaeris consule ? nullus erat.

CXII. Selinum

PENDULA Pomptinos quae spectat Setia campos, exigua vetulos misit ab urbe cados.

CXIIL Fundanum

HAEC Fundana tulit felix autumnus Opimi. expressit mustum consul et ipse bibit.

CXIV.Trifolinum

NON sum de primo, fateor, trifolina Lyaeo, inter vina tamen septima vitis ero.

1 Tiberius called it generous vinegar, and Claudius noble vapidity : Plin. N.H. xiv. 8(3). It was a thin wine, suitable for invalids : ibid.

2 cf. xiv. cxiii. 1.

3 Surrentine earthenware : cf. xiv. cii. ; vin. vi. 2.

  • In Campania, near which was Mons Ma^icus and Mann

Fahrnus.

6 The wine was as old as the kings (B.C. 510). This is of course hyperbolical.

43


BOOK XIII. cx-cxiv

CX. Surrentine Wine

DRINK you Surrentine ? l Take not beakers of painted murrine, 2 nor of gold : these wines will supply you with their native cups. 3

CXI. Falernian Wine

FROM presses of Sinuessa 4 has the Massic come. Stored in what consul's year do you ask ? there was no consul then. 5

CXII Setine Wine

SETIA high-poised, that looks on the Pomptine levels, has sent from a tiny city casks of aged wine. 6

CXIII. Fundanian Wine

THIS Fundanian the rich autumn of Opimius' year 7 produced. The consul squeezed out the must, and himself drank the wine.

CXIV. TrifoKne Wine

I AM not, I confess, of the first brand of Lyaeus ; yet among wines my vintage shall be the seventh. 8

6 The favourite wine of the Emperor Augustus : Plin. N.H. xiv. 8 (1). Pliny describes it as less strong than Surrentine, less rough than Alban, and more fiery than Falernian : N.H. xxiii. 21.

7 B.C. 121, a famous year : cf. i. xxvi. 7. Athen. (i. 48) describes it as a heady wine.

8 The wine was called trifolinum because it matured tertio foliorum exortu, i.e. in three years. It had an earthy flavour : Athen. i. 48 ; and is called by Pliny (N.H. xiv. 8 (6)) plebeium. But it is praised by Juv. (ix. 56).

43*


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

CXV. Caecubum

CAECUBA Fundanis generosa cocuntur Amyclis, vitis et in media nata palude viret.

CX VI. Signinum

POTABIS liquidum Signina morantia ventrem ? ne nimium sistas, sit tibi parca sitis.

CX VII. Mamertinum

AMPHORA Nestorea tibi Mamertina senecta si detur, quodvis nomen habere potest.

CX VIII. Tarraconense

TARRACO, Campano tantum cessura Lyaeo, haec genuit Tuscis aemula vina cadis.

CXIX. Nomentanum

NOMENTANA meum tibi dat vindemia Bacchum : si te Quintus amat, commodiora bibes.

CXX. Spoletinum

DE Spoletinis quae sunt -cariosa lagonis malueris quarn si musta Falerna bibas.

1 A stimulating and vigorous wine, to be laid down : Athen. i. 48.

2 Pliny says (N.H. xiv. 8 (3)) that it was considered a medicine " austeritate nimia contiiiendae utile alro." It improved after six years : Athen. i. 48.

3 From Messena, in Sicilv. It was a sweet and light wine : Athen. i. 48.

4 i.e. it is as good as any wine.

43 2


BOOK XIII. cxv-cxx

CXV. Caecuban Wine

GENEROUS Caecuban l is ripened at Amyclae by Fundi, and the vine grows green, born in the middle of the marsh.

GKVLSignme Wine

WILL you drink Signine that constricts relaxed bowels ? That you may not check them too much, let your thirst be sparing. 2

CXVIL Mamertine Wine

IF a jar of Mamertine 3 as old as Nestor be given to you, it can bear any name you please. 4

CXVIII. Tarraconian Wine

TARRACO, that will yield only to Campanian vine- yards, begot this wine that vies with Tuscan jars. 5

CXIX. Nomentan Wine

A NOMENTAN vintage gives you this wine of my own. If Quintus loves you, you will drink better wines. 6

CXX. Spoletine Wine

CRUSTED wines from Spoletine flagons you will prefer to the drinking of Falernian must. 7

8 " Nobilitantur elegantia Tarraconenuia, et conferuntur Italiae primis": Plin. N.H. xiv. 8(6).

6 Yet M. says that Nomentan, when it is old, can compare with any wine : cf. I. cv. 4. It ripened quickly, and was drinkable after five years : Athen. i. 48.

7 i.e. F. new wine. Yet Spoletine was a poor wine : cf. xiv. cvi. In Athen. (i. 48) it is described as sweet and golden in colour.

433 VOL. II. V F


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

CXXI. Paelignum

MARSICA Paeligni mittunt turbata colon! : non tu, libertus sed bibat ilia tuns.

CXXIL Acetum

AMPHORA Niliaci non sit tibi vilis aceti : esset cum vinum, vilior ilia fuit.

CXXIII. Massilitannm

CUM tua centenos expunget x sportula civis, fumea Massiliae ponere vina potes.

CXXIV. Caeretanum

CAERETANA Nepos ponat, Setina putabis. non ponit turbae, cum tribus ilia bibit.

CXXV. Tarentinum

NOBILIS et lanis et felix vitibus Aulon det pretiosa tibi vellera, vina mihi. 1 expugnel T.


1 cf. xrv. cvi. A rough, but stomachic wine : Athen. i. 48.

2 Egyptian vinegar was celebrated : Athen. ii. 76 ; Juv. xiii. 85.

8 i.e. when you wish to repay clients for their services. Massilia had a bad reputation for exposing its wines too long

434


BOOK XIII. cxxi-cxxv


CXXI. Paelignian Wine

PAELIGNIAN wine-growers send you turbid Marsic 1 wine. Do not drink it yourself, but let your freed- man do so.

CXXIL Vinegar

LET not a jar of Egyptian vinegar be mean in your eyes. When it was wine it was more mean. 2


CXXIIL Massilian Wine

WHEN your dole shall strike off the list a hundred citizens, 3 you can serve them the smoky wines of Massilia.

CXXIV. Caerelan Wine

LET Nepos 4 serve Caeretan, 5 you will imagine it Setine. He does not serve it to a crowd : with three guests he drinks it.

CXXV.Tarentine Wine

LET Aulon, 6 renowned for wool and blest in vines, give precious fleeces to you, wines 7 to me.

to the smoke of the furnace : cf. x. xxxvi. 1. But Athenaeus (i. 48) calls it a good full-bodied wine.

4 cf. vi. xxvii. 1.

5 From Caere in Etruria, now Cervetri.

6 A valley in the region of Tarentum. M. has in mind Hor. Od. n. vi. 18.

7 T. wine was sweet and soft, with no strength : Athen. i. 48.

435 F F 2


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

CXX VI. Ungiienlum

UNGUENTUM heredi numquam nee vina relinquas. ille habeat nummos, haec tibi tota dato.

CXX VII. Coronae Roseae

DAT festinatas, Caesar, tibi bruma coronas : quondam veris erat, nunc tua facta rosa est.


43 6


BOOK XIII. CXXVI-CXXVFI

CXXVL Unguent

UNGUENT or wine never bequeath to your heir; let him have your cash : the whole of these give to your own self.

CXXVII. A Crown of Roses

FORCED coronals winter gives thee, Caesar : ere- while the rose was Spring's : now has it become thine. 1

1 cf. vi. Ixxx.


437


BOOK XIV


[LIBER QUARTUS DECIMUS] APOPHORETA


SYNTHESIBUS dum gaudet eques dominusque senator

dumque decent nostrum pillea sumpta lovem ; nee timet aedilem moto spectare fritillo,

cum videat gelidos tarn prope verna lacus : divitis alternas et pauperis accipe sortes : 5

praemia convivae dent sua quisque suo. " Sunt apinae tricaeque et si quid vilius istis."

quis nescit ? vel quis tarn manifesta negat ? sed quid agam potius madidis, Saturne, diebus,

quos tibi pro caelo filius ipse dedit? 10

vis scribam Thebas Troiamve malasve Mycenas ?

" Lude " inquis " nucibus " : perdere nolo nuces.

1 Domitian : cf. XI. vi. 4. The wearing of the pilleunt, or cap of liberty, was common at the Saturnalia, as being sym- bolical of the licence of the season.

  • i.e. when he sees that the time is winter. Lucian, how-

ever, says (Saturn. 2) that a common Saturnalian joke was to blacken a man's face and to duck him in the water. If M. alludes to this, the rendering should be "although he sees " etc.

3 Apophoreta are presents given " to be carried away " by guests, and probably distributed by lot (sortes i. 5 and

440


BOOK XIV APOPHORETA

I

WHILE the knight and My Lord the Senator re- joice in dinner-dress, while wearing freedom's cap beseems our Jove, 1 and the home-bred slave, as he shakes the dice-box, does not fear to look the Aedile in the face, when he sees the cold tanks so near, 2 receive these lots, gifts of rich and poor alternate ; let everyone give his own guest his proper prize. 3 " They are worthless and gim-cracks, or anything still meaner, if possible." Who does not know it ? Or who denies what is so plain ? But what else am I to do, Saturn, on the unsober days your son 4 himself gave you in exchange for Heaven? Do you wish me to write of Thebes, or Troy, or guilty Mycenae ? " Play with nuts," you say. I don't want to lose my nuts. 5

J'etr. 40, 56). Martial's couplets describe nuch gifts, and were clearly intended to go in pairs, one couplet describing something that would be given by a rich man, and the next something similar that would be given by a poor man. But some couplets appear to have been lost or to have got out of order e.g. Ixvii. and Ixxi. ; but the following are among some of the pairs about which there can be no doubt, viz. v. and vi. ; xliii. and xliv. ; Ixxxix. and xc. ; xciii. and xciv. ; clix. and clx. ; clxi. and clxii. See Friedlander's full exami- nation. * Jupiter. 8 cf. v. xxx. 8.

441


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

II

Quo vis cumque loco potes hunc finire libellum : versibus explicitumst omne duobus opus.

lemmata si quaeris cur sint adscripta, docebo, ut, si malueris, lemmata sola legas.

III. Pugillares Citrei

SECTA nisi in tenues essemus ligna tabellas, essemus Libyci nobile dentis onus.

IV. Quinquiplices

CAEDE iuvencorum domini calet area felix, quinquiplici cera cum datur altus honos.

V. Pugillares Eborei

LANGUIDA ne tristes obscurent lumina cerae, nigra tibi niveum littera pingat ebur.

VI. Tripltces

TUNC triplices nostros non vilia dona putabis, cum se venturam scribet arnica tibi.

VII. Pugillares Membranei

ESSE puta ceras, licet haec membrana vocetur : delebis, quotiens scripta novare voles.

1 Round table-tops (orbes) were supported on ivory legs : cf. ix. lix. 7, 8.

a The sacrifice takes place when the tablets arrived by which the emperor sent notice of promotion.

3 But generally so considered : cf. vn. Ixxii. 2 ; x. Ixxxvii. 6.

442


BOOK XIV. n-vii

II

You can finish this little book at whatever point you like ; every subject is summed up in two verses. If you ask why headings are added, I will explain : it is that, if you prefer, you may read the headings only.

III. Tablets of Citrus-wood

HAD not our wood been cut into thin plates, we should have been the noble burden of a Libyan tusk. 1

IV. Five-leaved Tablets

THE glad court of our master is warm with the slaughter of steers, when by the five-leaved waxen tablet is conferred on him high honour. 2

V. Ivory Tablets

LEST dark-coloured waxen tablets dim your failing eyesight, let black letters dye for you snow-white ivory.

VI. Three-leaved Tablets

You will then deem my three-leaved tablets no mean 3 gift, when your mistress shall write to you that she will come.

VII. Parchment Tablets

IMAGINE these tablets are waxen, although they are called parchment. You will rub out as often as you wish to write afresh. 4

4 Parchment according to Quintilian (x. 3) was used by persons of weak sight. The parchment seems therefore to have been specially prepared so as to admit of erasure, as on a wax tablet.

443


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

Vlll.Vitelliani

NONDUM legerit hos licet puella, novit quid cupiant Vitelliani.

IX. Idem

QUOD minimos cernis, mitti nos credis amicae. falleris : et nummos ista tabella rogat.

X. Chartae Maiores

NON est munera quod putes pusilla, cum donat vacuas poeta chartas.

XI. Chartae Epistulares

SEU leviter noto seu caro missa sodali omnes ista solet charta vocare suos.

XII. Loculi Eborei

Hos nisi de flava loculos implere moneta non decet : argentum vilia ligna ferant.

XIII. Loculi Lignei

Si quid adhuc superest in nostri faece locelli, munus erit. nihil est ? ipse locellus erit.

1 Possibly of very small size and named after the maker. They were often used for billets-doux : cf. n. vi. 6. 3 i.e. you will not be bored by any poems.

444


BOOK XIV. vin-xin

VIII. Vitellian Tablets

ALTHOUGH she may not as yet have read them, a girl knows what Vitellian l tablets wish for.

IX. The Same

BECAUSE you see we are very small, you believe we are being sent to a mistress. You are mistaken : a tablet of that sort also duns for money.

X. Bigger Sheets

THERE is no reason you should think the offering puny when a poet gives you blank sheets. 2

XI. Letter-paper

WHETHER sent to a slight acquaintance or to a dear comrade, this paper is accustomed to address everyone as its " Dear friend." 3

XII. Ivory Money-boxes

To fill these money-boxes with anything but yellow money is unfitting : let cheap wood carry silver.

XIII. Wooden Money-boxes

IF anything still remain at the bottom of me, a little money-box, it shall be a gift. Is there nothing ? The little box itself shall be the gift.

3 Suus was commonly used in the heading to a letter, e.g. C. Plinius Maximo sno S. (mlutem). S. is the "felix lit era" of vn. xlv. 4.

445


XIV. Tali Eborei

CUM steterit nullus vultu tibi talus eodem, munera me dices magna dedisse tibi.

XV. Tesserae

NON sirn talorum numero par tessera, dum sit maior quam talis alea saepe mihi.

XVI. Turricula

QUAE scit compositos manus inproba mittere talos, si per me misit, nil nisi vota feret.

XVII. Tabula Lusoria

HAC mihi bis seno numeratur tessera puncto ; calculus hac gemino discolor hoste perit.

XVIIL NVCM

ALEA parva nuces et non damnosa videtur ; saepe tamen pueris abstulit ilia natis.


1 The jactus Veneris, or highest throw with the tali, was where each of them turned up & different number. The tali were three or four in number, and on four of the flat sides were marked 1, 3, 4, and 6. The remaining two sides were rounded and blank.

2 Two, sometimes three, dice (tesserae) were used, but four tali.

3 Gambling with dice was for money, and seems to have been a more expensive mode of gambling than with the knucklebones : cf. iv. Ixvi. 15.

446


BOOK XIV. xiv-xvm

XIV. Ivory Knuckle-bones

WHEN no one of the bones you throw stands with the same face as another you will say I have given you a great present. 1

XV. Dice

LET us dice be not equal in number to the knuckle- bones, 2 if only our stakes be often greater than with the knuckle-bones. 3

XVI The Little Tower Dice-box

IF the cheating hand, that knows how to arrange and throw the bones, has thrown them through me, he will achieve nothing beyond prayers. 4

XVII. A Gaming-board

ON this side of me dice are counted by double sixes : on this other the piece of hostile colour is taken by twin foemen. 5

XVIIL Nuts

NUTS appear a small stake, and one not ruinous; yet often has that stake made prize of boys' buttocks. 6

4 i.e. his fraud does not succeed. The turricula appears to have been made with internal grooves to prevent cheating.

6 The epigram is on a gaming-table suitable both for the game "of the twelve lines" (similar to backgammon) and the game of "robbers" (like chess or draughts): cf. vn. Ixxii. 8. In the first game the highest throw appears to have been two sixes : cf. (of three dice) Aesch. Ag. 33. In the second game a piece was taken by being hemmed in by two opposing ' ' robbers " : cf. Ep. xx.

6 When they gamble, whereas they ought to be in school : cf. v. Ixxxiv. 1, 2. But Gronovius' comment is, " Videtur potius turpe aliqnid ac nefandum significari."

447


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

XIX. Theca Libraria

SORTITUS thecam calamis armare memento : cetera nos dedimus, tu leviora para.

XX. Calculi

INSIDIOSORUM si ludis bella latronum, gemmeus iste tibi miles et hostis erit.

XXI. Graphiarium

HAEC tibi erunt armata suo graphiaria ferro : si puero dones, non leve munus erit.

XXII. Dentiscalpium

LENTISCUM melius : sed si tibi frondea cuspis defuerit, dentes pinna levare potest.

XXIII. Auriscalpium

Si tibi morosa prurigine verminat auris, arma damns tantis apta libidinibus.

XXIV. Acus Aurea

SPLENDIDA ne madidi violent bombycina crines, figat acus tortas sustineatque comas.

XXV. Pectines

Quin faciet nullos hie inventura capillos multifido buxus quae tibi dente datur ?

1 Libraria, marks it as for the use of the librarius, con- taining all that he needed. * cf. Ep. xvii.

448


BOOK XIV. xix-xxv

XIX. A Case for Writing Materials

HAVING won the case T in the raffle, remember to equip it with pens : we have given you all else, do you provide the slighter things.

XX. Draught Pieces

IF you play the war-game of robbers in ambush, these glass pieces will be your soldiers and their enemies. 2

XXI. A Style-case

THIS style-case, fitted with its proper iron styles, 3 shall be for you : if you give it to your boy, it will be no slight gift.

XXII. A Toothpick

MASTICK 4 is better ; but if pointed wood be not forthcoming, a quill can relieve your teeth.

XXIII. An Earpick

IF your ear is troubled with a persistent itching, I give you an instrument appropriate to such vagaries.

XXIV. A Gold Hairpin

THAT your moistened hair may not soil your bright silks, let a pin fix and hold up your knotted locks.

XXV. Combs

WHAT will be the use, when it will find here no hair, of this many-toothed piece of box which is given you ?

8 Pointed instruments for writing on wax.

  • cf. in. Ixxxii. 9.

449

VOL. II. G G


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

XXVI. Crines

CHATTICA 3 Teutonicos accendit spuma capillos : captivis poteris cultior esse comis.

XXVIL Sapo

Si mutare paras longaevos cana capillos, accipe Mattiacas (quo tibi calva ?) pilas.

XXVIII Umbella

ACCIPE quae nimios vincant umbracula soles : sit licet et ventus, te tua vela tegent.

XXIX. Causea

IN Pompeiano tecum spectabo theatro. mandatus 2 populo vela'negare solet.

XXX. Venabula

EXCIPIENT apros expectabuntque leones, intrabunt ursos, sit modo firma manus.

XXXI. Culler Venatorius

Si deiecta gemas longo venabula rostro, hie brevis ingentem comminus ibit aprum.

1 Chaticas T, Cattica 0y.

2 mandatus quid sit nondum satis liquet, nam ventus 7, nam flatus Pontanus.

1 Ladies wore false hair, much of which came from Germany, or from German captives. This hair was dyed with sapo, consisting of goats' fat and beechwood ashes (Plin. N.H. xxviii. 51) in the form of balls. See next epigram, and cf. spuma Batava in vin. xxxiii. 20.

45


BOOK XIV. xxvi-xxxi

XXVI. Soap

THE spume of the Chatti turns to flame Teutonic locks : you can be smarter with the hair of a captive slave. 1

XXVII. Soap-balk from Matliacum IF white-haired you are set on dyeing your aged locks, accept why be hairless ? these balls from Mattiacum." 2

XXVIII. A Sunshade

ACCEPT a sunshade to subdue the overpowering heat ; even though there be a wind, 3 your own awning will cover you.

XXIX. A Broad-brimmed Hat I WILL be a spectator with you in Pompey's theatre, for blasts of wind are apt to deny the people an awning. 4

XXX. Hunting-spears

THEY will counter boars, and will wait for the lion's rush ; they will pierce bears if the hand be but firm enough.

XXXI. A Hunting-knife

IF you lament that your hunting spear with its long blade has been struck down, this short weapon will closely engage a huge boar.

2 Supposed to be Marpurg or Wiesbaden. It was a town of the Chatti.

  • When the ordinary vela could not be spread, or had to

be furled : cf. xxix. 2.

4 Therefore the head requires a covering. The cauiea was a high-crowned and broad-brimmed hat. It came originally from Macedonia : Val. Max. v. i. 4, and was especially worn by fishermen and sailors.

451 O G 2


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

XXXII. Parazoninm

MILITIAE decus hoc gratique erit omen honoris, arma tribunicium cingere digna latus.

XXXIII. Pugio

PUGIO, quern curva signat brevis orbita vena, stridentem gelidis hunc Salo tinxit aquis.

XXXIV. Falx

PAX me certa duels placidos curvavit in usus. agricolae nunc sum, militis ante fui.

XXXV.- Securicula

CUM fieret tristis solvendis auctio nummis, haec quadringentis milibus empta fuit.

XXXVI. F err amenta Tonsoria

TONDENDIS haec arma tibi sunt apta capillis ; unguibus hie longis utilis, ilia genis.

XXXVII. Scrinium

SELECTOS nisi das mihi libellos, admittam tineas trucesque blattas.


1 The parazonium was a waist belt carrying a sword womj on the left side by military tribunes, whereas the ordinar^ soldier .wore his sword slung on the right side by a shoulder-' strap. * i.e. of an appointment to a tribuneship.

3 cf. i. xlix. 12. Salo was the river of Bilbilis, M.'s birth- place.

452


BOOK XIV. xxxn-xxxvii

XXXII. A Belt and Sword

A SOLDIER'S decoration 1 is this, and it will be a sign of a prized honour, 2 a weapon worthy to gird a tribune's side.

XXXIII. A Dagger

THIS dagger, which a narrow circle marks with its rounded groove, Salo dipt 3 while it was hissing in his chilling waters.

XXXIV. A Sickle

ME our Captain's assured peace has bent to serve quiet uses: the husbandman's am I now, the soldier's was I aforetime.

XXXV. A Small Axe

WHEN a melancholy auction for payment of debts was held, this was bought for four hundred thousand sesterces. 4

XXXVI. A Barber's Implements

THESE instruments are suitable for the cutting of your hair ; this one 5 is serviceable to long nails, that 6 to your cheeks.

XXXVIL A Bookcase

UNLESS you provide me 7 with choice books I will let in moths and savage bookworms.

4 The price is meant to be absurd. The securicula was a child's ornament or toy: cf. .. Plaut. Rud. 1159. Such things were also hung round children's necks as amulets, or as proofs of identity. 6 CulielluR. 8 Novdcvla.

7 The scrinium was a circular case (Ov. Trint. i. i. 106) for holding books and papers.

453


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

XXXVIII. Fasces Calamorum

DAT chartis habiles calamos Memphitica tellus ; texantur reliqua tecta palude tibi.

XXXIX. Lucerna Cubicularis

DULCIS conscia lectuli lucerna, quidquid vis facias licet, tacebo.

XTLi.Cicindela

ANCILLAM tibi sors dedit lucernae, totas quae vigil exigit tenebras.

XLI- Lucerna Polymyxos

INLUSTREM cum tota meis convivia flammis totque geram myxas, una lucerna vocor.

XLIL Cereus

Hie tibi nocturnes praestabit cereus ignis : subducta est puero namque lucerna tuo.

XLIII. Candelabrum Corinthium

NOMINA candelae nobis antiqua dederunt. non norat parcos uncta lucerna patres.

XLIV. Candelabrum Ligneum

ESSE vides lignum ; servas nisi lumina, net de candelabro magna lucerna tibi.


1 Candles were made of rope or rush dipped in wax, tallow, or pitch : Varr. De Ling. Lat. v. 119 ; Plin. N.H. xvi. 70. A candle was a poor man's light ; hence it is called a " handmaid " of the rich man's lamp : cf. Juv. iii. 287.

2 Lamps with even fourteen wicks have been found at Pompeii and Herculaneum.

454


BOOK XIV. XXXVIII-XLIV

XXXVIII. Bundles of Pens

THE land of Memphis supplies reeds handy for writing : let your roof be thatched with the reeds from other marshes.

XXXIX. A Bedroom Lamp

I AM a lamp, privy to the pleasures of your couch : you may do what you will, I shall be silent.

XL. A Candle 1

THE lot has given you the lamp's handmaid, which is awake and dispels complete darkness.

XLI. A Lamp with many Wicks

ALTHOUGH I illume whole entertainments with my flames, and carry so many wicks, 2 I am called a single lamp.

XLIL A Taper

THIS taper will afford you light by night, for your lamp has been stolen from your slave.

XLIII. A Corinthian 3 Candelabrum

CANDLES gave me my name of old ; the oil-lamp had no knowledge of our thrifty sires.

XLIV. A Wooden Candelabrum

You see I am wood ; unless you guard the light, a great lamp will be made of your candelabrum. 4

8 According to Pliny (N.H. xxxiv. 3), there were three kinds of aes Corinthium, one in which silver was the principal ingredient, another in which gold, and a third with equal proportions of gold and silver.

4 The wicks will set. fire to the wood.

455


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

XLV. Pila Paganica

HAEC quae difficili turget paganica pluma, folle minus laxast et minus arta pila.

XLVI. Pila Trigonalis

Si me mobilibus scis expulsare sinistris,

sum tua. tu nescis ? rustice, redde pilam.

XLVIL Follis

ITE procul, iuvenes : mitis mihi convenit aetas : folle decet pueros ludere, folle senes.

XLVIII. Harpasta

HAEC rapit Antaei velox in pulvere draucus, grandia qui vano colla labore facit.

XLIX. Halteres

QUID pereunt stulto fortes haltere lacerti ? exercet melius vinea fossa viros.

L. Galericu lum

NE lutet inmundum nitidos ceroma capillos, hac poteris madidas condere pelle comas.

1 As to the balls mentioned in this and the three following epigrams, cf. iv. xix. 5 seqq., and vn. xxxii. 7.

a cf. vn. Ixxii. 11. 3 i.e. dnaedus: cf. IX. xxvii. 10.

4 i.e. on the athletic ground. A. was a Libyan wrestler vanquished by Hercules : cf. ix. ci. 4. The development of a short, muscular neck was aimed at by athletes : Juv. iii. 88 ; and see Plin. N.H. xiv. 28 (pectorosa cervicis repandae

45 6


BOOK XIV. XLV-L

XLV. A Feather-stuffed Ball

THIS ball which swells with tightly -crammed feathers is less flaccid than the bladder-ball and less compact than a hand-ball. 1

XL VI. A Ball for Ifie Three-cornered Game IF you know how to bandy me with your nimble left-handers, 2 I am yours. Don't you know how ? You clown, give back the ball.

XLVII. The Bladder-ball

Go far off, you young men ; unstrenuous age befits me : with the bladder-ball it becomes boys to play, with the bladder-ball old men.

XLVIII. Scrimmage-balls

THESE the dissolute youth, 3 who with empty labour makes big his neck, swiftly catches at on the dusty ground of Antaeus. 4

XLIX. Dumb-bells

WHY is strength of arm wasted on the silly 5 dumb-bell ? Trenching a vineyard better employs men.

L. A Small Cap

That the wrestler's dirty oil may not soil your sleek locks, you may cover your moist hair with this skin cap. 6

ovtentatio). In this case, says M., the labour is vain, for it produces nothing. See the next epigram.

5 " Stulta, est occupatio exercendi lacertos et dilatandi cervicem" : Sen. Ep. 15. He speaks of " manuti pluil>o graves": Ep. 56. L)umb-bells were also used by masculine women at the baths : Juv. vi. 421, and Mart. VH. Ixvii. 6.

6 It was a skull-cap with the fur outside.

457


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

LI. Strigiles

PERGAMON has misit. curvo destringere ferro : non tarn saepe teret lintea fullo tibi.

LII. Gutus Corneus

GESTAVIT modo fronte me iuvencus : verum rhinooerota me putabas.

LIII. Rhinoceros

NUPER in Ausonia domini spectatus harena hie erit ille tibi cui pila taurus erat.

LIV. Crepitacillum

Si quis plorator collo tibi vernula pendet, haec quatiat tenera garrula sistra manu.

L V. Flagellum

PROFICIES nihil hoc, caedas licet usque, flagello, si tibi purpureo de grege currit equus.

LVI. Dentifricium

QUID mecum est tibi ? me puella sumat : emptos non soleo polire dentes.

1 i.e. they will not be sent to him so dirty : c/1 x. xi. 6.

2 The horn was so big. Oil-flasks made of rhinoceros horn were used at the baths by rich men : Juv. vii. 130.

3 cf. Sped. ix. 4 ; x. Ixxxvi. 4.

  • The sistrum was originally used in the rites of Isis.

458


BOOK XIV. LI-LVI

LI. Skin-scrapers

. PERGAMUS sent these ; scrape yourself with the curved blade : the laundryman will not so often wear out your towels. 1

LII. A Horn Oil-flask

A STEER bore me lately on his forehead : you fancied me a real rhinoceros horn. 2

LIII. A Rhinoceros-horn Oil- flask

THIS shall be for you, that horn, lately seen in our Master's Italian arena, to which a bull was as a straw-dummy. 3

LIV. A Small Rattle

IF any little home-born slave shall hang on your neck in tears, let him shake this noisy rattle 4 with his infant hand.

LV. A Whip

You will make no way with this whip though you may continually use the lash, if your courser be of the Purple 5 faction.

LVI. Dentifrice

WHAT have you to do with me? 6 Let a young maid use me : I am not wont to polish purchased teeth.

5 Which was nob favoured by Domitian any more than the Blues : cf. vi. xlvi., although it and the Gold had been added by himself : Suet. Dom. vii.

6 According to Pliny (xxx. 8) dentifrice was made of the ashes of dogs' teeth mixed with honey. Pumice was also used : xxxvi. 42.

459


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

LVII. Myrobalanum

QUOD nee Vergilius nee carmine dicit Homerus, hoc ex unguento constat et ex balano.

LVIII. Aphronitrum

RUSTICUS es ? nescis quid Graeco nomine dicar : spuma vocor nitri. Graecus es ? aphronitrum.

LIX*. Opobalsama

BALSAMA me capiunt, haec sunt unguenta virorum delicias Cosmi vos redolete, nurus.


LX. Lomentum

GRATUM munus erit scisso nee inutile ventri, si clara Stephani balnea luce petes.

LXI. Lanterna Cornea

Dux lanterna viae clusis feror aurea flammis, et tuta est gremio parva lucerna meo.


1 The word would not go into the metre. Myrobalanum is described by Pliny (N.H. xii. 46) as the fruit of a tree found in the Thebais and in Arabia with a leaf like that of a heliotrope, the fruit being of the size of a filbert. From it was extracted an oil used in compounding unguent. The Encyclopaedia calls the tree the horse-radish tree (Moringa pterygoftperma], the oil being oil of ben used by perfumers.

2 Spuma nitri was prized, and prescribed by doctors in pills or pastilles : Plin. N.H. xxxi. 46 (3) ; and balls of it were given as presents : Stat. Silv. IV. ix. 37. It was found

460


BOOK XIV. LVII-I.XI

LVII. Myrobalsam

THIS, which neither Virgil nor Homer mentions in his poems, 1 is compounded of unguent and ben-nut.

LVIH. Saltpetre

ARE you a countryman ? You do not know what I am styled by a Greek name : I am called the froth of nitre. Are you a Greek ? Aphronitrum. 2

LIX. Opobalsam

BALSAMS 3 attract me ; these are the unguents of men 4 : ye matrons, exhale the choice perfumes of Cosmus. 5

LX. Bean-meal

'TwiLL be a welcome gift, and one not without use to a wrinkled belly, if in broad daylight you go to Stephanus' bath. 6

LXI. A Horn Lantern

GUIDE of your way am I carried, a lantern golden with fenced flame, and safe in my bosom is a small light.

in Asia in caves called colycae as a distillation from the rook, and was afterwards dried in the sun. The best was Lydian : ibid.

3 The juice of the balsam-tree ; called balm of Gilead or of Mecca, and found, according to Pliny (N.H. xii. 54) only in Judaea. It appears to have become known in Rome in the time of Pompey, who displayed the tree in one of his triumphs. Pliny gives a detailed description.

  • Juv. (ii. 41) seems to have been of a different opinion.

5 cf, in. Iv. 1 ; xi. viii. 9. ' c/. in. xlii. 1.

461


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

LXII. Lanterna de Vesica

CORNEA si non sum, numquid sum fuscior? aut me vesicam; contra qui venit, esse putat ?


. Fistula

QUID me cqnpactam ceris et harundine rides ? quae primum structa est fistula talis erat.

LXIV. Tibiae

EBRIA nos madidis rumpit tibicina buccis : saepe duas pariter, saepe monaulon habet.

LXV. Soleae Lanatae

DEFUERIT si forte puer soleasque libebit sumere, pro puero pes erit ipse sibi.

LXVI. Mamittare

TAURINO poteras pectus constringere tergo : nam pellis mammas non capit ista tuas.

LXVII. Muscarium Pavoninum

LAMBERE quae turpes prohibet tua prandia muscas, alitis eximiae cauda superba fuit.


1 By the god Pan : cf. Verg. Ed. ii. 32.

2 Two pipes were sometimes played, and they were pares or impares, the former being of the same length, the latter

462


BOOK XIV. LXII-LXVII

LXII. A Lantern made of Bladder

IF I be not of horn, am I the dimmer ? or does he that meets me think me a bladder ?

LXIIL A Pipe of Reed

WHY do you laugh at me, compact of wax and reed ? The first pipe that was made 1 was such as I.

LXIV. Flutes

THE drunken flautist bursts our ears with her bibulous cheeks ; often she uses two pipes at once, often only one. 2

LXV. Wool-lined Slippers

IF it happens your slave is not at hand, and you want to put on your house-shoes, your foot will itself be its own slave. 3

LXVI. A Bosom-band

" WITH a bull's hide " 4 you might well have braced up your bosom ; for this skin stomacher of yours is too small for your breasts.

LXVII. A Peacock's Feather Fly-jlap

THIS which forbids foul flies to taste your meal was the proud tail of a peerless bird.

of unequal length. The right-hand pipe was the bass or manly pipe, the left-hand one the treble or womanly pipe.

8 i.e. it will slip easily into the slippers.

  • An allusion to Verg. Aen. i. 368 (Taurino quantum

possent circumdare tergo).

463


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

LXVIIL Copta Rhodiaca

PECCANTIS famuli pugno ne percute denies : clara Rhodes coptam quam tibi misit edat.

LXIX. Priapus Siligineus

Si vis esse satur, nostrum potes esse Priapum ; ipsa licet rodas inguina, purus eris.

LXX. Porous

ISTE tibi faciet bona Saturnalia porcus, inter spumantes ilice pastus apros.

LXXI. Muscarium Bubulum

SOUDIDA si flavo fuerit tibi pulvere vestis, corrigat hoc : tenui verbere cauda levis.

LXXIL Botulus

Qui venit botulus mediae tibi tempore brumae, Saturni septem venerat ante dies.

LXXIIL PsiUacus

PSITTACUS a vobis aliorum nomina discam : hoc didici per me dicere "Caesar have."

1 corrigat hoc Postgate, coll. luv. xiv. 67, colligat hunc codd.

1 The Rhodian biscuit was very hard. There may be also a play upon the name copta and the Greek it6-m<-iv (to beat).

464


BOOK XIV. Lxviii-Lxxiii

LXVIII. Rhodian Pastry

DON'T strike with your fist the teeth of your offending servant ; let him eat the biscuit illustrious Rhodes has sent you. 1

LXIX. A Priaptis made from Flour

IF you want to satisfy your hunger you can eat my Priapus; you may gnaw his very appendage, 2 yet you will be undefined.

LXX. A Pig

THIS pig will make you a " Good Saturnalia " : he was fed on acorns among the foaming boars.

LXXL An Ox-tail Brush

IF your dress has been soiled with yellow dust let this light ox-tail emend this with a gentle flap.

LXXII. A Sausage

THE sausage that has reached you at the mid- season of winter had i - eached me before Saturn's seven days. 2

LXXIIL A Parrot

I, A PARROT, will learn of you the names of others : this I learned of my own accord to say, " Caesar, hail ! " 4

2 cf vi. xlix. 2. The Priapus was sometimes stuffed, e.g. with apples and grapes : Petr. 60.

8 Dec. 17-23. The sender had received the sausage as a present, and now passes it on to another person.

4 cf. note to in. xcv. 2.

4 6 5

VOL. II. H II


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

LXXIV. Corvus

CORVE salutator, quare fellator haberis ? in caput intravit mentula nulla tuum.

LXXV. Luscinia

FLET Philomela nefas incesti Tereos^ et quae muta puella fuit, garrula fertur avis.

LXXVI. Pica

PICA loquax certa dominum te voce saluto : si me non videas, esse negabis avem.

LXXVII. Cavea Eborea

Si tibi talis erit, qualem dilecta Catullo Lesbia plorabat, hie habitare potest.

LXXVIII. Narthecium

ARTIS ebur medicae narthecia cernis : habebis munera quae cuperet Paccius esse sua.

LXXIX. Flagra

LUDITE lascivi, sed tantum ludite, servi : haec signata mihi quinque diebus erunt.

1 Pliny (N.H. x. 15) says : " Ore <i08 parere aut coire vulgun arbitratur . . . Aristoteles negat . . . sed illam oscidalionem, quae saepe cernitur, qualem in columbis, e.sse." See Arist. De Gen. Anim. iii. 6, who traces the vulgar opinion to Anaxagoras.

- T., king of Thrace, offered violence to Philomela, his sister-in-law, and cut out her tongue to prevent her revealing the crime. P. was changed into a nightingale.

466


BOOK XIV. LXXIV-LXXIX

LXXIV. A Raven

O CORVO salutatore, perche sei tu tenuto un fella- tore? Veruna mentola entr6 nella tua bocca. 1

LXXV. A Nightingale

PHILOMELA laments the crime of incestuous Te- reus : 2 she who was a silent maiden is acclaimed as a bird of song.

LXXVI.^-J Magpie

A CHATTERING pie, 3 I with intelligible voice salute you, my master ; did you not see me you will say I am no bird.

LXXVII. An Ivory Cage

IF you shall have such a bird 4 as Lesbia, beloved of Catullus, mourned, here it can dwell.

LXXVIIL A Medicine Chest

You see a medicine chest, the ivory equipment of a doctor's art : you will have a gift which Paccius 5 would wish his own.

LXXIX. Whips

PLAY, ye jovial slaves, but play only ; I will keep these sealed up for five days. 6

3 cf. vii. Ixxxvii. 6 ; ix. liv. 9. Petr. 28 describes a magpie in a golden cage that saluted all who entered.

4 A sparrow : cf. Cat. ii. and iii.

5 A physician. Juv. (xii. 99) mentions a Paceius, an orbus, who may be the same. The narlhecium was, as its name implies, made in the shape of a joint of the giant fennel


6 Slaves during the Saturnalia were allowed a degree of licence.

467

U H 9


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

LXXX.--.Ferw/ae

INVISAE minium pueris grataeque magistris, clara Prometheo inunere ligna sumus.

LXXXI. Pern

NE mendica ferat barbati prandia nudi, dormiat et tristi cum cane, pera rogat.

LXXXIL Scopae

IN pretio scopas testatur palma fuisse. otia sed scopis nunc analecta dedit.

LXXXIII. Scalptorium Eboreum

DEFENDET manus haec scapulas mordente molesto pulice, vel si quid pulice sordidius.

LXXXIV. Manuale

NE toga barbatos faciat vel paenula libros, haec abies chartis tempora longa dabit.

LXXXV. Lectus Pavoninus

NOMINA dat spondae pictis pulcherrima pinnis nunc lunonis avis, sed prius Argus erat.

1 Prometheus, according to the myth, brought fire from Heaven in the stem of the giant fennel (ferula or vdpdri), and gave it to men.

2 Used as a pillow. The Cynics, in imitation of beggars, equipped themselves with a staff and wallet : cf. iv. liii. 3.

3 cf. Hor. Sat. n. iv. 83. As to the analecta, cf. vii. xx. 17.

4 It was in the shape of a hand.

468


BOOK XIV. LXXX-LXXXV

LXXX. Ferules

HATED much by boys and welcome to school- masters, we are the wood made famous by Pro- metheus' gift. 1

LXXXL A Wallet

THAT he may not carry the mendicant scraps of a half-clad bearded philosopher, nor sleep 2 with a sour cynic, is the prayer of the wallet.

LXXXII. Brooms

THE palm-tree testifies that brooms were once in demand, 3 but the crumb-collector has now given a rest to brooms.

LXXXIII. An Ivory Scratcher . THIS hand 4 will protect your shoulder-blades when an irritating flea is biting you, or any insect fouler than a flea.

LXXXIV. A Wooden Book-holder To prevent your toga or cloak making your books frayed, this fir-wood will give long life to your paper.

LXXXV. A Couch of Peacock-veined Citrus-wood THE bird, most lovely with its painted plumage, gives its name to a couch ; 5 it is now the bird of Juno, but once it was Argus. 6 ,

5 Couches of citrus wood variegated by wavy lines, as on a peacock's tail, were valued : Plin. N.H. xiii. 30.

8 Argus had a hundred ejes, of which two only slept at a time. Juno set him to watch lo, whom Jupiter had turned into a heifer. Argus was afterwards turned into a peacock with the eyes in the tail.

469


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

LXXXVI. Ephippium

STRAGULA succinct! venator sume veredi : nam solet a nudo surgere ficus equo.

LXXXVIL Stibadia

ACCIPE lunata scriptum testudine sigma. octo capit ; veniat quisquis amicus erit.

LXXXVIII. Gustalorium

FEMINEAM nobis cherson si credis inesse, deciperis : pelagi mascula praeda sumus.

LXXXIX. Mensa Citrea

ACCIPE felices, Atlantica munera, silvas : aurea qui dederit dona, minora dabit.

XC. Mensa Acerna

NON sum crispa quidem nee silvae filia Maurae, sed norunt lautas et mea ligna dapes.

XCI. Denies Eborei

GRANDIA taurorum portant qui corpora, quaeris an Libycas possint sustinuisse trabes ?

1 The ephippium was soft, being more like a cushion than a saddle.

2 IB the shape of the Greek s, which was often written in the shape of a horse-shoe : cf. x. xlviii. 6.

8 (Shell from the sea-tortoise (? turtle) was held superior to that of the land-tortoise, and the male shell was superior to the female. According to Pliny (N.H. ix. 12) the land- tortoises were called chersinae and were found in African deserts, where they subsisted on dew.

470


BOOK XIV. LXXXVI-XCI

LXXXVL A Pad-saddle

TAKE, hunter, the housing of a nimble steed, for from a bare-backed horse piles are wont to spring. 1

LXXXVII. A Semi-circular Couch RECEIVE a horse-shoe couch 2 inlaid with crescent lines of tortoise-shell. It takes eight : let everyone come who shall be my friend.

LXXXVIIL A Buffet

IF you think shell of a female land-tortoise is part of me, you are deceived : I am the male catch of the sea. 3

LXXXIX. A Citrus-wood Table RECEIVE this wood of a fruitful tree, the offering of Atlas : he who shall give you golden gifts will give you less. 4

XC. A Maple Table

I AM indeed not veined, nor the daughter of a Moorish forest, 5 but even my wood knows sumptuous feasts.

XCI. Ivory Tusks.

TUSKS that upbear the huge bodies of bulls 6 do you ask whether they can uphold tables of Libyan wood ? 7

4 The citrux (a kind of cypress, Thuja articutata, the Greek 8va or Qvov) came from Mauretania, in N.-W. Africa : Plin. N.H. xiii. 29, 30. Round table tops (orbex) were made of it, for which incredible sums were often paid.

6 i.e. neither veined (a feature greatly valued : Plin. N.H. xiii. 30) nor citrus. Maple was second to citrus : Plin. N.If. xvi. 26 ; and one species was also peacock-veined : ihid.

a cf. Sped. xix.

7 i.e. the citrus table tops mentioned in Ixxxix.

471


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

XCII. Qtiinquepedal

PUNCTA notis ilex et acuta cuspide clusa saepe redemptoris prodere furta solet.

XCIII. Pocula Archetypa

NON est ista recens nee nostri gloria caeli : primus in his Mentor, dum facit ilia, bibit.

XCIV. Calices Audaces

Nos sumus audacis plebeia toreumata vitri, nostra neque ardenti gemma feritur aqua.

XCV. Phiala Aurea Caelata

QUAMVIS Callaico rubeam generosa rnetallo, glorior arte magis : nam Myos iste labor.

XCVI. Calices Vatinii

VILIA sutoris calicem monimenta Vatini accipe ; sed nasus longior ille fuit.

XCVII. Lances Chrysendetae

GRANDIA ne viola parvo chrysendeta mullo : ut minimum, libras debet habere duas.

1 A celebrated chaser in silver of the fourth century B.C. : c/. in. xli. 1 ; iv. xxxix. 5.

2 </. xii. Ixxiv. 3.

3 cf. vni. xxxiv. 1. He engraved the figures on the shield of Athene Promachus in the Acropolis at Athens.

472


BOOK XIV. xcii-xcvn

XCIL A Five-foot Rule

AN oaken rule, marked off into lengths and ending in a sharp point, is often apt to detect a contractor's fraud.

XCIII. Antique Cups

THAT is no recent work, nor pride of Roman chisel ; Mentor 1 made these cups and first drank from them.

XCIV. Dreadnought Cups

WE are plebeian chased cups of dreadnought 2 glass, and our ware is not cracked by boiling water.

XCV. A Chased Gold Bowl

THOUGH 1 am noble and ruddy with Gallician ore, I glory more in my workmanship, for of Mys 3 was the labour you see.

XCVI. Vatinian Cups

RECEIVE a cup, a memento of cobbler Vatinius, 4 but that nose was longer.

XCVIL Gold-inlaid Dishes

Do not insult large gold-inlaid dishes 5 with a small mullet : at the least it ought to weigh two pounds.

4 Of Beneventum, who gave his name to glassware with long spouts like noses : cf. x. iii. 3, 4 ; and Juv. v. 46. He was a buffoon and delator in the time of Nero.

6 Chrysendeta appear to be silver dishes with gold orna- ments inlaid or in relief : cf. n. xliii. 11 ; vi. xciv. 1.

473


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

XCVIIL Vasa Arretina

ARRETINA nimis ne spernas vasa monemus : lautus erat Tuscis Porsena fictilibus.


X CIX . Bascauda

BARBARA de pictis veni bascauda Britannis, sed me iam mavolt dicere Roma suam.


C. Panaca

Si non ignota est docti tibi terra Catulli, potasti testa Raetica vina mea.

CI. Boleiaria

CUM mihi boleti dederint tarn nobile nomen, prototomis (pudet heu !) servio coliculis.

GIL Calices Surrentini

ACCIPE non vili calices de pulvere natos, sed Surrentinae leve toreuma rotae.


CHI. Colum Nivarium

SETINOS, moneo, nostra nive frange trientes : pauperiore mero tinguere lina potes.


1 Earthenware : cf. i. liii. 6. Pliny (N.H. xxxv. 46) speaks of the nobilita* of the red Samian ware of Arretium.

2 King of Etruria, who besieged Rome in the sixth century B.C.

3 Nothing is known of this. The Panaci seem to be a Rhaetian people.

474


BOOK XIV. XCVIH-CIII

XCVIII. Arretian Vases

WE advise you not overmuch to despise Arretian l vases : Tuscan earthenware was luxury to Porsena. 2

XCIX. A Basket

I HAVE come, a barbarian basket, from the woad- stained Britons ; but Rome now prefers to call me her own.

C. A Panacian Crock 3

IF the country of the elegant Catullus is not un- known to you, you have drunk Rhaetian wine from my crock.

CI. Mushroom Boilers

ALTHOUGH mushrooms have given me so noble a name, yet I am a slave* alas ! I am ashamed to own it to early greens.

GIL Surrentine Chalices

RECEIVE chalices not sprung of common clay, but the smooth embossed work of a Surrentine potter's-wheel. 4 ;

CIII. A Strainer for Wine and Snow

WITH the snow I contain, I warn you, subdue your cups of Setine : 5 in a poorer wine you may dip linen bags.

4 Pliny classes Surrentine earthenware cups for excellence with those from Asta and Pollentia, and from Saguntum in Spain : N.IL xxxv. 46.

5 c/. v. Ixiv. 2. The colum nivarinm was a metal colander in which a lump of frozen snow was placed, and the wine was strained through it into the cup or other wine vessel.

475


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

CIV. Saccus Nivarius

ATTENUARE nives norunt et lintea nostra : frigidior colo non salit unda tuo.

CV. Urceoli Ministratorii

FRIGIDA non derit, non derit calda petenti. sed tu morosa ludere parce siti.

CVI. Urceus Fictilis

Hie tibi donatur panda ruber urceus ansa. Stoicus hoc gelidam Fronto petebat aquam.

CVII Cqlatki

Nos Satyri, nos Bacchus amat, nos ebria tigris, perfusos domini lambere docta pedes.

CVIII. Calices Saguntini

QUAE non sollicitus teneat servetque minister sume Saguntino pocula facta luto.

CIX. Calices Gemmati

GEMMATUM Scythicis ut luceat ignibus aurum aspice. quot digitos exuit iste calix !

1 According to Pliny barley meal was sometimes put into the saccus to mitigate the strength of the wine : N.H. xxiv. 1.

2 A calathus was a drinking vessel in the shape of a woman's workbasket.

3 Bacchus.

476


BOOK XIV. civ-cix

CIV. A Bag for Straining through Snow

MY linen also knows how to liquefy snow : no colder spirts the water from your strainer. 1

CV. Small Jugs for Table-service

COLD water will not be wanting ; there will not be wanting hot, if you ask for it ; but do not you be dainty with a craving thirst.

CVI. An Earthenware Jug

HERE is given you a red jug with a spreading handle : Stoic Pronto used to go to this for cold water.

CVIL Tankards'*

THE Satyrs love us, Bacchus loves us ; us, too, the drunken tigress which has been taught to lick the wine-dabbled feet of her master. 3

CVIII. Saguntine Chalices

TAKE cups made of Saguntine clay, which without anxiety 4 your servant may handle and guard.

CIX. Gemmed Chalices

SEE how the gold gleams, gemmed with the fire of Scythian emeralds ! How many fingers has that chalice stripped ! 5

4 They are " dreadnought": cf. xn. Ixxiv. 3, and Ep. xciv. supra. M. speaks poorly of Saguntine clay-ware ; cf. vm. vi. 2 ; but Pliny praises it : N.H. xxxv. 46.

6 Rich men often ornamented their cups with jewels from their finger rings : cf. Juv. v. 42.

477


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

CX. Ampulla Potoria

HAC licet in gemma, servat quae nomina Cosmi, luxuriose, bibas, si foliata sitis.

CXI. Crystallina

FRANGERE dum metuis, franges crystallina : peccant > securae iiimium sollicitaeque manus.

CXII. Nimbus Vitreus

A IOVE qui veniet, miscenda ad pocula largas fundet nimbus aquas : hie tibi vina dabit.

CXI II. Murrina

Si caldum potas, ardenti murra Falerno convenit et melior fit sapor inde mero.

CXIV. Patella Cumana

HANC tibi Cumaao rubicundam pulvere testam municipem misit casta Sibylla suam.

1 i.e. the flask will flavour the wine. Nard and other per- fumes were however often mixed with wine : Juv. vi. 303, 464 ; and foliata alludes to this practice. Thefoliatum was the same as nardinum, a mixture of spikenard and other perfumes, a list of which is given in Pliny (N.H. xiii. 2).

2 A nimbus (lit. storm-cloud) is supposed to have been a glass vessel with apertures for sprinkling wine, like'a water- ing-pot. The name may have been derived from the cloud on the glass caused by the snow-cooled wine.

3 Murra was perhaps a natural earth, and may have been

478


BOOK XIV. cx-cxiy

CX . A Drin king-flask

IN this jewelled flask that bears the name of Cosmus you may drink, luxurious man, if your thirst is for perfumed wine. 1

CXI. Crystal Cups

So long as you fear to break them, you will break crystal cups : hands too careless and too anxious alike offend.

CXII. A Glass Sprinkler

THE storm-cloud that comes from Jove will pour you water in plenty to blend your cups: this one will give you wine. 2

CXIII Murrine Cups

IF you drink your wine warm, murrine 3 suits the burning Falernian, and better flavour comes there- from to the wine.

CXIV. A Platter from Cumae

THIS platter, her own townsman, ruddy with the soil of Cumae, the chaste Sibyl 4 has sent you.

spar : Plin. N.H. xxxvii. 8. See the authorities collected in Mayor's note to Juv. vii. 133. Murrine vases have however been regarded as porcelain, and porcelain vases agreeing with Pliny's description are said to have been found. These vases were first brought to Rome by Pompey after his victory over Mithridates in B.C. 63. Enormous sums were paid for them, Nero paying 300 talents (say 60,000) for a drinking cup.

  • cj. ix. xxix. 3. The ware in question is the red Arretian :

cf. xcviii.; which was made also at Capua and Cumae in the first century.

479


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

CXV. Calices Vitrei

ASPICIS ingenium Nili : quibus addere plura dum cupit, a quotiens perdidit auctor opus !

CXVI. Lagona Nivaria

SPOLETINA bibis vel Marsis condita cellis : quo tibi decoctae nobile frigus aquae ?


CXVII Idem

NON potare nivem sed aquam potare recentem l de nive commenta est ingeniosa sitis.

CXVIIL Idem

MASSILIAE fumos miscere nivalibus undis parce, puer, constet ne tibi pluris aqua.

CXIX. Matella Fictilis

DUM poscor crepitu digitorum et verna moratur,

quotiens paelex culcita facta mea est !

CXX. Ligula Argentea

QUAMVIS me ligulam dicant equitesque patresque, dicor ab indoctis lingula grammaticis.

1 rigentem fiy.

1 Excessive ornamentation. The allusion appears to be to diatre.ta, which were chalices made in one piece with a net- work ornamentation : cf. xn. Ixx. 9.

2 These wines were inferior : cf. xm. cxx. and cxxi.

480


BOOK XIV. cxv-cxx

CXV. Glass Chalices

You observe the ingenuity of Egypt. Ah, how often has the artist, in wishing to make additions, 1 ruined his work !

CXVL A Flagon for Iced Water

You drink Spoletine, or wine stored in Marsian 2 cellars : what is the use to you of the noble coolness of boiled water ? 3

CXVII. The Same

THE drinking, not of snow, but of water fresh from the snow, the ingenuity of thirst has devised. 4

CXVIIL The Same

BOY, forbear to mix Massilia's smoke 5 with iced water, that the water may not cost you more than the wine.

CXIX. An Earthen Chamber-utensil

WHILE I am called for by a snapping of the fingers, 6 and the home-born slave lingers, oh, how often has a

pillow been made my rival !


CXX. A Silver Spoon

HOWEVER much both knights and senators may call me ligula, I am called by ignorant grammarians 7 lingula.

3 Decocta (as to which cf. II. Ixxxv. 1) is wasted on them.

4 cf. v. Ixiv. 2. 6 cf. x. xxxvi. 1 ; xin. exxiii. 2.

6 cf. in. Ixxxii. 15.

7 Who pedantically insist on the etymology from lingua, and disregard use.

481

VOL. II. I I


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

CXXI. Coclearia

SUM cocleis habilis sed nee minus utilis ovis. numquid scis, potius cur cocleare vocer ?

CXXIL Anuli

ANTE frequens sed nunc rarus nos donat amicus. felix cui comes est non alienus eques.

CXXIII. Dactyliotheca

SAEPE gravis digitis elabitur anulus unctis ; tuta mea net sed tua gemma fide.

CXXIV. Toga

" ROMANOS rerum dominos gentemque togatam " ille facit, magno qui dedit astra patri.

CXXV. Idem

Si matutinos facilest tibi perdere somnos, attrita veniet sportula saepe toga.

1 The cocl(are was a spoon with a point at one end, and smaller (c/. vin. Ixxi. 9, 10) than the liyula. The point was used to pick snails (coclece) or shellfish out of their shells ; hence the name. Petr. 33 speaks of coclearia of "not less than half a pound " weight used for eating eggs, but then they were Tritnalchio's spoons. Pliny (N.ff, xxviii. 4) tells us that it was a superstition to perforate empty egg-shells as a defence against evil spells.

482


BOOK XIV. cxxi-cxxv

CXXI. A Snail-pick

I AM convenient for eating snails, and no less use- ful for eating eggs. Do you know why I am rather called a snail-pick ? *

CXXIL Rings

FORMERLY many a friend gave us as presents, but now here and there a friend. Happy is he whose comrade is a knight he himself has made ! 2

CXXIIL A Ring-case*

OFTEN a heavy ring slips from fingers moist with unguent ; but your gem will be made safe in my faithful charge.

CXXIV. A Toga

HE makes the Romans "lords of the world and the race that wears the toga," 4 who granted- his mighty sire immortality. 5

CXXV. The Same

IF it comes easily to you to lose your morning sleep, by wearing out your toga 6 a dole will often come to you.

2 i.e. whose qualification he has supplied (cf. v. xix. 10), and whose gratitude he looks for. The ring was the mark of a knight : cf. vni. v. 2. 8 cj. XI. lix. 4.

4 A quotation from Verg. Aen. i. 282.

6 Domitian, who founded a temple to the Flavian family (cf. ix. i. 8), and also enjoined the use of the toga at spectacles : cf. iv. ii. 4. " By constant attendance at levees : cf. ix. c. 5.

483 i i 2


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

CXXVL Endromis

PAUPERIS est munus sed non est pauperis usus : hanc tibi pro laena mittimus endromida.

CXXVII. Canusinae Fuscae

HAEC tibi turbato Canusina simillima mulso munus erit. gaude : non cito fiet anus.

CXX VIII. Bardocucullus

GALLIA Santonico vestit te bardocucullo. cercopithecorum paenula nuper erat.

CXXIX. Canusinae Rufae

ROMA magis fuscis vestitur, Gallia ruffs, et placet hie pueris militibusque color.

, CXXX. Paenula Scortea

[NGUEDIARE viam caelo licet usque sereno, ad subitas nusquam 1 scortea desit aquas.

CXXXI. Lacernae Coccineae

Si veneto prasinove faves, quid coccina sumes ? ne fias ista transfuga sorte vide.

1 numquam j8XV.

1 The endromi-v was not a garment, but a warm wrapper of rough texture used by richer men for warmth after gym- nastic exercises : cf. iv. xix.

2 cf. IX. xxii. 9. Canusium (now Canosa) was a town in Apulia on the high road from Borne to Brundusium : cf. Hor. Sat. i. v. 91. It was celebrated for its wool, which Pliny (N.H. viu. Ixxiii.) calls fulvws.

3 cf. I. liii. 5. The bardocucullus was a hooded cloak covering the whole body, worn principally by common

484'


BOOK XIV. cxxvi-cxxxi

CXXVL A Warm Wrapper

'Tis a poor man's offering but not a poor man's wear. This wrapper I send you in place of a cloak. 1

CXXVII. A Brown Cloak of Camisian Wool THIS cloak of Canusian 2 wool, very like in colour to turbid mead, shall be your present. Rejoice : it will not quickly become old.

CXXVIIL A Corvkd Cloak

GAUL clothes you in a Santonian cowled cloak. 3 Formerly it was the frock of long-tailed monkeys.

CXXIX. Red Cloaks of Camisian Wool ROME is clad more in brown, Gaul in red, and this colour pleases boys and soldiers.

CXXX. A Leather Surtout*

ALTHOUGH you may set out on your journey when the sky is continuously serene, let a leather surtout nowhere be wanting against sudden showers.

CXXXL A Scarlet Mantle

IF you favour the Blue or the Green, 6 why will you assume scarlet? See that by this lot 6 you do not become a deserter.

people, and bearing some resemblance to the paenula, as to which cf. cxxx. Hence the juxtaposition here of the two names.

4 The paenula was a closed garment, fitting closely, with an opening for the head and a hood. It was an outer garment, worn over the tunic in wet or cold weather, and was made of frieze or leather.

5 Factions of the charioteers in the Circus.

6 cf. xiv. i. 5.

485


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

CXXXII. Pilkum

Si possem, totas cuperem misisse lacernas : nunc tantum capiti muiiera mitto tuo.

CXXXIII. Lacernae Baeticae

NON est lana mihi mendax nee mutor aheno. sic placeant Tyriae : me mea tinxit ovis.

CXXXIV. Fascia Pectoralis

FASCIA, crescentes dominae compesce papillas, ut sit quod capiat nostra tegatque mantis.

CXXXV. Cenatoria

NEC fora sunt nobis nee sunt vadimonia nota : hoc opus est, pictis accubuisse toris.

CXXXVL Laena

TEMPORE brumali non multum levia prosunt : calfaciunt villi pallia vestra mei.

CXXXVII. Lacernae Albae

AMPHITHEATRALI nos commendamus ab usu, cum teget algentes l alba lacerna togas.

1 ttgit fiy. alhenles /8.


1 The lacerna was a mantle fastened with a buckle, and not closed in like the paenula. It often had a hood, and was ample, so that it could be worn over the toga (cf. Juv. ix. 29) or other garment. 2 cf. xn. Ixiii. 4.

3 The fascia, like the mamillare in Ixvi., was a bandage

486


BOOK XIV. cxxxu-cxxxvn

CXXXIL A Cap

IF I could, I should have wished to have sent a mantle complete : now I send you a present only for your head. 1

CXXXIIL A Baetic Mantle

MY wool is not deceptive, nor am I transformed in the vat. Let Tyrian mantles please you by such means : my own sheep dyed me. 2

CXXXIV. A Stomacher

STOMACHER, compress the swelling breasts of my mistress that there may be something for my hand to seize and cover. 3

CXXXV. Dinner Suits

NOR courts are known to us, nor are bail bonds: this is our business to recline on inlaid couches.

CXXXVL A Warm Cloak*

IN the winter season smooth coverings do not much avail : my wool makes warm your outer garment.

CXXXVIL White Mantles

WE recommend ourselves by our use in the amphi- theatre, 6 when a white mantle shall cover a chilly toga.

usually, meant to restrain development of the bust. Here it is meant to give firmness and shape.

  • The laena was in winter often worn over the toga or

pallium : cf. xii. xxxvi. 2.

5 It was customary to wear white at public spectacles : cf. iv. ii.

487


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

CXXXVIIL Mantek

Xouiuus villosa tegant tibi lintea citrum : orbibus in nostris circulus esse potest.

CXXXIX. Cuculli Liburnici

IUNOERE nescisti nobis, o stulte, lacernas : indueras albas, exue callainas.

CXL. Udones Cilicii

NON hos lana dedit sed olentis barba mariti : Cinyphio poterit planta latere sinu.


CXLI. Synthesis

DUM toga per quinas gaudet requiescere luces, hos poteris cultus sumere iure tuo.

CXLIL Focale

Si recitaturus dedero tibi forte libellum, hoc focale tuas adserat auriculas.

1 Made by wet, round-footed vessels. M.'s- tables were common ones, and not of citrus.

2 Calfainas = the colour of the callais, a stone which, according to Pliny (N.H. xxxvii. 56), s>ipphirum imitatur, candidior, et literoso mari similis, i.e. a kind of sea-green. The hood and mantle should have been of the same hue, as the green hood, wetted by rain, would be apt to stain the white mantle.

8 i.e. a he-goat's : cf. Hor. Od. i. xvii. 7, Olentis iixores mariti.


BOOK XIV. CXXXVIII-CXLII

CXXXVIIL A Tablecloth

LET woollen cloths cover your nobler citrus wood : on my round tables a circular mark a may stand.

CXXXIX. A Liburnian Hood

You have not known, O foolish fellow, how to match your mantle with me : you put it on white ; take it off now green. 2

CXL. Cilician Socks

WOOL did not supply these, but the beard of the noisome husband : 3 your foot will be able to take refuge in a Cinyphian 4 nest.

CXLI. A Holiday Garment

WHILE the toga gladly rests for five days, you may assume this garb as of right. 5

CXLIL A Comforter

IF, meaning to recite, I shall perhaps have sent you a note of invitation, let this comforter emanci- pate your ears. 6

4 CilicMim was a cloth made of goats' hair, and garments or other articles made of it were called cilicia -. cf. ( 'ic. \'< rr. iii. 38 ; Liv. xxxviii. 7 ; even where, as here, the hair ciinie from Africa, Cinyps being the name of a river near the Syrtes : cf. vn. xcv. 13.

5 The synthesis was worn at the Saturnalia: cf. xiv i. 1. It was ordinarily a dinner dress : cf. V. Ixxix. 2.

(i From boredom: cf. iv. xli. 2. Anxerere iii lih< rini< m was the regular phrase for setting a slave free : cj. I. Iii. 5.

489


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

CXLIII. Tunicae Patavinae

VELLERA consumunt Patavinae multa trilices, et pingues tunicas serra secare potest.

CXLIV. Spongea

HAEC tibi sorte datur tergendis spongea mensis utilis, expresso cum levis imbre tumet.

CXLV. Paenula Gausapina

Is mihi candor inest, villorum gratia tanta, ut me vel media sumere messe velis.

CXLVI Cervical

TINGUE caput Cosmi folio, cervical olebit : perdidit unguentum cum coma, pluma tenet.

CXL VIT. Cubicularia Ga usapina

STRAGULA purpureis lucent villosa tapetis. quid prodest, si te congelat uxor anus ?

CXL VIII. Lodices

NUDO stragula ne toro paterent, iunctae nos tibi venimus sorores.

1 The trilix was where every weft-thread was passed over one and then under three of the warp-threads, instead of over one and under the next in regular succession, as in ordinary weaving. The process is called twilling, and the fabric would be triple-twilled. Verg. speaks of a breastplate auro trilix : Aen. iii. 467 ; i.e. chain-mail.

2 Frieze garments were ordinarily worn in winter : cf. vi. lix. 2.

49


BOOK XIV. CXLIU-CXLVIII

CXLIII. Palawan Tunics

PADUAN garments of triple thread T use up many fleeces, and only a saw can sever the thick tunics.

CXLIV. A Sponge

THIS sponge is given you by lot : it is useful for wiping tables when it lightly swells after the water has been squeezed out.

CXLV. A Frieze Surtout

SUCH is my whiteness, the beauty of my wool is such, that you would choose to wear me even in the midst of harvest. 2

CXLVL A Pillow

ANOINT your head with Cosmus' unguent, your pillow will smell of it : when your hair has lost the fragrance the feathers retain it.

CXLVIL Frieze Coverlets 3

YOUR coverlet of wool is bright with purple bro- cade. What is the use of it if an aged wife freeze you?

CXLVIIL BUmkets

THAT the sacking on your bare bed might not show, we sisters, knit together, have come to you. 4

! Gausapum was woollen cloth having, like frieze, a thick

nap on one side only, as distinguished from amphimallum, which had a nap on both. It was introduced into Rome in the time of the Elder Pliny's father: Plin. N.H. vm. Ixxiii.

4 The lodix was a small shaggy blanket. Sometimes two were sewed together to form a coverlet. The Emperor Augustus used it as a wrap for warmth in the open air : Suet. Aug. Ixxxiii. Lodices came from Verona : cf. Ep. clii.

491


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

CXLIX. Amictorium

MAMMOSAS metuo ; tenerae me trade puellae, ut possint niveo pectore lina frui.

CL. Cubicularia Polymita

HAEC tibi Memphitis tellus dat munera : victa est pectine Niliaco iam Babylonos acus.

CLI. Zona

LONGA satis nunc sum ; dulci sed pondere venter si tumeat, fiam tune tibi zona brevis.

CLI1. Gausapum Quadratum

LODICES mittet docti tibi terra Catulli : nos Helicaonia de regione sumus.

CLIII. Semicinctium

DET tunicam locuples : ego te praecingere possum, essem si locuples, munus utrumque darem.

CLIV. Lanae Amethystinae

EBRIA Sidoniae cum sim de sanguine conchae, 11011 video quare* sobria lana vocer.

1 Damask is a variety of twill (cf. cxliii. ), and depends upon the number of warp threads (generally four) intersected by the weft. 2 A weaver's reed.

3 Babylon was celebrated for embroidery in colour ; the art of many-threaded work (polymita) came from Alexandria : cf. Plin. N.H. viii. 74.

49 2


BOOK XIV. CXLIX-CLIV

CXLIX. A Tucker

I SHRINK from big-breasted women : hand me over to some young girl, that my linen may enjoy a bosom of snow.

CL. Damask l Coverlets

THIS present the land of Memphis makes you : now has the needle of Babylon been surpassed by the sley 2 of the 5file. 3

CLI. A Female Girdle

LONG enough am I now ; but if your shape should swell under its grateful burden, then shall I become to you a narrow girdle.

CLII. A Square Woollen Rug

BLANKETS the country of elegant Catullus will send you : we are from the region of Helicaon. 4

CLIIL An Apron

LET a rich man give a tunic: I can gird you in front. Were I rich, I would give both gifts.

CLIV '.Amethyst-dyed Wool

DRUNKEN as I am with the blood of Sidon's shell- fish, I do not see why I am called sober wool. 5

4 Paduan : cf. X. xciii. 1.

5 "Amethyst" etymologically means " unintoxicated," either, as Pliny says (N.H. xxxvii. 40), because it did not approximate to the colour of wine, or because its possession was supposed to be an antidote against inebriety. There are similar Greek epigrams in Pal. Anth. ix. 748 and 752.

493


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL


CLV. Lanae Albae

VELLERIBUS primis Apulia, Parma secundis nobilis : Altinum tertia laudat ovis.

CLVI. Lanae Tyriae

Nos Lacedaemoniae pastor donavit amicae : deterior Ledae purpura matris erat.

CLVII. Lanae Pollentinae

NON tantum pullo lugentes vellere lanas, sed solet et calices haec dare terra suos.

CLVIIL Idem

LANA quidem tristis sed tonsis apta ministris, quales non primo de grege mensa citat.

CLIX. Tomentum Leuconicum

OPPRESSAE nimium vicina est fascia plumae ? vellera Leuconicis accipe rasa sagis.

CLX. Tomentum Circense

TOMENTUM concisa palus Circense vocatur. haec pro Leuconico stramina pauper emit.

1 c/. Plin. N.H. viii. 73.

3 A municipium in Venetia on the road between Patavium (Padua) and*Aquileia (now Altino) : cf. iv. xxv. 1.

8 Paris gave to Helen.

  • Laconian purple was the finest produced in Europe, that

of Tyre the finest in Asia : Plin. N. H. ix. 60. The latter was superior to the former.

6 A town in Liguria, now Polenza. It was famed for its wool, which was black : Plin. N.H. viii. 73.

494


BOOK XIV. CI.V-CLX

CLV. White Wool

APULIA is renowned for the finest wool, 1 Parma for second quality ; its sheep, third in rank, commend Altinum. 2

CLVLTyrian Wools

Us the shepherd gave to his Lacedaemonian mis- tress: 3 of less worth was the purple of her mother Leda. 4

CLVIL Wool from Pollentia*

THIS land is wont to supply not only wool that mourns with its black fleece : it supplies also its native chalices.

CLVIIL The Same

MY wool is indeed sad in hue, but 'tis fit for close- dipt attendants, 6 such as but not from the first rank of slaves the table summons.

CLIX. Leuconian .Bed-stuffing

Is the bed-girth 7 too near the feather pillow you crush down ? Accept fleeces shorn for Leuconian s cloaks.

CLX. Circensian Bed-stuffing

MARSH-REED chopped up is called Circensian stuffing. This litter the poor man buys in lieu of Leuconian.

6 The smarter attendants often had their hair long : cf. n. Ivii. 5 ; in. Iviii. 31.

7 c/. v. Ixii. 6.

8 Leucanicum was a wool much used as a stuffing : cf. xi. xxi. 8 and Ivi. 9. It came from the Leucones, a Gaulish people.

9 So called because it was used in the circus on seats by the common people : cf. Sen. De Vit. Beat. xxv. 2.

.495


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

CLXL Pluma

LASSUS' Amyclaea poteris requiescere pluma, interior cycni quam tibi lana dedit.

CLXIL Faenum

FRAUDATA tumeat fragilis tibi culcita mula. non venit ad duros pallida cura toros.

CLXIII. Tintinabulum

REDDE pilam : sonat aes thermarum. ludere pergis ? Virgine vis sola lotus abire domum.

CLXIV. Discus

SPI.ENDIDA cum volitant Spartani pondera disci, este procul, pueri : sit semel ille nocens.

CLXV. Cithara

REDDIDIT Eurydicen vati : sed perdidit ipse, dum sibi non credit nee patienter amat.

CLXVL Mem


DE Pompeiano saepe est eiecta theatre quae duxit silvas detinuitque feras.

1 A city of Laconia. The feathers are called Amyclaean because Jupiter appeared to Spartan Leda in the shape of a swan.

cf. Hor. Od. m. i. 21 for a similar idea.

496


BOOK XIV. CLXI-CLXVI

CLXL Feathers

TIRED you may rest on feathers of Amyclae l which the swan's inner down lias given you.

CLXIL Hay

LET your rustling mattress swell with thefts from your mule : pale Care comes not to hard couches. 2

CLXIIL A Bell

GIVE up the ball : the bell of the warm baths is sounding. Do you go on playing ? You want to go home after a bath in the Virgin water only. 3

CLXIV. A Quoit

WHILE the burnished weight of the Spartan quoit is flying, keep far off, ye boys : let that quoit be guilty only once. 4

CLXV. A Cithern

IT restored Eurydice to her bard ; but he 'him- self lost her, trusting not himself, nor loving with patience.

CLXVL The Same

OFTEN has that been driven 5 from Pompey's theatre, which drew after it woods and stayed wild beasts. 6

3 The hot baths will be full, or closed, arid he will have to content himself with a cold bath from the aqua Virgo : cf. v. xx. 9. * cf. clxxiii. post,

3 i.e. hissed off by the audience.

6 i.e. when played by Orpheus : cf. Sped. xxi.

497

VOL. II. K K


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

CLXV1L Plectrum

FERVIDA ne trito tibi pollice pusula surgat, exornent docilem Candida plectra lyram. 1

CLXVIIL Trocktu

INDUCENDA rota est : das nobis utile munus : iste trochus pueris at mihi canthus erit.

CLXIX. Idem

GARRULUS in laxo cur anulus orbe vagatur ? cedat ut argutis obvia turba trochis.

CLXX. Signum Victoriae Aureum

HAEC illi sine sorte datur cui nomina Rhenus vera dedit. deciens adde Falerna, puer.

CLXXI. Bpoirrou TraiSiov Fictile

GLORIA tarn parvi non est obscura sigilli : istius pueri Brutus arnator erat. 1 garrula &y.

1 An instrument for striking the strings.

2 Rings were often strung round the orbit of a boy's hoop : see a picture taken from a sepulchral bas-relief at Tivoli reproduced in Rich's Diet. Ant. s.v. "Anulus." How the hoop was able to run is very obscure. Perhaps loose rings were supported in position by the clavis, or hook for trundling the hoop. Or perhaps the rings were attached to the inner circumference.

498


BOOK XIV. CLXVII-CLXXI

CLXVIL A Quill for Playing the Lyre

THAT an angry blister may not arise on your chafed thumb, let an ivory quill l embellish your responsive lyre.

CLXVIIL A Hoop

THE wheel must be fitted with a tyre : you give me a useful present ; this to boys will be a hoop, but to me a tyre.

CLXIX. The Same

WHY do noisy rings wander round the wide orbit? That the crowd that meets them may give way to tinkling hoops. 2

CLXX. A Golden Statue of Victory 3

SHE is given without a drawn lot to him to whom Rhine has given a true victor's name. Ten times 4 pour Falernian, boy.

CLXXL A Clay Image of " Brutus Boy"

THE renown of so small a statue 5 is not unknown. Of this boy was Brutus the lover.

3 This, and the following, describe sigilla (statuettes), which were frequently given at the Saturnalia, i.e. on the last two days, which were called Sigillaria : cf. Aus. De Fer. Horn. v. 32 (Festa sigillorum nomine dicta col-tint).

4 To represent the letters of Germanicus (Doinitian) : cf. ix. xciii. 7, 8.

5 cf. n. Ixxvii. 4 ; ix. 1. The statuette was by Strongylion, a Greek sculptor of the fifth century u.c : Plin. jV.7/. xxxiv. 19(21).

499 K K 2


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

CLXXII. Suuroctonos Corinthius

AD te reptanti, puer insidiose, lacertae parce ; cupit digitis ilia perire tuis.

CLXXIII. Hyacinthus in Tabula Pictus

FLECTIT ab inviso morientia lumina disco Oebalius, Phoebi culpa dolorque, puer.

CLXXIV. Hermaphroditus Marmoreus

MASCULUS intravit fontis : emersit utrumque : pars est una patris, cetera matris habet.

CLXXV. Danae Picta

CUR a te pretium Danae, regnator Olympi, accepit, gratis si tibi Leda dedit ?

CLXXVI. Persona Germana

SUM figuli lusus russi persona Batavi. quae tu derides, haec timet ora puer.

CLXXVIL Hercules Corinthius

EI.IDIT geminos infans nee respicit anguis. iam poterat teneras hydra timere manus.

1 On a replica of a work of Praxiteles representing the young Apollo with an arrow watching a lizard. It was called ~S,ai'p3KTovos : cf. Plin. N.H. xxxiv. 19 (10).

2 Apollo, when playing at quoits with Hyacinthus, killed him by accident. From his blood sprang the hyacinth inscribed with the Greek alai (alas) : cf. Milton's " Sanguine flower inscribed with woe." The picture alluded to may be a copy of the one by Antidotus of the fourth century B.C., the original of which was transported to Rome by Augustus on the capture of Alexandria : Plin. N. H. xxxv. 40 (28).

500


BOOK XIV. CLXXII-CLXXVII

CLXXII. The Lizard-slayer in Corinthian Bronze SPARE the lizard, treacherous boy, as it creeps up to you ; it longs to perish by your hands. 1

CLXXIII. A Picture of Hyacinthus FROM the hated quoit he turns his dying eyes, the Oebalian boy, the reproach and sorrow of Phoebus. 2

CLXXIV. A Marble Hermaphrodites MALE, he entered the fount ; 3 he came forth both male and female : one part of him is his sire's, all else has he of his mother.

CLXXV. A Picture oj Danae WHY of you, Ruler of Olympus, did Danae 4 receive her price, if Leda unbought was kind to you?

CLXXVL A German Mask

I AM a freak of the potter, the mask of a red- haired Batavian. This face you deride a boy dreads. 5

CLXXVII. Hercules in Corinthian Bronze THE infant throttles 6 the two serpents, nor. does he glance on them. Already might the hydra 7 fear youthful hands.

8 Salmacis : cf. vi. Ixviii 9 ; and see Ovid, Mel. iv. 285. 4 Possibly a copy of Arlemon's picture of Danae miran- tibus earn praedonibuK : cf. PHn. N.H. xxxv. 40(32). 6 To him it is a bogey.

6 The Goddess Hera, jealous of Alcuiena the mother of Hercules, sent two serpents to kill him in his cradle : cf.

'Verg. A en. viii. 289.

7 The Lernaean hydra, or water-snake, .was one of the monsters slain by Hercules : cf. Sped, xxvii. 5 ; ix. ci. 9.

5'


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

CLXXVIIL Hercules FictiUs

SUM fragilis : sed tu, moneo, ne sperne sigillum : non pudet Alciden nomen habere meum.

CLXXIX. Minerva Argentea

Die mihi, virgo ferox, cum sit tibi cassis et hasta, quare non habeas aegida. "Caesar habet."

CLXXX. Europe Picta

MUTAHI melius tauro, pater optime divum, tune poteras, lo cum tibi vacca fuit.

CLXXXI. Leandros Marmoreus

CLAMABAT tumidis audax Leandros in undis " Mergite me, fluctus, cum rediturus ero."

CLXXXIL 8igillum Gibberi Fictile

EBRLUS haec fecit terris, puto, monstra Prometheus Saturnalicio lusit et ipse luto.


1 The statuette was called Hercules Fictilis : cf. Plin. N.H. xxxv. 45. It was by Turianus of Fregellae in the time of Tarquinius Prisons.

2 See the description of Domitian's breastplate, vn. i. and ii. s The original was in the Porticus Pompeii, painted by

Antiphilus, the rival of Apelles : Plin. N.H. xxxv. 37.

4 As a bull J. would have escaped the hundred eyes of Argus set to watch lo : cf. Ixxxv. 2.

502


BOOK XIV. cLxxvm-cLxxxn

CLXXVIIL A Hercules in Clay

FRAGILE am I, but do not you, I charge you, despise my small statue : it shames not Alcides to bear my name. 1

CLXXIX. A Minerva in Silver

TELL, me, gallant maid, whereas thou hast thy helm and thy spear, why hast thou not thine aegis ? " Caesar has it." 2

CLXXX. A Picture of Europa 3

BETTER, most excellent Father of the Gods, couldst thou have been changed into a bull when lo was to thee a heifer. 4

CLXXXL A Marble Leander

DARING Leander cried amid the swelling waters : " Drown me, ye waves, when I am .turning home." 5

CLXXXII. A Clay Statuette of a Hunchback

'TWAS a drunken Prometheus, 6 I fancy, made for the earth this monster ; he himself, too, played with Saturnalian clay. 7

5 Sped. xxv. B is on the same subject.

6 i.e. the potter : cf. Juv. iv. 133.

7 The original Prometheus (>pe) made men out of clay (cf. x. xxxix. 4), and had a taste for making grotesque figures. Statuettes of dwarfs and monstrosities were doubt- less often made, and given as presents at the Saturnalia, the taste for slaves of this type being common : rf. the Poly- phemus and Scylla of vn. xxxviii.

503


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

CLXXXIII. Homeri Batrachomachia

PERLEGE Maeonio cantatas carmine ranas et frontem nugis solvere disce meis.


CLXXXIV. Homerus in Pugillarihus Membranis

ILIAS et Priami regnis inimicus Ulixes multiplici pariter condita pelle latent.

CLXXXV. Vergili Culix

ACCIPE facundi Culicem, studiose, Maronis, ne nucibus positis " Arma virumque " legas.


CLXXXVI. Fergilius in Membranis

QUAM brevis inmensum cepit membrana Maronem ! ipsius vultus prima tabella gerit.

CLXXXVIL MevavSpov Oafs

HAC primum iuvenum lascivos lusit amores ; nee Glycera pueri, Thais arnica fuit.

CLXXXVIII. Cicero in Membranis

Si comes ista tibi fuerit membrana, putato carpere te longas cum Cicerone vias.

1 "If Homer can unbend, I can be excused."

2 Culex, an early poem of Vergil's.

8 With which they gambled at the Saturnalia : cf. xiv. i. 12.

54


BOOK XIV. CLXXXIII-CLXXXVIII

CLXXXIII. Homers "Battle of Frogs and Mice" READ through the story of the frogs sung in Homer's lay, and learn to smooth your brow by means of my trifles. 1

CLXXXIV. Homer in Parchment Handybooks

THE Iliad and the tale of Ulysses, foe to Priam's realm, both lie stored in many-folded skins.

CLXXXV. Virgil s Gnat

RECEIVE, studious reader, the Gnat 2 of eloquent Maro ; you need not then lay aside your nuts 3 to read "Arms and the Man."

CLXXXVL Virgil in Parchment

How short a parchment 4 has comprised the mighty Maro ! The features of the man himself the first leaf bears.

CLXXXVIL The Thais of Menander

WITH this first he lightly touched youth's wanton love, and Glycera was not the mistress of his boy- hood : 'twas Thais. 5

CLXXXVIII Cicero in Parchment

IF this parchment shall be your travelling com- panion, imagine you are taking a long journey with Cicero.

4 Parchment being very expensive, books were often copied in small characters : cf. cxc.

6 From this play came the line quoted by St. Paul, <f>0fipovffii> %0ri xpJl ff O' fy*'^ 01 ' fa/col.

505


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

CLXXXYK.Monobyblos Properti

CYNTHIA, facundi carmen iuvenale~Properti ? accepit famam ; non minus ipsa dedit.

CXC. Titus Livius in Membranis

PELUBUS exiguis artatur Livius ingens, quem mea non totum bybliotheca capit.

CXCI. Sallustius

Hie evit, ut perhibent doctorum corda virorum, primus Romana Crispus in historia.

CXCII. Ovidi Metamorphosis in Membranis

HA EC tibi multiplici quae structa est massa tabella, carmina Nasonis quinque decemque gerit.

CXCIII. Tibullus

USSIT amatorem Nemesis lasciva Tibullum, in tola iuvit quem nihil esse domo.

CXCIV. Lucanus

SUNT quidam qui me dicant non esse poetam : sed qui me vendit bybliopola putat.

CXCV. Catullus

TANTUM magna suo debet Vei*ona Catullo, quantum parva suo Mantua Vergilio.

1 The first book of Propertius was published by him at the age of twenty. It was called Cynthia, and in some MSS. is headed "-Monobiblos." But whether M. alludes to this is uncertain.

506


BOOK XIV. CLXXXIX-CXCV

CLXXXIX. Propertiiis in a Single Volume CYNTHIA, 1 the theme of eloquent Propertius' youth- ful song, won from him fame ; no less she herself bestowed.

CXC. Titus Livius in Parchment

NARROWED into scanty skins is bulky Livy, the whole of whom my library does not contain. 2

CXCL Sattust

HERE will be Crispus, first of Roman historians, as the judgment of learned men declares.

CXCII. Ovid's "Metamorphoses" in Parchment

THIS bulk, that has been formed of many a leaf, contains the fifteen books of Naso's poems.


CXCIIL T

WANTON Nemesis 3 fired her lover Tibullus, whom it pleased to be "of no account in his own house.

CXCIV. Lucan

SOME are there that say I am no poet : but the bookseller that sells me thinks I am.

CXCV. Catullus

As much great Verona owes to her Catullus as small Mantua owes to her Virgil.

- It is too small to hold Livy in his o'rdinary shape. L. wrote 142 books of annals.

3 It was Delia of whom Tib. (i. v. 30) writes "Aljuvet in tota me nihil esse domo " Nemesis was his second love.

507


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

CXCVI. Calvi de Aquae Frigidae Usu

HAEC tibi quae fontes et aquarum nomina dicit ipsa suas melius charta natabit aquas.

CXCVIL Mulae Pumilae

His tibi de mulis non est metuenda ruina : altius in terra paene sedere soles.

CXCVIIL Catella Gallicana

DELICIAS parvae si vis audire catellae, narranti brevis est pagina tota rnihi.

CXCIX. Asturco

Hie brevis ad numeros rapidum qui colligit unguem, venit ab auriferis gentibus Astur equus.

CC. Canis Vertragus

NON sibi sed domino venatur vertragus acer, inlaesum leporem qui tibi dente feret.

CCI. Palaestrita

NON amo quod vincat, sed quod succumbere novit et didicit melius rr)v liriKXwoTra.\r)v.

1 Licinius Calvus, an orator and poet of the age of Cicero. He is praised by Catullus, Propertius, and Ovid ; but M. suggests that this particular work is fit only to be thrown away : cf. i. v. 2. 2 cf. M.'s description of Issa (i. cix.).

3 cf. Non milgaris in cursu gradus, aed mollis alterno crurum explicatu gloraeratio : Plin. N.H. viii. 67. This trot or amble was taught : ibid.

508


BOOK XIV. cxcvi-cci

CXCVI Calvus i Poem on the Use of Cold Water THESE sheets, that speak to you of fountains and of the names of rivers, themselves will better swim in the waters they tell of.

CXCVIL Dwarf Mules

FROM these mules no fall is to be apprehended : you are used to sit almost higher on the ground.

CXCVIIL A Gallic Lapdog

If you wish to hear the tricks of a small lapdog, for the telling a whole page of mine is too short. 2

CXCIX. A Jennet

THIS little horse, that picks up its hurrying hoof in measured time, 3 has come from tribes rich in'gold, an Asturian steed.

CO. A Greyhound*

NOT for himself, but for his master, hunts the keen greyhound, who will bring you a hare unwounded by his tooth.

CCL A Wrestler

I DO not like him because he wins, but because he knows how to yield, and has learned the better art of recovering himself. 6

4 The word is by some translated "tumbler," a dog that inveigled game by careless gambols, or by rolling himself into a heap, and so disguising his shape. It is alluded to in Hudibras.

5 There is probably an obscene sense here : cf. Suet. Dom. 22 (assiduitatem concubitus velut exercitationin genus clinopalen vocabat).

59


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

CCII. Simius

CALLIDUS emissas eludere simius hastas, si mihi cauda foret, cercopithecus eram.

CCIII. Puella Gaditana

TAM tremulum crisat, tarn blandum prurit, ut ipsum masturbatorem fecerit Hippolytum.

CCIV. Cymbala

AERA Celaenaeos lugentia Matris amores esuriens Gallus vendere saepe solet.

CCV. Puer

SIT nobis aetate puer, non pumice, levis, propter quern placeat nulla puella mihi.

CCVL Cestos

COLLO necte, puer, meros amores, ceston de Veneris sinu calentem.


CCVIL Idem

SUME Cytheriaco medicatum nectare ceston : ussit amatorem balteus iste lovem.


1 The cercopithecus came from Aethiopia : Plin. N.H. viii. 30. In Egypt it was a sacred animal : Juv. xv. 4.

2 Who rejected the advances of his stepmother, Phaedra, the wife of his father Theseus.

5 10


BOOK XIV. CCH-CCVII

CCII A Monkey

A MONKEY cunning to avoid darts hurled at me, I should be a " long-tailed ape " 1 had I a tail.

CCIII. A Girl from Gades

SALTEGGIA con si minuto tremito, ed eccita con tanta lusinga, che Ippolito 2 stesso si masturberebbe.

CCIV. Cymbals

THE brazen cymbals that mourn for the boy of Celaenae, 3 the darling of the Great Mother, her priest is often wont to sell when hungry.

CCV. A Young Slave

MAY I have a boy with a cheek smooth with youth, not with pumice, for whose sake no maid would please me.

CCVI A Cestus

ROUND thy neck twine, boy, love's very essence, 4 a cestus 6 warm from the bosom of Venus.

CCVIL The Same

TAKE thou the cestus imbued with Cytherea's nectar : this girdle fired 6 the lover Jove.

3 Attis, the love of Cybele : cf. 11. Ixxxvi. 4.

4 A phrase from Catullus xiii. 9. 6 cf. vi. xiii. 5.

6 Hera borrowed from Aphrodite her cestun to inflame the ardour of Zeus : Horn. II. xiv. 214, 312.


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

CCVIII. Notariiu

CURRANT verba licet, manus est velocior illis : nondum lingua suum, dextra peregjt opus.

CCIX. Concha

LEVIS ab aequorea cortex Mareotica concha fiat : inoffensa curret harundo via.

OCX. Mono

NON mendax stupor est nee fingitur arte dolosa. quisquis plus iusto non sapit, ille sapit.

CCXI. Caput Vervecinum

MOLLIA Phrixei secuisti colla mariti.

hoc meruitj tunicam qui tibi, saeve, dedit ?

CCXIL Pumilus

Sr solum spectes hominis caput, Hectora credas : si stanteni videas, Astyanacta putes.

CCXIIL Parma

HAEC, quae saepe solet vinci, quae vincere raro, parma tibi, scutum pumilionis erit.

1 This epigram explains the small price at which M.'s poems could be sold by Tryphon : cf. xui. iii. 2. A number of slaves as shorthand writers could copy books cheaply.

2 Papyrus, Mareotis being a part of Egypt. Pliny (N.H. xiii. 25) says that papyrus was smoothed by an instrument or by a shell, but that the writing fades.

3 cf. vi. xxxix. ; vill. xiii. ; XII. xciii.

4 The ram with the golden fleece that carried Phryxus

512


BOOK XIV. ccviii-ccxni

CCVIII. A Shorthand Writer

ALBEIT the words speed, the hand is swifter than they : not yet lias the tongue, the hand has finished its work. 1

CCIX. A Sea-shell

LET the rind of the Mareotic rush 2 be made smooth by the sea-shell : the reed-pen will run on an unimpeded path.

CCX. A Natural*

His dulness is not assumed, or pretended by crafty art. He that has wits no more than is enough has his wits.

CCXL A Ram's Head

You have cut the soft throat of the lord of the flock, a ram of Phryxus ; 4 did he deserve this who gave you, cruel man, your tunic ?

CCXIL A Dwarf

IF you regard the man's head alone you would, believe him Hector; if you saw him standing you would deem him Astyanax. 5

CCXIIl.A Small Shield

THIS, which is wont oft to be overcome, rarely to win, 6 will be to you a small buckler, but a dwarf's great shield.

and Helle through the air, and whose fleece was afterwards carried off by the Argonauts from Colchis: cf. vr. iii. 6; vin. li. 9. 5 The young son of Hector : cf. vin. vi. 16.

6 Domitian favoured the. ncutarii, gladiators who fought with the ordinary large oblong shield, as against the gladia- tors called "Thracians," who wore a smaller shield of a round shape : cf. ix. Ixviii. 8.

513

VOL. II. L L


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

CCXIV. Comoedi Piteri

NON erit in turba quisquam Microu/xevos ista : sed poterit quivis esse Ais e^aTrarwv.

CCXV. Fibula

Die mihi simpliciteiv, comoedis et citharoedis, fibula, quid praestas? "Carius ut futuant."

CCXVL Accipiler

PHAEDO fuit volucrum : famulus nunc aucupis idem deicit et captas non sibi maeret aves.

CCXVIL Opsonator

Die quotus et quanti cupias cenare, nee unum addideris verbum : cena parata tibi est.

CCXVIIL Aucepg

NON tantum calamis sed cantu fallitur ales, callida dum tacita crescit harundo manu.

CCXIX. Cor Bubulum

PAUPER causidicus nullos referentia nummos carmina cum scribas, accipe cor, quod habes.

1 The two mentioned are comedies of Menander. In the Litter occurs the celebrated line $>v ol Qtoi <pi\ovaiv a.iro8vi]GKti vfos. 2 cf. vu. Ixxxii. 1,2.

3 The removal of the clasp has \.o be paid for : cf. Sohitur his magno comoedi fibula (Juv. vi. 73).

4 Birds are caught not only by a limed cane but also by an imitation of their note, or by the note of a decoy bird. As


BOOK XIV. ccxiv-ccxix

CCXIV. Boy Comic Actors

IN all this troupe will be no one "The Hated"; but any one of them can be "The Double Deceiver." 1

CCXV. A Singer's Clasp

TELL me candidly, O clasp, what do you guarantee to comedians and harp-players ? 2 " The greater value of their favours." 3

CCXVL A Hawk

HE preyed once upon birds ; the servant of the fowler now, he strikes them down, and is sad the birds are not taken for his own behoof.

CCXVIL A Caterer

SAY with how many and at what cost you want to dine, and do not add another word : your dinner is ready for you.

CCXV1IL Bird-catching Rods NOT only by canes, but by a bird's note also is the bird deceived while the cunning reed is being lengthened by the noiseless hand. 4

CCXIX.-J Bullock's Pluck

SEEING that you, a poor lawyer, write poems that do not bring you in a penny, take from me pluck like your own. 5

to the cane, cf. -TX. liv. 3 ; and, as to the decoy, see the engraved gem in Rich's Diet. Antiq. x.v. " Arundo."

8 There is a play on two meanings of the word cor, viz. "heart" and "sense": cf. vi. Ixiv. 18. ' Pluck " is a butcher's name for the heart, liver and lights of an animal : see Skeat's Etym. Diet. s.r. ; and also means " courage."

5'5 1. L 2


THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

CCXX. Cocwt

NON satis est ars sola coco : servire palatum nolo : cocus doinini debet habere gulam.

CCXXI. Craticula cum Verubus

KARA tibi curva craticula sudet ofella ; spumeus in longa cuspide fumet aper.

s -

CCXXIL Pistor Dulciarius

MILLE tibi dulces operum raanus ista figuras extruet : huic uni parca laborat apis.

CCXXIIL Adipata

SURGITE : iam vendit pueris ientacula pistor cristataeque sonant undique lucis aves.


INCERTAE SEDIS EPIGRAMMA

FLAVIA gens, quantum tibi tertius abstulit heres ! paene fuit tanti non habuisse duos.

Hoc epigramma extat apud scholiastam in luvenalem S. iv. 38. Vulgo in fine libri spectacnlorum legitur, libro xi. adsignatur a Friedl.


516


BOOK XIV. ccxx-ccxxm

CCXX. A Cook

INSUFFICIENT is ins art alone for a cook : I would not have his palate that of a slave ; a cook ought to possess the taste of his master.

CCXXI. A Gridiron with Spits

LET your grated gridiron be unctuous with the rounded cutlet; on the long pointed spit let a foaming boar smoke.

CCXXII The Confectioner

A THOUSAND toothsome shapes of handiwork that hand will construct for you ; for him alone labours the frugal bee.

CCXX1IL Rich Dainties

GET up : already the baker is selling to boys their breakfast, and the crested fowls of dawn are crowing on all sides.


AN EPIGRAM OF UNCERTAIN POSITION

O FLAVIAN family, of how much glory has thy third heir robbed thee ! Well nigh had it stood us in stead not to have possessed the twain ! l

1 These lines (which are amplified by Ausonius, Cue*, xii. ) mean that Domitian was so evil that it hod been better for Rome not to have had Flavian Emperors at all, even good ones like Vespasian and Titus.


5'7


EPIGRAMS ASCRIBED TO MARTIAL


EPIGRAMMATA QUAEDAM M. VAL. MARTIALI AFFICTA

I. De Rustications

RURE morans quid agam, respondeo pauca, rogatus. luce deos oro ; famulos, post arva revise, partibus atque meis iustos indico labores. inde lego, Phoebumque cio, Musamque lacesso. hinc oleo corpusque frico mollique palaestra 5

stringo libens, animo gaudens, ac foenore liber, prandeo, poto, cano, ludo, lavo, coeno, quiesco. dum parvus lychnus modicum consumat olivi, haec dat nocturnis nox lucubrata Camoenis.

II. In Varum

AD coenam nuper Varus me forte vocavit :

ornatus dives, parvula coena fuit. auro, non dapibus, oneratur mensa : ministri

apponunt oculis plurima, pauca gulae. tune ego, " Non oculos, sed ventrem, pascere veni : 5

aut appone dapes, Vare, vel aufer opes."


1 These are partly gathered from MSS. and old glossaries, partly embodied in his works by Hadrianus Junius and others.

Haclr. Jun. (Adrien de Jonghe, 1512-1575) was a Dutch physician and savant, one of the most learned men of the

520


EPIGRAMS ASCRIBED TO MARTIAL i

I. Life in the Country

As you ask me what I do while staying in the country I reply shortly. At daybreak I pray to the gods ; I visit my servants and afterwards my fields, and to my staff' I assign their proper tasks. Then I read and call on Phoebus, and challenge the Muses. After this I rub my body with oil, and with mild gymnastics gladly brace myself, happy in my mind and free from moneylenders. I lunch, drink, sing, play, bathe, dine, go to bed. Provided my small lamp consume but little oil, such lucubrations as these night furnishes to the nocturnal Muses.


II. Against

VARUS happened to invite me lately to dinner : his appointments were rich, his dinner was scanty. The table is loaded with gold plate, not with meats ; the attendants set before us much to please the eye, little to tickle the palate. Then I said : " I did not come to stuff my eyes, but my stomach ; either provide your provender, Varus, or remove your property."

age. Among his works were commentaries on Plautus, Horace, Petronius, Seneca, and Martial ; and a Philippid, or Epithalamium on the marriage of Philip ami Mary. He was the Pvector of the College of Harlem, and his library was pillaged by the Spaniards.


EPIGRAMS ASCRIBED TO MARTIAL

III. In Ponticum

PONTICE, per reges discurris, et oninia lustras :

magna quidem sequeris, Pontice : magnus homo es. Pontice, si qua facis, sine teste facis, sine turba ;

non adhibes multos, Pontice : cautus homo es. Pontice, te celebrem forma natura creavit : 5

dignus eras Helena, Pontice : pulcher homo es. Pontice, voce tua posses adamanta movere :

vox tua dulce sonat, Pontice : dulcis homo es. Pontice, sic alios, sicr te quoque decipit error :

vis dicam verum, Pontice ? Nullus homo es. 10

IV. De Vetula

TACTA places, audita places : si non videare, tota places : neutro, si videare, places.

V. De Milone MILO domi non est : peregre Milone profecto

arva vacant : uxor non minus inde parit. cur sit ager sterilis, cur uxor fertilis, edam :

quo fodiatur ager non habet, uxor habet.

VI. De Histrionis Poena

ANTE lovis statuam crepuit satur histrio : poenam luppiter indixit, vivere de proprio.


522


III-VI

III. Against Ponticus

PONTICUS, you run about among great lords, and have an eye for everything going ; you pursue, in- deed, great tilings, Ponticus ; you are a great man. Ponticus, if you do anything, you do it without a witness, without a crowd round you ; you don't make confidants of many, Ponticus ; you are a cautious man. Ponticus, nature has fashioned you of remark- able beauty ; you would have been worthy of Helen, Ponticus ; you are a handsome man. Ponticus, with that voice of yours you might stir adamant ; your voice is sweet-toned, Ponticus ; you are a sweet man. Ponticus, this error deceives you too as it does other men. Would you have me tell you the truth, Ponticus ? You are not a man at all.

IV. On an Old Woman

To the touch you are pleasing, listened to you are pleasing ; if you are not seen, you are wholly pleasing ; in neither way if you are seen are you pleasing.

V. On Milo

Mn.o is not at home ; Milo has gone abroad, and his fields are neglected; yet his wife is no less fruitful since. Why his land is sterile, why his wife is fertile, I will declare : his land has no cultivator, his wife has.

VI. On an Actor s Punishment

A FULL-FED actor broke wind before Jove's statue. Jupiter declared the penalty, to live at his own expense. 1

1 xn. Ixxvii. is an epigram on the same subject.

523


EPIGRAMS ASCRIBED TO MARTIAL

VII. In Efrontem

Os atavi, patris nasum, duo lumina patris,

et matris gestus dicis habere tuae. cum referas priscos, nullamque in corpora partem

mentiris ; frontem, die mihi, cuius habes ?

VIII. Ad Mattum

Qui negat esse domi se, tune cum limina pulsas, quid dicat, nescis ? Dormio, Matte, tibi.

IX. Ad Milonem

TURA, piper, vestes, argentum, pallia, gemmas, vendere, Milo, soles ; cum quibus emtor abit.

coniugis utilior merx est : quae vendita saepe, vendentem iiunquam deserit aut minuit.


NEC volo me summis fortuna nee applicet imis, sed medium vitae temperet ilia gradum.

invidia excelsos, inopes iniuria vexat : quam felix vivit, quisquis utroque caret !


1 i.e. whose " cheek " ? The forehead was the seat of shame : cf. Pers. v. 103 (frontem perisse de rebus) and Shak. It. and J. ur. ii. 91, " upon his brow (Shame is ashamed to sit."

524


VII-X

VII. Against a Shameless Person

You say you have your fourth grandfather's mouth, your father's nose, both your father's eyes, and your mother's carnage. Since you recall your ancestors and do not describe incorrectly any part of your body tell me, whose forehead x have you ?


VIII. To Mattus

DON'T you know what he says who denies himself just when you knock at his door? "To you, Mattus, I am asleep." 2

IX. To Milo

FRANKINCENSE, pepper, garments, silver plate, cloaks, jewels you are accustomed to sell, Milo, and the buyer goes off with them. Your wife is as merchandise more useful to you : she, though often sold, never leaves the seller or diminishes his estate.


X. On a Middle Station

I \\OULD not have Fortune set me in the highest or in the lowest place ; rather let her moderation gi'ant life's middle station. Envy assails the high, wrong the weak : how happy does he live who escapes both !

2 An allusion to the proverb " Non omnibus dormio" said of those that are willing to be blind to the doings of some others, but not of everybody : Fest. xii. 487 ; Cic. Ep. vii. "24. Erasmus (Adag. s.v.) tells the story of one Galba, who pre- tended to sleep while Maecenas toyed with his wife, but woke up when a slave began to steal his wine.

525


EPIGRAMS ASCRIBED TO MARTIAL

XI. Ad Scaevolam

SCAEVOLA, tu coenas apud omnes, nullus apud te :

alterius siccas pocula, nemo tua. aut tu redde vices, aut desine velle vocari :

dedecus est semper sumere, nilque dare.

XII. Ad Auclum

EXIGIS a nobis, quern nulli solvis, amorem : quam nulli praestas, exigis, Aucte, fidem.

exigis a nobis, quern non merearis, honorem : mirum est. quod non das, id tibi velle dari.

XIII. De Filo

PALLIA Filus habet, digitos circumligat auro :

sed tamen est Filus paupere pauperior. sunt Tyriae chlamydes, mille instrumenta, clientes

Filo : sed tamen est paupere pauperior. atria sunt Filo regali consita cultu : . 5

sed tamen est Filus paupere pauperior. esurit atque sitit, gemmis instructus et auro ;

Cyclade vestitus esurit atque sitit. pondus adesse famis, pallor maciesque loquuntur :

aurea bulla negat pondus adesse famis. 10

ergo miser se servitio pro pane locabit :

sed ne sit servus aurea bulla facit. si vero quenquam pulsabit supplice voto,

ut non exoret, serica vestis adest.

1 cf. in. xxvii.

2 The epigram is on a miserly rich man.

3 The bulla was an ornament in the shape of a heart worn by children up to the age of seventeen, and then consecrated

526


XI-XIII

XI. To Scaevola

SCAKVOLA, you dine with everybody, no one with you ; another man's cups you drain, no one drains yours. Either make return, or give over looking for invitations : it is a disgrace always to take and give nothing. 1

XII. To Auctus

You claim from us what you pay to no one, love ; what you accord to no man you claim, Auctus, trust. You claim from us what you don't deserve, honour ; it is wonderful that what you don't give you expect to be given you.

XIII. On Film

FILUS possesses cloaks, he surrounds his fingers with gold, but yet Filus is poorer than the poor. 2 Filus has Tyrian mantles, a thousand appointments, clients, but yet he is poorer than the poor. Filus has a hall furnished in royal style, but yet Filus is poorer than the poor. He hungers and thirsts while he is arrayed in jewels and gold ; though he is clad in an embroidered robe he hungers and thirsts. His pallor and emaciation bespeak a load of hunger ; his gold brooch says there is no load of hunger. The wretched man will then hire himself out in slavery for bread, but his gold amulet prevents him being a slave. 3 If, indeed, he assails any man with suppliant prayers, his silken garb is at hand to prevent him

to the Lares, or Household (Joels. It was gold in the case of children of free birth, leather in the case of children of fri-cd- men. It enclosed an amulet (a, phallus) against the evil eye ; hence it was worn by a victorious general during a triumph : Macrob. Sat. i. 6.

527


EPIGRAMS ASCRIBED TO MARTIAL

ergo ne pereat, fiat de divite pauper: 15

pauper enim factus ditior esse potest.

XIV. Ad Aulum

NON sanguis, non oris honor, non gloria census, non gravitas morum proderit, Aule, tibi.

pauper enim tu semper eris, quia pauper es : et te colligit ulterior ulteriore gradus.

XV. Ad Regulum

PRAEDICAT Hermagoras, non omnibus esse placendum. elige de multis, Regule, cui placeas.

XVI. Ad Aulicum

MULTA mihi donas, vereor ne multa requiras. nolo mihi dones, Aulice, si repetas.

  • r

XVII. Ad Germanicum

EXALTAS in lite tuam, Germanice, vocem, ut furias mentis vox furiosa sonet.


XVIII. Ad Bassnm

OMNIS amicus amat, sed non qui amat omnis amicus : sed quern, Basse, tu ames, esto et amicus ei.

1 v. Ixxxi. has a similar sentiment.

2 A Greek rhetorician who came to Rome in the time of Augustus.

528


XIII-XVIII

prevailing. So, that he may not perish, let him from rich become poor; for a- man become poor may acquire riches.

XIV. To Auhts

NOT blood, not beauty of face, not proud estate, not weight of character will avail you, Aulus. For you will be always poor because you are poor : l and a grade lower than the lowest includes you.

XV. To Regulus

HERMAGORAS 2 preaches that one need not please everybody. Choose, Regulus, 3 some one out of many to please.

XVI. To Aulkus

You make me many presents: I am afraid you will require many in return. I don't want you, Aulicus, to give me anything if youc laim an equivalent.

XVII. To Germanicus

You raise your voice, Germanicus, in court that a furious voice may echo to the fury of your mind.

XVIII. To Bassus

EVERY friend loves, but not every man who loves is a friend : but do you, Bassus, be also a friend to the man you love.

^ An eminent advocate, many times alluded to by Martial, but in more complimentary terms : cf. IV. xvi. 6.

5 2 9 VOL. II. M M


EPIGRAMS ASCRIBED TO MARTIAL

XIX. In Turgidum

IN noctem prandes, in noctem, Turgide, coenas, multimodoque mades nocte dieque niero.

cumque cuti studeas, uxorem ducere noil vis : cum nolis, dicis, Vita pudica placet.

Turgide, mentiris. Non est haec vita pudica. vis dicam, quae sit vita pudica ? Modus.

XX. In Chloen

LASCIVO Ganymede cales : te quilibet intrat : Hippolytos etiam reddis amore graves.

plurimus interea tibi limen servat adulter : exposita es cuivis : quam populare sapis !

Demophilem cuperem te dicere, te nisi mater esse Chloen vellet. Non sapit atque sapit.

XXI. In La'idem

FORMOSISSIMA Lai feminarum, dum noctis pretium tibi require, magnum continue petis talentum : tanti non emo, Lai', poenitere.

XXTI. In Maciinum

DEFUNGI fungis homines, Macrine, negabas : boleti leti causa fuere tui.

1 cf. vni. xlvi. 2. 2 i.e. loved by the people.

3 The point of the epigram is very obscure.

  • The Attic talent of 60 minae of silver, about 240.


530


XIX-XXII

XIX. Against Turgidus

TILL nightfall you lunch, till nightfall, Turgidus, you dine, and with all sorts of wine day and night you reek. And, although you are careful of your person, you are unwilling to take a wife; your un- willingness says : " A chaste life pleases me." Tur- gidus, you lie ; this is not a chaste life. Would you have me tell you what is a chaste life ? Moderation.

XX. Against Chloe

You are hot for a wanton Ganymede ; you are every man's goods ; even Hippolytuses J you make heavy with lust. In the meantime many an adulterer hangs about your threshold ; you are exposed for sale to anyone : how popular is your taste ! I should have wished to have called you Demophile, 2 had not your mother wished you should be Chloe : she is unwise and wise. 3

XXI. Against Lais

LAIS, most beautiful of women, when I ask you what is the price of your favours, you at once require a great 4 talent. At such a cost, Lais, I do not buy repentance. 5

XXII. Against Macrinus

You used to deny, Macrinus, that men could be- come defunct through funguses : mushrooms made room for your heirs !

5 This is the answer said to have been made by Demos- thenes to Lais, the Corinthian courtesan : Gell. i. 8. Perhaps the epigram is put in the mouth of 1).

' The pun on ltd and boleti can only be paraphrased-.

53'

M M 2


INDEXES


INDEX OF PROPER NAMES


Apicius, M. Gabius, a noted gourmand of the time of Tiberius. According to Seneca (Ad Helv. x.) after spending in gluttony one hundred million sesterces (800,000), he found himself op- pressed by debt, looked into his accounts, and, discovering he had remaining only ten millions committed suicide. Martial alludes to this (in. xxii.), giving the sums as sixty millions and tea respectively. Pliny (N.H. ix. 30) speaks of him as ad omne luxus ingenium mirus, and (N.H. x. 68) calls him nepotum omnium altissimus gurges. Athenaeus (i. 12) tells how that, hearing lobsters were very large in Libya, he set off at once, but finding from samples that they were of ordinary size, he returned with- out landing

Apollinaris, Domitiiis, a learned friend of M. and a favourable critic of his epigrams (iv. Ixxvi ; vn. xxvi.). M. (x. xxx.) describes his villa at Formiae. He is perhaps the A. alluded to by Pliny (Ep. ix. 13) as consul designatus in A.D. 97

Aucttig, Pomponius, a learned lawyer, and admirer of Martial, whose works he knew by heart, vn. ii.

Avitus, Stertinius, Consul A.D. 92. He placed a bust of M. in his library, of which M. writes (IX. Introd. Ep.) the inscription. M! addresses to him an epigram (x. xcvi.) on the charms of country life in Spain

MART. II.


Baetis, the Guadalquivir, the prin- cipal river in Hispania Baetica, according to Pliny (iii. 3) the most fertile province hi Spain. It flows past Corduba and Hispalis (Cordova and Seville) and falls into the Atlantic N. of Gades (Cadiz). The district was renowned for olives (xn. Ixiii. 2 : xii. xcviii. 1), which Martial thinks superior to those of Venafrum : vn. xxviii. 3 ; and Statius to Attic, Silr. n. vii. 29 ; whereas Pliny (xv. 3) thinks the olives of Venafrum superior to those of Baetica and Istria. The province of Baetica was also celebrated for its wool, to which the waters of the Baetis gave a golden hue, often alluded to by Martial

BilbUis, the second city of Hispania Tarraconensis, on the high road between Emerita and Caesar Augusta (Merida and Saragossa). Was a 7nunicipium in Imperial times. It stood on a rocky height surrounded by the Salo, a river famed for tempering iron. Its site is at or near Bambola, near Calatayud, a Moorish City built by Ayub, the nephew of Musa, the Governor of N.W. Africa at the time of the Arab invasion, who used the remains of Bilbilis as a quarry. Bilbilis was also the scene of a battle between A. Metellus and the insurgent Sertorius in B.C. 74

Castricus, some friend of Martial, who is addressed in several

535


INDEX OF PROPER NAMES


epigrams. It would appear from vn. xlii. that he was a poet

Cerialis, a friend of Martial, whom the poet invites to dinner in t\vo epigrams, x. xlviii. and xi. Hi. He was a poet and imitator of VirgiL and wrote bucolics and a poem on the war of the Giants, XI. lii. 17, 18. Pliny (Ep. ii. 19) addresses one of his letters to him

Claudia Rufina, a lady of British birth, whose refinement Martial praises as equal to that of a Roman or a Greek, xi. liii. She may be the same as the Claudia that married Pudens, whose marriage the poet celebrates, iv. xiii.

Crispinus, a low upstart who came from Egypt and hawked salt fish in Rome, Juv. iv. 33. He was raised to the Senate by Nero, and was made a knight by Domitian. Juvenal calls him (i. 26) verna Canopi, and (iv. 31) purpureus scurra Palati ; and speaks of him as matutino sudans amomo, iv. 108. He was com- mander of the Emperor's body- guard (pmefectus praetorio), an office summus equester gradus : Suet. Galb. 14. Martial alludes to him in two epigrams, vn. xcix. and vm. xlviii.

Decianus, of Emerita, another friend of Martial. He was a Stoic, and is praised for not following the example of suicide, I. viii. His literary works conferred distinction on his birthplace, I. Ixi. 10. Martial speaks of his learning, sim- plicity, and rectitude, I. xxxix. ; and addresses to him the Intro- ductory Epistle of his second book. In ii. v. he is rallied on the distance M. has to go to call on him, and the difficulty of finding him at home

Earinos, the page of Domitian, on whose name M. plays in three

536


epigrams, ix. xi.-xiii. ; and whose dedication of his hah- to Aesculapius M. celebrates, ix. xvi. and xvii. ; see also ix. xxxvi. 3. Statius (Silv. in. iv.) has a long poem on the latter subject

Entellus, a freedman, Domitian's secretary a libellis (petitions). Was privy (with Parthenius) to the Emperor's assassination. M. praises his greenhouses, Till. Ixviii.

Erotion, a little slave girl, whose death M. laments in three of his finest epigrams, v. xxxiy. and xxxvii. ; x. Ixi. But in the second epigram mentioned the harmony of the poem is somewhat spoilt by the sarcastic touch at the end

Etruscus, Claudius, father and son. The father came originally as a slave from Smyrna, and was emancipated by Tiberius, in whose household he was. He was successively in the service of Caligula, Claudius, Nero, and Domitian, being under Nero the head of the Imperial treasury. By Domitian he was banished to Campania : Stat. Silv. in. iii. 164, who describes him as hospes, non exul. He married a rich wife, and lived to a great age. His son accompanied his father into exile. M. has epi- grams on the father's exile and recall, vi. Ixxxiii. ; and on his death, vn. xl. ; and on the sou's baths, vi. xlii., which are also eulogised by Statius (Silv. I. V.) who also writes a lament on the father's death, Silv. in. iii.

Faustinus, Julius, a friend fre- quently addressed, and a poet whom M. (I. xxv.) advises to publish, and to whom "(III. ii. 6) he sends his third book, and (IV. x.) his fourth. He had villas at Anxur (x. Ii.), Tibur (iv. Ivii.) and Baiae, the latter of which, M (ill. Iviii.) elaborately describes. M. appeals to him (vn. xii.) on the question of the unmalicious


INDEX OF PROPER NAMES


character of his epigrams. Nothing more is known of him

Festus, a friend of the Emperor, who died of a cancer in the face, i. Ixxviii. If he be the same as the Valerius Festus, spoken of by Pliny (Ep. iii. 7) as guilty per sitmmum facinus of the murder in A.D. 69 of Piso the proconsul of Africa (see Tac. Hist. iv. 49) M. is hardly justified in speaking of his tndiqmu fauces and pia ora. Tacitus, supra, describes him as sumptuosae ailulescentiae, neque modica cupiens

Flaccus, a native of Patavium, is addressed by Martial in many epigrams ; he is a guest ia x. xlviii., and in xir. Ixxiv. Qartial makes him a present of " dreadnought " glass. He

appears to have been a poet, 1. 1x1. and Ixxvi. Some commen- tators, on the strength of the two epigrams mentioned, have identified him with Valerius Flaccus, the epic poet of the Argonautica. But it is not certain that Valerius Flaccus was born at Patavium ; Setia in Campania contends for the honour of being his birthplace, and the Vatican MS. has appended the words " Setinus Balbus." And Quin- tilian says (x. i. 90) mullum in Valeria Flacco nuper amisimus ; consequently V. Flaccus must have died before A.D. 90 or 91, the probable date of Quintilian's great work, in which case none of Martial's last six books at least can refer to him. The notes to IX. Iv. 2 and XI. Ixxx. 3 should be corrected. It is noticeable also that Martial never refers as might have been expected to Vi&Argonauticn, as he does to the jPunica of Silius. Frontinus, Sextus Julius, succeeded Petilius Cerealis, and was suc- ceeded by Agricola, as Governor of Britain. Tacitus (Ag. 17) describes him as " a great man so far as he was permitted to


be," i.e. by the Emperor's jealousy. He subdued the powerful and warlike Silures in South Wales in spite of the difficulties of the country (Tac. supra). In A.D. 97 he was curator aquarum, and in 98 Consul (according to M.) for the second time ; but his name does not appear in the Fasti (Hoffm. Lex. Univ.). He had been Praetor Urbanus in 70 (Tac. Hist. iv. 39), an office he resigned to Domitian, not then Emperor. He . wrote a treatise on the art of war called Strategemata, and a work on the Roman aqueducts, both of which are extant. He died in 106, saying in his will impensa monumenti supervacua est ; me- moria nostri durabit si vita meruimus

Pronto, described by M. (I. Iv.) as a distinguished lawyer and soldier. Perhaps the same as T. Catius Fronto, consul in 96, and alluded to by Pliny (Ep. iv. 9 and vi. 13) as an orator

Fuscus, apparently a lawyer of some eminence and wealth whom Martial (vn. xxyiii) begs to read and criticise his seventh book. He is not the Cornelius Fuscus who fell in the Dacian war, VI. Ixxvi ; and perhaps not the Fuscus whom M. courts iu I. liv.

lanthis, or Vioientilla, the wife of Stella the poH. Martial (VI. xxl.) as well as Statius (SUv. I. ii.) celebrates her marriage. The name is taken from iov, the Greek form of riola. Statius calls her Asterii

Latinus, a celebrated mime, or comic actor. He was a favourite of Domitian, and :i delator, Schol on Juv. iv. 63. Martini writes an epigram (IX. xxviii). on his portrait. Suetonius (Dom. 15) tells a story how Latinus, when dining with Domitian before the murder of the latter, had disturbed the Emperor, who had been alarmed by various

537


INDEX OF PROPER NAMES


ominous occurrences, by report- ing the fulfilment of a prophecy by Ascletarion, the astrologer, of the manner of his own death, i.e., being torn by dogs, whereas Domitian to prevent this had commanded him to be buried.

Licinianus was born like Martial at Bilbilis. He is spoken of highly by the poet as bringing glory to Spain, I. xlix and I. Ixi. He is perhaps the Lucius mentioned in IV. Iv. The epigram i. xlix seems to show he was a lawyer.

Licinus, was originally a Gaulish prisoner taken by Julius Caesar, who gave him his freedom, and made him his steward. Augustus appointed him, in B.C. 15, Governor of Gaul. By extortion during his government he acquired enormous wealth ; and Juvenal (i. 109) couples him with Claudius' freedman Pallas as the typical rich man. The magnificence of his tomb on the Via Salaria (as of that of Messalla) was proverbial, viil. iii. 5, 6

Lucanus, Cn. Domitius Curvius, the brother of Cn. Domitius Tullus. The two brothers were types of fraternal affection, I. xxxvi., and v. xxviii. 3, and Martial (ix. li.) compares them to Castor and Pollux. He died before his brother, after having held high office under Nero and Domitian. Both are alluded to by Pliny, Ep. viii. 18

Lucanus, M. Annaeus, the poet of the Pharsalia, was the son of Lucius Annaeus Mela, the geo- grapher, and the nephew of Seneca, the philosopher, and was born at Corduba in Spain. At first he was in favour with Nero, but afterwards, from the Em- peror's jealousy of his literary ability, fell into disfavour, and was forbidden to recite in public. From pique he joined the Pisonian conspiracy of A.D. 65, and was offered a pardon if he would betray his fellow-con-

53


spirators. He denounced his own mother Atilla. But this did not save him, for he was forced by Nero to commit suicide by opening his veins in a bath : Tac. An. xv. 70. Martial, who regarded him as next to Virgil, laments his death in three epigrams, vii. xxi-xxiii. ; as also does Statius, Silv. II. vii. His first work was on the death of Hector and Priam's recovery of the body, Stat. Silv. n. vii. 54 ; and his last the Pharsalia ; but, according to Martial (x. Ixiv.) he did not confine himself to grave subjects. Juvenal (vii. 79) says he was a rich man ; and Tacitus (Ann. xvi. 17) tttat Nero was greedy for his wealth

Macer, a friend of Martial, and at one time curator of the Appian Way (x. xvii.), and afterwards propraetor of Dalmatia (x. Ixxviii.). Martial in two epi- grams (v. xxviii. 5, and x. Ixxviii. 2) speaks of his honesty and uprightness. He is probably not the Macer who was Governor of Baetica (xn. xcviii.)

Alarcella, a Spanish lady from Bilbilis, to whom M. addresses two epigrams, in one (xn. xxi.) praising her mind as truly Roman, and in the other (xn. xxxi.) acknowledging the gift of the country house she gave him when he returned to Spain. Some have supposed she was his wife

Marcellinus served in the Sarmatian campaign,- VI. xxv., vii. !xxx ; and in the Caucasus, ix. xlv. Martial sends him his seventh book, vn. Ixxx. ; and writes on his father's birthday, in. vi. He also warns him against over- rash valour : h6 should consider his father, as well as his Em- peror, vi. xxv. That father is supposed to have been Faustinus. Marcellinus himself is called boni suboles sincera parentis, VI, xxv.


INDEX OF PROPER NAMES


Martsus, Domilius, a poet of the Augustan age, frequently men- tioned by Martial, together with Pedo and Catullus, with whom he compares himself, v. v. 6 ; vn. xcix. 7. He wrote epics. Ov. Ex. P. iv. xvi. 5 ; and Martial alludes to an Amazonis (iv. xxix. 8) which, however, he regards as inferior to the satires of Persius. Marsus is chiefly distinguished for his epigrams, which were licentious and biting, one of his books being called cicitta (hemlock). An epi- taph of his on Tibullus is extant

Martialis, Julius, a friend for 33 years of the poet, by whom he is addressed in some of the finest epigrams, i. xv. ; v. xx., x. xlvii, and xii. xxxiv. Martial also describes his villa on the .Taniculum, iv. Ixiv ; and his library, vn. xvii. Paley identi- fies him with the Julius Martialis mentioned by Tacitus (Hist. i. 28 and 82) as tribunus legionis, when Otho was aspiring to the purple, and as being suspected of complicity with the plot. He appears to have been a good critic, VI. i ; and Martial sends him his sixth book, ibid. ; and he is probably also the Martialis to whom is sent the third book from Forum Cornelii, in. v.

Maternus, a jurisconsult, whom Martial describes as a fellow- townsman of Bilbilis, and an old friend, x. xxxvii. 1, 3. In the same epigram M, compares the charm of life in Spain with life in a lloman villa

Melior, Atedius, a ban vicant of the time, called nitidus, IV. liv. 8. Martial praises him (vm. xxxviii) for his liberality to the Guild of Scribes in memory of his friend Blaesus ; and both Martial (VI. xxviii and xxix), and Statius (Sib. n. i.) have written on the death of his freedman Glaucias

Messatta Corvinus, M. Valerius, the friend of Horace and patron of


Tibullus. Was Consu u.C. 31 and Praefectus Urbi in 27. He was a patron of learning and the arts, and was himself a poet, a grammarian, historian, and orator. He took the side of Brutus and Cassius in the civil war, but was afterwards recon- ciled to Augustus. His tomb (alluded to by Martial, VHI. iii. 5 and x. ii. 9) was, like thn't of Licinus, celebrated for its splen- dour

Nomentum, now La Mentana, a town in the Sabine Country, 14J- Roman miles N.E. of Rome. Originally a Latin town, a colony from Alba, it was taken by Tarquinius Priscus, the fifth king of Rome. Martial, aud also Seneca, had a house here, vi. xliii. 4, ix. xviii. 2 ; and here M. retired when he wanted quiet, XII. Ivii. 27. Nomentum was celebrated for its wine, which, when it was old, M. praises, I. cv., and offers to his guests in X. xlviii. 19 ; but the poet in other respects depreciates his property, X. xciv. His fields, he says (VII. xxxl. 8) " produced nothing but himself "

Ovidius, Q., Martial's friend and neighbour at Nomentum. He had accompanied Caesonius Maximus into exile when the former was banished by Nero, for which Martial (VII. xliv. and xlv.) praises him. In his old ago he accompanied a friend to Britain, apparently in fulfilment of a promise, or from atfection, X. xliv. .Martial writes two epi- grams (ix. Hi. and liii) on his birthday

Paris, a mime or comic actor, for whom Martial writes an epitaph (xi. xiii). He hud great influence at Court, and was the darling of the lloman people. Domltian, on suspicion of his intrigue with

539


INDEX OF PROPER NAMES


the Empress Domitia, caused him to be murdered on the Flaminian Way

Parthenius, a freedman, and Secre- tary or chamberlain to Domitian. Though he had been privy to the murder of that Emperor, the mildness of Nerva retained him for a time in his place, but was unable to protect him against the infuriated praetorians who put him to death with nameless indignities in A.D. -97. He seems to have been something of a poet, XI. i. 6; XII. xi. 2. and is con- stantly flattered by Martial, to whom he gave the celebrated toga described in Viii. xxviii.

Paulus, some rich acquaintance of Martial, apparently a lawyer, ni. Ixxii. Martial quizzes him on the tenuity of the bowl Paulus had sent him, vui. xxxiii. ; and on his greed, ix. Ixxxv. ; and satirises his adulation of great men, although he is him- self consul, x. x. ; and his false antiques and equally false friends, xii. Ixix. ; and complains of the trouble of calling upon him at a distance "only to find him " not at home," v. xxii. He seems to have been a man of wit, v. xxviii. 6.

Pedo, Albinovanns, a poet and epigrammatist of the Augustan age, and a friend of Ovid, who addresses him in one of 'the Epistles from the Pontus : Ep. ex P. iv. x. ; and alludes to his poem on the exploits of Theseus. Martial compares him- self with him and with Marsus and Catullus, v. v. 6

Plinius, Caius Caecilius, Secundus, the nephew and adopted son of the historian, born A.D. 61 or 62, probably at Comum. An orator, advocate and man of letters. He studied under Quin- tilian, and practised before the

Centumviral Court, and filled several offices, being Consul in 100 (in which year he delivered his Panegyric on Trajan), and


Propraetor of Pontica in 103. His works consist of the Pane- gyric on Trajan above mentioned, and ten books of Epistles, of which the tenth consists of letters to Trajan and the Emperor's replies, two of which (97 and 98) are especially interesting by their allusion to the Christians. He was one of the most learned men of the age. Martial addressed an epigram (x. xix.) to him ; but the Secundus alluded to in vn. Ixxxiv. (where the note should be corrected) chronology shows not to be the same Primus, Marcus Antonius, was born at Tolosa in Gaul (ix. xcix. 3), took a leading part in the Civil war that made Vespasian Em- peror, and was the first to enter Rome after the second battle of Bedriacum against the Vitellians. He bore the nickname in his youth of Beccus (beak of a cock, yallus) ; and Suetonius (Vit. 28) mentions the prophecy that Vitellius would fall into the hands Gallicani hominis. He perhaps gave Martial a toga (x. Ixxiii. 2), and he admired his poetry, ix. xcix. 1. M. calls him Tolosae gloria, ix. xcix. 3 ; and in a fine epigram congratulates him on his well- spent life, x. xxiii. ; and "in another praises his portrait as a youth, x. xxxii. But Tacitus gives a different account of his character. "Though an offender against the laws, and condemned for forgery in the time of Nero, amongst the other evils of war, he had recovered his place in the order of senators. Though he had been appointed by Galba to the command of the seventh legion, he was believed to have written to Otho, offering himself as an adherent to his party. When the fortunes of Vitellius were tottering he attached him- self to the party of Vespasian, and brought to it a 'great acces- sion of strength. He was


54


INDEX OF PROPER NAMES


energetic in action, ready of tongue, a master of the art of sowing the seeds of suspicion against other men, influential in discords ami seditions, a plun- derer, a briber, in peace most vile, in war not to be despised," Hist. ii. 86. " He had a ready audacity," Ann. xiv. 40 ; and " glibness of speech, and skill and influence in soothing the common herd," Fist. iii. 10. " He was of an arrogance impatient of an equal, much more of a superior," Hist. iv. 80 ; " success in the case of such a character laid bare his avarice, his inso- lence, and his other hidden vices," Hist. iii. 49

Prisons, Terentiuz, a fellow-country- man of Martial, to whom he dedicates, on Priscus' return to Spain, the twelfth book. In xn. Ixii. he addresses Saturn on the same subject. Martial calls him (xn. iv.) his Maecenas. In vin. xlv. he celebrates Priscus's return from Sicily ; and in another epigram (xii. xiv.) warns him against the danger of too reckless hunting

Proculus, G. Julius, a friend of Martial, to whom he sends (i. Ixx.) his flrst book, and whose recovery from illness he com- memorates, xi. xxxvi.

Pudens, Aulus, of Sassina in Urnbria, a friend of Martial, and a centurion. He served in Pannonia. Martial celebrates his marriage with Claudm, iv. xiii. ; and prays (vi. Iviii. 10) that he may return from bis campaigns with primipilar rank and the rank of a knight. It may be inferred from i. xxxi. 3, as compared with v. xlviii. 1, that he attained the former honour at least


Quintiamis, some rich friend of M. (v. xviii. 9) to whom M. says that, being poor, he will only send his books. In I. Iii. M.


appeals to him against a plagiarist

Quintilianus, M. Fabius, was born at Calagurris (Calahorra) in Spain. He was the most cele- brated of Roman rhetoricians. Educated at Rome, he returned to Spain, and came back with (Tulba in 68. He practised at the Bar, but is chiefly known as a teacher of eloquence, the younger Pliny (Ep. ii. 14 ; vi. 6) being one of his pupils. He held the chair of rhetoric founded by Vespasian ; and was granted by Domitian the insignia of a consul, to which Juvenal (vii. 197) may per- haps sarcastically allude. After twenty years' tenure of the chair he retired about 89 A.D., and in two years had completed the work for which he is principally known, the Institutiones Oratoriae in twelve books. He advised Martial to take up a profession, II. xc.


Rabirius, the architect of Do- mitian's palace, VII. Ivi. Martial has an epigram on the death of R.'s parents, and praises his filial piety, x. Ixxi.

Regulus, M. Aquillius, a celebrated advocate. He was a delator under Nero and Domitian, and attained great wealth. He is disliked by Pliny, but is flattered by Martial, who praises his character (I. cxi.). Pliny ridicules even his oratorical power (Ep. iv. 7), and his extravagant grief for the death of his son, " a boy of a quick but inscrutable disposition, who yet might have followed the right, had he not been like his father." A';>. iv. 2. M. congratulates him in two epigrams (i. xii. and Ixxxii.) on his escape from death. Pliny describes him as "rich, factious, courted by many, feared by more ; and fear is generally stronger than love," Ep. i. 5 ;

541


INDEX OF PROPER NAMES


and remarks his chastened atti- tude after Domitian's death, " under whom he had committed no smaller infamies than under Nero, but more covert ones," ibid. Pliny also (Ep. ii. 20) tells a story of his legacy-hunting even in the case of his enemy's wife

Rufus, Camonius, of Bononia, a friend of M. He died at the age of 20 in Cappadocia, vi. Ixxxv. M. alludes in two epigrams (ix. Ixxiv. and Ixxvi.) to his portrait as a child, and writes an epigram (vi. Ixxxv.) on his death

Rufus, Canius, of Gades, a poet (I. Ixi. 9) and friend of Martial, who alludes (I. Ixix. ; in. xx.) to his geniality, and to his versatility as an author. He married the accomplished Theo- phila, on whom M. (vu. Ixix.) writes an epigram

Rufus, Instantius, a friend of M., to whom he presented the famous cup elaborately described in vm. li. M. speaks of his sincerity, vin. Ixxiii. 1. Perhaps he may be identified with the proconsul of Baetica mentioned in xn. xcviii. 5

Sabinus, Caesius, of Sassina in Umbria, where he built a temple to the Nymph of the Lake, ix. Iviii. M. sends him (vu. xcvii. 13) his seventh book, and on another occasion a wreath of roses, ix. Ix.

Scorpug, a -famous charioteer on whose death Martial writes two epitaphs, x. 1. and liii. ; and of whose immense earnings he speaks, iv. Ixvii. ; x. Ixxiv. ; and gilt statue, v. xxv.

Seneca, L. Anwus, the Stoic philosopher, was born at Corduba in Spain, I. Ixi. 7. He was the brother of Annaeus Mela, the geographer, and of Gallic of the New Testament, and uncle of Lucan the poet. He was banished by the Emperor Claudius, but was afterwards tutor to Nero,

542


whose quinquennium, or first five years of good government, was attributed to his teaching. He, however, stained his reputa- tion by condoning Nero's murder of his mother Agrippina. He was implicated in the conspiracy of Pisq in A.D. 65, and, together with his wife, committed suicide, Tac. Ann. xv. 63. He was a man of great wealth

Severus, a. critic to whom Martial submits his poems, v. Ixxx. ; xi. Ivii. As in the last epigram he is called doctus, he may have been himself a poet. In H. vi. M. chaffs him for his hurried reading of Martial's slender volume, although he professed to be a great admirer of his poems. There is also an epigram (vu. xxxviii.) on two hideous slaves of his ; and Martial frequently addresses him. In VII. xlix. he sends him a gift of eggs and apples from the country. It is not certain whether this Severus is identical with the younger son of Silius, for whom the poet (vin. Ixvi.) solicits the consulship ; and whose death (IX. Ixxxvi.) he laments

Silius, C., surnamed Italicus, orator, lawyer, and poet, was born about A.D. 25. Pliny (Ep. iii. 7) givea an account of his life. He was consul in 68, the last of Nero's consuls, and proconsul of Asia, where he served with distinction. He lost his younger son, for whom Martial solicits (vin. Ixvi.) the consulship, and whose death he laments, ix. Ixxxvi. ; but left the elder a consular. In later life he retired to Campania, where he possessed many villas, including Cicero's house at Puteoli and Virgil's house at Naples, xi. xlviii. and xlix. These villas were richly furnished with books, statues, , and busts, among which he especially venerated that of Virgil, whose birthday he ktept more religiously than his own,


.


INDEX OF PROPER NAMES


and whose tomb he regarded as a temple. He committed suicide by voluntary starvation in his seventy-sixth year because of an incurable cancer. As a poet Martial (vn. Ixiii.) calls him immortal, but Pliny says that his works showed more scholarly care than genius. He is known by his Punica, an epic on the second Punic war in seventeen books, of which Prof. Mackail says : " His Punic War may fairly contend for the distinction of being the worst epic ever written ... its author the most striking instance in Latin literature of the incorrigible amateur . . . without any in- ventive or constructive power of his own. Silius copies with tasteless pedantry all the out- worn traditions of the heroic epic." He is only once referred to in the fifth century ; then he fell into complete oblivion till he was discovered in the fifteenth

Stella, L. Arruntius, of Patavium, a patron and friend of Martial and Statius, who dedicates to him the first book of the Silvae. Both Martial (vi. xxi.) and Statius (Silv. i. 2) write epi- thalamia on Stella's marriage with Violentilla, whom M. calls lanthis, and Statius Asteris. Stella gave games to celebrate the conclusion of the Sarmatian war, viu. Ixxviii. ; and was consul A.D. 101 ; an honour for which M. (ix. xlii.) had solicited Apollo. Statius (Silv. I. ii. 177) also says that he <was a quin- decimvir librorum sibyllinorum. He was also a poet. M. alludes to his Columba, a poem on the death of lanthis' pet dove, I. vii. 1 ; vn. xiv. 5; and writes several epigrams (e.g. vi. xlvii.) on a spring in Stella's house

Sulpicia, a poetess of the time, of whom nothing is known, x. xxxv. She was the wife of Calenus, x. xxxviii. She is .mentioned by Ausonius and by Sidouius Apolli-


naris ; and a satirical poem on the expulsion by Bomitian of the philosophers from Rome is commonly attributed to her. Paley ascribes to her the poems often contained in the editions of Tibullus

Sura, Licinius, of Hispania Tarra- conensis, held oltlces under Nerva and Trajan, being under the latter three times consul. Martial speaks (vn. xlvii. 1) of his learning, and (vi. Ixiv. 13) appreciation of M.'s poems, and in the first epigram, one of the best, of his unexpected recovery from severe, illness. He would seem to have been a natural philo- sopher, for Pliny (Ep. iv. xxx.) consultshimastothe unexplained ebb and How of a spring. On his death Trajan gave him a public funeral, and built baths in his memory. He is perhaps the Sura of I. xlix. 40, but this Sura may be Palfiirius Sura, who was removed from the Senate by Vespasian, became a Stoic, was a delator under Domitian, and was after his death con- demned by the Senate, Schol. in Juv. iv. 53


Tullus, Cn. Domitius Curvius, the brother of Lucanus (q.v.). He held high office under Vespasian and Domitian. He was a rich man like his brother, and Pliny (Ep. viii. 18) speaks of the disappoint- ment of the eaptatores when his will was opened, and says of the two brothers that it seemed ordained by fate that they should be enriched even against the will of the donors. He had played upon the expectations of legacy-hunters (se captandum praebuitset) during his life, and hy liis will left his property to his relations, thus showing him- self longe melior morte quain vita. He was a cripple, im.-ibli 1 even to brush his own trrtli. complaining that "he daily licked

543


INDEX OF PROPER NAMES


the fingers of his slaves," Pliny, I.e. Pliny speaks of the devo- tion of his wife


Vestinus, perhaps the Lucius V. described by Tacitus (Hist, iv. 53) as equestris ordinis virum, sed auctoritate famaque inter -pro- ceres, to whom Vespasian gave the duty of restoring the Capitol ; and perhaps also the son of the consul Vestinus who, being marked for death by Nero, committed suicide by opening his veins in a bath (Tac. Ann. xv. 69). Martial praises him (iv. Ixxiii.) for dividing his property amongst his friends when he was on the point of death. Paley suggests that his motive was to avoid making the Emperor his heir, or joint heir ; and cites the example of Agricola (Tac. Ag. 43), who had made Domitian joint heir with his own wife and daughter


Zoilus, an anonymous person frequently attacked by M., and to whom is attributed every vice. He had been a slave (in. xxix.) and a runaway one (xi. liv.), and had afterwards become a knight (in. xxix.) It is not improb- able that M. borrowed the name from the original Zoilus, a grammarian of Amphipolis who flourished in the time of Philip of Macedon and AlexandertheGreat. and whose name, because of his attacks on Homer, Plato, and others, became one synonymous with malignant criticism, Ov. Rem. ^Am. 366. He was called Kviav 'pifropLKos, and Ofiripofidortf,

and remains, in the words of Swinburne (Cont. of Shak. n.) " eternally alive (or in Brown- ing's characteristically audacious phrase) ' immortally immerded.' " Aelian (V.H. xi. 10) reports a remark of his that he always spoke evilly of men because he could not do them evil


544


INDEX OF FIRST LINES


A latronibus esse te fututam XH. xxvii

A servo scis te genitum blandeque fateris i. l.xxxi

A Sinuessanis conviva Philostratus undis XI. Ixxxii

Abscisa servum quid flgis, Pontice, lingua ? H. Ixxxii

Abstulerat totam temerarius institor urbem vii. Ixi

Accidit int'andum nostrae scelus, Aule, puellae .... vii. xiv

Accipe belligerae crudum thoraca Minervae vir. i

Accola iam nostrae Degte, Germanice, ripae v. iii

Ad cenam invitant omnes te, Phoebe, cinaedi .... ix. Ixiii

Ad cenam si me diversa vocaret in astra ix. xci

Ad lapidem Torquatus habet praetoria quartum ... x. Ixxix

Ad natalicias dapes vocabar vn. Ixxxvi

Ad populos mitti qui nuper ab urbe solebas XH. iii

Ad primum decima lapidem quod venimus hora .... xi. Ixxix

Addat cum mihi Caecubum minister x. xcviii

Addere quid cessas, puer, immortale Falernum ? . . . ix. xcih

Addixti, Labiene, tres agellos XII. xvi

Addixti servum nuinmis here mille ducentis X. xxxl

Aedes emit A per, sed quas nee noctua vellet XI. xxxiv

Aegrptas uno decies aut saepius anno ....... XII. Ivi

Aemiliae gentes et Apollineas Vercellas ...... x. xii

Aemula Baianis Altini litora villis IV. xxv

Aeolidos Canace iacet hoc tumulata sepulcro .... xi. xci

Aera domi non sunt, superest hoc, Regule, solum . . . vn. xvi

Aera per taciturn delapsa sedentis in ipsos VIII. xxxii

Aestivo serves ubi piscem tempore quaeris ? n. Lxxviii

Aetherias aquila puerum portante per auras I. vi

Alcide, Latio nunc agnoscende Tonanti IX. Ixv

Alcides modo Vindiceni rogabam IX. xliv

Alcime, quern raptum domino crescentibus annis ... I. Ixxxviii

Allatres licet usque nos et usque V. Ix

Alphius ante fuit, coepit nunc Olphius esse IX. xcv

Amisit pater unicum Salanus VI. Ixli

Amissum non Het cum sola est Gellia patrem I. xxxiii

Amphitheatrales inter nutrita magistros XI. Ixix

Amphora vigessi, modius datur aere quaterno .... xii. Ixxvi

An possim vetulam quaeris, Matronia : possum .... in. xxxii

Ancillariolum tua te vocat uxor, et ipsa xii. Iviii

A.nnorum nitidique sator pulcherrime mundi x. xxviii

Antiqui rex magne poli mundique prioris Xii. Ixii

Antoni Phario nil obiecture Pothino

Anxuris aequorei placidos, Frontine, recessus ....

545


MART. II.


N N


INDEX OF FIRST LINES


Apollinarem cqnyeni meum, Scazon vn. xxvi

Appia, quam simili venerandus in Hercule Caesar ... IX. ci

Archetypis vetuli nihil est odiosius Eucti vm. vi

Archetypum Myos argentum te dicis habere vni. xxxiy

A rctoa de gente comam tibi, Lesbia, misi ..... V. Ixviii

Ardea solstitio Castranaque rura petantur iv. jx

Argenti genus omne comparasti iv. xxxix

Argenti libram mittebas ; facta selibra est X. Ivii

Argenti libras Marius tibi quinque reliquit II. Ixxyi

Argiletanas mavis habitare tabernas I. iii

Arrectum quotiens Manilla penem X. Iv

Arrigis ad vetulas, fastidis, Basse, puellas in. Ixxvi

Artemidorus habet.puerum, sed vendidit agrum . ' ix. xxi

Artibus his semper cenam, Philomuse, mereris .... ix. xxxv

Artis Phidiacae toreuma clarum m. xxxy

Aspice quam densum tacitarum vellus aquarum .... rv. iii

Aspice quam placidis insultet turba iuvencis v. xxxi

Aspicis huiic uno contentum lumine, cuius vni. lix

Aspicis, inbelles temptent quam fortia dammae .... iv. Ixxiv

Aspicis incomptis ilium, Deciane, capillis ...... I. xxiy

Aspicis, ut parvus nee adhuc trieteride plena .... VI. xxxviii

Astra polumque dedit, quamvis obstante noverca ... v. Ixv

Astra polumque pia cepisti mente, Rabiri. .... . vn. Ivi

Atreus Caecilius cucurbitarum XI. xxxi

Atria Pisonum stabant cum stemmate totp IV. xj

Attice, facundae renovas qui nomina gentis vii. xxxii

Audet facundo qui carmina mittere Nervae IX. xxyi

Audieris in quo, Flacce, balneo plausum IX. xxxiii

Auditur quantum Massyla per avia murmur vni. ly

August! labor hie fuerat committere classes Ep. xxviii

Augusto pia tura victimasque vm. Ixyi

Aureolis f utui cum possit Galla duobus ix. iy

Auriculam Mario graviter miraris olere in. xxviii

B

Baetis olivifera orinem redimite corona xn. xcviii

Baiana nostri villa, Basse, 'Faustini m. Iviii

Baiano procul a lacu, monemus iv. xxx

Barbara pjTamidum sileat miracula Memphis .... Spect. i

Barbatus rigido nupsit Callistratus Afro xn. xlii

Basia da nobis, Diadumene, pressa. " Quot " inquis ? . . vi. xxxiy

Basia das aliis, aliis das, Postume, dextram H. xxi

Basia dum nolo nisi quae luctantia carpsi V. xlyi

Bella, es, novimus, et puella, verum est I. Ixiy

Belliger invictis quod Mars tibi servit in armia .... Spect. vi

Bellus homo et magnus, vis idem Cotta, videri .... I. ix

Bis Cotta soleas perdidisse se questus xn. Ixxxvii

Bis quinquagenis domus est tibi milibus empta .... xn. Ixyi

Bis tibi triceni f uimus, Mancine, vocati I. xliii

Bis vicine Nepos nam tu quoque proxima Florae ... vi. xxyii

Boletos et aprum si tanquam vilia ponis xn. xlviii

Bruma est et riget horridus December . . . . . . . vn. xcy

Brumae diebus feriisque Satumi xn. Ixxxi


546


INDEX OF FIRST LINES


Caelatus tibi cum sit, Anuiane vr. xcii

Caesaris alma dies et luce sacratior ilia IV. i

Caesaris August! lascivos, livide, versus- xi. xx

Callidus effracta nummos fur auferet area v. xlii

Callidus imposuit nuper mihi copo Ravennae in. Ivii

Calliodorus habet censum quis nescit ? equestrem . . v. xxxviii

Campis dives Apollo sic Myrinis ix. xlii

Cana est barba tibi, nigra est coma : tinguere barbam . . iv. xxxvi

Candidius nihil est te, Caeciliane : notavi n. Ixxi

Cantasti male, dum fututa es, Aegle I. xciv

Capena grandi porta qua pluit gutta in. xlvii

Cappadocum saevis Antistius occidit oris ix. xxx

Capto tuam, pudet heu, sed capto, Maxime, cenam ... n. xviii

Carmina nulla probas molli quae limite currunt . . . xi. xc

Carmina Paulus emit, recitat sua carmina Paulus ... n. xx

Carpere causidicus fertur mea carmina : quis sit ... v. xxxiji

Casta nee antiquis cedens Laevina Sabinis I. Ixii

Casta suo gladium cum traderet Arria Paeto I. xiii

Castora dePolluce Gabinia fecit Achillan vn. Ivii

Cedere de nostris nulli te dicis amicis x. xiv

Cedere maiori virtutis fama secunda est Sptct. xxxii

Cenabis belle, lull Cerialis, apud me xi. Hi

Genes, Canthare, cum foris libenter ix. x

Ceno domi quotiens, nisi te, Charopine, vocavi .... v. I

Censor maxime principumque princeps

Centenis quod emis pueros et saepe ducenis

Centum Coranus et ducenta Mancinus iv. xxxvii

Centum miselli iam valete quadrantes m. vii

Cernere Parrhasios dum te luvat, Aule, triones ....

Cessatis, pueri, nihilque nostis

Chirurgus fuerat, nunc est vispillo Diaulus

Cinctum togatis post et ante Saufeium

Cinnam, Cinname, te iubes yocari ....

Circumlata diu mensis scriblita secundis

Clarus fronde lovis, Romani fama cothurni

Claudia caeruleis cum sit Rulina Britannis

Claudia, Rufe, meo nubit Peregrina Pudenti JV. xli

Clinicus Herodes trullam subduxerat aegro .... Coccina famosae donas et ianthina moechae . . . .

Coepit, Maxime, Pana qui solebat

Cogis me calamo manuque nostra

Cogit me Titus actitare causas . .

Colchida quid scribis, quid scribis, amice, Thyesten I . .

Commendare meas, Instanti Rufe, Camenas

Commendare tuum dum vis mihi carmine munus . . .

Commendo tibi, Quintiane, nostros

Communis tibi cum viro, Magulla .

Comoedi tres sunt, sed amat tua Paula, Luperce. . . . Concita veloces fugeret cum damma Molossos .... Condita cum tibi sit iam sexagesima measis . . . . - i*. Conditus hie ego sum Bassi dolor, L'rbicus infana . . .

Coniugis audisset fatum cum Porcia Bruti ' *|

Consilium formae speculum dulcesque capilloa ....

547

N N 2


INDEX OF FIRST LINES


Constituit, Philomuse, pater tibi milia bina III. x

Consule te Bruto quod iuras, Lesbia, natam x. xxxix

Consumpta est uno si lemmate pagina, transis .... x. lix

Contigeris nostros, Caesar, si forte libellos I. iv

Contigeris regina raeos si Polla libellos x. Ixiv

Contigit Ausoniae procerum mitissimus aulae .... xn. vi

Continuis vexata madet vindemia nirabis i. Ivi

Contulit ad saturas ingentia pectora Turnus .... xi. x

Conviva quisquis Zoili potest esse in. Ixxxii

Coponem laniumque balneumque II. xlviii

Cosconi, qui longa putas epigrammata nostra .... II. Ixxvii

Cosmicos esse tibi, Semprpni Tucca, videris vn. xli

Cotile. bellus homo es : dicunt hoc, Cotile, multi . . . in. Ixiii

Cras te victurum, eras dicis, Postume, semper .... v. Iviii

Credi virgine castior pudica "... iv. yi

Credis ob haec me, Pastor, opes fortasse rogare .... ix. xxii

Creta dedit magnum, maius_ dedit Africa nomen .... u. ii

Crine ruber, niger ore, brevis pede, lumine laesus . . xn. liv

Crinitae Line paedagoge turbae xn. xlix

Crispulus iste quis est, uxori semper adhaeret .... v. Ixi

Cui legisse satis non est epigrammata centum .... i. exviii

Cui tradas, Lupe, fllium magistro v. lyi

Cuius vis fieri, libelle, munus in. ii

Cum cathedra] icios portet tibi raeda ministros .... x. xiii

Cum clamant omnes, loqueris tune, Naevole, solus ... I. xcvii

Cum coleret puros pauper Telesuius amicos vi. 1

Cum comes Arctois haereret Caesaris armis * ix. xxxi

Cum dare non possim quod poscLs, Galla, rogantem . . ' . in. liv

Cum data sint equiti bis quina nomismata, quare ... I. xi

Cum depilates, Chreste, coleos portes ix. xxvii

Cum dicis " Propero, fac si facis," Hedyle, languet ... I. xlvi

Cum dixi ficus, rides quasi barbara verba I. Ixy

Cum dubitaret adhuc belli civilis Enyo vi. xxxii

Cum duo venissent ad Phyllida mane fututum .... x. Ixxxi

Cum facias versus uulla non luce ducenos vin. xx

Cum faciem laudo, cum miror crura manusque .... in. Ii

Cum futuis, Polycharme, soles in fine cacare ix. Ixix

Cum gravis extremas Vestinus duceret horas iv. Ixxiii

Cum luvenale meo quae me committere temptas. . . . vii. xxiy

Cum me captares, mittebas munera nobis ix. Ixxxviii

Cum me velle vides tentumque, Telesphore, sentis ... xi. Iviii

Cum mensas habeat fere trecentas vn. xlviii

Cum mittis turdumve mihi quadramve placentae ... vi. Ixxv

Cum peteret dulces audax Leandros aniores Sped, xxv b

Cum peteret pars haec Myrinum, pars ilia Triumphuni . . Spect. xx

Cum peteret patriae missicius arva Ravennae .... in. xci

Cum peteret regem, decepta satellite dextra I. xxi

Cum peteret seram media iam nocte matellam .... vi. Ixxxix

Cum placeat Phileros tota tibi dote redemptus .... n. xxxiv

Cum pluvias madidumque lovem perferre negaret . . . vn. xxxyi

Cum potes amethystinqs trientes x. xlix

Cum fogo te nummos sine pignore, " non habeo," inquis . xn. xxy

Cum Saxetani ponatur cauda lacerti vn. Ixxviii

Cum sene communem vexat spado Dindymus Aeglen . . xi. Ixxxi

Cum sexaginta numeret Cascellius annos vn. ix


548


INDEX OF FIRST LINES

Cum sint crura tibi, simulent quae cornua lunae H xxxv

Cum sis ipsa domi mediaque ornere Subura . IX \xxvii

Cum sis nee rigida Fabiorum gente creatus . Vi Ixiv

Cum sis tarn pauper, quam nee miserabilis Iros . vi Ixxvii

Cum sitis similes paresque vita . . . viii xxxv

Cum te municipem Corinthiorum X ixv

Cum te non nossem, dominum regemque vocabam ! I ' cxii

Cum tibi non Ephesos nee sit Rhodes aut Mytilene . . X ixviii

Cum tibi non essent sex milia, Caeciliane iv li

Cum tibi nota tui sit vita fldesque mariti . . . xir xcvi

Cum tibi sit facies, de qua nee femina possit ... . . vii xviii

Cum tibi sit sophiae par fama et cura laborum ... 'l. cxi

Cum tibi tarn crassae sint, Artemidore, lacernae .... VHI Iviii

Cum tibi trecenti consules, Vetustilla in. xciii

Cum tibi vernarent dubia lanugine malae n. 1x1

Cum traheret Prisons, traheret certamina Verus .... Spect. xxix

Cum tu, laurigeris annum qui fascibus intras .... X. x

Cum tua non edas, carpis mea carmina, Laeli .... I. xci

Cum tua sacrilegos contra, Norbane, furores IX. Ixxxiv

Cum vocer ad cenam non iam venalis ut ante .... in. Ix

Cum voeo te. dominum, noli tibi, Cinna, placere .... v. Ivii

Cunarum fueras motor, Charideme, mearum .... XI. xxxix

Cur here quod dederas, hodie, puer Hylle, negasti ... iv. vil

Cur non basio te, Philaeni ? calva es H. xxxiii

Cur non mitto meos tibi, Pontiliane, libellos ? . . . . vn. iii

Cur saepe sicci parva rura Nomenti xn. Ivii

Cur spleniato saepe prodeam mento x. xxii

Cur tantum eunuchos habeat tua Caelia, quaeris . . . . VI. Ixvii

Cur tristiprem cernimus Saleianum n. Ixv

Curandum penem commisit Baccara Raetus XI. Ixxiv

Cursorem sexta tibi, Ilufe, remisimus hora ill. c

Custodes das, Folia, viro, non accipis ipsa x. Ixix

Cyllones caelique decus, facunde minister VII. Ixxiv

D

Da veniam subitis : non displicuisse meretur .... Spect. xxxi

Daedale, Lucano cum sic lacereris ab urso Spect. viii

Dante tibi turba querulos, Auguste, libellos VHI. Ixxxii

Dantem vina tuum quotiens aspeximus Hylluni .... a. xxv

Daphnonas, platanonas et aerios pityonas ..... xll. 1

Das gladiatores, sutorum regule, cerdo HI. xvl

Das nunquam, semper promittis, Galla, roganti .... n. xxv

Das Parthis, das Germanis, das, Caelia, Dacis .... vil. xxx

Dat Baiana mihi quadrantes sportula centum .... I. Hx

De cathedra quotiens surgis (lain saepe notavi) . - . XI. xcix

De nostro facunde tibi luvenalis agello vn. xcl

De nullo loqueris, nulli maledicis, Apici III. Ixxx

De praetoricia folium inihi, Paule, corona VHI. xxxiii

Declamas belle, causas agis, Attice, belle n. vii

Declamas in febre, Maron : hanc esse phrenesin ....

Dederas Apici, bis trecenties ventri ni. xxii

Delicias, Caesar, lususque iocosque leonum I. xiy

Democritos, Zenonas inexplicitosque Platonas ....

549


INDEX OF FIRST LINES


Denaris tribus invitas et mane togatum ix. c

Dentibus antiquas solitus producere pelles ix. Ixxiii

Dentibus atque comis, nee te pudet, uteris emptis . . . XII. xxiii

Deprensum in puerp tetricis me vocibus, uxor .... xi. xliii

Derisor Fabianus hirnearum XII. Ixxxiii

Di tibi dent et tu, Caesar, quaecunque mereris .... vi. Ixxxviii

Di tibi dent quidquid; Caesar Traiane, mereris .... x. xxxiv

Die mini, quern portas, volucrum regina ? " Tonantem " . v. Iv

Die mini, quis furor est ? turba spectante vocata ... I. xx

Die, Musa, quid agat Canius meus Eufus ur. xx

Die, toga, facundi gratum mihi munus amici . ... vni. xxviii

Die verum mihi, Marce, die amabp ....,. vni. Ixxyi

Dicere de Libycis reduci tibi gentibus, Afer ix. vii

Dicis amore tui bellas ardere puellas n. Ixxxvii

Dicis formosam, dicis te, Bassa, puellam v. xlv

Dicit se vetulam, cum sit Caerellia pupa ...... iv. xx

Difficilis facilis, iucundus acerbus es idem xn. xlvii

Digna tuo eur sis indignaque nomine, dicara ill. xxxiv

Dimidium donare Lino quam credere totum I. Ixxv

Discursus varios yagumque mane VII. xxxix

Disticha qui scribit, puto, vult brevitate placere . . . vm. xxix

Dives eras quondam : sed tune paedico fuisti .... xi. Ixxxvii

Dixerat astrologus periturum te cito, Munna .... ix. Ixxxii

Dixerat " o mores I o tempora | " Tullius olim ... ix. Ixx

Do tibi naumachiam, tu das epigrammata nobis ... I. y

Doctorum Licini celeberrime Sura virorum vn. xlvii

Donasse amicum tibi ducenta, Mancine iv. Ixi

Donasti, Lupe, rus sub urbe nobis xi. xviii

Donasti tenero, Chloe, Luperco iv. xxviii

Donayi tibi multa, quae rogasti xn. Ixxix

Dormis cum pueris rn'ituniatLs in. Ixxiii

Dotatae uxori cor harundine ftxit acuta x. xy

Drauci Natta sui vocat pipinnam ....'.... xi. Ixxii

Ducit ad auriferas quod me Salo Celtiber oras .... X. xx

Dulce decus scaenae, ludorum fama, Latinus .... ix. xxviii

Dulcia cum tantum kcribas epigrammata semper . . . vn. xxv

Dum donas, Macer, anulos puellis Vin. y

Dum Tanus hiemes, Dpmitianus autumnos ix. i

Dum levis arsura struitur Libitina papyro x. xcyii

Dum mea Caecilio formatur imago Secundo vn. Ixxxiv

Dum modo causidicum, dum te modo rhetora flngis . . n. Ixiy

Dum nimium vano tumefactus nomine gaudes .... IV. xi

Dum non vis pisces, dum nqn vis carpere pullos .... III. xiii

Dum nos blanda tenent lascivi stagna Lucrini .... iv. Ivii

Dum nova Pannonici numeratur gloria belli . . . . . vui. xv

Dum noyus est nee adhuc rasa mihi fronte libellus ... iv. x

Dum petit a Baulis mater Caerellia Baias . ^ IV. Ixiii

Dum Phaethontaa formica vagatur in umbra vi. xy

Dum proayos atavosque refers et nomina magna ... v. xvii

Dum repetit sera conductos nocte penates Vin. Ixxv

Dum sibi redire de Patrensibus fundis v. xxxv

Dum ta prosequpr et domum reduco . XI. xxjy

Dum tibi felices indulgent, Castrice, Baiae vi. xliii

Dum tibi Niliacus portat crystalla cataplus xn. Ixxiy

Dum Tiburtinis albescere solibus audit vii. xiii

55


INDEX OF FIRST LINES


Dum tu forsitan inquietus erras X n. XY JJJ

Dum tu lenta nimis diuque quaeris jv' xxiii

Duxerat esuriens locupletem pauper anumque .... ix'. ixxx

E

Ecquid Hyperboreis ad nos conyersus ab oris .... vir. vi

Ede tuos tandem popujo, Faustina, libellos I. xxv

Kdere lascivos ad Baetica crusmata gestua vi. Jxxi

Edietum domini deique nostri v. viii

Edita ne brevibus pereat mini cura libellis I. xlv

Editur en sextus sine te mihi, Bufe Camoni vi. Ixxxv

Eifert uxores Fabius, Chrestilla maritos vm. xliii

Effigiem tantum pueri pictura Camoni ix. Ixxiv

Effugere in thermis et circa balnea non est XII. Ixxxii

Effugere non est, Flacce, basiatores xi. xcviii

Egi, Sexte, tuam, pactus duo milia, causam vm. xvii

Egisti vitam semper, Line, municipalem iv. Ixvl

Elysio redeat si forte remissus ab agro x. cl

Emi seu puerum tpgamve pexam II. xliv

Emit lacernas milibus decem Bassus vm. x

Empta domus fuerat tibi, Tongiliane, ducentis .... m. lil

Encaustus Phaethon tabula tibi pictus in hac est ... iv. xlvii

Epigramma nostrum cum Fabulla legisset Yv. Ixxxi

Erras meorum fur avare librorum I. Ixvi

Esquiliis domus est, domus est tibi colle Dianae .... vn. Ixxiii

Esse negas coctum leporem poscisque flagella .... in. xciv

Esse nihil dicis quidquid petis, improbe Cinna .... HI. Ixi

Esse quid hoc dicam, quod olent tua basia myrrham . . II. xii

Esse quid hoc dicam, vivis quod fama negatur .... v. x

Esse tibi videor saevus nimiumque gulosus Till, xxiii

Esset, Castrice, cum mali coloris vu. iv

Est mihi (sitque precor longum te praeside, Caesar) . . ix. xviii

Est tibi (sitque precor multos crescatque per annos) . . i. cviii

Et delator es et calumniator XI. Ixvi

Et dolet et queritur, sibi non contingere frigus . . . . vi. li\

Et iudex petit et petit patronus II. xiii

Et latet et lucet Phaethontide condita gutta IV. xxxli

Et vultu poteram tuo carere in. liii

Etrusci nisi thermulis lavaris vi. xlii

Eutrapelns tonsor dum circuit ora Luperci vn. Ixxxiii

Exigis a nobis operam sine fine togatam in. xlvi

Exijiis, ut donein nostros tibi, Quinte, libellos .... iv. Ixxii

Exigis, ut nostros donem tibi, Tucca, libellos .... Til. Ixxvii

Explicitum nobis usque ad sua corinia librum .... XI. evil

Extemporalis factus est meus rhetor v. llv

Exulat Ausonia profugus delator ab urbe Sped. iv. b

K

Fabricio iunctus fido requiescit Aquinus

Facere in Lyciscam, 1'aulc, inc iuli^s versus

Facundi Senecae potns ainicus

551


INDEX OF FIRST LINES


Facundos mihi de libidinosis xii. xliii

Fama refert nostros te, Fidentine, libelloa I. xxix

Famae non nimium bonae. puellam vi. Jxvi

Fastorum genitor parensque lanus vm. ii

Felicem fieri credis me, Zoile, cena II. xix

Felices, quibus urna dedit spectare coruscum X. vi

Femina praeferri potuit tibi milla, Lycori VI. xl

Ferreus es, si stare potest tibi mentula, Flacce .... xi. xxvii

Fertur habere meos, si vera est fama, libellos .... VH. Ixxxviii

Festinat Polytimus ad puellas xii. Ixxv

Festinata prior decimi mihi cura libelli X. ii

Festinata sui gemeret quod fata Sever! ix. Ixxxvi

Festive credis te, Calliodore, iocari vi. xliv

Ficosa est ux6r, flcosus et ipse maritus vn. Ixxi

Flavia gens, quantum tibi tertius abstulit heres .... xiv. sub fin.

Flectere te nolim, sed nee turbare capillos II. xxxvi

Flentibus Heliadum ramis dum vipera repit IV. lix

Flete nefas vestrum, sed tpto flete Lucrino ..... vi. Ixviii

Florida per varies ut pingitur Hybla colores H. xlvi

Foedasti miserum, marite, moechum II. Ixxxiii

Foetere multo Myrtale solet vino . v. iv

Fons dominae, regina loci quo gaudet lanthis .... vu. 1

Formosa Phyllis nocte cum mihi tota xu. Ixy

Formosam faciem nigro medicamine celas in. iii

Formosam Glyceran amat Lupercus ....... xi. xl

Formosam sane, sed caecus dUigit Asper ....... viu. xlix

Formosissima quae fuere vel sunt vm. liii

Fragmentum quod vile putas et uiutile lignum .... vn. xix

Frangat Idumaeas tristis Victoria palmas x. 1

Frontibus adversis molles concurrere dammas .... iv. xxxy

Frustra Blanditiae venitis ad me X. Ixxii

Fugerit an Phoebus mensas cenamque Thyestae . . . m. xlv

Funera post septem nupsit tibi Galla vh-orum .... IX. Ixxviii

Fur notae nimium rapacitatis vi. Ixxii

G

Gains hanc lucem gemma mihi lulius alba xi. xxxyi

Galla, nega : satiatur amor, nisi gaudia torquent ... IV. xxxviii

Garris in aurem semper omnibus, Cinna I. Ixxxix

Gellius aediiicat semper : modo limma ponit ix. xlvi

Gentibus in Libycia uxor tua, Galla, male audit .... n. lyi

Genus, Aucte, lucri divites habent Irani XII. xiii

Gestari iunctis nisi desinis, Hedyle, capris iv. Iii

Gratis qui dare vos iubet, puellae xu. ly

Gratum est, quod Celeri nostros legis, Aucte, libellos . . vn. Iii

Gratus sic tibi, Paule, sit December n. Ixxvi

H

Habere amicam nolo, Flacce, subtilem XI. c

Habet Africanus milies, tamen captat ...... xn, x

552


INDEX OF FIRST LINES

Haec est ilia dies, quae magni conscia partus . . vii xxi

Haec est ilia meis multum cantata libellis . . ix xlix

Haec est ilia tibi promissa Theophila, Cani .... vii.' ixix

Haec mihi quae colitur violis pictura rosisque . . x xxxii

Haec quae pulvere dissipata multo i. Ixxxii

Haec quae tota patet tegiturque et marmore et auro ix. xx

Haec sunt ilia mei quae cernitis ora Camoni ix. Ixxvi

Haec tibi, non alia, est ad cenam causa vocandi ... HI 1

Haec tibi, Palladiae sen collibus uteris Albae .... v! i

Haec tibi pro nato plena dat laetus acerra iv. xlv

Haedina tibi pelle contegenti xii. xlv

Hanc tibi, Fronto pater, genetrix Flaccilla, puellam . . v. xxxiv

Hanc tibi Sequanicae pinguem textricis alumnam . . . iv. xix

Hanc volo, quae faoilis, quae palliolata vagatur .... ix. xxxii

Has cum gemina compede declicat catenas in. xxix

Have, mi Torani, frater carissime ix. praef.

Herbarum fueras indutus, Basse, colores v. xxiii

Herculis in magni vultus descendere Caesar ix. Ixiv

Heredem cum me partis tibi, Garrice, quartae .... ix. xlviii

Heredem Fabitis Labienum ex asse reliquit vir. Ixvi

Heredem tibi me, Catulle, dicis xii. Ixxiii

Heredes, nolite brevem sepelire colonum xi. xiv

Hermes Martia saeculi voluptas \..\xiv

Hermogenes tantus mapparum, t Pontice, fur est . . . xii. xxix

Hesterna factum narratur, Postume, cena 11. Ixxii

Hesterna tibi nocte dixeramus i. xxvii

Hesterno foetere mero qui credit Acerram i. xxviii

" Hexametris epigramma facis " scio dicere Tuccam . . vi. Ixv

Hjberna quamvis Arctos et rudis Peuce vii. vii

Hibernos peterent solito cum more recessus v. Ixvii

Hie est pampineis viridis modo Vesbius umbris .... iv. xliv

Hie est quern legis ille, quem requiris I. i

Hie festinata requiescit Erotion umbra x. Ixi

Hie iacet ille senex, Augusta notus in aula vii. xj

Hie quem videtis gressibus vagis lentum n. Ivii

Hie qui dura sedens porrecto saxa leone ix. xliii

Hie qui libellis praegravem gerit laevam v. li

Hie ubi Fortunae ReducLs fulgentia late \in.lxv

Hie ubi sidereus propius videt astra colossus .s'/'rt. ii

Hoc agere est causas, hoc dicere, Cinna, diserte .... vm. vii

Hoc, Fortuna, tibi videtur aequum ? x. Ixxvi

Hoc iacet in tumulo raptus puerilibus annis vi. Ill

Hoc nemus aeterno cinerum sacravit honori i. cxvi

Hoc nemus, hi fontes, haec. textilis umbra supini . . . xn. xxxi

Hoc tibi quidquid id est longinquis mittit al> oris . . . ill. i

Hoplomachus nunc es, fueras oplitlinlmicii-4 mite'. . . . vm. Ixxiv

Horas quinque puer nondum tibi nunt.iat, et tu .... vm. l\\ ii

Hortatur fieri quod te Lupus, lirbice, patrem ....

Hos quoque commenda Venuleio, Itufe, lil>ellos .... IV. Ix\\ii

Hos tibi, Phoebe, vovet totos a vertico crincs ....

Hos tibi viciuus, Faustine, Telesiilionis lictrtos .... I. cxiv

Hospes eras noatri semper, Matho, Tiburtini

Hostem cum fugeret, se Fannius ipse peremit .... n. I

Hue est usque tibi scriptus, matrona, libellus .... m. Ixviii Hunc quem mensa tibi, quem cena paravit amlcum

553


INDEX OF FIRST LINES


Hunc qnem saepe vides intra penetralia nostrae .... iv. liii

Hunc qui femineis noctesque diesque cathedris . . . . xii. xxxviii

Hystericam vetulo se dlxerat esse marito xi. Ixxi

I

I, felix rosa, mollibusque sertis vn. Ixxxix

I nostro comes, i libelle, Flavo x. civ

I nunc, edere me iube libellos II. vi

lactat inaequalem Matho me fecisse libellum .... vn. xc

lam certe stupido non dices, Paula, marito xi. vii

lam nisi per somnum non arrigts et tibi, Maevi .... xi. xlvj

lam numerat placido felix Antonius aevo x. xxiii

lam parce lasso, Roma, gratulatori x. Ixxiv

lam prope desertos cineres et sancta Maronis .... xi. xlix

lam senior Ladon Tiberinae nauta carinae X. Ixxxv

lam sex aut septem nupsisti, Galla, cinaedis vn. Iviii

Tarn tristis nncibus puer relictis ........ v. Ixxxiv

Ibis litoreas, Macer, Salonas x. Ixxviii

Icta gravi telo confossaque vulnere mater Spect. xiii

Ignotos mihi cum voces trecentos xi. xxxv

Iliaco similem puerum, Faustine, ministro in. xxxix

Ilia manus quondam studiorum flda meorum I. ci

Ilia salax nimium nee paucis nota puellis f XI. xxv

Ille ego sum Scorpus, clamosi gloria Circi X. liii

Ille sacri lateris custos Martisque tpgati vi. Ixxvi

Improba Massiliae quidquid f umaria cogunt ....... x. xxxvi

In matutina nuper spectatus harena x. xxv

In Nomentanis, Ovidi, quod nascitur arvis I. cv

In omnibus Vacerra quod conclavibus XI. Ixxvii

In Pompeiano dormis, Laevine, theatro vi. ix

In Saeptis Mamurra diu multumque vagatus .... ix. lix

In Tartesiacis domus est notissima terris ix. Ixi

In tenebris luges amissum, Galla, maritum IV. Iviii

In thermis sumit lactucas, ova. lacertum xii. xix

Incideris quotiens in basia fellatorura ....... xi. xcv

Incustoditis et apertis, Lesbia, semper . . . ' . . . i. xxxiv

Indignas premeret pestis cum tabida fauces i. Ixxviii

Indulget pecori nimium dum pastor Amyntas .... xi. xii

Infantem secum semper tua Bassa, Fabulle IV. Ixxxvii

Infantem tibi vir, tibi, Galla, remisit adulter .... x. xcv

Infusum sibi nuper a patrono v. Ixx

Ingenium mihi, Gaure, prpbas sic esse pusillum .... ix. 1

Ingenium studiumque tibi moresque genusque .... v. xxvii

Ingenuam malo, sed si tamen ilia negetur in. xxxiii

Inguina succinctus nigra tibi servus aluta. . . . . . vn. xxxv

Inscripsit tumulis septm scelerata virorum ..... ix. xv

Insequeris, fugio ; fugis, insequor ; hacc mihi mens eft . v. Ixxxiii

Inserta phialae Mentoris manu ducta ni. xii

Instanti, quo nee sincerior alter babetur vin. Ixxiii

Intactas quare mittis mihi, Polla, coronas ? IX. Ixxxix

Inter Caesareae discrimina saeva Dianae . . . . " . . Spect. xii

Inter tanta tuae miracula, Caesar, harenae ix. Ixxxiii

Interponis aquam subinde, Rufe I. cvi

.554


INDEX OF FIRST LINES

Intrasti quotiens inscriptae limina cellae ... xi xlv

Intres ampla licet torvi lepus ora leonis ... i l\

Invasit medici Nasica phreneticus Eucti .... xi xxviii

Invia Sarmaticis domini lorica sagittis ' vn ii

Invitas ad aprura, ponis mihi, Galilee, porcum .... viri. xxii

Invitas centum quadrantibus et bene cenas .... IT ixviii

Invitas nullum nisi cum quo, Cotta, lavaris .... i xxiii

Invitag tune me, cum scis, Nasica, vocasse ... II Ixxix

Invitum cenare foris te, Classice, dicis j'l ixiy

Ipsarum tribadum tribas, Philaeni vii ixx

Irasci nostro non debes, cerdo, libello in xcix

Irasci tantura felices nostis amici in. xxxvii

Iratus tanquam populo, Charideme, lavaris VI Ixxxi

Issa est passere nequior Catulli I. cix

Itur ad Herculeas gelidi qua Tiburis arces I. xii

lugera mercatus prope busta latentis agelli XII. Ixxii

luli iugera pauca Martialis iv. Ixiv

lulia lex populis ex quo, Faustine, renata est .... vi. vii

Tunctam Pasiphaen Dictaeo credite tauro Speet. v

luno labor, Polvclite, tuus et gloria felix X. Ixxxix

luppiter Idaei risit mendacia busti IX. xxxiv

lura trium petiit a Caesare discipulorum ...... X. Ix

lurat capillos esse, quos emit, suos ........ vi. xil

lure tuo nostris maneas licet, hospes, in hortis .... v. Ixii

luris et aequarum cultor sanctissime legum 'X. xxxvii

lus tibi natorum vel septem, Zoile, detur xi. xii


Koiva. <t>i\tav haec sunt, haec sunt tua, Candide,


H. xlili


Laeserat ingrato leo perlidus ore magistrum . Laevia sex cyathis, septem lustlna bibatur . Lambere securi dextram consueta magistri . Languebam : sed tu comitatus protinus ad me . Languida cum vetula tractare virilla dextra . Languidior noster si quando est Paulus, Atili Lapsa quod externis spirant opobalsama truncis Lascivam tota possedi nocte puellam .

Lascivos leporum cursus lususque leonum Latonae venerande nepos, qui mitibns herbis. Laudantem Selium cenae cum retia tendlt . . Laudas balnea versibus trecentis . . . Laudat, aniat, cantat nostros mea Roma libellos Laudatur nostro quidam, Faustine, libello . . Laurigeros domini, liber, intrature penates . Laxior hexaphoris tua sit lectica licebit . Lector et auditor nostros probat, Aule, libellos . Lege nimis dura convivam scribere versus Leniat ut fauces medicus, quas aspera vexat . Lesbia se iurat gratis nunquam esse fututain


Speet. x

I. Ixxi

Spect. xvlii

v. ix

xi. xxix

IX. l.xxxv

XI. Viii

ix. Ixvii

i. xliv

ix. xvii

n. xxvii

ix. xix

VI. Ixl

v. xxxvi

vin. I

n. Ixxxl

IX. Ixxxi

ix. Ixxxix

xi. Ixxxvl

xi. Ixli

555


INDEX OF FIRST LINES


Liber, amicorum dulcissima cura tuorum vm. Ixxvii

Liber, Amyclaea frontem vittate corona ix. Ixxii

Liber homo es nimium, dicis mihi, Ceryle, semper ... i. Ixvii

Libertus Melioris ille notus vi. xxviii

Libras quattuor aut duas amico xn. xxxvi

Lingis, non futuis meam puellam in. xcvi

Lingua maritus, moechus ore Nanneius xi. Ixi

Lintea ferret Apro vatius cum vernula nuper xn. Ixx

Lis mihi cum Balbo est, tu Balbum offendere non vis . . n. xxxii

Lis te bis decimae numerantem frigora brumae .... vn. Ixv

Litigat et podagra Diodorus, Macce, laborat i. xcviii

Littera facundi gratum mihi pignus amici x. Ixxiii

Litus beatae Veneris aureum Baias xi. Ixxx

Livet Charinus, rumpitur, furit, plorat viil. Ixi

Lomento rugas uteri quod condere temptas in. xlii

Longior undecimi nobis decimique libelli xn. v

Lotus nobiscum est, hilaris cenavit et idem vi. Hii

Luce propinquorum, qua plurima mittitur ales .... ix.lv

Luci, gloria temporum tuorum iv.lv

Ludi magister, parce simplici turbae -. x. Ixii

Lusistis, satis est : lascivi nubite cunni vi. xlv

Lusit Nereldum docilis chorus aequore toto Sped, xxvi

Lusus erat sacrae conubia fallere taedae vi. ii

Lux tibi post Idus numeratur tertia Maias ill. vi

Lydia tam'laxa est, equitis quam culus aheni XI. xxi

M

Magna licet totiens tribuas, maiora daturus vm. liv

Maiae Mercurium creastis Idus xn. Ixvii

Mammas atque tatas habet Afra, sed ipsa tatarum . . . - I."c

Mane domi nisi te volui meruique videre v. xxii

Mane salutavi yero te nomine casu -. . vi. Ixxxviii

Marcelline, boni suboles sincera parentis vi. xxv

Marcia, non Rhenus, salit hie, Germane : quid obstas . . xi. xcvi

Marcus amat nostras Antonius, Attice, Musas .... ix. xcix

Mari, quietae cultor et comes vitae X. xcii

Marmora parva quidem, sed non cessura, viator .... x. Ixiii

Martis alumn6 dies, roseam quo lampada primum . . . xn. Ix

Massyli leo fama iugi pecorisque maritus ix. Ixxi

Matronae puerique virginesque V. ii

Matutine cliens, urbis mihi causa relictae xn. Ixviii

Maximus ille tuus, Ovidi, Caesonius hie est VII. xliv

Medio recumbit imus ille qui lecto vi. Ixxiv

Menophili penem tarn grandLs fibula vestit vn. Ixxxii

Mensas, Ole, bonas ponis, sed ponis opertas x. liv

Mense novo Tani veterem, Proculeia, maritum .... x. xli

Mentiris, credo : recitas mala carmina, laudo xn. xj

Mentiris fictos unguento, Phoebe, capillos vi. Ivii

Mentiris iuvenem tiuctis, Laetine, capillis ni. xliii

Mentitur, qui te vitiosum, Zoile, dicit xi. xcii

Mentula cum doleat puero, tibi, Naevole, culus .... m. Ixxi

Mentula tarn magna est, quantus tibi, Papile, nasus . . VI. xxxvi

Mercari nostras si te piget, Urbice, nugas vn. Ii


556


INDEX OF FIRST LINES

Mica vocor : quid sim, cernis, cenatio parva . n lix

Miles Hyperboreos modo, Marcelline, triones ... ix 'xlv

Milia misisti mihi sex bis sena petenti . . . iv Ixxvi

Milia pro puero centum me mango poposcit . . . i K-iii

Milia viginti quondam me Galla poposcit x Ixxv

Mille tibi numnios hesterna luce roganti ... * iv xv

Minxisti currente semel, Pauline, carina in Ixxviii

Miraris, docto quod carmina mitto Severe .... xi Ivii

Miraris, quare dorniitum non eat Afer ? ! x. 'ixxxiv

Miraris veteres, Vacerra, solos vin Lxix

Mittebas libram, quadrantem, Garrice, mittis .... xi. cv

Moechum Gellia non habet nisi unum vi.' xc

Moechus erat : pqteras tamen hoc tu, Paula, negare . . i. Ixxiv

Moechus es Aufldiae, qui vir, Scaevine, fuisti .... m i\x

Mollia quod nivei duro teris ore Galaesi xi.'xxii

Mollis erat facilisque viris Poeantius heros II. Ixxxiv

Morio dictus erat : viginti milibus emi Till, xiii

Mulio viginti venit modo milibus, Aule XI. xxxviii

Multis dum precibus lovem salutat xn. Ixxvii

Multis iam, Lupe, posse se diebus xi. Ixxxviii

Munera qui tibi dat locupleti, Gaure, senique .... vui. xxvii

Munera quod senibus viduisque ingentia mittis .... rv. Ivi

Muneribus cupiat si quis contendere tecum vil. x lii

Municipem rigidi quis te, Marcella, Salonis xn. xxi

Municipes, Augusta mini <iuos Bilbilis acri x. ciii

Musaei pathicissimos libellos xn. xcv

Mutua quod nobis ter quinquagena dedisti III. xl

Mutua te centum sestertia, Phoebe, rogavi vi. xx

Mutua viginti sestertia forte rogabam II. xxx

N

Narnia, sulphureo quam gurgite candidus amnis . . . vn. xriii

Narrat te, Chione, rumor nunquam esse fututam . . . HI. Ixxxvij

Narratur belle quidam dixisse, Marulle v. Ixxvii

Nascere Dardanio promissum nomen lulo vi. iii

Nasutus nimium cupis vlderi xn. Ixxiii

Nasutus sis usque licet, sis denique nasus xiii. ii

Natales mihi Martiae Kalendae x. xxiv

Natali, Diodore, tuo conviva senatus x. xxvii

Natali tibi, Quinte, tuo dare parva volebam ix. liii

Natorum mihi ins trium roganti II. xcii

Ne gravis hesterno fragres, Fescennia, vino I. Ixxxvii

Ne laudet dignos, laudat Callistratus omnes xn. Ixxx

Ne legat hunc Chione, mando tibi, Rufe, libellum . . . ill. xcvii

Ne legeres parteni lascivi, casta, libelU in. Kxxvi

Ne toga cordylis et paenula desit olivis xiii. i

Ne valeam, si non totis, Deciane, diebus n. v

Nee doctum satis et parum severum x. xix

Nee mullus nee te delectat, Baetice, turdus HI. Ixxvii

Nee toga nee focus est nee tritus cimice lectus .... xi. xxxii

Nee vocat ad cenam Marius nee munera inittit .... x. xviil

Nemo habitat gratis nisi dives et orbus apud te . . . . xi. Ixxxiii

Nemo nova cahiit sic inflammatus arnica X. l.xxxvi

557


INDEX OF FIRST LINES


Nequius a Caro nihil unquam, Maxime, factum est ... x. Ixxvii

Nescio quid de te non belle, Dento, fateris VIIT. xxxi

Nescio tarn multis quid scribas, Fauste, puellis .... xi. Ixiv

Nescit, crede mihi, quid sint epigrammata, Flacce .... iv. xlix

Nescit, cui dederit Tyriam Crispinus abollam. . . vin. xlviii

Nihil Ammianq praeter aridam restem iv. Ixx

Nihil est miserius neque gulosius Santra VII. xx*

Nil aliud loquerLs quam Thesea Pirithoumque .... X. xi

Nil est tritius Hedyli lacernis ix. Ivii

Nil in te scripsi, Bithynice. Credere non vis .... xn. Ixxviii

Nil intemptatum Selius, nil linquit inausum ..... n. xiv

Nil lascivius est Charisiano v I. xxiv

Nil mihi das yivus ; dicis post fata daturum xi. Ixvii

Nil miserabilius, Matho, paedicone Sabello VI. xxxiii

Nil non, Lygde, mihi negas roganti xii. Ixxi

Nil recitas et vis, Mamerce, poeta videri n. Ixxxviii

Nil tibi legavit Fabius, Bithynice, cui tu ix. ix

Nolueram, Polytime, tuos violare capillos xn. Ixxxiv

Nomen Athenagorae, quaeris, Callistrate, verum ? . . . ix. xcv b.

Nomen cum violis rosisque natum ( . . . ix. xi

Nomen habes teneri quod tempora nuncupat anni ' . . . ix. xiii

Non amo te, Sabidi, nee possum dicere quare .... I. xxxii

Non cenat sine apro iioster, Tite, Caecilianus .... vn. lix

Non de plebe domus, nee avarae verna catastae .... vi. xxix

Non de vi neque caede nee veneno VI. xix

Non dicam, licet usque me rogetis 11. xxiii

Non dixi, Coracine, te cinaedum rv. xliii

Non donem tibi cur meos libelloa v. Ixxiii

Non est in populo nee urbe tota iv. Ixxxiv

Non est -mentitus, qui te mihi dixit habere xi. cii

Non est, Tucca, satis, quod es gulqsus xii. xli

Non facit ad saevos cervix, nisi prima, leones . * I. li

Non horti neque palmitis beati vm. xl

Non mea Massylus servat pomaria serpens x. xciv

Non miror, quod potat aquam tua Bassa, Catulle ... vi. Ixix

Non omnis nostri nocturna est pagina libri XI. xvii

Non per mystica sacra Dindymenes vni. Ixxxi

Non plenum modo vicies habebas I. xcix

Non quemcunque focum nee fumum caseus omnem . . . xxm. xxxii

Non rudis indocta fecit me falce colonus vi. Ixxiii

Non silice duro structilive caemento . ix. Ixxv

Non sum de fragili dolatus ulmo vi. xlix

Non sum de primo, fateor, trifplina Lyaeo Xiii. cxiv

Non tot in Eqis timuit Gangeticus arvis VIII. xxvi

Non totam mihi, si vacabis, horam v. Ixxx

Non vis in solio prius lavari II. Ixx

Non urbana mea tantum Pimpleide gaudent XI. iii

Nondum murice cultus asperoque vm. Ixxii

Norica quam certo venabula dirigit ictu Sped, xxiii

Nos bibimus vitro, tu murra, Pontice. Quare ? . . . . IV. Ixxxv

Nosses iocosae dulce cum sacrum Florae I. praef. xix gqq.

Nosti mortiferum quaestoris, Castrice, signum ? . VII. xxxvii

Nosti si bene Caesium, libelle vn. xcvii

Nostris versibus esse te poetam I. Ixxii

Note, licet nolis, sublimi pectore vates IX. inii.

558


INDEX OF FIRST LINES

Novit loturos Dasius numerare : poposcit. n Hi

Nubere Paula cupit nobis, ego ducere Paulam . X viii

Nubere Sila mihi nulla non lege parata est xr xxiii

Nubere vis Frisco, non miror, Paula : sapisti 'rx v Nulla est hora tibi qua non me, Phylli, furentem

Nulla remisisti parvo pro munere dona . . iv Ixxxviii

Nulli munera, Chreste, si remittis .... vir Iv

Nulli, Thai, negas, sed si te non pudet istud . . 17 'xii

Nullos esse deos, inane caelum j v 'xxj

Nullus in urbe fuit tota qui tangere vellet . . . i. Ixxiii

Nummi cum tibi sint opesque tantae .... xii liii

Nunc hilares, si quando mihi, nunc Indite, Musae . vn viii

Nunquam dicis have, sed reddis, Naevole, semper . . m.'xcv

Nunquam divitias deos rogavi iv. ixxvii

Nunqnam me revocas, venias cum saepe vocatus . . III. xxvii

Nunquam se cenasse domi Philo iurat, et hoc est ... v. xlvil

Nuntiat octavam Phariae sua turba iuvencae .... x. xlviii

Nuper erat medicus, nunc est vispillo Diaulus .... i. xlvii

Nympha. mei Stellae quae fonte domestica puro ... VI. xlvii

Nympha sacri regina lacus, cui grata Sabinus .... ix. Iviii

Nympharum pater amniumque, Rhene X. vli

O

O cui Tarpeias licuit contingere quercus IF. liv

O cui virgineo flayescere contigit auro IX. xxiii

O felix animo, felix, Nigrhia, marito rv. Ixxv

O iucunda, covinne, solitude XII. xxiv

O luliarum dedecus Kalendarurn xii. xxxii

O mihi curarum pretium non vile mearum .'.... I. ixxvi

O mihi grata quies, o blanda, Telesphore, cura .... XI. xxvi

O mihi post nullos, lull, memoranda sodales I. xv

O molles tibi quindecim, Calene x. xxxviii

O 1 1 iiiim blandus es, Ammiane, matri II. iv

O temperatae dulce Formiae litus X. xxx

Obstat,'care Pudens, nostris sua turba libellis .... IT. xxix

Occurris quocunque loco mihi, Postume, clamas .... n. Irvli

Occtirris quotiens, Luperce, nobis I. cxvil

Occurrit tibi nemo quod libenter III. xliv

Octaphoro sanus portatur, Avite Philippus vi. Ixxxiv

Octobres age sentiat Ealendas X. Ixxxvii

Oculo Philaenis semper altero plorat ....... iv. Ixv

Oderat ante ducum famulos turbamque priorem ... IX. Ixxix

Odi te, quia bellus es, Sabelle . . . xn. xxxix

Ohe, iam satis est, ohe, libelle iv. Ixxxix

Omnes aut vetulas habes arnicas viii. Ixxix

Omnes eunuchos habet Almo nee arrigit ipse .... X. xcl

Omnes persequeris praetprum, Cotta, libellos .... X. Ixxxviii

Omnes quas habuit, Fabiane, Lycoris arnicas IT. xxiv

Omnes quidem libelli mei, domine Tin. prarf.

Omnes Sulpiciam legant puellae X. xxxv

Omnia, Castor, emis : Pic flet, nt omnia vendas .... Til. xcvlli

Omnia cum retro pueris obsonia tradas ill. xxiii

Omnia femineis quare dilecta catervis XI. xlvll

559


INDEX OF FIRST LINES


Omnia misisti mihi Saturnalibus, Umber vn. liii

Omnia proraittis, cum tota nocte bibisti XII. xii

Omnia quod scribis castis epigrammata verbis .... in. Ixix

Omnia vis belle, Matho, dicere. Die aliquando .... x. xlvi

Omnis in hac gracili XENIORUM turba libello .... xin. iii

Orbus es et locuples et Bruto consule natus xi. xliv

Orphea quod subito tellus emisit hiatu Sped. xxi. b

Os et labra tibi lingit, Maneia, catellus I. Ixxxiii

Os male causidicis et dicis olere poetis ....... xi. xxx

P

Paedicat pueros tribas Philaenis vn. Ixvii

Paedicatur Eros, fellat Linus : Ole, quid ad te . . . . vn. x

Paediconibus os olere diets xn. Ixxxv

Pallida ne Cilicum timeant pomaria brumam .... VHI. xiv

Palma regit nostros, mitissime Caesar, Hiberos .... xn. ix

Par scelus admisit Phariis Antonius armis in. Ixyi

Parcius utaris, moneo, rapiente veredo xn. xiv

Pars maxillarum tonsa est tibi, pars tibi rasa est . . . vin. xlvii

Parthenio die, Musa, tuo nostroque salutem xn. xi

Parva rogas magnos ; sed non dant haec quoque magni . xi. Ixviii

Parva suburban! munuscula mittimus horti vn. xlix

Pater ex Marulla, C'inna, factus es septem vi. xxxix

Pauca lovem nuper cum milia forte rogarem .... vi. x

Pauper amicitiae .cum sis, Lupe, non es amicae .... XI. ii

Pauper videri Cinna vult ; et est pauper vm. xix

Pauperis extruxit cellam, sed vendidit Olus in. xlviii

Percidi gaudes, percisus, Papile, ploras iv. xlviii

Perfrixisse tuas questa est pfaefatio fauces in. xviii

Periclitatur capite Sotades npster vi. xxvi

Perpetuam Stellae dum iungit lanthida yati vi. xxi

Perpetui nunquam moritura volumina Sili vn. Ixiii

Peryenisse tuam iam te scit Bhenus in urbem .... vni. xi

Petit Gemellus nuptias Maronillae ......... I. x

Pexatus pulchre rides mea, Zoile, trita n. Iviii

Phoebe, veni, sed quantus eras, cum bella Tonanti . . . vn. xxiii

Phosphore, redde diem : quid gaudia nostra moraris ? . . Vin. xxi

Picto quod iuga delicata collo . . . I. civ

Pierips vatis Theodori flamma penates xi. xciii

Pinxisti Venerem, colis, Artemidore, Mineryam .... v. xf

Pistor qui fueras diu, Cypere vin. xvi

Plena laboratis habeas cum scrinia libris ...... iv. xxxiii

Plorat Eros, quotiens maculosae pocula murrae .... x. Ixxx

Plus credit nemo tota quam Cordus in urbe III. xv

Pompeios iuvenes Asia atque Europa, sed ipsum ... v. Ixxiv

Pontice, quod nunquam futuis, sed paelice laeva ... IX. xli

Ponuntur semper chrysendeta Calpetiano vi. xciv

Potavi modo consulare vinum vu. Ixxix

Poto ego sextantes, tu potas, Cinna, deunces .... xn. xxviii

Potor nobilis, Aule, lumine uno vi. Ixxviii

Praeceps sanguinea dum se rotat ursus harena . ... . Sped, xi

Praecones duo, quattuor tribuni vi. viii

Praedla solus habes et solus, Candide, nummos .... in. xxvi

560


INDEX OF FIRST LINES

Praestitit exhibitus tota tibi, Caesar, harena . Sveet ix

Praetorem pauper centum sestertia Gaurus . iv ixvii

Pnma Palatino lux est haec orta Tonanti . . IX xxxix

Prima salutantes atque altera conterit hora ... ' iv viii

Primes passa toros et adhuc placanda marito . iv ' X xii

Primum est, ut praestes, si quid te, China, rogabo . VII ' xliii

' Primus ubi est " inquis " cum sit liber iste secundus ? " . n xciii

Pnncipium des, lane, licet velocibus annis . . . . vni viii

Priscus ab Aetnaeis mini, Flacce, Terentius oris . . . Viii xlv

Privignum non esse tuae te, Galle, novercae .... iv. xvi

Pro sene, sed clare, votum Maro fecit amico xir. xc

Profecit poto Mithridates saepe veneno .... v Ixxvi

Proscriptum famulus servavit fronte notata .... HI xxi

Prostratum vasta Nemees in valle leonem ..... Spect. vi. b

Prpxima centenis ostenditur ursa columnis ni. xix

Psilothro faciem levaa et dropace calvam ill. Ixxiv

Puella senibus dulcior mini cygnis v xxxvii

Pulchre valet Charinus, et tamen pallet I. Ixxvii

Pyrrhae fllia, Nestoris noverca x. Ixvii

Q

Qua factus ratione sit requiris X. cii

Qua moechum ratione basiaret XII. xciii

Qua vicina pluit Vipsanis porta columnis IV. xviil

Quadrantem Crispus tabulis, Faustine, supremis ... v. xxxii

Quadringenta tibi non sunt, Chaerestrate : surge ... v. xxv

Quadringentorum reddis mini, Phoebe, tabellas .... ix. cii

Quae legis causa nupsit tibi Laelia, Quinte v. Ixxv

Quae mala sunt domini, quae servi commoda, nescis . . ix. xcii

Quae mini praestiteris memini semperque tenebo ... v. lit

Quae modo litoreos ibatis carmina Pyrgos xii. ii

Quae nova tam similes genuit tibi, Leda, ministros ? . . ix. ciii

Quae tam seposita est, quae gens tam barbara, Caesar . . Spect. ill

Quae te causa trahit vel quae flducia Romam .... in. xxxviii

Quae tibi non stabat praecisa est mentula, Glypte ... II. xlv

Quaecunque lusi iuvenis et puer quondam i. rxiii

Quaedam me cupit, invide Procille. ....... i. 'xv

Quaeris, cur nolim te ducere, Galla ? Diserta es . . . xi. xix

Quaero diu totam, Safroni Rufe, per urbem IV. Ixx i

Qualem, Flacce, velim quaeris nolimve puellam ? . . . I. Ivii

Qualiter Assyrios renovant incendia nidos v. vii

Qualiter in Scythica religatus rupe Prometheus .... Spect. vli

Quam inihi mittebas Saturn! tempore lancem .... x. xxix

Quam sit lusca Philaenis indecenter . . ^ . . . . \ii.\\n

Quamvis tam longo possis satur esse libello xi. c\ iii

Quanta Gigantei memoratur mensa triumphi . . . . viii. 1

Quanta quies placidi, tanta est facundia Nervae . . . via. Ixx

Quanta tua est probitas, tanta est infantia formae . . . Till, xlvi

Quantum iam superis, Caesar, caeloque dedisti .... ix. iii

Quantum sollicito fortuna parentis Etrusco VI. Ixxxlil

Quantus, io, Latias mundi conventus ad aras . . . . vni. iv

Quare non habeat, Fabulle, quaeris xii. xx

Quare tam multis a te, Latine, diebus MI. xvii

561 MART. II. O O


INDEX OF FIRST LINES


Quatenus Odrysios iam pax Kornana triones vn. Ixxx

Quattuor argenti libras mihi tempore brumae .... vm. Ixxi

Quern recitas, meus est, o Fidentine, libellus I. xxxviii

Qui Corcyraei vidit pomaria regis vm. Ixviii

Qui duels vultus et non legis ista libenter I. xl

Qui gravis es nimium, potes hinc iam, lector, abire ... xi. xyi

Qui legis Oedipoden caligantemque Thyesten X. iv

Qui modo per totam flammis stimulatus harenam . . . Spect. xix

Qui nondum Stygias quaerit descendere ad umbras ... xi. Ixxxiv

Qui nunc Caesareae lusus spectatur harenae vm. xxx

Qui Palatinae caperet convivia mensae vm. xxxix

Qui pinxit Venerem tuam, Lycori I. cii

Qui potuit Bacchi matrem dixisse Tonantem .... v. Ixxii

Qui praestat pietate pertinaci Tin. xxxviii

Qui recitat lana fauces et colla revinctus vi. xli

Qui tecum cupis esse meos ubicunque libellos .... I. ii

Qui tonsor tota fueras notissimus urbe vn. Ixiv

Quid cum femineo tibi, Baetice Galle, barathro ? . . . in. Ixxxi

Quid de te, Line, suspicetur uxor n. liy

Quid iaciat vult scire Lyris : quod sobria : fellat ... II. Ixxiii

Quid factum est, rogo, quid repente factum est .... V. xliv

Quid me, Thai, senem subinde dicis ? IV. 1

Quid mihi reddat ager quaeris, Line, Nomentanus ? . n. xxxviii

Quid mihi vobiscum est, o Phoebe novemque sorores ? . . n. xxii

Quid narrat tua moecha ? Non puellam m. Ixxxiv

Quid nobis, inquis, cum epistola ? II. praef.

Quid non cogit amor ? secuit nolente capillos .... v. xlviii

Quid non saeva fugis placidi lepus ora leonis ? . . . . I. xxii

Quid promittebas mihi milia, Gaure, ducenta .... V. Ixxxii

Quid recitaturus circumdas vellera collo ? IV. xli

" Quid sentis " inquis " de nostris, Marce, libelUs ? " . . v. Ixiii

Quid, stulte, nostris versibus tuos misces ? X. c

Quid te, Tucca, iuvat vetulo miscere Falerno I. xviii

Quid tibi nobiscum est, ludi scelerate magister .... ix. Ixviii

Quid vellis vetulum, Jigia, cunnum ? x. xc

Quidam me modo, Rufe. diligenter . VI. Ixxxii

Quidquid agit Rufus, nihil est nisi Naevia Rufo .... I. Ixviii

Quidquid in Orpheo Rhodope spectasse theatre .... Spect. xxi

Quidquid Parrhasia nitebat aula ' . xn. xy

Quidquid ponitur huic et hide verris II. xxxyii

Quinque satis fuerant : nam sex septemve libelli . . . vra. iii

Quinte Caledonios Ovidi visure Britannos X. xliv

Quintillane, vagae moderator summe iuventae .... n. xc

Quintum pro Decimo, pro Crasso, Regule, Macrum ... v. xxi

Quintus nostrorum liber est, Auguste, iocorum .... v. xv

Quis labor in phiala ? docti Myos anne Myronos ? . . . vin. li

Quis negat esse satum materno funere Bacchum ? . Spect. xiii

Quis Palatinos imitatur imagine vultus IX. xxiv

Quis puer hie nitidis absistit lanthidos undis .... vil. xv

Quis, rogo, tarn durus, quls tarn fuit ille superbus ... x. Ixvi

Quis te Phidiaco formatam, lulia, caelo VI. xiii

Quis tibi persuasit nares abscidere moecho ? in. Ixxxv

Quisqujs Flaminiam teris, viator xi. xui

Quisquis laeta tuis et sera parentibus optas , . x. Ixxi

Quisquis stolaeve purpuraeve contemptor. .... x. v

562


INDEX OF FIRST LINES


Quo possit fieri modq, Severe YJI x .\\iv

Quo tu, quo, liber otiose, tendis '. xi i

Quo vis cunque loco potes hunc flnire libelluni . . xiv 11

Quod alpha dixi, Corde, paenulatorum v. xxvi

Quod Caietano reddis, Polycharme, tabellas vui. xxxvii

Quod clainas semper, quod agentibus obstrepis, Aeli . ' I. xcv

Quod conyiyaris sine me tarn saepe, Luperce .... vi. li

Quod cupis in nostris dicique legique libellis iv. xxxi

Quod fellas et aquam potas, nil, Lesbia, peccas .... II.' 1

Quod Flacco Varioque fuit summoque Maroni .... xn. iv

Quod fronte Selium nubila vides, Rufe n! xi

Quod lana caput alligas, Charine xii. Ixxxix

Quod magni Thraseae consummatique Catonis .... I. viii

Quod mihi vix unus toto liber exeat anno x. Ixx

Quod nee carmine glorior supino n. Ixxxvi

Quod nimio gaudes noctera producere vino H. Ixxxix

Quod nimium lives nostris et ubique libellis xi. xciv

Quod nimium mortem, Chaeremon Stoice, laudas ... xi. Ivi

Quod nocturna tibi, Leandre, pepercerit unda .... Spect. xxv

Quod non argentum, quod non tibi mittimus aurum . . v. lix

Quod non insulse scribis tetrasticha quaedam .... vii. Ixxxv

Quod non sit Pylades hoc tempore, non sit Orestes ... vi. xi

Quod uovus et nuper factus tibi praestat amicus . . . in. xxxvi

Quod nubis, Proculina, concubrro vi. xxii

Quod nulli calicem tuum propinas n. xv

Quod nunquam maribus iunctam te, Bassa, videbam . . I. xc

Quod nutantia fronte perticata v. xii

Quod optimum sit disputat convivium ix. Ixxvii

Quod pectus, quod crura tibi, quod brachia vellis ... n. Ixii

Quod plus et supplex elephas te, Caesar, adorat .... Spect. xvll

Quod quacunque venis Cosmum rcigrare putamus . . . in. Iv

Quod querulum spirat, quod acerbum Naevia tussit . . it. xxvi

Quod semper casiaque cinnamoque vi.lv

Quod semper superos invito fratre rogasti IX. li

Quod siccae redolet palus lacunae IV. tv

Quod spirat tenera malum mordente puella in. Ixv

Quod tarn grande sophos clamat tibi turba togata ... vi. xlviii

Quod te diripiunt potentiores : . vn. Ixxvi

Quod te mane domi toto non vidimus anno iv. xxvi

Quod te nomine iam tuo saluto n. Ixviii

Quod tibi crura rigent saetis et pectora villis .... vi. lyi

Quod tibi Decembri mense, quo volant mappae .... v. xviil

Quos cuperet Phlegraea suos victoria ludos vin. Ixxviii

K *

Raptus abit media quod ad aethera taurus harena . . . Spect. xvi

Raros colligis hinc et bine capillos X. Ixxxiii

Raucae chortis aves et ova matrum vn. xxxi

Reclusis foribus grandes percidis, Amille

Regia pyramidum, Caesar, miracula ride viii. xxxvi

Rem factam Pompullus habet, Faustine : legetur . . .

Rem peragit nullam Sertorius, inchoat omnes .... in. Ixxlx

Rerum certa salus, terrarum gloria, Caesar


INDEX OF FIRST LINES


Retia dum cessant latratoresque Molossi xii. i

Rictibus his tauros non eripuere magistri I. xlviii

Ride, si sapis, o puella, ride II. xii

Rideto inultum qui te, Sextille, cinaedum .. . . . . 11. xxviii

Romam petebat esuritor Tuccius in. xiv

Romam vade, liber : .si, yeneris unde, requiret .... in. iv

Rufe, vides ilium subsellia prima terentem . . . v . . II. xxix

Rumpitur invidia quidam, carissime lull -rx. xcvii

Ruris bibliotheca delicati VH. xvii

Rustica mercatus multis sum praedia nummis .... VI. v

S

Sacra laresque Phrygum, quos Troiae maluit heres ... xi. iv

Saecula Carpophorum, Caesar, si prisca tulissent . . . . Sped, xxvii

Saecula Nestoreae permensa, Philaeni, senectae .... ix. xxix

Saepe ego Chrestinam futui. Det quam bene quaeris ? . . II. xxxi

Saepe loquar nimium gentes quod, Avite, remotas ... x. xcvi

Saepe meos laudare soles, Auguste, libellos iv. xxvii

Saepe mihi dicis, Luci carissime lull I. cvii

Saepe mihi queritur non siccis Cestos ocellis i. xcii

Saepe rogare soles, qualis sim, Prisce, futurus .... xn. xcii

Saepe salutatus nunquam prior ipse salutas v. Ixvi

Saepius ad palmam prasinus post fata Neronis .... xi. xxxiii

Sancta ducis summi prohibet censura yetatque .... vi. xci

Sancta Snlonini terris requiescit Hiberis vi. xviii

Sanctorum nobis miracula reddis avorum vm. Ixxx

Sardonica medicata dedit mihi pocula virga ' ix. xciy

Sardonychas, zmaragdos, adamantas, iaspidas uno ... V. xi

Saturnalia divitem Sabellum ........ ... .- vi. xlvi

Saturnalicio Macrum fraudare tribute ....... x. xvii

Scio me patrocinium debere contumacissimae ". . . . xii. ftraej.

Scis te captari, scis hunc qui captat avarum vi. Ixiii

Scribebamus epos ; coepisti scribere : cessi XU. xciv

Scribere me quereris, Velox, epigrammata longa ... I. ex

Scribere te quae vix intellegat ipse Modestus X. xxi

Scribit in aversa Picens epigrammata charta vm. Ixii

Scripsi, rescripsit nil Naevia, non dabit ergo H. ix

Secti podicis usque ad umbilicum vi. xxxyii

Securo nihil est te, Naevole, peius ; eodem IV. Ixxxiii

Sedere primo solitus in gradu semper v. xiv

Semper agis causas et res agis, Attale, semper .... I. Ixxix

Semper cum mihi diceretur esse X. xl

Semper mane mihi de me mala somnia narras .... vn. liv

Semper pauper eris, si pauper es, Aemiliane v. Ixxxi

Senos Charinus omnibus digitis gerit XI. lix

Septem clepsydras magna tibi voce petenti VI. xxxy

Septem post calices Opimiani ix. Ixxxvii

Septima iam, Phileros, tibi conditur uxor in agro ... x. xliii

Seria cum possim, quod delectantia malo v. xvi

Sescenti cenant a te, lustine, vocati xi. Ixy

Setinum dominaeque nives densique trientes vi. Ixxxvi

Seu tu Paestanis genita es seu Tiburis arvis ix. Ix

Sex sestertia si statim dedisses . . . vi. xxx


5 6 4


INDEX OF FIRST LINES


Sexageua teras cum liinina mane senator xn. xxvi

Sexagesima, Marciane, messis vi'ixx

Sextantes, Calliste, duos infunde Falerni v Ixiv

Sexte, nihil debes, nil debes, Sexte, fatemur 11. iii

Sexte, Palatinae cultor facunde Minervae v. v

Sextiliane, bibis quantum subsellia quinque I. xxvi

Sextus mittitur hie tibi libellus vi. i

Si credis mihi, Quinte, quod mereris ix. iii

Si daret autuinnus mihi no men, Oporinos essem .... IX. xii

Si dederint superi decies mihi milia centum i. ciii

Si desiderium, Caesar, populique patrumque ..... vii. v

Si det iniqua tibi tristem fortuna reatum n. xxiv

Si donare vocas promittere nee dare, Gai x. xvi

Si Lucane, tibi vel si tibi, Tulle, darentur I. xxxvi

Si memini, fuerant tibi quattuor, Aelia, dentes . . . . i. xix

Si meus aurita gaudet lagalopece Flaccus vn. Ixxxvii

Si mihi Picena turdus palleret oliva ix. liv

Si nimius videor seraque coronide longus x. i

Si non est grave nee nimis molestum v. vi

Si non molestum est teque non piget, scazon .... I. xcvi

Si prior Euganens, Clemens, Helicaonls oras x. xciii

Si qua fides veris, praefe_rri, maxime Caesar v. xix

Si qua videbuntur chartis tibi, lector, in istis .... II. viii

Si quando leporem mittis mihi, Gellia, dicis .... v. xxix

Si quid forte petam timido gracilique libello vm. xxiv

Si quid, Fusee, vacas adhuc amari I. liv

Si quid lene mei dicunt et dulce libelli x. xlv

Si quid nostra tuis .-illicit vexatio rebus X. Ixxxii

Si quid opus fuerit, scis me non esse rogandum .... vn. xcii

Si quis ades longis serus spectator ab oris Sped, xxiv

Si quis erit raros hiter numerandus amicos I. xxxix

Si quis forte mihi possit praestare roganti IV. xlii

Si Romana forent haec Socratis ora, fuisseut .... X. xcix

Si sine carne voles ientacula sumere frugi XIII. xxxi

Si te sportula maior ad beatos \ in. xlii

Si tecum mihi, care Martialis V. xx

Si temperari balneum cupis fervens ....... ill. xxv

Si tibi liistyllos cocus, Aemiliane, vocatur ..... i. i

Si tristi domicenio laboras v. Ixxviii

Si tua, Cerrini, promas epigrammata vulgo vin. xviii

Si tua nee Thais nee lusca est, Quinte, puella .... in. xi

Si vis auribus Atticis probari iv. Ixxxvi

Sic in gramine floreo reclinis ix. xc

Sic me fronte legat dominus, Faustine, serena .... vn. xii

Sic placidum videas semper, Crispine, Tonantem . . . vii. xcix

Sic tanquam tabulas scyphosque, Paule xn. Ixix

Sic Tiburtinae crescat tibi silva Dianae vn. xxviil

Siccus, sobrius est Aper : quid ad me ? XII. xxx

Sidera Jam Tyrius Phrixei respicit agni X. II

Sidere percussa est subito tibi, Zoile, lingua ....'. xi. Ixxxv

Sili, Castalidum decus sororum rv. xiv

Silius haec magni celebrat monumenta Maronis ....

Siinplicior priscis, Munati Galle, Sabmis X. \\.\m

Sirenas hilarem navigantium poenam Hi. Ixiv

Sit cisterna mihi, quam vinea, malo Ravennae ....

565


INDEX OF FIRST LINES


Sit culus tibi quam macer requiris ?

Sit Phlofjis an Chione Veneri magis apta, requiris ? . Sola tibi fuerant sestertia, Miliche, centum Sollicitant pavidi dum rhinocerota magistri . Solvere dodrantem nuper tibi, Quinte, volebat . Solvere, Paete, decem tibi me sestertia cogis . Sordida cum tibi sit, verum tainen, Attale. dixit. Sordidior caeno cum sit toga, calceus autein .

Sotae filia clinici, Fabulla

Spadone cum sis eviratior fluxo

Spectabat modo solus inter omnes

Spectas nos, Philomuse, cum lavamur .... Spendophorns Libycas domini petit armiger urbes .

Spero me secutum in libellis meis

Sportula, Cane, tibi suprema nocte petita fist. . . Sportula nulla datur ; gratis conviva recumbis . Stare iubes nostrum semper tibi, Lesbia, penem . Stare, Luperee, tibi iam pridem mentula desit

Stellae delicium mei columba

Subdola famosae moneo fuge retia moechae . Sum, fateor, semperque fui, Callistrate, pauper . Summa licet yelox, Agathine, pericula ludas . . Summa Palatini poteras aequare colossi .... Summa tuae, Meleagre, iuit quae gloria famae . Sunt bona, sunt quaedam mediocria, sunt mala plura

Sunt chartae mini, quas Catonis uxor

Sunt gemini fratres, diversa sed inguina lingunt . . Sunt tibi, conflteor, diffusi iugera campi ....

Supremas tibi tricies in anno

Sus fera iam gravior maturi pignore ventris . Sutor cerdo dedit tibi, cnlta Bononia, munus . Synthesibus dum gaudet eques dominusque senator


Tarn dubia est lanugo tibi, tarn mollis, ut illam . Tarn male Thais olet, quam non fullonis avari Tarn saepe nostrum decipi Fabullinum Tanquam parva foret sexus iniuria nostri Tanquam simpliciter mecum, Callistrate, vivas . Tanta est quae Titio column a pendet .... Tanta tibi est animi probitas orisque, Safroni Tanta tibi est recti reverentia, Caesar, et aequi . Tantos et tantas si dicere Sextilianum ....

Tantum dat tibi Roma basiorum

Tantus es et talis nostri, Polypheme, Seveji .... Tarpeiae venerande rector aulae ...'....

Tarpeias Diodorus ad coronas .

Tempora Pieria solitus redimire corona

Temporibus nostris aetas cum cedat avorum .... Ter centena quidem poteras epigrammata ferre . . .

Terrarum dea gentiumque Roma

Thalda Quintus amat : quam Thaida ? ThaTda luscam Thalda tarn tenuem potuisti, Flacce, videre ? . . .

566


INDEX OF FIRST LINES


Tliafs habet nigros, niveos Laecania dentes v. xliii

Theca tectus ahenea lavatur xi. ixxv

Thelyn viderat in toga spadonem X. lii

Thestyle, Victoris tormentum dulce Voconi vn. xxi.\

Thestylon Aulus amat, sed nee minus ardet Alexin . . . vm. Ixiii

Tibi, summe Rheni domitor et parens orbis IX. vi

Tibur in Herculeum migravit nigra Lycoris IV. Ixii

Tinctis murice vestibus quod omni IX. Ixii

Titulle, moneo, vive : semper hoc serum est vm. xliv

Tolle, puer, calices tepidique toreumata Nili xi. xi

Tongilianus habet nasuin : scio, non nego. Sed iam . . xn. Ixxxviii

Tonsorem puerum, sed arte taleni vm. lii

Tonstrix Suburae faucibus sedet primis n. xvii

Totis, Galle, iubes tibi me servire diebus X. Ivi

Toto vertice quot gerit capillos XII. vil

Tres habuit dentes, pariter quos expuit omnes .... vm. Ivii

Triginta milii quattuorque messes XII. xxxiv

Trigjnta tibi sunt pueri totidemque puellae xn. Ixxxvj

Triginta toto mala sunt epigrammata libro VII. Ixxxi

Triste supercilium durique severa Catonis xi. ii

Tristis Athenagoras non misit munera nobis vm. xli

Tristis es et felix ; sciat hoc Fortuna caveto VI. Ixxix

Tu qui pene yiros terres et falce cinaedos VI rvi

Tu Setina quidem semper vel Massica ponis IV. Ixix

Turba gravis paci placidaeque inimica quieti .... Speet. iv

Tuscae glandis aper populator et ilice multa . . . vn. xxvii

U, V

Vade salutatum pro me, liber : ire iuberis I. Ixx

Vapulat adsidue veneti quadriga flagello VI. xlvi

Vare, Paraetonias Latia modo vite per urbes

Varro, Sophocleo non infltiande cothtirno v. xxx

Vatis Apollinei magno memorabilis ortu

Veientana mini misces, ubi Massica potas HI. xlix

Vendere, Tucca, potes centenis milibus emptos ? . . . .

Venderet excultos colles cum praeco facetus

Vendunt carmina Gallus et Lupercus

Ventris onus misero, nee te pudet, excipis auro .... I. xxxvil

Venturum iuras semper mihi, Lygde, roganti ....

Verbera securi solitus leo ferre magistri

Vernaculorum dicta, sordidum dentem

Verona docti syllabas amat vatis

Versiculos in me narratur scribere Cinna

Versus et breve vividumque carmen

Versus scribere me parum severos

Versus scribere posse te disertos

Vexerat Europen fraterna per aequora taurus .... &p. xvi. i

Vibi Maxime, si vacas havere

Vicinus meus est manuque tangi

Viderat Ausonium posito modo crlne minlstrum .... nc. xxxyi

Vidissem modo forte cum sedentem

Vidisti semel, Oppiane, tantum

Vimlne clusa levl niveae custodia coctae

567


INDEX OF FIRST LINES


Vincentem roseos facieque comaque ministros .... xii. Ixiv

Vindemiarum non ubique proventus ix. xcviii

Vir bonus et pauper linguaque et pectore verus .... IT. v

Vir Celtiberis non tacende gentibus i. xlix

Vis commendari sine me cursurus in urbem HI. v

Vis fieri liber ? mentiris, Maxime, non vis II. liii

Vis futui gratis, cum sis deformis anusque . . ... . vn.lxxv

Vis futui nee vis mecum, Saufeia, lavari in. Ixxii

Vis te, Sexte, coli : volebam amare ii.lv

Vitam quae faciant beatiorem x. xlvii

Vite nocens rosa stabat moriturus ad aras HI. xxiv

Vivida cum poscas epigrammata, mortua ponis .... xi. xlii

Umida qua gelidas submittit Trebula valles V. Ixxi

Una est in nostris tua, Fidentine, libellis I. liii

Una nocte quater possum : sed quattuor annis .... xi. xcvii

Unctis falciferi senis diebus . . . ."- . ' xi. vi

Uncto Corduba laetior Venafro XII. Ixiii

Undecies una surrexti, Zoile, cena v. Ixxix

Undenis pedibusque syllabisque x. ix

Unguenta et casias et olentem funera myrrham .... xi. liv

Unguentum, fateor, bonum dedisti in. xii

Unguentum fuerat, quod onyx modo parva gerebat . . VII. xciv

Unice, cognato iunctum mini sanguine nomen .... Xii. xliy

Unus de toto peccaverat orbe comarum II. Ixvi

Unus saepe tibi tota denarius area II. li

Vota tui breviter si vis cognoscere Marci I. ly

Urbanus tibi, Caecili, yideris I. xii

Uri Tongilius male dicitur hemitritaeo II. xl

Ut bene loquatur seiitiatque Hamercus T. xxviii

Ut faciam breviora mones epigrammata, Corde .... HI. Ixxxiii

Ut nova dona tibi, Caesar, Nilotica tellus ...... vi. Ixxx

Ut patiar moechum, rogat uxor, Galle, sed unum . . . in. xcii

Ut poscas, Clyte, munus exigasque viii. Ixiy

Ut pueros emeret Labienus, vendidlt hortos xn. xxxiii

Ut recite m tibi nostra rogas epigrammata. Nolo ... I. Ixiii

Utere femineis complexibus, utere, Victor xi. Ixxviii

Utere lactucis et mollibus utere malvis . IH. Ixxxix

Vult, non vult dare Galla mini, nee dicere possum . . . HI. xc

Uxor cum tibi sit formosa, pudica, puella IX. Ixvi

Uxor cum tibi sit puella, qualem . . . . . . . . xn. xcvii

Uxor, vade foras, aut moribus utere nostris xi. civ

Uxorem armati futuis, puer Hylle, tribuni ..... n. Ix

Uxorem, Charideme, tuam scis ipse_ sinisque . . ... VI. xxxi

Uxorem habendam non putat Qulrinalis ...... I. Ixxxiv

Uxorem nolo Telesinam ducere : quare ? , n. xlix

Uxorem quare locupletem ducere nolim VHI. xii

Z

Zoile, quid solium subluto podice perdis ? - n. xlii

Zo|le, quid tota gemmam praecingere libra XI. xxxvii

Zoilus aegrotat : faciunt hanc stragula febrem .... n. xvi


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