Martial, : the twelve books of Epigrams,.

BOOK FIVE

XXVII
THE INTRUDER
YOUR culture, manners, birth, and wit
Are worthy knighthood, I admit;
But, seeing you have not our rights,
Why choose the benches of the knights?
Is it worth while to blench with fear
Whene'er you see the usher near?
XXVIII
ENVY
WHATEVER yOU may be or do
Evil he thinks and speaks of you;
'Twere nothing tho' you soared above
The Curii in filial love;
Though yours were Nerva's gentle mind,
As Macer's just, as Ruso's kind,
As Junius upright, with the wit
Of Paulus added on to it,
And Regulus' persuasive skill,
His envious fangs would gnaw you still.
Is that the sort of man you call
A common peril to us all?
Nay, who belittles all men thus
Can only hurt himself, not us.
XXIX
'THE PROOF OF THE PUDDING'
WHENE'ER yOU send a hare, my friend,
You quote the saw anew,
'Who eats a hare must needs be fair
At least a day or two ';
And yet in sooth if that be truth,
Not merely wanton fun,
'Tis very clear that you, my dear,
Have never eaten one.
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