Martial, : the twelve books of Epigrams,.

MARTIAL'S EPIGRAMS

XXVIII
ON A BOY'S GRAVE
BENEATH a marble, by Flaminius' way
Lies Glaucias, whom Melior made free,
For well he loved him in his little day;
All knew his fame and mourned his fate-for he
Was pure in soul and modest, fair to see,
And rich in every dower of heart and head,
Yet only twelve full summers he had known
And, ere the next was done, the child was dead.
Hast thou a tear to drop above the stone?
Be that the last that ever thou shalt shed.
XXIX
ON THE SAME
No common household serf, no purchased slave,
But worthy Melior's pure love was he,
Long ere he knew the boon his patron gave
In just reward, already he was free,
For who so good and dear, so fair to see,
Dowered with a beauty that a God might wear?
If aught be priceless, short its life must be;
May naught thou lovest be over dear or fair!
XXX
HOPE DEFERRED
'WHAT, fifty pounds! 'you said to me,
'Take it of course-a gift you know.'
Ah, tenfold more my debt should be
If deed had followed word-but no,
You waited month on month, and though
At last you gave it me, 'tis sad
That gratitude died long ago,
And you are fifty to the bad.
I74