Martial, : the twelve books of Epigrams,.

BOOK TEN

And honest critics well may say
None is more modest, none more gay.
E'en so Egeria, well I wot,
Would jest with Numa in her grot.
Had Sappho her as teacher seen,
More wise, more modest, she had been;
Though were she set by Sappho's side
Phaon would choose her for his bride;
Yet all in vain: she would not follow
Jupiter, Bacchus, or Apollo
To be their mate, or live one day
If her Calenus passed away.
XXXVI
TO M1UNNA
You search the vaults of Gaul for doctored wine,
Jars mellowed (save the mark!) in smoky heat,
Across the sea this poison you consign
At vast expense your luckless friends to cheat;
The price of it would buy Falernian sweet,
With this would Setine vineyards be content,
And far from home you work lest you should meet
And have to drink the filthy wine you sent.
XXXVII
TO MA TERN US
HONEST of speech by your skill you reign
Unchallenged lord of the Courts of Rome;
Your friend and comrade is going home,
Have you any commands for the Spanish main?
Is it better to catch foul frogs or bait
For worthless sticklebacks here or there,
To throw again to his rocky lair
The mullet of less than three pounds' weight?
Of tasteless mussels a feast you make,
And think dwarfed cockles are dainty fare,
Whilst Baiae envies the oysters there,
And even the slaves a share may take.
3II