Martial, : the twelve books of Epigrams,.

BOOK TWELVE

XLVII
THE DIFFICULT CHOICE
CAPTIOUS, yet kind; pleasant but testy too;
I cannot bear to part, or live with you.
XLVIII
HIGH LIVING
I WILLINGLY accept your dainty fare
If hospitality be undesigning;
Not so, if you imagine that I care
For nothing in the world so much as dining;
A dozen oysters will not make you heir
To my reputed wealth for which you're pining;
The feast is elegant; that I admit
But on the morrow what is left of it?
Upon the morrow? Where is it to-day
The moment after it has passed your gullet?
The broken gobbets all are swept away
By dirty mops, and pork and hare and mullet
Become to dogs and scavengers a prey,
And you to gout-and who can cure or lull it?
A yellow, pasty face, and tortured feet,
These are the legacies of dainty meat.
Will richest priestly banquets pay for these?
Were nectar offered me I should esteem it,
At such a cost, mere vinegar, the lees
Of doctored Vatican; and do you deem it
A likely thing that fare of yours could please
My palate and ensnare me? Do not dream it:
To me a simple, friendly board is best,
I love the fare I too can give a guest.
XLIX
THE WARDROBE-KEEPER
RICH is the mistress who commits
To you her dainty favourites,
Besides her plate and jewels rare
The curly darlings are your care;
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