Martial, : the twelve books of Epigrams,.

MARTIAL'S EPIGRAMS

LXXII
TO PANNYCHOS
A FIELD and tumble-down abode
Behind the Tombs that line the Road,
You quit the bar for these!
You earned a decent living when
You harrowed only jury-men,
And raised a crop of fees,
The Clients paid in kind and you
Had wheat to sell and barley, true
The profits were not high;
But now 'tis easy to foretell
That all the things you used to sell
Henceforward you must buy!
* LXXIII
TO CATULLUS
You say that you've made me your heir: all the same
I shan't feel too certain till I read my name.
LXXIV
WITH A GIFT OF CHEAP GLASS-WARE
EGYPT shall send you crystal glass, meanwhile
These cups I bought in Rome perhaps may do;
You know 'tis called ' Bold ware', but would you style,
Me bolder still for sending it to you?
Cheap stuff has virtues, this no thief would think
Of stealing; boiling water will not mar it
And then the guest is not afraid to drink
And servants need not tremble if they jar it
'Tis nervous hands that let a vessel fallAnd here again's a point you should not missWhen toasts are drunk you will not mind at all
If you should have to break a cup like this.
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