Martial, : the twelve books of Epigrams,.

MARTIAL'S EPIGRAMS

XXIX
TO RUFUS
ON a front bench to let the world admire
He sits; his jewelled fingers flash and glow,
Deeply his cloak has drunk the dyes of Tyre,
His robe is whiter than the virgin snow.
His locks diffuse their perfume all around,
White are his glittering arms without an hair,
New sandals daily on his feet are bound,
And softest hide is all that he can bear.
The crescent on his scarlet boot is seen,
His patch-bespangled brow bears many a star;
Dost know the creature? Strip his forehead clean,
The brands thereon tell what his titles are.
XXX
TO GAIUS
I CHANCED to ask a loan-a hundred merely;
E'en as a gift that should not task severely
A wealthy friend, and so I asked him, knowing
His pockets bulge with cash to overflowing.
' Go to the Bar,' says he, 'get rich by pleading 'Tis cash, not counsel, Gaius, that I'm needing.
* XXXI
THE PARAGON
I KNOW Jenny well: she's a right proper lass
Not a girl in the town can her kisses surpass.
XXXII
TO HIS PATRON
You would not plead my cause with Balbus, lest
You might offend and lose his interest
Against Licinus next I brought a suit;
You thought him far too great to prosecute:
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