---
title: "Fragments and Poems · Fragmenta et poemata"
author: "Petronius"
translator: "Michael Heseltine"
languages: [la, en]
shelf: "Classical Latin"
url: https://scriptura.si/works/petronius-fragments-and-poems/
cite: "Petronius, tr. Michael Heseltine, Fragments and Poems · Fragmenta et poemata. Scriptura (scriptura.si), https://scriptura.si/works/petronius-fragments-and-poems/"
---

# Fragments and Poems · Fragmenta et poemata

*Petronius, tr. Michael Heseltine*

What survives of Petronius outside the Satyricon: fragments quoted by later writers and short poems on love, dreams and the passing of things.

> Latin: ed. Michael Heseltine, from the Perseus Digital Library (canonical-latinLit, phi0972.phi001f, phi0972.phi001p, CC BY-SA 4.0).

> English: Michael Heseltine, from the Perseus Digital Library (phi0972.phi001f.perseus-eng1, phi0972.phi001p.perseus-eng1). Notes are not included.

> Rows follow the references the two texts share (chapters and sections), cut where both reach the end of a sentence.

## Contents

1. [Sections 1–25](https://scriptura.si/works/petronius-fragments-and-poems/1.md)
2. [Poems](https://scriptura.si/works/petronius-fragments-and-poems/2.md)

## 1. Sections 1–25

Source: https://scriptura.si/works/petronius-fragments-and-poems/1/ · cite a paragraph as https://scriptura.si/works/petronius-fragments-and-poems/1/#p-N

[¶0] 1. Servius on Virgil, Aeneid III, 57: “The sacred hunger for gold.” “Sacred” means “accursed.” This expression is derived from a Gallic custom. For whenever the people of Massilia were burdened with pestilence, one of the poor would volunteer to be fed for an entire year out of public funds on food of special purity. After this period he would be decked with sacred herbs and sacred robes, and would be led through the whole state while people cursed him, in order that the sufferings of the whole state might fall upon him, and so he would be cast out. This account has been given in Petronius.

> Latin: 1. Servius ad Vergili Aen. III 57:
auri sacra fames sacra id est execrabilis. Tractus est autem sermo ex more Gallorum. Nam Massilienses quotiens pestilentia laborabant, unus se ex pauperibus offerebat alendus anno integro publicis sumptibus et purioribus cibis. Hic postea ornatus verbenis et vestibus sacris circumducebatur per totam civitatem cum exsecrationibus, ut in ipsum reciderent mala totius civitatis, et sic proiciebatur. Hoc autem in Petronio lectum est Servius ad Vergili Aen.

[¶1] 2. Servius on Virgil, Aeneid XII, 159, on the feminine gender of nouns ending in -tor: But if they are not derived from a verb they are common in gender. For in these cases both the masculine and the feminine end alike in -tor, for example, senator, a male or female senator, balneator, a male or female bath attendant, though Petronius makes an exception in speaking ofa “bath-woman” (balneatricem).

> Latin: 2. XII 159 de feminino nominum in tor exeuntium genere: Si autem a verbo non venerint, communia sunt. Nam similiter et masculina et feminina in tor exeunt, ut hic et haec senator, hic et haec balneator, licet Petronius usurpaverit balneatricem dicens Pseudacro ad Horati epod.

[¶2] 3. Pseud-Acro on Horace, Epodes 5, 48: “Canidia biting her thumb”: He expressed the appearance and movements of Canidia in a rage. Petronius, wishing to portray a furious person, says “biting his thumb to the quick.” Sidonius Apollinaris Carmen XXIII, 145, 155: Why should I hymn you, tuneful Latin writers, thou of Arpinum, thou of Patavium, thou of Mantua? And thou, Arbiter, who in the gardens of the men of Massilia findest a home on the hallowed tree-trunk as the peer of Hellespontine Priapus?

> Latin: 3. 5, 48:
Canidia rodens pollicem habitum et motum Canidiae expressit furentis. Petronius ut monstraret furentem, pollice ait usque ad periculum roso Sidonius Apollinaris carminis XXIII:
quid vos eloquii canam Latini,
Arpinas, Patavine, Mantuane?—
Et te Massiliensium per hortos
sacri stipitis, Arbiter, colonum
Hellespontiaco parem Priapo?

[¶3] 5. Priscian Institutiones VIII, 16 and XI, 29 (pp. 881, 567 ed. Hertz) among the examples by which he shows that the past participles of deponent verbs have a passive meaning: Petronius, “the soul locked (amplexam) in our bosoms.”

> Latin: 5. Priscianus institutionum VIII 16 p. 381 et XI 29p. 567 Hertzii inter exempla quibus deponentium verborum participia praeteriti temporis passivam significationem habere declarat: Petronius animam nostro amplexam pectore Boethius in Porphyrium a Victorino translatum dialogo II extreme p.

[¶4] 5b. Boethius on Victorinus's translation of Porphyry, Dialogue II (p. 45 ed. Basle): I shall be very glad to do it, he said. But since the morning sun, in Petronius's words, has now smiled upon the roofs, let us get up, and if there is any other point, it shall be treated later with more careful attention.

> Latin: 5b. 45 exemplarium Basiliensium: Ego faciam, inquit, libentissime. Sed quoniam iam matutinus, ut ait Petronius, sol tectis arrisit, surgamus, et si quid est illud, diligentiore postea consideratione tractabitur Fulgentius mythologiarum I p.

[¶5] 6. Fulgentius Mythologiae I (p. 22 ed. Muncker): You do not know... how women dread satire. Lawyers may retreat and scholars may not utter a syllable before the flood of a woman's words, the rhetorician may be dumb and the herald may stop his cries; satire alone can put a limit to their madness, though it be Petronius's Albucia who is hot.

> Latin: 6. 23 Munckeri: Nescis.. quantum saturam matronae formident. Licet mulierum verbialibus undis et causidici cedant nec grammatici muttiant, rhetor taceat et clamorem praeco compescat, sola est quae modum imponit furentibus, licet Petroniana subet Albucia Fulgentius mythologiarum III 8 p.

[¶6] 7. Fulgentius Mythologiae III, 8 (p. 124), (where he remarked that essence of myrrh is very strong): hence too Petronius Arbiter says that he drank a cup of myrrh in order to excite his passion.

> Latin: 7. 124 ubi sucum myrrhae valde fervidum esse dixit: Unde et Petronius Arbiter ad libidinis concitamentum myrrhinum se poculum bibisse refert Fulgentius in expositione Virgilianae continentiaep.

[¶7] 8. Fulgentius in his Treatise on the Contents of Virgil's works (p. 156): For we have already explained above the application of the myth of Cerberus with Three Heads to quarrels and litigation in the courts. Hence too Petronius says of Euscios, “The barrister was a Cerberus of the courts.”

> Latin: 8. 156: Tricerberi enim fabulam iam superius exposuimus in modum iurgii forensisque litigii positam. Unde et Petronius in Euscion ait Cerberus forensis erat causidicus Fulgentius in expositione sermonum antiquorum 42 p.

[¶8] 9. Fulgentius in his Explanation of Old Words, 42 (p. 565 in Mercer's edition): Ferculum means a dish of flesh. Hence too Petronius Arbiter says, “After the dish offlesh (ferculum) was brought in.”

> Latin: 9. 565 Merceri: Ferculum dicitur missum carnium. Unde et Petronius Arbiter ait postquam ferculum allatum est Fuigentius ibidem 46 p.

[¶9] 10. Fulgentius ibid. 46 (p. 565): Valgia really means the twisting of the lips which occurs in vomiting. As Petronius also says, “With lips twisted as in a vomit (valgiter).”

> Latin: 10. 565: Valgia vero sunt labellorum obtortiones in supinatione factae. Sicut et Petronius ait obtorto valgiter labello Fulgentius ibidem 52 p.

[¶10] 11. Fulgentius ibid. 52 (p. 566): Alucinare means to dream falsely, and is derived from alucitae, which we call conopes (mosquitoes). As Petronius Arbiter says, “For the mosquitoes (alucitae) were troubling my companion.”

> Latin: 11. 566: Alucinare dicitur vana somniari, tractum ab alucitis, quos nos conopes dicimus. Sicut Petronius Arbiter ait nam contubernalem alucitae molestabant Fulgentius ibidem 60 p.

[¶11] 12. Fulgentius ibid. 60 (p. 567): Manubiae means the ornaments of kings. Hence Petronius Arbiter also says, “So many kingly ornaments (manubiae) found in the possession of a runaway.”

> Latin: 12. 567: Manubiae dicuntur ornamenta regum. Unde et Petronius Arbiter ait tot regum manubiae penes fugitivum repertae Fulgentius ibidem 61 p.

[¶12] 13. Fulgentius ibid. 61 (p. 567): Aumatium means a private place in a public spot such as theatres or the circus. Hence Petronius Arbiter also says, “I hurled myself into the privy-place (aumatium).”

> Latin: 13. 567: Aumatium dicitur locum secretum publicum sicut in theatris aut in circo. Unde et Petronius Arbiter ait in aumatium memet ipsum conieci Isidorus originum V 26, 7: Dolus est mentis calliditas ab eo quod deludat: aliud enim agit, aliud simulat.

[¶13] 14. Isidorus Origines V, 26, 7: Dolus is the mental cunning on the part of the deceiver: for he does one thing and pretends another. Petronius takes a different view when he says, “What is a wrong (dolus), gentlemen? It occurs whenever anything offensive to the law is done. You understand what a wrong is: now take damage...”

> Latin: 14. Petronius aliter existimat dicens quid est, iudices, dolus? Nimirum ubi aliquid factum est quod legi dolet. Habetis dolum: accipite nunc malum Glossarium S.

[¶14] 15. Glossary of St. Dionysius: The spring-board is a kind of game. Petronius, “Now lifted high at the will of the spring-board.”

> Latin: 15. Dionysii: Petaurus genus ludi. Petronius petauroque iubente modo superior.

[¶15] 16. From the Glossary of St. Dionysius: Petronius, 'It was quite certainly their usual plan to go through the Grotto of Naples only with backs bent double.

> Latin: 16. Petronius satis constaret eos nisi inclinatos non solere transire cryptam Neapolitanam ex glossario S. Dionysii.

[¶16] 17. Another Glossary:
Suppes suppumpis, that is with feet bent backwards.
Tullia, mediator (?) or princess.

> Latin: 17. In alio glossario:
Suppes suppumpis, hoc est supinis pedibus.
Tullia, media vel regia.

[¶17] 18. Nicolaus Perottus in the Cornucopia (p. 200, 26 in the Aldine Edition of 1513): Cosmus too was a superb perfumer, and ointments are called Cosmian after him. The same writer (Juvenal 8, 86) says, “and let him be plunged deep in a bronze vase of Cosmus.” Petronius, “Bring us, he said, an alabaster box of Cosmus ointment.”

> Latin: 18. Nicotaus Perottus Cornu copiae p. 200, 26 editionis Aldinae anni 1513: Cosmus etiam excellens unguentarius fuit, a quo unguenta dicta sunt Cosmiana. idem [luvenalis 8, 86] Cet Cosmi toto mergatur aheno. Petronius affer nobis, inquit, alabastrum Cosmiani Terentianus Maurus de metris:
Horatium videmus
versus tenoris huius
nusquam locasse iuges,
at Arbiter disertus
libris suis frequentat.

[¶18] 19. Terentianus Maurus on Metre: We see that Horace nowhere employed verse of this rhythm continuously, but the learned Arbiter uses it often in his works. You will remember these lines, which we are used to sing: “The maidens of Memphis, made ready for the rites of the Gods. The boy coloured deep as the night with speaking gestures.” Marius Victorinus III, 17 (Keil, Grammatici, II, 138): We know that the lyric poets inserted some lines of this rhythm and form in their works, as we find too in Arbiter, for example: “The maidens of Memphis, made ready for the rites of the Gods,” and again“Coloured deep as the night, [dancing] Egyptian dances.”

> Latin: 19. Agnoscere haec potestis,
cantare quae solemus:
“Memphitides puellae
sacris deum paratae.
Tinctus colore noctis
manu puer loquaci” Terentianus Maurus de metris:
Nunc divisio, quam loquemur, edet
metrum, quo memorant Anacreonta
dulces composuisse cantilenas.

[¶19] 20. Terentianus Maurus on Metre: Now the analysis, which we will explain, will give us the metre in which they say that Anacreon wrote his sweet old songs. We find that Petronius, as well as many others, used this metre, when he says that this same lyric poet sang in words harmonious to the Muses. But I will explain with what kind of caesura this verse is written. In the line “Iuverunt segetes meum laborem ” (“The cornfields have lightened my labour ”), the word “iuverunt ” is the beginning of a hexameter: the remaining words “segetes meum laborem ” are in the same metre as
"triplici vides ut ortu
Triviae rotetur ignis
volucrique Phoebus axe
rapidum pererret orbem" (“You see how the fire of Trivia spins round from her threefold rising, and Phoebus on his winged wheel traverses the hurrying globe ”.)

> Latin: 20. Hoc Petronius invenitur usus,
Musis cum lyricum refert eundem
consonantia verba cantitasse,
et plures alii. Sed iste versus
quali compositus tome sit, edam.
Iuverunt segetes meum laborem.
Iuverunt caput est id hexametri—
quod restat segetes meum laborem,
tale est ceu “triplici vides ut ortu
Triviae rotetur ignis
volucrique Phoebus axe
rapidum pererret orbem” Diomedes in arte IIIp.

[¶20] 21. Diomede on Grammar III (Keilp. 518): Hence arises the caesura which Arbiter employed thus:
"Anus recocta vino
trementibus labellis" (“An old woman soaked in wine, with trembling lips ”) Servius on the Grammar of Donatus (Keil p.

> Latin: 21. 518 Keilii: Et illud hinc est comma quod Arbiter fecit tale
“Anus recocta vino
trementibus labellis” Servius in artem Donati p.

[¶21] 22. 432, 22): Again, he uses “Quirites” (“Roman citizens”) only in the plural number. But we read in Horace the accusative “hunc Quiritem” (“this Roman citizen”) making the nominative “hic Quiris.” Again, the same Horace says “Quis te Quiritem?” and there the nominative will be “hic Quirites,” as Petronius says. Pompeius in his Commentary on the Art of Donatus (Keil p. 167, 9): No one says “this Roman citizen,” but “these Roman citizens,” although we find the former in books. Read Petronius, and you will find this use of the nominative singular. And Petronius says “Hic Quirites ” (“this Roman citizen).”

> Latin: 22. 432,22 Keilii: Item Quirites dicit numero tantum plurali. Sed legimus apud Horatium hunc Quiritem, ut sit nominativus hic Quiris. Item idem Horatius quis te Quiritem? cuius nominativus erit hic Quirites, ut dicit Petronius Pompeius in commento artis Donatip. 167,9 K: Nemo dicit hic Quirites sed hi Quirites, licet legerimus hoc. Legite in Petronio, et invenietis de nominativo singulari hoc factum. Et ait Petronius hic Quirites grammaticus de dubiis nominibus p.

[¶22] 23. A Grammarian on Nouns of uncertain gender (Keil p. 578, 23): Fretum (“a strait”) is of the neuter gender, and its plural is freta, as Petronius says“Freta Nereidum ” (“The straits of the Nereids ”).

> Latin: 23. 578,23 K: Fretum generis neutri et pluraliter freta, ut Petronius freta Nereidum Hieronymus in epistula ad Demetriadem CXXX p.

[¶23] 24. Hieronymus in his Letter to Demetriades CXXX, 19 (Vallarsius p. 995): Boys with hair curled and crimped and skins smelling like foreign musk-rats, about whom Arbiter wrote the line, “To smell good always is not to smell good,” showing how the virgin may avoid certain plagues and poisons of modesty.

> Latin: 24. 995 Vallarsii: Cincinnatulos pueros et calamistratos et peregrini muris olentes pelliculas, de quibus illud Arbitri est
Non bene olet qui bene semper olet,
quasi quasdam pestes et venena pudicitiae virgo devitet Fulgentius mythologiarum II 6 p.

[¶24] 25. Fulgentius Mythologiae II, 6 (p. 80, on Prometheus): Although Nicagoras... represents his yielding his liver to a vulture, as an allegorical picture of envy. Hence too Petronius Arbiter says: “The vulture who explores our inmost liver, and drags out our heart and inmost nerves, is not the bird of whom our dainty poets talk, but those diseases of the soul, envy and wantonness.”

> Latin: 25. 80 de Prometheo: Quamvis Nicagoras … quod vulturi iecur praebeat, livoris quasi pingat imaginem. Unde et Petronius Arbiter ait
“qui voltur iecur intimum pererrat
et pectus trahit intimasque fibras,
non est quem lepidi vocant poetae,
sed cordis mala, livor atque luxus”

## 2. Poems

Source: https://scriptura.si/works/petronius-fragments-and-poems/2/ · cite a paragraph as https://scriptura.si/works/petronius-fragments-and-poems/2/#p-N

[¶0] Every man shall find his own desire; there is no one thing which pleases all: one man gathers thorns and another roses.

> Latin: 74 Poet. Lat. Min. iv, ed. Baehrens.
Inveniet quod quisque velit: non omnibus unum est
quod placet: hic spinas colligit, ille rosas.

[¶1] Now autumn had brought its chill shades, and Phoebus was looking winterwards with cooler reins. Now the plane-tree had begun to shed down her leaves, now the young shoots had withered on the vine, and she had begun to number her grapes: the whole promise of the year was standing before our eyes.

> Latin: 75 P.L.M.
Iam nunc algentes autumnus fecerat umbras
atque hiemem tepidis spectabat Phoebus habenis,
iam platanus iactare comas, iam coeperat uvas
adnumerare suas defecto palmite vitis:
ante oculos stabat quidquid promiserat annus.

[¶2] It was fear first created gods in the world, when the lightning fell from high heaven, and the ramparts of the world were rent with flame, and Athos was smitten and blazed. Soon 'twas Phoebus sank to earth, after he had traversed earth from his rising; the Moon grew old and once more renewed her glory; next the starry signs were spread through the firmament, and the year divided into changing seasons. The folly spread, and soon vain superstition bade the labourer yield to Ceres the harvest's chosen firstfruits, and garland Bacchus with the fruitful vine, and made Pales to rejoice in the shepherd's work; Neptune swims deepplunged beneath all the waters of the world, Pallas watches over shops, and the man who wins his prayer or has betrayed the world for gold now strives greedily to create gods of his own.

> Latin: 76 P.L.M.
Primus in orbe deos fecit timor, ardua caelo
fulmina cum caderent discussaque moenia flammis
atque ictus flagraret Athos; mox Phoebus ab ortu
lustrata deuectus humo, Lunaeque senectus
et reparatus honos; hinc signa effusa per orbem
et permutatis disiunctus mensibus annus.
Profecit vitium iamque error iussit inanis
agricolas primos Cereri dare messis honores,
palmitibus plenis Bacchum vincire, Palemque
pastorum gaudere manu; natat obrutus omnis
Neptunus demersus aqua; Pallasque tabernas
vindicat; et voti reus et qui vendidit orbem,
iam sibi quisque deos avido certamine fingit.

[¶3] I would not always steep my head with the same sweet nard, nor strive to win my stomach with familiar wine. The bull loves to change his valley-pasture, and the wild beast maintains his zest by change of food. Even to be bathed in the light of day is pleasant only because the night-hour races back with altered steeds.

> Latin: 77 P.L.M.
Nolo ego semper idem capiti suffundere costum
nec noto stomachum conciliare mero.
Taurus amat gramen mutata carpere valle
et fera mutatis sustinet ora cibis.
Ipsa dies ideo nos grato perluit haustu,
quod permutatis hora recurrit equis.

[¶4] A wife is a burden imposed by law, and should be loved like one's fortune. But I do not wish to love even my fortune for ever.

> Latin: 78 P.L.M.
Uxor, legis onus, debet quasi census amari.
nec censum vellem semper amare meum.

[¶5] Leave thine home, O youth, and seek out alien shores: a larger range of life is ordained for thee. Yield not to misfortune; the far-off Danube shall know thee, the cold North-wind, and the untroubled kingdoms of Canopus, and the men who gaze on the new birth of Phoebus or upon his setting: he that disembarks on distant sands, becomes thereby the greater man.

> Latin: 79 P.L.M.
Linque tuas sedes alienaque litora quaere,
O iuvenis: maior rerum tibi nascitur ordo.
Ne succumbe malis: te noverit ultimus Hister,
te Boreas gelidus securaque regna Canopi,
quique renascentem Phoebum cernuntque cadentem:
maior in externas fit qui descendit harenas.

[¶6] For there is naught that may not serve the need of mortal men, and in adversity despised things help us. So when a ship sinks, yellow gold weighs down its possessor, while a flimsy oar bears up the shipwrecked body. When the trumpets sound, the savage's knife stands drawn at the rich man's throat; the poor man's rags wear the amulet of safety.

> Latin: 80 P.L.M.
Nam nihil est, quod non mortalibus afferat usum;
rebus in adversis quae iacuere iuvant.
Sic rate demersa fulvum deponderat aurum,
remorum levitas naufraga membra vehit.
Cum sonuere tubae, iugulo stat divite ferrum
barbaricum: tenuis praebia pannus habet.

[¶7] My little house is covered by a roof that fears no harm, and the grape swollen with wine hangs from the fruitful elm. The boughs yield cherries, the orchards ruddy apples, and the trees sacred to Pallas break under the wealth of their branches. And now where the smooth soil drinks from the runnels of the spring, Corycian kale springs up for me and creeping mallows, and the poppy with promise of untroubled sleep. Moreover, if my pleasure is to lay snares for birds, or if I choose rather to entrap the timid deer, or draw out the quivering fish on slender line, so much deceit is all that is known to my humble fields. Go, then, and barter the hours of flying life for rich banquets. My prayer is that since at the last the same end waits for me, it may find me here, here call me to account for the time that I have spent.

> Latin: 81 P.L.M.
Parvula securo tegitur mihi culmine sedes
uvaque plena mero fecunda pendet ab ulmo.
Dant rami cerasos, dant mala rubentia silvae,
Palladiumque nemus pingui se vertice frangit.
Iam qua diductos potat levis area fontes,
Corycium milli surgit olus maluaeque supinae
et non sollicitos missura papavera somnos.
Praeterea sive alitibus contexere fraudem
seu magis imbelles libuit circumdare cervos
aut tereti lino pavidum subducere piscem,
hos tantum novere dolos mea sordida rura.
I nunc et vitae fugientis tempora vende
divitibus cenis. Me si manet exitus idem,
hic precor inveniat consumptaque tempora poscat.

[¶8] Is it not enough that mad youth engulfs us, and our good name is sunk in reproach and sweeps us astray? Behold! even bondmen and the rabble that is kindred to the mire wanton amid our gathered hoards! The low slave enjoys the treasure of a kingdom, and the thrall's room shames Vesta and the cottage of Romulus. So goodness lies obscured in the deep mud, and the fleet of the unrighteous carries snowy sails.

> Latin: 82 P.L.M.
Non satis est quod nos mergit furiosa iuventus
transversosque rapit fama sepulta probris?
En etiamfamuli cognataque faece caterva
inter conrasas luxuriantur opes.
Vilis servus habet regni bona, cellaque capti
deridet Vestam Romuleamque casam.
Idcirco virtus medio iacet obruta caeno,
nequitiae classes candida vela ferunt.

[¶9] So, too, the body will shut in the belly's wind, which, when it labours to come forth again from its deep dungeon, prizes forth a way by sharp blows: and there is no end to the cold shiver which rules the cramped frame, till a warm sweat bedews and loosens the body.

> Latin: 83 P.L.M.
Sic et membra solent auras includere ventris,
quae penitus mersae cum rursus abire laborant,
verberibus rimantur iter; nec desinit ante
frigidus, adstrictis qui regnat in ossibus, horror
quam tepidus laxo manavit corpore sudor.

[¶10] O sea-shore and sea more sweet to me than life! Happy am I who may come at once to the lands I love. O beauteous day! In this country long ago I used to rouse the Naiads with my hands' alternate stroke. Here is the fountain's pool, there the sea washes up its weeds: here is a sure haven for quiet love. I have had life in full; for never can harder fortune take away what was given us in time overpast.

> Latin: 84 P.L.M.
O litus vita mihi dulcius, o mare! felix
cui licet ad terras ire subinde meas!
O formosa dies! hoc quondam rure solebam
Naiadas alterna sollicitare manu!
Hic fontis lacus est, illic sinus egerit algas:
haec statio est tacitis fida cupidinibus.
Pervixi; neque enim fortuna malignior unquam
eripiet nobis quod prior hora dedit.

[¶11] With these words he tore the white hair from his trembling head, and rent his cheeks; his eyes filled with tears, and as the impetuous river sweeps down the valleys when the cold snow has perished, and the gentle south-wind will not suffer the ice to live on the unfettered earth, so was his face wet with a full stream, and his heart rang with the troubled murmur of deep groaning.

> Latin: 85 P.L.M.
Haec ait et tremulo deduxit vertice canos
consecuitque genas; oculis nec defuit imber,
sed qualis rapitur per vallis improbus amnis,
cum gelidae periere nives et languidus auster
non patitur glaciem resoluta vivere terra,
gurgite sic pleno facies manavit et alto
insonuit gemitu turbato murmure pectus.

[¶12] For sooner will men hold fire in their mouths than keep a secret. Whatever you let escape you in your hall flows forth and beats at city walls in sudden rumours. Nor is the breach of faith the end. The work of betrayal issues forth with increase, and strives to add weight to the report. So was it that the greedy slave, who feared to unlock his knowledge, dug in the ground and betrayed the secret of the king's hidden ears. For the earth brought forth sounds, and the whispering reeds sang how Midas was even such an one as the tell-tale had revealed.

> Latin: 86 P.L.M.
Nam citius flammas mortales ore tenebunt
quam secreta tegant. Quicquid dimittis in aula,
effluit et subitis rumoribus oppida pulsat.
Nec satis est vulgasse fidem. Cumulatius exit
proditionis opus famamque onerare laborat.
Sic commissa verens avidus reserare minister
fodit humum regisque latentes prodidit aures.
Concepit nam terra sonos calamique loquentes
incinuere Midam, qualem narraverat index.

[¶13] There sea and sky struggle and buffet each other, here the tiny stream runs through smooth and smiling country. There the sailor laments for his sunken ship, here the shepherd dips his flock in the gentle river. There death confronts and chokes the vast gape of greed, here the earth laughs to lie low before the curved sickle. There, with water everywhere, dry thirst burns the throat, here kisses are given in plenty to faithless man. Let Ulysses go sail and weary the waters in beggar's rags: the chaste Penelope dwells on land.

> Latin: 87 P.L.M.
Illic alternis depugnat pontus et aer,
hic rivo tenui pervia ridet humus.
Illic demersas complorat navita puppes,
hic pastor miti perluit amne pecus.
Illic immanes mors obdita solvit hiatus,
hic gaudet curva falce recisa Ceres.
Illic inter aquas urit sitis arida fauces,
hic data periuro basia multa viro.
Naviget et fluctus lasset mendicus Vlixes,
in terris vivet candida Penelope.

[¶14] The man that would not haste to die, nor force the Fates to snap the tender threads with impetuous hand, should know only this much of the sea's anger. Lo! where the tide flows back, and the wave bathes his feet without peril! Lo! where the mussel is thrown up among the green sea-weed, and the hoarse whorl of the slippery shell is rolled along! Lo! where the wave turns the sands to rush back in the eddy, there pebbles of many a hue appear on the wave-worn floor. Let the man who may have these things under his feet, play safely on the shore, and count this alone to be the sea.

> Latin: 88 P.L.M.
Qui nolit properare mori nec cogere fata
mollia praecipiti rumpere fila manu,
hactenus irarum mare noverit. Ecce refuso
gurgite securos obluit unda pedes.
Ecce inter virides iactatur mytilus algas
et rauco trahitur lubrica concha sinu.
Ecce recurrentes qua versat fluctus arenas,
discolor attrita calculus exit humo.
Haec quisquis calcare potest, in litore tuto
ludat et hoc solum iudicet esse mare.

[¶15] Outward beauty is not enough, and the woman who would appear fair must not be content with any common manner. Words, wit, play, sweet talk and laughter, surpass the work of too simple nature. For all expense of art seasons beauty, and naked loveliness is wasted all in vain, if it have not the will to please.

> Latin: 89 P.L.M.
Non est forma satis nec quae vult bella videri
debet vulgari more placere sibi.
Dicta, sales, lusus, sermonis gratia, risus
vincunt naturae candidioris opus.
Condit enim formam quicquid consumitur artis,
et nisi velle subest, gratia nuda perit.

[¶16] So, contrary to the known operations of nature, the raven lays her eggs when the crops are ripe. So the she-bear shapes her cubs with her tongue, and the fish is ignorant of love's embrace, yet brings forth young. So the tortoise, sacred to Phoebus, delivered by the will of mother Lucina, hatches her eggs with the warmth of her nostrils. So the bee, begotten without wedlock from the woven cells, throbs with life and fills her camp with bold soldiery. The strength of nature lies not in holding on one even way, but she loves to change the fashion of her laws.

> Latin: 90 P.L.M.
Sic contra rerum naturae munera notae
corvus maturis frugibus ova refert.
Sic format lingua fetum cum protulit ursa
et piscis nullo iunctus amore parit.
Sic Phoebea chelys nutu resoluta parentis
Lucinae tepidis naribus ova fovet.
Sic sine concubitu textis apis excita ceris
fervet et audaci milite castra replet.
Non uno contenta valet natura tenore,
sed permutatas gaudet habere vices.

[¶17] My birthplace was India's glowing shore, where the day returns in brilliance with fiery orb. Here I was born amid the worship of the gods, and exchanged my barbaric speech for the Latin tongue. O healer of Delphi, now dismiss thy swans; here is a voice more worthy to dwell within thy temple.

> Latin: 91 P.L.M.
Indica purpureo genuit me litore tellus,
candidus accenso qua redit orbe dies.
Hic ego divinos inter generatus honores
mutavi Latio barbara verba sono.
Iam dimitte tuos, Paean o Delphice, cycnos:
dignior haec vox est, quae tua templa colat.

[¶18] The sailor, naked from the shipwreck, seeks out a comrade stricken by the same blow to whom he may bewail his fate. The farmer who has lost his crops and the whole year's fruits in the hail, weeps his sad lot on a bosom wounded like his own. Death draws the unhappy together; bereaved parents utter their groans with one voice, and the moment makes them equal. We too will strike the stars with words in unison; the saying is that prayers travel more strongly when united.

> Latin: 92 P.L.M.
Naufragus eiecta nudus rate quaerit eodem
percussum telo, cui sua fata fleat.
Grandine qui segetes et totum perdidit annum,
in simili deflet tristia fata sinu.
Funera conciliant miseros, orbique parentes
coniungunt gemitus et facit hora pares.
Nos quoque confusis feriemus sidera verbis;
fama est coniunctas fortius ire preces.

[¶19] You send me golden apples, my sweet Martia, and you send me the fruit of the shaggy chestnut. Believe me, I would love them all; but should you choose rather to come in person, lovely girl, you would beautify your gift. Come, if you will, and lay sour apples to my tongue, the sharp flavour will be like honey as I bite. But if you feign you will not come, dearest, send kisses with the apples; then gladly will I devour them.

> Latin: 93 P.L.M.
Aurea mala mihi, dulcis mea Martia, mittis,
mittis et hirsutae munera castaneae.
Omnia grata putem, sed si magis ipsa venire
ornares donum, pulcra puella, tuum.
Tu licet apportes stringentia mala palatum,
tristia mandenti est melleus ore sapor.
At si dissimulas, multum mihi cara, venire,
oscula cum pomis mitte; vorabo libens.

[¶20] If you are sister to Phoebus, Delia, I entrust my petition to you, that you may carry to your brother the words of my prayer. “God of Delphi, I have built for you a temple of Sicilian marble, and have given you fair words of song from a slender pipe of reed. Now if you hear us, Apollo, and are indeed divine, tell me where a man who has no money is to find it.”

> Latin: 94 P.L.M.
Si Phoebi soror es, mando tibi, Delia, causam,
scilicet ut fratri quae peto verba feras:
“Marmore Sicanio struxi tibi, Delphice, templum
et levibus calamis candida verba dedi.
Nunc si nos audis atque es divinus, Apollo,
dic mihi, qui nummos non habet, unde petat.”

[¶21] Honest Heaven ordained that all things which can end our wretched complaints should be ready to hand. Common green herbs and the berries that grow on rough brambles allay the gnawing hunger of the belly. A fool is he who goes thirsty with a river close by, and shivers in the east wind while a blazing fire roars on the warm hearth. The law sits armed by the threshold of a wanton bride; the girl who lies on a lawful bed knows no fear. The wealth of nature gives us enough for our fill: that which unbridled vanity teaches us to pursue has no end to it.

> Latin: 95 P.L.M.
Omnia quae miseras possunt finire querellas,
in promptu voluit candidus esse deus.
Vile holus et duris haerentia mora rubetis
pungentis stomachi composuere famem.
Flumine vicino stultus sitit, et riget euro
cum calidus tepido consonat igne focus.
Lex armata sedet circum fera limina nuptae:
nil metuit licito fusa puella toro.
Quod satiare potest dives natura ministrat;
quod docet infrenis gloria fine caret.

[¶22] Doves have made a nest in the soldier's helmet: see how Venus loveth Mars.

> Latin: 96 P.L.M.
Militis in galea nidum fecere columbae:
apparet Marti quam sit amica Venus.

[¶23] The Jew may worship his pig-god and clamour in the ears of high heaven, but unless he also cuts back his foreskin with the knife, he shall go forth from the holy city cast forth from the people, and transgress the sabbath by breaking the law of fasting.

> Latin: 97 P.L.M.
Iudaeus licet et porcinum numen adoret
et caeli summas advocet auriculas,
ni tamen et ferro succiderit inguinis oram
et nisi nodatum solverit arte caput,
exemptus populo sacra migrabit ab urbe
et non ieiuna sabbata lege premet.

[¶24] This is the one nobility and proof of honourable estate, that a man's hands have shown no fear.

> Latin: 98 P.L.M.
Una est nobilitas argumentumque coloris
ingenui timidas non habuisse manus.

[¶25] At rest in bed, I had scarce begun to enjoy the first silence of night, and to give up my conquered eyes to sleep, when fierce Love took hold of me and drew me up by the hair, and tore me, bidding me watch till day. “Ah, my slave,” he said, “thou lover of a thousand girls, canst thou lie alone here, alone, oh hard of heart?” I leaped up, and with bare feet and disordered raiment started on every path and found a way by none. Now I run, now to move is weariness: I repent of turning back, and am ashamed to halt in the midst of the road. Lo, the voices of men and the roar of the streets, the singing of birds and the faithful company of watchdogs are all silent. I alone of all men dread both sleep and my bed, and follow thy command, great Lord of desire.

> Latin: 99 P.L.M.
Lecto compositus vix prima silentia noctis
carpebam et somno lumina victa dabam,
cum me savus Amor prensat sursumque capillis
excitat et lacerum pervigilare iubet.
Tu famulus meus, inquit, “ames cum mille puellas,
solus, io, solus, dure, iacere potes?”
Exsilio et pedibus nudis tunicaque soluta
omne iter ingredior, nullum iter expedio.
Nunc propero, nunc ire piget, rursumque redire
paenitet, et pudor est stare via media.
Ecce tacent voces hominum strepitusque viarum
et volucrum cantus fidaque turba canum;
solus ego ex cunctis paveo somnumque torumque,
et sequor imperium, magne Cupido, tuum.

[¶26] Long may that night be dearto us, Nealce, that first laid you to rest upon my heart. Dear be the bed and the genius of the couch, and the silent lamp that saw you come softly to do our pleasure. Come, then, let us endure though we have grown older, and employ the years which a brief delay will blot out. It is lawful and right to prolong an old love: grant that what we began in haste may not hastily be ended.

> Latin: 100 P.L.M.
Sit nox illa diu nobis dilecta, Nealce,
quae te prima meo pectore composuit:
sit torus et lecti genius secretaque lampas,
quis tenera in nostrum veneris arbitrium.
Ergo age duremus, quamvis adoleverit aetas,
utamurque annis quos mora parva teret.
Fas et iura sinunt veteres extendere amores;
fac cito quod coeptum est, non cito desinere.

[¶27] The pleasure of the act of love is gross and brief, and love once consummated brings loathing after it. Let us then not rush blindly thither straightway like lustful beasts, for love sickens and the flame dies down; but even so, even so, let us keep eternal holi day, and lie with thy lips to mine. No toil is here and no shame: in this, delight has been, and is, and long shall be; in this there is no diminution, but a beginning everlastingly.

> Latin: 101 P.L.M.
Foeda est in coitu et brevis voluptas
et taedet Veneris statim peractae.
Non ergo ut pecudes libidinosae
caeci protinus irruamus illuc
(nam languescit amor peritque flamma);
sed sic sic sine fine feriati
et tecum iaceamus osculantes.
Hic nullus labor est ruborque nullus:
hoc iuvit, iuvat et diu iuvabit;
hoc non deficit incipitque semper.

[¶28] To love and accuse at one time were a labour Hercules himself could scarce have borne.

> Latin: 102 P.L.M.
Accusare et amare tempore uno
ipsi vix fuit Herculi ferendum.

[¶29] Our eyes deceive us, and our wandering senses weigh down our reason and tell us falsehoods. For the tower which stands almost four-square has its corners blunted at a distance and becomes rounded. The full stomach turns from the honey of Hybla, and the nose often hates the scent of cinnamon. One thing could not please us more or less than another, unless the senses strove in set conflict with wavering balance.

> Latin: 120 P.L.M.
Fallunt nos oculi vagique sensus
oppressa ratione mentiuntur.
Nam turris prope quae quadrata surgit,
detritis procul angulis rotatur.
Hyblaeum refugit satur liquorem
et naris casiam frequenter odit.
Hoc illo magis aut minus placere
non posset nisi lite destinata
pugnarent dubio tenore sensus.

[¶30] It is not the shrines of the gods, nor the powers of the air, that send the dreams which mock the mind with flitting shadows; each man makes dreams for himself. For when rest lies about the limbs subdued by sleep, and the mind plays with no weight upon it, it pursues in the darkness whatever was its task by daylight. The man who makes towns tremble in war, and overwhelms unhappy cities in flame, sees arms, and routed hosts, and the deaths of kings, and plains streaming with outpoured blood. They whose life is to plead cases have statutes and the courts before their eyes, and look with terror upon the judgement-seat surrounded by a throng. The miser hides his gains and discovers buried treasure. The hunter shakes the woods with his pack. The sailor snatches his shipwrecked bark from the waves, or grips it in death-agony. The woman writes to her lover, the adulteress yields herself: and the dog follows the tracks of the hare as he sleeps. The wounds of the unhappy endure into the night-season.

> Latin: 121 P.L.M.
Somnia quae mentes ludunt volitantibus umbris,
non delubra deum nec ab aethere numina mittunt,
sed sibi quisque facit. Nam cum prostrata sopore
urget membra quies et mens sine pondere ludit,
quidquid luce fuit tenebris agit. Oppida bello
qui quatit et flammis miserandas eruit urbes,
tela videt versasque acies et funera regum
atque exundantes profuso sanguine campos.
Qui causas orare solent, legesque forumque
et pavidi cernunt inclusum chorte tribunal.
Condit avarus opes defossumque invenit aurum.
Venator saltus canibus quatit. Eripit undis
aut premit eversam periturus navita puppem.
Scribit amatori meretrix, dat adultera munus:
et canis in somnis leporis vestigia lustrat.
In noctis spatium miserorum vulnera durant.