Martial's Epigrams: I.4, 8, 9, 13
I do not want a man who buys fame with easy blood; I want that man who can be praised without death.
As an intermission between books of the Pharsalia, I will be posting epigrams from Martial. These are from a Latin reader which I’ve published for Book I of his epigrams, and you can find it by clicking the button below. If you like this sort of thing, please consider liking this post, sharing it and leaving a positive review for the book on Amazon.
I.4
Contigeris nostros, Caesar, si forte libellos,
terrarum dominum pone supercilium.
Consueuere iocos uestri quoque ferre triumphi,
materiam dictis nec pudet esse ducem.
Qua Thymelen spectas derisoremque Latinum, 5
illa fronte precor carmina nostra legas.
Innocuos censura potest permittere lusus:
lasciua est nobis pagina, uita proba.
Vocabulary
Caesar, Caesaris, m. : Caesar (the Emperor).
Carmen, carminis, n. : song, poem, verse.
Cēnsūra, ae, f. — censorship, judgment
Cōnsuēscō, ere, cōnsuēvī, cōnsuētus : to be accustomed.
Contingō, ere, contigī, contāctus : to touch, reach, happen to.
Dērīsōr, dērīsōris, m. : mocker, scoffer.
Dictum, ī, n. — word, saying, bon mot
Dominus, ī, m. — master, lord
Dux, ducis, m./f. : leader, guide, general.
Ferō, ferre, tulī, lātus — to bear, carry, endure
Forte (adv.) — by chance, perhaps
Frōns, frontis, f. : forehead, brow, face.
Ille, illa, illud — that (one), he/she
Innocuus, a, um — harmless, innocent
Iocus, ī, m. — joke, jest
Lascīvus, a, um — playful, lewd, wanton
Latīnus, a, um — Latin, of Latium
Legō, ere, lēgī, lēctus : to read.
Libellus, ī, m. — little book, pamphlet
Lūsus, ūs, m. — game, play, mockery
Māteria, ae, f. — material, subject matter
Nec (conj.) — and not, nor
Pāgina, ae, f. — page
Permittō, ere, permīsī, permissus : to allow, permit.
Pōnō, ere, posuī, positus : to place, put; (pōne = imperative)
Possum, posse, potuī — to be able
Precor, precārī, precātus sum — to pray, beg
Probus, a, um — upright, honest, good
Pudet, pudēre, puduit — it shames, causes shame (impers.).
Quā (adv.) — by which way, where
Quoque (adv.) — also, too
Sī (conj.) — if
Spectō, āre, āvī, ātus — to look at, watch
Sum, esse, fuī, futūrus — to be
Supercilium, iī, n. — eyebrow, pride, haughtiness
Terra, ae, f. — land, earth; (terrarum = gen. pl. “of the world”)
Thymelē, ēs, f. — Thymele (a famous mime actress)
Triumphus, ī, m. — triumph, victory parade
Vīta, ae, f. — life
Translation
If you should touch our little books, Caesar, lay down your lordly pride of the world. Your triumphs have been accustomed to endure jokes, and it is not shameful that the subject matter for words is a leader. Where you watch Thymeles and that mocker Latinus, I pray by that brow you read our poems. Censorship can permit innocent mockery: my page is wanton, my life is upright.
I.8
Quod magni Thraseae consummatique Catonis
dogmata sic sequeris saluos ut esse uelis,
pectore nec nudo strictos incurris in ensis,
quod fecisse uelim te, Deciane, facis.
Nolo uirum facili redemit qui sanguine famam, 5
hunc uolo, laudari qui sine morte potest.
Vocabulary
Catō, Catōnis, m. : Cato (the Younger, a Stoic icon).
Cōnsūmō, ere, cōnsūmpsī, cōnsūmptus : to spend, consume, finish.
Decziānus, ī, m. — Decianus (Martial’s friend)
Dogma, dogmatis, n. : dogma, philosophical tenet.
Ēnsis, ēnsis, m. : sword.
Facilis, e — easy, simple
Faciō, ere, fēcī, factus : to do, make.
Fāma, ae, f. — fame, reputation
Hic, haec, hoc — this
Incurrō, ere, incurrī, incursus : to run into, rush upon.
Laudō, āre, āvī, ātus — to praise
Māgnus, a, um — great, large
Mors, mortis, f. : death.
Nōlō, nōlle, nōluī — to be unwilling
Nūdus, a, um — naked, bare
Pectus, pectoris, n. : breast, chest, heart.
Possum, posse, potuī — to be able
Quī, quae, quod — who, which, what
Redimō, ere, redēmī, redēmptus : to buy back, redeem, rescue.
Salvus, a, um — safe, healthy, unharmed
Sanguis, sanguinis, m. : blood.
Sequor, sequī, secūtus sum — to follow
Sīc (adv.) — thus, in this way
Sine (prep. + abl.) — without
Stringō, ere, strīnxī, strictus : to draw (a sword), bind.
Sum, esse, fuī, futūrus — to be
Thrasea, ae, m. — Thrasea Paetus (a Stoic martyr)
Vir, virī, m. — man, hero
Volō, velle, voluī — to wish
Translation
Because you follow the teachings of the great Thrasea and the dead Cato in such a way that you wish they were unharmed, you do not rush onto drawn swords with a bare chest, you do what I wish you had done, Decianus. I do not want a man who buys fame with easy blood; I want that man who can be praised without death.
I.9
Bellus homo et magnus uis idem, Cotta, uideri:
sed qui bellus homo est, Cotta, pusillus homo est.
Vocabulary
Bellus, a, um — charming, handsome, “pretty”
Cotta, ae, m. — Cotta (proper name)
Homō, hominis, m. : human being, man, fellow.
Idem, eadem, idem — the same
Māgnus, a, um — great, large, important
Pusillus, a, um — tiny, puny, insignificant
Sed (conj.) — but
Sum, esse, fuī, futūrus — to be
Videō, ēre, vīdī, vīsus — to see
Volō, velle, voluī — to wish
Translation
You wish a pretty man and a great man to seem the same, Cotta:
But he, who is pretty man, Cotta, is a puny man.
I.13
Casta suo gladium cum traderet Arria Paeto,
quem de uisceribus strinxerat ipsa suis,
‘Si qua fides, uulnus quod feci non dolet,’ inquit,
‘sed tu quod facies, hoc mihi, Paete, dolet.’
Vocabulary
Arria, ae, f. — Arria (wife of Caecina Paetus)
Castus, a, um — pure, chaste, holy
Cum (conj.) — when, since, although
Dē (prep. + abl.) — from, down from, about
Doleō, ēre, uī, itum — to feel pain, grieve, hurt
Faciō, ere, fēcī, factus : to do, make; (faciēs = fut. “you will do”)
Fidēs, eī, f. — faith, trust, loyalty
Gladius, iī, m. — sword
Inquam, inquis, inquit — to say (used for direct quotes)
Ipse, ipsa, ipsum — himself, herself, itself
Paetus, ī, m. — Paetus (Arria’s husband)
Quā (adv.) — where, by which way
Quod (rel. pron.) — which, what
Sī (conj.) — if
Stringō, ere, strīnxī, strictus : to draw (a sword), bind.
Trādō, ere, trādidī, trāditus : to hand over, surrender.
Viscus, visceris, n. : (pl. viscera) internal organs, vitals.
Vulnus, vulneris, n. : wound
Translation
When chaste Arria handed to her Paetus the sword, which she herself had drawn from her innards, she said, “If there is any good faith, the wound, which I have made, does not hurt, but this thing, which you will do, will hurt me, Paetus.