Marcus Valerius Martialis, Epigrammata 12.61

Martial dismisses Ligurra's vanity in fearing his pen — lions hunt bulls, not butterflies, and the man is simply not worth the ink.

 

Tier 1

Ligurra, times ne scribam versus in te (against you), times ne ego scribam breve et vividum carmen in te, et tu cupis videri dignus hoc metu.

Sed times frustra et cupis frustra. Libyci (Libyan) leones petunt tauros, non petunt papiliones (butterflies).

Si tu laboras legi, moneo, quaeras obscurum poetam nigri fornicis (archway, or brothel) qui scribit carmina carbone (charcoal) rudi et creta (chalk) fracta, quae cacantes (ii qui in latrino cacant) legunt.

Haec frons tua non notanda est nota mea.

Written by Robert Amstutz

The Pericles Group Foundation
The Pericles Group Foundation
501(c)(3) Nonprofit

The content here is free — and we'd like to keep it that way.

This site is a public-good resource for Latin students and teachers everywhere. There are no paywalls, no ads, and no logins required.

If the materials have been useful to you, please consider making a donation to support its continued development.

♡ Donate