Counting Kisses: Martial’s Remix To His
Boyfriend
|
Name: Martial Date: c. 40 – 100 CE Region: Bilbilis, Hispania [modern Spain] Citation: Epigrams 6.34 |
Diadumenus, give me rapid-fire kisses. How many,
you ask?
You order me to count the waves of the Ocean,
And the number of shells scattered on the Aegean
beaches,
And the number of bees wandering over the Athenian
hills,
And the number of voices and applause heard in an
amphitheater whenever Caesar suddenly appears.
I don't want the amount
that Lesbia gave to her Catullus, who made a similar request:
A number of kisses that can be counted is not
enough!
Counting Kisses: Martial’s
Remix To His Boyfriend
Basia da nobis, Diadumene, pressa.
"Quot?" inquis.
Oceani fluctus me numerare iubes
et maris Aegaei sparsas per litora conchas
et quae Cecropio monte vagantur apes,
quaeque sonant pleno vocesque manusque
theatro
cum populus subiti Caesaris ora videt.
Nolo quot arguto dedit exorata Catullo
Lesbia: pauca cupit qui numerare potest.
Martial [Marcus Valerius Martialis; 38 BCE – 102 CE, modern
Spain] Originally from Bilbilis, Hispania, the poet Martial moved to Rome in
the 60s CE to advance his career. His two extant works include de
Spectaculis, a collection of poems written to commemorate the opening of
the Colosseum, and a fifteen volume collection of epigrams. These poems provide
valuable insight into the private lives of Romans from all of the city’s social
classes.
