Our friend Caecilianus does not dine without a wild-boar. What a charming companion at the dinner table!
Martial Quotes
To no man make yourself a boon companion: Your joy will be less but less will be your grief.
You often ask me, Priscus, what sort of man I should I be, if all of a sudden I became rich and powerful. Do you think that anybody can tell you what his future character will be? Tell me, if you became a lion, what sort of lion would you be?
With red hair, a black face, a cloven foot, and blear eyes, you show the world a prodigy, Zoilus, if you are an honest man.
Your face is black, your hair like flame, And one eye’s damaged, one foot lame: If, still, you’re quite decent chap – Well tis a feather in your cap.
Why have you come into my show, austere Cato? Pray, did you walk in merely for the purpose of walking out?
But what is the use of brevity, tell me, when there is a whole book of it?
He who prefers to give to Linus the half of what he wishes to borrow, rather than to lend him the whole, prefers to lose only the half.
I have bought a property in the country for a good round sum, Caecilianus; and ask you to lend me a thousand. Won’t you give me an answer? I fancy from your silence you are saying, “You won’t pay it back.” That is just why I am asking for it, Caecilianus.
There are excellent bits here, you’ll find, And bits of a so and so kind. Still more than the latter are bad bits – no matter! A book is of all sorts combined.
