Sat. 1.2.1Ambubāiārum collēgia, pharmacopōlae,
mendīcī, mīmae, balatrōnēs, hoc genus omne
maestum ac sollicitum est cantōris morte Tigellī.The guilds of flute-girls, the drug-sellers, beggars, actresses, buffoons, all this tribe is grieving and anxious at the death of the singer Tigellius. Sat. 1.2.4Quippe benignus erat.He was generous, you see. Sat. 1.2.4Contrā hic, nē prōdigus esse
5dīcātur metuēns, inopī dare nōlit amīcō,
frīgus quō dūramque famem prōpellere possit.This man, on the other hand, afraid of being called a spendthrift, would refuse to give a needy friend the means to drive off cold and harsh hunger. Sat. 1.2.7Hunc sī percontēris, avī cūr atque parentis
praeclāram ingrātā stringat malus ingluviē rem,
omnia conductīs coemēns obsōnia nummīs,
10sordidus atque animī quod parvī nōlit habērī,
respondet.If you ask that one why, the wretch, he strips away the splendid fortune of his grandfather and father with thankless gluttony, buying up every delicacy with borrowed money, he answers that it is because he would not want to be thought mean and small-spirited. Sat. 1.2.11Laudātur ab hīs, culpātur ab illīs.He is praised by some, blamed by others. Sat. 1.2.12Fufidius vappae fāmam timet ac nebulōnis :
quīnās hic capitī mercēdēs exsecat atque
15quantō perditior quisque est, tantō ācrius urget;Fufidius fears the name of a wastrel and good-for-nothing: this man cuts five times the usual interest out of the principal, and the more desperate each man is, the more fiercely he presses him; Sat. 1.2.16nōmina sectātur modo sūmptā veste virīlī
sub patribus dūrīs tīrōnum.he hunts down the bonds of young men who have just put on the toga of manhood and live under strict fathers.
Sat. 1.2.17'Maxime' quis nōn
'Iuppiter' exclāmat simul atque audīvit?Who, on hearing this, does not cry out 'Great Jupiter!'? Sat. 1.2.18'At in sē
prō quaestū sūmptum facit hic?' vix crēdere possīs,
20quam sibi nōn sit amīcus, ita ut pater ille, Terentī
fābula quem miserum gnātō vīxisse fugātō
indūcit, nōn sē peius cruciāverit atque hic.'But surely he spends on himself in proportion to his profit?' You could hardly believe how little a friend he is to himself, so much so that the father whom Terence's play brings on, who lived wretchedly after driving his son away, did not torment himself worse than this man. Sat. 1.2.23Sīquis nunc quaerat 'quō rēs haec pertinet?' illūc:
dum vītant stultī vitia, in contrāria currunt.If anyone should now ask, 'What is the point of all this?', it is this: while fools avoid vices, they run into their opposites. Sat. 1.2.25Maltinus tunicīs dēmissīs ambulat, est quī
inguen ad obscaenum subductīs ūsque;Maltinus walks with his tunic trailing low; there is another who wears his hitched right up to his obscene groin; Sat. 1.2.26facētus
pastillōs Rūfillus olet, Gorgonius hircum:
nīl medium est.dapper Rufillus smells of lozenges, Gorgonius of goat: there is no middle way.
Sat. 1.2.28Sunt quī nōlint tetigisse nisi illās
quārum subsūta tālōs tegat īnstita veste,
30contrā alius nūllam nisi olentī in fornice stantem.There are some who would not touch any women except those whose ankles are covered by a flounce stitched to their dress; another, on the contrary, none but one standing in a stinking brothel. Sat. 1.2.31Quīdam notus homō cum exīret fornice, 'macte
virtūte estō' inquit sententia dīa Catōnis;When a certain well-known man was coming out of a brothel, 'Blessings on your virtue!' said the godlike wisdom of Cato; Sat. 1.2.33'nam simul ac vēnās īnflāvit taetra libīdō,
hūc iuvenēs aequom est dēscendere, nōn aliēnās
35permolere uxōrēs.' 'nōlim laudārier' inquit
'sīc mē' mīrātor cunnī Cupiennius albī.'for as soon as foul lust has swollen the veins, it is right for young men to come down here, rather than to grind away at other men's wives.' 'I should not like to be praised for that,' says Cupiennius, admirer of the cunt in white. Sat. 1.2.37Audīre est operae pretium, prōcēdere rēctē
quī moechīs nōn voltis, ut omnī parte labōrent
utque illīs multō corrupta dolōre voluptās
40atque haec rāra cadat dūra inter saepe perīcla.It is worth your while to hear, you who do not wish adulterers to prosper, how they struggle on every side, and how their pleasure is spoilt by much pain, and, rare as it is, comes amid often cruel dangers.
Sat. 1.2.41Hic sē praecipitem tēctō dedit, ille flagellīs
ad mortem caesus, fugiēns hic dēcidit ācrem
praedōnum in turbam, dedit hic prō corpore nummōs,
hunc permīnxērunt cālōnēs;One has thrown himself headlong from a roof, another has been flogged to death, one in flight has fallen among a fierce gang of robbers, another has paid money to save his skin, another the stable-boys have pissed on; Sat. 1.2.44quīn etiam illud
45accidit, ut cuidam testīs caudamque salācem
dēmeterent ferrō.indeed it even happened that they cut off one man's balls and lustful tail with a blade. Sat. 1.2.46'Iūre' omnēs: Galba negābat.'Rightly so,' said everyone: Galba disagreed. Sat. 1.2.47Tūtior at quantō merx est in classe secundā,
lībertīnārum dīcō — Sallustius in quās
nōn minus īnsānit quam quī moechātur.But how much safer is the merchandise in the second class — the freedwomen, I mean — though Sallustius is no less mad for them than the man who commits adultery. Sat. 1.2.49At hic sī,
50quā rēs, quā ratiō suādēret quāque modestē
mūnificō esse licet, vellet bonus atque benignus
esse, daret quantum satis esset nec sibi damnō
dēdecorīque foret.But if he wished to be good and generous, as far as his means and reason would advise and as far as one may be bountiful in moderation, he would give as much as was enough and would bring neither loss nor disgrace upon himself.
Sat. 1.2.53Vērum hōc sē amplectitur ūnō,
hoc amat et laudat: 'mātronam nūllam ego tangō',
55ut quondam Marsaeus, amātor Orīginis ille,
quī patrium mīmae dōnat fundumque laremque,
'nīl fuerit mī' inquit 'cum uxōribus umquam aliēnīs.'
vērum est cum mīmīs, est cum meretrīcibus, unde
fāma malum gravius quam rēs trahit.But he hugs himself on this one point, loves and praises this: 'I touch no married lady,' just as Marsaeus once, the famous lover of Origo, who gives his ancestral farm and home to an actress, said, 'Let me never have anything to do with other men's wives.' But he has to do with actresses, with prostitutes, from whom his reputation takes more harm than his fortune. Sat. 1.2.59An tibi abundē
60persōnam satis est, nōn illud, quidquid ubīque
officit, ēvītāre?Or is it quite enough for you to avoid the role, and not the thing that does harm wherever it is? Sat. 1.2.61Bonam dēperdere fāmam,
rem patris oblīmāre malum est ubicumque.To lose your good name and to sink your father's estate in the mud is bad wherever it happens. Sat. 1.2.62Quid inter-
est in mātronā, ancillā peccēsne togātā?What difference does it make whether you sin with a married lady or with a maid in a toga?
Sat. 1.2.64Villius in Faustā, Sullae gener, hōc miser ūnō
65nōmine dēceptus, poenās dedit ūsque superque
quam satis est, pugnīs caesus ferrōque petītus,
exclūsus fore, cum Longarenus foret intus.Villius, Sulla's son-in-law through Fausta, poor man, deceived by this one name, paid a penalty more than enough and beyond, beaten with fists and attacked with steel, shut out of doors while Longarenus was inside. Sat. 1.2.68Huic sī muttōnis verbīs mala tanta videntī
dīceret haec animus 'quid vīs tibi?If, as he saw such great troubles, his mind were to say to him in the words of his cock, 'What do you want? Sat. 1.2.69Numquid ego ā tē
70magnō prognātum dēposcō cōnsule cunnum
vēlātumque stolā, mea cum cōnferbuit īra?'
quid respondēret?Do I ever demand of you a cunt descended from a great consul and veiled in a matron's robe, when my passion has boiled up?' what would he answer? Sat. 1.2.72'Magnō patre nāta puella est.'
at quantō meliōra monet pugnantiaque istīs
dīves opis nātūra suae, tū sī modo rēctē
75dispēnsāre velīs ac nōn fugienda petendīs
inmiscēre.'The girl is the daughter of a great father.' But how much better, and how contrary to this, is the advice of nature, rich in her own resources, if only you would manage them rightly and not mix what should be avoided with what should be sought.
Sat. 1.2.76Tuō vitiō rērumne labōrēs,
nīl rēferre putās?Do you think it makes no difference whether you suffer through your own fault or through circumstances? Sat. 1.2.77Quārē, nē paeniteat tē,
dēsine mātronās sectārier, unde labōris
plūs haurīre malī est quam ex rē dēcerpere frūctūs.So, that you may not regret it, stop chasing married women, from whom one draws more trouble and pain than one plucks profit from the business. Sat. 1.2.80Nec magis huic, inter niveōs viridīsque lapillōs
sit licet, hōc, Cērinthe, tuum tenerum est femur aut crūs
rēctius, atque etiam melius persaepe togātae.Nor, though she may be decked in snow-white and green gems (that may be your taste, Cerinthus), is the lady's thigh any softer or her leg any straighter, and the girl in the toga's is very often better still. Sat. 1.2.83Adde hūc, quod mercem sine fūcīs gestat, apertē
quod vēnāle habet ostendit nec, sīquid honestī est,
85iactat habetque palam, quaerit, quō turpia cēlet.Add to this that she carries her wares without paint, openly shows what she has for sale, and, if she has anything fine, does not boast of it and hold it up to view while she looks for a way to hide what is ugly.
Sat. 1.2.86Rēgibus hic mōs est, ubi equōs mercantur: opertōs
īnspiciunt, nē sī faciēs, ut saepe, decōra
mollī fulta pede est, ēmptōrem indūcat hiantem,
quod pulcrae clūnēs, breve quod caput, ardua cervīx.Great men have this custom when they buy horses: they inspect them covered, so that, if a handsome form rests, as often happens, on a soft hoof, it may not take in the gaping buyer because the haunches are beautiful, the head short, the neck high. Sat. 1.2.90Hoc illī rēctē: nē corporis optima Lynceī
contemplēre oculīs, Hypsaeā caecior illa,
quae mala sunt, spectēs.They are right in this: do not gaze at the body's best points with the eyes of Lynceus, and look at what is bad blinder than Hypsaea. Sat. 1.2.92'Ō crūs, ō bracchia.' vērum
dēpygis, nāsūta, brevī latere ac pede longō est.'O what a leg, O what arms!' But she has no buttocks, a big nose, a short waist and long feet. Sat. 1.2.94Mātronae praeter faciem nīl cernere possīs,
95cētera, nī Catia est, dēmissā veste tegentis.Of a married lady you could see nothing but the face, since, unless she is Catia, she covers the rest with a dress hanging low.
Sat. 1.2.96Sī interdicta petēs, vallō circumdata — nam tē
hoc facit īnsānum — , multae tibi tum officient rēs,
custōdēs, lectīca, ciniflōnēs, parasītae,
ad tālōs stola dēmissa et circumdata palla,
100plūrima, quae invideant pūrē adpārēre tibi rem.If you seek forbidden things, ringed round with a rampart — for that is what drives you mad — many things will then be in your way: guards, litter, hairdressers, hangers-on, a robe let down to the ankles and a mantle wrapped round, very many things which grudge you a clear view of the goods. Sat. 1.2.101Altera, nīl obstat: coīs tibi paene vidēre est
ut nūdam, nē crūre malō, nē sit pede turpī;With the other, nothing stands in the way: in Coan silks you can see her almost as if naked, so you can see that she has no bad leg or ugly foot; Sat. 1.2.103mētīrī possīs oculō latus.you could measure her flank with your eye. Sat. 1.2.103An tibi māvīs
īnsidiās fierī pretiumque avellier ante
105quam mercem ostendī?Or would you rather have a trap laid for you and the price wrung from you before the goods are shown?
Sat. 1.2.105Leporem vēnātor ut altā
in nive sectētur, positum sīc tangere nōlit,
cantat et adpōnit 'meus est amor huic similis;He sings how the hunter chases the hare in the deep snow, but would not touch it when it is laid out like that, and adds: 'My love is like this; Sat. 1.2.107nam
trānsvolat in mediō posita et fugientia captat.'
hīscine versiculīs spērās tibi posse dolōrēs
110atque aestūs cūrāsque gravīs ē pectore pellī?for it flies past what lies in the open, and chases what flees.' Do you hope that by little verses like these the pains and passions and heavy cares can be driven from your breast? Sat. 1.2.111Nōnne, cupīdinibus statuat nātūra modum quem,
quid lātūra sibi, quid sit dolitūra negātum,
quaerere plūs prōdest et ināne abscindere soldō?Would it not be more useful to inquire what limit nature sets to desires, what she will bear to go without, what she will grieve to be denied, and to separate the empty from the solid? Sat. 1.2.114Num, tibi cum faucīs ūrit sitis, aurea quaeris
115pōcula?When thirst burns your throat, surely you do not look for golden cups?
Sat. 1.2.115Num ēsuriēns fastīdīs omnia praeter
pāvōnem rhombumque?When you are hungry, surely you do not scorn everything but peacock and turbot? Sat. 1.2.116Tument tibi cum inguina, num, sī
ancilla aut verna est praestō puer, impetus in quem
continuō fīat.When your groin is swelling, if a maid or a home-born slave boy is at hand whom you could set upon at once, surely Sat. 1.2.118Mālīs tentīgine rumpī?you would not rather burst with lust? Sat. 1.2.119Nōn ego;Not I; Sat. 1.2.119namque parābilem amō Venerem facilemque.for I like a love that is ready to hand and easy. Sat. 1.2.120Illam 'post paulō' 'sed plūris' 'sī exierit vir'
gallīs, hanc Philodēmus ait sibi, quae neque magnō
stet pretiō neque cūnctētur cum est iussa venīre.The woman who says 'In a little while', 'But more money', 'If my husband goes out', Philodemus says is for the eunuch priests; for himself, he says, he wants the one who neither costs a great price nor delays when she is told to come. Sat. 1.2.123Candida rēctaque sit, munda hāctenus, ut neque longa
nec magis alba velit quam dat nātūra vidērī.Let her be fair and straight, and smart only so far as not to want to look taller or fairer than nature makes her.
Sat. 1.2.125Haec ubi supposuit dextrō corpus mihi laevom,
Īlia et Ēgeria est;When she has put her left side beneath my right, she is Ilia and Egeria; Sat. 1.2.126dō nōmen quodlibet illī.I give her any name I please. Sat. 1.2.127Nec vereor, nē, dum futuō, vir rūre recurrat,
iānua frangātur, lātret canis, undique magnō
pulsa domus strepitū resonet, vēpallida lectō
130dēsiliat mulier, miseram sē cōnscia clāmet,
crūribus haec metuat, dōtī dēprēnsa, egomet mī.Nor am I afraid, while I am fucking her, that her husband will rush back from the country, the door be broken, the dog bark, the house ring all round, battered with a great din, the woman, deathly pale, leap from the bed, the maid in the secret cry that she is ruined, she fearing for her legs, the wife caught in the act for her dowry, and I for myself. Sat. 1.2.132Discīnctā tunicā fugiendum est et pede nūdō,
nē nummī pereant aut pūga aut dēnique fāma.One must run with tunic unbelted and feet bare, so as not to lose one's money or one's buttocks or at least one's good name.
Sat. 1.2.134Dēprendī miserum est: Fabiō vel iūdice vincam.To be caught is wretched: I could prove it even with Fabius as judge.