Every now and then when no idea for a post hits me over the head, I pull a book from those I’ve bought for such an occasion. The one I chose this time was “4800 Wisecracks, witty remarks and epigrams for all occasions,” edited by Edmund Fuller, published by Avenel in 1980. It came from a flea market in Pensacola in 2011.
I was hoping to find something on February, but alas, no wisecracks, witty remarks, epigrams.
[“What is an epigram? A dwarfish whole, / Its body brevity, and wit its soul.”—Samuel Taylor Coleridge]. I scoured the subject matter—not exactly what I was hoping to find. I thumbed through to “Writers” (surprise!) and made the discovery that said, “This is it! This is it!”
Reading along, I came to this entry (#6150) “Paulus buys poems. Then Paulus recites the poems as his own, for what you buy you may fairly call your own.”
Paulus was my last name for 25 years; it is my children’s surname and the surname of four of my grandchildren. See why it hit me? I looked to see the author. “Martial.” But that wasn’t all. Mr. Fuller chose twenty-six of Martial’s epigrams to include in this section.
Nothing to do now but go to Wikipedia and Encyclopedia Britannica and find out who this Martial was.
“Martial, Latin in full Marcus Valerius Martialis (born Mar. 1, ad 38–41, Bilbilis, Hispania [Spain]—died c. 103), Roman poet who brought the Latin epigram to perfection and provided in it a picture of Roman society during the early empire that is remarkable both for its completeness and for its accurate portrayal of human foibles.” [Britannica]
“The works of Martial became highly valued on their discovery during the Renaissance, whose writers often saw them as sharing an eye for the urban vices of their own times. The poet's influence is seen in late classical literature, the Carolingian revival, the Renaissance in France and Italy, and early modern English and German poetry. With the growth of the Romantic Movement, he became unfashionable.” [Wikipedia]
Here are a few more of Martial’s epigrams. When he mentions a person’s name, I’ll give only the first letter.
#6147: “He does not write at all whose poems no man reads.”
#6154: “Why, simpleton, do you mix your verses with mine? What have you to do, foolish man, with writings that convict you of theft? Why do you attempt to associate oxes with lions, and make owls pass for eagles? Though you had one of Lada’s legs you would not be able, blockhead, to run with the other leg of wood.” Even in early, early Rome, folks were name-calling!
#6155: “You give no recitations, M., yet you wish to pass for a poet. Be what you please, provided you give no recitations.”
#6159: “Why don’t I send you my works, P.____? For fear that you might send me yours.”
#6165: “It is rumored, F.___, that you recite my epigrams in public, just as if you had written them. I will send you a copy of my poems for nothing, if you are willing that they should pass as mine. If you wish them to pass as yours, buy them, so that they will be mine no longer.”
#6171: “I wonder, wall, that you have not gone smash--/You’ve had to bear so many scribblers’ trash.”
Crusty old coot, wasn’t he? As Mr. Fuller comments in the introduction, “You will find Greek and Roman epigrams … gentle arts of insult and abuse.” I believe it.
1 comment:
Interesting how you came across the Paulus name in that book. A little humor in those quotes from a poet of long ago. Good post.
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