Martial Epigrams: Selections (Translation)

The goal of this section of the text is to practice translation and review the classical form of the epigram.

Download Document

Download the translation handout and complete it before moving forward in the course. At this point, we'll continue asking you to take more control of your own work. Very few notes are included for these four poems, but we believe you can handle them even without additional support! After the fourth poem, there is some additional information about a new type of meter called hendecasyllabic.

I.38

Quem recitās meus est, ō Fīdentīne, libellus:

sed male cum recitās, incipit esse tuus.

II.20

Carmina Paulus emit, recitat sua carmina Paulus.

Nam quod emās possīs iūre vocāre tuum.

II.88

Nīl recitās et vīs, Māmerce, poēta vidērī:

quidquid vīs estō, dummodo nīl recitēs.

V.73

Nōn dōnem tibi cūr meōs libellōs

ōrantī totiēns et exigentī

mīrāris, Theodōre? Magna causa est:

dōnēs tū mihi nē tuōs libellōs.

Notes

dōnem = present subjunctive verb in an indirect question. The introductory verb is delayed to line three (mīrāris), and the interrogative follows the verb (cūr). Poetry will often ignore "regular word order" for emphasis or meter.
dōnēs = present subjunctive verb in a negative purpose clause (so as not...; lest...). The introductory verb phrase is causa est and the particle nē is positioned after the verb.

Practice Activity: Martial Reading Comprehension

Use the following questions to check your basic understanding of these four poems by Martial. It would likely be worth completing this practice quiz before you move on to writing out your complete translation, as you can check whether you have the right idea in each poem.

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