9 Martial 10.11
Martial knows a man, Calliodorus, who boasts that he is an amazing and generous friend. But boasts of friendship are not trustworthy.
Modus Prosaicus (a brief prose paraphrase of the poem)
Dīcis nīhil aliud quam “Thēsēa” et “Pīrithoum.” Putās, ō Calliodōre, tē esse parem Pyladī. Dispeream, sī tū dignus es matellam Pyladī praestāre aut porcōs Pīrithoī pāscere. Inquis: “dōnāvī, tamen, amīcō meō quīnque mīlia et togam—lōtam aut ter aut quater (ut multum).” Quid est, sī Pyladēs Orestae nihil dōnāvit? Vir, quamvīs plūrima dōnat, plūra negat.
METER: elegiac couplet. See “Abbreviations” for more on the schematic representation of Latin meter, and metrical maters more generally.
VOCABULARIA: Non-Core Vocabulary
| METER | ||
| 1 | Nīl aliud loqueris quam Thēsēa Pīrithoumque | DDSSDS |
| tēque putās Pyladī, Calliodōre, parem. | DDxDDx | |
| dispeream, sī tū Pyladī praestāre matellam | DSDSDS | |
| dignus es aut porcōs pāscere Pīrithoī. | DSxDDx | |
| 5 | ‘dōnāvī tamen’ inquis ‘amīcō mīlia quīnque | SDDSDS |
| et lōtam, ut multum, terve quaterve togam.’ | SSxDDx | |
| quid quod nīl umquam Pyladēs dōnāvit Orestae? | SSDSDS | |
| quī dōnat quamvīs plūrima, plūra negat. | SSxDDx |
| 1 | loqueris: Note that the meter requires the e in loqueris be short. What does this reveal about the tense of the verb (i.e., what’s the difference between loqueris and loquēris)?
quam: note that there is no fem. sing. antecedent; this is not a relative pronoun; alius often has comparative sense. Thēsēa: a Greek accusative; note also that it is linked to the more recognizably accusative, Pīrithoum by -que; remember that -que always links equivalent elements (nouns in the same case, balanced phrases or clauses, etc.). Theseus and Perithous were good friends, who made a pact to abduct daughters of Zeus as their brides. Theseus chose Helen of Sparta; but Perithous set his sights on the goddess Persephone, the daughter of Ceres and wife of Pluto. For their impudence, the Furies bound them to stone thrones in the Underworld. Theseus was later freed by Hercules. |
| 2 | Calliodōre: Calliodorus’ name is significant; in Greek it means “beautiful gift”. |
| 3 | praestāre in the sense of “serve” or “await upon” typically takes an accusative of the person served. Note how Martial’s twist makes his expression especially demeaning. |
| 5 | mīlia quīnque (sestertiūm): the sesterce was the basic coin of the Romans, by which large sums were reckoned; originally a small, silver coin, after the currency reforms of Augustus it was large and made of brass; one sesterce could buy two loaves of bread; the property requirement for senators in the early Empire was 1.2 million sesterces. |
| 6 | lōtam… terve quaterve: i.e., nearly new (unless, of course, Calliodorus rarely washes his clothes!). Do you know how ancient Romans washed their finest clothes?
ut multum: idiomatic, “at most”; i.e., the toga was nearly new; does the qualification may make you question Calliodorus’ veracity? |
| 7 | quid [est id] quod…: “what is it that…” or “does it matter that…”
plūrima: remember that the superlative degree can be used for a very high (but not the highest) degree or amount (AG 291b). |
Interrogata
- Has a friend ever made you feel small by doing something nice for you or giving you a gift that you could not (or would not) reciprocate?
- The last line of the epigram is gnomic, or a pithy expression of folksy wisdom. Do you think that Martial is making a cynical point about all friendship or about Calliodorus’ brand of friendship in particular.
