Carmina

Lesbia in her husband's presence says the utmost ill about me: this gives the fool the greatest pleasure. Mule, you perceive nothing! If she had forgotten about us and were silent, she would be all right: now becasuse she snarls and scolds, not only does she remember, but, what is far more to the point, she is angry. That is, she is enflamed and is speaking.

Chommodious Arrius would say, whenever he wanted to say commodious, and for insidious hinsidious, and then hoped that he had spoken with accent wondrous fine, when aspirating hinsidious to the full of his lungs. I believe that his mother, his free uncle, his maternal grandfather and grandmother all spoke thus. When he was sent to Syria, everyone's ears were rested, hearing these words spoken smoothly and slightly, nor after that did folk fear such words from him, when suddenly is brought the horrible news that th' Ionian waves, after Arrius had come there, no longer are Ionian, but are now the Hionian Hocean.

I hate and I love. Why I do this, perhaps you ask. I know not, but I feel it happening and I am tortured.

Quintia is lovely to many; to me she is radiant, tall, and straight. Each of these qualities I grant, but deny the whole of these is loveliness: for there is no charm, not a grain of salt in so great a body. Lesbia is lovely, for not only is the whole of her most beautiful, but she has stolen all the Venus-charm from everybody together.