Imperium in imperio

Marcus Valerius Martialis, best known as Martial [Augusta Bilbilis (now Calatayud, Spain), March, between 38 and 41 AD – Rome, between 102 and 104 AD], gained immortality for his name thanks to his witty, razor sharp poems, so much that he was regarded as the creator of the modern epigram, and even today he is known still as the greatest Latin epigrammatist. Martial’s range, however, is much deeper and wider than this, as his epigrams, which were often addressed to the highest hierarchies of the Empire, reflect a subtle, timeless understanding of human nature, and give a deep insight into ancient Rome. Though the favourite of the Emperors Tito and Domitian, he died in poverty.

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Cum voco te dominum, noli tibi, Cinna, placere; saepe etiam servum sic resaluto tuum. Don’t get too self-satisfied, Cinna, when I call you “master”: I often greet your slave that way too. Quando ti chiamo “signore”, o Cinna, non te ne esaltare: spesso così rispondo anche al tuo servitore.

Martial, Epigrams, Book 5, LVII
English translation by Eleanor Dickey
Italian translation by Giuseppe Lipparini

Paul Klee, Die Zwitscher-Maschine (Twittering Machine), 1922. Credit: Wikimedia Commons.