The Importance of Not Being Arcovazzi

Saepe rogare sole, qualis sim, Prisce, futurus, si fiam locuples simque repente potens. Quemquam posse putas mores narrare futuros? Dic mihi, si fias tu leo, qualis eris? You are often wont to ask me what sort of person I should be, Priscus, If I became rich and were suddenly powerful. Do you think any man can declare his character in future? Tell me, if you became a lion, what sort of lion will you be? Spesso mi chiedi, o Prisco, che cosa farei, se di botto io divenissi ricco, fossi fatto potente. E tu credi che uno si possa veder nel futuro? Dimmi, tu che faresti, se divenissi un leone?

Martial, Epigrams, Book 12, XCII
English translation by Walter C. A. Ker
Italian translation by Giuseppe Lipparini

Abandoned seal pup released into the North Sea on the island of Juist, northern Germany. Photo: Focke Strangmann/EPA.