The Giver

Donasti tenero, Chloe, Luperco Hispanas Tyriasque coccinasque, et lotam tepido togam Galaeso, Indos sardonychas, Scythas zmaragdos, et centum dominos novae monetae: et quidquid petit usque et usque donas. Vae glabraria, vae tibi misella: nudam te statuet tuus Lupercus. You have given, Chloe, to young Lupercus Cloaks of Spanish wool dyed with Tyrian purple And with scarlet, And a toga dipt in the mild Galesus, Indian sardonyxes, Scythian emeralds, And a hundred sovereigns of newminted money, And whatever he asks you give over and over again. Woe to you, enamoured of smooth-skinned boys, Woe to you, wretched woman! Your Lupercus will leave you naked. Donasti, o Cloe, al giovine Luperco vesti scarlatte di Fenicia e Spagna, e una toga lavata nel Galeso, rubini d’India, smeraldi di Scizia, cento zecchini del più fresco conio; e quel che vuole, sempre e sempre dài. Ahi, miserella, che costui ti pela! E nuda farà te il tuo Luperco.

Martial, Epigrams, Book 4, XXVIII
English translation by Walter C. A. Ker
Italian translation by Giuseppe Lipparini

Vietnamese fashion show organiser and model Jessica Minh Anh poses wearing one of her creation before her fashion show staged on a floating catwalk aboard a bateau-mouche on the Seine river in Paris, France. Photo: AFP/Stephane de Sakutin.