Thursday, September 6, 2018

Willing and Unwilling

Volt, non volt dare Galla mihi, nec dicere possum,
quod volt et non volt, quid sibi Galla velit.

Galla is willing and yet unwilling to favour me. And I cannot say,
As she is willing and unwilling, what Galla means.

Vuole e non vuole Galla darsi a me, ed io dire non posso,
poi che vuole e non vuole, che cosa voglia per sé.

Martial, Epigrams, Book 3, XC
English translation by Walter C. A. Ker
Italian translation by Giuseppe Lipparini

Three restaurant chefs take a break in front of a fitness studio in downtown 上海 (Shànghǎi), China. Photo: AFP/Johannes Eisele.

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