To Thalia

Dum tu lenta nimis diuque quaeris, quis primus tibi quisve fit secundus Graium quos epigramma comparavit: palmam Callimachus, Thalia, de se facundo dedit ipse Bruttiano. Qui si Cecropio satur lepore Romanae sale luserit Minervae, illi me facias, precor, secundum. While you were considering, Thalia, very carefully And long, which in your judgment was first, and Which second, of the pair whom Greek epigram has Matched in rivalry, Callimachus of his own accord Resigned the palm to eloquent Brutianus. Should He, cloyed with Attic wit, trifle with the Roman Epigram, make me, I pray, second to him. Mentre tu lenta troppo e a lungo chiedi chi primo sia per te e chi secondo fra i due greci poeti di epigrammi, Callimaco, o Talìa, cede la palma all’elegante Bruziano. E se, sazio costui dell’attico lepóre, tentasse i sali delle nostre muse, fammi secondo dopo di lui, ti prego.

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

Optical self-portrait by South Korean makeup artist Dain Yoon (윤다인). Photo © Dain Yoon (@designdain).