The Lost Weekend

Moechus es Aufidiae, qui vir, Scaevine, fuisti; rivalis fuerat qui tuus, ille vir est. Cur aliena placet tibi, quae tua non placet, uxor? Numquid securus non potes arrigere? Aufidia’s spouse before, you’re now her lover; Your former rival is the one she wed. Why want her not as your wife, but another’s? Does it take fear to make you rise in bed? Drudo d’Aufidia sei, Scevino, e ne fosti marito; quel che t’era rivale è il marito oggi. Perché moglie d’un altro ti piace, e, s’è tua, non la vuoi? Un’emozione ci vuole per eccitarti di più?

Martial, Epigrams, Book 3, LXX
English translation by Susan McLean
Italian translation by Giuseppe Lipparini

The restored Alexandra Palace Theatre in London, United Kingdom will reopen its doors to the public for the first time in more than 80 years. Photo: Leon Neal/Getty Images.