“It is neither a premature pyre nor an early grave,

but old age that extravagance must fear more than death.”

 

non praematuri cineres nec funus acerbum
luxuriae sed morte magis metuenda senectus.

 

 

“All that I ate and drank, I have with me; but, all that I left behind, I have lost”

 

Quod edi bibi, mecum habeo, quod reliqui perdidi

“Must we live after the body has been ruined?”

ἆρα βιωτὸν ἡμῖν ἐστιν διεφθαρμένου αὐτοῦ;

As we all know, Mr. Aristocles got his nickname from his wrestling coash for his wide body.

(Or his forehead. Or maybe all that is apocryphal.)

“I love and again do not love

I am insane and yet sane too”

ἐρέω τε δηὖτε κοὐκ ἐρέω
καὶ μαίνομαι κοὐ μαίνομαι

Anacreon after Anacreonta? We are insane and sane, too.

Hephaestion? Not the friend/lover of Alexander, but a grammarian. Still sexy.

Happy Valentine’s Day.

 

“What did nature give to women? Beauty: stronger than all shields and spears. A beautiful woman conquers both iron and fire.”

 

γυναιξὶν οὐν ἔτ᾿ εἶχεν

τί οὖν; δίδωσι κάλλος

ἀντ᾿ ἀσπίδων ἁπασῶν

ἀντ᾿ ἐγχέων ἁπάντων

νικᾷ δὲ καὶ σίδηρον

καὶ πῦρ καλή τις οὖσα

 

Anacreontea? Poems on sex, drinking and beauty. Just in time for Valentine’s Day.

“I can’t stand panhandlers. If someone asks for something for free, he’s a chump. Let him slap down the cash and receive the goods.

Abomino pauperos.| Quisque quid gratis | rogat, fatuus est;| aes det et accipiat rem.

Apparently scrawled on a wall off a street corner.

Graffiti could even tip the scale in favor of one Roman official over another!