Sunday, March 11, 2012

Invitas centum...

Here is today's distich by Martial, 4.68. The idea is that Sextus has invited Martial to a meal on which he has spent a trifling amount of money (Martial guesses the meals price at centum quadrantibus), while Sextus dines lavishly, prompting Martial to wonder just why it is that Sextus has invited him after all!

Invitas centum quadrantibus et bene cenas;
Ut cenem invitor, Sexte, an ut invideam?

My mess cost cheap, thine the profusest sum;
To sup, not envy, Sextus, I did come.
- Anon. 1695

Here is the vocabulary:

invito - invite
centum - one hundred
quadrans - a "fourth," farthing, small coin
et - and
bene - well
ceno - dine, eat dinner
ut - so, so that, in order to
Sextus - Sextus
an - or
invideo - envy, be jealous