Wednesday, March 28, 2012

In tenebris luges...

Here is today's distich by Martial, 4.58. As usual, Martial is making a witty insult: Galla is not publicly mourning her dead husband, but instead of accusing her of being without grief, Martial really heaps it on - she must be mourning him in secret, even if she seems the merry widow in public.

In tenebris luges amissum, Galla, maritum:
nam plorare pudet te, puto, Galla, virum.


Thy husband lost, thou wail'st in gloom, I ween.
Thou blushest, Galla, to make sorrow seen.
- Elphinston

Here is the vocabulary:

in - in, into
tenebrae - shadows
lugeo - mourn, grieve
amitto - lose, lose by death
Galla - Galla
maritus - husband
nam - for, the fact is
ploro - weep
pudet - shame, make ashamed
tu - you
puto - think, suppose
vir - man