Social Commentaries
Book IX, Epigram 70 (Ker)
Translated by Walter C. A. Ker (1919–20) · From Epigrams (Loeb, 1919–20)
"O manners! O times!" cried Tully once when Catiline was planning his sacrilegious crime, when son-in-law and father-in-law were clashing in dreadful war, and the weeping earth was drenched with civil carnage. Why do you now cry "O manners!" why now "O times I" What is it displeases you, Caecilianus? No savagery of captains is here, no frenzy of the sword: we may enjoy unbroken peace and pleasure. 'Tis not our "manners" that make your "times" despicable to you, but your own manners, Caecilianus, make them so.
This translation is printed as prose in its source edition.
Cite this poem
MLA
Martial. “Book IX, Epigram 70 (Ker).” Translated by Walter C. A. Ker. Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/martial/1133/.
Chicago
Martial. “Book IX, Epigram 70 (Ker).” Translated by Walter C. A. Ker. Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/martial/1133/.
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