Book XII, Epigram 34: Ad Julium Martialem

Julius 'twas foure and thirty year,
That thou and I together were.
Sweeter dayes were mix'd with soure,
But yet the pleasanter were more.
And if we should divide the time
with a diverse coloured line,
The white would over-vie the black.
If thou wouldst shun the bitter smack,
And stinging tortures of the mind,
No man to thee too much bind,
Or too much in thy friend believe:
Thou shalt joy less, and lesse shalt grieve.