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Classic and Contemporary Poetry


IN MAXIMUM by MARCUS VALERIUS MARTIALIS

First Line: WOULDS'T THOU BE FREE? I THINK IT NOT INDEED
Last Line: THEN, MAXIMUS, THEN FIRST SHALT THOU BE FREE.
Subject(s): DRINKS & DRINKING; MARRIAGE; ROME, ITALY; WINE; WEDDINGS; HUSBANDS; WIVES;

WOULDST thou be free? I think it not, indeed;
But if thou wouldst, attend this simple rede:
When quite contented thou canst dine at home
And drink a small wine of the march of Rome;
When thou canst see unmoved thy neighbour's plate,
And wear thy threadbare toga in the gate;
When thou hast learned to love a small abode,
And not to choose a mistress @3a la mode:@1
When thus contained and bridled thou shalt be,
Then, Maximus, then first shalt thou be free.



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