so that, Lentulus, from your tortoiseshell canopy, a noble infant may represent Euryalus or a murmillo.
§6.82Nupta senatori comitata est Eppia ludum §6.83ad Pharon et Nilum famosaque moenia Lagi, §6.84prodigia et mores urbis damnante Canopo.
Eppia, married to a senator, accompanied a gladiatorial troupe to Pharos and the Nile and the infamous walls of Lagus, while even Canopus condemned the monstrosities and morals of our city.
§6.85inmemor illa domus et coniugis atque sororis §6.86nil patriae indulsit, plorantesque improba natos, §6.87utque magis stupeas, ludos Paridemque reliquit,
Forgetful of her home, her husband, and her sister, that shameless woman showed no indulgence to her country; and she left her weeping children, and—to make you marvel more—the games and Paris.
§6.88sed quamquam in magnis opibus plumaque paterna §6.89et segmentatis dormisset parvula cunis, §6.90contempsit pelagus; famam contempserat olim, §6.91cuius apud molles minima est iactura cathedras.
But although she had slept as a little girl in great wealth, on her father's down-feathers, and in a fringed cradle, she despised the sea; she had long since despised her reputation, the loss of which is of very little account among soft easy-chairs.
§6.92Tyrrhenos igitur fluctus lateque sonantem §6.93pertulit Ionium constanti pectore, quamvis §6.94mutandum totiens esset mare.
Therefore, she endured the Tyrrhenian waves and the wide-resounding Ionian Sea with a steadfast heart, although the sea had to be changed so many times.
iusta pericli §6.95si ratio est et honesta, timent pavidoque gelantur §6.96pectore nec tremulis possunt insistere plantis: §6.97fortem animum praestant rebus quas turpiter audent,
If the reason for danger is just and honorable, they fear, and are frozen in their trembling hearts, nor can they stand on shaking feet; but they display a brave spirit in things which they shamelessly dare.
§6.98si iubeat coniunx, durum est conscendere navem; §6.99tunc sentina gravis, tunc summus vertitur aer.
If a husband orders, it is hard to go on board a ship; then the bilge-water is offensive, then the sky spins around.
§6.100quae moechum sequitur, stomacho valet, illa maritum §6.101convomit, haec inter nautas et prandet et errat §6.102per puppem et duros gaudet tractare rudentis.
But she who follows an adulterer has a strong stomach; she vomits over her husband, but this one dines among sailors, wanders through the poop, and delights in handling the hard ropes.
Yet with what beauty did Eppia burn, by what youth was she captured Eppia? What did she see for which she endured to be called a gladiator's woman?
§6.105sustinuit? nam Sergiolus iam radere guttur §6.106coeperat et secto requiem sperare lacerto; §6.107praeterea multa in facie deformia, sicut §6.108attritus galea mediisque in naribus ingens §6.109gibbus, et acre malum semper stillantis ocelli,
For her dear Sergius had already begun to shave his throat and to hope for retirement because of a scarred arm; besides, there were many deformities in his face, such as a scar worn by his helmet, a huge lump on the middle of his nose, and the sharp plague of an eye that was always weeping.
§6.110sed gladiator erat; facit hoc illos Hyacinthos, §6.111hoc pueris patriaeque, hoc praetulit illa sorori §6.112atque viro: ferrum est quod amant, hic Sergius idem §6.113accepta rude coepisset Veiento videri.
But he was a gladiator; this is what makes them Hyacinths; this is what she preferred to her children and her country, to her sister and her husband: it is the steel they love; this same Sergius, had he received the wooden foil, would have begun to look like a Veiento.
§6.114Quid privata domus, quid fecerit Eppia, curas?
Do you care about a private house and what Eppia did?
Look at the rivals of the gods, hear what Claudius endured.
§6.117ausa Palatino tegetem praeferre cubili, §6.118sumere nocturnos meretrix Augusta cucullos §6.119linquebat comite ancilla non amplius una.
When his wife perceived that her husband was asleep, daring to prefer a coarse mat to the Palatine bed, the imperial harlot, taking her nocturnal hood, would leave him with no more than a single maidservant as a companion.
§6.120sed nigrum flavo crinem abscondente galero §6.121intravit calidum veteri centone lupanar §6.122et cellam vacuam atque suam;
But with a yellow wig concealing her black hair, she entered the warm brothel with its old patchwork curtain, and the empty cell which was her own.
tunc nuda papillis §6.123prostitit auratis titulum mentita Lyciscae §6.124ostenditque tuum, generose Britannice, ventrem, §6.125excepit blanda intrantis atque aera poposcit;
Then, stripped, she prostituted herself with gilded breasts under the false name of Lycisca, and displayed the womb that bore you, noble Britannicus; she welcomed those who entered with caresses and demanded her fee.
§6.127mox lenone suas iam dimittente puellas §6.128tristis abit, et quod potuit tamen ultima cellam §6.129clausit, adhuc ardens rigidae tentigine volvae, §6.130et lassata viris necdum satiata recessit, §6.131obscurisque genis turpis fumoque lucernae §6.132foeda lupanaris tulit ad pulvinar odorem.
Soon, when the brothel-keeper was already dismissing his girls, she went away sad, and yet, doing what she could, was the last to close her cell, still burning with the tension of her stiffened womb, and retired, exhausted by men but not yet satisfied, and, dirty with dark cheeks and soiled by the smoke of the lamp, she carried the stench of the brothel to the imperial bed.
§6.133Hippomanes carmenque loquar coctumque venenum §6.134privignoque datum? faciunt graviora coactae §6.135imperio sexus minimumque libidine peccant.
Shall I speak of love-potions, of incantations, and of poison brewed and given to a stepson? They do far worse things when driven by the empire of their sex; they sin least of all from mere lust.
§6.136Optima set quare Censennia teste marito?
But why is Censennia the best of wives, according to her husband's testimony?
§6.137bis quingena dedit: tanti vocat ille pudicam.
She brought him a million sesterces; at that price he calls her chaste.
§6.138nec pharetris Veneris macer est aut lampade fervet: §6.139inde faces ardent, veniunt a dote sagittae,
He is not made thin by Venus's quivers, nor does he burn with her torch; it is from the dowry that the torches burn, from there the arrows come.
§6.140libertas emitur; coram licet innuat atque
Her liberty is bought; she may sign and write back to her lover in his very presence.
§6.141rescribat: vidua est, locuples quae nupsit avaro.
A rich woman who marries a miser is as good as an unmarried woman.
§6.142Cur desiderio Bibulae Sertorius ardet?
Why does Sertorius burn with desire for Bibula?
§6.143si verum excutias, facies, non uxor amatur.
If you shake out the truth, it is the face, not the wife, that is loved.
§6.144tres rugae subeant et se cutis arida laxet, §6.145fiant obscuri dentes oculique minores: §6.146collige sarcinulas,
dicet libertus, ‘et exi.
Let three wrinkles come, let her dry skin sag, let her teeth turn black and her eyes grow smaller: "Pack up your traps," the freedman will say, "and get out.
§6.147iam gravis es nobis, et saepe emungeris, exi §6.148ocius’ et
propera, sicco venit altera naso. §6.149interea calet et regnat poscitque maritum
You are already a nuisance to us, and you often wipe your nose; get out quickly," and "make haste, another woman is coming with a dry nose." Meanwhile she is in her prime and rules, demanding from her husband shepherds and Canusian sheep and Falernian elms; how little is there in this?
§6.150pastores et ovem Canusinam ulmosque Falernas; §6.151quantulum in hoc? pueros omnes, ergastula tota; §6.152quodque domi non est, sed habet, vicinus, ematur.
She demands all the boys, whole slave-prisons; and whatever is not at home, but a neighbor has, must be bought.
§6.153mense quidem brumae, quo iam mercator Iason §6.154clausus et armatis opstat casa candida nautis, §6.155grandia tolluntur crystallina, maxima rursus §6.156myrrhina, deinde adamans notissimus et Beronices §6.157in digito factus pretiosior: hunc dedit olim §6.158barbarus incestae, dedit hunc Agrippa sorori,
Indeed, in the winter month, when merchant Jason is already shut up, and the white-painted stall blocks the armed sailors, huge crystal vessels are carried off, and again the largest myrrhine cups, and then the famous diamond made more precious on Berenice's finger: this a barbarian once gave to his incestuous love, this Agrippa gave to his sister.