Translated from Latin to English by David Camden
Pliny the Younger (Letters 4.27.4):
I recite poems with short verses,
in the manner of my Catullus, Calvus,
and the old poets. But why concern myself with them?
I hold Pliny alone before all:
away from the courts he prefers little verses
and he seeks what he loves, and he values being loved.
O Pliny, how many Catos would it take to equal you!
Go now, lovers, be unwilling to love. |