Non amo te, Sabidi, nec possum dicere quare;
hoc tantum possum dicere, non amo te.
I do not love you, Sabidius, and I can’t say why.
I can only say this: I don’t love you.
Martial’s epigram is the source of the famous 17th Century squib:
I do not like thee, Doctor Fell,
The reason why – I cannot tell;
But this I know, and know full well,
I do not like thee, Doctor Fell.
We’ll see more from Martial in future lessons. You can read about him, and find some translated works, here. Be warned, he is notoriously obscene.
Come back when you’ve finished exploring, or carry straight on to lesson two.