AUG 
 
 Martial's Wit and Humor 
 
 THESIS 
 
 PRESENTED TO THE FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY 
 OF PENNSYLVANIA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIRE- 
 MENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY 
 
 BY 
 VIRGINIA JUDITH CRAIG 
 
 PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA 
 1912 
 
Martial's Wit and Humor 
 
 THESIS 
 
 PRESENTED TO THE FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY 
 OF PENNSYLVANIA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIRE- 
 MENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY 
 
 BY 
 VIRGINIA JUDITH CRAIG 
 
 PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA 
 1912 
 
PRESS OF 
 
 STEINMAN & FOLTZ, 
 LANCASTER, PA. 
 
PREFATORY NOTE 
 
 The writer desires gratefully to acknowledge assistance given 
 by Professor John Rolfe and Professor Walton B. McDaniel, of 
 the University of Pennsylvania. 
 
 254953 
 
Martial's Wit and Humor 
 
 The Latin poet, Martial, is responsible for the modern view of 
 the epigram. He so stamped his genius upon this literary form 
 that from his day wit has constituted its quintessence ; satire and 
 broad humor, its keenly relished flavor. It is true that he was 
 not the pioneer in his peculiar field. Many comic epigrams are 
 to be found in the Greek Anthology even if we eliminate the far 
 greater number which were written after Martial's day and 
 which owe no less to his influence, than do those of Prior or of 
 Pope. Yet no Greek even approaches the Roman poet in the 
 range or variety of comic epigrams. In Greece the epigram blos- 
 somed into a perfect literary genre centuries before its charm was 
 in any sense due to wit or humor. It had speedily lost its ob- 
 jective character as an inscription and had become the expression 
 of a reflection often indeed exquisitely subtle or delicately poetic, 
 but not incisive or satiric. The witty type of epigram developed 
 in a later period among the Alexandrines, was of comparatively 
 limited range and had no power to alter the early conception. 
 For a century after the Christian era, the Greeks regarded the 
 epigram, apart from the questions of length and verse structure, 
 somewhat as we view the sonnet. They would have found the 
 statement of Jean Paul 1 that the epigram is the boundary stone 
 between the satiric and comic most perplexing or even unintelli- 
 gible. In general, their uses of literary forms have had a wonder- 
 ful persistence and permanence. It is, consequently, a remark- 
 able achievement, that a writer of another nation should have 
 given to even the simplest kind of poetry, a new character and 
 content. 
 
 In fact, like pure satire, the epigram as we know it, is a dis- 
 tinctively Roman product. Its source is that deep-grained, 
 broad, often coarse humor which from earliest days was so strik- 
 
 1 Vorschule der Aesthetik. 
 
 5 
 
6 Martial's Wit and Humor 
 
 ing a trait of the gravest of nations, which displayed itself alike 
 on the saddest and on the merriest occasions, in wedding trains 
 and funeral processions, which refused to exempt from ridicule 
 even the victorious general in the triumphal car, which once a 
 year turned life topsy-turvy to show the littleness of the greatest 
 and the greatness of the least. Its source is that same mother 
 wit which scintillates with such brilliancy in the comedies of 
 Plautus; which gave a singular force to the pregnant epigram- 
 matic sayings of the most Roman of the Romans, Cato ; which in 
 later days enabled the rabble of the circus or amphitheatre to 
 rebuke their mad emperors with most pungent gibes. How 
 significant of racial temperament that the two literary forms 
 which the Romans may claim as truly native, are pure satire and 
 the satirical epigram! Of these the humor was national and 
 original, non Attici sed salsiores quam illi Atticorum, Romani 
 veteres atque urbani sales. 1 
 
 But while among the satirists the honors are divided, the epi- 
 grammatist, Martial, holds a position unchallenged by his 
 countrymen. In his own intellectual province, he was first, we 
 have reason to believe, with no second, except at a long interval. 
 He himself names Catullus and Marsus as the greatest among 
 his predecessors and models. 2 Yet the bitter invectives of 
 Catullus show no wide range of wit or irony. In truth, the very 
 source of his lyric power, a passionate, fiery intensity of temper- 
 ament, would have prevented his being a great epigrammatist. 
 As to Marsus, though we lack the means for judging positively, 
 we may form an estimate from the fact that he is ranked below 
 Catullus. If, moreover, he was the same Marsus who wrote the 
 long drawn out epic, 3 we can hardly conceive of his having the 
 gift of the light touch. It is possible that the lost collection of 
 poems bearing the title Cicuta received the name from their 
 caustic character as has been inferred; 4 it is most improbable 
 that they showed a varied brilliancy of wit. Besides, the pas- 
 sages in which Martial gives these poets such high praise should 
 
 1 Cic. ad Fam. IX, 15. 
 
 2 II, 71, 3-6; V, 5, 5-6; VIII, 55, 24. 
 
 3 IV, 29, 8. 
 
 4 Teuffel's Gechichte der Romischen Literatur. 
 
Martial's Wit and Humor 7 
 
 be compared with those in which he expresses his sincere opinion 
 of himself. The habitual saneness and accuracy of his judgment 
 entitle to special consideration the claims which he makes in 
 regard to his literary rank. Recognizing the "Attic charm" as 
 the distinction of the Greek epigram, he claims for himself pre- 
 cedence in Roman humor. 1 Again, he proudly declares that in 
 his own field he is second to none. 2 He bases his title to fame, 
 not on any serious poetical efforts, but on lively jests and spark- 
 ling nonsense. 3 In truth, by the originality of his talent, he 
 developed the witty epigram to its full capacity and made it, at 
 its best, a poem so charming and piquant, that all other types 
 have been forgotten or overshadowed. As the satires of Dryden, 
 the MacFlecknoe and Absalom trace their lineage to Lucilius, 
 the glittering epigrams of Matthew Prior find their literary 
 ancestors in the poems of Martial. 4 
 
 Although Martial's wit and humor are the real sources of his 
 claim to a place in the universal history of literature, no specific 
 study has as yet been made of this phase of his talent. The im- 
 portance of such a study lies in the fact, that while each epigram 
 is an isolated unity, only the variety and complexity in tones of 
 wit in the entire collection give an adequate understanding of the 
 genius of the epigrammatist and furnish the explanation of his 
 influence. At the threshold of the undertaking, we encounter a 
 difficulty which is involved in all aesthetic study. It is hard to 
 gain the fruits of analysis without paying an all too heavy price 
 in the loss of our first fresh appreciation. The difficulty in the 
 present case is greatly increased by the character of the compo- 
 sition. The reading of many epigrams involves a continuously 
 alternating tension and relaxation and soon exhausts the mental 
 
 1 IV, 23, 6-8. 
 
 2 IX pr., 5. Ille ego sum nulli nugarum laude secundus. Cf. VII, 99, 7. 
 
 3 I, i, 3; VII, 8, 9; X, 9, 2-3. 
 
 4 One of Lessing's epigrams illustrates the modern conception of the epi- 
 gram as necessarily laughable: 
 
 Ich soil ein Sinngedichte machen, 
 Und habe keinen Stoff zum Lachen, 
 Doch wahrlich Stoff s genuch zum Lachen, 
 Ich soil ein Sinngedichte machen. 
 
8 Martial's Wit and Humor 
 
 elasticity. Martial well knew that appreciation is impossible 
 when this point is reached, and repeatedly urged his friends to 
 read only a few at a time. 1 He recognized what many people 
 forget, that the epigram has its place in literature only in so far 
 as it is read and regarded as a poem of the occasion. His attitude 
 would have been expressed in Holmes' words: 
 
 "I'm a florist in verse, and what would folks say 
 If I came to a party without my bouquet?" 
 
 This inherent limitation is similarly recognized in Lessing's 
 distich : 
 
 "Weiss uns der Leser auch fur unsre Kiirze Dank? 
 
 Wohl kaum! Denn Kiirze ward durch Vielheit! leider lang." 
 
 The consequent difficulty must be met by a greater effort to view 
 each epigram with entire mental freedom and to retain the keen 
 enjoyment even while we are analyzing and combining the many 
 comic effects. A second great difficulty arises from the complex- 
 ity of these effects. In one epigram our poet sometimes has five 
 or six complete laughable turns or resolutions, and in one resolu- 
 tion almost as many different kinds of comic contrast. Our only 
 plan can be to consider broadly the simple varieties, the com- 
 binations of many varieties in single poems, as well as the more 
 general tones of satire pervading his entire work. 
 
 The original character of the composition explains why it was 
 natural that the ludicrous type should ultimately predominate. 
 Lessing shows that the epigram has never lost the features which 
 it derived from its early use as an inscription. 2 A statue, pillar, 
 or tablet awakened the curiosity of the wayfarer and the verses 
 which he paused to read answered his mental inquiry. When the 
 verses were used apart from the material object, a situation had 
 to be described for the purpose of arresting attention and arousing 
 interest. Thus, according to Lessing, an epigram consists of two 
 indispensable elements, a clear setting forth of circumstance or 
 incident in such a way as to awaken expectation and a conclu- 
 sion which in some unforeseen way gratifies the expectation. 
 
 UV, 29; X, i. 
 
 2 Zerstreute Anmerkungen iiber das Epigramm und einige der vornehm- 
 sten Epigrammatisten. 
 
Martial's Wit and Humor 9 
 
 Lessing has not, however, pointed out the singular relation be- 
 tween his definition and the essence of the ludicrous. The fact 
 is that the ludicrous implies elements which are similar to those 
 named above and which appear in the same order. Properly 
 interpreted, Kant's description of the subjective process involved 
 in the laughable is, if not definitive, at least entirely true as far 
 as it goes: "Das Lachen ist ein Affect aus der plotzlichen Ver- 
 wandlung einer Erwartung in Nichts. M1 The curious correspon- 
 dence between these two definitions shows how peculiarly appli- 
 cable was the comic content to the epigrammatic form. Further- 
 more, the primitive function of the epigram stamped it as con- 
 crete and specific. Concreteness is also a vital quality of the 
 ludicrous. The limited space of the stone and the need of econ- 
 omizing labor made it necessary that the inscription should be 
 brief. Brevity is likewise inseparable from wit. Thus we can 
 see the inherent fitness of the epigram for the development which 
 was given to it by Martial. 
 
 It is desirable that we precisely define the ludicrous in order to 
 understand any particular form that it may take. The most 
 satisfactory definition is that given by Vischer in elaborating the 
 statement of Kant : Veranlasst ist die Erwartung durch ein sich 
 ankiindigendes im mehr oder minder pathetischen Schwunge 
 begriffenes Erhabene ; aufgelost wird sie durch das Bagatell eines 
 bios der niederen Erscheinungswelt angehorenden Dings, das 
 diesem Erhabenen, vorher verborgen, nun auf einmal unter die 
 Beine gerath und es zu Falle bringt. " 2 This definition is in 
 reality identical with that of Aristotle: To yeXotov eo-nv a^dprrj^d 
 TL Kat ato-^os avwSwov K<U ov <f>OapTiKov. 3 In other words, the laugh- 
 able is always an unexpected contrast between perfection or 
 completeness, previously conceived by the mind with or without 
 the aid of external presentation, and imperfection or incom- 
 pleteness of too trifling a character to cause serious emotion. 
 
 1 We must not fail to realize, as some of Kant's critics have done, that the 
 term "Nichts" is used with reference to the mental attitude. He says: 
 "Man muss wohl bemerken dass sie (d.h., die Erwartung) sich nicht in das 
 positive Gegentheil eines erwarteten Gegenstandes denn das ist immer 
 etwas und kann oft betriiben sondern in nichts verwandeln miisse." 
 
 2 Aesthetik. 
 8 Poetics. 
 
io Martial's Wit and Humor 
 
 Its scope is as broad as human life. It takes many forms. It 
 often appears as an uninvited guest at the most dignified and 
 stately ceremonies. It has, in fact, an especial fondness for 
 such occasions. The littleness of men is most likely to be re- 
 vealed where they desire to seem great. 
 
 The comic in Martial is of many types. The simplest sort, 
 which finds its material in the realm of sense perception, is the 
 main source of amusement in some very enjoyable epigrams. It 
 is true that the purely elementary comic, apart from stage repro- 
 duction, has, in a sense, no existence in literature: given indirect- 
 ly through the medium of words, it ceases to be the elementary 
 comic. Any literary presentation bears the same relation to the 
 ludicrous of sense perception that a painting bears to nature. 
 The selection involved in the transference to canvas corresponds 
 to the element of wit. Just as a painting reveals life to us, some- 
 times shows us "things we have passed perhaps a hundred times 
 nor cared to see," so wit seizes on the essential contradiction of 
 some incident that, in the real world, might not appear laughable 
 to the observer and reflects it as upon a screen. But, though 
 this artificial element is always present, it is often very slight. 
 Epigram 8 in Book V shows Martial's art in gaining his effect 
 mainly from the natural comic itself. He pictures an incident 
 which he had doubtless witnessed in one of the theatres of Rome. 
 Phasis, wearing splendid purple robes, occupied one of the seats 
 reserved for the knights. He proudly leaned back, cast haughty 
 glances at the common people behind, and congratulated his 
 neighbors:" At last we can sit with some comfort; the mob can no 
 longer crowd us and soil our clothing." While he was boasting 
 in this fashion, the usher bade those proud, purple robes move 
 elsewhere. In the conclusion, Illas purpureas et adrogantes 
 iussit surgere Leitus lacernas, the word lacernas gives ad- 
 ditional saliency because it is the very epitome of the man's 
 superciliousness. But most of our amusement is caused by the 
 clear portrayal of the incident. 
 
 The lowest forms of the elementary comic, that which is de- 
 pendent on bodily deformity, often furnishes Martial with sub- 
 ject matter or background. He knew that there is a great deal 
 of broad fun to be found in physical oddities. He has not de- 
 
Martial's Wit and Humor n 
 
 scribed them at length, but has used them for the most part as 
 material for witty jest, as Rostand used the great nose of Cyrano. 
 He had a remarkably keen eye for those deformities which appeal 
 to people as most ridiculous. His favorite theme is baldness. 1 
 Great as is our appreciation of the fanciful wit in V, 49, it is the 
 vivid suggestion of the man's appearance that to a large extent 
 appeals to our risibility: "When I saw you sitting alone a minute 
 ago, Labienus, I thought there were three people on the bench. 
 The clusters of hair on your bald head were the cause of my mis- 
 take. On each side of your head are such locks as might be the 
 pride of a young man. But there is not a hair down the long 
 middle space. The sort of mistake which I made gave you an 
 advantage last December, when the Emperor gave away dinners : 
 you carried off three baskets. You are a perfect Geryon. My 
 advice is to keep away from the porticus of Philippus ; if Hercules 
 gets a glimpse of you, you are a dead man. " 2 
 
 A step higher than such a simple comic picture of bodily de- 
 formity 3 is caricature, a decided emphasis or exaggeration of a 
 defect not ordinarily evident to the apprehension of the observer. 
 The epigram on Canius Rufus 4 is a notable instance. Remark- 
 able skill is shown in the securing of emphasis without impairing 
 the faithfulness of the picture: the many possible important 
 occupations in which Rufus may be engaged are brought into 
 contrast with the mere word, Ridet. The epigram is especi- 
 ally agreeable on account of the sympathetic tone and is in 
 striking contrast with the similar one of Catullus, which may have 
 suggested the idea to Martial. Such an instance of wholly 
 friendly and good-natured caricature will never lose its appeal. 
 
 Parallel to this simplest comic of sight, the comic of sound is 
 the source of entertainment in IV, 55. Martial rehearses the 
 uncouth and foreign-sounding names of Spanish country towns 
 with keen enjoyment of the droll effect. He is .aware that the 
 
 1 VI, 57; X, 83; XII, 7; XII, 89; XIV, 25. 
 
 2 This line is so translated by Post. 
 
 3 Other epigrams dealing with physical peculiarities are the following: 
 V, 43J VI, 12; XII, 23; III, 43; IV, 36; I, 19; VI, 74; VIII, 57; II, 35; HI, 39; 
 IV, 65;XII, 22; XII, 54. 
 
 4 III, 20. Cf. I, 69. 
 
12 Martial's Wit and Humor 
 
 reader is smiling, but he has in store a climax which is a complete 
 reversal: Haec tarn rustica malo, quam Butuntos. The same sort 
 of amusement is afforded by the queer sounds of this poem as by 
 the polysyllabic rhymes of Butler's Hudibras or of Lowell's 
 Fable for Critics. In certain poems the ludicrous sounds are the 
 more effective, because they are introduced entirely incidentally. 
 A Roman ear would have been peculiarly alert to the absurdity 
 of the tmesis in Argiletum 1 or of the Greek change of quantity in 
 'Apes "Apes. 2 
 
 The comic of situation is found in some very good epigrams. 
 It implies an unsuitable or unfortunate position which entails no 
 serious consequences. 3 In life, the common illustrations are a 
 fall in a public place or a chase after a hat in a high wind. In 
 VII, 27, Martial tells of a boar which has been presented to him 
 by a friend. It is a magnificent specimen, but is so large in com- 
 parison with the size of his pocketbook, that he would be bank- 
 rupt if he bought the necessary spices. Thus he is forced to 
 return it to the giver. A still more interesting illustration is 
 found in V, 35. The richly clad Greek in the theatre was boast- 
 ing of his fabulous revenues and far reaching pedigree, when sud- 
 denly a great door-key fell from the fold of his toga. The poet's 
 one comment on the betrayal of the man's pretensions, " Num- 
 quam, Fabulle, nequior fuit clams," is itself the reflection of the 
 thought of the spectators and is dependent on the psychological 
 principle that, whenever we are the sport of accident or chance, 
 we unconsciously assign a malicious purpose to the instruments 
 in our fall. 
 
 The field of the comic in Martial includes, indeed, almost every 
 incongruity that can be observed in the world around us. 
 Another simple type is the unsuitable adaptation of means to 
 end, 4 as in the description of the eight servants loaded down with 
 the bulky, but worthless, gifts of the Saturnalia. 5 A more pure- 
 
 1 I, 117, 9; II. 17,3- 
 
 2 IX, 11, 15. Cf. I, 50; I, 100; IV, 31, 10. 
 
 3 v, 38; vi, 77; vn, 37; vni, 75; xn, 76. 
 
 4 The comic of unintentional self -betrayal found in I, 85 and IX, 96 is simi- 
 lar. 
 
 6 VIL 5 3. 
 
Martial's Wit and Humor 13 
 
 ly intellectual contradiction of the same character is that between 
 the aim and practice of a vocation. In XII, 72 we have such a 
 contrast given in double form: 
 
 Frumentum, milium, tisanamque fabamque solebas 
 Vendere pragmaticus, nunc emis agricola. 
 
 The farmer who buys his vegetables in the city is frequently ridi- 
 culed by Martial. 1 The law's delays, 2 the heavy charges of law- 
 yers, 3 and the corruption of judges 4 are cleverly touched upon. 
 But the favorite target is the deadly doctor. 5 One of the simplest 
 of the epigrams aimed at the physician, who kills his patients, is 
 the more trenchant from its very naturalness: "I was slightly 
 indisposed. You paid me a visit, Symmachus, and brought a 
 hundred of your medical students with you. My pulse was felt 
 by a hundred hands that were chill from the north wind. Then 
 I was free from fever, Symmachus; I have fever now." 6 Again, 
 with great zest, Martial assures his readers that Diaulus, who has 
 been a physician and is now an executioner, has really made no 
 change in his occupation. 7 
 
 At times, a comic impression is produced by pushing an ab- 
 surdity to an extreme, as in the distich : 8 
 
 Sutor cerdo dedit tibi, culta Bononia, munus, 
 Fullo dedit Mutinae; nunc ubi copo dabit? 
 
 The long rehearsals of the noises, which assail one's ears in Rome, 9 
 and of the many demands on one's time, 10 are also examples of 
 the ludicrous of accumulation. 11 
 
 Martial is undoubtedly an adept portrayer of the ludicrous. 
 Is he also a true humorist? Before we consider the question, we 
 must seek to answer that other question : What is humor? "The 
 
 Mil, 47; HI, 58, 45-5i; VII, 31. 
 
 2 VII, 65. 
 
 3 VIII, 16. Cf. XIV, 219. 
 4 II, 13- 
 
 5 VI, 53; IX, 96; X, 77. 
 6 V, 9 . 
 
 7 I, 30. Cf. I, 47; VIII, 74. 
 
 8 HI, 59- 
 
 9 XII, 57- 
 10 X, 7 o. 
 
 11 Cf. II, 7; IV, 46; V, 24; VII, 87; X, 56; XI, 31 ; XII, 94. 
 
14 Martial's Wit and Humor 
 
 ludicrous" and "humor" are, indeed, so often used as synonyms 
 in popular English, that the average person recognizes no real 
 distinction between the two qualities in literature, and has only a 
 vague idea that the ludicrous is a lower, humor a higher, form of 
 the same thing. On the other hand, most of the great writers on 
 aesthetics hold that there is an absolute distinction, that while 
 the ludicrous or comic portrays incompleteness, imperfection 
 assuming itself to be complete and perfect, humor combines and 
 contrasts the comic with the sublime. Yet, after all, is not the 
 average person more nearly correct ? Is not the difference between 
 the ludicrous and humor one of degree rather than of kind? The 
 admission of the writers on aesthetics that there can be nothing 
 incomplete except with reference to a norm, an ideal, shows that 
 the contrast in the ludicrous, though far lower, is of the same 
 character as that involved in the greatest humor. Humor is 
 simply the ludicrous given a wider application. It is a tone of 
 recognition that a particular error or distortion is but a fragment 
 of human life, of human weakness. When Rip Van Winkle re- 
 iterates his declaration, "I've swore off," and even at the same 
 moment puts the glass to his lips, the picture is humorous be- 
 cause of its immense suggestiveness ; it involves a feeling, in weak- 
 er or stronger degree, that the contradiction between action and 
 words is not confined to Rip Van Winkle. This essential charac- 
 teristic is suggested in the words, "perpetual comment," of 
 Lowell's definition: "Humor in its highest level is the sense of 
 comic contradiction which arises from the perpetual comment 
 which the understanding makes upon the impressions received 
 through the imagination. " J Humor is thus primarily subjective ; 
 it is a viewpoint of the individual ; it is reflected as a quality in 
 literature and brings the reader to that same point of view. To 
 define it more sharply is to deny it that range which properly 
 belongs to it. It is, in truth, of manifold shading, capable of in- 
 cluding many elements, which have belonged in various degrees 
 of richness to men of every age. It should not be so defined as to 
 rule out every form inferior to those finest varieties found in 
 Shakespeare, Cervantes, Sterne, or Heine. The only sharp line 
 between the elementary comic and humor is due to the fact that 
 * Century XXV, 124. 
 
Martial's Wit and Humor 15 
 
 the limitation of the former to the realm of sense perception, 
 excludes per se the universal note. On the other hand, humor 
 can deal only with a theme which involves a feeling that the par- 
 ticular weakness is typical, and the only theme which answers 
 this requirement is incongruity of character. Thus, to use 
 Lander's words, "humor is wit appertaining to character." 1 
 
 If Martial had no other claim to the rank of humorist, he 
 would deserve the title by virtue of his character portraits alone. 
 The long gallery contains a most varied collection. What di- 
 verting pictures he has given us of the would-be poet, 2 of the per- 
 sistent dinner-hunter, 3 of the grandiloquent pleader. 4 He points 
 out a splendidly attired Roman, who is followed by handsome 
 slaves bearing a new sedan chair, and tells us that the dandy just 
 pawned a ring for money to buy his dinner. 5 He calls our atten- 
 tion to a pompous lawyer reading legal papers with the gravity of 
 a Cato and informs us that the learned man cannot say "How do 
 you do?" in either Greek or Latin, without failing to pronounce 
 the " h. " 6 He shows us a millionaire, who, after spending hours 
 in the inspection of rich furniture, vases, statues, and gems, ends 
 the day by purchasing two cups for a penny and carrying them 
 home himself. 7 The epigram cannot, of course, admit any com- 
 plex development of humorous character and must present only 
 single traits. In fact, a mere delusion may be the subject. 
 "Oppianus became pale," says Martial, "and therefore, he 
 immediately turned to writing poetry." 8 But though the epi- 
 grammatist had to confine himself to a particular foible, he has 
 succeeded in making each character intensely vivid and irresist- 
 ibly amusing. 9 
 
 1 The use of the word "wit" is not scientific but the statement taken as a 
 whole, is clear and correct. 
 
 2 HI, 44- 
 
 3 II, 14; II, 27; XII, 82. 
 
 4 VI, 19. 
 
 5 II, 57. 
 6 V, 5 i. 
 
 7 IX, 59- 
 
 8 VII, 4. Cf. IV, 62; VII, 13. 
 
 9 Cf. I, 33J I, 86; I, 89; I, 97; I, 100; II, 16; II, 40; II, 43; II, 445 H,i69; 
 II, 74J HI, 22; III, 45; III, 48; III, 50; IV, 26; IV, 37; IV, 78; IV, 79; IV, 83; 
 
1 6 Martial's Wit and Humor 
 
 In some respects, we must feel that his humor shows deficien- 
 cies. We too often miss the rich, genial sympathy which should 
 be a corollary from the humorous breadth of view. We may, 
 indeed, question whether humor is necessarily kind and friendly. 
 The definition given by Thackeray 1 that it consists of "wit and 
 love" is possibly disproved just because it would lead to the false 
 conclusion, that such a writer as Swift is not a humorist. How- 
 ever, we do undoubtedly regard sympathy as the associate of 
 humor and we must regret that there is not more of it in Martial. 
 He does, nevertheless, occasionally show a decided affection for 
 the subject of his jest. 2 He is amused by the extreme fondness of a 
 certain friend for his poems. " Auctus is really not my reader, " 
 he tells us, "but my book. For he knows all the epigrams by 
 heart. If you go to see him in the afternoon when his work is 
 over, he will repeat them to you. If you eat dinner with him, 
 while you drink your wine, he will continue to repeat them. 
 Though you may be tired of them, he will still repeat them. 
 Even when you frankly tell him that you have heard enough, he 
 will keep on repeating them." 3 The friendly tone of banter 
 ringing through these lines would probably be more frequent, if 
 it were capable of being combined with epigrammatic staccato. 
 But the diffused light of humor makes the flash of wit appear less 
 brilliant. 
 
 Martial's humor suffers much more from his lack of moral 
 standards and ideals Jean Paul shows that the greatest humor- 
 ist is the man who is at the same time idealist and realist, who 
 makes us revere dignity and nobility even while he is entertain- 
 us with delineations of weakness and inconsistency. The charm 
 of Goldsmith and Dickens is their power to portray limitations of 
 character, so that we cannot restrain our laughter and at the 
 same time to reveal such worth and goodness, that we are filled 
 
 IV, 85; V, 14; V, 17; V, 27; V, 50; V, 51 ; V, 54; VI, 35; VI, 63; VI, 72; VI, 78; 
 VI, 88; VI, 94; VII, 20; VII, 39; VII, 46; VII, 51; VII, 54; VII, 78; VII, 86; 
 VIII, 6; VIII, 7; VIII, 59; VIII, 64; VIII, 79; VIII, 81 ; IX, 35; IX, 46; X, 10; 
 X, 54; X, 80; XI, 59; XII, 28; XII, 41; XII, 66; XII, 70; XII, 87; XII, 90. 
 
 1 Charity and Humor. 
 
 *IV, 31 ;V, 27; X, 80. 
 
 8 VII, 51. 
 
Martial's Wit and Humor 17 
 
 with admiration. A comparison of Martial with such humorists 
 as these would, indeed, be manifestly unfair. But even though 
 we judge him by a less exacting standard, we feel his deficiency 
 in ideals painfully enough. He suffers sadly from a comparison 
 with his own countryman, Horace. He seems to have had little 
 capacity for intense admiration or deep reverence. 
 
 But if we turn to the opposite pole, no humorist has been a 
 more thorough realist than Martial. He was rarely fortunate in 
 the accidents of time and place. As the interest of the world 
 then centred in Rome, local color was possible in greater degree 
 than it has been at any other time. As life was Parisian in its 
 publicity, incongruities lay exposed to the keen glance. The 
 hours that were devoted to morning calls afforded the sight of 
 spacious atria crowded with social aspirants of every class ; those 
 given to escorting influential friends and patrons to the Forum 
 provided many opportunities to study the moving panorama of 
 street scenes; those spent in the courts, the theatres, at the races, 
 at the public baths, or at dinner parties gave occasion to note 
 eccentricities of dress, manner, and character. Martial made 
 the most advantageous use of these circumstances. His deliber- 
 ate purpose was to picture the life around him. 1 His instinctive 
 antipathy toward literary work which derived its subject matter 
 from the remote, threadbare mythological tales 2 was based on the 
 recognition that such work was unnatural. 3 "If you want live 
 epigrams," he says, "you must not use dead themes." 4 He 
 always writes with his eye on the object. His pictures move be- 
 fore us. He uses direct quotations liberally in order to gain 
 reality. But his mastery of the specific touch seems to be most 
 remarkable where he describes mental states. How vividly he 
 depicts anger: 
 
 "Ecce rubet quidam, pallet, stupet, oscitat, odit." 5 
 
 His humor owes an inestimable debt to this concreteness. 
 
 Of the humorous epigrams, the most enjoyable are those in 
 
 1 VIII, 3, 20. 
 2 V, 53- 
 
 3 X, 4; IV, 49. 
 4 XI, 42. 
 VI, 60, 3. 
 
Martial's Wit and Humor 
 
 which he ridicules his own foibles. 1 Often his shafts are of the 
 boomerang type, meant to recoil on himself, though apparently 
 aimed at another. How frank is the confession of envy in the 
 epigram to Saleianus, whose rich wife had just died: 
 
 Ilia, ilia dives mortua est Secundilla 
 Centena decies quae tibi dedit dotis? 
 Nollem accidisset hoc tibi, Saleiane." 2 
 
 The faults of the epigrams furnish an unfailing supply of material 
 for jokes. 3 Lupercus offers to send a slave to borrow the new 
 book. Martial politely and facetiously replies that the distance 
 is too great and that the book can be more conveniently obtained 
 from the dealer at a cost of eighty cents. Then guessing the 
 thought of Lupercus, he adds: "You think the book not worth 
 the cost. Ah! You show your good sense, Lupercus." 4 The 
 speech assigned to Domitian 5 is an exceptionally brilliant sally 
 of the same character: 
 
 Do tibi naumachiam, tu das epigrammata nobis: 
 Vis, puto, cum libra, Marce, natare tuo. 
 
 Jean Paul has said that it is impossible for a man to jest about 
 himself in the present tense, that the ego of the present must 
 first become the ego of the past, in reality, a third person. But 
 in this instance, Martial accomplished the impossible by attribu- 
 ting the words to another and thus has heightened the humor of 
 the persiflage. 
 
 He delights to joke also about his own poverty. 6 His hut, he 
 tells us, has such chinks that even the north wind would not be 
 willing to stay there. 7 He makes some very clever requests for 
 relief. In VI, 82, an athlete, recognizing the famous poet, 
 questions him : Cur ergo habes malas lacernas? The good nature 
 
 1 III, 41; IV, 15; IV, 37; IV, 61, 13-16; IV, 77; IV, 88; V, I, 9-10; V, 33; 
 V, 36; V, 39; VI, 5; VI, 30; VIII, 41; IX, 48; XII, 4 9 ;XII, 5 6;Xn,63, 8-13. 
 
 2 II, 65. 
 
 3 I, 3J I. ii8;II, i;II, 6; II, 8; II, 71; III, 100; IV, 10; V, 30, 7-8; IX, 58; 
 XI, 106; XIV, 10. 
 
 4 I, 117. 
 
 5 I, 5- 
 
 6 V, 62; V, 79, 5-6; VI, 59; VII, 92; VIII, 61, 9; IX, 49; XII, 92. 
 
 7 VIII, 14, 5-6. 
 
f 
 
 Martial's Wit and Humor 19 
 
 of the reply, Quia sum mains poeta, is irresistible. But the rich- 
 est humor is in the conclusion : 
 
 Hoc ne saepius accidat poetae, 
 Mittas, Rufe, mihi bonas lacernas. 
 
 Often the begging for gifts is indirect and pleases us by the ingen- 
 uity. There is a delicious apparent innocence in the remark 
 which closes the eulogy on the new toga: 
 
 guantos risus pariter spectata movebit 
 Cum Palatina nostra lacerna togal 1 
 
 Some of the petitions are humorous from their very audacity. 
 An example is the following: 
 
 A era domi non sunt, super est hoc, Regule, solum 
 Ut tua vendamus munera: numquid emis?* 
 
 In passing to the consideration of Martial's wit, we do not 
 entirely leave the subject of his humor. For wit and humor are 
 two intersecting circles which have a large field in common. It 
 is but natural that wit, being a fusion of contradictory ideas, 
 should find the great mass of its material within that immense 
 field of contradictions, the comic. Hence, we must not in the 
 case of a single epigram, infer that the wit and humor are neces- 
 sarily in inverse ratio. They may, indeed, exist combined in the 
 same illustration in heightened degree. Yet even where they 
 are completely merged, not the less are they totally different and 
 capable of being distinguished. We are happy in having a defini- 
 tion of wit, so true and exact that none of its many forms need 
 elude us. In Vischer's words, "Der Witz ist eine Fertigkeit mit 
 iiberraschender Schnelle mehrere Vorstellungen die nach ihrem 
 inneren Gehalt und dem Nexus dem sie angehoren einander 
 eigentlich fremd sind zu Einer zu verbinden. " Lipps has illumi- 
 nated the definition: "Witzig erscheint eine Aussage wenn wir 
 ihr eine Bedeutung mit psychologischer Notwendigkeit zuschrei- 
 ben und indem wir sie ihr zuschreiben sofort auch wiederum ab- 
 
 1 VIII, 28, 21-22. Cf. I, 44; I, 107; I, 108, 9-10; II, 85; IV, 27, 6; IV, 56, 
 7-8; V, 16; V, 19, 7-18; VI, 10; VII, 60, 7-8; VIII, 24, 5-6; VIII, 55; IX, 42; 
 IX, 725X1,3. 
 
 VII, 16. Cf. II, 91; III, 7, 6; IV, 76; VIII, 17; IX, 53; IX, 102; XI, 105. 
 
2O Martial's Wit and Humor 
 
 sprechen. MI Thus to state the thought in English: Wit consists 
 in words or actions which are intentionally given such a character 
 that the auditor perceives a certain meaning and simultaneously 
 denies that meaning. Wit, then, always implies conscious pur- 
 pose. A bull, on the other hand, is an accidental blunder in 
 logic and accordingly fails to receive the tribute which is paid to 
 the dexterity of wit. Thus Miss Edgeworth with evident sensi- 
 tiveness felt it necessary to defend the Irish for the reproach 
 which their bulls had brought on them. 2 
 
 Word play is the simplest form of wit. It consists in so using 
 words, that a deeper meaning lurks behind their apparently 
 clear sense. Every variety is found in the epigrams. The type 
 in which two different words resembling each other in formation 
 constitute the basis, is seen in the distich : 
 
 Litigat et podagra Diodorus, Flacce, laborat. 
 Sed nil patrono porrigit: haec cheragra est* 
 
 A play on the form of an expression, as a whole and on the com- 
 ponent parts, points the advice to the would-be wit: 
 
 Non cuicumque datum est Jiabere nasum: 
 Ludit qui stolida procacitate, 
 Non est Tettius ille, sed caballus* 
 
 We have also the double meaning of the same word as in the com- 
 ment on the fire that destroyed the home of the poet : 
 
 O scelus, o magnum f acinus crimenque deorum, 
 Non arsit pariter quod domus et dominus. 5 
 
 Each meaning of arsit has decided piquancy. The wretched 
 poet would be better out of the world and his prosaic verses sadly 
 need fire. The pun is not ordinarily used by Martial for its own 
 sake but for the purpose of emphasizing the idea. There are, to 
 be sure, two or three outrageously bad puns the very lameness of 
 
 1 Komik und Humor. 
 
 2 Essay on Irish Bulls. 
 
 3 I, 98. Cf. II, 77; IV, 53, 7-8; XI, 18, 26-27; XII, 39; XII, 58; XII, 81. 
 
 4 I, 41, 17-20. 
 
 5 XI, 93, 3-4. Cf. I, 30; I, 38, 2; I, 81; II, 20; III, 18; III, 99, 3; IV, 2, 6; 
 IV,34;V,75;VI,9;VI,i2;VI,6i,io;VII,46,6;VIII,5;VIII,i6,5; VIII, 22; 
 IX, 49, 8; XI, 108, 4; XII, 47, 2; XIV, 154, 2. 
 
Martial's Wit and Humor 21 
 
 which is comical and can be justified only on the principle that 
 the worst puns are the best. 1 But such instances of puns which 
 "keep the word of promise to the ear and break it to the sense" 
 are indeed rare. The word play usually serves to enforce the 
 sense. How much it adds to the sharpness of the attack on the 
 plagiarist : 
 
 Si did tua vis, hoc erne, ne mea sint* 
 
 In some of the epigrams the play on the double meaning of words 
 runs through entire lines. 3 In I, 68, we have a very humorous 
 description of an infatuated lover, who can talk and think only 
 of Naevia, and who actually began a letter to his father with the 
 words: Naevia lux, Naevia lumen, have. Martial imagines that 
 the lovers read his lines about them : 
 
 Haec legit et ridet demisso Naevia voltu. 
 
 Naevia non una est: quid, vir inepte, furis? 
 
 We have in the close a double meaning: "I may be writing of 
 some other Naevia; why are you so angry at me?" and "There 
 is more than one attractive girl; why are you so infatuated, you 
 fool?" For merit of ingenuity this play is even better than the 
 celebrated comment of Swift, when the lady's train broke the old 
 violin: Mantua vae miserae nimium vicina Cremonae. 
 
 Again, the play may consist in giving a new application to 
 words that have been used by the speaker or by some one else. 4 
 The peculiar adaptability of such wit to repartee and retort is 
 readily seen from a few examples. How pungent is the distich : 
 
 Quid mihi reddat ager quaeris, Line, Nomentanus? 
 Hoc mihi reddit ager: te, Line, non video* 
 
 1 III,67,io; VIII, 58. 
 
 2 I, 29, 4- 
 
 3 III, 16, 4 and 6; V, 38, 4; V, 53, 3-4 J VIII, 25. Cf. IV, 70, 3-4; V, 84, 12 ; 
 X, 17, 8; XII, 19. 
 
 4 I, 17; I, 20; I, 44; II, 14, 18; II, 67; III, 8; III, 13; HI, 30, 5~6; HI, 33. 
 i and 4; IV, 10, 7-8; IV, 80, 5-6; VI, 68, 12; VI, 84; VII, 21, 4, a play on words 
 used by Nero; VII, 92, 9; VIII, 62; VIII, 64, 18; IX, 72, 5-6; IX, 82, I and 6; 
 IX, 87, 6-7; IX, 97, 12; IX, 100, i and 6; X, 86; XI, 14; XII, 53, 7 and 10; 
 XII, 56, 4; XII, 89. 
 
 5 II, 38. Cf. Swift's epigram on the same subject: 
 
 Far from our debtors, 
 No Dublin letters, 
 Nor seen by our betters. 
 
22 Martial's Wit and Humor 
 
 The closing turn in IV, 72 has a still more brilliant flash : 
 
 Exigis ut donem nostros tibi, Quinte, libellos. 
 Non habeo sed habet bybliopola Tryphon. 
 'Aes dabo pro nugis et emam tua carmina sanus? 
 Non' inquis 'faciam tarn fatue.' Nee ego. 
 
 Indeed there are so many splendid quips that it is hard to select 
 the best and to forbear quoting too many. To Cinna, who 
 wishes to borrow money, the poet writes: 
 
 Esse nihil dicis quidquid petis, improbe Cinna: 
 Si nil, Cinna, petis, nil tibi, Cinna, nego. 1 
 
 Again, after a whole series of changes has been rung on the word 
 ago in connection with the busy-body, Attalus, a most effective 
 climax is reached in the request, agas animam. 2 In some in- 
 stances, the quip consists in an unexpected use of a word merely 
 suggested by the preceding thought. Thus Martial rallies the 
 patron who is always "engaged" in the early morning: non vis 
 havere: vale. 3 
 
 Sometimes an expression has the appearance of innocence and 
 only by a later touch is shown to have a second sinister meaning. 
 In I, 95, addressed to the loudly applauding client, the words, 
 Non fads hoc gratis, at first, suggests the idea, "You are paid for 
 your applause," but the close, accipis ut taceas, reveals the true 
 meaning, "You applaud in order to get a bribe to be quiet." 
 The tart effect is due to the flat contradiction between the two 
 meanings. The mind wavers back and forth between the first 
 conception and the laughable resolution. In another epigram, 4 
 a miserable author begs for criticism and receives liberal praise 
 from Martial. The fool expresses his gratitude: "Hoc sentisl . . . 
 Facial tibi sic bene Caesar, sic Capitolinus Juppiter." By his 
 brief reply, the poet throws a searchlight on all that has gone be- 
 fore : Immo tibi. The words previously used are stripped of their 
 complimentary disguise and stand in their true character. The 
 same kind of wit in IX, 15, is particularly good: 
 
 l IH,6t. 
 
 2 I, 79. Cf. XII, 39. 
 
 3 IX, 6, 4. Cf. I, 54, 6-7; I, no; III, 11, 6; III, 62, 7-8; V, 26, I and 4; 
 V, 52, 2; V, 66; VI, 63, 7-8; VII, 98; VIII, 6, 16; XI, 12; XI, 54, 5-6. 
 
 4 V,6 3 . 
 
Martial's Wit and Humor 23 
 
 Inscripsit tumulis septem scelerata virorum 
 'Se fecisse' Chloe. Quid pote simplicius? 1 
 
 Similarly the words used in the beginning of an epigram are, in 
 certain instances, repeated at the close. Meanwhile, their real 
 meaning has been humorously illuminated. The repetition is 
 peculiarly effective as it flings upon the first statement the whole 
 force of a later irony. The celebrated "Dr. Fell" epigram is of 
 this type : 
 
 Non amo te, Sabidi, nee possum dicerc quart: 
 
 Hoc tantum possum dicere, non amo te? 
 
 The simplest form of wit dependent on ideas consists in utili- 
 zing comic or humorous elements in such a way that the surprise 
 is very great. For example, the extreme unhappiness of Selius 
 is described at length and at the close the cause is explained: 
 Domi cenat? Wit of this character is almost identical with the 
 comic and is entitled to the name of wit merely because of the 
 skillful arrangement. 4 
 
 To the wit of ideas belongs also the form of quip used in IV, 
 41 : "When you start to read us your verses, why do you wrap 
 about your throat the wool that is better suited to your ears?" 
 A graceful witticism of the same character makes effective the 
 plea for a supply of water from the Marcian aqueduct: The water 
 which you grant, Augustus, will be to me the spring of Castalia. 5 
 
 The witty antithesis is used in large numbers of the epigrams. 
 It adds spice to the request that Stella, who has given titles to 
 
 1 Cf. II, 3; II, 69, 6; III, 9; III, 15; HI, 63; IV, 37, 8 and 10; IV, 69, 4; 
 
 V, 45J V, 47; V, 54; V, 57; VI, 61, 1-4; VII, 81; VII, 90; VIII, 10; X, 54; 
 XI, 107, 3-4; XII, 19. 
 
 2 I, 32. Cf. II, 6, i and 17; II, 18, 2 and 4 and 6; II, 19; II, 43, I and 16; 
 IV, 89, I and 9; VI, 42, 2 and 24; VII, 64, I and 10; VII, 92; IX, 97; X, 37, 4 
 and 20. The wit of VII, 39, is a more complex example combining effect of 
 repetition with word play dependent on change of emphasis. 
 
 3 II, II. 
 
 4 Cf. I, n, 3-4; I, 24, 4; II, 795 HI, 47, 15; V, 17; VI, 20, 4; VI, 94, 4; VII, 
 20, 22; VII, 79, 3-45 VIII, 19; VIII, 60; IX, 35, 12; IX, 98; X, 9, 4-5; X, 57; 
 X, 60; X, 74, 12; X, 97, 4; XII, 49, 13. 
 
 5 IX, 18, 7-8. Cf. I, 5; I, H4, 5-6; HI, 25; III, 64, 5-6; III, 100; IV, 47; 
 
 VI, 35; VI, 63, 7-8; VIII, 40, 6; IX, 58, 7-8; X, 61, 5-6; XI, 37, 3; XI, 44, 4J 
 XIV, 137; XIV, 196. 
 
24 Martial's Wit and Humor 
 
 Martial, may also give him a toga: Stella, tegis villam, non tegis 
 agricolam. 1 It enriches the audacious humor of the plea for the 
 ius trium liberorum: 
 
 Haec, si displicui, fuerint solatia nobis; 
 Haec fuerint nobis praemia, si placui. z 
 
 It gives the sting to the retort aimed at the worthless author: 
 
 Cur non mitto meos tibi, Pontiliane, libellos? 
 Ne mihi tu mittas, Pontiliane, tuos. 3 
 
 Another type of witticism, the paradox, so frequently gives 
 the point that the word epigram has become synonymous with it. 
 The apparent contradiction lies within the statement and serves 
 to give emphasis to the deeper truth. All oxymora are witti- 
 cisms of this type. Every word helps enforce the paradox of the 
 distich : 
 
 Difficilis facilis, iucundus acerbus es idem: 
 Nee tecum possum vivere nee sine te. 4 
 
 A very extravagant youth, who has always received a daily allow- 
 ance, by the death of his father falls heir to the entire estate. 
 The boy, now unrestrained, will soon squander his fortune and be 
 
 1 VII, 36, 6. 
 
 2 II, 91, 7-8. 
 
 3 VII, 3. Antitheses are also found in sp. 2, 12; sp. 26, 8; sp. 31; I, 4, 8; 
 
 I, 18, 5-8; I, 25, 7; I, 40, 2; I, 43, 13-14; I 47, 2; I, 55, 13; I, 57, 2 and 4; I, 59, 
 4; I, 63, 2; I, 66, 14; I, 91, 2; I, 109, 22-23; II, 5, 7-8; II, 24, 7-8; II, 30, 6; 
 
 II, 32, 7-8; II, 46, 10; II, 64, 10; II, 68, 8-9; II, 88; III, 37, 2; III, 66, 6; III, 
 94, 2; IV, 13, 9-10; IV, 20; IV, 36; IV, 49, 10; IV, 68, 2; IV, 83; V, 13, 9-10; 
 
 V, 14, II ; V, 15, 6;V, 43; V, 52, 2 and 6; V, 65, 16; V, 73, 1 and 4; VI, n, 5-10; 
 
 VI, 28, 10; VI, 40; VI, 55, 5; VI, 65, 6; VI, 78, 8; VI, 80, 10; VI, 84, 2; VI, 87; 
 
 VII, 23, 3-4; VII, 43; VII, 44, 3-6 and 10; VII, 45, 9-11 ; VII, 60, 7-8; VII, 76, 6; 
 
 VII, 77, 2; VII, 85, 3-4; VII, 97, 13; VIII, 18, 9-10; VIII, 38, 7 and 15-16; 
 
 VIII, 39, 5-6; VIII, 41, 3-4; VIII, 56, 3-4; VIII, 74; IX, 10; IX, 14, 3; IX, 
 19, 3; IX, 48, 11-12; IX, 68, 10-12; IX, 84, 10; X, 3, 11-12; X, 21, 6; X, 30, 
 29; X, 35, 1-4 and 11-12; X, 47, 12-13; X, 76, 8-9; X, 79; X, 82, 8; X, 89, 
 5-6; XI, 4, 7-8; XI, 24,11-12; XI, 86, 6; XII, 10, 2; XII, 13, 2; XII, 14, 12; 
 XII, 15, 8-10; XII, 25, 3-4; XII, 29, 15-16; XII, 30,1 mitated by Sedley: 
 "Thou swearest thou'lt drink no more; kind Heaven send me such a cook or 
 coachman but no friend," XII, 34, n; XII, 37, 2; XII, 72, 6; XII, 80, 2; 
 XII, 90, 6. Antithesis is emphasized by alliteration in III, 21, 2 and IV, 67 
 8. 
 
 4 XII, 46. 
 
Martial's Wit and Humor 25 
 
 without a penny. "What your father has really done," says 
 Martial, "is to disinherit you. " x Some of the expressions, which 
 Friedlaender regards as careless and incorrect, are in reality 
 paradoxes which Martial used purposely and would no more have 
 changed than Ovid would have surrendered his favorite three 
 verses. An example is the line : 
 
 Inque suo nullum limine limen era/. 2 
 
 Occasionally , the paradox depends on the omission of intermediate 
 ideas. In I, 10, the officious devotion of Gemellus to Maronilla 
 is pictured and the question is asked: Quid ergo in ilia petitur 
 et placet? The enjoyment of the answer, Tussit, is heightened 
 for the reader by his momentary stupefaction. For half a second, 
 he is puzzled by the apparent senselessness of the idea only to 
 feel the greater pleasure in the relaxation which the comic effect 
 brings with it. The paradox is often used to express general 
 truths. In fact, it is on the border line between wit and wisdom. 
 It imparts a striking impressiveness to the close of VI, 70; non 
 est vivere sed valere vita. 3 It gives penetrating force to a fine truth 
 in the epigram to Postumus, who is forever talking of his immense 
 service to Martial : 
 
 Crede mihi, quamvis ingentia, Postume, dona 
 Auctoris pereunt garrulitate sui.^ 
 
 It gleams with exquisite beauty in the tender words of Arria to 
 Paetus : 
 
 11 Si qua fides, vulnus quod fed non dolet," inquit 
 "Sed tu quod fades, hoc mihi, Paete, dolet." 5 
 
 'Ill, 10. 
 
 2 VII, 61, 2. A tendency to epigrammatic expression is seen in the prose of 
 Martial, as in I, pr. 8: inprobe facit qui in alieno libro ingeniosus est. 
 
 3 The paradox is here combined with alliterative antithesis. Pope imitates 
 this paradox in his epistle to Dr. Arbuthnot: "this long disease, my life." 
 
 4 V, 52, 7-8. Cf. Prior's epigram: 
 
 To John I owed great obligation; 
 
 But John, unhappily, thought fit 
 
 To publish it to all the nation: 
 
 Sure John and I are more than quit. 
 
 5 1, 13, 3-4. Any too great stoicism of the first line is saved by the tender- 
 ness of the second. Paradoxes are found also in the following passages: 
 sp. 7, 6; sp. 9, 4; sp. 29, 12; I, pr. 21; I, 15, 12; I, 21, 8; I, 64; I, 86, 11-13; ! 
 
26 Martial's Wit and Humor 
 
 The wit of euphemism, a form of understatement, is occasion- 
 ally used. When Martial asks the freedman who has shortened 
 his slave name Cinnamus to Cinna, Non est hie, rogo, Cinna, bar- 
 barismus? the very politeness of the question is amusing. 1 Equal- 
 ly good is the euphemistic request made of the rich, childless old 
 man: Fac illud, mentitur tua quod subinde tussis. 2 
 
 Parody and its obverse, mock heroic, are found in a few epi- 
 grams. An example which shows especial cleverness is the an- 
 swer to the friend, who has suddenly recollected the dinner invi- 
 tation given the night before, after the wine-glasses had been 
 repeatedly drained : 
 
 Non sobria verba subnotasti 
 Exemplo nimium periculoso: 
 /ucrai fJLvdfjLova crv/XTrorav, Procille? 
 
 The famous Greek proverb ordinarily refers to the revelation of 
 secrets that might involve peril to life; here it is applied to the 
 recollection of a promise that could mean, at most, slight damage 
 to the purse. Sometimes the effect of parody is dependent on 
 the form of expression. For instance, the conditional wish had 
 its origin in momentous crises and had acquired a form conse- 
 crated by long poetical usage. In VII, 72, Martial secures a 
 comical effect by putting in this elevated form the utmost little- 
 ness of content, just as Charles Lamb enriches his humor by 
 
 109, 20; II, 12, 4; II, 16, 6; II, 37, n; II, 55, 3; II, 77, 8; II, 79, 2; III, 19, 8; 
 
 III, 22, 5; III, 34, 2; III, 39, 2; III, 60, 9; IV, 60, 6; V, 4, 6; V, 8, 12; V, 18, 
 9-10; V, 24, 15; V, 38, 6; V, 42, 8; V, 58, 7-8; V, 79, 6; VI, II, 6; VI, 18, 3-4; 
 VI, 41, 2; VI, 48, 2; VII, 31, 12; VII, 41, 2; VII, 47, 10; VII, 73, 6; VII, 86, 10; 
 VIII 7, 4: VIII, 12, 2 and 4: VIII, 13: VIII, 20, 2: VIII, 59, 6; VIII, 77, 
 7-8; IX, 8, 4; IX, 79, 7-8; X, 13, 9-10; X, 14, 10; X, 23, 7-8; X, 44, 10; X, 
 62, 12; X, 69/2; X, 74, 12; X, 83, ii ;X, 94, 5; XI, 32, 8; XI, 35,4; XI, 38; 
 XII, 21, 10; XII, 45, 4; XII, 50, 8; XIV, 210. The paradox is somewhat less 
 distinct in the following passages: sp. 4, 5-6; I, 8, 5-6; I, 12, 11-12; I, 48, 
 7-8, I, 51, 5-6; I, 60, 5-6; II, 59, 4; II, 80, 2; IV, 18, 8; IV, 32, 4; IV, 44, 8; 
 
 IV, 73, 8; IV, 74, 4; IV, 75, 7-8; V, 22, 14; V, 31, 8; V, 64, 5-6; V, 71, 6; V, 
 81, 2; VI, 15, 4; VI, 29, 8; VII, 5, 6; VII, 11, 4; VII, 19, 6; VII, 38, 4; VIII, 
 68, 10; IX, 9, 4; IX, 38, 10; IX, 54, 12; IX, 77, 5-6; X, 25, 5-6; X, 31, 5-6; X, 
 85, 8;XI,56, 15-16; XI, 65, 6. 
 
 'VI, 17,2. 
 
 2 V, 39, 5-6- 
 
 3 1, 27. Cf. X, 60; XI, 12; XIV, 124. 
 
Martial's Wit and Humor 27 
 
 applying to trifles the solemn language of the old tragedies. 
 Parody and mock heroic are really identical except that the one 
 emphasizes the degradation of the high form, the other, the exal- 
 tation of the low object. The first epigram on the celebrated 
 toga is a delicate bit of mock heroic. 1 
 
 In many epigrams suggestion plays a large part. 2 The wit of 
 innuendo often serves to enhance the humor of roguish purpose. 
 Martial sends a book of epigrams as a substitute for his own 
 presence at the morning reception of his patron, and promises to 
 come himself as often as desired at the tenth hour of the day. 3 
 Insinuation barbs the dart of criticism in the reply to Gallicus, 
 the orator, who is always begging for the truth concerning his 
 speeches: "The truth, Gallicus, is the one thing that you do not 
 wish to hear." 4 An especially adroit implication is seen in the 
 complaint that Caecilianus persists in reading the epigrams of 
 Marsus and Catullus for comparison with those of Martial: ''I 
 should very much prefer, Caecilianus, that you would give read- 
 ings from your own poems when you give them from mine." 5 
 A form of wit which Martial uses only for attack or retort, 
 consists in falsely attributing desires, motives, or purposes with 
 the object of disclosing a real weakness or inconsistency. The 
 best epigram of this kind is the answer to the man who admires 
 only old poets and accords praise only to the dead. Nothing 
 could better reveal the dilettanteism of the critic than the cutting 
 apology: 
 
 Ignoscas petimus, Vacerra: tanti 
 
 Non est, ut placeam tibi, perire. 6 
 
 1 VIII, 28. Cf. IX, 49, 9. 
 
 2 I, 14, 6; I, 78, 10; I S 9i; I, 102; I, 112; I, 115, 7; II, 29, 10; II, 58; II, 65, 6; 
 II, 74, 7; II, 81, 2; II, 88; III, 4, 8; III, 31, 6; III, 36, 9; III, 46, 12; III, 64, 
 5-6; IV, 23, 6-8; IV, 24, 2; IV, 26, 4; IV, 33, 4; IV, 40, 10; IV, 51, 6; IV, 77, 5; 
 IV, 79, 2; V, 5, 7-8; V, 16, 14; V, 25, 12; V, 29, 4; V, 36, 2; VI, 8, 
 1-2; VI, 17, 4; VI, 75, 4; VI, 86, 5-6; VII, 59; VII, 66; VII, 89, 3; VIII, 37; 
 VIII, 61, 9; VIII, 81, 10-11; IX, 52, 6-7; IX, 94, 8; X, 8, 2; X, 16, 2; X, 32, 
 5-6; X, 43, 2; X, 56, 8; X, 101; XI, 10, 2; XI, 34; XI, 67, 2; XI, 83, 2; XII, 12; 
 XII, 69; XII, 88; XII, 92. 
 
 3 I, 108, 9-10. 
 
 4 VIII, 76, 8. 
 
 5 II, 71- 
 
 6 VIII, 69. 
 
28 Martial's Wit and Humor 
 
 Again, with what a brilliant lightning flash does Martial illumine 
 the characters of Picentinus and Galla: 
 
 Funera post septem nupsit tibi Galla virorum, 
 Picentine: sequi vult, puto, Galla viros. 1 
 
 A kindred form of wit is sophistical reasoning in which the 
 fallacy is readily apparent as well as the real purpose of the writer. 
 Martial sometimes uses it to attack another 2 but more frequently 
 to excuse himself or to gain some personal end. 3 We enjoy the 
 ingenious logic in the complaint to his client: "'Sextus, you 
 promised me two thousand sesterces for pleading your case. 
 Why have you sent only a thousand?' 'Your plea was worthless,' 
 you reply, 'and you ruined my case.' 'You owe me that much 
 more, Sextus, because I endured the shame of failure.'" 4 
 
 Witty exaggeration 5 in the epigrams is completely permeated 
 with humor. Now and then it furnishes entertaining descrip- 
 tion as in the fanciful picture of the poet's infinitesimal estate. 6 
 In power of humorous invention 7 Martial is almost an American, 
 delighting in the wildly impossible. What a bold conception is the 
 advice that the overheated bath be cooled by putting in it the 
 rhetorician Sabineius ! 8 What a delicious fiction is the tale of the 
 
 1 IX, 78. Cf. I, 80; II, 15; V, 23, 7-8; VI, 24; VIII, 67, 10; IX, 15, 2, if 
 simplicius may be interpreted "ingenuous;" X, 36, 7-8; X, 41, 4-8; XII, 66, 
 10; XII, 87, 5-6. 
 
 2 I, 99, 17-19; II, 44, 11-12; V, 40; V, 70, 6; V, 76; VI, 6; VIII, 9; VIII, 29; 
 VIII, 35; XII, 17; XI, 68, a good natured sally. 
 
 3 A famous and often quoted reply of Charles Lamb shows how naturally 
 the wit of apparent logic is adapted to self defence. To the complaint of his 
 employer that he repeatedly came late to his work, he answered: "But, sir 
 you observe how often I leave early." 
 
 4 VIII, 17. Cf. II, 85, 3-4; II, 92, 4; II, 93, 3-4; III, i, 6; IV, 76; V, 26; 
 V 62, 8; VIII, 23, 3-4; VIII, 71 ; XI, 76; XI, 79, 3-4; XII, 25, 5-6. 
 
 5 I, 56, 2; I, 109, 22 and 23; II, n, 4; III, 56; V, 39, 10; V, 50, 3; VII, 9; VII, 
 33, 4J VIII, 7, 2; VIII, 21, 12; VIII, 33, 1-23; X, 24, n; X, 36, 4; X, 39; X r 
 53, 4; XI, 79, i; XI, 84. 
 
 6 XI, 18. 
 
 7 I, n, 3 and 4; I, 26, 2; I, 69; II, 35; II, 78; III, 35, 2; III, 40; V, 21 ; V, 32; 
 V, 38, 8 and 10; V, 76, 4; VI, 57, 4; VI, 59, 7-8; VII, 83; VIII, 14, 6; VIII, 52, 
 10; IX, 75, 10; IX, 95 b; X, 41, 4-8; XI, 14; XI, 84, 18; XI, 102, 7-8; XII, 
 
 25, 5-6; xiv 69. 
 
 8 III, 25. 
 
Martial's Wit and Humor 29 
 
 hungry Spaniard, who almost reached the gates of Rome but 
 learning of the state of sportula, turned back at the Mulvian 
 bridge I 1 There is a striking contrast between the tone of simple 
 ingenuousness and the real pointing of the moral. 
 
 Figurative wit has also a prominent place. Martial warns his 
 patron, who himself cringes before a richer nobleman: 
 
 Esse sat est servum, iam nolo vicarius esse. 
 Qui rex est regem, Maxime, non habeat. 2 
 
 A comparison, which amuses by its audacity, is the personifica- 
 tion of the worn out furniture : 
 
 Nam mea iam digitum sustulit hospitibus.* 
 
 An even bolder figure is used in the complaint of the patron who 
 always pretends to be ill : 
 
 Tu languore quidem subito fictoque laboras. 
 Sed mea porrexit sportula, Paule, pedes* 
 
 But Martial takes most pleasure in the playful personification of 
 his own works. 5 His warning to the restless book that hurries to 
 meet a critical public 6 has rich imaginative wit as well as tender 
 humor. 
 
 Many epigrams combine a large number of these forms. That 
 upon the toothless Maximina 7 is not surpassed in continuation 
 of contrasts, and of comic descents. The quotation from Ovid 
 
 1 III, 14- 
 
 2 II, 18, 7-8. 
 3 V, 62,4. 
 
 4 IX, 85, 4. Other instances of personification are I, 18, 5, 6 and 8; II, 
 23, 5; II, 66, 8; VI, 59, 5? VII, 17; VII, 48, 3 and 5; VIII, 14, 8; VIII, 28; X, 
 18, 6; X, 72; XII, 17; XII, 25, 3-6. Comparisons are expressed or implied in 
 I, 53, 4-10; I, 72; I, 107, 7-8; II, 6, 14-16; II, 43, 5-6; III, 12, 4-5; III, 36, 10; 
 III, 43, 2 and 4; III, 45, 1-2; IV, 56, 5~6; V, 18, 7-8; V, 74, 3~45 VI, 62, 4; VI, 
 63. 5-6; VI, 77, 7~8; VIII, 33, 3~22; VIII, 57, 5-6; IX, 50= 5~6; IX, 81, 3-4; 
 IX, 88, 3-4; X, 3, 7-8; X, 9, 5; X, 45, 3-6; X, 49, 5; X, 59; X, 73, 6; X, 79, 9~ 
 10; X, 83, 7-8; X, 100, 3-6; XI, 42, 3-4; XI, 84, 3-12; XII, 36, 11-13; XII, 
 3, 10-13; XII, 78. 
 
 5 I, 52; I, 70; I, 108, 10; II, i; II, 93, 2; III, I, 6; III, 2; III, 5; IV, 86; IV, 
 39; VII, 84; VII, 97; VIII, i ; VIII, 72; X, 104; XI, i; XII, 2. 
 
 6 I, 3. 
 
 7 II, 41- 
 
3O Martial's Wit and Humor 
 
 prepares the reader for an encomium on the girl's beauty. The 
 first reversal is in the insinuation, non dixerat omnibus puellis. 
 A steeper fall follows: 
 
 Verum ut dixerit omnibus puellis, 
 Non dixit tibi: tu puella non es. 
 
 Then comes the cutting contrast between the tone of respectful 
 admission and the gruesome idea, Et tres sunt tibi, Maximina, 
 denies; but this is not enough and the climax seems to be reached 
 in the addition: Sed plane piceique buxeique. Every thing that 
 has gone before is thrown completely in the shade by the grim 
 advice which follows: " Dread laughter as Spanius with his sparse 
 hair combed to hide the bald places dreads the wind, as Fabulla's 
 powder fears the rain, Sabella's paint, the sun, haunt tragedy 
 and funerals. " The parody on Ovid's words furnishes the finish- 
 ing stroke : Flora, si sapis, o puella, plora. 
 
 All these different forms of wit owe much of their effectiveness 
 to the art which Martial shows in handling his subject. With 
 incomparable skill he heightens the reader's expectation to the 
 utmost degree until the very instant of the reversal. Often he 
 leads us along an opposite trend of thought and gives it some 
 peculiar emphasis to enhance the contrast of the conclusion. 1 
 He wishes vengeance on the friend who gives so many dinners 
 without inviting him. "I am thoroughly angry," he says; 
 "even though you invite me repeatedly, send after me and beg of 
 me to come, what am I going to do about it? I intend to 
 come!" 2 He almost invariably reserves the final resolution until 
 the last clause of the epigram, and often until the last word. 
 Curiously enough, Leigh Hunt, in his essay on Wit and Humor, 
 speaks of the epigram as differing from other forms of wit in that 
 a reversal, a comic change, is expected. One may see that the 
 idea is altogether erroneous by observing that the effect is almost 
 entirely dependent upon the extent of the surprise. Martial 
 knows how to put the reader into that frame of mind where the 
 shock will be greatest. The wit, the resolution, he invariably 
 makes as brief and startling as lightning flashes. He uses no 
 
 I, 28; III, 27, 3-4; V, 26; VI, 75, 41 XI, 92; XII, 78. 
 
 8 VI, 51. Cf. VII, 20, 22. 
 
Martial's Wit and Humor 31 
 
 needless words and has even the faculty of getting along with 
 half the necessary number by suggesting the rest. The impor- 
 tance of brevity is due to the fact that the combinations of wit 
 are arbitrary, and hence, can interest only while they surprise. 
 Many of the epigrams, to be sure, are not short according to the 
 standard of length for such poems. Martial was often criti- 
 cised 1 on this score, but his artistic instinct revolted at the re- 
 strictions which the critics sought to impose. His own truer 
 canon he expressed in the words : Non sunt longa quibus nihil est 
 quod demere possis. 2 The truth seems to be, that he felt without 
 analyzing the idea, that comical, humorous, and ironical effects 
 usually need stroke after stroke, and cannot be compressed into 
 a distich. Perversity of character, for instance, must be shown 
 in many situations that it may gain a cumulative effect. The 
 comic of imitation necessitates expansion. But the flash of his 
 wit, the point, is always instantaneous. A number of lines may 
 be needed to give us a picture of the unknown nabob in the first 
 of the knights' benches, the gems on his fingers flashing their 
 light to the remotest corners of the theatre, his costly purple 
 mantle, snowy toga, red-crested shoes, the ornamental plasters 
 on his forehead; but three words contain the wit which tell us 
 who he is, Splenia tolle, leges? 
 
 In our effort to judge correctly the wit of the epigrams, we 
 must take into consideration a criticism of Addison. He has 
 objected to it on the ground that it is almost altogether "mixed 
 wit, " 4 which he defines as a mixture of true and false wit, depen- 
 dent partly upon the resemblance of ideas and partly upon the 
 resemblance of words. One need not read Martial very far to 
 discover the inaccuracy of this observation. Innuendo, falla- 
 cious logic, invention, and the paradox are distinctly plays upon 
 thought. Furthermore, word plays which serve as the fitting 
 dress of cutting repartee or racy pleasantry can hardly be regard- 
 ed as false wit. For all wit is based on relations which are more 
 or less accidental and superficial, and should therefore be valued 
 
 1 VI, 65. 
 
 2 II, 77, 7- 
 
 3 II, 29. 
 
 4 Spectator, No. 62. 
 
32 Martial's Wit and Humor 
 
 in accordance with the content rather than with the form. The wit 
 of those puns which are pointless in one meaning may well be 
 called false. But of these there are very few. In general, 
 Martial had a strong dislike for ingenious nullities. 1 
 
 In estimating his wit, we may further inquire how it stands the 
 test of the popular canon that the best wit is capable of transla- 
 tion. This canon has, indeed, been rejected by more than one 
 critic whose judgment may well be regarded as keen and unbias- 
 ed. 2 Yet, even if we accept it, we find that comparatively few 
 epigrams are so dependent on a verbal accident of the Latin 
 language as not to lend themselves to expression in another 
 tongue. To be sure, the wit in translation is more or less disap- 
 pointing. For it owes so much of its value to the artistic form, 
 to the order and compression. It cannot be translated in a 
 really satisfactory way for precisely the same reason that the 
 picture of the degenerating Romans, which Horace framed in less 
 than a dozen words, 3 cannot retain in any other language its in- 
 comparable conciseness. 
 
 The crowning distinction of Martial's wit is its variety, keen- 
 ness, and fineness of content. It serves a thousand different 
 purposes; it is by turns the expression of friendly raillery, 4 a 
 nipping retort, 5 a sly insinuation, 6 a rougish hint, 7 an ingenious 
 excuse, 8 a delicate compliment, 9 or a graceful benediction. 10 In 
 wit as in poetry much depends upon the form, but far more upon 
 the content. The failure to value this important criterion has 
 been the source of many errors in criticism. Indeed, some Ger- 
 man scholars have found it difficult to explain the popularity of 
 wit among cultured people except on the ground of deficiency in 
 
 1 II, 86, 9-10. 
 
 2 Lamb Popular Fallacy: That verbal allusions are not wit because they 
 will not bear translation. 
 
 3 Odes III, 6, 47-49. 
 
 4 III, 20. 
 
 5 IV, 72. 
 
 6 VIII, 76, 8. 
 
 7 VIII, 28, 21-22; VII, 60, 7-8. 
 
 8 III, i, 6. 
 
 9 VIII, 18, 9-10. 
 
 10 VII, 89, 3. 
 
Martial's Wit and Humor 33 
 
 imagination! A few examples suffice to show the incorrectness 
 of the explanation, such as the graceful close of the sepulchral 
 epigram VI, 28, Quifles talia, nil fleas, viator. Not the form of 
 the witticism dependent on the use oiflere to connect two widely 
 remote ideas, but the logical content, " If your sympathies are so 
 delicate, you deserve escape from sorrow," is the source of its 
 fineness. The ordinary connection of concepts has been dis- 
 turbed; a new unusual connection has been produced, but the 
 kaleidoscopic shifting has brought with it a thought of exquisite 
 harmony. 
 
 Indeed, some of the most admirable epigrams have a serious 
 sort of wit and humor. How charming is the play of idea around 
 the ever elusive " to-morrow" in the warning to Postumus. 1 
 There is a touch of very sympathetic humor where Martial kind- 
 ly reveals the delusion cherished by his friend : " 'To-morrow/ you 
 will enjoy life, Postumus; you always say 'to-morrow.' Pray, 
 when will your 'to-morrow' come? Where can we find it? Is 
 it in hiding far away in the Orient? Ah! your 'to-morrow' has 
 already consumed the years of Priam and of Nestor. Tell me 
 for what price you can purchase your 'to-morrow.' Forsooth, 
 you will enjoy life 'to-morrow.' It is too late, Postumus, to 
 enjoy life to-day. He alone is the wise man who made the most 
 of life yesterday." The serious humor of this poem may be 
 matched by the serious wit which closes the poem on the death 
 of the little girl, Erotion: 
 
 Mollia non rigidus caespes legal ossa nee illi, 
 Terra, grams fueris: non fuil ilia libi. 2 
 
 The playful reason 3 why the earth should rest lightly on the little 
 form, gives a relief to the tension resulting from the deep pathos 
 of the preceding lines and has at the same time a pathos of its 
 own. The conclusion gives a startling emphasis to the picture 
 of Erotion's slight childish figure and is in perfect harmony with 
 the general tone of sadness. It is not the less truly entitled to be 
 
 *V, 58- 
 
 2 V, 34, 9-10. Although the general expression is borrowed from Meleager 
 (Anth. Lib. 3 cap. l) Martial's order is much more effective. Furthermore, 
 the striking application stamps the wit as original in the deepest sense. 
 
 3 The wit is technically that of fallacious reasoning. 
 
34 Martial's Wit and Humor 
 
 called wit because there is no desire to laugh. Wit and humor are 
 not divided by a sharp line from beauty and wisdom. Indeed, 
 the word wit was for a long time nearly synonymous with wisdom 
 and it can never quite lose its original connotation. Hence, 
 English writers have repeatedly asserted that wit is never really 
 laughable. 1 Possibly their statements may be too sweeping, but 
 the discriminating judgment of Leigh Hunt surely hits the truth: 
 "It does not follow that everything witty or humorous excites 
 laughter; it may be accompanied with a sense of too many other 
 things to do so, with too much thought, with too great a per- 
 fection even, or with pathos and sorrow." 
 
 Irony, which is really a very distinctive kind of wit, is used by 
 Martial for widely different purposes. It enters into the selec- 
 tion of proper names, and dubs the critic, who is unable to write, 
 Velox. 2 It is of a light, playful character as Martial deplores 
 his inability to imitate the Greeks in changing the quantity of 
 words to suit the metre. 3 It enforces an entirely dignified 
 thought in the closing line of the epigram on Portia, / nunc et 
 ferrum, turba molesta, nega.* It is very frequently combined with 
 other forms of wit. 5 Though it cannot secure, in a short space, 
 the deadly power of sustained earnestness, it shows, in some of 
 the epigrams, remarkable subtlety and penetration. The friend- 
 ly advice bestowed upon the plagiarist is the more nipping, on 
 account of the admirable delicacy. 6 The irony is often heighten- 
 ed by skillful proof and qualification, which give the appearance 
 of a careful regard for truth. 7 At times, it has many edges and 
 cuts in more than one direction. The ironical epigram in which 
 Martial promises to send his freedman as the escort of the great 
 lord, 8 discloses not only the servility of the ordinary client, but 
 
 1 Cf. Chesterfield Letter CXXXIV. 
 
 2 I, no. Cf. II, 7; II, 35J X, 39- 
 
 3 IX, n, 16-17. Light irony is also found in II, 6, i and 17; II, 43, I and 
 16; II, 71, i and 5; V, 21, 3-4; VI, 46, 2; VII, 92; XIV, 35. 
 
 4 I, 42, 6. Cf. sp. 22, 12; VII, 88, 10; X, 96, 13; XI, 33, 3- 
 
 5 I, 18, 5 and 7; II, 445 IV, 26, 4; IV, 66, 18; V, 37, 24; VIII, 33, 23-26; VIII, 
 67, 9; VIII, 69, 3; XII, 81. 
 
 6 I, 66. Cf. VIII, 48. 
 
 7 III, 46; IV, 46; I, 19, 31 V, 28, 8-9. 
 
 8 III, 46. 
 
Martial's Wit and Humor 35 
 
 also the vulgarity of a patron who could wish to claim such 
 service from a friend. 
 
 No more powerful irony has ever been attained in epigram- 
 matic form than in the lines on the hag Philaenis. 1 What a 
 width of contrast in time is expressed in the ironical lament : 
 
 Rapta es ad infernas tarn cito Ditis aquas? 
 Euboicae nondum numerabas longa Sibyllae 
 Tempera: maior erat mensibus ilia tribus. 
 
 Not keener are the parallel lines of Pope, which in Hazlitt's 
 judgment contain the finest wit ever penned: 
 
 "Now night descending, the proud scene is o'er 
 But lives in Settle's numbers one day more" 
 
 The panegyric on the sorceress is fittingly closed with the ironi- 
 cal benediction: 
 
 Sit tibi terra levis mollique tegaris harena 
 Ne tua non possint eruere ossa canes. 
 
 As a satirist, Martial shows notable deficiencies in comparison 
 with Horace or Juvenal, the two, who may be said to have given 
 a permanent meaning to the word satire. This meaning is 
 indeed most complex, but loosely includes any form of humor 
 which has an ethical purpose. It furthers implies indirect con- 
 demnation and is accordingly often confused with the invariable 
 attendant, irony. It scourges the faults of individuals and the 
 injustice of society. In this complex conception, the ethical 
 purpose requires a capacity for moral judgment and criticism 
 of which Martial was wholly destitute. Though he saw clearly 
 the inconsistencies of the life around him, he never experienced 
 the feeling of disinterested righteous indignation. His lack of 
 ideals prevented his rising to those noble tones which are so 
 familiar to us in Horace and Addison. The moral sensibility 
 which can alone refine satire is always missing. He has not that 
 exquisite moral perception that enabled Pope in his portrait of 
 Atticus to paint the virtues as a foil for the faults. Nor has he 
 the force of Juvenal and Swift. The bitter element in satire 
 demands a certain latent power and a sustained intensity of 
 feeling, which can come only from long brooding and reflection. 
 
 1 IX, 29. 
 
36 Martial's Wit and Humor 
 
 Rage must not expend itself in instantaneous denunciation; it 
 must be suppressed that it may gather strength. But Martial's 
 temperament favored immediate expression. Long reflection 
 was not congenial to him. And the pressure of poverty, 
 magister artis ingenique largitor, made him dash off his epigrams 
 as rapidly as he could. Hence, his satire is seldom of that type 
 which secures its effect by saying hardly a tenth of what it feels. 
 The more caustic epigrams are unfortunately inspired by 
 selfish motives. The intense vituperation of which Martial 
 has shown himself capable 1 is too disagreeable a subject for one 
 to care to linger over it. The only palliation can be that sati- 
 rists have not generally been free from petty animosity. Horace 
 believed in the function of satire as a personal weapon, and Pope 
 wrote his most incisive verses to punish the unfairness of Addi- 
 son. It is perhaps only natural that those epigrams which have 
 the strongest satirical ring 2 but are free from the personal tone, 
 should owe their indignation to the fact that the poet himself 
 has been the sufferer. We are reminded of the controlled anger 
 and ironical cynicism of Juvenal, as we read the advice to dis- 
 inherit a son who writes poetry. 3 The bitterness of the distich, 
 
 Genus, Aucte, lucri divites habent iram: 
 Odisse quam donare vilius constat* 
 
 is also explained : Martial has been the victim. 
 
 On the whole, his satire is best where it is pointed by his wit. 
 The distich III, 29, is an example of his most powerful manner. 
 Marvelously condensed, it is at once bitterly satiric and brilliant- 
 ly witty. The tone of serious purpose has an irony as deadly as 
 Swift's. In the few words, Has cum gemina compede dedicat 
 catenas, Saturne, tibi Zoilus, is pictured the whole ignominy of 
 Zoilus' past, the fact that he had been not merely a slave, but a 
 runaway slave as well. In the closing words, anulos priores, we 
 have implied, suggested, more vividly than any statement could 
 give it, the unwarrantable assumption of the parvenu to-day. 
 The subtle effect is gained by saving until the end, the first mem- 
 
 1 X, 5 - 
 
 2 II, 53; HI, 4, 7-8; HI, 37? V, 81; VI, 8; IX, 73; X, 76; XI, 24. 
 
 3 V, 56. 
 
 4 XII, 13. 
 
Martial's Wit and Humor 37 
 
 her of the comic contrast and then suggesting it. It is doubt- 
 ful if more contrast was ever compressed into two words. 
 
 Such epigrams, however, should not mislead us in regard to 
 the relation which Martial bore to the world. It is true that he 
 fully believed in the use of bitterness, as well as spiciness. 1 It 
 was a sure proof that the dart had gone home, if some unnamed 
 individual was trembling with fear or hatred. 2 The epigram- 
 matist was thoroughly familiar with the Romans and well knew 
 that insipid sweets had no relish for them. 3 Yet he probably 
 caused few people serious pain by his ridicule. For he removed 
 the personal sting from the more cutting epigrams, by using 
 fictitious names. He was aware that caustic ridicule is a danger- 
 ous weapon. As his wit was his only dependence, he could not 
 afford to inflict wounds. "Tongilianus, " he remarks, "possesses 
 satirical wit; the result is, that he possesses nothing else." 4 
 But apart from the consequences, Martial had no desire to cause 
 needless pain. In his temperament, there was no deep-grained 
 malice. He could not be called a good hater. Since he recog- 
 nized himself as so very weak and human, and jested continually 
 at his own expense, he could not possibly be harsh towards others. 
 Thus he spared the humble and helpless, as well as the rich and 
 powerful. 5 He declared that his purpose was to attack the 
 fault, to spare the individual. He could say more truthfully 
 than Pope: 
 
 "Cursed be the verse, how well soe'er the flow, 
 That tends to make one worthy man my foe." 
 
 He preferred to use his wit to gratify friends, rather than to 
 provoke enemies. He took delight in complimenting his ac- 
 quaintances and thus conferring upon them a sort of immortal- 
 ity. 6 The people of his day regarded him as a friendly humorist, 
 
 1 VII, 25, 3. 
 
 2 VI, 60. 
 
 3 VII, 25, 5-6. 
 
 4 XII, 88. 
 
 5 I, pr. 3; X, 33, 10. Cf. VII, 12; VII, 72; X, 3. 
 
 6 IV, 31; V, 15, 1-4. Many of these compliments, such as those paid to 
 Silius Italicus, were simply polite lies. For Martial was too shrewd to be- 
 lieve what he said. 
 
38 Martial's Wit and Humor 
 
 not as a stern castigator or misanthrope. Pliny is but giving 
 expression to the popular estimate, when he says that Martial 
 was as free from malice, as he was witty and spicy. 1 
 
 The explanation of his talent must be sought primarily in 
 certain mental characteristics. Possibly the most striking of 
 all these is his keen observation. Crookedness and inconsisten- 
 cies were glaring to his view, because of his clearness of vision. 
 His wit and humor were due, in great measure, to his unusual 
 insight into human life and its motives, and to his power to 
 seize the most salient illustrations. With this acute perception 
 was combined an unusual imaginative power. It is a signifi- 
 cant fact, that intimately as wit and humor are connected, few 
 men of genius have been preeminent in both; that, in general, 
 we can range in one group the wits, in another, the humorists 
 of all time. Similarly, the wittiest people on the face of the 
 earth have been declared by one of their own great countrymen 
 to be absolutely destitute of humor; 2 while the Americans, 
 whose humor is certainly most pervading and universal, if not 
 of the highest quality, are not especially witty. The explana- 
 tion seems to be that lucidity of penetration, the principal 
 source of wit, and imaginative power, the source of humor, are 
 very seldom so evenly balanced, as they were in Martial's case. 
 
 Certain qualities of temperament, as well as of mind, were 
 contributing influences to his literary work. Chief among these 
 was a cynical indifference, an absence of intense purpose. In 
 this careless ease, he resembles the great humorist of his nation, 
 Petronius. The quality in both is the more remarkable, be- 
 cause it is rarely found in a Roman character. The slight de- 
 gree of emotion and interest which these two men attached to 
 the ordinary view of success made it possible for them to regard 
 life as a continuous comedy. Only those who are not acting a 
 part in the comedy of life can be the true spectators. Had 
 Martial energetically devoted himself to legal practice, as his 
 
 J Ep. 3, 21. 
 
 2 Taine, in a discussion of the difference between the French and the Eng- 
 lish, in his "Histoire de la litterature anglaise. " See also Baldensperger for 
 full explanation of the uses in France of the word "humor. " 
 
Martial's Wit and Humor 39 
 
 friends advised, 1 he could not have written the epigrams. His 
 sense of the ludicrous had free play, because of that temper- 
 amental laziness and love of ease, 2 which finally made the bond- 
 age of social duties intolerable to him and gave him a longing 
 for the inactivity of country life. His personal humility is a 
 kindred quality, which made possible that complete abandon 
 needed by the man clad in motley. Holmes has well observed 
 that the wit knows that his place is at the tail of the procession. 
 Martial was entirely willing to take this place; to dispense with 
 admiration and to enjoy mere popularity. 3 Not that he under- 
 valued his literary importance. With that unwavering assurance 
 of future fame, which is so characteristic of the Romans, which 
 found its earliest expression in the epitaph of Naevius, its most 
 triumphant, in the Exegi monumentum, he declares that his 
 work shall live when the marbles along the great roads have 
 crumbled to fragments. 4 But this conviction never caused him 
 to lose sight of the humble rank to which epigram and epigram- 
 matist are entitled. 5 He tells his friends, that the reading of 
 his poems is about as agreeable and profitable a diversion, as 
 playing games with nuts. 6 His attitude is expressed in the 
 words: nos haec novimus esse nihil. 7 This freedom from pride 
 often enabled him to see the ridiculous where others were blind. 
 Yet another characteristic, which helps to explain his literary 
 achievement, is his dread of ennui. 8 In this respect he seems 
 almost like a Frenchman. His own desire for amusement made 
 him desire to give amusement to others. His ambition was to 
 add to the pleasure of the hours spent over the wine and the 
 dice. 9 He claimed as his special right, the frivolous season of 
 the Saturnalia. 10 He was glad to provide entertainment even 
 
 1 II, 30, 5; II, 90. 
 
 2 VI, 43; XII, 68. 
 
 3 IX, pr. 6. 
 
 4 VIII, 3, 5-8. Cf. VII, 84, 7-8; X, 2. 
 
 5 XII, 94, 9- 
 
 6 V, 30, 7-8- C/. I, 113,3-4- 
 
 7 XIII, 2, 8. Gay was wont to preface his works with these words. 
 
 8 VII, 3- 
 
 9 II, i, 9-10; IV, 14, 6-12. 
 
 10 V, 30, 5-6. 
 
40 Martial's Wit and Humor 
 
 for the idle crowd that gathered in the porticoes to bet on the 
 races. 1 He had a great horror of boring people. 2 His intense 
 dislike of dullness and triteness had much to do with making 
 him the wit that he was. 
 
 His talent was favored by external circumstances. He was 
 fortunate in the material for his themes. Life was so inconsist- 
 ent and insincere that, as Juvenal said, it was hard to keep from 
 writing satire. The highly stratified society, with freedmen at 
 the top, could show such extremes of obsequiousness, affecta- 
 tion, and snobbery, as have happily not been paralleled in any 
 other period. Caste lines were sharply drawn; the rich enjoyed 
 special privileges; and the unworthy could most easily leap the 
 barriers between classes. 3 The inevitable result was absurd 
 emulation on the part of those in the lower strata and vulgar 
 arrogance in high places. The importance of seeming to be 
 rich caused extravagant outlay for showy luxuries. Men lived 
 for appearances. Shams and pretensions were dominant. Even 
 literature and art had their peculiar affectations. 4 Religious 
 hypocrisy, the vice which is the favorite theme of English satire, 
 is, indeed, for the most part, conspicuous by its absence. Per- 
 haps the explanation may be that when religion takes her de- 
 parture, hypocrisy accompanies her, although superstition 
 often remains behind. Yet two epigrams prove that even in 
 that wicked age, cant was not entirely unknown. 5 On the whole, 
 Folly has seldom appeared in so many different guises. Like 
 the court of Louis XIV, which has been called "a despotism 
 tempered by epigrams," the age of Domitian was peculiarly 
 adapted to furnish sport for the wearer of cap and bells. After 
 Martial had retired to Spain, he fully recognized what a variety 
 of themes had been at hand in the infinite complexity and the 
 infinite contrasts of the metropolis. In an outburst of despair, 
 he declared that the genius lay in the very subject matter itself. 6 
 
 *XI, i, 10-16. 
 
 2 II, i, 11-12; IV, 89. 
 
 3 V, 5 6. 
 
 4 V, 10; VIII, 69. 
 
 5 IX, 70; XII, 70. 
 
 6 XII, pr. 
 
Martial's Wit and Humor 41 
 
 Another circumstance that greatly favored the epigram- 
 matist, was the character of his audience. Wit must have ap- 
 preciation. Its jewels have always been displayed in greatest 
 profusion in such sympathetic circles as those that gathered at 
 the Mermaid Tavern or at Will's Coffee House. Friendly 
 listeners will often inspire dull people to say bright things. A 
 goal, as well as a starting-point, is needed for the electric flash. 
 In Rome there were countless idlers that would warmly welcome 
 the author of a bon mot. Thus Martial's wit made him a social 
 favorite and a frequent guest at the tables of the wealthy. 1 
 And the very applause which he there received was a spur to 
 his talent. In fact, he doubtless improvised 2 many of his epi- 
 grams at the dinner table, just as the wits of the Queen Anne 
 age wrote on their wine glasses the bright thoughts inspired by 
 the wine and the good company. For many of the epigrams are 
 simply crystallizations of conversational repartee. When the 
 first book was published, it met with a very favorable reception. 3 
 The readers found in the wit a most agreeable revenge for the 
 thousand social annoyances of the day. They had been irri- 
 tated by the arrogance of the rich freedmen, the burden of 
 clientage, and the stinginess of patrons. Hence, they felt grate- 
 ful to the man who could assail their oppressors. The variety 
 of view points, taken in the different epigrams, made the appeal 
 a very wide one. One man enjoyed the attack on the money 
 lender; 4 another, that on the borrower. 5 Consequently, the 
 books were so popular, that the dealers took them down from 
 the shelves before the customers had time to state their wants. 6 
 Even men of high official position would neglect the business of 
 the hour to enjoy the latest book. 7 The unusual responsiveness 
 of the public 8 was a strong incentive to the creative faculty. 
 
 1 IX, 97, 9-10. Friedlaender shrewdly suggests that Martial is speaking 
 of himself in VII, 76. 
 
 2 Friedlaender. 
 
 3 V, 16, 3; VI, 60, 1-2. 
 
 4 II, 30. 
 
 5 IV, 15; VIII, 37- 
 
 6 I, 117, 13-17. 
 
 7 VII, 97, 5-6- 
 
 8 That the epigrams were favorite reading for journeys is proved by I, 2. 
 Emerson, in traveling, was in the habit of taking along a volume of Martial. 
 
42 Martial's Wit and Humor 
 
 In the language at hand, Martial was peculiarly fortunate. 
 It is true that, when any language has been wielded in some 
 definite way with especial success, we are disposed to infer the 
 adaptability of the language from the accident of individual 
 talent. But certain characteristics of Latin seem to indicate 
 peculiar fitness for epigrammatic expression. In the first place, 
 it is free from emotion, marked by frigidity and sententious- 
 ness, accordingly but ill adapted to the lyric. Now the epi- 
 gram is the one form of poetry that involves little emotion; it 
 is distinctively intellectual. So true is this that the German 
 word " Sinngedicht " is derived from the idea of thought and re- 
 flection. Again, brevity and conciseness, capacity for com- 
 pression, are too characteristic of Latin writers, from Cato to 
 Tacitus, to be merely accidental; these, too, are the very essen- 
 tials of the epigram. Perhaps the most marked feature of Latin 
 is its periodic structure, due to the high degree of inflection, its 
 power to accumulate effect or to gain effect by arrangement. 
 The wit of epigrammatic poetry almost hangs upon arrangement ; 
 the resolution must be saved for the right moment, and at the 
 same time, inversions must be perfectly natural. Furthermore, 
 Latin readily lends itself to the antithetic form which wit so 
 often assumes. Hence, the instinct which has made epigram- 
 matists of every period turn to this language for expression, has 
 not been without its basis in real reason. 
 
 But the language could be of service only to the man who knew 
 how to use it. Martial's ready command of its resources con- 
 tributes more to the wit and humor than the casual reader is 
 likely to perceive. His style is as clear as a crystal. He has a 
 great horror of obscurity. He desires that he may please the 
 learned, but may not need their interpretation. 1 He has that 
 same natural, conversational quality in the use of language as 
 distinguishes the English epigrammatist, Prior. He always 
 avoids the pitfalls of labored effort and of inflation. 2 He wisely 
 prefers to be negligent in expression than to be over-precise. 3 
 
 1 X, 21. 
 
 2 II, 86, 9-10; IV, 49, 7-8. 
 
 2 IX, 81, 2-3. XIV, 120, shows a preference for the colloquial form of a 
 word to the etymological form used by half educated schoolmasters. 
 
Martial's Wit and Humor 43 
 
 The easy simplicity of his style gives to his jokes the same telling 
 effect that the apparent carelessness of the narrator gives to the 
 humorous story. 
 
 From the time when he began to write until he left Rome, 
 there was but little change in the quality or power of his wit and 
 humor. The probability is that most of his epigrams were 
 written after he reached middle age. There must be a slight 
 exaggeration in his reference to the jokes of his boyhood. 1 
 Authors have not infrequently been disposed to assign their 
 work to the period of youth in order to gain more tolerant treat- 
 ment. At least, we know that Martial was about twenty-five 
 years old when he came to Rome. He can hardly have written 
 much before this time. City life alone can foster wit. The 
 years immediately succeeding his arrival must have been spent 
 in acquiring familiarity with the great city. Some social ex- 
 perience must have been needed before the provincial could 
 discover where his talent lay. Besides, the taste for satire comes 
 only with maturity. The cynical element is not congenial to 
 the hopeful enthusiasm of youth. Hence, most of the epigrams 
 were probably composed after Martial was forty years of age. 
 The fertility of his genius up to the time when he returned to 
 Spain is amazing. 2 Had he remained at Rome, his creative 
 power would have shown no tendency to wane. For the darts 
 of wit and the edge of satire are not dulled, but sharpened by 
 advancing years. 
 
 His literary fate, however, had already been determined. 
 Immortality is his, because he first embodied and combined 
 in the form of the epigram many kinds of wit and humor. 
 Judged from the poetical standpoint alone, he could claim no 
 high rank. He was a stranger to the love, longing, and hope 
 which makes the lyric poet. It is true that he did possess a 
 slight portion of the idyllic spirit; a feeling for the delights of 
 the country and a power to picture the charms of the hunt and of 
 
 *I. 113. i- 
 
 2 His talent seems the more remarkable when we consider that his wit was 
 his dependence. Cf. IV, 49, 1-2, and remarks by Charles Lamb in News- 
 papers Thirty-five Years Ago, on the difficulty of furnishing a stipulated num- 
 ber of jokes. 
 
44 Martial's Wit and Humor 
 
 the farmer's fireside. 1 Now and then he shows a certain affinity 
 with Herrick. But his descriptions of country life are relatively 
 few and are far inferior to similar classic, as well as modern, de- 
 lineations. The deadening effect of his residence in Spain, 
 where he was surrounded by rich rural beauty, is clear proof 
 that his talent was not essentially idyllic. But in humor and 
 wit, he occupies an absolutely unique place. 2 His humor in 
 some instances, to be sure, is marred by change of customs and 
 ideals. As humor makes a demand on the sympathies, it loses 
 its effect when viewpoints change. While it is enjoyed, it 
 pleases far more than wit. It has the further advantage, that 
 it will not be hurt by frequent rereading, so long as the reader's 
 likes and dislikes remain fixed. But it suffers instantly from a 
 change in taste. It is, accordingly, only natural that Martial's 
 humor should have lost value for the modern world. Yet, we 
 should not forget that it widely appealed to the people of his 
 day. It was delightfully amusing to the Romans, familiar by 
 daily experience with the oddities upon which he turned the 
 searchlight of his own keen observation. Moreover, it is occa- 
 sionally so rich that it impresses some readers as his distinctive 
 quality. His wit, however, is his real title to fame. It will 
 never lose its value; for it appeals to the intellect, not to the 
 sympathies. It is remarkable for variety, vivacity, overflowing 
 wealth, and frequent fineness and delicacy. It is, in rare in- 
 stances, so brilliant, that we feel as if Martial "had meant to 
 fling his whole soul in the jest and live a fool the rest of his dull 
 life." He has been more successful than Lessing or Goethe, 
 Prior or Burns, in combining in a few short lines many tones of 
 wit, humor, irony, and satire. In his peculiar field, the Latin 
 epigrammatist has been imitated by many, equalled by none. 
 
 1 1, 49- 
 
 2 During the life time of Martial, his wit and humor were the chief grounds 
 of his fame. The only epigram which he mentions because of its unusual 
 popularity (VIII, 28, mentioned in IX, 49, 1-2) is richly humorous. 
 
BIBLIOGRAPHY 
 
 Zerstreute Anmerkungen iiber das Epigramm und einige der vornehmsten 
 Epigrammatisten, Gotthold Ephraim Lessing. 1771. 
 
 Aesthetik, Friedrich Theodor Vischer. Reutlingen und Leipzig. 1846. 
 Erster Theil. Zweiter Abschnitt. 
 
 Ueber den Witz, Kuno Fischer. Heidelberg. 1889. 
 
 Der Witz und seine Beziehung zum Unbewussten, Prof. Dr. Sigm. Freud. 
 Leipzig und Wien. 1905. 
 
 Komik und Humor, Theodor Lipps. Hamburg und Leipzig. 1898. 
 
 Physiologic und Psychologic des Lachens und des Komischen, Ewald 
 Hecker. Berlin. 1873. 
 
 Kritik der Urtheilskraft, Kant. Erster Theil, 54. 
 
 Aesthetik, Moriz Carriere. Leipzig. 1873. Erster Theil. Vierter Ab- 
 schnitt. 
 
 Die Welt als Wille und Vorstellung, Arthur Schopenhauer. 1818. Zweiter 
 Band, Kapitel 8. Zur Theorie des Lacherlichen. 
 
 Allgemeine Aesthetik, Robert Zimmermann. Wien. 1865. Buch 3, 
 Kapitel 2. 
 
 Grundzuge der physiologischen Psychologic, Wilhelm Wundt. Leipzig. 
 1880. Zweiter Band, Dritter Abschnitt, Vierzehntes Kapitel. 
 
 Vorlesungen iiber die Aesthetik, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel. Berlin. 
 1842. Erster Theil, Zweite Auflage. Einleitung, Die Ironic. Zweiter 
 Theil, Drittes Kapitel, Das alte Epigramm. 
 
 Ueber das Komische und dessen Verwendung in der Poesie, Otto Speyer. 
 Berlin. 1877. 
 
 Die Theorie des Witzes und der Novelle nach dem De sermone des Jovianus 
 Pontanus, Ernst Walser. Strassburg. 1908. 
 
 Geschichte der komischen Literatur, Karl Friedrich Flogel. Leipzig. 
 1784. 
 
 Vorschule der Aesthetik, Jean Paul. Paris. 1843. Sammtliche Werke, 
 Dritter Band. 
 
 Ueber das Erhabene und Komische, Fr. Th. Vischer. Stuttgart. 1837. 
 Geschichte der Aesthetik in Deutschland, Hermann Lotze. Miinchen. 
 1868. Zweites Buch, Viertes Kapitel. 
 
 Humoristische Bibliothek, Moritz Gottlieb Saphir-mit einer Vorrede von 
 Friedrich dem Lachenden. Wien. 1863. Dritter Band. 
 
 45 
 
46 Martial's Wit and Humor 
 
 Das Gefiihl, Theobald Ziegler. Leipzig. 1908. 
 
 Les definitions de 1'humour, F. Baldensperger. Paris. 1907. 
 
 Le rire et la caricature, Paul Gaultier. Paris. 1906. 
 
 Le rire; essai sur la signification du comique, Henri Bergson. 4e ed. Paris. 
 1906. 
 
 Psychologic du rire, L. Dugas. Paris. 1902. 
 
 Essay concerning Human Understanding, John Locke. Book II, Chapter 
 XL 
 
 Essay on Satire, John Dryden. 
 
 Characters, Samuel Butler. An Epigrammatist. 
 
 Spectator, No. 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63. 
 
 Sydney Smith on wit in Edinburgh Review, July, 1803. 
 
 Sermon XIV in the Theological Works of Isaac Barrow. 
 
 Notes and Lectures of S. T. Coleridge edited by Mrs. H. N. Coleridge. 
 London. 1849. Volume II, Lecture IX. 
 
 Essay on Irish Bulls, Maria Edgeworth. London. 1801. 
 
 Popular Fallacy: That the worst puns are the best, Charles Lamb. 
 
 Imaginary Conversations, Walter Savage Landor. Conversation between 
 Alfieri and Salomon, the Florentine Jew. 
 
 The Comic, Ralph Waldo Emerson. 
 
 Charity and Humor, William Makepeace Thackeray. 
 
 Elements of Criticism, Henry Home, Lord Kames. Edinburgh. 1763. 
 
 Characteristics of Men, Manners, Opinions, Times, Anthony, Earl of 
 Shaftesbury. 1727. Vol. i. 
 
 Essay on Wit and Humor, James Henry Leigh Hunt. 
 
 Lectures on the English Comic Writers, William Hazlitt. London. 1818. 
 Lecture I on Wit and Humor. 
 
 Essays and Leaves from a Notebook, George Eliot. London. West- 
 minster Review, 1856. German Wit; Heinrich Heine. 
 
 The English Works of Thomas Hobbles of Malmesbury edited by Sir Wil- 
 liam Molesworth, Bart. London. 1839. Vol. Ill, Part I, Chapter 6. 
 
 Humor, Wit, Fun, and Satire, J. R. Lowell. Century XXV, 124. 
 
 The Emotions and the Will, Alexander Bain. London. 1859. 
 
 Wit and Humor. The Ludicrous Side of Life (in Literature and Life), 
 E. P. Whipple. Boston. 1849. 
 
 An Analysis of Wit and Humor, F. R. Fleet. London. 1888. 
 
 Poetry, Comedy, and Duty, Charles Carroll Everett. Boston. 1888. 
 
 Essay on Comedy and the Uses of the Comic Spirit, George Meredith. 
 London. 1877. 
 
 Essay on Laughter, James Sully. New York. 1902. 
 
Martial's Wit and Humor 47 
 
 The Physiology of Laughter, Herbert Spencer. Macmillan's Magazine, 
 March, 1860. 
 
 The New Fiction and other essays (including an essay on The Future of 
 Humor), H. D. Trail. London. 1897. 
 
 The Analysis of Humor, H. D. Trail. Fortnightly Review, September, 
 1882. 
 
 Theory of the Ludicrous, W. S. Lilly. Fortnightly Review, May, 1896. 
 
 The Humorous in Literature, J. H. Shorthouse. Macmillan's Magazine, 
 March, 1883. 
 
 The Psychology of Tickling, Laughing, and the Comic, G. Stanley Hall 
 and Arthur Allin. American Journal of Psychology, October, 1897. 
 
 A Theory of the Comic, William Norman Guthrie. International Quar- 
 terly, June-September, 1903. 
 
 Wit and Humor: Their Use and Abuse, William Mathews, LL. D. Chicago. 
 1888. 
 
 A Study of Lapses, H. Heath Bawden, A. M. Psychological Review, 
 April, 1900. 
 
 Essays in Literary Interpretation: A Word about Humor, Hamilton Wright 
 Mabie. New York. 1892. 
 
Index of References to Epigrams 
 
 Book. Epigram 
 Sp. 2 . 
 
 Page of 
 Thesis. 
 
 . 24 
 
 I 
 
 5ook. Epigram. 
 43 . 
 
 Page of 
 Thesis. 
 
 24 
 
 Book. 
 
 Epigram 
 108 . . 
 
 Page of 
 Thesis 
 
 10, 27, 20 
 
 So., 4. . 
 
 26 
 
 
 , 44 
 
 10 21 
 
 
 IOO 
 
 24 25 28 
 
 So 7 
 
 25 
 
 
 47 
 
 13 24 
 
 
 no 
 
 22 3d 
 
 Sp., Q . 
 
 25 
 
 
 48 . 
 
 26 
 
 
 112 . 
 
 27 
 
 Sp., 26 . 
 
 24 
 
 
 40 . 
 
 44 
 
 
 113 
 
 30 43 
 
 Sp., 2Q . . 
 
 25 
 
 
 5O .. 
 
 . . . 12 
 
 
 114. . 
 
 23 
 
 Sp.. 31 . 
 
 24. 
 
 
 51 . 
 
 26 
 
 
 115 
 
 27 
 
 pr. . 
 
 . .25, 37 
 
 
 , 52 . . 
 
 . 20 
 
 
 117 . . 
 
 . 12, 18, 41 
 
 ! 
 
 7 
 
 
 53 
 
 20 
 
 
 118. 
 
 18 
 
 7 . 
 
 18 29 
 
 
 54. . 
 
 22 
 
 II 
 
 i 18 
 
 20 30 dO 
 
 4 .. 
 
 24 
 
 
 55 . . 
 
 . 24 
 
 II, 
 
 3 
 
 . 23 
 
 S 
 
 18 23 
 
 
 56 . 
 
 28 
 
 II, 
 
 5 
 
 2d 
 
 g 
 
 26 
 
 
 57 . 
 
 2d 
 
 II 
 
 6 18 
 
 23 20 3d 
 
 , 10 .. 
 II 
 
 25 
 
 23 28 
 
 
 59 
 60 
 
 .... 2 4 
 26 
 
 II, 
 II 
 
 7 .... 
 8 
 
 ....13, 34 
 18 
 
 , 12 ... 
 
 .26 
 
 
 63. . 
 
 . 24 
 
 II, 
 
 II 
 
 . . . .23, 28 
 
 J-5 . 
 
 25 
 
 
 64 
 
 25 
 
 II, 
 
 12 . . 
 
 26 
 
 14 
 
 27 
 
 
 66 
 
 24 3d 
 
 II 
 
 13 
 
 13 
 
 15 . 
 
 25 
 
 
 68 
 
 21 
 
 II, 
 
 
 . . 15, 21 
 
 17 . 
 
 21 
 
 
 60 
 
 II 28 
 
 II, 
 
 15 
 
 28 
 
 18 
 
 24 2Q 34 
 
 
 7O 
 
 2Q 
 
 II 
 
 16 
 
 15 26 
 
 10 . 
 
 II 34 
 
 
 72 . . 
 
 20 
 
 II, 
 
 17. . 
 
 12 
 
 20 
 
 21 
 
 
 78 
 
 27 
 
 II, 
 
 18 
 
 23, 20 
 
 , 21 . 
 
 25 
 
 
 70. . 
 
 ... 22 
 
 II, 
 
 10- 
 
 . 23 
 
 24 . 
 
 23 
 
 
 80 
 
 28 
 
 II, 
 
 2O . 
 
 . 2O 
 
 25 
 
 24 
 
 
 81 
 
 2O 
 
 II 
 
 23 
 
 20 
 
 26 . 
 
 28 
 
 
 85 
 
 12 
 
 II, 
 
 24. . 
 
 . 2d 
 
 27 
 
 26 
 
 
 86 
 
 15 25 
 
 II, 
 
 27 
 
 IS 
 
 28 . . 
 
 3O 
 
 
 80. . 
 
 1C 
 
 II, 
 
 20- 
 
 . .27, 31 
 
 20 
 
 21 
 
 
 QI 
 
 24 27 
 
 II, 
 
 3O . 
 
 .24, 30, 41 
 
 3O . 
 
 . . 13, 2O 
 
 
 05- . 
 
 .... 22 
 
 II, 
 
 32 . 
 
 24 
 
 -52 . 
 
 2^ 
 
 
 07. 
 
 1C 
 
 II, 
 
 35 
 
 ii, 28, 34 
 
 2-2 . 
 
 . 15 
 
 
 98 
 
 . . . . 2O 
 
 II, 
 
 37. . . . 
 
 26 
 
 38 .. 
 
 2O 
 
 
 00- 
 
 28 
 
 II, 
 
 38.. 
 
 . . .21, 27 
 
 4O 
 
 24 
 
 
 IOO .... 
 
 12, 15 
 
 II, 
 
 40. . 
 
 15 
 
 dl 
 
 2O 
 
 
 1 02 
 
 27 
 
 II, 
 
 41 . 
 
 . 20 
 
 I, 42 . 
 
 34 
 
 T 
 
 107 . 
 
 . 10, 20 
 
 II, 
 
 43 I 5, 
 
 23, 29, 34 
 
 
 
 
 48 
 
 
 
 
 
Martial's Wit and Humor 
 
 49 
 
 Book. Epigram 
 
 II, 44 
 
 Page of 
 Thesis. 
 
 . 15, 28, 34 
 
 Book. Epigram. 
 Ill, 22 
 
 Page of 
 Thesis. 
 
 15, 26 
 
 Book. Epigram. 
 
 IV, 27 
 
 Page of 
 Thesis. 
 
 10 
 
 II, 46.. 
 
 24 
 
 Ill, 25 
 
 .23, 28 
 
 IV, 29 
 
 6, 8 
 
 II, S3-.- 
 II, 55 
 
 36 
 26 
 
 Ill, 27 
 HI, 29 
 
 ...30 
 16 
 
 IV, 31 ... 
 
 IV, 12 
 
 12, 16, 37 
 26 
 
 II, 57 
 
 I c; 
 
 HI, 30 . . 
 
 21 
 
 IV 11 
 
 27 
 
 II, 59-.. 
 
 26 
 
 Ill, 31 
 
 ... 27 
 
 IV, 34.. 
 
 2O 
 
 II, 64... 
 
 . 24 
 
 HI, 33-. 
 
 21 
 
 IV, 16 . 
 
 II 24. 
 
 II, 6s 
 
 18, 27 
 
 HI, 34.. 
 
 26 
 
 IV, 17 
 
 IS l8 21 
 
 II, 66... 
 
 29 
 
 Ill, 35 
 
 ... 28 
 
 IV, 40 
 
 27 
 
 II, 67... 
 
 21 
 
 Ill, 36 
 
 .27, 29 
 
 IV, 41 . . 
 
 21 
 
 II, 68. .. 
 
 24 
 
 Ill, 37 . 
 
 24, 36 
 
 IV, 44 
 
 26 
 
 II, 69 
 
 . . . 15, 23 
 
 HI, 39 
 
 II , 26 
 
 IV 46 
 
 11 14. 
 
 II, 7i -6, 
 
 18, 27, 34 
 
 III, 40 
 
 ... 28 
 
 IV, 47 . . 
 
 21 
 
 II, 74 . 
 
 . . IS, 27 
 
 Ill, 41 
 
 . 18 
 
 IV, 4Q 17, 
 
 24, 42, 41 
 
 II, 77 ... 
 
 .20, 26, 31 
 
 Ill, 43 
 
 .11, 29 
 
 IV, 51 
 
 27 
 
 II, 78... 
 
 28 
 
 Ill, 44.. 
 
 . IS 
 
 IV, 53 . . 
 
 2O 
 
 II, 79 . . . 
 
 . . . .23, 26 
 
 Ill, 45 
 
 .IS, 20 
 
 IV, 55 
 
 
 II, 80. . 
 
 26 
 
 III, 46 
 
 27, 14 
 
 IV, 56 
 
 10, 20 
 
 II, 81... 
 II, 85 ... 
 
 27 
 ... .19, 28 
 
 HI, 47 
 Ill, 48 . . 
 
 13, 23 
 . IS 
 
 IV, 60.... 
 IV, 61 . . . 
 
 26 
 
 18 
 
 II, 86 . .. 
 
 .12, 42 
 
 Ill, 50 
 
 IS 
 
 IV, 62 
 
 is 
 
 II, 88 . .. 
 
 . . . .24, 27 
 
 III, 56 
 
 ... 28 
 
 IV, 65 
 
 II 
 
 II, 90... 
 
 19 
 
 Ill, 58... 
 
 
 IV, 66 . . 
 
 . 14 
 
 II, 9i -. 
 II, 92... 
 
 ....19, 24 
 28 
 
 HI, 59 
 Ill, 60 
 
 ...13 
 ... 26 
 
 IV, 67.... 
 IV, 68 
 
 24 
 . 24 
 
 II, 93 . 
 
 . .28, 29 
 
 Ill, 61.. 
 
 ... 22 
 
 IV, 69. 
 
 . 21 
 
 Ill, i .... 
 
 Ill, 2 
 
 .28, 29, 32 
 
 20 
 
 Ill, 62 
 HI 63 
 
 ... 22 
 21 
 
 IV, 70.... 
 IV, 72 
 
 21 
 22, 12 
 
 III, 4 ... 
 
 . . . .27, 36 
 
 III, 64 
 
 21, 27 
 
 IV, 71.. 
 
 26 
 
 Ill, 5 
 
 . 20 
 
 III, 66 
 
 24. 
 
 IV, 74 
 
 26 
 
 III, 7. 
 
 10 
 
 III 67 
 
 21 
 
 IV, 75 
 
 26 
 
 Ill, 8 
 
 21 
 
 III 04 
 
 24. 
 
 IV 76 
 
 19 28 
 
 III, 9.. 
 
 21 
 
 III, 99 
 
 2O 
 
 IV, 77 
 
 18, 27 
 
 Ill, 10. . 
 
 2S 
 
 III 100 
 
 18 21 
 
 IV, 78 
 
 
 Ill, ii 
 
 22 
 
 IV 2 
 
 2O 
 
 IV 79 
 
 IS. 27 
 
 III, 12... 
 
 29 
 
 IV, 10 . . 
 
 18, 21 
 
 IV, 80 
 
 21 
 
 Ill, 13... 
 
 21 
 
 IV, n 
 
 24. 
 
 IV, 81 
 
 . IS, 24 
 
 Ill, 14 
 
 20 
 
 IV, 14 
 
 1O 
 
 JV 85 
 
 16 
 
 III, 15 
 
 21 
 
 IV is 
 
 18 41 
 
 IV 86 
 
 20 
 
 III 16 
 
 21 
 
 IV 18 
 
 26 
 
 IV 88 
 
 18 
 
 III, 18.. 
 
 . . . . 2O 
 
 IV, 20 
 
 24. 
 
 IV, 89 
 
 .21, 20, 4O 
 
 Ill, 19 
 
 26 
 
 IV 21 
 
 7 27 
 
 V i 
 
 . .. 18 
 
 III, 20 
 
 II 12 
 
 IV 24 
 
 27 
 
 V 4 
 
 26 
 
 III. 21.. 
 
 . 24 
 
 IV. 26 . ..m 
 
 . 27. ^4. 
 
 V. q. . 
 
 ..6, 27 
 
Martial's Wit and Humor 
 
 Book. Epigram. 
 
 V, 8 .... 
 V, 9. . 
 
 Page of 
 Thesis. 
 
 . . . .10, 26 
 13 
 
 Book. Epigram. 
 
 V, 63 
 V, 64 
 
 Page of 
 Thesis. 
 
 ... 22 
 
 ... 26 
 
 Book. Epigram 
 VI, 63 .16 
 VI, 65 
 
 Page of 
 Thesis. 
 
 , 22, 23, 29 
 24. ^1 
 
 V, 10 . 
 
 4O 
 
 V, 65 . 
 
 24 
 
 VI, 68 
 
 21 
 
 v, 13 
 
 24. 
 
 V, 66 
 
 22 
 
 VI, 70 
 
 2C 
 
 V, 14 . 
 
 . . . 16, 24 
 
 V, 70 .. 
 
 28 
 
 VI, 72 
 
 16 
 
 V, is 
 
 24, V7 
 
 V, 71 
 
 26 
 
 VI, 74 
 
 ii 
 
 V, 16 . . . 
 
 . 19, 27, 41 
 
 V, 73 . . 
 
 24 
 
 VI, 75 . 
 
 27, 3O 
 
 V, 17 
 
 16, 23 
 
 V, 74 .. 
 
 20 
 
 VI, 77 
 
 12 2Q 
 
 V, 18 . . . 
 
 . .26, 29 
 
 V, 75 
 
 ... 2O 
 
 VI, 78 . . . 
 
 . l6, 24 
 
 V, IQ.. 
 
 10 
 
 V, 76 . . 
 
 28 
 
 VI, 80 
 
 24 
 
 V, 21 
 
 28 34 
 
 V, 70 
 
 18 26 
 
 VI, 82 
 
 18 
 
 V, 22 
 
 26 
 
 V, 81 
 
 26, 36 
 
 VI, 84 . . 
 
 21, 24 
 
 V, 23 
 
 28 
 
 V, 84 
 
 21 
 
 VI, 86 
 
 27 
 
 V, 24... 
 
 26 
 
 VI, 5 
 
 .. . 18 
 
 VI, 87.. 
 
 24 
 
 V, 25.. 
 
 27 
 
 VI, 6... 
 
 28 
 
 VI, 88 
 
 16 
 
 V, 26 ... 
 
 22, 28, 3O 
 
 VI, 8 
 
 .27, 36 
 
 VI, 94 . . . 
 
 . . l6, 2T> 
 
 V, 27.. 
 
 16 
 
 VI, 9.. 
 
 20 
 
 VII, 3 
 
 24, 'Z.O 
 
 V, 28 
 
 -24. 
 
 VI, 10 
 
 10 
 
 VII, 4 
 
 I z 
 
 V, 29 .... 
 V, 30 
 
 27 
 
 1 8 30 
 
 VI, ii 
 
 VI, 12 
 
 .24, 26 
 
 1 1 20 
 
 VII, 5.... 
 VII, 8 
 
 26 
 
 7 
 
 V, 31 .. 
 
 26 
 
 VI, 15.. 
 
 . 26 
 
 VII, 9 
 
 28 
 
 V, 32 .... 
 V, 33 .. 
 
 28 
 18 
 
 VI, 17 
 VI, 18 
 
 26, 27 
 . . . 26 
 
 VII, n... 
 
 VII, 12... 
 
 26 
 
 . 37 
 
 V, 34 . 
 
 J-2 1.1. 
 
 VI, 19. 
 
 15 
 
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 IS 
 
 V, 35 .. 
 
 12 
 
 VI, 20 
 
 . . . 23 
 
 VII, 16.... 
 
 19 
 
 V, 36 . 
 
 18, 27 
 
 VI, 24.. 
 
 28 
 
 VII, 17 
 
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 V, 37 
 
 ?A 
 
 VI, 28 
 
 24. 33 
 
 VII, 19 
 
 26 
 
 V, 38 , 12, 
 
 V, 39 
 
 21, 26, 28 
 
 18 26 28 
 
 VI, 29 
 VI, 30 
 
 . . . 26 
 
 18 
 
 VII, 20 ... 
 VII, 21. .. 
 
 .16, 23, 30 
 21 
 
 V, 40. . 
 
 28 
 
 VI, 35 . 
 
 16, 23 
 
 VII, 23 
 
 24 
 
 V, 42 .. 
 
 26 
 
 VI, 40.. . 
 
 24 
 
 VII, 25 
 
 . 37 
 
 V 43 
 
 II 24. 
 
 VI, 41 
 
 26 
 
 VII, 27 
 
 12 
 
 V, 45.. 
 
 2^ 
 
 VI, 42 . 
 
 23 
 
 VII, 31 . . . 
 
 . ... 13, 26 
 
 V, 47 
 
 23 
 
 VI, 43 
 
 30 
 
 VII, 33 
 
 28 
 
 V, 49 .. 
 
 . . II 
 
 VI, 46. ., 
 
 . 34 
 
 VII, 36 
 
 24 
 
 V, 50 
 
 16 28 
 
 VI, 48 
 
 26 
 
 VII, 37 . 
 
 12 
 
 V, 51 
 
 V, 52 . 
 
 .. .15, 16 
 22, 24, 25 
 
 VI, 51 
 
 VI, 53 
 
 ...30 
 13 
 
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 VII, 39 . 
 
 26 
 
 . . . . 16, 23 
 
 V 53 
 
 17 21 
 
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 2d 
 
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 26 
 
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 ii, 28 
 
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 24 
 
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 36, 4O 
 
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 28 20 
 
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 V. 62 . 
 
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 18. 28. 20 
 
 VI, 61 
 VI. 62 . . 
 
 20, 23 
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 VII, 46 ... 
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 . . . .16, 2O 
 . 26 
 
Martial's Wit and Humor 
 
 Book. Epigram 
 
 VII 48 
 
 Page of 
 Thesis. 
 
 20 
 
 Book. Epigram. 
 VIII, 21. . . . 
 
 Page of 
 Thesis. 
 
 28 
 
 Book. Epigram. 
 IX, 18 
 
 Page of 
 Thesis. 
 
 2T. 
 
 VII 5i 
 
 16 
 
 VIII, 22 
 
 2O 
 
 IX 19 
 
 24 
 
 VII, ^3 
 
 12 
 
 VIII, 23 
 
 28 
 
 IX, 29 
 
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 IX, 35 . . 
 
 16, 2^ 
 
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 27 
 
 VIII, 25.... 
 
 21 
 
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 26 
 
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 27, 29, 32 
 
 IX, 42 
 
 . 10 
 
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 25 
 
 VIII, 29 
 
 28 
 
 IX, 46 .... 
 
 16 
 
 VII, 64 
 
 . 23 
 
 VIII, 33 
 
 28. 29, 34 
 
 IX, 48 . . 
 
 18, 24 
 
 VII, 65... 
 VII, 66... 
 
 13 
 27 
 
 VIII, 35.... 
 VIII, 37 ... 
 
 28 
 
 .27, 41 
 
 IX, 49 .18, 
 IX, 50 
 
 20, 27, 44 
 
 . 20 
 
 VII, 72 . . 
 
 . . . .26, 37 
 
 VIII, 38 
 
 24 
 
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 . 27 
 
 VII, 73 
 
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 24, 41 
 
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 26 
 
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 16 
 
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 . 34 
 
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 28 
 
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 23 
 
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 28 
 
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 24 
 
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 24 
 
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 21 
 
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 28 
 
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 16, 26 
 
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 26 
 
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 23 
 
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 34 
 
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 26 
 
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 21 
 
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 21 
 
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 21 2\ ^4 
 
 VIII, 67 
 
 28 "34 
 
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 24 
 
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 VIII, 68 
 
 26 
 
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 29 
 
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 22 
 
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 27, ^4, 4O 
 
 IX, 87. . . . 
 
 21 
 
 VII, 99 
 
 7 
 
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 28 
 
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 . 20 
 
 VIII, i 
 
 20 
 
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 IX, 94 
 
 27 
 
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 VIII, 5 
 
 ....17, 39 
 
 20 
 
 VIII, 74 .-. 
 VIII, 75 
 
 ...13,24 
 12 
 
 IX, 95 ..- 
 IX, 96 
 
 28 
 . . 12, 13 
 
 VIII, 6 
 
 . . . . 16, 22 
 
 VIII, 76 ... 
 
 . . .27, 32 
 
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 21, 23, 41 
 
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 .16, 26, 28 
 
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 26 
 
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 VIII, 9 
 
 . 20 
 
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 16 
 
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 21 
 
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 16, 27 
 
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 26 
 
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 26 
 
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 22 
 
 X, 2 
 
 39 
 
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 VIII, 16 
 
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 IX, 8 
 IX, 9 
 
 26 
 26 
 
 X, 3 .... 
 X 4 
 
 24, 29, 37 
 
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 10, 28 
 
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 24 
 
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 - 36 
 
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 24. T>2 
 
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 12 ^4 
 
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 27 
 
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 . 24 
 
 X, 9 . 
 
 .7, 23, 29 
 
 VIII. 20. . 
 
 
 IX. 15 . 
 
 . .22. 28 
 
 X. 10.. 
 
 
Martial's Wit and Humor 
 
 Book. 
 
 x, 
 
 Epigram. 
 
 17 
 
 Page of 
 
 Thesis. 
 
 . 26 
 
 Book. 
 
 x, 
 
 Epigram. 
 
 89 
 
 Page of 
 Thesis. 
 
 24 
 
 Book. 
 XII 
 
 Epigram. 
 2 
 
 Page of 
 Thesis. 
 
 2O 
 
 X, 
 
 14. . 
 
 * 
 
 x, 
 
 94 .... 
 
 26 
 
 XII, 
 
 7 
 
 *y 
 ii 
 
 x, 
 
 16. . . . 
 
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 x, 
 
 96. 
 
 7.4 
 
 XII, 
 
 IO 
 
 2/1 
 
 x, 
 
 X, 
 
 17 
 
 18. . . . 
 
 21 
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 x, 
 x, 
 
 97 
 100. . . 
 
 23 
 
 2Q 
 
 XII, 
 XII, 
 
 12. . . . 
 17 
 
 27 
 24. l6 
 
 Ki 
 
 21 ... 
 
 . . .24, 42 
 
 x, 
 
 101 . . . 
 
 27 
 
 XII, 
 
 14. . 
 
 24 
 
 x, 
 
 21 . . 
 
 26 
 
 x, 
 
 104. . . 
 
 . 20 
 
 XII, 
 
 IK. 
 
 24. 
 
 x, 
 
 24 
 
 28 
 
 x, 
 
 102 . 
 
 7Q 
 
 XII, 
 
 17 
 
 28 29 
 
 x, 
 
 x, 
 
 25 
 
 10. . 
 
 26 
 
 . 24 
 
 XI, 
 
 XI, 
 
 I .... 
 
 7 . . 
 
 ....29, 40 
 
 10 
 
 XII, 
 XII, 
 
 19 ... 
 
 21 
 
 ....21, 23 
 26 
 
 x 
 
 ^1 
 
 . 26 
 
 XI, 
 
 A 
 
 24. 
 
 XII 
 
 22 
 
 1 1 
 
 x, 
 
 12 . . 
 
 27 
 
 XI, 
 
 IO. . . . 
 
 27 
 
 XII, 
 
 27 
 
 II 
 
 x 
 
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 XI, 
 
 12 
 
 22 26 
 
 XII 
 
 25 
 
 24 28 2Q 
 
 x, 
 
 15. . 
 
 . 24 
 
 XI, 
 
 14 ... 
 
 . . . .21, 28 
 
 XII, 
 
 28 
 
 16 
 
 x, 
 
 16 
 
 28 
 
 XI, 
 
 18 
 
 2O, 28 
 
 XII 
 
 20 
 
 2/1 
 
 X, 
 
 17 . . 
 
 . 23 
 
 XI, 
 
 24 ... 
 
 . .24, 76 
 
 XII, 
 
 IO 
 
 24 
 
 x, 
 
 70 
 
 . 28, 14 
 
 XI, 
 
 71 . 
 
 1^ 
 
 XII, 
 
 T.A 
 
 24. 
 
 X 
 
 41 
 
 28 
 
 XI, 
 
 -22 
 
 26 
 
 XII 
 
 16 
 
 2Q 
 
 x, 
 
 47 . . 
 
 . 27 
 
 XI, 
 
 77 . 
 
 74. 
 
 XII, 
 
 77 
 
 24 
 
 x 
 
 44 
 
 26 
 
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 74. 
 
 27 
 
 XII 
 
 TO 
 
 2O 22 
 
 X, 
 
 45. . 
 
 . 20 
 
 XI, 
 
 15 . 
 
 26 
 
 XII, 
 
 41 
 
 16 
 
 x, 
 
 x, 
 
 47---- 
 
 40. 
 
 24 
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 XI, 
 XI, 
 
 37 
 38. . 
 
 23 
 26 
 
 XII, 
 
 XII, 
 
 45- 
 46 
 
 26 
 
 24 
 
 x, 
 
 53 .... 
 
 28 
 
 XI, 
 
 42 ... 
 
 . . 17, 20 
 
 XII, 
 
 47. . 
 
 2O 
 
 X, 
 
 54 . 
 
 . . 16, 21 
 
 XI, 
 
 44- . 
 
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 XII, 
 
 40 . 
 
 18, 21 
 
 x, 
 
 c6 
 
 1^, 27 
 
 XI, 
 
 54 
 
 22 
 
 XII, 
 
 CQ 
 
 26 
 
 x, 
 
 57 . . 
 
 . 21 
 
 XI, 
 
 56. . 
 
 26 
 
 XII, 
 
 51- - 
 
 21 
 
 x, 
 
 CO 
 
 2Q 
 
 XI, 
 
 SO 
 
 16 
 
 XII, 
 
 54 
 
 II 
 
 x, 
 
 60 ... 
 
 . . .23, 26 
 
 XI, 
 
 65 . . . . 
 
 26 
 
 XII, 
 
 56 . 
 
 . . . .18, 21 
 
 x, 
 
 6l . . 
 
 . 21 
 
 XI, 
 
 67. . 
 
 . 27 
 
 XII, 
 
 57 
 
 17 
 
 x, 
 
 62 .... 
 
 26 
 
 XI, 
 
 68 
 
 28 
 
 XII, 
 
 58. . 
 
 2O 
 
 x, 
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 69.-.. 
 
 7O 
 
 26 
 
 17 
 
 XI, 
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 7 6.... 
 70 
 
 28 
 
 28 
 
 XII, 
 XII, 
 
 63 ... 
 
 66 
 
 18, 29 
 16, 28 
 
 x, 
 
 x, 
 
 73 
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 29 
 
 20 
 
 XI, 
 
 XI, 
 
 83--.. 
 84 
 
 27 
 
 28, 20 
 
 XII, 
 XII, 
 
 68. .. 
 60 
 
 39 
 
 27 
 
 x, 
 
 x, 
 
 74 ... 
 76 
 
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 24, l6 
 
 XI, 
 
 XI, 
 
 86. ... 
 02 
 
 24 
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 XII, 
 XII, 
 
 70 . . . 
 
 72 
 
 . . . . 16, 40 
 17, 24 
 
 x, 
 
 77 
 
 J7 
 
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 Q7 
 
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 76 
 
 12 
 
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 70 
 
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 XI, 
 
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 28 
 
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 78 . 
 
 . .20, IO 
 
 x, 
 
 80 
 
 16 
 
 XI, 
 
 IO5 
 
 10 
 
 XII, 
 
 80 
 
 . 24 
 
 X, 
 
 82 .... 
 
 . 24 
 
 XI, 
 
 106. . . 
 
 18 
 
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 81 . . . 
 
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 x, 
 
 87 
 
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 IO7 
 
 27 
 
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 82 . 
 
 15 
 
 x, 
 
 85. . 
 
 26 
 
 XI, 
 
 108. . 
 
 2O 
 
 XII, 
 
 87 . 
 
 16, 28 
 
 x. 
 
 86. . 
 
 . 21 
 
 XII, 
 
 or.. 
 
 . 4O 
 
 XII, 
 
 88 . 
 
 . .27, 37 
 
Martial's Wit and Humor 
 
 53 
 
 Book. Epigram. 
 
 XII, 89 .... 
 
 Page of 
 Thesis. 
 
 . . II, 21 
 
 Book. Epigram. 
 
 XIV, 25 
 
 Page of 
 Thesis. 
 
 II 
 
 Book. Epigram. 
 
 XIV, 137 
 
 Page of 
 Thesis 
 
 . 21 
 
 XII, 90 .... 
 
 . . l6, 24 
 
 XIV, 35 
 
 . ^4 
 
 XIV, 154 
 
 2O 
 
 XII, 92 .... 
 XII, 94 .... 
 
 XIII, 2 
 
 . .18, 27 
 
 13, 39 
 
 7Q 
 
 XIV, 69 
 
 XIV, 120. ... 
 
 XIV, 124 
 
 28 
 42 
 26 
 
 XIV, 196 
 
 XIV, 210 
 
 XIV 219 
 
 .... 23 
 .... 26 
 I* 
 
 XIV, 10. . 
 
 . 18 
 
 
 
 
 
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