iracy against the government, Paetus was ordered by the
Emperor Claudius to put an end to his own life. When he hesitated, Arria
stabbed herself and handed him the dagger, saying, _Paete, non dolet_.

Pliny, _Epistula_ 3. 16. 6, says of her conduct on another occasion
when, fearing the effect of the news on her husband, then dangerously
ill, she concealed from him the death of their son:

Glorious indeed that act of hers, to bare the steel, to thrust her bosom
through, to draw the dagger forth, to hand it to her husband, to add
words immortal and almost divine, 'Paetus, I feel no pain!' But, doing
this and saying this, glory and eternal fame were in her thought. How
much greater is it, without the prize of fame, without the prize of
glory, to hide the tears, conceal the grief, and, bereaved of a son,
still to act the mother! 4. sed...dolet: i.e. it is your wound that will
give me pain.

_11._ 1. Flaminiam: sc. viam. 2. noli...marmor: the roads leading out
from Rome were lined with tombs. 3. salesque Nili: Paris appears to have
been an Egyptian. 6. omnea Veneres Cupidinesque: imitation of Catullus,
3. 1 (_Selection_ 3. 1). 7. Paris: a popular Roman actor, put to death
by Domitian.

_12._ This and the following selection are in memory of a child whose
parents were slaves on Martial's estate. 1. senibus cygnis: 'swans sing
sweetest when they die.' Notice that all the objects with which Erotion
is compared in lines 1-6 are white. Martial is thinking of the whiteness
of her complexion, a quality admired by the Romans. 2. The Tarentine
wool was highly prized. 4. lapillos: pearls. 5. dentem: tusk. 7. Baetici
gregis: the flocks on the Guadalquivir whose wool was naturally of a
yellowish color. 8. Rhenique nodos: the hair of the Germans gathered
into a club. Erotion's hair was the light flaxen of the Teutonic type.
9. Paesti: a city in Lucania, celebrated for its twice-blowing roses,--
Vergil, _Georgics_, 4. 119, biferi rosaria Paesti. 10. Atticarum
cerarum: Attica--and particularly Mt. Hymettus--was famous for its
honey. 11. Martial several times refers to the agreeable odor of amber
when warmed by holding or rubbing with the hand. 13. sciurus: derived
from Greek [Greek: skia] and [Greek: oura], lit. 'the shadow-tail.' Our
word 'squirrel' comes through the Late Latin diminutive forms,
scuriolus, squirolus, squirelus. 19. pariter: in like manner with
myself. 20. vernulae: contrasted with nobilem of line 22. 23. Quid esse
for