SVnt qui versiculo minutiore,
Verum pernitido atque perfluenti
Tamquam palladij liquore oliui,
Complures properent linire chartas;
Atque, araneoli angulos domorum
Vt tela tenui solent replere
Quantumuis facile, ore fila paruo
Nentes longa, ita compleant libellos
Totos uersiculo minutiore:
Hi vatum in numero an ne sint habendi
Vulgus viderit, atque siqua uulgo
Pars vatum est similis, quibus Thalia
Flacci sordeat, optimi poetæ,
Quod is uersiculo minutiore
Atque perfacili atque perfluenti
Totas spreuerit occupare chartas. |
A Brief for Brevity in the Book
Some with verselet rather slender,
but quite fluent and quite sparkling
like the drops from Pallas’ olive
eager smear great lots of pages:
like the spiders filling houses’
crannies easy as you please with
wispy weaving--tiny mouths that
spin long threads--so these fill booklets
whole with verselet rather slender.
If among the bards they number,
let the crowd see, and such bards as
with the crowd consider poorly
Flaccus’ muse, though best of poets,
since with verselet rather slender
and quite easy and quite sparkling he
disdained to claim whole pages. |