| T. R. Smith, comp. Poetica Erotica: Rare and Curious Amatory Verse. 1921–22. | | | | To Mamurra’s Mistress | | By Gaius Valerius Catullus (c. 84–c. 54 B.C.) |
| | (Translated by George Lamb, 1821) |
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THOUGH splaw thy feet, and snub thy nose, | |
| Thy fingers short, and unlike sloes | |
| Thine eyes in hue may be; | |
| Thy lip with driv’lling moisture dew’d, | |
| Thy language vulgar, manners rude, | 5 |
| Yet wanton, hail to thee! | |
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| And does the province praise thy grace; | |
| And e’en presume thy form and face | |
| With Lesbia to compare? | |
| Then why should I thy charms dispraise? | 10 |
| ’Mid vulgar fools, in tasteless days, | |
| ’Tis useless to be fair. | | | |
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