The Works of Lord Byron (ed. Coleridge, Prothero)/Poetry/Volume 7/Martial, Lib. I. Epig. I.

by George Gordon Byron

MARTIAL, Lib. I. Epig. I.

"Hic est, quem legis, ille, quem requiris,
Toto notus in orbe Martialis," etc.

He, unto whom thou art so partial,
Oh, reader! is the well-known Martial,
The Epigrammatist: while living,
Give him the fame thou would'st be giving;
So shall he hear, and feel, and know it—
Post-obits rarely reach a poet.

[N.D.? 1821.]
[First published, Lord Byron's Works, 1833, xvii. 245.]