Reading Martial (general thread)

[Serenus]

I wasn't sure where to post this, but I figured I wouldn't want to post it in that wonderful thread of vowel length minimal pairs, so I opened this general thread for Martial.

pedes 'on foot', 'foot soldier' (nom. sg.; gen. peditis)
pedēs 'feet' (nom. pl. of pēs, pedis); 'lice' (from pedis, pedis); 2sg. subj. of pedō, -āre 'furnish with feet' (rare)
pēdēs 2sg. fut. of pēdō, pepēdi, pēditum 'fart'

cf. also peda 'footstep' (rare), pedō, -ōnis 'someone with broad feet' (also a surname), pedum, -ī 'shepherd's crook', Pedum, -ī (name of a town), which lead to:
pedis ('of the foot')
pēdis ('you sg. fart')
pedīs (dat./abl. pl. 'with footsteps', dat./abl. pl. 'with shepherd's crooks', acc. pl. 'lice')

peda 'footstep' vs. pēdā 'fart!'

pedō 'to/with a shepherd's crook', 'flat-footed' (or from the place name), 'I furnish with feet' vs. pēdō 'I fart'

and so on... whew.

I thought of this post of yours today when I came across Martial's Epigram 12.40, clearly attesting pēdis 'you fart':

Mentīris, crēdō. Recitās mala carmina, laudō.
　Cantās, cantŏ. Bibis, / Pontiliāne, bibō.
Pēdis, dissimulō. Gemmā vīs lūdere, vincor.
　Rēs ūna est sine mē / quam facis, et taceō.
Nīl tamen omnīnō praestās mihi. "Mortuus", inquis,
　"accipiam bene tē". / Nīl volŏ, sed morere.

Also, in theory, a pentametre can have a light syllable at the end, even if it's very uncommon... I'm sitting here wondering whether Martial may have written Nīl volŏ, sed morier, though. That is, not "I want nothing; just die", but rather, "I want nothing except death" (because you don't reciprocate the kindness I give you).

 

[Bitmap]

Also, in theory, a pentametre can have a light syllable at the end, even if it's very uncommon

Not *very* uncommon ... there just aren't to many words that don't finish in a long vowel or a closed short syllable.
Ovid finished quite a few of his pentameters in pede as far as I remember.

 

[Etaoin Shrdlu]

I'm sitting here wondering whether Martial may have written Nīl volŏ, sed morier, though. That is, not "I want nothing; just die", but rather, "I want nothing except death" (because you don't reciprocate the kindness I give you).

That reading seems much less pointed to me. My interpretation of the poem is that it's written from the point of view of someone who puts up with a completely one-sided friendship because they're hoping to inherit something from the bastard. Consequently, the one thing they really want is for them to die. I suppose I might be reading too much into this, though. What do others think?

 

[rothbard]

That reading seems much less pointed to me. My interpretation of the poem is that it's written from the point of view of someone who puts up with a completely one-sided friendship because they're hoping to inherit something from the bastard. Consequently, the one thing they really want is for them to die. I suppose I might be reading too much into this, though. What do others think?

The edition "in usum Delphini" agrees with your interpretation:

 

[Serenus]

Not *very* uncommon ... there just aren't to many words that don't finish in a long vowel or a closed short syllable.
Ovid finished quite a few of his pentameters in pede as far as I remember.

I see!

That reading seems much less pointed to me.

Yeah, that is a problem. The morere reading is also much more in line with what Martial's poetry is usualy like.