EGNATIUS - CATULLUS 39
You grin too much; we know your teeth shine white.
Some thug's life's being begged for by his brief
some mother's burying her son - such grief! -
you're there and so's the smile. It's not polite
Egnatius; people think you've some disease -
paralysis or madness. It's poor style
and out of fashion. This inane fixed smile
makes me quite ill. I wish you'd shut it, please.
Sabines, Etruscans, Umbrians and such
use running water when they clean their teeth.
Same with us in Verona. It's beneath
our dignity to smile so very much.
Worse, you're from Spain, and the real trouble is
we know you wash your gums and teeth with piss.
Some thug's life's being begged for by his brief
some mother's burying her son - such grief! -
you're there and so's the smile. It's not polite
Egnatius; people think you've some disease -
paralysis or madness. It's poor style
and out of fashion. This inane fixed smile
makes me quite ill. I wish you'd shut it, please.
Sabines, Etruscans, Umbrians and such
use running water when they clean their teeth.
Same with us in Verona. It's beneath
our dignity to smile so very much.
Worse, you're from Spain, and the real trouble is
we know you wash your gums and teeth with piss.