Letter 7

A REPLY TO PAULUS My verses, which a wholesome and self-aware modesty had kept hidden, you have driven back into hiding at the very moment you supposed you were drawing them out by sending ahead your own poem and prose. For a man who is himself eloquent and skilled in verse, when he coaxes another into the boldness of publishing, in fact frightens off the very thing he urges by the counsel with which he urges it. A listener ought to conceal his own learning if he means to lure a nervous man into speaking, and a veteran's seasoned cunning should not clash its long-served arms in the faces of raw recruits. Venus felt this in the matter of the prize for beauty, when the verdict was long held in suspense and her case prolonged. For she had competed modestly, veiled, as in a father's presence, and her dress, being like the others', did not deter her rivals; but once the goddesses' dispute was brought down to a shepherd's judgment, she emerged as she had risen from the sea, or as she had come together with Mars, and both threw the judge into confusion and crushed the rivalry of those contending. And so, had your Delirus ["The Madman," a poem of Paulus] -- a slight thing in subject yet not slightly wrought -- not held back my little works, which you had been eager to have brought out, I should long ago, like an over-bold vine-shoot, have thrust an impudent bud into air still wintry, only to face the danger of a heavy verdict through ill-considered haste. In short, the piso -- which I take to be properly called a swing-beam [tolleno] by the scholars -- I did not dare to bring into play, as you bade me, with the fresh reading of your verses still upon me; instead I have sent on those pieces which had already been hurriedly recited to you. For this is what you demanded, and I myself preferred it: that you, by your own fault, might stumble twice against the same stone, while I, whatever fortune brought, should blush only once. See, my dear Paulus, what an inept fellow you have challenged -- crude in his wording, gaping in his delivery, straying from his own subjects, in his verses devoid of any polish, in his banter neither graced by nature nor seasoned by art, of watered-down salt and feeble gall, no barefoot player from the mime nor stage-actor from the comedies; and were you not going to read these pieces I have sent with your own eyes, you would laugh at my recitation of them as well. As it is, they enjoy a more favorable fate, because, though they are my own by birth, with you they shall be adopted. I shall make ready wine to be carried by a two-horse wagon at the first opportunity to the Santones [the people of Saintes]; do you in turn make ready an egg -- of the sea-sparrow [the ostrich], that is -- which your steward now says was left behind far off on your ancestral estate in the land of the Bigerritani [Bigorre].

AS for my verses, which a salutary and self-conscious sense of shame had sent into hiding, while you thought you were enticing them forth by sending forward your own poetry and prose, you have driven them back. For when one who is himself eloquent and a poet tries to lure an author to venture on publication, he frightens the other out of the purpose which he advocates. A listener ought to conceal his own skill if he wishes to induce a nervous orator to speak, and a practised veteran should not brandish in the face of mere recruits weapons he has wielded through a full term of service. Venus understood this in the matter of the prize for beauty so long withheld for lack of a decisive verdict. For it was modestly arrayed, when in the presence of her father, that she had contended, and her similar adornment did not discourage her rivals; but when the suit of the goddesses was brought down for a shepherd's decision, she appeared as when she had risen from the sea or had met with Mars, both overwhelming the judge and crushing her competitors' rivalry. And so, had not your Crazy Man, slight in theme though not in finish,2 checked my poor little works which you were eager to have brought out to light, I should long-since, like a too venturesome shoot, have put forth an impudent bud in the still wintry air, only to run the risk of heavy censure for my ill-advised haste. In short, to bring into play, as you bade me, the " swipe " 1—which, I fancy, is correctly termed by scholars a swing-beam —I did not dare after lately reading your verses; but I send you those pieces which have already been hurriedly recited to you. For indeed this you demand and 1 prefer; so that you, through your own fault, may stumble twice over the same stone, while I, whate'er befall, may blush but once. See, my dear Paid us, what a sorry poet you have provoked!—in wording harsh, in utterance halting, wandering from his points, in versifying without elegance, in satire without natural grace or spice of art, watery in wit, sluggish in spleen, no true performer in mime,2 no actor in comedy. And were not yon yourself to read these pieces I send, you would laugh at my delivery also. As it is, theirs is a more kindly destiny, because though begotten by me they will be adopted by you. So soon as I shall get wine carried to Saintes by two-horse cart, do you also get your cup of ostrich-shell which your steward says was left on your farm far away in your native Bigorre, 3

RESCRIPTUM PAULO SI O VERSUS meos utili et conscio sibi pudore celatos carmine tuo et sermone praemissis dum putas eliei, repressisti. nam qui ipse facundus et musicus editionis alienae prolectat audaciam, consilio, quo suadet, exterret, tegat oportet auditor doctrinam suam, qui volet ad dicendum sollicitare trepidantem, nec emerita adversum tirunculos arma concutiat veterana calliditas. sensit hoc Venus de pulchritudiuis palma diu ambiguo ampliata iudicio. pudenter enim ut apud patrem velata certaverat nec deterrebat aemulas ornatus aequalis; at postquam in pastoris examen deducta est lis dearum, qualis emerserat mari aut eum Marte convenerat, et consternavit arbitrum et contendentium certamen oppressit, ergo nisi Delirus tuus in re tenui non tenuiter laboratus opuscula mea, quae promi studucras, retardasset, iam dudum ego ut palmes audacior in hibernas adhue auras improbum germen egissem, periculum iudicii gravis inconsulta festinatione subiturus. denique pisonem, quem tollenonem existimo proprie a philologis appellatum, adhibere, ut iubebas, recenti versuum tuorum lectione non ausus, ea quae tibi iam cursim fuerant recitata, transmisi. etenim hoc poposcisti atque id ego malui, tu ut tua culpa ad eundem lapidem bis offenderes, ego autem, quaecumque fortuna esset, semel erubescerem. Vide, mi Paule, quam ineptum lacessieris in verbis rudem, in eloquendo hiulcum, a propositis discrepantem, in versibus concinnationis expertem, in ea villando nec natura venustum nec arte conditum, diluti salis, fellis ignavi, nec de mimo planipedem nec de comoediis histrionem, ac nisi haec a nobis missa ipse lecturus esses, etiam de pronuntiatione rideres. nunc commodiore fato sunt, quod, licet apud nos genuina, aput te erunt adoptiva. Vinum eum biiugo parabo plaustro primo tempore Santonos vehendum, ovum tu quoque - passeris marini, quod nunc promus ait procul relictum in fundo patriae Bigerritanae.