Letter 6008: We came to Cantum on a happy road,
On the Villa Cantumblandum — About Apples
We came to Cantumblandum on a happy road,
and I rejoice to have found father Aregius there.
What my gluttonous appetite demands with its greedy pit —
golden apples met my eyes!
From every direction apples rushed together in varied colors,
as if I had deserved painted dishes.
Scarcely had I touched them with my fingers before I gulped them down,
rolled them on my teeth, and the prize sped swiftly to my belly.
For the flavor pleased before my nose had even caught the fragrance:
so, with the palate conquering, the nose lost its due honor.
AI-assisted translation — This translation was produced with AI assistance and has not been peer-reviewed. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek below for scholarly use.
Latin / Greek Original
VII
Ad Cantumblandum villam de pomis dictum
Venimus ad Cantum felici tramite blandum,
Aregium laetor quo reperisse patrem.
quod petit instigans avido gula nostra barathro,
excipiunt oculos aurea poma meos.
undique concurrunt variato mala colore,
credas ut pictas me meruisse dapes.
vix digitis tetigi, fauce hausi, dente rotavi
migravitque alvo praeda citata loco.
nam sapor ante placet quam traxit naris odorem:
sic vincente gula naris honore caret.
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