Roman Manners

( Originally Published Late 1800's )

It will not surprise any person, who can estimate probabilities, to learn that the polite Romans, like ourselves, when it was not agreeable to them to receive visits, took the liberty of directing their servants to say, " Not at home." But it may be amusing to see a direct confirmation of the fact from an ancient author. This we find in a very neat and good-humoured epigram of Martial :

" Ne valeam, si non totis, Deciane, diebus
Et tecum totis noctibus esse velim :
Sed duo sunt quæ nos distinguunt millia passûm,
Quatuor hæc fiunt, cum rediturus earn.
Saepe domi non es ; cum sis quoque, sæpe negaris;
Vel tantum causis, vel tibi sæpe vacas.
Te tamen ut videam, duo millia non piget ire,
Ut to non videam, quatuor ire piget."—Book ii., Ep. 5.

Which I thus translate :