Amitiés
Reading edition
Old friends the most. W. B. Y.
I
To one, on returning certain years after.
You wore the same quite correct clothing, You took no pleasure at all in my triumphs, You had the same old air of condescension Mingled with a curious fear That I, myself, might have enjoyed them. Te voilà, mon Bourrienne, you also shall be immortal.
II
To another.
And we say good-bye to you also, For you seem never to have discovered That your relationship is wholly parasitic; Yet to our feasts you bring neither Wit, nor good spirits, nor the pleasing attitudes Of discipleship.
III
But you, bos amic, we keep on, For to you we owe a real debt: In spite of your obvious flaws, You once discovered a moderate chop-house.
IV
Iste fuit vir incultus, Deo laus, quod est sepultus, Vermes habent eius vultum A-a-a-a—A-men. Ego autem jovialis Gaudero contubernalis Cum jocunda femina.