Do you ask what sort of a maid I desire or dislike, Flaccus? I dislike one too easy and one too coy. The just mean, which lies between the two extremes, is what I approve; I like neither that which tortures nor that which cloys.

Every epigram should resemble a bee; it should have sting, honey, and brevity.

The bee is enclosed, and shines preserved, in a tear of the sisters of Phaeton, so that it seems enshrined in its own nectar. It has obtained a worthy reward for its great toils; we may suppose that the bee itself would have desired such a death.

I have not hated the man, but his faults.

Givers of great dinners know few enemies.

If you are poor now, Aemilianus, you will always be poor. Riches are now given to none but the rich.

See, how the liver is swollen larger than a fat goose! In amazement you will exclaim: Where could this possibly grow?