quisquis, quidquid, interrogative
pron., whoever, whatever
Parrhasius, -a, -um,
Arcadian; the reference here is to Evander, who came from Arcadia and dwelt on
the Palatine hill; hence this adjective came to mean “Palatine”
niteo, nitere, nitui, to
shine, glitter, gleam
aula, aulae, f., great hall,
palace; this is a poetic use of the ablative without a preposition to denote
place where. Martial here refers to the grandiose palace built by Domitian on
the Palatine hill, called by archaeologists the Domus Flavia.
dono, donare, donavi,
donatum, to bestow, present
miror, mirari, miratus
sum, to wonder at, marvel at, admire (this is a deponent verb, passive in
form but active in meaning)
Scythicus, -a, -um,
Scythian (the Scythians were nomadic tribes in northern Europe and Asia, beyond
the Black Sea); “Scythian flames of green gold” thus designates
extremely rare and exotic gems.
virens, virentis, green (present
active participle of vireo, virere)
Iuppiter, Iovis, m. Jupiter, king
of the gods
stupeo, stupere, stupui,
to be stunned; to marvel at
superbus, -a, -um,
proud, arrogant, haughty
rex, regis, m. king; Martial is
referring to Domitian, assassinated in his palace in 96 CE. The use of
rex, a word hated by the Romans, is a deliberate insult, implying that
Domitian was an oppressive tyrant.
deliciae, deliciarum, f.,
delight, pleasure
gravis, grave, heavy; offensive;
oppressive
luxus, luxus, m., excess;
extravagant luxury
decet, decere, decuit,
suits, is becoming to (this is an impersonal verb, used only in the third
person)
Tonans, Tonantis, m. the
Thunderer, an epithet of Jupiter, god of thunder
Phrygius, -a, -um,
Phrygian (referring to a region of Asia Minor of which Troy was a part); the
“Phrygian servant” refers to Ganymede, a young boy whom Jupiter (in
the form of an eagle) carried off because of his beauty and made his cupbearer
on Olympus;
this Greek vase shows
Ganymede pouring wine for Zeus/Jupiter.
minister, ministri, m.,
servent, attendant
beatus, -a, -um,
prosperous; rich
nuper, adv., recently, a little while
ago
pudet, pudere, puduit (and
puditum est), shames; is shameful (this is an impersonal verb, used only
in the third person)
fateor, fateri, fassus
sum, to confess (this is a deponent verb, passive in form but active in
meaning); fateri is a complementary infinitive after pudet