A lover on a Pompeian wall
1st century · Pompeii, Italy · A couplet found again and again on the walls of Pompeii. This copy is written as the words were spoken, not as they were spelled in books, and is given as it stands on the wall.
Whoever loves, may he fare well; may he perish who does not know how to love; may he perish twice over, whoever forbids love.
Quisquis ama valia, peria qui nosci amare,
bis tanti peria, quisquis amare vota.Graffito at Pompeii · Diehl, Pompeianische Wandinschriften 594
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Catullus Gaius Valerius Catullus
c. 55 BC · Roman Republic · To his lover Lesbia
Give me a thousand kisses, then a hundred, then another thousand, then a second hundred, then yet another thousand, then a hundred.
da mi basia mille, deinde centum,
dein mille altera, dein secunda centum,
deinde usque altera mille, deinde centum.Poem 5
Li Shangyin 李商隱
mid-9th century · Tang China
To meet is hard, and to part is hard too. The east wind has no strength and the hundred flowers wither. The spring silkworm spins its thread until it dies. The candle's tears dry only when it has turned to ash.
相見時難別亦難，東風無力百花殘。
春蠶到死絲方盡，蠟炬成灰淚始乾。"Untitled"
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