“That snowy neck I ne’er should miss,
However much I’ve raved about it;
And sweetly as that lip can kiss,
I think I could exist without it.
“In short, so well I’ve learned to fast,
That sooth, my love, I know not whether
I might not bring myself at last
——To do without you altogether.”
On the other hand, when it comes to the kisses of his favorite (xi. 8), Martial indulges in the following exuberant fancy: