Why not, indeed! But.... There is a but!
Valentinus.
As always!
Pertinax.
But never was a but so insurmountable as mine!
Valentinus.
Again, as always!
Pertinax.
While occupying an enviable position as overseer of my master’s farm I should be happier as a public slave working in the stone-quarries or the mill! Worn to the heart with longing I am of mortals the most wretched! I cannot sleep, I cannot eat! [Absent-mindedly he helps himself to a little cake from Quartilla’s basket and nibbles it with relish.] To such a degree has love inflamed me that, but for my tears, I should be consumed with fire! My wits wander like cows at pasture! No longer do I remember when to sow the three months’ wheat, or how to set out a rose-bed! A row of lilies or of leeks, it is all the same to me! [Sighs deeply.]