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		<title>Martial -- Epigrams [Epigrammata], Book  1, epigram  90 (1.90) (AD 85-86) [tr. Sedley (1702)]</title>
		<link>https://wist.info/martial/53813/</link>
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		<pubDate>Fri, 24 Jun 2022 19:16:59 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Dave</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Martial]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[adultery]]></category>
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		<description><![CDATA[That I ne&#8217;er saw thee in a Coach with Man, Nor thy chaste Name in wanton satire met; That from thy sex thy liking never ran, So as to suffer a Male-servant yet; I thought thee the Lucretia of our time: But, Bassa, thou the while a Tribas wert, And clashing &#8212; with a prodigious [&#8230;]]]></description>
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			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>That I ne&#8217;er saw thee in a Coach with Man,<br />
<span class="tab">Nor thy chaste Name in wanton satire met;<br />
That from thy sex thy liking never ran,<br />
<span class="tab">So as to suffer a Male-servant yet;<br />
I thought thee the Lucretia of our time:<br />
<span class="tab">But, Bassa, thou the while a Tribas wert,<br />
And clashing &#8212; with a prodigious Crime<br />
<span class="tab">Didst act of Man th&#8217; inimitable part.<br />
What Oedipus this Riddle can untie?<br />
<span class="tab">Without a Male there was Adultery.</p>
<p><em>[Quod numquam maribus iunctam te, Bassa, videbam<br />
Quodque tibi moechum fabula nulla dabat,<br />
Omne sed officium circa te semper obibat<br />
Turba tui sexus, non adeunte viro,<br />
Esse videbaris, fateor, Lucretia nobis:<br />
At tu, pro facinus, Bassa, fututor eras.<br />
Inter se geminos audes committere cunnos<br />
Mentiturque virum prodigiosa Venus.<br />
Commenta es dignum Thebano aenigmate monstrum,<br />
Hic ubi vir non est, ut sit adulterium.]</em></span></span></span></span></span></p>
<br><b>Martial</b> (AD c.39-c.103) Spanish Roman poet, satirist, epigrammatist [Marcus Valerius Martialis]<br><i>Epigrams [Epigrammata]</i>, Book  1, epigram  90 (1.90) (AD 85-86) [tr. Sedley (1702)] 
									<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(<a href="https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Epigrams_of_Martial/LzXgAAAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=%22thee%20the%20lucretia%22" target="_blank">Source</a>)
										<br><br><span class="cite">
						

"To Bassa". This epigram is often untranslated or omitted in collections. Martial thought lesbian sexuality perverse, though he enjoyed and wrote highly of pederasty, as any good Roman male would. (<a href="http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:latinLit:phi1294.phi002.perseus-lat1:1.90">Source (Latin)</a>). Alternate translations:<br><br>

<blockquote>That with the males thou ne'er wast known to mix,<br>
<span class="tab">Nor e'er gallant did envious slander fix;<br>
That thine officious sex thee homag'd round,<br>
<span class="tab">And not a man durst taint the hallow'd ground:<br>
What less than a Lucretia could'st thou be?<br>
<span class="tab">Ah! what was found? Th' adulterer in thee,<br>
To  make the mounts collide emerg'd they plan,<br>
<span class="tab">And monstrous Venus would bely the man.<br>
Thou a new Theban torture could'st explore,<br>
<span class="tab">And bid adult'ry need a male no more.<br>
[tr. <a href="https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Epigrams_of_M_Val_Martial/vksOAAAAQAAJ?gbpv=1&bsq=%22what%20less%20than%20a%20lucretia%22">Hay</a> (1755); Book 6, Part 3, ep. 44]</blockquote><br>

<blockquote>Inasmuch as I never saw you, Bassa, surrounded by a crowd of admirers, and report in no case assigned to you a favoured lover; but every duty about your person was constantly performed by a crowd of your own sex, without the presence of even one man; you seemed to me, I confess it, to be a Lucretia.<br>
[tr. <a href="https://www.tertullian.org/fathers/martial_epigrams_book01.htm#:~:text=Inasmuch%20as%20I%20never%20saw%20you%2C%20Bassa%2C%20surrounded%20by%20a%20crowd%20of%20admirers%2C%20and%20report%20in%20no%20case%20assigned%20to%20you%20a%20favoured%20lover%3B%20but%20every%20duty%20about%20your%20person%20was%20constantly%20performed%20by%20a%20crowd%20of%20your%20own%20sex%2C%20without%20the%20presence%20of%20even%20one%20man%3B%20you%20seemed%20to%20me%2C%20I%20confess%20it%2C%20to%20be%20a%20Lucretia.">Bohn's Classical</a> (1897), "On Bassa"; the "translation" then shifts to the original Latin.]</blockquote><br>

<blockquote>In that I never saw you, Bassa, intimate with men, and that no scandal assigned you a lover, but every office a throng of your own sex round you performed without the approach of man -- you seemed to me, I confess, a Lucretia; yet, Bassa -- oh, monstrous! -- you are, it seems, a nondescript. You dare things unspeakable, and your portentous lust imitates man. You have invented a prodigy worthy of the Theban riddle, that here, where no man is, should be adultery!<br>
[tr. <a href="https://www.google.com/books/edition/Epigrams/w4ZfAAAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=%22bassa%20intimate%22">Ker</a> (1919)]</blockquote><br>



<blockquote>Never having seen you taking a man's arm, Bassa,<br>
realizing that no gossip attaches a lover to you,<br>
noticing how you were always surrounded<br>
by a throng of your own sex doing things for you<br>
and letting no man approach you, I admit I felt<br>
that we had another Lucretia in you.<br>
But you were doing the raping, Bassa,<br>
working out ways for identical twin genitals<br>
to double their fun by pretending that one -- yours --<br>
was the man in this case, a barefaced lie<br>
you've conjured up a riddle only the Sphinx could solve:<br>
<span class="tab">Adultery, without any man involved. <br>
[tr. <a href="https://archive.org/details/epigramsofmartia0000mart_q2h6/page/70/mode/2up?q=bassa">Bovie</a> (1970)]</blockquote><br>




<blockquote>I never saw you close to men, Bassa, and no rumor gave you a lover. You were always surrounded by a crowd of your own sex, performing every office, with no man coming near you. So I confess I thought you a Lucretia; but Bassa, for shame, you were a fornicator. You dare to join two cunts and your monstrous organ feigns masculinity. You have invented a portent worthy of the Theban riddle: where no man is, there is adultery.<br>
[tr. <a href="https://dokumen.pub/martial-epigrams-spectacles-books-1-5-1-0674995554-9780674995550.html#:~:text=I%20never%20saw,there%20is%20adultery.">Shackleton Bailey</a> (1993)]</blockquote><br>

<blockquote>I never saw you, Bassa, with a man<br>
<span class="tab">No rumor ever spread of an affair.<br>
You seemed as chaste as any woman can,<br>
<span class="tab">With Lucrece pure you made a worthy pair.<br>
Belatedly I found I venerated,<br>
<span class="tab">A woman who a woman penetrated.<br>
You found an amphisbaenic instrument --<br>
<span class="tab">To give cunts simultaneous content.<br>
You pose a riddle Sphinxes never knew,<br>
<span class="tab">To be a woman and a woman screw.<br>
[tr. <a href="https://www.google.com/books/edition/Martial_s_Epigrams/13X80r3_zQIC?hl=en&gbpv=1&printsec=frontcover&bsq=%22bassa%20with%20a%20man%22">Wills</a> (2007)]</blockquote><br>

<blockquote>Bassa, I never saw you hang with guys --<br>
Nobody whispered that you had a beau.<br>
Girls surrounded you at every turn;<br>
They did your errands, with no attendant males.<br>
And so, I guess I naturally assumed<br>
That you were what you seemed: a chaste Lucretia.<br>
But hell no. Why, you shameless little tramp,<br>
You were an active humper all the time.<br>
You improvised, by rubbing cunts together,<br>
And using that bionic clit of yours<br>
To counterfeit the thrusting of a male.<br>
Unbelievable. You’ve managed to create<br>
A real conundrum, worthy of the Sphinx:<br>
Adultery without a co-respondent.<br>
[tr. <a href="http://www.barefootmuse.com/archives/issue7/salemi2.htm#:~:text=Epigram%20I.90,a%20co%2Drespondent.">Salemi</a> (2008)]</blockquote><br>

<blockquote>Bassa, I never saw you close to men; no gossip linked you to a lover here.<br>
<span class="tab">A crowd of your own sex was always with you at every function, no man coming near.<br>
I have to say, I thought you a Lucretia, but you (for shame!) were fucking even then.<br>
<span class="tab">You dare link twin cunts and, with your monstrous clitoris, pretend to fuck like men.<br>
You'd suit a Theban riddle perfectly: <br>
<span class="tab">where there's no man, there's still adultery.<br>
[tr. <a href="https://books.google.ie/books?id=SQwwBQAAQBAJ&pg=PR7&source=gbs_toc_r&cad=2#v=snippet&q=%22close%20to%20men%22&f=false">McLean</a> (2014)]</blockquote><br>						</span>
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		<title>Shear, Marie -- &#8220;Media Watch: Celebrating Women&#8217;s Words,&#8221; New Directions for Women (May/Jun 1986)</title>
		<link>https://wist.info/shear-marie/41729/</link>
		<comments>https://wist.info/shear-marie/41729/#respond</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 14 May 2020 21:12:10 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Dave</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Shear, Marie]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[accusation]]></category>
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		<description><![CDATA[Lesbian: Any uppity woman, regardless of sexual preference. If they don&#8217;t call you a lesbian, you&#8217;re probably not accomplishing anything.]]></description>
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			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Lesbian: Any uppity woman, regardless of sexual preference. If they don&#8217;t call you a lesbian, you&#8217;re probably not accomplishing anything.</p>
<br><b>Marie Shear</b> (1940-2017) American writer and feminist activist<br>&#8220;Media Watch: Celebrating Women&#8217;s Words,&#8221; <i>New Directions for Women</i> (May/Jun 1986) 
									<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(<a href="https://voices.revealdigital.org/cgi-bin/independentvoices?a=d&d=DGBHBCA19860601.1.6&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN---------------1" target="_blank">Source</a>)
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		<title>Brown, Rita Mae -- Venus Envy (1993)</title>
		<link>https://wist.info/brown-rita-mae/877/</link>
		<comments>https://wist.info/brown-rita-mae/877/#respond</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Dave</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Brown, Rita Mae]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[charity]]></category>
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		<description><![CDATA[I became a lesbian out of devout Christian charity. All those women out there are praying for a man and I gave them my share. Frequently paraphrased as: &#8220;My lesbianism is an act of Christian charity. All those women out there are praying for a man, and I&#8217;m giving them my share.&#8221;]]></description>
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			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I became a lesbian out of devout Christian charity. All those women out there are praying for a man and I gave them my share.</p>
<br><b>Rita Mae Brown</b> (b. 1944) American author, playwright<br><i>Venus Envy</i> (1993) 
									<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(<a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=n7zU40X-pjsC&lpg=PP1&dq=RITA%20MAE%20BROWN%20venus%20envy&pg=PA364#v=onepage&q=%22christian%20charity%22&f=false" target="_blank">Source</a>)
										<br><br><span class="cite">
						

Frequently paraphrased as: "My lesbianism is an act of Christian charity. All those women out there are praying for a man, and I'm giving them my share."						</span>
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                <!-- DCH Modify the title to give the category (quote author) at the beginning of it. -->
		<title>Shakespeare, William -- In William Jaggard, ed., The Passionate Pilgrim, Part 2 &#8220;Sonnets to Sundry Notes of Music,&#8221; No. 19 &#8220;When as thine eye hath chose the dame,&#8221; l. 345-46 (1599)</title>
		<link>https://wist.info/shakespeare-william/3565/</link>
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		<pubDate>Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Dave</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Shakespeare, William]]></category>
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		<description><![CDATA[Were kisses all the joys in bed, One woman would another wed. Though Jaggard claimed all the poems in the collection were by Shakespeare, most of them (including this one) are not generally considered to actually be by him.]]></description>
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			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Were kisses all the joys in bed,<br />
One woman would another wed.</p>
<br><b>William Shakespeare</b> (1564-1616) English dramatist and poet<br>In William Jaggard, ed., <i>The Passionate Pilgrim,</i> Part 2 &#8220;Sonnets to Sundry Notes of Music,&#8221; No. 19 &#8220;When as thine eye hath chose the dame,&#8221; l. 345-46 (1599) 
									<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(<a href="https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/A_Collection_of_Poems/Sonnets_to_Sundry_Notes_of_Musicke/%27When_as_thine_eye_hath_chose_the_Dame%27#:~:text=Were%20kisses%20all,would%20another%20wed." target="_blank">Source</a>)
										<br><br><span class="cite">
						

Though Jaggard claimed all the poems in the collection were by Shakespeare, most of them (including this one) are <a href="https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Passionate_Pilgrim">not generally considered to actually be by him</a>.
						</span>
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