Amities
Amities - meaning Summary
Partial, Ironic Praise of Friends
Pound addresses several acquaintances in short vignettes, giving each a brisk moral portrait: one returns unchanged and mildly envious, another is parasitic and dull, a third is flawed but owed gratitude for a small kindness. The concluding mock-Latin stanza functions as a playful, irreverent epitaph celebrating earthy pleasures and companionship. The tone mixes irony, social judgment, and affectionate pragmatism toward friendships and social ties.
Read Complete AnalysesI To one, on returning certain years after You wore the same quite correct clothing, You took no pleasure at all in my triumphs, You had the same old air of condescension Mingled with a curious fear That I, myself, might have enjoyed them. Te Voilel, mon Bourrienne, you also shall be immortal. II To another And we say good-bye to you also, For you seem never to have discovered That your relationship is wholly parasitic; Yet to our feasts you bring neither Wit, nor good spirits, nor the pleasing attitudes Of discipleship. III But you, bos amic, we keep on, For you we owe a real debt: In spite of your obvious flaws, You once discovered a moderate chop-house. IV Iste fuit vir incultus, Deo Laus, quod est sepultus, Vermes habent eius vultum A-a-a-a –A-men. Ego autem jovialis Gaudero contubernalis Cum jocunda femina.
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