This poem is the first in a sequence of short epigrams that appeal to, or sketch, famous figures from antiquity (see also d2_MaiT_029 to d2_MaiT_038). In this poem, Maitland compares Lucius Junius Brutus, the founder of the Roman Republic and one of the first consuls, with Tarquinius Superbus, the last of the Roman kings who Brutus overthrew in 509BC. Metre: elegiac couplets.
In Regulum (n.d.)
[p177]
In Regulum
Nomine Brutus erat sceleris fortissimus ultor, 1
ille tamen solo nomine Brutus erat.
Nobile nomen habes fateor tu Regule, verum
Regule nil praeter nobile nomen habes.
Nomina mutentur, tu Brutus, Regulus ille,
nomine sic res est quaeque vocanda suo.
[p177]
Against Regulus
The bravest punisher of wickedness was Brutus a in name, yet he was Brutus in name only. I confess, Regulus, that you have a noble name, though truly, Regulus, there is nothing noble about you besides your name. If the names were switched, yours to Brutus, his to Regulus, such a circumstance would see each one called by their proper name.
