*
Spectators, this day you have seen,
An uplifting play to keep the mind keen:
No sex, no secret trysts,
No baby-stolen plot-twists,
Here is no graft,
No boy saves girl from the slaver’s grasp,
Without his father’s permission—such plays
Are rare in these sinful days.
Writers no longer use the quill
To expand the mind and virtue instill.
If we leave you pleased and not bored,
If you hold virtue worth reward,
Kind friends, knowing what is due…
Than your applause is our art’s reward.
*
Adapted from the translation of E. F. Watling
Ire and Ice: Winter and A White Christmas
A Horror Novel Set on the Ancient Roman Frontier and in Modern Baltimore
My apologies for being off topic but I bet any one of you here would enjoy reading this article. Don't let the title turn you off it's really not all about Hippos. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
magazine.atavist.com/american-hippopotamus