| Sumario: | This article studies neo-Latin verse satire in the Restoration period, as preserved in manuscript anthologies and personal miscellanies, and demonstrates how the writing and exchange of such verse was a significant means by which friendships and alliances were maintained in elite circles. The collection of Sir William Petty in the British Library contains a number of examples of a light-hearted sub-group of such verse, for which Petty uses the term ‘leonine’. The ‘leonine’ was a rhymed Latin poem in an irregular, accentual rhythm, which favoured witty neologisms and amusingly unexpected two-syllable rhymes. Pieces were circulated exclusively in manuscript. Prominent practitioners of this enjoyable genre included Petty himself, Peter Pett, and the Earl of Anglesey. The article analyses in detail a leonine by Petty on the London coffee houses, and offers a verse translation.
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