SATIRES.--BOOK II

SATIRES.--BOOK II

SATIRE I.

C. Trebatius Testa was a jurisconsult of eminence, and a man of honor. He was in the confidence of Augustus, and was consulted by him on legal matters. Horace seems to have been well acquainted with him, though he was many years younger than Trebatius.

Horace pretends to lay before the old lawyer a case for his opinion, and asks what he had better do to meet the malevolence of his enemies. Trebatius advises him to cease from writing, which Horace says is impossible. He was born to write, and must do it. He has no capacity for heroic subjects, and has a passion for imitating Lucilius, to whom he pays a graceful compliment by the way. Trebatius warns him that he runs the risk of being frozen to death by his great friends, or of legal penalties for libel. But, trusting in the goodness of his cause, he sets these dangers at defiance, and resolves to indulge his inclination.

1. Sunt quibus--videor] Horace had undoubtedly in his mind those particular opponents, on some of whom he had retorted in S. 10 of the last book, and, this being the case, the indicative mood is wanted, rather than the subjunctive, after 'sunt quibus' (see C. i. 1. 3, n., and compare S. i. 4. 24). By 'tendere opus' Horace means he is charged with carrying his work, or straining it, beyond the license properly allowed to satire. 'Sine nervis' means 'without vigor.' As to 'deduci,' see S. i. 10. 44, n.

4. Trebati,] See Introduction.

7. Optimum erat:] Here as below (v. 16) the imperfect indicative is used where the subjunctive might be expected. The Greeks in similar cases sometimes used the imperfect indicative without ἄν, where the usual construction required that word.

Ter uncti Transnanto Tiberim] See S. i. 6. 123, n. The language is a little in the style of a 'lex.' 'Sub noctem' means immediately after night-fall. See Epod. ii. 44, n. S. ii. 7. 109. Epp. ii. 2. 169. It appears from Cicero's letters to Trebatius that he was a great swimmer, and Cicero describes himself as having gone home from his house one night "bene potus seroque" (Ad Fam. vii. 22). He may therefore have lived pretty freely.

10. rapit] There is force in this word, 'hurries you on like a torrent.'

13. quivis] This corresponds to ὁ τυχών in Greek.

14. fracta pereuntes cuspide] Plutarch, in his Life of Marius (c. 25), relates how, on the occasion of a battle with the Cimbri, he altered the spears of the soldiers in such a way that they could not be of use to the enemy. He says that the spear-heads were formerly fastened to the shaft by two iron nails, and that Marius, removing one, substituted for it a wooden peg, which would give way when the spear struck the shield, where it would stick and drag along the ground. From the year B.C. 39 to 31, Augustus was engaged at different times in subduing the Gauls, and he included his victories over them in the first of his three days' triumphs, in B.C. 29. (See C. i. 2. 49, n.)

15. Aut labentis equo] The Parthians falling under blows inflicted by the arms of Augustus, is a picture he draws from his own imagination, in anticipation of future triumphs. But Augustus never engaged the Parthians in the field. On 'labentis equo,' see C. i. 2. 39, n.

16. poteras] See above, v. 7. As to 'fortem,' see what is said of 'Fortitudo' on C. S. 57. Trebatius says, if Horace cannot write of the victories of Augustus, he may of his virtues, his justice, and moral courage.

17. Scipiadam ut sapiens Lucilius] Virgil uses this form (Georg. ii. 170), "Scipiadas duros bello." As the elder Scipio had Ennius to praise him (see C. iv. 8), so the younger had Lucilius, who was his intimate friend, and who served under him in the Numantian war. There is no necessity for supposing that Lucilius wrote a separate poem on the exploits of Scipio, though it is not improbable that he did so. 'Sapiens' is applied to the poet as 'doctus' is elsewhere. See note on C. i. 1. 29. "Haud mihi deero" Horace uses above, S. i. 9. 56.

18. dextro tempore] See below, S. 4. 4: "Cum te sic tempore laevo Interpellarim."

20. Cui male si palpere] 'If you stroke him clumsily, he kicks out, and protects himself on every side.'

21. Quanto rectius hoc] Horace says that he may attempt those subjects, but he must wait for an opportunity. And Trebatius continues, 'How much better is this, than with bitter verses to offend such wretched creatures as Pantolabus and Nomentanus, by which he only excites the fears and hatred of every one!'

22. Pantolabum] S. i. 8. 11.

24. Quid faciam?] 'What am I to do?' says Horace. 'Every man has his taste, and mine is to string verses together like Lucilius.'

Milonius,] This man is said to have been a 'scurra,' a parasite, a low fellow who has no respect for himself, who lets himself out, at the price of a dinner, to entertain rich people and their guests with buffoonery and small talk. Milonius, as soon as the wine got into his head, would get up and dance before the company, the lowest proceeding in the eyes of a Roman that could be imagined. 'Icto,' in this sense of 'wine-struck,' does not occur elsewhere. It is a Greek notion.

26. Castor gaudet equis,] This difference in the tastes of Castor and his brother is expressed in one line of the Iliad (iii. 237), Κάστορά θ᾽ ἱππόδαμον καὶ πὺξ ἀγαθὸν Πολυδεύκεα.

27. quot capitum vivunt,] Compare "Quot homines tot sententiae: suus cuique mos" (Phormio, ii. 4. 14.)

28. claudere] See S. i. 10. 59.

31. neque si male cesserat] 'Never resorting to anything else, whether matters had gone ill with him or well.'

33. Votiva--tabella] On the practice of hanging up a picture in the temples to commemorate escape from shipwreck, see C. i. 5. 12, n. It was probably not confined to sailors.

34. Vita senis.] Lucilius, the date of whose death is not certain, but who is said to have died in his forty-sixth year, B.C. 103, is here called old only in point of time, as in Epp. ii. 1. 56, "Aufert Pacuvius docti famam senis Accius alti"; and above (S. i. 10. 67), "poëtarum seniorum turba"; and as Aristophanes is called by Persius (i. 124), "praegrandis senex."

Lucanus an Apulus anceps:] See C. iii. 4. 9, n. 'Anceps' is neuter. 'Sub' signifies 'close up to,' where 'sub' has its original meaning 'up,' and "the sense of 'to' belongs to the accusative termination, not to the preposition." As to 'colonus,' see C. ii. 14. 12, n. 'Romano' is used for the Romans, as in Epod. vii. 6, and Tac. Ann. xii. 58.

The colony of Venusia was formed in B.C. 291, the last year of the third Samnite war, when L. Postumius Megellus and C. Junius Brutus Bubulcus were consuls. The town, which was on the borders of Lucania and Apulia, belonged to the Samnites, from whom it was taken by Q. Fabius. (Sabelli was the name given by the Romans to all the tribes which issued from the Sabine stock, of whom the Samnites were one.) Apulia and Lucania were, at the beginning of this war, independent states in close alliance with the Samnites, but after the first year they found it for their interest to desert those allies, and joined the Romans, with whom they continued to unite their forces till the end of the war. Horace's supposition that one or other of those states was meditating or carrying on war with Rome, is not, therefore, strictly accurate; but they were always very doubtful allies, and were glad to assist their old enemies the Greek cities in their resistance to Rome when they called in the help of Pyrrhus; and it was not till the fall of Tarentum, B.C. 272, that these, in common with the other southern states of Italy, finally acknowledged the supremacy of Rome and accepted their freedom from her. It was in consequence of the commanding position of Venusia, in reference to the three nations of the Samnites, Apulians, and Lucanians, that the Romans sent there in the above year (B.C. 291) a colony of twenty thousand persons. This place was of great use to the Romans in the war with Pyrrhus. After their reverse at the battle of Heraclea, A.U.C. 474, the remnant of their army retreated to Venusia, and here many found refuge after the defeat of Cannæ. The quantity of the second syllable in Venusinus, Horace makes short here, and in C. i. 28. 26. Juvenal lengthens it (vi. 167): "Malo Venusinam quam te, Cornelia, mater Gracchorum," where, as here, the humble inhabitant of Venusia is contrasted with the proud matron of Rome. 'Quo ne' (v. 37) is an unusual expression, in which 'quo' is redundant.

39. Sed hic stilus haud petet ultro] On this use of 'sed,' see C. iv. 4. 22, n. 'Ultro' means here 'wantonly,' without provocation or cause. See C. iv. 4. 51, n.

43. ut pereat] 'Ut' is an imitation of the Greek use of ὡς, expressing a wish. He hopes that his adversaries will let him alone, and leave his sword (that is, his pen) to rust. From 'at ille' the construction is a little irregular, but the abruptness of the several clauses is well suited to the occasion: 'but for that man that provokes me, he had better not touch me, I cry; he'll suffer if he does,' &c.

47. Cervius iratus--urnam,] Cervius appears to have been an informer. He is not the man mentioned in S. ii. 6. 77. 'Urnam' means either the urn into which the judices put their tablets, or that into which their names were put for drawing the jury. Either way it is equivalent to 'judicium.'

48. Canidia Albuti quibus] Albutius was perhaps a person notorious for having poisoned somebody, and 'Albuti venenum' may have become proverbial. We meet with an Albutius below (S. 2. 67), who, from his character, may have been the same as this.

49. Grande malum Turius,] Of this person we know nothing. He threatens his adversary with an adverse judgment if he ever has a private suit tried before him.

50. Ut quo quisque valet] In what follows it is Horace's purpose to show that it is a law of nature that every one should use the means of defence that are given him, and he is only acting on this law when he employs satire in self-defence. 'Unde' in v. 52 belongs to 'monstratum,' as, in the next Satire, v. 31, "Unde datum sentis" 'by what suggested if not from within?' Of Scæva we know nothing. What Horace says is, that he would, like other animals, resort to the means most natural to him, which were not violence, to which cowards have an aversion, but poison.

54. Mirum, Ut neque] 'Strange! yes, as strange as that the wolf does not kick, nor the ox bite.'

58. seu Mors atris circumvolat alis,] This representation of death hovering over a man with dark wings, may have been taken from a painting.

60. Quisquis erit vitae scribam color] This loose collocation of words is not uncommon in Horace. It ought not to be imitated.

O puer, ut sis] See Introduction. This sentence illustrates the rule respecting verbs of fearing, that they "have the subjunctive with 'ne' if the object be not desired, with 'ut' if it be desired" (Key's L. G. 1186), to which the note is "Observe that the Latin inserts a negative where the English has none, and vice versa."

64. Detrahere et pellem,] Compare Epp. i. 16. 44. Each of the Scipiones had a Lælius for his intimate companion. This is C. Laelius Sapiens, the friend of P. Scipio Africanus Minor, and well known through Cicero's treatises 'De Senectute' and 'De Amicitia,' in the former of which he is a listener, in the latter the principal speaker. As to the following verse, see C. iv. 8. 18, n. Lucilius was on terms of close intimacy with these two friends.

67. Metello] Q. Cæcilius Metellus had the cognomen Macedonicus given him, for his successes against Andriscus, the pretender to the throne of Perseus, king of Macedonia. Horace means to say that Scipio and Lælius were not offended at the wit of Lucilius, nor feared it might turn upon themselves, when they saw him attack Metellus. Why he did so is uncertain.

68. Lupo] Who Lupus was is not certain. His name appears in many of the fragments of Lucilius. The most probable person is L. Cornelius Lentulus Lupus, who was consul B.C. 156. What he had done to provoke Lucilius's satire we do not know, but Cicero (De Nat. Deor. i. 23) has preserved a verse of his in which Lupus is classed with the perjured and profligate.

Atqui Primores populi] 'Atqui,' which is a form of 'at quin,' means 'but he did, did he not?' 'Tributim,' throughout all the tribes: he attacked the optimates and plebeians, and all without distinction. As to the tribes, see Epp. i. 6. 52, n. 'Aequus' means 'favorable to.'

72. Virtus Scipiadae] On this form, see above, v. 17. See also S. i. 2. 32, n., on the expression 'virtus Scipiadae.' Lælius, as above mentioned, had the cognomen Sapiens given him, and any one who reads Cicero's treatise that bears his name will understand Horace's epithet 'mitis.' One of the Scholiasts relates a story of Lælius running round the dinner-table, and Lucilius pursuing him with a napkin, to flog him. Lucilius was born B.C. 148, and Scipio died B.C. 129. He was therefore but a boy when he thus played with these friends; and if, as Horace's language implies, he wrote satires in Scipio's lifetime, they were probably the more intemperate sallies of youth. But Horace may be mistaken. The fare of these great men was of the simplest kind. (See note on S. i. 6. 115.)

75. Infra Lucili censum] Horace had before intimated (v. 34, n.) that he, a poor man's son, born in a provincial town, was not to be compared with Lucilius, a Roman citizen, who was rich, and had a fine house in the Forum.

78. nisi quid tu,] This is equivalent to saying, 'This is what I think, Trebatius; but I shall be glad to defer to your opinion if you differ from me.'

79. nihil hinc diffindere possum.] The meaning of 'diffindere' is not quite clear. Perhaps it has the same sense as 'secare' above (S. i. 10. 15, and Epp. i. 16. 42); that is, 'to decide.' If so, Trebatius says he cannot decide the question from the premises Horace has put before him ('hinc').

80. Sed tamen] By the XII. Tables, the writing of scurrilous verses was among the few offences that were punishable with death. See Dict. Antt., Art. 'Injuria,' and compare Epp. ii. 1. 153. There was a 'lex Cornelia de injuriis,' which probably included the offence of writing scurrilous verses. When Trebatius says there is 'jus judiciumque,' he means that there is law, and also there are legal proceedings, for this case. 'Ne forte' is used as in C. iv. 9. 1, where see note, and compare Epp. i. 1. 13; 18. 58; ii. 1. 208. 'Sanctarum' is a participle, 'quae sanciuntur.' 'Sancire legem' was to affix the penalty to a 'lex,' and so give it effect. See Cic. de Am. c. 12.

85. latraverit,] 'Latro' is used as a transitive verb in Epod. v. 58, and Epp. i. 2. 66, and so it is here, 'What if one barks at a man who deserves rebuke, he himself being untainted?'

86. Solventur risu tabulae,] The 'tabulae' are the tablets ('tabellae judiciariae') by which the judices declared their votes, and Trebatius probably means to say, that the votes of the judices will be decided by the amusement of the scene, or else that the severity of their votes will be melted by it; that is, that the matter will be treated as unworthy of serious consideration; the judices will laugh at the joke, and acquit the defendant.

SATIRE II.

The object of this Satire is to teach the advantages of moderate eating. Of Ofella, the person into whose mouth Horace puts the chief part of his precepts, we know no more than we may gather from the Satire itself,--that in Horace's youth he was the owner of an estate near Venusia, and that his property was taken from him and made over to one of the veteran soldiers, named Umbrenus (v. 133), and that he afterwards rented, as 'colonus,' a farm on that estate which was once his own. This transfer took place, in all probability, when the troops returned to Italy after the battle of Philippi, B.C. 42, at which time (among several other districts) the Venusinus ager was distributed among the soldiers. It has been supposed that Horace visited his native place, and renewed his acquaintance with Ofella, on his return from Brundisium. (See Introduction to S. i. 5, sub fin.) The old man, unchanged by the reverses of fortune, industrious and uncomplaining, exhorting his sons to frugality and contentment, is a pleasant picture, and helps by contrast to illustrate the gluttonous and luxurious habits of the city.

2. quae praecepit Ofella] See Introduction.

3. abnormis sapiens, crassaque Minerva,] A man wise without rule, and of plain mother wit. Cicero (De Amicit. c. 5) uses the expression "agamus pingui Minerva" as a proverbial one. Minerva was the goddess of wisdom, and 'crassa Minerva' therefore means, proverbially, a coarse kind of wisdom.

4. inter lances mensasque nitentes] The wealthy Romans had already learned to fill their rooms with costly furniture, and to make a display of their plate, whether in the shape of useful or ornamental vessels. Very much of the plate thus displayed was of foreign manufacture, and very costly, and much of it was of great antiquity, and a good deal taken from Greek and Asiatic temples, and brought to Rome by various conquerors (Marcellus and Mummius in particular), by extortionate governors, or by the travelling 'mercatores,' who thus brought home the proceeds of the goods they took abroad. The dishes of the rich were very generally of silver, so that the 'lances' here mentioned would be, not only those which appeared for show, but those also in which the viands were served. 'Lances' is here used as a generic name for dishes; but there were particular names, as 'patina,' 'catinus,' 'scutula,' 'gabata,' 'paropsis,' all of different shapes and for different uses.

There appears to have been no article in which the Romans showed more extravagance than their tables; and Pliny relates of Cicero that he gave a million sesterces for a table of the sort called 'orbes.' These consisted of single slabs, sometimes of great diameter.

9. Corruptus judex.] Horace likens the man whose judgment is biassed by a fine table and good dinner, to a judex who has been tampered with. (See C. iv. 9. 39, n.)

Leporem sectatus equove] There is some confusion raised in this long sentence by the introduction of the words 'pete cedentem aëra disco.' Horace means at first to say, "When you have tired yourself with hunting the hare, with riding an unbroken horse, or (supposing the rougher sports are too much for you) with ball-play or throwing the discus, and are dry and hungry, then see if you will despise the commonest food, and call for rich mulsum." Instead of which he says: "After hunting the hare or wearying yourself with riding, or if (supposing you are only accustomed to Greek sports, and the Roman are too much for you) ball-play occupies you or the discus, then throw the discus, but when fatigue shall have banished fastidiousness, and you are dry and hungry, then see if," etc.

10. Romana--Militia] This is a way of expressing Roman sports.

11. seu pila velox] The ball play, which was so common an amusement in one shape or other among the Romans, was introduced from Greece, though the Romans had varieties perhaps of their own invention.

13. Seu te discus agit,] The throwing of the discus likewise was of Greek origin, and belonged to the heroic age. It had no resemblance to the quoit, by which name it is sometimes rendered, but was a round flat plate of metal or stone, sometimes nearly a foot in diameter.

14. Cum labor extuderit] 'Extundo' is nowhere else used in this sense, but it is a very apt word for the occasion. Hunger beating fastidiousness out of a man represents the power of the one, and the contemptible character of the other, very well.

15. nisi Hymettia mella Falerno] This constituted the drink called 'mulsum,' οἰνόμελι, which was commonly drunk at the preparatory course called 'gustus' or 'promulsis' (see S. i. 3. 6, n.), the former name being taken from the dishes that were eaten as a whet to the appetite, and the latter from the mulsum that was taken with them. The use of the strong Falernian wine for this mixture, in which the usual proportion was four of wine to one of honey, is condemned below, S. 4. 25.

16. promus] This was one of the 'ordinarii' or upper domestic slaves, whose duty it was to take charge of the wine-cellar and larder. He was hence called 'cellarius,' also 'procurator peni,' 'steward of the provisions.' Another name he bore was 'condus,' because he had to take into store ('condere') the provisions that were left or brought in for consumption, and, as the same person who locked up also took out the provisions ('promere'), both names were united in one, 'conduspromus.'

17. hiemat mare:] 'Hiemat' is copied from the Greek χειμάζεται.

18. Latrantem stomachum] Compare 'iratum ventrem' (S. ii. 8. 5). A hungry man is vulgarly said to "have a wolf in his belly," to this day.

19. Qui partum?] The subject is only to be gathered from the context. 'Whence do you suppose this appetite springs, or how is it obtained?'

20. pulmentaria quaere] The Scholiasts tell us a story of Socrates, that, when he was taking a long walk, he accounted for his activity by saying ὄψον συνάγω, 'I am getting sauce for my dinner.' See Epp. i. 18. 48.

21. ostrea Nec scarus] These were all served up with the 'gustus,' to stir up the appetite. Oysters were eaten raw or dressed. The 'scarus' was a fish not known in these days. It was rare, even among the Romans, and imported from the Ægean Sea. Martial says it was good for the stomach, but of poor flavor. The 'lagois' is described by the Scholiast as 'a bird of the color of a hare'; beyond which we know nothing about it. 'Ostrea' is here used as a dissyllable. Of the other things of which the 'promulsis' usually consisted, some are given below (S. 8. 8, sq.). The peacock was a dish lately introduced when Horace wrote.

23. posito pavone] 'Ponere,' for putting on the table, occurs below (S. 4. 14).

24. tergere palatum,] 'To wipe the palate,' is a novel expression.

25. vanis rerum,] See C. iv. 12. 19, n.

28. Cocto num adest] The 'm' is pronounced with the following word, as is common in Terence.

30. deceptum te petere!] The infinitive 'petere' expresses a feeling of indignation. This infinitive is dependent on some such phrase as 'credendum est.' The sense is as follows: "To think that, although in the quality of the flesh there is no difference, you should prefer the pea-fowl to the other, deluded by the superiority of its beauty." 'Hac' refers not to the bird last mentioned, but to that which the speaker prefers, or is defending; just as we have 'his' and 'illis' changing places below (36, 37).

31. Unde datum sentis] The sentence goes on thus 'Be it so: grant that you may be taken in by the eye, in the matter of the bird with a fine tail; but what sense can tell you whether such and such a fish was caught in the Tiber or in the open sea, between the bridges or at the mouth of the river?' This is not a very well chosen question. That part of the river which is meant by 'inter pontes' lay between the Pons Fabricius, which joined the Insula Tiberina with the left bank, and the Pons Sublicius, and between these bridges the Cloaca Maxima emptied itself. Here the stream was more than usually rapid, and 'jactatus,' 'tossed,' expresses this. It would not require a very keen epicure to distinguish a fish caught in those waters; and the fish taken at sea, if it was the same fish, would be out of season and coarse. The 'lupus' is said to have been of the pike kind.

33. Ostia sub Tusci?] 'Sub' with the accusative, in phrases of place, seems to have the meaning it has in phrases of time, 'immediately after' (see Epod. ii. 44, n.); so that 'sub ostia' would be 'immediately on entering the mouth.' But it usually in these phrases follows a verb of motion and means 'close up to'; and if it be so understood here, the verb of motion must be supplied, 'as you approach close up to.' The Tiber is called 'Tuscus amnis,' as (C. i. 20. 5) it is said to be Mæcenas's 'paternum flumen,' because it rises in Etruria.

34. Mullum] The mullet was a fish in high estimation for a great number of years. Martial speaks of one of two pounds as the least that should be put upon a fine dish. This, Pliny says, was a size it rarely exceeded. Juvenal tells a story of a man who bought a mullet of six pounds, at a thousand sesterces for each pound (iv. 15). The bearded mullet, as it was called, was held in highest esteem. Horace says the man is mad to admire a mullet of three pounds, since to be served up it must be divided into as many separate dishes (see Epp. i. 18. 48, n.).

36. Quia scilicet illis] 'Illis' does not refer to the more remote object here, but to the nearer, as in v. 29 (see note). 'His' refers to the mullet.

40. At vos, Praesentes Austri,] 'Now may ye, O potent south winds.' 'At' is a particle of exclamation, when a sudden emotion is expressed, as mentioned above (Epod. v. 1). The winds are invoked as deities. As to 'praesens' in this application, see C. i. 35. 2.

41. quamquam] 'Though I need not invoke your help; for the boar and the fresh turbot lose their flavor, when the stomach is gorged and seeks stimulants.'

42. rhombus] This fish, if it was the turbot, was not less esteemed by the Romans than by ourselves. The finest were caught in the Hadriatic, near Ravenna, whence the fish that caused such a sensation in Juvenal's story (iv. 37, sqq.) he calls "Hadriaci spatium admirabile rhombi." But it is not certain that we know what fish is meant by the 'rhombus.' Respecting 'rapula' and 'inulae,' see below, S. 8. 51. On the use of eggs at the 'promulsis,' see S. i. 3. 6. The sense in which Horace uses the words 'pauper' and 'rex' is nowhere more marked than here (see C. i. 1. 18, and C. i. 4. 14).

47. Galloni praeconis erat acipensere] This person, who lived in the time of Lucilius and was noticed by him, is said to have introduced the 'acipenser,' which fish is said to be a sturgeon. In respect to 'praeconis,' see S. i. 6. 86, n.

50. auctor docuit praetorius.] It is said one Rufus was the first to bring into fashion the eating of young storks. When he lived, it is impossible to say. He must have served the office of prætor, from the epithet Horace gives him. The stork went out of fashion, as Ofella predicts; and though gulls did not take its place, cranes came into vogue. See S. ii. 8. 87. As to 'auctor,' see C. i. 28. 14, n. The word 'edixerit' is a play upon the 'edictum' of the 'praetor.'

52. pravi docilis] 'Ever ready to learn what is bad.' The construction is like 'docilis modorum,' in C. iv. 6. 43. 'Pravus' signifies 'crooked,' as opposed to 'rectus,' 'straight'; and so 'pravum detorseris,' below (v. 55), is literally 'turn yourself awry.' 'Pravis talis' (S. i. 3. 48) are 'crooked ankles.'

53. Sordidus a tenui] Horace goes on to show that moderation is not meanness, and that propriety lies in a middle course.

55. Avidienus,] This man was a miser, but nothing more is known of him. He was 'a dirty dog,' and so the name Canis was properly applied to him.

58. defundere] 'Diffundere' means, as mentioned before, to draw wine from the 'dolium' into the 'amphora,' 'testa,' or 'cadus,' (all the same kind of vessel,) in which it was kept till it was fit to drink. When poured thence into the 'crater,' to be mixed for drinking, it was said to be 'defusum.' This miser's wine was of a poor kind, probably not fit to be bottled in the first instance, but only to be drunk from the 'dolium.' He bottled it, and did not produce it for consumption till it was turned ('mutatum').

59. licebit Ille repotia] On 'licebit,' see Epod. xv. 19. 'Repotia' was a 'coena' sometimes given, the day after marriage, by the husband. I am not aware that any explanation of the custom is to be met with. The marriage-dinner was given by the husband. As that was usually a scene of nothing but unrestrained merriment, perhaps the religious ceremonies, required properly to inaugurate the new life of the married couple, and to propitiate the Penates and Lares, were usually deferred to this day; and the sobriety of the 'repotia' was probably designed to make amends for the license of the 'coena nuptialis.' The Romans observed their birthdays with religious accuracy. See note on C. iv. 11. 8.

61. albatus] They took care on every holiday to have their togas especially clean. The ordinary toga was not dyed. The natural whiteness of the wool was increased by the process of cleaning, in which it was rubbed with different kinds of fuller's earth ('creta fullonis'), and also exposed to steams of sulphur, which removed stains of any kind. 'Albatus,' therefore, signifies in a toga which has just come from the 'fullo.' It was usual for persons who were canvassing for offices to have their toga unusually whitened with an extra supply of 'creta,' whence they were called 'candidati.'

cornu ipse bilibri] The 'cornu' was the horn vessel in which the oil was kept. Instead of having a cruet or small vessel suited to the dinner table, such as wealthy people usually had of silver and others of cheaper material, he would bring down the big horn, and with his own hand ('ipse'), lest others should be too liberal, drop the smallest quantity of oil upon the cabbage, while of his old vinegar, which would turn his guests, if he had any, from the dish, he was free enough.

64. aiunt.] τὸ λεγόμενον, 'as the saying is.' It was perhaps a common proverb to express a dilemma, though not now met with elsewhere.

65. Mundus erit qua non] 'A man will be decent so far as ('qua') he does not offend by meanness, and is on neither hand sordid in his way of living.'

67. Albuti senis] See S. ii. 1. 48, n. The Scholiasts say the savage old man used to flog his slaves before they did wrong, "because," said he, "when you do wrong I may not be at leisure to flog you." 'Dido,' 'to distribute,' is different in sense and etymology from 'divido.' The latter is connected with 'iduo,' 'idus' (C. iv. 11. 16, n.), the former with 'do.' 'Dido' is commonly used by Lucretius.

68. ut simplex Naevius] Of Nævius nothing is known. 'Simplex' is ironical. A story is told by Plutarch, in his Life of Julius Cæsar (c. 17), of Valerius Leo, who put before the dictator some asparagus covered with ointment instead of oil. Such 'simplicity,' amounting to an indifference to the decencies of life, and a want of consideration for others, which some people almost look upon as a virtue, Horace very properly describes as a great vice.

70. Accipe nunc] Horace now goes on to show the advantage of moderate living, especially as connected with health.

73. Quae simplex olim tibi sederit;] 'Which, before you mixed it with other things (while it was 'simplex'), remained quiet upon your stomach.'

76. Lenta--pituita.] The tough mucus secreted by the intestines. The first and third syllables of 'pituita' are long, the second, therefore, here coalesces with the third.

77. Coena--dubia?] This expression is copied from Terence, and means such a good dinner that you cannot tell what to eat first. Phorm. ii. 2. 28.

79. Atque affigit humo] Debauchery not only affects the body, but depresses the spirit, and unfits it for the duties of life. The expression 'affigit humo' reminds us of the words of David, "My soul cleaveth to the ground." The same sense, though in a different connection, is conveyed by Cicero's words (De Senect. c. xxi.): "Est enim animus caelestis ex altissimo domicilio depressus et quasi demersus in terram, locum divinae naturae aeternitatique contrarium," which serves also to illustrate 'divinae particulam aurae.' This expression may have been taken from some old writer.

82. ad melius poterit transcurrere] 'May betake himself to better fare.' As to 'quondam,' see C. ii. 10. 17, n.

87. mollitiem,] 'Indulgence,' which, as applied to youth, must be understood in a bad sense; but to age or sickness in a good, as that which infirmity or disease requires.

89. Rancidum aprum] What Horace means to say is, that their hospitable forefathers, rather than eat their boar by themselves, while it was fresh, would keep it till it was high, in case a stranger should drop in to eat of it with them.

93. tellus me prima] See S. i. 3. 99.

94. Das aliquid famae] 'I suppose you allow something to good report, seeing that more welcome than music it comes to the ear of man. If so (he goes on), consider that these luxuries are as discreditable as they are noxious. Also, they leave you without friends, and will bring you to penury.'

95. patinaeque] The 'patina' was a covered dish in which meats were brought in hot from the kitchen. 'Patruus' was as proverbial a name for tyranny on the male side of the family, as 'noverca' on the female. See C. ii. 12. 3. S. ii. 3. 87.

99. As laquei pretium.] This was a proverb, or became so after Horace.

Jure, inquit, Trausius] The glutton is supposed to answer, 'This sort of language is suited to Trausius: but to one who is as rich as I am, it does not apply.' Of Trausius the spendthrift, nothing is known. All we have to infer is, that he lived profusely upon small means, and ruined himself, which the speaker considers himself too rich ever to do. 'Vectigalia' is used for a private fortune, in C. iii. 16. 40. Its use is appropriate here, in connection with 'regibus.'

101. Ergo Quod superat] 'But if you have more than you want, cannot you find better objects to spend it on?'

103. indignus] This has the same sense as 'immeritus' (C. iii. 6. 1, and elsewhere), 'innocent.' Forcell. gives other examples. As to the state of the temples and their restoration, see C. ii. 15, Introduction, and note on C. iii. 6. 1.

106. Uni nimirum] "He hath said in his heart, I shall not be moved, for I shall never be in adversity" (Ps. x. 6), is very like the argument Horace puts in his rich man's mouth,--the man whose fortune was large enough for three kings. He argues that he is so rich that he never can be otherwise. As to 'nimirum,' see Epp. i. 9. 1, n.

107. Uterne Ad casus dubios] On 'ne,' see S. i. 10. 21, and with 'dubios' compare C. iv. 9. 36.

111. aptarit] 'Has fitted on his armor,' as it were.

112. Quo magis his credas,] He brings forward Ofella, as an instance, in particular, of the way in which a man who has been frugal in prosperity can meet the reverses of fortune.

113. latius] This word is used as 'angustius' in the opposite sense. It means 'more profusely.' I am not aware that it is so used anywhere else. 'Metato in agello' is the farm which has been marked out by the public surveyor ('metator'), and assigned to Umbrenus. (See Introduction.) This participle is used passively in C. ii. 15. 15. 'Fortem' has been explained in the note on C. S. 58, and for 'colonum,' see C. ii. 14. 12, n. As 'colonum' signifies a tenant, 'mercede' ('rent') is only added to give additional force to the contrast. It makes rather a clumsy sentence. Farms were held either on payment of rent, or of a certain part of the produce of the land; but 'merces' could not mean the latter. A 'colonus' who held on the latter terms, was called 'partiarius.' 'Temere' signifies that which is done without consideration, because habitually done.

116. luce profesta] 'Profesti dies' were working days, as opposed to 'festi' or 'feriati' (S. 3. 144, sq.). 'Profestis' is opposed to 'sacris' in C. iv. 15. 25.

119. operum vacuo] Compare C. iii. 17. 16, "operum solutis," and A. P. 212, "liberque laborum."

120. bene erat] 'We made ourselves happy.' See C. iii. 16. 43.

122. cum duplice ficu.] Some take this for a large coarse kind of fig ('marisca'), double the size of an ordinary one. Others take it for a fig split in two, and so dried. It is possible Horace may mean two figs.

123. Post hoc ludus erat] "After this we amused ourselves by drinking with 'culpa' for our 'magister,' or 'rex bibendi,' συμποσίαρχος" (C. i. 4. 18, n.). It appears that they agreed between themselves as to some mode of drinking, and established a penalty for the transgression of it, which transgression ('culpa') was to do that which at drinking parties, where a president was appointed, he might do arbitrarily; that is, either mulct a guest of a cup of wine, or make him drink an extra cup, or anything else he chose, as a fine for misbehavior. In short, Ofella means it was a quiet and primitive sort of way of proceeding, unlike the new fashion introduced from Greece, and followed in fine houses, of having a symposiarch to preside (S. ii. 6. 69, n.).

124. Ac venerata Ceres ita] On this use of 'veneror,' see C. S. 49, n. 'Ita' introduces the object of the prayer. It is usually followed by 'ut' introducing a condition. But as with 'sic,' that is not always the case. See note on C. i. 3. 1.

127. parcius--nituistis] 'Have ye been in worse condition, less sleek and fat?' 'Ut,' 'ever since,' as "Ut tetigi Pontum vexant insomnia" (Ovid, Trist. iii. 8. 27). 'Propriae' signifies one's own in perpetuity, as below (v. 134), "erit nulli proprius"; and S. ii. 6. 5. Aen. (i. 73): "Connubio jungam stabili propriamque dicabo."

131. vafri] The law was as plain as its subjects admitted, though to ignorant people it must often have appeared subtle, and that is the meaning of 'vafri.'

133. Umbreni] See Introduction.

SATIRE III.

This Satire appears to have been written during the Saturnalia, in the month of December, B.C. 32. The year before, Agrippa had been Ædile, and his ædileship is alluded to in v. 185. It was written at Horace's country-house, not long, it may be supposed, after it was given him. He was improving the house at the time, as we may infer from v. 308. The Satire is general, taking in the leading vices and follies of human nature,--ambition, avarice, extravagance, lust, superstition, which are brought together with some ingenuity.

One Damasippus, a man who had wasted a good fortune in speculating as an amateur in all sorts of costly articles, particularly works of art, in which he was held to be a connoisseur, is introduced in a new character, as a Stoic philosopher, reproving Horace for his laziness, and urging him to write. He relates the story of his own conversion to philosophy, which was this. When he had lost all his fortune, and was hopelessly involved with money-lenders, and found himself laughed at and called madman wherever he went, he grew desperate, and was going to throw himself into the Tiber, when he was arrested by Stertinius, an oracle of the Stoics, who remonstrated with him and consoled him, and at the same time armed him against his enemies (v. 297) with a long homily, in the course of which he proved that all the world, but the good and wise, were as mad as he was. In this discourse he enumerates the chief features of this universal madness, and this forms the bulk of the Satire.

Of Damasippus very little is known. But he was a real person, though perhaps a little before Horace's day. Why Horace should have chosen this man as the mouth-piece of his Satire does not appear. Damasippus says himself, it is true, that, having ruined his own affairs, he had nothing to do but to attend to the affairs of others; which Horace interprets to mean, that he had taken to giving advice when it was not asked (see v. 27, n.).

Stertinius appears to have been an authority among the Stoics of the day. The Scholiasts tell us he wrote 220 books on the doctrines of that school. Damasippus calls him (v. 296) "sapientum octavus." His books, if he ever wrote them, have not rescued him from oblivion. Horace mentions him again, in Epp. i. 12. 20, as the representative of the sect.

The discourse of Stertinius turns upon this dogma, that every man in the world, high or low, is mad, except the sage (see note on v. 46). Cicero has argued the same doctrine of the Stoics in his Paradoxa (iii. ὅτι πᾶς ἄφρων μαίνεται), but he does not go very deep into the subject, or throw much light upon it.

2. Membranam poscas,] Horace speaks of parchment ('membrana') only twice (A. P. 389), 'charta,' which means the Egyptian papyrus, being his usual equivalent for a book. From the thin coats of the papyrus the name 'liber' was derived, and parchment was less generally used in Horace's day than the papyrus; though that material was also commonly employed. 'Texere chartam' is a common expression for putting the pieces of the papyrus together. 'Retexere scripta,' therefore, means to take to pieces or tear up what is written, or to take out leaves and substitute others, with different writings upon them.

3. vini somnique benignus] This is a Greek construction 'freely indulging in wine and sleep.' 'Dignum sermone' means 'worthy of being talked about.'

4. At ipsis Saturnalibus] The use of 'at' in replies is common. 'But, say you, while the Saturnalia were going on, you ran away to this place' (his farm); i.e. that he might write something worth reading. 'Well, then,' Damasippus proceeds, 'since you have kept yourself sober, give us something equal to what you have led us to expect.' The Saturnalia was celebrated on the 17th of December, to represent the liberty of the golden age of Saturn (S. ii. 7. 4, "libertate Decembri"), and therefore one of its chief features was the license granted, for the one day that the feast lasted, to slaves. They had all the mockery of freedom for a few hours, which they spent, like their betters, in rioting. The feast belonged more to the country than the town, and was properly a farmers' festival. But it was attended with greater disturbances in the city; and one who wanted to be quiet at that time would be glad to retire to the country.

6. Nil est:] 'It's no use,' as if Horace were preparing an excuse.

7. calami,] The reed used by the Romans for writing appears to have been precisely the same as the 'kulum' now used throughout the East. Like the papyrus, it was chiefly brought from Egypt, and, when cut and ready for use, differed scarcely at all from the pens we employ. As the bad workman finds fault with his tools, the poet is supposed to get in a passion with his pen and beat the wall by his bedside, because his ideas would not flow fast enough. He who was unfortunate was said to have been born when the gods were angry; here Damasippus adds, 'and the poets too.' Compare S. ii. 7. 14.

9. minantis] 'Promising.' So the Greeks sometimes used ἀπειλεῖν. And, on the other hand, 'promittere' is used in the sense of 'minari.'

10. tepido] Horace was delicate, and disliked the cold, and in the winter was glad to retreat to his country-house, where he could get plenty of wood and a good fire. (See Epp. i. 7. 10, sq.) But his residence in the valley of the Licenza was itself sheltered, and probably at some seasons warmer than Rome.

11. Quorsum pertinuit stipare Platona Menandro,] 'Quorsum' is a contraction of 'quo versum,' 'to what point turned or tending.' Plato was a comic writer, and a rival of Aristophanes. As to Eupolis, see S. i. 4. 1, n., and for Archilochus, see Epod. vi. 13, n.

13. virtute relicta?] I have more than once had occasion to remark, that the notion of perseverance is involved in the Roman 'virtus' (see C. S. 59), and it is so here, being opposed to 'desidia' (v. 15). But it means more, for it implies moral courage and a strong will, which were in great esteem among the Romans. Damasippus supposes the poet to be consulting his ease and his cowardice at the same time; and says, if he thinks to silence jealousy by ceasing to write, he will only find himself the object of contempt; and if he means to be idle now, he must be content to lose the reputation won in his better days of energy. As to Siren, see Epp. i. 2. 23.

16. Damasippe,] See Introduction. Horace prays, in the words of a common formula, that Heaven will send Damasippus, to reward him for his good advice, a barber to shave his long beard. He may be supposed to have let his beard grow long, with the affectation peculiar to those who called themselves philosophers; and Horace means that to be delivered from that folly would be the best boon that could be bestowed upon him. (See below, v. 35, and note on S. i. 3. 133.) ἐκ πώγωνος σοφοί was the Greek way of representing such persons,--men whose wisdom lay in their beards.

18. Janum Ad medium] There appear to have been three arches dedicated to Janus in the Forum Romanum, one at each end, and one in the centre, near to the Arcus Fabianus at the extremity of the Via Sacra. They are alluded to again, Epp. i. 1. 54: "Haec Janus summus ab imo Perdocet"; i.e. the whole Forum. Near the middle arch were the 'tabernae' of the principal money-lenders.

20. Olim nam] This position of 'nam' is peculiar to the poets. See below, v. 41, and elsewhere.

21. vafer--lavisset Sisyphus aere,] Homer (Il. vi. 153) calls Sisyphus κέρδιστος ἀνδρῶν. Damasippus says he used, before he lost all his money, to employ himself in purchasing and reselling all kinds of valuable property; among the rest, vessels of Corinthian bronze (often, but improperly, called brass), of such antiquity that Sisyphus, the founder of Corinth, might be supposed to have used them for washing his feet. The rage for antiquated pieces of furniture went on increasing, and appears to have gone to absurd lengths during the empire.

22. infabre,] 'In an unworkmanlike manner.' The reverse of this is 'affabre,' used by Cicero (in Verr. Act. i. c. 5). The art of founding is of great antiquity, though the earliest metal statues were beaten out of lumps with the hammer. It was a process of much nicety, and the fitting of the parts required great skill.

24. unus] See S. ii. 6. 57; A. P. 32.

25. Mercuriale] Damasippus means that his skill in making bargains was so well known, that he was called, all over the town, a ward of Mercury. The more usual construction is with the dative. See below, v. 47, n. 'Compita' were those spots where two or more streets converged to a point, or crossed one another. At these places idlers lounged, and passengers stopped, if they were so disposed, to offer a prayer to the Lares publici or Compitales, whose altars were erected there. (See below, v. 281, n.)

27. morbi purgatum] This genitive follows the Greek construction. Horace calls the man's mania for bargains a disease, and he is surprised how he ever got over it. 'But,' says he, 'you have only exchanged that disorder for another (that of giving advice where it is not wanted), as the patient in a lethargy has been known suddenly to jump up and assault the doctor. Provided, however, you don't follow his example, be it as you please.' 'Trajecto' is a medical word. 'Miser' is also said to be a medical word for 'diseased.' 'Hic' means 'any one,' 'such a one.'

31. O bone, ne te Frustrere:] 'My good sir, don't deceive yourself.' We have 'o bone' below (S. 6. 51). It is like the Greek ὦ ᾽γαθέ.

32. prope omnes,] Stertinius would not allow of any exceptions to this rule (see note on v. 44), and 'prope' therefore may be looked upon, not as limiting 'omnes,' but perhaps as softening the expression a little. It is hard to give the word a distinct meaning in C. iv. 14. 20, and below in the 268th verse of this Satire (see note on the former passage). The Greeks would use ὡς ἔπος εἰπεῖν in the same way.

33. Stertinius] See Introduction. 'Crepo' is nowhere else used in a good sense, and it is put into Damasippus's mouth ironically. 'Unde' means 'from whom,' i.e. Stertinius.

35. pascere barbam] See above, v. 17, n. πωγωνοτροφεῖν is a term used by the later Greek writers. The Pons Fabricius, from which Damasippus was going to throw himself into the river after he became bankrupt, connected the Insula Tiberina with the left bank, and was just outside the walls, facing the south end of the Mons Capitolinus. It had lately been rebuilt with stone, having been formerly (as may be supposed) made of wood. There are still ruins of this bridge, which now bears the name Ponte di Quattro Capi. The Fabricius who built it was Curator Viarum, as appears by an inscription upon one of the arches.

38. Cave faxis] The last syllable in 'cave' used with the subjunctive (sometimes with and sometimes without 'ut') is always short. 'Pudor malus' is what the French call 'mauvaise honte.'

40. insanus haberi.] Those persons who called him a clever fellow as long as he appeared to be succeeding, now that he had failed called him a madman. Success was their criterion of wisdom, as it is with most people. 'Qui vereare,' 'because you are afraid.'

41. Primum nam inquiram] 'Nam' is sometimes used to introduce an explanation, as here and in Epp. i. 1. 76. Compare Cæsar (B. G. iii. 28): "Morini Menapiique longe alia ratione ac reliqui Galli bellum gerere coeperunt. Nam quod intelligebant maximas nationes quae proelio contendissent, pulsas superatasque esse, continentesque silvas ac paludes habebant, eo se suaque omnia contulerunt." (See Key's L. G. 1452.)

42. pereas quin fortiter] 'Why you should not resolutely destroy yourself.'

44. Chrysippi porticus] This was the στοὰ ποικίλη or picture-gallery at Athens, in which Zeno first taught, and from which his followers derived their name. The Stoics admitted no mean between perfect wisdom, or virtue, and absolute folly, or vice. The fool, therefore, was a madman, and he was a fool who was ignorant of the truth: and this maxim ('formula') applies to all men except the sage; the sage, therefore, is he who is perfectly acquainted with the truth, which is the Stoics' equivalent for a virtuous man. This theory of virtue led to the doctrine of punishments ridiculed by Horace in the third Satire of the first book. The Stoics allowed no gradations of virtue, and therefore admitted no gradations of punishment. Their notion of a sage altogether was irrational, because no such being as they imagined a sage to be ever existed, and they did not suppose it possible he should. Their intention was good, namely, to put before the world the highest standard of virtue, wisdom, and self-control, and, by withholding all credit from any stage short of perfection, to lead men on to desire perfection.

47. qui tibi nomen Insano] The dative is right. See above, v. 25, n.

50. utrique] Horace uses both the singular and plural of this word.

51. hoc te Crede modo] 'Believe yourself to be mad within this limit (or to this extent), namely, that he who laughs at you is no wiser, and drags his tail behind him (just as much as you do).'

53. caudam trahat] Mischievous boys play tricks upon half-witted people in the streets, such as tying something behind them to make them look ridiculous. In some such way the proverb may have arisen.

Est genus unum] This is the first class of fools, those who are afraid where no fear is: the second being those who care nothing for danger. Compare with this the language of Socrates in Xenophon (Mem. i. 1. 14), τῶν τε γὰρ μαινομένων τοὺς μὲν οὐδὲ τὰ δεινὰ δεδιέναι, τοὺς δὲ καὶ τὰ μὴ φοβερὰ φοβεῖσθαι.

56. varum] It is not certain whether 'varum' or 'varium' is the proper reading. 'Varum' signifies that which diverges. See S. i. 3. 47, n.

58. cum cognatis,] 'Amica' agrees with 'mater.' It is not a substantive. The word 'cognatis' embraces all blood relations who can trace back their origin to a common pair of ancestors.

59. serva!] 'Take care!' a word common in the comic writers (see Forcell.).

60. Fufius] Nothing more is known of this actor and of Catienus than is here mentioned. The ordinary story of Polydorus, the son of Priam, is that which Euripides relates in the Hecuba, that he was intrusted to the care of Polymestor, king of Thrace, and murdered by him for his gold. Another legend (see Dict. Biog. 'Polydorus') makes him intrusted to the care of his sister Ilione, who was wife of the above Polymestor. She, for some reason, put him in the place of her own son Deiphilus, and the latter was brought up as her brother. When the Greeks took Troy, they required Polymestor to put Priam's son to death, and he accordingly killed Deiphilus. On this story, Pacuvius founded a tragedy called Ilione, and in one of the scenes the ghost of Deiphilus is introduced in his mother's bed-chamber, calling upon her to give his body burial in these words (preserved in Cic. Tusc. Disp. i. 44):--

"Mater, te adpello quae curam somno suspensam levas, Neque te mei miseret; surge et sepeli natum."

Fufius acted Ilione, and Catienus was Deiphilus. The former was so drunk that he fell fast asleep, and Horace says, if 200,000 Catienuses had screamed in his ear, he would not have heard them. His part was to start up and cry to the vanished ghost, like Hamlet,--"Age, adsta, mane, audi, iteradum eademmet ista mihi" (Cic. Acad. Prior. ii. 27). Cicero made a proverb of these words, 'Mater, te appello,' using them in various illustrations. See his speech Pro Sestio, c. 59.

62. Huic ego vulgus] Stertinius goes on to prove that the generality of men are as mad as the above persons.

63. Errori similem] 'Errorem' is understood, and it is governed by 'insanire' as a cognate accusative, 'error' being equivalent to 'insania.' Compare Epp. i. 1. 101.

64. Insanit veteres] In the first place, says he, if Damasippus is mad for buying old statues, is he less mad who trusts him?

65. Esto!] εἶεν, 'be it so,' a way of passing on to the disproving of the proposition by a reductio ad absurdum. 'If I offer you a purse of money as a free gift,' says Stertinius, 'are you mad if you accept it? Is not he the fool who rejects the treasure that Mercurius in his bounty offers, seeing he may never be so kind again?'

68. quam praesens Mercurius fert?] This notion appears to be taken from a painting. It is common, in ancient works of art, to see Mercurius represented with a purse in his hand, and his wings on his cap or feet, offering the former, as in haste, to some figure by him.

69. Scribe decem Nerio;] These words, to v. 73, are an invective of the money-lender Perillius against his slippery debtor Nerius. And the Stoic replies to him in ver. 74 and the two following verses. The sense is this: 'Make an entry (says Perillius) of ten (minae, or anything else) lent to Nerius; add by way of security a hundred such bonds as Cicuta employs, and to this any number of fetters you please (that is, take what security of him you choose), still the rascal will escape.' To which the Stoic replies, 'If he is mad who ruins himself and cannot pay his debts, you are more mad for lending him money which you have no chance of getting back again.' The banker ('argentarius'), through whom the money was advanced, would make an entry in his books, which entry was legal evidence of the debt, but Perillius says that with such a slippery fellow it would not be sufficient.

Nerius may stand for anybody of this character. Cicuta is said to be a nickname given to some notorious usurer, for his sour temper. Horace represents him as a shrewd person to have dealings with; one who, when he advanced money, looked well to the security, and when he bound a debtor, tied the knot tight.

71. Proteus.] For the story of Proteus, see Hom. Odyss. 410, sqq., 455, sqq. (which Virgil has imitated, Georg. iv. 405, sqq.); Ovid, Fast. i. 369, sqq.; A. A. i. 761:--

"Utque leves Proteus modo se tenuabit in undas; Nunc leo, nunc arbor, nunc erit hirtus aper."

72. rupies in jus] See note on S. i. 9. 77. 'Malis ridentem alienis' is a proverbial way of expressing a hypocrite, who puts on a face not his own. The words are taken, without strict regard to their application, from the Odyssey (xx. 347), οἱ δ᾽ ἤδη γναθμοῖσι γελοίων ἀλλοτρίοισι, where the suitors of Penelope laugh when they would rather have cried, like "Quin et Ixion Tityosque vultu Risit invito" (C. iii. 11. 21). The sense is, that this cunning debtor, when his creditor sues him, will put on all kinds of characters, tell all manner of lies, get out of the obligation, and laugh at his creditor, let him do what he will to bind him.

74. Si male rem gerere] See v. 40, n.

75. Putidius] This Forcellini explains, I believe correctly, "insanius et quasi corruptius." As 'scribere' signifies to make an entry, 'rescribere' signifies to cancel the entry, which would be done when the debt was paid, and not before. 'Quod tu nunquam rescribere possis' therefore means 'what you can never recover.' 'Dictare' is to dictate the form of bond for the borrower to write out, or the sum to be entered in his own books, and either way is equivalent to lending money. When the unjust steward in the parable told his master's debtor to sit down quickly and write less than he owed, he was said 'dictare,' and the man was to write an acknowledgment in the form of a bond.

77. togam jubeo componere,] This only means to sit down and composedly attend to what he is going to say. He turns from Damasippus to an imaginary mixed audience, and addresses four classes chiefly: that is to say, the ambitious, the avaricious, the luxurious, and the superstitious.

83. Nescio an Anticyram] On the phrases 'nescio an,' 'haud scio an,' 'I incline to think it is so,' see Key's L. G. 1421. Anticyra was a town of Phocis on the Sinus Corinthiacus, and was celebrated for the production of hellebore, a medicine used very generally in cases of madness. It would seem probable, from ver. 166 and other places, that patients went to reside at Anticyra sometimes. There were two other places of the name, one in Thessaly, another in Locris, each of which is said to have produced hellebore, but see note on A. P. 300. 'Destinare' is a medical term for prescribing. Stertinius says that he rather thinks reason would prescribe the whole produce of Anticyra for the covetous, whom he reckons the worst of the four.

84. Staberi] This person is unknown. The exhibition of gladiators was originally a funeral ceremony, and so continued after the practice became common as a popular entertainment. After the funeral of a wealthy man a distribution of meat to the people ('visceratio') was not unusual, and a public banquet ('epulum') was very common, to which persons of the highest distinction that the friends could get to attend were invited. The distribution of corn ('frumentatio') was also a common practice. This Staberius, who considered it a disgrace for any man to die poor, willed that the amount of his property should be recorded on his tomb, and his heredes, if they did not do this, were, by a condition in his testament, 'damnati,' under a penalty, to celebrate his funeral with gladiatorial shows and an epulum on a scale to be determined by Arrius, which would be a costly scale. 'Damnati' is a legal term, and penalties were common in Roman wills. We must infer from the text that 200 pairs of gladiators were in Horace's day an extravagant number, but in later times it would not have been excessive.

86. arbitrio Arri,] Quintus Arrius (see below, v. 243) was well known in his day. He was a man of low character and origin, and rose by timeserving to honor and wealth. On one occasion he gave an extravagant funeral entertainment.

87. Frumenti quantum metit Africa.] This is a proverbial expression. See C. i. 1. 10.

88. ne sis patruus mihi.] This is as much as to say, 'Don't dictate or lay down the law for me.' As to 'patruus,' see C. iii. 12. 3, and above, S. 2. 97.

89. prudentem] Cicero defines 'prudentia' thus: "Sapientis est providere, a quo sapientia est appellata prudentia." What Staberius provided for is related in what follows.

90. summam patrimoni] It would seem from this as if he had not increased the property his father had left him, since the amount of his patrimony was the amount to be engraved on the tomb.

91. Quoad] This is to be pronounced as a monosyllable.

93. perisset] The pluperfect is properly joined with the imperfect in this construction. Compare S. i. 6. 79, and Terence, Phorm. i. 2. 69, "Non si redisset ei pater veniam daret"; and Adelph. ii. 1. 24, "Si attigisses ferres infortunium." 'Nequior' has irony in it. But Staberius's doctrine was that goodness was measured by wealth, and that if he should die poorer by the fourth part of an as, he would, in the same proportion, be in his own esteem a less virtuous man.

97. Sapiensne? Etiam, et rex,] 'Wise? say you. Ay, and a king to boot, and anything he shall please.' But 'etiam' in replies means 'even so.'

99. Quid simile isti] 'But what likeness,' says some one, 'is there between that person of yours and Aristippus'? If he is mad (the man means), surely Aristippus is more mad.

100. Graecus Aristippus?] Aristippus of Cyrene professed to be the slave of no passion, while he gratified all. He cared nothing for money, while he used it for the purpose of sensual indulgence. The story Horace mentions is derived with little variation from Diog. Laert. (ii. 77). See Epp. i. 1. 18, n.

103. litem quod lite resolvit.] Which settles one doubtful point by raising another. It supposes that the conduct of Aristippus may by some be considered noble.

104. Si quis emat citharas,] Sir Henry Halford relates an instance of lunacy which illustrates this: "In another well-known case which justified the Lord Chancellor's issuing a writ 'de lunatico inquirendo,' the insanity of the gentleman manifested itself in appropriating everything to himself and parting with nothing. When strongly urged to put on a clean shirt, he would do it, but it must be over the dirty one; nor would he put off his shoes when he went to bed. He would agree to purchase anything that was to be sold, but he would not pay for it. He was, in fact, brought up from the King's Bench prison, where he had been committed for not paying for a picture valued at £1,500 which he had agreed to buy; and in giving my opinion to the jury I recommended them to go over to his house in Portland Place, where they would find £15,000 worth of property of every description; this picture, musical instruments, clocks, baby-houses, and bawbles, all huddled in confusion together on the floor of his dining-room. I need not add, that the jury found the gentleman insane." (Halford's Essays, p. 63.)

106. formas] Here this signifies a shoemaker's last. It is used for moulds in which castings are made, and would express any shape or block on which anything is made.

107. Aversus mercaturis:] The poets use the dative after verbs, participles, and adjectives, which signify removal or difference. See Key's L. G. 987. Compare C. ii. 4. 19: "Tam lucro aversam." 'Istis' (v. 108) is the dative under the same rule. This Latin use accounts for our own 'averse to.'

115. Chii veterisque Falerni] Pliny says, respecting the age of Falernian, "Falernum nec in novitate nec in nimia vetustate corpori salubre est. Media ejus aetas a quinto decimo anno incipit." (N. H. xxiii. 20.)

116. nihil est,] 'A thousand,--nay, that is nothing.' He might have said 'immo.' See S. i. 3. 20, n.

117. unde-Octoginta annos natus,] After he has completed seventy-nine years, that is, in his eightieth year.

118. stragula vestis,] The ancients had very expensive coverings for their beds, which were called 'stragula' or 'stragulae vestes.' They were usually purple, wide, and sometimes richly embroidered.

121. morbo jactatur eodem.] That is, madness. The word 'jactari' is applied medically to the tossing of the sick and writhing of those in pain.

123. Dis inimice senex,] This is an adaptation of θεοῖς ἐχθρός, a common Greek expression.

127. perjuras,] 'Pejerare' is the common form of this word.

129. servosque tuos quos aere pararis,] 'Quos aere pararis' shows the folly of the man who, having laid out his money in the purchase of slaves, employs himself in breaking their heads with stones. Such a man, says Stertinius, would be counted mad by acclamation. 'Well, then,' he adds, to the miser, 'are you not mad, who poison your mother or strangle your wife, to get rid of the expense of keeping them? Of course not; for you do it, not at Argos, but at Rome; not in the character of Orestes, but of a respectable citizen. But do you not believe Orestes was mad before he killed his mother, and when no one suspected it?' As to 'quid enim,' see note on S. i. 1. 7.

130. pueri clamentque puellae:] "'Que' in the poets is sometimes placed, not after the second of the two words compared, but after a word which is the common predicate of both clauses." (Key's L. G. 1441.) In a note, Professor Key adds, "A construction that probably began with a repetition of the predicate, 'pueri clament clamentque puellae.'" See below (v. 157), "furtis pereamque rapinis," and many other instances.

137. male tutae mentis] 'Tutus' was in medical language equivalent to 'sanus.' 'Incolumis' is used in the same sense (v. 132).

141. Hanc Furiam, hunc aliud] What Horace alludes to when he speaks of Orestes calling Pylades names, is uncertain. In the Orestes of Euripides (v. 264) he says to his sister:

μέθες· μί᾽ οὖσα τῶν ἐμῶν ἐρινύων μέσον μ᾽ ὀχμάζεις, ὡς βάλῃς ἐς Τάρταρον.

splendida bilis.] 'Splendida' is a redundant epithet. Persius, who imitates Horace frequently, calls it 'vitrea bilis' (iii. 8). Galen says, "The black bile is brighter than the blood itself, like the asphalt from the Dead Sea, which they call Jewish asphalt."

142. Opimius] This man, who was 'magnas inter opes inops' (C. iii. 16. 28) is quite unknown except from this description. On the wine of Veii see note on C. i. 9. 7, and Persius (S. v. 147): "Veientanumque rubellum." On 'Campana trulla,' see S. i. 6. 118. 'Trulla,' which has the same element as τρύβλιον, was a drinking cup of some shape. It was not necessarily of earthen-ware, as here. Cicero (in Verr. ii. 4. 27) mentions one made of a single precious stone of enormous size, with a gold handle.

147. multum celer] See S. i. 3. 57.

155. Agedum, sume hoc ptisanarium oryzae.] On 'agedum,' see S. i. 4. 38. 'Ptisanarium' is a diminutive of 'ptisana,' and means a little broth. Rice was imported from Egypt.

157. furtis pereamque rapinis?] See note on S. i. 3. 122, and above, v. 130. The wretched man, when he hears the price of his food, conjures up the notion that everybody is conspiring to rob and plunder him.

158. Quisnam igitur sanus?] These questions and answers are all carried on by Stertinius himself. 'Stultus et insanus' means 'he is a fool, and therefore mad'; not 'he is a fool, and moreover he is mad,' since folly and madness have already been declared to be identical.

161. Craterum dixisse putato] Craterus was an eminent physician of that day. Cicero speaks of him with confidence as attending the daughter of Atticus during her illness, B.C. 45. He is mentioned by Persius many years afterwards as representing the profession (S. iii. 65). 'Cardiacus,' according to Celsus's definition, is "nothing else than excessive weakness of the body, which, from the stomach having lost its tone, is wasted with immoderate sweating."

163. morbo tentantur acuto.] This whole verse is repeated, Epp. i. 6. 28. 'Morbus acutus,' 'an acute disease,' is opposed to 'longus,' 'a chronic disease.'

165. porcum Laribus:] C. iii. 23. 4. 'Let him offer a thanksgiving to his Lares who have protected him from those vices.'

168. Servius Oppidius] This person is unknown, except from this passage. He lived at Canusium, a town of Apulia (see S. v. 5. 91, n.). Horace says he was rich even with two farms, according to the standard of incomes in the old times. As to the form 'divisse,' see S. 1. 5. 79. This story serves to connect the subject of avarice with that of ambition, which is the next form of madness and profligacy which follows.

171. talos,--nucesque] The 'talus' was the knuckle bone of some animal, generally a sheep, the Greek name for which was ἀστράγαλος. The manner of playing with it was the same among the Greeks and the Romans, and the same bones are still used by boys in England. The ancients used them in games of skill and of chance; for the latter purpose they were marked as dice, and thrown usually from a box called 'fritillus,' 'phimus,' etc. (See S. ii. 7. 17, n.) Boys had also games of various kinds with nuts, as they have now. Suetonius relates that Augustus used to amuse himself by playing with little boys at these games. Oppidius observed that his son Aulus carried about his bones and his nuts in a careless way in a loose fold of his toga, ready to give them away to any of his companions, or to lose them at play; while Tiberius always counted his carefully and hid them away, carrying a serious face wherever he went; and from these early signs of character he foresaw that one would prove a spendthrift, and the other a miser. As to Nomentanus, see S. i. 1. 102, n.; and on Cicuta, see above, v. 69.

178. coërcet.] Keeps within bounds, defines, limits.

179. Gloria] See S. i. 6. 23.

181. is intestabilis et sacer esto.] A person who was 'intestabilis,' as the word implies, could not appear as a witness before a magistrate, and so lost virtually much of his capacity for private rights. 'Sacer' was one condemned for some great crime, who might be put to death by anybody, without charge of murder. Thus Oppidius imprecates a curse upon his sons, if they should ever aspire so high as to the office of an ædile or a prætor.

182. In cicere atque faba] As if his sons were already seeking votes, he says to each of them (for 'tu' must be so understood), 'So you would throw away your money in distributing largesses to the people (such as the ædiles were wont to give), in order that you may strut about in the Circus, and have a bronze statue voted you,--that is to say, that you may be loaded with the same honors as the great Agrippa, like a fox aping a lion.' It was customary for the ædiles to distribute grain, or vegetables of the sort mentioned, to the common people, at the festival of the Floralia. See Persius (v. 177).

183. Latus--spatiere] This is explained in the note on Epod. iv. 7. As to 'aëneus,' see C. iii. 3. 65, n. The form of expression 'aëneus ut stes' is like that in C. iv. 1. 19: "Albanos prope te lacus Ponet marmoream"; and Virg. (Ecl. vii. 35):

"Nunc te marmoreum pro tempore fecimus; at tu Si fetura gregem suppleverit aureus esto."

The same way of speaking is common in Greek. Such statues as are here supposed were usually erected in the Forum, and one had probably been lately placed there in honor of Agrippa. It may be observed that Oppidius plainly means the first part of his address, from 'In cicere,' etc., to apply to the careless, extravagant Aulus, while the simile of the fox and lion is only applicable to Tiberius, who, if he spends his money, will look for a substantial return for it, in such honors and rewards as he saw Agrippa had won.

185. quos fert Aqrippa] Agrippa, after he had been prætor and consul, undertook the ædileship, which was the lowest of the curule offices, in B.C. 33, to gratify Augustus. His munificence was very great in the erection of public buildings and the celebration of games on a splendid scale, and in large donations to the people.

186. Astuta ingenuum] This appears to be nothing but a suitable illustration invented by Horace. It is obvious enough, and we need not suppose it a proverb or a current fable of Æsop or any one else.

187. Ne quis humasse velit] This scene is taken from the remonstrance of Ulysses with Agamemnon, in the Ajax of Sophocles (v. 1328, sqq.), after Ajax has destroyed himself. 'Veto' usually governs the infinitive mood. Once more, as here, Horace uses it with 'ne' and the subjunctive (Epp. ii. 1. 239), and once with the subjunctive, but without 'ne' (C. iii. 2. 26). Tibullus has 'veto' with 'ut': "Illius ut verbis sis mihi lenta veto" (ii. 6. 36). 'Atrida' is the later form of the vocative. The Greek 'Atride' is used in Epp. i. 7. 43. 'Cur' is awkwardly placed, as it is in S. 7. 104. The connection with what precedes lies in the extravagant and imperious conduct of the king, as illustrating the excesses of pride, and proving that madness is found in high places and in the heart of kings. Stertinius, it must be remembered, is exposing the folly of ambition. The dialogue is supposed to be between Agamemnon and one of his soldiers, in view of the unburied corpse of Ajax. 'I am a king,' ('I am one of the common sort, and dare ask no more!' interposes the soldier humbly,)--'and moreover the thing is just that I command.' There is a good deal of irony here. The justice of the command is secondary to the will of the despot, and his subject is ready, with instinctive awe, to admit that it is so; but the tyrant condescends to justify his act; and the man of low degree, not without trembling and doubt and astonishment at such condescension, ventures to ask that his reason may be enlightened a little, in order that he may learn to acquiesce willingly. Stephens quotes a Greek proverb, μωρῷ καὶ βασιλεῖ νόμος ἄγραφος, 'Fools and kings are governed by an unwritten law.' Compare Juvenal, "Sic volo sic jubeo; stat pro ratione voluntas" (vi. 223).

191. Di tibi dent capta classem deducere Troja!] This is a version of the words of Chryses to the king (Il. i. 18):

ὑμῖν μὲν θεοὶ δοῖεν Ὀλύμπια δώματ᾽ ἔχοντες ἐκπέρσαι Πριάμοιο πόλιν, εὖ δ᾽ οἴκαδ᾽ ἱκέσθαι.

'Consulere' is used humorously, as if the person addressed was a jurisconsultus. On 'respondere,' see C. S. 55, n.

194. Putescit] The two forms 'putrescere' and 'putescere' are in use, but there is no difference of meaning in them. 'Putrescat' is used above (v. 119).

195. Gaudeat ut populus Priami Priamusque] Comp. Il. i. 255: ἦ κεν γηθήσαι Πρίαμος Πριάμοιό τε παῖδες.

197. Mille ovium] "'Mille' in the singular is commonly an adjective; in the plural, perhaps always a substantive." An exception to the latter part of this rule occurs above (S. i. 6. 111). 'Morti dedit' is exactly equivalent to our 'put to death.' 'Do' means 'to put'; so its compounds 'abdo,' 'to put away'; 'addo,' 'to put to'; 'condo,' 'to put together'; 'dedo,' 'to put down' (one's arms); 'dido,' 'to put asunder or distribute'; 'edo,' 'to put forth'; 'indo,' 'to put on'; 'trado,' 'to put across, to hand over,' etc.

198. mecum se occidere clamans.] See Soph. Aj. 42:

τί δῆτα ποίμναις τήνδ᾽ ἐπεμπίπτει βάσιν; δοκῶν ἐν ὑμῖν χεῖρα χραίνεσθαι φόνῳ.

199. dulcem Aulide natam] Iphigenia, the daughter of Agamemnon, was brought to the altar to be sacrificed to Artemis, when the Greek fleet was detained in the port of Aulis, in Eubœa, on its way to Troy. But the goddess carried her off to be her priestess in Tauri.

200. spargisque mola caput,] This is the 'mola salsa,' the meal and salt with which the head of the victim was sprinkled. (See C. iii. 23. 20, n.)

201. Quorsum?--Insanus] 'Quorsum?' expresses a sudden and angry interruption of the king, astonished at the man's boldness, while he, being warm, goes on without heeding Agamemnon's anger, 'for mad as he was, what did Ajax do?'

203. Uxore et gnato;] Tecmessa and Eurysaces.

204. Non ille] 'Non' must not be separated from 'ille.' The meaning is 'not even he,' οὐδ᾽ ἐκεῖνος. So in C. iii. 21. 9:

"Non ille quanquam Socraticis madet Sermonibus te negliget horridus."

205. adverso litore] The shore is called adverse because they wanted to get away from it, and could not. Properly the winds were adverse, not the coast. But the transfer of the epithet from the wind to the shore is in accordance with a common usage.

207. Meo, sed non furiosus.] This is a very polite reply, considering the provocation. The colloquy ends here. Horace, we may presume, had something before him to suggest what must appear to us a rather unnatural and far fetched scene.

208. Qui species alias veris] 'He who shall entertain fancies foreign to the truth, and mixed up together by the confusion of his own wickedness, will be accounted mad.'

211. cum occidit desipit agnos:] This is an irregular collocation of words; but it is not mended by the commas by which 'desipit' is usually preceded and followed.

214. Si quis lectica] The 'lectica' of the Romans and φορεῖον of the Greeks were introduced from Asia, and differed very slightly from the palanquins in which, from time immemorial, the Asiatics have been carried.

217. interdicto huic omne adimat jus] The law of the XII. Tables assigned the charge of persons who were 'furiosi' to their relations in the male line, 'agnati,' and the prætor in later times chose the person who should act as 'curator' to the insane person. The same law applied to 'prodigi,' notorious spendthrifts. (See below, Epp. i. 1. 102, sq.) The story of Sophocles brought before an Athenian jury by his sons, and reading the celebrated chorus in his Œdipus Coloneus to prove his sanity, is told by Cicero in his treatise on Old Age, c. 7. 'Omne jus' means every legal right.

221. hic summa est insania;] 'Insania' signifies unsoundness of mind generally; 'furor,' the same, accompanied with violence. Horace's climax of madmen is the fool, the man of crime, and the ambitious the worst of all.

222. vitrea] This probably means the glitter of fame.

223. Hunc circumtonuit] This verse, which has a grand Epic tone, Orelli thinks may be taken from Ennius. But Horace may have written it himself. He resorts occasionally to travesty to heighten the force of his satire. The worst stage of insanity is represented by one whom Bellona (the goddess of war) hovers round, with a trumpet of thunder and her bloody scourge, and urges on to madness. The Bellonarii, her priests, cut their own flesh to offer the blood in sacrifice.

224. Nunc age] He now passes on to the third kind of madness, profligate extravagance.

225. Vincet enim stultos ratio] See S. i. 3. 115, n. As to 'talenta,' see S. 7. 89.

228. Tusci turba impia vici,] The Vicus Tuscus was a street south of the Forum, and is said to have received its name from a body of fugitives from Porsena's army, who were hospitably entertained by the Romans, and allowed to occupy this street. It appears to have been filled with shops, some apparently of the better sort.

229. Cum scurris fartor,] 'Fartores' were persons whose business was to fatten fowls. The 'scurrae,' 'parasites,' were sent for to help to consume all this quantity of provisions, and to entertain the new heir.

cum Velabro] The Velabrum is said to have derived its name from the verb 'vehere,' because the ground was originally a swamp traversed by boats. It was the name of that part of the city which lay between Mons Capitolinus and Mons Aventinus, from the Tiber to the Circus Maximus. Here, too, there appears to have been a collection of shops of the better sort.

omne macellum,] There were in earlier times different markets for the sale of different provisions, as the 'forum boarium' for oxen, 'olitorium' for vegetables, 'piscarium' and 'piscatorium' for fish, 'cupedinis' for delicacies, etc. These were afterwards (the time is uncertain) all transferred to one large market, on the site of the 'forum cupedinis,' on the north side of the Sacra Via, not far from the Forum Romanum. This market was called Macellum, the diminutive form of 'maceria,' the wall with which it was surrounded.

232. vel nunc pete vel cras.] This seems to mean 'whenever you please.'

233. aequus:] This is ironical. The young man, affecting to be just, shows a wanton extravagance towards the most profligate persons.

234. In nive Lucana] It appears from this passage and S. 8. 6, that Lucanian boars were particularly prized. Martial mentions an Etrurian boar as a great present he had received. Horace, in the next Satire (ver. 40), recommends the Umbrian boar above the Laurentian, or those found in the marshy land on the coast of Latium, in the neighborhood of Laurentum, about sixteen miles from the mouth of the Tiber. The same cause that gave the Umbrian boar its superiority would give value to the Lucanian: both were fed upon the acorns and chestnuts of the Apennines, which are still considered in Italy the best food for hogs, wild and tame. The boar was usually served up whole, at large tables, and formed the principal dish. The 'ocrea' was a leather garter that came up to the knee and round the calf like the soldier's greaves, and was called from them.

235. verris.] 'Verrere' is a word used for fishing: 'to sweep the waters.' See note on S. 4. 37.

237. tibi decies:] 'Decies centena millia sestertium': ten hundred thousand sestertii, not much under nine thousand pounds. (See S. i. 3. 15.)

239. Filius Aesopi] Æsopus, the actor, amassed great wealth. The name of his son who inherited it was Clodius, which was the father's name, given him perhaps as a freedman of some one belonging to the Clodia gens. Cæcilia Metella was the wife of P. Cornelius Lentulus Spinther, and was divorced by him B.C. 45, in consequence of her intrigues, chiefly with Dolabella, Cicero's son in law, of whose profligacy Æsop's son appears to have been a partner. The mad freak of Clodius is also (as is better known) related of Cleopatra. Æsopus, the actor, was not less extravagant than his son, see below, v. 245, n.

243. Quinti progenies Arri,] Of the father enough has been said above (ver. 86, n.). Of the sons nothing is known.

245. Luscinias] The second syllable is long; the third coalesces with the last (see i. 7. 30, n). A dish of nightingales would cost a large sum and afford little meat. Pliny mentions that Æsopus, the actor (see above, v. 239, n.), on one occasion had a dish of singing and talking birds, each of which cost 6,000 sestertii, and the whole dish 100,000, on which Pliny remarks, the man was worthy of his son, who melted the pearl and drank it.--'Impenso' is nowhere else used absolutely for 'impenso pretio,' which is a common expression for a high price.

246. Sanin creta, an carbone notandi?] The distinction of days by white and black marks has been mentioned, C. i. 36. 10, n. Horace here applies them to the distinction of character. The meaning of the sentence is, 'Are they as men of sound mind to be marked with a white mark, or (as unsound) with a black?' 'Sanin' is a contraction of 'sanine.' 'Quorsum abeant?' 'what is to become of them? are they to be marked, &c.?'

248. Ludere par impar,] A game fit only for children, in which one person guessed whether the number of things another person held in his hand was odd or even. The Greeks had the same game, and called it ἀρτιάζειν. Stertinius goes on to speak of the man of pleasure, whose madness is no less than that of the covetous, the ambitious, or the spendthrift. With the last he is closely allied.

250. ratio esse evincet] See above, v. 225. He says, "If reason convinces you that all these symptoms of madness are no worse than whining after women, is it not better to repent and lay aside such things?"

251. trimus Quale prius] Such a game as you used to play at formerly, when you were but three years old.

254. Mutatus Polemon?] Polemon was a youth given to pleasures and bad company. Passing the Academy with a garland on his head, and with a band of riotous companions, while Xenocrates was lecturing, he burst into the school, but was so struck with what he heard, that, having gone in a thoughtless profligate, he came out serious and quite converted. He succeeded Xenocrates at the head of the Academy (B.C. 315). Xenocrates himself, whose purity of life and sobriety of character are referred to in the word 'impransi,' became the head of the Platonic school on the resignation of Speusippus (B.C. 339). He was the disciple of Plato, and accompanied him on his travels.

255. Fasciolas, cubital, focalia,] These are all articles of dress, worn only by women, or by men who took great care of their person. 'Fasciola' was a bandage for the legs, 'cubital' a sleeve for the arm, 'focale' a bandage for the throat. 'Impransus' stands for 'sobrius,' because it was not usual for abstemious men to take the midday meal ('prandium'). 'Furtim' is a happy touch of Horace's. It expresses the shame of the young man, and his instinctive reverence for the philosopher and the place he was in, better than many sentences could have done. 'Correptus' means 'arrested, conscience-smitten.'

258. Porrigis irato puero] The caprices of a spoilt child are no worse than those of lovers squabbling and making it up again.

259. Sume, catelle!] Such diminutives were expressions of endearment. There is a collection of such in a scene of Plautus (Asin. iii. 3. 76):

"Dic igitur me passerculum, gallinam, coturnicem, Agnellum, haedillum me tuum dic esse vel vitellum";

and ver. 103:

"Dic igitur me anaticulam, columbam, vel catellum, Hirundinem, monedulam, passerculum putillum."

260. agit ubi secum] With such a scene as this the Eunuchus of Terence opens, and a good deal is taken word for word from that scene. The lover's indecision is represented elsewhere, in Epod. xi. 19, sqq.

270. nihilo plus explicet] 'Explico' signifies to gain a point or serve a purpose. There is a like use of this word in Cæsar (B. G. viii. 4): "Explicandae rei frumentariae causa." It is also used in a peculiar sense in C. iv. 9. 44, where see note.

272. Picenis excerpens semina pomis] The orchards of Picenum, the district that lay between the country of the Sabines and the Hadriatic, appear to have been celebrated. In the next Satire (ver. 70) Picenian apples are said to be superior to those of Tibur, and they are mentioned many years later by Juvenal (xi. 74). The sport here alluded to is thus explained. Lovers were wont to take the pips of apples between their finger and thumb and shoot them up to the ceiling, and if they struck it, their wish would be accomplished. Some such games are common in our own nurseries.

273. si cameram percusti] 'Camera,' which is from the Greek καμάρα, and is sometimes spelt with an 'a,' was an arched ceiling, as 'lacunar' was flat. The latter was so called from panels with raised sides, and so having each the appearance of a 'lacus' or shallow reservoir, into which the ceiling was sometimes divided. It was common in rich houses for the ceiling to be richly ornamented. See C. ii. 18. 2. 'Laquear' is another form of 'lacunar.' Horace also uses the expression 'laqueata tecta' (C. ii. 16. 12), which is found in other writers.

penes te es?] This seems to correspond to the Greek ἐν ἑαυτῷ εἶναι, for a man in his right mind, or it may mean to ask if the man is 'suo jure,' which one who was 'furiosus' would not be.

274. cum balba feris] 'You strike your lisping words against your old palate' which means that he talks in a silly, childish way.

275. Adde cruorem Stultitiae] But childish nonsense is not the worst of this madness. Add bloodshed to folly and run into the most violent excesses of passion, and you will not do more than such lusts commonly lead to. Such is the Stoic's meaning. 'Ignem gladio scrutare' is a translation of a Greek saying, πῦρ μαχαίρᾳ σκαλεύειν, 'to stir the fire with the sword,' which is attributed to Pythagoras. To stir the fire of lust with the sword, is to stir up strife and bloodshed in the indulgence of your lusts.

276. Modo, inquam, Hellade percussa] 'To take a late instance,' seems to be the meaning of 'modo'. The story here referred to was probably well known at the time, but of the actors in it we know nothing.

278. Cerritus fuit, an commotae] 'Cerritus' means 'mad,' but its derivation is uncertain. 'Commotus' is used for different degrees of mental excitement. See v. 209, where the meaning is the same as here. Agrippina, who was of a hasty temper, is called 'commotior' by Tacitus (Ann. i. 33). 'Cognata vocabula' means words which may differ in sound, but are one in sense.

281. Libertinus erat,] The next folly noticed is superstition. Stertinius tells, by way of illustration, a story of an old 'libertinus,' who went from shrine to shrine erected in the 'compita,' spots where two or more streets met, praying to the Lares Compitales (for whom altars were built in such places, see above, v. 26, n.) that they would grant him immortality. This he did early in the morning, quite sober, and with hands washed, as became a serious worshipper. Now this man was sound in hearing and sight, but, says Stertinius, if his former master had ever wanted to part with him, in putting him up for sale he would have cautioned purchasers that he was not in his right mind, unless he wanted to get into an action to rescind the bargain on the ground of fraud. It was necessary for a person selling a slave to inform the buyer of any bodily or mental defect in him. To wash the hands and feet before offering prayer or sacrifice was a custom with the Greeks and Romans. Hector says (Il. vi. 266).

Χερσὶ δ᾽ ἀνίπτοισιν Διῒ λείβειν αἴθοπα οἶνον Ἅζομαι.

283. surpite] See C. i. 36. 8.

287. in gente Meneni.] Of Menenius nothing is known. 'Meneniae stultitiae' or 'ineptiae' is spoken of as a proverb.

289. cubantis,] See note on S. i. 9. 18. 'Illo die' may mean 'die Jovis.' The Jews fasted on Thursdays and Mondays ("I fast twice in the week," Luke xvii. 12), in commemoration, it is said, of the ascent of Moses into the Mount on the fifth day of the week, and of his return on the second. The practices of the Jews were the best illustrations of superstition in the eyes of Horace and men of the world, and their fast is here perhaps alluded to. See note on S. i. 9. 69. On special occasions fasts were ordered at Rome. The vow made by the mother for her sick child is, that, if he recovers, he shall stand naked in the Tiber, to wash away his sins. This is intended to represent another foreign superstition, as the Romans held it, that of bathing the body in token of the purifying of the soul.

295. Quone malo] See S. i. 10. 21 on 'quone.' 'Timor deorum' is equivalent to δεισιδαιμονία in its usual sense of superstition. 'Deorum metus' expresses a right fear or reverence of the gods. But the distinction was not invariably observed.

296. sapientum octavus,] That is, he might take his place with the seven wise men of Greece.

297. ne compellarer inultus.] 'Compellare' is sometimes used absolutely and in a bad sense, that is to abuse, as here.

299. Respicere ignoto] This refers to Æsop's fable of the two wallets, which is told, with its moral, in five lines by Phædrus (iv. 10):

"Peras imposuit Jupiter nobis duas: Propriis repletam vitiis post tergum dedit, Alienis ante pectus suspendit gravem. Hac re videre nostra mala non possumus; Alii simul delinquunt, censores sumus."

300. sic vendas omnia pluris,] On 'sic' see C. i. 3. 1, n. 'Pluris' is simply put for 'magno.' Horace quietly hints to Damasippus that he had better leave off philosophy and return to his trade, in which he wishes him all success.

303. Agave] How she and the other Mænads tore her son Pentheus to pieces for intruding upon the orgies, is related at length by Ovid. (Met. iii. 701, sqq.)

308. Aedificas, hoc est,] 'You are building, which is as much as to say, you, who are a dwarf two feet high, are aping the airs of a giant; and yet you laugh at Turbo (a gladiator of great courage, but small stature), swelling with a spirit too big for his little body.' Horace may have been making some additions to his Sabine house, and about this time Mæcenas built his large house on the Esquiliæ. (See S. i. 8, Introduction.)

312. verum est] δίκαιόν ἐστι; 'is it right?' Compare Cæsar, B. G. iv. 8: "Neque verum esse qui suos fines tueri non potuerint alienos occupare." See also Livy iii. 40.

313. Tantum dissimilem] A similar construction occurs immediately below (ver. 317), 'tantum magna.' 'Multum similis' (S. ii. 5. 92), 'multum dissimilis' (Epp. i. 10. 3), are like phrases. 'Tanto' is the dative governed by 'certare.'

314. Absentis ranae] This fable is told by Phædrus (i. 24).

318. Major dimidio. Num tanto?] 'Greater by half,' is a way of speaking which must not be taken literally. By 'num tanto' the frog means to ask whether the calf was so much bigger than her natural size as, by puffing, she had made herself. 'Is it so much bigger?' she says, blowing herself out to proportions much greater than her own.

320. abludit] This word occurs nowhere else. It means to be out of harmony with.

322. sanus] See A. P. 296: "Excludit sanos Helicone poëtas Democritus." There is not much consistency in Damasippus urging Horace to write at the beginning of the Satire, and calling him mad for doing so at the end of it.

323. horrendam rabiem.] This charge against himself need not be taken seriously. We have no reason to believe Horace was an ill-tempered man. He laments the facility of his temper on one occasion. (S. i. 9. 11.) But he says he is irritable. (Epp. i. 20. 25.)

Cultum majorem censu.] 'Your living beyond your income.' Horace tries to stop him, but the man goes on with one instance of his folly after another.

324. Teneas,--tuis te.] 'Mind your own business.'

326. O major tandem] The scene winds up with a pretended deprecation of the severe truths of Damasippus, to whom the poet submits as the greater madman of the two, and humbles himself before him accordingly.

SATIRE IV.

This Satire is an essay on good living, put in the form of precepts delivered to Horace at second hand by one Catius, who professes to have received them from some sage more learned in the art, whom he does not name. Horace meets him accidentally, as he is hurrying away from the Professor's lecture, to think over what he had learnt, and to store it in his mind. Catius recites what he has heard, from memory or from notes, and enters without preface upon the question of the first course. The Professor may be supposed to have carried his hearers through an entire dinner, "ab ovo usque ad mala" (see S. i. 3. 6, n.). Catius only gives the heads of the lecture and one or two of the sage's reflections. The precepts he delivers inflame Horace with a desire to see and hear the great man himself, and he prays Catius to introduce him. It may be that Horace had some third person in his eye, but we have no means of knowing who it was. If it be so, there were those, no doubt, who would understand the allusion at the time. As to the man Catius himself, he appears to have been a well known follower of the Epicurean school, but he must have been dead many years before this Satire was written. Probably, therefore, Horace only introduces his name as a handle for ridiculing the Epicureans.

1. Unde et quo Catius?] On Catius, see Introduction. On the formula, see S. i. 9. 62, n.

2. Ponere signa] The ancients practiced methods for helping the memory. The first 'memoria technica' was said by tradition to have been invented by Simonides of Ceos. 'Signa' were more technically called 'imagines,' objects which the person arranged so that his mind's eye could rest upon them, and thus assist his memory. 'Ponere signa' seems also to have been commonly used in this sense.

3. Anytique reum] Anytus was one of the three (Meletus and Lycon were his associates) who got up and conducted the prosecution of Socrates.

4. tempore laevo] See above, S. ii. 1. 18: "Nisi dextro tempore Flacci Verba," etc.

6. Quod si] Horace apologizes for interrupting and detaining him; but, he says, if he should thereby forget any part of his lesson for a moment, he will presently recover it, he has such a wonderful memory, either by nature or art, or both.

11. celabitur auctor.] See Introduction.

12. Longa quibus facies ovis erit] On 'ova,' see S. i. 3. 6, n. 'Succus' here is equivalent to 'sapor.' Why Horace should make Catius say that long eggs were more white than round ones, or what is gained by the whiteness of an egg, or by its containing a male rather than a female chicken, is not clear. He puts any nonsense, it appears, into the man's mouth. 'Ponere' is to put upon the table, as 'posito pavone' (S. ii. 2. 23). The notion that from long eggs cocks were hatched, and from round, hens, appears to have been a vulgar error. 'Callosa' signifies 'tough,' and belongs in sense, though not in construction, to the yolk.

15. Caule suburbano] Artificial streams and fishponds were commonly introduced into the gardens of rich people. Hence Catius says the vegetables grown in the suburbs were not so pleasant as those grown in the country on drier soil; meaning that they were insipid, from the quantity of water they imbibed.

17. vespertinus subito te oppresserit] On 'vespertinus,' see Epod. xvi. 51; 'opprimere' is to overtake or come upon one suddenly.

18. malum responset] 'Responsare' is used by Horace several times in the sense of resistance. See below, S. 7. 85: "Responsare cupidinibus, contemnere honores"; and Epp. i. 1. 68. 'Malum responset' means 'it disagrees with.'

19. vivam mixto mersare Falerno;] 'Mixto' means mixed with water.

20. Pratensibus optima fungis] He says the 'fungi' that grew in the open meadows were more to be trusted than others,--that is, those which grew in the shade. Truffles and different kinds of mushrooms were much eaten by the Romans, as they are still by the Italians. Of the latter there were and are great varieties. The mushroom most highly esteemed was the boletus, which was cultivated in gardens, and kept for the eating of the rich. But all such fungi had to be chosen with great care. Even the boletus served to carry off an emperor.

24. Aufidius] This may be M. Aufidius, who was remarkable as having been the first at Rome who bred and fattened peacocks for sale, and derived a large profit (as much as 600,000 sesterces a year) from that trade. As to the composition of 'mulsum,' see note on S. ii. 2. 15, n. Falernian wine, which Horace appears to have esteemed next to Cæcuban, is here called 'forte,' and elsewhere 'severum' and 'ardens' (C. i. 27. 9; ii. 11. 19). It was a very strong spirituous wine, and required long keeping to become mellow.

27. morabitur] This may have been a medical word for costiveness. 'Mitulus,' the limpet, was an inferior sort of shell-fish. The Greeks called it τελλίνη or ξιφύδριον. The 'lapathus' is mentioned above as a purgative (Epod. ii. 57, n.). 'Brevis' refers to the size of the plant.

30. Lubrica nascentes implent] That shell-fish were best at the time of the new moon, appears to have been generally believed among the ancients. They had many fancies respecting the influence of the moon on various objects, in which, however, modern ignorance and superstition have perhaps surpassed them. But in respect to shell-fish, modern observation is in conformity with that of the ancients.

32. Murice Baiano] This shell-fish, from which a purple dye was obtained, was found, it seems, in great abundance at Baiæ. It would seem not to have been as useful for the table as for its dye. The 'peloris,' which was found in the Lacus Lucrinus, close to Baiæ, appears to have been an insipid fish, though Catius says it is better than the murex. The rival oyster-beds were in the Lacus Lucrinus and at Circeii, the opposite point of the bay which is terminated by the promontory of that name, in Latium, and the promontory of Misenum, in Campania. Catius gives the preference to the oysters of Circeii, which Pliny also says were unsurpassed (xxxii. 21). See note on Epod. ii. 49. The best oysters, however, were found at Brundisium on the other coast, whence the spawn was carried to stock the beds on the coast of Campania and Latium.

34. Pectinibus patulis] The shell-fish called 'pecten,' it seems, was found in greatest perfection at Tarentum. From the epithet 'patulis' it must have been one of the bivalved sort.

molle Tarentum.] The degenerate character of the Tarentines, which gained their city the epithets 'molle,' 'imbelle' (Epp. i. 7. 45), dates from the death of Archytas, about the middle of the fourth century B.C. Among other symptoms of this degeneracy, it is recorded that their calendar contained more festivals than there were days in the year. For full two hundred years (some make it much more) before the above period, they had flourished, above all the colonies of Magna Græcia, in arms and commerce.

36. exacta] For this meaning of 'exigere,' 'to investigate,' see Forcell. under 'exigo' and 'exactus.'

37. cara pisces avertere mensa] 'Mensa' means the fishmonger's board, which is called dear, instead of the fish exposed on it. 'Avertere' is 'to carry off.' Compare Virgil (Aen. x. 78): "Arva aliena jugo premere atque avertere praedas." It is commonly used with 'praeda,' as in Cæsar, B. C. iii. 59: "Praedam omnem domum avertebant." It may be applied humorously in this sense here, the man making a booty of the fish he loved. On 'pisces patinarii' ('quibus jus est aptius') and 'assi,' see note on S. i. 3. 81.

39. Languidus in cubitum] Catius says it is of no use for a man to buy expensive fish, if he does not know how to dress them; that is, which should be served up with sauce, and which, when fried, will tempt the guest, after he has laid himself down tired of eating, to raise himself on his elbow, and begin eating again.

41. Curvat aper] On 'aper,' see above, S. 3. 234.

43. Vinea submittit] He says, without much sense, as it would seem, that the flesh of wild deer fed in vineyards is not always eatable. The 'caprea' was a mountain goat, chamois, or some one of the deer kind. 'Submittit' is equivalent to 'suppeditat,' 'supplies.' See C. iv. 4. 63: "Monstrumve submisere Colchi."

44. Fecundae leporis] 'Lepus' is of common gender. A modern epicure would not choose the shoulder of a hare as the most delicate part. It is so distinguished again, S. 8. 89.

51. Massica si caelo suppones] The wine in the amphora required clearing, before it could be drunk. One way of effecting this appears to have been exposing the vessel for some time to the open air, which process also took off some of its strength. Catius mentions the yolk of pigeons' eggs as another means of precipitating the lees of the wine. White of egg was a more usual agent. Pliny mentions sulphur; several insoluble materials, such as pounded shells, gypsum, chalk, milk, etc., were used for the same purpose. But the commonest way was to strain the wine either through a 'saccus,' a bag of fine linen (which was apt to hurt the flavour), or through a metal sieve, 'colum,' these being in the hot weather filled with snow.

53. odor nervis inimicus;] This means what we call the bouquet, which helped the wine in its intoxicating effects upon the brain. With the inferior wines various aromatics were frequently introduced, for the purpose of giving them an agreeable perfume.

58. Tostis marcentem squillis] When the guest gets surfeited, or drinks so much he cannot digest any more, his appetite is to be tempted with fried shrimps and snails, of which the best sort came from the coast of Africa, and were called 'Solitanae,' the derivation of which name is uncertain; also with bacon and sausages. The lettuce, Catius says, ought not to be taken for this purpose, because it does not settle on the stomach when it is irritated. 'Lactuca' was commonly eaten at the 'gustatorium,' as an incentive to the appetite. Catius says the cloyed stomach would rather ('malit') have any coarse dish, brought in from the cook-shop, to stimulate it, than lettuce after drinking wine, which was a different thing from taking it before dinner.

61. Flagitat immorsus refici:] 'Immorsus' agrees with 'stomachus,' and signifies stimulated, 'pervulsus,' as "qualia lassum pervellunt stomachum" (S. 8. 9).

62. immundis fervent allata popinis.] The 'popinae' were the lowest sort of eating houses, where meat was cooked and usually eaten on the premises, but sometimes sent out. They were the same as the Greek καπηλεῖα. They were a lower sort of 'cauponae' (see S. i. 5. 2, n.). Their keepers, 'popae,' were, as might be expected, usually persons of no credit. The shops were dirty, and the company very low. Compare Epp. i. 14. 21. There were great numbers of these shops about the city. They were also called 'thermopolia,' because there the Romans drank hot spiced wine and water, 'calda.'

63. duplicis pernoscere juris] Catius goes on to describe the sauces, of which there are two kinds; one which he calls simple, but which was not entirely so, being made of sweet olive-oil mixed with rich wine and 'muria,' which is but 'garum,' made from certain shell-fish (S. 8. 53). There was a composite sauce which was made up of the above boiled with chopped herbs, with a sprinkling of saffron, and, when it had stood to cool, the finest olive-oil of Venafrum (C. ii. 6. 16, n.).

66. Byzantia putuit orca.] The 'thynnus' from which the best 'garum' was made was found best in the neighborhood of Byzantium (Pliny ix. 20). 'Orca' is a jar used for preserving sauces and pickles. As to the form 'putuit,' see S. 3. 194, n. The 'crocus' of Mons Corycus in Cilicia appears to have been most celebrated. 'Stetit' means 'has ceased to boil.'

69. Venafranae] See C. ii. 6. 16, n.

70. Picenis cedunt pomis Tiburtia] The apples of Tibur and Picenum have been referred to before (C. i. 7. 14; S. ii. 3. 272).

71. Venucula convenit ollis:] It is not known whence this grape derives its name. The word is variously spelt. Grapes were dried and preserved in jars for the winter. For drying in this way, Catius says the grape of the Alban hills is best. His opinion is not supported by any extant authority, as it is in the other instance.

73. Hanc ego cum malis,] Catius says he was the first to introduce Albanian raisins at the second course, and likewise 'faex' and 'allec,' two pickles, or two names for the same, being the lees of the 'muria' (v. 63, n.). Catius also claims the merit of introducing little dishes containing a mixture of salt and white pepper. The object of all this, as well as the pickles, was to promote thirst, and add to the pleasure of drinking after dinner. White pepper is milder than black. It is made by blanching the finer grains of the black, and taking off the rind. The ancients must have got their pepper from the East Indies. The best is grown on the Malabar coast.

75. Incretum] This comes from 'incerno,' 'to sift,' or 'incernendo spargere' (Forcell.), 'to scatter with a sieve' or 'incerniculum.' It therefore means that the pepper was sprinkled over the salt. 'Catillus' is a diminutive form of 'catinus.'

76. millia terna macello] 3,000 sesterces (upwards of £26) for a dish of fish is a large sum, but not perhaps exaggerated. Larger sums were given for dainties. As to 'macellum,' see S. 3. 229, n. By 'vagos pisces' he means that it is a shame to confine in a narrow compass animals that have had the freedom and range of the seas. The liberty of the bird is expressed by the same epithet in C. iv. 4. 2.

79. calicem] The slave handing a drinking cup ('calix') to a guest, just after he had been gathering and licking up the remains of the dishes, would leave the marks of his fingers upon it, and this would turn the stomachs of the company, who would also be disgusted if they saw dirt upon the 'cratera' in which the wine and the water were mixed. The 'calix' was the same as the Greek κύλιξ. Its shapes and sizes and materials all varied very much. There were wooden and earthen-ware 'calices,' and others of common glass, and others of greater value of colored glass; but those that were most valued of all were the 'crystallina,' of a pure and highly transparent crystal glass. The colored glass cups came principally from Alexandria. The Romans were curious in collecting old vessels for their table ('veteres craterae'), as observed before (S. 3. 21, n.).

81. Vilibus in scopis,] 'Scopae' were besoms for sweeping the floors, walls, and furniture of a room, usually made of the branches of the wild myrtle or tamarisk. The palm seems also to have been used. 'Mappae' here mean towels or dusters to clean the furniture and walls. 'Scobe' is sawdust, with which the floors were strewed. It was sometimes highly scented.

83. Ten lapides varios] 'Tene?' is it for such as you? 'Tene decet?' The floors in the houses of the rich were laid with slabs of marble and mosaic-work, and marble slabs were also introduced in the walls, though paintings were more common. 'Torus' meant properly a round pillow, as is shown by its root 'ter' (which appears in 'tornus,' 'torqueo,' etc.; see C. i. 1. 28, n.), and 'toralia' probably means coverings for the cushions, which were put over the rich 'stragulae vestes' (see last Satire, v. 118, n.), as we put chintz coverings over our furniture when it is not in use, or on ordinary occasions. Inviting his friend Torquatus to dinner, Horace tells him he will take care "ne turpe toral, ne sordida mappa Corruget nares." (Epp. i. 5. 22.)

85. Oblitum quanto] Catius says that the neglect of those matters which cost little money and attention is more reprehensible than the absence of furniture, which the rich only can afford. The case he supposes is that of a man who combines dirt with finery, slovenliness with ostentation.

88. Docte Cati,] Catius, having brought his discourse to an end with an exhortation upon decency and order, Horace entreats him, wherever it is he goes to get such lessons he will take him with him, that he may drink wisdom at the fountain-head. Catius, he says, no doubt repeats accurately what he has heard, but such precepts would be more highly commended by the aspect, bearing, voice, etc. of the teacher himself.

94. fontes ut adire remotos] Horace here parodies Lucretius (i. 926): "Juvat integros accedere fontes atque haurire."

SATIRE V.

In this Satire, which has a good deal of humor in it, Horace takes up the practice of will-hunting, of which, as of many other degrading vices that afterwards pervaded Roman society, he saw only the beginning. Describing the rage for making money in Epp. i. 1. 77, he says:

"Pars hominum gestit conducere publica: sunt qui Crustis et pomis viduas venentur avaras Excipiantque senes quos in vivaria mittant."

The practice was sufficiently common in Cicero's time, and Pliny connects it with the growth of wealth, and the time when money began to be the instrument of ambition and the measure of respectability; that is, he dates its birth from the decline of the Republic.

Homer (Odyss. xi.) makes Ulysses go down to Hades and there meet Teiresias, the Theban prophet, who tells him of the hardships that awaited him in his journey home, where however in the end he is destined to arrive. Horace supposes a continuation of the interview, and makes Ulysses ask the soothsayer how he is to repair his fortunes when he gets home, and finds his property wasted by his wife's suitors, as the prophet told him it would be (see note on v. 6). Teiresias, though he implies that the cunning Ulysses would be at no loss in such a matter if he once got home, gives him his advice, which is to lay himself out for pleasing old men and women of fortune, and getting named in their wills, for which he lays down a few ordinary rules: of these, a persevering and coarse servility is the chief. Ulysses appears in as low a character as he can,--an apt disciple, ready to be the shadow of a slave, and to prostitute his chaste Penelope if need be. The Ulysses of all poets after Homer is a contemptible personage, and it must be said in favor of Horace that Penelope, whose character in the Odyssey is feminine and pure, is by later writers represented as less chaste than Homer has drawn her. Those who only know her as the virtuous wife and mother, will not easily forgive the coarse allusions to her in this Satire.

3. Quid rides?] These words are spoken by Ulysses. Teiresias may be supposed to smile at Ulysses for asking advice in a matter in which his own craftiness would help him better than any counsel he could receive. The prophet's answer means, that, when he gets back to his home, his wits will soon teach him how to repair his fortune. 'Jamne' means, 'what, now I have told you that you will get home?'

6. te vate,] See Hom. Odyss. xi. 110. The dialogue is supposed to be a continuation of that which Homer relates, and takes place in Hades. See Introduction.

7. apotheca] See C. iii. 8. 11, n.

9. missis ambagibus,] The 'ambages' were Ulysses' fine words about birth and merit, and Teiresias perhaps means, 'Since you will have my advice, let us waste no words, but begin.'

10. Turdus] This bird, the fieldfare, if well fattened, was considered a great delicacy by the Romans. In Epp. i. 15. 40, the glutton Mænius pronounces that there is nothing better than one of these birds, "obeso nil melius turdo"; and the host at Beneventum produced a dish of them in honor of his visitors, but they were poor things, and he did not know how to dress them (S. i. 5. 72). The fieldfare is still reckoned a delicate bird. 'Privum' means for your own private eating.

14. Ante Larem] The first fruits were offered to the Lares. See Tibull. i. 1. 13:

"Et quodcunque mihi pomum novus educat annus Libatum agricolae ponitur ante deo."

No divinity was dearer to a Roman than his Lares, whose images stood in his hall, who reminded him of his departed ancestors, and whom he invoked and sacrificed to every day at his meals (see C. iv. 5. 34).

15. sine gente,] Suppose him to be a 'libertinus,' and in former days to have run away from his master, in which case he would be branded on the forehead, and the shame of attending him would be greater. He would also be 'sine gente,' that is, he would belong to no 'gens,' if he were a freedman or the descendant of a freedman.

17. Tu comes exterior] Teiresias advises that, if the rich man should call upon him to attend him when he walks abroad, he should never refuse to go, taking the least honorable place, which was by his patron's side, and usually between him and the road. The expressions 'tegere latus,' 'claudere latus,' were common, and meant to take that side which was most exposed.

18. Utne tegam] This is a short way of saying 'hortarisne me ut tegam?' 'Damae' is used generally as a common name of slaves (see S. i. 6. 38). 'Spurcus' is a word Lucilius used, as in that verse quoted by Cicero (Tusc. ii. 17), "Ergo hoc poterit 'Samnis spurcus homo vita illa dignus locoque?'"

20. hoc] When Teiresias tells him he must be content to be poor, or do as he bids him, Ulysses consents to the degradation rather than incur the poverty, and makes a merit of doing so: he will bear the disgrace with his usual magnanimity. The hero's language is a parody of that which Homer puts into his mouth (Odyss. xx. 18):

τέτλαθι δὴ, κραδίη· καὶ κύντερον ἄλλο ποτ᾽ ἔτλης.

And v. 223:

ἤδη γὰρ μάλα πόλλ᾽ ἔπαθον καὶ πόλλ᾽ ἐμόγησα Κύμασι καὶ πολέμῳ· μετὰ καὶ τόδε τοῖσι γενέσθω.

22. Divitias aerisque ruam] 'Ruere' is 'to get together.' Virgil uses the word in a similar sense (Georg. i. 105), "cumulosque ruunt male pinguis arenae."

27. olim,] See C. ii. 10. 17, n. On 'ultro,' C. iv. 4. 51; on 'vocet in jus,' S. i. 9. 74, n.

32. Quinte, puta, aut Publi,] These names would be given a slave at his manumission.

38. Pelliculam curare jube;] This diminutive is frequently used without any particular force. The expression is like that in Ep. i. 2. 29:

"In cute curanda plus aequo operata juventus";

and 4. 15:

"Me pinguem et nitidum bene curata cute vises, Cum ridere voles Epicuri de grege porcum."

'Corpus curare' is a common phrase, and Horace has "genium curare" (C. iii. 17. 15, n.).

--fi cognitor; ipse] 'Cognitor' means an attorney, one who is authorized to appear for another, either in maintaining or defending an action. He was appointed by and looked upon as the principal, and he was liable as such. The obsequiousness of the will-hunter was not to be deterred by such a responsibility. Horace says: "Become his cognitor, and let him go home, while you yourself persevere, and hold out for him, whatever the weather may be."

39. seu rubra Canicula] He means in the height of summer or the depth of winter. The 41st verse, with the substitution of Furius for Juppiter is taken from Bibaculus; respecting whom, see S. i. 10. 36, n. Whether the other expressions are so, or whether they are only a parody of his style, or taken from some other poet, we cannot tell. The epithet 'rubra' for the dog-star, and 'infantes' as an ornamental epithet to express the speechlessness of the statues, are sufficiently absurd, and the hyperbole is not in good taste; there is vulgarity likewise in 'conspuet.' 'Omaso' signifies tripe, a vulgar dish even among the Romans. (See Epp. i. 15. 34.)

44. Plures adnabunt thunni] The tunny-fish is found in large shoals at particular seasons on either shore of the Mediterranean, into which it comes from the Atlantic to deposit its spawn. Vast quantities were and still are caught and salted. 'Cetaria' were artificial preserves, into which the fish were attracted and then taken. Salting-houses were built hard by. 'Thunni' here is put for the rich fools who would be caught by the servility of the fortune-hunter.

46. sublatus] This sense of 'tollere,' to educate, bring up, is said to be taken from the practice of fathers taking up in their arms immediately after their birth such of their children as they wished to be reared, while the others they left to be exposed. See Terence (Heaut. iv. 1. 13):

"So. Meministin' me esse gravidam, et mihi te maximo opere edicere Si puellam parerem nolle tolli? "Ch. Scio quid feceris, Sustulisti."

It is not to be supposed that the exposure of children, or infanticide in any form, was lawful at Rome; but it is probable that it was practiced to some extent even in late times.

47. Caelibis] 'Caelebs' is applied to a widower as well as a bachelor. 'Nudare' Horace uses in this sense of 'exposing' in S. 8. 73.

48. ut et scribare secundus Heres] Wills were not necessarily written, though latterly they generally were so, and in that case it was usually on tablets of wax; hence below (v. 54) 'cera' is used as synonymous with 'tabula.' When a man made his will, he commonly named a 'secundus heres,' or more than one, who would succeed to the 'hereditas,' if the first 'heres' or 'heredes' refused it, or had become disqualified, or had failed to express his or their intention of accepting it within a time named in the will. These were called 'substituti.' He might also, if he pleased, make provision, in the case of naming his children his 'heredes,' that, if they died 'impuberes,' another person or persons named by him should get the 'hereditas.' This was called 'pupillaris substitutio,' and may be referred to by Horace in this place. 'Vacua hereditas' was a common legal term for an 'hereditas' made void by any of the above reasons, or any other.

49. puerum egerit Orco,] There is a little mock pathos in this. 'Ago,' with the dative, is not a prose construction. See C. i. 24. 18: "Nigro compulerit gregi."

53. ut limis rapias] 'Oculis' is understood after 'limis,' 'with eye askance.' The advice given is, that, if the testator should give the man his will to read, he should affect indifference and put it from him, taking care first to get a side-glance at its contents, and see if his name appears in the next line after the testator's. A will was commonly written on three pages, which were called severally 'prima,' 'secunda,' and 'ima cera,' 'cera' being equivalent to 'tabula,' the will being usually written on wax tablets. The testator's name appeared in the first line of the first page, and after his came those of the 'heredes.' In the last page appeared the names of all but the 'primi heredes,' (that is, the 'legatarii' and 'substituti,' see note on v. 48,) together with the general provisions of the will. 'Solus heres' would be called 'heres ex asse'; if there were several 'heredes,' they would be 'heres ex dodrante,' 'ex quadrante,' etc., according to the proportion of the estate devised to each, which was described by the different divisions of the as.

55. Plerumque recoctus Scriba ex quinqueviro] 'Plerumque' is used by Horace in the sense of 'interdum' here and elsewhere. (See A. P. v. 14 and 95.) The 'scribae,' of whom an example occurs above (S. i. 5. 35), were clerks in public offices. These places were often got by purchase, and the 'scriba' received public pay. Nevertheless the 'quinqueviri' appear from this passage to have ranked lower than the 'scribae.' They were officers appointed to relieve the other magistrates at night of the charge of the city. These were the permanent 'quinqueviri'; but extraordinary commissions of five were often appointed for various purposes. (See Dict. Antt.) 'Recoctus' seems to mean that he had been a 'quinquevir' and was now a 'scriba,' the 're' in 'recoctus' having no particular force. Teiresias means to say that Coranus, who had got into a situation in which he had acquired a good deal of money and some knowledge of business, was too wide awake to be caught in the snare, saw through the attentions of the fortune-hunter, and laughed at him. The 'corvus hians' is perhaps taken from Æsop's fable of the fox and crow, copied by Phædrus (i. 13).

57. Captator] This word, and 'captare' above (v. 23), are commonly used for legacy-hunters. We know nothing more of the actors in this story, Nasica and Coranus, but it appears likely they were living persons, and the case well known.

58. Num furis?] Ulysses does not understand him, and asks if he is frenzied, as prophets were when inspired.

59. aut erit aut non:] This is a pompous way of stating a truism, put, by way of keeping up the humor of the scene, into the prophet's mouth.

62. juvenis] See C. i. 2. 41, n. By his adoption into the Julia gens, Augustus claimed direct descent from Æneas. The Romans attached much importance to the legend which derived their origin from the Trojans. See C. iii. 3, Introduction. On 'genus,' see C. i. 3. 27, n.

64. forti nubet procera Corano] These epithets and the whole opening of the speech are mock-heroic, and adapted to the character of the speaker. Nasica owed money to Coranus, and gave him his handsome daughter by way of discharging the debt and getting an interest in his son-in-law's will. Coranus understands him, and begs him to read his will. He coquets with the proposal just as Teiresias advises his hearer to do, but allows his modesty to be overcome, and on reading it through in silence finds no legacy left to himself or his family. As to 'plorare,' see S. i. 10. 91.

65. metuentis reddere soldum.] On 'metuo,' see C. ii. 2. 7. He had neither power nor will to pay. 'Solidum' means the entire debt, including principal and interest. The contracted form is used before (S. i. 2. 111).

67. orabit;] The rich man is maliciously bent on seeing the disappointment of his father-in-law.

73. vincit longe prius] 'It is better by a great deal first to take the head by storm.'

77. tam frugi] 'Discreet' is the nearest English word perhaps corresponding to 'frugi,' and σώφρων in Greek.

79. magnum donandi parca] The suitors are once only mentioned as offering presents to Penelope, and their value was not great. (Odyss. xviii. 290, sqq.) They were offered in consequence of the taunts of Penelope herself. It is likely Horace had this passage in mind.

80. studiosa culinae.] This corresponds with Homer's description. See, among other places, Odyss. ii. 55.

84. anus improba Thebis] 'Improba' means 'sly,' which we too call 'wicked.' See S. i. 9. 73.

87. Scilicet elabi si posset] 'Of course it was to see whether she could escape from him when dead,' or 'in hopes that she might.' We are to suppose she had made it a condition in her will, that, if he did not carry her without letting her drop, he was to forfeit the inheritance. It is a strange story, perhaps taken from some mimus or farce. 'Scilicet' is in reality a verb, and signifies 'you may know,' 'you may be sure.'

89. neve--abundes.] 'Don't overdo it.'

90. ultro; Non etiam sileas.] 'Garrulus ultro' means one who speaks much before he is spoken to. On 'ultro' see C. iv. 4. 51, n. It is a difficult word to translate, and seems awkwardly placed here. As to 'non' for 'ne,' compare Epp. i. 18. 72; and A. P. 460.

91. Davus sis comicus] Horace has introduced a Davus in this respectful attitude in S. 7 of this book: 'Jamdudum auscultans et cupiens tibi dicere servus Pauca reformido.'

92. Stes capite obstipo.] 'Obstipo' means stiff, unbending, or bent downwards, with the eyes fixed on the ground. As to 'multum similis,' see S. i. 3. 57, n.

93. Obsequio grassare;] 'Grassor' is a frequentative form of 'gradior,' and signifies to go on, advance. The expression in the text is like 'grassari dolo' (Tac. Hist. iv. 16), and other like phrases. Livy and Tacitus use the word often.

95. aurem substringe loquaci.] 'Stringo' means to grasp in the hand; 'aurem substringe' therefore may mean to hold up the ear, as we commonly do when we wish to catch every word that is said. He was to pay the strictest attention to the old man, let him be as garrulous as he would.

96. donec Ohe jam!] If he is fond of flattery, ply him with it till even he is forced to cry, 'Hold, enough!' and blow him up with your fulsome breath like a bladder. Though the old man might say he had had enough, he was not to be taken at his word, but plied still harder, for he never could have too much. 'Importunus' is one who does not easily rest, is not soon satisfied. The expression 'Ohe jam satis' is common. See S. i. 5. 12.

100. Et certum vigilans,] Compare Ovid, Heroid. x. 9:

"Incertum vigilans, a somno languida, movi Thesea pressuras semisupina manus";

'Certum vigilans' means 'wide awake,' not confusedly, as those who are half asleep.

--Quartae sit partis] The 'heres' of one fourth of the property would be 'ex quadrante' or 'ex teruncio.' (See note on v. 53, above.) The formula in wills was such as this: "Sola mihi uxor heres esto," "Sempronius ex parte dimidia heres esto."

101. Dama] See v. 18, n. He is to throw in now and then ('sparge subinde') a whine for the dear man that is gone, and squeeze out a tear if he possibly can.

102. Unde mihi tam fortem] This abrupt and elliptical way of speaking occurs again below (S. 7. 116): "Unde mihi lapidem? Quorsum est opus? Unde sagittas?" 'Parabo' may be understood, or some such word.

103. est] This is equivalent to ἔξεστι.

105. Permissam arbitrio] A sum of money was generally named in the will for the funeral expenses. Sometimes they appear to have been left expressly to the judgment and liberality of the 'heres' or 'heredes,' as here. But if no mention was made of this subject in the will, or if a man died intestate, those who succeeded to the property were bound to provide all that was decent for his interment. As to 'funus,' see note on S. i. 6. 43. See C. i. 9. 9: "Permitte divis caetera."

108. seu fundi sive domus sit Emptor,] 'Fundus' is a landed estate together with the buildings upon it. 'Domus,' therefore, which is opposed to 'fundus' here, and in Epp. i. 2. 47, may mean a town-house. The advice is, that if one of the man's 'coheredes,' who is old, and by a bad cough shows he is near his end, expresses a wish to have an estate or house which forms part of his share, he should declare himself delighted to make it over to him for a nominal price, a single 'sestertius.' This would be a bold game, but he might hope that such generosity on his part would be remembered in the sick man's will.

109. addicere.] This is a legal term used in selling, "and signifies the declaration of him who sells as to the transfer of the thing to the buyer." (Long, Verr. ii. 2. 32.) It was used in private bargains as here, and at public auctions it was the word used for declaring who was the purchaser.

SATIRE VI.

In this Satire, Horace dwells upon the inconveniences of a town life and the delights of the country, the former as connected with the importunity of people asking for his influence with Mæcenas, or for information upon public affairs of which he knows nothing, though they will not believe it. The subject is illustrated by the story of a town and a country mouse. The town mouse visits the country mouse, and, taunting him with his seclusion, tempts him to accompany him to town, and then entertains him at a rich man's table. But the servants, coming in suddenly at daybreak, frighten them both out of their wits, and the country mouse goes home again, resolving to keep to his own quiet hole in the fields, and try the town no more.

1. non ita magnus,] Compare with these lines C. iii. 16. 29, sqq. 'Modus' is used for any quantity.

2. jugis aquae fons] 'Jugis' belongs to 'aquae.' It signifies running water, and a good spring of this would be of great value to the property.

3. super his] 'Besides these.' In this sense, 'super' usually governs the accusative. 'Super' is used absolutely in this sense of 'more,' as in Epod. i. 31. "Satis superque me benignitas tua Ditavit," which passage may be compared with what follows: "auctius atque Di melius fecere." 'Bene est' occurs in C. iii. 16. 43, and is familiar in the formula S. V. B. E. V. (si vales bene est; valeo), which the Romans prefixed to their letters.

5. Maia nate,] Respecting Mercury, the god of luck and gain, the protector of poets, and of Horace in particular, see S. ii. 3. 68; C. ii. 7. 13; ii. 17. 29. 'Proprius' signifies 'permanent,' see S. 2. 129, n. As to the form 'faxim,' see S. ii. 3. 38, n.

7. vitio culpave] 'Culpa' is often used by the law-writers in the sense of 'negligence.' 'Vitium' appears to mean a defect of the nature, 'culpa' of the conduct.

8. Si veneror stultus nihil horum:] As to 'veneror,' 'to pray for,' see C. S. 49. This passage has been imitated by Persius (S. ii. 9). 'Denormare' is 'to disfigure,' 'norma' being the rule by which carpenters or masons keep their work straight. 'Mercenarius' is a free laborer who works for pay.

12. amico Hercule!] Though Hercules was especially a Grecian hero, and was in no way connected historically with the Romans, he was held by them in high esteem. He was associated with Mercury in various ways, among others as the god of gain, as he is here. There are representations of the two gods in one, which combined form is called Ἑρμηρακλῆς, and appears to have been very common. The notion seems to be that of combining strength and cunning.

13. quod adest] See C. iii. 29. 32: "Quod adest memento Componere aequus." It is an adaptation of the Greek τὸ παρóν. 'Gratum juvat' may either mean 'satisfies me, for I am grateful,' or 'is welcome and satisfies me.'

16. in montes et in arcem] See C. iii. 4. 21. By 'arcem' he means his house on the Sabine hills. (See C. ii. 7. 21.)

17. Quid prius illustrem] 'What subject should I take in preference to this'? that is, the country to which he retires. On 'pedestri,' see C. ii. 12. 9, n.

18. plumbeus Auster] The south-wind is so called, as depressing the energies and spirits. The epithet is very expressive, 'the leaden south.' Compare C. ii. 14. 15; iii. 23. 8; Epp. i. 7. 5. Auster and Notus are not distinguished by the poets. They are invariably represented as bringing heavy rains. "Quid cogitet humidus Auster" (Georg. i. 462).

19. Libitinae quaestus acerbae.] The goddess Libitina was one of the oldest Roman divinities. She presided over funerals and all things pertaining to the dead. There were kept in her temple all manner of things required at funerals, where the undertakers (hence called Libitinarii) might purchase or hire them. Also a register of funerals was kept in the temple, and when they were registered a fee was paid. From both the above sources the temple would derive increased revenues in a season of great mortality. Horace twice uses the name of Libitina as equivalent to Mors. See C. iii. 30. 6, and Epp. ii. 1. 49; and Juvenal does the same (S. iv. 122): "Nam si Libitinam evaserit aeger Delebit Tabulas."

20. Matutine pater,] Janus was a Latin divinity, and one of the oldest. As he presided over the opening year, so he did also over the beginning of every month and of every day. Sacrifices were offered to him on the first of every month, as well as of his own (January), and prayer in the morning of every day. Hence he is called 'Matutinus pater', and hence he is confounded with the Sun. 'Pater' was the title by which he was commonly addressed, and the two words were sometimes joined thus 'Januspater.' See Epp. i. 16. 59. He was worshipped before the other gods, because he was the medium through whom men got access to the others (Ovid, Fast. i. 171). 'Jane' is put in the vocative case by a sort of attraction. (See C. ii. 20. 6, n.) 'Audire,' in the sense of 'appellari,' ἀκούειν, occurs again in S. 7. 101; Epp. i. 7. 37, and 16. 17. The word is not commonly used in this sense except with 'bene' or 'male.'

21. Unde] 'From whom' (C. i. 12. 17).

23. sponsorem me rapis.] 'Sponsor' was one who became security for another under the form of contract called 'verborum obligatio,' the contract taking place by question and answer, 'ex interrogatione et responsione.' One asked the other, "Dari spondes?" and he answered, "Spondeo." The principals were called 'stipulator,' he who asked the question; and 'promissor,' he who answered. The sponsor was said 'intercedere,' and to him the same question was put, to which he returned the same answer. This explains 'respondeat' in v. 24, and "quod mi obsit clare certumque locuto," v. 27. He answers "spondeo" in a clear, distinct voice, and becomes liable, possibly to his great detriment. The words, 'Eja, ne prior,' etc., Horace means for Janus, to whom he attributes the prompting of his zeal.

26. Interiore diem gyro trahit,] The notion is that of the heavenly bodies moving round a centre, in a series of orbits of which the diameters gradually diminish, and in the winter solstice traversing the innermost and shortest circle.

29. improbus urget Iratis precibus;] 'Improbus' means here 'hot-tempered,' and 'precibus' curses, as in Epod. v. 86. 'Tu pulses' is an angry way of speaking, 'Are you the man to knock down everything in your way?' as in the next Satire (v. 40). There is sarcasm in 'memori,' as if he was not likely to forget his duty to the great man. He says he feels an inward pleasure at the testimony thus borne to his intimacy with Mæcenas. 'Si recurras' means in the hopes of getting back, to see if you can get back. See S. 5. 87, n.

32. atras--Esquilias] See S. i. 8, Introduction. The former character of the place is expressed by 'atras,' gloomy. He says, that as soon as he gets near Mæcenas's house he begins to remember a hundred different commissions entrusted to him by his acquaintance. They flit about him like a swarm of gnats, or anything else that is teasing.

35. Roscius orabat] Roscius may be anybody. It appears he had pressed Horace to meet him next day at the Puteal Libonis. This was some sort of building in the Forum Romanum, erected by one of the Scribonia gens, and therefore called 'Scribonianum.' The place or its neighbourhood was the resort of money lenders. It was probably an enclosed place, open at the top, and took its name from the stone enclosures built round wells, 'putei.' What Roscius wanted with Horace at this place is not certain. It is said that near the 'puteal' the prætor held his court, and that he wanted Horace to attend as his sponsor. But the prætor's court did not open till the third hour.

36. De re communi scribae] The 'scribae' were classed in 'decuriae,' and were a numerous body. They formed a guild or company, and though they were employed in different branches of the public service, they had interests in common, and must have held meetings to discuss questions that concerned their body. As Horace had belonged to them, and was now known to have a good deal of influence, they wished him to attend their meeting on some particular occasion; so at least he puts it.

38. Imprimat his cura] While Augustus was absent in and after his last war with Antonius, Mæcenas, at first singly and afterwards in conjunction with M. Agrippa, was deputed to exercise those powers, in the city and in Italy, which Augustus himself would have exercised if he had been there (see Epod. 1, Introduction). The 'tabellae' of the text may have been a 'diploma,' so called from its consisting of two leaves, by which privileges of some sort were to be granted. 'Signum' expressed any work sculptured or engraved. Here it signifies a seal, which was usually set in the form of a ring. The practice of kings delivering their rings to those whom they deputed to represent their own authority, is of the highest antiquity. Pharaoh delivered his ring to Joseph, and Ahasuerus to Mordecai.

40. Septimus octavo propior] Horace was introduced to Mæcenas about the beginning of the year B.C. 38, and this Satire was written B.C. 30.

42. quem tollere rheda] 'Rheda' is the name for a travelling carriage. The shape probably varied, but it appears to have gone upon four wheels, and to have been, sometimes at least, of capacious size, since Juvenal mentions a whole family travelling in one 'rheda' (S. iii. 10). The only other four-wheeled carriage we read of, is the 'petorritum,' mentioned above (S. i. 6. 104, n.). There were public 'rhedae' on the great roads, for the benefit of travellers, and Horace and his friends performed part of their journey to Brundisium in these conveyances (S. i. 5. 86), and it appears from his language, 'hinc rapimur,' that they went pretty fast.

44. Thrax est Gallina Syro par?] 'Thraces,' 'secutores,' and 'retiarii,' were three different kinds of gladiators. The first had their name from being armed like the Thracians, with a short sword and round shield, from which they were sometimes called 'parmularii.' Gallina was one of these, Syrus was probably one of another sort. Mæcenas is supposed to ask Horace, among other trifling questions, whether he has seen the famous gladiators, and which is the better of the two.

45. mordent:] 'Mordere' is said of both heat and cold. See Epp. i. 8. 5. 'Rimosa' does not occur in any such sense as this elsewhere. We use 'leaky' in the same way.

48. noster.] This is a familiar way of expressing 'myself.' As to the construction of the next sentence, see S. i. 1. 45. 'Luserat' refers to ball-play. 'Fortunae filius' was a conventional phrase. Sophocles uses it (Oed. Tyr. 1080), ἐγὼ δ᾽ ἐμαυτὸν παῖδα τῆς τύχης νέμων.

50. Frigidus a Rostris] Suppose some bad news has been published in the Forum and been circulated in the streets. The 'rostra,' which Niebuhr (i. 406, n.) describes as "a stage of considerable length, with steps at each end of it," originally separated the comitium, where the patricians met, from the space where the plebeian assemblies were held, which was properly the Forum, though that name was popularly applied to the whole. Here persons of all ranks met, and from this centre reports would naturally take their rise, and then get disseminated in the city. The 'rostra' had its plural name from the beaks of vessels taken from the people of Antium (Liv. viii. 14), with which the stage was ornamented. As to the 'compita,' see note on S. ii. 3. 25.

53. Dacis] The Daci helped M. Antonius at Actium, B.C. 31, and the following year M. Crassus was sent against them.

55. Triquetra] The veterans who fought at Actium, having been sent back to Italy, were discontented, and broke out into mutiny because they had no reward. Augustus came from Asia to quell this mutiny, and gave money to some of the soldiers, and to others he distributed lands in those parts that had been favorable to Antonius. 'Triquetra' signifies triangular, and is a name for the island of Sicily, called also Trinacria, from its three promontories. Cæsar describes Britain also as "insula triquetra" (B. G. v. 13).

57. unum Scilicet--mortalem] The Greeks use εἷς ἀνήρ in this way, to express a superlative.

62. Ducere] 'To quaff the cup of oblivion.' See C. iii. 3. 34, n., Epod. 14. 3., and Aen. vi. 714.

63. faba Pythagorae cognata] The popular notion was, that Pythagoras had taught his disciples to abstain, as from meat, so from beans, which class of vegetables he connected somehow or other with the human species, in his doctrine of metempsychosis. They were therefore forbidden fare to his disciples, under the fanciful notion that in eating them they might be devouring their own flesh and blood. Hence the expression 'cognata,' and this is the allusion in Epp. i. 12. 21: "seu porrum et caepe trucidas." As to Horace's vegetable meals, see S. i. 6. 115.

66. Ante Larem proprium] See note on Epod. ii. 66. 'Libatis dapibus' means that the master and his friends ('meique') dined lightly, and left the greater part of the dishes to his slaves. The master, in this instance, as well as his slaves, dined in the 'atrium,' where the images of the Lares were placed. 'Libare' is to touch lightly. See Aen. v. 91: "inter pateras et levia pocula serpens Libavitque dapes." The distribution of the remains of the dinner to the slaves was a matter of course.

69. Legibus insanis,] See S. 2. 123, n. One of the strictest laws of a banquet directed by a presiding symposiarch, would have reference to the regulation of the quantity of wine to be drunk by each guest at each round. Horace's notion of liberty here is to be able to drink as much or as little as he pleased, which is expressed by 'inaequales calices.'

70. uvescit] 'Uvescere' does not occur elsewhere, but it corresponds with Horace's word 'uvidus,' C. ii. 19. 18, and iv. 5. 39.

72. Nec male necne Lepos saltet;] Lepos was a 'pantomimus' who was so named from the grace with which he performed his part, as the name implies. The business of the 'mimi,' as of the 'mimae,' was to recite poetry, as well as to act parts in the farces that bore the same name (S. i. 10. 6, n.). The word 'saltare' was applied to all pantomimic acting, and the motion of the limbs in dumb show. See S. i. 5. 63, where Messius calls upon Sarmentus to act Polyphemus,--"Pastorem saltaret uti Cyclopa rogabat," where 'saltaret' is equivalent to 'movetur' in "Nunc Satyrum nunc pastorem Cyclopa movetur" (Epp. ii. 2. 125).

75. usus rectumne] Cicero makes Lælius indignantly deny the doctrine that makes utility the foundation of friendship, and he says, with much truth and delicacy, "non enim tam utilitas parta per amicum quam amici amor ipse delectat" (Lael. c. xiv.). There is more in the same strain in c. viii., where he makes virtue the basis of friendship.

76. natura boni summumque] This subject is discussed at large in Cicero's treatise 'De Finibus Bonorum et Malorum,' and was a commonplace in Horace's day, as it has been in all ages. 'Summum' represents the Greek τέλος, 'the end proposed'.

77. Cervius] This was an old neighbor of Horace's. There is not the smallest clew to his history or to that of Arellius, who, however, must have been a rich man and careful about his money.

79. Olim] 'Once upon a time': a common way of beginning a story that does not profess to be true.

82. attentus] This is a common word for what we should call 'close.' See Epp. i. 7. 91; ii. 1. 172. 'Ut tamen' means 'ita tamen ut.' Compare S. 7. 4.

84. nec longae invidit avenae,] This construction is Greek: φθονεῖν τινί τινος. The Latin construction is with the accusative and dative, as S. i. 6. 49; Epp. i. 14. 41. The 'avena' here is the cultivated oat, and 'longae' describes the size of its grain. The wild-oat Virgil distinguishes from this by the epithet 'sterilis' (G. i. 153), and couples it with the 'lolium,' or tare, with which the host on this occasion satisfied himself.

87. male] This goes with 'tangentis,' and is equivalent to 'vix.'

89. Esset ador] See C. iv. 4. 41, n.

93. mihi crede,] These words are parenthetical, as Ovid (Am. ii. 2. 9): "Si sapis, o custos, odium, mihi crede, mereri Desine." The language that follows is very like that of Hercules in the Alcestis of Euripides (782, sqq.):

βροτοῖς ἅπασι κατθανεῖν ὀφείλεται, κοὔκ ἐστι θνητῶν ὅστις ἐξεπίσταται τὴν αὔριον μέλλουσαν εἰ βιώσεται. ---- ταῦτ᾽ οὖν ἀκούσας καὶ μαθὼν ἐμοῦ πάρα εὔφραινε σαυτὸν, πῖνε, τὸν καθ᾽ ἡμέραν βίον λογίζου σὸν, τὰ δ᾽ ἄλλα τῆς τύχης.

98. pepulere] This is used absolutely in the sense of 'movere.'

100. nocturni] See C. i. 2. 45, n.

103. canderet vestis eburnos,] On the 'stragula vestis,' see S. 3. 118, n. The sides of the couches were sometimes veneered with ivory. Fire is said 'candere,' and the flaming drapery of the bed is here described by the same word, which is not applied in this sense elsewhere. 'Fercula' was the name for the different courses, of which the 'coena' usually consisted of three, called 'prima,' 'secunda,' 'tertia coena.' The word, like 'feretrum,' contains the root 'fer' of 'fero,' and so its first meaning may have been the tray or dish on which the viands were brought. It here means the viands themselves; 'many courses were left,' would mean nothing. 'Procul' signifies 'hard by,' as in Epp. i. 7. 32. The remains of the evening's 'coena' had been collected and put into baskets, and left in the 'triclinium' till the morning, and the purple coverings were still exposed, waiting till the servants should cover them (S. 4. 84, n.).

107. veluti succintus] 'Like one tucked up,' as the slaves when on duty. (See S. i. 5. 5, n.) The duties of the 'structor' are those the host is here represented as performing. It was his province to arrange the dishes, and see that they were properly served up. He runs about, puts one course after another on the table ('continuatque dapes'), and tastes the dishes, to see if they are properly seasoned. 'Praegustatores' were regularly employed only at the tables of the emperors. The custom was imitated from Eastern courts. (See Xenoph. Cyrop. i. 8. 9.)

112. Valvarum strepitus] The servants, coming in early to clean the room, interrupt the banqueters, and rouse the watch-dogs, whose barking terrifies them still further. There was a dog, or more than one, kept in most houses, in the 'cella ostiarii,' the porter's chamber at the side of the 'ostium.' 'Conclave' is the general term for any chamber or suit of chambers under one lock or bolt. As to Molossis, see Epod. vi. 5.

SATIRE VII.

The substance of this Satire Horace puts into the mouth of his slave Davus, giving him liberty to express himself as he pleases, on the day of the Saturnalia, when much license was granted to slaves in particular. Davus takes advantage of the permission given him to abuse his master, and to taunt the rich with a slavery (to their passions and to the world) harder and more stupid than his own. He also taunts Horace with his instability and weakness of purpose, which part of the Satire is the most natural and amusing (see note on v. 23). The rest contains a great deal that is disagreeable, and much that is commonplace. It may perhaps represent the habit of talking trash, under the name of philosophy, which those who pretended to be of the Stoic school had established, and the humor would be more perceptible to a Roman of the day than it is now.

1. Jamdudum ausculto] We may suppose Horace has been talking to a friend upon subjects that have attracted his slave's attention, and give rise to the points he argues. Or he may have been giving Davus some good advice, and he offers him a homily in return, recommending him to practise what he preaches.

3. Mancipium] This word, which properly signifies the act of taking possession, 'manu capiendo,' is applied here to the 'res mancipi,' the object of 'mancipium,' which, in this instance, is a slave. It is so used in Epp. i. 6. 39. As to 'frugi,' see S. 5. 77, n.

4. Ut vitale putes.] 'That you need not think him too good to live' (S. 6. 82). As to the Saturnalia, see S. 3. 5, n. The month of December was dedicated to Saturnus. Horace speaks of the license of that festival being a custom handed down from their ancestors. The time of its institution is quite unknown.

6. Pars hominum] Davus avails himself, without preface, of his master's permission, and begins to moralize on the instability of some men, who never know their own minds. This character he applies to his master in v. 23, sqq.

9. Cum tribus annellis,] This is mentioned as a large number. In later times the Romans wore a great profusion of rings on both hands. At this time they were only worn on the left, because they were more likely to be injured, and to be in the way, on the right hand. Priscus was a senator, and therefore entitled to wear a gold ring, which privilege did not descend, at this time, below the equestrian order. In later times it was conferred upon all manner of persons by the emperors. Those who were not entitled to wear rings of gold had them of iron, according to the most ancient practice; and such of the Romans of higher condition as adhered to the simplicity of earlier days continued to wear iron.

Priscus, as a senator, was entitled to go abroad with the 'latus clavus,' which he would do sometimes; while at others he would appear only as an 'eques,' with the 'angustus clavus.' He was rich enough to live in a fine house, and did so; but would from caprice go and take an obscure lodging, such as a poor man might be ashamed of. He put on first one character and then another: now a man about town, and now talking of going to Athens as a philosopher. He was just such an unstable person as Tigellius is described to be in S. i. 3. 18: "Nil fuit unquam Sic impar sibi." He was "everything by turns, and nothing long."

14. Vertumnis, quotquot sunt, natus iniquis.] Vertumnus, as his name indicates, was the god who represented change. Horace says Priscus was born when Vertumnus was angry (see S. 3. 8, n., "Iratis natus paries dis atque poëtis"), and he strengthens it by saying, 'all the Vertumni that are to be found'; as if every image of the god were a separate divinity, and all were angry together, when this fickle man was born.

15. Scurra Volanerius,] Nothing is known of this person. He had the gout, which Horace says he richly deserved, and was so given to gambling (which was illegal, see C. iii. 24. 58, n.), that, when he could not handle the dice-box himself, he hired a boy to do it for him. 'Phimus' was the Greek word for what the Romans called 'fritillus.' From the shape it was also called 'turricula' or 'pyrgus' (πύργος). As to 'talos,' see S. 3. 171, n. They were not always thrown from a box, but sometimes with the hand.

19. levius miser ac prior illo,] 'Levius miser' is an unusual expression. 'Prior illo' means better off than that man who is always changing his character, one moment appearing strict, another loose, in his principles and conduct. The superiority of the man who is consistent in vice lies in his indifference to virtue, and the quietness of his conscience arising from that cause. In that sense he is better off, and less miserable, than the other.

21. Non dices hodie,] 'Hodie' is equivalent to 'statim,' 'this moment.' 'Furcifer' means a slave who for some slight offence was obliged to go about with a 'furca' round his neck, a sort of collar shaped like a V, in which the hands also were inserted. The master begins to see that Davus is aiming a stroke at him, and is getting angry.

23. antiquae plebis,] 'Plebs' has not its distinctive meaning in this place. (See C. iii. 14. 1, n.) Horace is no doubt touching his own infirmity here. He was fond of praising the simplicity of the olden time, but he was not the man to extricate himself from the degenerate habits of his own day ('nequicquam coeno cupiens evellere plantam,' which is taken from the Greek proverb ἐκτὸς πηλοῦ πόδα ἔχειν). He had been but lately, perhaps, writing the praises of a country life, and sighing for his farm (in the last Satire); but when there, we may believe he felt dull enough, and missed the society and elegances of the city. Whatever his ordinary fare may have been, he had no objection to the tables of the rich, and was proud to be invited to the Esquiliæ. There is much humor in this part of the Satire. He is supposed to be congratulating himself upon being suffered to dine quietly at home, when he gets an unexpected invitation from Mæcenas to a late dinner. He immediately shouts for his lantern, scolds the servants if they keep him waiting a moment, and runs off as fast as he can, leaving in the lurch some persons to whom he had promised a dinner, and who go away disappointed and muttering abuse.

33. sub lumina prima] 'Immediately after the lighting of the lamps.' (See Epod. ii. 44, n.) The ordinary dinner-hour was earlier (see C. i. 1. 20, n.), but Mæcenas's occupations protracted his 'solidus dies,' at the end of which he was glad enough, no doubt, to get a cheerful companion, like Horace, to dine with him. 'Blatero' is to bawl, or more commonly to babble and talk nonsense. 'Mulvius' may be anybody, one of the numerous tribe of parasites. 'Non referenda precati,' uttering curses which the servants heard, but must not repeat. See last Satire, v. 30, "iratis precibus."

37. dixerit ille,] Mulvius may be supposed to mutter this, as Horace goes off and leaves him without his expected dinner. 'Nasum nidore supinor,' 'I snuff up my nose at the smell of a good dinner.' 'Nidor' means 'nidor culinae,' as in Juv. v. 162: "Captum te nidore suae putat ille culinae."

39. si quid vis adde popino.] 'Popino' is not a common word. It means an idle, dissolute fellow, a frequenter of 'popinae,' cook shops. (See above, S. 4. 62, n.)

40. Tu--ultro Insectere] 'Are you the man to come forward and attack?' that is, to be the first to do it. See S. 6. 30, and C. iv. 4. 51, n.

42. Quid, si me] Davus goes on in his own person. Five hundred drachmæ, reckoning the drachma and the denarius as nearly the same value (about 8½_d._), which was the case about this time, amounts to 17_l._ 15_s._ of English money, and this was a small price, only given for inferior slaves. The price varied very widely, according to the beauty of the slaves (of either sex), which enhanced their value more than anything else, or according to their education, or skill in handicrafts, &c.

43. Aufer Me--terrere;] Literally, 'Away with that frightening me.' (See Epp. i. 7. 27, n.) It expresses alarm and haste, for Davus sees his master frowning, and lifting his hand to strike him.

45. Crispini docuit me janitor] About Crispinus, see S. i. 1. 120, n. Davus professes to have obtained at second hand, from the slave of this Stoic philosopher, the arguments he is going to propound. They are put generally, and he uses his own name; but the pronoun 'te' means any one. The 'janitor,' who was also called 'ostiarius,' kept the door of the house. He had a room on each side of the 'ostium,' which was a space between the outer and inner door. Crispinus's janitor may be supposed to have overheard what his master had said, from time to time, to his friends, while sitting in the 'atrium' into which the inner door opened.

76. minor,] ἥσσων, a slave to (C. ii. 11. 11, n.).

quem ter vindicta quaterque] 'Vindicta' is used for the 'festuca,' or rod, laid upon the shoulder of a slave by the prætor, in the act of giving him his freedom. Davus says that manumission, repeated over and over again (though that involves an absurdity), could not deliver his master, as he called himself, from the bondage he was under to the world.

78. Adde super dictis] 'Dictis' is governed by 'adde,' and 'super' is used absolutely.

79. vicarius] The property a slave might accumulate was called his 'peculium,' and among the rest he might have a 'vicarius,' a slave to do his duty or help him in it. He was held to be 'quasi dominus' in relation to his 'vicarius.' What Davus says is, whether you choose to call the slave's slave his 'vicarius,' or substitute, as your law does, or his fellow-slave (as strictly speaking he is, for, except by sufferance, a slave can hold no property independent of his master), what is my relation to you? I am your slave; you are the slave of your passions, which will pull you about as the strings pull a puppet (which the Greeks called νευρόσπαστον). The ancients carried their mechanical skill in the construction of automaton figures further, perhaps, than it has been carried since. Artists in this line were common among the Greeks, and were called νευρόσπασται, αὐτοματουργοί. It appears from Herodotus (ii. 48) that ἀγάλματα νευρόσπαστα, as he calls them, were in use among the Egyptians.

83. sibi qui imperiosus,] 'He who has control over himself.' Before Horace, no writer uses this word with a case after it.

85. Responsare cupidinibus,] 'Responso' is repeated in Epp. i. 1. 68. "Fortunae responsare superbae." It seems to mean, to reply to on equal terms, and so to be a match for, and to overcome. The construction of the adjective and infinitive is common in the Odes, but not in the Satires or Epistles. See C. i. 1. 16, n.

86. in se ipso totus, teres, atque rotundus,] 'In himself entire, smoothed, and rounded,' that is, perfect as a sphere, and, as the next line explains, like a beautiful statue whose graces are all in itself, which is perfectly finished and polished. This is elsewhere expressed by 'ad unguem factus homo' (S. i. 5. 32, n.), the difference in the mode of expression being, that here it is meant there are no inequalities on the surface on which anything at all can rest. The other expression has been explained in its place. 'In se ipso totus,' means one who wants nothing from without to set him off, and whose resources, as well as his graces, are all in himself. The mud through which he passes as he goes through the world does not adhere to him ('externi ne quid valeat per leve morari'); circumstances, prosperous or the reverse, do not affect his character; and, in all her assaults upon his happiness, Fortune proves but feeble, not being able to make any impression upon it. 'Mancus' means lame in the hand, as 'claudus' does in the foot. 'Teres' is explained in a note on C. i. 1. 28. 'Rotundus' is taken from the heavens, which Plato (Tim. p. 33) says the Deity σφαιροειδὲς ἐτορνεύσατο, as being most after his own image.

89. Quinque talenta] The Attic drachma of this period was worth about the same as the Roman denarius, nearly 8½_d._ (See above, v. 43, n.) The mina was equal to 100 drachmæ, and a talent to 60 minæ. It was worth therefore about 212_l._, and five talents 1,060_l._ The caprice of the man's mistress is described as before, S. 3. 260, sqq.

92. Non quis;] This is the second person of 'queo.'

95. Pausiaca torpes, insane, tabella,] Pausias was a native of Sicyon, one of the most celebrated schools of art, where there was a large collection of his pictures. Many were sold by the Sicyonian government, to pay their debts, and most of these found their way to Rome. His pictures were chiefly small, 'tabellae,' and among the most celebrated was the portrait of his mistress Glycera as a flower girl, Στεφανηπλόκος. He flourished about the middle of the fourth century B.C. 'Torpes' is a like expression to that in S. i. 4. 28, "stupet Albius aere", and 6. 17, "Qui stupet in titulis et imaginibus."

96. Fulvi Rutubaeque Aut Pacideiani] These are all names of gladiators, as we may gather from the context. Pliny tells us it was the practice, when shows of gladiators were exhibited, for the exhibitor to set forth a picture of the games, to inform the public, such as we see now of conjurors, circus, and the like; and these are what Davus alludes to. They were done, no doubt, roughly, as he describes. Cicero mentions repeatedly a gladiator named Pacideianus. Horace may have taken the name for any gladiator in consequence of the celebrity of this man. 'Contento poplite' represents the attitude of the gladiators. The Scholiasts raise a doubt upon the point, thinking the words may apply to the spectator stretching himself on tiptoe to get a nearer view.

101. callidus audis,] See S. 6. 20, n., and 3. 23: "Callidus huic signo ponebam millia centum."

103. coenis responsat opimis] 'Responsat' seems here to have the sense of 'corresponds to,' as 'responsura' in S. 8. 66. What Davus says amounts to this: 'I am good for nothing, because I am attracted by a cake just hot from the oven; you, forsooth, are virtuous and noble, because you feast upon good things.' So the same opposition appears in these lines as in the two before. 'Libum' was a coarse sort of cake made of pounded cheese, eggs, and flour, all mixed together and baked. There was another sort used in sacrifice, concerning which see Epp. i. 10. 10, n.

105. Qui tu impunitior] Persius has copied this way of speaking (v. 129):

"Sed si intus et in jecore aegro Nascuntur domini, qui tu impunitior exis Atque hic quem ad strigiles scutica et metus egit herilis?"

110. Furtiva mutat strigili:] As to the construction with 'muto,' see C. i. 17. 2. The 'strigil,' which the Greeks called στλεγγίς, was a scraper of bone or metal, of a curved form and with a sharp edge, with which the skin was scraped after bathing, or exercise in the gymnasium.

112. Non horam tecum esse potes,] To a man who has no resources in himself, or is afraid of his own conscience or his own thoughts, and resorts to amusements or other means of distraction to divert his mind, these words apply. 'Tecum habita,' inhabit your own breast, make that your home, is a like expression of Persius, S. iv. 52.

113. fugitivus et erro,] 'Fugitivus' was a slave who ran away outright; 'erro' was an idle fellow, who skulked out of the way, to escape work or to amuse himself. There was the same distinction in the army between 'desertor' and 'emansor.' A 'fugitivus' was branded on the forehead, and hence he was termed 'literatus,' 'notatus,' 'inscriptus,' 'stigmosus'; 'stigma' being the word to express the mark thus given. See above, S. 5. 15, n.

116. Unde mihi lapidem?] See above, S. 5. 102, n. Horace is supposed to get angry beyond endurance at this home-thrust of his slave, and calls out for a stone, arrows, anything, to throw at his head. The man is bewildered with fear, and thinks his master has gone mad, unless, which was as good, he was making verses. He is, or affects to be, unconscious of the license he has given himself, and the force of the truths he has been telling.

118. accedes opera agro nona] This means, 'I will send you away to work with the other slaves (of whom therefore he appears to have had eight), at my farm.' It was a common punishment, as it is now in slave countries, for a slave to be turned out of the 'familia urbana,' into the 'familia rustica,' and set to work in the fields. See Terence (Phorm. ii. 1. 19), where Geta looks forward to being punished in the above manner:--

"Molendum est in pistrino, vapulandum, habendae compedes, Opus ruri faciundum."

SATIRE VIII.

This Satire represents a dinner given by a rich, vulgar man to Mæcenas and five of his friends. There is not so much to distinguish it in the way of humor as the subject admitted of. Few subjects present more scope for facetious satire than the airs of low-born men, lately become rich, aping the ways of the fashionable world, and making wealth their one passport into what is called good society. This is a very slight sketch, and some of the force even of this is perhaps lost through our ignorance of little points of etiquette and culinary refinements observed by the Romans of that day.

The host's name is Nasidienus Rufus. Who he was, it is impossible to say.

Instead of telling the story himself, though it is probable from the tone of the Satire that he writes from a scene he had witnessed, Horace puts it into the mouth of his friend Fundanius, the comic writer mentioned in S. i. 10. 42, where see note.

1. Nasidieni] See Introduction. The third and fourth syllables coalesce. 'Beati' means wealthy and favored of fortune. See C. i. 4. 14, n.

2. here] 'Heri' is a dative form, 'here' an ablative, so we have 'mani' and 'mane' in the morning, 'vesperi' and 'vespere' in the evening. The termination in 'i' is the older of the two and it would seem as if the usage of the word was in a state of transition at this time.

3. De medio potare die.] Nasidienus dined early, to make the most of his feast. But 'medio die' need not be taken quite literally. The 'prandium' was usually taken at noon. The dinner-hour was later. (See C. i. 1. 20, n.) Busy men, as we saw in S. 7. 33, sat down by candle-light. 'De medio die' is like 'de nocte' in Epp. i. 2. 32, 'media de luce,' Epp. i. 14. 34. 'De' means 'after,' that is 'de medio die' means 'after midday'; but it must note proximity to midday, or it would have no meaning at all.

4. fuerit melius.] See S. 6. 4, n. 'I never was better off in my life.' He says this ironically, or with reference to the amusement he had got from the vulgarity of Nasidienus.

Da, si grave non est,] There is a like use of 'dare' in Virgil (Ecl. i. 19), "sed tamen iste Deus qui sit da, Tityre, nobis." Terence also uses it: "Nunc quam ob rem has partes didicerim paucis dabo" (Heaut. Prol. 10). From the meaning of this word, 'to put,' this application of it is easily derived.

5. iratum ventrem placaverit] Compare S. 2. 18: "Latrantem stomachum." Both passages put together suggest the idea of a sop thrown to an angry dog to keep him quiet. Perhaps that notion, or something of the sort, suggested this line.

6. Lucanus aper;] See S. 3. 234; 4. 42, n. No mention is made of a 'promulsis' (S. i. 3. 6, n.), and the things of which it was usually in a great measure composed were sent up in the same dish with the boar, which was generally served whole, and was the chief dish, 'caput coenae.' Turnips, lettuces, radishes, parsnips, with pickles and sauces of various descriptions (see S. 4. 73, n.), generally formed part of the 'gustus' or 'promulsis' which preceded the 'fercula,' or courses of which the regular 'coena' consisted. The boar was killed, the host (called 'coenae pater' with a sort of mock respect) informed his guests, when the south wind was not at its worst, meaning, perhaps, that when this wind ('scirocco') was blowing hard, the meat would soon spoil, if he had any meaning at all. But it was probably some notion of his own.

10. His ubi sublatis] The narrator is inclined to make a short business of the viands, but he is brought back to them afterwards. The meat being removed, (and though he only mentions one course here, we may gather from what comes presently that there was no lack of dishes, and therefore, probably, there were the usual courses,) a slave, with his clothes well tucked up, 'succinctus' (see S. 6. 107, n.), came and wiped the table with a handsome purple towel, and another gathered up whatever had fallen or had been thrown on the floor, which at the same time he strewed with saw-dust, perhaps scented (see S. ii. 4. 81). 'Gausape, -is' (other forms of which are 'gausapa,' 'gausape, -es,' 'gausapum') was a woollen cloth of foreign manufacture. The table was of maple wood (see S. 2. 4, n.).

13. ut Attica virgo] When the litter is cleared away and the table wiped, two slaves, one from the East and named after his native river, the other a Greek, walk in with two amphoræ, one of Cæcuban, the other of Chian wine. They are represented as coming in in a solemn and stately manner, like the κανηφόροι who carried the baskets in procession at the festival of Ceres. See S. i. 3. 11, n.

15. Chium maris expers.] Salt-water was mixed with the sweet wines imported from the Greek isles. Whether Horace refers to this practice, and means that the wine had not been prepared, and was of inferior quality, or whether he means that this pretended Chian had in fact never crossed the seas, but had been concocted at home, is doubted. Orelli and most of the commentators adopt the first opinion, after the Scholiasts. I am more inclined to the latter. Compare Persius (vi. 39):

"Postquam sapere urbi Cum pipere et palmis venit nostrum hoc maris expers,"

where he means a learning bred not in Greece, but at home.

18. Divitias miseras!] This exclamation is drawn from Horace by his friend's description. It was money that had brought the man out of his proper obscurity, and caused him all the petty shifts and anxieties that wait upon the position he tried to maintain.

19. pulchre fuerit] See above, v. 4, "Nunquam In vita fuerit melius." As to Fundanius, see Introduction. 'Laboro' is an amusing exaggeration, 'I am in pain to know.'

20. Summus ego] The company consisted, as was usual, of nine persons, who reclined on three couches. These were arranged so as to form three sides of a square, with the table in the middle, the fourth end being open, as shown in the accompanying diagram.

On each couch were three persons. On the 'summus,' Fundanius says he himself, Viscus, and Varius reclined. On the 'medius lectus' were Mæcenas and the two uninvited friends he brought with him, Servilius Balatro, and Vibidius. On the middle seat of the 'imus lectus' lay Nasidienus, above him Nomentanus, who acted as nomenclator (see Epp. i. 6. 50, n.), and below him Porcius, another of his parasites. The place of honour was the corner-seat of the 'medius lectus,' and next to that, on the first seat of the 'imus,' was usually the place of the host. But it appears that Nasidienus resigned that place to Nomentanus, probably because he supposed him better able to entertain his guests than himself. The host usually reserved the 'imus lectus' for himself and his family. If they were not present, their places were usually occupied by dependents of the host (parasites), who filled up the table, and helped to flatter the host and entertain the company. This explains Epp. i. 18. 10, "imi Derisor lecti." Sometimes these places were occupied by 'umbrae,' brought by the invited guests. By 'summus ego' Fundanius means that he occupied the farthest seat on the 'summus lectus.' The slaves in helping the wine began from this point, and went round till they came to the 'imus,' or third place in the 'imus lectus.'

Viscus Thurinus] See S. i. 9. 22, n.; 10. 83, n. He appears to have been a native of Thurii, in Lucania, which was made a Latin colony (B.C. 195), and received the name of Copiæ. But its old name, given at its foundation by the Athenians (B.C. 444), continued to be used as well as the new. Viscus was highly esteemed by Horace. As to Varius, see S. i. 5. 40, n. Nothing whatever is known of Servilius Balatro or Vibidius. The second syllable of Servilius appears from inscriptions to be long; the third, therefore, coalesces with the last. Mæcenas had taken them with him as 'umbrae,' which means persons taken by guests without special invitation from the host. See Epp. i. 5. 28, n.

23. super ipsum,] This means on the seat above the host (see note on v. 20). As to Nomentanus, see S. i. 1. 102. Porcius seems to have been a notorious parasite. Here he seems to be occupied chiefly about filling his own belly, while the host and his other parasite are looking after the guests and doing the honours of the table.

24. obsorbere placentas;] 'Placentæ' were cakes, usually sweetened with honey. See Epp. i. 10. 11.

25. Nomentanus ad hoc, qui] 'Nomentanus was there for this purpose, that he might--.' His business was that of nomenclator, to direct the attention of the guests to any dainties they might have overlooked, and to explain to them the mystery of each dish; for, as Fundanius says, the commonest viands were so dressed up with sauces that they could hardly be recognized, or new sorts of dishes were put on the table, such as the entrails of different fish, turbot and plaice, for instance.

26. Indice monstraret digito:] 'Indice digito' is the forefinger: the middle finger was called 'famosus.' This name is given to it as the finger of scorn. The third finger was called 'medicus' or 'medicinalis,' for the same reason probably that got it the name 'annularis,' its supposed anatomical connection with the heart. By 'cetera turba' Fundanius means the uninitiated, Mæcenas and his party.

29. Ut vel continuo patuit,] The nature and importance of the duties of Nomentanus were shown on that occasion, when he handed Fundanius a dainty he had never tasted before, or perhaps heard of, and yet these gentlemen knew what good living was.

passeris] 'Passer' was a flat fish, and is generally supposed to be the plaice.

31. melimela] These were a sweet sort of rosy apple. The derivation of the name sufficiently marks their flavour. That they had a higher colour when gathered at the wane of the moon, is an invention of the nomenclator. His reasoning on the subject was so abstruse, that Fundanius does not pretend to be able to recollect it.

34. Nos nisi damnose bibimus] See Terence (Heaut. v. 4. 9):--

"Ch. At ego si me metuis mores cave esse in te istos sentiam. Cl. Quos? Ch. Si scire vis ego dicam: gerro, iners, fraus, helluo, Ganeo, damnosus."

Vibidius means, that if this stupid dinner is to be the death of them, they had better have their revenge beforehand and drink ruinously of the host's wine: if they do not, they will die unavenged. 'Moriemur inulti' is borrowed from the Epic style. See Aen. ii. 670; iv. 659.

35. Vertere pallor Tum parochi faciem] Fundanius gives two reasons why the host turned pale when he heard his guests call for larger cups: because when men have drank well they give a loose rein to their tongues, and because wine spoils the palate by destroying the delicacy of its taste. He might probably have added a third, for it seems that in the midst of his ostentation the man was a niggard. As to 'parochi,' see S. i. 5. 46. The host is so called as the man "qui praebet aquam" (S. i. 4. 88).

39. Invertunt Allifanis vinaria tota] Allifae was a town of Samnium. From the text we are led to suppose that cups were made there. 'Vinaria' is properly an adjective, and agrees with 'vasa' understood. It means here the 'lagena' or 'amphora,' which differed in shape, but not in use. Both were vessels either of clay, or sometimes latterly of glass, in which the wine was kept. Their contents were usually poured into a 'crater' for the purpose of being mixed with water. These persons helped themselves from the 'lagena,' and all followed their example, except the master and his two parasites (see above, v. 20). There was no 'magister bibendi,' and the guests drank as they pleased.

42. squillas inter muraena natantes] As to 'squillas,' see S. ii. 4. 58. 'Muraena' was a lamprey, and accounted a great delicacy by the Romans, who appear to have sometimes kept them tame. They were brought chiefly from the coast of Sicily. The prawns were swimming in sauce, the composition of which the host goes on to describe himself, as a matter of too much consequence to be left to the explanation of his nomenclator. The materials were Venafrian olive-oil (C. ii. 6. 16, n.); 'garum,' a sauce made of the entrails and blood of fish, and here made from the scomber, perhaps the mackerel, caught in greatest abundance off the coast of Spain; some Italian wine added while it was making, and some Chian when it was made; white pepper (see above, 4. 74, n.), and vinegar made from sour Lesbian wine (C. i. 17. 21). Of the other ingredients Nasidienus boasts of having invented two himself; one was the 'eruca,' which we call the rocket, and the 'inula campana,' 'elecampane,' a plant that grows in meadows and damp ground. It is used medicinally as a bitter. The last ingredient was the 'echinus,' a prickly shell-fish, thrown in without being washed, for the benefit of its saline qualities; for which addition to the sauce he gives credit to one Curtillus, whoever he may have been. The superiority of the 'echinus' to 'muria' (see S. ii. 4. 65, n.) is here said to consist in the fact of the former coming fresh from the sea, and furnishing a more perfect brine.

54. aulaea] See C. iii. 29. 15, n. The host's dissertation was brought to a sudden close by the falling of the tapestry from the ceiling, bringing down among the dishes an immense cloud of dust. The guests fancy the house is coming down, but when they find the extent of the damage, they recover themselves ('erigimur'). Rufus (Nasidienus) was so disturbed by this untoward accident, that he put down his head and began to shed tears. Nomentanus comforts him with an apostrophe to Fortune, complaining of her caprices, the solemn hypocrisy of which makes Varius laugh so immoderately, that he is obliged to stuff his napkin into his mouth to check himself. Balatro, who has a sneer always ready (μυκτηρίζων, see S. i. 6. 5), begins a long sympathetic and flattering speech, with which Nasidienus is highly pleased and comforted under his misfortune. A brilliant thought suddenly strikes him, and he calls for his shoes and goes out, on which the guests begin to titter and to whisper to one another, not wishing to give offence, or to speak out before the parasites and the slaves (54-78).

72. agaso.] This was a groom or mule-driver, or otherwise connected with the stables. Balatro intends a sneer at the establishment, the out-door slaves being had in to wait at table and swell the number of attendants.

77. Et soleas poscit.] See S. i. 3. 127. The sandals were taken off before they sat down to dinner, for which therefore 'soleas demere, deponere,' were common expressions, as 'soleas poscere' was for getting up. The Greeks had the same custom and the same way of expressing themselves.

78. Stridere secreta] In this line an attempt seems to have been made to convey the notion of whispering by the sound of the s repeated.

83. Ridetur fictis rerum] They pretend to be laughing at something else when Nasidienus comes in. As to 'fictis rerum' see C. iv. 12. 19, n. 'Balatrone secundo' means that Balatro played δευτεραγωνιστής, who supported the principal actor, but was not so prominent. (See Epp. i. 18. 14.) Balatro was a wit and sarcastic. He supplied jokes and the others laughed.

86. Mazonomo] This was a large round dish, properly one from which grain (μάζα) was distributed.

87. Membra gruis] Cranes became a fashionable dish with the Romans, but not till after this time, when storks were preferred (see S. 2. 50, n.).

88. jecur anseris albae] The liver of a white goose fattened on figs, the legs of a hare served up separately, as being (according to the host) better flavoured when dressed without the loins, blackbirds burnt in roasting, and wood-pigeons with the hinder parts, which were most sought after, removed (perhaps from the ignorance of the host, who thought novelty was the best recommendation of his dishes),--these composed the last 'ferculum,' brought in as special delicacies to make up for the late catastrophe. But the officiousness of the host destroyed the relish of his dishes, such as they were, and the guests took their revenge by tasting nothing that he put before them, and presently taking their leave.

95. Canidia afflasset] Here is this woman again, the last time we meet with her. See Epodes iii., v., and xvii., and S. i. 8.

Spotted a typo or a problem in this chapter? Tell us