14. Grande: bombastic.'-Pulmo animæ prælargus : i. e. pulmones capacissimi.

15. Scilicet, &c.: i. e. you, no doubt, dressed with the greatest elegance and in all your finery, adapting your looks to the lasciviousness of your verses, will read your compositions to an audience, who will exhibit every mark of indecency and wantonness.

16. Natalitia sardonyche: a ring set with a sardonyx, a birthday present.

17. Sede celsâ: i. e. ex cathedrâ.—Plasmate a gargle.'

18. Mobile: flexible in pronouncing.-Patranti fractus ocello: effeminate with lascivious eyes.

19. Hic in the place where you recite your verses.

20. Titos: many Romans had the name of Titus, from Titus Tatius. Trepidare: i. e. beat the ground and clap their hands in applause.

22. Auriculis... ohe: i. e. do you write such lascivious verses to please the ears of others, who flatter you so immoderately, that even you are filled with disgust and are forced to exclain, enough (ohe).—Et cute perditus: i. e. etiamsi naturæ aliquo vitio crubescere non possis: or it may be understood of a person suffering with the dropsy :-puffed up with their praises, like one in a dropsy.

24. Quo... caprificus: i. e. what then, says a third person, is the advantage of all your study and labor, unless it is to make others acquainted with your labors, that you may receive from them praise and glory-unless your knowledge, swelling like leaven in dough, and shooting out like the wild fig-tree, burst forth, &c. Juv. Sat. X, 145.-Quo: i. e. cui bono- -quem in finem.

27. Scire tuum: for scientia tua.

29. Ten'... fuisse: i. e. that your compositions are read in the schools, and are committed to memory by noble boys.-Cirratorum: noble boys usually had their hair curled.-Nero ordered his poems to be used as exercises at the schools. Persius probably alludes to him.

30. Ecce inter

poet.

nascentur viola! the ironical answer of the

32. Hic i. e. inter pocula.

33. Rancidulum: 'disgusting.'-Balbâ de nare: i. e. per nares vocem balbam emittens; stammering and snuffling.

34. Phyllidas, Hypsipylas: Phyllis, daughter of Lycurgus, was deserted by Demophoon.-Hypsipyle, daughter of Thoas, king of Lemnos, was deserted by Jason.-Plorabile si quid: 'some mournful love-ditty.'

35. Eliquat: a metaphor, from melting and softening metals and hard substances; speaks in a soft and effeminate voice.'— Supplantat: minces his words.'

36. Cinis ille poëta: by hypallage for cinis illius poëtæ.

37. Levior ossa: this alludes to the usual superstitious wish, expressed by the Romans, sit tibi terra levis. Juv. VII, 207

38. Manibus: put here for the sepulchre, where the mancs were supposed to dwell.

40. Rides, ait: 'you are jesting, says the adversary.'-Uncis ... naribus: scorn and derision are expressed by wrinkling and turning up the nose.

42. Os populi: i. e. laudem et famam; 'the applause of the people.'-Cedro digna: deserving immortality.'-The ancients rubbed their books with an oil, extracted from the cedar, to preserve them from worms, moths, &c.

43. Nec scombros. . . thus: i. e. in no danger of being used as wrapping-paper by fishmongers or perfumers.

44. Quisquis, &c.: Persius, having severely satirized a desire of false praise, now allows that praise, properly bestowed, is not to be despised.

46. Rara avis: in allusion to the phoenix.

47. Fibra cornea: i. e. sensus obtusus; insensible like horn. 49. Euge-Belle: acclamations of applause.-Belle . . . totum : 'examine well the force and nature of this mark of applause.'

50. Quid... habet: i. e. are not these marks of applause applied to all sorts of writings? are they not applied to the most insipid and foolish things? in short, what is not contained within it? Hic i. e. illo belle.-Do not men use this same mark of applause when the Iliad of Accius is recited? See verse 4.

51. Ebria veratro: inebriated with hellebore.'-Accius, Persius says, as some understand it, derived his poetical imagination, not from drinking of the fountain Hippocrene on mount Helicon, which fountain he never reached; but from stupifying his senses with hellebore, which grew luxuriantly upon the same mountain. -Elegidia with contempt (a dimin. from elegia) songs of a wanton or trifling character are thus denominated.-Crudi: 'filled with undigested food-gluttonous.'-Or, 'not well digesting and understanding the subject.'

53. Citreis: the citron wood was very valuable: the rich had beds and couches made of it.-Calidum... lacernâ: i. e. you hir persons to applaud your writings by inviting them to suppers, and by making them presents.

55. De me: i. e. of the poem which has just been recited.

56. Qui pote: how is it possible, that such men will speak the truth, when they are afraid of offending you, if they did ?—Vis dicam: : sc. verum tibi.-Nugaris... exstet: i. e. you are an old fool to write verses, when, from the size of your paunch, it is. evident that you have thought more of indulging your appetite, than of cultivating your mind. The note of Koenig is, Nugaris, non seriò loqueris quum tibi, &c. i. e. quum corporis tui habitus jam indicet, aures ad laudem captandam arrectas esse.

58. Jane Janus was represented with two faces, one before and one behind, as regarding the time past and future.-A tergo ...tantùm: there were three ways of expressing derision with the an ients;—one was, holding out the finger and crooking it a little

to imitate the bill of a stork, pointing to the object of ridicule, and moving it backward and forward: another was, putting the thumbs up to the temples, holding the other fingers erect, and moving them, so as to imitate asses' ears: the third, to run out the tongue like a thirsting dog.

60. Nec... tantum: the construction is, nec tantum lingua exseritur, quantùm Appula canis exserit, quum sitiat.

61. O... cœco: O nobles, who, by nature, have no eyes in the backs of your heads.'

62. Postica... sanna: take care, that you are not ridiculed behind your backs; i. e. cease from writing silly verses.

63. Quis...est: sc. de carmine recitato.-Carmina... ungues: a metaphor taken from statuaries, who critically examined their work by passing their nails over the surface of the marble, to ascertain if it was perfectly smooth and if the joinings were exact. Leve: sc. marmor.-Severos: 'critically examining.'—Effundat: i. e. ire sinat—or non remoretur.

65. Scit ... uno : a metaphor taken from carpenters, who examine their work by rule, and who, when they would draw a straight line, close one eye, the better to confine the visual rays to a single point.

69. Ecce... poëta: Persius now proceeds to satirize the poets of his day, who attempt things far above their abilities:-from 76th v. to 85th, he satirizes those, who, in their works, foolishly hunted up antiquated words:-from 85th to 92d, he censures the use of figures of speech and affected phrases: from 92d to 107th, he ridicules the effeminacy of their verses.

69. Heroas sensus: i. e. heroicos sensus; 'heroic thoughts— ideas'-Afferre: i. e. scribere.

71. Corbes... fœno : i. e. instead of describing the great and leading features of a fine and beautiful country, they dwell upon the most trivial circumstances.

72. Fumosa Palilia: this was a festival in honor of Pales, which was celebrated on the 21st of April. On this day the husbandmen lighted fires of hay and straw, &c., over which they leaped to purify themselves; hence the epithet fumosa.

73. Remus: sc. oriundus est.—Frequent mention is made of Remus by the poets.-Sulco terens dentalia: a periphrasis for ploughing. Quinti: L. Quintius Cincinnatus, who was called from the plough to be made dictator at Rome.

76. Est nunc ... Antiopa: i. e. you will find many, who now spend their time in studying and reading the works of Accius (not Accius Labeo) and Pacuvius, antiquated authors.-Briseïs : the name of a tragedy, written by Accius.-Venosus: 'rugged.' 77. Pacurius et verrucosa Antiopa: for verrucosa Antiopa Pacuvii.-Moretur: i. e. remoretur or delectet.

78. Ærumnis... fulta: either a quotation from the tragedy of Antiopa, or an imitation of its style: it is thus translated by Brewster:

Whose sighs, like pillars, propping every part,
Buttressed her sinking, dolorific heart.

79. Hos monitus: namely, that they should study the old and barbarous Latin poets.

80. Hæc sartago: this motley mixture;' the word literally signifies a frying pan.

81. Dedecus: as sartago in the line above, corruption of speech.

82. Trossulus: this was at first an appellation of honor, given to Roman knights, from Trossulus, a city of Tuscany, which they took without the assistance of any infantry; afterwards fops and coxcombs were called by this name.

83. Nilne... decenter : here Persius satirizes advocates, whose desire it was not to free the person, whose cause they may be defending, from suspicion of guilt, but merely to obtain the applause of the judges and spectators, and hear such lukewarm (tepidum) expressions of approbation as he speaks decently.

85. Ait: says the accuser.'-Pedio: the name of some person, accused of robbery.-Or Pedius may be the name of the advocate.-Pedius quid: sc. contrà dicit.-Crimina... antithetis : i. e. he puts, as it were, his accusation in one scale and his figures of speech and affected periods in the other, and thus weighs one against the other.-Rasis: í. e. expolitis.

87. Bellum hoc: the words of his admiring hearers.—Hoc_bellum: the indignant reply of Persius.-An Romule ceves: i. e. are you, O Romans, who boast of your high descent from Romulus, so degenerate as to fawn like a dog?

88. Men' moveat (sc. naufragus)... querelâ: the sense is; real and not fictitious sorrow moves me. Real sorrow rejects all ornaments of speech, all show of words; that defence, which is upheld not by firm arguments, but by mere rhetorical flourishes, excites no pity, but disgust: the shipwrecked mariner, who in a jovial and laughing manner, goes about singing an account of his sufferings, would as soon excite my compassion and induce me to bestow upon him alms.-Quippe et: 'and forsooth.'

89. Cantas... portes: i. e. you mistake, my friend, I shall give you nothing; your singing so merrily is a proof that your shipwreck is a sham.-Pictum is emphatical, only painted, never having suffered the shipwreck you are so merry about. Juvenal, XII, 27.

90. Verum: sc. ploratum.-Nocte paratum: 'studied over night;'-invented beforehand.

92. Sed... crudis: Persius now supposes this to be the reply of the adversary, defending the poets of their times.-The construction is, sed junctura addita est decor et crudis numeris.

93. Didicit: sc. noster poëta; a poet, who is now admired.·Berecynthius... Apennino: the words in Italics in these three lines, are quoted from the writings of some poet, supposed by most to be Nero.—Attin . . . delphin: the affectation of rhyme is

here reprehended.-Attin': (the name is variously written) a Phrygian shepherd, beloved by Cybele.-Berecynthio: from Berecynthus,' a mountain of Phrygia.-Nerea: for mare.-Delphin: most think, the allusion is to the story of Arion, who, having been thrown overboard, was carried safe to land on the back of a dolphin.

95. Sic sc. didicit claudere versum.-Costam: this line is ridiculous on account of the attempt at rhyme in longo and Apennino, the spondaic conclusion, and the strange expression of Hannibal's removing a rib from the Apennines, instead of opening a passage for his army with fire and vinegar. Juv. X, 152,-It is thus translated by Drummond:

Where from the broad-backed mountain's monstrous chine.
The hero carves a rib of Apennine.

96. Arma... coctum: commentators explain this passage differently: the adversary, with whom Persius supposes he is conversing, compares the poets of his time with Virgil, and quoting part of the first line of the Eneid, asks, if that is not written in an inflated and rugged manner. Persius, in his answer, ironically chimes in with the adversary. The cork-tree has two barks-the outer, which is much thicker than the inner one, should be removed at certain seasons of the year. If this is not done, the outer bark bursts and makes the surface of the tree very rough: Persius therefore says, Virgil is like an old branch of a large cork-tree, the outer bark of which has not been removed at the proper season, but has become withered up with age and dried up by the heat of the sun, which is the meaning of coctum. Another way in which it is understood is this ;-Per sius, in the 96th verse, asks if the verses before quoted do not flow smoothly and lightly like foam and bark upon the surface of water; to render this more ridiculous, he swears by the Eneid of Virgil (arma virum). In the next line, he answers his own question and says, ut ramale, &c.

...

98. Quidnam.. legendum: some understand this question to be proposed by Persius, to which the adversary replies by a quotation from the poems of (as most critics think) Nero.-Others understand the question to be proposed by the adversary, to which Persius, deriding the querist, replies by a quotation, &c.Laxá cervice: 'with an inclined head-in a languishing and tender manner.'

99. Mimalloneis: the Mimallones were priestesses of Bacchus, so called from Mimas, a mountain of Ionia, sacred to Bacchus. 100. Vitulo superbo: by these words, Pentheus is thought to be meant.

101. Bassaris: Agare, the mother of Pentheus a priestess of Bacchus, thus called from Bassareus, a name of Bacchus. -Lyncem: the car of Bacchus was fabled to be drawn by