frozen in winter, but discharged itself in summer into the Euxine sea (Ponti) by the Cimmerian Bosphorus. The fish, which lay here in a torpid state under the ice, grew extremely fat and bulky. 45. Pontifici summo: Domitian, whose title, as emperor, was Pontifex summus or maximus, 'chief pontiff.' Some think the poet alludes to the gluttony of pontiffs in general, which was so great as to be proverbial.-Proponere: to offer for sale.' 47. Alge inquisitores: 'searchers of sea-weed;' implying thereby, that their accusations were founded upon the most trivial causes. 50. Cæsaris: 'of the emperor.' 52. Palfurio... Armillato: both of these were men of consular dignity; lawyers, spies, informers, and also favorites of Domitian. -54. Res fisci est is the property of the emperor.' 55. Ne pereat: lest it should be taken from him by informers; or lest he perish,' as having kept the emperor's property. 56. Sperantibus: this is generally rendered 'fearing''dreading.'-But it more properly should be rendered hoping for,' as the quartan never proves fatal, and the sick consequently hope that the fever, under which they are suffering, may turn into the quartan. The Italians have a proverb to this effect, "We ring the bells when the quartan comes." 57. Prædam ... servabat: and kept the turbot fresh.' 58. Hic the fisherman. 59. Utque lacus suberant: utque Albani lacus suberant, i. e. prope erant.-Alba, fifteen miles from Rome, was built by Ascanius, between the Albani lacus and the colles Albani. It was levelled with the ground by Tullus Hostilius, for a breach of promise. The temples alone were spared. 60. Ignem... Trojanum: the vestal fire, brought by Æneas from Troy into Italy.-Vestam... minorem: the temple of Vesta, at Alba, was small, in comparison with the one built at Rome by Numa. At Alba, Domitian instituted a college of priests, of whom he was Pontifex summus. 62. Cessit: sc. turba; when the crowd made way for him.' 64. Picens: 'the Picenian fisher.' 68. Ipse capi voluit: i. e. the very fish itself was ambitious to be caught for the entertainment of your Majesty.-Quid apertius: 'what flattery more palpable than this?' if we understand these words to be spoken by the poet.—' Nothing is plainer:' if we consider them as spoken by the fisherman.--Et... crista: 'and yet his pride was gratified;' (a metaphor from cocks, who set up their combs, when pleased,) if we understand these words to be spoken by the poet.-If by the fisherman; And yet it is surprising that the thorns (cristas, i. e. pinnas) upon his back stand erect, as if it were unwilling to be caught. 71. Sed... mensura: the poet now pursues his narrative ; this turbot was so large, that a dish could not be found to contain it. 72. Quos... amicitia: we have here a striking representation of a tyrant, who, conscious of being hated by all, hates them; and they, knowing his capricious cruelty, never approach him, without horror and dread, lest they should say or do something, however undesignedly, which may cost them their lives. 74. Liburno: 'a Liburnian slave,' who discharged the office of a crier. 75. Raptâ... Urbi: abolla here signifies either a philosopher's robe, as Pegasus was a stoic; or the robe of office, which he wore as præfectis urbis. 76. Pegasus: an eminent lawyer who had been appointed prefect of the city of Rome: he is here called villicus, bailiff of the city, signifying that the chief magistrate of Rome, in consequence of the tyranny of Domitian, had now no more power or dignity, than the paltry officer of a country village. 77. Optimus... justitiâ: i. e. Pegasus was a very excellent magistrate, yet such was the arbitrary power of Domitian, that he dared not act according to the dictates of his heart. 79. Inermi justitiâ : justice is said to be unarmed, when judges and high officers act contrary to conscience. 80. Venit... senectus: the old facetious Crispus comes too.' 86. Cum quo . amici: it was not safe for Domitian's friends to converse with him, even on the most trivial subjects, such as the state of the weather, &c., if they did not agree in sentiment with him. 92. His... festinata: many texts have a period after aulâ, his, &c. applying to Crispus: Ruperti has a period after solstitia, understanding his, &c. to apply to Acilius.-The construction is, Acilius, qui his quoque armis erat tutus in illâ aulâ (i. e. of Domitian), et qui erat ejusdem ætatis (i. e. as Crispus) properabat proximus cum juvene (i. e. his son Domitius, as this is generally understood; see line 93, (note) indigno, &c. 93. Acilius... cum juvene: Acilius Glabrio, a senator of singular prudence and fidelity; his son Domitius came with him to this council; but both of them were shortly after charged with designs against the emperor, and were condemned to death. The father's sentence was changed to banishment, that he might be the more tortured by the remembrance of his son's death. The son, to save his life, affected madness and fought naked with lions in the Alban theatre: the tyrant was not to be deceived, but put him to death. 97. Malim... gigantis: i. e. since noble birth is dangerous, I had rather claim no higher kindred than my parent earth, and though not in size, yet, as to origin, be a brother of the earthborn giants. than be descended from a noble race. 101. Qurs... tuum: there are none, in these days, who would be simple enough to admire the device of Brutus (he pretended idiocy to save his life, during the reign of Tarquin the Proud), for it would not succeed with Domitian. 102. Barbato: alluding to the simplicity of ancient times, when Rome was governed by kings, who, as well as their people, wore their beards; for shaving and cutting the beard were not in fashion till later times. 105. Satiram scribente cinado: the pathic Nero, who wrote a satire against Quinctianus, in which he censures him severely for the very abominations, of which he himself was guilty. 107. Matutino: which he used early in the morning,-or, as others interpret it, eastern. 108. Redolent...funera: the custom of anointing dead bodies with aromatic ointments was derived by the Romans from the East. 109. Pompeius: a vile informer, noted for his clandestine ac cusations. 110. Et... Fuscus: Cornelius Fuscus was sent by Domitian as general against the Dacians, by whom he and his army were destroyed. 111. Marmored . . . villâ: in irony, alluding to his being sent to take the command, without having any other ideas of war, than he had acquired amid the sloth and luxury of his sumptuous villa. 112. Mortifero... Catullo: Catullus Messalinus was raised to the highest rank, from being a beggar, at the foot of the Aricine hill, on the Appian way. He is called deadly, as causing the death of numbers, by secret accusations.-Veiento: A. Fabricius Veiento was a senator and informer under Domitian. 113. Nunquam visa: according to Pliny, Catullus was blind. 115. A ponte: from the bridge on the Appian way, where mendicants stood. 116. Aricinos... axes: i. e. the carriages, which passed from or to Aricia, a town on the Appian way, about ten miles from Rome: this way was much frequented by carriages, and was therefore a good stand for beggars. 117. Devexæ ... rhede: Aricia was built on a hill, from which carriages descended on their way to Rome. 118. Nemo... bellua: none were louder in their praises of the prodigious turbot, than Catullus; though he could not see it, but turned the wrong way from it. 120. Sic i. e. sic alia laudavit, quæ non vidit.-Cilicis: some famous gladiator from Cilicia, a favorite of Domitian. 121. Pegma: from you, to fasten; a wooden machine, so constructed, as to raise itself, in scenical representations, to a great height; boys were placed upon it, and on a sudden carried up to the top of the theatre.-Velaria: sail cloths, extended over the tops of theatres as a defence against the weather. 122. Estro: astrus literally signifies a gad-fly, but here, by Metonymy, divine fury.' 126. Arviragus: a king of Britain, and an inveterate enemy to the Romans, in the time of Domitian.-Peregrina est: 'foreign,' thereby denoting some foreign conquest. 127. Sudes: the sharp fins, like spears, like crista, in line 69. 129. Quidnam...censes: these are the words of Domitian, asking the senators' opinion.-Conciditur: 'must it be cut?' 131. Quæ... orbem: 'large enough to enclose the huge circumference of the fish within its thin rim,' which he humorously calls a wall. The thinner earthen-ware was turned, the more valuable it was. 132. Debetur... Prometheus: some potter, a skilful and ready workman, like Prometheus, should be employed. See Class. Dict. 133. Rotam: the potter's wheel.'-Sed... sequantur: a sharp sarcasm against the tyrant, and at the same time rendering the speaker equally ridiculous. 136. Luxuriam... veterem: 'the luxury of foriner emperors.'Noctes... medias: Suetonius says, that Nero was accustomed to prolong his banquets from mid-day to midnight. 137. Aliamque famem: another appetite,' excited by certain provocations, after a drunken debauch. 138. Nulli: i. e. quàm Montano.-Usus: 'experience.' 139. Circeis: Circei was a town in Campania, at the foot of mount Circello, on the sea coast. 140. Lucrinum ad saxum: the Lucrine rocks were in the bay of Lucrinum, in Campania.-Rutupino...fundo: 'produced in the Rutupian bottom,' i. e. dredged for in the sea at Rutupa (now Richborough in Kent). 144. Dux magnus: Domitian. 146. Cattis... Sygambris: the Catti were a people of Germany; the Sygambri, inhabitants of Guelderland: both these people were formidable enemies of the Romans. 148. Præcipua penud: simply for celeriter, 'in great hasteon rapid pinions: this is the explanation given by Ruperti; others explain it differently.-Some think the poet refers to doves or swallows, which carried letters tied to their feet.-Others think that the allusion is to the feathers or pinna, worn by couriers, as a sign of haste and speed, upon their heads. Messengers, bearing good news, wore white feathers; bad news, black. 152. Cerdonibus: cerdones means all kinds of low mechanics,the plebeians: it is opposed to Lamiarum in the last line. Domitian was safe, till he commenced his cruelties against the plebeians; then a conspiracy was formed against him by several persons of mean birth, who put him to death in the forty-fifth year of his age. 153. Lamiarum: by this word we are to understand nobles in general.-The Lamian family was one of the most noble in Rome. From the conclusion of this Satire, it is evident, that it was written after the death of Domitian, SATIRE V. Under the pretence of dissuading the parasite Trebius from frequenting the tables of the great, Juvenal gives a spirited and minute account of the mortifications to which the poor were subjected by the rich, at those entertainments, to which it was thought necessary sometimes to invite them. 2. Alienâ... quadra: at another's expense.'-Quadra literally signifies a square trencher. 3. Sarmentus... Galba: Sarmentus was a Roman knight, who, by his flattery and buffoonery, insinuated himself into the favor of Augustus Cæsar, and often came to his table, where he bore all manner of insults.-Galba was a person of similar character in the time of Tiberius. 5. Quamvis... testi: i. e. if you can submit to such indignities, merely from your love of eating and drinking, I shall consider you so destitute of all principle, that I would not believe you though on oath. 6. Ventre... frugalius: i. e. the demands of nature are easily supplied.—Metuam: pres. subj. 8. Crepido: a high place on the bank of a river or in the inner part of a harbor, or by the road side, where beggars were accustomed to stand.-Tegetis: teges was a coarse rug, worn by beg gars. 9. Tantine: sc. sit tibi; 'do you esteem so highly.'—Injuria cœnæ, i. e. cœna injuriosa, an entertainment at which you must endure so many scoffs and insults. 10. Illic at a stand for beggars. 12. Primo... officiorum: be assured, that an invitation to supper is considered by the rich as a full recompense for all your past services. 17. Tertia ... lecto: i. e. to fill up a place at the table, which would otherwise be vacant. In the Roman dining room, was a table in the shape of a half moon, against the round part whereof three couches were placed, every one containing three persons, each of whom had a pillow (culcita) to lean upon. 18. Ūnà simus: the words of the rich man, giving the invitation in a familiar way. 19. Trebius: the name of the parasite, with whom Juvenal is conversing. 22. Sideribus dubiis: so early, that it is uncertain whether the light is from the stars or from the first breaking of the morn.-Sc circumagunt: 'roll slowly round.' 24. Vinum... ... pati: wine, which is so poor, that it is not fit to soak wool, in order to prepare it for receiving the dye; or not good enough to scour the grease out of new shorn wool.-Succida lana: 'new shorn wool, with its natural moisture,-greasy!' |