Obrázky na stránke
PDF
ePub

trappings to the mob! I can look under them and see your skin. Are you not ashamed to live the loose life of Natta? But he is paralyzed by vice; his heart is overgrown with thick collops of fat; he feels no reproach; he knows nothing of his loss; he is sunk in the depth and makes no more bubbles on the surface.

Great Father of the Gods, be it thy pleasure to inflict no other punishment on the monsters of tyranny, after their nature has been stirred by fierce passion, that has the taint of fiery poison-let them look upon virtue and pine that they have lost her for ever! Were the groans from the brazen bull of Sicily more terrible, or did the sword that hung from the gilded cornice strike more dread into the princely neck beneath it than the voice which

[blocks in formation]
[ocr errors]

35. tyrannos, as inventors of tortures for others, and therefore deserving the worst tortures themselves, probably with reference to the historical allusions which follow, vv. 39-41. Persius doubtless thought of Hor. 1 Ep. 2. 58 Invidia Siculi non invenere tyranni Maius tormentum,' 'intabescant' referring to 'invidia' (compare 'macrescit' v. 57). Juv. apparently imitates both (13. 196), 'Poena autem vehemens ac multo saevior illis Quas et Caedicius gravis invenit aut Rhadamanthus.'

36. libido moverit ingenium, 'ut ingenium est omnium Hominum ab labore proclive ad libidinem' Ter. Andr. 1. 1. 50.

37. ferventi.. veneno, 'Occultum inspires ignem, fallasque veneno Virg. Aen. 1. 688, compare 7. 354-356, Lucan. 9.742.

38. [videant. Comp. Plato's language

about póvnois, Phaedrus p. 250 D.]

intabescant seems taken from Ovid's description of envy (M. 2. 780), 'intabescitque videndo Successus hominum.'

[ocr errors]

relicta, abl. abs. Compare Virg. Aen. 4. 692 Quaesivit caelo lucem ingemuitque reperta.' Though relicta here stands not for postquam,' but for 'quod eam reliquerunt.' The line, as Jahn remarks, has more force, expressed as it is in the form of a prayer, than if it had been regularly connected with the preceding sentence, haud alia ratione quam ut.' The sentiment is Ovid's 'Video meliora,' etc.

39. gemuerunt, because the groans of the victims passed for the bellowings of the bull. 'Gemere' might possibly be used of the animal itself, as it is applied by Lucr. 3. 297 to the lion-but it is doubtless substituted here for 'mugire,' not only as adding to the poetry of the passage by combining the images of the bull and the victim, but for the sake of the comparison, which is to illustrate human suffering.

40. This reference to the story of Damocles is probably imitated from Hor. 3 Od. 1. 17 Destrictus ensis cui super impia Cervice pendet, non Siculae dapes Dulcem elaborabunt saporem.'

41. purpureas.. cervices, a bolder expression than 'purpurei (=purpurati) tyranni' Hor. 1 Od. 35. 12, from which it is doubtless taken. The epithet so chosen suggests the notion not merely of splendour, but of the splendour of a tyrant, so as to be virtually equivalent to Horace's 'impia cervice.' [Cervices' is usual for 'cervix.']

imus praecipites' quam si sibi dicat et intus palleat infelix, quod proxima nesciat uxor?

Saepe oculos, memini, tangebam parvus olivo, grandia si nollem morituri verba Catonis discere, non sano multum laudanda magistro, quae pater adductis sudans audiret amicis.

iure: etenim id summum, quid dexter senio ferret,

scire erat in voto; damnosa canicula quantum

raderet; angustae collo non fallier orcae;

neu quis callidior buxum torquere flagello.

43. quid.

46. et insano.

45

50

[ocr errors]

42. imus praecipites. Peccatis indulgens praecipitem amicum ferri sinit' Cic. de Amic. 24. The Delph. ed. and Jahn refer to the celebrated opening of Tiberius' letter to the Senate (Tac. Ann. 6. 6, Suet. Tib. 67) Quid scribam vobis, P. C., aut quomodo scribam, aut quid omnino non scribam hoc tempore, Dii me Deaeque peius perdant quam perire me quotidie sentio, si scio: but they omit Tacitus' comment, which is at least as much to the point: Neque frustra praestantissimus sapientiae firmare solitus est, si recludantur tyrannorum mentes, posse adspici laniatus et ictus: quando ut corpora verberibus, ita saevitia, libidine, malis consuetis, animus dilaceretur.'

42. intus palleat, not a very intelligible expression at first sight, appears to include the notions of depth and

secrecy.

43. palleat.. quod nesciat is the acc. of the object, as in 5. 184 'recutitaque sabbata palles,' not the cogn., as in I. 124 note.

proxima.. uxor, 'the wife of his bosom; compare the use of 'propinquus.'

44-62. I remember my school days, which were unprofitable enough. I used to shirk recitation-lessons, because all my ambition was to excel in games of chance or skill-but you have had an insight into what wisdom is, and have learnt something of the excellence of virtue. Dropping off again-nodding and yawning?

Have you really no object in life?'

[ocr errors]

44. taugebam, the reading of the best MSS. for tingebam,' is supported by Ov. A. A. 1. 661 Si lacrimae.. Deficient, uda lumina tange manu' (König, Jahn,) and by the Scholiast Oculi oleo tacti perturbantur ad tempus.' The object of the application, however, as most of the old commentators, Heinr., and Jahn perceive, was not to produce irritation or anything which had the appearance of it, but to make believe that his eyes were weak by his use of the remedy. 'Cum tua pervideas oculis mala lippus inunctis' Hor. I S. 3. 25. 'Non tamen idcirco contemnas lippus inungi' 1 Ep. I. 29.

parvus, 'when a child.' • Memini quae plagosum mihi parvo Orbilium dictare' Hor. 2 Ep. 1. 70.

45. grandia; a dying speech made for Cato, like the oration to Sulla, Juv. 1. 16, and the suasoria' made for Hannibal, id. 7. 161 foll. See Tac. Or. 35. Here the speech seems not the boy's own composition, but that of some one else, perhaps the master, and learnt by the boy.

46. non sano expresses Persius' scorn for the whole system of education-the choice of such subjects for boys, and the praise given to contemptible efforts-perhaps on account of the father's presence. There is much to the same effect in Tac. 1. c.

laudanda ='quae laudaret,' after the analogy of 'tradere, curare, etc., fa

whispers to the heart, 'We are going, going down the precipice,' and the ghastly inward paleness, which is a mystery, even to the wife of the bosom?

Often, I remember, as a small boy I used to give my eyes a touch with oil, if I did not want to learn Cato's grand dying speech, sure to be vehemently applauded by my wrong-headed master, that my father might hear me recite in a glow of perspiring ecstacy with a party of friends for the occasion. Reason good, for the summit of my scientific ambition was to know what that lucky sice would bring me, how much that ruinous ace would sweep off-never to be balked by the narrow neck of the jar, or to let any one be cleverer at whipping the top. But you

6

ciendum,' a use belonging to later Latin. Madvig, § 422.

47. The recitation was weekly, but the father does not seem to have attended so often. Juv. 7. 165, 6.

sudans, from pleasure and excitement. 2. 53. Jahn, who refers, after Casaubon, to Statius' words in his funeral poem on his father Silv. 5. 3. 215 foll.

Qualis eras, Latios quoties ego carmine patres Mulcerem, felixque tui spectator adesses Muneris heu quali confusus gaudia fletu Vota piosque metus inter laetumque pudorem !'

48. iure: as a boy turning away from distasteful and injudicious teaching, fond of boyish amusements, and not able to appreciate the higher pursuits which would engage him afterwards. • Iure' forming a sentence by itself: 'iure omnes' Hor. I S. 2. 46. So 'merito,' 1 S. 6. 22.

id summum... erat in voto. 'Esse in voto' or 'votis' means to be included in a person's prayers. 'Hoc erat in votis' Hor. 2 S. 6. 1. So venire in votum' I EP. II. 5. Compare Cic. N. D. 1. 14 'Deus qui nunquam nobis occurrit, neque in precibus, neque in optatis, neque in votis.'

senio, 'the size,' (compare 'ternio,' 'unio') stands, as Jahn and Heinr. think, for three sizes, Tpìs eέ, the highest throw with the tesserae' (Venus,' or 'iactus Venereus'). The highest throw with the 'tali,' which were four in number, was when all four turned up differently (Lucian. Am. p. 415, Ov. A. A. 2. 204 foll., Tr. 2. 471 foll.). See Freund v. 'alea.' quid... ferret = quem fructum ferret.' Boys played games of hazard as

6

well as games of a more harmless sort. Puer.. ludere doctior Seu Graeco iubeas trocho, Seu malis vetita legibus alea' Hor. 3 Od. 24. 55 foll.

49. 'Me quoque per talos Venerem quaerente secundos Semper damnosi subsiluere canes' Prop. 5. 8. 46, i.e. in the game with 'tali,' when all four fell alike, in the game with 'tesserae,' which is here meant, when all three were aces, Tpeîs Kúßol.

50. raderet, opp. to 'ferret.' Freund makes the 6 orca equivalent to the 'phimus' (Hor. 2 S. 7. 17) or box into which the dice were thrown, quoting Pompon. ap. Prisc. 3. p. 615, 'interim dum contemplor orcam taxillos (= talos) perdidi;' but it does not appear that throwing the dice with accuracy into the box constituted any part of the skill of the game, and the Schol. seems right in supposing Persius to allude, as Pomponius doubtless did, to the game with nuts ('nuces') called in Greek Tpóτа (Pollux 9. 7. 103), which was frequently performed with 'tali' (ảσrpáɣaλo), the point being to throw them into a hole (Bóopos), or, as here, into a jar, so as not to count those which fell outside. The narrowness of the neck ('collo angustae orcae'='collo angusto orcae') would of course increase the difficulty.

51. Et [erat in voto] ne quis callidior (esset).'

buxum, 'the top,' as in Virg. Aen. 7. 382 volubile buxum,' which Persius probably imitates, as no other instance is quoted where the word is so applied.

52. curvos' pravos,' apparently from Hor. 2 Ep. 2. 44 'Scilicet ut possem curvo dignoscere rectum,' which is used, as here,

haud tibi inexpertum curvos deprendere mores,
quaeque docet sapiens bracatis inlita Medis
porticus, insomnis quibus et detonsa iuventus
invigilat, siliquis et grandi pasta polenta:
et tibi quae Samios diduxit littera ramos,
surgentem dextro monstravit limite callem.
stertis adhuc, laxumque caput conpage soluta
oscitat hesternum, dissutis undique malis?

est aliquid quo tendis, et in quod dirigis arcum?
an passim sequeris corvos testaque lutoque,
securus quo pes ferat, atque ex tempore vivis?

[blocks in formation]
[merged small][ocr errors][ocr errors][merged small]

sapien

sapiens.. porticus, like tem barbam Hor. 2 S. 3. 35, 'eruditus pulvis' Cic. N. D. 2. 18. The porch is personified as in Hor. 2 S. 3. 44 porticus et grex Autumat.' The ποικίλη στοά, where Zeno and his followers used to resort, was adorned with paintings by Polygnotus, one of them representing the battle of Marathon. Laert. 7. 5; Paus. 1. 15, referred to by Casaubon. Whether the walls were themselves painted or merely hung with paintings is not clear, and not settled, as Jahn remarks, by the word 'inlita,' which cannot be pressed, as it is used improperly, and probably expresses some contempt.

bracatis. Tela fugacis equi, et bracati militis arcus' Prop. 4. 4. 17.

54. et detonsa was restored by Turnebus, whom Casaubon and later editors

60. in quo.

55

60

follow, from most MSS. for the old reading indetonsa.' The Stoics let their beard grow, but cut their hair close ('supercilio brevior coma' Juv. 2. 15, quoted by the Delph. ed. König also refers to Luc. Vit. Auct. 20, Hermot. 18) a practice, as Jahn remarks, common to them with athletes, mourners, and misers (Theophr. Char. 10), in opposition to the fashionable and luxurious habits of the κομῶντες.

55. invigilat, rather tautological after 'insomnis.' 'Nec capiat somnos invigiletque malis.' Ov. F. 4. 530.

siliquis, 'pulse.' Hor. 2 Ep. I. 123, speaking of the poet, 'vivit siliquis et pane secundo,'

[ocr errors]

polenta, ἄλφιτα, pearl - barley,' a Greek, not a Roman, dish ('videtur tam puls ignota Graeciae fuisse, quam Italiae polenta' Pliny 18. 19. 8), mentioned as a simple article of diet by Attalus, Seneca's preceptor (Sen. Ep. 110. 18, quoted by Jahn) Habemus aquam, habemus polentam: Iovi ipsi controversiam de felicitate faciamus:' called 'grandis,' as Virg. E. 5. 36 speaks of 'grandia hordea-perhaps, as Casaubon thinks, with a further reference to the abundance of the meal and its fattening effects. [Grandis' was apparently applied specially to agricultural products: comp. the old carmen' quoted by Festus p. 93 (Müller) 'Hiberno pulvere, verno luto grandia farra, camille, metes:' so Cato, 141. 2, has 'grandire virgulta.']

6

have had some practice in detecting deviations from the rule of right, and in the doctrines of the philosophic porch where the Medes are painted in their trowsers: doctrines which form the nightly study of close-shaven young men, dieted on pulse and vast messes of porridge: and the letter which spreads into Pythagorean ramifications has set your face towards the steep path which rises to the right. Snoring still? your head dropped, with the neckjoints all loose, yawning off yesterday, with your jaws starting asunder from all points of the compass? Have you any goal? any mark at which you aim? or are you on a vague wild-goose chase armed with broken pots and mud, not caring where you go, and living by the rule of the moment?

56. The image of the two ways is as old as Hesiod, W. and D. 287-292 TV μέντοι κακότητα καὶ ἐλαδόν ἐστιν ἑλέσθαι Ρηϊδίως· λείη μὲν ὁδός, μάλα δ ̓ ἐγγύθι ναίει. Τῆς δ ̓ ἀρετῆς ἱδρῶτα θεοὶ προπάροιθεν ἔθηκαν ̓Αθάνατοι· μακρὸς δὲ καὶ ὄρθιος οἶμος ἐς αὐτὴν Καὶ τρηχὺς τὸ πρῶτον. ἐπὴν δ ̓ εἰς ἄκρον ἵκηται, Ρηϊδίη δὴ ἔπειτα πέλει, χαλεπή περ ἐοῦσα. Pythagoras improved on it by choosing the letter 4 (the older form of Y or Y), hence called his letter (Anth. Lat. 1076. 1 Meyer), as its symbol, the stem standing for the unconscious life of infancy and childhood, the diverging branches for the alternative offered to the youth, virtue or vice. Persius again refers to this 5. 34 Cumque iter ambiguum est, et vitae nescius error diducit trepidas ramosa in compita mentes.'

6

Samius occurs Ov. F. 3. 153 as a synonyme of Pythagoras.

'deduxit' most MSS., but diduxit is clearly right, as Jahn remarks. The two prefixes are constantly confounded, and the point is just one on which MSS. have no weight.

57. surgentem. Because the path of virtue was arduous, ὄρθιος οἶμοs, and hence represented by the straight limb of the 4 (dextro).

a

monstravit perhaps conveys similar notion, as if the letter itself by its form suggested the path to the right, that which went straight on. So limes would naturally mean a straight cut road, 'secto via limite quadret' Virg. G. 2. 278.

callis is properly a mountain path, as defined by Isid. Orig. 15. 16. 10 'callis est iter pecudum inter montes angustum et tritum.' Freund q. v. The general meaning of the two lines then is, 'You have

arrived at the turning-point of life, and have been told which is the right way.'

58. stertis, v. 3, the effect of the 'crapula.'

laxum, I. 98.

conpage, 'conpages humana labat' Lucan 5. 119.

59. oscitat hesternum, like 'verum plorabit' I. 90; corpus onustum Hesternis vitiis' Hor. 2 S. 2. 78.

undique, an intentional exaggeration for utraque parte.'

60. Casaubon compares Arist. Eth. N. I. I ἆρ ̓ οὖν καὶ πρὸς τὸν βίον ἡ γνῶσις τοῦ τέλους μεγάλην ἔχει ροπήν, καὶ καθάπερ τοξόται σκοπὸν ἔχοντες, μᾶλλον ἂν τυγχάνοιμεν τοῦ δέοντος;

in quod, though found only in a few MSS., is unquestionably the true reading, not in quo.' The change, as Jahn remarks, is one which might justifiably have been introduced even if totally unsupported, being demanded by the language, and really countenanced by the MSS., as 'd' has evidently dropped out before dirigis.'

[ocr errors]

61. passim, volucres huc illuc passim vagantes' Cic. de Div. 2. 38, 'at random.' Comp. Aesch. Ag. 394 διώκει παῖς ποτανὸν ὄρνιν, and the Greek proverb τὰ πετόμενα διώκειν.

[ocr errors]

testaque lutoque, the first missiles that come to hand,' opp. to 'arcus.' Casaubon. 'Sequi,' attempt to reach with teloque sequi, quem prendere cursu Non poterat' Virg. Aen. 12. 775. Comp. 'pilo sequi' Tac. H. 4. 29, 'ferro sequi' Ov. M. 6. 665.

62. securus, followed by a relative clause. 'Quid Tiridaten terreat, unice Securus' Hor. I Od. 26. 6: compare also

« PredošláPokračovať »