Of the gods, and what an Erinnys confounded the Rutulian : For if a boy, and a tolerable lodging had been wanting to Virgil, All the snakes would have fallen from her hairs: 70 The silent trumpet have groan'd nothing disastrous. Do we require That Rubrenus Lappa should not be less than the ancient buskin, 80 And has promised a day: with so great sweetness does he affect The captivated minds, and is heard with so much eager desire Of the vulgar: but when he has broken the benches with his verse, 86 He hungers, unless he should sell his untouched Agave to Paris. tress, or in buying some useless curiosity, such as a tame lion. Infelix is here ironical. 78. Doubtless, &c.] Ironically said. No doubt it would cost more to maintain a poet than a lion. 79. Lucan, &c.] A learned and rich poet of Corduba in Spain, who, coming to Rome, was made a knight. He wrote, but lived not to finish, the civil wars between Cæsar and Pompey, in an heroic poem, called Pharsalia. He was put to death by Nero. See more, AINSW. Lucanus. -May lie in gardens, &c.] Repose himself in ease and luxury, fame being sufficient for one who wants nothing else. Marmoreis-adorned with fine "leius?" These men may get fame by the excellence of their compositions; but what signifies that, if they get nothing else? fame won't feed them. Perhaps the poet calls Saleius tenuis, thin, from his meagre appearance. 82. They run.] Curritur, here used im. personally, like concurritur. Hor. sat. i. 1. 7. -The pleasing voice.] i. e. Of Statius, when he reads over his Thebais in public. 84. Promised a day.] i. e. Appointed a day for a public recital of his poem on the Theban war. 86. Broken the benches, &c.] By the numbers of his hearers, who flocked to attend him when he recited his Thebais. Notwithstanding this he must starve, for any thing the nobles will do for him. 87. His untouched Agave.] His new play called Agave, which has never been heard, or performed. This play was Ille et militiæ multis largitur honorem ; Quod non dant proceres, dabit histrio. Tu Camerinos 90 Haud tamen invideas vati, quem pulpita pascunt. Quis tibi Męcænas? quis nunc erit aut Proculeius, Aut Fabius? quis Cotta iterum? quis Lentulus alter? 95 Vester porro labor foecundior, historiarum Scriptores petit hic plus temporis, atque olei plus : Namque oblita modi millesima pagina surgit Omnibus, et crescit multâ damnosa papyro. formed upon the story of Agave, the daughter of Cadmus, who was married to Echion king of Thebes, by whom she had Penthæus, whom she, and the rest of the Menades, in their mad revels, tore limb from limb, because he would drink no wine, and for this was supposed to slight the feasts of Bacchus. AINSW. See HOR. Sat. lib. ii. sat. iii. 1. 303; and OVID, Met. iii. 725-8. -Paris.] A stage-player, in high favour with Domitian; insomuch that Domitian fell in love with him, and repudiated his wife Domitia for his sake. What Juvenal says here, and in the three following lines, in a seeming complimentary way, was no more than a sneer upon Paris the player, and, through him, upon the emperor, who so understood it, and turned our author's jest into his punishment; for in his old age he sent him into Egypt, by way of an honorary service, with a military command. This shews that this Satire was written in the time of Domitian, and he is meant by Cæsare, 1. 1. However, it is very evident, that Juvenal meant to rebuke the nobles for their parsimony towards men of genius, by shewing how generous Paris was to them, insomuch that they ought to be ashamed to be outdone by a stage player. 89. Semestrian gold.] Semestris not only means a space of six months, (sex mensium,) but the half or middle of a month. The moon is called semestris, when she is arrived at the middle of her month, and is quite round in form. The aurum semestre here means gold 100 in a round form, i. e. a ring; such as was worn by knights, to which dignity some poets had been raised, through the interest of this stage-player with the emperor. But qu.-If there be not here an allusion to the winter and summer rings? See sat. i. 1. 28. 91. Camerini and Barea, &c.] Some rich nobles, whose levees the poor poets might attend in vain. 92. Pelopea makes prefects.] The tragedy of Pelopea, the daughter of Thyestes, who was lain with by her own father, and produced Ægisthus, who killed Agamemnon and Atreus. -Philomela tribunes.] The tragedy of Philomela, the daughter of Pandion king of Athens, ravished by Tereus, who had married her sister Progne. See more, AINSW. tit. Philomela. The poet seems here to insinuate, that the performance of Paris, in these tragedies, so charmed the emperor, and gave the actor such an ascendancy over him, as to enable Paris to have the great offices of state at his disposal, so that they were conferred on whomsoever he pleased. 93. Envy not, &c.] q. d. Though, in some instances, great things have been done for some individuals, through the influence and interest of Paris, yet, in general, those who have nothing else to depend on but writing for the stage, are left to starve, and therefore are hardly (haud) to be envied. Pulpita-see sat. iii. 1. 174, note. 94. Mecanas.] Who is the rich man that is such a patron to you, as Mecenas was to Horace? who not only enriched He also bestows military honour on many; He binds round the fingers of poets with Semestrian gold. What nobles do not give, an actor will. Dost thou trouble thine 90 Head about the Camerini and Bareæ, and the great courts of nobles? Pelopea makes prefects, Philomela tribunes. Yet envy not the poet whom the stage maintains. Who is your Mecanas? who now will be either a Proculeius, him, but made him his friend and companion, and introduced him to the favour of the emperor Augustus. 94. Proculeius.] A Roman knight, intimate with Augustus. He was so liberal to his two brothers, Scipio and Murena, that he shared his whole patrimony with them, when they had been ruined by the civil wars. See HoR. lib. ii. ode ii. 1. 5, 6. 95. Fabius.] The Fabius is, perhaps, here meant, to whom Ovid wrote four epistles in his banishment, as to a noble and generous patron of men of genius. Or it may relate to Fabius Maximus, who sold his estate, in order to redeem some Romans who had been taken captives by Hannibal. -Cotta.] A great friend to Ovid, who wrote to him three times from Pontus, as to a constant patron. Ovid says to him, Cumque labent alii, jactataque vela relinquant, Tu lacera remanes anchora sola rati: Grata tua est igitur pietas. Ignoscimus illis, Qui, cum fortuna, terga dedêre fugæ. -Lentulus.] A man of great liberality, to whom Cic. epist. vii. lib. i. ad Famil. thus writes: Magna est hominum opinio de te, magna commendatio liberalitatis. 96. Reward was equal, &c.] When there were such men as these to encourage genius, and to be the patrons of learning, then reward was equal to merit. 100 97. To be pale.] With constant study and application, which were then sure to be profitable. Comp. HoR. epist. iii. l. 10. PERS. sat. i. 124. -To know nothing of wine, &c.] The feast of the Saturnalia was observed in the month of December, with great festivity and jollity, with plenty of wine and good cheer: all this it was worth a poet's while to give up entirely for his study; and rather than not finish what he was about, not taste so much as a single drop of wine during the whole festival, knowing that he was certain to be well paid for his pains. 98. Your labour, &c.] He now speaks of the writers of history, whose labour and fatigue are beyond those of other writers, and yet they are equally neglected. 98, 9. Is more abundant, &c.] The subject-matter more various and extensive. 99. More oil.] Alluding to the lamps which they used to write by, in which they consumed a great quantity of oil. See sat. i. 1. 51, note. 100. Forgetful of measure.] The subjects are so various, and the incidents crowd in so fast upon the historian, that he passes all bounds, without attending to the size of his work; it rises to a thousand pages before you are aware. 101. Ruinous with much paper.] So much paper is used, as to ruin the poor historian with the expence of it. Sic ingens rerum numerus jubet, atque operum lex. Qui venit ad dubium grandi cum codice nomen: Judice. Rumpe miser tensum jecur, ut tibi lasso 102. The great number of things.] i. e. Which are treated. The law of such works.] The rules of history, which oblige the historian to be particular in his relation of facts, and, of course, diffuse. 103. What harvest, &c.] What profit do ye reap? -The far-extended ground.] The wide and boundless field of history. Comp. VIRG. Geor. iii. 194, 5; and Geor. ii. 280. Some think that this expression of terræ apertæ, taken in connection with the seges, is, as that is, metaphorical, and alludes to the labour of the husbandman, in opening the ground by tillage, in order to prepare it for the seed. So the historian ploughs, and digs, and labours, as it in the field of history, in hopes of reaping profit thereby. were, 104. A collector of the registers.] The acta were journals, registers, acts of the senate, or the like records. The clerk, who wrote or collected them, was called actuarius. He was a sort of historian in 105 110 115 Epist. ii. lib. ii. 1. 78. 106. Civil offices, &c.] What they get by their pleading for their clients in civil actions. 107. The libels, &c.] Their bundles of briefs which they carry with them into court. 108. A great noise.] Bawls aloudmagna, adverbially, for magnopere. Græcism. See sat. vi. 516. Grande sonat. 108, 9. Especially when the creditor hears.] Creditor signifies one that lends, or trusts, a creditor. The lawyer here spoken of must be supposed to be of council with the plaintiff, or creditor, who makes a demand of money lent to another. If the lawyer observes him to be within hearing, he exerts himself the more. 109. One more keen.] If another, of a more eager disposition, and more earnest about the event of his cause, who sues for a book-debt of a doubtful nature, and brings his account-books to prove it, thinks that the lawyer does not exert himself sufficiently in his cause, and intimates this to the pleader, by a jog on the side with his elbow-then, &c. See AINSW. Codex, No. 2; and Nomen, No. 5. 111. His hollow bellows.] i. e. His lungs. -Breathe out prodigious lies.] In order Thus the great number of things ordains, and the law of (such) works. What harvest is from thence? what fruit of the far-extended ground? Who will give an historian as much as he would give to a collector of the registers? 104 110 But they are an idle race, which rejoices in a couch or a shade. to deceive the court, and to make the best of a bad cause. 112. Is spit upon.] Is slavered all over with his foaming at the mouth. -If you would discover, &c.] Were it possible to compute the gains of lawyers, you might put all they get in one scale, and in the other those of Domitian's coachman, and there would be no comparison, the latter would so far exceed. As some understand by the russati Lacertæ, a charioteer belonging to Domitian, who was clad in a red livery, and was a great favourite of that emperor; so others understand some soldier to be meant, who, as the custom then was, wore a red or russet apparel: in this view the meaning is, that the profits of one hundred lawyers, by pleading, don't amount in value to the plunder gotten by one soldier. So Mr. C. DRYDEN: Ask what he gains by all this lying prate, A captain's plunder trebles his estate. So Joh. Britannicus-Russati Lacertæ.] Lacerta, nomen militis, fictum a poeta: nam milites Romani usi sunt in prælio vestibus russatis, &c. ces. 115. The chiefs, &c.] Consedere duThe beginning of Ovid's account of the dispute, between Ulysses and Ajax, for the armour of Achilles. OVID, VOL. 1. —Thou risest a pale Ajax.] Alluding to Surgit ad hos clypei dominus septemplicis by way of ridicule on the eager and agi- 116. Doubtful freedom.] The question in the cause is supposed to be, whether such or such a one is entitled to the freedom of the city; there were many causes on this subject. 116, 17. Bubulcus being judge.] This may mean C. Atilius Bubulcus, who was consul. Or, by Bubulcus, the poet may mean some stupid, ignorant fellow, who was fitter to be an herdsman, than to fill a seat of justice. And thus the poet might satirize the advancement of persons to judicial offices, who were totally unqualified and unfit for them. 117. Break your stretched liver.] Which, with the other contents in the region of the diaphragm, must be distended by the violent exertions of the speaker: or 2 I |