Fiunt urceoli, pelves, sartago, patellæ. Spectandus: gaudent omnes: qua labra? quis illi Hunc hominem: sed quo cecidit sub crimine ? quisnam Nil horum: verbosa et grandis epistola venit A Capreis-bene habet; nil plus interrogo: sed quid 65 70 75 64. Water-pots, &c.] The meanest household utensils are made from the brass, which once conferred the highest honour on Sejanus, when representing him in the form of statues. 65. Laurels, &c.] Here the poet shews the malicious triumph of envy. It was customary to adorn the doors of their houses with crowns, or garlands of laurel, on any public occasion of joy-such was the fall of poor Sejanus to his enemies. 66. A white bull.] The beasts sacrificed to the celestial gods were white (cretatum, here, lit. chalked, whited); those to the infernal gods were black. This offering to Jupiter, in his temple on the capitol hill, must be supposed to have been by way of thanksgiving for the fall of Sejanus. A lively mark of the hatred and prejudice which the people had conceived against him, on his disgrace as it follows Dragg'd by a hook, &c] To the Scale Gemonix, and then thrown into the Tiber. 67. To be look'd upon.] As a spectacle of contempt to the whole city. All rejoice.] At his disgrace and misery the people triumph. "What lips," &c.] The poet here supposes a language to be holden, which is very natural for a prejudiced, ignorant people to utter on such an occasion, as they saw him dragging along by the hands of the executioner, or perhaps as they viewed him lying dead on the bank of the Tiber, (comp. 1. 86.) before his body was thrown into it. What a blubber-lipp'd ill-looking fellow! say they. 69. What crime, &c.] What was charged against him (says one) that he should be brought to this. 70. Informer.] Delator-his accuser to the emperor. What discoveries, &c.] Of the fact, and its circumstances? and on what evidence hath he (i. e. the informer) proved the crime alleged against him? 71. "Nothing of these."] Says the answerer-i. e. there was no regular form of conviction. A great epistle, c.] It, some how or other, came to the Are made water-pots, basons, a frying pan, platters. Place laurels at your house, lead to the capitol a large 65 White bull; Sejanus is dragged by a hook To be look'd upon all rejoice: "what lips? what a countenance “He had? I never (if you at all believe me,) loved "This man :-but under what crime did he fall? who was. "The informer? from what discoveries? by what witness hath he "prov'd it ?" "Nothing of these: a verbose and great epistle came from "Capreæ:"-" It is very well, I ask no more: but what did 70 "The mob of Remus?" It follows fortune, as always, and "hates "The condemn'd--The same people, if Nurscia had favour'd "The Tuscan-if the secure old age of the prince had been 75 ears of Tiberius, that his favourite Sejanus had a design upon the empire, on which he wrote a long pompous epistle to the senate, who had Sejanus seized, and sentenced him to be punished, as is mentioned above: viz. that he should be put to death, then have an hook fixed in him, be dragged through the streets of Rome to the Scale Gemonia, and thrown at last into the Tiber. Tiberius was at that time at Capreæ, an island on the coast of Naples, about twenty-five miles south of that city, indulging in all manner of excess and debauchery. The Scale Gemonie was a place, appointed either for torturing criminals, or for exposing their bodies after execution. Some derive the name Gemoniæ from one Gemonius, who was first executed there ; others from gemere, to groan, because the place rang with the groans and complaints of those who were put to death. It was on the hill Aventinus, and there were several steps led up to it, whence the place was called Scale Gemoniæ. The dead bodies of those who died under the hands of the executioner were dragged thither by an iron hook, and after they had been some time exposed to public view, were thrown into the Tiber. See ANT. Univ. Hist. vol. xii. p. 214, note f 73. Mob of Remus, &c.] i. er The people in general; so called because descended from Romulus and Remus. How did they be have? says the querist. "It follows fortune," &c.] It is answered-The common people behaved as they always do, by changing with the fortune of the condemned, and treating them with the utmost spite. 74. Nurscia, &c.] Sejanus was a Tuscan, born at Volscinium, where the goddess Nurscia, the same as fortune, was worshipped.— q. d. If fortune had favoured Sejanus. 75. Secure old age, &c.] If Tiberius had thought himself secure from any plot against him, and therefore had taken no measures to prevent the consequences of it. Principis, hâc ipsâ Sejanum diceret horâ 80 85 76. Oppress'd.] By death, from the hands of Sejanus.-q. d. If the plot of Sejanus had succeeded, and the emperor dethroned. Would, &c.] That very populace who now treat the poor fallen Sejanus so ill, would have made him emperor, and have changed his name to the imperial title of Augustus. This very hour.] Instead of his being put to death, dragged by the hook, and insulted by the populace, they would, at that very hour, have been heaping the highest honours upon him. So precarious, fluctuating, and uncertain, is the favour of the multitude! 77. We sell, &c.] The poorer sort of plebeians used to sell their votes to the candidates for public offices, before Julius Cæsar took from them the right of electing their magistrates. Since that time 78. I.] The populace. Done with cares.] Effudit, literally, has poured out, as a person empties a vessel by pouring out the liquor. The poet means, that since the right of electing their magistrates was taken from them, and they could no longer sell their votes, they had parted with. all their cares about the state. For it.] That same populace. Which once gave, &c.] By their having the right of election, conferred public offices on whom they chose. 79. Authority.] Power, or government: this alludes to the great offices in the state, which were once elective by the people. Fasces.] Consuls and pretors, who had the fasces carried be fore them. Legions.] Military prefectures. All things. All elective offices. 79-80. Itself refrains.] From concerns of state. 80. Only wishes, &c.] Now they care for nothing else, at least with any anxiety, but for bread to be distributed to them as usual, by the command of the emperor, to satisfy their hunger; and the games in the circus to divert them: of these last the populace were very fond. See sat. xi. 53. 81. "I hear many," &c.] Here begins a fresh discourse on the occasion and circumstances of the time. "Oppressed, would, in this very hour, have called Sejanus, Augustus. Long ago, ever since we sell our suffrages "To none, it has done with cares; for it, which once gave "Authority, fasces, legions, all things, now itself “Refrains, and anxious only wishes for two things, "Bread and the Cercenses."”—“ I hear many are about to perish”"No doubt the furnace is large: my friend Brutidius "Met me, a little pale, at the altar of Mars” "How I fear lest Ajax conquer'd should exact punishment, "As defended badly!-let us run headlong, and, while he “ Lies on the bank, trample on the enemy of Cæsar. 80 854 I hear, says one of the standers by, that Sejanus is not the only one who is to suffer; a good many more will be cut off, as well as he, about this plot.-No doubt, says the other 82. The furnace is large.] And made to hold more statues for melting than those of Sejanus. See 1. 61. 82-3. Brutidius met me.] This was a rhetorician and famous historian, a great friend of Sejanus, and therefore was horridly frightened, lest it should be his turn next to be apprehended and put to death, as concerned in the conspiracy. $ 84. Lest Ajax conquer'd, &c.] Alluding to the story of Ajax, who, being overcome in his dispute with Ulysses about the armour of Achilles, (see OVID, Met. lib. xiii.) went mad, fell upon man and beast, and afterwards destroyed himself. These seem to be the words of Brutidius, expressing his fears of being suspected to have been concerned in the conspiracy with Sejanua; and, in order to wipe off all imputation of the kind, not only from himself, but from the person he is speaking to, he advises, that no time should be lost, but that they should hasten to the place where the corpse of Sejanus was exposed, and do some act which might be construed into an abhorrence of Sejanus, and consequently into a zeal for the honour and service of the emperor. "How I fear," says Brutidius, looking aghast, "lest the emperor, "thinking his cause not cordially espoused, and that he was badly "defended, should wreak his vengeance on such as he suspects to "have been too remiss, and, like the furious Ajax, when overcome "-like another victus Ajax-destroy all that he takes to be his enemies, as Ajax destroyed the sheep and oxen, when he ran mad "on his defeat, taking them for the Grecians on whom he vowed “་ revenge.' "ther expositions are given to this place, but I think: this suits best with i. 82, 3. 85. Let us run, &c.] As precipitately, as fast as we can let us lose no time to avoid the emperor's suspicion of our favouring Sejanus, and wreaking his vengeance upon us. While he. Sejanus-i. e. his corpse. 86. Lis on the bank.] i. e. Exposed on the bank, before it is thrown into the river Tiber. Sed videant servi, ne quis neget, et pavidum in jus 90 95 Posse volunt. Sed quæ præclara, et prospera tanti, Hujus, qui trahitur, prætextam sumere mavis, An Fidenarum, Gabiorumque esse potestas, 100 86. Trample, &c.] Set our feet upon his corpse, to shew our indignation against this supposed enemy of Tiberius. 87. Let the slaves see, &c.] That they may be witnesses for their masters, in case these should be accused of not having done it, or of having shewn the least respect to Sejanus, and so be brought under the displeasure of the emperor, and hurried to judgment. 88. Shackled neck."] Those who were dragged to punishment, had a chain or halter fastened about the neck: this was the condition of some when brought to trial; so, among us, felons, and others accused of capital offences, are usually brought to their trial with gyve fetters upon their legs. or 88-9. The discourses, &c.] Thus do the people talk about poor Sejanus, the remembrance of his greatness being all passed and gone, and his shameful sufferings looked upon with the most ignominious contempt. 90. Saluted, &c.] You, who think happiness to consist in the favour of the prince, in great power, and high preferment, what think you?-do you now wish to occupy the place which Sejanus once held-to have as much respect paid you to accumulate as many riches to have as many preferments and places of honour in your gift? 91. Chief chairs, &c.] Summas curules.--The poet speaks in the plural number, as each of the great officers of Rome had a chair of state, made of ivory, carved, and placed in a chariot—curru-in which they were wont to be carried to the senate; so the pretor had his sella curulis, in which he was carried to the forum, and there sat in judgment. See before, 1. 35, n. No. 4. When an ædile was a person of senatorial dignity, he was called curulis, from the curule chair in which he was carried. Summas curules, here, is used in a metonymical sense, like curule ebur, HoR. lib. i. epist. vi. 1. 53, 4. to denote the chicf offices in the state, which had all been in the disposal of the once-prosperous Sejanus. See the last n. ad fin. 92. Guardian, .] Who, in the absence of Tiberius, at his pa |