As if the mass its present size would keep,
And no expense reduce the eternal heap.

Others there are, who centre all their bliss In the soft eunuch, and the beardless kiss: They need not from his chin avert their face, Nor use abortive drugs, for his embrace. But oh! their joys run high if he be form'd, When his full veins the fire of love has warm'd; When every part's to full perfection rear'd, And nought of manhood wanting, but the beard. Put should the dame in musick take delight, The publick singer is disabled quite : In vain the prætor guards him all he can, She slips the buckle, and enjoys her man. Still in her hand his instrument is found, Thick set with gems, that shed a lustre round; Still o'er his lyre the ivory quill she flings, Still runs divisions on the trembling strings, The trembling strings, which the loved Hedymel Was wont to strike so sweetly, and so well! These still she holds, with these she sooths her woes, And kisses on the dear, dear wire bestows. A noble dame of late, to Janus' shrine

Came, with the usual offerings, meal and wine,

neither the one nor the other; but a plain allusion to a notion very generally received amongst the ancients, that mines, after being exhausted, sometimes reproduced their ores.

VER. 531. She slips the buckle,] See p. 166, ver. 109.

VER. 540. A noble dame of late, &c.] Quædam de numero Lamiárum. It has been already observed, (Sat. Iv. 223,) that the Lamian family was of great antiquity. Pollio, for whom this highborn lady was so interested, is mentioned by Martial, and appears to

To ask if Pollio might expect renown,

At the next contest for the Harmonick crown!
What could she for a husband more have done,
What for an only, an expiring son-
Yes, for a harper the besotted dame
Approach'd the altar, reckless of her fame,
And veil'd her head, and, with a pious air,
Follow'd the Aruspex through the form of prayer;
And trembled, and turn'd pale, as he explored
The entrails, breathless for the fatal word.
But tell me, father Janus, if you please,
Tell me, most ancient of the deities!

Is your attention to such suppliants given ?
If so there is not much to do in heaven!
For a comedian, this consults your will,
For a tragedian that; kept standing, still,
By this eternal rout, the wretched priest
Feels his legs swell, and longs to be releast.

have been a favourite performer. The musical games at which he proposed to become a competitor, were instituted by that great amateur, Domitian: they were held every fifth year, and, from their being dedicated to Tarpeian Jove, probably in the Capitol. The manner in which Juvenal describes the mode of consulting the Aruspex, is worth noticing; it is so minute, and at the same time so accurate, as to leave little to be added on the subject.

Pliny says, that the stated forms of prayer were adhered to with the most scrupulous exactness, and that a monitor (a minor priest, I suppose) stood by the suppliant, to prevent the slightest aberration. Tertullian, who was intimately acquainted with all such matters, has an observation on the subject of these monitors, in which he nobly contrasts the practices of the Christians with those of their adversaries: "Illuc suspicientes Christiani, manibus expansis quia innocuis; (the hands of the Heathens were folded;) capito nudo, (the heads of the Heathens were covered,) quia non erubescimus; denique sine monitore, quia de pectore oramus!"

But let her rather sing, than scour the streets, And boldly mix in every crowd she meets; Chat with great generals, with a forward air, And in your presence lay her bosom bare.She too with curiosity o'erflows,

And all the news of all the world she knows;
Knows what in Scythia, what in Thrace is done;
The secrets of the step-dame and the son;
Who speeds, and who is jilted; and can swear
Who made the widow pregnant, when, and where.-'
She first espied the star, whose baleful ray
O'er Parthia and Armenia shed dismay:

VER. 561. And boldly mix in every crowd &c.] There is a beautiful passage in Troilus and Cressida, which may serve to illustrate this remark of our author:

"O, these ENCOUNTERERS So glib of tongue,
"That give a coasting welcome ere it come,
"And wide unclasp the tables of their thoughts
"To every ticklish reader! set them down
"For sluttish spoils of opportunity,

"And daughters of the game."

VER. 570. She first espied the star, &c.] Lubin (as well as Lipsius) says that the appearance of this blazing star must be referred to the times of Trajan, who undertook an expedition against the Parthians and Armenians. But this Satire was written, I believe, before Trajan began his reign; I should, therefore, if any necessity existed for ascertaining the precise period when those events took place, refer them to the times of Vespasian: I fear, however, that all the pains taken by the commentators to reconcile them to the passages of true history, are thrown away. Perhaps the author is amusing himself with the ignorance of his female gossip, whom he introduces confounding what she had heard, and fabricating what she had not: Niphates, a mountain of Armenia, she converts into a river, &c. Niphates, it is true, is spoken of as a river by Lucan, and Silius Italicus, but, it is not noticed by the geographers; and unless the name be given to the Tigris, in the early part of its course, it has probably, no existence.

She watches at the gates, for news to come,
And intercepts it, as it enters Rome;

Then, fraught with full intelligence, she flies [lies,
Through every street, and, mingling truth with
Tells how Niphates pour'd his flood around,
Earth yawn'd, and cities sunk in the profound!
And yet this meddling itch, though never cured,
Is easier than her cruelty endured:

For let a neighbour's dog but discompose
Her rest a moment, wild with rage she grows:
"Ho! whips," she cries; " and flay that cur accurst,
"But flay the rascal there, that owns him, first."
Dangerous to meet while in these frantick airs,
And terrible to look at, she prepares

To bathe at night; she issues her commands,
And in long ranks forth march the obedient bands,
With tubs, cloths, oils;-for 'tis her dear delight
To sweat in clamour, tumult, and affright.
At length, the balls by her tired arms resign'd,
And her lewd limbs perfumed, she calls to mind
Her miserable guests, long since o'ercome
With hunger and with sleep, and hurries home;
Enters, all glowing from the bath, athirst
For wine, whole casks of wine! and swallows first
Two quarts, to clear her stomach, and excite
A ravenous, an unbounded appetite!

VER. 590. At length, the balls &c.] This alludes to the custom of swinging two heavy masses of lead, to procure a profuse perspiration, after they came out of the bath;-no very delicate fancy for a lady; though full as much so, perhaps, as that of having a male bath-keeper to anoint, and rub her dry!

Huisch! up it comes, good heavens! meat, drink, and all,

And flows in muddy torrents round the hall;
Or a gilt ewer receives the foul contents,
And poisons all the house with vinous scents.
So, dropt into a vat, a snake is said

To drink, and spew:-the husband turns his head,
Sick to the soul, from this disgusting scene,
And struggles to suppress his rising spleen.
But she is more intolerable yet,

Who plays the critick when at board she's set,
Calls Virgil charming, and attempts to prove
Poor Dido right, in venturing all for love.
From Maro and Mæonides she quotes
The striking passages, and while she notes
Their beauties and defects, adjusts her scales,
And accurately weighs, which bard prevails.
The astonish'd guests sit mute: grammarians yield,
Loud rhetoricians, baffled, quit the field;
Even auctioneers and lawyers stand aghast,
And not a woman speaks!-So thick and fast
The wordy shower descends, that you would swear
A thousand bells were jangling in your ear,
A thousand basins clattering. Vex no more
Your trumpets and your timbrels, as of yore,

VER. 598. Huisch! up it comes, &c.] Here again Juvenal is accused of exaggeration, but with how little reason will appear from the following passage of Seneca: “Non minus pervigilant, non minus potant; et oleo et mero viros provocant: atque invitis ingesta visceribus per os reddunt, et vinum omne vomitu remetiantur!" Need I go further?