Obrázky na stránke
PDF
ePub

Horum ego non fugiam conchylia? Me prior ille
Signabit? fultusque toro meliore recumbet

Advectus Romam, quo pruna et cottana vento? Usque adeo nihil est, quod nostra infantia cœlum 85 Hausit Aventinum baca nutrita Sabina?

Quid, quod adulandi gens prudentissima laudat
Sermonem indocti, faciem deformis amici,
Et longum invalidi collum cervicibus æquat
Herculis, Antæum procul a tellure tenentis?
90 Miratur vocem angustam, qua deterius nec
Ille sonat, quo mordetur gallina marito.

81. Conchylium,viii. 101. or murex, was the shell-fish from which the purple dye of the ancients was obtained. Plin. H. N. ix. 36. viii. 1. It is here put for the purple robes' worn only by nobles and men of the first distinction. BRI. PR. R.

Shall he take precedence of me in signing marriage-settlements, wills, &c. as a witness.' LU. Pers. v. 81. PR.

82. Effultum pluma versicolore caput; Prop. III. vii. 50. or rather on the elbow.' R. The middle couch was the ⚫ more honourable one.' GR. Hor. II S. viii. 20 sqq. M. cf. St Luke xiv. 7.

83. Imported from Syria.' LU. i. 111. M. mistus Phariis venalis mercibus infans; Stat. II S. i. 73. R.

The plums of Damascus' were famous. LU. They are mentioned in conjunction with cottana; Plin. H. N. xiii. 5. xv. 13. Mart. XIII. xxviii sq. PR. IV. lii. 7. Stat. IV S. ix. 28. R. Hence our word DAMSONS, originally written

DAMASCENES.

Syria peculiares habet arbores in ficorum genere: caricas, et minores ejus generis que coltana vocant; Plin. xiii. 5. Mart. IV. lxxxix. 6. PR.

85. Hausit cœlum; Virg. Æ. x. 899. R. 'The Aventine,' one of the seven hills, is now the Mount of St Sabina. PR.

[ocr errors]

The Sabine berry' is opposed to the Syrian prunes.' The Sabine lands abounded in olives,' (Virg. Æ. vii. 711. Sil. iii. 596. Mart. IV. iv.10.R.) which are here put for the fruits of Italy in general: the species for the genus. BRI. FA.

86. For other descriptions of such flatterers, see Hor. A. P. 428 sqq. Theoph. Ch. ii. Ter. Eun. II. ii. III. i. Amm. Ep. xxv. (cf. 100 sqq. Ov. A. A. ii. 200

H

sqq. Plaut. Amph. III. iii. 4 sqq.) Plut. discr. Am. et Ad. R. LU.

88. Collum the throat,' cervix the nape of the neck' PR. the neck and shoulders.' M. Plin. xiv. 22. Mart. XIV. xlviii. Pind. Isth. iv. 83 sqq. R.

[ocr errors]

Pronounces equal.' LU.

89. The conflict of Hercules with Antæus, son of the Earth, whose strength was renovated by falling on the bosom of his mother and who was ultimately crushed by being held on high in the arms of his antagonist, is described, Luc. iv. 519 sqq. LU. Apollod. II. v. 11. R.

90. He professes to admire.' LU.

Shrill and grating,' which is a great imperfection in a speaker; Quint. xi. 3. PR. vocis acute mollities; Claud. Eut. i. 340 sq. R.

91. As the text stands, the construction is ille (maritus) sonat, (a) quo marito g. m. There are instances of an ablative of the agent without a preposition. CO, on Sall. B. J. 15. 21. O, and RK, on Suet. Cæs. 19. HK. Various alterations however have been proposed; (1) cui for a quo as illi, scripta quibus comœdia prisca viris est; Hor. I S. x. 16. Sil. i. 208 sq. R. (2) Either deterior... sonus, quo (sono)...; (3) or illa (vox) , quâ. BRE. (4) Either illa... , quum ; (5) or illa (gallina) quae.... CL. JA. ACH. In all these marito is the dative. The latter part of the line is merely a periphrasis for gallus, as olentis uxores mariti; Hor. I Od. xvii. 7. for capella: cf. Virg. E. vii. 7. in imitation of rav aiyav avg Theoc. viii. 49. PR. Vox ultra vires urgenda non est: num et suffocata sæpe et majore nisu minus clara est, et

....

...

Hæc eadem licet et nobis laudare: sed illis

Creditur. An melior, quum Thaida sustinet, aut quum
Uxorem comœdus agit vel Dorida nullo

95 Cultam palliolo? Mulier nempe ipsa videtur,
Non persona loqui: vacua et plana omnia dicas
Infra ventriculum et tenui distantia rima.

Nec tamen Antiochus nec erit mirabilis illic
Aut Stratocles aut cum molli Demetrius Hæmo.
100 Natio comoda est. Rides? meliore cachinno
Concutitur: flet, si lacrumas conspexit amici,
Nec dolet: igniculum brumæ si tempore poscas,
Accipit endromiden: si dixeris "stuo," sudat.
Non sumus ergo pares: melior, qui semper et omni
105 Nocte dieque potest alienum sumere vultum,
A facie jactare manus, laudare paratus,

interim elisa in illum sonum erumpit, cui Græci nλwypov nomen a gallorum immaturo cantu dederunt; Quint. xi. 3. LU.

92. With illis understand tantum. R. cf. Suet. Ner. 22. PR.

93. Is a better actor to be found than the Greek?'

Thais was a common name in comedy for a courtezan. PR.

Sustinere to sustain the part of,' synonymous with agere to act.' M.

94. Comadus was the actor, comicus the writer of comedy. LU.

Doris, the daughter of Oceanus and Tethys, was the mother of Thetis and other sea-nymphs by Nereus. LU. PR. HG. Or a Doric girl.' The Spartan girls were scantily and thinly clad; whence δωριάζειν for παραφαίνειν καὶ παραγυμνοῦν TOAD TO σÚμaTos' Eust. Hesych. R.

95. A short mantle and hood,' ordinarily worn by this class of females. Mart. IX. xxxiii. 1. XI. xxvii. 8. cf. Ov.

A. A. i. 734. Suet. Claud. 2. R.

[ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small]

λas, iyà d''ižióvnoxov yiλwer Plut. Am. et Ad. LU. σκώψαντι ψυχρῶς ἐπιγελάσαι, τό τε ἱμάτιον ὦσαι εἰς τὸ στόμα, ὡς δὴ οὐ δυνάμενος κατασχεῖν τὸν γέλωτα· Theoph. Ch. ii. risu tremulo concussa cachinnent (corpora) et lacrumis salsis humectent ora genasque; Lucr. i. 918 sq. R.

102. And yet grieves not in reality.' R. Pers. vi. 1. PR.

103. A great coat,' used in winter after gymnastic exercises to prevent catching cold. vi. 246. Mart. IV. xix. XIV. cxxvi. PR. The idguides of the Greeks were shoes. R. cf. 67.

Estuo; i. 71. Such is Osric's character: "HAM. Your bonnet to his right use; 'tis for the head. Osn. I thank your lordship, 'tis very hot. HAM. No, believe me, 'tis very cold; the wind is northerly. OSR. It is indifferent cold, my lord, indeed. HAM. But yet, methinks it is very sultry and hot; or my complexionOsn. Exceedingly, my lord; it is very sultry, as 'twere,-I cannot tell how-" Shakspeare Ham. V. ii. M. 104. A match.' M.

He has the best of it.'

106. iv. 118. Mart. X. x. 10. Tac. H. i. 36. Plin. xxviii. 2. R. This exactly coincides with what we call kissing the hand to any one; as is very frequently done when persons see each other at a distance, or are passing in carriages; which is looked upon as a token of friendly courtesy. This custom is men

Si bene ructavit, si rectum minxit amicus,

Si trulla inverso crepitum dedit aurea fundo.
Præterea sanctum nihil est et ab inguine tutum ;
110 Non matrona laris, non filia virgo, neque ipse
Sponsus levis adhuc, non filius ante pudicus.
Horum si nihil est, aviam resupinat amici.
Scire volunt secreta domus atque inde timeri.
Et quoniam cœpit Græcorum mentio, transi
115 Gymnasia atque audi facinus majoris abollæ.
Stoicus occidit Baream, delator amicum,
Discipulumque senex, ripa nutritus in illa,

tioned as an action of religious worship paid by idolaters to the host of heaven; Job xxxi. 27. M.

Paratus wont;' vi. 16. 207. ix. 7. 49. xii. 106. xiii. 108. R.

107. Rectum for recte. FA.

108. This may refer to the vulgar smack of the lips, caused by draining the very last drop from the golden cup turned bottom upwards and orifice downwards. T. Hor. Il S. iii. 144. Mart. IX. xcvii. 1. Or to dashing the liquor, left in the bottom of the cup, on the floor; from which practice arose the amusement of a person's tossing it into brazen saucers, to find by the sound how much his sweetheart loved him. A. PR. Or it may mean a golden stool-pan,' such as was used by luxuri ous Romans. Mart. I. xxxviii. This though it yields an indelicate sense is more in unison with the preceding line, and also with a similar passage of Diodor. Sinop, frigo vir 'Hoaxλśa pipoúpsvo τῶν εὐπόρων τινές, παρασίτους ἑλόμενοι πρέ φειν, παρεκάλουν οὐχὶ τοὺς χαριεστάτους ἐκλεγόμενοι, τοὺς δὲ κολακεύειν δυναμένους καὶ πάντ ̓ ἐπαινεῖν· οἷς ἐπειδὴ προσερύγοι, jaqavíða zai oaægiv olhovgov natuQuyav, Τα καὶ ῥόδ' ἔφασαν αὐτὸν ἠριστηκέναι· ἐὰν δ ̓ ἀποπάρδη μετά τινος κατακείμενος, τούτῳ προσάγων τὴν ῥῖνα δεῖτ' αὐτῷ φράσαι, “ πόθεν τὸ θυμίαμα τοῦτο λαμβάνεις ;” Ath. vi. 9. &c. R. Or the golden flagon' may be put metaphorically for the rich man's paunch.' BRI. There is a beautiful and well-known metaphor of this kind in Eccles. xii. 6.

109. Safe from their lust.' LU. 110. Matrona laris i. e. materfamilias. LU. The lares were the household gods.' PR.

[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]

111. The smooth-faced youth betrothed to the maiden daughter.' LU. Ante heretofore.' LU.

112. He assails the grandmother:" age affords no protection. VS. vi. 126. viii. 176. R.

[ocr errors]

113. By these intrigues they endeavour to become possessed of family secrets.' R. 49 sqq. LU. There is an Italian proverb upon this subject, "Servo d' altrui si fà, Chi dice il suo secreto a chi no'l sa.' FA.

[ocr errors]

114. 'Pass on to their schools of philosophy.' LU.

115. Major more ample' or ' dignified,' as that of the Stoics. FE.

Abolla was a cloak worn by philosophers, VS. military men, senators, and princes. iv. 76. Suet. Cal. 35. PR. It here means the philosopher himself. M.

116. P. Egnatius Celer was bribed to give the false evidence upon which Bareas Soranus, an exemplary man, was capitally convicted under Nero. cf. i. 33. vi. 552. Tac. A. xvi. 21 sqq. particularly 32. H. iv. 10. 40. LU. R.

Occidit, ilaváros, see 37. vi. 481. 483 sq. so metit and deponit; 186. pignerat; vii. 73. vendit; vii. 135. punire; xvi. 13. dummare' to obtain a person's condemnation; Tac. A. iii. 36. iv. 66. Suet. Tib. 8. R.

117. Tarsus a city of Cilicia, on the banks of the Cydnus, fabled to be so named after ragròs a heel, hoof, or wing,' because either Bellerophon or Pegasus lost some feathers from the heel; but the story is variously told. VS. LU. Or Corinth.' GR. CAS. Or Crete' according to others. Dio makes Egnatius a native of Berytus in Phoenicia. R.

[ocr errors]

Ad quam Gorgonei delapsa est pinna caballi.
Non est Romano cuiquam locus hic, ubi regnat
120 Protogenes aliquis vel Diphilus aut Erimarchus,
Qui gentis vitio numquam partitur amicum,

Solus habet. Nam quum facilem stillavit in aurem
Exiguum de naturæ patriæque veneno,

Limine submoveor: perierunt tempora longi
125 Servitii. Nusquam minor est jactura clientis.
Quod porro officium, ne nobis blandiar, aut quod
Pauperis hic meritum, si curet nocte togatus
Currere, quum Prætor lictorem impellat et ire
Præcipitem jubeat dudum vigilantibus orbis,

118. Gorgonei pinna caballi may be merely a periphrasis for Pegasus called Gorgonian' as sprung from the blood of Medusa when slain by Perseus: Ov. M. iv. 785. and delapsa est may mean devolavit. Pegasus alighted on Mount Helicon in Boeotia, where the fountain of Hippocrene (fons caballinus; Pers. pr. 1.) sprang from the stroke of his hoof. In this case Thebes, on the Ismenus, would be the Stoic's birth-place. BRI. R. Superas delapsa per auras Pallas adest; Ov. M. iii. 101 sq.

Penna is the name for a feather' in general, and includes pinna' quills,' 'pinion feathers,' and plume' soft downy plumage.' LU.

Caballus " a hack,' G. properly, a packhorse,' but used for a hoise' generally. x. 60. R. Even the steed does not escape from the antipathy felt by our author to all that was Grecian. CAS.

119. Cf. 21 sq. R.

120. Protogenes was a heartless in-
former under Caligula. M. Dio lix. R.
Diphilus a minion of Domitian. M.
Of Erimarchus nothing is known. All
three names may be fictitious. ST.

122. Habere to possess one's affec-
tions;' Virg. E. i. 31. iii. 107. Cic. ad
Div. ix. 16. R.

Facilis auris; v. 107. R.
Instillare auriculis; Hor. I Ep. viii.
16. cf. Ov. Her. iii. 23. R.

123. It is possible that Erimarchus
might have been an African. Tollite
Massylas fraudes: removete bilingues insi-
dias et verba soli spirantia virus;
Claud. B. G. 284 sq. R. This meta-
phor is illustrated by the following pas-

sage; "Upon my secure hour thy uncle stole, With juice of cursed hebenon in a vial, And in the porches of mine ears did pour The leperous distilment;" Shakspeare Ham. I. v.

124. Limine cf. i. 96. R.

[ocr errors]

125. The loss is so soon supplied. PR. jactura is properly the throwing of goods overboard in a storm.' M. de illis potissimum jactura fit, quia pretii minimi sunt ; Sall. Or. ii. ad Cæs. m. jactura servuli vilis; Cic. Off. iii. 23.

126. Cf. i. 95 sqq. 100 sqq. officium ; ii. 132. R.

Ne nobis blandiar to tell the truth.' R.

127. Cum tu, laurigeris annum qui fascibus intras, mane salutator limina mille teras; hic ego quid faciam? quid nobis, Paulle, relinquis, qui de plebe Numæ, densaque turba sumus? quid faciet pauper,

cui non licet esse clienti? dimisit nostras purpura vestra togas; Mart. X. x. G. Mane vel a media nocte togatus ero; Mart. X. lxxxii. 2. LU. i. 127 sqq. exigis a nobis operam sine fine togatam; Mart. III. xlvi. 1. PR. II. xviii. 111. vii. xxxvi. IV. viii. X. lxxiv. The poor client' here may be a retainer of the prætor. R.

128. Cf. i. 101. PR. The prætor had six lictors, the consul twelve. LI. These lictors, on ordinary occasions, marched at a slow pace. M.

129. Orba widows without children,' viz. Albina and Modia; vigilantes up and dressed.' LU, "The childless matrons are long since awake." D. Or the orphans having been waiting in vain for the prætor to appoint their guardian.' VS.

130 Ne prior Albinam et Modiam collega salutet?
Divitis hic servi claudit latus ingenuorum
Filius: alter enim, quantum in legione Tribuni
Accipiunt, donat Calvinæ vel Catienæ,

Ut semel atque iterum super illam palpitet: at tu, 135 Quum tibi vestiti facies scorti placet, hæres

Et dubitas alta Chionen deducere sella.

Da testem Romæ tam sanctum, quam fuit hospes
Numinis Idæi: procedat vel Numa vel qui
Servavit trepidam flagranti ex æde Minervam:

4

130. Should be before-hand in paying his respects;' which, being the greater compliment and the greater proof of friendship, LU. would be likely to supplant less attentive rivals in the wills of these rich dowagers. cf. i. 117. PR. The two prætors here meant are probably the Urbanus who judged causes between citizens, and the Peregrinus who was the judge in causes between foreigners. M.

131. Hie at Rome;' 160. 180. 232. Claudere latus is to walk on the left side of a person and give him the wall. FE. Hor. 11 S. v. 18. PR. cf. Mart. II. xlvi. 8. VI. Ixviii. 4. R. [Livy xxiv, 5, 9. ED.] 132. The pay of a military tribune,' forty-eight pieces of gold, put for an indefinitely large sum. The foot-soldier received twelve pieces, the centurion double, the horse-soldier treble, and the tribune quadruple. LI. GRO. The Roman army first received pay A. U. 347. Liv. iv. PR.

133. Junia Calvina and Catiena were celebrated courtezans. The former is mentioned, Suet. Vesp. GR. Tac. A. xii. 4. 8. (LI.) R.

134. To enjoy her once or twice: whereas thou,' i. e. Juvenal. M.

135. Well dressed.' BRI. Or clad in the toga;' see i. 96. ii. 70. FE. Or ordinary,' and therefore thoroughly dressed' as having no beauty to show. cf. Hor. I S. ii. 83 sqq. Mart. III. iii. PR. Hærere to hesitate.' VS.

136. These females used to sit in high chairs' in order to be seen the better by those who were looking after them. cf. Sen. Ben. i. 9. Plaut. Poen. I. ii. 54 sqq. Hor. I S. ii. 101 sqq. Hence are derived the terms sellarius, sellularius, sellariola popina and sellaria; Tac. A. vi. 1. Mart. V. Ixxi. 3. Suet. Tib. 43. VS. FE.

[blocks in formation]

The Sibylline books being consulted (A. U. 548.) for the proper expiation of many alarming prodigies, it was found that the evils might be averted by bring. ing Cybele from Phrygia. The five deputies who were sent to fetch this protectress (a rude and shapeless stone) from Pessinus, were directed by the oracle to place her at their return in the hands of the most virtuous man in the commonwealth, till her temple should be prepared. The senate unanimously declared P. Corn. Scipio Nasica to be the man; and with him the goddess was lodged. G. VS. Liv. xxix. 10. PR. and 14. xxxv. 10. Plin. vii. 34. Thus the ark was received into the houses of Abinadab and Obed-Edom; 1 Sam. vii. 1. 2 Sam. vi. 10 sqq. R.

138. Cybele is called Idea parens ; Virg. E. x. 252 sqq. Ov. F. iv. 182. LU. This Ida was in Phrygia, there was another in Crete. ibid. 207. PR.

Numa Pompilius,second king of Rome, the chief founder of their religion. FA. 12. Liv. i. 18. PR.

139. L. Cæcilius Metellus, chief pontiff, (who had been consul twice, dictator, &c.) saved the palladium from the temple of Vesta when in flames,' but lost his eye-sight in consequence. VS. vi. 265. R. The people conferred on him the singular privilege of riding to the senatehouse in a chariot. Plin. vii. 43. PR.

The epithet trepida is here applied to Minerva: which would more properly belong to the Romans; heu quantum

« PredošláPokračovať »