Hoc, puta, non justum est; illud male, rectius illud."10 Scis etenim justum gemina suspendere lance Ancipitis libræ rectum discernis, ubi inter Curva subit vel quum fallit pede regula varo: Et potis es nigrum vitio præfigere theta. Quin tu igitur summa nequidquam pelle decorus 15 Ante diem blando caudam jactare popello Desinis, Anticyras melior sorbere meracas. Quæ tibi summa boni est? uncta vixisse patella Exspecta; haud aliud respondeat hæc anus. I nunc ! 9. Cf. Cic. Orat. i. 12. Hor. III Od. ness, and to fare well.'' That,' retorts iii. K. 12. When, owing to the necessary exceptions, the strict adherence to the rule becomes improper. A madman demands the restitution of a sword, which he deposited with you when in his senses. The law bids you restore it: but common sense forbids. CAS. 13. (the first letter of búvaros) was set against the names of those sentenced to capital punishment: nósti mortiferum quæstoris, Castrice, signum? est opera pretium discere theta novum, &c. Mart. VII. xxxvii. Omultum ante alias infelix litera theta. VS. K. G. T was the letter of acquittal. The Romans used A and C, the initials of absolvo and condemno. Cic. for Milo. A. Critics marked those passages of authors, which they approved of, with L (laudabile) or X (xen r), those of which they disapproved with . PR. Sid. Ap. ix. 335 sq. CAS. 14. Suet. Nero 51. Hor. I Ep. xvi. 45. PR. II S. i. 64 sq. K. Tac. A. xiii. M. v. 116. A striking instance of ferocity under a beautiful exterior was that of the sanguinary revolutionist St Juste. Your high pretensions savour more of folly and insanity than of true wisdom: but, to put the matter to the test, what is your idea of the sovereign good, the great end of life?' The answer is honest, at least. 'To indulge in idle the poet, is precisely what this poor old herb-woman would reply.' And the observation is just and pertinent. The Baucises, who cry radishes and watercresses in our streets, have little conception of any happiness that is not connected with the table, and freedom from labour of every kind. [The Hampshire farmer's boy, when asked what he would do if he were king, answered at once, "Why, I would swing on a gate and eat fat bacon, all day long."] Our young pretender to state affairs now urges other claims, such as birth, beauty, &c. in which he has decidedly the advantage of the old woman: but our Stoic treats them with utter contempt and changes the subject. G. 15. A metaphor from a peacock, Hor. II S. ii. 26. Juv. vii. 32. 1. 62. or from a dog. i. 87, note. CAS. cf. Hor. I S. vi. 15 sqq. K. 16. Anticyras: Juv. xiii. 97. Strabo ix. Plin. xxv. 5. Gell. xvii. 15. Suet. Cal. 29. expulit helleboro morbum bilemque meraco; Hor. II Ep. ii. 137. PR. Id. II S. iii. 83. note on i. 51. M. Hor. A. P. 300. Ov. Pont. IV. iii. 53 sq. K. 17. Cf. iii. 60. K. Uncta patella. Si, bene qui cœnat, bene vivit; lucet, eamus quo ducit gula; Hor. I Ep. vi. 56 sq. PR. Mart. V. xlvi. 7. K. 18. Juv. xi. 203 sq. VS. During the summer, the Romans used to rub oil into their skin, in the sun; and in winter, before the fire. i, precor, et totos avida cute combibe soles. quam formosus eris! Mart. X. xii. 7 sq. PR. v. 33. Plin. Ep. iii. 1. H. N. xxi. 14. Mart. I. lxxviii. K. 19. By way of mortifying the young 20 "Dinomaches ego sum." Suffla. "Sum candidus.” Esto. 25 Quæsieris: Nostin Vectidî prædia?" "Cujus?" man's pride, CAS. he proposes appealing I nune! Juv. vi. 306, note. Virg. Æ. vii. 425. Ov. Her. ix. 105. Prop. III. xvi. 17. K. 20. Πρὸς μητρός ̓Αλκμαιονίδης ἦν, ἐκ Δεινομάχης γεγονὸς τῆς Μεγακλέους· Plut. Alc. i. The Alemæonidæ were one of the noblest and wealthiest families in Athens, and were the most influential agents in the expulsion of the Pisistratidæ. Her. iv. 92 sq. K. Suffla pnff away! You do well to be proud of it.' PR. cf. Juv. viii. 46. K. Candidus et talos a vertice palcer ad imos; Hor. II Ep. ii. 4. M. 21. Old goody Baucis in her tatter'd gown,' (The name occurs; Ov. M. viii. 640 &c. PR.) has the advantage over you in one respect: she has wit enough to fulfil her vocation well and profitably; whereas you are utterly ignorant how to set about the business, which you so presumptuously undertake.' M. 22. Quella Alto cantando ai dissoluti servi L'erbette." STE. Ocyma: cf. Plin. xix. 7 s 36. CAS. 'basil.' Varro R. R. I. xxxi. 4. Cato; Pliny xviii. 16. PR. xx. 48. Mart. I. xlii. 2. K. 23. Cf. Juv. ii. 36 sq. K. xi. 27. LU. ut; Virg. E. viii. 41. Hor. I S. i. 108. PR. Ov. Her. xii. 33. xiii. 89. Spectator, No. 399. Rambler, Nos. 24 and 28. 24. Cum tua pervideas oculis mala lippus inunctis, cur in amicorum vitiis tam cernis acutum, quam aut aquila aut serpens Epidaurius? Hor. If S. iii. 298 sq. PR. dixerit insanum qui me, totidem audiet; atque respicere ignoto discet pendentia tergo; ib. 298 sq. The allusion is to a fable of sop's: peras imposuit Jupiter nobis duas propriis repletam vitiis post tergum dedit, alienis ante pectus suspendit gravem. hac re videre nostra mala non possumus; ali simul delinquunt, censores sumus; Phæd. 25. Quasieris if one ask.' K. 27. Isti qui cum Geniis suis belligerant parcipromi; Plaut. Truc. I. ii. 81. PR. cf. ii. 3. Juv. i. 49 sq. x. 129. xiv. 1. M. Hor. II S. iii. 8. 123. Phædr. IV. xix. 15. K. 28. This festival (compitalia; Gell. x. 24.) was one of great celebrity; a kind of rustic saturnalia; Tib. II. vii. Macr. S. i. 14. It was held after the seedseason, on a day annually named by the prætor, but generally on or about the second of January. On the morning of this day, the peasantry assembled near the cross-roads, probably for the advantage of space: here they erected a tree somewhat in the manner of our maypoles, on which the idle plough and yoke were hung, or, as some say, broken up. Tib. II. i. Under this tree, some slight shed appears to have been raised, where they sacrificed, (Gell. i. 22. GRO.) feasted, and gave themselves up to riotous mirth and jollity. Dionys. iv. 14. The origin of this festival, which was probably, at first, an expression of pious gratitude, is lost in antiquity. The Roman writers refer it to one of their kings, according to custom; and as a god was alsó necessary, they fixed upon the Lares compitalitii. Ov. F. v. 140. Suet. Aug. 31. VS. CAS. LU. PR. K. G. It somewhat resembled our harvesthome. M. Pertusa 'pervious.' Calp. iv. 126. K. Seriolæ veterem metuens deradere limum 30 Ingemit HOC BENE SIT! tunicatum cum sale mordens At si unctus cesses et figas in cute solem, Est prope te ignotus, cubito qui tangat et acre 35 Despuat in mores, penemque arcanaque lumbi Runcantem populo marcentes pandere vulvas. "Tu quum maxillis balanatum gausape pectas, Inguinibus quare detonsus gurgulio exstat? Quinque palæstritæ licet hæc plantaria vellant 40 Elixasque nates labefactent forcipe adunca, 29. Serias omnes relevi; Ter. Heaut. III. i. 51. (cf. Hor. I Od. xx. sq. PR.) The diminutive marks his avarice; as does the epithet veter m. CAS. 30. The solemn grace which the old miser pronounces, indicates the extraordinary good cheer which was forthcoming. BR. Tib. II. i. 31. Plaut. Stich. V. iv. 27. (LM.) PR. Petr. 35. 65. Hor. II S. vi. 4. Ov. F. iv. 299. K. The ecstasies of the boys are to the same effect. CAS. With all its coats.' PR. 31. Cf. Juv. xiv. 171. PR. 32. 'Swills the mothery dregs of dead vinegar,' i. e. the sour wine which was the drink of those who could afford something more than water; answering to our small beer. The mould had formed a thick cake on the top, like a woollen rag. Every word is emphatic. acre potet acetum; Hor. II S. iii. 116 sq. T. CAS. M. 33. If you lounge away your time.' cf. 18. K. 34. Somebody or other, whom perhaps you little think of.' LU. Aliquis cubito stantem prope tangens inquiet; Hor. II S. v. 42 sq. PR. 35. Spitting was a sign of aversion and detestation. LU. Plaut. As. I. i. 26-29. PR. Theoc. vi. 39. xx. 11. Tib. I. ii. 96. Luc. Icar. t. ii. p. 786. K. In the following passage it is deeply to be regretted that a poet, who is universally represented as untainted by the gross sensuality of the age when he wrote, should have so far complied with its fashions as to use, in the exposure of the vices which he reprobates, language which will hardly admit of paraphrase. CAS. The most malicious construction is put by this slanderer upon the effeminate anxiety of the young nobility to render their persons smooth and sleek, (cf. Juv. viii. 16. ix. 12 sqq. Arist. N. 1005. 1079. Conc. 129. K.) and to lay bare what nature intended to conceal. fruges consumere nati, sponsi Penelope, nebulones, Alcinoique, in cute curanda plus æquo operata, juventus; Hor. 1 Ep. ii. 27 sqq. 37. While you comb the false beard, perfumed with essences, which you wear upon your cheeks and chin.' PV. Suet. Oth. 11. Mart. X. xlii. Tac. A. xiv. exc. B. LI. Aug. Civ. D. iv. 1. Ov. A. A. i. 518 sq. Mart. II. xxxvi. 3 sq. K. Maxillis; Mart. VIII. xlvii. MS. Pressa tuis balanus capillis jamdudum apud me est: Hor. II Od. xxix. 4. (JN.) CAS. Plin. xxiii. 5. 4. xiii 1. 4. PR. Gausape shag.' vi. 46. PR. Hor. II S. viii. 11. Mart. XIV. cxxxviii. K. 38. Gurgulio is properly what anatomists call the uvula, which hangs from the back part of the palate. LU. 39. "În vain: should five athletic knaves essay To pluck, (runcare) with ceaseless care, the weeds away, Still the rank fern, congenial to the soil, Would spread luxuriant, and defeat their toil." G. The palæstrita were probably the servants who trained the young gentlemen in the private schools of exercise. Mart. III. lviii. 25. K. 40. Elixas sodden' refers to the constant use of the hot bath. LU. Mart. III. vii. 3. K. Non tamen ista filix ullo mansuescit aratro." Cædimus inque vicem præbemus crura sagittis : Vivitur hoc pacto: sic novimus. Ilia subter Cæcum vulnus habes; sed lato balteus auro 45 Prætegit. Ut mavis, da verba et decipe nervos, Si potes. "Egregium quum me vicinia dicat, Non credam?" Viso si palles, improbe, numo; Si facis, in penem quidquid tibi venit amarum ; Si puteal multa cautus vibice flagellas; 41. On the stubborn nature of' fern,' see Virg. G. ii. 239. (VO.) 264. cf. Juv. ix. 15. K. 42. We are more bent upon finding flaws in our neighbour's reputation; than in raising our own above the reach of detraction.' LU. We are so intent upon wounding our antagonist, that we leave our own weak parts unguarded.' A metaphor from gladiators. Hor. II Ep. ii. 97. PR. HY, exc. viii. on En. vii. K. 43. LU.or DB. Thus have we been taught:' 'thus have we found it to be.' 44. The metaphor is again taken from gladiators, who, when they received a wound, endeavoured to conceal it from the view of the spectators, by drawing over it their broad belt. VS. It may also allude to power and wealth, which serve to blind the eyes of the world to many infirmities and faults. CAS. cf. Virg. Æ. v. 312 sq. xii. 942 sq. PR. 45. Ut mavis; Hor. I S. iv. 21. PR. Da verba; iii. 19, note. M. 'Deceive your own senses and powers.' cf. Hor. I Ép. xvi. 21. PR. M. 46. Vicinia; Hor. II S. v. 106. PR. 47. To the forming a correct estimate of our own weak points, illud præcipue impedit, quod cito nobis placemus; si invenimus qui nos bonos viros dicat, qui prudentes, qui sanctos, agnoscimus. nec sumus modica laudatione contenti; quidquid in nos adulatio sine pudore congessit, tamquam debitum prendimus; optimos nos esse, sapientissimos affirmantibus assentimur, cum sciamus illos sæpe mentiri; Sen. Ep. 59. Alcibiades owned that he had often suffered from flattery; Plat. Symp. xxxii. K. Viso &c. cf. iii. 109 sqq. Juv. viii. 9 sqq. 135 sqq. K. 48. Into your lustful mind.' K. 49. The signification of this line is obscure; and a great diversity of opinion exists among the commentators. From the several interpretations proposed, I have ventured to select the following. If, with all due precaution for your own personal security, you render yourself the scourge of the forum by constantly beating and wounding those who pass through it after dark.' Q. Volusio, P. Scipione coss. otium foris, fœda domi lascivia: qua Nero itinera urbis et lupanaria et diverticula, veste servili in dissimulationem sui compositus, pererrabat, comitantibus qui raperent venditioni exposita et obviis vulnera inferrent, adversus ignaros adeo, ut ipse quoque acciperet ictus et ore præferret... Nero autem metuentior in posterum, milites sibi et plerosque gladiatores circumdedit: qui rixarum initia modica et quasi privata sincrent: si a læsis validius ageretur, arma inferrent; Tac. A. xiii. 25. petulantiam, libidinem, luxuriam, avaritiam, crudelitatem, velut juvenili errore, exercuit post crepusculum statim arrepto pileo vel galero popinas inibat: circumque vicos vagabatur ludibundus, nec sine pernicie tamen. siquidem redeuntes a cana verberare, ac repugnantes vulnerare, cloacisque demergere assueverat... ac sæpe in ejusmodi rixis, oculorum et vitæ periculum adiit, a quodam laticlavio, cujus uxorem attrectaverat, prope ad necem cæsus. quare numquam postea se publico illud horæ sine tribunis commisit, procul et occulte subsequentibus; Suet. Ner. 26. CAS. PR. M. cf. Juv. iii. 278-304, notes. G. ... ... Puteal literally means the cover of a well.' It was a small inclosure in the Comitium, the most frequented part of the Forum. It contained a low-raised piece of masonry, and appears to have 15 Nequidquam populo bibulas donaveris aures. Respue, quod non es: tollat sua munera cerdo; Tecum habita: noris, quam sit tibi curta supellex. been sometimes used as an altar. When, or why, it was railed in, was a matter of uncertainty even in Cicero's time; though he supposed the famous rasor and whet-stone of the augur Nævius was deposited there; Div. i. 17. 32. Liv. i. 36. There was another, called the puteal of Libo, in the Julian portico near the Fabian Arch: Fest. xvii. p. 487. SA. G. Dionys. iii. fin. Cic. for Sext. 18. Hor. I Ep. xix. 8. II S. vi. 35. PR. 50. Sed vereor ne cui de te plus quam tibi credas; Hor. I Ep. xvi. 19. PR. Bibulas. cf. Hor. II Od. xiii. 32. PR. Prop. III. iv. 8. (BU.) K. 51. "Fling the rabble back their vile applause." G. Mart. III. xvi. stultus honores sæpe dat indignis; Hor. I S. vi. 15 sq. PR. Juv. iv. 153, note. M. 52. Cf. i. 7. CAS. si perpendere te voles, sepone pecuniam, domum, dignitatem; intus te ipse consule; Sen. Ep. 80. teipsum concute; Hor. I S. iii. 34 sq. II S. vii. 112. tuo tibi judicio est utendum: tibi si recte probanti placebis, tum non modo tu te viceris, sed omnes et omnia; Cic. T. Q. ii. 63. PR. |