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SATIRE V.

ARGUMENT.

The poetical and philosophical claims of Persius rest, in some measure, upon this poem; and it is but justice to say that they are not ill supported by it.

The Satire consists of two parts; the first expressive of the poet's deep and grateful sense of the kindness of his friend and instructor, Cornutus, 1-29. with a beautiful summary of the blessings derived from his wisdom and goodness. 30—64.

The second part is a laboured and ostentatious display of our poet's proficiency in the esoteric doctrine of the Stoic School; something must here be forgiven to the ardour of youth, and the vehemence of inexperienced virtue. This division of the Satire is principally occupied with that celebrated paradox of the sect, that the wise man alone is essentially free; 65 sqq. and that the passions of avarice, 109 sqq. luxury, 142 sqq. love, 161–175. ambition, 176 sqq. superstition, 179 sqq. and other passions exercise as despotic a control over their victims as the severest taskmaster over his slaves. It cannot be supposed that much new matter should be produced upon such a topic. Both Persius and his preceptor came too late for this; and could only repeat, in other forms, what had been said a thousand times before. But there may be ingenuity, where there is no novelty; and this is not wanting. Some amusement may be found in contrasting the sober earnestness of Persius, with the solemn irony of Horace. The language of both is much the same, and the conclusions do not greatly differ; but the Stertinius of the latter, in spite of his inflexible gravity, must have provoked resistless laughter; while the youthful poet commands respect, and though he may fail to convince, always secures attention. G.

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VATIBUS hic mos est, centum sibi poscere voces,
Centum ora, et linguas optare in carmina centum :
Fabula seu mæsto ponatur hianda tragœdo,
Vulnera seu Parthi ducentis ab inguine ferrum.
"Quorsum hæc? aut quantas robusti carminis offas
Ingeris, ut par sit centeno gutture niti?

Grande locuturi nebulas Helicone legunto,

Si quibus aut Procnes aut si quibus olla Thyestæ
Fervebit, sæpe insulso cœnanda Glyconi.

10 Tu neque anhelanti, coquitur dum massa camino,

1. Homer was content with ten; od # μοι δίκα μὲν γλῶσσαι, δέκα δὲ στόματ' Il. B 484. Hostius squared the number at once; non si mihi linguæ centum atque ora sient totidem vocesque liquata; B. Ist. ii. Macr. S. vi. 3. With this hyperbole succeeding poets appear to have rested content; Virg. G. ii. 43. E. vi. 625. vii. 37 sqq. Sil. iv. 527. Claud. Prob. 55 sq. not so the orators: omnia licet huc revocemus præterita, et ad canendas unius laudes, universorum vatum scriptorumque ora consentiant: vincet tamen res ista mille linguas, &c. Quint. Decl. vi. fin. S. Hier. Epit. Paul. init. Cassiod. Ep. xi. 1. PR. cf. Virg. Æ. vi. 43 sq. M. Ov. M. viii. 532 sqq. Tr. i. 453 sqq. F. ii. 119 sqq. K. "Non io se cento bocche e lingue cento Avessi e ferrea lena e ferrea voce, &c." Tasso. G.

3. Tristia mæstum vultum verba decent; Hor. A. P. 105 sq. PR.

Ponatur; i. 70, note. Quint. Inst. ii. 3. K.

Hianda: Juv. vi. 634 sqq. PR. Prop. II. xxiii. 5 sq. Much bad taste prevailed on the stage in these days. oud' així περιθεὶς τοὺς λόγους, μὴ καὶ κατ ̓ ἄλλο τε γένωμαι τοῖς ὑποκριταῖς ἐκείνοις, οἱ πολλάκις * Αγαμέμνονος ἢ Κρέοντος ἢ καὶ Ἡρακλέους αὐτοῦ πρόσωπον ἀνειληφότες, χρυσίδας ήμ. φιεσμένοι, καὶ δεινὸν βλέποντες, καὶ μέγα κεχηνότες, μικρὸν φθέγγονται καὶ ἰσχνόν και γυναικῶδες, καὶ τῆς Εκάβης η Πολυξένης woλd Taruvórigor· Luc. Nigr. t. i. p. 50. Hor. A. P. 96 sq. K.

Tragœdus and tragicus differ as comœdus and comicus; Juv. iii. 94. PR. 4. The Parthian wars were carried on under Augustus and Nero. cf. Tac. An. Suet. Just. Dio. PR. aut labentis

xii sq.

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6. CAS.

That you require the support.'

7. Ne, dum vitat humum, nubes et inania captet; Hor. A. P. 230. versus inopes rerum, nugæque canoræ; ib. 322. PR.

8. Procnes; Juv. vi. 644, note. K. Thyesta; Juv. vii. 73, note. SV, on E. i. 572. Claud. i. 171. Hor. A. P. 91. K.

9. The theatrical taste of the Romans must have degenerated sadly since the Augustan age; when such disgusting exhibitions would have been exploded. Hor. A. P. 182-188. PR.

Cananda is here used for 'to be acted,' as forming one of the principal features in these tragedies: in like manner saltare fabulum is used ; Ov. Tr. ii. 519. Juv. vi. 63. Hor. I S. v. 63. Κ.

The tolerating such an unnatural spectacle, enacted by an insipid' performer was a reproach to the audience. G.

40. Juv. vii. 111, note. K. a nostris procul est omnis vesica libellis, musa nec insano syrmate nostra tumet; Mart. IV. xlix. 7 sq. PR.

Folle premis ventos; nec clauso murmure raucus
Nescio quid tecum grave cornicaris inepte;
Nec stloppo tumidas intendis rumpere buccas.
Verba togæ sequeris, junctura callidus acri,
15 Ore teres modico, pallentes radere mores
Doctus et ingenuo culpam defigere ludo.

Hinc trahe, quæ dicas; mensasque relinque Mycenis

11. Cf. iii. 81, note. M.

12. Nor do you croak.' Priscian viii. 828. alii intra se nescio quid cornicantes tumentia verba trutinantur, &c. S. Hier. Ep. iv. PR. xeur Arist. Pl. 369, Schol. Virg. G. i. 389. (HY.) K.

Inepte; Hor. A. P. 457 sq. K.

13. Stloppus is the sound made by inflating the cheeks to their utmost extent, and then forcibly expelling the air by striking them together with the hands. PR.

14. Verba toga. This phrase must have signified the language of good society at Rome,' as distinguished from that of the populace, (tunicatus popellus,) and from that of the provinces and a great part of Italy, where "none assumed the toga but the dead." The toga had fallen into general disuse among the lower orders in the days of Augustus, and from his reign to the age in which Persius lived, there was sufficient time for the invention of a term so obvious. The phrase in question was not coined by Persius himself, but owed its origin to some one of the innumerable dicaces et urbani who had preceded him; he employed it as a well known and familiar expression. FRE.

Notum si callida verbum reddiderit junctura novum; Hor. A. P. 47 sq. callidus, 'workmanly,' is there used (as it is by Persius) in strict conformity to the metaphor; (cf. i. 64, note.) acris junctura may be understood to signify what a workman might call a sharp joint,' meaning one that was close and accurate. We may conclude that the expression used by Persius, like those of Horace, was familiar and usual in his time, that it had its origin in the manufactory and the shop, and was from thence transferred into the phraseology of the higher orders as indicative of elaborate accuracy, either in literature or upholstery. FRE.

15. Ore teres modico is descriptive of the natural and easy mode of recitation

suited to compositions in a familiar style, as opposed to the stretch-mouthed declamation of the heroic poets. The frequent recurrence of poetical rehearsals, and the obligation of attending them, is mentioned not only in instances in which it might be considered as a ludicrous exaggeration, but seriously by Pliny, among others, as one of the main inconveniences attendant upon a residence in Rome. An occupation which took up so much of the leisure of a refined and fastidious people must have given rise to a variety of phrases such as that of which Persius here makes use. FRE. cf. Hor. A. P. 323. CAS. V. Flac. ii. 242. (BU.) K. plena quædam oratio, et tamen teres ac tenuis, at non sine nervis ac viribus ; Cic. Or. iii. 197. PR. not like the specimen in i. 98–102. M.

Pallentes may allude to the effects of a guilty conscience: nil conscire sibi, nulla pallescere culpa; Hor. I Ep. i. 61. LU. Juv. i. 165 sqq. K. Or the images and expression may be taken from the spectacles of the circus. Radere means to graze with a dart or other missile weapon, which accounts for pallentes; and as the ludi gladiatorii and the venationes of the Circus were considered as degrading to those who exhibited themselves, the poet, in applying the metaphor to himself, takes care to qualify the word ludus by the epithet of ingenuus' gentlemanly.' The games of the Circus, likewise, must have furnished a large supply of phrases to the conversational dialect of a people among whom they were considered as an object of interest, second only to the immediate necessaries of life, panem et circenses. The association of ideas between a satirist reciting, and an armed man in a menacing attitude, is not peculiar to Persius, it occurs in Juvenal, ense velut stricto quoties Lucilius ardet; i. 165. The apparent confusion of metaphors in this passage is a strong proof that it consists of terms in familiar use. FRE.

17. Respicere exemplar vitæ morumque

Cum capite et pedibus, plebeiaque prandia noris." Non equidem hoc studeo, bullatis ut mihi nugis 20 Pagina turgescat dare pondus idonea fumo;

Secreti loquimur. Tibi nunc, hortante Camena,
Excutienda damus præcordia; quantaque nostræ
Pars tua sit, Cornute, animæ, tibi, dulcis amice,
Ostendisse juvat. Pulsa, dignoscere cautus
25 Quid solidum crepet et pictæ tectoria linguæ.
Hic ego centenas ausim deposcere voces,
Ut, quantum mihi te sinuoso in pectore fixi,
Voce traham pura totumque hoc verba resignent,
Quod latet arcana non enarrabile fibra.

jubebo doctum imitatorem et veras hinc ducere voces; Hor. A. P. 317 sq. K.

18. The head and feet' were reserved to show Thyestes, on what he had been banqueting. denudat artus dirus atque ossa amputat; tantum ora servat et datas fidei manus; Sen. Thy. PR. Her. i. 119, notes.

'Familiarize yourself with every-day dinners.'

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19. Inflated frothy nothings.' ampullas et sesquipedalia verba; Hor. A. P. 97. PR." Air-blown trifles." G.

20. The page' is put for its contents. Prop. II. xvii. 1. inque libellis crevisset sine te pagina nulla meis; Ov. Tr. V.ix. Mart. IX. lxxviii. 2. K.

3 sq.
Nugis addere pondus; Hor. I Ep. xix.
42. M.

21. You are not to suppose that what I am about to say is dictated either by flattery or a love of display for we are enjoying a snug tete-a-tete.' LU.

22. Explicandus est animus, et quæcumque apud illum deposita sunt, subinde excuti debent; Sen. Ep. 72. K.To be thoroughly sifted :' but cf. 27 sq, notes. Præcordia: nyà μèv sà Ogsväv igi xiar' iv μux Theoc. xxix. 3. K.

an

23. This sentiment is borrowed from Pythagoras, who said a friend was " other self." Horace calls Virgil, animæ dimidium mea; I Od. iii. 8. VS. Orestes and Pylades duo corporibus, mentibus unus erant; Ov. Tr. IV. iv. 72. S. Aug. Conf. iv. 6. Hence the expression ovμuxía used by Greg. Naz. PR. The same idea is constantly occurring both in heathen and in Christian writers: as Hor. II Od. xvii. 5 sqq. Ov. Pont. III.

iv. 69. Stat. S. III. ii. 7 sq. Luc. Tox. t. ii. p. 558. K. Ov. Her. x. 58. xviii. 125 sq. M. viii. 406. Maxim. El. ii. 1 sq. v. 117 sq. D. Chrys. Or. iii. 56. S. Hier. Ep. i. xv. M. Fel. i. p. 20. Lact. de M. Pers. viii. Clem. Rom. Ep. Cor. ii. 12. and that beautiful picture of perfect friendship which is described in Acts iv. 32.

Annæus Cornutus was banished by Nero, in the fourth year after the death of his pupil. LU.

24. Pulsa: a metaphor from earthenware, which will not ring, when struck, if there is any flaw in it. LU. cf. iii. 21. M. Auson. Id. xvi. 12 sqq. K.

25. The thin varnish of the painted tongue.' LU. cf. Juv. vi. 467.

et

Res est (i. e. the Holy Scripture) solida sincera, non fucata eloquia, nec ullo linguæ tectorio inane aliquid ac pendulum crepitat; S. Aug. to Volus. PR. Compare St Matthew xxiii. 27. M.

26. Persius intimates, to borrow the words of Cicero, omni officio ac potius pietate erga Cornutum, etsi aliis satisfaceret omnibus, at ipsum sibi numquam satisfacere; Ep. i. 1. to Lentulus.

PR.

27. Full of folds :' a metaphor from a gown. K.

28. I may draw forth' from those folds. K.

Pura opposed to pieta: LU, ‘guileless.' M.

'May unseal,' PR. and unfold for your perusal, more than my words can express.'

29. Fibra: i. 47. PR. Luc. ii. 285 sq. Sil. i. 140. K.

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Quum primum pavido custos mihi purpura cessit Bullaque succinctis Laribus donata pependit; Quum blandi comites, totaque impune Subura Permisit sparsisse oculos jam candidus umbo: Quumque iter ambiguum est et vitæ nescius error 35 Diducit trepidas ramosa in compita mentes, Me tibi supposui. Teneros tu suscipis annos

30. Boys might feel' timid' (Juv. xvi. 3. M.) at first laying aside the dress of their early years, and assuming the garb of manhood. LU. Cat. lxviii. 15 sqq. Ov. Tr. IV.x. 27 sqq. Prop. III. xiii. 3 sqq. K.

The prætexta was intended to be a protection' to those who wore it. CAS. (Macr. S. i. 6. SCH. Plin. ix. 36. prætexta infirmitatem pueritiæ sacram fieri et venerabilem, non secus ac sacerdotes vestibus suis; Quint. Decl. 340. cf. imberbis juvenis tandem custode remoto; Hor. A. P. 161. PR.) In the general corruption of manners, however, its sacred character was utterly disregarded. Cic. Cat. ii. 2. 10. Phil. ii. 18. Juv. x. 308. Mart. sap. For better security the boys were always accompanied to and from school by a pedagogue. Hor. I S. vi. 81 sqq. Juv. x. 114 sqq. Mart. XI. xl. cf. Prop. II. iii. 10 sq. Petr. 85. V. Max. iii. 1. iv. 1. Plin. Ep. iii. 3. K. per hoc inane purpuræ decus precor; Hor. Ep. v. 7. DŃ.

31. Bulla; Juv. v. 164, note. PR. Petr. 60. K. Boys consecrated their bulla, as girls did their dolls: cf. ii. 70, note. A, v. 18. PR. This dedication was a private ceremony; the putting on of the toga was a public one. If the latter was performed at Rome, the youths repaired immediately afterwards to some temple (generally to the Capitol) to complete the ceremony by offering the customary sacrifices. Being an act of great solemnity, it frequently formed, among the youths who changed their gown at the same time, a bond of fellowship which subsisted unbroken through life. G. Hor. I Od. xxxvi. 9.

Succinctis. cf. cinctutis; Hor. A. P. 50. These domestic deities, who were rather regarded as palladia or amulets than as gods of power, were probably represented in the same homely garb which they wore before Rome became a city. A kind of affectionate home-bred

superstition forbade all attempts at innovation in their costume. G. They were dressed, after the Gabinian fashion, with their toga twisted over the left shoulder, leaving the right arm bare. VS. cf. Ov. F. v. 129 sq. (BU.) Prop. IV. i. 131. (BK. VU.) K.

32. When I had indulgent companions, who would let me go my own way; instead of an uncle to thwart me and a pedagogue to curb me.' PR. M.

Subura; Juv. iii. 5, note. PR. Anth. L. t. ii. Ep. xli. p. 514. (BU.) K.

33. Ov. F. iii. 771-778. K. postquam excessit ex ephebis, liberius vivendi fuit potestas: antea vero ætas, metus, magister prohibebant; Ter. And. I. i. 24 sqq. oculi sunt in amore duces; Ov. PR. Their white gown, having the gloss of newness on this momentous occasion, would be candidus. G.

The toga was so arranged as to be gathered into many plaits on the left shoulder; the centre, where all these folds met, was called the umbo or 'boss.' CAS. T. cf. Tert. de Pall. p. 373 sqq. palla nigerrima, splendescens atro nitore, quæ circumcirca remeans, et sub dextrum latus ad humerum lævum recurrens, umbonis vicem dejecta parte lacinia multiplici contabulatione dependula; Apul. xi. LI. From this boss, the extremity of the lappet fell down before, and was tucked into the girdle, forming the sinus, (an apology for a pocket,) in which papers and other light articles were carried; and it is far from improbable that some affected display was made of it, in the pride of recent manhood. G.

34. Cf. iii. 56, note. PR. Juv. ii. 20,

note.

35. Οἱ νέοι τὰ ἤθη εἰσὶν εὐμετάβολοι Arist. Rh. II. xiv. 2.

Ramosa: cf. Aus. Id. xv. PR.

36. The metaphor may be taken from an animal placing its neck under the yoke; Ov. Am. III. x. 13. or from a

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