Ne prior officio quisquam respondeat, urge. Quid vis, insane, et quas res agis improbus?' urget Dixeris: "Experiar;" "Si vis, potes," addit et instat.' Ex quo Maecenas me coepit habere suorum 25 30 35 40 In numero, duntaxat ad hoc, quem tollere rheda Vellet iter faciens, et cui concredere nugas Hoc genus: 'Hora quota est? Threx est Gallina Syro par? Matutina parum cautos jam frigora mordent,' 45 Et quae rimosa bene deponuntur in aure. Per totum hoc tempus subjectior in diem et horam = 50 urge, scil. te, = propera, ne quisquam, etc. He urges him to go out early in the morning, to visit his patrons. See i. 6, 101.-26. Inte riore gyro trahit contrahit in angustiorem gyrum; hence in the depth of winter, when the days are at the shortest.-31. Memori mente. The notion is, that at first Horace had intended to remain at home, but suddenly remembering that he must pay Maecenas a visit, he goes out and pushes his way through the crowd.-32. Juvat et melli est delectat et jucundum est; namely, the visiting of Maecenas. The Esquiliae or Mons Esquilinus, on which the house of Maecenas stood, was formerly a burying-ground; hence atrae.— 35. Puteal is, properly, a place round a well (puteus), enclosed by a grating; then, generally, a sacred place. 42. Ad hoc, for this object, for this.' Tollere rheda; that is, to have me as his travelling companion. -44. Hoc genus hujus generis. Gram. 260. Threx is the name of a kind of gladiator armed with a round shield and a crooked sword. · 46. Et quae; supply alia, and other things of that kind, which.'-47. Subjectior, scil. fui.-48. Spectaverat, conditional : si spectaverat. He calls himself noster jocularly, 'our friend Quintus.'-49. Omnes, scil. inquiunt.—50. Frigidus, = = Scire, deos quoniam propius contingis, oportet) Num quid de Dacis audisti?' 'Nil equidem.' 'Ut tu Si quidquam.' 'Quid? Militibus promissa Triquetra 55 Perditur haec inter misero lux non sine votis: 'O rus, quando ego te adspiciam, quandoque licebit O quando faba Pythagorae cognata simulque 60 65 Legibus insanis, seu quis capit acria fortis Pocula, seu modicis uvescit laetius. Ergo 70 Sermo oritur, non de villis domibusve alienis, Nec male necne Lepos saltet; sed, quod magis ad nos Pertinet et nescire malum est, agitamus, utrumne Quidve ad amicitias, usus rectumne, trahat nos; 75 Et quae sit natura boni summumque quid ejus. 80 'uncomfortable.' Compare ii. 1, 62.-52. Deos. This name is here jocularly given to the great men who rule the state.-53. As to the Daci, see Carm. i. 35, 9.—54. Derisor = dissimulator.-55. Quidquam scil. audivi.-60. Horace's thoughts, longing for the country. -62. Ducere haurire, to drink in.'-64. Ponentur. See ii. 4. 14.-67. Libatis dapibus. He gives his favourite slaves portions of the food which he himself is eating, to taste.-69. Leges insanae are the stiff rules of etiquette observed at banquets in Rome. 72. Lepos, a dancer, of whom Octavianus was fond.-75. Usus rectumne = utrum utilitas an virtus. Rectum is a philosophical expression of the Stoic school, for absolute good.' -76. Summumque quid ejus; that is, et quid summum bonum sit. Cicero has written a treatise De finibus bonorum et malorum.-78. Ex re, as they are suggested to him by the subject of conversation.' Arelli sollicitas ignarus opes, the wealth of Arellius, wealth which (a fact that the person praising it does not know) causes him much anxiety and trouble.'-82. Asper, 'rough' in outward appearance; attentus quaesitis, 'thrifty, frugal;' Solveret hospitiis animum. Quid multa? Neque ille Aridum et ore ferens acinum semesaque lardi Frusta dedit, cupiens varia fastidia coena Praerupti nemoris patientem vivere dorso? Vis tu homines urbemque feris praeponere silvis? Vive memor, quam sis aevi brevis." Haec ubi dicta = literally, careful to keep what it had acquired.' Artum animum: it was commonly of a frugal mind.'-84. Invidere alicujus rei, according to a Greek usage = parcere. See Zumpt, § 413.-87. Tangentis. The city mouse is fastidious, and merely nibbles. -89. Esset ederet.-91. Patientem. See Carm. i. 7, 10.-93. Carpe viam -comes, a highly-poetical expression = comitare me, is intentionally chosen, for the sake of producing a laugh. Terrestria quando-sortita; that is, quoniam terrestria (homines vel omnia quae in terra sunt) vivunt ita ut mortales animas sortita sint, since everything earthly must die.'-95. Quo, bone, circa is a tmesis for quocirca, bone. See line 51.-103. Vestis. See ii. 4, 84, note.-105. Procul exstructis in altum exstructis: they were piled one above the other.108. Continuat dapes = continuo affert novas dapes. Verniliter, 'like a slave who waits at table.'-111. Agit laetum convivam, plays the merry guest.'-113. Currere and trepidare, historical infinitives. 114. Simul simul atque. = 6 Exanimes trepidare, simul domus alta Molossis 115 SATIRA VIII. HORACE makes his friend and brother poet Fundanius (see i. 10, 42) describe a feast which Nasidienus Rufus, a man who with debauchery combined a certain degree of avarice, had given to Maecenas and his train. The couches, as we see from line 20 and following, were thus arranged : : (1) Fundanius; (2) Viscus; (3) Varius; (4) Servilius; (5) Maecenas; (6) Vibidius; (7) Nomentanus; (8) Nasidienus; (9) Porcius. It is worthy of remark, that the arrangements of the table correspond with the rules which Horace lays down in the 4th satire of this book. Perhaps, therefore, in that satire Nasidienus is to be looked upon as the inventor of the precepts. 'UT Nasidieni juvit te coena beati? Nam mihi, convivam quaerenti, dictus here illic 5 1. Juvit delectavit. Beati divitis.-2. Dictus, scil. es, 'I was told yesterday, when I was going to invite thee to a feast, that thou hadst been there drinking since mid-day. The dinner usually did not begin till about four o'clock; only gluttons commenced earlier. -5. That is, what the gustatio was.-6. As to Lucanus aper, see ii. 4, 40. It had been caught leni Austro, the host told the guests, that they might know it was fresh. See ii. 2, 41.-7. Coenae pater. Compare ii. 6, 88. Acria, etc. As to the precept here observed. Rapula, lactucae, radices, qualia lassum 10 15 'Summus ego, et prope me Viscus Thurinus, et infra, 20 25 compare ii. 4, 73.-13. Attica virgo, the singular collectively, since the kavnoópo are meant, the Attic maidens who in procession carried on their heads baskets with offerings.-14. The slave Hydaspes, as his name indicates, was an Indian: hence his colour, fuscus, 'tawny.-15. Chium. Compare ii. 4, 29. This wine, however, was maris expers, free from sea-water.' - - 17. Appositis; that is, quam ea quae apposita sunt. 18. Horace interrupts the speaker. The fact of Nasidienus telling the company that he had other wines, instead of quietly putting before the guests specimens of all, strikes the poet as a mark of wretched avarice: hence the exclamation Divitias miseras! Then he asks about the guests. 19. Pulchre fuerit. Compare line 4, fuerit melius. -20. The summus on the couches is he who has no one on his left, the imus who has no one on his right. Maecenas occupies the place of highest honour, the so-called locus consularis. The arrangement of the company is unusual, in so far as Nasidienus himself does not lie next the most distinguished guest. Nomentanus occupies his place, for the reason mentioned in line 25; namely, that he might point out to Maecenas all the excellences of the feast. The persons themselves are unknown; it is not even certain whether this Varius is the poet often mentioned by Horace.-22. Umbrae are men whom the distinguished guests bring with them (without their being specially invited), to laugh at his jokes and confirm all his boasts. The term is very appropriate. 24. Ridiculus absorbere. The infinitive, according to a Greek usage, indicates the reason why.-27. The sense is: we, the other guests, ate straight on, without paying attention to the peculiarities of each dish, though our taste told us that they were |