now too softly sensible to the charms of pleasurestrangely blending the insignificance of a fop, and the fickleness of a woman, with the magnanimity of a hero, and with the talents of a statesman-Alcibiades persuaded his countrymen to forgive him many crimes, to pardon him innumerable follies, and to find him amiable, even when he was culpable. How opposite was the character of Nero! that tyrant flattered only to betray; and betrayed only to destroy. Exceeding the limits of moderation in the gratification of his desires, and abandoning the guidance of justice in the exercise of his power, he abused alike the gifts of nature and of fortune. Alcibiades loved pleasure, but Nero hated virtue. The vile atrocities, which Persius imputes to the tyrant, could never have been applicable to the young Athenian, at least while he was the pupil of Socrates. Alcibiades, under the influence of passion, and corrupted by debauchery, is indeed accused of unjustifiable vices; but his mind had not arrived at that last degree of depravation, which causes so many wretches to forget character, to defy opinion, and to abandon principle; which degrades all that is most excellent in human nature; and which by making men infamous, makes them also desperate. To read this satire may be useful to the young. It may help to correct petulance-it may serve to warn inexperience—I cannot hope that it will reclaim guilt. But from it the young statesman may learn, that even in remote times, and in small states, government was con L sidered as a most difficult science: from it too, the highborn libertine may see, that as the sphere which he moves in, is wide and brilliant, his conduct and character are in proportion conspicuous, his vices in proportion heinous, and his follies in proportion ridiculous. Ver. 7. fecisse silentia turbæ Majestate manus. Lucan, in his first book, says of Julius Cæsar, tumultum Composuit vultu; dextraque silentia jussit. What a picture does this give us of Cæsar! 11 It was the custom of orators, and of those who addressed the people, that they should obtain audience by stretching forth the hand; which the Greeks call ησυχάζειν and κατασιγάζειν τ λεων τῇ χειρι οι κατασέλλειν. So in the Acts of the Apostles, St. Paul, when about to speak, is said ἐκεῖναι τὴν χειρα and κατασείειν τῇ χειρὶ ; and so speaks Luke the Evangelist. In the beginning of Herodian, the philosopher goes into the theatre, when the certamen Capitolinum was celebrated TW TE TOS XEpès νευμα]ι τον δῆμον κατασιγάζει. You may read in the Hadrian of Xiphilinus, that the public criers were accustomed to command silence to the people always by the hand, never by the voice. But it was the custom of orators, when they stretched out the right hand, that, with the fourth and little fingers shut, they should extend the others; which Apuleius hath left testified in -- his second book. There was another manner of proclaiming silence, concrepatione digitorum. Thus Hieronymus ad Rusticum monachum.- "As soon as the table being placed, he had exhibited a pile of books, with the eyebrow drawn down, and the nostrils contracted, and the forehead wrinkled, duobus digitalis concrepabat, inciting his scholars by this sign to listen to him." So persons, who said any thing in the ear, that they might indicate it to be worthy of being attended to in silence, digitis concrepabant. Teste eodem Hieronymo. Ver. 13. vitio præfigere theta. Si quis accepto breviculo (libello) in quo nomina militum continentur, nitatur inspicere quanti ex militibus supersint, quanti in bello ceciderint, et requirens qui inspicere missus est, propriam notam, verbi caussa ut dici solet, ad uniuscujusque defuncti nomen adscribat, et propria rursus nota superstitem signet. Numquid videtur is qui notam ad defuncti nomen apponit, et propria rursus nomen nota superstitem signat, quod egerit aliquid, ut vel hic defuncti, vel ille caussam viventis acciperit. Rufinus. Casaubon is surely mistaken when he says, cum recensebant laterculos militum, nominibus eorum qui perierant, præfigebant ; hoc erat expungere. The letter theta, the first of the word avalos, death, was prefixed to the names of those who were capitally condemned; and was afterwards put in the muster rolls of the army, before the names of those who had died. It therefore simply indicated that the person, to whose name it was prefixed, . was dead; and thus served to inform the general of an army, what individuals, and what number of them, had perished. Ver. 16. Anticyras melior, &c. The Anticyre were two islands in the Egean sea, famous for the production of hellebore. See notes to Sat. I. Ver. 18. curata cuticula sole. Era uso de' lascivi untarsi prima d'odorosi unguenti, e poi esporsi ai vaggi del sole per far mediante quel calore, che imbevuta la pelle conservasse piu lungamente quella fragranza. Rovigo. Ver. 20. Dinomaches ego sum. Alcibiades was the son of Dinomache. See Plutarch. The reading from ver. 19 should be as follows: A. Expecta; S. haud aliud respondeat hæc anus. A. Dinomaches ego sum. S. Suffla. A. Sum candidus. Ver. 22. ocima Casaubon reads ocima in preference to ocyma; between which there is a difference in sense as well as in orthography. The first is that species of plant, to which we give the name of Basil, and which is better known in the south of Europe than with us. The second was an herb, which, as Varro informs us, the ancients gave to cattle for a purge. The ocimum has an exceedingly strong perfume. It is remarkable, that Ruellius understands these words in direct opposition to Casaubon. Ver. 24. Sed præcedenti, &c. Peras imposuit Jupiter nobis duas : Propriis repletam vitiis post tergum dedit, Alii simul delinquunt, censores sumus. Ver. 26. quantum non milvus aberret. PHÆD. Dic, passer, cui tot montes, tot prædia servas, Compita―ubi multæ viæ competunt in unum. The compitum seems to have been what the French call a carrefour. The compitalia were feasts instituted in honour of the Lares. They were celebrated only by slaves and peasants. (Plin. xxxvi. c. 26. and Dionysius Halicarnassus, L. ix.) The Saturnalia were held in the month of December. To this Juvenal alludes when he says, Vinum toto nescire Decembri. But the compitalia were held in the beginning of January. Thus Cicero: Ego quoniam quarto nonas Januarii Compitalitius dies est, &c. |