Omnibus ad podium spectantibus. His licet ipsum in the war with Hannibal, was called · 147.Omnibus ad podium spectantibus.] These were all men of station, who had a place to themselves between the 'podium' or wall which ran round the arena, and the ordinary seats which rose to the top of the amphitheatre. (Hor. Epp. i. 1. 6, n.) 'Ipsum' means the editor ludorum,' the person who gave the show, and who sat on a high seat within the podium,' called the 'editoris tribunal.' Here probably is meant the emperor himself, whose throne was called suggestus' or 'cubiculum.' If it was Domitian, the man who was of nobler birth than all the families just named would certainly be nobler than he, for his father Vespasian was the son of a man of obscure birth in the town of Reate in the Sabine This use of admovere' for country. 'adjungere' is not noticed by Forcellini. As to retia misit,' see note above, v. 143. 149. Esse aliquos manes] One MS. has 'aliquid,' on which authority Ruperti adopts it. It is more likely, perhaps, that one copyist should have invented aliquid' than that all the rest should have fallen into an error in aliquos.' The former is the more plausible reading, particularly as Propertius had written "Sunt aliquid Manes, letum non omnia finit" (iv. 7. 1), and Ovid (Met. vi. 543) "Si numina Divum sunt aliquid." Persius (v. 152) has "cinis et Manes et fabula fies," which he has imitated from Horace (C. i. 4. 16), "Jam te premet nox fabulaeque Manes," where see note. Lucretius, the exponent of Epicurean doctrine, says: 150 Quid Styga, quid tenebras, quid nomina vana timetis, Materiem vatum falsique piacula mundi ?" (Met. xv. 152, sqq.) Ipse ratem conto subigit velisque ministrat," where also he writes 'ponto.' It is strange that sensible editors like Grangaeus and Henninius should adopt this word, which has no sense here. One MS. of no character has 'cantum,' which Ruperti rather prefers, but does not adopt. [Ribbeck has Cocytum et Stygio' &c.] 152. nisi qui nondum aere lavantur.] Except those who are too young to go to the baths, where the ordinary price for bathing was a quadrans, or about half a farthing of our money. See vi. 447, and Hor. S. i. 3. 137: "dum tu quadrante lavatum Rex ibis," where see note, and also Becker's Gallus, Exc. on the Baths. "Unde datur quadrans ?" (Martial iii. 30.) 153. Sed tu vera puta.] 'But in your case only suppose it all to be true.' As to Curius, see above, v. 3. The form Scipiada' is used by Horace (S. ii. 1. 17), Scipiadam ut sapiens Lucilius," and by Virgil (Georg. ii. 170), “Scipiadas duros bello," and (Aen. vi. 843) "duo fulmina belli Scipiadas, cladem Libyae, parvoque potentem Fabricium," where, as here, the two Scipiones are associated with C. Fa "Cerberus et Furiae jam vero et lucis bricius Luscinus, the opponent of Pyrrhus egestas Tartarus horriferos eructans faucibus æs- Qui neque sunt usquam nec possunt esse and contemporary of Curius. Camillus is M. Furius, the conqueror of the Gauls, and the deliverer of Rome. Cremerae legio' are the Fabii mentioned above (on v. 145). The whole gens, consisting of 306 persons, with the consul Kaeso at their head, having quarrelled with the patricians, quitted "O genus attonitum gelidae formidine Rome, and founded a settlement on the Cremera, a stream or torrent a few miles Ovid makes Pythagoras say: mortis, Quid Cremerae legio et Cannis consumpta juventus, north of Rome flowing into the Tiber. 156. Tot bellorum animae,] This is an unusual sort of expression. It cannot mean 'tot animae bellatorum,' as Ruperti supposes. Tot' belongs to 'bellorum,' and the meaning is, 'souls of so many wars,' that is, which have known so many wars. He says they would ask to be purified if such a degenerate spirit came near them, provided there was at hand sulphur and pine branches, and a wet laurel bough. Lustratio' or purifying was performed in a multitude of matters by the Romans when pollution had been or might have been contracted, and consisted usually in sprinkling water by means of a branch of olive or laurel, and carrying round the object burning sulphur or pine torches, besides the sacrifice of a victim. Tibullus (i. 2.61) says, "Et me lustravit taedis, et nocte serena 155 160 expression is like Horace's "Nimirum hic ego sum," Epp. i. 15. 42: "ne fueris hic tu," Ib. i. 6. 40. The Greeks used exeîoe, évтavea in the same way. Traducere' is used for changing, bringing over from one state to another, as Ovid. Met. xv. 483: "gentemque feroci Assuetam bello pacis traducit ad artes." [Ribbeck has 'si foret umida laurus Illic. Heu miseri traducimur!' but it is not easy to see what sense he gives to 'traducimur.'] 160. Litora Juvernae] This is the form of the name given by Ptolemy (Geog. ii. 2), who calls one of the tribes 'lovépvioi, and the island 'lovepvía, a form of the native name. Ierne, Iverna, Hibernia, are others. Agricola had thoughts of taking the island, which he told Tacitus could easily be done with one legion and a few auxiliaries, but there is no evidence that the Roman legions ever entered it; but mercatores probably had been there, and from them Ptolemy may have got some of his knowledge of the island. It was in the year A.D. 82, the year after Domitian's accession, that Agricola turned his attention to Ireland. (Tac. Agr. 24.) The Orkneys and Shetland Islands (Orcades) were first discovered and taken Concidit ad magicos hostia pulla possession of by Agricola when he sailed Deos." Servius, on Aen. vi. 229, "Idem ter socios pura circumtulit unda, says 'circumferre' is equivalent to 'pur- Tactaque fumanti sulfure balet ovis." 159. Illuc heu miseri traducimur!] To this point, poor wretches, are we brought and changed;' that is, to what follows. The round Britain in the last year of his government, A.D. 84. (Tac. Agr. c. 10). The Satire, therefore, could not have been written before that year, or many years after it, for he says 'modo captas.' 161. minima contentos nocte] So Tacitus says (Agr. c. 12), "Dierum spatia ultra nostri orbis mensuram et nox clara et extrema Britanniae parte brevis, ut finem atque initium lucis exiguo discrimine internoscas." 163. et tamen unus] The barbarians we conquer do not the gross things we do, and yet if they come to Rome evil communications soon corrupt them likewise, as was the case with the Armenian hostage.' 164. Armenius Zalates] This is a name Mollior ardenti sese indulsisse tribuno. not otherwise known. Ruperti supposes he may have been one of those obsides' with whom Caligula is said by Suetonius (c. 36) to have carried on an unnatural intercourse, and that he is meant by 'tribuno.' (See xi. 7.) It may be so. Armenia was at this time governed by its own kings of the race of the Arsacidae, but the Romans had frequently to interfere in its affairs, and its kings were under their protection. On two occasions Tacitus mentions hostages being given to the Romans by Vologeses, king of the Parthians, who claimed the crown of Armenia and expelled Rhadamistus, the king whom the Romans recognized. Cn. Domitius Corbulo was sent against him by Nero (A.D. 54), and he retired, and sent some of the noblest of his family as hostages to Rome (Ann. xiii. 9). These were not Armenians, but Parthians; but the difference might not be observed by Juvenal, or hostages may have been sent by others. Every new reign began in violence of some sort. This man, more soft than any of the Roman youth, is said to have given himself up to the passion of the tribunus. This is a regular construction with 'indulgere;' it is repeated immediately below. Ephebus' is a term borrowed from the Greeks, with whom it signified a youth of eighteen to twenty. The Romans applied it to those who had attained the age of puberty: adolescentes' is the proper. 165 170 Roman word, though that extends over a longer space of time. ་ 167. Hic fiunt homines:] 'It is here that men are fashioned.' Some take the passage as if these words were opposed to venerat obses,' he had come a hostage, but here they become men.' For this meaning 'viri' would be used. The stop should be at 'obses' (for which one MS. only has hospes'). 169. Mittentur braccae,] They will soon throw aside their trousers, their hunting knives, their reins, their whips, that is, all the manly sports of their boyhood, and carry home immodest manners learnt at Rome.' 'Artaxata,' which is plural here, was the capital of Armenia, situated on the Araxes (Aras). Praetextatus' is applied, by later writers, to language, in the sense of 'impure.' (See Forcellini.) It is nowhere else used in that sense with 'mores,' or any thing but language. The origin of this meaning is plainly contained in the word itself, which is only another form of praetexere,' and means to put a veil or covering over any thing. 'Braccae' (breeches) were worn by all the barbarians, that is, all but the Greeks and Romans, who in their better days despised them. They were looser than we wear them now, but not so loose among the European nations as in the East. During the empire they were partially worn by the Romans. SATIRA III. INTRODUCTION. THIS satire is perhaps better known than any of the others. English readers are familiar with Johnson's imitation of it who are not so familiar with the original, which has the advantage of having been written for the scene it describes, while the other is too close a copy to be always applicable to its subject. I think the merits of Johnson's poem have been exaggerated. Meaning to describe the vexations and inconveniences of a town life, Juvenal supposes his friend Umbricius leaving Rome in disgust to retire to Cumae; he accompanies him a little way out of the town; and while the carriage is being packed Umbricius breaks out and tells his reasons for leaving his native place. No honest man can thrive there, he says; the town is overrun with cunning foreigners and upstarts who have tricked themselves into riches and influence, making themselves necessary to families and getting their masters' secrets. The poor too have no chance, and poverty apes wealth; every thing has to be bought, and every thing is dear. There are fires and falling houses, and even these are only ruinous to the poor: the rich help one another, while the poor man starves. The noises at night are such that no one can sleep, at least no poor man in the lodginghouses. The rich man rides safely through the streets, while the poor is elbowed by the crowd, and has a good chance of being killed by great beams and stones, or by pots from the upper stories, and so forth, or by some drunken brawler who picks a quarrel with him, or by robbers who break into his house at night. There are some parts of the satire which remind the reader of Horace's style; particularly the quaint description of a poor man's encounter with a drunken bully, who, after beating his victim savagely, summons him for an assault. Umbricius is any body. There was an haruspex' of that name, of whom Tacitus relates that he warned Galba of his fate. But there is no sense in supposing him to be the man. It was a common name. The satire may have been written about the same time as the last; but it is impossible to say. ARGUMENT. Though I am in despair at the loss of an old friend, I cannot but commend Umbricius' resolution to quit the town and go away to the pleasant shores of Cumae. There is no wilderness I would not myself prefer to the dangers and annoyances of this city. V. 10. While his family and goods were all being packed into one cart, we stopped in the valley of Aegeria, whose wood is let to beggarly Jews, and her native fountain disfigured by art. And thus my friend began: V. 21. “No room is here for virtue, no return for honest labour; and as I am getting poorer every day, I mean to take myself to Cumae while I have any vigour left. I bid my native place farewell; let rogues live there, and by their dirty trades get rich; till trumpeters shall rise to give the shows they once proclaimed, and get monopolies of every thing, raised high by fortune in her merry moods. What can I do at Rome? not lie, or praise poor books, or tell the stars, or search the insides of frogs. I am no pimp or thief. So all avoid me as a useless limb. None but accomplices are patronized, with horrid secrets burning in their bosoms. The thief loves him who can accuse him when he pleases. No gold will pay you for the wretched nights it costs you to be feared of your great friend. V. 58. “The town is overrun with Greeks; and worse, Syria has poured her refuse into Rome-her language, customs, harps, and drums, and harlots. Away all ye who love the turbaned strumpets! Thy hardy sons, Quirinus, put on Greek shoes, and grease their necks for the palaestra.' From every town they swarm and creep into rich houses-clever, abandoned, impudent, prompt, fluent. What should you say that man was? Any thing you please, all arts and sciences he knows; the starveling Greek will put on wings if you bid him-for Daedalus was a Greek, and born at Athens. V. 81. "What, must I not avoid their purple ? shall that man rank before me who came to us with the plums and figs? Have I not breathed from infancy the air of Rome, and is that nothing? These flatterers by trade know how to gain belief when they praise a blockhead's talents, and a plain man's face, long neck, and squeaking voice. If I should praise them, no one would believe me. Their acting is quite perfect; their whole tribe are players. You laugh, they laugh still louder; you weep, they weep but grieve not; call for a fire, they'll get their cloak; say you it's hot, they sweat. So we're no match; they have the best of it who never cease from acting. No woman in the house is safe from them, resolved to worm their master's secrets out and get him in their power. V. 114. "Speaking of Greeks, let's pass to the Gymnasia and to a crime of deeper dye. Think of that Stoic who killed Barea, betrayed his friend and pupil, the old wretch born at Tarsus. There is no room for Romans here, where slaves of Greece are kings, who keep their great friends to themselves and thrust me from their doors by poisonous lies peculiar to their tribe; so all my faithful services are gone. It matters nothing now to lose a client. V. 126. "What are a poor man's services, when praetors rush before them to do their homage to rich childless ladies? The freeman's son waits on a wealthy slave who spends a tribune's pay on one night's lust, while you would hesitate to hire a common prostitute. Bring up a witness honest as Nasica, pious as Numa or Metellus-first they must know his income, character comes last; for a man's credit is as his fortune may be. A poor man's oath is nought; men laugh at him, at the rent in his cloak or shoe, and nothing in the poor man's lot is harder than this ridicule. Fie! quit the equestrian bench, you're poor: the bawd's son must sit here, the gladiator's, or trainer's ;' so Otho has arranged it. What poor man gets a wife, or an inheritance, or humblest office? All Romans true should long ago have joined to fly their country. "Tis hard to rise where virtue is kept down by poverty, but hardest here at Rome, where food and lodging are so dear. V. 168. "Here is a man ashamed to dine off earthenware. Not so when he goes from Rome to the hills and Sabine fare. In many parts of Italy no one puts on the‘toga' till he's dead. At the country plays you'll see in the grassy theatre both great and small dressed all alike in their white tunics. Here men dress beyond their means and borrow money; 'tis a common vice, ambitious poverty. Here all things must be bought. How much will you give to call on Cossus, or for a glance from Veiento? If a slave's hair is cut or his beard shaved, cakes are poured in upon him, which he sells ; and here's more stuff to stir your bile; we must pay toll, and swell the savings of the favourite slave. V. 190. "And in the country who fears falling houses? Rome is shored up with buttresses; and when he has patched our houses thus, the villicus bids us sleep secure. I'd rather live where there are no fires or midnight terrors. The lower room's on fireyour garret smokes and you're asleep-you get no notice till the flames are on you. Codrus has little for the fire to take, but loses all that little, and goes forth to beg a home and bread, and each man turns him from his door. If rich Asturicus' house is burnt to the ground, the town goes into mourning, business is suspended, all sorts of costly presents are poured in; and you might swear the man had burnt his house himself, for he is richer by the fire than ever. V. 223. "If you can quit the circus, you may buy at Sora or such places a house for what a garret's rent is here-aye, and a little garden and a well; there you may hoe the `ground, and grow a feast for a hundred Pythagoreans. "Tis something, wheresoe'er you are, to own the run of a lizard. V. 232. “Here sick men die of watching (and their sickness is all from undigested food and heated stomach), for who can sleep in lodgings? Sleep is dear at Rome: the rolling cart and shouting of the drivers in the narrow streets shall keep a sea-calf waking. V. 239. " The rich man rides at his ease, while the poor must push his way through crowds that crush his loins, or break his head, or tread upon his toes. See there the crowd returning with their dole: slaves with the kitchens on their heads: their poor patched tunics torn: the long beam nodding on the passing waggon and threatening death to all what if that stone should fall, where would they be? all gone like a |