35 Prætexta et trabeæ, fasces, lectica, tribunal. Da nunc et volucrem, sceptro quæ surgit eburno, 35. The prætexta palmata was introduced by Tarquin the elder. VS. cf. 99. R. Trabea; viii. 259. LU. The Tribunal was originally a square moveable wooden platform; but in the times of the emperors it was of stone and semicircular. AD. M. The prætor administered justice from an ivory curule chair; inferior magistrates from benches. Pædian. Verr. 1. PR. 36. Cf. viii. 194. LU. The triumphal car was in the shape of a round turret, PR. gilded, and drawn by four white horses. M. In describing the procession of the prætor to open the Circensian games, Juvenal has mixed up with it much of the pomp and circumstance of a triumph. (xi. 192. R.) A trifling inconsistency would not deter our author from stepping out of the way to make his ridicule more poignant. The ivory sceptre, surmounted with its eagle, was too important a gewgaw to be omitted: aquila ex eburna sumit arrogantiam gestator ejus ac superbit belua inflatus osse; Prud. G. cf. Liv. xxx. 15. This prætor is also called consul, the former being a more extensive term and denoting the leader of an army,' LU. FA. præ itor; hence prætorium' a general's tent.' 37. Circi; iii. 65, 223, notes. PR. The Circensian procession went from the Capitol into the centre of the circus.' Dionys. H. vii. 72. R. 38. The embroidered tunic worn by generals in their triumph was kept at 39. The tapestry;' so called satirically from its cumbrous folds resembling curtained drapery. LU. velis amictos, non togis; Cic. Cat. ii. 10. VS. 40. An allusion perhaps to Atlas. cf. 63, note. 41. There were public as well as private slaves at Rome. LI. 42. As some curb to the pride of the victor, it was the servant's duty to call his attention to emblems of vicissitude and mortality, and to exclaim, at intervals, "Look behind thee: remember thou art a man!" LU. FA. Tertull. Ap. 33. PR. de Cor. Mil. 13. Plin. xxii. 4. xxviii. 4. xxxiii. 1. Jos. A. J. vii. 24. R. The words used by the slave are apparently borrowed from the history of Philip of Macedon. HN. The very presence of a slave would remind the conqueror of the truth which our author states in vii. 201. 43. 'The eagle which stands in act to soar.' Dionys. H. iii. 61. App. Pun. 66. Liv. xxx. 15. Isid. ii. 18. Himer. P. 219. (WE.) Amm. Marc. xxix. 2, 15. (VAL.) Claud. i. 205. xxii. 363. R. 44. See Plut. P. Em. Jos. B. J. i. ii. 17. PR. App. Pun. 66. R. 45. Officia; ii. 132, note. M. Niveos clad in the snow-white gown.' (candida toga.) MNT. T. 46. Buried deep.' GR. (cf. St Luke xix. 20.) This line casts a reflection on Tunc quoque materiam risus invenit ad omnes Occursus hominum, cujus prudentia monstrat, Summos posse viros et magna exempla daturos 50 Vervecum in patria crassoque sub aëre nasci. Ridebat curas, nec non et gaudia vulgi, Interdum et lacrumas, quum Fortunæ ipse minaci Mandaret laqueum mediumque ostenderet unguem. Ergo supervacua aut perniciosa petuntur, 55 Propter quæ fas est genua incerare Deorum. Quosdam præcipitat subjecta potentia magnæ Invidiæ; mergit longa atque insignis honorum Pagina; descendunt statuæ restemque sequuntur. 66 52. Secure the while, he mock'd at Fortune's frown And, when she threaten'd, bade her hang." G. cf. xiii. 20. 53. A halter.' restim cape et suspende te; Plaut. Pers. V. ii. 34. cf. Ter. Phor. V. iv. 4. ἔρανον αἰτήσαντί μοι ὀρέξας τὸν Beoxor Luc. Tim. 45. and 20. R. Mart. II. xxviii. 2. VI. Ixx. 5. Pers. ii. 33. (CAS.) Arr. Epict. iii. 2. Petr. 131. A. R. Isaiah lviii. 9. M. 55. When the ancients made their vows to the gods, they wrote them on paper or on waxen tables, sealed them up, and, with wax, fastened them to the knees or thighs of the statues. When their desires were granted, they used to take away the paper, tear it, and bring the gods whatever had been promised. Τ. HO. The same practice is observed in Roman Catholic countries towards the images of saints. It was an ancient custom, still subsisting in the east, to embrace the knees of one from whom favour or protection was solicited. G. Of that which is quite precarious, it is said sav iv youvaσi neira Hom. II. P 514. VL. cf. xii. 88. Prud. c. Sym. i. Ham. 405. Plin. xi. 45. PR. Philost. Her. i. 17. Apul. Ap. i. R. 56. Πολλοὺς ἂν ἔχοιμεν εἰπεῖν, ὅσοι τυ ραννίδος ἐπιθυμήσαντες ἤδη καὶ σπουδάσαντες τοῦτ ̓ αὐτοῖς παραγενέσθαι, ὡς ἀγαθόν τι πράξοντες, διὰ τὴν τυραννίδα ἐπιβουλευθέντες τὸν βίον ἀφηρέθησαν κ. τ. λ. Plat. Alc. ii. p. 150. Plin. vii. 40-45. R. 57. Invidia enim summa quæque appetit; Tac. assidua est eminentis fortune comes, altissimisque adhæret; V. Pat. i. PR. Hor. I S. vi. 26. 47. R. Mergit: cf. xiii. 8. Lucr. v. 1006. Sil. viii. 285. Virg. Æ. vi. 512. (HY.) R. This was literally the case with Smerdis : Her. iii. 58. A brass plate attached to the statues of eminent persons and containing a pompous enumeration of their titles, and honours.' VS. Similar plates are affixed to the back of the stalls in St George's Chapel, Windsor, with the titles &c. of the Knights of the Garter. Descend from their pedestals:' cf. viii. 18, note. Tac. A. iii. LU. Pisonis statuam deturbant, affligunt, comminuunt, dissipant; et quod in ipsum attulerant odium, id in ejus imaginem ac simulacrum perfuderunt; Cic. PR. sixóves xal avògıάντες, οὓς ἡ πόλις ἀνέστησέ σοι πάλαι, πάντες ἀνατετραμμένοι γέλωτα παρέξουσι τοῖς swivas Luc. Catap. 11. R. They follow the rope,' which was used to pull them down from their elevated position, LU. and, afterwards, to drag them through the streets. PR. V. Flac. i. 122. (H.) R. 1 Ipsas deinde rotas bigarum impacta securis 65" Pone domi lauros, duc in Capitolia magnum Spectandus gaudent omnes. Quæ labra? quis illi 59. Cf. vii. 125 sqq. 61. Many statues of gold, as well as of bronze, had been erected in honour of Elius Sejanus; (who held the offices of prefect of the city, VS. and captain of the prætorian bands: Suet. 55. 66. &c. Tac. A. iii.) these were melted down as soon as he was disgraced. LU. PR. 62. Cujus statuis sacra faciebant, non aliter quam statuis Tiberii; quemque Tiberii collegam appellabant, non in consulatu, sed in orbis terræ imperio; Xiph. Tib. Tac. A. iv. 2. extr. LU. Suet. Tib. 48. 65. R. 63. This instance is most happily chosen, since it exhibits at one view, not only the instability of court, but of popular favour. No subject ever ascended to such a height of power; none ever fell from it so rapidly into the abyss of disgrace aud ruin. This picture of the unfeeling and barbarous versatility of the mob has seldom been equalled for truth and humour. With respect to Sejanus, it may be said of him, as it was of Lally, by Voltaire; "he was one against whom every man had a right to lift his hand but the executioner." During the full tide of his prosperity, nothing seems to have been too low for his malice. Even the obscure and inoffensive Phædrus, pathetically complains of having been unjustly accused by him: (III. prol.) he survived, however, both the accusation and the accuser, and in his story of Princeps Tibicen, gently retorts upon the fallen fortunes of his adversary. G. Thus Rutilius Gallicus, præfect of the city, is called proxima (Germanico) cervix ponderis immensi; Stat. S. I. iv. 6. R. 64. Pliny gives a very interesting detail of the impotent vengeance exercised on such statues by the rabble: juvabat illidere solo superbissimos vultus, instare ferro, sævire securibus, ut si singulos ictus sanguis dolorque sequeretur. nemo tam temperans gaudii, seræque lætitiæ, quin instar ultionis videretur cernere laceros artus, truncata membra, postremo truces horrendusque imagines abjectas excoctasque flammis, ut ex illo terrore et minis, in usum hominum ac voluptates ignibus mutarentur; Plin. Pan. 52. σuvsxwvrúbnoav xaì iž av v usɣáza xęńpara ouvéλsyn Xiph. Nerv. pr. R. A change, the reverse of this, is recorded in Her. ii. 172. cf. vii. 197 sq. 65. To understand the little drama which follows, we must suppose one of those who had witnessed the commencement of Sejanus' punishment, hastening home to announce the intelligence, and prepare his public demonstrations of loyalty and joy. The dialogue passes between him and his neighbours. cf. vi. 47-52. G. The verb ducere applies both to victims and to culprits. Ov. M. xv. 114. (H.) R. Capitolia; xiv. 91. PR. The larger victims were sacrificed on any occasion of public rejoicing; and white victims to the celestial gods. LU. BRI. cretatumque bovem duci ad Capitolia magna; Lucr. VS. Virg. Æ. ix. 627 sq. Ov. Pont. IV. ix. 50. Ř. 66. Cf. cretata ambitio; Pers. v. 177. BRI. and 108. PR. After the executioner had fixed a hook in the throat, the body was dragged by the populace to the Gemonian steps on the Aventine Hill, and, when the vengeance of the mob was sated, thrown into the Tiber. SCH. M. Suet. Tib. 61, Xiph. Tib. PR. Dio lviii. 11. R. 67. A glorious sight.' Hunc hominem." "Sed quo cecidit sub crimine? quisnam 70 Delator? quibus indiciis? quo teste probavit ?" "Nil horum: verbosa et grandis epistola venit A Capreis." "Bene habet; nil plus interrogo. Sed quid 75 Favisset, si oppressa foret secura senectus Principis, hac ipsa Sejanum diceret hora Augustum. Jam pridem, ex quo suffragia nulli 69. Cecidit; iv. 12. R. 70. Did the emperor prove the charge?' BRI. ; 71. Dio (lviii. 4-8.) sneers at the length of this epistle: Suetonius (55.) calls it pudenda miserandaque oratio. The truth is, that Tiberius (who, like Cromwell, was always too cunning to be clear) was at this time confounded by his fears, or at least pretended to be so and therefore wrote "about it, and about it.' Suetonius has preserved a sentence of this memorable address which fully justifies the character he has given of it. Among other things, Tiberius besought the senate to send one of the consuls, with a military guard, to conduct him, a poor and desolate old man, in safety to their presence! Jonson in his Sejanus has fabricated a verbose epistle' for Tiberius, with a masterly hand. G. R. Nervius Sertorius Macro, who was appointed successor to Sejanus as prefect of the prætorian bands, was the confidential bearer of this epistle. SCH. 72. Capree, (now Capri') an island in the bay of Naples, was the favourite residence of Tiberius, when he abandoned himself to his pleasures, leaving Sejanus to rule in Rome. PR. 93. Plin. iii. 6. Strab. i. p. 15. v. p. 171. vi. p. 178. Tac. A. iv. 67. Suet. Tib. 40. 43. 65. Apollod. p. 312. R. and Virg. Æ. vii. 733 sqq. (HY.) VS. Kaλas xu! LU. cf. Cic. Mur. 6. Liv. viii. 6. Stat. Th. xi. 557. xii. 338. (B.) Prop. IV. xi. 97. (PAS.) R. Nil ultra quæro plebeius; Hor. II S. iii. 188. (BY.) R. 73. Mobilium turba Quiritium; Hor. I Od. i. 7. plebs Remi; Mart. X. lxxvi. 4. Cat. lviii. 5. Stat. S. II. vii. 60. Prop. IV. vi. 80. eru 'Piposo Diodor. ep. Nam qui dabat olim Always as in the cases of Marius, Pompey, and others. LU. ut hirundines aestivo tempore præsto sunt, frigore pulsæ recedunt: ita falsi amici sereno vitæ tempore præsto sunt; simul atque hyemem fortunæ viderint, devolant omnes; Cic. to Heren. 4. PR. Hor. I Od. xxxv. 22. 25 sqq. (BY.) I Ep. xix. 37. R. 74. Sejanus was a native of Volsinii (now Bolsena') in Tuscany. LU. Tac. A. iv. 1. R. unicuique etiam provincia et civitati suus deus est, ut Syria Astartes, ut Arabiæ Disares, Asculanorum dea Ancaria, Volsiniensium Nursia, Ocriculann. Vatentia, Sutrinorum Nortia, &c. Test. Apol. 24. Liv. vii. 3. PR. Our author might be condemned of pedantry, G. but it must be recollected that these words are not uttered in his own person, but are put into the mouth of one who hardly dared to express himself without some mystification. 75. Observe the difference between secura and tuta. For the periphrasis, cf. iv. 81, note. R. 77. Augustum emperor.' SCH. 78. Nec minor in campo furor est; emtique Quirites ad prædum strepitumque lucri suffragia vertunt: venalis populus, venalis curia patrum: est favor in pretio, &c. Petr. de M. RP. Rom. 39 sqq. Luc. i. 178. PR. If Juvenal sometimes lashes the tyranny of the chiefs, he at others treats the base and abject submission of the people with equal, if not superior, severity. It is clear, that their power had been broken by the usurpations of Marius and Sylla; they still, however, retained Imperium, fasces, legiones, omnia, nunc se 80 Continet atque duas tantum res anxius optat, Panem et Circenses." "Perituros audio multos." “Nil dubium; magna est fornacula: pallidulus mî Brutidius meus ad Martis fuit obvius aram. Quam timeo, victus ne pœnas exigat Ajax, 85 Ut male defensus! Curramus præcipites et, Dum jacet in ripa, calcemus Cæsaris hostem. Sed videant servi, ne quis neget et pavidum in jus a considerable degree of influence, and nominally gave, or rather sold, their suffrages, till the days of Julius Cæsar. That they were ripe for the slavery which awaited them, cannot be denied; for such was their corruption and rapacity, that they only enquired which of the candidates would bribe highest. Cæsar, however, did not directly deprive the people of their suffrages; he only took the nomination of the consuls upon himself, and left the choice, or rather the sale, of the inferior magistracies to them, upon condition that he should have the recommendation to one half! Suetonius has preserved his congé d'élire, and a very curious one it is: Cæsar Dictator Illi Tribui. Commendo vobis illum, et illum, ut vestro suffragio suam dignitatem teneant; Cæs. 41. 19. Aug. 40. (CAS.) These recommendations were never overlooked: preces erant, sed quibus contradici non possit; Tac. Augustus seems somewhat to have enlarged the power of the people, which was again abridged by Tiberius, or rather taken quite away; neque, says the historian, with honest indignation, populus ademtum jus questus est, nisi inani rumore. Caligula, in a fit of popularity, showed symptoms of reestablishing them in a part of their rights, which however came to nothing: this was the last effort in their favour, and from this period they gradually, and indeed deservedly, sunk into insignificance and contempt. It argues great courage in our author to reproach the Romans for their supineness; and must have been highly offensive to their rulers. About this, however, he appears to be little solicitous; nay, much of what he says here is immediately levelled at Trajan, who had, about this time, transferred to the Senate, or rather to himself, the very trifling degree of power which the people had hitherto been permitted to retain. G. FA. cf. Tac. An. i. 15. (LI.) R. It has lost all interest.' The metaphor is taken from a person emptying a vessel, by pouring out the liquor. M. Sen. de Ira ii. 35. in Epist. 11. Cic. ad Div. i. 9, 54. R. 79. Omnia; Sulp. 38. Phædr. IV. xxiii. 5. (BU.) R. 80. Note on iii. 223. PR. cf. Tac. A. 2. R. Looking palish.' 83. Brutidius Niger, the rhetorician and historian, was an intimate friend of Sejanus, and included in the sentence of death. Tac. A. iii. 66. Sen. Suas. vii. PR. 'Of Mars the avenger,' SCH. in the forum of Augustus. Suet. Aug. 29. 84. Ajax (vii. 115. PR. xiv. 286. R.) here means the emperor. Suet. Tib. 61 sq. Lest in a fit of disappointment, he should wreak dire vengeance on those, by whom he may consider that his honour had been but inadequately vindicated.' PR. There is also an indirect reproach to the Romans for their submitting to be butchered: R. like so many sheep; Hor. II S. iii. 197. 86. Αὐτὸν ὁ ὅμιλος τρισὶν ὅλαις ἡμεραῖς ἐλυμήνατο, καὶ μετὰ τοῦτο ἐς τὸν ποταμὸν vißaλs Dio lviii. SCH. cf. 66. R. This was a common method of insulting over the fallen. Hom. Il. N 618. Soph. El. Aj. Anacr. xlvi. 6. Arist. Eq. 596. R. quicumque amisit dignitatem pristinam, ignavis etiam jocus est in casu gravi ; Phædr. I. xxi. 87. Servants often turned informers |