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SATIRE IV.

ARGUMENT.

In this Satire, which was probably written under Nerva, Juvenal indulges his honest spleen against two most distinguished culprits; Crispinus, already noticed in his first Satire, 1—27, and Domitian, the constant object of his scorn and abhorrence, 28—149.

The sudden transition from the shocking enormities of Crispinus, 1-10, to his gluttony and extravagance, 11 sqq. is certainly inartificial, but appears necessary in some degree to the completion of the Poet's design, the introduction of Domitian, 28.

The whole of the latter part is excellent. The mock solemnity with which the anecdote of the enormous turbot is introduced, 37 sqq. the procession, or rather the rush, of the affrighted counsellors to the palace, 75 sqq. and the ridiculous debate 119 sqq. (as to whether the fish should be dressed whole or not, 130) which terminates in as ridiculous a decision, 136 sqq. (that a dish should be made for it, 131, according to the sage advice of Montanus)—all show a masterly hand.

We have, indeed, here a vivid picture of the state of the empire under the suspicious and gloomy tyranny of Domitian; of his oppressive system of espionage and rapacity, of his capricious severity and trifling, and of the gross adulation in which all classes sought a precarious security. Many masterly touches are given in the brief allusions to the character and conduct of the chief courtiers as they pass in review: the weak but well-meaning Pegasus, stoic, and bailiff of Rome, 75 sqq. Crispus the complaisant old epicure and wit, 81 sqq. Acilius, and his ill-fated young companion, 94 sqq. Rubrius the low-born ruffian, 104 sqq. Montanus the unwieldy glutton, 107. Crispinus the perfumed debauchée, 108 sq. Pompeius the merciless sycophant, 109 sq. Fuscus the luxurious and incompetent general, 111 sq. Catullus the blind hypocrite, extravagant in his praises of the finny monster, 113 sqq. and Veiento the timeserving fortune-teller, 113. 123 sqq.

And we cannot but admire the indignant and high-spirited apostrophe, with which our Poet concludes, reflecting on the servile tameness of the patricians as contrasted with the indignant vengeance of the lower orders, 150-154. an apostrophe which under some of the emperors would be fatal, and under none of them safe. G. R.

SAT. IV.

ECCE iterum Crispinus! et est mihi sæpe vocandus
Ad partes, monstrum nulla virtute redemtum
A vitiis, æger solaque libidine fortis :

Delicias viduæ tantum aspernatur adulter.
5 Quid refert igitur, quantis jumenta fatiget
Porticibus? quanta nemorum vectetur in umbra?
Jugera quot vicina foro, quas emerit ædes?
Nemo malus felix; minime corruptor et idem
Incestus, cum quo nuper vittata jacebat
10 Sanguine adhuc vivo terram subitura sacerdos.
hey blind.

1. Ecce denotes surprise. LU. ecce Crispinus minimo me provocat; Hor. I S. iv. 13 sq. R.

'Again' i. 26. LU. understand adest. R. Mihi for a me. VS.

2. A metaphor from the theatre, in which actors were called when it was their turn to appear on the stage. VS. Hernicos ad partes paratos; Liv. iii. 10. R. A slave to vice with no one redeeming virtue.' LU. cf. Pers. v. PR.

3. Feeble both in body and mind.' R. Isti vulsi atque expoliti et nusquam, nisi in libidine, viri; Sen. Cont. i. p. 62. R.

4. To corrupt virgin innocence, to invade the sanctity of the marriage bed, is his delight: intrigues with widows, therefore, have too little turpitude in them to gratify his singular depravity.' G.

5. Nam grave quid prodest pondus mihi divitis auri? arvaque si findant pinguia mille boves? quidve domus prodest Phrygiis innixa columnis? et nemora in domibus sacros imitantia lucos? et que præterea populus miratur? Non opibus mentes hominum curæque levantur; Tib. III. iii. 11 &c. R.

The luxurious Romans built long covered ways in their grounds, that they might not be deprived of their exercise in bad weather: see vii. 178–181. LU. Mart. I. xiii. 5 sqq. V. xx. 8. Plin. Ep. v. 6. 17. R.

Equos fatigat; Virg. Æ. i. 316. GR. 6. Quid illa porticus verna semper? quid illa mollis gestatio? Plin. Ep. i. 3.

PR.

Nemora's 'shrubberies and groves.' Plin. Ep. ii. 17. LI. nemus inter pulcra satum tecta; Hor. III Od. x. 5 sq. R.

7. Land in the immediate vicinity of the forum was of course exorbitantly dear. LU. cf. i. 105 sq. M. The forum of Augustus, which is here meant, was the most frequented part of Rome, i. 192: therefore the purchase of property in land or houses near this spot shows the enormous wealth of this odious upstart. There is also, probably, a covert allusion to his presumption in imitating the Cæsars whose palace and gardens of many acres were in this immediate neighbourhood. G.

"Virtue

8. Nemo potest esse felix sine virtute; Cic." Virtue alone is happiness below;' Pope Ess. on Man, iv. 310. must be the happiness, and vice the misery, of every creature;" Bp Butler Intr. to Aual. See also Lord Shaftesbury's Inq. concerning Virtue, pt. II.

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9. Such was the respect for religion, that the seducer of a vestal virgin' was considered guilty of incest,' and placed upon a par, in criminality, with the violator of all natural decorum. G. The guilty vestal was also considered incesta; Ov. F. vi. 459.

Priests and priestesses wore fillets round the head. LU.

Nullaque dicetur vittas temerasse sacerdos, nec viva defodietur humo; Ov. F. vi. 457 sq. iii. 30. R.

10. This solemnity is thus described by Plutarch: At the Colline gate within the city, there was a subterranean cavern, in which were placed a bed, a lamp, a pitcher of water, and a loaf. The of fender was then bound alive upon a bier, and carried through the forum with great silence and horror. When they reached the place of interment, the bier was set down, and the poor wretch unbound; a

Sed nunc de factis levioribus; et tamen altere

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Si fecisset idem, caderet sub judice morum. ad censorile Nam quod turpe bonis, Titio Seioque, decebat Crispinum. Quid agas, quum dira et fœdior omni 15 Crimine persona est? Mullum sex millibus emit, ng up in reftingquantem sane paribus sestertia libris,

Ut perhibent, qui de magnis majora loquuntur.
Consilium laudo artificis, si munere tanto
Præcipuam in tabulis ceram senis abstulit orbi.

ladder was then brought, by which she de-
scended into the excavation; when, upon
a signal given, the ladder was suddenly
withdrawn, and the mouth of the cavity
completely filled up with stones, earth, &c.
Num. 67. Whether the vestal debauched
by Crispinus actually suffered is doubtful.
But Domitian did put Cornelia and seve-
ral others to death. Suet. 8. Dionys. ii.
65. viii. 90. LU. PR. G. R. see Mar-
mion, cant. ii. note 17.

11. Understand agimus. PR.

12. And yet any other individual would forfeit his life to our imperial censor for a like offence.' Plin. Ep. iv. 11. LU. As Celer, who was guilty of incest with Cornelia, (see above) was scourged to death. PR. Liv. xxii. 57. R. On the censorship exercised by Domitian (Censor maxime principumque princeps; Mart. VI. iv. PR.) see the notes on ii.

29 sqq.

Cadere is opposed to stare in judicio.
And sub means before,' as vii. 13. R.

13. Ille crucem sceleris pretium tulit,
hic diadema; xiii. 105. cf. viii. 182. xi. 1
sqq. 174 sqq. Titius and Seins were fic-
titious personages, like our John Doe
and Richard Roe, and like them inserted
in all law-processes: Toïs dì óvóμaoi ToÚ.
τοις ἄλλως κέχρηνται κοινοῖς οὖσιν ὥσπερ
οἱ νομικοὶ Γάϊον, Σήϊον, καὶ Τίτιον Plut. Q.
R. 30. G. LU. R.

14." When the actor's person far exceeds, In native loathsomeness, his foulest deeds," G. one is at a loss how to treat him.' M.

15. v. 92. Plin. ix. 17. Varr. R. R. iii. 17. Cic. Att. ii. 1. Parad. 5. Ath. i. 5. vii. 21. iv. 13. PR. Surmullet; cf. vi. 40. Mart. II. xliii. 11. VII. lxxvii. XIII. lxxix. III. xlv. 5. X. xxxi. XI. li. 9. Macr. Sat. ii. 12. Suet. Tib. 34. R. Hor. II S. ii. 34. Sen. Ep. 95: M. A mullet' is mugilis. Surmullets were very

plentiful and cheap, but seldom weighed
above 2lbs. In proportion as they ex-
ceeded this they grew valuable, till at
last they reached the sum mentioned in
the text (about £50), and even went be-
yond it. The fish seems to have grown
larger in the decline of the empire, as if
to humour the caprice of this degenerate
people. Horace tifought a surmullet of
3lbs. something quite out of the common
way; the next reign furnished one of
4lbs! here we have one of 6lbs!! and
we read elsewhere of others larger still;
one of 80lbs!!! (unless there be an error
in the figures) was caught in the Red
Sea; Plin. ix. 18. They seem afterwards
to have gone out of fashion, for Macro-
bius speaking with indignation of one that
was purchased in the reign of Claudius
by Asinius Celer for 561. 10s. adds pretia
hæc insana nescimus. The surmullet of
4lbs. was one that was presented to
Tiberius. The emperor sent it to market,
observing that he thought either P.
Octavius or Apicius would buy it.
They did bid against each other, till
it was knocked down to the former for
£40. cf. 23. G.

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16. Sane forsooth,' ironically. LU. Phæd. III. xv. 12. R. Well! and that was only a thousand a pound.

17. Juvenal merely gives the story as he heard it, without vouching for its correctness; since fama vires acquirit eundo; Virg. Æ. iv. 175. GR.

18. I grant you his artifice was praiseworthy as a masterly stroke.' M. cf. St Luke xvi. 8.

19. Cf. ii. 58. PR. præcipua cera the principal place in the will' and consequently the bulk of the property.' The chief heir was named in the second line of the first table. Hor. II S. v. 53 sq. cf. Suet. Cæs. 83. Ner. 17. R. M.

SAT. IV.

20 Est ratio ulterior, magnæ si misit amica,

Quæ vehitur clauso latis specularibus antro.
Nil tale exspectes: emit sibi. Multa videmus,
Nilt
Quæ miser et frugi non fecit Apicius. Hoc tu
Succinctus patria quondam, Crispine, papyro?
25, Hoc pretio squamæ? Potuit fortasse minoris
The Piscator, quam piscis, emi. Provincia tanti
Vendit agrós; sed majores Appulia vendit.
Quales tunc epulas ipsum glutisse putemus
Endoperatorem, quum tot sestertia, partem

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20. A still better reason: for then he may obtain her favours as well as her fortune.' cf. ii. 58 sqq. PR. iii. 129 sqq. M. 21. Instead of glass, they used for the panes of their windows thin plates of mica or Muscovy tale, which was called lapis specularis; SA. the larger these panes, the more expensive would the windows be. M. i. 65. Plin. H. N. xxxvi. 22. 26. Sen. Ep. 86. 90. de Prov. 4. N. Q. iv. 13. hibernis objecta Notis specu laria puros admittunt soles et sine face tota diem: at mihi cella datur, non clausa fenestra; Mart. VIII. xiv. 3-5. Plin. Ep. ii. 17. PR. R. The satire perhaps is aimed at the affectation of the lady, who pretended to conceal herself in a vehicle, which, from its splendour, must have attracted universal notice. G.

22. If you expect any such thing, you will be mistaken.' M.

After videmus understand Crispinum fecisse. R.

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23. Compared with him, Apicius was mean and thrifty.' See note on 15. Among several epicures of this name, one wrote a book on cookery. VS. Plin. ii. 5. viii. 51. ix. 17. x. 48. Sen. Ep. 95. LU. Id. Helv. 10. Dio Cass. 57. The Apicius who is above mentioned, after spending a fortune in gluttony, destroyed himself. PR. cf. xi. 3. Tac. A. iv. 1. Mart. II. lxix. III. xxii. R.

Hoc; understand fecisti. LU.

24.Erst girt round the loins with the papyrus matted or stitched together.' i. 26. Plin. xiii. 11. PR. cf. viii. 162. The papyrus is called patria, as the siluri are called municipes, 33. "Eews, xiruva δήσας ὑπὲρ αὐχένος παπύρῳ, μέθυ μοι διαnovira Anacr. iv. 4. Hor. II S. viii. 10. Phæd. II. v. 11 sqq. BO, p. 283 sqq. R. The savages of the newly-discovered

L

73

islands, and the countrymen of Crispinus
at the present day, are said to wear this
Rear-Admiral Perrée
sort of dress.
says, "La férocité des habitans est pire que
les sauvages; majeure partie habillés en
paille," Intercepted Letters. G.

25. Understand emuntur. LU. squamæ, contemptuously, for the fish.' VS.

26. Asinius Celer e consularibus, hoc pisce prodigus, Caio principe unum mercatus octo millibus numum: quæ reputatio aufert transversum animum ad contemplationem eorum, qui in conquestione luxus, coquos emi singulos pluris quam equos quiritabant: at nunc coci triumphorum pretiis parantur et coquorum pisces; Plin. ix. 17. R.

27. You can purchase still larger estates in Apulia for the money landed property being at a discount in Italy, especially in the wilder parts of it.' but cf. ix. 55. HN. agri suburbani tantum possidet, quantum invidiose in desertis Appuliae possideret; Sen. Ep. 87. N. Q. v. 17. Plin. xvii. 24. Gell. ii. 22. incipit montes Appulia notos ostentare, quos torret Atabulus; Hor. I S. v. 77 sq. nec tantus umquam siderum insedit PR. vapor siticulosa Appuliæ; E. iii. 15 sq. 28. To have gorged.' Hence our word GLUTTON. He now attacks Domitian.

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29. Endoperator x. 138. the obsolete poetical form of Imperator (which is inadmissible in epic verse) used by Ennius and Lucretius: with day, the Greek for in, prefixed. R. Imperator (1) in its simplest sense denotes the general of an army,' administrator rei gerendæ ; Cic. de Or. I. xlviii. 210. (2) More emphatically it is a commander in chief, who, upon a signal and important service, had this title conferred upon him by the acclamation of the soldiers or a decree of the senate.' This, both during the republic,

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