Albutî. Canidia, or Gratidia, (see Introduction, 1. Carm. xvi.) threatens poison like that used by Albutius. We are told that Albutius poisoned his wife.] 49. Turius. C. Turius Marinus, an unjust judge. Others read Furius, but the first syllable is long.] 51. Sic collige. Infer by this process of argument: ovλλoyíoai μer' èμoû.] 53. Scævæ. Horace insinuates that the weapon most natural to the cowardly spendthrift, Scæva, was secret treachery, not violence, and that he poisoned his mother to enjoy her inheritance.] 54. Mirum! Used, like pia, ironically.] 60. Ut sis. I fear that you will not be long-lived. After verbs expressive of fear and doubt, the Latin and English idioms are exactly the reverse. See I. Sat. i. 108.] 62. Frigore. Persius has a similar expression : "Vide sîs, ne majorum tibi forte Limina frigescant."- Sat. i. 108.] Per 64. Detrahere et pellem. The ass in the lion's skin. ora cederet. Stalked abroad in public view. Thus Sallust: "Incedunt per ora vestra magnifici." Jug. 31.] 65. Num Lælius. C. Lælius Sapiens, the friend and companion of the younger Scipio as his father had been of the elder. He was the intimate of Polybius also, and Terence, and is introduced by Cicero as a speaker in his dialogues on Old Age and Friendship. Cicero also describes his domestic life.-De Orat. ii. 6. He was the first who introduced Greek literature into Rome and was consul, B. C. 140.] 66. Oppressa... Carthagine. See note, Iv. Carm. viii. 17.] 67. Metello. Q. Cæcilius Metellus, surnamed Macedonicus, after his victories over Andriscus, B. c. 148, was a personal opponent of the younger Scipio, but behaved with magnanimity upon his death. Pliny, H. N. vii. 44.] tulus Lupus was consul, B. c. 167. of Lucilius : 68. Lupo. L. Cornelius LenCicero has preserved some lines "Tubulus si Lucius unquam, Si Lupus aut Carbo Neptuni filius, Putasset esse deos, tam perjurus aut tam impurus fuisset?" De Nat. Deor. i. 23. This See Persius, Sat. i. 114. The last line is not given in strict metre. Cooperto. Pelted.] 69. Tributim. Tribe by tribe, through the thirty-five. Lucilius attacked everybody.] 71. A scena. beautiful allusion to the retirement of the "virtuous Scipio" and the "mild philosopher Lælius" may be illustrated from the description given by Catulus in Cicero ::- "Sæpe ex socero meo audivi, cum is diceret, socerum suum Lælium semper fere cum Scipione solitum rusticari, eosque incredibiliter repuerascere esse solitos cum rus ex urbe tanquam e vinculis evolavissent. Non audeo dicere de talibus viris, sed tamen ita solet narrare Scævola, conchas eos et umbilicos ad Caietam et ad Laurentum legere consuesse, et ad omnem animi remissionem ludumque descendere."— De Orat. ii. 22. Compare Sir Wm. Temple in his retirement, and as far as complete abandonment of political anxieties, C. J. Fox at St. Ann's Hill.] 72. Virtus Scipiada. A Greek idiom, as βίη Ηρακλείη, Lælius, as we have seen, bore the name of Sapiens.] 74. Olus is the frugal supper.] 75. Lucilî censum. Lucilius was one of the equites, so he must have possessed a fortune of at least 400,000 sesterces, or more than 3200l.] 77. Fragili. Compare the fable of the Viper and the File.-Phædr. iv. 8.] 79. Diffindere. This, we are told, was a legal term, signifying to adjourn a matter. But it can scarcely mean here, I see no ground for adjournment. Trebatius perhaps means that there is no part of the argument of Horace which he would wish to disallow.] 81. Sanctarum. Venerable. A term of respect.] 82. Mala condiderit in quem. The short syllable is lengthened by the stress on the cæsura. Trebatius means slanderous lines, and alludes, perhaps, to the law of the Twelve Tables quoted by Cicero. - Tusc. Q. iv. 2. and de Rep. iv. fr. x. Mai: "Nostræ contra duodecim tabulæ cum perpaucas res capite sanxissent, in his hanc quoque sanciundam putaverunt; si quis occentavisset, sive carmina condidisset, quod infamiam faceret flagitiumve alteri.” There was also a Lex Remmia, or Memmia, de Calumnia.] 83. Si quis mala. Horace affects to understand mala as "bad verses."] 86. Solventur...tabulæ. The votes of the judges will be made unnecessary. The indictment will be quashed.] SATIRE II. Let the Sabine farmer, the untutored Ofellus, teach a lesson of temperance to this age of luxury. Health and exercise are the best of condiments, and the faults of the epicure and of the miser are equally unworthy of the man. Wealth should be expended for good purposes, and the best proof of the soundness of a theory is to put it yourself in practice. 1. Boni. My good readers.] 2. Ofellus. Perhaps a neighbour of Horace when he dwelt at Venusia in his childhood. See note, line 112. Bentley proposed Ofella, as the name occurs in Velleius, and this seems preferable if there were more authority.] 3. Abnormis sapiens. Wise without philosophic rule, and a genius though of coarse texture. The normæ are the dogmas of the schools, and while Minerva by itself implies genius, (see note, I. Carm. vii. 5,) the phrase crassa Minerva seems derived from the abilities of the goddess in domestic work.] 5. Stupet... acies. The eye is dazzled.] 11. Militia. Exercise Hunting and riding were the favourite amusements of the Romans; ball-playing and the quoit were novelties introduced from less laborious Greece. See note, III. Carm. xxiv. 56. Compare Cicero: "Exercemur in venando ad similitudinem bellica disciplinæ." - De Nat. Deor. ii. 64.] 12. Studio fallente. The interest of the game agreeably beguiling the laboriousness of the exercise.] 15. Sperne cibum vilem. Ironically. Despise it if you can." Hymettia mella. The best mulsum was made of the rough Falernian wine, (see note, I. Carm. i. 19, and xx. 10,) and Attic honey from Hymettus, (see note, II. Carm. vi. 14,) but Horace ridicules the idea that a thirsty man would wait for it.] 16. Est promus. Your steward is abroad, "and no fish are to be got." The sea is black on account of the 66 tempest, and the same, as it prevents fishing, defends the tenants of the deep.] 18. Unde putas. Whence, think you, or how, have you acquired this? Namely, the power of being contented with humble food.] 19. Non in caro nidore. A dearly purchased flavour. Cicero has a good story in point: :-"Victum Lacedæmonium in Phiditiis nonne videmus. Ubi quum tyrannus cænavisset Dionysius, negavit se jure illo nigro quod cœnæ caput erat, delectatum. Tum is qui illa coxerat: Minime mirum; condimenta enim defuerunt. Quæ tandem inquit ille?-Labor in venatu, sudor, cursus ad Eurotam, fames, sitis; his enim rebus Lacedæmoniorum epulæ condiuntur."-Tusc. Q. v. 34.] 20. Sed in te ipso est. This is one of the many instances in which we find Horace stating with admirable force sound maxims of life most opposite to his Epicurean practice. Pulmentaria. Dainties. 'Oyavia.] 21. Ostrea. This must be scanned as a dissyllable. 22. Nec scarus. See note, Epod. ii. 50. Lagoïs. The meaning is unknown. The context seems to require a fish, but commentators suppose it to be a bird resembling a hare, λayús, in colour, and translate it as grouse, or ptarmigan.] 23. Vix tamen eripiam. I shall scarcely extort or obtain.] 25. Vanis rerum. A Grecism for vanis rebus, like amara curarum."-IV. Carm. xii. 19. Q. Hortensius was the first at Rome who introduced the peacock to the table.] 28. Cocto num. Num is not to be elided, but scanned as a short syllable.] 29. Carne tamen. It is plain that, deceived with the dissimilarity of outside appearance, you prefer to gratify your palate with the flesh of the one we speak of, (the peacock,) more than that of the former, though there is no difference in the meat. In translating this very difficult passage, magis seems put for malle tergere palatum, line 24. Orellius reads: 66 "Hâc magis illam Imparibus formis deceptam te petere! Esto." 15 If any alteration be made in the text, it would be better to read illam and te patet esse, referring illam to rara avis. "It is clear you. eat that more than this." But every interpretation suggested either violates the construction or requires potius instead of magis. It is true that the flavour of the birds differs, but this may not have been obvious to Horace. Imparibus formis applies to the superiority of beauty in the peacock.] 31. Unde datum sentis. A contracted form of expression for unde datum est quod sentias. Whence do you get your power of discriminating? The argument seems to be, "I grant you are attracted by appearance; but then, if this be all, why do you pride yourself on discriminating flavour?" Tiberinus. Epicures preferred the flavour of pike caught between the bridges, the Milvian perhaps and Publician, and that netted at the mouth of the river. The second clause seems only an explanation, érennois, of the first.] 33. Tusci. The Tiber rose in Etruria and flowed into the Mare Tyrrhenum or Tuscum. See note, I. Carm. ii. 14. Trilibrem mullum. An unusual weight, though Juvenal speaks of one of six pounds. Sat. iv. Pliny: "Ex reliqua nobilitate gratia maxima est et copia mullis, sicut magnitudo modica, binasque libras ponderis raro admodum exsuperant."-H. N. ix. 30.] 35. Quo pertinet. "Why do you admire size in mullets, and dis like it in pikes? Because you prefer only what is rare and costly, and therefore unnatural."] 36. Illis. The pike. Hic often refers, as in line 29, to the immediate subject, without the grammatical reference to its position in the sentence.] 38. Jejunus raro. A glutted appetite.] 40. Vellem. 'Ebovλóμŋv av. Said of a dainty he scarcely expects to see. Harpyiis. Storm winds personified in Homer, but monsters with wings in Eschylus and later writers. They were sent to torment Phineus, and spoiled every banquet laid on his table, till the arrival of the Argonauts, when Zethus and Calais drove them to the Strophades. Virgil describes them : "Virginei volucrum vultus, fœdissima ventris Proluvies, uncæque manus, et pallida semper The south 41. Præsentes Austri. See note, I. Carm i. 15. winds are invoked like deities, to come with "ready power." At is introduced with some indignation. Opsonia. The Greek ŏyov signified anything which was eaten as a relish with bread, and was used at Athens especially for fish.] 42. Putet aper. Is offensive. To a vitiated appetite the freshest meat or fish is as good as tainted.] 42. Mala copia. Over abundance. Rape, or colerape, and elecampane were taken as provocatives to create an appetite; the last is called acida, because it was always eaten with vinegar.] 44. Necdum omnis. And yet simplicity in diet has not been entirely banished from the feasts of our nobles.] 45. Pauperies, in Horace, does not signify poverty. See note, I. Carm. i. 18. Juvenal uses reges in the same sense : "Nemo dabit regum, quanti subsellia constent."-Sat. vii. 45. Vilibus ovis. See note, I. Sat. iii. 6.] 46. Haud ita pridem. It is not so long since the table of Gallonius, the auctioneer's servant, (see note, I. Sat. vi. 86,) was notorious for its sturgeon. Sturgeons, in Horace's time, were unfashionable, and turbots, once despised, had superseded them. Gallonius, a man of mean extraction, having made a considerable fortune, spent it in banquetting and indulgence. Cicero speaks of those :- Qui relicta bonorum disciplina, et quæstum et sumptum Gallonii sequi maluerunt, atque etiam quod in illo non fuit, cum audacia perfidiaque vixerunt.” Pro Quint. xxx. He quotes Lucilius in another passage : — 66 "O Publi, O gurges, Galloni, es homo miser, inquit, 47. Erat acipensere. The short syllable is lengthened by the arsis on the cæsura.] 50. Prætorius. The scholiast tells us that Asinius or Sempronius Rufus first introduced the stork to Roman gourmands, and that when he was a candidate for the prætorship and failed, the following lampoon was current :— "Ciconiarum Rufus iste conditor Hic est duobus elegantior Plancis: Suffragiorum puncta non tulit septem. Hence prætorius is only a nickname, "a would-be prætor."] 51. Suaves edixerit. Should have laid it down that roast gulls are palatable. The verb properly refers to the prætor's edicts. Gulls were not eaten at all roast or boiled, as being too fishy.] 53. Sordidus. A mean manner of living will differ from a frugal one.] 55. Avidienus. A miser nicknamed Canis from his unclean habits.] 57. Quinquennes oleas. Kept till they were mouldy. Olives were thought good for nothing after two years.] 58. Nisi mutatum. Hesitates to broach a cask till it has lost its flavour. Literally, to pour the wine from the cask into the cratera or mixing-cup.] 59. Cujus odorem olei. By attraction, for oleum cujus. So Virgil "Urbem quam statuo vestra est.” En. i. 573. Licebit. Although. Epod. xv. 19.] 60. Repotia. Festus derives the word from re and potatio. It was the feast given by the bridegroom the day after his marriage, though the scholiast Acron makes it a party on the seventh day at the house of the wife's parents.] 61. Albatus. On days of ceremony or special sacrifice the Romans rubbed the toga with chalk to make the wool look whiter. Persius : "Negato Jupiter hæc illi, quamvis te albata rogavit."-Sat. ii. 40. Cornu ipse bilibri. Ipse, because he would not trust it to his slaves cornu bilibri, because he was too niggardly to have a decent-sized cruet for his table.] 62. Non parcus. He spares oil and wine, and is liberal only of his vinegar.] 64. Canis, aiunt. As they say (as the proverb is), "the wolf presses you this side, the dog that." These typify gluttony and sordid or filthy habits respectively. The reading angit is a manifest interpolation.] 66. Cultus miser. Unfortunate in his mode of life in neither direction. Neither a gourmand nor a miser. Cultus is the Greek genitive of relation.] 67. Albutî senis. Albutius was so severe a master that he punished his slaves at the table as he assigned their several duties to them, if they were less quick than he wished in fulfilling them; Nævius, such a careless one, that he found no fault with his, if they handed his guests greasy water.] 73. Tibi sederit. Agreed with your stomach.] 76. Lenta... pituita. Indigestive. Scan pituita as a trisyllable.] 77. Cœna dubia. We may illustrate this from Terence : "Ph. Cœna dubia apponitur. Geta. Quid istuc verbi est ? Ph. Ubi tu dubites quid sumas potissimum.”—Phorm. II. ii. 28.] 79. Divinæ particulam auræ. This notion that man's spirit is an emanation from the Divine Being, but defiled by its union with the human body, was held for true by the Pythagoreans and Stoics, and under different modifications by nearly every school of ancient philosophy. The idea may be both illustrated and corrected by re |