the scorching heat of satire, and its fierce glare (cf. the lantern of Diogenes, seeking a man).” 52. Agitem, pursue, handle (these themes). Quid magis, sc. agitem. Heracleas, Diomēdēas, Heraclēïds, Diomedēïds; epics on the adventures of Hercules or Diomedes. The form is the same as in Odyssea. 54. Puero (i. e. Icaro). Best taken as ablative of instrument, "as it is the boy's dead weight" (well says Mayor) "that strikes the sea." See note on verse 13 supra. Simcox considers puero as dative of disadvantage (wrongly called dative of the agent), "the sea which the boy found he had struck." C. 173, 4. Fabrum, joiner; a term applied in sarcastic depreciation to this consummate artist Daedalus. 55 sq. "By the lex Voconia (B. C. 169) no citizen of the first class (classicus), i. e. whose estate was assessed at 100,000 asses or more, could make a woman his heir. But the law might be evaded by bequeathing the estate to a third party in trust for the woman." Here the pander husband, wittolly conniving at his wife's guilt, “is the heres fiduciarius of the rich adulterer; and may himself claim, for his risk as trustee, the fourth part of the inheritance.” Capiendi, of receiving the inheritance. 56. Spectare lacunar. As if wrapt in thought. Or the beauty of the ceiling, gilt and inlaid with ivory, might be an excuse for distraction. Sometimes the panels in the ceiling shifted, and displayed scene after scene to the guests. Mayor. C. 244, 3. 57. Ad calicem, over his cup. quam etiam ad vinum diserti sint. 59 sq. Caret... censu, has lost all his family estate (of a senator or knight), squandering it on his stables; and hence seeks a military command for his maintenance. On caret cf. Cic. Tusc. i. 36: Triste enim est nomen ipsum carendi, quia subjicitur haec vis: habuit, non habet; desiderat, requirit, indiget. Cf. Cic. pro Coel. 28, 67: nonnum- 61. Flaminiam (viam). The Flaminian Way was the great northern road from Rome, extending to Ariminum. It was begun in the censorship of C. Flaminius, Hannibal's unfortunate opponent. Skirting the Campus Martius (where it is now the Corso) it left the city by the porta Flaminia (now porta del popolo). It was much frequented. Puer Automedon, (like a) young Automedon. As we might say, the young Jehu. Automedon was the charioteer of Achilles. 9- Juv. 61, 62. Nam-amicae. Himself his own page, he shows himself off to his brazen-faced mistress, who wears a man's cloak, his "Bloomer mistress" Mayor calls her. 63. Nonne libet, does not one feel inclined. 66 Ceras. 'Pugillares" or tablets, which were thin pieces of wood usually of an oblong shape, covered over with wax on the inner sides. They were fastened together at the back by means of wires (for hinges), so that they opened and shut like our books; and to prevent the wax of one tablet rubbing against the wax of the other, there was a raised margin around each. The wax was written on by means of the stilus. Dict. Antiq. 64. Sexta cervice: sex cervicibus. The chair is carried on the shoulders of six slaves. The subject of feratur is signator (67). 65. Patens, exposed (to view). In what case is nuda cathedra? (Scan the line.) - Nuda paene, almost uncovered or unveiled, i. e. with the curtains drawn. - The cathedra was used chiefly by women. "In the sella (line 124) you sat, in the lectica (32) you reclined, and in the cathedra you were able to loll.” 66. Reminding you strongly of the way in which Mecenas used to sprawl. Simcox. Mæcenas was notorious for his luxury and effeminacy. Referens, recalling. 67 sq. A friend, called in at the mortal agony to give validity by his signature to the will, takes that opportunity to deceive the testator. Mayor. Signator falso, the signer and sealer of a forged will. With our punctuation (which is both the traditional one and adopted by all the recent editors except Mayor), the syntax of falso cannot be explained without some difficulty. It has been regarded (1) as an adverb, qualifying the noun like an adjective (see Nägelsbach's Stilistik 75); (2) as an ablative, and (3) as a dative: in the last two cases instrumento (J. F. Gronovius) or signo (Heinrich) being supplied, or falsum being taken as a substantive in the sense of a forgery (as the term is used in the Roman law; cf. Plin. Ep. ii. 20, 12) or a forged instrument. Mayor follows Turnebus and Ruperti in punctuating signator, falso, etc., which punctuation Madvig approves in case his own conjecture signato falso be not adopted. With Mayor's pointing, falso would be translated by forgery. The best conjectural readings are signator falsus and signator falsi. Lautum, "genteel;" a gentleman. - Beatum, rich. 68. His high respectability and wealth cost him two little tablets, on which he writes the forged will, -("it would be enough to say (Gaius ii. 117) Titius heres esto or Titium heredem esse jubeo", and the trouble of moistening his ring to get a clean impression in attaching his signet. 69. Occurrit, sc. mihi. Matrona potens, some powerful matron; or the powerful matron, for dramatic individualization. There were many instances of the infamous crime here described among women of high rank in Rome. Ribbeck places the four verses 69-72 between verses 76 and 77. 70. Viro sitiente. Generally explained as abl. absolute: a rare construction, where the noun in the abl., in the parenthetical clause, might have been expected to stand in the main clause (here in the dat., after porrectura). Weidner feels constrained by the position of the words to take viro as dat. and supply eo with sitiente. But a dative is unnecessary here, or at least can be left to be supplied in the mind (e. g. ei). Translate: who, about to offer mild Calenian, when her husband is thirsty, mixes with it the bramble-toad. 71. Melior, an improvement on. Lucusta was a professional poisoner, employed by Agrippina to poison Claudius, and by Nero to poison Britannicus. Galba ordered her to be executed. 73. Aud' aliquid. Notice the elision of the long syllable in the first thesis. See L. Müller, de re metr. 286 sqq. 74. Aliquid, the reading of the MSS. (Pw) is stronger than the aliquis of many editors. Cf. Cic. in Caecil. 48: ut tu tum aliquid esse videare. Plin. Ep. i. 23, 2: erraverim fortasse qui me aliquid putavi. Plat. Apol. ad fin. làv dokữσí тi elvai μndèv ŏvres. C. 119, 4. Gyaros, a small rocky island among the Cyclades, was used as a place of deportation of the worst criminals. 76. Stantem, standing out in bold relief. 78. Praetextatus, i. e. "in his teens." 80. Cluvienus. Some obscure poetaster, otherwise unknown. 81. Ex quo, from the time when. 83. Mollia. Cf. Ov. Met. i. 400 sqq. Proleptic. Remember, however, in translation, that our own language admits of prolepsis. 84. Pyrra Pyrrha. The wife of Deucalion. Ov. Met. i. 260 sqq. 86. Discursus, restless pursuits, men's uneasy runnings to and fro, or runnings and chasings, after wealth and honor, or even lower objects. In this meaning it is a word of the silver age. Cf. Sen. ad Ser. de ot. 6, 5: discursus et sudor. Brev. vit. 3, 2: officiosa per urbem discursatio. Est follows the number of the predicate farrago, as it commonly does when the predicate is a substantive and the copula follows immediately upon it. C. 111, 3. 87. Et often begins an indignant question. Hand Turs. ii. p. 492. 87 sq. Quando-sinus, i. e. When were the sails of avarice more widely spread? Three other translations have been proposed: viz.: (1) When did a larger haven lie open to avarice? (2) When did the gulf of avarice yawn wider? (3) When did the toga fold of avarice open wider (i. e. to pocket her gains)? Alea... animos. Supply habuit. — Hos = = tales. 89 sq. Men do not go to the gaming-table with their purses only, but they stake their money-chests. Tabulae, sc. aleatoriae. Loculi (in this sense plurale tantum masculinum) were small coffers, of wood or ivory, in which money, jewels, or other valuables were kept; here distinguished from the large arca, a "strong-box" or money-chest, bound with iron. 91 sq. The cashier or steward is the arms-bearer, the arms in this battle being coins. "The word dispensator, like dispendium, pensio, pound, stipendium, recalls the time when money was weighed for every payment." Mayor. 93. Reddere, here, as often, means to give as in duty bound; to give one what is his due. 94. Quis avus. Fercula septem. Augustus contented himself with three courses, or, when he had guests, with six at most. Suet. 74. 95. Secreto. Contrary to the advice of Epicurus: "Choose your company first, and then your provision. For it is a lion's life or a wolf's to gorge without a friend." Sen. Ep. 19, 10. Sportula. "In the days of Roman freedom, clients were in the habit of testifying respect for their patron by thronging his atrium at an early hour, and escorting him to places of public resort when he went abroad. As an acknowledgment of these courtesies, some of the number were usually invited to partake of the evening meal. After the extinction of liberty, the presence of such guests, who had now lost all political importance, was soon regarded as irksome, while at the same time many of the noble and wealthy were unwilling to sacrifice the pompous display of a numerous body of retainers. Hence the practice, under the empire, of bestowing upon each client, when he presented himself for his morning visit, a certain portion of food as a substitute for the occasional invitation to a regular supper (cena recta), and this dole, being carried off in a little basket provided for the purpose, received the name of sportula. For the sake of convenience, it became common to give an equivalent in money, the sum established by general usage being a hundred quadrantes. In the atrium, the servus nomenclator handed the money over at the morning visit of salutation, at which the clients were obliged to appear in the toga. The donation in money, however, did not entirely supersede the sportula given in kind. (See Satire iii. 249 sq.)" 97. Ille. The patron. Inspicit, scrutinizes, pries into, examines searchingly. 99. The nomenclator, or slave who calls out the names of the people, is here called ironically praeco, "his lordship's crier." 100. Trojugenas. "The older families claimed a mythical descent from the Trojan Aeneas and his companions; as the Julia gens from Iulus, the Sergia gens from Sergius, the Memmii from Mnestheus." Vexant, "infest." 101. Da, etc. The words of the master to the dispensator. 104. Fenestrae, holes (for ear-rings). 105 sq. Quinque... parant, my five shops bring me in an income of four hundred thousand sesterces, which was a knight's estate. With quadringenta supply sestertia. Another interpretation of quinque tabernae, based upon Livy xxvi. 27, is given by Heinrich after Dusaulx, and meets with much favor among recent editors: viz., the five banking-houses bring me in, etc., alluding to the man's transactions on 'change. This last translation, however, is rejected by Becker (i. 297) and by Mayor. 106. Purpura major, i. e. the latus clavus or laticlave. See Lex. s. vv. clavus, D., and laticlavius. 108. Corvinus was a cognomen of the Messalae, who were a branch of the gens Valeria, one of the oldest families in Rome. Custodit conductas oves, keeps sheep for hire (i. e. as a hired laborer). 109. Pallas, brother of the procurator Felix before whom Paul preached, was a freedman of Claudius, and was worth over two millions sterling. Licinis. Generic plural. Licinus was a Gaul, a prisoner of Julius Caesar who emancipated him and made him his dispensator. Under Augustus he amassed great wealth as procurator of Gallia. C.37, n. 1. 110. Sacro honori, etc., i. e. let him not give place to (make way for) the inviolable tribune, whose person was sacrosanctus. Abstract for concrete. 111. Pedibus albis. Slaves newly imported are said to have had their feet chalked or marked with gypsum when exposed for sale. M |