C. Trebatius Testa was a jurisconsult of eminence, and a man of honor. He was in the confidence of Augustus, and was consulted by him on legal matters. Horace seems to have been well acquainted with him, though he was many years younger than Trebatius.
Horace pretends to lay before the old lawyer a case for his opinion, and asks what he had better do to meet the malevolence of his enemies. Trebatius advises him to cease from writing, which Horace says is impossible. He was born to write, and must do it. He has no capacity for heroic subjects, and has a passion for imitating Lucilius, to whom he pays a graceful compliment by the way. Trebatius warns him that he runs the risk of being frozen to death by his great friends, or of legal penalties for libel. But, trusting in the goodness of his cause, he sets these dangers at defiance, and resolves to indulge his inclination.
1. Sunt quibus — videor] Horace had undoubtedly in his mind those particular opponents, on some of whom he had retorted in S. 10 of the last book, and, this being the case, the indicative mood is wanted, rather than the subjunctive, after ‘sunt quibus’ (see C. i. 1. 3, n., and compare S. i. 4. 24). By ‘tendere opus’ Horace means he is charged with carrying his work, or straining it, beyond the license properly allowed to satire. ‘Sine nervis’ means ‘without vigor.’ As to ‘deduci,’ see S. i. 10. 44, n.
4. Trebati,] See Introduction.
7. Optimum erat:] Here as below (v. 16) the imperfect indicative is used where the subjunctive might be expected. The Greeks in similar cases sometimes used the imperfect indicative without ἄν, where the usual construction required that word.
Ter uncti Transnanto Tiberim] See S. i. 6. 123, n. The language is a little in the style of a ‘lex.’ ‘Sub noctem’ means immediately after night-fall. See Epod. ii. 44, n. S. ii. 7. 109. Epp. ii. 2. 169. It appears from Cicero’s letters to Trebatius that he was a great swimmer, and Cicero describes himself as having gone home from his house one night “bene potus seroque” (Ad Fam. vii. 22). He may therefore have lived pretty freely.
10. rapit] There is force in this word, ‘hurries you on like a torrent.’
13. quivis] This corresponds to ὁ τυχών in Greek.
14. fracta pereuntes cuspide] Plutarch, in his Life of Marius (c. 25), relates how, on the occasion of a battle with the Cimbri, he altered the spears of the soldiers in such a way that they could not be of use to the enemy. He says that the spear-heads were formerly fastened to the shaft by two iron nails, and that Marius, removing one, substituted for it a wooden peg, which would give way when the spear struck the shield, where it would stick and drag along the ground. From the year B. C. 39 to 31, Augustus was engaged at different times in subduing the Gauls, and he included his victories over them in the first of his three days’ triumphs, in B. C. 29. (See C. i. 2. 49, n.)
15. Aut labentis equo] The Parthians falling under blows inflicted by the arms of Augustus, is a picture he draws from his own imagination, in anticipation of future triumphs. But Augustus never engaged the Parthians in the field. On ‘labentis equo,’ see C. i. 2. 39, n.
16. poteras] See above, v. 7. As to ‘fortem,’ see what is said of ‘Fortitudo’ on C. S. 57. Trebatius says, if Horace cannot write of the victories of Augustus, he may of his virtues, his justice, and moral courage.
17. Scipiadam ut sapiens Lucilius] Virgil uses this form (Georg. ii. 170), “Scipiadas duros bello.” As the elder Scipio had Ennius to praise him (see C. iv. 8), so the younger had Lucilius, who was his intimate friend, and who served under him in the Numantian war. There is no necessity for supposing that Lucilius wrote a separate poem on the exploits of Scipio, though it is not improbable that he did so. ‘Sapiens’ is applied to the poet as ‘doctus’ is elsewhere. See note on C. i. 1. 29. “Haud mihi deero” Horace uses above, S. i. 9. 56.
18. dextro tempore] See below, S. 4. 4: “Cum te sic tempore laevo Interpellarim.”
20. Cui male si palpere] ‘If you stroke him clumsily, he kicks out, and protects himself on every side.’
21. Quanto rectius hoc] Horace says that he may attempt those subjects, but he must wait for an opportunity. And Trebatius continues, ‘How much better is this, than with bitter verses to offend such wretched creatures as Pantolabus and Nomentanus, by which he only excites the fears and hatred of every one!’
22. Pantolabum] S. i. 8. 11.
24. Quid faciam?] ‘What am I to do?’ says Horace. ‘Every man has his taste, and mine is to string verses together like Lucilius.’
Milonius,] This man is said to have been a ‘scurra,’ a parasite, a low fellow who has no respect for himself, who lets himself out, at the price of a dinner, to entertain rich people and their guests with buffoonery and small talk. Milonius, as soon as the wine got into his head, would get up and dance before the company, the lowest proceeding in the eyes of a Roman that could be imagined. ‘Icto,’ in this sense of ‘wine-struck,’ does not occur elsewhere. It is a Greek notion.
26. Castor gaudet equis,] This difference in the tastes of Castor and his brother is expressed in one line of the Iliad (iii. 237), Κάστορά θ᾽ ἱππόδαμον καὶ πὺξ ἀγαθὸν Πολυδεύκεα.
27. quot capitum vivunt,] Compare “Quot homines tot sententiae: suus cuique mos” (Phormio, ii. 4. 14.)
28. claudere] See S. i. 10. 59.
31. neque si male cesserat] ‘Never resorting to anything else, whether matters had gone ill with him or well.’
33. Votiva — tabella] On the practice of hanging up a picture in the temples to commemorate escape from shipwreck, see C. i. 5. 12, n. It was probably not confined to sailors.
34. Vita senis.] Lucilius, the date of whose death is not certain, but who is said to have died in his forty-sixth year, B. C. 103, is here called old only in point of time, as in Epp. ii. 1. 56, “Aufert Pacuvius docti famam senis Accius alti”; and above (S. i. 10. 67), “poëtarum seniorum turba”; and as Aristophanes is called by Persius (i. 124), “praegrandis senex.”
Lucanus an Apulus anceps:] See C. iii. 4. 9, n. ‘Anceps’ is neuter. ‘Sub’ signifies ‘close up to,’ where ‘sub’ has its original meaning ‘up,’ and “the sense of ‘to’ belongs to the accusative termination, not to the preposition.” As to ‘colonus,’ see C. ii. 14. 12, n. ‘Romano’ is used for the Romans, as in Epod. vii. 6, and Tac. Ann. xii. 58.
The colony of Venusia was formed in B. C. 291, the last year of the third Samnite war, when L. Postumius Megellus and C. Junius Brutus Bubulcus were consuls. The town, which was on the borders of Lucania and Apulia, belonged to the Samnites, from whom it was taken by Q. Fabius. (Sabelli was the name given by the Romans to all the tribes which issued from the Sabine stock, of whom the Samnites were one.) Apulia and Lucania were, at the beginning of this war, independent states in close alliance with the Samnites, but after the first year they found it for their interest to desert those allies, and joined the Romans, with whom they continued to unite their forces till the end of the war. Horace’s supposition that one or other of those states was meditating or carrying on war with Rome, is not, therefore, strictly accurate; but they were always very doubtful allies, and were glad to assist their old enemies the Greek cities in their resistance to Rome when they called in the help of Pyrrhus; and it was not till the fall of Tarentum, B. C. 272, that these, in common with the other southern states of Italy, finally acknowledged the supremacy of Rome and accepted their freedom from her. It was in consequence of the commanding position of Venusia, in reference to the three nations of the Samnites, Apulians, and Lucanians, that the Romans sent there in the above year (B. C. 291) a colony of twenty thousand persons. This place was of great use to the Romans in the war with Pyrrhus. After their reverse at the battle of Heraclea, A. U. C. 474, the remnant of their army retreated to Venusia, and here many found refuge after the defeat of Cannæ. The quantity of the second syllable in Venusinus, Horace makes short here, and in C. i. 28. 26. Juvenal lengthens it (vi. 167): “Malo Venusinam quam te, Cornelia, mater Gracchorum,” where, as here, the humble inhabitant of Venusia is contrasted with the proud matron of Rome. ‘Quo ne’ (v. 37) is an unusual expression, in which ‘quo’ is redundant.
39. Sed hic stilus haud petet ultro] On this use of ‘sed,’ see C. iv. 4. 22, n. ‘Ultro’ means here ‘wantonly,’ without provocation or cause. See C. iv. 4. 51, n.
43. ut pereat] ‘Ut’ is an imitation of the Greek use of ὡς, expressing a wish. He hopes that his adversaries will let him alone, and leave his sword (that is, his pen) to rust. From ‘at ille’ the construction is a little irregular, but the abruptness of the several clauses is well suited to the occasion: ‘but for that man that provokes me, he had better not touch me, I cry; he’ll suffer if he does,’ &c.
47. Cervius iratus — urnam,] Cervius appears to have been an informer. He is not the man mentioned in S. ii. 6. 77. ‘Urnam’ means either the urn into which the judices put their tablets, or that into which their names were put for drawing the jury. Either way it is equivalent to ‘judicium.’
48. Canidia Albuti quibus] Albutius was perhaps a person notorious for having poisoned somebody, and ‘Albuti venenum’ may have become proverbial. We meet with an Albutius below (S. 2. 67), who, from his character, may have been the same as this.
49. Grande malum Turius,] Of this person we know nothing. He threatens his adversary with an adverse judgment if he ever has a private suit tried before him.
50. Ut quo quisque valet] In what follows it is Horace’s purpose to show that it is a law of nature that every one should use the means of defence that are given him, and he is only acting on this law when he employs satire in self-defence. ‘Unde’ in v. 52 belongs to ‘monstratum,’ as, in the next Satire, v. 31, “Unde datum sentis” ‘by what suggested if not from within?’ Of Scæva we know nothing. What Horace says is, that he would, like other animals, resort to the means most natural to him, which were not violence, to which cowards have an aversion, but poison.
54. Mirum, Ut neque] ‘Strange! yes, as strange as that the wolf does not kick, nor the ox bite.’
58. seu Mors atris circumvolat alis,] This representation of death hovering over a man with dark wings, may have been taken from a painting.
60. Quisquis erit vitae scribam color] This loose collocation of words is not uncommon in Horace. It ought not to be imitated.
O puer, ut sis] See Introduction. This sentence illustrates the rule respecting verbs of fearing, that they “have the subjunctive with ‘ne’ if the object be not desired, with ‘ut’ if it be desired” (Key’s L. G. 1186), to which the note is “Observe that the Latin inserts a negative where the English has none, and vice versa.”
64. Detrahere et pellem,] Compare Epp. i. 16. 44. Each of the Scipiones had a Lælius for his intimate companion. This is C. Laelius Sapiens, the friend of P. Scipio Africanus Minor, and well known through Cicero’s treatises ‘De Senectute’ and ‘De Amicitia,’ in the former of which he is a listener, in the latter the principal speaker. As to the following verse, see C. iv. 8. 18, n. Lucilius was on terms of close intimacy with these two friends.
67. Metello] Q. Cæcilius Metellus had the cognomen Macedonicus given him, for his successes against Andriscus, the pretender to the throne of Perseus, king of Macedonia. Horace means to say that Scipio and Lælius were not offended at the wit of Lucilius, nor feared it might turn upon themselves, when they saw him attack Metellus. Why he did so is uncertain.
68. Lupo] Who Lupus was is not certain. His name appears in many of the fragments of Lucilius. The most probable person is L. Cornelius Lentulus Lupus, who was consul B. C. 156. What he had done to provoke Lucilius’s satire we do not know, but Cicero (De Nat. Deor. i. 23) has preserved a verse of his in which Lupus is classed with the perjured and profligate.
Atqui Primores populi] ‘Atqui,’ which is a form of ‘at quin,’ means ‘but he did, did he not?’ ‘Tributim,’ throughout all the tribes: he attacked the optimates and plebeians, and all without distinction. As to the tribes, see Epp. i. 6. 52, n. ‘Aequus’ means ‘favorable to.’
72. Virtus Scipiadae] On this form, see above, v. 17. See also S. i. 2. 32, n., on the expression ‘virtus Scipiadae.’ Lælius, as above mentioned, had the cognomen Sapiens given him, and any one who reads Cicero’s treatise that bears his name will understand Horace’s epithet ‘mitis.’ One of the Scholiasts relates a story of Lælius running round the dinner-table, and Lucilius pursuing him with a napkin, to flog him. Lucilius was born B. C. 148, and Scipio died B. C. 129. He was therefore but a boy when he thus played with these friends; and if, as Horace’s language implies, he wrote satires in Scipio’s lifetime, they were probably the more intemperate sallies of youth. But Horace may be mistaken. The fare of these great men was of the simplest kind. (See note on S. i. 6. 115.)
75. Infra Lucili censum] Horace had before intimated (v. 34, n.) that he, a poor man’s son, born in a provincial town, was not to be compared with Lucilius, a Roman citizen, who was rich, and had a fine house in the Forum.
78. nisi quid tu,] This is equivalent to saying, ‘This is what I think, Trebatius; but I shall be glad to defer to your opinion if you differ from me.’
79. nihil hinc diffindere possum.] The meaning of ‘diffindere’ is not quite clear. Perhaps it has the same sense as ‘secare’ above (S. i. 10. 15, and Epp. i. 16. 42); that is, ‘to decide.’ If so, Trebatius says he cannot decide the question from the premises Horace has put before him (‘hinc’).
80. Sed tamen] By the XII. Tables, the writing of scurrilous verses was among the few offences that were punishable with death. See Dict. Antt., Art. ‘Injuria,’ and compare Epp. ii. 1. 153. There was a ‘lex Cornelia de injuriis,’ which probably included the offence of writing scurrilous verses. When Trebatius says there is ‘jus judiciumque,’ he means that there is law, and also there are legal proceedings, for this case. ‘Ne forte’ is used as in C. iv. 9. 1, where see note, and compare Epp. i. 1. 13; 18. 58; ii. 1. 208. ‘Sanctarum’ is a participle, ‘quae sanciuntur.’ ‘Sancire legem’ was to affix the penalty to a ‘lex,’ and so give it effect. See Cic. de Am. c. 12.
85. latraverit,] ‘Latro’ is used as a transitive verb in Epod. v. 58, and Epp. i. 2. 66, and so it is here, ‘What if one barks at a man who deserves rebuke, he himself being untainted?’
86. Solventur risu tabulae,] The ‘tabulae’ are the tablets (‘tabellae judiciariae’) by which the judices declared their votes, and Trebatius probably means to say, that the votes of the judices will be decided by the amusement of the scene, or else that the severity of their votes will be melted by it; that is, that the matter will be treated as unworthy of serious consideration; the judices will laugh at the joke, and acquit the defendant.
The object of this Satire is to teach the advantages of moderate eating. Of Ofella, the person into whose mouth Horace puts the chief part of his precepts, we know no more than we may gather from the Satire itself,—that in Horace’s youth he was the owner of an estate near Venusia, and that his property was taken from him and made over to one of the veteran soldiers, named Umbrenus (v. 133), and that he afterwards rented, as ‘colonus,’ a farm on that estate which was once his own. This transfer took place, in all probability, when the troops returned to Italy after the battle of Philippi, B. C. 42, at which time (among several other districts) the Venusinus ager was distributed among the soldiers. It has been supposed that Horace visited his native place, and renewed his acquaintance with Ofella, on his return from Brundisium. (See Introduction to S. i. 5, sub fin.) The old man, unchanged by the reverses of fortune, industrious and uncomplaining, exhorting his sons to frugality and contentment, is a pleasant picture, and helps by contrast to illustrate the gluttonous and luxurious habits of the city.
2. quae praecepit Ofella] See Introduction.
3. abnormis sapiens, crassaque Minerva,] A man wise without rule, and of plain mother wit. Cicero (De Amicit. c. 5) uses the expression “agamus pingui Minerva” as a proverbial one. Minerva was the goddess of wisdom, and ‘crassa Minerva’ therefore means, proverbially, a coarse kind of wisdom.
4. inter lances mensasque nitentes] The wealthy Romans had already learned to fill their rooms with costly furniture, and to make a display of their plate, whether in the shape of useful or ornamental vessels. Very much of the plate thus displayed was of foreign manufacture, and very costly, and much of it was of great antiquity, and a good deal taken from Greek and Asiatic temples, and brought to Rome by various conquerors (Marcellus and Mummius in particular), by extortionate governors, or by the travelling ‘mercatores,’ who thus brought home the proceeds of the goods they took abroad. The dishes of the rich were very generally of silver, so that the ‘lances’ here mentioned would be, not only those which appeared for show, but those also in which the viands were served. ‘Lances’ is here used as a generic name for dishes; but there were particular names, as ‘patina,’ ‘catinus,’ ‘scutula,’ ‘gabata,’ ‘paropsis,’ all of different shapes and for different uses.
There appears to have been no article in which the Romans showed more extravagance than their tables; and Pliny relates of Cicero that he gave a million sesterces for a table of the sort called ‘orbes.’ These consisted of single slabs, sometimes of great diameter.
9. Corruptus judex.] Horace likens the man whose judgment is biassed by a fine table and good dinner, to a judex who has been tampered with. (See C. iv. 9. 39, n.)
Leporem sectatus equove] There is some confusion raised in this long sentence by the introduction of the words ‘pete cedentem aëra disco.’ Horace means at first to say, “When you have tired yourself with hunting the hare, with riding an unbroken horse, or (supposing the rougher sports are too much for you) with ball-play or throwing the discus, and are dry and hungry, then see if you will despise the commonest food, and call for rich mulsum.” Instead of which he says: “After hunting the hare or wearying yourself with riding, or if (supposing you are only accustomed to Greek sports, and the Roman are too much for you) ball-play occupies you or the discus, then throw the discus, but when fatigue shall have banished fastidiousness, and you are dry and hungry, then see if,” etc.
10. Romana — Militia] This is a way of expressing Roman sports.
11. seu pila velox] The ball play, which was so common an amusement in one shape or other among the Romans, was introduced from Greece, though the Romans had varieties perhaps of their own invention.
13. Seu te discus agit,] The throwing of the discus likewise was of Greek origin, and belonged to the heroic age. It had no resemblance to the quoit, by which name it is sometimes rendered, but was a round flat plate of metal or stone, sometimes nearly a foot in diameter.
14. Cum labor extuderit] ‘Extundo’ is nowhere else used in this sense, but it is a very apt word for the occasion. Hunger beating fastidiousness out of a man represents the power of the one, and the contemptible character of the other, very well.
15. nisi Hymettia mella Falerno] This constituted the drink called ‘mulsum,’ οἰνόμελι, which was commonly drunk at the preparatory course called ‘gustus’ or ‘promulsis’ (see S. i. 3. 6, n.), the former name being taken from the dishes that were eaten as a whet to the appetite, and the latter from the mulsum that was taken with them. The use of the strong Falernian wine for this mixture, in which the usual proportion was four of wine to one of honey, is condemned below, S. 4. 25.
16. promus] This was one of the ‘ordinarii’ or upper domestic slaves, whose duty it was to take charge of the wine-cellar and larder. He was hence called ‘cellarius,’ also ‘procurator peni,’ ‘steward of the provisions.’ Another name he bore was ‘condus,’ because he had to take into store (‘condere’) the provisions that were left or brought in for consumption, and, as the same person who locked up also took out the provisions (‘promere’), both names were united in one, ‘conduspromus.’
17. hiemat mare:] ‘Hiemat’ is copied from the Greek χειμάζεται.
18. Latrantem stomachum] Compare ‘iratum ventrem’ (S. ii. 8. 5). A hungry man is vulgarly said to “have a wolf in his belly,” to this day.
19. Qui partum?] The subject is only to be gathered from the context. ‘Whence do you suppose this appetite springs, or how is it obtained?’
20. pulmentaria quaere] The Scholiasts tell us a story of Socrates, that, when he was taking a long walk, he accounted for his activity by saying ὄψον συνάγω, ‘I am getting sauce for my dinner.’ See Epp. i. 18. 48.
21. ostrea Nec scarus] These were all served up with the ‘gustus,’ to stir up the appetite. Oysters were eaten raw or dressed. The ‘scarus’ was a fish not known in these days. It was rare, even among the Romans, and imported from the Ægean Sea. Martial says it was good for the stomach, but of poor flavor. The ‘lagois’ is described by the Scholiast as ‘a bird of the color of a hare’; beyond which we know nothing about it. ‘Ostrea’ is here used as a dissyllable. Of the other things of which the ‘promulsis’ usually consisted, some are given below (S. 8. 8, sq.). The peacock was a dish lately introduced when Horace wrote.
23. posito pavone] ‘Ponere,’ for putting on the table, occurs below (S. 4. 14).
24. tergere palatum,] ‘To wipe the palate,’ is a novel expression.
25. vanis rerum,] See C. iv. 12. 19, n.
28. Cocto num adest] The ‘m’ is pronounced with the following word, as is common in Terence.
30. deceptum te petere!] The infinitive ‘petere’ expresses a feeling of indignation. This infinitive is dependent on some such phrase as ‘credendum est.’ The sense is as follows: “To think that, although in the quality of the flesh there is no difference, you should prefer the pea-fowl to the other, deluded by the superiority of its beauty.” ‘Hac’ refers not to the bird last mentioned, but to that which the speaker prefers, or is defending; just as we have ‘his’ and ‘illis’ changing places below (36, 37).
31. Unde datum sentis] The sentence goes on thus ‘Be it so: grant that you may be taken in by the eye, in the matter of the bird with a fine tail; but what sense can tell you whether such and such a fish was caught in the Tiber or in the open sea, between the bridges or at the mouth of the river?’ This is not a very well chosen question. That part of the river which is meant by ‘inter pontes’ lay between the Pons Fabricius, which joined the Insula Tiberina with the left bank, and the Pons Sublicius, and between these bridges the Cloaca Maxima emptied itself. Here the stream was more than usually rapid, and ‘jactatus,’ ‘tossed,’ expresses this. It would not require a very keen epicure to distinguish a fish caught in those waters; and the fish taken at sea, if it was the same fish, would be out of season and coarse. The ‘lupus’ is said to have been of the pike kind.
33. Ostia sub Tusci?] ‘Sub’ with the accusative, in phrases of place, seems to have the meaning it has in phrases of time, ‘immediately after’ (see Epod. ii. 44, n.); so that ‘sub ostia’ would be ‘immediately on entering the mouth.’ But it usually in these phrases follows a verb of motion and means ‘close up to’; and if it be so understood here, the verb of motion must be supplied, ‘as you approach close up to.’ The Tiber is called ‘Tuscus amnis,’ as (C. i. 20. 5) it is said to be Mæcenas’s ‘paternum flumen,’ because it rises in Etruria.
34. Mullum] The mullet was a fish in high estimation for a great number of years. Martial speaks of one of two pounds as the least that should be put upon a fine dish. This, Pliny says, was a size it rarely exceeded. Juvenal tells a story of a man who bought a mullet of six pounds, at a thousand sesterces for each pound (iv. 15). The bearded mullet, as it was called, was held in highest esteem. Horace says the man is mad to admire a mullet of three pounds, since to be served up it must be divided into as many separate dishes (see Epp. i. 18. 48, n.).
36. Quia scilicet illis] ‘Illis’ does not refer to the more remote object here, but to the nearer, as in v. 29 (see note). ‘His’ refers to the mullet.
40. At vos, Praesentes Austri,] ‘Now may ye, O potent south winds.’ ‘At’ is a particle of exclamation, when a sudden emotion is expressed, as mentioned above (Epod. v. 1). The winds are invoked as deities. As to ‘praesens’ in this application, see C. i. 35. 2.
41. quamquam] ‘Though I need not invoke your help; for the boar and the fresh turbot lose their flavor, when the stomach is gorged and seeks stimulants.’
42. rhombus] This fish, if it was the turbot, was not less esteemed by the Romans than by ourselves. The finest were caught in the Hadriatic, near Ravenna, whence the fish that caused such a sensation in Juvenal’s story (iv. 37, sqq.) he calls “Hadriaci spatium admirabile rhombi.” But it is not certain that we know what fish is meant by the ‘rhombus.’ Respecting ‘rapula’ and ‘inulae,’ see below, S. 8. 51. On the use of eggs at the ‘promulsis,’ see S. i. 3. 6. The sense in which Horace uses the words ‘pauper’ and ‘rex’ is nowhere more marked than here (see C. i. 1. 18, and C. i. 4. 14).
47. Galloni praeconis erat acipensere] This person, who lived in the time of Lucilius and was noticed by him, is said to have introduced the ‘acipenser,’ which fish is said to be a sturgeon. In respect to ‘praeconis,’ see S. i. 6. 86, n.
50. auctor docuit praetorius.] It is said one Rufus was the first to bring into fashion the eating of young storks. When he lived, it is impossible to say. He must have served the office of prætor, from the epithet Horace gives him. The stork went out of fashion, as Ofella predicts; and though gulls did not take its place, cranes came into vogue. See S. ii. 8. 87. As to ‘auctor,’ see C. i. 28. 14, n. The word ‘edixerit’ is a play upon the ‘edictum’ of the ‘praetor.’
52. pravi docilis] ‘Ever ready to learn what is bad.’ The construction is like ‘docilis modorum,’ in C. iv. 6. 43. ‘Pravus’ signifies ‘crooked,’ as opposed to ‘rectus,’ ‘straight’; and so ‘pravum detorseris,’ below (v. 55), is literally ‘turn yourself awry.’ ‘Pravis talis’ (S. i. 3. 48) are ‘crooked ankles.’
53. Sordidus a tenui] Horace goes on to show that moderation is not meanness, and that propriety lies in a middle course.
55. Avidienus,] This man was a miser, but nothing more is known of him. He was ‘a dirty dog,’ and so the name Canis was properly applied to him.
58. defundere] ‘Diffundere’ means, as mentioned before, to draw wine from the ‘dolium’ into the ‘amphora,’ ‘testa,’ or ‘cadus,’ (all the same kind of vessel,) in which it was kept till it was fit to drink. When poured thence into the ‘crater,’ to be mixed for drinking, it was said to be ‘defusum.’ This miser’s wine was of a poor kind, probably not fit to be bottled in the first instance, but only to be drunk from the ‘dolium.’ He bottled it, and did not produce it for consumption till it was turned (‘mutatum’).
59. licebit Ille repotia] On ‘licebit,’ see Epod. xv. 19. ‘Repotia’ was a ‘coena’ sometimes given, the day after marriage, by the husband. I am not aware that any explanation of the custom is to be met with. The marriage-dinner was given by the husband. As that was usually a scene of nothing but unrestrained merriment, perhaps the religious ceremonies, required properly to inaugurate the new life of the married couple, and to propitiate the Penates and Lares, were usually deferred to this day; and the sobriety of the ‘repotia’ was probably designed to make amends for the license of the ‘coena nuptialis.’ The Romans observed their birthdays with religious accuracy. See note on C. iv. 11. 8.
61. albatus] They took care on every holiday to have their togas especially clean. The ordinary toga was not dyed. The natural whiteness of the wool was increased by the process of cleaning, in which it was rubbed with different kinds of fuller’s earth (‘creta fullonis’), and also exposed to steams of sulphur, which removed stains of any kind. ‘Albatus,’ therefore, signifies in a toga which has just come from the ‘fullo.’ It was usual for persons who were canvassing for offices to have their toga unusually whitened with an extra supply of ‘creta,’ whence they were called ‘candidati.’
cornu ipse bilibri] The ‘cornu’ was the horn vessel in which the oil was kept. Instead of having a cruet or small vessel suited to the dinner table, such as wealthy people usually had of silver and others of cheaper material, he would bring down the big horn, and with his own hand (‘ipse’), lest others should be too liberal, drop the smallest quantity of oil upon the cabbage, while of his old vinegar, which would turn his guests, if he had any, from the dish, he was free enough.
64. aiunt.] τὸ λεγόμενον, ‘as the saying is.’ It was perhaps a common proverb to express a dilemma, though not now met with elsewhere.
65. Mundus erit qua non] ‘A man will be decent so far as (‘qua’) he does not offend by meanness, and is on neither hand sordid in his way of living.’
67. Albuti senis] See S. ii. 1. 48, n. The Scholiasts say the savage old man used to flog his slaves before they did wrong, “because,” said he, “when you do wrong I may not be at leisure to flog you.” ‘Dido,’ ‘to distribute,’ is different in sense and etymology from ‘divido.’ The latter is connected with ‘iduo,’ ‘idus’ (C. iv. 11. 16, n.), the former with ‘do.’ ‘Dido’ is commonly used by Lucretius.
68. ut simplex Naevius] Of Nævius nothing is known. ‘Simplex’ is ironical. A story is told by Plutarch, in his Life of Julius Cæsar (c. 17), of Valerius Leo, who put before the dictator some asparagus covered with ointment instead of oil. Such ‘simplicity,’ amounting to an indifference to the decencies of life, and a want of consideration for others, which some people almost look upon as a virtue, Horace very properly describes as a great vice.
70. Accipe nunc] Horace now goes on to show the advantage of moderate living, especially as connected with health.
73. Quae simplex olim tibi sederit;] ‘Which, before you mixed it with other things (while it was ‘simplex’), remained quiet upon your stomach.’
76. Lenta — pituita.] The tough mucus secreted by the intestines. The first and third syllables of ‘pituita’ are long, the second, therefore, here coalesces with the third.
77. Coena — dubia?] This expression is copied from Terence, and means such a good dinner that you cannot tell what to eat first. Phorm. ii. 2. 28.
79. Atque affigit humo] Debauchery not only affects the body, but depresses the spirit, and unfits it for the duties of life. The expression ‘affigit humo’ reminds us of the words of David, “My soul cleaveth to the ground.” The same sense, though in a different connection, is conveyed by Cicero’s words (De Senect. c. xxi.): “Est enim animus caelestis ex altissimo domicilio depressus et quasi demersus in terram, locum divinae naturae aeternitatique contrarium,” which serves also to illustrate ‘divinae particulam aurae.’ This expression may have been taken from some old writer.
82. ad melius poterit transcurrere] ‘May betake himself to better fare.’ As to ‘quondam,’ see C. ii. 10. 17, n.
87. mollitiem,] ‘Indulgence,’ which, as applied to youth, must be understood in a bad sense; but to age or sickness in a good, as that which infirmity or disease requires.
89. Rancidum aprum] What Horace means to say is, that their hospitable forefathers, rather than eat their boar by themselves, while it was fresh, would keep it till it was high, in case a stranger should drop in to eat of it with them.
93. tellus me prima] See S. i. 3. 99.
94. Das aliquid famae] ‘I suppose you allow something to good report, seeing that more welcome than music it comes to the ear of man. If so (he goes on), consider that these luxuries are as discreditable as they are noxious. Also, they leave you without friends, and will bring you to penury.’
95. patinaeque] The ‘patina’ was a covered dish in which meats were brought in hot from the kitchen. ‘Patruus’ was as proverbial a name for tyranny on the male side of the family, as ‘noverca’ on the female. See C. ii. 12. 3. S. ii. 3. 87.
99. As laquei pretium.] This was a proverb, or became so after Horace.
Jure, inquit, Trausius] The glutton is supposed to answer, ‘This sort of language is suited to Trausius: but to one who is as rich as I am, it does not apply.’ Of Trausius the spendthrift, nothing is known. All we have to infer is, that he lived profusely upon small means, and ruined himself, which the speaker considers himself too rich ever to do. ‘Vectigalia’ is used for a private fortune, in C. iii. 16. 40. Its use is appropriate here, in connection with ‘regibus.’
101. Ergo Quod superat] ‘But if you have more than you want, cannot you find better objects to spend it on?’
103. indignus] This has the same sense as ‘immeritus’ (C. iii. 6. 1, and elsewhere), ‘innocent.’ Forcell. gives other examples. As to the state of the temples and their restoration, see C. ii. 15, Introduction, and note on C. iii. 6. 1.
106. Uni nimirum] “He hath said in his heart, I shall not be moved, for I shall never be in adversity” (Ps. x. 6), is very like the argument Horace puts in his rich man’s mouth,—the man whose fortune was large enough for three kings. He argues that he is so rich that he never can be otherwise. As to ‘nimirum,’ see Epp. i. 9. 1, n.
107. Uterne Ad casus dubios] On ‘ne,’ see S. i. 10. 21, and with ‘dubios’ compare C. iv. 9. 36.
111. aptarit] ‘Has fitted on his armor,’ as it were.
112. Quo magis his credas,] He brings forward Ofella, as an instance, in particular, of the way in which a man who has been frugal in prosperity can meet the reverses of fortune.
113. latius] This word is used as ‘angustius’ in the opposite sense. It means ‘more profusely.’ I am not aware that it is so used anywhere else. ‘Metato in agello’ is the farm which has been marked out by the public surveyor (‘metator’), and assigned to Umbrenus. (See Introduction.) This participle is used passively in C. ii. 15. 15. ‘Fortem’ has been explained in the note on C. S. 58, and for ‘colonum,’ see C. ii. 14. 12, n. As ‘colonum’ signifies a tenant, ‘mercede’ (‘rent’) is only added to give additional force to the contrast. It makes rather a clumsy sentence. Farms were held either on payment of rent, or of a certain part of the produce of the land; but ‘merces’ could not mean the latter. A ‘colonus’ who held on the latter terms, was called ‘partiarius.’ ‘Temere’ signifies that which is done without consideration, because habitually done.
116. luce profesta] ‘Profesti dies’ were working days, as opposed to ‘festi’ or ‘feriati’ (S. 3. 144, sq.). ‘Profestis’ is opposed to ‘sacris’ in C. iv. 15. 25.
119. operum vacuo] Compare C. iii. 17. 16, “operum solutis,” and A. P. 212, “liberque laborum.”
120. bene erat] ‘We made ourselves happy.’ See C. iii. 16. 43.
122. cum duplice ficu.] Some take this for a large coarse kind of fig (‘marisca’), double the size of an ordinary one. Others take it for a fig split in two, and so dried. It is possible Horace may mean two figs.
123. Post hoc ludus erat] “After this we amused ourselves by drinking with ‘culpa’ for our ‘magister,’ or ‘rex bibendi,’ συμποσίαρχος” (C. i. 4. 18, n.). It appears that they agreed between themselves as to some mode of drinking, and established a penalty for the transgression of it, which transgression (‘culpa’) was to do that which at drinking parties, where a president was appointed, he might do arbitrarily; that is, either mulct a guest of a cup of wine, or make him drink an extra cup, or anything else he chose, as a fine for misbehavior. In short, Ofella means it was a quiet and primitive sort of way of proceeding, unlike the new fashion introduced from Greece, and followed in fine houses, of having a symposiarch to preside (S. ii. 6. 69, n.).
124. Ac venerata Ceres ita] On this use of ‘veneror,’ see C. S. 49, n. ‘Ita’ introduces the object of the prayer. It is usually followed by ‘ut’ introducing a condition. But as with ‘sic,’ that is not always the case. See note on C. i. 3. 1.
127. parcius — nituistis] ‘Have ye been in worse condition, less sleek and fat?’ ‘Ut,’ ‘ever since,’ as “Ut tetigi Pontum vexant insomnia” (Ovid, Trist. iii. 8. 27). ‘Propriae’ signifies one’s own in perpetuity, as below (v. 134), “erit nulli proprius”; and S. ii. 6. 5. Aen. (i. 73): “Connubio jungam stabili propriamque dicabo.”
131. vafri] The law was as plain as its subjects admitted, though to ignorant people it must often have appeared subtle, and that is the meaning of ‘vafri.’
133. Umbreni] See Introduction.
This Satire appears to have been written during the Saturnalia, in the month of December, B. C. 32. The year before, Agrippa had been Ædile, and his ædileship is alluded to in v. 185. It was written at Horace’s country-house, not long, it may be supposed, after it was given him. He was improving the house at the time, as we may infer from v. 308. The Satire is general, taking in the leading vices and follies of human nature,—ambition, avarice, extravagance, lust, superstition, which are brought together with some ingenuity.
One Damasippus, a man who had wasted a good fortune in speculating as an amateur in all sorts of costly articles, particularly works of art, in which he was held to be a connoisseur, is introduced in a new character, as a Stoic philosopher, reproving Horace for his laziness, and urging him to write. He relates the story of his own conversion to philosophy, which was this. When he had lost all his fortune, and was hopelessly involved with money-lenders, and found himself laughed at and called madman wherever he went, he grew desperate, and was going to throw himself into the Tiber, when he was arrested by Stertinius, an oracle of the Stoics, who remonstrated with him and consoled him, and at the same time armed him against his enemies (v. 297) with a long homily, in the course of which he proved that all the world, but the good and wise, were as mad as he was. In this discourse he enumerates the chief features of this universal madness, and this forms the bulk of the Satire.
Of Damasippus very little is known. But he was a real person, though perhaps a little before Horace’s day. Why Horace should have chosen this man as the mouth-piece of his Satire does not appear. Damasippus says himself, it is true, that, having ruined his own affairs, he had nothing to do but to attend to the affairs of others; which Horace interprets to mean, that he had taken to giving advice when it was not asked (see v. 27, n.).
Stertinius appears to have been an authority among the Stoics of the day. The Scholiasts tell us he wrote 220 books on the doctrines of that school. Damasippus calls him (v. 296) “sapientum octavus.” His books, if he ever wrote them, have not rescued him from oblivion. Horace mentions him again, in Epp. i. 12. 20, as the representative of the sect.
The discourse of Stertinius turns upon this dogma, that every man in the world, high or low, is mad, except the sage (see note on v. 46). Cicero has argued the same doctrine of the Stoics in his Paradoxa (iii. ὅτι πᾶς ἄφρων μαίνεται), but he does not go very deep into the subject, or throw much light upon it.
2. Membranam poscas,] Horace speaks of parchment (‘membrana’) only twice (A. P. 389), ‘charta,’ which means the Egyptian papyrus, being his usual equivalent for a book. From the thin coats of the papyrus the name ‘liber’ was derived, and parchment was less generally used in Horace’s day than the papyrus; though that material was also commonly employed. ‘Texere chartam’ is a common expression for putting the pieces of the papyrus together. ‘Retexere scripta,’ therefore, means to take to pieces or tear up what is written, or to take out leaves and substitute others, with different writings upon them.
3. vini somnique benignus] This is a Greek construction ‘freely indulging in wine and sleep.’ ‘Dignum sermone’ means ‘worthy of being talked about.’
4. At ipsis Saturnalibus] The use of ‘at’ in replies is common. ‘But, say you, while the Saturnalia were going on, you ran away to this place’ (his farm); i.e. that he might write something worth reading. ‘Well, then,’ Damasippus proceeds, ‘since you have kept yourself sober, give us something equal to what you have led us to expect.’ The Saturnalia was celebrated on the 17th of December, to represent the liberty of the golden age of Saturn (S. ii. 7. 4, “libertate Decembri”), and therefore one of its chief features was the license granted, for the one day that the feast lasted, to slaves. They had all the mockery of freedom for a few hours, which they spent, like their betters, in rioting. The feast belonged more to the country than the town, and was properly a farmers’ festival. But it was attended with greater disturbances in the city; and one who wanted to be quiet at that time would be glad to retire to the country.
6. Nil est:] ‘It’s no use,’ as if Horace were preparing an excuse.
7. calami,] The reed used by the Romans for writing appears to have been precisely the same as the ‘kulum’ now used throughout the East. Like the papyrus, it was chiefly brought from Egypt, and, when cut and ready for use, differed scarcely at all from the pens we employ. As the bad workman finds fault with his tools, the poet is supposed to get in a passion with his pen and beat the wall by his bedside, because his ideas would not flow fast enough. He who was unfortunate was said to have been born when the gods were angry; here Damasippus adds, ‘and the poets too.’ Compare S. ii. 7. 14.
9. minantis] ‘Promising.’ So the Greeks sometimes used ἀπειλεῖν. And, on the other hand, ‘promittere’ is used in the sense of ‘minari.’
10. tepido] Horace was delicate, and disliked the cold, and in the winter was glad to retreat to his country-house, where he could get plenty of wood and a good fire. (See Epp. i. 7. 10, sq.) But his residence in the valley of the Licenza was itself sheltered, and probably at some seasons warmer than Rome.
11. Quorsum pertinuit stipare Platona Menandro,] ‘Quorsum’ is a contraction of ‘quo versum,’ ‘to what point turned or tending.’ Plato was a comic writer, and a rival of Aristophanes. As to Eupolis, see S. i. 4. 1, n., and for Archilochus, see Epod. vi. 13, n.
13. virtute relicta?] I have more than once had occasion to remark, that the notion of perseverance is involved in the Roman ‘virtus’ (see C. S. 59), and it is so here, being opposed to ‘desidia’ (v. 15). But it means more, for it implies moral courage and a strong will, which were in great esteem among the Romans. Damasippus supposes the poet to be consulting his ease and his cowardice at the same time; and says, if he thinks to silence jealousy by ceasing to write, he will only find himself the object of contempt; and if he means to be idle now, he must be content to lose the reputation won in his better days of energy. As to Siren, see Epp. i. 2. 23.
16. Damasippe,] See Introduction. Horace prays, in the words of a common formula, that Heaven will send Damasippus, to reward him for his good advice, a barber to shave his long beard. He may be supposed to have let his beard grow long, with the affectation peculiar to those who called themselves philosophers; and Horace means that to be delivered from that folly would be the best boon that could be bestowed upon him. (See below, v. 35, and note on S. i. 3. 133.) ἐκ πώγωνος σοφοί was the Greek way of representing such persons,—men whose wisdom lay in their beards.
18. Janum Ad medium] There appear to have been three arches dedicated to Janus in the Forum Romanum, one at each end, and one in the centre, near to the Arcus Fabianus at the extremity of the Via Sacra. They are alluded to again, Epp. i. 1. 54: “Haec Janus summus ab imo Perdocet”; i.e. the whole Forum. Near the middle arch were the ‘tabernae’ of the principal money-lenders.
20. Olim nam] This position of ‘nam’ is peculiar to the poets. See below, v. 41, and elsewhere.
21. vafer — lavisset Sisyphus aere,] Homer (Il. vi. 153) calls Sisyphus κέρδιστος ἀνδρῶν. Damasippus says he used, before he lost all his money, to employ himself in purchasing and reselling all kinds of valuable property; among the rest, vessels of Corinthian bronze (often, but improperly, called brass), of such antiquity that Sisyphus, the founder of Corinth, might be supposed to have used them for washing his feet. The rage for antiquated pieces of furniture went on increasing, and appears to have gone to absurd lengths during the empire.
22. infabre,] ‘In an unworkmanlike manner.’ The reverse of this is ‘affabre,’ used by Cicero (in Verr. Act. i. c. 5). The art of founding is of great antiquity, though the earliest metal statues were beaten out of lumps with the hammer. It was a process of much nicety, and the fitting of the parts required great skill.
24. unus] See S. ii. 6. 57; A. P. 32.
25. Mercuriale] Damasippus means that his skill in making bargains was so well known, that he was called, all over the town, a ward of Mercury. The more usual construction is with the dative. See below, v. 47, n. ‘Compita’ were those spots where two or more streets converged to a point, or crossed one another. At these places idlers lounged, and passengers stopped, if they were so disposed, to offer a prayer to the Lares publici or Compitales, whose altars were erected there. (See below, v. 281, n.)
27. morbi purgatum] This genitive follows the Greek construction. Horace calls the man’s mania for bargains a disease, and he is surprised how he ever got over it. ‘But,’ says he, ‘you have only exchanged that disorder for another (that of giving advice where it is not wanted), as the patient in a lethargy has been known suddenly to jump up and assault the doctor. Provided, however, you don’t follow his example, be it as you please.’ ‘Trajecto’ is a medical word. ‘Miser’ is also said to be a medical word for ‘diseased.’ ‘Hic’ means ‘any one,’ ‘such a one.’
31. O bone, ne te Frustrere:] ‘My good sir, don’t deceive yourself.’ We have ‘o bone’ below (S. 6. 51). It is like the Greek ὦ ᾽γαθέ.
32. prope omnes,] Stertinius would not allow of any exceptions to this rule (see note on v. 44), and ‘prope’ therefore may be looked upon, not as limiting ‘omnes,’ but perhaps as softening the expression a little. It is hard to give the word a distinct meaning in C. iv. 14. 20, and below in the 268th verse of this Satire (see note on the former passage). The Greeks would use ὡς ἔπος εἰπεῖν in the same way.
33. Stertinius] See Introduction. ‘Crepo’ is nowhere else used in a good sense, and it is put into Damasippus’s mouth ironically. ‘Unde’ means ‘from whom,’ i.e. Stertinius.
35. pascere barbam] See above, v. 17, n. πωγωνοτροφεῖν is a term used by the later Greek writers. The Pons Fabricius, from which Damasippus was going to throw himself into the river after he became bankrupt, connected the Insula Tiberina with the left bank, and was just outside the walls, facing the south end of the Mons Capitolinus. It had lately been rebuilt with stone, having been formerly (as may be supposed) made of wood. There are still ruins of this bridge, which now bears the name Ponte di Quattro Capi. The Fabricius who built it was Curator Viarum, as appears by an inscription upon one of the arches.
38. Cave faxis] The last syllable in ‘cave’ used with the subjunctive (sometimes with and sometimes without ‘ut’) is always short. ‘Pudor malus’ is what the French call ‘mauvaise honte.’
40. insanus haberi.] Those persons who called him a clever fellow as long as he appeared to be succeeding, now that he had failed called him a madman. Success was their criterion of wisdom, as it is with most people. ‘Qui vereare,’ ‘because you are afraid.’
41. Primum nam inquiram] ‘Nam’ is sometimes used to introduce an explanation, as here and in Epp. i. 1. 76. Compare Cæsar (B. G. iii. 28): “Morini Menapiique longe alia ratione ac reliqui Galli bellum gerere coeperunt. Nam quod intelligebant maximas nationes quae proelio contendissent, pulsas superatasque esse, continentesque silvas ac paludes habebant, eo se suaque omnia contulerunt.” (See Key’s L. G. 1452.)
42. pereas quin fortiter] ‘Why you should not resolutely destroy yourself.’
44. Chrysippi porticus] This was the στοὰ ποικίλη or picture-gallery at Athens, in which Zeno first taught, and from which his followers derived their name. The Stoics admitted no mean between perfect wisdom, or virtue, and absolute folly, or vice. The fool, therefore, was a madman, and he was a fool who was ignorant of the truth: and this maxim (‘formula’) applies to all men except the sage; the sage, therefore, is he who is perfectly acquainted with the truth, which is the Stoics’ equivalent for a virtuous man. This theory of virtue led to the doctrine of punishments ridiculed by Horace in the third Satire of the first book. The Stoics allowed no gradations of virtue, and therefore admitted no gradations of punishment. Their notion of a sage altogether was irrational, because no such being as they imagined a sage to be ever existed, and they did not suppose it possible he should. Their intention was good, namely, to put before the world the highest standard of virtue, wisdom, and self-control, and, by withholding all credit from any stage short of perfection, to lead men on to desire perfection.
47. qui tibi nomen Insano] The dative is right. See above, v. 25, n.
50. utrique] Horace uses both the singular and plural of this word.
51. hoc te Crede modo] ‘Believe yourself to be mad within this limit (or to this extent), namely, that he who laughs at you is no wiser, and drags his tail behind him (just as much as you do).’
53. caudam trahat] Mischievous boys play tricks upon half-witted people in the streets, such as tying something behind them to make them look ridiculous. In some such way the proverb may have arisen.
Est genus unum] This is the first class of fools, those who are afraid where no fear is: the second being those who care nothing for danger. Compare with this the language of Socrates in Xenophon (Mem. i. 1. 14), τῶν τε γὰρ μαινομένων τοὺς μὲν οὐδὲ τὰ δεινὰ δεδιέναι, τοὺς δὲ καὶ τὰ μὴ φοβερὰ φοβεῖσθαι.
56. varum] It is not certain whether ‘varum’ or ‘varium’ is the proper reading. ‘Varum’ signifies that which diverges. See S. i. 3. 47, n.
58. cum cognatis,] ‘Amica’ agrees with ‘mater.’ It is not a substantive. The word ‘cognatis’ embraces all blood relations who can trace back their origin to a common pair of ancestors.
59. serva!] ‘Take care!’ a word common in the comic writers (see Forcell.).
60. Fufius] Nothing more is known of this actor and of Catienus than is here mentioned. The ordinary story of Polydorus, the son of Priam, is that which Euripides relates in the Hecuba, that he was intrusted to the care of Polymestor, king of Thrace, and murdered by him for his gold. Another legend (see Dict. Biog. ‘Polydorus’) makes him intrusted to the care of his sister Ilione, who was wife of the above Polymestor. She, for some reason, put him in the place of her own son Deiphilus, and the latter was brought up as her brother. When the Greeks took Troy, they required Polymestor to put Priam’s son to death, and he accordingly killed Deiphilus. On this story, Pacuvius founded a tragedy called Ilione, and in one of the scenes the ghost of Deiphilus is introduced in his mother’s bed-chamber, calling upon her to give his body burial in these words (preserved in Cic. Tusc. Disp. i. 44):—
“Mater, te adpello quae curam somno suspensam levas,
Neque te mei miseret; surge et sepeli natum.”
Fufius acted Ilione, and Catienus was Deiphilus. The former was so drunk that he fell fast asleep, and Horace says, if 200,000 Catienuses had screamed in his ear, he would not have heard them. His part was to start up and cry to the vanished ghost, like Hamlet,—“Age, adsta, mane, audi, iteradum eademmet ista mihi” (Cic. Acad. Prior. ii. 27). Cicero made a proverb of these words, ‘Mater, te appello,’ using them in various illustrations. See his speech Pro Sestio, c. 59.
62. Huic ego vulgus] Stertinius goes on to prove that the generality of men are as mad as the above persons.
63. Errori similem] ‘Errorem’ is understood, and it is governed by ‘insanire’ as a cognate accusative, ‘error’ being equivalent to ‘insania.’ Compare Epp. i. 1. 101.
64. Insanit veteres] In the first place, says he, if Damasippus is mad for buying old statues, is he less mad who trusts him?
65. Esto!] εἶεν, ‘be it so,’ a way of passing on to the disproving of the proposition by a reductio ad absurdum. ‘If I offer you a purse of money as a free gift,’ says Stertinius, ‘are you mad if you accept it? Is not he the fool who rejects the treasure that Mercurius in his bounty offers, seeing he may never be so kind again?’
68. quam praesens Mercurius fert?] This notion appears to be taken from a painting. It is common, in ancient works of art, to see Mercurius represented with a purse in his hand, and his wings on his cap or feet, offering the former, as in haste, to some figure by him.
69. Scribe decem Nerio;] These words, to v. 73, are an invective of the money-lender Perillius against his slippery debtor Nerius. And the Stoic replies to him in ver. 74 and the two following verses. The sense is this: ‘Make an entry (says Perillius) of ten (minae, or anything else) lent to Nerius; add by way of security a hundred such bonds as Cicuta employs, and to this any number of fetters you please (that is, take what security of him you choose), still the rascal will escape.’ To which the Stoic replies, ‘If he is mad who ruins himself and cannot pay his debts, you are more mad for lending him money which you have no chance of getting back again.’ The banker (‘argentarius’), through whom the money was advanced, would make an entry in his books, which entry was legal evidence of the debt, but Perillius says that with such a slippery fellow it would not be sufficient.
Nerius may stand for anybody of this character. Cicuta is said to be a nickname given to some notorious usurer, for his sour temper. Horace represents him as a shrewd person to have dealings with; one who, when he advanced money, looked well to the security, and when he bound a debtor, tied the knot tight.
71. Proteus.] For the story of Proteus, see Hom. Odyss. 410, sqq., 455, sqq. (which Virgil has imitated, Georg. iv. 405, sqq.); Ovid, Fast. i. 369, sqq.; A. A. i. 761:—
“Utque leves Proteus modo se tenuabit in undas;
Nunc leo, nunc arbor, nunc erit hirtus aper.”
72. rupies in jus] See note on S. i. 9. 77. ‘Malis ridentem alienis’ is a proverbial way of expressing a hypocrite, who puts on a face not his own. The words are taken, without strict regard to their application, from the Odyssey (xx. 347), οἱ δ᾽ ἤδη γναθμοῖσι γελοίων ἀλλοτρίοισι, where the suitors of Penelope laugh when they would rather have cried, like “Quin et Ixion Tityosque vultu Risit invito” (C. iii. 11. 21). The sense is, that this cunning debtor, when his creditor sues him, will put on all kinds of characters, tell all manner of lies, get out of the obligation, and laugh at his creditor, let him do what he will to bind him.
74. Si male rem gerere] See v. 40, n.
75. Putidius] This Forcellini explains, I believe correctly, “insanius et quasi corruptius.” As ‘scribere’ signifies to make an entry, ‘rescribere’ signifies to cancel the entry, which would be done when the debt was paid, and not before. ‘Quod tu nunquam rescribere possis’ therefore means ‘what you can never recover.’ ‘Dictare’ is to dictate the form of bond for the borrower to write out, or the sum to be entered in his own books, and either way is equivalent to lending money. When the unjust steward in the parable told his master’s debtor to sit down quickly and write less than he owed, he was said ‘dictare,’ and the man was to write an acknowledgment in the form of a bond.
77. togam jubeo componere,] This only means to sit down and composedly attend to what he is going to say. He turns from Damasippus to an imaginary mixed audience, and addresses four classes chiefly: that is to say, the ambitious, the avaricious, the luxurious, and the superstitious.
83. Nescio an Anticyram] On the phrases ‘nescio an,’ ‘haud scio an,’ ‘I incline to think it is so,’ see Key’s L. G. 1421. Anticyra was a town of Phocis on the Sinus Corinthiacus, and was celebrated for the production of hellebore, a medicine used very generally in cases of madness. It would seem probable, from ver. 166 and other places, that patients went to reside at Anticyra sometimes. There were two other places of the name, one in Thessaly, another in Locris, each of which is said to have produced hellebore, but see note on A. P. 300. ‘Destinare’ is a medical term for prescribing. Stertinius says that he rather thinks reason would prescribe the whole produce of Anticyra for the covetous, whom he reckons the worst of the four.
84. Staberi] This person is unknown. The exhibition of gladiators was originally a funeral ceremony, and so continued after the practice became common as a popular entertainment. After the funeral of a wealthy man a distribution of meat to the people (‘visceratio’) was not unusual, and a public banquet (‘epulum’) was very common, to which persons of the highest distinction that the friends could get to attend were invited. The distribution of corn (‘frumentatio’) was also a common practice. This Staberius, who considered it a disgrace for any man to die poor, willed that the amount of his property should be recorded on his tomb, and his heredes, if they did not do this, were, by a condition in his testament, ‘damnati,’ under a penalty, to celebrate his funeral with gladiatorial shows and an epulum on a scale to be determined by Arrius, which would be a costly scale. ‘Damnati’ is a legal term, and penalties were common in Roman wills. We must infer from the text that 200 pairs of gladiators were in Horace’s day an extravagant number, but in later times it would not have been excessive.
86. arbitrio Arri,] Quintus Arrius (see below, v. 243) was well known in his day. He was a man of low character and origin, and rose by timeserving to honor and wealth. On one occasion he gave an extravagant funeral entertainment.
87. Frumenti quantum metit Africa.] This is a proverbial expression. See C. i. 1. 10.
88. ne sis patruus mihi.] This is as much as to say, ‘Don’t dictate or lay down the law for me.’ As to ‘patruus,’ see C. iii. 12. 3, and above, S. 2. 97.
89. prudentem] Cicero defines ‘prudentia’ thus: “Sapientis est providere, a quo sapientia est appellata prudentia.” What Staberius provided for is related in what follows.
90. summam patrimoni] It would seem from this as if he had not increased the property his father had left him, since the amount of his patrimony was the amount to be engraved on the tomb.
91. Quoad] This is to be pronounced as a monosyllable.
93. perisset] The pluperfect is properly joined with the imperfect in this construction. Compare S. i. 6. 79, and Terence, Phorm. i. 2. 69, “Non si redisset ei pater veniam daret”; and Adelph. ii. 1. 24, “Si attigisses ferres infortunium.” ‘Nequior’ has irony in it. But Staberius’s doctrine was that goodness was measured by wealth, and that if he should die poorer by the fourth part of an as, he would, in the same proportion, be in his own esteem a less virtuous man.
97. Sapiensne? Etiam, et rex,] ‘Wise? say you. Ay, and a king to boot, and anything he shall please.’ But ‘etiam’ in replies means ‘even so.’
99. Quid simile isti] ‘But what likeness,’ says some one, ‘is there between that person of yours and Aristippus’? If he is mad (the man means), surely Aristippus is more mad.
100. Graecus Aristippus?] Aristippus of Cyrene professed to be the slave of no passion, while he gratified all. He cared nothing for money, while he used it for the purpose of sensual indulgence. The story Horace mentions is derived with little variation from Diog. Laert. (ii. 77). See Epp. i. 1. 18, n.
103. litem quod lite resolvit.] Which settles one doubtful point by raising another. It supposes that the conduct of Aristippus may by some be considered noble.
104. Si quis emat citharas,] Sir Henry Halford relates an instance of lunacy which illustrates this: “In another well-known case which justified the Lord Chancellor’s issuing a writ ‘de lunatico inquirendo,’ the insanity of the gentleman manifested itself in appropriating everything to himself and parting with nothing. When strongly urged to put on a clean shirt, he would do it, but it must be over the dirty one; nor would he put off his shoes when he went to bed. He would agree to purchase anything that was to be sold, but he would not pay for it. He was, in fact, brought up from the King’s Bench prison, where he had been committed for not paying for a picture valued at £1,500 which he had agreed to buy; and in giving my opinion to the jury I recommended them to go over to his house in Portland Place, where they would find £15,000 worth of property of every description; this picture, musical instruments, clocks, baby-houses, and bawbles, all huddled in confusion together on the floor of his dining-room. I need not add, that the jury found the gentleman insane.” (Halford’s Essays, p. 63.)
106. formas] Here this signifies a shoemaker’s last. It is used for moulds in which castings are made, and would express any shape or block on which anything is made.
107. Aversus mercaturis:] The poets use the dative after verbs, participles, and adjectives, which signify removal or difference. See Key’s L. G. 987. Compare C. ii. 4. 19: “Tam lucro aversam.” ‘Istis’ (v. 108) is the dative under the same rule. This Latin use accounts for our own ‘averse to.’
115. Chii veterisque Falerni] Pliny says, respecting the age of Falernian, “Falernum nec in novitate nec in nimia vetustate corpori salubre est. Media ejus aetas a quinto decimo anno incipit.” (N. H. xxiii. 20.)
116. nihil est,] ‘A thousand,—nay, that is nothing.’ He might have said ‘immo.’ See S. i. 3. 20, n.
117. unde-Octoginta annos natus,] After he has completed seventy-nine years, that is, in his eightieth year.
118. stragula vestis,] The ancients had very expensive coverings for their beds, which were called ‘stragula’ or ‘stragulae vestes.’ They were usually purple, wide, and sometimes richly embroidered.
121. morbo jactatur eodem.] That is, madness. The word ‘jactari’ is applied medically to the tossing of the sick and writhing of those in pain.
123. Dis inimice senex,] This is an adaptation of θεοῖς ἐχθρός, a common Greek expression.
127. perjuras,] ‘Pejerare’ is the common form of this word.
129. servosque tuos quos aere pararis,] ‘Quos aere pararis’ shows the folly of the man who, having laid out his money in the purchase of slaves, employs himself in breaking their heads with stones. Such a man, says Stertinius, would be counted mad by acclamation. ‘Well, then,’ he adds, to the miser, ‘are you not mad, who poison your mother or strangle your wife, to get rid of the expense of keeping them? Of course not; for you do it, not at Argos, but at Rome; not in the character of Orestes, but of a respectable citizen. But do you not believe Orestes was mad before he killed his mother, and when no one suspected it?’ As to ‘quid enim,’ see note on S. i. 1. 7.
130. pueri clamentque puellae:] “‘Que’ in the poets is sometimes placed, not after the second of the two words compared, but after a word which is the common predicate of both clauses.” (Key’s L. G. 1441.) In a note, Professor Key adds, “A construction that probably began with a repetition of the predicate, ‘pueri clament clamentque puellae.’” See below (v. 157), “furtis pereamque rapinis,” and many other instances.
137. male tutae mentis] ‘Tutus’ was in medical language equivalent to ‘sanus.’ ‘Incolumis’ is used in the same sense (v. 132).
141. Hanc Furiam, hunc aliud] What Horace alludes to when he speaks of Orestes calling Pylades names, is uncertain. In the Orestes of Euripides (v. 264) he says to his sister:
μέθες· μί᾽ οὖσα τῶν ἐμῶν ἐρινύων
μέσον μ᾽ ὀχμάζεις, ὡς βάλῃς ἐς Τάρταρον.
splendida bilis.] ‘Splendida’ is a redundant epithet. Persius, who imitates Horace frequently, calls it ‘vitrea bilis’ (iii. 8). Galen says, “The black bile is brighter than the blood itself, like the asphalt from the Dead Sea, which they call Jewish asphalt.”
142. Opimius] This man, who was ‘magnas inter opes inops’ (C. iii. 16. 28) is quite unknown except from this description. On the wine of Veii see note on C. i. 9. 7, and Persius (S. v. 147): “Veientanumque rubellum.” On ‘Campana trulla,’ see S. i. 6. 118. ‘Trulla,’ which has the same element as τρύβλιον, was a drinking cup of some shape. It was not necessarily of earthen-ware, as here. Cicero (in Verr. ii. 4. 27) mentions one made of a single precious stone of enormous size, with a gold handle.