Quis melior plorante gulâ? Ergò omnia fiunt, Nec malè conjectat : quis enim tam nudus, ut illum 160 165 170 endeavours to shame Trebius out of his mean submission to the indignities which he has to expect, if he pursues his plan of attending the tables of the great. A useful lesson is to be drawn from hence by all who affect an intimacy with their superiors, and who, rather than not have the reputation of it, submit to the most insolent treatment; not seeing that every affront which they are forced to endure is only an earnest of still greater. M. 158. Plorante gulá] A disappointed glutton. M. 159. Si nescis] If you know it not already, I now tell you. M. 160. Molari] Dente sc. a mola; a jaw-tooth, a grinder.—Stridere] To gnash and grind the teeth with indignation. 161. Tu tibi liber, &c.] You fancy yourself a gentleman, and fit company for a king, and that Virro invites you as such; while he considers you as a poor wretch glad of a dinner. 163. Tam nudus] So destitute. M.-Ut illum bis ferat] As to go to Virro's table a second time, after such treatment. 164. Etruscum puero si contigit aurum] i. e. If he were a freeborn Roman. The Romans adopted from the Etrurians the custom of adorning their children with the bulla, a round ornament hanging from the neck. It was worn as a badge of distinction by every free-born child. Among the richer classes it was made of gold; among the poorer, of leather or some inferior material. 166. Spes benè canandi vos decipit] Deceives you into a notion, that however ill-treated you may have been before, this will not happen again. M.-Ecce dabit jam, &c.] The whispers of the poor clients to one another, at the bottom of the table. 168. Inde parato, &c.] These poor dependents are represented as silently waiting, with their bread ready cut in slices, (stricto,) for the expected dainty. W.-Longissima cœnæ spes homini. Sat. i. Si potes, et debes. Pulsandum vertice raso 171. Pulsandum vertice raso, &c.] The most probable interpretation given by commentators of these difficult lines, is, that they allude to some indignities put upon the poor client by his insolent patron, for the amusement of his guests. W. 172. Quandoque] Posthac, aliquando. ARGUMENT. Juvenal, addressing Telesinus, a brother poet, describes the hardships and discouragements under which Learning laboured at that time. He pursues the subject regularly through the several classes of-I. Poets,-II. Historians,-III. Lawyers,-IV. Rhetoricians, and-V. Grammarians; and indulges strokes of humour as occasions arise under each head.-From Owen. AD TELESINUM. I. Et spes et ratio studiorum in Cæsare tantùm : 5 1. Ratio] The motive. W. Ratio quâ moventur ; causa, quare ad studia Poëtæ impellantur.-Casare] Domitian, before he came to the throne, and in the early part of his reign, affected to be a great patron of literature. This drew on him a shower of fulsome panegyric from the authors of the day. But the tyrant soon grew weary of the farce, and threw off the mask. Expulsis sapientiæ professoribus, atque omni bonâ arte in exilium actá, is the picture which Tacitus (Agric. 2) gives us of Rome under this "Guardian Deity of Learning," as Quintilian had called him.-Juvenal's compliment, therefore, is plainly ironical and a caustic sarcasm on those who had so extravagantly extolled their Godlike Patron, and expected great things from him. 3. Respexit] "Has viewed with pity," as a deity as Libertas qua sera tamen respexit inertem, Virg. Ecl. i. 28. O. 4. Balneolum Gabiis] A little bath, in a deserted country town. -Conducere] To keep. See on Sat. i. 100.- Furnos] Public bakehouses, where people paid so much for baking their bread. M. 6. Pracones] Criers or auctioneers.-Aganippes] A fountain in Bæotia, sacred to the Muses, at the foot of mount Helicon. W. 7. Atria] The Atria auctionaria, Auction-courts or sale-rooms, in the Forum. Some understand it of the court-yards of great houses, where the poor poets came to ask alms.-Clio] The muse of epic poetry. Nam, si Pieriâ quadrans tibi nullus in umbrâ 10 Quamquam, et Cappadoces faciant, Equitesque Bithyni, Altera quos nudo traducit Gallia talo. Nemo tamen studiis indignum ferre laborem Cogetur posthac, nectit quicumque canoris Eloquium vocale modis, laurumque momordit, 8. Pieria umbra] The grove of the Muses. 16 9. Nomen] Calling.-Victum] Occupation, trade, livelihood.Machara] Some well known auctioneer of the day. 10. Commissa] A military term (see Sat. i. 154. and v. 29.) very happily expressive of the noise and squabbles usual at auctions. Ŏ. 11. Stantibus] Astantibus, circumstantibus. 12. Pacci-Fausti] Two poetasters of the day, whose tragedies of Alcithoë, Thebes, and Tereus, are satirically enumerated amongst the lumber of an auction. 13. Hoc satius] Melius est.-This, mean as it may appear, is still getting your bread honestly, and far better than hiring yourself out as a false witness, and forswearing yourself for a bribe, in open court. M. 14. Equites Asiani, &c.] Slaves from the various provinces of Asia Minor here mentioned, who had risen by infamous arts to equestrian wealth and rank. 16. Altera Gallia] Galatia in Asia Minor, called so from a colony of Gauls who settled there. O-Traducit] Transmittit Romam.-Nudo talo] See Note, Sat. i. 103. 17. Nemo tamen, &c.] Nemo deinceps literatus furnos aut balnea conducere cogetur, aut ullum laborem ferre, suscipere et sustinere, indignum studiis, inhonestum ac turpem doctis hominibus. P.-K. 18. Nectit quicunque canoris Eloquium vocale modis] Quisquis sonantem facundiam jungit argutis numeris. P.-The perfection of heroic poetry, which seems here intended, is the uniting grand and lofty expression, eloquium vocale, with tuneful measures, modis canoris. M. 19. Laurumque momordit] A taste of Apollo's sacred tree was said to communicate poetic inspiration. Hence poets were called δαφνηφαγοι. Hoc agite, ô juvenes : circumspicit, et stimulat vos, Si qua aliunde putas rerum expectanda tuarum 20 25 30 20. Hoc agite] A form of exhortation and encouragement; as Go on, Proceed. 21. Materiam sibi] Occasion to display itself.-Ducis] The Emperor. 22. Aliunde] Ab aliis quam a Principe. R.-Rerum] Studiorum, operum, fortunarum. 23. Præsidia] Patronage.-Crocea membrana tabella] The writing-book of parchment, which is always yellow on the side where the hair grew. Hence Persius calls it bicolor membrana. O. 25. Veneris marito] Vulcano, igni. R.-Telesine] The poet to whom this Satire is addressed. M. 26. Tineâ pertunde] Leave them for the book-worm to per forate. 27. Vigilata pralia] The heroic poems on which you have be stowed sleepless nights. V. 28. Parvá cellá] A wretched garret, as we say. M. 29. Venias] Fias. R.-Hederis et imagine macrá] To have your bust crowned with ivy, and placed in the temple of Apollo. Macrá refers to the meagerness of the recompense, (as in Sat. xiii. 99. Esuriens Pisææ ramus olivæ,) but its literal sense also may be covertly admitted, as alluding to the lean visage of the half-starved poet. 32. Ut pueri Junonis avem] Prettily imitated by Spenser: So praisen babes the peacock's spotted train, Sed defluit atas, &c.] While you are employing yourself to no purpose, as to your present subsistence or provision for the future, by spending your time in writing verses, your life is gliding away, and old age is stealing upon you; your youth, which is able |