Their foreheads, and have placed ornaments all over the neck, Is cried aloud: with no horn here the female minstrel sounds. The Baptæ, accustomed to weary the Cecropian Cotytto. 91 Lengthens with oblique needle, and paints, lifting them up, his trembling Eyes; another drinks in a priapus made of glass, 95 And fills a little golden net with a vast quantity of hair, Having put on blue female garments, or smooth white vests; 92. The Cecropian Cotytto.] Cotytto was a strumpet (the goddess of impudence and unchastity) worshipped by night at Athens, as the Bona Dea was at Rome. The priests are said to weary her, because of the length of their infamous rites, and of the multiplicity of their acts of impurity, which were continued the whole night. Cecrops, the first king of Athens, built the city, and called it after his name, Cecropia. 93. His eyebrow. It was customary for the women to paint the eyebrows, as well as the eyes: the first was done with a black composition made of soot and water; with this they lengthened the eyebrow, which was reckoned a great beauty. This was imitated by those infamous wretches spoken of by the poet, to make them appear more like women. 94. With an oblique needle.] Acus signifies also a bodkin; this was wetted with the composition, and drawn obliquely over, or along the eyebrow. -And paints, lifting them up, &c.] This was another practice of the women, to paint their eyes. It is now in use among the Moorish women in Barbary, and among the Turkish women about Aleppo, thus described by Dr. Shaw and Dr. Russel. "that the powder of lead ore may stick "to it; and applying the middle part horizontally to the eye, they shut the eyelids upon it, and so drawing it through between them, it blacks the "inside, leaving a narrow black rim all "round the edge." This is sufficient for our present purpose, to explain what the poet means by painting the eyes. This custom was practised by many eastern nations among the women, and at last got among the Roman women: in imitation of whom, these male-prostitutes also tinged their eyes. Lifting up-trembling. This describes the situation of the eyes under the operation, which must occasion some pain from the great tenderness of the part. Or, perhaps, by trementes, Juvenal may mean something lascivious, as sat. vii. Ï. 241. 95. Another drinks, &c.] A practice of the most impudent and abandoned women is adopted by these wretches. 96. A little golden net, &c.] Reticulum here denotes a coif, or caul of net-work, which the women put over their hair. This too these men imitated. -With a vast quantity of hair.] They left vast quantities of thick and long hair upon their heads, the better to resemble women, and all this they stuffed under a caul as the women did. 97. Female garments.] Scutulata-garments made of needlework, in form of shields or targets, worn by women. Et per Junonem domini jurante ministro. 97. Smooth white vests.] Galbana rasa; fine garments, shorn of the pile for women's wear. Ainsworth says they were white, and derives the word galbanum from Heb. nas white. But others say, that the colour of these garments was bluish or greenish. The adjective galbanus-a-um signifies So Mart. spruce, wanton, effeminate. calls an effeminate person, hominem galbanatum; and of another he says, galbanos habet mores. MART. i. 97. 98. The servant swearing, &c.] The manners of the masters were copied by the servants; hence, like their masters, they swore by Juno, which it was customary for women to do, as the men by Jupiter, Hercules, &c. 99. A looking-glass.] Speculum, such as the women used. -The bearing, &c.] Which, or such a one as, Otho, infamous for the crime which is charged on these people, used to carry about with him, even when he went forth to war as emperor. The poet in this passage, with infinite humour, parodies, in derision of the effeminate Otho, and of these unnatural wretches, some parts of Virgil; first, where that poet uses the word gestamen (which denotes any thing carried or worn) as descriptive of the shield of Abas, which he carried in battle. En. iii. 286. Ere cavo Clypeum, magni gestamen Abantis, Postibus adversis figo, &c. lawgiver, says, 100 105 Hoc Priumi gestamen erat, &c. In imitation of this, Juvenal most sarcastically calls Otho's mirror, pathici gestamen Othonis. 100. The spoil of Auruncian Actor.] Alluding to Virgil, Æn. xii. 93, 94. where Turnus arms himself with a spear, which he had taken in battle from Actor, one of the brave Auruncian chiefs. wretch rejoiced as much in being possessed of Otho's mirror, taken from that emperor after his death, (when he had killed himself, after having been twice defeated by Vitellius,) as Turnus did in having the spear of the heroic Actor. Juvenal seems to insinuate, that this 101, Commanded the banners, &c.] This was a signal for battle. When they encamped, they fixed the banners in the ground near the general's tent, which was called statuere signa. When battle was to be given, the general gave the word of command to take up the standards or banners; this was, tol lere signa. At such a time as this was the effeminate Otho, when he was armed for the battle, viewing himself in his mirror. 103. Baggage of civil war.] A worthy matter to be recorded in the annals and history of these times, that among the warlike baggage of a commander in chief, in a civil war, wherein no less than the possession of the Roman empire was at stake, there was found a mirror, the proper implement of a Roman lady! This civil war was between Otho and Vitellius, which last was set up, by the German soldiers, for emperor, and at last succeeded, And the servant swearing by the Juno of his master. up: And to take care of the skin, the perseverance of the highest citizen. 105 In the field of Bedriacum to affect the spoil of the palace, And to extend over the face bread squeezed with the fingers : Which neither the quivered Semiramis in the Assyrian world, Nor sad Cleopatra did in her Actiacan galley. 104. To kill Galba, &c.] The nimirum doubtless-to be sure-throws an irony over this and the following three lines; as if the poet said, To aim at empire, and to have the reigning prince assassinated in the forum, in order to succeed him, was, doubtless, a most noble piece of generalship, worthy a great general; and, to be sure, it was the part of a great citizen to take so much care of his complexion: it must be allowed worthy the mightiest citizen of Rome, to attend to this with unremitting constancy! This action of Otho's, who, when he found Galba, who had promised to adopt him as his successor, deceiving him, in favour of Piso, destroyed him, makes a strong contrast in the character of Otho: in one instance, bold and enterprising ; in another, soft and effeminate. 106. In the field to affect, &c.] To aim at, to aspire to, the peaceable and sole possession of the emperor's palace, as master of the empire, when engaged in the battle with Vitellius in the field of Bedriacum, (between Cremona and Verona,) was great and noble; but how sadly inconsistent with what follows! 107. To extend over the face, &c.] The Roman ladies used a sort of bread, or paste, wetted with asses' milk. This they pressed and spread with their fingers on the face to cover it from the air, and thus preserve the complexion. See sat. vi. 1. 461. This was practised by the emperor Otho. Otho at last, being twice defeated by Vitellius, dreading the horrors of the civil war in which he was engaged, killed himself to prevent it, when he had sufficient force to try his fortune again. 108. The quivered Semiramis.] The famous warlike queen of Assyria, who, after the death of her husband Ninus, put on man's apparel, and did many warlike actions. 109. Sad Cleopatra.] The famous and unfortunate queen of Egypt, who with M. Anthony, being defeated by Augustus, in the sea-fight at Actium, fled to Alexandria, and there, despairing to find any favour from Augustus, applied two asps to her breast, which stung her to death. She died on the tomb of Anthony, who had killed himself after the loss of the battle. 109. In her Actiacan galley.] Carina properly signifies the keel, or bottom of a ship; but, by synec. the whole ship or vessel. It denotes here the fine galley, or vessel, in which Cleopatra was at the battle of Actium; which was richly ornamented with gold, and had purple sails. Regina (Cleopatra) cum aureâ puppe, veloque purpureo, se in altum dedit. PLIN. lib. xix. c. 1. ad fin. From this it is probable that our Shakespeare took his idea of the vessel in which Cleopatra, when she first met M. Anthony on the river Cydnus, appeared; the description of which is embellished with some of the finest touches of that great poet's fancy. See Ant. and Cleop. act ii. sc. ii. Neither of these women were so effeminate as the emperor Otho. Hic nullus verbis pudor, aut reverentia mensæ : Sacrorum antistes, rarum ac memorabile magni 110. Here is no modesty, &c.] Juvenal having censured the effeminacy of their actions and dress, now attacks their manner of conversation at their sacrificial feasts. -Reverence of the table.] That is, of the table where they feasted on their sacrifices, which, every where else, was reckoned sacred: here they paid no sort of regard to it. 111. Of filthy Cybele.] Here they indulge themselves in all the filthy conversation that they can utter; like the priests of Cybele, who used to display all manner of filthiness and obscenity before the image of their goddess, both in word and action. —With broken voice.] Perhaps this means a feigned, altered, lisping voice, to imitate the voices of women, or of the priests of Cybele who were all eunuchs. 112. An old fanatic.] Fanaticus (from Gr. Paoua, appareo) denotes one that pretends to inspiration, visions, and the like. Such the Galli, or priests of Cybele, were called, from their strange gestures and speeches, as if actuated or possessed by some spirit which they called divine. See VIRG. Æn. vi. 1. 46-51. a description of this fanatic inspiration ; which shews what the heathens meant, when they spake of their diviners being pleni Deo, afflati numine, and the like. See PARK. Heb. and Eng. Lex. N, No. 4. Such a one was the old white-headed priest here spoken of. 113. Chief priest of sacred things.] Of their abominable rites and ceremonies, which they performed, in imitation of the women, to the Bona Dea. 110 115 120 114. An ample throat.] A most capacious swallow; he set an example of most uncommon gluttony. -A master to be hired.] If any one would be taught the science of gluttony, and of the most beastly sensuality, let him hire such an old fellow as this for a master to instruct him. TER. And. act i. sc. ii. 1. 19. has a thought of this kind. Simo says to Da vus, Tum si migistrum cepit ad eam rem improbum. 115. Whal do they wait for, &c.] As they wish to be like the priests of Cybele, and are so fond of imitating them, why do they delay that operation which would bring them to a perfect resemblance ? 117. Gracchus.] It should seem, that by this name Juvenal does not mean one particular person only, but divers of the nobles of Rome, who had shamefully practised what he mentions here, and afterwards, 1. 143. gave a dower-dotem dedit-as a wife brings a dower to her husband, so did Gracchus to the hora-blower. -400 sestertia.] See note, sat i. 1. 106. about 31251. 118. A horn-blower, &c.] A fellow who had been either this, or a trumpeter, in the Roman army, in which the Romans only used wind-instruments: the two principal ones were the cornua, or horns, and the tubæ, trumpets; they both were made of brass: the horns were made crooked, like the horns of animals, which were used by the rude ancients in battle. The trumpets were straight, like ours ; therefore Juvenal, supposing the person might have been a trumpeter, says, re Here is no modesty in their discourse, or reverence of the table: 110 Here, of filthy Cybele, and of speaking with broken voice, But what do they wait for, for whom it is now high time, in the Phrygian Manner, to cut away with knives their superfluous flesh ? 115 To a horn-blower, or perhaps he had sounded with straight brass, cto cantaverat ære. That these two instruments were made of brass, and shaped as above mentioned, appears from Ovid, Met. lib. i. l. 98. Non tuba directi, non æris cornua flexi. See an account of the Roman martial musical instruments, KENNETT, Antiq. part ii. book iv. c. 11. 119. The writings.] The marriage-writings. See note on 1. 58. Happily" said.] They were wished joy, the form of which was by pronouncing the word "feliciter"-I wish you joy, as we say this was particularly used on nuptial occasions, as among us. 119, 20. A vast supper is set.] A sumptuous entertainment, on the occa sion, set upon the table. Or, ingens cœna may here be used metonymically, to denote the guests who were invited in great numbers to the marriage supper: the word sedet is supposed equivalent with accumbit. This last is the interpretation of J. Britannicus, and C. S. Curio; but Holyday is for the first; and I rather think with him, as the word sedet is used in a like sense, where our poet speaks (sat. i. 1. 95, 6.) of setting the dole-basket on the threshold of the door: -Nunc sportula primo 120. The new-married, &c.] As Sporus was given in marriage to Nero, so Gracchus to this trumpeter: hence Ju 121 venal humourously calls Gracchus nova nupta, in the feminine gender. Nubere is applicable to the woman, and ducere to the man. -In the husband's bosom.] i. e. Of the trumpeter, who now was become husband to Gracchus. 121. O ye nobles!] O proceres! O ye patricians, nobles, senators, magistrates of Rome, to whom the government and magistracy, as well as the welfare of the city is committed! Many of these were guilty of these abominations, therefore Juvenal here sarcastically invokes them on the occasion. -A censor.] An officer whose business it was to inspect and reform the manners of the people. There were two of them, who had power even to degrade knights, and to exclude senators, when guilty of great misdemeanors. Formerly they maintained such a severity of manners, that they stood in awe of each other. -Soothsayer.] Aruspex or haruspex, from haruga, a sacrifice, (which from Heb. 7, to kill or slaughter,) and specio, to view. A diviner who divined by viewing the entrails of the sacrifices. A soothsayer. When any thing portentous or prodigious happened, or appeared in the entrails of the beasts, it was the office of the haruspex to offer an expiation, to avert the supposed anger of the gods. q. d. Do we, in the midst of all the prodigies of wickedness, want most a censor for correction, or an haruspex |