in countenance, although low-born." The nobles were the chief objects of imperial jealousy, but Domitian was fatal to all alike.

105. Rubrius Gallus had served under Nero, Otho, and Vespasian. See Tac. Hist. ii. 51.

offensae veteris reus atque tacendae, genitive of accusation after reus; reus properly is a party to a lawsuit (res); then it came to mean a defendant or criminal, equivalent to ò peúywv. The Scholiast says he had seduced Domitian's niece, Iulia.

106. et tamen improbior, etc., "and yet more impudent than an abandoned wretch who writes a satire," i.e., as the Scholiast says, "qui in aliis sua vitia reprehendebat." The first part of Sat. fi. deals with hypocritical philosophers who condemn the vices they practise. Conf. ii. 3, quotiens aliquid de moribus audent qui Curios simulant et Bacchanalia vivunt": and ii. 24, “quis tulerit Gracchos de seditione querentes?”

107. Montani, possibly the Curtius Montanus whom Tacitus mentions as having attacked Nero in a poem, 'detestanda car

66

mina factitantem," Ann. xvi. 28. See also Hist. iv. 42.

108. matutino

amomo.

The proper time for anointing would be after the bath, and before the dinner.

109. redolent duo funera. The dead body was anointed and perfumed before the cremation took place.

110. Pompeius, evidently a delator, but otherwise unknown. susurro, a word like murmur or turtur, which imitates by its pronunciation the thing represented by it.

;

111. et qui vulturibus, etc. Cornelius Fuscus was praefectus praetorio under Domitian (Suet. Dom. 6), and was by him sent against the Dacians in 88 A.D. He and his whole army

were destroyed (Dio Cass. 68, 9). He was previously praefect of the fleet at Ravenna (Tac. Hist. iii. 12), and procurator of Pannonia.

This is gener

112. marmorea meditatus proelia villa. ally taken to mean that Fuscus was a mere carpet-warrior, too luxurious for the realities of war. This is, however, hardly consistent with what Tacitus says of him, "non tam praemiis periculorum quam ipsis periculis laetus." The words therefore probably mean, as Mr. Macleane thinks, that he preferred retirement and military studies to a court life.

113. prudens Veiento. For this man, see note on Sat. iii. 185.

mortifero . . . Catullo; his full name was L. Valerius Catullus Messalinus. Pliny, Ep. iv. 22, describing a supper with Nerva, says, "incidit sermo de Catullo Messalino qui luminibus orbatus ingenio saevo mala caecitatis addiderat. De huius nequitia sanguinariisque sententiis in commune omnes super

...

cenam loquebantur, cum ipse imperator 'quid putamus passurum fuisse, si viveret?' et Mauricus nobiscum cenaret.

116. a ponte satelles. Bridges were the ordinary stations for beggars. This does not mean that he ever had been a beggar, but that from his blindness and fulsome flattery he would have made a good beggar. Take, therefore, a ponte satelles in the relative clause after mendicaret. Conf. Sat. xiv. 134.

117. dignus. . . qui mendicaret. See note above on line 95. Aricinos... ad axes. Carriages on their way to Aricia, on the Appian Road, fifteen miles from Rome. There was a temple of Diana on the heath near Aricia, whither at certain times the wealthy Roman women resorted to offer vows, and it was probably the traffic along the road on these occasions which attracted a regular colony of beggars. Conf. Mart. ii. 19, 3, and x. 68.

118. devexae, "descending the hill.”

121. pugnas Cilicis. The Cilix was a gladiator accoutred as a Cilician pirate, just as a Thrax was equipped in the Thracian

arms.

122. pegma. The pegma was a large wooden erection, with several platforms, which were arranged so as to rise or fall at will they were used in theatres to represent mountains, or to facilitate the appearance or disappearance of gods, etc. Martial says, "ut crescunt media pegmata celsa via." We learn that on one occasion the story of Icarus was thus represented, when the boy fell from the pegma and sprinkled the emperor with his blood.

velaria (elsewhere vela) were the awnings fastened by means of poles over the entire amphitheatre for protection against the

sun.

123. ut fanaticus, oestro percussus... tuo, "as if inspired with your frenzy." fanaticus was properly a person belonging to a fane or temple, then one under the immediate influence of the god, as the Pythian priestess was. oestrus, properly a gadfly, conf. Verg. Georg. iii. 148; then, metaphorically, a divine frenzy.

124. Bellona, an old Italian deity whose name was transferred to a new goddess introduced from Cappadocia. Conf. Lucr. i. 560. Her priests went through a mystic and violent cult, cutting themselves with axes, and prophesying to the sound of drums, etc.

126. Britanno. Domitian's reign.

Agricola was commanding in Britain during
He was recalled in 84 A.D.

128. erectas in terga sudes, "its fins (lit. wooden stakes), erected right up to its back," i.e. as if in defiance.

130. conciditur.

For the mood, see note on Sat. iii. 296.

132. quae . . . colligat, final use of quae. 133. Debetur, is owed, i.e. is wanted.

Prometheus, used for a potter, as Vulcanus for a smith, conf. Sat. xiv. 35. Prometheus (poμnocía, forethought) is represented in Greek mythology as a deity who helped to civilise the human race by teaching them the arts. But conf. Sat. viii. 133. Prof. Mayor quotes Lucian, Prom. 2, “oi 'A0ŋvaîoɩ τοὺς χυτρέας Προμηθέας ἀπεκάλουν.”

134. Argillam, white clay, derived from the root arg, found in arg-entum, the bright metal; arg-uo, to make clear; arg-utus, clear in sound or shape; Argus, the bright heaven with its thousand eyes.

135. tua castra, appropriate to an imperator in the original sense of the word.

137. noctesque Neronis iam medias. Suetonius tells us that Nero protracted his banquets from midday to midnight. Conf. Tac. Ann xvi. 20, "ambigenti Neroni quonam modo noctium suarum ingenia notescerent."

138. aliamque famem, caused by the use of emetics. See note on line 67.

Falerno (sc. vino), wine grown on the north-west slopes of Campania.

140. Circeis, on the coast of Campania, not far from Terracina. Horace says, Sat. ii. 4, 33, "Ostrea Circeis, Miseno oriuntur echini."

141. Lucrinum ad saxum, at the rocks of the Lucrine lake, which was north-east of Baiae, and produced excellent oysters.

Rutupino... fundo. Rutupiae was the Roman town called afterwards Richborough, the site of which is not far from Sandwich. British oysters were celebrated at Rome. They were also obtained from Brundisium, Tarentum, and Cyzicus.

147. Cattis, a German tribe, occupying the district due east of Coblentz, and between the Rhine and the Main. Domitian celebrated a triumph over them in 84 A.D., and called himself Germanicus in consequence.

Sycambris, a tribe west of the Catti.

149. praecipiti

pinna, on hasty wing; or possibly the

Scholiast may have ground for asserting that letters containing

good news were laureatae, while those containing bad news were pinnatae. Plutarch (Oth. 4) uses the word πTЄроpópo apparently in the sense merely of "couriers.

151. tempora saevitiae, genitive of definition.

152. claras... illustresque animas, e.g. Iunius Mauricus, Arulenus Rusticus, Herennius Senecio, Helvidius Priscus, Acilius Glabrio, Flavius Clemens, etc.

153. Cerdonibus is used in the Digest as a proper name for slaves, just as Titius Seiusque (see line 13) represent ordinary citizens. See Sat. iii. 182. The word literally means, workers for gain (Képdos), and so artizans. It here is opposed to LamiaThe actual murderer of Domitian was Stephanus, a freedSuet. Dom. 17.

rum.

man.

154. Lamiarum caede madenti, reeking with the blood of the Lamiae. Aelius Lamia was put to death by Domitian, Suet. Dom. 10; but he is only mentioned here to represent the class of nobles generally, against whom the emperors were especially bitter. Conf. Sat. vi. 385, "de numero Lamiarum.' These last lines, together with the mention of the death of the younger Glabrio, help to fix the date of the Satire. Glabrio was put to death in 95. Domitian died in 96 A.D.

SATIRE V

2. aliena vivere quadra, conf. Verg. Aen. vii. 114, "patulis nec parcere quadris," and Mart. vi. 75, 1, "quadramve placentae. Roman loaves were often divided into four: hence "aliena quadra" was a proverbial expression for "another man's bread."

3. Sarmentus, a freedman of M. Favonius (who was killed at Philippi); he was afterwards a favourite of Augustus. The Scholiast says that he illegally assumed the dignity and privileges of the Equestrian order, for which he was accused, but unsuccessfully. He is mentioned by Horace, Sat. i. 5, 52, seq., and Plut. Ant. 59.

iniquas, "ill-assorted," with reference to the indignities parasites were exposed to.

4. vilis Gabba. Aulus Gabba, a wit mentioned by Quintilian, vi. 3, 27, and Martial i. 41, 15, "qui Gabbam salibus tuis potes vincere." The Scholiast calls him "sub Tiberio scurra nobilis.'

5. quamvis iurato. For construction of quamvis, see Sat. iii. 1. Conf. Cic. ad Att. i. 16, 10.

6. frugalius, comparative of frugi, for which see Sat. iii. 148.

Conf. on

8. crepido, a footpath above the level of the road. Beggars took their stand here as they did at the bridges. inscriptions "viam cum crepidinibus straverunt.'

tegetis, a beggar's mat, often made of rushes. Conf. Sat. ix. 140, "tuta senectus a tegete et baculo."

9. dimidia brevior, too small by half.

iniuria cenae = iniuriosa cena, alluding to the insults heaped on the guests. Conf. our expression, "a brute of a man.' 10. illic, on the crepido. The subject of possit is fames. 12. fige. Conf. Sat. xi. 28, "impress on your mind.” 13. mercedem solidam, "payment in full.” Conf. “solido de die," "solidam solvere," and Sat. xi. 205.

officiorum, in its proper sense of duties to patrons. Conf. "officiosa sedulitas," Hor. Ep. i. 7, 8. Beyond the "centum quadrantes," the client had no prospect of reward except, on rare occasions, a dinner. See iii. 126.

14. amicitiae magnae, conf. iv. 74.

imputat, makes a merit of it; lit. adds it to your account. Conf. Tac. Germ. 21, "gaudent muneribus, sed nec data imputant, nec acceptis obligantur," and Hist. i. 55.

rex, conf. i. 136, "rex horum." Horace, Ep. i. 7, 36, says to Maecenas, "rexque paterque audisti."

17. tertia ne vacuo, etc. The triclinium consisted of three couches (lecti) arranged round a table. Each lectus, on which cushions (culcitae) were placed, contained usually three persons. The guest lay on his left elbow, and consequently might be said to look down on those whom he faced. Hence the right-hand lectus was called " summus," the left-hand "imus.

The post of honour was the left-hand corner of the medius lectus. The host was usually "summus" of the lectus imus. On the same couch usually sat his own family or parasites.