) The
pernicious effects of gold are then described, as destructive of
all honesty, good faith, and every religious principle (Fr.
pernicious effects of gold are then described, as destructive of
all honesty, good faith, and every religious principle (Fr.
Satires
, xxv.
, 5.
Duk.
ad Liv. , xxvi. , 25. As the equestrian service was the more honorable,
it was probably conceded to Lucilius on account of his gentle birth
and early promise. Gerlach thinks that Tibullus[1595] was only
thirteen when he accompanied M. Valerius Messala Corvinus in his
Aquitanian campaign. Now Tibullus was only of _equestrian_ family.
There is no difficulty, therefore, in supposing that Lucilius, who
was of _senatorian_ family, might have served as eques at the age of
fifteen. [1596]
As to the fact of Scipio and Lælius admitting him to their intimate
friendship at so early an age, a parallel may be found in the case of
Archias the poet. Besides, Scipio and Lælius were the most likely men
to discover and to foster the early talent of the young poet. For the
_fact_ of the intimacy we have the testimony of Horace, Sat. , II. , i. ,
71,
"Quin ubi se a vulgo et scena in secreta remorant
Virtus Scipiadæ et mitis sapientia Lælî
Nugari cum illo et discincti ludere, donec
Decoqueretur olus, soliti. "
On which the commentator says, "That the three were on such intimate
terms, that on one occasion Lælius was running round the sofas in the
Triclinium, while Lucilius was chasing him with a twisted towel to hit
him with. " This story agrees exactly with the description given by
Cicero[1597] (de Orat. , ii. , 6) of the conduct of Scipio and Lælius,
who speaks of their retiring together to the country-house of the
former, and to have descended, for the relaxation of their minds, to
the most childish amusements, such as gathering shells on the shore
of Caieta. Who would be more likely than such men as these to be
captivated by the precocious wit and pungent sarcasm of a sprightly lad?
Again, the character of Lucilius's compositions admits of eminence at
an earlier period of life than the other branches of poetry. And yet
Catullus and Propertius, not to mention many others, attained great
eminence as poets at a very early age; certainly long before their
twentieth year.
The Satiric poetry of Lucilius depending more on a keen perception
of the ludicrous, and shrewd observation of passing events and the
foibles of individuals, would more readily win approbation at an early
age, than compositions whose excellence would consist in the display
of judgment, knowledge of the world, and elaborate finish. There is,
therefore, no reason to suppose that his talent may not, like that of
Cicero, have been developed at an early age, and having come under the
notice, might have won the approbation, of men of such character in
private life as Scipio and Lælius are reported to have been.
But Horace calls him "senex," ii. Sat. , 28, _seq. _
"Ille (Lucilius) velut fidis arcana sodalibus olim
Credebat libris: neque si male cesserat, unquam
Decurrens alio, neque si bene, quo fit ut omnis
Votivâ pateat veluti descripta tabellâ
Vita Senis--"
To this it is answered: nothing can be more loose and vague than the
employment by Roman writers of terms relating to the different periods
of human life: e. g. , "puer, adolescentulus, adolescens, juvenis,
senex. " We have seen that Tibullus at the age of forty may be called
"juvenis. " Hannibal, at the age of forty-four (i. e. , two years younger
than Lucilius at his death), calls himself senex. (Cf. Liv. , xxx. , 30,
compared with c. 28, and Crevier's note. )[1598] So Persius (Sat. i. ,
124) calls Aristophanes "prægrandis senex," though, as Ranke shows in
his Life (p. xc. ), he was not of great age. We might add that Horace
himself uses the phrase, "poetarum _seniorum_ turba" (i. Sat. , x. , 67),
as equivalent to priorum.
In the fourth Fragment of the twentieth book, Lucilius mentions the
Calpurnian Law.
"Calpurnî sævam legem Pisoni' reprendi
Eduxique animam in primoribu' naribus. "
This Van Heusde holds to be the Lex Calpurnia, de ambitu, passed by
C. Calpurnius Piso, when consul, A. U. C. 687, B. C. 67, at which time
Lucilius would have been eighty-one years old. But there was another
Lex Calpurnia, de pecuniis repetundis, passed by L. Calpurnius Piso,
tribune, in A. U. C. 604, B. C. 150. Van Heusde says the former _must_ be
meant, because Lucilius applies to it the epithet _sæva_, and Cicero
(pro Muræna, c. 46) also styles it "severissime scriptam. " He explains
the second line of the Fragment to mean, that Lucilius "all but paid
the penalty of death for his animadversions of the law," but these
words more correctly imply the "fierce snorting of an angry man. "
So Pers. , Sat. , v. , 91, "Ira cadat naso. " Varro, R. R. , ii. , 3, 5,
"Spiritum _naribus ducere_. " Mart. , vi. Ep. , 64, "Rabido nec perditus
ore fumantem nasum vivi tentaveris ursi. " And any law whatever would be
naturally termed "sæva" by him who came under the influence of it.
In the 132d of the Fragmenta Incerta, we have (quoted from A. Gell. ,
Noct. Att. , ii. , 24) these words, "Legem vitemus Licini. " The object
of this law was to give greater sanction to the provisions of the Lex
Fannia, a sumptuary law, which had become nearly obsolete. If passed
by P. Licinius Crassus Dives Lusitanicus, when _consul_, it must be
referred to the year A. U. C. 657, B. C. 97, six years after the supposed
date of Lucilius's death. But there is no reason why this law should
not have been passed by Licinius when _tribune_ or _prætor_, as well
as when _consul_; probably during his prætorship, as nearer the
consulship, though Pighius (Annal. , iii. , 122), though without giving
any authority, assigns it to his tribuneship.
The Orchian Law was passed by C. Orchius when _tribune_. The Fannian
and many other sumptuary laws were passed by _prætors_ or _tribunes_.
The argument therefore derived from the law having been passed by
Licinius, when _consul_, falls to the ground.
Allowing, however, that Lucilius was alive during the consulship
of Licinius, we have the incidental, and therefore more valuable,
testimony of Cicero, that he must have died very shortly after. In
his "De Oratore," he introduces the speakers in the Dialogue quoting
Lucilius, as one evidently not very recently dead. Now this imaginary
Dialogue is supposed to have taken place B. C. 91.
FOOTNOTES:
[1593] In the Translation, the text and arrangement of Gerlach have
been principally followed. The few Fragments that have not been
translated are omitted, either from their hopelessly corrupt state,
their obscenity, or from their consisting of _single_, and those
unimportant, words.
[1594] Clinton, in his new Epitome of Chronology (Oxford, 1851), says,
Lucilius was about twenty years of age when serving at Numantia, B. C.
134.
[1595] But Clinton thinks that the war for which Messala triumphed
was carried on B. C. 28, and that Tibullus was then about thirty. The
war against the Salassi had been carried on B. C. 34. Heyne assigns
his birth to B. C. 49. Voss, Passow, and Dissen, to B. C. 59. Lachman
and Paldanus, to B. C. 54. He is called a "juvenis" at his death, B. C.
18. But Clinton says there is "no difficulty in this term, which may
express forty years of age. "
[1596] Cf. Niebuhr's Lectures, vol. i. , p. 316. "Slow and gradual
advancement, and a provision for officers in their old age, were
things unknown to the Romans. No one could by law have a permanent
appointment: every one had to give evidence of his ability. It was,
moreover, not necessary to pass through a long series of subordinate
offices. _A young Roman noble served as eques_, and the consul had
in his cohort the most distinguished to act as his staff: there they
learned enough, and in a few years, a young man, in the full vigor of
life, became a tribune of the soldiers. "
[1597] "Sæpe ex socero meo audivi, quum is diceret, socerum suum Lælium
semper ferè cum Scipione solitum rusticari eosque incredibiliter
_repuerascere_ esse solitos quum rus ex urbe tanquam è vinculis
evolavissent. . . . Solet narrare Scævola conchas eos et umbilicos ad
Caietam et ad Laurentum legere consuêsse et ad omnem animi remissionem
ludumque descendere. " Cf. Val. Max. , viii. , 8, 1.
[1598] These additional authorities have been collected by Gerlach and
Varges. Barth. ad Stat. Sylv. , I. , ii. 253. Markl. ad Stat. Sylv. , 110.
Drakenborch, ad Sil. Ital. , i. , 634. Eustath. , p. 107, 14, on the word
γέρων. Heyne's Homer, vol. iv. , pp. 270, 606, 620.
BOOK I. [1599]
ARGUMENT.
To the first book there is said to have been annexed an Epistle
to L. Ælius Stilo, the friend of the poet, to whom in all
probability this book was dedicated. (Fr. 16. ) We know from a
note of Servius on the tenth book of the Æneid (l. 104), that
the subject was a council of gods held to deliberate on the
fortune of the Roman state; the result of the conference being
that nothing but the death of certain obnoxious individuals
could possibly rescue the city from plunging headlong to ruin.
It is a kind of parody on the council of Celestials held in
the first book of the Odyssey, to discuss the propriety of the
return of Ulysses to Greece: and as Homer represents Neptune, the
great enemy of Ulysses, to have been absent from the meeting,
so here (Fr. 2) we find an allusion to some previous council,
at which Jupiter, by the machinations of Juno (Fr. 15), was
not present. Virgil, as Servius says, borrowed the idea of his
discussion between Venus, Juno, and Jupiter from this book; only
he translated the language of Lucilius into a type more suited
to the dignity of Heroic verse. Lucilius's council begin with
discussing the affairs of mankind at large, and then proceed to
consider the best method of prolonging the Roman state (Fr. 5),
which has no greater enemies than its own corrupt and licentious
morals, and the wide-spreading evils of avarice and luxury. But
amid the growing vices which undermined the state must especially
be reckoned the study of a spurious kind of philosophy, of
rhetoric, and logic, which not only was the cause of universal
indolence and neglect of all serious duties, but also led men
to lay snares to entrap their neighbors. (Fr. inc. 2. ) A fair
instance of these sophistical absurdities is given (Fr. inc.
12); and the doctrine of the Stoics, to which Horace alludes
(i. Sat. , iii. , 124), is also ridiculed. (Fr. inc. 23.
) The
pernicious effects of gold are then described, as destructive of
all honesty, good faith, and every religious principle (Fr. inc.
39-47); the result of which is, that the state is fast sinking
into helpless ruin. (Fr. inc. 50. ) Nor are the evils of luxury
less baleful. (Fr. 19-21. )
All this discussion, in the previous conference, had been nugatory
on account of the absence of Jupiter, and the divisions that had
arisen among the gods themselves. In this debate Neptune had
taken a very considerable part, since we hear that, discussing
some very abstruse and difficult point, he said it could not be
cleared up, even though Orcus were to permit Carneades himself
to revisit earth. (Fr. 8. ) Apollo also was probably one of the
speakers, and expressed a particular dislike to his cognomen of
"the Beautiful. " (Fr. inc. 145. ) Perhaps all the gods but Jove
(Fr. 3) had been present; but as they could not agree, the whole
matter was referred to Jupiter; who, expressing his vexation that
he was not present at the first meeting, blames some and praises
others. (Fr. 55, inc. )
The cause of his absence was probably the same as that described
(Iliad, xiv. , 307-327) by Homer: which passage Lucilius probably
meant to ridicule. (Fr. 15. ) The result of the deliberation is a
determination on the part of the gods that the only way to save
the Roman state is by requiring the expiatory sacrifice of the
most flagitious and impious among the citizens: and the three
fixed upon are P. Cornelius Lentulus Lupus, L. Papirius Carbo,
and C. Hostilius Tubulus.
(To this book may perhaps also be referred Fr. inc. 2, 46, 61, 63. )
This book must have been published subsequently to the death of
Carneades, which took place the same year as that of Scipio, B. C.
129, twenty-six years after his embassy to Rome.
1 . . . held counsel about the affairs of men--
2 I could have wished, could it so have happened. . . . I could have
wished, at that council of yours before which you mention, I
could have wished, Celestials, to have been present at your
previous council!
3 . . . that there is none of us, but without exception is styled
"Best Father of Gods," as Father Neptune, Liber, Saturn, Father
Mars, Janus, Father Quirinus. [1600]
4 Had Tubulus, Lucius, Lupus, or Carbo, that son of Neptune,
believed that there were gods, would he have been so perjured
and impious? [1601]
5 . . . in what way it might be possible to preserve longer the
people and city of Rome.
6 . . . though many months and days . . . yet wicked men would not
admire this age and time.
7 When he had spoken these words he paused--
8 Not even though Orcus should send back Carneades
himself. . . . [1602]
9 . . . made ædile by a Satura; who from law may loose. . . . [1603]
10 . . . against whom, should the whole people conspire, they would
be scarce a match for him--
11 . . . they might, however, discharge their duty and defend the
walls.
12 . . . might put it off, if not longer, at least to this one
lustrum. [1604]
13 I will bring them to supper; and first of all will give each
of them, as they arrive, the bellies of thunny and heads of
acharne. [1605]
14 . . .
15 . . . so that I could compare «the embraces» of Leda daughter of
Thestius, and the spouse of Ixion. [1606]
16 These things we have sent, written to thee, Lucius Ælius! [1607]
17 . . . to creep on, as an evil gangrene, or ulcer, might.
18 A countenance too, like. . . . death, jaundice, poison.
19 . . . to hate the infamous, vile, and disgraceful cook's
shop. [1608]
20 prætextæ and tunics, and all that foul handiwork of the
Lydians. [1609]
21 Velvets and double piles, soft with their thick naps. [1610]
22 . . . that, like an angry cur, speaks plainer than a man.
23 . . . the common herd stupidly look for a knot in a bulrush. [1611]
24 . . . and legions serve for pay.
25 . . . quote prodigies, elephants.
26 . . . ladles and ewers. [1612]
27 Vulture. [1613]
28 . . . like a fool, you came to dance among the Pathics.
29 Oh the cares of men! Oh how much vanity is there in human
affairs! [1614]
FOOTNOTES:
[1599] Book I. Some of the commentators suppose that the thirty Satires
of Lucilius were divided into two books, and that the first of these
_books_, and not the first Satire only, was dedicated to Ælius Stilo.
[1600] _Fr. _ 3. "Every god that is worshiped by man must needs in all
solemn rites and invocations be styled 'Father;' not only for honor's,
but also for reason's sake. Since he is both more ancient than man,
and provides man with life and health and food, as a father doth. "
Lactant. , Inst. Div. , iv. , 3.
[1601] _Tubulus. _ C. Hostilius Tubulus was elected prætor B. C. 210
(Liv. , xxvii. , 6), and was prætor peregrinus next year. (Cf. Fr. inc.
97. ) He became infamous from his openly receiving bribes, so that the
next year, on the motion of the tribune P. Scævola, he was impeached
by Cnæus Servilius Cæpio the consul, B. C. 203. P. Cornelius Lentulus
_Lupus_ first appears as one of the persons sent to Rome, to announce
the victory over Perseus. (Liv. , xliv. , 45. ) He afterward served the
offices of curule ædile (Fr. 9), and censor (Fr. 12). He was consul
B. C. 156. Carbo is L. Papirius Carbo, the friend of C. Gracchus. We
learn from Aulus Gellius (xv. , 21), that "Son of Neptune" was applied
to men of the fiercest and most blood-thirsty dispositions, who seemed
to have so little _humanity_ about them, that they might have been
sprung from the _sea_.
[1602] _Carneades_ (cf. Diog. Laert. , IV. , ix. ) of Cyrene, disciple
of Chrysippus, and founder of the new Academy, was celebrated for his
great acuteness of intellect, which he displayed to great advantage
when he came as embassador from Athens to Rome, B. C. 155.
[1603] _Ædilem_ refers to Lupus, who was made curule ædile with L.
Valerius Flaccus, A. U. C. 591 (B. C. 163), and exhibited the Ludi
Megalenses the year Terence's Heauton Timorumenos was produced. A law
was called Satura which contained several enactments under one bill;
hence, according to Diomedes, Satire derives its name from the variety
of its subjects.
A person was said to be _legibus solutus_ who was freed from the
obligation of any _one_ law; afterward the emperors were so styled,
as being above _all_ laws; but at first there was some reservation,
as we find Augustus praying to be freed from the obligation of the
Voconian law. (In the year B. C. 199, C. Valerius Flaccus was created
curule ædile together with C. Cornelius Cethegus. Being flamen dialis,
and therefore not allowed to take an oath, he prayed, "ut legibus
solveretur. " The consuls, by a decree of the senate, got the tribunes
to obtain a plebis-scitum, that his brother Lucius, the prætor elect,
might be allowed to take the oath for him. Liv. , xxxi. , 50.
ad Liv. , xxvi. , 25. As the equestrian service was the more honorable,
it was probably conceded to Lucilius on account of his gentle birth
and early promise. Gerlach thinks that Tibullus[1595] was only
thirteen when he accompanied M. Valerius Messala Corvinus in his
Aquitanian campaign. Now Tibullus was only of _equestrian_ family.
There is no difficulty, therefore, in supposing that Lucilius, who
was of _senatorian_ family, might have served as eques at the age of
fifteen. [1596]
As to the fact of Scipio and Lælius admitting him to their intimate
friendship at so early an age, a parallel may be found in the case of
Archias the poet. Besides, Scipio and Lælius were the most likely men
to discover and to foster the early talent of the young poet. For the
_fact_ of the intimacy we have the testimony of Horace, Sat. , II. , i. ,
71,
"Quin ubi se a vulgo et scena in secreta remorant
Virtus Scipiadæ et mitis sapientia Lælî
Nugari cum illo et discincti ludere, donec
Decoqueretur olus, soliti. "
On which the commentator says, "That the three were on such intimate
terms, that on one occasion Lælius was running round the sofas in the
Triclinium, while Lucilius was chasing him with a twisted towel to hit
him with. " This story agrees exactly with the description given by
Cicero[1597] (de Orat. , ii. , 6) of the conduct of Scipio and Lælius,
who speaks of their retiring together to the country-house of the
former, and to have descended, for the relaxation of their minds, to
the most childish amusements, such as gathering shells on the shore
of Caieta. Who would be more likely than such men as these to be
captivated by the precocious wit and pungent sarcasm of a sprightly lad?
Again, the character of Lucilius's compositions admits of eminence at
an earlier period of life than the other branches of poetry. And yet
Catullus and Propertius, not to mention many others, attained great
eminence as poets at a very early age; certainly long before their
twentieth year.
The Satiric poetry of Lucilius depending more on a keen perception
of the ludicrous, and shrewd observation of passing events and the
foibles of individuals, would more readily win approbation at an early
age, than compositions whose excellence would consist in the display
of judgment, knowledge of the world, and elaborate finish. There is,
therefore, no reason to suppose that his talent may not, like that of
Cicero, have been developed at an early age, and having come under the
notice, might have won the approbation, of men of such character in
private life as Scipio and Lælius are reported to have been.
But Horace calls him "senex," ii. Sat. , 28, _seq. _
"Ille (Lucilius) velut fidis arcana sodalibus olim
Credebat libris: neque si male cesserat, unquam
Decurrens alio, neque si bene, quo fit ut omnis
Votivâ pateat veluti descripta tabellâ
Vita Senis--"
To this it is answered: nothing can be more loose and vague than the
employment by Roman writers of terms relating to the different periods
of human life: e. g. , "puer, adolescentulus, adolescens, juvenis,
senex. " We have seen that Tibullus at the age of forty may be called
"juvenis. " Hannibal, at the age of forty-four (i. e. , two years younger
than Lucilius at his death), calls himself senex. (Cf. Liv. , xxx. , 30,
compared with c. 28, and Crevier's note. )[1598] So Persius (Sat. i. ,
124) calls Aristophanes "prægrandis senex," though, as Ranke shows in
his Life (p. xc. ), he was not of great age. We might add that Horace
himself uses the phrase, "poetarum _seniorum_ turba" (i. Sat. , x. , 67),
as equivalent to priorum.
In the fourth Fragment of the twentieth book, Lucilius mentions the
Calpurnian Law.
"Calpurnî sævam legem Pisoni' reprendi
Eduxique animam in primoribu' naribus. "
This Van Heusde holds to be the Lex Calpurnia, de ambitu, passed by
C. Calpurnius Piso, when consul, A. U. C. 687, B. C. 67, at which time
Lucilius would have been eighty-one years old. But there was another
Lex Calpurnia, de pecuniis repetundis, passed by L. Calpurnius Piso,
tribune, in A. U. C. 604, B. C. 150. Van Heusde says the former _must_ be
meant, because Lucilius applies to it the epithet _sæva_, and Cicero
(pro Muræna, c. 46) also styles it "severissime scriptam. " He explains
the second line of the Fragment to mean, that Lucilius "all but paid
the penalty of death for his animadversions of the law," but these
words more correctly imply the "fierce snorting of an angry man. "
So Pers. , Sat. , v. , 91, "Ira cadat naso. " Varro, R. R. , ii. , 3, 5,
"Spiritum _naribus ducere_. " Mart. , vi. Ep. , 64, "Rabido nec perditus
ore fumantem nasum vivi tentaveris ursi. " And any law whatever would be
naturally termed "sæva" by him who came under the influence of it.
In the 132d of the Fragmenta Incerta, we have (quoted from A. Gell. ,
Noct. Att. , ii. , 24) these words, "Legem vitemus Licini. " The object
of this law was to give greater sanction to the provisions of the Lex
Fannia, a sumptuary law, which had become nearly obsolete. If passed
by P. Licinius Crassus Dives Lusitanicus, when _consul_, it must be
referred to the year A. U. C. 657, B. C. 97, six years after the supposed
date of Lucilius's death. But there is no reason why this law should
not have been passed by Licinius when _tribune_ or _prætor_, as well
as when _consul_; probably during his prætorship, as nearer the
consulship, though Pighius (Annal. , iii. , 122), though without giving
any authority, assigns it to his tribuneship.
The Orchian Law was passed by C. Orchius when _tribune_. The Fannian
and many other sumptuary laws were passed by _prætors_ or _tribunes_.
The argument therefore derived from the law having been passed by
Licinius, when _consul_, falls to the ground.
Allowing, however, that Lucilius was alive during the consulship
of Licinius, we have the incidental, and therefore more valuable,
testimony of Cicero, that he must have died very shortly after. In
his "De Oratore," he introduces the speakers in the Dialogue quoting
Lucilius, as one evidently not very recently dead. Now this imaginary
Dialogue is supposed to have taken place B. C. 91.
FOOTNOTES:
[1593] In the Translation, the text and arrangement of Gerlach have
been principally followed. The few Fragments that have not been
translated are omitted, either from their hopelessly corrupt state,
their obscenity, or from their consisting of _single_, and those
unimportant, words.
[1594] Clinton, in his new Epitome of Chronology (Oxford, 1851), says,
Lucilius was about twenty years of age when serving at Numantia, B. C.
134.
[1595] But Clinton thinks that the war for which Messala triumphed
was carried on B. C. 28, and that Tibullus was then about thirty. The
war against the Salassi had been carried on B. C. 34. Heyne assigns
his birth to B. C. 49. Voss, Passow, and Dissen, to B. C. 59. Lachman
and Paldanus, to B. C. 54. He is called a "juvenis" at his death, B. C.
18. But Clinton says there is "no difficulty in this term, which may
express forty years of age. "
[1596] Cf. Niebuhr's Lectures, vol. i. , p. 316. "Slow and gradual
advancement, and a provision for officers in their old age, were
things unknown to the Romans. No one could by law have a permanent
appointment: every one had to give evidence of his ability. It was,
moreover, not necessary to pass through a long series of subordinate
offices. _A young Roman noble served as eques_, and the consul had
in his cohort the most distinguished to act as his staff: there they
learned enough, and in a few years, a young man, in the full vigor of
life, became a tribune of the soldiers. "
[1597] "Sæpe ex socero meo audivi, quum is diceret, socerum suum Lælium
semper ferè cum Scipione solitum rusticari eosque incredibiliter
_repuerascere_ esse solitos quum rus ex urbe tanquam è vinculis
evolavissent. . . . Solet narrare Scævola conchas eos et umbilicos ad
Caietam et ad Laurentum legere consuêsse et ad omnem animi remissionem
ludumque descendere. " Cf. Val. Max. , viii. , 8, 1.
[1598] These additional authorities have been collected by Gerlach and
Varges. Barth. ad Stat. Sylv. , I. , ii. 253. Markl. ad Stat. Sylv. , 110.
Drakenborch, ad Sil. Ital. , i. , 634. Eustath. , p. 107, 14, on the word
γέρων. Heyne's Homer, vol. iv. , pp. 270, 606, 620.
BOOK I. [1599]
ARGUMENT.
To the first book there is said to have been annexed an Epistle
to L. Ælius Stilo, the friend of the poet, to whom in all
probability this book was dedicated. (Fr. 16. ) We know from a
note of Servius on the tenth book of the Æneid (l. 104), that
the subject was a council of gods held to deliberate on the
fortune of the Roman state; the result of the conference being
that nothing but the death of certain obnoxious individuals
could possibly rescue the city from plunging headlong to ruin.
It is a kind of parody on the council of Celestials held in
the first book of the Odyssey, to discuss the propriety of the
return of Ulysses to Greece: and as Homer represents Neptune, the
great enemy of Ulysses, to have been absent from the meeting,
so here (Fr. 2) we find an allusion to some previous council,
at which Jupiter, by the machinations of Juno (Fr. 15), was
not present. Virgil, as Servius says, borrowed the idea of his
discussion between Venus, Juno, and Jupiter from this book; only
he translated the language of Lucilius into a type more suited
to the dignity of Heroic verse. Lucilius's council begin with
discussing the affairs of mankind at large, and then proceed to
consider the best method of prolonging the Roman state (Fr. 5),
which has no greater enemies than its own corrupt and licentious
morals, and the wide-spreading evils of avarice and luxury. But
amid the growing vices which undermined the state must especially
be reckoned the study of a spurious kind of philosophy, of
rhetoric, and logic, which not only was the cause of universal
indolence and neglect of all serious duties, but also led men
to lay snares to entrap their neighbors. (Fr. inc. 2. ) A fair
instance of these sophistical absurdities is given (Fr. inc.
12); and the doctrine of the Stoics, to which Horace alludes
(i. Sat. , iii. , 124), is also ridiculed. (Fr. inc. 23.
) The
pernicious effects of gold are then described, as destructive of
all honesty, good faith, and every religious principle (Fr. inc.
39-47); the result of which is, that the state is fast sinking
into helpless ruin. (Fr. inc. 50. ) Nor are the evils of luxury
less baleful. (Fr. 19-21. )
All this discussion, in the previous conference, had been nugatory
on account of the absence of Jupiter, and the divisions that had
arisen among the gods themselves. In this debate Neptune had
taken a very considerable part, since we hear that, discussing
some very abstruse and difficult point, he said it could not be
cleared up, even though Orcus were to permit Carneades himself
to revisit earth. (Fr. 8. ) Apollo also was probably one of the
speakers, and expressed a particular dislike to his cognomen of
"the Beautiful. " (Fr. inc. 145. ) Perhaps all the gods but Jove
(Fr. 3) had been present; but as they could not agree, the whole
matter was referred to Jupiter; who, expressing his vexation that
he was not present at the first meeting, blames some and praises
others. (Fr. 55, inc. )
The cause of his absence was probably the same as that described
(Iliad, xiv. , 307-327) by Homer: which passage Lucilius probably
meant to ridicule. (Fr. 15. ) The result of the deliberation is a
determination on the part of the gods that the only way to save
the Roman state is by requiring the expiatory sacrifice of the
most flagitious and impious among the citizens: and the three
fixed upon are P. Cornelius Lentulus Lupus, L. Papirius Carbo,
and C. Hostilius Tubulus.
(To this book may perhaps also be referred Fr. inc. 2, 46, 61, 63. )
This book must have been published subsequently to the death of
Carneades, which took place the same year as that of Scipio, B. C.
129, twenty-six years after his embassy to Rome.
1 . . . held counsel about the affairs of men--
2 I could have wished, could it so have happened. . . . I could have
wished, at that council of yours before which you mention, I
could have wished, Celestials, to have been present at your
previous council!
3 . . . that there is none of us, but without exception is styled
"Best Father of Gods," as Father Neptune, Liber, Saturn, Father
Mars, Janus, Father Quirinus. [1600]
4 Had Tubulus, Lucius, Lupus, or Carbo, that son of Neptune,
believed that there were gods, would he have been so perjured
and impious? [1601]
5 . . . in what way it might be possible to preserve longer the
people and city of Rome.
6 . . . though many months and days . . . yet wicked men would not
admire this age and time.
7 When he had spoken these words he paused--
8 Not even though Orcus should send back Carneades
himself. . . . [1602]
9 . . . made ædile by a Satura; who from law may loose. . . . [1603]
10 . . . against whom, should the whole people conspire, they would
be scarce a match for him--
11 . . . they might, however, discharge their duty and defend the
walls.
12 . . . might put it off, if not longer, at least to this one
lustrum. [1604]
13 I will bring them to supper; and first of all will give each
of them, as they arrive, the bellies of thunny and heads of
acharne. [1605]
14 . . .
15 . . . so that I could compare «the embraces» of Leda daughter of
Thestius, and the spouse of Ixion. [1606]
16 These things we have sent, written to thee, Lucius Ælius! [1607]
17 . . . to creep on, as an evil gangrene, or ulcer, might.
18 A countenance too, like. . . . death, jaundice, poison.
19 . . . to hate the infamous, vile, and disgraceful cook's
shop. [1608]
20 prætextæ and tunics, and all that foul handiwork of the
Lydians. [1609]
21 Velvets and double piles, soft with their thick naps. [1610]
22 . . . that, like an angry cur, speaks plainer than a man.
23 . . . the common herd stupidly look for a knot in a bulrush. [1611]
24 . . . and legions serve for pay.
25 . . . quote prodigies, elephants.
26 . . . ladles and ewers. [1612]
27 Vulture. [1613]
28 . . . like a fool, you came to dance among the Pathics.
29 Oh the cares of men! Oh how much vanity is there in human
affairs! [1614]
FOOTNOTES:
[1599] Book I. Some of the commentators suppose that the thirty Satires
of Lucilius were divided into two books, and that the first of these
_books_, and not the first Satire only, was dedicated to Ælius Stilo.
[1600] _Fr. _ 3. "Every god that is worshiped by man must needs in all
solemn rites and invocations be styled 'Father;' not only for honor's,
but also for reason's sake. Since he is both more ancient than man,
and provides man with life and health and food, as a father doth. "
Lactant. , Inst. Div. , iv. , 3.
[1601] _Tubulus. _ C. Hostilius Tubulus was elected prætor B. C. 210
(Liv. , xxvii. , 6), and was prætor peregrinus next year. (Cf. Fr. inc.
97. ) He became infamous from his openly receiving bribes, so that the
next year, on the motion of the tribune P. Scævola, he was impeached
by Cnæus Servilius Cæpio the consul, B. C. 203. P. Cornelius Lentulus
_Lupus_ first appears as one of the persons sent to Rome, to announce
the victory over Perseus. (Liv. , xliv. , 45. ) He afterward served the
offices of curule ædile (Fr. 9), and censor (Fr. 12). He was consul
B. C. 156. Carbo is L. Papirius Carbo, the friend of C. Gracchus. We
learn from Aulus Gellius (xv. , 21), that "Son of Neptune" was applied
to men of the fiercest and most blood-thirsty dispositions, who seemed
to have so little _humanity_ about them, that they might have been
sprung from the _sea_.
[1602] _Carneades_ (cf. Diog. Laert. , IV. , ix. ) of Cyrene, disciple
of Chrysippus, and founder of the new Academy, was celebrated for his
great acuteness of intellect, which he displayed to great advantage
when he came as embassador from Athens to Rome, B. C. 155.
[1603] _Ædilem_ refers to Lupus, who was made curule ædile with L.
Valerius Flaccus, A. U. C. 591 (B. C. 163), and exhibited the Ludi
Megalenses the year Terence's Heauton Timorumenos was produced. A law
was called Satura which contained several enactments under one bill;
hence, according to Diomedes, Satire derives its name from the variety
of its subjects.
A person was said to be _legibus solutus_ who was freed from the
obligation of any _one_ law; afterward the emperors were so styled,
as being above _all_ laws; but at first there was some reservation,
as we find Augustus praying to be freed from the obligation of the
Voconian law. (In the year B. C. 199, C. Valerius Flaccus was created
curule ædile together with C. Cornelius Cethegus. Being flamen dialis,
and therefore not allowed to take an oath, he prayed, "ut legibus
solveretur. " The consuls, by a decree of the senate, got the tribunes
to obtain a plebis-scitum, that his brother Lucius, the prætor elect,
might be allowed to take the oath for him. Liv. , xxxi. , 50.
