Ammianus Marcellinus (a Latin historian of
the fourth century) says, that at Rome the people despised every thing
that did not grow before their eyes within the walls of the city,
except the rich who had no children; and the veneration paid to such
as had no heirs was altogether incredible.
the fourth century) says, that at Rome the people despised every thing
that did not grow before their eyes within the walls of the city,
except the rich who had no children; and the veneration paid to such
as had no heirs was altogether incredible.
Tacitus
ix.
) that he
was then a very young man. The arguments, drawn by the several
commentators from the difference of style, Brotier thinks are of no
weight. The style of a young author will naturally differ from what he
has settled by practice at an advanced period of life. This has been
observed in many eminent writers, and in none more than Lipsius
himself. His language, in the outset, was easy, flowing, and elegant;
but, as he advanced in years, it became stiff, abrupt, and harsh.
Tacitus relates a conversation on a literary subject; and in such a
piece, who can expect to find the style of an historian or an
annalist? For these reasons Brotier thinks that this Dialogue may,
with good reason, be ascribed to Tacitus. The translator enters no
farther into the controversy, than to say, that in a case where
certainty cannot be obtained, we must rest satisfied with the best
evidence the nature of the thing will admit. The dispute is of no
importance; for, as Lipsius says, whether we give the Dialogue to
Quintilian or to Tacitus, no inconvenience can arise. Whoever was the
author, it is a performance of uncommon beauty.
Before we close this introduction, it will not be improper to say a
word or two about Brotier's Supplement. In the wreck of ancient
literature a considerable part of this Dialogue has perished, and, by
consequence, a chasm is left, much to be lamented by every reader of
taste. To avoid the inconvenience of a broken context, Brotier has
endeavoured to compensate for the loss. What he has added, will be
found in the progress of the work; and as it is executed by the
learned editor with great elegance, and equal probability, it is hoped
that the insertion of it will be more agreeable to the reader, than a
dull pause of melancholy regret.
Section I.
[a] Justus Fabius was consul A. U. C. 864, A. D. 111. But as he did not
begin the year, his name does not appear in the FASTI CONSULARES.
There are two letters to him from his friend Pliny; the first, lib. i.
epist. 11; the other, lib. vii. ep. 2. it is remarkable, that in the
last, the author talks of sending some of his writings for his
friend's perusal; _quæram quid potissimum ex nugis meis tibi
exhibeam_; but not a word is said about the decline of eloquence.
Section II.
[a] Concerning Maternus nothing is known with any kind of certainty.
Dio relates that a sophist, of that name, was put to death by
Domitian, for a school declamation against tyrants: but not one of the
commentators ventures to assert that he was the _Curiatius Maternus_,
who makes so conspicuous a figure in the Dialogue before us.
[b] No mention is made of Marcus Aper, either by Quintilian or Pliny.
It is supposed that he was father of Marcus Flavius Aper, who was
substituted consul A. U. C. 883, A. D. 130. His oratorical character, and
that of Secundus, as we find them drawn in this section, are not
unlike what we are told by Cicero of Crassus and Antonius. Crassus, he
says, was not willing to be thought destitute of literature, but he
wished to have it said of him, that he despised it, and preferred the
good sense of the Romans to the refinements of Greece. Antonius, on
the other hand, was of opinion that his fame would rise to greater
magnitude, if he was considered as a man wholly illiterate, and void
of education. In this manner they both expected to increase their
popularity; the former by despising the Greeks, and the latter by not
knowing them. _Fuit hoc in utroque eorum, ut Crassus non tam
existimari vellet non didicisse, quam illa despicere, et nostrorum
hominum in omni genere prudentiam Græcis anteferre. Antonius autem
probabiliorem populo orationem fore censebat suam, si omninò didicisse
nunquam putaretur; atque ita se uterque graviorem fore, si alter
contemnere, alter ne nosse quidem Græcos videretur. _ Cicero _De Orat. _
lib. ii. cap. 1.
[c] Quintilian makes honourable mention of Julius Secundus, who, if he
had not been prematurely cut off, would have transmitted his name to
posterity among the most celebrated orators. He would have added, and
he was daily doing it, whatever was requisite to complete his
oratorical genius; and all that could be desired, was more vigour in
argument, and more attention to matter and sentiment, than to the
choice of words. But he died too soon, and his fame was, in some
degree, intercepted. He has, notwithstanding, left a considerable
name. His diction was rich and copious; he explained every thing with
grace and elegance; his periods flowed with a suavity that charmed
his audience; his language, when metaphorical, was bold, yet accurate;
and, if he hazarded an unusual phrase, he was justified by the energy
with which his meaning was conveyed. _Julio Secundo, si longior
contigisset ætas, clarissimum profecto nomen oratoris apud posteros
foret. Adjecisset enim, atque adjiciebat, cæteris virtutibus suis,
quod desiderari potest; id est autem, ut esset multo magis pugnax, et
sæpius ad curam rerum ab elocutione respiceret. Cæterum interceptus
quoque magnum sibi vindicat locum. Ea est facundia, tanta in
explicando, quod velit, gratia; tam candidum, et lene, et speciosum
dicendi genus; tanta verborum, etiam quæ assumpta sunt, proprietas;
tanta in quibusdam, ex periculo petitis, significantia. _ Quintil. lib.
x. s. 1. It is remarkable, that Quintilian, in his list of Roman
orators, has neither mentioned Maternus, nor Marcus Aper. The
Dialogue, for that reason, seems to be improperly ascribed to him: men
who figure so much in the enquiry concerning oratory, would not have
been omitted by the critic who thought their conversation worth
recording.
Section III.
[a] Thyestes was a common and popular subject of ancient tragedy.
Indignatur item privatis, et prope socco
Dignis carminibus narrari coena Thyestæ.
HORAT. ARS POET. ver. 90.
[b] It was the custom of the colonies and municipal towns, to pay
their court to some great orator at Rome, in order to obtain his
patronage, whenever they should have occasion to apply to the senate
for a redress of grievances.
[c] Domitius was another subject of tragedy, taken from the Roman
story. Who he was, does not clearly appear. Brotier thinks it was
Domitius, the avowed enemy of Julius Cæsar, who moved in the senate
for a law to recall that general from the command of the army in Gaul,
and, afterwards, on the breaking out of the civil war, fell bravely
at the battle of Pharsalia. See Suetonius, Life of Nero, section 2.
Such a character might furnish the subject of a tragedy. The Roman
poets were in the habit of enriching their drama with domestic
occurrences, and the practice was applauded by Horace.
Nec minimum meruêre decus, vestigia Græca
Ausi deserere, et celebrare domestica facta.
ARS POET. ver. 286.
No path to fame our poets left untried;
Nor small their merit, when with conscious pride
They scorn'd to take from Greece the storied theme,
But dar'd to sing their own domestic fame.
FRANCIS'S HORACE.
Section V.
[a] There were at Rome several eminent men of the name of Bassus.
With regard to the person here called Saleius Bassus, the commentators
have not been able to glean much information. Some have contended that
it was to him Persius addressed his sixth satire:
Admovit jam bruma foco te, Basse, Sabino.
But if we may believe the old scholiast, his name was CÆSIUS BASSUS, a
much admired lyric poet, who was living on his own farm, at the time
when Mount Vesuvius discharged its torrents of fire, and made the
country round a scene of desolation. The poet and his house were
overwhelmed by the eruption of the lava, which happened A. U. 832, in
the reign of Titus. Quintilian says of him (b. x. chap. 1. ), that if
after Horace any poet deserves to be mentioned, Cæsius Bassus was the
man. _Si quem adjicere velis, is erit Cæsius Bassus. _ Saleius Bassus
is mentioned by Juvenal as an eminent poet in distress:
----At Serrano tenuique Saleio
Gloria quantalibet quid erit, si gloria tantum est?
SAT. vii. ver. 80.
But to poor Bassus what avails a name,
To starve on compliments and empty fame!
DRYDEN'S JUVENAL.
Quintilian says, he possessed a poetic genius, but so warm and
vehement, that, even in an advanced age, his spirit was not under the
control of sober judgement. _Vehemens et poeticum ingenium SALEII
BASSI fuit; nec ipsum senectute maturum. _ This passage affords an
insuperable argument against Lipsius, and the rest of the critics who
named Quintilian as a candidate for the honour of this elegant
composition. Can it be imagined that a writer of fair integrity, would
in his great work speak of Bassus as he deserved, and in the Dialogue
overrate him beyond all proportion? Duplicity was not a part of
Quintilian's character.
[b] Tacitus, it may be presumed with good reason, was a diligent
reader of Cicero, Livy, Sallust, and Seneca. He has, in various parts
of his works, coincidences of sentiment and diction, that plainly shew
the source from which they sprung. In the present case, when he calls
eloquence a buckler to protect yourself, and a weapon to annoy your
adversary, can anyone doubt but he had his eye on the following
sentence in _Cicero de Oratore_? _Quid autem tam necessarium, quam
tenere semper arma, quibus vel tectus ipse esse possis, vel provocare
integros, et te ulcisci lacessitus? _
[c] Eprius Marcellus is often a conspicuous figure in the Annals and
the History of Tacitus. To a bad heart he united the gift of
eloquence. In the Annals, b. xvi. s. 28, he makes a vehement speech
against Pætus Thrasea, and afterwards wrought the destruction of that
excellent man. For that exploit, he was attacked, in the beginning of
Vespasian's reign, by Helvidius Priscus. In the History (book iv. s. 7
and 8) we see them both engaged in a violent contention. In the
following year (823), Helvidius in the senate opened an accusation in
form; but Marcellus, by using his eloquence as his buckler and his
offensive weapon, was able to ward off the blow. He rose from his
seat, and, "I leave you," he said, "I leave you to give the law to the
senate: reign, if you will, even in the presence of the prince. " See
Hist. iv. s. 43. See also, Life of Agricola, s. 11. notes a and b.
Section VI.
[a] To be rich and have no issue, gave to the person so circumstanced
the highest consequence at Rome. All ranks of men paid their court to
him. To discourage a life of celibacy, and promote population,
Augustus passed a law, called _Papia Poppæa_, whereby bachelors were
subjected to penalties. Hence the compliment paid by Horace to his
patron:
Diva producas sobolem, patrumque
Prosperes decreta super jugandis
Foeminis, prolisque novæ feraci
Lege marita.
CARMEN SÆCULARE.
Bring the springing birth to light,
And with ev'ry genial grace
Prolific of an endless race,
Oh! crown our vows, and bless the nuptial rite.
FRANCIS'S HORACE.
But marriage was not brought into fashion. In proportion to the rapid
degeneracy of the manners under the emperors, celibacy grew into
respect; insomuch, that we find (Annals xii. s. 52) a man too strong
for his prosecutors, because he was rich, old, and childless.
_Valuitque pecuniosâ orbitate et senectâ. _
[b] The faculty of speaking on a sudden question, with unpremeditated
eloquence, Quintilian says, is the reward of study and diligent
application. The speech, composed at leisure, will often want the
warmth and energy, which accompany the rapid emotions of the mind. The
passions, when roused and animated, and the images which present
themselves in a glow of enthusiasm, are the inspirers of true
eloquence. Composition has not always this happy effect; the process
is slow; languor is apt to succeed; the passions subside, and the
spirit of the discourse evaporates. _Maximus vero studiorum fructus
est, et velut præmium quoddam amplissimum longi laboris, ex tempore
dicendi facultas. Pectus est enim quod disertos facit, et vis mentis.
Nam benè concepti affectus, et recentes rerum imagines, continuo
impetu feruntur, quæ nonnunquam morâ stili refrigescunt, et dilatæ won
revertuntur. _ Quintilian. lib. x. cap. 7.
Section VII.
[a] The translation is not quite accurate in this place. The original
says, when I obtained the _laticlave_, and the English calls it the
_manly gown_, which, it must be admitted, is not the exact sense. The
_toga virilis_, or the _manly gown_, was assumed, when the youth came
to man's estate, or the age of seventeen years. On that occasion the
friends of the young man conducted him to the _forum_ (or sometimes to
the capitol), and there invested him with the new gown. This was
called _dies tirocinii_; the day on which he commenced a _tiro_, or a
candidate for preferment in the army. The _laticlave_, was an
additional honour often granted at the same time. The sons of senators
and patricians were entitled to that distinction, as a matter of
right: but the young men, descended from such as were not patricians,
did not wear the _laticlave_, till they entered into the service of
the commonwealth, and undertook the functions of the civil magistracy.
Augustus Cæsar changed that custom. He gave leave to the sons of
senators, in general, to assume the _laticlave_ presently after the
time of putting on the _toga virilis_, though they were not capable of
civil honours. The emperors who succeeded, allowed the same privilege,
as a favour to illustrious families. _Ovid_ speaks of himself and his
brother assuming the _manly gown_ and the _laticlave_ at the same
time:
Interea, tacito passu labentibus annis,
Liberior fratri sumpta mihique toga;
Induiturque humeris cum lato purpura clavo.
Pliny the younger shews, that the _laticlave_ was a favour granted by
the emperor on particular occasions. He says, he applied for his
friend, and succeeded: _Ego Sexto latumclavum a Cæsare nostro
impetravi. _ Lib. ii. epist. 9. The _latusclavus_ was a robe worn by
consuls, prætors, generals in triumph, and senators, who were called
_laticlavii_. Their sons were admitted to the same honour; but the
emperors had a power to bestow this garment of distinction, and all
privileges belonging to it, upon such as they thought worthy of that
honour. This is what Marcus Aper says, in the Dialogue, that he
obtained; and, when the translation mentions the _manly gown_, the
expression falls short of the speaker's idea. Dacier has given an
account of the _laticlave_, which has been well received by the
learned. He tells us, that whatever was made to be put on another
thing, was called _clavus_, not because it had any resemblance to a
nail, but because it was made an adjunct to another subject. In fact,
the _clavi_ were purple galloons, with which the Romans bordered the
fore part of the tunic, on both sides, and when drawn close together,
they formed an ornament in the middle of the vestment. It was, for
that reason, called by the Greeks, [Greek: mesoporphuron]. The broad
galloons made the _laticlave_, and the narrow the _angusticlave_. The
_laticlave_, Dacier adds, is not to be confounded with the _prætexta_.
The latter was, at first, appropriated to the magistrates, and the
sacerdotal order; but, in time, was extended to the sons of eminent
families, to be worn as a mark of distinction, till the age of
seventeen, when it was laid aside for the _manly gown_. See Dacier's
_Horace_, lib. i. sat. 5; and see Kennet's _Roman Antiquities_, p.
306.
[b] Marcus Aper, Julius Secundus, and Curiatius Maternus, according to
Brotier and others, were natives of Gaul. Aper (section x. ) mentions
the Gauls as their common countrymen: _Ne quid de Gallis nostris
loquamur. _ If that was the fact, a _new man_ at Rome would have
difficulties to surmount.
Ammianus Marcellinus (a Latin historian of
the fourth century) says, that at Rome the people despised every thing
that did not grow before their eyes within the walls of the city,
except the rich who had no children; and the veneration paid to such
as had no heirs was altogether incredible. _Vile esse quidquid extra
urbis pomærium nascitur, æstimant; nec credi potest qua obsequiorum
diversitate coluntur homines sine liberis Romæ. _ Lib. xiv. s. 5. In
such a city a young man and a stranger could not expect to be
favoured.
[c] All causes of a private nature were heard before the _centumviri_.
Three were chosen out of every tribe, and the tribes amounted to five
and thirty, so that in fact 105 were chosen; but, for the sake of a
round number, they were called CENTUMVIRI. The causes that were heard
before that jurisdiction are enumerated by Cicero, _De Orat. _ lib. i.
s. 38.
[d] The translation says, _the wills and codicils of the rich_; but it
is by no means certain that those words convey the meaning of the
text, which simply says, _nec codicillis datur_. After due enquiry, it
appears that _codicillus_ was used by the Latin authors, for what we
now call _the letters patent of a prince_. Codicils, in the modern
sense of the word, implying a supplement to a will, were unknown to
the intent Roman law. The Twelve Tables mention testaments only.
Codicils, in aid to wills, were first introduced in the time of
Augustus; but, whatever their operation was, legacies granted by those
additional writings were for some time of no validity. To confirm
this, we are told that the daughter of Lentulus discharged certain
legacies, which, being given by codicil, she was not bound to pay. In
time, however, codicils, as an addition made by the testator to his
will, grew into use, and the legacies thereby granted were confirmed.
This might be the case in the sixth year of Vespasian, when the
Dialogue passed between the parties; but it is, notwithstanding,
highly probable, that the word _codicilli_ means, in the passage
before us, the _letters patent of the prince_. It is used in that
sense by Suetonius, who relates, that Tiberius, after passing a night
and two days in revelling with Pomponius Flaccus and Lucius Piso,
granted to the former the province of Syria, and made the latter
prefect of the city; declaring them, _in the patents_, pleasant
companions, and _the friends of all hours_. _Codicillis quoque
jucundissimos et omnium horarum amicos professus. _ Suet. _in Tib. _ s.
42.
[e] The common people are called, in the original, _tunicatus
populus_; that class of men, who wore the _tunic_, and not the _toga_,
or the _Roman gown_. The _tunica_, or close coat, was the common
garment worn within doors, and abroad, under the _toga_. Kennet says,
the _proletarii_, the _capite censi_, and the rest of the dregs of the
city, could not afford to wear the _toga_, and therefore went in
their _tunics_; whence Horace says (lib. i. epist. 7).
Vilia vendentem tunicato scruta popello.
The TOGA, however, was the peculiar dress of the Roman people. VIRGIL
distinguishes his countrymen by their mode of apparel:
Romanos rerum dominos, gentemque togatam.
But, though this was the Roman habit, the lower citizens were obliged
to appear abroad is their _tunica_, or close garment. The love of
praise is so eager a passion, that the public orator is here
represented as delighting in the applause of the rabble. Persius, the
satirist, has said the same thing:
Pulchrum est digito monstrari, et dicier. HIC EST.
Section VIII.
[a] The character of Eprius Marcellus has been already stated, section
v. note [c]. Crispus Vibius is mentioned as a man of weight and
influence, _Annals_, book xiv. s. 28. Quintilian has mentioned him to
his advantage: he calls him, book v. chap. 13, a man of agreeable and
elegant talents, _vir ingenii jucundi et elegantis_; and again, Vibius
Crispus was distinguished by the elegance of his composition, and the
sweetness of his manner; a man born to please, but fitter for private
suits, than for the importance of public causes. _Et VIBIUS CRISPUS,
compositus, et jucundus, et delectationi natus; privatis tamen causis,
quam publicis, melior. _ Lib. x. cap. 1.
[b] Which of these two men was born at Capua, and which at Vercellæ,
is not clearly expressed in the original. Eprius Marcellus, who has
been described of a prompt and daring spirit, ready to embark in
every mischief, and by his eloquence able to give colour to the worst
cause, must at this time have become a new man, since we find him
mentioned in this Dialogue with unbounded praise. He, it seems, and
Vibius Crispus were the favourites at Vespasian's court. Vercellæ, now
_Verceil_, was situated in the eastern part of Piedmont. _Capua_,
rendered famous by Hannibal, was a city in Campania, always deemed the
seat of pleasure.
[c] Vespasian is said to have been what is uncommon among sovereign
princes, a patient hearer of truth. His attention to men of letters
may be considered as a proof of that assertion. The younger Pliny
tells us, that his uncle, the author of the Natural History, used to
visit Vespasian before day-light, and gained admittance to the
emperor, who devoted his nights to study. _Ante lucem ibat ad
Vespasianum imperatorem: nam ille quoque noctibus utebatur. _ Lib. iii.
epist. 5.
Section IX.
[a] Agamemnon and Jason were two favourite dramatic subjects with the
Roman poets. After their example, the moderns seem to have been
enamoured with those two Grecian heroes. Racine has displayed the
former, in his tragedy of Iphigenia, and the late Mr. Thomson in a
performance of great merit, entitled Agamemnon. Corneille, and, the
late Mr. Glover, thought Jason and Medea worthy of their talents.
[b] Saleius Bassus has been already mentioned, s. v. note [a]. It may
be added in this place, that the critics of his time concurred in
giving him the warmest praise, not only as a good and excellent man,
but also as an eminent and admirable poet. He was descended from a
family of distinction, but was poor and often distressed. Whether he
or Cæsius Bassus was the friend of Persius, is not perfectly clear. Be
the fact as it may, the satirist describes a fine poet, and his verses
were applicable to either of them:
Jamne lyrâ, et tetrico vivunt tibi pectine chordæ?
Mire opifex numeris veterum primordia rerum,
Atque marem strepitum fidis intendisse Latinæ;
Mox juvenes agitare jocos, et pollice honesto
Egregios lusisse senes.
PERSIUS, sat. vi.
[c] Before the invention of printing, copies were not easily
multiplied. Authors were eager to enjoy their fame, and the pen of the
transcriber was slow and tedious. Public rehearsals were the road to
fame. But an audience was to be drawn together by interest, by
solicitation, and public advertisements. Pliny, in one of his letters,
has given a lively description of the difficulties which the author
had to surmount. This year, he says, has produced poets in great
abundance. Scarce a day has passed in the month of April, without the
recital of a poem. But the greater part of the audience comes with
reluctance; they loiter in the lobbies, and there enter into idle
chat, occasionally desiring to know, whether the poet is in his
pulpit? has he begun? is his preface over? has he almost finished?
They condescended, at last, to enter the room; they looked round with
an air of indifference, and soon retired, some by stealth, and others
with open contempt. Hence the greater praise is due to those authors,
who do not suffer their genius to droop, but, on the contrary, amidst
the most discouraging circumstances, still persist to cultivate the
liberal arts. Pliny adds, that he himself attended all the public
readings, and, for that purpose, staid longer in the city than was
usual with him. Being, at length, released, he intended, in his rural
retreat, to finish a work of his own, but not to read it in public,
lest he should be thought to claim a return of the civility which he
had shewn to others. He was a bearer, and not a creditor. The favour
conferred, if redemanded, ceases to be a favour. _Magnum proventum
poetarum annus hic attulit. Toto mense Aprili nullus fere dies, quo
non recitaret aliquis. Tametsi ad audiendum pigre coitur. Plerique in
stationibus sedent, tempusque audiendis fabulis conterunt, ac subinde
sibi nuntiari jubent, an jam recitator intraverit, an dixerit
præfationem, an ex magná parte evolverit librum? Tum demum, ac tune
quoque lentè, cunctanterque veniunt, nec tamen remanent, sed ante
finem recedunt; alii dissimulanter, ac furtim, alii, simpliciter, ac
liberè. Sed tanto magis laudandi probandique sunt, quos a scribendi
recitandique studio hæc auditorum vel desidia, vel superbia non
retardat. Equidem prope nemini defui: his ex causis longius, quam
destinaveram, tempus in urbe consumpsi. Possum jam repetere secessum,
et scribere aliquid, quod non recitem, ne videar, quorum
recitationibus affui, non auditor fuisse, sed creditor. Nam, ut in
cæteris rebus, ita in audiendi officio, perit gratia si reposcatur. _
Pliny, lib. i. ep. 13. Such was the state of literature under the
worst of the emperors. The Augustan age was over. In the reigns of
Tiberius and Caligula learning drooped, but in some degree revived
under the dull and stupid Claudius. Pliny, in the letter above cited,
says of that emperor, that, one day hearing a noise in his palace, he
enquired what was the cause, and, being informed that Nonianus was
reciting in public, went immediately to the place, and became one of
the audience. After that time letters met with no encouragement from
the great. Lord Shaftesbury says, he cannot but wonder how the Romans,
after the extinction of the _Cæsarean_ and _Claudian_ family, and a
short interval of princes raised and destroyed with much disorder and
public ruin, were able to regain their perishing dominion, and
retrieve their sinking state, by an after-race of wise and able
princes, successively adopted, and taken from a private state to rule
the empire of the world. They were men, who not only possessed the
military virtues, and supported that sort of discipline in the
highest degree; but as they sought the interest of the world, they
did what was in their power to restore liberty, and raise again the
perishing arts, and the decayed virtue of mankind. But the season was
past: _barbarity_ and _gothicism_ were already entered into the arts,
ere the savages made an impression on the empire. See _Advice to an
Author_, part. ii. s. 1. The _gothicism_, hinted at by Shaftesbury,
appears manifestly in the wretched situation to which the best authors
were reduced. The poets who could not hope to procure an audience,
haunted the baths and public walks, in order to fasten on their
friends, and, at any rate, obtain a hearing for their works. Juvenal
says, the plantations and marble columns of Julius Fronto resounded
with the vociferation of reciting poets:
Frontonis platani convulsaque marmora clamant
Semper, et assiduo ruptæ lectore columnæ.
Expectes eadem a summo minimoque poetâ.
SAT. i. ver. 12.
The same author observes, that the poet, who aspired to literary
fame, might borrow an house for the purpose of a public reading; and
the great man who accommodated the writer, might arrange his friends
and freedmen on the back seats, with direction not to be sparing of
their applause; but still a stage or pulpit, with convenient benches,
was to be procured, and that expence the patrons of letters would not
supply.
----At si dulcedine famæ
Contentus recites, Maculonus commodat ædes.
Scit dare libertos extremâ in parte sedentes
Ordinis, et magnas comitum disponere voces.
Nemo dabit procerum, quanti subsellia constent.
SAT. vii. ver. 39.
Statius, in Juvenal's time, was a favourite poet. If he announced a
reading, his auditors went in crowds. He delighted all degrees and
ranks of men; but, when the hour of applause was over, the author was
obliged to sell a tragedy to Paris, the famous actor, in order to
procure a dinner,
Curritur ad vocem jucundam, et carmen amicæ?
Thebaidos, lætam fecit cum Statius urbem?
Promisitque diem: tantâ dulcedine vulgi
Auditur; sed cum fregit subsellia versu,
Esurit, intactam Paridi nisi vendit Agaven.
SAT. vii. ver. 82.
This was the hard lot of poetry, and this the state of public reading,
which Aper describes to his friend Maternus.
Section X.
[a] Horace has the same observation:
----Mediocribus esse poetis
Non Dii, non homines, non concessere columnæ.
ART OF POETRY, ver. 372.
But God and man, and letter'd post denies,
That poets ever are of middling size.
FRANCIS'S HORACE.
[b] Notwithstanding all that is said, in this Dialogue, of Saleius
Bassus, it does not appear, in the judgement of Quintilian, that he
was a poet whose fame could extend itself to the distant provinces.
Perfection in the kind is necessary. Livy, the historian, was at the
head of his profession. In consequence of his vast reputation, we know
from Pliny, the consul, that a native of the city of Cadiz was so
struck with the character of that great writer, that he made a journey
to Rome, with no other intent than to see that celebrated genius; and
having gratified his curiosity, without staying to view the wonders of
that magnificent city, returned home perfectly satisfied. _Nunquamne
legisti Gaditanum quemdam Titi Livii nomine gloriâque commotum, ad
visendum eum ab ultimo terrarum orbe venisse; statimque, ut viderat,
abiisse? _ Lib. ii. epist. 3.
[c] In Homer and Virgil, as well as in the dramatic poets of the first
order, we frequently have passages of real eloquence, with the
difference which Quintilian mentions: the poet, he says, is a slave to
the measure of his verse; and, not being able at all times to make use
of the true and proper word, he is obliged to quit the natural and
easy way of expression, and avail himself of new modes and turns of
phraseology, such as tropes, and metaphors, with the liberty of
transposing words, and lengthening or shortening syllables as he sees
occasion. _Quod alligati ad certam pedum necessitatem non semper
propriis uti possint, sed depulsi a rectâ viâ, necessario ad quædam
diverticula confugiant; nec mutare quædam modo verba, sed extendere,
corripere, convertere, dividere cogantur. _ Quint, lib. x. cap. 1. The
speaker in the Dialogue is aware of this distinction, and, subject to
it, the various branches of poetry are with him so many different
modes of eloquence.
[d] The original has, the citadel of eloquence, which calls to mind an
admired passage in Lucretius:
Sed nil dulcius est bene quam munita tenere
Edita doctrinâ sapientum templa serena,
Despicere unde queas alios, passimque videre
Errare, atque viam pallantes quærere vitæ.
Lib. ii. ver. 7.
[e] It is a fact well known, that in Greece the most illustrious of
both sexes thought it honourable to exercise themselves in the
exhibitions of the theatre, and even to appear in the athletic games.
Plutarch, it is true, will have it, that all scenic arts were
prohibited at Sparta by the laws of Lycurgus; and yet Cornelius Nepos
assures us, that no Lacedæmonian matron, however high her quality, was
ashamed to act for hire on the public stage. He adds, that throughout
Greece, it was deemed the highest honour to obtain the prize in the
Olympic games, and no man blushed to be a performer in plays and
pantomimes, and give himself a spectacle to the people. _Nulla
Lacedæmoni tam est nobilis vidua, quæ non in scenam eat mercede
conducta. Magnis in laudibus totâ fuit Græciâ, victorem Olympiæ
citari. In scenam vero prodire, et populo esse spectaculo nemini in
iisdem gentibus fuit turpitudini. _ Cor. Nep. _in Præfat. _ It appears,
however, from a story told by Ælian and cited by Shaftesbury, _Advice
to an Author_, part ii. s. 3, that the Greek women were by law
excluded from the Olympic games. Whoever was found to transgress, or
even to cross the river Alpheus, during the celebration of that great
spectacle, was liable to be thrown from a rock. The consequence was,
that not one female was detected, except _Callipatria_, or, as others
called her, _Pherenicè_. This woman, disguised in the habit of a
teacher of gymnastic exercises, introduced her son, _Pisidorus_, to
contend for the victor's prize. Her son succeeded. Transported with
joy at a sight so glorious, the mother overleaped the fence, which
enclosed the magistrates, and, in the violence of that exertion, let
fall her garment. She was, by consequence, known to be a woman, but
absolved from all criminality. For that mild and equitable sentence,
she was indebted to the merit of her father, her brothers, and her
son, who all obtained the victor's crown. The incident, however, gave
birth to a new law, whereby it was enacted, that the masters of the
gymnastic art should, for the future, come naked to the Olympic games.
_Ælian_ lib.
was then a very young man. The arguments, drawn by the several
commentators from the difference of style, Brotier thinks are of no
weight. The style of a young author will naturally differ from what he
has settled by practice at an advanced period of life. This has been
observed in many eminent writers, and in none more than Lipsius
himself. His language, in the outset, was easy, flowing, and elegant;
but, as he advanced in years, it became stiff, abrupt, and harsh.
Tacitus relates a conversation on a literary subject; and in such a
piece, who can expect to find the style of an historian or an
annalist? For these reasons Brotier thinks that this Dialogue may,
with good reason, be ascribed to Tacitus. The translator enters no
farther into the controversy, than to say, that in a case where
certainty cannot be obtained, we must rest satisfied with the best
evidence the nature of the thing will admit. The dispute is of no
importance; for, as Lipsius says, whether we give the Dialogue to
Quintilian or to Tacitus, no inconvenience can arise. Whoever was the
author, it is a performance of uncommon beauty.
Before we close this introduction, it will not be improper to say a
word or two about Brotier's Supplement. In the wreck of ancient
literature a considerable part of this Dialogue has perished, and, by
consequence, a chasm is left, much to be lamented by every reader of
taste. To avoid the inconvenience of a broken context, Brotier has
endeavoured to compensate for the loss. What he has added, will be
found in the progress of the work; and as it is executed by the
learned editor with great elegance, and equal probability, it is hoped
that the insertion of it will be more agreeable to the reader, than a
dull pause of melancholy regret.
Section I.
[a] Justus Fabius was consul A. U. C. 864, A. D. 111. But as he did not
begin the year, his name does not appear in the FASTI CONSULARES.
There are two letters to him from his friend Pliny; the first, lib. i.
epist. 11; the other, lib. vii. ep. 2. it is remarkable, that in the
last, the author talks of sending some of his writings for his
friend's perusal; _quæram quid potissimum ex nugis meis tibi
exhibeam_; but not a word is said about the decline of eloquence.
Section II.
[a] Concerning Maternus nothing is known with any kind of certainty.
Dio relates that a sophist, of that name, was put to death by
Domitian, for a school declamation against tyrants: but not one of the
commentators ventures to assert that he was the _Curiatius Maternus_,
who makes so conspicuous a figure in the Dialogue before us.
[b] No mention is made of Marcus Aper, either by Quintilian or Pliny.
It is supposed that he was father of Marcus Flavius Aper, who was
substituted consul A. U. C. 883, A. D. 130. His oratorical character, and
that of Secundus, as we find them drawn in this section, are not
unlike what we are told by Cicero of Crassus and Antonius. Crassus, he
says, was not willing to be thought destitute of literature, but he
wished to have it said of him, that he despised it, and preferred the
good sense of the Romans to the refinements of Greece. Antonius, on
the other hand, was of opinion that his fame would rise to greater
magnitude, if he was considered as a man wholly illiterate, and void
of education. In this manner they both expected to increase their
popularity; the former by despising the Greeks, and the latter by not
knowing them. _Fuit hoc in utroque eorum, ut Crassus non tam
existimari vellet non didicisse, quam illa despicere, et nostrorum
hominum in omni genere prudentiam Græcis anteferre. Antonius autem
probabiliorem populo orationem fore censebat suam, si omninò didicisse
nunquam putaretur; atque ita se uterque graviorem fore, si alter
contemnere, alter ne nosse quidem Græcos videretur. _ Cicero _De Orat. _
lib. ii. cap. 1.
[c] Quintilian makes honourable mention of Julius Secundus, who, if he
had not been prematurely cut off, would have transmitted his name to
posterity among the most celebrated orators. He would have added, and
he was daily doing it, whatever was requisite to complete his
oratorical genius; and all that could be desired, was more vigour in
argument, and more attention to matter and sentiment, than to the
choice of words. But he died too soon, and his fame was, in some
degree, intercepted. He has, notwithstanding, left a considerable
name. His diction was rich and copious; he explained every thing with
grace and elegance; his periods flowed with a suavity that charmed
his audience; his language, when metaphorical, was bold, yet accurate;
and, if he hazarded an unusual phrase, he was justified by the energy
with which his meaning was conveyed. _Julio Secundo, si longior
contigisset ætas, clarissimum profecto nomen oratoris apud posteros
foret. Adjecisset enim, atque adjiciebat, cæteris virtutibus suis,
quod desiderari potest; id est autem, ut esset multo magis pugnax, et
sæpius ad curam rerum ab elocutione respiceret. Cæterum interceptus
quoque magnum sibi vindicat locum. Ea est facundia, tanta in
explicando, quod velit, gratia; tam candidum, et lene, et speciosum
dicendi genus; tanta verborum, etiam quæ assumpta sunt, proprietas;
tanta in quibusdam, ex periculo petitis, significantia. _ Quintil. lib.
x. s. 1. It is remarkable, that Quintilian, in his list of Roman
orators, has neither mentioned Maternus, nor Marcus Aper. The
Dialogue, for that reason, seems to be improperly ascribed to him: men
who figure so much in the enquiry concerning oratory, would not have
been omitted by the critic who thought their conversation worth
recording.
Section III.
[a] Thyestes was a common and popular subject of ancient tragedy.
Indignatur item privatis, et prope socco
Dignis carminibus narrari coena Thyestæ.
HORAT. ARS POET. ver. 90.
[b] It was the custom of the colonies and municipal towns, to pay
their court to some great orator at Rome, in order to obtain his
patronage, whenever they should have occasion to apply to the senate
for a redress of grievances.
[c] Domitius was another subject of tragedy, taken from the Roman
story. Who he was, does not clearly appear. Brotier thinks it was
Domitius, the avowed enemy of Julius Cæsar, who moved in the senate
for a law to recall that general from the command of the army in Gaul,
and, afterwards, on the breaking out of the civil war, fell bravely
at the battle of Pharsalia. See Suetonius, Life of Nero, section 2.
Such a character might furnish the subject of a tragedy. The Roman
poets were in the habit of enriching their drama with domestic
occurrences, and the practice was applauded by Horace.
Nec minimum meruêre decus, vestigia Græca
Ausi deserere, et celebrare domestica facta.
ARS POET. ver. 286.
No path to fame our poets left untried;
Nor small their merit, when with conscious pride
They scorn'd to take from Greece the storied theme,
But dar'd to sing their own domestic fame.
FRANCIS'S HORACE.
Section V.
[a] There were at Rome several eminent men of the name of Bassus.
With regard to the person here called Saleius Bassus, the commentators
have not been able to glean much information. Some have contended that
it was to him Persius addressed his sixth satire:
Admovit jam bruma foco te, Basse, Sabino.
But if we may believe the old scholiast, his name was CÆSIUS BASSUS, a
much admired lyric poet, who was living on his own farm, at the time
when Mount Vesuvius discharged its torrents of fire, and made the
country round a scene of desolation. The poet and his house were
overwhelmed by the eruption of the lava, which happened A. U. 832, in
the reign of Titus. Quintilian says of him (b. x. chap. 1. ), that if
after Horace any poet deserves to be mentioned, Cæsius Bassus was the
man. _Si quem adjicere velis, is erit Cæsius Bassus. _ Saleius Bassus
is mentioned by Juvenal as an eminent poet in distress:
----At Serrano tenuique Saleio
Gloria quantalibet quid erit, si gloria tantum est?
SAT. vii. ver. 80.
But to poor Bassus what avails a name,
To starve on compliments and empty fame!
DRYDEN'S JUVENAL.
Quintilian says, he possessed a poetic genius, but so warm and
vehement, that, even in an advanced age, his spirit was not under the
control of sober judgement. _Vehemens et poeticum ingenium SALEII
BASSI fuit; nec ipsum senectute maturum. _ This passage affords an
insuperable argument against Lipsius, and the rest of the critics who
named Quintilian as a candidate for the honour of this elegant
composition. Can it be imagined that a writer of fair integrity, would
in his great work speak of Bassus as he deserved, and in the Dialogue
overrate him beyond all proportion? Duplicity was not a part of
Quintilian's character.
[b] Tacitus, it may be presumed with good reason, was a diligent
reader of Cicero, Livy, Sallust, and Seneca. He has, in various parts
of his works, coincidences of sentiment and diction, that plainly shew
the source from which they sprung. In the present case, when he calls
eloquence a buckler to protect yourself, and a weapon to annoy your
adversary, can anyone doubt but he had his eye on the following
sentence in _Cicero de Oratore_? _Quid autem tam necessarium, quam
tenere semper arma, quibus vel tectus ipse esse possis, vel provocare
integros, et te ulcisci lacessitus? _
[c] Eprius Marcellus is often a conspicuous figure in the Annals and
the History of Tacitus. To a bad heart he united the gift of
eloquence. In the Annals, b. xvi. s. 28, he makes a vehement speech
against Pætus Thrasea, and afterwards wrought the destruction of that
excellent man. For that exploit, he was attacked, in the beginning of
Vespasian's reign, by Helvidius Priscus. In the History (book iv. s. 7
and 8) we see them both engaged in a violent contention. In the
following year (823), Helvidius in the senate opened an accusation in
form; but Marcellus, by using his eloquence as his buckler and his
offensive weapon, was able to ward off the blow. He rose from his
seat, and, "I leave you," he said, "I leave you to give the law to the
senate: reign, if you will, even in the presence of the prince. " See
Hist. iv. s. 43. See also, Life of Agricola, s. 11. notes a and b.
Section VI.
[a] To be rich and have no issue, gave to the person so circumstanced
the highest consequence at Rome. All ranks of men paid their court to
him. To discourage a life of celibacy, and promote population,
Augustus passed a law, called _Papia Poppæa_, whereby bachelors were
subjected to penalties. Hence the compliment paid by Horace to his
patron:
Diva producas sobolem, patrumque
Prosperes decreta super jugandis
Foeminis, prolisque novæ feraci
Lege marita.
CARMEN SÆCULARE.
Bring the springing birth to light,
And with ev'ry genial grace
Prolific of an endless race,
Oh! crown our vows, and bless the nuptial rite.
FRANCIS'S HORACE.
But marriage was not brought into fashion. In proportion to the rapid
degeneracy of the manners under the emperors, celibacy grew into
respect; insomuch, that we find (Annals xii. s. 52) a man too strong
for his prosecutors, because he was rich, old, and childless.
_Valuitque pecuniosâ orbitate et senectâ. _
[b] The faculty of speaking on a sudden question, with unpremeditated
eloquence, Quintilian says, is the reward of study and diligent
application. The speech, composed at leisure, will often want the
warmth and energy, which accompany the rapid emotions of the mind. The
passions, when roused and animated, and the images which present
themselves in a glow of enthusiasm, are the inspirers of true
eloquence. Composition has not always this happy effect; the process
is slow; languor is apt to succeed; the passions subside, and the
spirit of the discourse evaporates. _Maximus vero studiorum fructus
est, et velut præmium quoddam amplissimum longi laboris, ex tempore
dicendi facultas. Pectus est enim quod disertos facit, et vis mentis.
Nam benè concepti affectus, et recentes rerum imagines, continuo
impetu feruntur, quæ nonnunquam morâ stili refrigescunt, et dilatæ won
revertuntur. _ Quintilian. lib. x. cap. 7.
Section VII.
[a] The translation is not quite accurate in this place. The original
says, when I obtained the _laticlave_, and the English calls it the
_manly gown_, which, it must be admitted, is not the exact sense. The
_toga virilis_, or the _manly gown_, was assumed, when the youth came
to man's estate, or the age of seventeen years. On that occasion the
friends of the young man conducted him to the _forum_ (or sometimes to
the capitol), and there invested him with the new gown. This was
called _dies tirocinii_; the day on which he commenced a _tiro_, or a
candidate for preferment in the army. The _laticlave_, was an
additional honour often granted at the same time. The sons of senators
and patricians were entitled to that distinction, as a matter of
right: but the young men, descended from such as were not patricians,
did not wear the _laticlave_, till they entered into the service of
the commonwealth, and undertook the functions of the civil magistracy.
Augustus Cæsar changed that custom. He gave leave to the sons of
senators, in general, to assume the _laticlave_ presently after the
time of putting on the _toga virilis_, though they were not capable of
civil honours. The emperors who succeeded, allowed the same privilege,
as a favour to illustrious families. _Ovid_ speaks of himself and his
brother assuming the _manly gown_ and the _laticlave_ at the same
time:
Interea, tacito passu labentibus annis,
Liberior fratri sumpta mihique toga;
Induiturque humeris cum lato purpura clavo.
Pliny the younger shews, that the _laticlave_ was a favour granted by
the emperor on particular occasions. He says, he applied for his
friend, and succeeded: _Ego Sexto latumclavum a Cæsare nostro
impetravi. _ Lib. ii. epist. 9. The _latusclavus_ was a robe worn by
consuls, prætors, generals in triumph, and senators, who were called
_laticlavii_. Their sons were admitted to the same honour; but the
emperors had a power to bestow this garment of distinction, and all
privileges belonging to it, upon such as they thought worthy of that
honour. This is what Marcus Aper says, in the Dialogue, that he
obtained; and, when the translation mentions the _manly gown_, the
expression falls short of the speaker's idea. Dacier has given an
account of the _laticlave_, which has been well received by the
learned. He tells us, that whatever was made to be put on another
thing, was called _clavus_, not because it had any resemblance to a
nail, but because it was made an adjunct to another subject. In fact,
the _clavi_ were purple galloons, with which the Romans bordered the
fore part of the tunic, on both sides, and when drawn close together,
they formed an ornament in the middle of the vestment. It was, for
that reason, called by the Greeks, [Greek: mesoporphuron]. The broad
galloons made the _laticlave_, and the narrow the _angusticlave_. The
_laticlave_, Dacier adds, is not to be confounded with the _prætexta_.
The latter was, at first, appropriated to the magistrates, and the
sacerdotal order; but, in time, was extended to the sons of eminent
families, to be worn as a mark of distinction, till the age of
seventeen, when it was laid aside for the _manly gown_. See Dacier's
_Horace_, lib. i. sat. 5; and see Kennet's _Roman Antiquities_, p.
306.
[b] Marcus Aper, Julius Secundus, and Curiatius Maternus, according to
Brotier and others, were natives of Gaul. Aper (section x. ) mentions
the Gauls as their common countrymen: _Ne quid de Gallis nostris
loquamur. _ If that was the fact, a _new man_ at Rome would have
difficulties to surmount.
Ammianus Marcellinus (a Latin historian of
the fourth century) says, that at Rome the people despised every thing
that did not grow before their eyes within the walls of the city,
except the rich who had no children; and the veneration paid to such
as had no heirs was altogether incredible. _Vile esse quidquid extra
urbis pomærium nascitur, æstimant; nec credi potest qua obsequiorum
diversitate coluntur homines sine liberis Romæ. _ Lib. xiv. s. 5. In
such a city a young man and a stranger could not expect to be
favoured.
[c] All causes of a private nature were heard before the _centumviri_.
Three were chosen out of every tribe, and the tribes amounted to five
and thirty, so that in fact 105 were chosen; but, for the sake of a
round number, they were called CENTUMVIRI. The causes that were heard
before that jurisdiction are enumerated by Cicero, _De Orat. _ lib. i.
s. 38.
[d] The translation says, _the wills and codicils of the rich_; but it
is by no means certain that those words convey the meaning of the
text, which simply says, _nec codicillis datur_. After due enquiry, it
appears that _codicillus_ was used by the Latin authors, for what we
now call _the letters patent of a prince_. Codicils, in the modern
sense of the word, implying a supplement to a will, were unknown to
the intent Roman law. The Twelve Tables mention testaments only.
Codicils, in aid to wills, were first introduced in the time of
Augustus; but, whatever their operation was, legacies granted by those
additional writings were for some time of no validity. To confirm
this, we are told that the daughter of Lentulus discharged certain
legacies, which, being given by codicil, she was not bound to pay. In
time, however, codicils, as an addition made by the testator to his
will, grew into use, and the legacies thereby granted were confirmed.
This might be the case in the sixth year of Vespasian, when the
Dialogue passed between the parties; but it is, notwithstanding,
highly probable, that the word _codicilli_ means, in the passage
before us, the _letters patent of the prince_. It is used in that
sense by Suetonius, who relates, that Tiberius, after passing a night
and two days in revelling with Pomponius Flaccus and Lucius Piso,
granted to the former the province of Syria, and made the latter
prefect of the city; declaring them, _in the patents_, pleasant
companions, and _the friends of all hours_. _Codicillis quoque
jucundissimos et omnium horarum amicos professus. _ Suet. _in Tib. _ s.
42.
[e] The common people are called, in the original, _tunicatus
populus_; that class of men, who wore the _tunic_, and not the _toga_,
or the _Roman gown_. The _tunica_, or close coat, was the common
garment worn within doors, and abroad, under the _toga_. Kennet says,
the _proletarii_, the _capite censi_, and the rest of the dregs of the
city, could not afford to wear the _toga_, and therefore went in
their _tunics_; whence Horace says (lib. i. epist. 7).
Vilia vendentem tunicato scruta popello.
The TOGA, however, was the peculiar dress of the Roman people. VIRGIL
distinguishes his countrymen by their mode of apparel:
Romanos rerum dominos, gentemque togatam.
But, though this was the Roman habit, the lower citizens were obliged
to appear abroad is their _tunica_, or close garment. The love of
praise is so eager a passion, that the public orator is here
represented as delighting in the applause of the rabble. Persius, the
satirist, has said the same thing:
Pulchrum est digito monstrari, et dicier. HIC EST.
Section VIII.
[a] The character of Eprius Marcellus has been already stated, section
v. note [c]. Crispus Vibius is mentioned as a man of weight and
influence, _Annals_, book xiv. s. 28. Quintilian has mentioned him to
his advantage: he calls him, book v. chap. 13, a man of agreeable and
elegant talents, _vir ingenii jucundi et elegantis_; and again, Vibius
Crispus was distinguished by the elegance of his composition, and the
sweetness of his manner; a man born to please, but fitter for private
suits, than for the importance of public causes. _Et VIBIUS CRISPUS,
compositus, et jucundus, et delectationi natus; privatis tamen causis,
quam publicis, melior. _ Lib. x. cap. 1.
[b] Which of these two men was born at Capua, and which at Vercellæ,
is not clearly expressed in the original. Eprius Marcellus, who has
been described of a prompt and daring spirit, ready to embark in
every mischief, and by his eloquence able to give colour to the worst
cause, must at this time have become a new man, since we find him
mentioned in this Dialogue with unbounded praise. He, it seems, and
Vibius Crispus were the favourites at Vespasian's court. Vercellæ, now
_Verceil_, was situated in the eastern part of Piedmont. _Capua_,
rendered famous by Hannibal, was a city in Campania, always deemed the
seat of pleasure.
[c] Vespasian is said to have been what is uncommon among sovereign
princes, a patient hearer of truth. His attention to men of letters
may be considered as a proof of that assertion. The younger Pliny
tells us, that his uncle, the author of the Natural History, used to
visit Vespasian before day-light, and gained admittance to the
emperor, who devoted his nights to study. _Ante lucem ibat ad
Vespasianum imperatorem: nam ille quoque noctibus utebatur. _ Lib. iii.
epist. 5.
Section IX.
[a] Agamemnon and Jason were two favourite dramatic subjects with the
Roman poets. After their example, the moderns seem to have been
enamoured with those two Grecian heroes. Racine has displayed the
former, in his tragedy of Iphigenia, and the late Mr. Thomson in a
performance of great merit, entitled Agamemnon. Corneille, and, the
late Mr. Glover, thought Jason and Medea worthy of their talents.
[b] Saleius Bassus has been already mentioned, s. v. note [a]. It may
be added in this place, that the critics of his time concurred in
giving him the warmest praise, not only as a good and excellent man,
but also as an eminent and admirable poet. He was descended from a
family of distinction, but was poor and often distressed. Whether he
or Cæsius Bassus was the friend of Persius, is not perfectly clear. Be
the fact as it may, the satirist describes a fine poet, and his verses
were applicable to either of them:
Jamne lyrâ, et tetrico vivunt tibi pectine chordæ?
Mire opifex numeris veterum primordia rerum,
Atque marem strepitum fidis intendisse Latinæ;
Mox juvenes agitare jocos, et pollice honesto
Egregios lusisse senes.
PERSIUS, sat. vi.
[c] Before the invention of printing, copies were not easily
multiplied. Authors were eager to enjoy their fame, and the pen of the
transcriber was slow and tedious. Public rehearsals were the road to
fame. But an audience was to be drawn together by interest, by
solicitation, and public advertisements. Pliny, in one of his letters,
has given a lively description of the difficulties which the author
had to surmount. This year, he says, has produced poets in great
abundance. Scarce a day has passed in the month of April, without the
recital of a poem. But the greater part of the audience comes with
reluctance; they loiter in the lobbies, and there enter into idle
chat, occasionally desiring to know, whether the poet is in his
pulpit? has he begun? is his preface over? has he almost finished?
They condescended, at last, to enter the room; they looked round with
an air of indifference, and soon retired, some by stealth, and others
with open contempt. Hence the greater praise is due to those authors,
who do not suffer their genius to droop, but, on the contrary, amidst
the most discouraging circumstances, still persist to cultivate the
liberal arts. Pliny adds, that he himself attended all the public
readings, and, for that purpose, staid longer in the city than was
usual with him. Being, at length, released, he intended, in his rural
retreat, to finish a work of his own, but not to read it in public,
lest he should be thought to claim a return of the civility which he
had shewn to others. He was a bearer, and not a creditor. The favour
conferred, if redemanded, ceases to be a favour. _Magnum proventum
poetarum annus hic attulit. Toto mense Aprili nullus fere dies, quo
non recitaret aliquis. Tametsi ad audiendum pigre coitur. Plerique in
stationibus sedent, tempusque audiendis fabulis conterunt, ac subinde
sibi nuntiari jubent, an jam recitator intraverit, an dixerit
præfationem, an ex magná parte evolverit librum? Tum demum, ac tune
quoque lentè, cunctanterque veniunt, nec tamen remanent, sed ante
finem recedunt; alii dissimulanter, ac furtim, alii, simpliciter, ac
liberè. Sed tanto magis laudandi probandique sunt, quos a scribendi
recitandique studio hæc auditorum vel desidia, vel superbia non
retardat. Equidem prope nemini defui: his ex causis longius, quam
destinaveram, tempus in urbe consumpsi. Possum jam repetere secessum,
et scribere aliquid, quod non recitem, ne videar, quorum
recitationibus affui, non auditor fuisse, sed creditor. Nam, ut in
cæteris rebus, ita in audiendi officio, perit gratia si reposcatur. _
Pliny, lib. i. ep. 13. Such was the state of literature under the
worst of the emperors. The Augustan age was over. In the reigns of
Tiberius and Caligula learning drooped, but in some degree revived
under the dull and stupid Claudius. Pliny, in the letter above cited,
says of that emperor, that, one day hearing a noise in his palace, he
enquired what was the cause, and, being informed that Nonianus was
reciting in public, went immediately to the place, and became one of
the audience. After that time letters met with no encouragement from
the great. Lord Shaftesbury says, he cannot but wonder how the Romans,
after the extinction of the _Cæsarean_ and _Claudian_ family, and a
short interval of princes raised and destroyed with much disorder and
public ruin, were able to regain their perishing dominion, and
retrieve their sinking state, by an after-race of wise and able
princes, successively adopted, and taken from a private state to rule
the empire of the world. They were men, who not only possessed the
military virtues, and supported that sort of discipline in the
highest degree; but as they sought the interest of the world, they
did what was in their power to restore liberty, and raise again the
perishing arts, and the decayed virtue of mankind. But the season was
past: _barbarity_ and _gothicism_ were already entered into the arts,
ere the savages made an impression on the empire. See _Advice to an
Author_, part. ii. s. 1. The _gothicism_, hinted at by Shaftesbury,
appears manifestly in the wretched situation to which the best authors
were reduced. The poets who could not hope to procure an audience,
haunted the baths and public walks, in order to fasten on their
friends, and, at any rate, obtain a hearing for their works. Juvenal
says, the plantations and marble columns of Julius Fronto resounded
with the vociferation of reciting poets:
Frontonis platani convulsaque marmora clamant
Semper, et assiduo ruptæ lectore columnæ.
Expectes eadem a summo minimoque poetâ.
SAT. i. ver. 12.
The same author observes, that the poet, who aspired to literary
fame, might borrow an house for the purpose of a public reading; and
the great man who accommodated the writer, might arrange his friends
and freedmen on the back seats, with direction not to be sparing of
their applause; but still a stage or pulpit, with convenient benches,
was to be procured, and that expence the patrons of letters would not
supply.
----At si dulcedine famæ
Contentus recites, Maculonus commodat ædes.
Scit dare libertos extremâ in parte sedentes
Ordinis, et magnas comitum disponere voces.
Nemo dabit procerum, quanti subsellia constent.
SAT. vii. ver. 39.
Statius, in Juvenal's time, was a favourite poet. If he announced a
reading, his auditors went in crowds. He delighted all degrees and
ranks of men; but, when the hour of applause was over, the author was
obliged to sell a tragedy to Paris, the famous actor, in order to
procure a dinner,
Curritur ad vocem jucundam, et carmen amicæ?
Thebaidos, lætam fecit cum Statius urbem?
Promisitque diem: tantâ dulcedine vulgi
Auditur; sed cum fregit subsellia versu,
Esurit, intactam Paridi nisi vendit Agaven.
SAT. vii. ver. 82.
This was the hard lot of poetry, and this the state of public reading,
which Aper describes to his friend Maternus.
Section X.
[a] Horace has the same observation:
----Mediocribus esse poetis
Non Dii, non homines, non concessere columnæ.
ART OF POETRY, ver. 372.
But God and man, and letter'd post denies,
That poets ever are of middling size.
FRANCIS'S HORACE.
[b] Notwithstanding all that is said, in this Dialogue, of Saleius
Bassus, it does not appear, in the judgement of Quintilian, that he
was a poet whose fame could extend itself to the distant provinces.
Perfection in the kind is necessary. Livy, the historian, was at the
head of his profession. In consequence of his vast reputation, we know
from Pliny, the consul, that a native of the city of Cadiz was so
struck with the character of that great writer, that he made a journey
to Rome, with no other intent than to see that celebrated genius; and
having gratified his curiosity, without staying to view the wonders of
that magnificent city, returned home perfectly satisfied. _Nunquamne
legisti Gaditanum quemdam Titi Livii nomine gloriâque commotum, ad
visendum eum ab ultimo terrarum orbe venisse; statimque, ut viderat,
abiisse? _ Lib. ii. epist. 3.
[c] In Homer and Virgil, as well as in the dramatic poets of the first
order, we frequently have passages of real eloquence, with the
difference which Quintilian mentions: the poet, he says, is a slave to
the measure of his verse; and, not being able at all times to make use
of the true and proper word, he is obliged to quit the natural and
easy way of expression, and avail himself of new modes and turns of
phraseology, such as tropes, and metaphors, with the liberty of
transposing words, and lengthening or shortening syllables as he sees
occasion. _Quod alligati ad certam pedum necessitatem non semper
propriis uti possint, sed depulsi a rectâ viâ, necessario ad quædam
diverticula confugiant; nec mutare quædam modo verba, sed extendere,
corripere, convertere, dividere cogantur. _ Quint, lib. x. cap. 1. The
speaker in the Dialogue is aware of this distinction, and, subject to
it, the various branches of poetry are with him so many different
modes of eloquence.
[d] The original has, the citadel of eloquence, which calls to mind an
admired passage in Lucretius:
Sed nil dulcius est bene quam munita tenere
Edita doctrinâ sapientum templa serena,
Despicere unde queas alios, passimque videre
Errare, atque viam pallantes quærere vitæ.
Lib. ii. ver. 7.
[e] It is a fact well known, that in Greece the most illustrious of
both sexes thought it honourable to exercise themselves in the
exhibitions of the theatre, and even to appear in the athletic games.
Plutarch, it is true, will have it, that all scenic arts were
prohibited at Sparta by the laws of Lycurgus; and yet Cornelius Nepos
assures us, that no Lacedæmonian matron, however high her quality, was
ashamed to act for hire on the public stage. He adds, that throughout
Greece, it was deemed the highest honour to obtain the prize in the
Olympic games, and no man blushed to be a performer in plays and
pantomimes, and give himself a spectacle to the people. _Nulla
Lacedæmoni tam est nobilis vidua, quæ non in scenam eat mercede
conducta. Magnis in laudibus totâ fuit Græciâ, victorem Olympiæ
citari. In scenam vero prodire, et populo esse spectaculo nemini in
iisdem gentibus fuit turpitudini. _ Cor. Nep. _in Præfat. _ It appears,
however, from a story told by Ælian and cited by Shaftesbury, _Advice
to an Author_, part ii. s. 3, that the Greek women were by law
excluded from the Olympic games. Whoever was found to transgress, or
even to cross the river Alpheus, during the celebration of that great
spectacle, was liable to be thrown from a rock. The consequence was,
that not one female was detected, except _Callipatria_, or, as others
called her, _Pherenicè_. This woman, disguised in the habit of a
teacher of gymnastic exercises, introduced her son, _Pisidorus_, to
contend for the victor's prize. Her son succeeded. Transported with
joy at a sight so glorious, the mother overleaped the fence, which
enclosed the magistrates, and, in the violence of that exertion, let
fall her garment. She was, by consequence, known to be a woman, but
absolved from all criminality. For that mild and equitable sentence,
she was indebted to the merit of her father, her brothers, and her
son, who all obtained the victor's crown. The incident, however, gave
birth to a new law, whereby it was enacted, that the masters of the
gymnastic art should, for the future, come naked to the Olympic games.
_Ælian_ lib.
