_ Gifford
compares
Hesiod.
Satires
_
[1082] _Pervigili. _ Cf. viii. , 158, "Sed quum pervigiles placet
instaurare popinas. "
"The board, where oft their wakeful revels last
Till seven returning days and nights are past. " Hodgson.
[1083] _Horrida. _ So viii. , 116, "Horrida vitanda est Hispania. " ix. ,
12, "Horrida siccæ sylva comæ. " vi. , 10, "Et sæpe horridior glandem
ructante marito. "
"For savage as the country is, it vies
In luxury, if I may trust my eyes,
With dissolute Canopus. " Gifford.
[1084] _Canopus. _ Cf. i. , 26. Said to have been built by Menelaus, and
named after his pilot. It lies on the Bay of Aboukir, not far from
Alexandria, and was notorious for its luxury and debauchery, carried on
principally in the temple of Serapis. Cf. vi. , 84, "Prodigia et mores
Urbis damnante Canopo. " Sen. , Epist. 51. Propert. , iii. , El. xi. , 39.
These lines prove that Juvenal was, _at some time of his life_, in
Egypt; but whether he traveled thither in early life to gratify his
curiosity, or, as the common story goes, was banished there in his old
age to appease the wrath of Paris, is doubtful. The latter story is
inconsistent with chronology, history, and probability.
[1085] _Madidis. _ So vi. , 207, "Atque coronatum et petulans madidumque
Tarentum. " βεβρεγμένος, ὑπομεθύων. Hesych. , Sil. , xii. , 18, "Molli luxu
madefacta meroque Illecebris somni torpentia membra fluebant. " Cf.
Plaut. , Truc. , IV. , iv. , 2, "Si alia membra vino madeant. " Most. , I. ,
iv. , 7, "Ecquid tibi videor madere? " Tibull. , II. , i. , 29, "Non festâ
luce madere est rubor, errantes et male ferre pedes:" and II. , ii. , 8.
[1086] _Blæsis. _ Cf. Mart. , x. , Ep. 65. So Virgil (Georg. , ii. , 94)
speaks of the vine as "Tentatura pedes olim vincturaque linguam. "
Propert. , II. , xxxiv. , 22. Sen. , Epist. , 83.
[1087] _Jurgia. _ So v. , 26, "Jurgia proludunt. " iii. , 288, "Miseræ
cognosce proœmia rixæ. " Tac. , Hist. , i. , 64, "Jurgia primum: mox rixa
inter Batavos et legionarios. "
[1088] _Tuba. _ Cf. i. , 169, and Virg. , Æn. , xi. , 424. The whole of the
following passage may be compared with Virg. , Æn. , vii. , 505-527.
[1089] _Vice teli. _ Ov. , Met. , xii. , 381, "Sævique _vicem_ præstantia
_teli_. "
[1090] _Vultus dimidios. _ viii. , 4, "Curios jam dimidios, humeroque
minorem Corvinum et Galbam auriculis nasoque carentem. "
"Then might you see, amid the desperate fray,
Features disfigured, noses torn away;
Hands, where the gore of mangled eyes yet reeks,
And jaw-bones starting through the cloven cheeks. " Gifford.
[1091] _Pueriles. _ Virg. , Æn. , v. , 584-602.
"But hitherto both parties think the fray
But mockery of war, mere children's play!
And scandal think it t' have none slain outright,
Between two hosts that for religion fight. " Dryden.
[1092] _Saxa. _
"Stones, the base rabble's home-artillery. " Hodgson.
[1093] _Seditioni. _ Henninius' correction for _seditione_. For
"domestica" in this sense, cf. Sat. ix. , 17. So Virg. , Æn. , i. , 150,
"Jamque faces et saxa volant, furor arma ministrat. " vii. , 507, "Quod
cuique repertum rimanti telum ira facit. "
[1094] _Ajax. _ Hom. , Il. , vii. , 268, δεύτερος αὖτ' Αἴας πολὺ μείζονα
λᾶαν ἀείρας ἦκ' ἐπιδινήσας ἐπέρεισε δὲ ἶν' ἀπέλεθρον.
[1095] _Turnus. _ Virg. , Æn. , xii. , 896, "Saxum circumspicit ingens:
saxum antiquum ingens, campo quod forte jacebat Limes agro positus,
litem ut discerneret arvis. Vix illud lecti bis sex cervice subirent,
Qualia nunc hominûm producit corpora tellus. " Cf. Hom. , Il. , xxi. , 405.
[1096] _Tydides. _ Il. , v. , 802, ὁ δὲ χερμάδιον λάβε χειρὶ Τυδείδης μέγα
ἔργον ὃ οὐ δύο γ' ἄνδρε φέροιεν οἷοι νῦν βροτοί εἰσ' ὁ δέ μιν ῥέα πάλλε
καὶ οἶος.
[1097] _Homero. _ Il. , i. , 271, κείνοισι δ' ἂν οὔτις τῶν οἵ νῦν βροτοί
εἰσιν ἐπιχθόνιοι μαχέοιτο.
[1098] _Malos homines. _ Cf. Herod. , i. , 68. Plin. , vii. , 16. Lucretius,
ii. , 1149, "Jamque adeo fracta est ætas, effœtaque tellus Vix animalia
parva creat, quæ cuncta creavit sæcla. " Sen. , de Ben. , I. , c. x. ,
"Hoc majores nostri questi sunt, hoc nos querimur, hoc posteri nostri
querentur, eversos esse mores, regnare nequitiam, in deterius res
humanas labi. " Hor. , iii. , Od. vi. , 46, "Ætas parentum, pejor avis,
tulit nos nequiores, mox daturos Progeniem vitiosiorem. "
[1099] _Diverticulo. _ Properly "a cross-road," then "a place to which
we turn aside from the high road; halting or refreshing place. " Cf.
Liv. , ix. , 17.
[1100] _Infestis. _ So Virg. , Æn. , v. , 582, "Convertêre vias,
_infesta_que tela tulere. " 691, "Vel tu quod superest _infesto_ fulmine
morti, Si mereor dimitte. " x. , 877, "_Infestâ_ subit obvius hastâ. "
Liv. , ii. , 19, "Tarquinius Superbus quanquam jam ætate et viribus
gravior, equum _infestus_ admisit. "
[1101] _Tentyra. _ Cf. ad l. 35. Salmasius proposes to read here "Pampæ"
(the name of a small town) for _Palmæ_ on account of the difficulty
stated above; and supposes this to be Juvenal's way of distinguishing
Tentyra: but Pampa is a much _smaller_ place than Tentyra; and no one
would describe London, as Browne observes, as "London near Chelsea. "
He imagines also that Juvenal is describing an affray that took place
between the people of Cynopolis and Oxyrynchis about this time,
mentioned by Plutarch (de Isid. et Osirid. ), and that he has changed
the names for the sake of the metre. Heinrich leaves the difficulty
unsolved. Browne supposes _two_ places of the name of Tentyra.
[1102] _Labitur.
_ Gifford compares Hesiod. , Herc. Scut. , 251, Δῆριν
ἔχον περὶ πιπτόντων· πᾶσαι δ' ἄρ ἵεντο αἷμα μέλαν πιέειν· ὃν δὲ πρῶτον
μεμάποιεν κείμενον ἢ πίπτοντα νεούτατον, ἀμφὶ μὲν αὐτῷ βάλλ' ὄνυχας
μεγάλους.
[1103] _Longum. _
"'T had been lost time to dress him; keen desire
Supplies the want of kettle, spit, and fire. " Dryden.
[1104] _Prometheus. _ Vid. Hesiod. , Op. et Di. , 49, _seq. _ Theog. , 564.
Æsch. , P. Vinct. , 109. Hor. , i. , Od. iii. , 27. Cic. , Tusc. Qu. , II. ,
x. , 23. Mart. , xiv. , Ep. 80.
[1105] _Gratulor. _ So Ov. , Met. , x. , 305, "Gentibus Ismariis et nostro
gratulor orbi, gratulor huic terræ, quod abest regionibus illis, Quæ
tantum genuere nefas. "
[1106] _Te exsultare. _ Juvenal's friend Volusius is supposed to have
had a leaning toward the doctrine of the fire-worshipers. At least this
is the puerile way in which most of the commentators endeavor to escape
the difficulty.
[1107] _Libentius. _
"But he who tasted first the human food,
Swore never flesh was so divinely good. " Hodgson.
[1108] _Ultimus. _
"And the last comer, of his dues bereft,
Sucks from the bloodstain'd soil some flavor left. " Badham.
[1109] _Vascones. _ Sil. Ital. , x. , 15. The Vascones lived in the
northeast of Spain, near the Pyrenees, in parts of Navarre, Aragon,
and old Castile. They and the Cantabri were the most warlike people
of Hispania Tarrocensis. Their southern boundary was the Iberus
(Ebro). Their chief cities were Calagurris Nassica (now Calahorra
in New Castile), on the right bank of the Iberus; and Pompelon (now
Pampeluna), at the foot of the Pyrenees, said to have been founded by
Cn. Pompeius Magnus, vid. Plin. , III. , iii. , 4. It is doubtful which
of these two cities held out in the manner alluded to in the text.
Sertorius was assasinated B. C. 72, and the Vascones, whose faith was
pledged to him, sooner than submit to Pompey and Metellus, suffered the
most horrible extremities, even devouring their wives and children. Cf.
Liv. , Epit. xciii. Flor. , III. , xxxii. Val. Max. , VII. , vi. Plut. in v.
Sert. The Vascones afterward crossed the Pyrenees into Aquitania, and
their name is still preserved in the province of Gascogne.
[1110] _Egestas. _
"When frowning war against them stood array'd
With the dire famine of a long blockade. " Hodgson.
[1111] _Miserabile. _ ii. , 18, "Horum simplicitas _miserabilis_. "
[1112] _Post omnes herbas. _
"For after every root and herb were gone,
And every aliment to hunger known;
When their lean frames and cheeks of sallow hue
Struck e'en the foe with pity at the view;
And all were ready their own flesh to tear,
They first adventured on this horrid fare. " Gifford.
[1113] _Viribus. _ The abstract used for the concrete. Another reading
is, _Urbibus_, referring to Calagurris and Saguntus. Valesius proposed
to read "Ventribus," which Orellius receives.
[1114] _Quædam pro vita. _ Cf. Arist. , Eth. , iii. , 1, Ἔνια δ' ἴσως οὐκ
ἔστιν ἀναγκασθῆναι ἀλλὰ μᾶλλον ἀποθνητέον, παθόντα τὰ δεινότατα. Plin. ,
xxviii. , 1, "Vitam quidem non adeo expetendam censemus ut quoquo modo
protrahenda sit. " Sen. , Ep. 72, "Non omni pretio vita emenda est. "
[1115] _Gallia. _ Cf. ad i. , 44. Suet. , Cal. , xx. , "Caligula instituit
in Gallia, Lugduni, certamen Græcæ Latinæque facundiæ. " Quintil. ,
x. , 1. Sat. , vii. , 148, "Accipiat te Gallia, vel potius nutricula
causidicorum Africa, si placuit mercedem ponere linguæ. "
[1116] _Britannos. _ Tac. , Agric. , xxi, "Ingenia Britannorum studiis
Gallorum anteferre: ut qui modo linguam Romanam abnuebant, eloquentiam
concupiscerent. "
[1117] _Thule. _ Used generally for the northernmost region of the
earth. Its position shifted with the advance of their geographical
knowledge; hence it is used for Sweden, Norway, Shetland, or Iceland.
Virg. , Georg. , i. , 30, "Tibi serviat ultima Thule. "
[1118] _Saguntus_, now "Mur Viedro" in Valencia, is memorable for
its obstinate resistance to Hannibal, during a siege of eight months
(described Liv. , xxi. , 5-15). Their fidelity to Rome was as famous as
that of the Vascones to Sertorius; but their fate was more disastrous;
as Hannibal took Saguntus and razed it to the ground, after they had
endured the most horrible extremities, whereas the siege of Calagurris
was raised. Cf. ad v. , 29.
[1119] _Taurica. _ The Tauri, who lived in the peninsula called from
them Taurica Chersonesus (now Crimea), on the Palus Mæotis, used
to sacrifice shipwrecked strangers on the altar of Diana; of which
barbarous custom Thoas their king is said to have been the inventor.
Ov. , Trist. , IV. , iv. , 93; Ib. , 386, "Thoanteæ Taurica sacra Deæ. "
Pont. , I. , ii. , 80: III. , ii. , 59. Plin. , H. N. , IV. , xii. , 26. On
this story is founded the Iphigenia in Tauris of Euripides, and from
this was derived the custom of scourging boys at the altar of Artemis
Orthias in Sparta.
[1120] _Gravius cultro. _
"There the pale victim only fears the knife,
But thy fell zeal asks something more than life. " Hodgson.
[1121] _Invidiam facerent. _ Cf. Ov. , Art. Am. , i. , 647, "Dicitur
Ægyptos caruisse juvantibus arva Imbribus, atque annos sicca fuisse
novem. Cum Thracius Busirin adit, monstratque piari Hospitis effuso
sanguine posse Jovem. Illi Busiris, Fies Jovis hostia primus, Inquit
et Ægypto tu dabis hospes opem. " It is to this story Juvenal probably
alludes. But _invidiam facere_ means also "to bring into odium and
unpopularity" (cf. Ov. , Met. , iv. , 547), and so Gifford understands
it. "What more effectual means could these cannibals devise to incense
the god and provoke him to withhold his fertilizing waters, thereby
bringing him into unpopularity. " Cf. Lucan, ii. , 36, "Nullis defuit
aris Invidiam factura parens," with the note of Cortius.
[1122] _Fictilibus phaselis. _ Evidently taken from Virg. , Georg. , iv. ,
287, "Nam quâ Pellæi gens fortunata Canopi Accolit effuso stagnantem
flumine Nilum Et circum _pictis_ vehitur sua rura _phaselis_. " The
deficiency of timber in Egypt forced the inhabitants to adopt any
expedient as a substitute. Strabo (lib. xvii. ) mentions these vessels
of pottery-ware, varnished over to make them water-tight. Phaselus is
properly the long Egyptian kidney bean, from which the boats derived
their name, from their long and narrow form. From their speed they were
much used by pirates, and seem to have been of the same build as the
Myoparones mentioned by Cicero in Verrem, ii. , 3. Cf. Catull. , iv. , 1,
"Phaselus ille quem videtis hospites Ait fuisse navium celerrimus. "
Mart. , x. , Ep. xxx.
[1082] _Pervigili. _ Cf. viii. , 158, "Sed quum pervigiles placet
instaurare popinas. "
"The board, where oft their wakeful revels last
Till seven returning days and nights are past. " Hodgson.
[1083] _Horrida. _ So viii. , 116, "Horrida vitanda est Hispania. " ix. ,
12, "Horrida siccæ sylva comæ. " vi. , 10, "Et sæpe horridior glandem
ructante marito. "
"For savage as the country is, it vies
In luxury, if I may trust my eyes,
With dissolute Canopus. " Gifford.
[1084] _Canopus. _ Cf. i. , 26. Said to have been built by Menelaus, and
named after his pilot. It lies on the Bay of Aboukir, not far from
Alexandria, and was notorious for its luxury and debauchery, carried on
principally in the temple of Serapis. Cf. vi. , 84, "Prodigia et mores
Urbis damnante Canopo. " Sen. , Epist. 51. Propert. , iii. , El. xi. , 39.
These lines prove that Juvenal was, _at some time of his life_, in
Egypt; but whether he traveled thither in early life to gratify his
curiosity, or, as the common story goes, was banished there in his old
age to appease the wrath of Paris, is doubtful. The latter story is
inconsistent with chronology, history, and probability.
[1085] _Madidis. _ So vi. , 207, "Atque coronatum et petulans madidumque
Tarentum. " βεβρεγμένος, ὑπομεθύων. Hesych. , Sil. , xii. , 18, "Molli luxu
madefacta meroque Illecebris somni torpentia membra fluebant. " Cf.
Plaut. , Truc. , IV. , iv. , 2, "Si alia membra vino madeant. " Most. , I. ,
iv. , 7, "Ecquid tibi videor madere? " Tibull. , II. , i. , 29, "Non festâ
luce madere est rubor, errantes et male ferre pedes:" and II. , ii. , 8.
[1086] _Blæsis. _ Cf. Mart. , x. , Ep. 65. So Virgil (Georg. , ii. , 94)
speaks of the vine as "Tentatura pedes olim vincturaque linguam. "
Propert. , II. , xxxiv. , 22. Sen. , Epist. , 83.
[1087] _Jurgia. _ So v. , 26, "Jurgia proludunt. " iii. , 288, "Miseræ
cognosce proœmia rixæ. " Tac. , Hist. , i. , 64, "Jurgia primum: mox rixa
inter Batavos et legionarios. "
[1088] _Tuba. _ Cf. i. , 169, and Virg. , Æn. , xi. , 424. The whole of the
following passage may be compared with Virg. , Æn. , vii. , 505-527.
[1089] _Vice teli. _ Ov. , Met. , xii. , 381, "Sævique _vicem_ præstantia
_teli_. "
[1090] _Vultus dimidios. _ viii. , 4, "Curios jam dimidios, humeroque
minorem Corvinum et Galbam auriculis nasoque carentem. "
"Then might you see, amid the desperate fray,
Features disfigured, noses torn away;
Hands, where the gore of mangled eyes yet reeks,
And jaw-bones starting through the cloven cheeks. " Gifford.
[1091] _Pueriles. _ Virg. , Æn. , v. , 584-602.
"But hitherto both parties think the fray
But mockery of war, mere children's play!
And scandal think it t' have none slain outright,
Between two hosts that for religion fight. " Dryden.
[1092] _Saxa. _
"Stones, the base rabble's home-artillery. " Hodgson.
[1093] _Seditioni. _ Henninius' correction for _seditione_. For
"domestica" in this sense, cf. Sat. ix. , 17. So Virg. , Æn. , i. , 150,
"Jamque faces et saxa volant, furor arma ministrat. " vii. , 507, "Quod
cuique repertum rimanti telum ira facit. "
[1094] _Ajax. _ Hom. , Il. , vii. , 268, δεύτερος αὖτ' Αἴας πολὺ μείζονα
λᾶαν ἀείρας ἦκ' ἐπιδινήσας ἐπέρεισε δὲ ἶν' ἀπέλεθρον.
[1095] _Turnus. _ Virg. , Æn. , xii. , 896, "Saxum circumspicit ingens:
saxum antiquum ingens, campo quod forte jacebat Limes agro positus,
litem ut discerneret arvis. Vix illud lecti bis sex cervice subirent,
Qualia nunc hominûm producit corpora tellus. " Cf. Hom. , Il. , xxi. , 405.
[1096] _Tydides. _ Il. , v. , 802, ὁ δὲ χερμάδιον λάβε χειρὶ Τυδείδης μέγα
ἔργον ὃ οὐ δύο γ' ἄνδρε φέροιεν οἷοι νῦν βροτοί εἰσ' ὁ δέ μιν ῥέα πάλλε
καὶ οἶος.
[1097] _Homero. _ Il. , i. , 271, κείνοισι δ' ἂν οὔτις τῶν οἵ νῦν βροτοί
εἰσιν ἐπιχθόνιοι μαχέοιτο.
[1098] _Malos homines. _ Cf. Herod. , i. , 68. Plin. , vii. , 16. Lucretius,
ii. , 1149, "Jamque adeo fracta est ætas, effœtaque tellus Vix animalia
parva creat, quæ cuncta creavit sæcla. " Sen. , de Ben. , I. , c. x. ,
"Hoc majores nostri questi sunt, hoc nos querimur, hoc posteri nostri
querentur, eversos esse mores, regnare nequitiam, in deterius res
humanas labi. " Hor. , iii. , Od. vi. , 46, "Ætas parentum, pejor avis,
tulit nos nequiores, mox daturos Progeniem vitiosiorem. "
[1099] _Diverticulo. _ Properly "a cross-road," then "a place to which
we turn aside from the high road; halting or refreshing place. " Cf.
Liv. , ix. , 17.
[1100] _Infestis. _ So Virg. , Æn. , v. , 582, "Convertêre vias,
_infesta_que tela tulere. " 691, "Vel tu quod superest _infesto_ fulmine
morti, Si mereor dimitte. " x. , 877, "_Infestâ_ subit obvius hastâ. "
Liv. , ii. , 19, "Tarquinius Superbus quanquam jam ætate et viribus
gravior, equum _infestus_ admisit. "
[1101] _Tentyra. _ Cf. ad l. 35. Salmasius proposes to read here "Pampæ"
(the name of a small town) for _Palmæ_ on account of the difficulty
stated above; and supposes this to be Juvenal's way of distinguishing
Tentyra: but Pampa is a much _smaller_ place than Tentyra; and no one
would describe London, as Browne observes, as "London near Chelsea. "
He imagines also that Juvenal is describing an affray that took place
between the people of Cynopolis and Oxyrynchis about this time,
mentioned by Plutarch (de Isid. et Osirid. ), and that he has changed
the names for the sake of the metre. Heinrich leaves the difficulty
unsolved. Browne supposes _two_ places of the name of Tentyra.
[1102] _Labitur.
_ Gifford compares Hesiod. , Herc. Scut. , 251, Δῆριν
ἔχον περὶ πιπτόντων· πᾶσαι δ' ἄρ ἵεντο αἷμα μέλαν πιέειν· ὃν δὲ πρῶτον
μεμάποιεν κείμενον ἢ πίπτοντα νεούτατον, ἀμφὶ μὲν αὐτῷ βάλλ' ὄνυχας
μεγάλους.
[1103] _Longum. _
"'T had been lost time to dress him; keen desire
Supplies the want of kettle, spit, and fire. " Dryden.
[1104] _Prometheus. _ Vid. Hesiod. , Op. et Di. , 49, _seq. _ Theog. , 564.
Æsch. , P. Vinct. , 109. Hor. , i. , Od. iii. , 27. Cic. , Tusc. Qu. , II. ,
x. , 23. Mart. , xiv. , Ep. 80.
[1105] _Gratulor. _ So Ov. , Met. , x. , 305, "Gentibus Ismariis et nostro
gratulor orbi, gratulor huic terræ, quod abest regionibus illis, Quæ
tantum genuere nefas. "
[1106] _Te exsultare. _ Juvenal's friend Volusius is supposed to have
had a leaning toward the doctrine of the fire-worshipers. At least this
is the puerile way in which most of the commentators endeavor to escape
the difficulty.
[1107] _Libentius. _
"But he who tasted first the human food,
Swore never flesh was so divinely good. " Hodgson.
[1108] _Ultimus. _
"And the last comer, of his dues bereft,
Sucks from the bloodstain'd soil some flavor left. " Badham.
[1109] _Vascones. _ Sil. Ital. , x. , 15. The Vascones lived in the
northeast of Spain, near the Pyrenees, in parts of Navarre, Aragon,
and old Castile. They and the Cantabri were the most warlike people
of Hispania Tarrocensis. Their southern boundary was the Iberus
(Ebro). Their chief cities were Calagurris Nassica (now Calahorra
in New Castile), on the right bank of the Iberus; and Pompelon (now
Pampeluna), at the foot of the Pyrenees, said to have been founded by
Cn. Pompeius Magnus, vid. Plin. , III. , iii. , 4. It is doubtful which
of these two cities held out in the manner alluded to in the text.
Sertorius was assasinated B. C. 72, and the Vascones, whose faith was
pledged to him, sooner than submit to Pompey and Metellus, suffered the
most horrible extremities, even devouring their wives and children. Cf.
Liv. , Epit. xciii. Flor. , III. , xxxii. Val. Max. , VII. , vi. Plut. in v.
Sert. The Vascones afterward crossed the Pyrenees into Aquitania, and
their name is still preserved in the province of Gascogne.
[1110] _Egestas. _
"When frowning war against them stood array'd
With the dire famine of a long blockade. " Hodgson.
[1111] _Miserabile. _ ii. , 18, "Horum simplicitas _miserabilis_. "
[1112] _Post omnes herbas. _
"For after every root and herb were gone,
And every aliment to hunger known;
When their lean frames and cheeks of sallow hue
Struck e'en the foe with pity at the view;
And all were ready their own flesh to tear,
They first adventured on this horrid fare. " Gifford.
[1113] _Viribus. _ The abstract used for the concrete. Another reading
is, _Urbibus_, referring to Calagurris and Saguntus. Valesius proposed
to read "Ventribus," which Orellius receives.
[1114] _Quædam pro vita. _ Cf. Arist. , Eth. , iii. , 1, Ἔνια δ' ἴσως οὐκ
ἔστιν ἀναγκασθῆναι ἀλλὰ μᾶλλον ἀποθνητέον, παθόντα τὰ δεινότατα. Plin. ,
xxviii. , 1, "Vitam quidem non adeo expetendam censemus ut quoquo modo
protrahenda sit. " Sen. , Ep. 72, "Non omni pretio vita emenda est. "
[1115] _Gallia. _ Cf. ad i. , 44. Suet. , Cal. , xx. , "Caligula instituit
in Gallia, Lugduni, certamen Græcæ Latinæque facundiæ. " Quintil. ,
x. , 1. Sat. , vii. , 148, "Accipiat te Gallia, vel potius nutricula
causidicorum Africa, si placuit mercedem ponere linguæ. "
[1116] _Britannos. _ Tac. , Agric. , xxi, "Ingenia Britannorum studiis
Gallorum anteferre: ut qui modo linguam Romanam abnuebant, eloquentiam
concupiscerent. "
[1117] _Thule. _ Used generally for the northernmost region of the
earth. Its position shifted with the advance of their geographical
knowledge; hence it is used for Sweden, Norway, Shetland, or Iceland.
Virg. , Georg. , i. , 30, "Tibi serviat ultima Thule. "
[1118] _Saguntus_, now "Mur Viedro" in Valencia, is memorable for
its obstinate resistance to Hannibal, during a siege of eight months
(described Liv. , xxi. , 5-15). Their fidelity to Rome was as famous as
that of the Vascones to Sertorius; but their fate was more disastrous;
as Hannibal took Saguntus and razed it to the ground, after they had
endured the most horrible extremities, whereas the siege of Calagurris
was raised. Cf. ad v. , 29.
[1119] _Taurica. _ The Tauri, who lived in the peninsula called from
them Taurica Chersonesus (now Crimea), on the Palus Mæotis, used
to sacrifice shipwrecked strangers on the altar of Diana; of which
barbarous custom Thoas their king is said to have been the inventor.
Ov. , Trist. , IV. , iv. , 93; Ib. , 386, "Thoanteæ Taurica sacra Deæ. "
Pont. , I. , ii. , 80: III. , ii. , 59. Plin. , H. N. , IV. , xii. , 26. On
this story is founded the Iphigenia in Tauris of Euripides, and from
this was derived the custom of scourging boys at the altar of Artemis
Orthias in Sparta.
[1120] _Gravius cultro. _
"There the pale victim only fears the knife,
But thy fell zeal asks something more than life. " Hodgson.
[1121] _Invidiam facerent. _ Cf. Ov. , Art. Am. , i. , 647, "Dicitur
Ægyptos caruisse juvantibus arva Imbribus, atque annos sicca fuisse
novem. Cum Thracius Busirin adit, monstratque piari Hospitis effuso
sanguine posse Jovem. Illi Busiris, Fies Jovis hostia primus, Inquit
et Ægypto tu dabis hospes opem. " It is to this story Juvenal probably
alludes. But _invidiam facere_ means also "to bring into odium and
unpopularity" (cf. Ov. , Met. , iv. , 547), and so Gifford understands
it. "What more effectual means could these cannibals devise to incense
the god and provoke him to withhold his fertilizing waters, thereby
bringing him into unpopularity. " Cf. Lucan, ii. , 36, "Nullis defuit
aris Invidiam factura parens," with the note of Cortius.
[1122] _Fictilibus phaselis. _ Evidently taken from Virg. , Georg. , iv. ,
287, "Nam quâ Pellæi gens fortunata Canopi Accolit effuso stagnantem
flumine Nilum Et circum _pictis_ vehitur sua rura _phaselis_. " The
deficiency of timber in Egypt forced the inhabitants to adopt any
expedient as a substitute. Strabo (lib. xvii. ) mentions these vessels
of pottery-ware, varnished over to make them water-tight. Phaselus is
properly the long Egyptian kidney bean, from which the boats derived
their name, from their long and narrow form. From their speed they were
much used by pirates, and seem to have been of the same build as the
Myoparones mentioned by Cicero in Verrem, ii. , 3. Cf. Catull. , iv. , 1,
"Phaselus ille quem videtis hospites Ait fuisse navium celerrimus. "
Mart. , x. , Ep. xxx.
