"of
wineskins
to carry outside.
A-Companion-to-the-Cantos-of-Ezra-Pound-II
.
The custom of the period was that when gold coins were not paid, silver coins were accepted instead at the sacred weight ration of 12.
" Caesar had set that ratio centuries earlier, "and this alteration he sanctified and rendered penna- nent by stamping upon the coins the most sacred devices and solemn legends.
" Again, "It is not to be wondered that Justinian I rebuked Theodore the Frank for striking heretical gold coins, nor that Justinian II proclaimed war against Abd-l-Malik for pre- suming to pay his tribute in other heretical gold.
" The myth is important because it shows: "The sovereign-pontiff alone enjoyed the prerogative of coining gold throughout the Empire, and that the princes of the Em- pire respected this prerogative" '[HMS, 91-93].
The idea that "gold was under the Pontifex" [89/602]' is a recurrent motif
[89/594; 92/620; 104/744]. It rhymes with all of Pound's monetary theories, including the theory that governmental units only should issue credit or money and should provide legal controls to prevent the people from exploitation, a subject central to the quotes from The Eparch's Book in the re- mainder of the canto.
167. Kemal: Mustafa K. , 1880-1938, known as Ataturk, the founder of modern Turkey.
168. PANTA'REI: L, "Everything flows. " A Latin transcription of a phrase from Hera- clitus. The phrase is transitional between the first part of Canto 96 and the next part: the interchange of ideas about law and justice flows from one group of emperors and kings to the next. All things change with the di- vine fire, and even Byzantium rises and falls.
169. Du Bellay: Joachim Du B. , 1522-1560, French poet of the Ple;ade and friend of Ronsard. He dedicated himself to reforming French poetry, wrote Latin poems, and be- came a student and translator of the classics.
170. base . . . slide: Losing the imperial right to coinage was the base of Byzantium's loss of power over Asia Minor and eventually everywhere.
171. twenty thousand scl. vons: T o help him in his return to power Justinian II [cf. 162 above] persuaded a leader of the Slavs to support him with "viginti millibus Sc1avo- rum" ("20,000 Slav troops"). J. 1l was over- thrown by Leontius, who lasted as emperor only 3 years (695-698). He was overthrown by the navy, who put forward a naval officer named Aspimar, who as emperor called him- self Tiberius, that being more Roman. J. 1l in time gathered enough support amongst the enemies of the empire to try a return to power. This he finally managed with the help of the Bulgars.
In. 7th Absim. rus: Or Tiberius Aspimar, so-called because historians can't agree on whether he should be T. 1l or T. m (the ques- tion is whether the T. of Christ's time should be counted. ) It was in the 7th year of his reign that J. 1l appeared with a large army outside the walls of Constantinople. Says Constance Head: "Then after the third night after their arrival, someone uncovered a se- cret passage under the city's walls. . . . The passageway was an old aqueduct or tunnel, and through this dark, underground channel, Justinian led a few of his trusted comrades. " [Head, J. 11, 111]. Or as Migne has it: "per aquaeductum ingressus" ("entering through the aqueduct"), an event that took place in 705, the year Abd-l-Malik died [1065].
173. Franks out of Thrace: Having recov- ered his throne with the help of the various tribes to the north, one of J. Il's problems afterwards was to relieve the pressure of the Franks, who were challenging the territory of all southern Europe.
174. Watling Street: Ancient Roman mili- tary highway that reached from the English coast of Kent in SE England, through Lon- don, to Chester in the NW.
175. Hyacinthinis: L, "Vermilion" or "Crimson. I I Pound's source has now become The Eparch's Book ofLeo the Wise [cf. 271 below].
176. J1crCl. Aoi;fiAWV: H, " o f great majestic models. " The fake purple is Pound's transla- tion of the Latin in the line above. The idea is a comparison with royal purple because in the early years of cloth-dying only kings could afford it. In the Analects [B. XVII, chap. 18] Kung said: "I hate the way purple spoils Vermilion, I hate the way Chang so- nority confuses the music of the Elegantiae, I hate sharp mouths (the clever yawp, mouths set on profits) that overturn states and families" [CON, 277].
177. Dr. Liddell's: Of the Liddell and Scott Greek dictionary.
178. chastised: Chap. 4 of The Eparch's Book [Ep. B], entitled "Merchants of Silk Stuffs," forbids them to sell to strangers silks colored with dyes reserved for royalty. If they did they should be chastised [CFT, Pai, 2-2, 228-242].
179. coom ben: Slang for L, cum benis, "caught with the goods. "
180. verberator et bonis . . . : L, "flogged and liable to confiscation. "
. . . liable to confiscation. "
182. aurei: Roman coin.
181. 1TmocvEu8w
: H,
"flogged and
183. oeKa vO/. lw/1&rwv: H, "ten aurei. "
184. purpureas vestes: L, "silk merchants. " Professor Nicole's translation into Latin.
? ? ? 604
185. ra ~A. car[<Y. : H, "silk merchants,"
186. avawwc;: H, "shameless,"
187. Dr. Nicole: Professor at the University of Geneva who discovered the manuscript of the book. In 1891 he translated it into both modern Greek and Latin in parallel columns.
188. 11r1 . . ? TL/lf/v: H, "not to raise or lower the price. "
189. "Ao-yiorou~: H, "thoughtless. " 190. J<. C1. 11'r/AEvwv: H, "retail dealers. "
191. arollvA. oc;: H, "hucksters";a'Yopaioc;: H, "forensic. "
192. A&AO~; H, "babbler. "
193. Ideograms: From the top, they are
[M6954], "purple"; [M935], "to go to"; [M6433], "surpass"; and-. [MI346], "vermil- ion. " Freely rendered they mean, "Purple goes far in surpassing red" [cf. 175, 176 above].
194. Tapaxwo17': H, "quarrelsome. "
195. Beaucaire: A town on the west bank of
the Rhone roughly at the center of a triangle formed by Nimes, Avignon, and Aries. On the east bank is a Tarascon, a small commer- cial town prob. filled with hucksters and quarrelsome babblers. Pound mentioned the town in a Lustra poem, "The Gypsy" [P,
96/659-660
201. ii . . . ~eEl: H, "who files the coinage. " The Eparch's Book lists a number of rules governing crimes in the marketplace, fol- lowed by the punishment, which is often a phrase such as "shall be flogged or shaved. "
96/661-662
605
229. that louse G. : Perhaps one of the henchmen of Nero Claudius Caesar, who as a captain of the Praetorian Guard under Tigul- lius (? ) burned Rome in A. D. 64. Or it may be a reference to WWII, in which much was destroyed by bornbing.
230. Palatine: One of the 7 hills of Rome rebuilt in magnificent fashion after the fire.
231. Cx. 7rA,l1oT{a: H, "insatiate desire. "
232. KaKovp,,/{a: H, "Wickedness. "
233. BOAQ\,: H, "dome. "
234. WJl&PCY. : H, "anything with an arched covering. "
235. iY. arjJ&AE(<y'v: H, "stability. "
236. E/J:rretptCxv: H, "experienced. "
237. (JEJ,1? A,WC;: H, "foundation. "
238. oa(Jpor::. : H, "cracked. "
239. Justinian's boy: In 532-537, Jus- tinian I, the son of Justin J, built the Santa Sophia after two previous structures had been destroyed by fire because they were structurally weak. The present one was a fireproof structure, strong in foundation, domes, arches and everything else.
240. Pearson: Norman Holmes P. , English professor at Yale, visited Pound at St. Eliza- beths while he was working on Thrones.
241. Jlil ro Knl;owvov AO~OV: H, "not built on a slant. "
242. Morrison: Robert M. , 1782-1834, au- thor of Chinese Grammar (1814) and Chi- nese Dictionary (6 vols. , 1821).
243. de Saumase: F, "Claude de Saumaise," the French name of Salmasius [87:24]. In a note appended to Nicole's Livre du Prefet Pound read: "Ces le,ons meilleures du Gene- vensis confirment certaines corrections des critiques modernes, de Saumaise et de Reitz. " A rhyme with the names of several other people in The Cantos who, in justice, should be remembered for their contribu? tions [MB, Trace, 364-365] .
119].
222. ~or6v, ~ori)p: H, "beast, herdsman. " 223. Foro Amastriani: L, "Forum. " The
name of the forum.
224. rwv twwvTO! alr{ac:: H, "the vendors of the animals. " The source adds: "Vendors are to declare the patent or latent vices of their animals" [Ep. B, 21-5].
225. askothurarion: H, prob.
"of wineskins to carry outside. "
226. AETITOTPrnN: Title of chap 22: "Fine Workers. " Freshfield gives, "Con- tractors. "
227. i:iv~E( . . . AO-Y",V: H, "increase his wages by vain words in argument" [Ep. B, 22-3].
228. orofJ. vA. [a: H, "muzzled. "
196. Jlil
. . .
" n o t
quantities
gold nomisma is payable . . . they shall calcu- late their remuneration at the rate of one keration plus two miliaresia per gold no- misma. " "Bankers" is a misprint for bakers
EarjJpCY. -YWJlEVOV: H, stamped with the prefect's seal. "
197. ~OVAA~: H, "seal. "
198. J<. CtJJ. :rravov ? . . : H, "steelyard . . ,":
from a chapter concerning rules for grocers who sell any article measured by steelyards rather than scales.
199. Ducange: Charles du Fresne Du Cange, 1610-1688, scholar and lexicographer who did basic glossaries of both medieval Greek and Latin.
200. arc/"T~p: H, "stater. " The name of a coin.
service. " "liturgy. "
Potund translates
the word as
202. vel agreed price. "
. . .
: L, "or
raised the
fix the sale price. . . . The sumponos [depu- ty? ] shall receive an order to compel inn- holders to settle their measures and ves- sels. . . . The measure shall contain 30 litres and what is called the mina, 3 litres" [Ep. B, 19-1].
212. 0? VTEpaS wpct. <;: H, "two hours. "
213. iY. arjJ<Y. AiI;ElV: H, "to lock up. "
214. a~E""VE<V . . . : H, "to quench the kettles"; A? {3T/C;: H, "kettle" or "cauldron. "
215. rou o'ivov . . . : H, "to take one's fill of wine" or "to get drunk. "
216. emphorio . . . vigors: Pound transliter~ ates certain Greek words and gives his trans- lation.
217. sunthema: H, "guild. "
218. EKOtWKEo(Jwoav: H, "banished. "
pactum
203. Kmpov . . . : H,'""hoard in a season of scarcity. "
204. EVO[J<tOv: H, "house rent. " In the next line, "house rent of others. " The source reads: "Any grocer who . . . tries to raise the rent of another grocer shall be liable. "
205. leather . . . : The source reads: "and will prepare hides for shoe leather and not for carriage equipment. "
206. Xoirempers: H, "Pork Butchers. " The source says: "[Sheep] butchers are forbid- den to buy swine or store pork. " And, "Any pork butcher introducing his animals into the house of an archon to sell them secretly shall be liable" [Ep. B, 16-4].
207. oiIWv . . . : H, "house of an archon. " 208. ad pretium empti: L, "price to the
buyer. "
209. Kc,m rilv . . . evo~: H, "but for one
nomisma. " The source is concerned with bakers and bread sellers: "Bakers shall sell bread by weight fixed according to the price of corn. . . . They are to buy corn . . . by
. . .
[Ep. B 18-1].
210. Jl~b? Jl'c, . . . : H, "but not for public
. . .
220. B08pnN: H, "agents. "
221. b'CY. ~Jl<Y. ivEr(1(: H, "make clearly. "
upon which the
tax of one
211. (JLKOVOfJ. {CX . ? . : H, "management . . . in a certain manner . . . to sell. " The source for several lines reads: "When wine arrives in the city let the master . . . of the guild of inn- holders . . . warn the eparch so that he may
219.
ty. " The title of chap. 20 of The Eparch's Book, which Pound takes to be about for- eign importers.
TIEPI
: H,
"Concerning
the Depu-
known
? ? 606
96/662-664
244. de Reitz: [Cf. 243 aboveJ. The two names appeared in the essay of Julien d'As- kalon [cf. 246 belowJ .
245. rrvpor: . . -lile;: H, "fire, air, water, and earth," For "hodatas" read hydatos.
246. Julien d'Askalon: J. d'Askalon, author of the Collection of Extracts appended to the Geneva IDS Nicole edited. His comments were arranged under four headings: (I)pre? cautions against fire; (2)airing of solid items to be sold; (3)the uses of water; and (4)the laws ofland ownership.
247. TpCt1Tetwv: H, "at the table. " Because bankers leaned on the tables at which they changed money, the phrase became associ- ated with the process: hence, the modern Greek word for banker is trapezites, or "ex- change table keeper. "
248. ~vpaob? "'Cit: H, "tanners. "
254. e,KuKAwC; . . . : H, "circular edu- cation. "
255. Necephoras: Emperor N. Phocas, 963? 969, who debased the coinage [cf. 114 aboveJ . Pound says he "kolobozed" it.
[89/594; 92/620; 104/744]. It rhymes with all of Pound's monetary theories, including the theory that governmental units only should issue credit or money and should provide legal controls to prevent the people from exploitation, a subject central to the quotes from The Eparch's Book in the re- mainder of the canto.
167. Kemal: Mustafa K. , 1880-1938, known as Ataturk, the founder of modern Turkey.
168. PANTA'REI: L, "Everything flows. " A Latin transcription of a phrase from Hera- clitus. The phrase is transitional between the first part of Canto 96 and the next part: the interchange of ideas about law and justice flows from one group of emperors and kings to the next. All things change with the di- vine fire, and even Byzantium rises and falls.
169. Du Bellay: Joachim Du B. , 1522-1560, French poet of the Ple;ade and friend of Ronsard. He dedicated himself to reforming French poetry, wrote Latin poems, and be- came a student and translator of the classics.
170. base . . . slide: Losing the imperial right to coinage was the base of Byzantium's loss of power over Asia Minor and eventually everywhere.
171. twenty thousand scl. vons: T o help him in his return to power Justinian II [cf. 162 above] persuaded a leader of the Slavs to support him with "viginti millibus Sc1avo- rum" ("20,000 Slav troops"). J. 1l was over- thrown by Leontius, who lasted as emperor only 3 years (695-698). He was overthrown by the navy, who put forward a naval officer named Aspimar, who as emperor called him- self Tiberius, that being more Roman. J. 1l in time gathered enough support amongst the enemies of the empire to try a return to power. This he finally managed with the help of the Bulgars.
In. 7th Absim. rus: Or Tiberius Aspimar, so-called because historians can't agree on whether he should be T. 1l or T. m (the ques- tion is whether the T. of Christ's time should be counted. ) It was in the 7th year of his reign that J. 1l appeared with a large army outside the walls of Constantinople. Says Constance Head: "Then after the third night after their arrival, someone uncovered a se- cret passage under the city's walls. . . . The passageway was an old aqueduct or tunnel, and through this dark, underground channel, Justinian led a few of his trusted comrades. " [Head, J. 11, 111]. Or as Migne has it: "per aquaeductum ingressus" ("entering through the aqueduct"), an event that took place in 705, the year Abd-l-Malik died [1065].
173. Franks out of Thrace: Having recov- ered his throne with the help of the various tribes to the north, one of J. Il's problems afterwards was to relieve the pressure of the Franks, who were challenging the territory of all southern Europe.
174. Watling Street: Ancient Roman mili- tary highway that reached from the English coast of Kent in SE England, through Lon- don, to Chester in the NW.
175. Hyacinthinis: L, "Vermilion" or "Crimson. I I Pound's source has now become The Eparch's Book ofLeo the Wise [cf. 271 below].
176. J1crCl. Aoi;fiAWV: H, " o f great majestic models. " The fake purple is Pound's transla- tion of the Latin in the line above. The idea is a comparison with royal purple because in the early years of cloth-dying only kings could afford it. In the Analects [B. XVII, chap. 18] Kung said: "I hate the way purple spoils Vermilion, I hate the way Chang so- nority confuses the music of the Elegantiae, I hate sharp mouths (the clever yawp, mouths set on profits) that overturn states and families" [CON, 277].
177. Dr. Liddell's: Of the Liddell and Scott Greek dictionary.
178. chastised: Chap. 4 of The Eparch's Book [Ep. B], entitled "Merchants of Silk Stuffs," forbids them to sell to strangers silks colored with dyes reserved for royalty. If they did they should be chastised [CFT, Pai, 2-2, 228-242].
179. coom ben: Slang for L, cum benis, "caught with the goods. "
180. verberator et bonis . . . : L, "flogged and liable to confiscation. "
. . . liable to confiscation. "
182. aurei: Roman coin.
181. 1TmocvEu8w
: H,
"flogged and
183. oeKa vO/. lw/1&rwv: H, "ten aurei. "
184. purpureas vestes: L, "silk merchants. " Professor Nicole's translation into Latin.
? ? ? 604
185. ra ~A. car[<Y. : H, "silk merchants,"
186. avawwc;: H, "shameless,"
187. Dr. Nicole: Professor at the University of Geneva who discovered the manuscript of the book. In 1891 he translated it into both modern Greek and Latin in parallel columns.
188. 11r1 . . ? TL/lf/v: H, "not to raise or lower the price. "
189. "Ao-yiorou~: H, "thoughtless. " 190. J<. C1. 11'r/AEvwv: H, "retail dealers. "
191. arollvA. oc;: H, "hucksters";a'Yopaioc;: H, "forensic. "
192. A&AO~; H, "babbler. "
193. Ideograms: From the top, they are
[M6954], "purple"; [M935], "to go to"; [M6433], "surpass"; and-. [MI346], "vermil- ion. " Freely rendered they mean, "Purple goes far in surpassing red" [cf. 175, 176 above].
194. Tapaxwo17': H, "quarrelsome. "
195. Beaucaire: A town on the west bank of
the Rhone roughly at the center of a triangle formed by Nimes, Avignon, and Aries. On the east bank is a Tarascon, a small commer- cial town prob. filled with hucksters and quarrelsome babblers. Pound mentioned the town in a Lustra poem, "The Gypsy" [P,
96/659-660
201. ii . . . ~eEl: H, "who files the coinage. " The Eparch's Book lists a number of rules governing crimes in the marketplace, fol- lowed by the punishment, which is often a phrase such as "shall be flogged or shaved. "
96/661-662
605
229. that louse G. : Perhaps one of the henchmen of Nero Claudius Caesar, who as a captain of the Praetorian Guard under Tigul- lius (? ) burned Rome in A. D. 64. Or it may be a reference to WWII, in which much was destroyed by bornbing.
230. Palatine: One of the 7 hills of Rome rebuilt in magnificent fashion after the fire.
231. Cx. 7rA,l1oT{a: H, "insatiate desire. "
232. KaKovp,,/{a: H, "Wickedness. "
233. BOAQ\,: H, "dome. "
234. WJl&PCY. : H, "anything with an arched covering. "
235. iY. arjJ&AE(<y'v: H, "stability. "
236. E/J:rretptCxv: H, "experienced. "
237. (JEJ,1? A,WC;: H, "foundation. "
238. oa(Jpor::. : H, "cracked. "
239. Justinian's boy: In 532-537, Jus- tinian I, the son of Justin J, built the Santa Sophia after two previous structures had been destroyed by fire because they were structurally weak. The present one was a fireproof structure, strong in foundation, domes, arches and everything else.
240. Pearson: Norman Holmes P. , English professor at Yale, visited Pound at St. Eliza- beths while he was working on Thrones.
241. Jlil ro Knl;owvov AO~OV: H, "not built on a slant. "
242. Morrison: Robert M. , 1782-1834, au- thor of Chinese Grammar (1814) and Chi- nese Dictionary (6 vols. , 1821).
243. de Saumase: F, "Claude de Saumaise," the French name of Salmasius [87:24]. In a note appended to Nicole's Livre du Prefet Pound read: "Ces le,ons meilleures du Gene- vensis confirment certaines corrections des critiques modernes, de Saumaise et de Reitz. " A rhyme with the names of several other people in The Cantos who, in justice, should be remembered for their contribu? tions [MB, Trace, 364-365] .
119].
222. ~or6v, ~ori)p: H, "beast, herdsman. " 223. Foro Amastriani: L, "Forum. " The
name of the forum.
224. rwv twwvTO! alr{ac:: H, "the vendors of the animals. " The source adds: "Vendors are to declare the patent or latent vices of their animals" [Ep. B, 21-5].
225. askothurarion: H, prob.
"of wineskins to carry outside. "
226. AETITOTPrnN: Title of chap 22: "Fine Workers. " Freshfield gives, "Con- tractors. "
227. i:iv~E( . . . AO-Y",V: H, "increase his wages by vain words in argument" [Ep. B, 22-3].
228. orofJ. vA. [a: H, "muzzled. "
196. Jlil
. . .
" n o t
quantities
gold nomisma is payable . . . they shall calcu- late their remuneration at the rate of one keration plus two miliaresia per gold no- misma. " "Bankers" is a misprint for bakers
EarjJpCY. -YWJlEVOV: H, stamped with the prefect's seal. "
197. ~OVAA~: H, "seal. "
198. J<. CtJJ. :rravov ? . . : H, "steelyard . . ,":
from a chapter concerning rules for grocers who sell any article measured by steelyards rather than scales.
199. Ducange: Charles du Fresne Du Cange, 1610-1688, scholar and lexicographer who did basic glossaries of both medieval Greek and Latin.
200. arc/"T~p: H, "stater. " The name of a coin.
service. " "liturgy. "
Potund translates
the word as
202. vel agreed price. "
. . .
: L, "or
raised the
fix the sale price. . . . The sumponos [depu- ty? ] shall receive an order to compel inn- holders to settle their measures and ves- sels. . . . The measure shall contain 30 litres and what is called the mina, 3 litres" [Ep. B, 19-1].
212. 0? VTEpaS wpct. <;: H, "two hours. "
213. iY. arjJ<Y. AiI;ElV: H, "to lock up. "
214. a~E""VE<V . . . : H, "to quench the kettles"; A? {3T/C;: H, "kettle" or "cauldron. "
215. rou o'ivov . . . : H, "to take one's fill of wine" or "to get drunk. "
216. emphorio . . . vigors: Pound transliter~ ates certain Greek words and gives his trans- lation.
217. sunthema: H, "guild. "
218. EKOtWKEo(Jwoav: H, "banished. "
pactum
203. Kmpov . . . : H,'""hoard in a season of scarcity. "
204. EVO[J<tOv: H, "house rent. " In the next line, "house rent of others. " The source reads: "Any grocer who . . . tries to raise the rent of another grocer shall be liable. "
205. leather . . . : The source reads: "and will prepare hides for shoe leather and not for carriage equipment. "
206. Xoirempers: H, "Pork Butchers. " The source says: "[Sheep] butchers are forbid- den to buy swine or store pork. " And, "Any pork butcher introducing his animals into the house of an archon to sell them secretly shall be liable" [Ep. B, 16-4].
207. oiIWv . . . : H, "house of an archon. " 208. ad pretium empti: L, "price to the
buyer. "
209. Kc,m rilv . . . evo~: H, "but for one
nomisma. " The source is concerned with bakers and bread sellers: "Bakers shall sell bread by weight fixed according to the price of corn. . . . They are to buy corn . . . by
. . .
[Ep. B 18-1].
210. Jl~b? Jl'c, . . . : H, "but not for public
. . .
220. B08pnN: H, "agents. "
221. b'CY. ~Jl<Y. ivEr(1(: H, "make clearly. "
upon which the
tax of one
211. (JLKOVOfJ. {CX . ? . : H, "management . . . in a certain manner . . . to sell. " The source for several lines reads: "When wine arrives in the city let the master . . . of the guild of inn- holders . . . warn the eparch so that he may
219.
ty. " The title of chap. 20 of The Eparch's Book, which Pound takes to be about for- eign importers.
TIEPI
: H,
"Concerning
the Depu-
known
? ? 606
96/662-664
244. de Reitz: [Cf. 243 aboveJ. The two names appeared in the essay of Julien d'As- kalon [cf. 246 belowJ .
245. rrvpor: . . -lile;: H, "fire, air, water, and earth," For "hodatas" read hydatos.
246. Julien d'Askalon: J. d'Askalon, author of the Collection of Extracts appended to the Geneva IDS Nicole edited. His comments were arranged under four headings: (I)pre? cautions against fire; (2)airing of solid items to be sold; (3)the uses of water; and (4)the laws ofland ownership.
247. TpCt1Tetwv: H, "at the table. " Because bankers leaned on the tables at which they changed money, the phrase became associ- ated with the process: hence, the modern Greek word for banker is trapezites, or "ex- change table keeper. "
248. ~vpaob? "'Cit: H, "tanners. "
254. e,KuKAwC; . . . : H, "circular edu- cation. "
255. Necephoras: Emperor N. Phocas, 963? 969, who debased the coinage [cf. 114 aboveJ . Pound says he "kolobozed" it.
