The
assumption of the toga virilis took place with great solemnities before
the images of the Lares, sometimes in the Capitol.
assumption of the toga virilis took place with great solemnities before
the images of the Lares, sometimes in the Capitol.
Satires
"
But when Herod's[1502] day is come, and the lamps arranged on the
greasy window-sill have disgorged their unctuous smoke, bearing
violets, and the thunny's tail floats, hugging the red dish,[1503]
and the white pitcher foams with wine: then in silent prayer you move
your lips, and grow pale at the sabbaths of the circumcised. Then are
the black goblins! [1504] and the perils arising from breaking an
egg. [1505] Then the huge Galli,[1506] and the one-eyed priestess with
her sistrum,[1507] threaten you with the gods inflating your body,
unless, you have eaten the prescribed head of garlic[1508] three times
of a morning.
Were you to say all this among the brawny centurions, huge
Pulfenius[1509] would immediately raise his coarse laugh, and hold a
hundred Greek philosophers dear at a clipped centussis. [1510]
FOOTNOTES:
[1409] _Centum voces. _ Homer is content with ten. Il. , ii. , 484, Οὐδ εἴ
μοι δέκα μὲν γλῶσσαι δέκα δέ στόματ εἶεν. Virgil squares the number.
Georg. , ii. , 43, "Non mihi si _linguæ centum_ sint, _oraque centum_,
Ferrea vox. " Æn. , vi. , 625. Sil. , iv. , 527, "Non mihi Mæoniæ redeat
si gloria linguæ, _Centenas_que pater det Phœbus fundere _voces_, Tot
cædes proferre queam. " Ov. , Met. , viii. , 532, "Non mihi si _centum_
Deus _ora_ sonantia _linguis_. " Fast. , ii. , 119.
[1410] _In carmina. _ "That their style and language may be amplified
and extended adequately to the greatness and variety of their subjects. "
[1411] _Hianda. _ Juv. , vi. , 636, "Grande Sophocleo carmen bacchamur
hiatu;" alluding to the wide mouths of the tragic masks (οἱ ὑποκριταὶ
μέγα κεχηνότες, Luc. , Nigrin. , i. , p. 28, Ben. ), or to the "ampullæ et
sesquipedalia verba" of the tragedy itself. Hor. , A. P. , 96.
[1412] _Mæsto. _ Hor. , A. P. , 105, "Tristia mæstum vultum verba decent. "
[1413] _Vulnera_, i. e. , "Or whether it be an epic poem on the Parthian
war," which was carried on under Nero. The genitive Parthi may be
either subjective or objective, probably the former, in spite of Hor. ,
ii. , Sat. i. , 15, "Aut labentis equo describat vulnera Parthi. "
[1414] _Ab inguine. _ This may either mean, "drawing out the weapon from
the wound he has received from the Roman," or may describe the manner
in which the Parthian ("versis animosus equis," Hor. , i. , Od. xix. , 11)
draws his bow in his retrograde course. ("Miles sagittas et celerem
fugam Parthi timet," ii. , Od. iii. , 17. ) Casaubon describes, from
Eustathius, three other ways of drawing the bow, παρὰ μαζον, παρ' ὦμον,
and παρὰ τὸ δεξιὸν ὠτίον, "from the ear," like our English archers.
So Propertius, lib. iv. , says of the Gauls, "Virgatis jaculantis ab
inguine braccis. " El. , x. , 43.
[1415] _Cornutus. _ Annæus Cornutus (of the same gens as Mela, Lucan,
and Seneca) was distinguished as a tragic poet as well as a Stoic
philosopher. He was a native of Leptis, in Africa, and came to Rome
in the reign of Nero, where he applied himself with success to the
education of young men. He wrote on Philosophy, Rhetoric, and a
treatise entitled ἡ ἑλληνικὴ θεολογία. Persius, at the age of sixteen
(A. D. 50), placed himself under his charge, and was introduced by him
to Lucan; and at his death left him one hundred sestertia and his
library. Cornutus kept the books, to the number of seven hundred, but
gave back the money to Persius' sisters. Nero, intending to write an
epic poem on Roman History, consulted Cornutus among others; but when
the rest advised Nero to extend it to four hundred books, Cornutus
said, "No one would read them. " For this speech Nero was going to put
him to death; but contented himself with banishing him. This took
place, according to Lubinus, four years after Persius' death; more
probably in A. D. 65, when so many of the Annæan gens suffered. (Cf.
Clinton in Ann. ) Vid. Suid. , p. 2161. Dio. , lxii. , 29. Eus. , Chron. , A.
2080. Suet. in Vit. Pers.
[1416] _Offas. _ "Huge goblets of robustious song. " Gifford.
[1417] _Helicone. _ Cf. Prol. , 1. 4. Hor. , A. P. , 230, "Nubes et inania
captet. "
[1418] _Procnes olla. _ The "pot of Procne, or Thyestes," is said
to _boil_ for them who compose tragedies on the subjects of the
unnatural banquets prepared by Procne for Tereus, and by Atreus for
Thyestes. Cf. , Ov. , Met. , vi. , 424-676. Senec. , Thyest. Hor. , A. P. ,
91. --_Cænanda_ implies that these atrocities were to be actually
represented on the stage, which the good taste even of Augustus' days
would have rejected with horror. Hor. , A. P. , 182-188.
[1419] _Glycon_ was a tragic actor, of whom one Virgilius was part
owner. Nero admired him so much that he gave Virgilius three hundred
thousand sesterces for his share of him, and set him free.
[1420] _Stloppo. _ "The noise made by inflating the cheeks, and then
forcibly expelling the wind by a sudden blow with the hands. " It not
improbably comes from λόπος in the sense of an inflated skin; as stlis
for lis, stlocus for locus; stlataria from latus. Cf. ad Juv. , vii. ,
134.
[1421] _Verba togæ. _ Having pointed out the ordinary defects of poets
of the day as to choice of subjects, style, and language, Cornutus
proceeds to compliment Persius for the exactly contrary merits. First,
for the use of words not removed from ordinary use, but such as were in
use in the most elegant and polished society of Rome, as distinguished
from the rude archaisms then in vogue, or the too familiar vulgarisms
of the tunicatus popellus in the provinces, where none assumed the toga
till he was carried out to burial. (Juv. , Sat. iii, 172. ) But then,
according to Horace's precept ("Dixeris egregiè si notum callida verbum
reddiderit junctura novum," A. P. , 47), grace and dignity was added to
these by the novelty of effect produced by judicious combination. Cf.
Cic. , de Orat. , iii. , 43. There is an allusion to the same metaphor as
in Sat. i. , 65, "Per leve severos effundat junctura ungues. "
[1422] _Ore teres modico. _ The second merit, "a natural and easy mode
of reciting, suited to compositions in a familiar style. " Cicero uses
_teres_ in the same sense. De Orat. , iii. , c. 52, "Plena quædam, sed
tamen teres, et tenuis, non sine nervis ac viribus. " Horace, A. P. ,
323, "Graiis dedit ore rotundo Musa loqui. "
[1423] _Pallentes radere mores. _ The next merit is in the choice of
a subject. Not the unnatural horrors selected to gratify the most
depraved taste, but the gentlemanly, and at the same time searching,
exposure of the profligate morals of the time.
[1424] _Cum capite. _ Cf. Senec. , Thyest. , Act iv. , 1. 763, "Denudat
artus dirus atque ossa amputat: tantum _ora_ servat et datas fidei
_manus_. "
[1425] _Pondus. _ So Horace, i. , Epist. xix. , 42, "Nugis addere pondus. "
[1426] _Excutienda. _ Seneca, Ep. lxxii. , 1, "Explicandus est animus, et
quæcunque apud illum deposita sunt, subinde _excuti_ debent. "
[1427] _Solidum crepet. _ Cf. iii. , 21, "Sonet vitium percussa. "
[1428] _Sinuoso. _ Cf. Hamlet, "Give me that man that is not passion's
slave, and I will wear him in my heart's core; ay, in my heart of
heart, as I do thee, Horatio! " Act iii. , sc. 2.
[1429] _Custos. _ The Prætexta was intended, as the robes of the
priests, to serve as a protection to the youths that wore it. The
purple with which the toga was bordered was to remind them of the
modesty which was becoming to their early years. It was laid aside by
boys at the age of seventeen, and by girls when they were married.
The
assumption of the toga virilis took place with great solemnities before
the images of the Lares, sometimes in the Capitol. It not unfrequently
happened that the changing of the toga at the same time formed a bond
of union between young men, which lasted unbroken for many years. Hor. ,
i. , Od. xxxvi. , 9, "Memor Actæ non alio rege puertiæ Mutatæque simul
togæ. "The Liberalia, on the 16th before the Kalends of April (i. e. ,
March 17th), were the usual festival for this ceremony. Vid. Cic. ad
Att. , VI. , i. , 12. Ovid explains the reasons for the selection. Fast. ,
iii. , 771, _seq. _
[1430] _Bulla. _ Vid. Juv. , v. , 164.
[1431] _Succinctis. _ So Horace, A. P. , 50, "Fingere cinctutis non
exaudita Cethegis. " The Lares, being the original household deities,
were regarded with singular affection, and were probably usually
represented in the homely dress of the early ages of the republic.
Perhaps, too, some superstitious feeling might tend to prevent any
innovation in their costume. This method of wearing the toga, which
consisted in twisting it over the left shoulder, so as to leave the
right arm bare and free, was called the "Cinctus Gabinus" (cf. Ov. ,
Fast. , v. , 101, 129), from the fact of its having been adopted at the
sudden attack at Gabii, when they had not time to put on the sagum, but
were forced to fight in the toga. Hence, in proclaiming war, the consul
always appeared in this costume (Virg. , Æn. , vii. , 612, "Ipse Quirinali
trabeâ cinctuque Gabino Insignis reserat stridentia limina Consul"),
and it was that in which Decius devoted himself. Liv. , viii. , 9; v. , 46.
[1432] _Umbo_ was the centre where all the folds of the toga met on the
left shoulder; from this boss the lappet fell down and was tucked into
the girdle, so as to form the _sinus_ or fold which served as a pocket.
[1433] _Fallere solers. _ "You showed so much skill and address in your
endeavors to restore me to the right path, that I was, as it were,
gradually and insensibly cheated into a reformation of my life. "
[1434] _Fœdere certo. _ Hor. , ii. , Ep. ii. , 187, "Scit Genius, natale
comes qui temperat astrum. " ii. , Od. xvii. , 16, "Placitumque _Parcis_,
Seu _Libra_ seu me Scorpius adspicit formidolosus, pars violentior
_Natalis horæ_ seu tyrannus Hesperiæ Capricornus undæ Utrumque nostrum
incredibili modo _consentit astrum_. " Manil. , iv. , 549, "Felix _æquato_
genitus sub pondere _Libræ_. "
[1435] _Tenax veri. _ "Because the decrees pronounced by Destiny at
each man's birth have their inevitable issue. " So Horace, "Parca non
mendax," ii. , Od. xvi. , 39.
[1436] _Concordia. _ This συναστρία, as the Greeks called the being born
under one Horoscopus (vi. , 18), was considered to be one of the causes
of the most familiar and intimate friendship.
[1437] _Saturnum. _ Hor. , ii. , Od. xvii. , 22, "Te _Jovis impio_ tutela
_Saturno_ refulgens Eripuit. " Both _gravis_ and _impius_ are probably
meant to express the Κρόνος βλαβερὸς of Manetho, i. , 110. Propert. ,
iv. , El. i. , 105, "Felicesque Jovis stellæ Martisque rapacis, Et grave
Saturni sidus in omne caput. " Juv. , vi. , 570, "Quid sidus triste
minetur Saturni. " Virg. , Georg. , i. , 336, "Frigida Saturni stella. "
[1438] _Sole recenti. _ "In the extreme east;" from Hor. , i. , Sat. iv. ,
29, "Hic mutat merces surgente à Sole ad eum quo Vespertina tepet
regio. "
[1439] _Rugosum piper. _ Plin. , H. N. , xii. , 7.
[1440] _Pallentis cumini. _ The cumin was used as a cheap substitute for
pepper, which was very expensive at Rome. It produced great paleness
in those who ate much of it; and consequently many who wished to have
a pallid look, as though from deep study, used to take it in large
quantities. Pliny (xx. , 14, "Omne cuminum pallorem bibentibus gignit")
says that the imitators of Porcius Latro used to take it in order to
resemble him even in his natural peculiarities. Horace alludes to
this, i. , Epist. xix. , 17, "Quod si pallerem casu biberent _exsangue
cuminum_. " (Latro died A. U. C. 752. ) Cf. Plin. , xix. , 6, 32.
[1441] _Irriguo. _ Virg. , Æn. , i. , 691," Placidam per membra quietem
_irrigat_. " iii. , 511, "Fessos sopor irrigat artus. "--_Turgescere. _
Sulp. , 56, "Somno moriuntur obeso. "
[1442] _Putris. _ Hor. , i. , Od. xxxvi. , 17, "Omnes in Damalin _putres_
deponunt oculos. "
[1443] _Lapidosa. _ "That fills his joints with chalk-stones. "
Hor. , ii. , Sat. vii. , 16, "Postquam illi justa _cheragra Contudit
articulos_. " i. , Ep. i. , 81, "_Nodosâ_ corpus nolis prohibere
_cheragrâ_. "
[1444] _Vitam relictam. _ Cf. iii. , 38, "Virtutem videant intabescantque
relictâ. "
[1445] _Purgatas aures. _ Cf. l. 86, "Stoicus hic aurem mordaci lotus
aceto. " One of the remedies of deafness was holding the ear over the
vapor of heated vinegar. The metaphor was very applicable to the
Stoics, who were famous for their acuteness in detecting fallacies, and
their keenness in debating. Cf. Plaut. , Mil. Gl. , III. , i. , 176, "Ambo
perpurgatis tibi operam damus auribus. " Hor. , i. , Epist. i. , 7, "Est
mihi purgatam crebrò qui personet aurem. "
[1446] _Cleantheâ. _ Vid. Juv. , ii. , 7. Cleanthes was a native of Assos,
and began life as a pugilist. He came to Athens with only four drachmæ,
and became a pupil of Zeno. He used to work at night at drawing water
in the gardens, in order to raise money to attend Zeno's lectures by
day; and hence acquired the nickname of φρεάντλης. He succeeded Zeno in
his school, and according to some, Chrysippus became his pupil. Diog.
Laërt. , VII. , v. , 1, 2; vii. , 1.
[1447] _Cras hoc fiet. _ Cf. Mart. , v. , Ep. lviii. , 7, "Cras vives!
hodie jam vivere Postume serum est, Ille sapit, quisquis, Postume,
vixit heri. " Macbeth, Act v. , sc. 5,
"To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,
To the last syllable of recorded time:
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. "
"Our yesterday's to-morrow now is gone,
And still a new to-morrow does come on.
We by to-morrows draw out all our store,
Till the exhausted well can yield no more. " Cowley.
[1448] _Canthum. _ "The tire of the wheel. " Quintilian (i. , 5) says,
"The word is of Spanish or African origin. Though Persius employs it as
a word in common use.
But when Herod's[1502] day is come, and the lamps arranged on the
greasy window-sill have disgorged their unctuous smoke, bearing
violets, and the thunny's tail floats, hugging the red dish,[1503]
and the white pitcher foams with wine: then in silent prayer you move
your lips, and grow pale at the sabbaths of the circumcised. Then are
the black goblins! [1504] and the perils arising from breaking an
egg. [1505] Then the huge Galli,[1506] and the one-eyed priestess with
her sistrum,[1507] threaten you with the gods inflating your body,
unless, you have eaten the prescribed head of garlic[1508] three times
of a morning.
Were you to say all this among the brawny centurions, huge
Pulfenius[1509] would immediately raise his coarse laugh, and hold a
hundred Greek philosophers dear at a clipped centussis. [1510]
FOOTNOTES:
[1409] _Centum voces. _ Homer is content with ten. Il. , ii. , 484, Οὐδ εἴ
μοι δέκα μὲν γλῶσσαι δέκα δέ στόματ εἶεν. Virgil squares the number.
Georg. , ii. , 43, "Non mihi si _linguæ centum_ sint, _oraque centum_,
Ferrea vox. " Æn. , vi. , 625. Sil. , iv. , 527, "Non mihi Mæoniæ redeat
si gloria linguæ, _Centenas_que pater det Phœbus fundere _voces_, Tot
cædes proferre queam. " Ov. , Met. , viii. , 532, "Non mihi si _centum_
Deus _ora_ sonantia _linguis_. " Fast. , ii. , 119.
[1410] _In carmina. _ "That their style and language may be amplified
and extended adequately to the greatness and variety of their subjects. "
[1411] _Hianda. _ Juv. , vi. , 636, "Grande Sophocleo carmen bacchamur
hiatu;" alluding to the wide mouths of the tragic masks (οἱ ὑποκριταὶ
μέγα κεχηνότες, Luc. , Nigrin. , i. , p. 28, Ben. ), or to the "ampullæ et
sesquipedalia verba" of the tragedy itself. Hor. , A. P. , 96.
[1412] _Mæsto. _ Hor. , A. P. , 105, "Tristia mæstum vultum verba decent. "
[1413] _Vulnera_, i. e. , "Or whether it be an epic poem on the Parthian
war," which was carried on under Nero. The genitive Parthi may be
either subjective or objective, probably the former, in spite of Hor. ,
ii. , Sat. i. , 15, "Aut labentis equo describat vulnera Parthi. "
[1414] _Ab inguine. _ This may either mean, "drawing out the weapon from
the wound he has received from the Roman," or may describe the manner
in which the Parthian ("versis animosus equis," Hor. , i. , Od. xix. , 11)
draws his bow in his retrograde course. ("Miles sagittas et celerem
fugam Parthi timet," ii. , Od. iii. , 17. ) Casaubon describes, from
Eustathius, three other ways of drawing the bow, παρὰ μαζον, παρ' ὦμον,
and παρὰ τὸ δεξιὸν ὠτίον, "from the ear," like our English archers.
So Propertius, lib. iv. , says of the Gauls, "Virgatis jaculantis ab
inguine braccis. " El. , x. , 43.
[1415] _Cornutus. _ Annæus Cornutus (of the same gens as Mela, Lucan,
and Seneca) was distinguished as a tragic poet as well as a Stoic
philosopher. He was a native of Leptis, in Africa, and came to Rome
in the reign of Nero, where he applied himself with success to the
education of young men. He wrote on Philosophy, Rhetoric, and a
treatise entitled ἡ ἑλληνικὴ θεολογία. Persius, at the age of sixteen
(A. D. 50), placed himself under his charge, and was introduced by him
to Lucan; and at his death left him one hundred sestertia and his
library. Cornutus kept the books, to the number of seven hundred, but
gave back the money to Persius' sisters. Nero, intending to write an
epic poem on Roman History, consulted Cornutus among others; but when
the rest advised Nero to extend it to four hundred books, Cornutus
said, "No one would read them. " For this speech Nero was going to put
him to death; but contented himself with banishing him. This took
place, according to Lubinus, four years after Persius' death; more
probably in A. D. 65, when so many of the Annæan gens suffered. (Cf.
Clinton in Ann. ) Vid. Suid. , p. 2161. Dio. , lxii. , 29. Eus. , Chron. , A.
2080. Suet. in Vit. Pers.
[1416] _Offas. _ "Huge goblets of robustious song. " Gifford.
[1417] _Helicone. _ Cf. Prol. , 1. 4. Hor. , A. P. , 230, "Nubes et inania
captet. "
[1418] _Procnes olla. _ The "pot of Procne, or Thyestes," is said
to _boil_ for them who compose tragedies on the subjects of the
unnatural banquets prepared by Procne for Tereus, and by Atreus for
Thyestes. Cf. , Ov. , Met. , vi. , 424-676. Senec. , Thyest. Hor. , A. P. ,
91. --_Cænanda_ implies that these atrocities were to be actually
represented on the stage, which the good taste even of Augustus' days
would have rejected with horror. Hor. , A. P. , 182-188.
[1419] _Glycon_ was a tragic actor, of whom one Virgilius was part
owner. Nero admired him so much that he gave Virgilius three hundred
thousand sesterces for his share of him, and set him free.
[1420] _Stloppo. _ "The noise made by inflating the cheeks, and then
forcibly expelling the wind by a sudden blow with the hands. " It not
improbably comes from λόπος in the sense of an inflated skin; as stlis
for lis, stlocus for locus; stlataria from latus. Cf. ad Juv. , vii. ,
134.
[1421] _Verba togæ. _ Having pointed out the ordinary defects of poets
of the day as to choice of subjects, style, and language, Cornutus
proceeds to compliment Persius for the exactly contrary merits. First,
for the use of words not removed from ordinary use, but such as were in
use in the most elegant and polished society of Rome, as distinguished
from the rude archaisms then in vogue, or the too familiar vulgarisms
of the tunicatus popellus in the provinces, where none assumed the toga
till he was carried out to burial. (Juv. , Sat. iii, 172. ) But then,
according to Horace's precept ("Dixeris egregiè si notum callida verbum
reddiderit junctura novum," A. P. , 47), grace and dignity was added to
these by the novelty of effect produced by judicious combination. Cf.
Cic. , de Orat. , iii. , 43. There is an allusion to the same metaphor as
in Sat. i. , 65, "Per leve severos effundat junctura ungues. "
[1422] _Ore teres modico. _ The second merit, "a natural and easy mode
of reciting, suited to compositions in a familiar style. " Cicero uses
_teres_ in the same sense. De Orat. , iii. , c. 52, "Plena quædam, sed
tamen teres, et tenuis, non sine nervis ac viribus. " Horace, A. P. ,
323, "Graiis dedit ore rotundo Musa loqui. "
[1423] _Pallentes radere mores. _ The next merit is in the choice of
a subject. Not the unnatural horrors selected to gratify the most
depraved taste, but the gentlemanly, and at the same time searching,
exposure of the profligate morals of the time.
[1424] _Cum capite. _ Cf. Senec. , Thyest. , Act iv. , 1. 763, "Denudat
artus dirus atque ossa amputat: tantum _ora_ servat et datas fidei
_manus_. "
[1425] _Pondus. _ So Horace, i. , Epist. xix. , 42, "Nugis addere pondus. "
[1426] _Excutienda. _ Seneca, Ep. lxxii. , 1, "Explicandus est animus, et
quæcunque apud illum deposita sunt, subinde _excuti_ debent. "
[1427] _Solidum crepet. _ Cf. iii. , 21, "Sonet vitium percussa. "
[1428] _Sinuoso. _ Cf. Hamlet, "Give me that man that is not passion's
slave, and I will wear him in my heart's core; ay, in my heart of
heart, as I do thee, Horatio! " Act iii. , sc. 2.
[1429] _Custos. _ The Prætexta was intended, as the robes of the
priests, to serve as a protection to the youths that wore it. The
purple with which the toga was bordered was to remind them of the
modesty which was becoming to their early years. It was laid aside by
boys at the age of seventeen, and by girls when they were married.
The
assumption of the toga virilis took place with great solemnities before
the images of the Lares, sometimes in the Capitol. It not unfrequently
happened that the changing of the toga at the same time formed a bond
of union between young men, which lasted unbroken for many years. Hor. ,
i. , Od. xxxvi. , 9, "Memor Actæ non alio rege puertiæ Mutatæque simul
togæ. "The Liberalia, on the 16th before the Kalends of April (i. e. ,
March 17th), were the usual festival for this ceremony. Vid. Cic. ad
Att. , VI. , i. , 12. Ovid explains the reasons for the selection. Fast. ,
iii. , 771, _seq. _
[1430] _Bulla. _ Vid. Juv. , v. , 164.
[1431] _Succinctis. _ So Horace, A. P. , 50, "Fingere cinctutis non
exaudita Cethegis. " The Lares, being the original household deities,
were regarded with singular affection, and were probably usually
represented in the homely dress of the early ages of the republic.
Perhaps, too, some superstitious feeling might tend to prevent any
innovation in their costume. This method of wearing the toga, which
consisted in twisting it over the left shoulder, so as to leave the
right arm bare and free, was called the "Cinctus Gabinus" (cf. Ov. ,
Fast. , v. , 101, 129), from the fact of its having been adopted at the
sudden attack at Gabii, when they had not time to put on the sagum, but
were forced to fight in the toga. Hence, in proclaiming war, the consul
always appeared in this costume (Virg. , Æn. , vii. , 612, "Ipse Quirinali
trabeâ cinctuque Gabino Insignis reserat stridentia limina Consul"),
and it was that in which Decius devoted himself. Liv. , viii. , 9; v. , 46.
[1432] _Umbo_ was the centre where all the folds of the toga met on the
left shoulder; from this boss the lappet fell down and was tucked into
the girdle, so as to form the _sinus_ or fold which served as a pocket.
[1433] _Fallere solers. _ "You showed so much skill and address in your
endeavors to restore me to the right path, that I was, as it were,
gradually and insensibly cheated into a reformation of my life. "
[1434] _Fœdere certo. _ Hor. , ii. , Ep. ii. , 187, "Scit Genius, natale
comes qui temperat astrum. " ii. , Od. xvii. , 16, "Placitumque _Parcis_,
Seu _Libra_ seu me Scorpius adspicit formidolosus, pars violentior
_Natalis horæ_ seu tyrannus Hesperiæ Capricornus undæ Utrumque nostrum
incredibili modo _consentit astrum_. " Manil. , iv. , 549, "Felix _æquato_
genitus sub pondere _Libræ_. "
[1435] _Tenax veri. _ "Because the decrees pronounced by Destiny at
each man's birth have their inevitable issue. " So Horace, "Parca non
mendax," ii. , Od. xvi. , 39.
[1436] _Concordia. _ This συναστρία, as the Greeks called the being born
under one Horoscopus (vi. , 18), was considered to be one of the causes
of the most familiar and intimate friendship.
[1437] _Saturnum. _ Hor. , ii. , Od. xvii. , 22, "Te _Jovis impio_ tutela
_Saturno_ refulgens Eripuit. " Both _gravis_ and _impius_ are probably
meant to express the Κρόνος βλαβερὸς of Manetho, i. , 110. Propert. ,
iv. , El. i. , 105, "Felicesque Jovis stellæ Martisque rapacis, Et grave
Saturni sidus in omne caput. " Juv. , vi. , 570, "Quid sidus triste
minetur Saturni. " Virg. , Georg. , i. , 336, "Frigida Saturni stella. "
[1438] _Sole recenti. _ "In the extreme east;" from Hor. , i. , Sat. iv. ,
29, "Hic mutat merces surgente à Sole ad eum quo Vespertina tepet
regio. "
[1439] _Rugosum piper. _ Plin. , H. N. , xii. , 7.
[1440] _Pallentis cumini. _ The cumin was used as a cheap substitute for
pepper, which was very expensive at Rome. It produced great paleness
in those who ate much of it; and consequently many who wished to have
a pallid look, as though from deep study, used to take it in large
quantities. Pliny (xx. , 14, "Omne cuminum pallorem bibentibus gignit")
says that the imitators of Porcius Latro used to take it in order to
resemble him even in his natural peculiarities. Horace alludes to
this, i. , Epist. xix. , 17, "Quod si pallerem casu biberent _exsangue
cuminum_. " (Latro died A. U. C. 752. ) Cf. Plin. , xix. , 6, 32.
[1441] _Irriguo. _ Virg. , Æn. , i. , 691," Placidam per membra quietem
_irrigat_. " iii. , 511, "Fessos sopor irrigat artus. "--_Turgescere. _
Sulp. , 56, "Somno moriuntur obeso. "
[1442] _Putris. _ Hor. , i. , Od. xxxvi. , 17, "Omnes in Damalin _putres_
deponunt oculos. "
[1443] _Lapidosa. _ "That fills his joints with chalk-stones. "
Hor. , ii. , Sat. vii. , 16, "Postquam illi justa _cheragra Contudit
articulos_. " i. , Ep. i. , 81, "_Nodosâ_ corpus nolis prohibere
_cheragrâ_. "
[1444] _Vitam relictam. _ Cf. iii. , 38, "Virtutem videant intabescantque
relictâ. "
[1445] _Purgatas aures. _ Cf. l. 86, "Stoicus hic aurem mordaci lotus
aceto. " One of the remedies of deafness was holding the ear over the
vapor of heated vinegar. The metaphor was very applicable to the
Stoics, who were famous for their acuteness in detecting fallacies, and
their keenness in debating. Cf. Plaut. , Mil. Gl. , III. , i. , 176, "Ambo
perpurgatis tibi operam damus auribus. " Hor. , i. , Epist. i. , 7, "Est
mihi purgatam crebrò qui personet aurem. "
[1446] _Cleantheâ. _ Vid. Juv. , ii. , 7. Cleanthes was a native of Assos,
and began life as a pugilist. He came to Athens with only four drachmæ,
and became a pupil of Zeno. He used to work at night at drawing water
in the gardens, in order to raise money to attend Zeno's lectures by
day; and hence acquired the nickname of φρεάντλης. He succeeded Zeno in
his school, and according to some, Chrysippus became his pupil. Diog.
Laërt. , VII. , v. , 1, 2; vii. , 1.
[1447] _Cras hoc fiet. _ Cf. Mart. , v. , Ep. lviii. , 7, "Cras vives!
hodie jam vivere Postume serum est, Ille sapit, quisquis, Postume,
vixit heri. " Macbeth, Act v. , sc. 5,
"To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,
To the last syllable of recorded time:
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. "
"Our yesterday's to-morrow now is gone,
And still a new to-morrow does come on.
We by to-morrows draw out all our store,
Till the exhausted well can yield no more. " Cowley.
[1448] _Canthum. _ "The tire of the wheel. " Quintilian (i. , 5) says,
"The word is of Spanish or African origin. Though Persius employs it as
a word in common use.
