You see, therefore,
what a great recompense the slaughtered Mycenian maid earns.
what a great recompense the slaughtered Mycenian maid earns.
Satires
xiii.
, 99.
[756] _Afra avis. _ Hor. , Epod. , ii. , 53, "Non Afra avis descendat in
ventrem meum non attagen Ionicus. " The μελεαγρίς of the Greeks. Varro,
R. R. , III. , ix. , 18.
[757] _Offelæ_, the diminutive of Offa. "A cutlet or chop," generally
applied to the coarser kind of meat. Cf. Mart. , xii. , 48, "Me meus
ad subitas invitet amicus ofellas: Hæc mihi quam possum reddere cœna
placet. " Some read _furtis_ for _frustis_: which imputation against the
character of the little slave Gifford indignantly rejects.
[758] _Plebeios calices_, cf. ad vi. , 155; v. , 46, made of glass,
which was now very common at Rome. Vid. Mart. , Ep. xii. , 74; xiv. , 94,
_seq. _, and especially the Epigram on Mamurra, ix. , 60. Strabo speaks
of them as sold commonly in Rome in his own time for a χαλκοῦς each
(not quite a farthing), lib. xvi. , p. 368, T. Cf. Bekker's Gallus, p.
303.
[759] _Mango_, cf. Pers. , vi. , 76, _seq. _, from _manu ago_, because
they made up their goods for sale, or from μάγγανον, "a trick. " Cf.
Aristoph. , Plut. , 310. Bekker's Gallus, the Excursus on "the Slaves. "
[760] _Casulam. _ Cf. ix. , 59, "Rusticus infans, cum matre et casulis et
conlusore catello. "
"Sighs for his little cottage, and would fain
Meet his old playfellows the goats again. " Gifford.
[761] _Vina. _ Cf. vii. , 96, "Vinum Tiberi devectum. " Mart. , x. , 48, 19,
"De Nomentana vinum sine fæce lagenâ. "
[762] _Iliados. _
"The tale of Ilium, or that rival lay
Which holds in deep suspense the dubious bay. " Bad.
[763] _Legantur. _ Cf. Corn. Nep. , vit. Attici, "Nemo in convivio ejus
aliud acroama audivit quam Anagnosten: quod nos quidem jucundissimum
arbitramur. Neque unquam sine aliquâ lectione apud eum cœnatum est, ut
non minus animo quam ventre convivæ delectarentur," c. xvi. Cf. Mart. ,
iii. , Ep. 50, who complains of Ligurinus inviting him to have his own
productions read to him.
[764] _Bilem. _
"Let no dire images to-day be brought
To wake the hell of matrimonial thought. " Hodgson.
[765] _Perit. _ Cf. Hor. , ii. , Ep. i. , 121, "Detrimenta, fugas servorum,
incendia ridet. "
[766] _Mappæ. _ Holyday gives the following account of the origin of
this custom. "Nero on a time, sitting alone at dinner, when the shows
were eagerly expected, caused his towel with which he had wiped his
hands to be presently cast out at the window, for a sign of his speedy
coming. Whereupon it was in after times the usual sign at the beginning
of these shows. " For the mappa see Bekker's Gallus, p. 476. --_Præda_,
because "ruined by the expense;" or _Prædo_, from his "unjust
decisions;" or _Perda_, from the "number of horses damaged. "
[767] _Totam Romam. _ See Gibbon, chap. xxxi. , for the eagerness with
which all ranks flocked to these games.
[768] _Viridis panni. _ Cf. ad vi. , 590. Plin. , Ep. ix. , 6, "Si aut
velocitate equorum, aut hominum arte traherentur, esset ratio nonnulla.
Nunc favent _panno_: _pannum_ amant," _et seq. _ Mart. , x. , Ep. xlviii. ,
23, "De Prasino conviva meus, venetoque loquatur. " XIV. , 131, "Si
veneto Prasinove faves quid coccina sumis? "
[769] _Pulvere_ is not without its force. Hannibal is said to have
plowed up the land near Cannæ, that the wind which daily rose and blew
in that direction might carry the dust into the eyes of the Romans.
"Ventus (_Vulturnum_ incolæ regionis vocant) adversus Romanis coortus,
_multo pulvere_ in ipsa ora volvendo, prospectum ademit. " Liv. , xxii. ,
46 and 43. Cf. Sat, ii. , 155; x. , 165.
[770] _Cuticula. _ Pers. , iv. , 18, "Assiduo curata cuticula sole. " 33,
"Et figas in cute solem. " V. , 179, "Aprici meminisse senes. " Mart. ,
x. , Ep. xii. , 7, "Totos avidâ cute combibe soles. " I. , Ep. 78, "Sole
utitur Charinus. " Plin. , Ep. iii. , 1, "Ubi hora balinei nuntiata est
(cf. ad Sat. x. , 216), est autem hieme nona, æstate octava, in sole, si
caret vento, ambulat nudus. " Cicero mentions "apricatio" as one of the
solaces of old age. De Sen. , c. xvi.
"While we, my friend, whose skin grows old and dry,
Court the warm sunbeam of an April sky. " Badham.
[771] _Rarior usus. _
"Our very sports by repetition tire,
But rare delight breeds ever new desire. " Hodgson.
SATIRE XII.
This day, Corvinus, is a more joyful one to me than even my own
birthday;[772] in which the festal altar of turf[773] awaits the
animals promised to the gods.
To the queen of the gods we sacrifice a snow-white[774] lamb: a
similar fleece shall be given to her that combated the Mauritanian
Gorgon. [775] But the victim reserved for Tarpeian Jupiter, shakes,
in his wantonness, his long-stretched[776] rope, and brandishes his
forehead. Since he is a sturdy calf; ripe for the temple and the altar,
and ready to be sprinkled with wine; ashamed any longer to drain his
mother's[777] teats, and butts the oaks with his sprouting horn. [778]
Had I an ample fortune, and equal to my wishes, a bull fatter than
Hispulla,[779] and slow-paced from his very bulk, should be led to
sacrifice, and one not fed in a neighboring pasture; but his blood
should flow, giving evidence of the rich pastures of Clitumnus,[780]
and with a neck that must be struck by a ministering priest of
great strength, to do honor to the return of my friend who is still
trembling, and has recently endured great horrors, and wonders to find
himself safe.
For besides the dangers of the sea, and the stroke of the lightning
which he escaped, thick darkness obscured the sky in one huge cloud,
and a sudden thunder-bolt struck the yard-arms, while every one fancied
he was struck by it, and at once, amazed, thought that no shipwreck
could be compared in horror with a ship on fire. [781] For all things
happen so, and with such horrors accompanying, when a storm arises in
poetry. [782]
Now here follows another sort of danger. Hear, and pity him a second
time; although the rest is all of the same description. Yet it is
a very dreadful part, and one well known to many, as full many a
temple testifies with its votive picture. (Who does not know that
painters[783] are maintained by Isis? ) A similar fortune befell our
friend Catullus also: when the hold was half full of water, and when
the waves heaved up each side alternately of the laboring ship, and
the skill of the hoary pilot could render no service, he began to
compound with the winds by throwing overboard, imitating the beaver
who makes a eunuch[784] of himself, hoping to get off by the sacrifice
of his testicles; so well does he know their medicinal properties.
"Throw overboard all that belongs to me, the whole of it! " cried
Catullus, eager to throw over even his most beautiful things--a robe
of purple fit even for luxurious Mæcenases, and others whose very
fleece the quality of the generous pasture has tinged, moreover the
exquisite water with its hidden properties, and the atmosphere of
Bætica[785] contributes to enhance its beauty. He did not hesitate to
cast overboard even his plate, salvers the workmanship of Parthenius,
a bowl[786] that would hold three gallons, and worthy of Pholus when
thirsty, or even the wife of Fuscus. [787] Add to these bascaudæ,[788]
and a thousand chargers, a quantity of embletic work, out of which the
cunning purchaser of Olynthus[789] had drunk. But what other man in
these days, or in what quarter of the globe, has the courage to prefer
his life to his money, and his safety to his property? Some men do not
make fortunes for the sake of living, but, blinded by avarice, live
for the sake of money-getting. The greatest part even of necessaries
is thrown overboard: but not even do these sacrifices relieve the
ship--then, in the urgency of the peril, it came to such a pitch that
he yielded his mast to the hatchet, and rights himself at last, though
in a crippled state. Since this is the last resource in danger we
apply, to make the ship lighter.
Go now, and commit your life to the mercy of the winds; trusting to a
hewn plank, with but four digits[790] between you and death, or seven
at most, if the deal is of the thickest. And then together with your
provision-baskets and bread and wide-bellied flagon,[791] look well
that you lay in hatchets,[792] to be brought into use in storms.
But when the sea subsided into calm, and the state of affairs was more
propitious to the mariner, and his destiny prevailed over Eurus and the
sea, when now the cheerful Parcæ draw kindlier tasks with benign hand,
and spin white wool,[793] and what wind there is, is not much stronger
than a moderate breeze, the wretched bark, with a poor make-shift, ran
before it, with the sailors' clothes spread out, and with its only sail
that remained: when now the south wind subsided, together with the
sun hope of life returned. Then the tall peak beloved by Iulus, and
preferred as a home by him to Lavinium,[794] his stepmother's seat,
comes in sight; to which the white sow[795] gave its name--(an udder
that excited the astonishment of the gladdened Phrygians)--illustrious
from what had never been seen before, thirty paps. At length he enters
the moles,[796] built through the waters inclosed within them, and
the Pharos of Tuscany, and the arms extending back, which jut out
into the middle of the sea, and leave Italy far behind. You would not
bestow such admiration on the harbor which nature formed: but with
damaged bark, the master steers for the inner smooth waters of the safe
haven, which even a pinnace of Baiæ could cross; and there with shaven
crowns[797] the sailors, now relieved from anxiety, delight to recount
their perils that form the subject of their prating.
Go then, boys, favoring with tongues and minds,[798] and place garlands
in the temples, and meal on the sacrificial knives, and decorate the
soft hearths and green turf-altar. I will follow shortly, and the
sacrifice which is most important[799] having been duly performed, I
will then return home, where my little images, shining in frail wax,
shall receive their slender chaplets. Here I will propitiate[800] my
own Jove, and offer incense to my hereditary Lares,[801] and will
display all colors of the violet. All things are gay; my gateway has
set up long branches,[802] and celebrates the festivities[803] with
lamps lighted in the morning.
Nor let these things be suspected by you, Corvinus. Catullus, for
whose safe return I erect so many altars, has three little heirs. You
may wait long enough for a man that would expend even a sick hen at
the point of death for so unprofitable a friend. But even this is too
great an outlay. Not even a quail will ever be sacrificed in behalf
of one who is a father. If rich Gallita[804] and Paccius, who have no
children, begin to feel the approach of fever, every temple-porch is
covered with votive tablets,[805] affixed according to due custom.
There are some who would even promise a hecatomb[806] of oxen. Since
elephants are not to be bought here or in Latium, nor is there any
where in our climate such a large beast generated; but, fetched from
the dusky nation, they are fed in the Rutulian forests, and the
field of Turnus, as the herd of Cæsar, prepared to serve no private
individual, since their ancestors used to obey Tyrian Hannibal, and our
own generals,[807] and the Molossian king, and to bear on their backs
cohorts--no mean portion of the war--and a tower that went into battle.
It is no fault, consequently, of Novius, or of Ister Pacuvius,[808]
that that ivory is not led to the altars, and falls a sacred victim
before the Lares of Gallita, worthy of such great gods, and those that
court their favor! One of these two fellows, if you would give him
license to perform the sacrifice, would vow the tallest or all the
most beautiful persons among his flock of slaves, or place sacrificial
fillets on his boys and the brows of his female slaves. And if he has
any Iphigenia[809] at home of marriageable age, he will offer her at
the altars, though he can not hope for the furtive substitution of
the hind of the tragic poets. I commend my fellow-citizen, and do not
compare a thousand[810] ships to a will; for if the sick man shall
escape Libitina,[811] he will cancel his former will, entangled in the
meshes of the act,[812] after a service so truly wonderful: and perhaps
in one short line will give his all to Pacuvius as sole[813] heir.
Proudly will he strut over his defeated rivals.
You see, therefore,
what a great recompense the slaughtered Mycenian maid earns.
Long live Pacuvius, I pray, even to the full age of Nestor. [814] Let
him own as much as ever Nero plundered,[815] let him pile his gold
mountains high, and let him love no one,[816] and be loved by none.
FOOTNOTES:
[772] _Natali. _ The birthday was sacred to the "Genius" to whom
they offered wine, incense, and flowers: abstaining from "bloody"
sacrifices, "ne die quâ ipsi lucem accepissent aliis demerent," Hor. ,
ii. , Ep. 144. "Floribus et vino Genium memorem brevis avi," Pers. ,
ii. , 3. "Funde merum Genio," Censorin. , de D. N. , 3. Virg. , Ecl. iii. ,
76. Compare Hor. , Od. , IV. , xi. , where he celebrates the birthday of
Mæcenas as "sanctior pœne _natali proprio_. " Cf. Dennis's Etruria, vol.
ii. , p. 65.
[773] _Cæspes. _ Hor. , Od. , III. , viii. , 3, "Positusque carbo in cæspite
vivo. " Tac. , Ann. , i. 18.
[774] _Niveam. _ A white victim was offered to the Dii Superi: a black
one to the Inferi. Cf. Virg. , Æn. , iv. , 60," _Junoni_ ante omnes, Ipsa
tenens dextrâ pateram pulcherrima Dido _Candentis_ vaccæ media inter
cornua fundit. " Tibull. , I. , ii. , 61, "Concidit ad magicos hostia
_pulla_ deos. " Hor. , i. , Sat. viii. , 27," Pullam divellere mordicus
agnam. "
[775] _Gorgone. _ Cf. Vir. , Æn. , viii. , 435, _seq. _; ii. , 616.
[776] _Extensum. _ It was esteemed a very bad omen if the victim did not
go willingly to the sacrifice. It was always led, therefore, with a
long slack rope.
[777] _Matris. _ Cf. Hor. , iv. , Od. ii. , 54, "Me tener solvet vitulus,
relicta matre. "
[778] _Nascenti. _ Hor. , iii. , Od. xiii. , 4, "Cui frons turgida cornibus
Primis et Venerem, et prælia destinat. "
"He flies his mother's teat with playful scorn,
And butts the oak-trees with his growing horn. " Hodgson.
[779] _Hispulla. _ Cf. vi. , 74, "Hispulla tragædo gaudet. " (This was the
name of the aunt of Pliny the Younger's wife, iv. , Ep. 19; viii. , 11. )
"Huge as Hispulla: scarcely to be slain
But by the stoutest servant of the train. " Badham.
[780] _Clitumnus_ was a small river in Umbria flowing into the Tinia,
now "Topino," near Mevania, now "Timia. " The Tinia discharges itself
into the Tiber near Perusia. Pliny (viii. , Ep. 8) gives a beautiful
description of its source, now called "La Vene," in a letter which
is, as Gifford says, a model of elegance and taste. Its waters were
supposed to give a milk-white color to the cattle who drank of them.
Virg. , Georg. , ii. , 146, "Hinc albi, Clitumne, greges, et maxima taurus
victima. " Propert. , II. , xix. , 25, "Quà formosa suo Clitumnus flumina
luco Integit et niveos abluit unda boves. " Sil. , iv. , 547, "Clitumnus
in arvis Candentes gelido perfundit flumine tauros. " Claudian. , vi. ,
Cons. Hon. , 506.
[781] _Ignis. _ Grangæus interprets this of the meteoric fires seen in
the Mediterranean, which, when seen single, were supposed to be fatal.
Plin. , ii. , 37, "Graves cum solitarii venerunt mergentesque navigia, et
si in carinæ ima deciderint, exurentes. " These fires, when _double_,
were hailed as a happy omen, as the stars of Castor and Pollux.
"Fratres Helenæ lucida sidera," Hor. , I. , Od. iii. , 2; cf. xii. , 27.
The French call it "Le feu St. Elme," said to be a corruption of
"Helena. " The Italian sailors call them "St. Peter and St. Nicholas. "
But these only appear at the _close_ of a storm. Cf. Hor. , ii. , _seq. _,
and Blunt's Vestiges, p. 37.
[782] _Poetica tempestas. _
"So loud the thunder, such the whirlwind's sweep,
As when the poet lashes up the deep. " Hodgson.
[783] _Pictores. _ So Hor. , i. , Od. v. , 13, "Me tabulâ sacer votivâ
paries indicat noida suspendisse potenti vestimenta maris Deo. " It
seems to have been the custom for persons in peril of shipwreck not
only to vow pictures of their perilous condition to some deity in
case they escaped, but also to have a painting of it made to carry
about with them to excite commiseration as they begged. Cf. xiv. , 302,
"Naufragus assem dum rogat et pictâ se tempestate tuetur. " Pers. ,
i. , 89, "Quum fractâ te in trabe pictum ex humero portes. " VI. , 32,
"Largire inopi, ne pictus oberret cæruleâ in tabulâ. " Hor. , A. P. , 20,
"Fractis enatat exspes navibus, ære dato qui pingitur. " Phæd. , IV. ,
xxi. , 24. Some think that _this_ picture was _afterward_ dedicated, but
this is an error.
[784] _Castora. _ Ov. , Nux. , 165, "Sic ubi detracta est a te tibi causa
pericli Quod superest tutum, Pontice Castor, habes! " This story of
the beaver is told Plin. , viii. , 30; xxxvii. , 6, and is repeated by
Silius, in a passage copied from Ovid and Juvenal. "Fluminei veluti
deprensus gurgitis undis, Avulsâ parte _inguinibus causâque pericli_,
Enatat intento prædæ fiber avius hoste," xv. , 485. But it is an error.
The sebaceous matter called castoreum (Pers. , v. , 135), is secreted by
two glands near the root of the tail. (Vid. Martyn's Georgics, i. , 59,
"Virosaque Pontus Castorea," and Browne's Vulgar Errors, lib. iii. , 4. )
Pliny, viii. , 3, tells a similar story of the elephant, "Circumventi a
venantibus dentes impactos arbori frangunt, _prædâque se redimunt_. "
[785] _Bæticus. _ The province of Bætica (Andalusia) takes its name from
the Bætis, or "Guadalquivir," the waters of which were said to give a
ruddy golden tinge to the fleeces of the sheep that drank it. Martial
alludes to it repeatedly. "Non est lana mihi mendax, nec mutor aëno. Si
placeant Tyriæ me mea tinxit ovis," xiv. , Ep. 133. Cf. v. , 37; viii. ,
28. "Vellera nativo pallent ubi flava metallo," ix. , 62. "Aurea qui
nitidis vellera tingis aquis," xii. , 99.
[756] _Afra avis. _ Hor. , Epod. , ii. , 53, "Non Afra avis descendat in
ventrem meum non attagen Ionicus. " The μελεαγρίς of the Greeks. Varro,
R. R. , III. , ix. , 18.
[757] _Offelæ_, the diminutive of Offa. "A cutlet or chop," generally
applied to the coarser kind of meat. Cf. Mart. , xii. , 48, "Me meus
ad subitas invitet amicus ofellas: Hæc mihi quam possum reddere cœna
placet. " Some read _furtis_ for _frustis_: which imputation against the
character of the little slave Gifford indignantly rejects.
[758] _Plebeios calices_, cf. ad vi. , 155; v. , 46, made of glass,
which was now very common at Rome. Vid. Mart. , Ep. xii. , 74; xiv. , 94,
_seq. _, and especially the Epigram on Mamurra, ix. , 60. Strabo speaks
of them as sold commonly in Rome in his own time for a χαλκοῦς each
(not quite a farthing), lib. xvi. , p. 368, T. Cf. Bekker's Gallus, p.
303.
[759] _Mango_, cf. Pers. , vi. , 76, _seq. _, from _manu ago_, because
they made up their goods for sale, or from μάγγανον, "a trick. " Cf.
Aristoph. , Plut. , 310. Bekker's Gallus, the Excursus on "the Slaves. "
[760] _Casulam. _ Cf. ix. , 59, "Rusticus infans, cum matre et casulis et
conlusore catello. "
"Sighs for his little cottage, and would fain
Meet his old playfellows the goats again. " Gifford.
[761] _Vina. _ Cf. vii. , 96, "Vinum Tiberi devectum. " Mart. , x. , 48, 19,
"De Nomentana vinum sine fæce lagenâ. "
[762] _Iliados. _
"The tale of Ilium, or that rival lay
Which holds in deep suspense the dubious bay. " Bad.
[763] _Legantur. _ Cf. Corn. Nep. , vit. Attici, "Nemo in convivio ejus
aliud acroama audivit quam Anagnosten: quod nos quidem jucundissimum
arbitramur. Neque unquam sine aliquâ lectione apud eum cœnatum est, ut
non minus animo quam ventre convivæ delectarentur," c. xvi. Cf. Mart. ,
iii. , Ep. 50, who complains of Ligurinus inviting him to have his own
productions read to him.
[764] _Bilem. _
"Let no dire images to-day be brought
To wake the hell of matrimonial thought. " Hodgson.
[765] _Perit. _ Cf. Hor. , ii. , Ep. i. , 121, "Detrimenta, fugas servorum,
incendia ridet. "
[766] _Mappæ. _ Holyday gives the following account of the origin of
this custom. "Nero on a time, sitting alone at dinner, when the shows
were eagerly expected, caused his towel with which he had wiped his
hands to be presently cast out at the window, for a sign of his speedy
coming. Whereupon it was in after times the usual sign at the beginning
of these shows. " For the mappa see Bekker's Gallus, p. 476. --_Præda_,
because "ruined by the expense;" or _Prædo_, from his "unjust
decisions;" or _Perda_, from the "number of horses damaged. "
[767] _Totam Romam. _ See Gibbon, chap. xxxi. , for the eagerness with
which all ranks flocked to these games.
[768] _Viridis panni. _ Cf. ad vi. , 590. Plin. , Ep. ix. , 6, "Si aut
velocitate equorum, aut hominum arte traherentur, esset ratio nonnulla.
Nunc favent _panno_: _pannum_ amant," _et seq. _ Mart. , x. , Ep. xlviii. ,
23, "De Prasino conviva meus, venetoque loquatur. " XIV. , 131, "Si
veneto Prasinove faves quid coccina sumis? "
[769] _Pulvere_ is not without its force. Hannibal is said to have
plowed up the land near Cannæ, that the wind which daily rose and blew
in that direction might carry the dust into the eyes of the Romans.
"Ventus (_Vulturnum_ incolæ regionis vocant) adversus Romanis coortus,
_multo pulvere_ in ipsa ora volvendo, prospectum ademit. " Liv. , xxii. ,
46 and 43. Cf. Sat, ii. , 155; x. , 165.
[770] _Cuticula. _ Pers. , iv. , 18, "Assiduo curata cuticula sole. " 33,
"Et figas in cute solem. " V. , 179, "Aprici meminisse senes. " Mart. ,
x. , Ep. xii. , 7, "Totos avidâ cute combibe soles. " I. , Ep. 78, "Sole
utitur Charinus. " Plin. , Ep. iii. , 1, "Ubi hora balinei nuntiata est
(cf. ad Sat. x. , 216), est autem hieme nona, æstate octava, in sole, si
caret vento, ambulat nudus. " Cicero mentions "apricatio" as one of the
solaces of old age. De Sen. , c. xvi.
"While we, my friend, whose skin grows old and dry,
Court the warm sunbeam of an April sky. " Badham.
[771] _Rarior usus. _
"Our very sports by repetition tire,
But rare delight breeds ever new desire. " Hodgson.
SATIRE XII.
This day, Corvinus, is a more joyful one to me than even my own
birthday;[772] in which the festal altar of turf[773] awaits the
animals promised to the gods.
To the queen of the gods we sacrifice a snow-white[774] lamb: a
similar fleece shall be given to her that combated the Mauritanian
Gorgon. [775] But the victim reserved for Tarpeian Jupiter, shakes,
in his wantonness, his long-stretched[776] rope, and brandishes his
forehead. Since he is a sturdy calf; ripe for the temple and the altar,
and ready to be sprinkled with wine; ashamed any longer to drain his
mother's[777] teats, and butts the oaks with his sprouting horn. [778]
Had I an ample fortune, and equal to my wishes, a bull fatter than
Hispulla,[779] and slow-paced from his very bulk, should be led to
sacrifice, and one not fed in a neighboring pasture; but his blood
should flow, giving evidence of the rich pastures of Clitumnus,[780]
and with a neck that must be struck by a ministering priest of
great strength, to do honor to the return of my friend who is still
trembling, and has recently endured great horrors, and wonders to find
himself safe.
For besides the dangers of the sea, and the stroke of the lightning
which he escaped, thick darkness obscured the sky in one huge cloud,
and a sudden thunder-bolt struck the yard-arms, while every one fancied
he was struck by it, and at once, amazed, thought that no shipwreck
could be compared in horror with a ship on fire. [781] For all things
happen so, and with such horrors accompanying, when a storm arises in
poetry. [782]
Now here follows another sort of danger. Hear, and pity him a second
time; although the rest is all of the same description. Yet it is
a very dreadful part, and one well known to many, as full many a
temple testifies with its votive picture. (Who does not know that
painters[783] are maintained by Isis? ) A similar fortune befell our
friend Catullus also: when the hold was half full of water, and when
the waves heaved up each side alternately of the laboring ship, and
the skill of the hoary pilot could render no service, he began to
compound with the winds by throwing overboard, imitating the beaver
who makes a eunuch[784] of himself, hoping to get off by the sacrifice
of his testicles; so well does he know their medicinal properties.
"Throw overboard all that belongs to me, the whole of it! " cried
Catullus, eager to throw over even his most beautiful things--a robe
of purple fit even for luxurious Mæcenases, and others whose very
fleece the quality of the generous pasture has tinged, moreover the
exquisite water with its hidden properties, and the atmosphere of
Bætica[785] contributes to enhance its beauty. He did not hesitate to
cast overboard even his plate, salvers the workmanship of Parthenius,
a bowl[786] that would hold three gallons, and worthy of Pholus when
thirsty, or even the wife of Fuscus. [787] Add to these bascaudæ,[788]
and a thousand chargers, a quantity of embletic work, out of which the
cunning purchaser of Olynthus[789] had drunk. But what other man in
these days, or in what quarter of the globe, has the courage to prefer
his life to his money, and his safety to his property? Some men do not
make fortunes for the sake of living, but, blinded by avarice, live
for the sake of money-getting. The greatest part even of necessaries
is thrown overboard: but not even do these sacrifices relieve the
ship--then, in the urgency of the peril, it came to such a pitch that
he yielded his mast to the hatchet, and rights himself at last, though
in a crippled state. Since this is the last resource in danger we
apply, to make the ship lighter.
Go now, and commit your life to the mercy of the winds; trusting to a
hewn plank, with but four digits[790] between you and death, or seven
at most, if the deal is of the thickest. And then together with your
provision-baskets and bread and wide-bellied flagon,[791] look well
that you lay in hatchets,[792] to be brought into use in storms.
But when the sea subsided into calm, and the state of affairs was more
propitious to the mariner, and his destiny prevailed over Eurus and the
sea, when now the cheerful Parcæ draw kindlier tasks with benign hand,
and spin white wool,[793] and what wind there is, is not much stronger
than a moderate breeze, the wretched bark, with a poor make-shift, ran
before it, with the sailors' clothes spread out, and with its only sail
that remained: when now the south wind subsided, together with the
sun hope of life returned. Then the tall peak beloved by Iulus, and
preferred as a home by him to Lavinium,[794] his stepmother's seat,
comes in sight; to which the white sow[795] gave its name--(an udder
that excited the astonishment of the gladdened Phrygians)--illustrious
from what had never been seen before, thirty paps. At length he enters
the moles,[796] built through the waters inclosed within them, and
the Pharos of Tuscany, and the arms extending back, which jut out
into the middle of the sea, and leave Italy far behind. You would not
bestow such admiration on the harbor which nature formed: but with
damaged bark, the master steers for the inner smooth waters of the safe
haven, which even a pinnace of Baiæ could cross; and there with shaven
crowns[797] the sailors, now relieved from anxiety, delight to recount
their perils that form the subject of their prating.
Go then, boys, favoring with tongues and minds,[798] and place garlands
in the temples, and meal on the sacrificial knives, and decorate the
soft hearths and green turf-altar. I will follow shortly, and the
sacrifice which is most important[799] having been duly performed, I
will then return home, where my little images, shining in frail wax,
shall receive their slender chaplets. Here I will propitiate[800] my
own Jove, and offer incense to my hereditary Lares,[801] and will
display all colors of the violet. All things are gay; my gateway has
set up long branches,[802] and celebrates the festivities[803] with
lamps lighted in the morning.
Nor let these things be suspected by you, Corvinus. Catullus, for
whose safe return I erect so many altars, has three little heirs. You
may wait long enough for a man that would expend even a sick hen at
the point of death for so unprofitable a friend. But even this is too
great an outlay. Not even a quail will ever be sacrificed in behalf
of one who is a father. If rich Gallita[804] and Paccius, who have no
children, begin to feel the approach of fever, every temple-porch is
covered with votive tablets,[805] affixed according to due custom.
There are some who would even promise a hecatomb[806] of oxen. Since
elephants are not to be bought here or in Latium, nor is there any
where in our climate such a large beast generated; but, fetched from
the dusky nation, they are fed in the Rutulian forests, and the
field of Turnus, as the herd of Cæsar, prepared to serve no private
individual, since their ancestors used to obey Tyrian Hannibal, and our
own generals,[807] and the Molossian king, and to bear on their backs
cohorts--no mean portion of the war--and a tower that went into battle.
It is no fault, consequently, of Novius, or of Ister Pacuvius,[808]
that that ivory is not led to the altars, and falls a sacred victim
before the Lares of Gallita, worthy of such great gods, and those that
court their favor! One of these two fellows, if you would give him
license to perform the sacrifice, would vow the tallest or all the
most beautiful persons among his flock of slaves, or place sacrificial
fillets on his boys and the brows of his female slaves. And if he has
any Iphigenia[809] at home of marriageable age, he will offer her at
the altars, though he can not hope for the furtive substitution of
the hind of the tragic poets. I commend my fellow-citizen, and do not
compare a thousand[810] ships to a will; for if the sick man shall
escape Libitina,[811] he will cancel his former will, entangled in the
meshes of the act,[812] after a service so truly wonderful: and perhaps
in one short line will give his all to Pacuvius as sole[813] heir.
Proudly will he strut over his defeated rivals.
You see, therefore,
what a great recompense the slaughtered Mycenian maid earns.
Long live Pacuvius, I pray, even to the full age of Nestor. [814] Let
him own as much as ever Nero plundered,[815] let him pile his gold
mountains high, and let him love no one,[816] and be loved by none.
FOOTNOTES:
[772] _Natali. _ The birthday was sacred to the "Genius" to whom
they offered wine, incense, and flowers: abstaining from "bloody"
sacrifices, "ne die quâ ipsi lucem accepissent aliis demerent," Hor. ,
ii. , Ep. 144. "Floribus et vino Genium memorem brevis avi," Pers. ,
ii. , 3. "Funde merum Genio," Censorin. , de D. N. , 3. Virg. , Ecl. iii. ,
76. Compare Hor. , Od. , IV. , xi. , where he celebrates the birthday of
Mæcenas as "sanctior pœne _natali proprio_. " Cf. Dennis's Etruria, vol.
ii. , p. 65.
[773] _Cæspes. _ Hor. , Od. , III. , viii. , 3, "Positusque carbo in cæspite
vivo. " Tac. , Ann. , i. 18.
[774] _Niveam. _ A white victim was offered to the Dii Superi: a black
one to the Inferi. Cf. Virg. , Æn. , iv. , 60," _Junoni_ ante omnes, Ipsa
tenens dextrâ pateram pulcherrima Dido _Candentis_ vaccæ media inter
cornua fundit. " Tibull. , I. , ii. , 61, "Concidit ad magicos hostia
_pulla_ deos. " Hor. , i. , Sat. viii. , 27," Pullam divellere mordicus
agnam. "
[775] _Gorgone. _ Cf. Vir. , Æn. , viii. , 435, _seq. _; ii. , 616.
[776] _Extensum. _ It was esteemed a very bad omen if the victim did not
go willingly to the sacrifice. It was always led, therefore, with a
long slack rope.
[777] _Matris. _ Cf. Hor. , iv. , Od. ii. , 54, "Me tener solvet vitulus,
relicta matre. "
[778] _Nascenti. _ Hor. , iii. , Od. xiii. , 4, "Cui frons turgida cornibus
Primis et Venerem, et prælia destinat. "
"He flies his mother's teat with playful scorn,
And butts the oak-trees with his growing horn. " Hodgson.
[779] _Hispulla. _ Cf. vi. , 74, "Hispulla tragædo gaudet. " (This was the
name of the aunt of Pliny the Younger's wife, iv. , Ep. 19; viii. , 11. )
"Huge as Hispulla: scarcely to be slain
But by the stoutest servant of the train. " Badham.
[780] _Clitumnus_ was a small river in Umbria flowing into the Tinia,
now "Topino," near Mevania, now "Timia. " The Tinia discharges itself
into the Tiber near Perusia. Pliny (viii. , Ep. 8) gives a beautiful
description of its source, now called "La Vene," in a letter which
is, as Gifford says, a model of elegance and taste. Its waters were
supposed to give a milk-white color to the cattle who drank of them.
Virg. , Georg. , ii. , 146, "Hinc albi, Clitumne, greges, et maxima taurus
victima. " Propert. , II. , xix. , 25, "Quà formosa suo Clitumnus flumina
luco Integit et niveos abluit unda boves. " Sil. , iv. , 547, "Clitumnus
in arvis Candentes gelido perfundit flumine tauros. " Claudian. , vi. ,
Cons. Hon. , 506.
[781] _Ignis. _ Grangæus interprets this of the meteoric fires seen in
the Mediterranean, which, when seen single, were supposed to be fatal.
Plin. , ii. , 37, "Graves cum solitarii venerunt mergentesque navigia, et
si in carinæ ima deciderint, exurentes. " These fires, when _double_,
were hailed as a happy omen, as the stars of Castor and Pollux.
"Fratres Helenæ lucida sidera," Hor. , I. , Od. iii. , 2; cf. xii. , 27.
The French call it "Le feu St. Elme," said to be a corruption of
"Helena. " The Italian sailors call them "St. Peter and St. Nicholas. "
But these only appear at the _close_ of a storm. Cf. Hor. , ii. , _seq. _,
and Blunt's Vestiges, p. 37.
[782] _Poetica tempestas. _
"So loud the thunder, such the whirlwind's sweep,
As when the poet lashes up the deep. " Hodgson.
[783] _Pictores. _ So Hor. , i. , Od. v. , 13, "Me tabulâ sacer votivâ
paries indicat noida suspendisse potenti vestimenta maris Deo. " It
seems to have been the custom for persons in peril of shipwreck not
only to vow pictures of their perilous condition to some deity in
case they escaped, but also to have a painting of it made to carry
about with them to excite commiseration as they begged. Cf. xiv. , 302,
"Naufragus assem dum rogat et pictâ se tempestate tuetur. " Pers. ,
i. , 89, "Quum fractâ te in trabe pictum ex humero portes. " VI. , 32,
"Largire inopi, ne pictus oberret cæruleâ in tabulâ. " Hor. , A. P. , 20,
"Fractis enatat exspes navibus, ære dato qui pingitur. " Phæd. , IV. ,
xxi. , 24. Some think that _this_ picture was _afterward_ dedicated, but
this is an error.
[784] _Castora. _ Ov. , Nux. , 165, "Sic ubi detracta est a te tibi causa
pericli Quod superest tutum, Pontice Castor, habes! " This story of
the beaver is told Plin. , viii. , 30; xxxvii. , 6, and is repeated by
Silius, in a passage copied from Ovid and Juvenal. "Fluminei veluti
deprensus gurgitis undis, Avulsâ parte _inguinibus causâque pericli_,
Enatat intento prædæ fiber avius hoste," xv. , 485. But it is an error.
The sebaceous matter called castoreum (Pers. , v. , 135), is secreted by
two glands near the root of the tail. (Vid. Martyn's Georgics, i. , 59,
"Virosaque Pontus Castorea," and Browne's Vulgar Errors, lib. iii. , 4. )
Pliny, viii. , 3, tells a similar story of the elephant, "Circumventi a
venantibus dentes impactos arbori frangunt, _prædâque se redimunt_. "
[785] _Bæticus. _ The province of Bætica (Andalusia) takes its name from
the Bætis, or "Guadalquivir," the waters of which were said to give a
ruddy golden tinge to the fleeces of the sheep that drank it. Martial
alludes to it repeatedly. "Non est lana mihi mendax, nec mutor aëno. Si
placeant Tyriæ me mea tinxit ovis," xiv. , Ep. 133. Cf. v. , 37; viii. ,
28. "Vellera nativo pallent ubi flava metallo," ix. , 62. "Aurea qui
nitidis vellera tingis aquis," xii. , 99.
