_ Ruperti
suggests
"favor," to avoid the harshness of the
phrase "_labor_ reddit sua dona _labori_.
phrase "_labor_ reddit sua dona _labori_.
Satires
, 15, "Quam Juno fertur terris
magis omnibus unam Posthabitâ coluisse Samo. " Herod. , ii. , 148; iii. ,
60. Paus. , VII. , iv. , 4. Athen. , xiv. , 655; xv. , 672. The famous
temple of Juno was said to have been built by the Leleges, the first
inhabitants of the island: her statue, which was of wood, was the
workmanship of Smilis, a contemporary of Dædalus. Juno is said to have
here given birth to Mars, alone. Ov. , Fast. , v. , 229. Samos was the
native country of the peacock, hence sacred to Juno. Cf. vii. , 32.
[1148] _Togatus. _ The toga, the robe of peace, as the Sagum is that of
war. (So 33, "paganum. ") Cf. Juv. , viii. , 240; x. , 8, "Nocitura toga
nocitura petuntur Militia. " So "Cedant arma togæ. "
[1149] _Pulsetur. _ Cf. iii. , 300.
[1150] _Prætori. _
"Tremble before the Prætor's seat to show
His livid features, swoll'n with many a blow:
His eyes closed up, no sight remaining there,
Left by the honest doctor in despair. " Hodgson.
[1151] _Bardiacus. _ On the _sense_ of this passage all the commentators
are agreed, though they arrive at it by different routes--"Your judge
will be some coarse, brutal, uncivilized soldier; who cares nothing for
the feelings of the toga'd citizen, or for the principles of justice. "
Marius is said to have had a body-guard of slaves, who flocked to
him, chiefly Illyrian; whom he called his "Bardiæi. " Pliny calls
them "Vardæi," and Strabo ἀρδιαῖοι. (Cf. Plut. , in vit. Mar. Plin. ,
iii. , 32. Strabo, vii. , 5. ) Bardiacus (or Bardaicus) may therefore
be taken absolutely, or with judex, or with calceus. If taken alone,
then _cucullus_ is said to be understood, as Mart. , xiv. , 128, "Gallia
Santonico vestit te Bardocucullo. " i. , Ep. liv. , 5; xiv. , 139; IV. ,
iv. , 5. This "cowl" was made of goats' hair. If taken with calceus, it
would imply some such kind of shoe as the "Udo" in Ep. xiv. , 140.
[1152] _Camillo. _ This law was passed by Camillus, while dictator,
during the siege of Veii; to prevent his soldiers absenting themselves
from the camp, on the plea of civil business. It led, of course, in
time to the grossest abuses.
[1153] _Justissima. _
"Oh! righteous court, where generals preside,
And regimental rogues are justly tried! " Hodgson.
[1154] _Mulino. _ Perhaps Stapylton's is the best translation of this
epithet of the declaimer in a hopeless cause. He calls him "a desperate
ass. " Others read "Mutinensi. "
[1155] _Caligas. _ iii. , 247, "Plantâ mox undique magnâ calcor, et in
digito clavus mihi militis hæret" (and 322, "Adjutor gelidos veniam
caligatus in agros"). This was one of the _tender_ recollections
Umbritius had when leaving Rome. The caliga, being a thick sole with no
upper leather, bound to the foot with thongs, and studded underneath
with iron nails, would be a fearful thing to encounter on one's shins
or toes. (Justin says, "Antiochus' soldiers were shod with gold;
treading that under foot for which men fight with iron. ")
[1156] _Pylades. _
"And where's the Pylades, the faithful friend,
That shall thy journey to the camp attend?
Be wise in time! See those tremendous shoes!
Nor ask a service which e'en fools refuse. " Badham.
[1157] _Da testem. _ Cf. iii. , 137.
[1158] _Vidi. _ Cf. vii. , 13, "Quam si dicas sub judice Vidi, quod non
vidisti. "
[1159] _Barba. _ Cf. ad iv. , 103. Barbers were introduced from Sicily to
Rome by P. Ticinius Mæna, A. U. C. 454. Scipio Africanus is said to have
been the first Roman who shaved daily. Cf. Plin. , vii. , 95. Hor. , i. ,
Od. xii. , 41, "Incomptis Curium capillis. " ii. , Od. xv. , 11, "Intonsi
Catonis," Tib. , II. , i. , 84, "Intonsis avis. "
[1160] _Paganum. _ Cf. ad I. , 8. It appears that under the emperors
husbandmen were exempt from military service, in order that the land
might not fall out of cultivation. The "paganus," therefore, is opposed
to the "armatus" here, and by Pliny, Epist. x. , 18, "Et milites et
pagani. " Epist. vii. , 25, "Ut in castris, sic etiam in literis nostris
(sunt), plures culto pagano quos cinctos et armatos, diligentius
scrutatus invenies. " Pagus is derived from the Doric παγά, because
villages were originally formed round springs of water. Cf. Hooker's
Eccl. Pol. , lib. v. , c. 80.
"With much more ease false witnesses you'll find
To swear away the life of some poor hind,
Than get the true ones all they know to own
Against a soldier's fortune and renown. " Hodgson.
[1161] _Puls annua. _ Cf. Dionys. Hal. , ii. , 9, θεούς τε γὰρ ἡγοῦνται
τοὺς τέρμονας, καὶ θύουσιν αὐτοῖς ἔτι τῶν μὲν ἐμψύχων οὐδὲν· οὐ γὰρ
ὅσιον αἰμάττειν τοὺς λίθους· πελάνους δὲ Δήμητρος, καὶ ἄλλας τινὰς
καρπῶν ἀπαρχάς. "For they hold the boundary stones to be gods; and
sacrifice to them nothing that has life, because it would be impious
to stain the stones with blood; but they offer wheaten cakes, and
other first-fruits of their crops. " The divisions of land were
maintained by investing the stones which served as landmarks with a
religious character: the removal of these, therefore, added the crime
of sacrilege to that of dishonesty, and brought down on the heathen
the curse invoked in the purer system of theology, "Cursed be he that
removeth his neighbor's landmark. " Deut. , xxvii. , 17. To these rude
stones, afterward sculptured (like the Hermæ) into the form of the
god Terminus above, the rustics went in solemn procession annually,
and offered the produce of the soil; flowers and fruits, and the
never-failing wine, and "mola salsa. " Numa is said by Plutarch to have
introduced the custom into Italy, and one of his anathemas is still
preserved: "Qui terminum exarasit, ipsus et boves sacrei sunto. " Cf.
Blunt's Vestiges, p. 204. Hom. , Il. , xxi. , 405. Virg. , Æn. , xii. , 896.
[1162] _Cæditio. _ xiii. , 197, "Pœna sævior illis quas et Cæditius
gravis invenit et Rhadamanthus. " But it is very doubtful whether the
same person is intended here, as also whether Fuscus is the same whose
wife's drinking propensities are hinted at, xii. , 45, "dignum sitiente
Pholo, vel conjuge Fusci. " (Pliny has an Epistle to Corn. Fuscus, vii. ,
9. ) He is probably the Aurelius Fuscus to whom Martial wrote, vii. , Ep.
28.
[1163] _Sufflamine. _
"Nor are their wealth and patience worn away
By the slow drag-chain of the law's delay. " Gifford.
[1164] _Testandi vivo patre. _ Under ordinary circumstances the power
of a father over his son was absolute, extending even to life and
death, and terminating only at the decease of one of the parties. Hence
"peculium" is put for the sum of money that a father allows a son, or a
master a slave, to have at his own disposal. But even this permission
was revocable. A soldier, who was sui juris, was allowed to name an
heir in the presence of three or four witnesses, and if he fell, this
"nuda voluntas testatoris" was valid. This privilege was extended by
Julius Cæsar to those who were "in potestate patris. " "Liberam testandi
factionem concessit, D. Julius Cæsar: sed ea concessio temporalis
erat: postea vero D. Titus dedit: post hoc Domitianus: postea Divis
Nerva plenissimam indulgentiam in milites contulit: eamque et Trajanus
secutus est. " "Julius Cæsar granted them the free power of making a
will; but this was only a temporary privilege. It was renewed by Titus
and Domitian. Nerva afterward bestowed on them full powers, which were
continued to them by Trajan. " Vid. Ulpian, 23, § 10. The old Schol. ,
however, says this privilege was confined to the "peculium Castrense;"
but he is probably mistaken.
[1165] _Labor.
_ Ruperti suggests "favor," to avoid the harshness of the
phrase "_labor_ reddit sua dona _labori_. " Browne reads _reddi_.
[1166] _Dona. _ Cf. Sil. , xv. , 254, "Tum merita æquantur _donis_ et
præmia Virtus sanguine parta capit: Phaleris hic pectora fulget: Hic
torque aurato circumdat bellica colla. "
[1167] _Phaleris. _ Cf. ad xi. , 103, "Ut phaleris gauderet equus. "
Siccius Dentatus is said to have had 25 phaleræ, 83 torques, 18 hastæ
puræ, 160 bracelets, 14 civic, 8 golden, 3 mural, and 1 obsidional
crown. Plin. , VII. , xxviii. , 9; xxxiii. , 2.
Here the Satire terminates abruptly. The conclusion is too tame to
be such as Juvenal would have left it, even were the whole subject
thoroughly worked up. It is probably an unfinished draught. The
commentators are nearly equally balanced as to its being the work of
Juvenal or not; but one or two of the touches are too masterly to be by
any other hand.
PERSIUS.
PROLOGUE.
I have neither steeped[1168] my lips in the fountain of
the Horse;[1169] nor do I remember to have dreamt on the
double-peaked[1170] Parnassus, that so I might on a sudden come forth a
poet. The nymphs of Helicon, and pale Pirene,[1171] I resign to those
around whose statues[1172] the clinging ivy twines. [1173] I myself,
half a clown,[1174] bring[1175] my verses as a contribution to the
inspired effusions of the poets.
Who made[1176] the parrot[1177] so ready with his salutation, and
taught magpies to emulate our words? --That which is the master of all
art,[1178] the bounteous giver of genius--the belly: that artist that
trains them to copy sounds that nature has denied[1179] them. But if
the hope of deceitful money shall have shone forth, you may believe
that ravens turned poets, and magpies poetesses, give vent to strains
of Pegaseian nectar. [1180]
FOOTNOTES:
[1168] _Prolui. _ Proluere, "to dip the lips," properly applied to
cattle. So "procumbere," Sulp. , 17. Cf. Stat. Sylv. , V. , iii. , 121,
"Risere sorores Aonides, pueroque chelyn submisit et ora imbuit amne
sacro jam tum tibi blandus Apollo. "
[1169] _Fonte Caballino. _ Caballus is a term of contempt for a horse,
implying "a gelding, drudge, or beast of burden," nearly equivalent
to Cantherius. Cf. Lucil. , ii. , fr. xi. (x. ), "Succussatoris tetri
tardique Caballi. " Hor. , i. , Sat. vi. , 59, "Me Satureiano vectari rura
caballo. " Sen. , Ep. , 87, "Catonem uno caballo esse contentum. " So Juv. ,
x. , 60, "Immeritis franguntur crura caballis. " Juvenal also applies
the term to Pegasus: "Ad quam Gorgonei delapsa est pinna caballi,"
iii. , 118. Pegasus sprang from the blood of Medusa when beheaded by
Perseus. Ov. , Met, iv. , 785, "Eripuisse caput collo: pennisque fugacem
Pegason et fratrem matris de sanguine natos. " The fountain Hippocrene,
ἱππουκρήνη, sprang up from the stroke of his hoof when he lighted on
Mount Helicon. Ov. , Fast. , iii. , 456, "Cum levis Aonias ungula fodit
aquas. " Hes. , Theog. , 2-6. Hesych. , v. ἱππουκρήνη. Paus. , Bœot. , 31.
Near it was the fountain of Aganippe, and these two springs supplied
the rivers Olmius and Permissus, the favorite haunts of the Muses.
Hesiod, _u. s. _ Hence those who drank of these were fabled to become
poets forthwith. Mosch. , Id. , iii. , 77, ἀμφότεροι παγαῖς πεφιλαμένοι· ὃς
μεν ἔπινε Παγασίδος κράνας ὁ δὲ πῶμ' ἔχε τᾶς Ἀρεθοίσας.
[1170] _Bicipiti. _ Parnassus is connected toward the southeast with
Helicon and the Bœotian ridges. It is the highest mountain in Central
Greece, and is covered with snow during the greater portion of the
year. The Castalian spring is fed by these perpetual snows, and pours
down the chasm between the two summits. These are two lofty rocks
rising perpendicularly from Delphi, and obtained for the mountain the
epithet δικόρυφον. Eur. , Phœn. , 234. They were anciently known by the
names of Hyampeia and Naupleia, Herod. , viii. , 39, but sometimes the
name Phædriades was applied to them in common. The name of Tithorea
was also applied to one of them, as well as to the town of Neon in its
neighborhood. Herod. , viii. , 32. These heights were sacred to Bacchus
and the Muses, and those who slept in their neighborhood were supposed
to receive inspiration from them. Cf. Propert. , III. , ii. , 1, "Visus
eram molli recubans Heliconis in umbrâ, Bellerophontei quà fluit humor
equi; Reges, Alba, tuos et regum facta tuorum tantum operis nervis
hiscere posse meis. " Cf. Virg. , Æn. , vii. , 86. Ov. , Heroid. , xv. , 156,
_seq. _
[1171] _Pirenen. _ The fountain of Pirene was in the middle of the forum
of Corinth. Ov. , Met. , ii. , 240, "Ephyre Pirenidas undas. " It took its
name from the nymph so called, who dissolved into tears at the death of
her daughter Cenchrea, accidentally killed by Diana. The water was said
to have the property of tempering the Corinthian brass, when plunged
red-hot into the stream. Paus. , ii. , 3. Near the source Bellerophon
is said to have seized Pegasus, hence called the Pirenæan steed by
Euripides. Electr. , 475. Cf. Pind. , Olymp. , xiii. , 85, 120. Stat.
Theb. , iv. , 60, "Cenchreæque manus, vatûm qui conscius amnis Gorgoneo
percussus equo. " Ov. , Pont. , I. , iii. , 75. The _Latin_ poets alone make
this spring sacred to the Muses. "Pallidam" may refer either to the
legend of its origin, or to the wan faces of the votaries of the Muses.
[1172] _Imagines. _ Cf. Juv. , vii. , 29, "Qui facis in parvâ sublimia
carmina cellâ ut dignus venias hederis et imagine macrâ. " Poets were
crowned with _ivy_ as well as _bay_. "Doctarum hederæ præmia frontium. "
Hor. , i. , Od. i. , 29. The Muses being the companions of Bacchus as
well as of Apollo. Ov. , A. Am. , iii. , 411. Mart. , viii. , Ep. 82. The
busts of poets and other eminent literary men were used to adorn public
libraries, especially the one in the temple of Palatine Apollo.
[1173] _Lambunt_, properly said of a dog's tongue, then of flame. Cf.
Virg. , Æn. , ii. , 684, "Tractuque innoxia molli Lambere flamma comas, et
circum tempora pasci. " So the ivy, climbing and clinging, seems to lick
with its forked tongue the objects whose form it closely follows.
[1174] _Semipaganus. _ Paganus is opposed to miles. Juv. , xvi. , 33.
Plin. , x. , Ep. xviii. Here it means, "not wholly undisciplined in the
warfare of letters. " So Plin. , vii. , Ep. 25, "Sunt enim ut in castris,
sic etiam in litteris nostris plures cultu pagano, quos cinctos et
armatos, et quidem, ardentissimo ingenio, diligentius scrutatus
invenies. "
[1175] _Affero. _ εἰς μέσον φέρω. Casaubon.
[1176] _Quis expedivit. _ To preserve his incognito, Persius in this 2d
part of the Prologue represents himself as driven by poverty, though
but unprepared, to write for his bread. So Horace, ii. , Ep. xi. , 50,
"Decisis humilem pennis inopemque paterni et Laris et fundi paupertas
impulit audax ut versus facerem. "
[1177] _Psittaco.
magis omnibus unam Posthabitâ coluisse Samo. " Herod. , ii. , 148; iii. ,
60. Paus. , VII. , iv. , 4. Athen. , xiv. , 655; xv. , 672. The famous
temple of Juno was said to have been built by the Leleges, the first
inhabitants of the island: her statue, which was of wood, was the
workmanship of Smilis, a contemporary of Dædalus. Juno is said to have
here given birth to Mars, alone. Ov. , Fast. , v. , 229. Samos was the
native country of the peacock, hence sacred to Juno. Cf. vii. , 32.
[1148] _Togatus. _ The toga, the robe of peace, as the Sagum is that of
war. (So 33, "paganum. ") Cf. Juv. , viii. , 240; x. , 8, "Nocitura toga
nocitura petuntur Militia. " So "Cedant arma togæ. "
[1149] _Pulsetur. _ Cf. iii. , 300.
[1150] _Prætori. _
"Tremble before the Prætor's seat to show
His livid features, swoll'n with many a blow:
His eyes closed up, no sight remaining there,
Left by the honest doctor in despair. " Hodgson.
[1151] _Bardiacus. _ On the _sense_ of this passage all the commentators
are agreed, though they arrive at it by different routes--"Your judge
will be some coarse, brutal, uncivilized soldier; who cares nothing for
the feelings of the toga'd citizen, or for the principles of justice. "
Marius is said to have had a body-guard of slaves, who flocked to
him, chiefly Illyrian; whom he called his "Bardiæi. " Pliny calls
them "Vardæi," and Strabo ἀρδιαῖοι. (Cf. Plut. , in vit. Mar. Plin. ,
iii. , 32. Strabo, vii. , 5. ) Bardiacus (or Bardaicus) may therefore
be taken absolutely, or with judex, or with calceus. If taken alone,
then _cucullus_ is said to be understood, as Mart. , xiv. , 128, "Gallia
Santonico vestit te Bardocucullo. " i. , Ep. liv. , 5; xiv. , 139; IV. ,
iv. , 5. This "cowl" was made of goats' hair. If taken with calceus, it
would imply some such kind of shoe as the "Udo" in Ep. xiv. , 140.
[1152] _Camillo. _ This law was passed by Camillus, while dictator,
during the siege of Veii; to prevent his soldiers absenting themselves
from the camp, on the plea of civil business. It led, of course, in
time to the grossest abuses.
[1153] _Justissima. _
"Oh! righteous court, where generals preside,
And regimental rogues are justly tried! " Hodgson.
[1154] _Mulino. _ Perhaps Stapylton's is the best translation of this
epithet of the declaimer in a hopeless cause. He calls him "a desperate
ass. " Others read "Mutinensi. "
[1155] _Caligas. _ iii. , 247, "Plantâ mox undique magnâ calcor, et in
digito clavus mihi militis hæret" (and 322, "Adjutor gelidos veniam
caligatus in agros"). This was one of the _tender_ recollections
Umbritius had when leaving Rome. The caliga, being a thick sole with no
upper leather, bound to the foot with thongs, and studded underneath
with iron nails, would be a fearful thing to encounter on one's shins
or toes. (Justin says, "Antiochus' soldiers were shod with gold;
treading that under foot for which men fight with iron. ")
[1156] _Pylades. _
"And where's the Pylades, the faithful friend,
That shall thy journey to the camp attend?
Be wise in time! See those tremendous shoes!
Nor ask a service which e'en fools refuse. " Badham.
[1157] _Da testem. _ Cf. iii. , 137.
[1158] _Vidi. _ Cf. vii. , 13, "Quam si dicas sub judice Vidi, quod non
vidisti. "
[1159] _Barba. _ Cf. ad iv. , 103. Barbers were introduced from Sicily to
Rome by P. Ticinius Mæna, A. U. C. 454. Scipio Africanus is said to have
been the first Roman who shaved daily. Cf. Plin. , vii. , 95. Hor. , i. ,
Od. xii. , 41, "Incomptis Curium capillis. " ii. , Od. xv. , 11, "Intonsi
Catonis," Tib. , II. , i. , 84, "Intonsis avis. "
[1160] _Paganum. _ Cf. ad I. , 8. It appears that under the emperors
husbandmen were exempt from military service, in order that the land
might not fall out of cultivation. The "paganus," therefore, is opposed
to the "armatus" here, and by Pliny, Epist. x. , 18, "Et milites et
pagani. " Epist. vii. , 25, "Ut in castris, sic etiam in literis nostris
(sunt), plures culto pagano quos cinctos et armatos, diligentius
scrutatus invenies. " Pagus is derived from the Doric παγά, because
villages were originally formed round springs of water. Cf. Hooker's
Eccl. Pol. , lib. v. , c. 80.
"With much more ease false witnesses you'll find
To swear away the life of some poor hind,
Than get the true ones all they know to own
Against a soldier's fortune and renown. " Hodgson.
[1161] _Puls annua. _ Cf. Dionys. Hal. , ii. , 9, θεούς τε γὰρ ἡγοῦνται
τοὺς τέρμονας, καὶ θύουσιν αὐτοῖς ἔτι τῶν μὲν ἐμψύχων οὐδὲν· οὐ γὰρ
ὅσιον αἰμάττειν τοὺς λίθους· πελάνους δὲ Δήμητρος, καὶ ἄλλας τινὰς
καρπῶν ἀπαρχάς. "For they hold the boundary stones to be gods; and
sacrifice to them nothing that has life, because it would be impious
to stain the stones with blood; but they offer wheaten cakes, and
other first-fruits of their crops. " The divisions of land were
maintained by investing the stones which served as landmarks with a
religious character: the removal of these, therefore, added the crime
of sacrilege to that of dishonesty, and brought down on the heathen
the curse invoked in the purer system of theology, "Cursed be he that
removeth his neighbor's landmark. " Deut. , xxvii. , 17. To these rude
stones, afterward sculptured (like the Hermæ) into the form of the
god Terminus above, the rustics went in solemn procession annually,
and offered the produce of the soil; flowers and fruits, and the
never-failing wine, and "mola salsa. " Numa is said by Plutarch to have
introduced the custom into Italy, and one of his anathemas is still
preserved: "Qui terminum exarasit, ipsus et boves sacrei sunto. " Cf.
Blunt's Vestiges, p. 204. Hom. , Il. , xxi. , 405. Virg. , Æn. , xii. , 896.
[1162] _Cæditio. _ xiii. , 197, "Pœna sævior illis quas et Cæditius
gravis invenit et Rhadamanthus. " But it is very doubtful whether the
same person is intended here, as also whether Fuscus is the same whose
wife's drinking propensities are hinted at, xii. , 45, "dignum sitiente
Pholo, vel conjuge Fusci. " (Pliny has an Epistle to Corn. Fuscus, vii. ,
9. ) He is probably the Aurelius Fuscus to whom Martial wrote, vii. , Ep.
28.
[1163] _Sufflamine. _
"Nor are their wealth and patience worn away
By the slow drag-chain of the law's delay. " Gifford.
[1164] _Testandi vivo patre. _ Under ordinary circumstances the power
of a father over his son was absolute, extending even to life and
death, and terminating only at the decease of one of the parties. Hence
"peculium" is put for the sum of money that a father allows a son, or a
master a slave, to have at his own disposal. But even this permission
was revocable. A soldier, who was sui juris, was allowed to name an
heir in the presence of three or four witnesses, and if he fell, this
"nuda voluntas testatoris" was valid. This privilege was extended by
Julius Cæsar to those who were "in potestate patris. " "Liberam testandi
factionem concessit, D. Julius Cæsar: sed ea concessio temporalis
erat: postea vero D. Titus dedit: post hoc Domitianus: postea Divis
Nerva plenissimam indulgentiam in milites contulit: eamque et Trajanus
secutus est. " "Julius Cæsar granted them the free power of making a
will; but this was only a temporary privilege. It was renewed by Titus
and Domitian. Nerva afterward bestowed on them full powers, which were
continued to them by Trajan. " Vid. Ulpian, 23, § 10. The old Schol. ,
however, says this privilege was confined to the "peculium Castrense;"
but he is probably mistaken.
[1165] _Labor.
_ Ruperti suggests "favor," to avoid the harshness of the
phrase "_labor_ reddit sua dona _labori_. " Browne reads _reddi_.
[1166] _Dona. _ Cf. Sil. , xv. , 254, "Tum merita æquantur _donis_ et
præmia Virtus sanguine parta capit: Phaleris hic pectora fulget: Hic
torque aurato circumdat bellica colla. "
[1167] _Phaleris. _ Cf. ad xi. , 103, "Ut phaleris gauderet equus. "
Siccius Dentatus is said to have had 25 phaleræ, 83 torques, 18 hastæ
puræ, 160 bracelets, 14 civic, 8 golden, 3 mural, and 1 obsidional
crown. Plin. , VII. , xxviii. , 9; xxxiii. , 2.
Here the Satire terminates abruptly. The conclusion is too tame to
be such as Juvenal would have left it, even were the whole subject
thoroughly worked up. It is probably an unfinished draught. The
commentators are nearly equally balanced as to its being the work of
Juvenal or not; but one or two of the touches are too masterly to be by
any other hand.
PERSIUS.
PROLOGUE.
I have neither steeped[1168] my lips in the fountain of
the Horse;[1169] nor do I remember to have dreamt on the
double-peaked[1170] Parnassus, that so I might on a sudden come forth a
poet. The nymphs of Helicon, and pale Pirene,[1171] I resign to those
around whose statues[1172] the clinging ivy twines. [1173] I myself,
half a clown,[1174] bring[1175] my verses as a contribution to the
inspired effusions of the poets.
Who made[1176] the parrot[1177] so ready with his salutation, and
taught magpies to emulate our words? --That which is the master of all
art,[1178] the bounteous giver of genius--the belly: that artist that
trains them to copy sounds that nature has denied[1179] them. But if
the hope of deceitful money shall have shone forth, you may believe
that ravens turned poets, and magpies poetesses, give vent to strains
of Pegaseian nectar. [1180]
FOOTNOTES:
[1168] _Prolui. _ Proluere, "to dip the lips," properly applied to
cattle. So "procumbere," Sulp. , 17. Cf. Stat. Sylv. , V. , iii. , 121,
"Risere sorores Aonides, pueroque chelyn submisit et ora imbuit amne
sacro jam tum tibi blandus Apollo. "
[1169] _Fonte Caballino. _ Caballus is a term of contempt for a horse,
implying "a gelding, drudge, or beast of burden," nearly equivalent
to Cantherius. Cf. Lucil. , ii. , fr. xi. (x. ), "Succussatoris tetri
tardique Caballi. " Hor. , i. , Sat. vi. , 59, "Me Satureiano vectari rura
caballo. " Sen. , Ep. , 87, "Catonem uno caballo esse contentum. " So Juv. ,
x. , 60, "Immeritis franguntur crura caballis. " Juvenal also applies
the term to Pegasus: "Ad quam Gorgonei delapsa est pinna caballi,"
iii. , 118. Pegasus sprang from the blood of Medusa when beheaded by
Perseus. Ov. , Met, iv. , 785, "Eripuisse caput collo: pennisque fugacem
Pegason et fratrem matris de sanguine natos. " The fountain Hippocrene,
ἱππουκρήνη, sprang up from the stroke of his hoof when he lighted on
Mount Helicon. Ov. , Fast. , iii. , 456, "Cum levis Aonias ungula fodit
aquas. " Hes. , Theog. , 2-6. Hesych. , v. ἱππουκρήνη. Paus. , Bœot. , 31.
Near it was the fountain of Aganippe, and these two springs supplied
the rivers Olmius and Permissus, the favorite haunts of the Muses.
Hesiod, _u. s. _ Hence those who drank of these were fabled to become
poets forthwith. Mosch. , Id. , iii. , 77, ἀμφότεροι παγαῖς πεφιλαμένοι· ὃς
μεν ἔπινε Παγασίδος κράνας ὁ δὲ πῶμ' ἔχε τᾶς Ἀρεθοίσας.
[1170] _Bicipiti. _ Parnassus is connected toward the southeast with
Helicon and the Bœotian ridges. It is the highest mountain in Central
Greece, and is covered with snow during the greater portion of the
year. The Castalian spring is fed by these perpetual snows, and pours
down the chasm between the two summits. These are two lofty rocks
rising perpendicularly from Delphi, and obtained for the mountain the
epithet δικόρυφον. Eur. , Phœn. , 234. They were anciently known by the
names of Hyampeia and Naupleia, Herod. , viii. , 39, but sometimes the
name Phædriades was applied to them in common. The name of Tithorea
was also applied to one of them, as well as to the town of Neon in its
neighborhood. Herod. , viii. , 32. These heights were sacred to Bacchus
and the Muses, and those who slept in their neighborhood were supposed
to receive inspiration from them. Cf. Propert. , III. , ii. , 1, "Visus
eram molli recubans Heliconis in umbrâ, Bellerophontei quà fluit humor
equi; Reges, Alba, tuos et regum facta tuorum tantum operis nervis
hiscere posse meis. " Cf. Virg. , Æn. , vii. , 86. Ov. , Heroid. , xv. , 156,
_seq. _
[1171] _Pirenen. _ The fountain of Pirene was in the middle of the forum
of Corinth. Ov. , Met. , ii. , 240, "Ephyre Pirenidas undas. " It took its
name from the nymph so called, who dissolved into tears at the death of
her daughter Cenchrea, accidentally killed by Diana. The water was said
to have the property of tempering the Corinthian brass, when plunged
red-hot into the stream. Paus. , ii. , 3. Near the source Bellerophon
is said to have seized Pegasus, hence called the Pirenæan steed by
Euripides. Electr. , 475. Cf. Pind. , Olymp. , xiii. , 85, 120. Stat.
Theb. , iv. , 60, "Cenchreæque manus, vatûm qui conscius amnis Gorgoneo
percussus equo. " Ov. , Pont. , I. , iii. , 75. The _Latin_ poets alone make
this spring sacred to the Muses. "Pallidam" may refer either to the
legend of its origin, or to the wan faces of the votaries of the Muses.
[1172] _Imagines. _ Cf. Juv. , vii. , 29, "Qui facis in parvâ sublimia
carmina cellâ ut dignus venias hederis et imagine macrâ. " Poets were
crowned with _ivy_ as well as _bay_. "Doctarum hederæ præmia frontium. "
Hor. , i. , Od. i. , 29. The Muses being the companions of Bacchus as
well as of Apollo. Ov. , A. Am. , iii. , 411. Mart. , viii. , Ep. 82. The
busts of poets and other eminent literary men were used to adorn public
libraries, especially the one in the temple of Palatine Apollo.
[1173] _Lambunt_, properly said of a dog's tongue, then of flame. Cf.
Virg. , Æn. , ii. , 684, "Tractuque innoxia molli Lambere flamma comas, et
circum tempora pasci. " So the ivy, climbing and clinging, seems to lick
with its forked tongue the objects whose form it closely follows.
[1174] _Semipaganus. _ Paganus is opposed to miles. Juv. , xvi. , 33.
Plin. , x. , Ep. xviii. Here it means, "not wholly undisciplined in the
warfare of letters. " So Plin. , vii. , Ep. 25, "Sunt enim ut in castris,
sic etiam in litteris nostris plures cultu pagano, quos cinctos et
armatos, et quidem, ardentissimo ingenio, diligentius scrutatus
invenies. "
[1175] _Affero. _ εἰς μέσον φέρω. Casaubon.
[1176] _Quis expedivit. _ To preserve his incognito, Persius in this 2d
part of the Prologue represents himself as driven by poverty, though
but unprepared, to write for his bread. So Horace, ii. , Ep. xi. , 50,
"Decisis humilem pennis inopemque paterni et Laris et fundi paupertas
impulit audax ut versus facerem. "
[1177] _Psittaco.
