Porticus: exsistunt, qui promittunt hecatomben, 105 Partem aliquam belli, et euntem in proelia turrim. Pacuvium, quin illud ebur ducatur ad aras, 101-104.] "People come forward who vow their hecatomb;hecatomb of oxen (ἑκατὸν βούς), that is, since elephants are not to be had. They would vow them if they were." 102-104. quatenus-concipitur] The construction is "Quatenus hic non sunt elephanti, nec venales, nec Latio," &c. Inasmuch as there are no elephants to be had here, neither imported for sale, nor indigenous.' Instead of the adjective which should be coupled with "venales by the second "nec," the sentence passes (in 1. 103. 104) into the finite construction," nec-concipitur." If 1. 102 would have scanned without it, the first "nec" would probably never have been inserted. 104-107. sed privato] Elephants were imported by the emperors for the procession of the Ludi Magni; see on Sat. x 36-46. They were strictly preserved in the woods near Ardea; hence " Rutulis; Turni -agro," 1. 105. See Virg. Aen. vii. 409-413, "Dea tollitur alis Audacis Rutuli ad muros locus Ardea quondam Dictus avis; et nunc magnum manet Ardea nomen, Sed Fortuna fuit. Tectis hic Tur 111 115 nus in altis Jam mediam nigra carpebat norte quietem." 104. furva gente] i. e. from the Moors. Cf. Sat. xi. 125. 107. siquidem] "inasmuch as. Thus giving the reason for their being "Caesaris armentum.' 108. regi Molosso] i. e. Pyrrhus. His elephants, which were the first the Romans had seen, decided the battle of Heraclea, B.C. 280, against the Romans. Molosso is for Epirotae, as Molossia was a province of Epirus. 110. aliquam] "very considerable;" a frequent meaning of the word. 6 111, 112. Novium-Histrum Pacuvium] Notorious captatores' of the day. See note on Sat. iv. 18— 22. 112. ebur] for elephas.' 113. victima sacra] In apposition with "ebur." 114. tantis-deis] i. e. the Lares Gallitae. ib. horum] scil. Larium. Used for Galiita herself. 115. alter] Pacuvius. ib. concedas If the law would let him. "Mactare," sub. " servorum corpora," from 1. 116. N 120 De grege servorum magna et pulcerrima quaeque 118-120.] The well-known story of Iphigenia's sacrifice by Agamemnon, and the substitution of the stag. See Eurip. Iph. Aul. 1540 1589. 120. tragicae-cervae] "the stag of tragedy." Referring to the above play. In the Iph. in Taur. 1. 28, Iphigenia says, ἀλλ ̓ ἐξέκλεψεν ἔλαφον ἀντιδουσά μου "Αρτεμις 'Axaιois. Hence "furtiva piacula" here. 121. meum civem] Pacuvius. 121, 122. nec- -rates] Referring still to the story of Iphigenia. "The object of Agamemnon's sacrifice (to procure the liberation of the detained fleet, στόλον ̓Αργείων, SATIRA XIII. A BAD WORLD. Calvinus is sur prised at being cheated; as if it were not day oc 5 Exemplo quodcumque mało committitur, ipsi Displicet auctori. Prima est haec ultio, quod se Judice nemo nocens absolvitur, improba quamvis Gratia fallacem Praetoris vicerit urnam. Quid sentire putas omnes, Calvine, recenti an every- De scelere et fidei violatae crimine? Sed nec Tam tenuis census tibi contigit, ut mediocris Jacturae te mergat onus; nec rara videmus, Quae pateris. Casus multis hic cognitus, ac jam Tritus, et e medio Fortunae ductus acervo. Ponamus nimios gemitus: flagrantior aequo Non debet dolor esse viri, nec vulnere major. Tu quamvis levium minimam exiguamque malo currence. rum 10 Particulam vix ferre potes, spumantibus ardens 20 Sexaginta annos, Fonteio Consule natus? Nona aetas agitur, pejoraque saecula ferri 22. jactare] " toss ; i. e. try to shake off, like a heifer or young horse. 25. pyxide] poison." Lit. the case in which it is kept. 66 27. Thebarum] Of course here the Ońßη ÉπτάπνÀos (Hom. Il. iv. 406) of Boeotia; not the Aegyptian Onẞn EKATÓμTUXOS (Hom. II. ix. 383). 28. nona aetas Mr. Macleane is probably right in referring this to the division of the "Magnus Annus," by the Etruscans and Romans, into ten periods, of which the tenth was to witness the restoration of the first or golden age. See Niebuhr, Rom. Hist. i. 137 seqq. The ninth would, therefore, naturally be the period of greatest declension from it. The ordinary classification by metals cannot be referred to, as these are limited to four,-gold, silver, brass, and iron. An ingenious explanation has been given, by which 99 30 the " nona aetas is referred to Solon's division of the life of man into nine periods of seven years each. See Sol. Ep. 1, Brunck's Analecta, p. 64. The ninth period would therefore, of course, be one of decadence: TL μὲν δύναται μαλακώτερα δ' αὑτοῦ. And the rendering would here be, "We are now in the ninth period (i. e. decadence) of the world's life; an age debased below that of iron," &c.: the "aetas and "saecula" being thus independent images, the latter referring to the metallic classification. But the account first given is probably the true one. 29. quorum] Scil. "saeculorum.” 32. Faesidium] Some advocate of note. ib. agentem] sub. "causas." 32, 33. vocalis-sportula] i. e. his clients, who applaud him for the sake of the "sportula" he distributes. Cf. Sat. x. 46; and see note on Sat. i. 95. 33. senior bulla dignissime] i. e. "you gray-headed child." See Sat. v. 164 and note. 34. Veneres]"charms." There was some honesty in the golden age; 36 41 Quem tua simplicitas risum vulgo moveat, quum ton. 45 50 Nec rota, nec Furiae, nec saxum, aut vulturis atri 37. rubenti] With the blood of the victims. 38-59.] They lived thus (i. e. with the honesty you would exact now-a-days) in the golden age." Cf. Sat. vi. init. 39, 40. sumeret-fugiens] See Virg. Aen. viii. 319-325, "Primus ab aethereo venit Saturnus Olympo, Arma Jovis fugiens, et regnis exul ademtis... Aurea, quae perhibent, illo sub rege fuerunt Saecula." 40. virguncula] "a little girl." 43. puer Iliucus] Ganymede. "Herculis uxor:" Hebe. "Nor 44, 45. et jam-taberna] any Vulcan, with nectar just drained, wiping his arms sooty with the Liparaean workshop." The description of Vulcan washing after his work is given in Homer, Il. xviii. 414, 415, where Thetis comes to visit him: Σπόγγῳ δ ̓ ἀμφὶ πρόσωπα καὶ ἄμφω χεῖρ ̓ ἀπομόργνυ, Αυχένα τε στιβαρὸν καὶ στήθεα λαχνήEUTα. Nothing is said, indeed, about the cup of nectar, but Juvenal may have drawn on his own imagination for this; or the passage may be a parody on some contemporary poem. (Vulcan was a favourite subject. See Sat. i. 8, 9.) The lines have been thought to refer to the passage II. i. 597-600, where Vulcan hands round the nectar to avert an impending quarrel. This meaning, however, can hardly be got out of "siccato nectare." 45. Liparaea taberna] Sat. i. 8, 9, and note. 46. sibi quisque] "separately." Not at a common table, as afterwards. 47. talis] sub. "erat." 49. profundi] Probably "the sea." 50. Sicula conjuge] See Sat. x. 112 and note. "Sicula :" because Sicily was given to Proserpine by Jupiter at her wedding. See Pind. Nem. i. 18 seqq., vάow, Tàv 'Оλúμπου δεσπότας Ζεὺς ἔδωκεν Φερσεφόνα. 51. rota-saxum-vulturis] The well-known legends of Ixion, Sisyphus, and Tityus. For " Furiae " see Aen. vi. 605, "Furiarum maxima juxta Accubat." Scil. near Ixion and others. |