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to be

Vocantur

done with Ergo in concilium proceres, quos oderat ille; it? the In quorum facie miserae magnaeque sedebat council Pallor amicitiae. Primus, clamante Liburno, 75 Currite! jam sedit! rapta properabat abolla Pegasus, adtonitae positus modo villicus Urbi: (Anne aliud tunc Praefecti ?) quorum optimus hic

sum

moned. Its

members,

atque
Interpres legum sanctissimus, omnia quamquam
Temporibus diris tractanda putabat inermi
Justitia. Venit et Crispi jucunda senectus,
Cujus erant mores, qualis facundia, mite
Ingenium. Maria ac terras populosque regenti
Quis comes utilior, si clade et peste sub illa
Saevitiam damnare et honestum ferre liceret
Consilium? Sed quid violentius aure tyranni,
Cum quo de pluviis aut aestibus aut nimboso
Vere loquuturi fatum pendebat amici ?
Ille igitur numquam direxit brachia contra
Torrentem; nec civis erat, qui libera posset
Verba animi proferre, et vitam impendere vero.
Sic multas hyemes atque octogesima vidit

"official." Cf. Sat. x. 100. Here,
of course, it means the emperor.
75. Liburno] "slave." Cf. Sat.
iii. 240.

76. sedit] sub. "princeps."
77. Pegasus] An eminent jurist
made 'praefectus urbi' by Domitian.
The 'praefectus urbi' was the 'cus-
tos urbis of the regal period and
early republic;-the king's (and
afterwards the consul's) substitute,
for the discharge of their functions,
within the city, when absent. When
the 'praetor urbanus' (third consul)
was instituted, his office, which was
identical with that of the custos
urbis,' absorbed the latter. Its sha-
dow, however, was still retained un-
der the title of praefectus urbi,' and
for the purpose only of celebrating
the Feriae Latinae.' Under the
empire, the 'praefectus urbi' again
recovered the functions of the an-
cient 'custos,' the office of 'praetor

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urbanus' being absorbed into it in turn.

77, 78.] "Recently appointed as bailiff to the scared city. For were the 'praefecti (urbi) any thing else then than bailiffs of the emperor ?"

'Adtonitae,' 66 stuporstruck;" i. e. by Domitian's tyranny. Unless it means, "surprised at so good an appointment."

78-81] Good as Pegasus was, and bad as the times were, he was fain to acquiesce in the disarming of Justice; i. e. in the submission of law and constitutional right to the ruler's will. The statue of Justice had always a sword in one hand.

81. Crispi] Crispus Vibius, a distinguished orator of this period. 82, 83.] "Whose character was gentle like his oratory." 'Mite,' sub. "cujus erat."

87, 88. pluviis-vere] The most trivial topics.

96

100

Solstitia, his armis illa quoque tutus in aula.
Proximus ejusdem properabat Acilius aevi,
Cum juvene indigno quem mors tam saeva maneret
Et Domini gladiis tam festinata. Sed olim
Prodigio par est in nobilitate senectus.
Unde fit, ut malim fraterculus esse Gigantis.
Profuit ergo nihil misero, quod cominus ursos
Figebat Numidas, Albana nudus arena
Venator. Quis enim jam non intelligat artes
Patricias? quis priscum illud miretur acumen,
Brute, tuum? Facile est barbato imponere regi.
Nec melior vultu, quamvis ignobilis, ibat
Rubrius, offensae veteris reus atque tacendae, 105
Et tamen improbior satiram scribente cinaedo.
Montani quoque venter adest, abdomine tardus,
Et matutino sudans Crispinus amomo,

Quantum vix redolent duo funera; saevior illo

93. illa-in aula] Even in that having been first introduced at Rome

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99-101.] The younger Glabrio had done this, that Domitian might not fear his taking any part in politics. Albana arena :' at the emperor's private amphitheatre, in his Alban palace. See note on 1. 60, 61.

100. Numidas] It is said that there are no bears in Africa. Juvenal, however, follows Virgil (Aen. v. 37).

101-103.] The well-known story of Brutus's disguise under Tarquin, Livy i. 56.

103. barbato-regi] "an old-world monarch." Lit. "bearded," shaving

by Ticinius Maena, B.C. 300.
104. melior] "happier."
ib. quamvis ignob.] "though pro-
tected by his obscurity."

105. Rubrius] Gallus Rubrius. He is said to have seduced Domitian's niece, Julia; see note on Sat. ii. 31. Hence the offensae veteris.'

106.] "And yet more unblushing in his censure of others than even our imperial satirist of his own vices." Nero is meant. He had published a satire on Quintianus for effeminacies of which the emperor was himself equally guilty.

107. Montani] Curtius Montanus. He is the Curtius of Sat. xi. 34,

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110

Pompeius tenui jugulos aperire susurro;
Et, qui vulturibus servabat viscera Dacis,
Fuscus, marmorea meditatus proelia villa;
Et cum mortifero prudens Veiento Catullo,
Qui numquam visae flagrabat amore puellae
(Grande et conspicuum nostro quoque tempore
monstrum),—

115

120

Caecus adulator dirusque a ponte satelles,
Dignus Aricinos qui mendicaret ad axes,
Blandaque devexae jactaret basia rhedae.
Nemo magis rhombum stupuit; nam plurima dixit
In laevam conversus ; at illi dextra jacebat
Belua. Sic pugnas Cilicis laudabat, et ictus,
Et pegma, et pueros inde ad velaria raptos.
Non cedit Veiento, sed, ut fanaticus, oestro
Percussus, Bellona, tuo, divinat et, Ingens
Omen habes, inquit, magni clarique triumphi: 125
Regem aliquem capies, aut de temone Britanno
Excidet Arviragus: peregrina est belua: cernis

109, 110. Pompeius] Probably hill. Aricia lay in a deep valley, Pomp. Rufus, a noted informer of the day.

cus.

112. Fuscus] i. e. Cornelius FusHe had been an active officer under Vespasian, but subsequently retired into private life. It would seem however, from 1. 112, that he still retained his military tastes. In the Dacian war he was despatched by Domitian against Decebalus, but was surprised by the latter, his army routed, and himself slain. Hence "vulturibus Dacis," 1. 111.

113. Veiento] See note on Sat. iii. 185.

ib. Catullo] Another noted informer; hence' mortifero.'

114. numquam visae] He was

blind.

116. dirusque a ponte satelles] "a hateful, cringing satellite." The idea a ponte' is amplified in the two following lines. Mendicants took their stand on bridges (see Sat. v. 8), or frequented roads, such as that leading to Aricia.

118. devexae] Descending the

over which the Via Appia' was carried on a causeway; but the hill (clivus Aricinus') was still a steep

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Erectas in terga sudes ?-Hoc defuit unum

Fabricio, patriam ut rhombi memoraret et annos. delibera- "Quidnam igitur censes? conciditur ?” ̄Absit ab illo

130

Dedecus hoc, Montanus ait. Testa alta paretur, Quae tenui muro spatiosum colligat orbem. Debetur magnus patinae subitusque Prometheus. Argillam atque rotam citius properate. Sed ex hoc Tempore jam, Caesar, figuli tua castra sequantur. tions, and Vicit digna viro sententia. Noverat ille decision. Luxuriam imperii veterem, noctesque Neronis Jam medias, aliamque famem, quum pulmo Falerno

Arderet. Nulli major fuit usus edendi

Tempestate mea.

Circeis nata forent, an

Lucrinum ad saxum Rutupinove edita fundo
Ostrea, callebat primo deprendere morsu;
Et semel adspecti litus dicebat echini.
Surgitur, et misso proceres exire jubentur

136

140

Concilio, quos Albanam dux magnus in arcem 145
Traxerat adtonitos, et festinare coactos,

Tamquam de Cattis aliquid torvisque Sygambris
Dicturus, tamquam e diversis partibus orbis
Anxia praecipiti venisset epistola penna.

128. sudes] lit. stakes sharpened at the end for fighting. Here, the prickly fins of the fish.

129. Fabricio] i. e. Veiento. 130. Quidnam conciditur] The emperor speaks. Quidnam censes' is a technical phrase. The senate, as a whole, was said 'censere.' Its members were asked individually, Quid censes ?' 'Conciditur:"is it to be cut up?"

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132. colligat] Comprise.

133. Prometheus] i. e. a potter. Prometheus made men of clay. See Sat. xiv. 35; and Hor. Od. i. 16. 13, 14, "Prometheus, addere principi Limo coactus particulam undique desectam."

134. Argillam atque rotam] To make the dish.

138. aliam famem] "Second ap

petite." The Romans produced this after a full meal by powerful stimulants, or more frequently by vomiting.

140. tempestate] For 'tempore.' 140, 141. Circeis - Lucrinumsaxum] See Sat. viii. 86, and note. 141. Rutupino] From Rutupiæ; Richborough, near Sandwich, on the Kentish coast.

147.] The Sygambri, a people on the Rhine, had been subdued by Augustus. Domitian himself had celebrated a triumph over the Catti, although with little to show for it. The Catti were a German nation, and the passage shows the uneasiness already felt with regard to these northern tribes.

149. praecipiti-penna] Probably merely "on headlong wing," as a

Alas! for Rome.

Atque utinam his potius nugis tota illa dedisset
Tempora saevitiae, claras quibus abstulit Urbi 151
Illustresque animas impune et vindice nullo !
Sed periit, postquam cerdonibus esse timendus
Coeperat. Hoc nocuit Lamiarum caede madenti.

metaphor for "swiftly." It has been thought to refer to carrier-pigeons; while the Scholiast states that letters with bad news had a feather tied to them. But these are mere surmises. A victory was announced by bayleaves being tied in the letter ('laureatae literae').

153. periit] Domitian was mur

dered by conspirators, A.D. 96.
ib. cerdonibus] The vulgar. Lit.
the cobblers.

154. Lamiarum]

The aristocracy. "Aeli vetusto nobilis ab Lamo," Hor. Od. iii. 17. 1. But Domitian had murdered an Aelius Lamia, whom he had previously deprived of his wife. Suet. Dom. i.

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