NOTES ON SATIRE XIII. ARGUMENT. CALVINUS had left a sum of money in the hands of a confidential person; no uncommon thing in those days, as there were then no public banks. This man, when he came to re-demand it, foreswore the deposit.-15 seqq. The utmost indignation and fury, are expressed by Calvinus at this breach of trust, 11-15. His friend Juvenal endeavours to soothe and comfort him under his loss.-7 seqq. The topics of consolation which the poet employs are these. That the fortune of Calvinus was so considerable that the loss could be easily borne: 7 seqq. 13-16. and that such acts of dishonesty were nothing extraordinary, amid the general depravity of the times, when a man of strict integrity would be regarded as a prodigy: 16-74. 120-173. This universal corruption was owing, in Juvenal's opinion, to the absurd notions entertained respecting the deities, from the opinions of the avowed atheist, to those of the practical infidel: 75-119. He pro-, ceeds to deprecate revenge, as no reparation of harm received, and as unworthy of a man and a philosopher: 174-192. to represent the stings of a guilty conscience, and the superstitious fears of the guilty, as an infinitely greater punishment than any other: 192-235. and to state, that if the wicked are left to themselves, they add crime to crime, till the measure of their iniquities is full, when vengeance and retribution infallibly overtake them.-236-249. Juvenal is here almost a christian; for though his ignorance of "that light which was to come into the world," did not enable him to number among the dreadful consequences of impenitent guilt, the certain punishment of life to come; yet on every other topic that can alarm or terrify the sinner, he is energetic and awful beyond example. Perhaps the horrors of a troubled conscience were never depicted with such impressive solemnity as in this satire.-192-198, 210-239. Bishop Burnet (as we before stated) recommended the tenth satire to his clergy, in his "Pastoral Letters": the present is not, indeed, so poetic, so fervid, so majestical, as that; but, on the other hand, it enters more into the common business of life. All cannot be statesmen and kings; but all may be injured by treachery, and all have need to be reminded that guilt sometimes finds its punishment, even on this side the grave! 1. Exemplo, &c. "whatever action is committed involving a pernicious precedent, gives unpleasant sensations even to the perpetrator." Some editions have malum, committit exemplo. But Ruperti remarks that in this case the perpetrator would commit a crime "after" some precedent, whereas, malo—exemplo denotes that he is the first to do such an act, and by his example he affords a precedent to others. 2. Prima, &c. "This is the first" or "chief punishment, namely, that no guilty person is acquitted at the tribunal of his own conscience," literally, "when he himself is judge."-Nocens differs from noxius, inasmuch as the latter implies habitual guilt, and the former guilt in some particular action. An analogous distinction likewise exists between innoxius and innocens. 66 3. Improba quamvis, &c. "even though the dishonest partiality of the Prætor may have prevailed by means of the deceitful urn," i. e. though the Prætor may have gained his point, that the criminal should escape on his trial, by means of the false votes of the judices whom the Prætor had chosen by lot. The Prætor or Quæsitor, on whom had devolved a capital trial, used to choose by lot, judges selected out of the decuries, by tablets which were thrown into an urn; so that he was enabled to benefit the accused by selecting either his own friends, or those of the accused. The same officer also gave the judges, when chosen, three tablets, one of acquittal, having upon it the letter A. (for absolvo), one of condemnation, C. (condemno), and one of ampliation, or putting off the trial till another day, in consequence of the proof not being clear. This last had the letters N. L. for non liquet "it is not clear," or not proven." Each of the judges threw one of these tablets into the urn, and of course, if corrupted by the Prætor, could throw in such as would acquit the most infamous criminals; so that the words fallaci urna may be intended to convey the idea of the judices selecti being corrupted, as well as the Prætor himself having shown partiality, in the selection of them. Other editions, however, read fallacis agreeing with Prætoris. Indeed, it is the injustice of the Prætor that Juvenal here alludes to particularly, for even though the judices (who were usually about fifty in number) were not corrupted, yet as each of them privately put his tablet into the urn, and as it was the Prætor who pronounced sentence according to the majority, it is evident that he could change many of the tablets, and could adopt other underhand means of procuring whatever verdict he wished to have. The tenor of the passage leads to the supposition that Calvinus had brought his treacherous friend before the Prætor, whose improba gratia defeated the ends of justice. 5. Quid sentire, &c. "what do you suppose are the sentiments of all, Calvinus, in reference to this late villanous proceeding, even the crime of breach of trust?" Here is some little consolation; every one sympathizes with you, Calvinus, and is on your side. For quid censere putas omnes, Schurzfl, reads putas homines, and for recenti, Rutgers proposes retenti, i. e. depositi abnegati ac non redditi. Martial mentions an indifferent poet of the name of Calvinus, but it is probable, that he was not the person here alluded to. 6. The connexion is, "[no doubt it is a gross act of dishonesty] but neither has so slender an income fallen to your lot, that the weight of a trifling loss should sink you, nor are such calamities as you now suffer of rare occurrence before our eyes."-Jactura, ixlóan, see Sat. 3. 125. 9. Cognitus, scil. est,—ac jam Tritus, &c. “And is now quite common, and of the general run of misfortunes," literally, "is taken from the middle of fortune's heap of calamities," i. e. it is not taken from the top of fortune's stock of miseries, it is not “ultimus Ærumnæ cumulus,” it is not the highest calamity.-Tritus is a metaphor from a well-worn path. In acervo the metaphor is perhaps taken from a heap of spoils, in which articles of peculiar rarity or value would be placed on the top these constitute rà ångodívia.-Stocker. Or medio may be ex plained as denoting the middle heap of fortune. She is represented by some authors as having one heap composed of misery alone, another of joy alone, and the middle one of both commingled. 11. Nimius gemitus, "immoderate grief."-Flagrantior, violent." 12. Vulnere major, greater than his loss warrants.” 66 more 13. Tu quamvis levium, &c. You can hardly endure a portion of calamities, although it be the least of the light, and inconsiderable in itself, your very heart boiling over with the fire of indignation, because, &c. "or, you can scarcely endure the most trivial and paltry particle of losses, however light,"—in this construction quamvis goes with levium, in the former with minimam.- Viscera is often rendered "heart" in the figurative sense of "inmost thoughts,' 'feelings," &c., some for malorum, read laborum, "quod doctius et exquisitius,"—Ruperti. 15. Sacrum, the deposit was which the gods were witnesses. 99 66 sacred," on account of the oath to 16. Depositum, ragaxaradnen.—Stupet, &c. "is he astounded at such a deed, who is now turned of sixty?" literally, "who has now left sixty years behind him. 17. The Fasti contain four consuls of the name of Fonteius Capito; (1) in A. u. 720; (2) in a.u. 764 or 765; (3) in A. u. 811 or 812; (4) in A. U. 819 or 820. If the second of these be meant, the satire must have been written in the third or fourth year of Vespasian; if the third, it will bring the date of the composition as low down as the second or third of Hadrian; if the fourth, it will be still in the same reign. The more generally received supposition is, that the third is meant; but it is a point by no means decided, and now hardly capable of determination. 18. An nihil, &c. "Have you no better profit from the experience of so many occurrences," &c. of like nature? 19-22. Although, says the poet, Philosophy teaches us to despise the threats of fortune, yet, by long use and experience (magistrâ vitá) we may attain to the same power. Translate thus "Philosophy, who giveth her precepts, in sacred compositions, is surely THE GREAT VANQUISHER of capricious fortune; and yet, we deem those favoured too, who have learned to bear the ills of life, (not under so great a teacher, but) by the lesson taught by life itself.-Sacris libellis, "in her divine treatises," sacris is like isgòs and dios; or we may base the interpretation of sacris on the words of Cicero who says that Philosophy is "the gift and invention of the gods," &c. 20. Sapientia, copia; Pythagoras first called it pλoropía, the former name having got into disrepute, as appearing to savour of too much arrogance.-Ducimus autem, &c. "But we esteem (yovμída) those also happy, who, merely with life for their instructress, have learned to bear the inconveniences of their existence, and not to toss off the yoke," i. e. bear the evils of life impatiently. A metaphor from restive oxen, which endeavour to get rid of the yoke by tossing their heads about. The same idea is contained in the Greek awpaw.-Vitâ magistrâ means that they derived their knowledge from their daily experience. 23. Quæ tam, &c. "what day is so solemn as to fail in disclosing a thief," &c. Even those days, which in former times were held so sacred, are desecrated now, says the poet, by every species of crime, some MSS. read fures which seems more emphatic. 25. Pyxide, "by poison," Pyxis (rus) was properly, "a casket," "a jewel-box." Quinctilian produces this term as an example of catechrēsis, because it properly denoted that which was made of box (wúžes), but was applied to things of similar form and use made of any other material. In fact, the caskets in which the ladies of ancient times kept their jewels and other ornaments, were made of gold, silver, ivory, mother-of-pearl, tortoise-shell, &c. They were also much enriched with chasing. The same term is applied to boxes used to contain drugs or poison (as in the present passage); and to metallic rings employed in machinery. The box in this place is put for the poison, by the figure, metonymy 26. Numerus, &c. "Their number scarcely amounts to as many as there are gates of Thebes, or mouths of the fertilizing Nile." The Boeotian Thebes, built by Cadmus was irrárvλos (Homer). Egyptian Thebes was inuróμævdos Il. 9. 383.-The mouths of the Nile were, 1. The Canopic; 2. Bolbitine; 3. Sebennytic; 4. Phatmitic; 5. Mendesian; 6. Tanitic; and 7. Pelusiac. Whence the Nile is called by Ovid septemfluus, and septemplex; also by Virgil, septemgeminus. With regard to the epithet Divitis, some render it "rich," i. e. "ample," "large," as being increased by many tributary streams, and flowing into the Mediterranean by seven mouths; others " fertilizing," as it enriches the soil of Egypt. Grangeus would adopt the meaning "rich," but would explain it by a reference to its golden sands, whence it has been called xeuroppóas. The explanation, "fertilizing" would appear to be favoured by Virgil's phrase. Pinguis flumine Nilus, although Forbiger thinks that the epithet pinguis has reference to the thick and milky nature of its waters. 28. Nona ætas agitur, &c. "A ninth age is passing, yes! a period even worse than the times of iron, for the criminality of which nature herself does not find a name, and hath assigned one from no metal.” The amount of annotation upon this sentence from numerous commentators is perfectly bewildering. We shall endeavour to give some of their opinions in as simple a form as possible. (1) Ruperti remarks, that the ancient poets, in order to exhibit the gradual decay of good principles in mankind, until the whole race became a mass of moral corruption, marked out the time that had elapsed since the creation into different ages, to which they assigned names from the metals, emblematically, from their arrangement, representing the change. By some it was divided into two ages (Virg. Georg. 1. 125, seqq.); by others into three (Arātus, Phæn. 100); by others into four (Ovid, Met. 1. 89, seqq.); and by others into five (Hesiod. "Egy. 109—208); but not into eight (as most interpreters of the present passage suppose), to correspond with the number of the metals, scil.; (1) gold; (2) silver; (3) the mixed metal called Electrum ("Hλsxrgov); (4) brass; (5) copper; (6) tin; (7) lead; (8) iron. I formerly, says Ruperti, thought with Vossius, that Juvenal here alluded to those sybilline prophecies respecting the ἀποκαταστάσις οι παλιγγενεσία (four ages which were to come round again like a circle), or that tradition which took its rise among the Etruscan seers, which stated that eight ages were assigned to the world, marked by diversity of men's lives and manners, and spoke also of a ninth age, beginning with Sullas' era (at which period there was most depravity), and of a tenth, as being the commencement of better times, which would resemble the golden age. Thus then the ninth age here mentioned would be worse than the iron, as the Etrurians predicted. This conjecture seems to be favoured by the fact that Juvenal was very fond of displaying his learning. However, Ruperti 64 4. would prefer to see the text amended rather than adopt this interpretation. 2. Others explain, "an age is passing which so far exceeds the four ages (of gold, silver, brass, and iron), that it may be considered as the ninth, if it be compared with that of iron, and if the corruption of the morals of men be considered. 3. Others, our age is twice as bad as that of iron," which method is nearly similar to the second. Very many suppose that the Latin poets represented the ages of the world to be four, and the Greek poets eight, corresponding to the metals as mentioned above. Ascensius imagined that the first age was that of the gods reigning in unspotted holiness; the second, that of the gods defiled with adultery and other vices; the third, that of the demi-gods, who were almost divine; the fourth, that of the demi-gods inclining more to the life of human beings; the fifth, that of Heroes, who were mortal, but entirely virtuous; the sixth, of Heroes deformed by immoralities; the seventh, that of men, who inclined more to virtue than vice; the eighth, that of men more given to vice than virtue; the ninth, that of men altogether made up of crimes and vices. Grangæus suspected that Juvenal assigned to the world as many ages, or mutations of ages, (divided into periods of seven years) as Solon assigned to a man's life, of which the ninth was said to be weak and languid. In the prediction of the Sybil, according to Vossius, the ninth age (and indeed the eighth) was averiyapos, i. e. sine titulo, marked by the name of no metal, but was described to be the worst of all, as, on the other hand, the tenth was to be the best, in as much as the roxaráσTaσis was then to take place, in consequence of our Saviour's advent. [It is almost unnecessary to remark, that many of the most accomplished scholars and divines maintain that several of the Sybil's prophecies had direct reference to Christ.] With regard to the various readings of the present passage, some have conjectured Nunc ætas agitur; others Nonne? Heinecke would prefer non, which he shows to have been often employed for nonne; he therefore would place a note of interrogation after metallo. One MS. has non alias agitur, "in no other way do they live," scil. at Rome, "this is the state of morals there;" but Ruperti states that the ancient writers did not employ alias in this sense; and, moreover, Rome is not the subject of the author's present remarks. 31. Nos hominum, &c. " We exclaim Heaven and earth!'" literally, "we invoke the protection of men and gods." The connexion is, "when we live in such an abandoned age that we witness daily the most infamous crimes perpetrated, it is strange that anything which could be done to us would surprise us so as to make use of ejaculations of wonder.Proh deûm atque hominum fidem! was a common exclamation when anything very marvellous occurred. 32. Quanto (clamore), &c. "As loudly as the voice-giving sportula gets Fæsidius cheered while pleading." A hit at the wretched orators of the day, who used to bribe their clients and others to applaud them while pleading or speaking in the forum. Their applause was given by shouts of euge! præclare! bene! belle! recte! pulchre! oops! Poets, as well as orators, adopted this practice of bribing.-Comp. Hor. Epist. 1. 19. 37. “non ego ventosæ plebis suffragia venor Impensis cœnarum et tritæ munere vestis; or, sportula may be taken for clientes, the abstract for the concrete, "loud as his clamorous clients laud Fæsidius when pleading!"-Agentem, scil. causas. 33. Bulla dignissime (Calvine, scil.) "most deserving of the bulla,”. i. e. who ought to be accounted a mere boy, from your puerile simplicity and inexperience, vários végwv. The word bulla properly denoted |