_ From the _three_ Bruti, who were looked upon by the
vulgar as the champions of liberty.
vulgar as the champions of liberty.
Satires
i.
, 105, "Felicesque Jovis stellæ Martisque rapacis, Et grave
Saturni sidus in omne caput. " Juv. , vi. , 570, "Quid sidus triste
minetur Saturni. " Virg. , Georg. , i. , 336, "Frigida Saturni stella. "
[1438] _Sole recenti. _ "In the extreme east;" from Hor. , i. , Sat. iv. ,
29, "Hic mutat merces surgente à Sole ad eum quo Vespertina tepet
regio. "
[1439] _Rugosum piper. _ Plin. , H. N. , xii. , 7.
[1440] _Pallentis cumini. _ The cumin was used as a cheap substitute for
pepper, which was very expensive at Rome. It produced great paleness
in those who ate much of it; and consequently many who wished to have
a pallid look, as though from deep study, used to take it in large
quantities. Pliny (xx. , 14, "Omne cuminum pallorem bibentibus gignit")
says that the imitators of Porcius Latro used to take it in order to
resemble him even in his natural peculiarities. Horace alludes to
this, i. , Epist. xix. , 17, "Quod si pallerem casu biberent _exsangue
cuminum_. " (Latro died A. U. C. 752. ) Cf. Plin. , xix. , 6, 32.
[1441] _Irriguo. _ Virg. , Æn. , i. , 691," Placidam per membra quietem
_irrigat_. " iii. , 511, "Fessos sopor irrigat artus. "--_Turgescere. _
Sulp. , 56, "Somno moriuntur obeso. "
[1442] _Putris. _ Hor. , i. , Od. xxxvi. , 17, "Omnes in Damalin _putres_
deponunt oculos. "
[1443] _Lapidosa. _ "That fills his joints with chalk-stones. "
Hor. , ii. , Sat. vii. , 16, "Postquam illi justa _cheragra Contudit
articulos_. " i. , Ep. i. , 81, "_Nodosâ_ corpus nolis prohibere
_cheragrâ_. "
[1444] _Vitam relictam. _ Cf. iii. , 38, "Virtutem videant intabescantque
relictâ. "
[1445] _Purgatas aures. _ Cf. l. 86, "Stoicus hic aurem mordaci lotus
aceto. " One of the remedies of deafness was holding the ear over the
vapor of heated vinegar. The metaphor was very applicable to the
Stoics, who were famous for their acuteness in detecting fallacies, and
their keenness in debating. Cf. Plaut. , Mil. Gl. , III. , i. , 176, "Ambo
perpurgatis tibi operam damus auribus. " Hor. , i. , Epist. i. , 7, "Est
mihi purgatam crebrò qui personet aurem. "
[1446] _Cleantheâ. _ Vid. Juv. , ii. , 7. Cleanthes was a native of Assos,
and began life as a pugilist. He came to Athens with only four drachmæ,
and became a pupil of Zeno. He used to work at night at drawing water
in the gardens, in order to raise money to attend Zeno's lectures by
day; and hence acquired the nickname of φρεάντλης. He succeeded Zeno in
his school, and according to some, Chrysippus became his pupil. Diog.
Laërt. , VII. , v. , 1, 2; vii. , 1.
[1447] _Cras hoc fiet. _ Cf. Mart. , v. , Ep. lviii. , 7, "Cras vives!
hodie jam vivere Postume serum est, Ille sapit, quisquis, Postume,
vixit heri. " Macbeth, Act v. , sc. 5,
"To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,
To the last syllable of recorded time:
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. "
"Our yesterday's to-morrow now is gone,
And still a new to-morrow does come on.
We by to-morrows draw out all our store,
Till the exhausted well can yield no more. " Cowley.
[1448] _Canthum. _ "The tire of the wheel. " Quintilian (i. , 5) says,
"The word is of Spanish or African origin. Though Persius employs it as
a word in common use. " But Casaubon quotes Suidas, Eustathius, and the
Etym. Mag. , to prove it is a pure Greek word; κανθὸς, "the corner of
the eye. " Hence put for the orb of the eye.
[1449] _Velinâ Publius. _ When a slave was made perfectly free he was
enrolled in one of the tribes, in order that he might enjoy the full
privileges of a Roman citizen: one of the chief of these was the
frumentatio, i. e. , the right of receiving a ticket which entitled him
to his share at the distribution of the public corn, which took place
on the nones of each month. This ticket or tally was of wood or lead,
and was transferable. Sometimes a small sum was paid with it. Cf.
Juv. , vii. , 174, "Summula ne pereat quâ vilis tessera venit frumenti. "
The slave generally adopted the prænomen of the person who manumitted
him, and the name of the tribe to which he was admitted was added.
This prænomen was the distinguishing mark of a freeman, and they were
proportionally proud of it. (Hor. , ii. , Sat. v. , 32, "Quinte, puta,
aut Publi--gaudent prænomine molles auriculæ. " Juv. , v. , 127, "Si quid
tentaveris unquam hiscere tanquam habeas tria nomina. ") The tribe
"Velina" was one of the country tribes, in the Sabine district, and
called from the Lake Velinus. It was the last tribe added, with the
Quirina, A. U. C. 512, to make up the thirty-five tribes, by the censors
C. Aurelius Cotta and M. Fabius Buteo. Vid. Liv. , Epit. , xix. Cic. ,
Att. , iv. , 15. The name of the tribe was always added in the ablative
case, as Oppius Veientinâ, Anxius Tomentinâ.
[1450] _Quiritem. _ Cf. Sen. , Nat. , iii. , "Hæc res efficit non è jure
Quiritium liberum, sed è jure Naturæ. " There were three ways of making
a slave free: 1, per Censum; 2, per Vindictam; 3, per Testamentum.
The second is alluded to here. The master took the slave before the
prætor or consul and said, "Hunc hominem liberum esse volo jure
Quiritium. " Then the prætor, laying the rod (Vindicta) on the slave's
head, pronounced him free; whereupon his owner or the lictor turned him
round, gave him a blow on the cheek (alapa), and let him go, with the
words, "Liber esto atque ito quo voles. " (Plaut. , Men. , V. , vii. , 40. )
[1451] _Dama_ was a common name for slaves (Hor. , ii. , Sat. vii. , 54,
"Prodis ex judice Dama turpis;" and v. , 18, "Utne tegam spurco Damæ
latus"), principally for Syrians. It is said to be a corruption of
Demetrius or Demodorus. So Manes, from Menodorus, was a common name of
Phrygian slaves.
[1452] _Agaso. _ Properly, "a slave who looks after beasts of burden"
(_qui agit asinos_, Schell. ), then put as a mark of contempt for any
drudge. Hor. , ii. , Sat. viii. , 73, "Si patinam pede lapsus frangat
agaso. "
[1453] _Tressis. _ Literally, "three asses. " So Sexis, Septussis, etc.
[1454] _Pilea. _ Cf. ad iii. , 106, "Hesterni capite induto subiere
Quirites. "
[1455] _Bruto.
_ From the _three_ Bruti, who were looked upon by the
vulgar as the champions of liberty. Lucius Junius Brutus, who expelled
the Tarquins; Marcus, who murdered Cæsar; and Decimus, who opposed
Antony.
[1456] _Aurem lotus. _ Cf. ad l. 63.
[1457] _Vindicta. _ Cf. Ov. , A. A. , iii. , 615, "Modo quam Vindicta
redemit. "
[1458] _Masurius_, or Massurius Sabinus, a famous lawyer in the
reign of Tiberius, admitted by him when at an advanced age into the
Equestrian order. He is frequently mentioned by Aulus Gellius (Noctes
xiv. ). He wrote three books on Civil Law, five on the Edictum Prætoris
Urbani, besides Commentaries and other works, quoted in the Digests.
[1459] _Sambucam. _ "You might as well put a delicate instrument of
music in the hands of a coarse clown, and expect him to make it
'discourse eloquent music,' as look for a nice discernment of the finer
shades of moral duty in one wholly ignorant of the first principles of
philosophy. " Sambuca is from the Chaldaic Sabbecà. It was a kind of
triangular harp with four strings, and according to the Greeks, was
called from one Sambuces, who first used it. Others say the Sibyl was
the first performer on it. Ibycus of Regium was its reputed inventor,
as Anacreon of the Barbiton: but from its mention in the book of Daniel
(iii. , 5), it was probably of earlier date. A female performer on it
was called Sambucistria. An instrument of war, consisting of a platform
or drawbridge supported by ropes, to let down from a tower on the walls
of a besieged town, was called, from the similarity of shape, by the
same name. Cf. Athen. , iv. , 175; xiv. , 633, 7. (Suidas, in voce, seems
to derive it from ἴαμβος, quasi ἰαμβύκη, because Iambic verses were
sung to it. )
[1460] _Caloni. _ The slaves attached to the army were so called, from
κᾶλα "logs," either because they carried clubs, or because they were
the hewers of wood and drawers of water for the soldiers. From their
being always in the camp they acquired some military knowledge, and
hence we find them occasionally used in great emergencies. They are
sometimes confounded with Lixæ; but the latter were _not_ slaves. The
name is then applied to any coarse and common drudge. Cf. Hor. , i. ,
Ep. xiv. , 41, "Invidet usum Lignorum tibi calo. " Cf. i. , Sat. ii. ,
44; vi. , 103. Tac. , Hist. , i. , 49. --_Alto_ refers to the old Greek
proverb, ἄνοος ὁ μακρὸς, "Every tall man is a fool;" which Aristotle
(in Physiogn. ) confirms.
[1461] _Examen. _ See note on Sat. i. , 6.
[1462] _Natura medendi. _ Horace has the same idea, ii. , Ep. i. , 114,
"Navem agere ignarus navis timet; abrotonum ægro non audet nisi qui
didicit dare; quod medicorum est promittunt medici. "
[1463] _Peronatus. _ Cf. Juv. , xiv. , 186.
[1464] _Melicerta_ was the son of Ino, who leaped with him into the
sea, to save him from her husband Athamas. Neptune, at the request
of Venus, changed them into sea-deities, giving to Ino the name of
Leucothea, and to Palæmon that of Melicerta, or, according to others,
Portunus (à portu, as Neptunus, à nando). Vid. Ov. , Met. , iv. , 523,
_seq. _ Fast. , vi. , 545. Milton's Lycidas,
"By Leucothea's golden bands,
And her son that rules the sands. "
[1465] _Frontem. _ See note on Sat. i. , 12. Hor. , ii. , Ep. i. , 80,
"Clament periisse pudorem cuncti. "
[1466] _In luto fixum. _ From Hor. , i. , Ep. xvi. , 63, "Quî melior servo
qui liberior sit avarus. _In triviis fixum_ cum se demittat ob assem. "
The boys at Rome used to fix an as tied to a piece of string in the
mud, which they jerked away, with jeers and cries of "Etiam! " as soon
as any sordid fellow attempted to pick it up. Mercury being the god of
luck (see note on ii. , 44; Hor. , ii. , Sat. iii. , 25), Persius uses the
term "Mercurial saliva" for the miser's mouth watering at the sight of
the prize (vi. , 62). --_Glutto_ expresses the gurgling sound made in the
throat at the swallowing of liquids.
[1467] _Fronte politus. _ Hor. , i. , Ep. xvi. , 45, "Introrsus turpem,
speciosum pelle decorâ. "
[1468] _Vulpem. _ Hor. , A. P. , 437, "Nunquam te fallant animi sub vulpe
latentes. " Lysander's saying is well known, "Where the lion's skin does
not fit, we must don the fox's. "
[1469] _Funemque reduco. _ Shakspeare, Romeo and Juliet, Act ii. sc. 1.
"I would have thee gone,
And yet no farther than a wanton's bird,
Who lets it hop a little from her hand,
Like a poor prisoner in his twisted gyves,
And with a silk thread plucks it back again. "
[1470] _Digitum exsere. _ The Stoics held that none but a philosopher
could perform even the most trivial act, such as putting out the
finger, correctly; there being no middle point between absolute wisdom
and absolute folly: consequently it was beyond even the power of the
gods to bestow upon a fool the power of acting rightly.
[1471] _Litabis. _ See note on Sat. ii. , 75.
[1472] _Bathylli_, i. e. , "Like the graceful Bathyllus, when acting the
part of the satyr. " Juv. , Sat. vi. , 63. Gifford's note.
[1473] _Tot subdite rebus. _ "None but the philosopher can be free,
because all men else are the slaves of _something_; of avarice, luxury,
love, ambition, or superstition. " Cf. Epict. , Man. , xiv. , 2, ὅστις
οὖν ἐλεύθερος εἶναι βούλεται, μήτε θελέτω τι, μήτε φευγέτω τι τῶν ἐπ'
ἄλλοις· εἰ δὲ μὴ, δουλεύειν ἀνάγκη. So taught the Stoics; and inspired
wisdom reads the same lesson. "Know ye not, that to whom ye yield
yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey? "
Rom. , vi. , 16.
[1474] _Crispinus. _ This "Verna Canopi," whom Juvenal mentions so often
with bitter hatred and contempt, rose from the lowest position to
eminence under Nero, who found him a ready instrument of his lusts and
cruelties. His connection with Nero commended him to Domitian also. One
of his phases may probably have been the keeping a bath. Juv. , i. , 27;
iv. , 1, 14, etc.
[1475] _Nervos agitat. _ "A slave is no better than a puppet in the
hands of his master, who pulls the strings that set his limbs in
motion. " The allusion is to the ἀγάλματα νευρόσπαστα, "images worked by
strings. " Herod. , ii. , 48. Xen. , Sympos. , iv. Lucian. , de Deâ Syriâ,
xvi.
[1476] _Scutica. _ Vid. ad Juv. , vi. , 480.
[1477] _Saperdam. _ From the Greek σαπέρδης (Aristot. , Fr. 546), a poor
insipid kind of fish caught in the Black Sea, called κορακῖνος until it
was salted. Archestratus in Athenæus (iii. , p. 117) calls it a φαῦλον
ἀκιδνὸν ἕδεσμα.
[1478] _Castoreum. _ Cf. Juv. , xii. , 34.
[1479] _Ebenum. _ Virg. , Georg. , ii. , 115, "Sola India nigrum fert
_ebenum_: solis est _thurea_ virga Sabæis. "
[1480] _Lubrica Coa. _ The grape of Cos was very sweet and luscious:
a large quantity of sea-water was added to the lighter kind, called
Leuco-Coum, which gave it a very purgative quality; which, in fact,
most of the lighter wines of the ancients possessed. Vid. Cels. , i. ,
1. Plin. , H. N. , xiv. , 10.
Saturni sidus in omne caput. " Juv. , vi. , 570, "Quid sidus triste
minetur Saturni. " Virg. , Georg. , i. , 336, "Frigida Saturni stella. "
[1438] _Sole recenti. _ "In the extreme east;" from Hor. , i. , Sat. iv. ,
29, "Hic mutat merces surgente à Sole ad eum quo Vespertina tepet
regio. "
[1439] _Rugosum piper. _ Plin. , H. N. , xii. , 7.
[1440] _Pallentis cumini. _ The cumin was used as a cheap substitute for
pepper, which was very expensive at Rome. It produced great paleness
in those who ate much of it; and consequently many who wished to have
a pallid look, as though from deep study, used to take it in large
quantities. Pliny (xx. , 14, "Omne cuminum pallorem bibentibus gignit")
says that the imitators of Porcius Latro used to take it in order to
resemble him even in his natural peculiarities. Horace alludes to
this, i. , Epist. xix. , 17, "Quod si pallerem casu biberent _exsangue
cuminum_. " (Latro died A. U. C. 752. ) Cf. Plin. , xix. , 6, 32.
[1441] _Irriguo. _ Virg. , Æn. , i. , 691," Placidam per membra quietem
_irrigat_. " iii. , 511, "Fessos sopor irrigat artus. "--_Turgescere. _
Sulp. , 56, "Somno moriuntur obeso. "
[1442] _Putris. _ Hor. , i. , Od. xxxvi. , 17, "Omnes in Damalin _putres_
deponunt oculos. "
[1443] _Lapidosa. _ "That fills his joints with chalk-stones. "
Hor. , ii. , Sat. vii. , 16, "Postquam illi justa _cheragra Contudit
articulos_. " i. , Ep. i. , 81, "_Nodosâ_ corpus nolis prohibere
_cheragrâ_. "
[1444] _Vitam relictam. _ Cf. iii. , 38, "Virtutem videant intabescantque
relictâ. "
[1445] _Purgatas aures. _ Cf. l. 86, "Stoicus hic aurem mordaci lotus
aceto. " One of the remedies of deafness was holding the ear over the
vapor of heated vinegar. The metaphor was very applicable to the
Stoics, who were famous for their acuteness in detecting fallacies, and
their keenness in debating. Cf. Plaut. , Mil. Gl. , III. , i. , 176, "Ambo
perpurgatis tibi operam damus auribus. " Hor. , i. , Epist. i. , 7, "Est
mihi purgatam crebrò qui personet aurem. "
[1446] _Cleantheâ. _ Vid. Juv. , ii. , 7. Cleanthes was a native of Assos,
and began life as a pugilist. He came to Athens with only four drachmæ,
and became a pupil of Zeno. He used to work at night at drawing water
in the gardens, in order to raise money to attend Zeno's lectures by
day; and hence acquired the nickname of φρεάντλης. He succeeded Zeno in
his school, and according to some, Chrysippus became his pupil. Diog.
Laërt. , VII. , v. , 1, 2; vii. , 1.
[1447] _Cras hoc fiet. _ Cf. Mart. , v. , Ep. lviii. , 7, "Cras vives!
hodie jam vivere Postume serum est, Ille sapit, quisquis, Postume,
vixit heri. " Macbeth, Act v. , sc. 5,
"To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,
To the last syllable of recorded time:
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. "
"Our yesterday's to-morrow now is gone,
And still a new to-morrow does come on.
We by to-morrows draw out all our store,
Till the exhausted well can yield no more. " Cowley.
[1448] _Canthum. _ "The tire of the wheel. " Quintilian (i. , 5) says,
"The word is of Spanish or African origin. Though Persius employs it as
a word in common use. " But Casaubon quotes Suidas, Eustathius, and the
Etym. Mag. , to prove it is a pure Greek word; κανθὸς, "the corner of
the eye. " Hence put for the orb of the eye.
[1449] _Velinâ Publius. _ When a slave was made perfectly free he was
enrolled in one of the tribes, in order that he might enjoy the full
privileges of a Roman citizen: one of the chief of these was the
frumentatio, i. e. , the right of receiving a ticket which entitled him
to his share at the distribution of the public corn, which took place
on the nones of each month. This ticket or tally was of wood or lead,
and was transferable. Sometimes a small sum was paid with it. Cf.
Juv. , vii. , 174, "Summula ne pereat quâ vilis tessera venit frumenti. "
The slave generally adopted the prænomen of the person who manumitted
him, and the name of the tribe to which he was admitted was added.
This prænomen was the distinguishing mark of a freeman, and they were
proportionally proud of it. (Hor. , ii. , Sat. v. , 32, "Quinte, puta,
aut Publi--gaudent prænomine molles auriculæ. " Juv. , v. , 127, "Si quid
tentaveris unquam hiscere tanquam habeas tria nomina. ") The tribe
"Velina" was one of the country tribes, in the Sabine district, and
called from the Lake Velinus. It was the last tribe added, with the
Quirina, A. U. C. 512, to make up the thirty-five tribes, by the censors
C. Aurelius Cotta and M. Fabius Buteo. Vid. Liv. , Epit. , xix. Cic. ,
Att. , iv. , 15. The name of the tribe was always added in the ablative
case, as Oppius Veientinâ, Anxius Tomentinâ.
[1450] _Quiritem. _ Cf. Sen. , Nat. , iii. , "Hæc res efficit non è jure
Quiritium liberum, sed è jure Naturæ. " There were three ways of making
a slave free: 1, per Censum; 2, per Vindictam; 3, per Testamentum.
The second is alluded to here. The master took the slave before the
prætor or consul and said, "Hunc hominem liberum esse volo jure
Quiritium. " Then the prætor, laying the rod (Vindicta) on the slave's
head, pronounced him free; whereupon his owner or the lictor turned him
round, gave him a blow on the cheek (alapa), and let him go, with the
words, "Liber esto atque ito quo voles. " (Plaut. , Men. , V. , vii. , 40. )
[1451] _Dama_ was a common name for slaves (Hor. , ii. , Sat. vii. , 54,
"Prodis ex judice Dama turpis;" and v. , 18, "Utne tegam spurco Damæ
latus"), principally for Syrians. It is said to be a corruption of
Demetrius or Demodorus. So Manes, from Menodorus, was a common name of
Phrygian slaves.
[1452] _Agaso. _ Properly, "a slave who looks after beasts of burden"
(_qui agit asinos_, Schell. ), then put as a mark of contempt for any
drudge. Hor. , ii. , Sat. viii. , 73, "Si patinam pede lapsus frangat
agaso. "
[1453] _Tressis. _ Literally, "three asses. " So Sexis, Septussis, etc.
[1454] _Pilea. _ Cf. ad iii. , 106, "Hesterni capite induto subiere
Quirites. "
[1455] _Bruto.
_ From the _three_ Bruti, who were looked upon by the
vulgar as the champions of liberty. Lucius Junius Brutus, who expelled
the Tarquins; Marcus, who murdered Cæsar; and Decimus, who opposed
Antony.
[1456] _Aurem lotus. _ Cf. ad l. 63.
[1457] _Vindicta. _ Cf. Ov. , A. A. , iii. , 615, "Modo quam Vindicta
redemit. "
[1458] _Masurius_, or Massurius Sabinus, a famous lawyer in the
reign of Tiberius, admitted by him when at an advanced age into the
Equestrian order. He is frequently mentioned by Aulus Gellius (Noctes
xiv. ). He wrote three books on Civil Law, five on the Edictum Prætoris
Urbani, besides Commentaries and other works, quoted in the Digests.
[1459] _Sambucam. _ "You might as well put a delicate instrument of
music in the hands of a coarse clown, and expect him to make it
'discourse eloquent music,' as look for a nice discernment of the finer
shades of moral duty in one wholly ignorant of the first principles of
philosophy. " Sambuca is from the Chaldaic Sabbecà. It was a kind of
triangular harp with four strings, and according to the Greeks, was
called from one Sambuces, who first used it. Others say the Sibyl was
the first performer on it. Ibycus of Regium was its reputed inventor,
as Anacreon of the Barbiton: but from its mention in the book of Daniel
(iii. , 5), it was probably of earlier date. A female performer on it
was called Sambucistria. An instrument of war, consisting of a platform
or drawbridge supported by ropes, to let down from a tower on the walls
of a besieged town, was called, from the similarity of shape, by the
same name. Cf. Athen. , iv. , 175; xiv. , 633, 7. (Suidas, in voce, seems
to derive it from ἴαμβος, quasi ἰαμβύκη, because Iambic verses were
sung to it. )
[1460] _Caloni. _ The slaves attached to the army were so called, from
κᾶλα "logs," either because they carried clubs, or because they were
the hewers of wood and drawers of water for the soldiers. From their
being always in the camp they acquired some military knowledge, and
hence we find them occasionally used in great emergencies. They are
sometimes confounded with Lixæ; but the latter were _not_ slaves. The
name is then applied to any coarse and common drudge. Cf. Hor. , i. ,
Ep. xiv. , 41, "Invidet usum Lignorum tibi calo. " Cf. i. , Sat. ii. ,
44; vi. , 103. Tac. , Hist. , i. , 49. --_Alto_ refers to the old Greek
proverb, ἄνοος ὁ μακρὸς, "Every tall man is a fool;" which Aristotle
(in Physiogn. ) confirms.
[1461] _Examen. _ See note on Sat. i. , 6.
[1462] _Natura medendi. _ Horace has the same idea, ii. , Ep. i. , 114,
"Navem agere ignarus navis timet; abrotonum ægro non audet nisi qui
didicit dare; quod medicorum est promittunt medici. "
[1463] _Peronatus. _ Cf. Juv. , xiv. , 186.
[1464] _Melicerta_ was the son of Ino, who leaped with him into the
sea, to save him from her husband Athamas. Neptune, at the request
of Venus, changed them into sea-deities, giving to Ino the name of
Leucothea, and to Palæmon that of Melicerta, or, according to others,
Portunus (à portu, as Neptunus, à nando). Vid. Ov. , Met. , iv. , 523,
_seq. _ Fast. , vi. , 545. Milton's Lycidas,
"By Leucothea's golden bands,
And her son that rules the sands. "
[1465] _Frontem. _ See note on Sat. i. , 12. Hor. , ii. , Ep. i. , 80,
"Clament periisse pudorem cuncti. "
[1466] _In luto fixum. _ From Hor. , i. , Ep. xvi. , 63, "Quî melior servo
qui liberior sit avarus. _In triviis fixum_ cum se demittat ob assem. "
The boys at Rome used to fix an as tied to a piece of string in the
mud, which they jerked away, with jeers and cries of "Etiam! " as soon
as any sordid fellow attempted to pick it up. Mercury being the god of
luck (see note on ii. , 44; Hor. , ii. , Sat. iii. , 25), Persius uses the
term "Mercurial saliva" for the miser's mouth watering at the sight of
the prize (vi. , 62). --_Glutto_ expresses the gurgling sound made in the
throat at the swallowing of liquids.
[1467] _Fronte politus. _ Hor. , i. , Ep. xvi. , 45, "Introrsus turpem,
speciosum pelle decorâ. "
[1468] _Vulpem. _ Hor. , A. P. , 437, "Nunquam te fallant animi sub vulpe
latentes. " Lysander's saying is well known, "Where the lion's skin does
not fit, we must don the fox's. "
[1469] _Funemque reduco. _ Shakspeare, Romeo and Juliet, Act ii. sc. 1.
"I would have thee gone,
And yet no farther than a wanton's bird,
Who lets it hop a little from her hand,
Like a poor prisoner in his twisted gyves,
And with a silk thread plucks it back again. "
[1470] _Digitum exsere. _ The Stoics held that none but a philosopher
could perform even the most trivial act, such as putting out the
finger, correctly; there being no middle point between absolute wisdom
and absolute folly: consequently it was beyond even the power of the
gods to bestow upon a fool the power of acting rightly.
[1471] _Litabis. _ See note on Sat. ii. , 75.
[1472] _Bathylli_, i. e. , "Like the graceful Bathyllus, when acting the
part of the satyr. " Juv. , Sat. vi. , 63. Gifford's note.
[1473] _Tot subdite rebus. _ "None but the philosopher can be free,
because all men else are the slaves of _something_; of avarice, luxury,
love, ambition, or superstition. " Cf. Epict. , Man. , xiv. , 2, ὅστις
οὖν ἐλεύθερος εἶναι βούλεται, μήτε θελέτω τι, μήτε φευγέτω τι τῶν ἐπ'
ἄλλοις· εἰ δὲ μὴ, δουλεύειν ἀνάγκη. So taught the Stoics; and inspired
wisdom reads the same lesson. "Know ye not, that to whom ye yield
yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey? "
Rom. , vi. , 16.
[1474] _Crispinus. _ This "Verna Canopi," whom Juvenal mentions so often
with bitter hatred and contempt, rose from the lowest position to
eminence under Nero, who found him a ready instrument of his lusts and
cruelties. His connection with Nero commended him to Domitian also. One
of his phases may probably have been the keeping a bath. Juv. , i. , 27;
iv. , 1, 14, etc.
[1475] _Nervos agitat. _ "A slave is no better than a puppet in the
hands of his master, who pulls the strings that set his limbs in
motion. " The allusion is to the ἀγάλματα νευρόσπαστα, "images worked by
strings. " Herod. , ii. , 48. Xen. , Sympos. , iv. Lucian. , de Deâ Syriâ,
xvi.
[1476] _Scutica. _ Vid. ad Juv. , vi. , 480.
[1477] _Saperdam. _ From the Greek σαπέρδης (Aristot. , Fr. 546), a poor
insipid kind of fish caught in the Black Sea, called κορακῖνος until it
was salted. Archestratus in Athenæus (iii. , p. 117) calls it a φαῦλον
ἀκιδνὸν ἕδεσμα.
[1478] _Castoreum. _ Cf. Juv. , xii. , 34.
[1479] _Ebenum. _ Virg. , Georg. , ii. , 115, "Sola India nigrum fert
_ebenum_: solis est _thurea_ virga Sabæis. "
[1480] _Lubrica Coa. _ The grape of Cos was very sweet and luscious:
a large quantity of sea-water was added to the lighter kind, called
Leuco-Coum, which gave it a very purgative quality; which, in fact,
most of the lighter wines of the ancients possessed. Vid. Cels. , i. ,
1. Plin. , H. N. , xiv. , 10.
