Priscian
again seems to imply (III.
Satires
[1790]
15 . . . or who with grim face, pounces upon money. [1791]
16 . . . there is no flummery-maker inferior to you--[1792]
17 . . . their heads are bound; and their forelocks float, high, and
covering their foreheads, as their custom was. [1793]
18 . . . which compelled . . . to drink gall, and wrinkle the belly by
coarse bread, and inferior oil, and a loaf from Cumæ. [1794]
FOOTNOTES:
[1779] _Polyphemus. _ Hom. , Odyss. , ix. , 319, Κύκλωπος γὰρ ἔκειτο
μέγα ῥόπαλον παρὰ σηκῷ . . ὅσσον θ' ἱστὸν νηὸς ἐεικοσόροιο μελαίνης,
φορτίδος εὐρείης.
_Corbita_, "navis oneraria," so called, according to Festus, because
a basket (corbis) was suspended from the top of the mast. Cf. Plaut. ,
Pæn. , III. , i. , 4. The smaller swift-sailing vessels were called
Celoces (a κέλης), hence "Obsecro operam celocem hanc mihi ne corbitam
date. " Cf. Plant. , Pseud. , V. , ii. , 12.
[1780] _Sonipes. _ Cf. Virg. , Æn. , xi. , 599, "Fremit æquore toto
insultans sonipes, et pressis pugnat habenis. " Catull. , lxiii. , 41,
"Sol pepulit noctis umbras vegetis sonipedibus. " _Succussor. _ Cf. ii. ,
Fr. 10. _Milli_ is apparently an old ablative of the singular form.
[1781] The whole Fragment is so corrupt as to be hopeless. Gerlach's
interpolations are scarcely tenable. _Senium_, we learn from Nonius,
is equivalent to tædium. So Persius, "En pallor seniumque. " i. , 26.
_Vomitus_ seems to be applicable to a _person_, "an unclear, offensive
fellow. " So Plaut. , Mostell. , III. , i. , 119, "Absolve hunc, quæso,
vomitum, ne hic nos enecet. "
[1782] Cf. Juv. , vi. , 461, "Ad mœchum lotâ veniunt cute: quando videri
vult formosa domi? mœchis foliata parantur. Interea fœda aspectu
ridendaque multo pane tumet facies . . . tandem aperit vultum et tectoria
prima reponit, incipit agnosci. " _Spiram. _ Cf. Juv. , viii. , 208.
_Redimicula. _ Juv. , ii. , 84. Virg. , Æn. , ix. , 614.
[1783] _Pænula. _ Cf. Juv. , v. , 79. _Canterius. _ Cf. ad lib. iii. , Fr.
9. _Segestre_, a kind of straw mat (from seges) used in litters.
[1784] Gerlach's reading is followed. τοκογλύφος is one who calculates
his interest to a farthing; a sordid usurer. _Syrophœnix. _ Cf. iii. ,
Fr. 33.
[1785] _Ergastulum_ is put sometimes for the slave himself, sometimes
for the under-ground dungeon where, as a punishment, he was set to
work. Cf. Juv. , vi. , 151, "Ergastula tota. " viii. , 180, "Nempe in
Lucanos aut Tusca ergastula mittas. " xiv. , 24, "Quem mire afficiunt
inscripta ergastula. " Nonius says that the masculine form, ergastulus,
is used for the "keeper of the bridewell," custos pœnalis loci.
[1786] The war in Spain may be dated from the refusal of the Segedans
to comply with the directions of the senate, and to pay their usual
tribute. The failure of M. Fulvius Nobilior in Celtiberia took place
B. C. 153, exactly twenty years before the fall of Numantia.
[1787] _Cerebrosus. _ "Qui cerebro ita laborat ut facile irascatur. "
Plaut. , Most. , IV. , ii. , 36, "Senex hic cerebrosus est certe. " Hor. ,
i. , Sat. v. , 21, "Donec cerebrosus prosilit unus, ac mulæ nautæque
caput lumbosque saligno fuste dolat. "
[1788] _Postomis_ (ab ἐπιστομίς), or, as some read, prostomis, is a
sort of muzzle or "twitch" put upon the nose of a refractory horse. To
this Lucilius compares the drinking-cup applied for so long a time to
the lips of the toper, that it looks as though it were suspended from
his nose. Cf. Turneb. , Adversar. , 17, c. ult. _Trulla. _ Cf. Juv. , iii. ,
107.
[1789] _Sirpicula_ is a basket made of twigs or rushes, for carrying
flowers or vegetables. By _tintinnabulum_ Scaliger understands "genus
vehiculi. " But sirpiculæ (a sirpando) are also "the twigs with which
bundles of fagots, etc. , are bound together," which were also used in
administering punishment; and the allusion may be to this, as those who
were led to punishment sometimes carried bells. Vid. Turneb. , Advers. ,
xi. , 21. Hence Tintinnaculus. Plaut. , Truc. , IV. , iii. , 8.
[1790] The MSS. vary between suffectus and sufferctus. The latter would
come from suffercio. Cf. Suet. , Ner. , 20.
[1791] _Inuncare_ is applied by Apuleius to "an eagle bearing away a
lamb in its talons. "
[1792] _Alica_ (anciently halica) is a kind of grain, somewhat like
spelt. The ζέα or χόνδρος of the Greeks. Of this they prepared a kind
of porridge or furmety, of which the Italians were very fond; as of the
polenta, and the maccaroni of the present day. Cf. ad Pers. , iii. , 55.
[1793] _Aptari_ Nonius explains by nexum, illigatum. _Capronæ_ (quasi
a capite pronæ) is properly "that part of the mane which falls between
the horse's ears in front. " Then, like antiæ, applied to the forelocks
of women. Vid. Fest. in v.
[1794] _Galla_ is properly the gall-nut, or oak-apple, used, from its
astringent qualities, in tanning and dyeing; and hence applied to any
harsh, rough, inferior wine. _Acerosum_ (cf. ad ix. , Fr. 15) is applied
to meal not properly cleared from the husk or bran; the αὐτόπυρος of
the Greeks. _Decumanus_ (cf. ad iv. , Fr. 2) is often applied to any
thing of uncommon size: here it is used for the worst kind of oil
(quasi ex decimâ quâque mensurâ rejecto et projecto), or more probably
"such oil as the husbandman would select in order to furnish his
_decimæ_," i. e. , the very worst. Festus says the whole fragment is an
admonition to the exercise of frugality and self-denial.
BOOK XVI.
ARGUMENT.
We have in the old grammarians two conflicting accounts of the
subject of this book. Censorinus (de Die Natali, iii. ) says
that it contained a discussion on the "double genius" which the
Socratic Euclides assigned to all the human race. On the other
hand, Porphyrion (in a note of the twenty-second ode of Horace's
first book) tells us that Horace here imitated Lucilius, who
inscribed his sixteenth book to his mistress Collyra; hence this
book was called Collyra, as the ninth was styled Fornix (in which
also we may observe that it was stated that the double genius of
Euclides was discussed).
Priscian again seems to imply (III. , i. ,
8) that it was inscribed to Fundius; and that Horace copied from
it his fourteenth Epistle of the first book. Gerlach considers
the 1st, 6th, 7th, 8th, and 9th Fragments may form part of a
conversation between Lucilius and his steward, on the true use of
riches. The 10th Fragment may refer to Collyra, especially if we
may suppose that the 13th Fragment (incert. ) refers to the same
person. If so, she was probably, like the Fornarina of Raffaelle,
some buxom ἀρτοκόπος (cf. Herod. , i. , 51) or confectioner. And
this her name seems to imply, Collyra being a kind of circular
wheaten cake, either prepared in a frying-pan, or baked on the
coals or in an oven. (Cf. Coliphium, Juv. , ii. , 53, and Plaut. ,
Pers. , I. , iii. , 12, "Collyræ facite ut madeant et coliphia. ")
She is therefore the "valida pistrix" who understands the whole
mystery of making Mamphulæ, which, as Festus tells us, was a kind
of Syrian bread or cake, made without leaven.
1 A ram went by, by chance; "now what breed? " says he. What great
* *! You would think they were scarcely fastened by a single
thread, and that a huge weight was suspended from the end of
his hide.
2 The Jupiter of Lysippus, forty cubits high at Tarentum,
surpassed that. . . . [1795]
3 The famous King Cotus said that the only two winds he knew were
Auster and Aquilo; but much more those little Austers. . . . nor
did he think it was necessary to know. . . . [1796]
4 A certain man bequeathed to his wife all his chattels, and his
household stuff. What constitutes chattels? and what does not?
For who is to decide that point at issue? [1797]
5 Fundius, . . . merit delights you . . . if you have turned out a
somewhat more active bailiff. [1798]
6 These whom riches advance. . . . and they anoint their unkempt
heads.
7 Why do you seek for this so lazily, especially at this time.
8 . . . you sell publicly however, and lick the edge. . . . [1799]
9 . . . this is far different, says he . . . who was sowing onions.
10 . . . from the middle of the bake-house.
FOOTNOTES:
[1795] This Fragment Gerlach quotes as one of the most corrupt of all.
The colossal statue of the sun, at Rhodes, may perhaps be referred to
as being outdone. For _Lysippus_, cf. Cic. , de Orat. , iii. , 7; Brut. ,
86. Plin. , H. N. , vii. , 37. Hor. , ii. , Ep. i. , 240. Athen. , xi, 784, C.
Müller's Archæol. of Art, § 129.
[1796] _Cotys. _ This was as generic a name for the Thracian kings as
Arsaces among the Parthians. Livy mentions a Cotys, son of Seuthes,
king of the Odrysæ, who brought a thousand cavalry to the support of
Perseus against the Romans, and speaks of him in the highest terms
of commendation: lib. xlii. , 29, 51, 67; xliii. , 3. Another Cotys
assisted Pompey, for which handsome presents were sent to him: cf.
Lucan, Phars. , v. , 54. A third Cotys, or Cottus, king of the Bessi, is
mentioned by Cicero as having bribed L. Calpurnius Piso, the proconsul,
with three hundred talents: In Pison. , xxxiv. The first of the three
is probably intended here, as Livy tells us that after the termination
of the Macedonian war (in which Scipio served), Bitis, the son of
Cotys, was restored with other captives unransomed to his father, in
consequence of the hereditary friendship existing between the Roman
people and his ancestors. The sayings of Cotys, therefore, might have
been current at Rome in Lucilius' time. Liv. , xlv. , 42.
[1797] _Mundus_ (quasi _movendus_, quod moveri potest), which seems at
first to have had the meaning in the text, came afterward to be applied
particularly to the necessary appendages of women, unguents, cosmetics,
mirrors, vessels for the bath, etc. ; and hence the word muliebris is
generally added. It differs from _ornatus_, which is applied to rings,
bracelets, earrings, jewels, head-gear, ribbons, etc. (Cf. Liv. ,
xxxiv. , 7. ) Hence the usual formula of wills, "Uxori meæ vestem, mundum
muliebrem, ornamenta omnia, aurum, argentum, do, lego. " _Penus_ is
properly applied to all "household stores laid up for _future_ use;"
hence penitus, penetro, and penates. Cf. Virg. , Æn. , i. , 704, "Cura
penum struere. "
[1798] _Villicus. _ Cf. Hor. , i. , Epist. xiv. The Villicus superintended
the country estate, as the dispensator did the city household. They
were both generally "liberti. " _Fundi_ is translated as a proper name
on the authority of Priscian, III. , i. , 8.
[1799] _Ligurris. _ Cf. Hor. , i. , Sat. iii. , 80, "Servum patinam qui
tollere jussus semesos pisces tepidumque ligurierit jus. " ii. , Sat.
iv. , 78, "Seu puer unctis tractavit calicem manibus dum furta ligurit. "
Juv. , ix. , 5, "Nos colaphum incutimus lambenti crustula servo. "
BOOK XVII.
ARGUMENT.
This book contained, according to Schoenbeck's view, a discussion
on the dogma of the Stoics, "that no one could be said to possess
any thing peculiarly his own. " The poet therefore ridicules the
creations of the older poets, who have dignified their heroines
with every conceivable embellishment, and invested them with the
attractions of every virtue that adorns humanity. He then goes
through the list of all the greatest mythological personages that
occur in the various Epic poets, in order to show the fallacy
of their ideas, and establish his own theory on the subject of
moral virtue. Gerlach, on the other hand, considers that the
subject was merely a disparagement of the boasted virtues of
the female character; by showing that even these creations of
ideal perfection, elaborated by poets of the greatest genius,
and endowed with every excellence both of mind and body, are not
even by them represented as exempt from those passions and vices
which disgrace their unromantic fellow-mortals. In this general
detraction of female purity, not even the chaste Penelope herself
escapes. The 6th Fragment seems to be directed against those
whose verses are composed under the inspiration of sordid gain.
1 Now that far-famed lady with the "beautiful ringlets," "and
beautiful ankles? " Do you think it was forbidden to touch
her. . . ? Or that Alcmena, the bedfellow of Amphytrion, and
others, was knock-kneed or bandy-legged. In fine,
Leda herself; I don't like to mention her: look out yourself,
and choose some dissyllable. Do you think Tyro, the nobly-born,
had any thing particularly disfiguring; a wart . . . a mole, or a
projecting tooth? [1800]
2 All other things he despises; and lays out all at no high
interest . . . but that no one has aught of his own. . . . [1801]
3 His bailiff Aristocrates, a drudge and neat-herd, he corrupted
and reduced to the last extremity. [1802]
4 Do you, when married, say you will never be married, because
you hope Ulysses still survives?
5 If he will not go, seize him, he says; and if he shuffles, lay
hands on him. . . . [1803]
6 . . . if you sell your Muses to Laverna. [1804]
7 . . . the big bones and shoulders of the man appear. [1805]
FOOTNOTES:
[1800] καλλιπλόκαμος is the epithet applied by Homer (Il. , xiv. , 326)
to Demeter, in a passage which seems to have been a favorite one with
Lucilius. Cf. book i. , Fr. 15. _Leda_ is also mentioned in connection
with her. It is applied also to Thetis, Il. , xviii. , 407.
15 . . . or who with grim face, pounces upon money. [1791]
16 . . . there is no flummery-maker inferior to you--[1792]
17 . . . their heads are bound; and their forelocks float, high, and
covering their foreheads, as their custom was. [1793]
18 . . . which compelled . . . to drink gall, and wrinkle the belly by
coarse bread, and inferior oil, and a loaf from Cumæ. [1794]
FOOTNOTES:
[1779] _Polyphemus. _ Hom. , Odyss. , ix. , 319, Κύκλωπος γὰρ ἔκειτο
μέγα ῥόπαλον παρὰ σηκῷ . . ὅσσον θ' ἱστὸν νηὸς ἐεικοσόροιο μελαίνης,
φορτίδος εὐρείης.
_Corbita_, "navis oneraria," so called, according to Festus, because
a basket (corbis) was suspended from the top of the mast. Cf. Plaut. ,
Pæn. , III. , i. , 4. The smaller swift-sailing vessels were called
Celoces (a κέλης), hence "Obsecro operam celocem hanc mihi ne corbitam
date. " Cf. Plant. , Pseud. , V. , ii. , 12.
[1780] _Sonipes. _ Cf. Virg. , Æn. , xi. , 599, "Fremit æquore toto
insultans sonipes, et pressis pugnat habenis. " Catull. , lxiii. , 41,
"Sol pepulit noctis umbras vegetis sonipedibus. " _Succussor. _ Cf. ii. ,
Fr. 10. _Milli_ is apparently an old ablative of the singular form.
[1781] The whole Fragment is so corrupt as to be hopeless. Gerlach's
interpolations are scarcely tenable. _Senium_, we learn from Nonius,
is equivalent to tædium. So Persius, "En pallor seniumque. " i. , 26.
_Vomitus_ seems to be applicable to a _person_, "an unclear, offensive
fellow. " So Plaut. , Mostell. , III. , i. , 119, "Absolve hunc, quæso,
vomitum, ne hic nos enecet. "
[1782] Cf. Juv. , vi. , 461, "Ad mœchum lotâ veniunt cute: quando videri
vult formosa domi? mœchis foliata parantur. Interea fœda aspectu
ridendaque multo pane tumet facies . . . tandem aperit vultum et tectoria
prima reponit, incipit agnosci. " _Spiram. _ Cf. Juv. , viii. , 208.
_Redimicula. _ Juv. , ii. , 84. Virg. , Æn. , ix. , 614.
[1783] _Pænula. _ Cf. Juv. , v. , 79. _Canterius. _ Cf. ad lib. iii. , Fr.
9. _Segestre_, a kind of straw mat (from seges) used in litters.
[1784] Gerlach's reading is followed. τοκογλύφος is one who calculates
his interest to a farthing; a sordid usurer. _Syrophœnix. _ Cf. iii. ,
Fr. 33.
[1785] _Ergastulum_ is put sometimes for the slave himself, sometimes
for the under-ground dungeon where, as a punishment, he was set to
work. Cf. Juv. , vi. , 151, "Ergastula tota. " viii. , 180, "Nempe in
Lucanos aut Tusca ergastula mittas. " xiv. , 24, "Quem mire afficiunt
inscripta ergastula. " Nonius says that the masculine form, ergastulus,
is used for the "keeper of the bridewell," custos pœnalis loci.
[1786] The war in Spain may be dated from the refusal of the Segedans
to comply with the directions of the senate, and to pay their usual
tribute. The failure of M. Fulvius Nobilior in Celtiberia took place
B. C. 153, exactly twenty years before the fall of Numantia.
[1787] _Cerebrosus. _ "Qui cerebro ita laborat ut facile irascatur. "
Plaut. , Most. , IV. , ii. , 36, "Senex hic cerebrosus est certe. " Hor. ,
i. , Sat. v. , 21, "Donec cerebrosus prosilit unus, ac mulæ nautæque
caput lumbosque saligno fuste dolat. "
[1788] _Postomis_ (ab ἐπιστομίς), or, as some read, prostomis, is a
sort of muzzle or "twitch" put upon the nose of a refractory horse. To
this Lucilius compares the drinking-cup applied for so long a time to
the lips of the toper, that it looks as though it were suspended from
his nose. Cf. Turneb. , Adversar. , 17, c. ult. _Trulla. _ Cf. Juv. , iii. ,
107.
[1789] _Sirpicula_ is a basket made of twigs or rushes, for carrying
flowers or vegetables. By _tintinnabulum_ Scaliger understands "genus
vehiculi. " But sirpiculæ (a sirpando) are also "the twigs with which
bundles of fagots, etc. , are bound together," which were also used in
administering punishment; and the allusion may be to this, as those who
were led to punishment sometimes carried bells. Vid. Turneb. , Advers. ,
xi. , 21. Hence Tintinnaculus. Plaut. , Truc. , IV. , iii. , 8.
[1790] The MSS. vary between suffectus and sufferctus. The latter would
come from suffercio. Cf. Suet. , Ner. , 20.
[1791] _Inuncare_ is applied by Apuleius to "an eagle bearing away a
lamb in its talons. "
[1792] _Alica_ (anciently halica) is a kind of grain, somewhat like
spelt. The ζέα or χόνδρος of the Greeks. Of this they prepared a kind
of porridge or furmety, of which the Italians were very fond; as of the
polenta, and the maccaroni of the present day. Cf. ad Pers. , iii. , 55.
[1793] _Aptari_ Nonius explains by nexum, illigatum. _Capronæ_ (quasi
a capite pronæ) is properly "that part of the mane which falls between
the horse's ears in front. " Then, like antiæ, applied to the forelocks
of women. Vid. Fest. in v.
[1794] _Galla_ is properly the gall-nut, or oak-apple, used, from its
astringent qualities, in tanning and dyeing; and hence applied to any
harsh, rough, inferior wine. _Acerosum_ (cf. ad ix. , Fr. 15) is applied
to meal not properly cleared from the husk or bran; the αὐτόπυρος of
the Greeks. _Decumanus_ (cf. ad iv. , Fr. 2) is often applied to any
thing of uncommon size: here it is used for the worst kind of oil
(quasi ex decimâ quâque mensurâ rejecto et projecto), or more probably
"such oil as the husbandman would select in order to furnish his
_decimæ_," i. e. , the very worst. Festus says the whole fragment is an
admonition to the exercise of frugality and self-denial.
BOOK XVI.
ARGUMENT.
We have in the old grammarians two conflicting accounts of the
subject of this book. Censorinus (de Die Natali, iii. ) says
that it contained a discussion on the "double genius" which the
Socratic Euclides assigned to all the human race. On the other
hand, Porphyrion (in a note of the twenty-second ode of Horace's
first book) tells us that Horace here imitated Lucilius, who
inscribed his sixteenth book to his mistress Collyra; hence this
book was called Collyra, as the ninth was styled Fornix (in which
also we may observe that it was stated that the double genius of
Euclides was discussed).
Priscian again seems to imply (III. , i. ,
8) that it was inscribed to Fundius; and that Horace copied from
it his fourteenth Epistle of the first book. Gerlach considers
the 1st, 6th, 7th, 8th, and 9th Fragments may form part of a
conversation between Lucilius and his steward, on the true use of
riches. The 10th Fragment may refer to Collyra, especially if we
may suppose that the 13th Fragment (incert. ) refers to the same
person. If so, she was probably, like the Fornarina of Raffaelle,
some buxom ἀρτοκόπος (cf. Herod. , i. , 51) or confectioner. And
this her name seems to imply, Collyra being a kind of circular
wheaten cake, either prepared in a frying-pan, or baked on the
coals or in an oven. (Cf. Coliphium, Juv. , ii. , 53, and Plaut. ,
Pers. , I. , iii. , 12, "Collyræ facite ut madeant et coliphia. ")
She is therefore the "valida pistrix" who understands the whole
mystery of making Mamphulæ, which, as Festus tells us, was a kind
of Syrian bread or cake, made without leaven.
1 A ram went by, by chance; "now what breed? " says he. What great
* *! You would think they were scarcely fastened by a single
thread, and that a huge weight was suspended from the end of
his hide.
2 The Jupiter of Lysippus, forty cubits high at Tarentum,
surpassed that. . . . [1795]
3 The famous King Cotus said that the only two winds he knew were
Auster and Aquilo; but much more those little Austers. . . . nor
did he think it was necessary to know. . . . [1796]
4 A certain man bequeathed to his wife all his chattels, and his
household stuff. What constitutes chattels? and what does not?
For who is to decide that point at issue? [1797]
5 Fundius, . . . merit delights you . . . if you have turned out a
somewhat more active bailiff. [1798]
6 These whom riches advance. . . . and they anoint their unkempt
heads.
7 Why do you seek for this so lazily, especially at this time.
8 . . . you sell publicly however, and lick the edge. . . . [1799]
9 . . . this is far different, says he . . . who was sowing onions.
10 . . . from the middle of the bake-house.
FOOTNOTES:
[1795] This Fragment Gerlach quotes as one of the most corrupt of all.
The colossal statue of the sun, at Rhodes, may perhaps be referred to
as being outdone. For _Lysippus_, cf. Cic. , de Orat. , iii. , 7; Brut. ,
86. Plin. , H. N. , vii. , 37. Hor. , ii. , Ep. i. , 240. Athen. , xi, 784, C.
Müller's Archæol. of Art, § 129.
[1796] _Cotys. _ This was as generic a name for the Thracian kings as
Arsaces among the Parthians. Livy mentions a Cotys, son of Seuthes,
king of the Odrysæ, who brought a thousand cavalry to the support of
Perseus against the Romans, and speaks of him in the highest terms
of commendation: lib. xlii. , 29, 51, 67; xliii. , 3. Another Cotys
assisted Pompey, for which handsome presents were sent to him: cf.
Lucan, Phars. , v. , 54. A third Cotys, or Cottus, king of the Bessi, is
mentioned by Cicero as having bribed L. Calpurnius Piso, the proconsul,
with three hundred talents: In Pison. , xxxiv. The first of the three
is probably intended here, as Livy tells us that after the termination
of the Macedonian war (in which Scipio served), Bitis, the son of
Cotys, was restored with other captives unransomed to his father, in
consequence of the hereditary friendship existing between the Roman
people and his ancestors. The sayings of Cotys, therefore, might have
been current at Rome in Lucilius' time. Liv. , xlv. , 42.
[1797] _Mundus_ (quasi _movendus_, quod moveri potest), which seems at
first to have had the meaning in the text, came afterward to be applied
particularly to the necessary appendages of women, unguents, cosmetics,
mirrors, vessels for the bath, etc. ; and hence the word muliebris is
generally added. It differs from _ornatus_, which is applied to rings,
bracelets, earrings, jewels, head-gear, ribbons, etc. (Cf. Liv. ,
xxxiv. , 7. ) Hence the usual formula of wills, "Uxori meæ vestem, mundum
muliebrem, ornamenta omnia, aurum, argentum, do, lego. " _Penus_ is
properly applied to all "household stores laid up for _future_ use;"
hence penitus, penetro, and penates. Cf. Virg. , Æn. , i. , 704, "Cura
penum struere. "
[1798] _Villicus. _ Cf. Hor. , i. , Epist. xiv. The Villicus superintended
the country estate, as the dispensator did the city household. They
were both generally "liberti. " _Fundi_ is translated as a proper name
on the authority of Priscian, III. , i. , 8.
[1799] _Ligurris. _ Cf. Hor. , i. , Sat. iii. , 80, "Servum patinam qui
tollere jussus semesos pisces tepidumque ligurierit jus. " ii. , Sat.
iv. , 78, "Seu puer unctis tractavit calicem manibus dum furta ligurit. "
Juv. , ix. , 5, "Nos colaphum incutimus lambenti crustula servo. "
BOOK XVII.
ARGUMENT.
This book contained, according to Schoenbeck's view, a discussion
on the dogma of the Stoics, "that no one could be said to possess
any thing peculiarly his own. " The poet therefore ridicules the
creations of the older poets, who have dignified their heroines
with every conceivable embellishment, and invested them with the
attractions of every virtue that adorns humanity. He then goes
through the list of all the greatest mythological personages that
occur in the various Epic poets, in order to show the fallacy
of their ideas, and establish his own theory on the subject of
moral virtue. Gerlach, on the other hand, considers that the
subject was merely a disparagement of the boasted virtues of
the female character; by showing that even these creations of
ideal perfection, elaborated by poets of the greatest genius,
and endowed with every excellence both of mind and body, are not
even by them represented as exempt from those passions and vices
which disgrace their unromantic fellow-mortals. In this general
detraction of female purity, not even the chaste Penelope herself
escapes. The 6th Fragment seems to be directed against those
whose verses are composed under the inspiration of sordid gain.
1 Now that far-famed lady with the "beautiful ringlets," "and
beautiful ankles? " Do you think it was forbidden to touch
her. . . ? Or that Alcmena, the bedfellow of Amphytrion, and
others, was knock-kneed or bandy-legged. In fine,
Leda herself; I don't like to mention her: look out yourself,
and choose some dissyllable. Do you think Tyro, the nobly-born,
had any thing particularly disfiguring; a wart . . . a mole, or a
projecting tooth? [1800]
2 All other things he despises; and lays out all at no high
interest . . . but that no one has aught of his own. . . . [1801]
3 His bailiff Aristocrates, a drudge and neat-herd, he corrupted
and reduced to the last extremity. [1802]
4 Do you, when married, say you will never be married, because
you hope Ulysses still survives?
5 If he will not go, seize him, he says; and if he shuffles, lay
hands on him. . . . [1803]
6 . . . if you sell your Muses to Laverna. [1804]
7 . . . the big bones and shoulders of the man appear. [1805]
FOOTNOTES:
[1800] καλλιπλόκαμος is the epithet applied by Homer (Il. , xiv. , 326)
to Demeter, in a passage which seems to have been a favorite one with
Lucilius. Cf. book i. , Fr. 15. _Leda_ is also mentioned in connection
with her. It is applied also to Thetis, Il. , xviii. , 407.
