BOOK XXIX.

ARGUMENT.

The remains of this book are so mutilated and so diversified, that,

as Gerlach says, "one might be disposed to imagine that the very

essence of the subject was its unconnected variety." Both he and

Merula, however, consider that it contained a long episode on

the state of morality in the good old days; when the war with

Hannibal rendered a luxurious indulgence incompatible even with

personal safety. (Cf. Juv., vi., 291. Sulpic., 51, 52.) An old

man is introduced inveighing bitterly against the sloth, the

luxury, and immoderate extravagance of the young men of his day;

of their unscrupulousness as to the means by which the money was

acquired, which was squandered on their licentious pleasures.

He then describes one of these scenes of dissipation; and shows

how young men, once entangled in the snares of their worthless

paramours not only become lost to every principle of virtue and

sense of shame, but are so completely enslaved and enthralled

by their passions, that they are able to refuse nothing,

however unworthy of them, which is exacted by their tyrannical

mistresses. This corruption extends itself, also, not only to

the courts of law, where justice has become a matter of barter,

both with advocates and judges, but its fatal effects may also

be traced in the debasement and deterioration of literature, of

poetry, and of the public taste.

1 When he has done this, the culprit will be handed over along

with others to Lupus: he will not appear. He will deprive the

man of both primary matter and elements: when he has prohibited

him from the use of water and fire, he has still two elements:

he would have preferred ... still he will deprive him--[1915]

2 ... and rest assured in your mind, that it will be a very

weighty reason indeed with me, which would draw me away from

any thing that would serve you.

3 ... who communicates to me what the difference is between the

race of mankind and brutes, and what it is connects them

together.

4 Apollo is the deity who will not suffer you to bring disgrace

and infamy on the ancient Delians.[1916]

5 For he swears a great oath that he has written, and will not

write afterward.... and return into fellowship.

6 ... when you have learnt, you may pass your life without care.

7 ... at the close of the year, days of mourning, sorrow, and

ill-luck.[1917]

8 ... and loved all; for he makes no difference, and separates

them by a white line....

So in love, and in the case of young men of rather better face, he

marks.... and loves nothing.[1918]

9 Why do you give way to excessive anger? You had better keep

your hands off a woman!

10 ... you could not take it away before you took the spirit of

Tullius from the man, and killed the man himself.[1919]

11 We heard he appealed to his friends, with that rascal Lucilius.

12 besides that you would wish us to direct, and apply our minds

to your words

13 So, I say, was that crafty fellow, that old wolf, Hannibal,

taken in.[1920]

14 But they are not alike, and do not give. What if they would

give? Would you accept, tell me?

15 ... convey him, like a runaway slave, with handcuffs, fetters,

and collar.[1921]

16 ... who will both beg you for less, and grant their favors much

better, and without disgrace.[1922]

17 If you wish to detain him....

18 Albinus, in grief, confines himself to his house, because he

has divorced his daughter....[1923]

19 ... to foment another's hungry stomach with ground barley like

a poultice.[1924]

20 I know for certain it is as you say: for I had thoroughly

examined into all.

21 ... she will bring you youth and elegance, if you think that

elegance.

22 ... first opposite.... if there is any garret to which he can

retire.

23 ... and in the gymnasium, that after the old fashion you might

retain spectators.

24 ... where there was a scout to shut him out from you, and nip

his passion in the bud.[1925]

25 When he sees me, he wheedles and coaxes, scratches his head,

and picks out the vermin.[1926]

26 What will it profit me, when I am now sated with all things.

27 ...[1927]

28 Go on, I pray; and if you can, make me think myself worthy of

you.

29 ... this he would have found the only thing for the man's

disease.

30 This is their way of reckoning: the items are falsified: the

sum total roguishly balanced.[1928]

31 These fellows will balance their accounts exactly in the same

way--[1929]

32 Come, now, add up the expenditure, and then add on the debts.

33 ... suffering from a Chironian and not a mortal sore and

wound.[1930]

34 ... what you have hired at a great price is dear; though with

no great loss.[1931]

35 ... all their hope rests in me, that I may be bilked of my

money.[1932]

36 ... would not return ... and banish her poor wretch.[1933]

37 ... we have all been plundered.

38 ... distribute, scatter, squander, dissipate....

39 ... collect assistance, though she does not deserve I should

bring it.

40 ... you think me your patron, friend, and lover....

41 ... that in this matter, you should bring me aid and assistance

42 ... Do you, meantime, bring a light, and draw the

curtains.[1934]

43 ... thank me for introducing you.

44 ... then he subjoins that which is even now well known.

45 I will hit his leg with a stone, if he strikes you....

46 Let no one break these double hinges with iron....[1935]

47 I will break through the hinges with a crowbar and two-edged

iron.

48 I shall pass quickly through each winter.[1936]

49 Sends forth his pent-houses, prepares sheds and mantlets.[1937]

50 ... add all the rest in order, at my peril.

51 ... for a little while, they will devour me; while she, like a

very polypus....[1938]

52 ... rise, woman, draw not a bad outline....[1939]

53 ... since while they are extricating others, they get into the

mud themselves--

54 ... he came here, on his way, while he was traveling elsewhere.

55 ... what? he would himself share for learning what is

good.[1940]

56 ... as if he had not got what he wished for.

57 ... nor the cloudless breezes favor with their blast--[1941]

58 ... whence he can scarcely get home, and hardly get clear out.

59 ... and heaviness often oppresses you, by your own fault.[1942]

60 ... the annihilation of our army to a man--

61 ... thrust forth by force, and driven out of Italy.

62 ... this then he possessed, and nearly all Apulia--

63 ... with some intricate beginning out of Pacuvius.

64 ... may the king of gods avert ill-omened words.[1943]

65 ... rails at wretched me too....

66 ... first he denies that Chrysis returns intact.[1944]

67 ... the Greeks call tripping up.[1945]

68 ... all things alike he separates ... and heinous.[1946]

69 ... What man art thou? Man! no man....[1947]

70 ...[1948]

71 ... all other things in which we are carried away, not to be

prolix.[1949]

72 † ....[1950]

73[1951]

FOOTNOTES:

[1915] _Lupus._ Cf. lib. i., Fr. 4, where he speaks of his perjuries,

and Fr. inc. 193, "Occidunt Lupe te saperdæ et jura siluri," where he

satirizes his luxuriousness; here he alludes to his unjust dealings as

judge. Cf. ad Pers., i., 114. _Interdicere aquâ et igni_, the technical

phrase for banishment. Cf. Cæs., B. G., vi., 44. Cic., Phil., vi., 4.

Fam., xi., 1. Lupus appears to grieve that the banished man has still

two elements, air and earth, left to enjoy. Thales is said to have

been the first to use ἀρχαὶ in the sense of "first principles." (Vid.

Ritter's History of Philosophy.) Empedocles first reduced the elements

to four, and called them ῥιζώματα. Plato first called them στοιχεῖα,

vid. Tim., 48. _Adesse_ is applied both to the defendant who _appears_

before the tribunal and to the advocate who _stands by_ to support

him. «Cicero seems to allude to the passage in his speech for Roscius

(pro Rosc. Am., xxvi.), "Non videntur hunc hominem ex rerum naturâ

sustulisse et eripuisse, cui repente cœlum, solem, aquam, terramque

ademerint?" Cf. de Orat., i., c. 50, 1.»

[1916] _Deliacis_, the conjecture of Junius for _deliciis_. The

Fragment will then be connected with Fr. 8, and will refer to the

θεωρία sent to Delos; with which, of course, the death of Socrates is

connected. Plat., Phæd., 58.

[1917] _Annus vertens_, i. e., "circumactus, completus." Nizol. Cic.

pro Qu., 40. Nat. De., ii., 54, "Mercurii stella anno ferè vertente

signiferum lustrat orbem." Phil., xiii., 10, "intra finem anni

vertentis." So mensis vertens. Plaut., Pers., IV., iv., 76. _Dies

religiosi_, ἀποφράδες ἡμέραι, "Days of ill omen," on which nothing

important was undertaken; as the Dies Alliensis. Cf. Cic., Att., ix.,

4. Qu., Fr. 3, 4. Liv., vi., 1. Suet., Tib., 61, "Nullus à pœnâ hominum

cessavit dies, ne religiosus quidem ac sacer." Claud., 14. Aul. Gell.,

iv., 9. Festus reckons thirty-six of these days in the year (in voc

"Religiosus" and "Mundus").

[1918] _Albâ lineâ signare_ is a phrase for "doing any thing carelessly

and negligently:" to make, as it were, a white line on a white ground,

which could not be distinguished; whereas careful workmen work by a

clearly-defined and durable line. Cf. Aul. Gell., Præf., 11, "Albâ ut

dicitur lineâ, sine curâ discriminis converrebant."

[1919] _Tullius_, Gerlach supposes to have been an unjust judge, like

Lupus, Fr. 1, and to be the same as the "judex" mentioned, xi., Fr. 2.

[1920] _Acceptum_, i. e., deceptum. Nonius. _Veterator._ Cf. Ter.,

Andr., II., vi., 26, "Quid hic volt veterator sibi?"

[1921] _Canis_, and its diminutive, _catulus_, are both used for a

species of fetter. Plaut., Cas., II., vi., 37, "Ut quidem tu hodie

canem et furcam feras." Curcul., V., iii., 13, "Delicatum te hodie

faciam cum catello ut adcubes ferreo ego dico." σκύλαξ is used in Greek

with the same double meaning. _Collare._ Cf. Plaut., Capt., II., ii.,

107, "Hoc quidem haud molestum est, jam quod collum collari caret."

Other kinds of fetters are mentioned, Plaut., Asin., III., ii., 4,

"Compedes, nervos, catenas, numellas, pedicas, boias." Capt., IV., ii.,

109.

[1922] _Præbent._ Cf. Ov., A. Am., ii., 685, "Odi quæ præbet, quia sit

præbere necesse."

[1923] _Albinus._ It is doubtful whether the allusion is to Aulus or

Spurius Posthumius Albinus. The latter, Cicero tells us, was condemned

and banished by the "Gracchani judices," together with Opimius. Cic.,

Brut., 34. (Cf. lib. xi., Fr. 1.) He is here charged with incest, as

the phrase _repudium remittere_ properly applies to a wife, or one

betrothed (_divortium_ being applied to a wife only). Vid. Fest. in v.

"Repudium." Plaut., Aul., IV., x., 57, c. not. Hildyard.

[1924] _Mæstum_, i. e., fame enectum. Non.

[1925] Compare the whole scene in Plaut, Asin., act. iv., sc. 1.

[1926] _Subblanditur._ Plaut., Cas., III., iii., 23. Bacch., III.,

iv., 19. _Palpatur._ Plaut., Merc., I., ii., 60, "Hoc, sis, vide ut

palpatur! Nullus 'st quando occœpit, blandior." Amph., I., iii., 9,

"Observatote quam blande mulieri palpabitur."

[1927] Cf. xxviii., Fr. 49. The Fragment is assigned to both books.

[1928] _Æra_, "numeri nota." Nonius. Cf. Cic. in Hortens., "Quid tu

inquam soles; cum _rationem_ ad dispensatorem accipis, si _æra_ singula

probasti, _summam_ quæ ex his confecta sit, non probare?" This and the

31st, 32d, 34th, and 38th Fragments, are part of the old man's speech,

inveighing against the profligacy and extravagance of young men. Vid.

Argument.

[1929] _Subducere rationes._ Cf. Plaut., Curc., iii., 1, "Beatus

videor: subduxi ratiunculam, quantum æris mihi sit, quantumque alieni

siet; dives sum si non reddo eis, quibus debeo; si reddo eis quibus

debeo plus alieni est."

[1930] _Vomica._ Cf. Juv., xiii., 35. The _vulnus Chironium_ is

described by Celsus, "Magnum est, habet oras duras, callosas, tumentes:

sanie tenui manat, odorem malum emittit, dolorem modicum affert:

nihilominus difficile coit et sanescit:" v., 28. It took its name from

Chiron, who is said to have first found out the way of treating it.

«Cf. Orph., H., 379. Hom., Il., xi., 831. Pind., Pyth., iii.»

[1931] _Magna mercede._ Merces, i. e., "cost, injury, detriment." Cic.,

Fam., i., 9, "In molestia gaudeo te eam fidem cognoscere hominum non

ita magnâ mercede, quam ego maximo dolore cognôram." The sentiment is

probably the same as Cato's, "asse carum esse dicebat, quo non opus

esset."

[1932] _Emungi._ Cf. Ter., Ph., IV., iv., 1, "Quid egisti? Emunxi

argento senes." Plaut., Bac., V., i., 15, "Miserum med auro esse

emunctum." Hor., A. P., 238, "Pythias emuncto lucrata Simone talentum."

_Bolus_, "any thing thrown as a bait;" hence "profit, gain." Ter.,

Heaut., IV., ii. 6, "Crucior, bolum mihi tantum ereptum tam desubito de

faucibus." Plaut., Pers., IV., iv., 107, "Dabit hæc tibi grandes bolos."

[1933] _Exterminare._ "To expel, banish beyond certain limits."

[1934] _Aulæa obducite._ Cf. Plin., ii., Ep. 17, "Velis obductis."

[1935] _Cardines._ Plaut., Amph., IV., ii., 6, "Pœne effregisti, fatue,

foribus cardines." Asin., II., iii., 8, "Pol haud periclum est cardines

ne foribus effringantur." Cf. iv., Fr. 15; xxviii., Fr. 27.

[1936] _Carpere_, "celeriter præterire." Non. Cf. Virg., Georg., iii.,

141, "Acri carpere prata fuga."

[1937] _Pluteus_, _tecta_, _testudines_, are all military terms, and

signify sheds, pent-houses, or mantlets, made of wood and hurdles

covered with hides, under cover of which the soldiers advanced to the

attack of a town. The vinea and musculus were of the same kind. (Cf.

xxvi., Fr. 9.) Cf. Fest., in v. Pluteus., Veget., iv., 15. They are

also used metaphorically, as perhaps here. Plaut, Mil. Gl., II., ii.,

113, "Ad eum vineas pluteosque agam."

[1938] _Polypus_, one that sticks as close as a polypus or barnacle.

Cf. Plaut., Aul., II., ii., 21, "Ego istos novi polypos qui sicubi quid

tetigerint tenent." (Where vid. Hildyard's note.) Ov., Met., iv., 366,

"deprensum polypus hostem continet--"

[1939] _Filum_, "oris liniamentum." Non. Cf. Plaut., Merc., IV., iv.,

15, "Satis scitum filum mulieris." So filum corporis, "the contour of

the body." A. Gell., i., 9.

[1940] Cf. iii., Fr. 38.

[1941] _Sudum_, "semiudum." Non. Serenum. Fulgent. Cf. Virg., Georg.,

iv., 77, "Ver nactæ sudum." Æn., viii., 529, "Arma inter nubem, cœli in

regione serenâ per sudum rutilare vident."

[1942] _Gravedo._ Crapula, κραιπάλη, "the headache that follows

intoxication." Plin., xx., 13, "Crapulæ gravedines." (Cf. Arist.,

Acharn., 277.)

[1943] _Obscœna_, i. e., "mali ominis." Fest. Hence the phrases

"obscenæ aves, canes, anus." So "puppis obscœna," the ship that bore

Helen to Troy. Ov., Her., v., 119. So Dies alliensis (Id. Quinct.) was

said to be "Obscœnissimi ominis." Fest., in voc.

[1944] _Signatam_, i. e., integram; a metaphor from that which is kept

closely sealed, and watched that the seals may not be broken.

[1945] _Supplantare._ Plato (Euthydem., l. 278) uses ὑποσκελίζειν.

[1946] _Nefantia._ Cf. lib. iii., 28, "Tantalus qui pœnas ob facta

nefantia pendit."

[1947] _Nemo homo._ The two words, according to Charisius, were always

used together. Cf. Plaut., Asin., II., iv., 60, "Ego certe me incerto

scio hoc daturum nemini homini." Pers., II., ii., 29, "Nemo homo unquam

ita arbitratus 'st." Cic., N. D., ii., 38.

[1948] Lib. xxviii., 17, where the Fr. is also quoted.

[1949] _Ecferimur_, i. e., "extollimur." Non.

[1950] Is hopelessly corrupt.

[1951] Occurs before; lib., xix., Fr. 8.