Ingustata mihi porrexerat ilia rhombi. Post hoc me docuit, melimela rubere minorem Vibidius Balatroque, secutis omnibus; imi 40 Affertur squillas inter murena natantes In patina porrecta. Sub hoc herus, "Haec gravida," inquit, "Capta est, deterior post partum carne futura. His mixtum jus est: oleo, quod prima Venafri = 45 50 50 55 very different from the ordinary.-30. Ingustata; that is, such as I had never tasted before.-31. Minorem ad lunam delecta, gathered at the wane of the moon.' 34. Damnose vehementer; properly, in such a way ut damnum hospiti inferamus. Moriemur inulti is an expression of epic poetry, here jocularly used in reference to drinking. 38. Strong wine dulls the taste. Men of fine taste in wine drink comparatively little. Hence the guests on the imus lectus are sparing. See line 40.- 39. Allifani were a kind of large cups, so called from Allifae, a town of the Samnites, where they were much used. 45. His, scil. rebus. The constituents of the sauce are these: oil from Venafrum (Carm. ii. 6, 15), that which flowed first from the olives, before they were much pressed (prima cella); and caviare from the fish scomber, which was caught near New Carthage in Spain. With this, in the operation of cooking, Italian wine five years old was mixed. After the cooking, Chian wine is added, white pepper, and some vinegar made from Lesbian wine; for Me thymnaeus, in line 50, is from Methymna,' a town of Lesbos.54. Aulaea, curtains.' These were stretched in the form of a tent round the table, to keep off the dust of the roof. Now, when they 35 309 Filius immaturus obisset, flere. Quis esset 60 65 70 75 80 fall they are full of black dust.-59. Esset, used in the lively narcative for fuisset.-63. Mappa, napkin.' — 64. Suspendens omnia naso. See i. 6, 5. Balatro's words of consolation are full of irony. -66. Responsura-par fama labori; that is, your fame, or honour, does not correspond to, come up to, your exertions to make a good feast. 67. Tene-torquerier, 'how you were tortured with anxiety lest,' &c. All this is ironical, and is intended to intimate that Nasidienus had neglected many of those small matters which go to constitute comfort: the bread was burnt, the sauce was badly made, the slaves ill attired, and, what was more, Nasidienus, from want of slaves, had had to make the 'groom' (agaso) wait at table, and he had broken a plate (line 72.)-77. Et soleas poscit. Nasidienus has taken Balatro's irony as earnest, and goes out to make some new arrangements. Hence he asks for his slippers, which were laid aside by a person when he lay down at table. Scarcely has he gone out when, on every couch (quoque, from quisque), the groups begin to make to each other derogatory remarks on the entertainment.-79. Horace interrupts his friend.-81. De pueris = a pueris.-83. Ridetur fictis rerum, Balatrone secundo. They laugh in reality at the host and his entertainment, but they pretend to be laughing at other jokes. Balatro helps Vibidius in this pretence, and states a cause for each laugh. Balatro was, as it were, the second actor in the comedy, in which Vibidius played the first part. As to fictis rerum = fictis rebus, see Nasidiene, redis mutatae frontis, ul arte 85 Quam si cum lumbis quis edit. Tum pectore adusto 90 95 ii. 2, 25.-84. Mutatae frontis; that is, he now looks cheerful, as if by his skill he was about to repair the damage sustained by accident. -87. Gruis sparsi. See Zumpt, § 42.—89. Compare the precept laid down in ii. 4, 44.-93. Sic ulti. We revenged ourselves on him by eating nothing, as if Canidia (the poisoner so often attacked by Horace) had breathed upon the viands. EPISTOLARUM LIBER PRIMUS. EPISTOLA II. AD LOLLIUM. EXCELLENT remarks on the moral lessons which may be drawn from Homer's poems. They are addressed to M. Lollius, the eldest son (hence in line 1, maxime) of M. Lollius, to whom the 9th ode of the 4th book is addressed. The youth was studying oratory at Rome. Horace was spending the summer at Praeneste (now Palestrina.) TROJANI belli scriptorem, maxime Lolli, Dum tu declamas Romae, Praeneste relegi; Qui quid sit pulchrum, quid turpe, quid utile, quid non, Hunc amor, ira quidem communiter urit utrumque. 10 4. Chrysippus, a Stoic philosopher; Crantor, an Academic, a follower of Plato.-7. Barbariae. The Trojans, not being Greeks, were barbari.-8. Aestus = cupiditates.-9. Antenor. See Iliad, vii. 348. Antenor and Aeneas had always recommended peace. For praecidere we should have in prose praecidi. Horace, by poetic licence, omits the subject, perhaps Priamum.-11. Nestor. See Iliad, i. 254.-13. Hunc; namely, Atriden. Agamemnon was irritated at the loss of Chryseis.-14. The Greeks had to pay for their leader's quarrel; for 21* (245) Seditione, dolis, scelere atque libidine et ira 15 Qui domitor Trojae multorum providus urbes Et mores hominum inspexit, latumque per aequor, 20 Dum sibi, dum sociis reditum parat, aspera multa they were unsuccessful after Achilles in his anger left them to themselves.-16. Result of the poet's observations in regard to the moral bearings of the Iliad. He comes now to the Odyssey.-19. Domitor Trojae, because it was by his advice that the wooden horse was built. Horace here translates the commencement of the Odyssey: providus = πολύτροπος, inspexit alludes to the Homeric νόον ἔγνω. 23. Sirenum. See Odyssey, xii. 39. Circae pocula. See Odyssey, x. 136.-24. Stultus cupidusque for stulte cupideque. Ulysses did drink of Circe's cup, but not till he had received an antidote from Hermes.-27. Ulysses is a pattern of wisdom. The suitors of Penelope, on the other hand, the juventus Alcinoi, so called from their chief, are examples of average humanity, men born to eat and drink, and counted by their heads, not their opinions-they not having any; hence numerus. Among these he jocularly reckons himself, saying nos.-29. Cute, here corpore.-31. Cessatum ducere Curam. Čura is conceived as a goddess, whom, by the sound of the lyre, the suitors endeavour to induce to be quiet and cease from annoying them. Cessatum is the supine. 32. The poet passes over to the general remark, that men have little anxiety for moral improvement. De nocte, by night,' beginning before night ends. Zumpt, 308. -34. Hydropicus. Much walking was considered as a preventive of dropsy. Ni posces-torquebere. The sense is: if you do not rise early to pursue the study of philosophy, envy and desire (amor taken generally) will keep you awake, to your great annoyance.— = |