FOOTNOTES:
[503] Nævolus is mentioned repeatedly by Martial, and seems to have been a lawyer, i., Ep. 98; iii., Ep. 71 and 95; iv., Ep. 84: hence perhaps the allusion to Marsyas, whose statue stood in the Forum, opposite the Rostra, as a warning to the litigious. Cf. Hor., i., Sat. vi., 120. Xen., Anab., I., ii., 8.
[504] Rhodope. Some well-known courtesan named after Æsop's fellow-slave in the house of Iadmon the Samian, afterward so well known in Egypt. Herod., ii., 134. Cf. Ælian., V. H., xiii., 33.
[505] Pollio. Cf. xi., 43, "digito mendicat Pollio nudo."
[506] Vernam equitem. The slaves born in the house were generally spoiled by indulgence; and they frequently got the nickname of Equites, out of petulant familiarity or fondness.
[507] Sylva.
"And every limb, once smooth'd with nicest care,
Rank with neglect, a shrubbery of hair." Gifford.
[508] Deprendas.
"Sorrow nor joy can be disguised by art,
Our foreheads blab the secrets of our heart." Dryden.
[509] Isis. Cf. vi., 489, "Aut apud Isiacæ potius sacraria lenæ."
[510] Pacis. Vespasian built the splendid temple of Peace near the Forum, A.D. 76. Dio., lxvi., 15. Suet., Vesp. 9. In it, or near it, stood the statue of Ganymede. Others think that Ganymedes is put for the temple of Jupiter.
[511] Advectæ Matris, i. e., Cybele, called also Parens Idæa, and Numen Idæum, because her worship was introduced into Rome from Phrygia, A.U.C. 548, after the Sibylline books had been consulted as to the means of averting certain prodigies. The rude and shapeless mass which represented the goddess was lodged in the house of P. Corn. Scipio Nasica, as the most virtuous man in Rome. Cf. Sat. iii., 137. Liv., xxix., 10. A temple was afterward erected for her on the Palatine Hill: hence palatia. Secreta alludes to the abominable orgies performed in her honor.
[512] Venæque secundæ. "Silver adulterated with brass below the standard; in short, base metal."
[513] Mollis avarus.
"But oh! this wretch, this prodigy behold!
A slave at once to lechery and gold." Dryden.
[514] Morbo. Cf. Hor., i., Sat. vi., 30, "Ut si qui ægrotet quo morbo Barrus."
[515] Succina. Cf. ad vi., 573. The old Schol. explains this by "Gemmata Dextrocheria." Grangæus thinks that it means "presents of amber," which the Roman ladies used to rub in their hands. So Badham:
"For whom the cup of amber must be found,
Oft as the birth or festal day comes round."
[516] Fœmineis Kalendis. On the 1st of March were celebrated the Matronalia in honor of the women who put an end to the Sabine war (bellum dirimente Sabina, vi., 154). Cf. Ov., Fast., iii., 229. On this festival, as well as their birthdays, the Roman ladies sat up in state to receive presents from their husbands, lovers, and acquaintances (vid. Suet., Vesp., 19), in return for what they had given to the men on the Saturnalia. Cf. Mart., v., Ep. lxxxiv., 10, "Scis certè puto vestra jam venire Saturnalia Martias Kalendas." Hor., iii., Od. viii., 1, "Martiis cælebs quid agam Kalendis."
[517] Appula. Cf. iv., 27. Milvos.
"Regions which such a tract of land embrace,
That kites are tired within the unmeasured space." Gifford.
[518] Trifolinus ager. Cf. Mart., xiii., Ep. 114, "Non sum de primo fateor, Trifolina, Lyæo; inter vina tamen septima vitis ero." Trifoline wines were so called from being fit to drink at the third appearance of the leaf, "quæ tertio anno ad bibendum tempestiva forent." Plin., xiv., 6. Facc. takes it from Trifolium, a mountain in Campania, perhaps near Capua. Plin., iv., 6.
[519] Suspectumque jugum. Either Mons Misenus (cf. Virg., Æn., vi., 234), only three miles from Cumæ, or Vesuvius, which was famous for its wines. Mart., iv., Ep. 44. Virg., Georg., ii., 224. Gaurus, now Monte Barbaro, is full of volcanic caverns. It is also called "Gierro."
[520] Plura.
"Though none drinks less, yet none more vessels fills!" Dryden.
[521] Casulis. Cf. xi., 153, "notos desiderat hædos."
"Sure yonder female with the child she bred,
The dog their playmate, and their little shed,
Had with more justice been conferr'd on me,
Than on a cymbal-beating debauchee." Gifford.
[522] Polyphemi. For the loudness of his roar, vid. Virg., Æn., iii., 672. The meaning seems to be, "I am as badly off with but one slave as Polyphemus was with only one eye: had he had two Ulysses would not have escaped him." Badham takes it of the slave calling for food.
"My hungry rascal must at home be fed,
Or else, like Polypheme, he'll roar for bread!"
[523] Decembri, used here adjectively.
[524] Durate. A parody on Virg., Æn., i., 207, "Durate, et vosmet rebus servate secundis." Cf. Suet., Cal., 45.
"Cold! never mind! a month or two, and then
The grasshoppers, my lads, will come again!" Badham.
[525] Ruperat. Cf. Tac., Ann., xi., 30, "At is redderet uxorem, rumperetque tabulas nuptiales." There was an express clause in the marriage contract, "liberorum procreandorum gratiâ uxorem duci."
[526] Libris actorum. Cf. Tac., Ann., iii., 3. Sat. ii., 136, "cupient et in acta referri." These acta were public registers, in which parents were obliged to insert the names of their children a few days after their birth. They contained, besides, records of marriages, divorces, deaths, and other occurrences of the year, and were therefore of great service to historians, who as some think employed persons to read them up for them. (Cf. acta legenti vii., 104.) Servius Tullius instituted this custom. The records were kept in the temple of Saturn.
[527] Suspende coronas. This was customary on all festive occasions, as here, on the birth of a child; at marriages (vi., 51, "Necte coronam postibus, et densos per limina tende corymbos"), the return of friends (cf. xii., 91, "Longos erexit janua ramos"), or any public rejoicing (as x., 65, on the death of Sejanus, "Pone domi lauros"). So, when advocates gained a cause, their clients adorned the entrance of their houses with palm branches. Cf. vii., 118, "virides scalarum gloria palmæ." Mart., vii., Ep. xxviii., 6, "excolat et geminas plurima palma fores."
[528] Legatum omne. One of the provisions of the Lex Papia Poppæa (introduced, at the desire of Augustus, to extend the Lex Julia de maritandis ordinibus) was, that if a married person had no child, a tenth, and in some cases a larger proportion, of what was bequeathed him, should fall to the exchequer. Cf. vi., 38. It conferred also certain privileges and immunities on those who in Rome had three children (hence jus trium liberorum) born in wedlock. Cf. Ruperti and Lips. ad Tac., Ann., iii., 25. Cf. Ann., xv., 19. Mart., ii., Ep. xci., 6; ix., lxvii.
[529] Caducum, probably a legacy contingent upon the condition of having children.
[530] Pumice. Cf. viii., 16, "tenerum attritus Catanensi pumice lumbum."
[531] Valvis. Cf. xiii., 145, seq.
[532] Corydon. Cf. Virg., Ecl., ii., 69, "Ah, Corydon, Corydon, quæ te dementia cepit!" and 56, "Rusticus es, Corydon!"
[533] Claude fenestras.
"Bolt every door, stop every cranny tight,
Close every window, put out every light;
Let not a whisper reach the listening ear,
No noise, no motion—let no soul be near." Gifford.
[534] Gallicinium was the technical name for the second military watch, Vid. Facc.
[535] Carptores, Grangæus explains by "Escuiers trenchants." Facc. by δαιτρός and structor.
[536] Baltea.
"For countless scourgings will the rogues be slack
In slanderous villainies to pay thee back?" Badham.
[537] Saufeia, or Laufella, is supposed to be the "conjux Fusci," mentioned xii., 45, and Mart., iii., Ep. 72; and whose other debaucheries are mentioned vi., 320. Cicero, knowing the propensity of his countrywomen to wine-bibbing, would exclude them from officiating at any sacred rites (at which wine was always used) after nightfall. The festival of the Bona Dea is the only exception he would make. "Nocturna mulierum sacrificia ne sunto, præter olla quæ pro populo rite fiant."
[538] Faciens; so operatur, xii., 92. Virg., Ecl., iii., 77, "Cum faciam vitulâ pro fugibus ipse venito." So Georg., i., 339, "Sacra refer Cereri lætis operatus in herbis." So in Greek, ῥέζειν is constantly used absolutely.
"For more stolen wine than late Saufeia boused,
When, for the people's welfare, she caroused!" Gifford.
[539] Liber.
"Yet worse than they, the man whose vicious deeds
Makes him still tremble at the rogues he feeds." Badham.
[540] Flosculus. For many exquisite parallel passages to this, see Gifford's note.
[541] Dum bibimus.
"And while thou call'st for garlands, girls, and wine,
Comes stealthy age, and bids thee all resign." Badham.
[542] Digito. Effeminate wretches, who, as Holyday says, like women, are afraid of touching their heads with more than a finger, for fear of discomposing their curls. Pompey had this charge brought against him by one Calvus; and cf. Plut. in Vit., 48. Amm. Marcell., XVII., xi.
[543] Lares, cf. xii., 87. Hor., iii., Od. xxiii., 15, "Parvos coronantem marino Rore Deos, fragilique myrto." Plin., xi., 2, "Numa instituit deos fruge colere, et mola salsa supplicare et far torrere."
[544] Figam, a metaphor from hunting.—Tegete, cf. v., 8, "Nusquam pons et tegetis pars."—Baculo, cf. Ter., Heaut., V., i., 58.
[545] C. Fabricius Luscinus, when censor, removed from the senate P. Cornelius Rufinus, who had been twice consul and once dictator, for having in his possession more than ten pounds' weight of plate. Liv., Epit., xiv. He was censor A.U.C. 478. Cf. xi., 90, seq.
[546] Duo fortes. Persons of moderate fortune rode in their sella gestatoria, a sedan borne by two persons. The rich had litters or palanquins, called hexaphori, or octophori, according to the number of the lecticarii. Cf. i., 64. Mœsia, now Bulgaria and Servia, is said to have been famous for producing these brawny chairmen.
[547] Curvus. So Lubinus interprets it. "Cum enim laborat se incur vat." Cf. Virg., Eccl., iii., 42, "curvus arator;" so Art. Am., ii., 670, "Curva senectus." Or from his assiduity, "qui assiduus in opere est." Madan says, "Curvus means crooked, that hath turnings and windings; and this latter, in a mental sense, denotes cunning, which is often used for skillful." Cf. Exod., xxxviii., 23. The old Schol. explains it by Anaglyptarius, "a carver in low relief."
[548] Pingit. Others read fingit, and interpret it of "plaster casts." It probably refers to the "line of painted busts" to deck his corridor, perhaps of fictitious ancestors. Cf. viii., 2, "Pictosque ostendere vultus majorum."
[549] Fortuna.
"For when to Fortune I prefer my prayers,
The obdurate goddess stops at once her ears;
Stops with that wax which saved Ulysses' crew,
When by the Syrens' rocks and songs they flew." Gifford.