Decoqueretur olus, soliti.
When Scipio's virtue, and of milder vein
When Lælius' wisdom, from the busy scene
And crowd of life, the vulgar and the great.
Could with their favourite satirist retreat,
Lightly they laugh'd at many an idle jest,
Until their frugal feast of herbs was drest.
FRANCIS'S HORACE.
It is probable, that the harsh manner of Lucilius, durus componere versus, infected the eloquence of Lælius, since we find in Cicero, that his style was unpolished, and had much of the rust of antiquity. Multo tamen vetustior et horridior ille quam Scipio, et, cum sint in dicendo variæ, voluntates, delectari mihi magis antiquitate videtur, et lubenter verbis etiam uti paulo magis priscis Lælius. De Claris Oratoribus, s. 83.
Section XXVI.