About 55-138 A.D.
Facunde Iuvenalis.--Martial, 7. 91. 1.
Irati histrionis exsul.--Sidouius Apollinaris, _Carmen_ 9. 273.
Quidquid agunt homines, votum, timor, ira, voluptas, gaudia, discursus,
nostri est farrago libelli.--_Satira_ 1. 85-86.
Facit indignatio versum.--_Satira_ 1. 79.
Satire appears to have originated in impromptu dramatic performances. It
was looked upon by the Romans as a purely native product. Quintilian
says of it (10. 1. 93) satura quidem tota nostra eat. The word seems to
be connected with the adjective satur, the distinctive mark of the
earlier satire being fulness and variety. As lanx satura is a dish
filled with various kinds of fruit, so satire in this earlier sense is a
poem which may deal with any subject and employ several measures and
languages. With Lucilius, satire, while retaining its dramatic and
discursive character, became didactic as well, and thus the word assumed
its modern signification.
The principal names in the history of Roman satire are Ennius (239-160
B.C.), Lucilius (148-103 B.C.), Varro (116-27 B.C.), Horace (65-8 B.C.),
Persius (34-62 A.D.), Seneca the Younger (3 B.C.-65 A.D.), Petronius
(flourished about 60 A.D.), and Juvenal.
Juvenal was born at Aquinum in Latium and was the son or foster son of a
wealthy freedman. He practised declamation till middle life, was tribune
of the first Dalmatian cohort, was for some reason banished (the story
says for verses offensive to an actor who had influence at court), and
died while in exile. He was a friend of the poet Martial.
We possess sixteen of his satires divided into five books. 'Those which
are most characteristic portray the vices of Roman society with
passionate, unsparing ferocity' and in an extremely highly colored
style. In some passages the most prominent quality is wit, which
consists chiefly in the exaggerated and strongly contrasted situations.
Other passages reach a lofty height of moral earnestness and dignity.
For Reference: Wright, _Juvenal_ (Boston, 1901); Mayor, _Juvenal_
(London, 1886).
Metre: Dactylic Hexameter, B. 368; A. & G. 615.
_1._ 1 ff. Praeneste, Volsiniis, Gabiis, Tiburis: country towns at a
moderate distance from Rome. ruinam: 'The spontaneous collapse of the
tenement houses was such a common occurrence that nobody paid attention
to it, though it is an event that would fill our newspapers with a
thrilling subject for days....There were companies formed for the
purpose of propping...houses.'--Lanciani, _Ruins and Excavations of
Ancient Rome_, Conclusion, p. 563. The entire chapter should be read in
connection with this selection. 3. proni: i.e. on a hillside. 4. urbem:
i.e. Rome. tibicine: prop. 5. labentibus: the falling walls. 6. vilicus:
the owner's agent. 8. incendia: fires were common at Rome. Especially
memorable were the great conflagrations in the reigns of Nero, Titus,
and Commodus. The Temple of Vesta was almost or entirely destroyed five
times by fire. 10. Ucalegon: your neighbor on the next floor below;
called Ucalegon because iam proximits ardet, Vergil, _Aeneid_, 2. 311.
tabulata tertia: the third or attic story where you live. 11.
trepidatur: the cry of 'Fire!' is raised. 13. ultimus ardebit: and
likewise will get the alarm last. 14. Codro: any poor man in this
situation. Procula minor: too short for Tom Thumb. Procula was probably
a dwarf. urceoli: displayed on the sideboard, or abacus, beneath which
was a reclining statuette of the Centaur Chiron. 17. Iam: modifies
vetus. 18. divina carmina: the Greek books just mentioned. opici: a name
given by the Greek colonists of southern Italy to the native races.
Since these were of inferior refinement, the word came to mean
barbarian. It is applied to the mice since they destroy the manuscripts.
20, 21. ultimus cumulus: the last straw. 21. frusta: a mouthful of
food. 23. Asturici: type of a rich man. 24. differt vadimonia: puts off
the time at which the defendant had given security (vadimonium) to
appear. 26. Ardet: impersonal. 28. Euphranoris: a Greek sculptor of the
fourth century B.C. Polycliti: a Greek sculptor of the fifth century
B.C. He made a famous gold and ivory statue of Hera. 29. ornamenta
deorum: stolen from some temple. Roman conquerors and governors (like
Napoleon in modern times) freely robbed subject countries of works of
art. 30. forulos mediamque Minervam: bookcases and a Minerva among them.
A 'bust of Pallas,' the goddess of wisdom, is appropriate to a library.
32. Persicus: the same person as Asturicus. The name is given because of
the reputed wealth of the Orient. So our expression 'nabob' originally
meant a viceroy in India. Cf. Milton, _Paradise Lost_, 2. 3-4:
where the gorgeous East, with richest hand,
Showers on her kings barbaric pearl and gold.
orborum lautissimus: richest of childless men. It is on this account
that all assist him, hoping eventually to receive a legacy. Asturicus
understands their motive; hence Juvenal's humorous suspicion.
34 ff. avelli: middle. circensibus: the games consisted of many kinds of
entertainment, especially chariot racing. As with the opera to-day for
lovers of music, these games formed one of the chief attractions of life
in a great city. Sorae, Fabrateriae, Frusinone: these are country towns
of Latium. 36. tenebras: a dark hole. 37. brevis: shallow. 40.
Pythagoreis: Pythagoras, believing that the human soul might pass into
one of the lower animals after death, forbade animal food to his
disciples. 42. unius dominum lacertae: i.e. of the small area which
would be necessary to furnish food to one lizard.
43. Plurimus aeger: many sick men. aeger, though singular, is used for a
plural with the adjective of plural signification. vigilando: the final
o is short. 44. inperfeptus: undigested. 45. ardenti: inflamed.
meritoria: lodgings. 46. Magnis opibus: ablative of price. Martial says,
12. 57. 4, 'There is no place in Rome for a poor man to sleep.' Wagons
were not allowed under ordinary circumstances to pass through the
streets till the late afternoon, so that the heavy teaming was at night.
47. arto: the medium width of the principal living streets of Rome was
only from 16 to 20 feet. 48. stantis oonvicia mandrae: the mingled
noises of the penned-up herd, i.e. the abuse of the drivers and the
lowing of the animals. 49. Druso: probably the Emperor Claudius, who was
lethargic. vitulis marinis: Pliny says, _Natural History_, 9. 42, that
no animal sleeps more soundly than the seal. 50. officium: e.g. the duty
of attendance on his patron. 53. clausa fenestra: effected in some
instances by drawing the curtains, in others by closing the windows of
mica. 55. unda prior: the human tide, or surging crowd in front. 56.
assere: the chances were that this would be the pole of a litter, as
that of the rich man just mentioned. 59. clavus militis: the soldier's
boot was studded with hobnails. 60. quanto celebretur sportula fumo: in
the midst of how great a smoke they throng after the sportula. The
sportula is in this instance the food given by the patron to the client
in return for his attendance. 61. convivae: the clients. culina: a
portable kitchen to keep the food warm. 62. Corbulo: type of a
strongman; as we might say 'a Samson.' Tacitus, _Annales_, 13. 8,
describes a Roman general of this name as ingens corpore. 65. longa ff.:
a long fir tree sways to and fro as its trucks come on. A similar
picture of the crowded city streets is found in Horace, _Epistulae_, 2.
2. 70. 68. procubuit: once falls over. saxa Ligustica: the marble from
Luna on the border between Etruria and Liguria. The Romans knew hundreds
of varieties of marble and used them in vast quantities. 'As Tibullus
says, the streets of the city were always obstructed by carts laden with
transmarine columns and blocks,--columns measuring sometimes 1.97 metres
in diameter and 17.66 metres in length, like those of Trajan's temple;
or blocks weighing sometimes 27 tons.'--Lanciani, _Ruins and Excavations
of Ancient Rome_, p. 524. 71. Obtritum perit more animae: ground to
powder, is gone like a breath. 72. domus: the slaves, pueri, of the
client just killed. Even a poor man might have several. 74. striglibus:
to remove perspiration or oil from the body. gutto: oil cruet. 76. ripa:
of the Styx. Cf. for the scene Vergil, _Aeneid_, 6. 298 ff. novicius: a
complete stranger, i.e. never having died before,--a grim joke.
Juvenal's wit has been called 'the earliest known instance of American
humor.'--Peck and Arrowsmith, _Roman Life_, etc. 77. nec sperat: he
cannot cross the Styx since he has not received the rites of burial. 78.
porrigat ore: offer with his mouth. A coin was often put in the mouth of
the dead to pay Charon's fee. 80. Spatium: i.e. how high the roofs are.
Cicero describes Rome as 'suspended in the air.' Some of the houses were
100 feet in height. 83. silicem: even the volcanic stone which forms the
pavement of the street is broken. 85 ff. quot patent vigiles fenestrae:
this may be punningly rendered,--as many as there are windows up.--Peck
and Arrowsmith, _Roman Life_, etc.
_2._ 9. sacellis: the shrines of the Lares found in every house. The
common offering at them was a pig. 10. tomacula: minced meat. 17.
Sardanapali: effeminate and luxurious, the last king of Assyria. When a
conspiracy against him was about to succeed, he burned himself with his
treasures. Byron has a drama _Sardanapalus_. 19. virtutem: Virtueland.
20. Nullum numen abest: the gods are all on the side of the provident.
Fortune is no deity and only we mistaken men think her such.
_3._ 3. quae lacrimas dedit: i.e. in that she gave us tears. haec: i.e.
sympathy. 4. ergo: i.e. this gift of tears implies that, etc. 5.
squaloremque rei: persons on trial often appeared in court with unshorn
beard, unwashed toga, and other signs of mourning. 6. circumscriptorem:
his dishonest guardian. 7. puellares capilli: boys wore long hair till
they put on the toga virilis. 10, 11. minor igni rogi: minor with the
ablative here means too small for. It was unusual to burn the bodies of
very young children. face dignus arcana: i.e. worthy of initiation into
the Eleusinian mysteries. On the fifth day of the festival the initiated
marched in a torch-light procession from Athens to Eleusis. They must be
holy in thought and deed. 13. mutorum: dumb animals. venerabile:
reverential. 14. divinorumque capaces: with a capacity to know God. 16.
sensum ff.: a feeling from above, i.e. sympathy. Man with his religious
nature, with his power to practice the arts, and his erect posture, is
given this also as a crowning mark of distinction from the lower
creation. 18. indulsit: in his goodness gave. 19, 20. tantum animas:
merely life. animum: a soul. mutuus adfectus: a feeling of brotherhood.
24. tutos: protected by. 25. collata fiducia: confidence due to union.
27. defendier: archaic form of defendi.
_4._ 1. Di: sc. date or dent. sine pondere terram: cf. Martial,
_Selection_ 13. 9, 10 and note. 2. spirantis: fragrant. perpetuum ver:
because the urn is always supplied with flowers.
2. procul, a procul inde: a part of the formula used to warn away the
unhallowed from sacred rites. Cf. Vergil, _Aeneid_, 6. 258, procul, o
procul este profani. The phrase, accordingly, has attached to it a
religious earnestness and solemnity, like In the name of God, away! 3.
pernoctantis parasiti: the contemptible guest who, for a dinner, stays
all night, entertaining his host with low songs. 5. nec contempseris
annos: do not think your child too young to observe and imitate.