16. #bis terque#: +dis kai tris+. G., 497. --#flumine#: Prol., 1. The
lustral use of the bath, the pollution of the night, the peculiar virtue
of running water, are common to Scriptural and classical antiquity.
Lev., chap. 15. _Illo_ | _mane die, quo tu indicis ieiunia nudus_ | _in
#Tiberi# stabit_, Hor., Sat., 2, 3, 290; _Ter matutino #Tiberi# mergetur
et ipsis_ | _verticibus timidum #caput abluet#_, Juv., 6, 523; _Ac
primum pura #somnum# tibi #discute# lympha_, Prop., 4, 10, 13. For
parallels, see Tylor, _Primitive Culture_, 2, 388.
17-30. With a sudden dramatic turn, Persius pins his omnipresent Second
Person to the wall by an ironical question touching his conception of
the divine character. 'What do you think of God? What can you think of
God when you confide to him wishes that you would conceal from a Staius?
Are you so bold because God is so slow? Are you so bold because God's
favor is so cheaply bought?'
17. #minimum est#, etc.: Ironical. --#scire laboro#: So Hor., Ep., 1, 3,
2, and _nosse laboro_, Sat., 2, 8, 19.
18. #estne ut#: On this periphrasis, see G., 558; A., 70, 4, _a_. _Si
#est#, patrue, culpam #ut# Antipho in se admiserit_, Ter., Phormio, 2,
1, 40. Comp. Hec., 3, 5, 51; 4, 1, 43; Adelph., 3, 5, 4; Hor., Od., 3,
1, 9. --#cures#: _Curare_, with Inf. usually has a negative (3, 78) or
equivalent, as here.
19. #'cuinam?' cuinam?# The first _cuinam_ is the question of the other
man, the second the echo of Persius. Comp. Ar., Ach., 594: +alla #tis#
gar ei? D. #hostis?# politês chrêstos.+ --#vis#: Comp. 1, 56. --#Staio#:
Staius can not be identified-- _homuncio nobis ignotus_ (König)-- and,
as Jahn admirably remarks, it makes no difference who he was, whether
Staienus, as the scholiast says (Cic., Verr., 2, 32, 79; pro Cluentio,
7, 24, 65), or an average Philistine, or a typical scoundrel. The name
was a common one. Jones is measured with Jupiter. --#an scilicet
haeres#: 'what? are we to suppose that you are hesitating?'
20. #quis#: may be for _uter_. Comp. Cic., Att., 16, 14, 1; Fam., 7,
3, 1; Caes., B. G., 5, 44. 'Which of the two is the better judge?' And
this is the more satisfactory rendering if Staius is a neutral
character. If he is a villain, 'who would be a better judge' or 'better
as a judge,' is more suitable.
21. #inpellere#: 'smite' (Verg., Georg., 4, 349; Aen., 12, 618),
a rather strong word for _humilis susurros_. Pretor renders 'quicken;'
Conington, 'have an effect on.' 'Reach' is about what is meant. With the
thought of the passage, comp. Sen., Ep., 10, 5, cited by Casaubon: _Nunc
quanta dementia est hominum? Turpissima vota diis insusurrant: si quis
admoverit aurem, conticescent; et quod hominem scire nolunt, deo
narrant._
22. #agedum#: _#Agedum# hoc mi expedi primum_, Ter., Eun., 4, 4, 27.
_Dum_ shows impatience. 'Be at it,' or 'be done with it,' as the case
may be. --#clamet#: _Dic-- clamet = si dicas-- clamet._ G., 594. 4; A.,
60, 1, _b_.
23. #sese non clamet#: _Iovem_ would make the joke clearer, but Persius
would have had to pound his desk and bite his nails to get _Iovem_ in.
'Because he could swear by no greater, he sware by himself,' Hebr., 6,
13. König compares Hor., Sat., 1, 2, 17: _Maxime, quis non, | Juppiter,
exclamat simul atque audivit?_
24. 'The guilty worshipper is in a grove (_lucis_, v. 27) during a
thunderstorm; the lightning strikes not him but one of the sacred trees,
and he congratulates himself on his escape-- without reason, as Persius
tells him. The circumstances are precisely those used by Lucretius to
enforce his skeptical argument, 6, 390 and 416' (Conington).
25. #sulpure sacro#: 'lightning.' Comp. the Greek +theion+, once
innocently derived from the Adjective +theios+. --#tuque domusque#:
Comp. Juv., 13, 206: _cum prole domoque_. The editors cite the oracle in
Herod., 6, 86, 3: +pasan | summarpsas olesei #geneên# kai #oikon#
hapanta+.
26. #fibris#: the extremities of the liver, +loboi+. --#Ergenna#: an
Etruscan name. The Etruscans were great bowel-searchers (_haruspices_)
and lightning-doctors.
27. #lucis#: local Abl. and poetic Plural. --#bidental#: According to a
law of Numa, whosoever was struck dead by lightning was buried where he
fell, and the spot was inclosed. The place was called _puteal_, from the
resemblance of the inclosure to a well-curb, or _bidental_, because of
the _oves bidentes_ (sheep with upper and lower teeth, hence 'full
grown') sacrificed in the consecration of the spot, which was invested
with a holy horror (_triste_), and might not even be looked at
(_evitandum_). Here _bidental_ is transferred from the place to the
person: 'a trophy of vengeance' (Conington), 'a monument of wrath'
(Gifford). _Triste bidental_, Hor., A. P., 471.
28. #idcirco#: Emphatic resumption. --#vellere# = _vellendam_. G., 424,
R. 4; A., 57, 8, _f._ On the phrase _vellere barbam_, comp. 1, 133.
Jupiter was always represented as bearded, +geneiêtês+, Lucian, Sacrif.,
11. 'Jove, will nothing wake thee? | Must vile Sejanus _pull thee by the
beard_ | ere thou wilt open thy black-lidded eyes | and look him dead?'
Ben Jonson, Sejan., 4, 5.
29. #aut#: Another (negatived) case. See G., 460, R.; A., 71, 2.
--#quidnam est, qua mercede# = _quanam mercede_; unusual. Not
dissimilar, Caes., B. G., 5, 31: _#Omnia# excogitantur #quare# nec sine
periculo maneatur et languore militum et vigiliis periculum augeatur._
30. #emeris#: Jahn compares _praebere_ and _dare aurem_, to which
Conington adds _commodare_, Hor., Ep., 1, 1, 40. --#pulmone#: for the
larger, _lactibus_ for the smaller intestines +galaktides+. 'The details
are mentioned contemptuously' (Conington). Comp. Juv., 6, 540; 10, 354;
13, 115.
31-40. Thus far we have had wicked prayers; now we have specimens of
silly prayers, of old wives' wishes.
31. #Ecce#: _transitioni servit_ (Casaubon). See 1, 30. The showman puts
in a new slide, and says 'Look here.' --#avia aut matertera#: The doting
fondness of grandmothers, aunts, and nurses is proverbial. Their
affection is not tempered by responsibility; hence their indiscretion.
_Matertera_ is the mother's sister, as _amita_ (whence 'aunt') the
father's; but, significantly enough, there is not the same moral
distinction as between _patruus_ and _avunculus_ (whence 'uncle').
--#metuens divum#: +deisidaimôn+. G., 374, R. 1; A., 50, 3, _b._
--#cunis#: Dat. is more picturesque than Abl.
32. #exemit#: The Perf. brings the scene before us, and makes it
particular instead of generic. --#uda#: 'slobbering.'
33. #infami digito#: The middle finger (Juv., 10, 53) being used in
mocking and indecent gesture, was considered on that very account to
have more power against fascination. The notion still survives, and is
embodied in coral 'amulets' or 'charms' (_breloques_) manufactured at
Genoa. --#lustralibus#: The lustral day for a girl was the eighth, for a
boy the ninth. Such a day would be the day for vows and prayers. On the
corresponding Gr. +amphidromia+, see the Classical Dictionaries.
--#ante#: adverbial, 'first of all.' --#salivis#: Spittle has manifold
medical and magical virtues among all nationalities. Comp. Plin., H. N.,
28, 4, 22; Juv., 8, 112; Petron., 131. The Plural is poetical, perhaps
intimating abundance.
34. #expiat#: 'charms against mischief' (Conington). --#urentis#:
'blasting,' 'withering,' +marainontas+. --#oculos#: If the belief in the
'evil eye' is not too well known and too widely spread to need
illustration, comp. Verg., Ecl., 3, 103; Hor., Ep., 1, 14, 37. On the
philosophy of the evil eye, see Plutarch, Quaest. Conv., 5, 7.
--#inhibere perita#: On the construction, see Prol., 11.
35. #manibus#: We say 'in,' Prol., 1. Translate 'arms,' as often.
--#quatit#: Il., 6, 474: +autar ho g' hon philon huion epei kuse #pêle#
te chersin, | eipen epeuxamenos Dii t' alloisin te theoisin+. 'Dances,'
'dandles.' --#spem macram#: 'the skinny hope.'
36. #Licini#: Licinus, originally slave and steward of Caesar, then set
free and made procurator of Gaul, where he acquired immense wealth by
extortion. Comp. Juv., 1, 109: _Ego possideo plus | Pallante et
#Licinis#_. --#Crassi#: a still more familiar synonym for wealth, Cic.,
Att., 1, 4, 3. The two combined in Sen., Ep., 119, 9: _Quorum nomina cum
#Crasso Licinoque# numerantur_. --#mittit#: 'transports,' 'wafts'
(Pretor); 'packs off' (Conington), is not in keeping with the
mock-lyrical tone of the passage.
37. #hunc#: +deiktikôs+ König comp. Catullus, 62, 42: _Multi illum
pueri, multae #optavere# puellae_. On _optet_, comp. G., 281, Exc. 1;
A., 49, 1, _d._ --#rex et regina#: Comp. 1, 67. 'My lord and [my] lady'
(Conington). As the prayer is extravagant, Pretor thinks that the words
are to be taken literally, and Conington inclines to the same opinion.
But there is no objection to _regina_ for _domina_ in itself, Mart., 10,
64.
38. #rapiant# = _diripiant_, +harpazoien+. 'May the girls have a
scramble for him.' The sexes are to be reversed in his honor. Casaubon
comp.: _Editum librum continuo mirari homines et #diripere# coeperunt_,
Vita Persii. --#rosa fiat#: Casaubon comp. Claud., Seren., 1, 89:
_Quocumque per herbam | reptares, fluxere #rosae#_. A fairy-tale wish.
Comp. Theocr., 8, 41; Verg., Ecl., 7, 59.
39. #ast# = _at_ + _set_. G., 490; R. --#nutrici#: _Quid voveat dulci
#nutricula# maius alumno_, Hor., Ep., 1, 4, 8. With the sentiment of the
passage Casaubon comp. Sen., Ep., 60, 1: _Etiamnum optas quod tibi
#optavit nutrix# aut paedagogus aut mater? Nondum intellegis quantum
mali optaverint?_
40. #albata#: 'clad in white,' the proper attire of worshippers,
Tibull., 2, 1, 13; Plaut., Rud., 1, 5, 12 (Jahn). Hence 'though she ask
it with every requisite form' (Conington). See v. 15.
41-51. From wicked wishes we have passed to silly wishes, from silly we
now pass to insane. Men pray for health and pray for wealth, and all the
while are doing their utmost to break down their health and squander
their wealth.
41. #nervis#: 'thews,' 'sinews.' --#senectae#: may depend on _poscis
opem_ or on _fidele_ (Casaubon's view), 'to stand you in stead in old
age' (Conington), or 'to stand your old age in stead.' The latter is the
more forcible.
42. #esto#: 'so far, so good' (Conington). --#grandes patinae#, etc.:
Comp. Hor., Sat., 2, 2, 95: _#Grandes# rhombi #patinaeque#_ | _grande
ferunt una cum damno dedecus._ Jahn (1868) reads _pingues_.
--#tuccetaque crassa#: According to the Schol., 'beef steeped in a thick
gravy, which enables it to keep a year.' 'Rich gravies' (Conington);
'rich forced meats' (Pretor). 'Rich potted meats.' --#his# = _his
precibus, votis_. --#vetuere#: Perf. to show that 'the mischief is
already done' (Pretor). It is not a general Perfect. Comp. 32.
44. #rem struere#: The Biblical 'heap up riches.' Hor., Sat., 1, 1, 35:
_acervo_ | _quem #struit#_. --#caeso bove#: An expensive sacrifice.
Comp. Gr. +bouthutein+. --#Mercurium#: See note on v. 11. An allusion to
Mercury, or rather Hermes, as the God of Flocks and father of Pan, is
barely possible.
45. #arcessis# = _in auxilium vocas_ (Jahn). Conington's 'serve a
summons on' is a caricature. Comp. Ov., Fast., 4, 263, and Petron., 122.
_Accerso_ is a rarer form than _arcesso_, and to be reserved for state
occasions, according to Brambach. --#fibra#: See v. 26. --#da fortunare#
= _ut fortunent_. --#fortunare#: used absolutely, as in Afranius, v. 84
(Ribbeck). _Fortuno_ a _vox sollemnis_ in prayers (Jahn). --#Penatis#:
Gods of the Basket and Store.