The Satires of Horace and Persius

by Horace

  6. men with unknown… fathers: I have translated Palmer’s text: ‘ignoto aut, ut me, libertino patre natos.’ See his critical note.

  8. a gentleman: The Latin is ingenuus, which could mean both ‘free-born’ and ‘of noble character’.

  9. Tullius: Servius Tullius, sixth king of Rome, was a man of no pedigree. His mother was a slave.

  12. Laevinus: A descendant of P. Valerius Publicola the colleague of Brutus in the consulship of 509 BC.

  17–18. So what is… the masses: The Latin is ‘quid oportet/nos facere a vulgo longe longeque remotos?’ This has been interpreted in two ways: (1) ‘How much more should we, who stand apart from the mob, assess a man at his true worth?’ (2) ‘What am I to do who am so far removed from the public gaze?’ I have preferred to follow (1), although it does not lead smoothly to what follows. The fact is that no rendering can succeed in producing a tight connection between the second and third paragraphs.

  20. Decius: Decius Mus was the first member of his family to become Consul.

  24. Tillius: A man of lowly origins who had reached the Senate. He was apparently expelled but later regained his position. In v. 108 he is referred to as a Praetor.

  30. Barrus: An effeminate fop. The girls regarded him as a rival and were anxious to discover his faults. It is unfortunate that a man of such a temperament should have had a name which meant ‘elephant’.

  38. Syrus, Dionysius, or Dama: Slave names.

  39. the rock: Criminals were sometimes executed by being hurled from the Tarpeian rock on the Roman Capitol.

  Cadmus: He is supposed to have been the public executioner.

  40. My colleague… behind me: In the theatre senators sat in the space in front of the stage; the knights (equites) occupied the next fourteen rows; behind them sat the general public.

  42. Paulus or Messalla: Aristocratic names.

  48. as a military tribune: Horace was a tribune in the army of Brutus.

  55. Varius: See note on I. 5. 40.

  59. Tarentum: A wealthy Greek colony in southern Italy. Lucilius may have owned property in the area. See C. Cichorius, Untersuchungen zu Lucilius, reprinted Berlin, 1964, pp. 23–8.

  72. Flavius’ school: The local school at Venusia.

  97. rods: The fasces were symbols of the Praetors’ and Consuls’ power.

  98. thrones: The senior magistrates had ivory chairs.

  118. Campanian ware: Cheap pottery.

  120. Marsyas: The statue represented an attendant of Bacchus with a wineskin over his left shoulder and his right arm raised. Horace suggests that the arm is raised in a gesture of abhorrence.

  124. Natta: Unknown.

  126. triangle: A kind of ball-game played by three people.

  Satire 1. 7

  2. outlaw: Rupilius Rex had been proscribed by the Triumvirs and had fled to Brutus in Asia.

  3. sore eyes: People with sore eyes would congregate and gossip in the apothecary’s shop.

  8. Sisenna and Barrus: Unknown. Horace uses the expression equis praecurrere albis – ‘to outstrip with white horses’. White horses were thought to be the fastest.

  11–12. the wrath… murderous: The reference is to the famous fight in Iliad 22.

  16. Diomedes… Glaucus: In Iliad 6. 119–236, Homer describes how Glaucus of Lycia met the Greek Diomedes. They eventually exchanged armour, and Glaucus got the worst of the deal. But there was no question of cowardice or appeasement.

  25. the infamous Dog: Sirius, the dog-star, whose appearance in late July was frequently accompanied by drought and fever. The phrase is mock-heroic; cf. Iliad 22. 30–31 and Theocritus 25. 168.

  28. Praeneste: The modern Palestrina, about twenty-three miles east- south-east of Rome.

  31. Cuckoo: It was thought that vines should be pruned before the arrival of the cuckoo. Therefore a passer-by who shouted ‘Cuckoo!’ was taunting the workman in the vineyard.

  Satire 1. 8

  11. Grab-all: Pantolabus is a nickname formed from the Greek παυ + λαβεĩυ – ‘to grab everything’.

  13–14. THIS MONUMENT… HEIRS: This formula was intended to preserve the ground as a grave; it was not to pass, like the rest of the dead man’s property, to his heirs.

  15. the wall: An embankment closing off the valley which separated the Esquiline from the Quirinal Hill. It was supposed to have been made by Servius Tullius and enlarged by Tarquinius Superbus.

  23–5. Canidia: Awitch who plays an important role here and in Epodes 5 and 17; she also makes brief appearances in II. 1. 48 and II. 8. 95. She is described in horrifying and ludicrous terms that are appropriate to any witch, but there are also a few specific details which suggest that the caricature may be based on some notorious figure. Canidia is barefoot and her hair undone, because one who binds another must not be bound.

  Sagana: The Latin is ‘cum Sagana maiore’, which is most naturally interpreted as implying the existence of a younger sister. This in turn indicates that Horace may be alluding to some contemporary figure. The name itself, however, may have been chosen because, in spite of the quantity, it recalled the word sāga, a witch.

  26–8. They scraped… their teeth: The lamb is black, being an offering to the powers of darkness. The witches use nails and teeth because iron, being a late invention in the history of magic, is tabu.

  28–9. letting the blood… questions: By drinking the blood the spirits of the dead regain the power of speech – a parody of the great scene in Odyssey 11. One assumes that they then assist Canidia in some way to carry out her purposes. Exactly how they do so is not made clear.

  30–31. a woollen doll… the smaller: The larger doll represents Canidia, the smaller her lover, who is being punished for his lack of devotion.

  33. Hecate: A goddess of the underworld, associated with sorcery. She often represented the infernal aspect of Diana, the moon.

  34. Tisiphone: One of the Furies.

  38–9. Julius… Miss Pediatius… Voranus: Unknown. The name Julius must belong to a freedman of the Julian family.

  42. a wolf’s beard… fang: The beard and fang are buried as a precaution against counter-spells.

  Satire 1. 9

  13. Bolanus: Unknown.

  22. Viscus: One of the two sons of Vibius Viscus, a knight. In I. 10. 80 the brothers are mentioned among the men whose approval Horace is eager to obtain.

  23. Varius: See note on I. 5. 40.

  25. Hermogenes: See note on I. 3. 129.

  26–7. Have you a mother… home: The Latin is ‘est tibi mater, / cognati, quis te salvo est opus?’ For a discussion of this uncertain passage see SH, p. 284, n. 41.

  38–9. I could never… in the box: It is perhaps a mistake to ask why Horace couldn’t stand in the box. The poet is prevaricating.

  59–60. ‘Not without… prizes won’: The commentators point out that the adage appears in many forms in Greek literature.

  61. Aristius Fuscus: A friend who is addressed in the two light-hearted poems Odes 1. 22 (Integer vitae) and Epistles 1. 10. He obviously had a sense of humour and he is said to have written comedies.

  69. the thirtieth – the Sabbath: The exact meaning is uncertain.

  70. affront: The Latin is ‘oppedere’ (to break wind at). This is a case where an English translator cannot be both accurate and idiomatic.

  76. touch my ear: This ritual gesture was supposed to indicate that the ear was the seat of memory.

  78. Thus did Apollo save me: A parody of Iliad 20. 443 where Apollo rescues Hector. Apollo is the patron of poets.

  Satire 1. 10

  1–4. I did say that Lucilius’… caustic wit: These lines refer back to the second paragraph of I. 4.

  6. Laberius: D. Laberius (c. 115–43 BC), a Roman knight who wrote popular comedies in verse. He revived archaisms, coined words, and was often obscene. And so he did not meet Horace’s classical standards. The loss of his work is regrettable.

  18. Hermogenes: the musician and literary man mentioned in I. 3. 129, 4. 72, 9. 2
5, and again at the end of this satire.

  that ape: He cannot be identified with certainty, but may be the Demetrius mentioned along with Hermogenes Tigellius in v. 90.

  19. Calvus and Catullus: Calvus had died twelve years and Catullus about twenty years before this satire was written. It is important to remember that Horace is attacking not them but their admirers. We do not know what he thought of Catullus. It would be reasonable to imagine that he admired certain qualities in the earlier poet, e.g., his easy self-portrayal, and agreed with a number of points in his literary theory, e.g., his avoidance of the major genres and the more refined aspects of his wit. Yet Catullus’ indifference to the themes of moral philosophy, his absorption with love, and his passionate temperament make it unlikely that his work had much influence on Horatian satire. As far as lyric is concerned, Horace had at this stage written very little and published none.

  20–35. ‘It was a great feat… forest’: For Lucilius’ use of Greek see SH, PP. 111–14. Not infrequently Catullus and the neoterics used Greek expressions to achieve a sweet or sensuous or romantic effect. Horace, however, took the view that Roman satire should be written in Latin. And romantic effects were alien to the genre. In vv. 25–30 he points out that when language is used for a serious practical purpose, as in the law-courts, Greek importations are avoided. The implication is that satire is a serious poetic form.

  22. Pitholeon: Usually identified with the Pitholaus who, according to Suetonius (Julius Caesar 75), wrote abusive epigrams.

  27. Petillius: See note on 1. 4. 94.

  Pedius Publicola: An unidentified aristocrat.

  28. Corvinus: Messalla Corvinus, soldier, statesman, orator, and man of letters. He shared the Consulship with Octavian in 31 BC.

  30. Canusiun: A town in Apulia mentioned in I. 5. 91. Its population was part Greek, part Oscan.

  33. Quirinus: The name given to the deified Romulus, hence the embodiment of the Roman national spirit.

  36. Alpman: This epic poet is probably identical with the Furius mentioned in II. 5. 41. Memnon, son of Tithonus and Aurora, was king of Ethiopia. He went to Troy to assist Priam but was killed by Achilles. Zeus then made him immortal. His story was a traditional epic theme. The point of ‘the head of the Rhine’ is not clear. It may refer to a description of the river’s source, or to a personification of the Rhine-god. In any case Horace is ridiculing the poet’s language, which, he contends, has ruined the subject.

  38. Tarpa: Spurius Maecius Tarpa, who twenty years earlier had been appointed by Pompey to choose what plays should be performed in the theatre. The scholiasts on this verse say that he adjudicated poetic competitions in the temple of the Muses.

  41. Fundanius: A friend of Horace’s who describes the dinner-party of Nasidienus in II. 8.

  42. Pollio: Asinius Pollio, another man of amazing versatility. Consul in 40 BC, he fought a successful military campaign in the following year. By the time of this satire he had withdrawn from political life but was still active as a writer. In addition to the tragedies mentioned here he wrote a history of the civil war and also speeches, criticism, and letters.

  43. with triple beat: I.e. in iambic trimeters in which there were three beats in a line.

  Varius: See note on I. 5. 40.

  44. Virgil: Horace is here referring to the Eclogues.

  46. Varro of Atax: Born in Narbonese Gaul in 82 BC, died shortly before this poem was written. He wrote an epic on Caesar’s campaign of 58 BC. He also wrote an Argonautica in the manner of Apollonius and a number of elegies.

  50. Flowed muddily on: Cf. I. 4. 11.

  53. Accius: L. Accius (170–c. 85 BC) adapted numerous Greek tragedies to the Roman stage. His flamboyant and rhetorical style lent itself to parody. For his fragments see Remains of Old Latin, vol. 2, in the Loeb Classical Library.

  54. Ennius: Q. Ennius (239–169 BC), ‘father of Roman poetry’. He composed in many different forms but was best known for his Annals (an epic on Roman history) and tragedies (adapted from Greek models).

  62. Cassius: Unknown.

  66. more polished than the author of a crude verse: Horace grants that Lucilius may have been more polished than some early Italian poet working in a verse-form which, unlike the hexameter, had not been shaped by the Greeks. He may also have been superior to poets like Ennius, Pacuvius, and Accius, who did take over Greek verse-forms. Nevertheless, had he been living in Horace’s day he would have been required to observe stricter standards. For a defence of this interpretation see Phoenix 14 (1960) 36–44.

  Others (most recently W. Barr in Rheinisches Museum 113 (1970) 204–11) think that the ‘author’ is Lucilius himself. This makes good sense, but it is hard to extract it from the Latin. Others again (most recently C. A. van Rooy in Studies in Classical Satire, p. 45, note 6) think that the ‘author’ is Ennius. This is difficult to accept, because Ennius is not mentioned elsewhere by Horace as a writer of saturae and because Lucilius is called the inventor of the genre in I. 10. 48. Cf. II. 1. 62–3.

  76. Miss Tree: Arbuscula was a famous actress mentioned by Cicero, Att. IV. 15. 6.

  78. Carper: The name Pantilius is found in inscriptions but no doubt Horace chose it because of its apparent derivation from παυ + τíλλεıυ – ‘to bite at everything’.

  79. Demetrius: The musician mentioned in v. 90 below.

  80. Fannius: The poet mentioned in I. 4. 21.

  Hermogenes Tigellius: The musician mentioned in I. 3. 129.

  81. Plotius and Varius: See note on I. 5. 40.

  82. Valgius: C. Valgius Rufus, an elegiac poet. He became Consul in 12 BC.

  Octavius: Octavius Musa, a historian.

  Fuscus: See note on I. 9. 61.

  83. the Viscus brothers: One was mentioned in I. 9. 22.

  84. Pollio: See note on v. 42.

  85. Messalla: See note on v. 28.

  86. Bibulus: L. Calpurnius Bibulus, stepson of Brutus. After Philippi he supported Antony and served him as a naval commander. Later he was appointed governor of Syria, where he died in 32 BC. Horace probably knew him as a student in Athens.

  Servius: Usually identified as the son of the famous jurist Servius Sulpicius Rufus. He may also be the writer of light erotic verse mentioned by Ovid in Tristia 2. 441.

  Furnius: A distinguished orator who became Consul in 17 BC.

  92. Off with you… volume: Instructions to a slave.

  Satire 11. 1

  4. Trebatius: C. Trebatius Testa, a distinguished jurist, recommended to Julius Caesar by Cicero as a legal adviser. He also enjoyed the esteem of Augustus. He was considerably older than Horace.

  14. Gauls: According to the historian Dio Cassius campaigns against the Gauls took place in 36, 35, and 34 BC and victories were celebrated in the triumph of 29. Heinze, however, thinks that Horace is speaking of the future.

  15. Parthian: Octavian was in the east in 30 BC and it was expected that he would lead a campaign against the Parthians to avenge the defeat of Crassus in 53 BC. In fact the standards of Crassus were recovered by negotiation in 20 BC.

  17. Scipio: Scipio Aemilianus Africanus (c. 184–129 BC), son of L. Aemilius Paulus, adopted by the son of Scipio Africanus the Elder. He was responsible for the final overthrow of Carthage in 146 BC and for the destruction of Numantia in Spain in 133 BC. In the Spanish campaign he was accompanied by Lucilius.

  18. Floppy: Horace’s cognomen was Flaccus.

  22. Grab-all… Nomentanus: An echo of I. 8. 11.

  24. Milonius: Unknown.

  26. Castor’s… of the twin: Castor and Pollux were sons of Leda by Zeus who visited her in the form of a swan.

  47–53. Cervius points… by instinct: Cervius, an informer, Turius, a crooked judge, Hand (scaeva = left hand), a poisoner. Nothing is known about them, but it seems likely that they were real people whose reputation still survived, though they were no longer living.

  48. Canidia: See note on I. 8. 23.

  Albucius: Unknown and apparently unconnected with his names
ake in II. 2. 67.

  65. Laelius: C. Laelius, close friend of Scipio Aemilianus with whom he served in Africa and Spain. He was nicknamed Sapiens for his sagacity, and he enjoyed a high reputation as an orator.

  67. Metellus: Q. Caecilius Metellus Macedonicus, Consul 143 BC, led campaigns in Macedonia, Greece, and Spain. He was a political opponent of Scipio.

  Lupus: L. Cornelius Lentulus Lupus, Consul 156 BC, Censor 147, and leader of the Senate from 130. He also was an opponent of Scipio.

  84. Caesar: Octavian, the future Augustus.

  Satire 11. 2

  16. Falernian: One of the finest Italian wines, grown in Campania. Hymettus: A mountain near Athens famous for its honey.

  32. the bridges: The main sewer discharged into the Tiber between the Aemilian Bridge and the Sublician Bridge.

  33. the Tuscan river: The Tiber rises in Etruria.

  41. ‘cook’: I.e. taint.

  47. Gallonius: A glutton attacked by Lucilius. He was a rich auctioneer.

  50. the Praetor: Probably the C. Sempronius Rufus who is mentioned several times in Cicero’s letters (Sempronius no. 79 in Pauly-Wissowa).

  56. Avidienus: Called ‘the Dog’ because he existed on dirty scraps.

  64. Here’s the wolf… here’s the dog: Gallonius is the glutton, or wolf: Avidienus is the miser, or dog. Both modes of life are to be rejected.

  66. he will not come to grief in either way: He will not fall into either extravagance or meanness.

  67. Albucius: Possibly another Lucilian character. See SH, p. 141 and pp. 293–4.

  68. Naevius: A different type from the Naevius of I. 1 101. Also unknown.

  77. ‘problem meal’: The problem is what delicacy to take first. See Terence, Phormio 342.

  99. Trausius: Unknown.

  115. re-assigned: After Philippi (42 BC) Octavian’s ex-servicemen were allotted farms in various districts of Italy. The former owners were evicted.