by Horace
Satire 11. 3
1. asking for parchment: Poems were composed on tablets and then, when finished, were transferred onto parchment.
11–12. Plato: Several scholars believe that this is Plato the writer of comedies (writing from c. 425–390 BC), because the other men mentioned are all poets. But Roman authors say nothing about this Plato, and the reader of Horace’s day would surely have thought immediately of the philosopher. In form, tone, and content the Satires have quite a lot in common with the Dialogues.
Archilochus: (seventh century BC) Archilochus of Paros was a writer of abusive iambic verse. His work served as a model for Horace’s Epodes, which were being composed at this period, though the Epodes are much less personal and less directly related to the people and events of the day.
Eupolis: A writer of old comedy. Cf. I. 4. 1.
Menander: (342–c. 290 BC) The most famous representative of the Greek new comedy. His plays were adapted for the Roman stage and he is frequently mentioned by Roman writers.
17. a barber: Damasippus, like all self-respecting Stoics, had a flowing beard.
21. Sisyphus: The mythical founder of Corinth, a city famous for its bronzes. His footbath, which is mentioned by Aeschylus, represents a much sought after antique.
26. ‘Lucre’s lad’: Favourite of Mercury, the god of gain.
43. Chrysippus: Cf. I. 3. 127. The Porch was the home of Stoicism. See note on Persius 3. 53.
60–62. he’ll pay… ‘Mother, I’m calling you!’: In the Iliona of Pacuvius the ghost of the murdered Deiphilus appeared to his mother Iliona as she slept, reproaching her and asking for burial. Iliona was meant to start from her sleep and reply, but in one celebrated performance Fufius, the actor playing Iliona, was so drunk that he could not be wakened by the appeals of the ghost (played by Catienus), even though the whole audience joined in, chanting ‘mater, te appello!’
68. Lord of Luck: Mercury.
69–71. Write ten of Nerius’ I.O.U.s… tied down: ‘No legal formulae are strong enough to bind a dishonest debtor’ (Palmer). The details are obscure and controversial. I have understood tabulas with decem in v. 69; others understand sestertia. Nerius apparently draws up and issues the I.O.U., which is signed by the borrower.
75. Perellius: The creditor.
82–3. hellebore: A plant produced in the Phocian town of Anticyra in Greece. It was supposed to cure madness by reducing the element of black bile in the system. There were two varieties, but even the milder had extremely violent effects including vomiting, diarrhoea, and convulsions.
84. Staberius: Unknown.
86. Arrius: Q. Arrius had given a lavish feast at his father’s funeral. Cf. Cicero, In Vatin. 30ff.
94–8. The fact is that goodness… upright: These lines are an ironical inversion of the Stoic belief that the wise man is whatever he wishes to be, including king. Cf. I. 3. 124.
100. Aristippus: Founder of the so-called Cyrenaic school of philosophy, which preached a doctrine of hedonism.
132. Argos: A town in the east Peloponnese. It shared with Mycenae in the disasters of the house of Atreus.
161. Craterus: A famous physician in Cicero’s day, twenty-five years before; used by Horace as a type.
168. Servius Oppidius: He and his sons are unknown.
175. Nomentanus: The spendthrift.
Hemlock: (Cicuta) The acquisitive man.
182. waste your money… and lupines: The magistrate distributed food to acquire popularity.
185. Agrippa: M. Vipsanius Agrippa (64/63–12 BC) was the man largely responsible for Octavian’s victories over L. Antonius, Sextus Pompeius, and Mark Antony. As Aedile in 33 BC he used his wealth liberally, thus achieving popularity for himself and for Octavian’s cause.
187. son of Atreus: Agamemnon. Ajax, when defeated by Odysseus in his claim for the arms of Achilles, resolved to murder Agamemnon, Menelaus, and Odysseus. He was made mad by Athena and slew a flock of sheep instead. On regaining his senses he committed suicide out of shame. Agamemnon and Menelaus gave orders that his body should be left unburied.
199–201. making your darling daughter… with salt meal: Agamemnon sacrificed his daughter Iphigenia to Artemis so that the Greek fleet might sail against Troy.
212. a pompous inscription: Honorific inscriptions were put on the statues of victorious generals and also in the halls of their houses.
223. Bellona: An Italian war goddess, sister of Mars. In Horace’s time her rites were accompanied by frenzy and self-mutilation.
239. Aesop’s son: Aesop, a famous actor and a friend of Cicero. He left a large fortune to his worthless son.
240. Metella: Usually identified with Caecilia Metella the wife of P. Cornelius Lentulus Spinther. She had an affair with Cicero’s son-in-law, Dolabella. She was gay and dissolute like the other members of her set.
243. Arrius: See note on v. 86.
253. Polemon: A young Athenian who, on his way home from a party, happened to hear a lecture on temperance given by Xenocrates. He was converted to sobriety and eventually became Head of the Academy (314/13 BC). He died in 270 BC.
255. leg-bands, pillow and muffler: The paraphernalia of fops.
260ff. This scene is based on Terence, Eunuchus I. 1.
276. passion is playing with fire: The Latin is ‘ignem gladio scrutare’ – ‘poke the fire with a sword’. This is a rendering of the Pythagorean saying πϱυ μαχαíϰα μή οϰαλευειυ ‘Don’t poke the fire with a sword.’ The Greek meant ‘Don’t provoke a man of savage temper.’ But by ‘ignem’ Horace means, of course, the fire of amor.
277. Marius… Miss Hellas: Unknown. Miss Hellas was presumably a freedwoman.
287. Menenius’ flourishing family: Clearly a family of lunatics, but we do not know why.
303. Agave: Mother of Pentheus king of Thebes. When he prohibited the worship of Dionysus, the god had him torn to pieces by Agave and the other maenads. In Euripides’ Bacchae Agave enters, still in a frenzy, carrying her son’s head. Eventually she is brought to realize what she has done.
310. Turbo: A small but tough gladiator.
314ff… When a mother frog… never be as big: This well-known Aesopic fable is found with certain differences in Phaedrus 1.24 and Babrius 28.
Satire 11. 4
3. the condemned Athenian: Socrates. Horace uses the periphrasis ‘the man accused by Anytus’.
12–14. the long variety… a male yolk: Aristotle believed that round eggs were male and long eggs female. In this he was opposed by Antigonus of Carystus and (after Horace) by Columella and Pliny. For references see SH, p. 301, note 23.
16. a watered garden: Apparently the market-gardens near Rome were irrigated.
24. Aufidius: probably M. Aufidius Lurco who, according to Pliny (Natural History X. 20. 45), made a fortune by fattening peacocks about 67 BC.
29. white Coan: White wine from the island of Cos in the Aegean.
32. Lucrine cockle: From the Lucrine lake near Cumae on the coast of Campania.
Baiae: A fashionable resort on the north-west end of the bay of Naples.
33. Circeii: On the coast of Latium about fifty miles south-east of Rome.
Misenum: A promontory on the north-west end of the bay of Naples.
34. Tarentum: An old Greek colony inside the heel of Italy.
41. Umbrian: From Umbria, a district in central Italy.
42. Laurentian: From Laurentum, a marshy district between Ardea and Ostia.
44. the wings: I.e. the forelegs.
51. Massic wine: From the Mons Massicus in Campania.
55. Surrentine: From Surrentum (Sorrento) in Campania.
66. the brine… Byzantine jar: Pickled fish was imported from Byzantium.
68. Corycus: A mountain on the coast of Cilicia in Asia Minor, north of Cyprus.
69. Venafran olive: From Venafrum in Campania.
70. Picenum: East of the Apennines between Ancona and the river Sangro.
71. Venuculan grapes: Not a loc
al variety. Mentioned by Columella III. 2. 2 and Pliny, Natural History XIV. 4. 34.
72. Alban: From the Alban Hills about thirteen miles south-east of Rome.
84. Tyrian: From Tyre on the coast of Phoenicia, which produced an expensive crimson dye from the shellfish called the murex.
Satire 11. 5
17. be sure to keep outside him: It was a mark of respect to walk on the outside of one’s companion.
20. what you spoke of: I.e. giving the privileged position to a social superior. This line and the next echo Odyssey 20. 18. Throughout the poem epic reminiscences are used for satirical effect.
39–41. ‘The glowing Dog-star… with hoary snow’: These are quotations from a contemporary epic. In the second the poet’s name, Furius, is substituted for Jupiter as the subject of ‘bespews’. For Furius see the note on I. 10. 36.
55–6. a raven… a minor official: The legacy-hunter is thought of as a raven because ravens fed on corpses – see Petronius 116. After being a minor magistrate Coranus became a secretary (scriba) in the civil service. No doubt there is some topical reference here which is now irrecoverable.
57. Coranus… Nasica: Unknown.
59. What I say… come to pass: This is a claim to precognition, but it can also be read as an absurd tautology.
62–4. In the days when… and sea: An honorific reference to Octavian who had recently won the battle of Actium (31 BC) and who was expected to take reprisals against the Parthians for their victory over Crassus in 53 BC. The formula ‘In the days when…’ is a parody of the Delphic oracle.
110. Proserpine: Wife of Pluto and queen of Hades.
Satire 11. 6
5. son of Maia: Mercury, god of luck.
19. enriches Our Lady of Funerals: The Latin is ‘Libitinae quaestus acerbae’. The death-goddess Libitina (cf. Odes III. 30. 7) had a temple in Rome where funeral equipment was stored and hired.
33. the mournful Esquiline: Because it used to be a burial ground. Cf. 1. 8.
35. the Wall: The site of the Roman exchange. The Latin word is puteal, which meant the wall around the top of a well. This particular wall was erected by Libo and bore his name.
36. The Department: The Treasury, in which Horace had been a scriba. His exact connection with the Department at this time is not clear.
38. Maecenas: In charge of affairs during Octavian’s absence in 31 BC.
54. the Dacians: Before Actium some of the Dacians, who lived on the Danube, had sided with Antony against Octavian.
55–7. what about the land… or Triangleland: Italians hoped that Octavian (Caesar) would reward his soldiers with grants of land in Sicily (Triangleland).
63. Pythagoras’ kinsmen: Pythagoras forbade the eating of beans. Several explanations were given for this in antiquity. Horace seems to be referring to the suggestion that beans contained souls and therefore, by the doctrine of transmigration, could be related to human beings.
72. Grace: The stage name of a male dancer who is supposed to have been admired by Caesar.
77–8. Old wives’ tales which are yet to the point: This literal translation seems to be reasonably appropriate. See SH, pp. 245–53, and West’s article in Woodman and West (1974).
Arellius: Unknown.
Satire 11. 7
3–4. though not… die young: It was a commonplace that ‘the good die young’.
December: On the Saturnalia (17–19 December), which marked the end of sowing, the distinction between master and slave was temporarily suspended in memory of the golden age of Saturn when all were free and equal.
8. Priscus: Unknown.
10. Change his stripe: Senators had a broad stripe on their tunic, knights a narrow one.
14. Vertumnus: An old Italian god of the changing year.
15. Volanerius: Unknown.
37. Mulvius: Mulvius and the others had expected to dine with Horace.
53–4. your knight’s ring… Roman clothes: The knights, who possessed fortunes of 400,000 sesterces or over, wore a gold ring. By ‘Roman clothes’ Horace means the dress of the free Roman citizen.
66. to walk deliberately under the yoke: This signified the loss of one’s freedom.
67. that frenzied master within: Lust.
77. the rod: A slave, when being manumitted before the Praetor, was touched with the vindicta or rod.
95. Pausias: A fourth-century Greek painter distinguished for his subtle technique and his wanton subjects.
97–8. Fulvius or Pacideianus or Rutuba: Famous gladiators; whether they were contemporary or not is uncertain.
Satire 11. 8
6–7. Lucania: A district in the south of Italy. The soft, warmish wind had given the animal a strong flavour.
9. skirret: A kind of water parsnip.
15. Caecuban wine: From Caecubum in southern Latium.
unsalted Chian: Wine from the island of Chios which had not been treated with salt water (a common preservative).
22. shadows: Guests who had not been invited in their own right. In this case they were Maecenas’ hangers-on.
23. Nomentanus: the name typifies someone who has run through his patrimony and now relies on other people to provide him with dinner.
Hogg: The Latin name is Porcius, chosen for its associations with gluttony.
40. Allifae: A town in Samnium where earthenware mugs were made.
45. Venafran oil: The best kind of olive oil from Venafrum in Campania.
46. liquamen: Fish sauce.
50. Methymnean grape: From Methymna on the island of Lesbos.
54–6. As he spoke… Campanian acres:. The lines have a mock epic tone.
Boreas: North wind.
86–93. a huge dish with a crane… properties: The male crane, the female goose, and the rumpless pigeons are all, in the host’s view, refinements on the normal diet.
95. Canidia: The witch who figured in 1. 8.
Epistle 1. 1
3. foil: The wooden sword presented to gladiators on retirement. school: The gladiatorial school.
5. Hercules’ door: On the door of Hercules’ temple, which, according to Porphyrion, was in Fundi in Latium.
Veianius: A gladiator.
18. Aristippus: A fourth-century philosopher from Cyrene in North Africa, founder of the so-called Cyrenaic school, which preached a doctrine of hedonism.
28. Lynceus: One of the Argonauts, gifted with exceptional sight.
34. words and sayings: Horace uses language equally applicable to magic, quasi-medical formulas and to philosophy.
55. Janus’ arcade: The centre of the banking business.
56. (swinging satchel… left arm): Probably spurious; cf. Satires, I. 6. 74.
58. the great four hundred: (Thousand sesterces.) This was the qualification for membership of the equestrian order.
60. wall of brass: An image of security, perhaps referring to ‘home’ or ‘den’ in the children’s game.
62. Roscius’ law: In 67 BC the tribune L. Roscius Otho carried a law which reserved the first fourteen rows in the theatre for the knights. Senators sat in the orchestra, which was not required for the chorus in Roman times.
64. Curius: M’. Curius Dentatus, a hero of the Samnite and Pyrrhic wars in the early part of the third century.
Camillus: M. Furius Camillus captured the Etruscan outpost of Veii about 396 BC and led the Romans to victory after the Gallic invasion in 387–386.
67. Pupius: A tragedian. By acquiring a fortune of 400,000 sesterces one would obtain a seat in the first fourteen rows and so get a closer look at his plays.
84. Baiae: A fashionable resort on the Bay of Naples.
86. sacred signal: Auspicium was a sign indicating the gods’ approval. For the rich man his own caprice is sufficient sanction.
87. Teanum: An inland town over thirty miles north of Baiae.
102. guardian: A curator was appointed by the Praetor to look after a lunatic. The general point is that care for one’s personal appearance (e.g. curatus in v. 94) ought
not to be thought more important than care for one’s mental and spiritual welfare.
Epistle 1. 2
1. Lollius Maximus: From Epistles 1. 18 we learn that Lollius served under Augustus in Spain (26 and 25 BC). He is now a student of rhetoric in Rome, so the epistle belongs to the latter half of that decade.
Praeneste: The modern Palestrina; a hill resort twenty-three miles east-south-east of Rome.
4. Chrysippus: (c. 280–207 BC). Head of the Stoic school.
Crantor: (c. 340–275 BC). A leading philosopher of the Academy.
9. Antenor proposes: In Iliad 7. 347ff. he proposes that Helen be returned to the Greeks. Paris refuses to agree, but offers money instead. (Horace’s version of Paris’ reply is deliberately prejudiced.)
11. Nestor is anxious: In Iliad 1. 247ff. Nestor tries to persuade Agamemnon, son of Atreus, to return the girl Briseis to Achilles, son of Peleus. He also urges Achilles to recognize the superior status of Agamemnon.
23. Sirens: See Odyssey 12. 39ff.
Circe: See Odyssey 10. 135ff.
28. Alcinous: King of Phaeacia: see Odyssey 7 and 8.
59. the tyrants of Sicily: Phalaris of Acragas (sixth century BC) and Dionysius of Syracuse (c. 430–367 BC). Cf. Persius 3. 39–40.
Epistle 1. 3
1. Julius Florus: Later the recipient of Epistles II. 2; a young aristocrat who, according to Porphyrion, wrote satires.
2. Claudius: Tiberius Claudius Nero, the elder of Livia’s sons and the future emperor Tiberius. He was sent to the east by Augustus to place Tigranes on the throne of Armenia, which he did in 20 BC.
4. the straits: The Hellespont. The towers were at Sestus and Abydos; the former in particular was associated with Hero and Leander.
9. Titius: Possibly the lyric poet Rufus mentioned by Ovid, Ex Ponto IV. 16. 28.
10. tanks and open channels: The public water supply; hence Greek writers who have been frequently imitated.
15. Celsus: Albinovanus Celsus, secretary on the staff of Tiberius (see Epistles 1.8).