And, mounted high on downy chariots, throw Disdainful glances on the crowd below? Be silent, and beware, if such you see; "T is defamation but to say: "That's he!" Against bold Turnus 27 the great Trojan arm, Amidst their strokes the poet gets no harm: Achilles may in epic verse be slain, A cold sweat stands in drops on ev'ry part; smart. Muse, be advis'd; 't is past consid'ring time, When enter'd once the dangerous lists of rhyme: Since none the living villains dare implead, Arraign them in the persons of the dead. EXPLANATORY NOTES ON THE FIRST SATIRE 1 Codrus, or it may be Cordus, a bad poet who wrote the life and actions of Theseus. 2 Telephus, the name of a tragedy. 3 Orestes, another tragedy. 4 Mars his grove. Some commentators take this grove to be a place where poets were us'd to repeat their works to the people; but more probably, both this and Vulcan's grot, or cave, and the rest of the places and names here mention'd, are only meant for the commonplaces of Homer in his Iliads and Odysses. 5 The best and worst; that is, the best and the worst poets. 6 Advising Sylla, &c. This was one of the themes given in the schools of rhetoricians, in the deliberative kind; whether Sylla should lay down the supreme power of dictatorship, or still keep it. 7 Lucilius, the first satirist of the Romans, who wrote long before Horace. 8 Mævia, a name put for any impudent or mannish woman. 9 Whose razor, &c. Juvenal's barber now grown wealthy. 10 Crispinus, an Egyptian slave; now by his riches transform'd into a nobleman. 11 Charg'd with light summer-rings, &c. The Romans were grown so effeminate in Juvenal's time, that they wore light rings in the summer and heavier in the winter. 12 Matho, a famous lawyer, mention'd in other places by Juvenal and Martial. 13 At Lyons. A city in France, where annual sacrifices and games were made in honor of Augustus Cæsar. 14 Prevailing province, &c. Here the poet complains that the governors of provinces, being accus'd for their unjust exactions, tho' they were condemn'd at their trials, yet got off by bribery. 15 Horace, who wrote satires: 't is more noble, says our author, to imitate him in that way, than to write the labors of Hercules, the sufferings of Diomedes and his followers, or the flight of Da dalus, who made the Labyrinth, and the death of his son Icarus. 16 His eunuch-love. Nero married Sporus, an eunuch; tho' it may be, the poet meant Nero's mistress in man's apparel. 17 Mæcenas-like. Mæcenas is often tax'd by Seneca and others for his effeminacy. 18 And hope to sleep. The meaning is, that the very consideration of such a crime will hinder a virtuous man from taking his repose. 19 Deucalion and Pyrrha, when the world was drown'd, escap'd to the top of Mount Parnassus, and were commanded to restore mankind, by throwing stones over their heads: the stones he threw became men, and those she threw be came women. 20 Tho' my torn ears are bor'd. The ears of all slaves were bor'd, as a mark of their servitude; which custom is still usual in the East Indies, and in other parts, even for whole nations, who bore prodigious holes in their ears, and wear vast weights at them. 21 The poor patrician. The poor nobleman. 22 Pallas, or Licinius. Pallas, a slave freed by Claudius Cæsar, and rais'd by his favor to great riches. Licinius was another wealthy freedman, belonging to Augustus. 23 Where the stork on high, &c. Perhaps the storks were us'd to build on the top of the temple dedicated to Concord. 24 Prevented by those harpies. He calls the Roman knights, &c., harpies, or devourers. In those days the rich made doles intended for the poor; but the great were either so coveteous, or so needy, that they came in their litters to demand their shares of the largess, and thereby prevented, and consequently starv'd, the poor. 25 'Tis Galla, &c. The meaning is, that noblemen would cause empty litters to be carried to the giver's door, pretending their wives were within them. 'Tis Galla," that is, "my wife; the next words, "Let her ladyship but реер, are of the servant who distributes the dole; "Let me see her, that I may be sure she is within the litter." The husband answers: "She is asleep, and to open the litter would disturb her rest." 26 Next to the statues, &c. The poet here tells you how the idle pass'd their time; in going first to the levees of the great, then to the hall, that is, to the temple of Apollo, to hear the lawyers plead, then to the marketplace of Augustus, where the statues of the famous Romans were set in ranks on pedestals, amongst which statues were seen those of foreigners, such as Arabs, &c., who, for no desert, but only on the account of their wealth or favor, were plac'd amongst the noblest 27 Against bold Turnus, &c. A poet may safely write an heroic poem, such as that of Virgil who describes the duel of Turnus and Æneas; or of Homer, who writes of Achilles and Hector; or the death of Hylas, the catamite of Hercules, who, stooping for water, dropp'd his pitcher, and fell into the well after it. But 't is dangerous to write satire, like Lucilius. THE THIRD SATIRE OF JUVENAL THE ARGUMENT The story of this satire speaks itself. Umbritius, the suppos'd friend of Juvenal, and himself a poet, is leaving Rome, and retiring to Cumæ. Our author accompanies him out of town. Before they take leave of each other, Umbritius tells his friend the reasons which oblige him to lead a private life, in an obscure place. He complains that an honest man cannot get his bread at Rome; that none but flatterers make their fortunes there; that Grecians and other foreigners raise themselves by those sordid arts which he describes, and against which he bitterly inveighs. He reckons up the several inconveniencies which arise from a city life, and the many dangers which attend it; upbraids the noblemen with covetousness, for not rewarding good poets; and arraigns the government for starving them. The great art of this satire is particularly shown in commonplaces, and drawing in as many vices as could naturally fall into the compass of it. GRIEV'D tho' I am an ancient friend to lose, I like the solitary seat he chose, And one more citizen to Sibyl gives; Tho' I in Prochyta 3 with greater ease 9 But worse than all, the clatt'ring tiles; and worse Than thousand padders, is the poet's curse; 81 Unskill'd in schemes by planets to foreshow, I Conscious of close intrigues, and dipp'd in crimes; 90 Lab'ring with secrets which his bosom burn, Yet never must to public light return? They get reward alone who can betray: For keeping honest counsels none will pay. On what, in schools, their men of morals do; A rigid Stoic 18 his own pupil slew: A friend, against a friend, of his own cloth, Some Diphilus, or some Protogenes, 19 appear, 210 Where friends are left with greater ease than here? At Rome (nor think me partial to the poor) |