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A. D.

dish of mushrooms, Sat. v. 147.-The poison was procured from the infamous Locusta, mentioned Sat. i. 63.

54. NERO. Emperor.

55. Britannicus, the son of Claudius, poisoned by Nero himself, through the assistance of the same Loçusta. Sat. viii. 218.

59. C. Fonteius Capito, Consul. In this year, Calvinus, to whom Juvenal addresses his thirteenth Satire, was born; an event, by which the chronology of Juvenal's life and writings is partly ascertained. Sat. xiii, 17.

In this year also, Nero puts to death his mother
Agrippina. Sat. viii. 212.

60. Corbulo, a man of singular strength (Sat. iii. 233.) and courage, performed great exploits in Armenia against the Parthians; but was afterwards basely put to death.

62. Juvenal supposed to be born.

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Tigellinus (Sat. i. 146.) in great favour with
Nero.

65. Nero burnt Rome, and laid the blame upon the Christians, whom he cruelly punished on this false pretence. Sat. i. 146-148. viii. 234.

66. Nero goes into Greece, and there exhibits himself as an actor and musician. Sat. viii. 224.

In this year, Thrasea, Seneca, Lucan, and many others are put to death, and Helvidius is banished. Sat. v. 36. x. 15-18.

67. Galba, Vindex, and Verginius, revolt against Nero. Sat. viii. 220.

68. GALBA. Emperor.

69. OTHO. Do.

VITELLIUS. Do.

A. D.

70. VESPASIAN. Emperor. (The first of the Flavian family.)

79. TITUS. Do.

81. DOMITIAN. Do. (The last of the Flavian family. Sat. iv. 36.).

82. Juvenal is supposed about this time to have commenced practice at the Bar, being now about 20 years of age.

87. Cornelius Fuscus slain by the Dacians. Sat. iv. 109.

93. The informers, Carus, Massa, &c. (mentioned Sat. i. 35.) encouraged by Domitian. Paris the actor in high favour; at whose instigation, according to a tradition by no means improbable, Juvenal was sent into Egypt, in some lower military command; under the pretence of honour, but in fact to punish him for an offensive passage in Sat. vii. 88-92.

96. Domitian assassinated. Sat. iv. 151.

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97. Juvenal is supposed to have returned from Egypt. It is certain, from Sat. xv. 45. that he was once in that country.-Some mistakenly assert, that Juvenal was banished into Egypt in his old age, and that he died there. But it is plain from many internal proofs, that all his satires (except the seventh, and perhaps the sixteenth,) were written at home, under Trajan and Adrian.

98. TRAJAN. Emperor.

102. Marius, Proconsul of Africa, condemned for extortion; but saves his treasures. Sat. i. 39

42. viii. 123.

106. Trajan begins his expedition against the Armenians, and other Eastern nations. Sat. vui. 168.

A. D.

118. ADRIAN. Emperor.

119. Q. Junius Rusticus, Consul. Supposed to be the Junius mentioned Sat. xv. 27.

Calvinus, the poet's friend, to whom Sat. xiii. is addressed, now completes his sixtieth year; being born, as we saw before, when Fonteius was consul, A. D. 59. This year, therefore, must be the date of that satire.

127. Juvenal is supposed to have died this year, at the age of sixty-four.

D. J. JUVENALIS

SATIRE QUEDAM SELECTÆ.

SATIRA I.

ARGUMENT.

This satire, which was probably written after the others, and intended as an introduction to them, consists of four parts.-I. Juvenal first assigns the reason why he writes at all; abruptly breaking silence with a complaint of the importunity of bad writers, and a humorous resolution of retaliating upon them, by turning author himself;-ridiculing also their frivolous and hackneyed subjects.-II. He next declares why he made Satire his particular choice, viz. that he was driven to it by indignation at the vices of the age, of which he gives a sketch.-III. In the third part, he exposes more at large the servile rapacity of the mendicant patricians, the avarice and gluttony of the rich, and the miserable state of poverty and subjection in which they kept their followers and dependants.-IV. Finally, he makes some bitter reflections on the danger of satirizing living villainy, and concludes with a pretended determination of confining his invectives to the dead.-From Owen and Gifford.

I. SEMPER ego auditor tantùm? nunquamne reponam, Vexatus toties rauci Theseide Codri?

Impunè ergò mihi recitaverit ille togatas,

1. Semper ego auditor?] Juvenal complains of the irksome recitals, which the scribbling poets were continually making of their vile compositions, and of which he was a hearer, at the public assemblies, where they read them over. M.-Before the invention of printing, authors knew no shorter road to fame than public rehearsals. To procure full audiences for these, they had recourse to every art. G.

2. Theseide] A poem, of which Theseus was the subject.-Rauci Codr] Codrus was some wretched poetaster of the day, hoarse from vociferous and endless recitation.

3. Togatas] Comedies, so called because the actors wore the Toga or common Roman dress, whereas in tragedies they wore Juv. Sat.

A

Hic elegos? impunè diem consumpserit ingens
Telephus aut, summi plenâ jam margine libri,
Scriptus et in tergo, necdum finitus, Orestes?

Nota magis nulli domus est sua, quàm mihi lucus
Martis, et Æoliis vicinum rupibus antrum
Vulcani. Quid agant venti; quas torqueat umbras
Eacus; unde alius furtivæ devehat aurum
Pelliculæ ; quantas jaculetur Monychus ornos;
Frontonis platani convulsaque marmora clamant
Semper, et assiduo ruptæ lectore columnæ.
Expectes eadem a summo, minimoque poëtâ.

Et nos ergò manum ferulæ subduximus? et nos

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the Prætexta or Syrma, (see Sat. viii. 228.) a long and stately robe : so Milton:

Sometimes let gorgeous Tragedy

In scepter'd pall come sweeping by.

5. Ingens Telephus] A bulky poem or tragedy, on the story of Telephus.

6. Orestes] A poem on the story of Orestes. Summi plená] There is a beautiful climax in this passage. The volume itself was large, summus; yet this was not sufficient, the margin was used, margine. This was not only used, but filled, plená: nor was this again sufficient; the back too must be employed, scriptus et in tergo: After all, the work was still unfinished, necdum finitus. O.

7. Nota magis] Juvenal here enumerates the hackneyed subjects of the day, which were all as well known to him as his own house.-Lucus Martis] The grove of Mars at Alba, where Romulus and Remus were born.

8. Antrum Vulcani] Mount Etna; or rather, one of the Lipari isles, (Liparæa taberna. Sat. xiii. 45.) on the northern coast of Sicily; in another of which, the poets fixed the palace of Æolus : Eoliis vicinum rupibus.

10. Eacus] One of the judges of the infernal regions.-Alius] Jason, the leader of the Argonauts, who carried off the Golden Fleece.

11. Monychus] One of the Centaurs, (from povos and ovʊg,) who, in his combat with the Lapithæ, tore up trees by the roots, and hurled them as darts.

12. Frontonis] Julius Fronto lent his gardens to the poets for their rehearsals. Gardens were usually adorned with statues, marmora; and piazzas or arcades, columna. Hence, Sat. vii. 79. jaceat Lucanus in hortis Marmoreis. O.

15. Manum ferulæ subduximus] "To have withdrawn the hand from the ferule," means, to have left school. (Proverbialis locutio

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