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and pen," shall never of my free will assail any man alive but shall protect me, like a sword laid up in its sheath. Why should I try to draw it, while I am safe from robbers' assaults? O Jupiter, Sire and King, let perish with rust the discarded weapon, and let no man injure me, a lover of peace! But if one stir me up ("Better not touch me!" I shout), he shall smart for it and have his name sung up and down the town.

47 Cervius, when angry, threatens his foes with laws and the judge's urn; Canidia with the poison of Albucius; Turius with a big fine, if you go to court when he is judge. How everyone, using the weapon in which he is strong, tries to frighten those whom he fears, and how this is at Dame Nature's own command, you must infer-as I do-thus the wolf attacks with fangs, the bull with horns—how was each taught, if not by instinct? Suppose you entrust to the spendthrift Scaeva a long-lived mother: his filial hand will commit no crime. How mar

vellous! no more so than that a wolf assails none with his heels, nor an ox with his teeth; but deadly hemlock in drugged honey will carry the old crone off. To be brief-whether peaceful age awaits me, or Death hovers round with sable wings, rich or poor, in Rome, or, if chance so bid, in exile, whatever the colour of my life, write I must.

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60 TRE. My lad, I fear your life will be brief. One of your great friends will strike you with a killing frost.

HOR. What! when Lucilius first dared to compose poems after this kind, and to strip off the skin with which each strutted all bedecked before the eyes of

bi.e. bright or dark, with good or bad fortune.

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cederet, introrsum turpis, num Laelius et1 qui duxit ab oppressa meritum Karthagine nomen ingenio offensi aut laeso doluere Metello famosisque Lupo cooperto versibus ? atqui primores populi arripuit populumque tributim,2 scilicet uni aequus Virtuti atque eius amicis. quin ubi se a volgo et scaena in secreta remorant virtus Scipiadae et mitis sapientia Laeli, nugari cum illo et discincti ludere, donec decoqueretur holus, soliti. quicquid sum ego, quam

vis

infra Lucili censum ingeniumque, tamen me cum magnis vixisse invita fatebitur usque invidia, et fragili quaerens inlidere dentem offendet solido, nisi quid tu, docte Trebati, dissentis.

“Equidem nihil hinc diffindere3 possum. sed tamen ut monitus caveas, ne forte negoti incutiat tibi quid sanctarum inscitia legum : si mala condiderit in quem quis carmina, ius est iudiciumque.”

Esto, si quis mala; sed bona si quis iudice condiderit laudatus Caesare? si quis opprobriis dignum latraverit, integer ipse?

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Solventur risu tabulae, tu missus abibis.”

1 et DK: aut aĒ.

2 tributim aK: tributum DE.

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3 diffindere VDM, II, Porph. : diffingere a: diffundere E : diffidere.

a The younger Scipio Africanus.

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¿ In l. 82 Horace uses the very phraseology of the XII. Tables as cited by Pliny, “qui malum carmen incantassit (Hist. Nat. xxviii. 4. 18), and Cicero, "sive carmen condi

men, though foul within, was Laelius offended at his wit, or he who took his well-earned name from conquered Carthage? a Or were they hurt because Metellus was smitten, and Lupus buried under a shower of lampooning verses? Yet he laid hold upon the leaders of the people, and upon the people in their tribes, kindly in fact only to Virtue and her friends. Nay, when virtuous Scipio and the wise and gentle Laelius withdrew into privacy from the throng and theatre of life, they would turn to folly, and flinging off restraint would indulge with him in sport while their dish of herbs was on the boil. Such as I am, however far beneath Lucilius in rank and native gifts, yet Envy, in spite of herself, will ever admit that I have lived with the great, and, while trying to strike her tooth on something soft, will dash upon what is solid. But maybe you, learned Trebatius, disagree.

79 TRE. Indeed, I can take no exception to this. But for all that, let me warn you to beware, lest haply ignorance of our sacred laws bring you into trouble. If a man write ill verses against another, there is a right of action and redress by law.

HOR. To be sure, in case of ill verses. But what if a man compose good verses, and Caesar's judgement approve? If he has barked at someone who deserves abuse, himself all blameless?

TRE. The case will fall through with a laugh. You will get off scot-free.

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disset (De republica, iv. 10. 12). Horace is, of course, punning on the use of malum, which can mean both

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libellous" and "of bad quality.'

Literally, "the official records will be cancelled." Jefferson Elmore, C.R. xxxiii. p. 102.

See

II

A DISCOURSE ON PLAIN LIVING

HORACE puts the discourse in the mouth of Ofellus, an old neighbour of the poet's, and a representative of the simplicity and other sturdy qualities of the Apulian farmers. As a whole, however, the Satire is mainly a collection of commonplaces taken from the teachings of the various philosophic schools, though the theme and even the mode of handling it were probably suggested by Lucilius. It stands midway between dialogue and monologue, and perhaps indicates that the author is still experimenting in regard to the form. It is probably the first one of this book in the order of composition.

The argument is as follows: Learn from me, or rather from my authority, Ofellus-a plain but shrewd countryman-the value of simple living. Let us learn the lesson before we break our fast.

A man never despises frugal fare after heavy exercise, because the pleasure of eating lies, not in costly food, but in oneself. The most tempting dainties lose their flavour for the man who has no appetite. People foolishly prefer a peacock to a pullet, simply because it has a fine tail and costs more money. So, too, a three-pound mullet is admired, while a big pike is scorned. The former

is an unnatural rarity, the latter is common, and the well-fed stomach scorns things common. Some day

we shall find roast gulls in fashion (1-52).

Plain living is not the same as mean living, and you must not avoid one fault merely to fall into another. There is a happy mean between stinginess and extravagance (53-69).

A simple fare means health of body, a good digestion, sound and refreshing sleep, mental vigour. It allows one to indulge himself occasionally, as when the holidays come, or in times of ill-health, or when old age arrives. In the good old days dainties were reserved for hospitality (70-93).

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A luxurious life leads to disgrace and ruin. "That may be true of others," says one, but I can well afford to be extravagant." Then why not use your money for better ends? And what about the changes and chances of life? Which of the two will meet them best, the man accustomed to every comfort, or the one who is content with little (94-111) ?

I knew Ofellus in my boyhood, when he was the well-to-do owner of the land on which he now pays rent. In those days he lived the same simple life that he does now, and when misfortunes came, he faced them bravely and in true philosophic fashion (113-136).

Kiessling has pointed out how closely this Satire reproduces some ideas found in the well-known letter of Epicurus to Menoecus (Diog. Laert. x. 131), but Lejay has also called attention to striking parallels in Cicero's philosophical writings. Even the phrase tenuis victus (1. 53) is Ciceronian (cf. Tusc. Disp. iii. 49.5; v. 26. 89, etc.). "Cicéron," says Lejay (p. 380), "est peut-être encore plus complètement l'inspiration des grandes lignes de la satire.”

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