Chapter 80

[1] The actors in the _Atellanae_ not only wore masks but had the privilege of refusing to take them off if they acted badly, which was the penalty exacted from those actors in the legitimate drama who failed to satisfy their audience. Masks do not appear to have been used even in the drama until about 100 B.C.

[2] Second Philippic.

[3] _Planipedes audit Fabios_. Juv. viii. 190.

[4] "_Or Jonson's learned sock be on_." Milton here adopts the Latin synonym for comedy.

[5] The _Pallium_. This, of course, was not always worn.

[6] Ovid's account of the _Mimus_ is drawn to the life, and is instructive as showing the moral food provided for the people under the paternal government of the emperors (Tr. ii. 497). As an excuse for his own free language he says, _Quid si scripsissim Mimos obscaena iocantes Qui semper vetiti crimen amoris habent; In quibus assidue cultus procedit adulter, Verbaque dat stulto callida nupta viro? Nubilis haec virgo, matronaque, virque, puerque Spectat, et ex magna parte Senatus adest. Nec satis incestis temerari vocibus aures; Assuescunt oculi multa pudenda pati ... Quo mimis prodest, scaena est lucrosa poetae_, &c. The laxity of the modern ballet is a faint shadow of the indecency of the Mime.

[7] The passage is as follows (Ep. ii. 1, 185): _Media inter carmina poscunt Aut ursum aut pugiles: his nam plebecula plaudit. Verum equitis quoque iam miravit ab aure voluptas Omnis ad incertos oculos ... Captivum portator ebur, captiva Corinthus: Esseda festinant, pilenta, petorrita, naves ... Rideret Democritus, et ... spectaret populum ludis attentius ipsis Ut sibi pradientem mimo spectacula plura_, etc. From certain remarks in Cicero we gather that things were not much better even in his day.

[8] This is what Gellius (xvii. 14,2) says.

[9] The whole is preserved, Macrob. S. ii. 7, and is well worth reading.

[10] Cic. ad Att. xii. 18.

[11] See App. note 2, for more about Syrus.

[12] Hor. Sat. i. x. 6, where he compares him to Lucilius.

[13] Examples quoted by Gellius, x. 24; xv. 25.

[14] vi. 21.

[15] We should infer this also from allusions to Pythagorean tenets, and other philosophical questions, which occur in the extant fragments of Mimes.

[16] Tr. ii. 503, 4.

[17] S. 1-3, et al.

[18] Vell. Pat. ii. 83, where Plancus dancing the character of Glaucus is described, cf. Juv. vi. 63.

[19] _Quae gravis Aesopus, quae doctus Roscius egit_ (Ep. ii. 1, 82). Quintilian (_Inst. Or_. xi. 3) says, _Roscius citatior, Aesopus gravior fuit, quod ille comoedias, hic tragoedias egit_.

[20] _Cic. de Or._ i. 28, 130. As Cicero in his oration for Sextius mentions the expression of Aesopus's eyes and face while acting, it is supposed that he did not always wear a mask.

[21] Ep. ii. 1, 173.

[22] xiv. 15. Others again think the name expresses one of the standing characters of the _Atellanae_, like the _Maccus_, etc.

[23] Pro Sext. 58.

[24] See Book i. chapter viii.

[25] These were doubtless much the worst of his poetical effusions. It was in them that the much-abused lines _O fortunam natam me Consule Romam_, and _Cedant arma togae, concedat laurea laudi_, occurred. See Forsyth, Vit. Cic. p. 10, 11. His _gesta Marii_ was the tribute of an admiring fellow-townsman.

[26] In the preface to his _Lucretius_.

[27] _E.g. Inferior paulo est Aries et flumen ad Austri Inclinatior. Atque etiam_, etc. v. 77; and he gives countless examples of that break after the fourth foot which Lucretius also affects, _e.g. Arcturus nomine claro._ Two or three lines are imitated by Virgil, _e.g._ v. 1, _ab Jove Musarum primordia_; so v. 21, _obstipum caput et tereti cervice reflexum_. The rhythm of v. 3, _cum caeloque simul noctesque diesque feruntur_, suggests a well-known line in the eighth Aeneid, _olli remigio noctemque diemque fatigant_.

[28] Suet. J. C. 56.

[29] N. H. xix. 7.

[30] Suet. vit. Ter. see page 51.

[31] See Bernhardy Grundr. der R. L. Anm, 200, also Caes. Op. ed. S. Clarke, 1778.

[32] De Bell. Alex. 4.

[33] Whenever a ship touched at Alexandria, Euergetes sent for any MSS. the captain might have on board. These were detained in the museum and labelled _to ek ton ploion_.

[34] The museum was situated in the quarter of the city called _Brucheium_ (Spartian. in Hadr. 20). See Don. and Müller, Hist. Gk. Lit. vol. ii. chap. 45.

[35] The school of Alexandria did not become a religious centre until a later date. The priestly functions of the librarians are historically unimportant.

[36] It is true Theocritus stayed long in Alexandria. But his inspiration is altogether Sicilian, and as such was hailed by delight by the Alexandrines, who were tired of pedantry and compliment, and longed for naturalness though in a rustic garb.

[37] This is the true ground of Aristophanes' rooted antipathy to Euripides. The two minds were of an incompatible order, Aristophanes represents Athens; Euripides the human spirit.

[38] He must have had some real beauties, else Theocritus (vii. 40) would hardly praise him so highly: "_ou gar po kat' emdn noon oude ton eslon Sikelidan nikemi ton ek Samo oude Philetan Aeidon, batrachos de pot akridat hos tis erisdo_."

[39] Even an epic poem was, if it extended to any length, now considered tedious; _Epyllia_, or miniature epics, in one, two, or three books, became the fashion.

[40] Others assign the poem which has come down to us to Germanicus the father of Caligula, perhaps with better reason.

[41] Cic. De Or. xvi. 69.

[42] Ovid (Amor. i, 15, 16) expresses the high estimate of Aratus common in his day: _Nulla Sophocleo veniet iactura cothurno. Cum sole et luna semper Aratus erit_. He was not, strictly speaking, an Alexandrine, as he lived at the court of Antigonus in Macedonia; but he represents the same school of thought.

[43] They are generally mentioned together. Prop IV. i. 1, &c.

[44] Nothing can show this more strikingly than the fact that the Puritan Milton introduces the loves of Adam and Eve in the central part of his poem.

[45] The _Cantores Euphorionis_ and despisers of Ennius, with whom Cicero was greatly wroth. Alluding to them he says:--_Ita belle nobis_ "Flavit ab Epiro lenissimus Onchesmites." _Hunc spondeiazonta si cui vis to neoteron pro tuo vendita_. Ad. Att. vii, 2, 1.

[46] The reader is referred to the introductory chapter of Sellar's _Roman poets of the Republic_, where this passage is quoted.

[47] The reader is again referred to the preface to Munro's _Lucretius_.

[48] _Quem tu, dea, tempore in omni Omnibus ornatum voluisti excellere rebus_.

[49] i, 41.

[50] Ep. ad Q. Fr. ii. 11. It seems best to read _multis ingenii luminibus non multae tamen artis_ than to put the _non_ before _multis_. The original text has no _non_; if we keep to that, _tamen_ will mean _and even_.

[51] Lucr. had a great veneration for his genius, see ii. 723: _Quae_ (Sicilia) _nil hoc habuisse viro praeclarius in se Nec sanctum magis et mirum carumque videtur. Carmina quinctiam divini pectoris eius Vociferantur, et exponunt praeclara reperta, Ut vix humana videatur stirpe creatus_.

[52] In his treatise _de Poetica_ he calls him _physiologon mallon i poiaeten_.

[53] A French writer justly says "_L'utilité c'est le principe créateur de la littérature romaine_."

[54] Some one has observed that the martial imagery of Lucretius is taken from the old warfare of the Punic wars, not from that of his own time. He speaks of elephants, of Scipio and Hannibal, as if they were the heroes most present to his mind.

[55] The _eros philosuphus_, so beautifully described by Plato in the _Symposium_.

[56] A Scotch acquaintance of the writer's when asked to define a certain type of theology, replied, "An interminable argument."

[57] Philetas wore himself to a shadow by striving to solve the sophistic riddle of the "Liar." His epitaph alludes to this: _Xeine, Philaetas eimi, logon d' o pseudomenos me olese kai nukton phrontides esperioi_.

[58] iii. 3. "Te sequor, o Graiae gentis decus!"

[59] v. 8, where, though the words are general, the reference is to Epicurus.

[60] By Sulla, 84 B.C.

[61] He defined it as a _leia kinaesis_, or smooth gentle motion of the atoms which compose the soul.

[62] The doctrine of inherited aptitudes is a great advance on the ancient statement of this theory, inasmuch as it partly gets rid of the inconsistency of regarding the senses as the fountains of knowledge while admitting the inconceivability of their cognising the ultimate constituents of matter.

[63] Prof. Maudesley's books are a good example.

[64] _Dux vitae, dia voluptas_ (ii. 171). So the invocation to Venus with which the poem opens.

[65] As where he invokes Venus, describes the mother of the gods, or deifies the founder of true wisdom.

[66] _Nec sum animi dubius Graiorum obscura reperta Difficile inlustrare Latinis versibus esse; Multa novis verbis praesertim cum sit agendum Propter egestatem linguae et rerum novitatem_ (i. 130).

[67] i. 75.

[68] Lu. i. 56-95.

[69] Ib. i. 710-735; iii. 1-30.

[70] Ib. i. 912-941.

[71] Ib. ii. 1-60.

[72] Ib. ii. 354-366.

[73] Ib. iii. 1036 _sqq._

[74] Ib. i. 32-40.

[75] Contrast him with Manilius, or with Ovid in the last book of the _Metamorphoses_, or with the author of _Etna_. The difference is immense.

[76] Lu. ii. 371.

[77] Ib. v. 18.

[78] Ib. Ib. v. 3.

[79] Ib. _apatheia_.

[80] Ib. v. 1201, _sqq._

[81] The passage in which they are described is perhaps the most beautiful in Latin poetry, iii. 18, _sqq._ Cf. ii. 644.

[82] _E.g. omoiomepeia_, and various terms of endearment, iv. 1154-63.

[83] S. i. 10.

[84] _E.g._ frequently in Juvenal.

[85] _E.g. terrai frugiferai: lumina sis oculis: indugredi, volta, vacefit, facie are_ on the analogy of Ennius's _cere comminuit brum, salsae lacrimae_, &c.

[86] See Appendix.

[87] Besides the passages quoted or referred to, the following throw light upon his opinions or genius. The introduction (i. 1-55), the attack on mythology (ii, 161-181, 591-650); that on the fear of death (iii. 943- 983), the account of the progress of the arts (v. 1358-1408), and the recommendation of a calm mind (v. 56-77).

[88] _E.g. quocirca, quandoquidem, id ita esse, quod superest, Huc accedit ut_, &c.

[89] Lu. i. 914.

[90] Qu. x. 1, 87.

[91] Ov. Am. i. 15, 23; Stat. Silv. ii. 7, 76.

[92] Hor. _Deos didici securum agere aerom_, S. i. v. 101.

[93] Georg. ii. 490. Connington in his edition of Virgil, points out hundreds of imitations of his diction.

[94] Tac. Ann. lv. 34.

[95] We cannot certainly gather that Furius was alive when Horace wrote Sat. ii. 5, 40,

"Furius hibernas cana nive conspuit Alpes."

[96] S. i. x. 36.

[97] See Virg. Aen. iv. 585; xii. 228; xi. 73l.

[98] Hor. S. i. x. 46, _experto frustra Varrone Atacino_.

[99] Ov. Am. i. xv. 21; Ep. ex. Pont. iv. xvi. 21.

[100] Qu. x. 1, 87.

[101] Trist. ii. 439. For some specimens of his manner see App. to chap. i. note 3.

[102] Ecl. ix. 35.

[103] Told by Ovid (_Metam._ bk. x.).

[104] Cat. xc. 1.

[105] Cic. (_Brut._) lxxxii. 283.

[106] _Romae vivimus; illa domus_, lxviii. 34.

[107] See. C. xxxi.

[108] C. xxv.

[109] C. i.

[110] C. xlix.

[111] C. xciii. lvii. xxix.

[112] What a different character does this reveal from that of the Augustan poets! Compare the sentiment in C. xcii.:

"Nil nimium studeo Caesar tibi velle placere Nec scire utrum sis albus an ater homo."

[113] For the character of Clodia, see Cic. pro Cael. _passim_; and for her criminal passion for her brother, compare Cat. lxxix., which is only intelligible if so understood. Cf. also lviii. xci. lxxvi.

[114] The beautiful and pathetic poem (C. lxxvi.) in which he expresses his longing for peace of mind suggests this remark.

[115] C. lxv. and lxviii.

[116] C. xxxi.

[117] Compare, however, Lucr. iii. 606-8.

[118] C. vi. 15, _quicquid habes boni malique Die nobis_.

[119] See xix. 5-9, and lxxvi.

[120] Especially in the Attis.

[121] Ov. Amor. iii. 9, 62, _docte Catulle_. So Mart. viii. 73, 8. Perhaps satirically alluded to by Horace, _simius iste Nil praeter Calvum et_ doctus _cantare Catullum_. S. I. x.

[122] The first foot may be a spondee, a trochee, or an iambus. The licence is regarded as _duriusculum_ by Pliny the Elder. But in this case freedom suited the Roman treatment of the metre better than strictness.

[123] A trimeter iambic line with a spondee in the last place, which must always be preceded by an iambus, _e.g. Miser Catulle desinas ineptire._

[124] _E.g._ in C. lxxxiv. (12 lines) there is not a single dissyllabic ending. In one place we have _dictaque factaque sunt_. I think Martial also has _hoc scio, non amo te_. The best instance of continuous narration in this metre is lxvi. 105-30, _Quo tibi tum--conciliata viro_, a very sonorous passage.

[125] _E.g. Perfecta exigitur | una amicitia_ (see Ellis. Catull. Prolog.), and _Iupiter ut Chalybum | omne genus percut_, which is in accord with old Roman usage, and is modelled on Callimachus's _Zeu kater, os chalybon pan apoloito genos_.

[126] This has been alluded to under Aratus. As a specimen of Catullus's style of translation, we append two lines, _Hae me Konon eblepsen en aeri ton Berenikaes bostruchon on keinae pasin ethaeke theois_ of translation, we append two lines, which are thus rendered, _Idem me ille Conon_ caelesti munere _vidit E Bereniceo vertice caesariem_ Fulgenlem clare, _quam multis illa deorum_ Levia protendens brachia _pollicitaest_. The additions are characteristic.

[127] clxviii.

[128] Ca. clxi: lxii.

[129] The conceit in v. 63, 64, must surely be Greek.

[130] _Epullion_.

[131] C. 68.

[132] See Ellis, _Cat. Prolegomena_.