i. 12 it would appear that he contemplated an epic poem on the war with

the Jews. Tac. Hist. iv. 86 Domitianus sperni a senioribus iuventam suam cernens, modice quoque et usurpata antea munia imperii omittebat, simplicitatis ac 88 modestiae imagine, in altitudinem conditus studiumque litterarum et amorem carminum simulans, quo velaret animum et fratris aemulationi subduceretur, cuius disparem mitioremque naturam contra interpretabatur. Cp. Pliny, Introd. to Nat. Hist. But Suetonius §20 gives the reverse side: nunquam ... aut historiae carminibusve noscendis operam ullam, aut stilo vel necessario dedit. Praeter commentarios et acta Tiberii Caesaris nihil lectitabat; epistolas orationesque et edicta alieno formabat ingenio.

cura terrarum: cp. Mart. viii. 82 Posse deum rebus pariter Musisque vacare Scimus, et haec etiam serta placere tibi.

donato imperio, i.e. to his father Vespasian, as he pretended, and his brother Titus: cp. Suet. Dom. §13 principatum adeptus neque in senatu iactare dubitavit ‘et patri se et fratri imperium dedisse.’

numeris: §70.

qui sic gerit: cp. §114 of Julius Caesar, ‘eodem animo dixisse quo bellavit.’ Statius has a similar compliment to Domitian, Achil. i. 15, 16 cui geminae florent vatumque ducumque certatim laurus: olim dolet altera vinci.

praesidentes deae: §48 invocatione dearum quas praesidere vatibus creditum est.

propius audirent: cp. Aen. i. 526 parce pio generi et propius res aspice nostras. The phrase is used of interest as well as nearness, and refers either to the presence and sympathy of the Muses when the poet reads his compositions (recitavitque etiam publice Suet. Dom. 2), or (less probably) to their gracious answer to his prayer for inspiration. Becher cites also Ovid, Trist. i. 2, 7 oderat Aenean propior Saturnia Turno.—See Crit. Notes.

familiare numen Minervae: Domitian was desirous of passing for a son of Minerva (Philostratus, Vit. Apoll. vii. 24), and punished with death a priest of Tarentum who had failed to address him by this title in offering sacrifice. He also instituted the Quinquatria Minervae (Suet. 4), with contests in poetry and rhetoric. At the quinquennial festival of Jupiter Capitolinus he himself presided, ‘capite gestans coronam auream cum effigie Iovis ac Iunonis Minervaeque.’ Merivale vii. 391-394.—Krüger cites Aen. i. 447 (templum) donis opulentum et numine divae.

I:92 Dicent haec plenius futura saecula, nunc enim ceterarum fulgore virtutum laus ista praestringitur. Nos tamen sacra litterarum colentes feres, Caesar, si non tacitum hoc praeterimus et Vergiliano certe versu testamur:

inter victrices hederam tibi serpere laurus.

§ 92. praestringitur: §30.

feres, see Crit. Notes. The subj. (_feras_) is given in many edd. as more appropriate to the subservient tone of the whole passage.

Vergiliano: Ecl. viii, 13, addressed to Pollio. Cp. Mart.