A soul, that can securely death defy; The path to peace is virtue: what I show, THE SIXTEENTH SATIRE OF THE ARGUMENT. The poet in this satire proves, that the condition of a soldier is much better than that of a countryman: first, because a countryman, however af fronted, provoked. and struck himself, dares not strike a soldier; who is only to be judged by a court martial: and by the law of Camillus, which -obliges him not to quarrel without the trenches, he is also assured to have a speedy hearing, and quick despatch: whereas the townsman or peasant is delayed in his suit by frivolous pre tences, and not sure of justice when he is heard in the court. The soldier is also privileged to make a will, and to give away his estate, which he got in war, to whom he pleases, without consideration of parentage or relations, which is denied to all other Romans. This satire was written by Juvenal when he was a commander in Egypt: itis certainly his, though I think it not finished. And if it be well observed, you will find he intended an invective against a standing army. WHAT vast prerogatives,* my Gallus, are Accruing to the mighty man of war: For, if into a lucky camp I light, Though raw in arms, and yet afraid to fight, Befriend me, my good stars, and all goes right: One happy hour is to a soldier better, Than mother Juno's recommending letter, t Or Venus, when to Mars she would prefer My suit, and own the kindness done to her. See what our common privileges are: As, first, no зaucy citizen shall dare To strike a soldier, nor, when struck, resent The wrong, for fear of farther punishment : Not though his teeth are beaten out, his eyes Hang by a string, in bumps his forehead rise, Shall he presume to mention his disgrace, Or beg amends for his demolish'd face. A booted judge shall sit to try his cause, Not by the statute, but by martial laws; • What vast prerogatives] This satire is much inferior to the rest. The old scholiast denies that it is by Juvenal. I suppose Dryden was forced to add it to fill up his volume.-Barten Holyday's notes, added to his translation of Juvenal, are worth reading. Dr. J. W. *Juno was mother to Mars the god of war : Venus was his mistress. VOL. I.-24 Which old Camillust order'd, to confine [friend, Besides, whom canst thou think so much thy Our honest ancestors are come to take the air. More benefits remain, and claim'd as rights, Camillus(who being first banished by his ungrate ful countrymen the Romans, afterwards returned, and freed them from the Gauls) made a law, which prohibited the soldiers from quarrelling without the camp, lest upon that pretence they might happen to be absent when they ought to be on duty. $ This cause is worthy him, &c.] The poet names a Modenese lawyer, whom he calls Vacellius; who was 30 impudent that he would plead any cause, right or wrong, without shame or fear. Hob-nail'd shoes] The Roman soldiers wore plates of iron under their shoes, or stuck them with nails, as countrymen do now. Landmarks were used by the Romans, almost in the same manner as now; and as we go once a year in procession, about the bounds of parishes, and renew them, so they offered cakes upon the stone or land. Those bounds which, with procession and with pray'r, And offer'd cakes, have been my annual care: The Courts of Judicature were hung and spread, as with us; but spread only before the hundred judges were to sit and judge public causes, which were called by lot. Their father yet alive, impower'd to make a For, what their prowess gain'd, the law de The Roman soldiers had the privilege of making a will, in their father's life-time, of what they had purchased in the wars, as being no part of their patrimony. By this will they had power of excluding their own parents, and giving the estate so gotten to whom they pleased. Therefore, says the poet, Coranus (a soldier contemporary with Juvenal, who had raised his fortune by the wars) was courted by his own father, to make him his heir. TRANSLATIONS FROM PERSIUS. THE FIRST SATIRE OF PERSIUS. ARGUMENT OF THE PROLOGUE. The design of the author was to conceal his name and quality. He lived in the dangerous times of the tyrant Nero; and aims particularly at him in most of his satires. For which reason, though he was a Roman knight,and of a plentiful fortune,he would appear in this prologue but a beggarly poet, who writes for bread. After this, he breaks into the business of the first satire; which is chiefly to decry the poetry then in fashion, and the impudence of those who were endeavouring to pass their stuff upon the world. PROLOGUE TO THE FIRST SATIRE. I NEVER did on cleft Parnassus dream, tells us) to enervate manly eloquence, by tropes and figures,ill placed,and worse applied. Amongst the poets, Persius covertly strikes at Nero; some of whose verses he recites with scorn and indig. nation. He also takes notice of the noblemen and their abominable poetry, who, in the luxury of their fortune, set up for wits and judges. The satire is in dialogue, betwixt the author and his friend or monitor; who dissuades him from this dangerous attempt of exposing great men. But Persius, who is of a free spirit, and has not forgot. ten that Rome was once a commonwealth, breaks through all those difficulties, and boldly arraigns the false judgment of the age in which he lives. -The reader may observe that our poet was a Stoic philosopher; and that all his moral sentences, both here and in all the rest of his satires, are drawn from the dogmas of that sect. PERSIUS. How anxious are our cares, and yet [how vain Thy spleen contain: The bent of our desires! FRIEND. scend say, This to me? FRIEND. None; or what's next to none, but 'Tis hard, I grant. [two or three. PER. "T is nothing; I can bear That paltry scribblers have the public ear: That this vast universal fool, the Town, Should Labeo's stuff, and cry me down. cry up They damn themselves; nor will my Muse de [mend: To clap with such, who fools and knaves comTheir smiles and censures are to me the same: I care not what they praise, or what they blame. In full assemblies let the crowd prevail: I weigh no merit by the common scale. The conscience is the test of ev'ry mind; "Seek not thyself, without thyself, to find." But where's that Roman ?-Somewhat I would [way. But Fear;-let Fear, for once, to Truth give Truth lends the Stoic courage: when I look On human acts, and read in Nature's book, From the first pastimes of our infant age, To elder cares, and man's severer page; When stern as tutors, and as uncles hard, We lash the pupil, and defraud the ward: Then, then I say,-or would say, if I durstBut thus provok'd, I must speak out, or burst. FRIEND. Once more forbear. PER. I cannot rule my spleen; My scorn rebels, and tickles me within. First, to begin at home: our authors write In lonely rooms, secur'd from public sight; Whether in prose, or verse, 't is all the same: The prose is fustian, and the numbers lame. All noise, and empty pomp, a storm of words, Lab'ring with sound, that little sense affords. They comb, and then they order ev'ry hair : A gown, or white, or seour'd to whiteness, wear: A birth-day jewel bobbing at their ear. Next, gargle well their throats, and thus prepar'd, They mount, a God's name, to be seen and heard, From their high scaffold, with a trumpet cheek, Oh, but 't is brave to be admir'd, to see Snuffling at nose, and croaking in his throat. All these, you cry, but light objections are; * Thou, whom I make the adverse part to bear, Be answer'd thus: If I by chance succeed In what I write, (and that's a chance indeed) Know, I am not so stupid, or so hard, Not to feel praise, or fame's deserv'd reward: The Romans wrote on cedar and cypress tables, in regard of the duration of the wood. ill verses might justly be afraid of frankincense; for the papers in which they were written were fit for no thing but to wrap it up. But this I cannot grant, that thy applause Thus brib'd, thou thus bespeak'st him, Tell (For I love truth, nor can plain speech offend,) And all thy labours are but loss of time. All authors to their own defects are blind; To mark their fingers, pointed at thy back: To His reader hopes no rise, and fears no fall. FRIEND. Hourly we see some raw pinfeather'd thing Attempt to mount, and fights and heroes sing; *Products of citron beds, &c.] Writings of noblemen whose bedsteads were of the wood of citron. Their sons, this harsh and mouldy sort of speech; For our old dotards cannot keep their seat; Others, by foolish ostentation led, "He robb'd not, but he borrow'd from the poor; Effeminate Roman, shall such stuff prevail PER. He seems a trap, for charity, to lay: And cons, by night, his lesson for the day. FRIEND. But to raw numbers, and un finish'd verse, Sweet sound is added now, to make it terse : "'Tis tagg'd with ryhme, like Berecynthian Atys, [flat is. The mid-part chimes with art, which never The dolphin brave, that cuts the liquid wave, Or he who in his line, can chine the long-ribb'd Apennine." PER. All this is doggerel stuff. FRIEND. What if I bring He's truly great, and must for ever please; With languishing regards, and bending head? PER. "Their crooked horns the Mimallonian crew With blasts inspir'd; and Bassaris who slew Evion from woods and floods repairing echoes bad: But if they will be fools, must you be mad? Your satires, let me tell you, are too fierce; The great will never bear so blunt a verse. Their doors are barr'd against a bitter flout.: Snarl, if you please, but you shall snarl without. Expect such pay as railing rhymes deserve, You're in a very hopeful way to starve. PER. Rather than so, uncensur'd let 'em be; All, all is admirably well, for me. My harmless rhyme shall scape the dire disgrace Of common-shores, and every pissing place. Two painted serpents shall on high, appear; 'Tis holy ground; you must not urine here. This shall be writ to fright the fry away, Who draw their little baubles, when they play. Yet old Lucilius never fear'd the times, But lash'd the city, and dissected crimes. Mutius and Lupus both by name he brought; He mouth'd 'em, and betwixt his grinders caught. Unlike in method, with conceal'd design, At least, I'll dig a hole within the ground; Nor will I change, for all the flashy wit, Thou, if there be a thou in this base town, And if two lines or three in all the vein THE SECOND SATIRE OF PERSIUS. DEDICATED TO HIS FRIEND PLOTIUS MACRINUS, ON HIS BIRTH-DAY. THE ARGUMENT This satire contains a most grave and philosophi cal argument, concerning prayers and wishes. Undoubtedly it gave occasion to Juvenal's tenth satire; and both of them had their original from one of Plato's dialogues, called the second Alcibiades. Our author has induced it with great mastery of art; by taking his rise from the birthday of his friend; on which occasion, prayers |