Sat. 1.4.1Eupolis atque Cratīnus Aristophanēsque poētae
atque aliī, quōrum cōmoedia prīsca virōrum est,
sīquis erat dignus dēscrībī, quod malus ac fūr,
quod moechus foret aut sīcārius aut aliōquī
5fāmōsus, multā cum lībertāte notābant.The poets Eupolis and Cratinus and Aristophanes, and the other men to whom the Old Comedy belongs, if anyone deserved to be portrayed as a villain and a thief, as an adulterer or a cut-throat or notorious in some other way, used to brand him with great freedom. Sat. 1.4.6Hinc omnis pendet Lūcīlius, hōsce secūtus,
mūtātīs tantum pedibus numerīsque, facētus,
ēmūnctae nāris, dūrus conpōnere versūs.On these Lucilius wholly depends, following them and changing only the feet and rhythms: witty, of keen-scented nose, harsh in composing verse. Sat. 1.4.9Nam fuit hōc vitiōsus: in hōrā saepe ducentōs,
10ut magnum, versūs dictābat stāns pede in ūnō;For this was his fault: often in an hour, as if it were a great feat, he would dictate two hundred lines standing on one foot; Sat. 1.4.11cum flueret lutulentus, erat quod tollere vellēs;as he flowed along muddy, there was something you would want to remove; Sat. 1.4.12garrulus atque piger scrībendī ferre labōrem,
scrībendī rēctē: nam ut multum, nīl moror.wordy, and too lazy to bear the labour of writing, of writing properly, that is: for as to writing much, I let that pass.
Sat. 1.4.13Ecce,
Crispīnus minimō mē prōvocat 'accipe, sī vīs,
15accipe iam tabulās;Look, Crispinus challenges me at the longest odds: 'Take, if you like, take your tablets now; Sat. 1.4.15dētur nōbīs locus, hōra,
custōdēs;let a place, a time, and umpires be given us; Sat. 1.4.16videāmus, uter plūs scrībere possit.'
dī bene fēcērunt, inopis mē quodque pusillī
finxērunt animī, rārō et perpauca loquentis;let us see which of us can write more.' The gods did well in making me of a poor and puny spirit, speaking rarely and very little; Sat. 1.4.19at tū conclūsās hircīnīs follibus aurās
20ūsque labōrantīs, dum ferrum molliat ignis,
ut māvīs, imitāre.but you, as you prefer, imitate the air shut up in goatskin bellows, which keeps labouring until the fire softens the iron. Sat. 1.4.21Beātus Fannius ultrō
dēlātīs capsīs et imāgine, cum mea nēmō
scrīpta legat, volgō recitāre timentis ob hanc rem,
quod sunt quōs genus hoc minimē iuvat, utpote plūrīs
25culpārī dignōs.Happy Fannius, who has offered up his book-boxes and his bust unasked, while no one reads my writings, as I am afraid to recite in public for this reason, that there are people whom this genre pleases very little, since most men deserve blame.
Sat. 1.4.25Quemvīs mediā ēlige turbā:
aut ob avāritiam aut miserā ambitiōne labōrat.Pick anyone you like from the middle of the crowd: he is suffering either from greed or from wretched ambition. Sat. 1.4.27Hic nūptārum īnsānit amōribus, hic puerōrum:
hunc capit argentī splendor;This one is mad with love for married women, this one for boys: this one the gleam of silver captivates; Sat. 1.4.28stupet Albius aere;Albius gapes at bronze; Sat. 1.4.29hic mūtat mercēs surgente ā sōle ad eum, quō
30vespertīna tepet regiō, quīn per mala praeceps
fertur utī pulvis collēctus turbine, nēquid
summa dēperdat metuēns aut ampliet ut rem.this one trades his wares from the rising sun to the region warmed by the evening sun, and indeed is carried headlong through dangers like dust gathered up by a whirlwind, afraid of losing any of his capital or anxious to increase his wealth. Sat. 1.4.33Omnēs hī metuunt versūs, ōdēre poētās.All these fear verses and hate poets. Sat. 1.4.34'Faenum habet in cornū, longē fuge;'He has hay on his horn: keep well away; Sat. 1.4.34dummodo rīsum
35excutiat sibi, nōn hic cuiquam parcet amīcō
et quodcumque semel chartīs inlēverit, omnīs
gestiet ā furnō redeuntīs scīre lacūque
et puerōs et anūs.' agedum pauca accipe contrā.so long as he can raise a laugh for himself, this man will spare no friend, and whatever he has once smeared on his paper he will be eager for all the boys and old women coming back from the bakehouse and the pool to know.' Come now, hear a few words in reply.
Sat. 1.4.39Prīmum ego mē illōrum, dederim quibus esse poētīs,
40excerpam numerō: neque enim conclūdere versum
dīxerīs esse satis neque, sīquī scrībat utī nōs
sermōnī propiōra, putēs hunc esse poētam.First, I would take myself out of the number of those whom I would allow to be poets: for you would not say it is enough to round off a line, nor, if anyone writes, as I do, things closer to conversation, would you think him a poet. Sat. 1.4.43Ingenium cui sit, cui mēns dīvīnior atque ōs
magna sonātūrum, dēs nōminis huius honōrem.To one who has genius, a mind more divine and a mouth that will sound out great things, give the honour of this name. Sat. 1.4.45Idcircō quīdam cōmoedia necne poēma
esset, quaesīvēre, quod ācer spīritus ac vīs
nec verbīs nec rēbus īnest, nisi quod pede certō
differt sermōnī, sermō merus.That is why some have asked whether comedy is poetry or not, because keen spirit and force are present neither in its words nor in its matter; except that it differs from conversation by its fixed metre, it is pure conversation.
Sat. 1.4.48'At pater ārdēns
saevit, quod meretrīce nepōs īnsānus amīcā
50fīlius uxōrem grandī cum dōte recūset,
ēbrius et, magnum quod dēdecus, ambulet ante
noctem cum facibus.' numquid Pompōnius istīs
audīret leviōra, pater sī vīveret?'But the father rages hotly because his spendthrift son, mad for a whore of a mistress, refuses a wife with a great dowry, and, a great disgrace, walks about drunk with torches before nightfall.' Would Pomponius hear anything milder than this, if his father were alive? Sat. 1.4.53Ergō
nōn satis est pūrīs versum perscrībere verbīs,
55quem sī dissolvās, quīvīs stomachētur eōdem
quō persōnātus pactō pater.So it is not enough to write out a line in plain words, such that, if you break it up, any man at all would storm in the same way as the masked father in the play. Sat. 1.4.56Hīs, ego quae nunc,
ōlim quae scrīpsit Lūcīlius, ēripiās sī
tempora certa modōsque, et quod prius ōrdine verbum est
posterius faciās praepōnēns ultima prīmīs,
60nōn, ut sī solvās 'postquam discordia taetra
bellī ferrātōs postīs portāsque refrēgit',
inveniās etiam disiectī membra poētae.If from these lines, which I write now, and which Lucilius wrote of old, you take away the fixed quantities and rhythms, and put the word that comes first in order later, placing the last before the first, you would not, as you would if you broke up 'When foul Discord had burst the iron-bound posts and gates of war', still find the limbs of a dismembered poet.
Sat. 1.4.63Hāctenus haec: aliās, iūstum sit necne poēma.So much for this: another time we shall see whether it is true poetry or not. Sat. 1.4.64Nunc illud tantum quaeram, meritōnē tibi sit
65suspectum genus hoc scrībendī.Now I shall ask only this, whether you are right to be suspicious of this kind of writing. Sat. 1.4.65Sulcius ācer
ambulat et Caprius, raucī male cumque libellīs,
magnus uterque timor latrōnibus;Keen Sulcius and Caprius walk about, horribly hoarse and with their indictments in hand, each a great terror to robbers; Sat. 1.4.67at bene sīquis
et vīvat pūrīs manibus, contemnat utrumque.but if anyone lives well and with clean hands, he may scorn them both. Sat. 1.4.69Ut sīs tū similis Coelī Birrīque latrōnum,
70nōn ego sim Caprī neque Sulcī: cūr metuās mē?Though you may be like the robbers Caelius and Birrus, I am not like Caprius or Sulcius: why should you fear me? Sat. 1.4.71Nūlla taberna meōs habeat neque pila libellōs,
Quīs manus īnsūdet volgī Hermogenisque Tigellī,
nec recitō cuiquam nisi amīcīs idque coāctus,
nōn ubivīs cōramve quibuslibet.No shop or pillar is to have my little books, for the hands of the crowd and of Hermogenes Tigellius to sweat over, and I recite to no one except my friends, and that only when pressed, not anywhere or in front of anyone.
Sat. 1.4.74In mediō quī
75scrīpta forō recitent, sunt multī quīque lavantēs:
suāve locus vōcī resonat conclūsus.There are many who recite their writings in the middle of the forum, and many who do so while bathing: an enclosed place echoes sweetly to the voice. Sat. 1.4.76Inānīs
hoc iuvat, haud illud quaerentīs, num sine sēnsū,
tempore num faciant aliēnō.This pleases the empty-headed, who do not ask whether they are doing it without sense, or at the wrong time. Sat. 1.4.78'Laedere gaudēs'
inquit 'et hōc studiō prāvus facis.' unde petītum
80hoc in mē iacis?'You enjoy giving pain,' he says, 'and you do it out of malice.' Where have you found this charge to throw at me? Sat. 1.4.80Est auctor quis dēnique eōrum,
vīxī cum quibus?Is anyone, in short, your authority for it among those I have lived with? Sat. 1.4.81Absentem quī rōdit, amīcum
quī nōn dēfendit aliō culpante, solūtōs
quī captat rīsūs hominum fāmamque dicācis,
fingere quī nōn vīsa potest, conmissa tacēre
85quī nequit: hic niger est, hunc tū, Rōmāne, cavētō.The man who gnaws at an absent friend, who does not defend him when another finds fault, who angles for men's loose laughter and the name of a wit, who can invent what he has not seen, who cannot keep silent what was entrusted to him: this man is black; beware of him, Roman.
Sat. 1.4.86Saepe tribus lectīs videās cēnāre quaternōs,
ē quibus ūnus amet quāvīs aspergere cūnctōs
praeter eum quī praebet aquam;Often you may see four dining on each of three couches, one of whom loves to bespatter everyone in any way he can, except the host who provides the water; Sat. 1.4.88post hunc quoque pōtus,
condita cum vērāx aperit praecordia Līber:
90hic tibi cōmis et urbānus līberque vidētur
īnfestō nigrīs: ego sī rīsī, quod ineptus
pastillōs Rūfillus olet, Gorgonius hircum,
līvidus et mordāx videor tibi?him too, later, when he has drunk, when truthful Liber opens up the hidden heart: this man seems to you genial and urbane and frank, you enemy of the black: if I have laughed because silly Rufillus smells of lozenges, Gorgonius of goat, do I seem to you spiteful and biting? Sat. 1.4.93Mentiō sīquae
dē Capitōlīnī fūrtīs iniecta Petillī
95tē cōram fuerit, dēfendās, ut tuus est mōs:
'mē Capitōlīnus convīctōre ūsus amīcōque
ā puerō est causāque meā permulta rogātus
fēcit et incolumis laetor quod vīvit in Urbe;If some mention of the thefts of Petillius Capitolinus has been dropped in your presence, you defend him, as is your way: 'Capitolinus has been my companion and friend from boyhood, and has done a great many things at my request, and I am glad that he lives safe in the City; Sat. 1.4.99sed tamen admīror, quō pactō iūdicium illud
100fūgerit': hic nigrae sūcus lollīginis, haec est
aerūgō mera;but still I wonder how he escaped that trial': this is the ink of the black cuttlefish, this is pure verdigris; Sat. 1.4.101quod vitium procul āfore chartīs,
atque animō prius, ut sīquid prōmittere dē mē
possum aliud vērē, prōmittō.and that this vice will be far from my pages, and first from my mind, I promise, if I can promise anything else truly about myself.
Sat. 1.4.103Līberius sī
dīxerō quid, sī forte iocōsius, hoc mihi iūris
105cum veniā dabis: īnsuēvit pater optimus hoc mē,
ut fugerem exemplīs vitiōrum quaeque notandō.If I say something too freely, perhaps too jokingly, you will grant me this right with indulgence: my excellent father trained me to it, so that I might avoid vices by marking each of them with examples. Sat. 1.4.107Cum mē hortārētur, parcē frūgāliter atque
vīverem utī contentus eō quod mī ipse parāsset:
'nōnne vidēs, Albī ut male vīvat fīlius utque
110Barrus inops?When he urged me to live sparingly, frugally and content with what he himself had got for me: 'Do you not see how badly the son of Albius lives, and how Barrus is penniless? Sat. 1.4.110Magnum documentum, nē patriam rem
perdere quis velit.' ā turpī meretrīcis amōre
cum dēterrēret: 'Sectanī dissimilis sīs.'
nē sequerer moechās, concessā cum Venere ūtī
possem: 'dēprēnsī nōn bella est fāma Trebōnī'
115aiēbat.A great lesson not to squander one's inheritance.' When he would deter me from a shameful love for a whore: 'Do not be like Sectanus.' So that I should not chase married women when I could enjoy permitted love: 'The reputation of Trebonius, caught in the act, is not pretty,' he used to say.
Sat. 1.4.115'Sapiēns, vītātū quidque petītū
sit melius, causās reddet tibi;'The philosopher will give you the reasons why each thing is better avoided or sought; Sat. 1.4.116mī satis est, sī
trāditum ab antīquīs mōrem servāre tuamque,
dum custōdis egēs, vītam fāmamque tuērī
incolumem possum;it is enough for me if I can keep the custom handed down from our forefathers and, so long as you need a guardian, keep your life and name unharmed; Sat. 1.4.119simul ac dūrāverit aetās
120membra animumque tuum, nābis sine cortice.' sīc mē
fōrmābat puerum dictīs et, sīve iubēbat
ut facerem quid, 'habēs auctōrem, quō faciās hoc'
ūnum ex iūdicibus sēlēctīs obiciēbat,
sīve vetābat, 'an hoc inhonestum et inūtile factū
125necne sit, addubitēs, flagret rūmōre malō cum
hic atque ille?' avidōs vīcīnum fūnus ut aegrōs
exanimat mortisque metū sibi parcere cōgit,
sīc tenerōs animōs aliēna opprobria saepe
absterrent vitiīs.as soon as age has hardened your limbs and mind, you will swim without a cork.' So with his words he moulded me as a boy; and if he was telling me to do something, 'You have an authority for doing this,' he would say, pointing to one of the select jurors; or if he forbade it, 'Can you doubt whether this is dishonourable and unprofitable to do or not, when this man and that are ablaze with ill report?' As a neighbour's funeral frightens greedy sick men and through fear of death forces them to spare themselves, so others' disgrace often deters tender minds from vices.
Sat. 1.4.129Ex hōc ego sānus ab illīs
130perniciem quaecumque ferunt, mediocribus et quīs
ignōscās vitiīs teneor.Thanks to this I am free from the vices that bring ruin, and am held by moderate ones which you could pardon. Sat. 1.4.131Fortassis et istinc
largiter abstulerit longa aetās, līber amīcus,
cōnsilium proprium;Perhaps even from these a long life, a candid friend, my own reflection will have taken away a great deal; Sat. 1.4.133neque enim, cum lectulus aut mē
porticus excēpit, dēsum mihi.for when my little couch or the colonnade has received me, I do not neglect myself. Sat. 1.4.134'Rēctius hoc est;'This is more right; Sat. 1.4.135hoc faciēns vīvam melius;by doing this I shall live better; Sat. 1.4.135sīc dulcis amīcīs
occurram;so I shall give pleasure to my friends when I meet them; Sat. 1.4.136hoc quīdam nōn bellē: numquid ego illī
inprūdēns ōlim faciam simile?' haec ego mēcum
conpressīs agitō labrīs;that was not nice of so-and-so: surely I shall not some day thoughtlessly do something like it?' These things I turn over with myself, lips pressed tight; Sat. 1.4.138ubi quid datur ōtī,
inlūdō chartīs.when any leisure is given me, I play with my papers.
Sat. 1.4.139Hoc est mediocribus illīs
140ex vitiīs ūnum;This is one of those moderate vices; Sat. 1.4.140cui sī concēdere nōlīs,
multa poētārum veniat manus, auxiliō quae
sit mihi — nam multō plūrēs sumus — , ac velutī tē
Iūdaeī cōgēmus in hanc concēdere turbam.and if you would not make allowance for it, a great band of poets would come to my help — for we are far more numerous — and, like the Jews, we shall force you to come over to our crowd.