Sat. 1.7.1Prōscrīptī Rēgis Rupilī pūs atque venēnum
hybrida quō pactō sit Persius ultus, opīnor
omnibus et lippīs notum et tōnsōribus esse.How the mongrel Persius took revenge on the pus and venom of Rupilius Rex, the outlaw, is known, I think, to every bleary-eyed man and barber. Sat. 1.7.4Persius hic permagna negōtia dīves habēbat
5Clazomenīs et iam lītīs cum Rēge molestās,
dūrus homō atque odiō quī posset vincere Rēgem,
cōnfīdēns, tumidus, adeō sermōnis amārī,
Sisennās, Barrōs ut equīs praecurreret albīs.This Persius, a rich man, had very large business interests at Clazomenae, and also tiresome lawsuits with Rex; he was a hard man, able to outdo even Rex in hatefulness, bold, puffed up, so bitter of tongue that he would outstrip the Sisennas and the Barruses as if on white horses. Sat. 1.7.9Ad Rēgem redeō.I return to Rex. Sat. 1.7.9Postquam nihil inter utrumque
10convēnit — hōc etenim sunt omnēs iūre molestī,
quō fortēs, quibus adversum bellum incidit: inter
Hectora Priamidēn, animōsum atque inter Achillem
īra fuit capitālis, ut ultima dīvideret mors,
nōn aliam ob causam, nisi quod virtūs in utrōque
15summa fuit: duo sī discordia vexet inertīs
aut sī disparibus bellum incidat, ut Diomēdī
cum Lyciō Glaucō, discēdat pigrior, ultrō
mūneribus missīs.After no agreement could be reached between the two — for all men are troublesome on the same terms as the brave, when war comes between them: between Hector, son of Priam, and high-spirited Achilles there was an anger so deadly that only death at last could part them, for no other reason than that courage in each was supreme: if discord troubles two cowards, or if war breaks out between ill-matched men, as for Diomedes with Lycian Glaucus, the feebler withdraws, even sending gifts unasked.
Sat. 1.7.18Brūtō praetōre tenente
dītem Asiam, Rupilī et Persī pār pugnat, utī nōn
20conpositum melius cum Bīthō Bacchius.While the praetor Brutus held rich Asia, the pair Rupilius and Persius fight, so evenly that Bacchius was no better matched with Bithus. Sat. 1.7.20In iūs
ācrēs prōcurrunt, magnum spectāculum uterque.Fiercely they rush into court, each a grand spectacle. Sat. 1.7.22Persius expōnit causam;Persius sets out his case; Sat. 1.7.22rīdētur ab omnī
conventū;he is laughed at by the whole assembly; Sat. 1.7.23laudat Brūtum laudatque cohortem,
sōlem Asiae Brūtum appellat stellāsque salūbrīs
25appellat comitēs, exceptō Rēge;he praises Brutus and praises his staff; he calls Brutus the sun of Asia, and calls his companions health-giving stars, except Rex; Sat. 1.7.25canem illum,
invīsum agricolīs sīdus, vēnisse: ruēbat
flūmen ut hībernum, fertur quō rāra secūris.he, he says, had come like the Dog, that star hated by farmers: he rushed on like a winter torrent where the axe seldom goes. Sat. 1.7.28Tum Praenestīnus salsō multōque fluentī
expressa arbustō regerit convīcia, dūrus
30vindēmiātor et invictus, cui saepe viātor
cessisset magnā conpellāns vōce cucūlum.Then the man from Praeneste flings back at this salty, copious flood insults squeezed from the vineyard, a tough and unbeaten vine-dresser, to whom the wayfarer had often had to yield, though calling him 'cuckoo' at the top of his voice.
Sat. 1.7.32At Graecus, postquam est Ītalō perfūsus acētō,
Persius exclāmat: 'per magnōs, Brūte, Deōs tē
ōrō, quī rēgēs cōnsuērīs tollere, cūr nōn
35hunc Rēgem iugulās?But the Greek Persius, after being drenched with Italian vinegar, cries out: 'By the great gods, Brutus, I beg you, since you are used to removing kings, why do you not cut this Rex's throat? Sat. 1.7.35Operum hoc, mihi crēde, tuōrum est.'This, believe me, is one of your tasks.'