Lucius Seneca - Yale Required Reading - Collected Works (Vol. 2)

82 Salvation herself )—Ver. 764. See an observation relative to the translation of the word “Salus,” in the Notes to Plautus, vol. i. pages 193, 450.

83 Have done your duty )—Ver. 767. His duty of providing the viands and drink for the entertainment. So Ergasilus says in the Captivi of Plautus, l. 912, “Now I will go off to my government (præfecturam), to give laws to the bacon.”

84 I must assist him )—Ver. 795. Colman remarks on this passage: “The character of Micio appears extremely amiable through the first four Acts of this Comedy, and his behavior is in many respects worthy of imitation; but his conduct in conniving at the irregularities of Ctesipho, and even assisting him to support them, is certainly reprehensible. Perhaps the Poet threw this shade over his virtues on purpose to show that mildness and good-humor might be carried to excess.”

85 That point I was coming to )—Ver. 824. Colman observes here: “Madame Dacier makes an observation on this speech, something like that of Donatus on one of Micio’s above; and says that Micio, being hard put to it by the real circumstances of the case, thinks to confound Demea by a nonsensical gallimatia. I can not be of the ingenious lady’s opinion on this matter, for I think a more sensible speech could not be made, nor a better plea offered in favor of the young men, than that of Micio in the present instance.”

86 At the very mid-day )—Ver. 851. Exposed to the heat of a mid-day sun.

87 To the object )—Ver. 857. The marriage and its festivities.

88 Am the eldest )—Ver. 884. And therefore likely to be the first to die, and to avoid seeing such a time come.

89 O Syrus, my friend )—Ver. 886. The emptiness of his poor attempts to be familiar are very evident in this line.

90 The music-girl )—Ver. 908. “Tibicinæ,” or music-girls, attended at marriage ceremonials. See the Aulularia of Plautus, where Megadorus hires the music-girls on his intended marriage with the daughter of Euclio.

91 The crowds, the torches )—Ver. 910. See the Casina of Plautus, Act IV., Scenes 3 and 4, for some account of the marriage ceremonial. The torches, music-girls, processions, and hymeneal song, generally accompanied a wedding, but from the present passage we may conclude that they were not considered absolutely necessary.

92 Stone wall in the garden )—Ver. 911. The “maceria,” or garden-wall of loose stones, is also mentioned in the Truculentus of Plautus, l. 301.

93 Bid that Babylonian )—Ver. 918. This passage has much puzzled the Commentators; but it seems most probable that it is said aside, and that in consequence of his profuseness he calls his brother a Babylonian, (just as we call a wealthy man a nabob,) and says, “Well, let him, with all my heart, be paying twenty minæ (between £70 and £80) for music-girl.”

94 Take yourself off )—Ver. 940. Æschinus, probably, in his earnestness, has seized hold of him with his hand, which Micio now pushes away.

95 I have promised it )—Ver. 943. This is not the truth; the notion has only been started since he last saw them.

96 Really, this is downright force )—Ver. 946. “Vis est hæc quidem.” The same expression occurs in the Captivi of Plautus, l. 755. The expression seemed to be a common one with the Romans. According to Suetonius, Julius Cæsar used it when attacked by his murderers in the senate-house. On Tullius Cimber seizing hold of his garments, he exclaimed, “Ita quidem vis est!”—“Why, really, this is violence!”

97 This seems to me )—Ver. 947. Donatus informs us that in Menander’s Play, the old man did not make any resistance whatever to the match thus patched up for him. Colman has the following observation on this fact: “It is surprising that none of the critics on this passage have taken notice of this observation of Donatus, especially as our loss of Menander makes it rather curious. It is plain that Terence in the plan of his last Act followed Menander; but though he has adopted the absurdity of marrying Micio to the old lady, yet we learn from Donatus that his judgment rather revolted at this circumstance, and he improved on his original by making Micio express a repugnance to such a match, which it seems he did not in the Play of Menander.”

98 At his own weapon )—Ver. 961. He probably means, by aping the kind feeling which is a part of Micio’s character.

99 A morning entertainment )—Ver. 969. A banquet in the early part or middle of the day was considered by the Greeks a debauch.

100 Be a free man )—Ver. 974. He touches Syrus on the ear, and makes him free. The same occurs in the Epidicus of Plautus, Act V., Sc. 2, l. 65.

101 My wife, Phrygia )—Ver. 977. The so-called marriage, or rather cohabitation, of the Roman slaves will be found treated upon in the Notes to Plautus. Syrus calls Phrygia his wife on anticipation that she will become a free woman.

102 Receive the amount from me )—Ver. 981. The only sign of generosity he has yet shown.

103 This sudden liberality )—Ver. 989. “Quid prolubium? Quae istæc subita est largitas?” Madame Dacier tells us that this passage was borrowed from Coecilius, the Comic Poet.

104 Let him have his mistress )—Ver. 1001. It must be remembered that he has the notions of a Greek parent, and sees no such criminality in this sanction as a parent would be sensible of at the present day.

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Quintus Ennius, a poet of surprising versatility and power, was born at Rudiæ, in Calabria, in 239 B. C. While he was serving in the Roman army in Sardinia, in 204 B. C., he met with M. Porcius Cato, who took him home to Rome. Here Ennius gave lessons in Greek and translated Greek plays for the Roman stage. He became acquainted with several prominent Romans, among them the elder Scipio Africanus, went to Ætolia as a member of the staff of M. Fulvius Nobilior, and obtained full Roman citizenship in 184 B. C. His death was brought on by the gout in 169 B. C.

The works of Ennius were many and various, including tragedies, comedies, a great epic poem, a metrical treatise on natural philosophy, a translation of the work of Euhemerus, in which he explained the nature of the gods and declared that they are merely famous men of old times, 1a poem on food and cooking, a series of Precepts , epigrams (in which the elegiac distich was used for the first time in Latin), and satires. His most important works were his tragedies and his great epic, the Annales .

The tragedies were, like those of Nævius, translations of the works of the great Greek tragedians and their less great, but equally popular, successors. The titles and some fragments of twenty-two of these plays are preserved, from which it is evident that Ennius sometimes translated exactly and sometimes freely, while he allowed himself at other times to depart from his Greek original even to the extent of changing the plot more or less. For the most part, however, the invention of the plot, the delineation of character, and the poetic imagery of his plays were due to the Greek dramatists whose works he presented in Latin form. To Ennius himself belong the skillful use of the Latin language, the ability to express in a new language the thoughts rather than the words of the Greek poets, and also such changes as were necessary to make the Greek tragedies appeal more strongly to a Roman audience. It is impossible to tell from the fragments just what changes were made, but the popularity of the plays, which continued long after the death of Ennius, proves that the changes attained their object and pleased the audience. The titles of two fabulæ prætextæ by Ennius are known, the Sabine Women , a dramatic presentation of the legend of the Rape of the Sabines, and Ambracia , a play celebrating the capture of Ambracia by M. Fulvius Nobilior. His comedies seem to have been neither numerous nor especially successful.