This shall be writ to fright the fry away, Laugh'd at his friend, and look'd him in the face: 14 Yet old Lucilius,' &c. Lucilius wrote long before Horace; who imitates his manner of satire, but far excels him in the design. 15 The story is vulgar, that Midas, king of Phrygia, was made judge betwixt Apollo and Pan, who was the best musician: he gave the prize to Pan; and Apollo in revenge gave him asses' ears. He wore his hair long to hide them; but his barber discovering them, and not daring to divulge the secret, dug a hole in the ground, and whispered into it. The place was marsby; and when the reeds grew up, they repeated the words which were spoken by the barber. By Midas the poet meant Nero. Nor will I change for all the flashy wit Thou, if there be a thou in this base town, Who dares, with angry Eupolis, to frown; He who, with bold Cratinus, is inspired With zeal, and equal indignation fired: Who at enormous villany turns pale, And steers against it with a full blown sail, Like Aristophanes; let him but smile On this my honest work, though writ in homely style; And if two lines or three in all the vein Who thinks all science as all virtue vain; 16 Eupolis and Cratinus, as also Aristophanes, mentioned afterwards, were all Athenian poets; who wrote that sort of comedy which was called the Old Comedy,' where the people were named who were satirized by those authors. 17 The people of Rome, in the time of Persius, were apt to scorn the Grecian philosophers, particularly the Cynics and Stoics, who were the poorest of them. VOL. II. L Who counts geometry, and numbers, toys; On dice, and drink, and drabs, they spend their afternoon. 18 Arithmetic and geometry were taught on floors, which were strewed with dust or sand; in which the numbers and diagrams were made and drawn, which they might strike out again. PERSIUS. SATIRE II. BY MR. DRYDEN, The Argument. This Satire contains a most grave and philosophical 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 introduced it with great mastery of art, by taking his rise from the birthday of his friend; on which occasions prayers were made, and sacrifices offered by the native. Persius, commending the purity of his friend's vows, descends to the impious and immoral requests of others. The Satire is divided into three parts: the first is the exordium to Macrinus, which the poet confines within the compass of four verses: the second relates to the matter of the prayers and vows, and an enumeration of those things, wherein men commonly sinned against right reason, and offended in their requests: the third part consists in showing the repugnances of those prayers and wishes to those of other men, and inconsistencies with themselves. He shows the original of these vows, and sharply inveighs against them and lastly, not only corrects the false opinion of mankind concerning them, but gives the true doctrine of all addresses made to Heaven; and how they may be made acceptable to the powers above, in excellent precepts, and more worthy of a Christian than a heathen. : DEDICATED TO HIS FRIEND PLOTIUS MACRINUS, On his Birthday. LET this auspicious morning be express'd What from each other they, for shame, conceal. 'The Romans were used to mark their fortunate days, or any thing that luckily befell them, with a white stone, which they had from the island Creta; and their unfortunate, with a coal. 2 Hercules was thought to have the key and power of bestowing all hidden treasure. |