And, would to heaven, our ancient rites were free

From these impurities! But earth, and sea,

Have heard what singing-wench produc'd his ware, Vast as two Anti-Catos, there, e'en there,

VER. 513.

what singing-wench, &c.] This was Clodius. The affair to which Juvenal alludes was a remarkable one, and happened thus. Clodius, then a very young man, had an intrigue with Pompeia, the wife of Julius Cæsar. As the lady was narrowly watched by her mother-in-law, Aurelia, they had few opportunities of meeting; this irritated their impatience, and forced them upon an expedient as flagitious as it was new. The mysteries of the Bona Dea, as every one knows, were so respected of the Romans, that none but women had the privilege of officiating at them; every male, even of animals, was driven from the house, and every statue, every picture of the masculine kind scrupulously veiled. Clodius dressed himself like a woman, and knocked at the door of Cæsar's house, where the mysteries were then celebrating. One of Pompeia's maids, who was in the secret, let him in; but unluckily, while she was gone to acquaint her mistress with his arrival, the impatient Clodius advanced towards the assembly. On the way, he was met by another domestic, who, taking him for one of her own sex, began to toy with him. confused; which the other perceiving, insisted on knowing who, was. His voice, and still more his agitation, betrayed him. struck with horror at the profanation, covered the altar and the implements of sacrifice with a veil, and drove the intruder from the house. They left it themselves immediately after, and went to acquaint their husbands with the unprecedented abomination. Clodius was instantly accused, and would have been condemned; but for the clandestine influence of Pompey and Cæsar, (of whom he was a necessary tool,) and a species of bribery almost too infamous for belief, though Cicero asserts it as a fact. Jam vero (0 Dii boni!) rem perditam;

Clodius was and what he The women,

Where the male mouse, in reverence, lies conceal'd

And e'en the picture of a man is veil'd.

And who was then a scoffer? who despis'd

The Immortals; and the simple rites, devis'd
By Numa? Now, religion's in its wane,
And daring Clodii swarm in every fane.

I hear, old friends, I hear you: "make all sure,
"Plant spies within, and bolts without the door."
But who shall KEEP the KEEPERS? Wives contemn
Our poor precautions, and begin with THEM.
Lust is the master-passion; it inflames

Alike both high and low; alike the dames

Who, on tall Syrians' necks, their state display,
And those who pick on foot their miry way.
Whene'er Ogulnia to the Circus goes,
To emulate the rich, she hires her clothes,
Hires followers, friends, and cushions; hires a chair,
A nurse, and a trim girl with golden hair,
To slip her billets....prodigal and poor,
She wastes the wreck of her paternal store
On smooth-fac'd wrestlers; wastes her little all,
And strips her shivering mansion to the wall.

etiam noctes certarum mulierum, atque adolescentulorum nobilium introductiones nonnullis judicibus pro mercedis cumulo fuerant!

There's many a woman knows distress at home;
Not one that feels it, and, ere ruin come,
To her small means conforms. Taught by the ant,
Men sometimes guard against the extremes of want,
And stretch, though late, their providential cares,
To food and raiment for their future years:

But women never see their wealth decay;
With lavish hands, they scatter night and day,
As if the gold, with vegetative power,

Would bloom afresh, and spring from hour to hour;
As if the mass its present size would keep,
And no expense reduce th' eternal heap.

Others there are, who centre all their bliss
In the soft eunuch, and the beardless kiss:
They need not from his chin avert their face,
Nor use abortive drugs, for his embrace.
But oh! their joys run high if he be form'd
When his full veins the fire of love has warm'd;
When every part's to full perfection rear'd,
And nought of manhood wanting, but the beard.

VER. 545. As if the gold, &c.] None of the commentators seem to have understood this passage, which is represented by some of them as incorrect, and by others as unintelligible. It is neither the one nor the other; but a plain allusion to a notion very generally received amongst the ancients, that mines, after being exhausted, sometimes reproduced their ores.

But should the dame in music take delight;
The public singer is disabled quite :

In vain the prætor guards him all he can,
She slips the buckle, and enjoys her man.
Still in her hand his instrument is found,
Thick set with gems, that shed a lustre round;
Still o'er his lyre the ivory quill she flings,
Still runs divisions on the trembling strings,

The trembling strings, which her lov'd Hedymel
Was wont to strike so sweetly, and so well!

These still she holds, with these she sooths her woes;

And kisses on the dear, dear wire bestows.

A noble lady, of the Lamian line,

To Janus' temple came, with meal and wine;

VER. 560. She slips the buckle,] See p. 180.

VER. 569. A noble lady of the Laminian line,] I have already observed, (Sat, IV. v. 225,) that the Lamian family was of great antiquity. Pollio, for whom this high-born dame was so interested, is mentioned by Martial, and appears to have been a favourite performer. The games at which he proposed to become a competitor, were instituted by that great amateur, Domitian: they were held every fifth year, and from their being dedicated to Tarpeian Jove, probably in the Capitol. The manner in which Juvenal describes the mode of consulting the Aruspex, is worth noticing; it is so minute, and at the same time so accu rate, as to leave little to be added on the subject.

Pliny says, that the stated forms of prayer were adhered to with the most scrupulous exactness, and that a monitor (a minor priest, I suppose,) stood by the suppliant, to prevent the slightest aberration. Tertullian, who was inti mately acquainted with all such matters, has an observation on the subject of

To ask if Pollio might expect renown,

At the next contest for the Harmonic crown!
What could she for a husband more have done,
What for an only, an expiring son ?-
Yes, for a harper the besotted dame
Approach'd the altar, reckless of her fame,

And veil'd her head, and, with a pious air,
Follow'd the Aruspex through the form of prayer ;
And trembled, and turn'd pale, as he explor'd
The entrails, breathless for the fatal word.
But tell me, father Janus, if you please,
Tell me, most ancient of the deities;
Is your attention to such suppliants given?
If so;-there is not much to do in heaven.
For a comedian, this consults your will,
For a tragedian that; kept standing, still,
By this eternal rout, the wretched priest
Feels his legs swell, and longs to be releas'd.

But let her rather sing, than scour the streets,
And thrust herself in every crowd she meets;

these monitors, in which he nobly contrasts the practices of the Christians with those of their adversaries. "Illuc suspicientes Christiani, manibus expansis quia innocuis; (the hands of the Heathens were folded ;) capite nudo, (the heads of the Heathens were covered,) quia non erubescimus; denique sine monitore, quia de pectore oramus !