Mean while thy Indignation yet to raise, The Carver dancing round each Difh, furveys With flying Knife; and as his Art directs, With proper Gestures ev'ry Fowl diffects. A thing of fo great moment to their Taste, That one falfe flip had surely marr'd the Feast. If thou dare murmur, if thou dare complain With Freedom, like a Roman Gentleman, Thou'rt feiz'd immediately by his Commands, And dragg'd like 21 Cacus by Herculean Hands Out from his Prefence. When does haughty he Descend to take a Glass once touch'd by thee? That Wretch were loft, who fhou'd presume to think He might be free, who durft fay, Come, Sir, drink : Will any Freedom here from you be born

Whofe Cloaths are threadbare,and whose Cloaks are torn?
Wou'd any God, or Godlike Man below,
HFour hundred thousand 22 Sefterces beftow I
How mightily wou'd Trebius be improv❜d,
How much a Friend to Virro, how belov'd!
Will Trebius eat of this? What Sot attends
My Brother? Who carves to my best of Friends ?
O Sefterces, this Honour's done to you!

You are his Friends, and you his Brethren too.
Wouldft thou become his Patron and his Lord;
Wouldst thou be in thy turn by him ador❜d ?
No young 23 Æneas in thy Hall must play,
Nor fweeter Daughter lead thy Heart aftray.

21 The Name of a famous Thief, who ftole the Oxen of Hercules, and drew them into his Den backwards; but was 'nain by Hercules, and dragg'd out by the Heels. Æneid. 8.

22 The Cenfus Equeftris, about 31257. English. Rofcius Otho made a Law, that where

as before Roman Gentlemen and Commons fat promifcuously in the Theatres, there fhou'd be fourteen Seats or Benches apart, for those who were worth that Sum.

23 An Allufion to that of Dido, Si quis mibi parvulus aula Luderet neas, The meaning

is

O how a barren Wife does recommend!

How dear, how pleasant is a Childless Friend!
But if thy Mycale, thy Teeming Wife

Pour out three Boys, the Comfort of thy Life;
He 4 too will in the pratling Neft rejoice,
Farthings and Nuts provide, and various Toys,
For the young smiling Parafites, the wanton Boys.

He viler Friends with doubtful Mushrooms treats,
Secure for you, himself Champignons eats;
Such Claudius lov'd of the fame fort and tafte,
Till 25 Agrippina kindly gave the last.

To him are order'd, and those happy few
Whom Fate has rais'd above contempt and you,
Moft fragrant Fruits, fuch in 26 Pheacian Gardens grew;
Where a perpetual Autumn ever smil'd,

'And Golden Apples loaded Branches fill'd.
By fuch fwift Atalanta was betray'd,

The vegetable Gold foon front the flying Maid.
Το fuch fcabb'd harsh Fruit is giv'n, as raw
you
Young Soldiers at their Exercifings gnaw, -
Who trembling learn to throw the fatal Dart,
And under Rods of rough Centurions fmart.

Thou tak'ft all this as done to fave Expence ;
No! 'tis on purpose done to give Offence:
What Comedy, what Farce can more delight,
Than grinning Hunger, and the pleafing fight
Of your bilk'd Hopes? No! He's refolv'd t'extort
Tears from your Eyes: 'Tis barb'rous jeft and sport.
Thou think'ft thy felf Companion of the Great,
Art free and happy in thy own Conceit.

is, thou must have no Child Satyr of Seneca, Claudii Apocato defeat his hopes of becom-locyntofis.

ing thy Heir.

24 Ironically.

25 His Wife Agrippina gave him a poison'd one, of which he died. See that ingenious

26 The Gardens of Alcides, King of the Phaacians, are renown'd in Homer and all Antiquity.

He

He thinks thou'rt tempted by th' attractive Smell
Of his warm Kitchen, and he judges well.
For 27 who fo naked, in whofe empty Veins
One fingle Drop of Noble Blood remains;
What Freeborn Man, who, tho' of Mungrel ftrain,
Wou'd twice fupport the Scorn and proud Disdain,
With which thofe Idols you adore, the Great,
Their wretched Vaffals and Dependants treat?
O Slaves molt abject! you ftill gaping fit,
Devouring with your Eyes each pleafing Bit;
Now fure we Parafites at last shall share

That Boar, and now that wild-fowl, or that Hare;
Thus you expecting gaze, with your Teeth fet;
With your Bread ready, and your Knives well whet;
Demure and filent; but, alas! in vain;
He mocks your Hunger, and derides your Pain.
If you can bear all this, and think him kind,
You well deserve the Treatment which you find.
At last thou wilt beneath the 28 Burthen bow;
And, glad, receive the 29 manumitting Blow
On thy fhav'd flavish Head; mean while attend,
Worthy of fuch a Treat, and fuch a Friend,

27 In the following Lines, there is in the Original Reference to the Cuftom of Roman Children, wearing for diftinction of their Quality, the Bulla aurea, or Corfacca. 1 have tranflated them according to the intent and fenfe of the Poet, without allufion to thofe Cuftoms; which being unknown to meer English Readers, wou'd have only made the Tranflation as obfcure as the Original,

29 I know the Commenta

tors
give another Sense of
thefe laft Lines; but I take
them to allude to the manner
of the Manumiffion of Slaves,
which was done by giving
them a touch or blow on the
Head, by their Lord, or the
Prætor, with the Wand call'd
Vindicta; and thus the mea-
ning will be, that Trebius,
weary'd at laft, will be glad
to be difcharg'd from the Sla-
very of attending, where he

28 Of fo many Indignities, finds fuch usage.

[62]

JUVENAL.

THE

SIXTH SATYR.

By Mr. D RYDEN.

The ARGUMENT.

This Satyr, of almost double length to any of the reft, is a bitter Invective against the fair Sex. 'Tis indeed, a Common-place, from whence all the Moderns have notoriously ftoln their harpest Raileries. In his other Satyrs, the Poet has only glanc'd on fome particular Women, and generally Scourg'd the Men. But this he referv'd wholly for the Ladies. How they had offended him 1 know not: But upon the whole matter he is not to be excus'd for imputing to all, the Vices of fome few amongst them. Neither was it generously done of him, to attack the weakest as well as the faireft part of the Creation: Neither do I know

what Moral he could reasonably draw from it. It could not be to avoid the whole Sex, if all had been true which he alledges against them: for that had been to put an end to human Kind. And to bid us beware of their Artifices, is a kind of filent Acknowledgement, that they have more Wit

than

than Men: which turns the Satyr upon us, and particularly upon the Poet; who thereby makes a Compliment, where he meant a Libel. If he intended only to exercife his Wit, he has forfeited his Judgment, by making the one half of his Readers his mortal Enemies: And amongst the Men, all the happy Lovers, by their own Experience, will difprove his Accufations. The whole World muft allow this to be the Wittieft of his Satyrs; and truly he had need of all his parts, to maintain with fo much Violence, so unjust a Charge. I am fatisfied he will bring but few over to his Opinion: And on that Confideration chiefly I ventur'd to tranf late him. Tho' there wanted not another Reafon, which was, that no one else would undertake it: At least, Sir C. S. who could have done more Right to the Author, after a long delay, at length abfolutely refus'd fo ungrateful an Employment: And every one will grant, that the Work must have been imperfect and lame, if it had appear'd without one of the Principal Members belonging to it. Let the Poet therefore bear the blame of his own Invention; and let me fatisfy the World, that I am not of his Opinion. Whatever his Roman Ladies were, the English are free from all his Imputations. They will read with Wonder and Abhorrence, the Vices of an Age, which was the moft Infamous of any on Record. They will blefs themselves when they behold thofe Examples, related of Domitian's Time: They will give back to Antiquity thofe Monsters it produc'd: And believe with reafon, that the Species of thofe Women is extinguifh'd; or at least, that they were never here propagated. I may fafely therefore proceed to the Argument of a Satyr, which is no way relating to them: And firft obferve, that my Author makes