He adds, that he should not descend to repeat such sayings
(for they were neither witty, nor worthy of notice in such a cause),
had he not thought it material to shew, that the iniquity of VERRES
was, in the mouth of the vulgar, a subject of ridicule, and a
proverbial joke.
(for they were neither witty, nor worthy of notice in such a cause),
had he not thought it material to shew, that the iniquity of VERRES
was, in the mouth of the vulgar, a subject of ridicule, and a
proverbial joke.
Tacitus
edit.
vol. iii.
[b] The passage here alluded to, presents us with a double pun. The
word _Verres_ is the name of a man, and also signifies a _boar pig_,
as we read in Horace, _Verris obliquum meditantis ictum_. Lib. iii.
ode 22. The word _jus_ is likewise of twofold meaning, importing _law_
and _sauce_, or broth; _tepidumque ligurierit jus_. Lib. i. sat. 3. The
objection to Cicero is, that playing on both the words, and taking
advantage of their ambiguous meaning, he says it could not be matter
of wonder that the _Verrian jus_ was such bad HOG-SOUP. The wit (if it
deserves that name) is mean enough; but, in justice to Cicero, it
should be remembered, that he himself calls it frigid, and says, that
the men, who in their anger could be so very facetious, as to blame
the priest who did not sacrifice such a hog (_Verres_), were idle and
ridiculous.
He adds, that he should not descend to repeat such sayings
(for they were neither witty, nor worthy of notice in such a cause),
had he not thought it material to shew, that the iniquity of VERRES
was, in the mouth of the vulgar, a subject of ridicule, and a
proverbial joke. _Hinc illi homines erant, qui etiam ridiculi
inveniebantur ex dolore: quorum alii, ut audistis, negabant mirandum
esse_, JUS _tam nequam esse_ VERRINUM: _alii etiam frigidiores erant;
sed quia stomachabantur, ridiculi videbantur esse, cum_ SACERDOTEM
_execrabantur, qui_ VERREM _tam nequam reliquisset, Quæ ego non
commemorarem (neque enim perfacetè dicta, neque porro hac severitate
digna sunt) nisi vos id vellem recordari, istius nequitiam et
iniquitatem tum in ore vulgi, atque communibus proverbiis esse
versatam. In Verrem_, lib. i. pars tertia, s. 121.
[c] Quintilian acknowledges that the words _esse videatur (it seems to
be)_ occur frequently in Cicero's Orations. He adds, that he knew
several, who fancied that they had performed wonders, when they placed
that phrase in the close of a sentence. _Noveram quosdam, qui se
pulchrè expressisse genus illud cælestis hujus in dicendo viri sibi
viderentur, si in clausulâ posuissent esse videatur. _ Quintil. lib. x.
cap. 2.
[d] The species of composition, called satire, was altogether of Roman
growth. Lucilius had the honour of being the inventor; and he
succeeded so well, that even in Quintilian's time, his admirers
preferred him not only to the writers who followed in the same way,
but to all poets of every denomination.
vol. iii.
[b] The passage here alluded to, presents us with a double pun. The
word _Verres_ is the name of a man, and also signifies a _boar pig_,
as we read in Horace, _Verris obliquum meditantis ictum_. Lib. iii.
ode 22. The word _jus_ is likewise of twofold meaning, importing _law_
and _sauce_, or broth; _tepidumque ligurierit jus_. Lib. i. sat. 3. The
objection to Cicero is, that playing on both the words, and taking
advantage of their ambiguous meaning, he says it could not be matter
of wonder that the _Verrian jus_ was such bad HOG-SOUP. The wit (if it
deserves that name) is mean enough; but, in justice to Cicero, it
should be remembered, that he himself calls it frigid, and says, that
the men, who in their anger could be so very facetious, as to blame
the priest who did not sacrifice such a hog (_Verres_), were idle and
ridiculous.
He adds, that he should not descend to repeat such sayings
(for they were neither witty, nor worthy of notice in such a cause),
had he not thought it material to shew, that the iniquity of VERRES
was, in the mouth of the vulgar, a subject of ridicule, and a
proverbial joke. _Hinc illi homines erant, qui etiam ridiculi
inveniebantur ex dolore: quorum alii, ut audistis, negabant mirandum
esse_, JUS _tam nequam esse_ VERRINUM: _alii etiam frigidiores erant;
sed quia stomachabantur, ridiculi videbantur esse, cum_ SACERDOTEM
_execrabantur, qui_ VERREM _tam nequam reliquisset, Quæ ego non
commemorarem (neque enim perfacetè dicta, neque porro hac severitate
digna sunt) nisi vos id vellem recordari, istius nequitiam et
iniquitatem tum in ore vulgi, atque communibus proverbiis esse
versatam. In Verrem_, lib. i. pars tertia, s. 121.
[c] Quintilian acknowledges that the words _esse videatur (it seems to
be)_ occur frequently in Cicero's Orations. He adds, that he knew
several, who fancied that they had performed wonders, when they placed
that phrase in the close of a sentence. _Noveram quosdam, qui se
pulchrè expressisse genus illud cælestis hujus in dicendo viri sibi
viderentur, si in clausulâ posuissent esse videatur. _ Quintil. lib. x.
cap. 2.
[d] The species of composition, called satire, was altogether of Roman
growth. Lucilius had the honour of being the inventor; and he
succeeded so well, that even in Quintilian's time, his admirers
preferred him not only to the writers who followed in the same way,
but to all poets of every denomination.
