, who were then zealously devoting themselves to
philosophical enquiries, namely, Claudius Agaternus, a physician from
Lacedaemon, and Petronius Aristocrates, of Magnesia, men whom he held in
the highest esteem, and with whom he vied in their studies, as they were
of his own age, being younger than Cornutus. During nearly the last ten
years of his life he was much beloved by Thraseas, so that he sometimes
travelled abroad in his company; and his cousin Arria was married to him.

Persius was remarkable for gentle manners, for a modesty amounting to
bashfulness, a handsome form, and an attachment to his mother, sister,
and aunt, which was most exemplary. He was frugal and chaste. He left
his mother and sister twenty thousand sesterces, requesting his mother,
in a written codicil, to present to Cornutus, as some say, one hundred
sesterces, or as others, twenty pounds of wrought silver [958], besides
about seven hundred books, which, indeed, included his whole library.
Cornutus, however, would only take the books, and gave up the legacy to
the sisters, whom his brother had constituted his heirs.

He wrote [959] seldom, and not very fast; even the work we possess he
left incomplete. Some verses are wanting at the end of the book [960],
but Cornutus thoughtlessly recited it, as if (540) it was finished; and
on Caesius Bassus requesting to be allowed to publish it, he delivered it
to him for that purpose., In his younger days, Persius had written a
play, as well as an Itinerary, with several copies of verses on Thraseas'
father-in-law, and Arria's [961] mother, who had made away with herself
before her husband. But Cornutus used his whole influence with the
mother of Persius to prevail upon her to destroy these compositions. As
soon as his book of Satires was published, all the world began to admire
it, and were eager to buy it up. He died of a disease in the stomach, in
the thirtieth year of his age [962]. But no sooner had he left school
and his masters, than he set to work with great vehemence to compose
satires, from having read the tenth book of Lucilius; and made the
beginning of that book his model; presently launching his invectives all
around with so little scruple, that he did not spare cotemporary poets
and orators, and even lashed Nero himself, who was then the reigning
prince. The verse ran as follows:

Auriculas asini Mida rex habet;
King Midas has an ass's ears;

but Cornutus altered it thus;