foster son of a
wealthy freedman. He practised declamation till middle life, was tribune
of the first Dalmatian cohort, was for some reason banished (the story
says for verses offensive to an actor who had influence at court), and
died while in exile. He was a friend of the poet Martial.

We possess sixteen of his satires divided into five books. 'Those which
are most characteristic portray the vices of Roman society with
passionate, unsparing ferocity' and in an extremely highly colored
style. In some passages the most prominent quality is wit, which
consists chiefly in the exaggerated and strongly contrasted situations.
Other passages reach a lofty height of moral earnestness and dignity.

For Reference: Wright, _Juvenal_ (Boston, 1901); Mayor, _Juvenal_
(London, 1886).

Metre: Dactylic Hexameter, B. 368; A. & G. 615.

_1._ 1 ff. Praeneste, Volsiniis, Gabiis, Tiburis: country towns at a
moderate distance from Rome. ruinam: 'The spontaneous collapse of the
tenement houses was such a common occurrence that nobody paid attention
to it, though it is an event that would fill our newspapers with a
thrilling subject for days....There were companies formed for the
purpose of propping...houses.'--Lanciani, _Ruins and Excavations of
Ancient Rome_, Conclusion, p. 563. The entire chapter should be read in
connection with this selection. 3. proni: i.e. on a hillside. 4. urbem:
i.e. Rome. tibicine: prop. 5. labentibus: the falling walls. 6. vilicus:
the owner's agent. 8. incendia: fires were common at Rome. Especially
memorable were the great conflagrations in the reigns of Nero, Titus,
and Commodus. The Temple of Vesta was almost or entirely destroyed five
times by fire. 10. Ucalegon: your neighbor on the next floor below;
called Ucalegon because iam proximits ardet, Vergil, _Aeneid_, 2. 311.
tabulata tertia: the third or attic story where you live. 11.
trepidatur: the cry of 'Fire!' is raised. 13. ultimus ardebit: and
likewise will get the alarm last. 14. Codro: any poor man in this
situation. Procula minor: too short for Tom Thumb. Procula was probably
a dwarf. urceoli: displayed on the sideboard, or abacus, beneath which
was a reclining statuette of the Centaur Chiron. 17. Iam: modifies
vetus. 18. divina carmina: the Greek books just mentioned. opici: a name
given by the Greek colonists of southern Italy to the native races.
Since these were of inferior refinement, the word came to mean
barbarian. It is applied to the mice