drae: the mingled
noises of the penned-up herd, i.e. the abuse of the drivers and the
lowing of the animals. 49. Druso: probably the Emperor Claudius, who was
lethargic. vitulis marinis: Pliny says, _Natural History_, 9. 42, that
no animal sleeps more soundly than the seal. 50. officium: e.g. the duty
of attendance on his patron. 53. clausa fenestra: effected in some
instances by drawing the curtains, in others by closing the windows of
mica. 55. unda prior: the human tide, or surging crowd in front. 56.
assere: the chances were that this would be the pole of a litter, as
that of the rich man just mentioned. 59. clavus militis: the soldier's
boot was studded with hobnails. 60. quanto celebretur sportula fumo: in
the midst of how great a smoke they throng after the sportula. The
sportula is in this instance the food given by the patron to the client
in return for his attendance. 61. convivae: the clients. culina: a
portable kitchen to keep the food warm. 62. Corbulo: type of a
strongman; as we might say 'a Samson.' Tacitus, _Annales_, 13. 8,
describes a Roman general of this name as ingens corpore. 65. longa ff.:
a long fir tree sways to and fro as its trucks come on. A similar
picture of the crowded city streets is found in Horace, _Epistulae_, 2.
2. 70. 68. procubuit: once falls over. saxa Ligustica: the marble from
Luna on the border between Etruria and Liguria. The Romans knew hundreds
of varieties of marble and used them in vast quantities. 'As Tibullus
says, the streets of the city were always obstructed by carts laden with
transmarine columns and blocks,--columns measuring sometimes 1.97 metres
in diameter and 17.66 metres in length, like those of Trajan's temple;
or blocks weighing sometimes 27 tons.'--Lanciani, _Ruins and Excavations
of Ancient Rome_, p. 524. 71. Obtritum perit more animae: ground to
powder, is gone like a breath. 72. domus: the slaves, pueri, of the
client just killed. Even a poor man might have several. 74. striglibus:
to remove perspiration or oil from the body. gutto: oil cruet. 76. ripa:
of the Styx. Cf. for the scene Vergil, _Aeneid_, 6. 298 ff. novicius: a
complete stranger, i.e. never having died before,--a grim joke.
Juvenal's wit has been called 'the earliest known instance of American
humor.'--Peck and Arrowsmith, _Roman Life_, etc. 77. nec sperat: he
cannot cross the Styx since he has not received the rites of burial. 78.
porrigat ore: offer with his mouth. A coin was often put in the