'"]
[Footnote 2: _That buffoons_)--Ver. 71. "Derisores," "buffoons." By
this word he means that particular class of Parasites who earned their
dinners by their repartees and bon-mots.]
[Footnote 3: _Invokes his mistress_)--Ver. 73. It was the Grecian
custom, when they threw dice at an entertainment, for the thrower to
call his mistress by name, which invocation was considered to bring good
luck.]
[Footnote 4: _When business is laid aside_)--Ver. 78. "Ubi res
prolatae sunt." Meaning thereby "in vacation-time." In the heat of
summer the courts of justice were closed, and the more wealthy portion
of the Romans retired into the country or to the seaside. Cicero
mentions this vacation as "rerum proliatio." The allusion in the
previous line is probably derived from a saying of the Cynic Diogenes:
when he saw mice creeping under the table, he used to say, "See the
Parasites of Diogenes."]
[Footnote 5:
Like mastiffs_)--Ver. 86. "Molossici." Literally,
"dogs of Molossus," a country of Epirus.]
[Footnote 6: _Annoying-like and very troublesome-like_)--Ver. 87.
"Odiosici--incommodestici." These are two extravagant forms of the words
"odiosi" and "incommodi," coined by the author for the occasion.]
[Footnote 7: _Pots to be broken_)--Ver. 89. By Meursius we are
informed that these practical jokes were played upon the unfortunate
Parasites with pots filled with cinders, which were sometimes scattered
over their clothes, to the great amusement of their fellow-guests.
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