Note 1, 124 — A. PERSIUS FLACCUS (continued 4)

124. iratum Eupolidem: The epithet is borne out by the fragments.—praegrandi cum sene: Aristophanes. The adjective refers to his greatness: ‘the old giant.’ Sene is not to be pressed. Men who come before the public early are often called old before their time. Hannibal calls himself an old man when he was only in his forty-fourth year, Liv., 30, 30. Others understand sene as a compliment to an ‘ancient’ author. Instead of Aristophanes, Heinrich and others suppose that Lucilius is meant. Comp. Hor., Sat., 2, 1, 34: vita senis, although Lucilius was only about forty-five at the time of his death—but see L. Müller, Lucilius, p. 288.—palles: ‘study yourself pale over.’ The combination with the Accusative is bold, but not bolder than other cognate Accusatives. ‘Gain a Eupolidean pallor’ = ‘a pallor due to Eupolis.’ For different phases of pallere with Accus., see 3, 43. 85; 5, 184.