Note 5, 14 — A. PERSIUS FLACCUS (continued 4)

14. verba togae: ‘the language of every-day life.’ The fabula togata is Roman comedy, as opposed to the fabula praetexta, or Roman tragedy, and to the f. palliata, the subjects of which were Greek. Persius insists on the connection of the national satire with the national comedy, and the scanty remains of the fabula togata deserve close comparison.—sequeris = sectaris. Prol., 11.—acri iunctura: ‘nice grouping,’ ‘telling combination.’ The words are familiar, but the setting is new. Comp. Hor., A. P., 47: notum si callida verbum | reddiderit iunctura novum; and 242: tantum series iuncturaque pollet | tantum de medio sumptis accedit honoris. An important passage, as showing the intense self-consciousness of the poet’s art.