Note 65 — A. PERSIUS FLACCUS

effundat: ‘suffers to glide smoothly,’ a harsh expression.—iunctura: The image is that of the joining of pieces of marble, as in an opus tessellatum. Comp. Lucil., fr. inc., 10, 33 (L. M.): quam lepide λέξεις conpostae, ut tesserulae, omnes | arte pavimenti atque emblemati’ vermiculati. The poet is compared with an artisan, not with an artist. He knows how to fit the pieces together so perfectly as to present a continuous smooth surface to the pressure of the most exacting nail. Comp. v. 92.—tendere versum: ‘to lay off a verse,’ as a carpenter lays off his work. The propriety of the word tendere is heightened, if we remember that the hexameter was called the versus longus.