Page:Horace (IA horacetheo00martrich).pdf/29

 Rupilius, an old hand at slang, replies with a volley of rough sarcasms, "such as among the vineyards fly," and

a description of vintage slang which is as true to-day as it was then. The conclusion is curious, as a punning allusion to the hereditary fame of Brutus as a puller-down of kings, which it mast have required some courage to publish, when Augustus was omnipotent in Rome.

This is just such a squib as a young fellow might he expected to dash off for the amusement of his brother officers, while the incident which led to it was yet fresh in their minds. Slight as it is, one feels sure its preservation by so severe a critic of his own writings as Horace was due to some charm of association, or possibly to the fact that in it he had made his first essay in satire.

The defeat of Brutus at Philippi ( 42) brought Horace's military career to a close. Even before this