Nescius haec reus ipse cavo sub fornice puppis
stertens inflata resonabat nare soporem. (53-4)
I also wonder whether there is a play on a double-meaning of inflata here, since the word can also mean 'haughty' or 'proud', which describes fairly well the attitude of Jonah in not wanting the Ninevites to come to repentance (cf. Jonah 3:10-4:2 (NASB): 'When God saw their deeds, that they turned from their wicked way, then God relented concerning the calamity which He had declared He would bring upon them. And He did not do it. But it greatly displeased Jonah and he became angry. He prayed to the LORD and said, "Please LORD, was not this what I said while I was still in my own country? Therefore in order to forestall this I fled to Tarshish, for I knew that You are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, and one who relents concerning calamity.').
This may be way off base, but I thought of Horace's 'emunctae naris' (Serm. 1.4.8) referring to Lucilius. This would be the opposite, a 'stuffed up nose' rather than a 'blown out nose.'
ReplyDeleteIt could be a simple detail to explain stertens, but it could be something more.