Chapter VI: Minor Poetry, 14-69 A.d

I. DIDACTIC POETRY

i. THE AETNA. Its design, p. 140. Characteristics of the poem, p. 141. Authorship, p. 143. Date, p. 145.

ii. COLUMELLA. Life and works, p. 146. His tenth book, a fifth Georgic on gardening, p. 147. His enthusiasm and descriptive power, p. 148.

II. CALPURNIUS SICULUS, THE EINSIEDELN FRAGMENTS, AND THE
PANEGYRICUS IN PISONEM

Pastoral poetry, p. 150. Calpurnius Siculus; date, p. 151. Who was he? p. 152. Debt to Vergil, p. 152. Elaboration of style, p. 153. Obscurity, affectation and insignificance, p. 154. Einsiedeln fragments; was the author Calpurnius Piso? p. 156. _Panegyricus in Pisonem,_ p. 157. Graceful elaboration, p. 158. Was the author Calpurnius Siculus? p. 159.

III. ILIAS LATINA

Early translations of _Iliad,_ p. 160. Attius Labeo, p. 160. Polybius p. 161. _Ilias Latina,_ a summary in verse, p. 161. Date, p. 162. Authorship: the question of the acrostic, p. 162. Wrongly attributed to Silius Italicus. p. 163.

IV. MINOR POETS

Gaetulicus, p. 163. Caesius Bassua, p. 164.

CHAPTER VII

EMPERORS AND MINOR POETS, 70-117 A.D.

I. EMPERORS AND POETS WHOSE WORKS ARE LOST

Vespasian and Titus, p. 166. Domitian. The Agon Capitolinus and Agon Albanus, p. 167. Literary characteristics of the Flavian age, p. 168. Saleius Bassus, Serranus, and others, p. 169. Nerva, p. 169. Trajan, p. 170. Passennus Paulus, p. 170. Sentius Augurinus, p. 171. Pliny the Younger, p. 172. Almost entire disappearance of poetry after Hadrian. p. 174.

II. SULPICIA

Sulpicia, a lyric poetess, p. 174. Martial's admiration for her, p. 175. Characteristics of her work, p. 176. Her Satire, p. 176. Is it genuine? p. 177.

CHAPTER VIII

VALERIUS FLACCUS

Epic in the Flavian age, p. 179. Who was Valerius? His date, p. 180. The _Argonautica_, unfinished, p. 181. Its general design, p. 182. Merits and defects of the Argonaut-saga as a subject for epic, p. 183. Valerius' debt to Apollonius Rhodius, p. 183. Novelties introduced in treatment; Jason, p. 184; Medea, p. 185. Valerius has a better general conception as to how the story should be told, but is far inferior as a poet, p. 186. Obscure learning; lack of humour, p. 187. Involved language, p. 188. Preciosity; compression, p. 189. Real poetic merit: compared with Statius and Lucan, p. 191. Debt to Vergil, p. 191. Metre, p. 192. Brilliant descriptive power, p. 193. Suggestion of mystery, p. 193. Sense of colour, p. 195. Similes, p. 195. Speeches, p. 197. The loves of Jason and Medea, p. 198. General estimate, p. 200.

CHAPTER IX

STATIUS

Life, p. 202. Character, p. 205. The _Thebais_; its high average level, p. 206. Statius a miniature painter, p, 207. Weakness of the Theban-saga as a subject for epic, p. 208. Consequent lack of proportion and unity in _Thebais_, p. 210. Vergil too closely imitated, p. 211. Digressions, p. 212. Character-drawing superficial, p. 213. Tydeus, p. 214. Amphiaraus, p. 216. Parthenopaeus and other characters, p. 218. Atmosphere that of literature rather than life, p. 220. Fine descriptive passages, p. 221. Dexterity, often degenerating into preciosity, p. 224. Similes, p. 225. Metre, p. 226. The _Achilleis_, p. 227. The _Silvae_, p. 227. Flattery of Domitian, p. 228. Extraordinary preciosity, p. 229. Prettiness and insincerity, p. 230. Brilliant miniature-painting, p. 232. The _Genethliacon Lucani_, p. 233. Invocation to Sleep, p. 234. Conclusion, p. 235.

CHAPTER X

SILIUS ITALlCUS

Life, p. 236. Weakness of historical epic, p. 238. Disastrous intrusion of mythology, p. 239. Plagiarism from Vergil, p. 240. Skill in composition of early books, p. 240. Inadequate treatment of closing scenes of the war, p. 241. The characters, p. 241. Total absence of any real poetic gifts, p. 242. Regulus, p. 244. The death of Paulus, p. 246. Fabius Cunctator, p. 247. Conclusion, p. 249.

CHAPTER XI

MARTIAL

Life, p. 251. The epigram, p. 258. Martial's temperament, p. 259. Gift of style, p. 260. Satirical tone, good-humoured and non-moral, p. 261. Obscenity, p. 263. Capacity for friendship, p. 264. His dislike of Rome, p. 267. His love of the country, p. 268. Comparison with Silvae of Statius, p. 271. Flattery of Domitian, p. 271. Laments for the dead, p. 272. Emotion as a rule sacrificed to point, p. 275. The laureate of triviality, p. 276. Martial as a client, p. 277. His snobbery, p. 279. Redeeming features; polish and wit, p. 281. The one perfect post-Augustan stylist, p. 284. Vivid picture of contemporary society, p. 285.

CHAPTER XII

JUVENAL

Life, p. 287. Date of satires, p. 289. Motives (Sat, i), p. 291. Themes of the various satires; third satire, p. 293; fourth, fifth, and sixth satires, p. 294; seventh and eighth satires; signs of waning power, p. 295; tenth satire, p. 296; eleventh, twelfth, thirteenth, and fourteenth satires, p. 297; fifteenth and sixteenth satires, showing further decline of power, p. 298. Juvenal's narrow Roman ideals; hatred of the foreigner, p. 299. Exaggeration, p. 301. Coarseness, p. 303. Vividness of description, p. 304. Mordant epigram and rhetoric, p. 308. Moral and religious ideals, p. 311. _Sententiae_, p. 315. Poetry, p. 316. Metre, p. 317. The one great poet of the Silver Age, p. 317.

INDEX OF NAMES, p. 321

FOOTNOTES