Chapter IV: Post-Augustan Writers (2)

Sueton. _ibid._, 'Poemata eius etiam praelegi memini, confici vero ac proponi, non tantum operose et diligenter, sed et inepte quoque.'

Mart. xiv. 194,

'Sunt quidam qui me dicunt non esse poetam:
sed qui me vendit bibliopola putat.'

The epic poem _De Bello Civili_ in ten Books (the last incomplete) carries the story of the Civil War down to the point where Caesar is besieged in Alexandria. Vacca informs us that Lucan did not live to correct the last seven Books.

'Ediderat ... tres libros quales videmus ... Reliqui vii. belli civilis libri locum calumniantibus tamquam mendosi non darent, qui tametsi sub vero crimine non egent patrocinio: in isdem dici, quod in Ovidii libris praescribitur, potest: "emendaturus, si licuisset, erat."'

_Lucan's political views._--The first three Books were published when Lucan was still on good terms with Nero (cf. the gross flattery in i. 33-66), but practically the same view of the empire is taken throughout the poem; only Lucan expresses his views with greater vigour in the last seven Books; and, while in Books i.-iii. the question is one between Caesar and Pompey, afterwards it is one between Caesar and liberty. Even in Books i.-iii. Caesar is the villain of the piece; Pompey embodies all that is good; Cato and Brutus are highly spoken of; the former stands as the ideal Stoic. The Senate, except in Book v. _ad init._, appears in a rather unfavourable light, and so does the plebs. Lucan did not want the re-establishment of the republican oligarchy, but acquiesced in the empire as being ordained by fate. This is borne out by what we know of the Pisonian conspiracy, the object of which was not to re-establish the republic, but to put some leading man like Seneca on the throne. A few quotations will exemplify these points:

(1) The empire; iv. 691,

'Libyamque auferre tyranno
dum regnum te, Roma, facit';

vii. 432,

'Quod fugiens civile nefas redituraque nunquam
libertas ultra Tigrim Rhenumque recessit';

vii. 442,

'Felices Arabes Medique eoaque tellus,
quam sub perpetuis tenuerunt fata tyrannis.
Ex populis qui regna ferunt, sors ultima nostra est,
quos servire pudet.'

(2) Pompeius; ii. 732-6,

'Non quia te superi patrio privare sepulchro
maluerint, Phariae busto damnantur harenae:
parcitur Hesperiae; procul hoc et in orbe remoto
abscondat fortuna nefas, Romanaque tellus
inmaculata sui servetur sanguine Magni.'

Cf. ix. 601-4 (where apotheosis is assigned him).

(3) Cato (the hero of Book ix.) and Brutus; ii. 234,

'At non magnanimi percussit pectora Bruti
terror';

ix. 554,

'Nam cui crediderim superos arcana daturos
dicturosque magis quam sancto vera Catoni?'

Cf. ix. 186-9.

(4) Caesar; ii. 439,

'Caesar in arma furens nullas nisi sanguine fuso
gaudet habere vias';

v. 242,

'perdere successus scelerum';

vii. 593,

'nondum attigit arcem
iuris et humanum columen, quo cuncta premuntur,
egressus meruit fatis tam nobile letum.
Vivat et, ut Bruti procumbat victima, regnet.'

Caesar's acts are sometimes unfairly represented, as in vii. 798 _sqq._, ix. 1035 _sqq._ (on viewing Pompeius' corpse); ll. 1038-9,

'lacrimas non sponte cadentis
effudit gemitusque expressit pectore laeto.'

_Lucan's philosophical and religious views._--His Stoicism comes out strongly in the poem, ix. 566-84 (speech of Cato), especially 578-80,

'Estque dei sedes, nisi terra et pontus et aër
et caelum et virtus? Superos quid quaerimus ultra?
Iuppiter est, quodcumque vides, quodcumque moveris?'

vii. 814,

'Communis mundo superest rogus ossibus astra
mixturus.'

Note especially the very frequent references to fate; i. 263-4,

'cunctasque pudoris
rumpunt fata moras.'

The gods are not introduced as chief agents; cf. the censure of Petronius quoted below. Lucan prides himself on despising the gods, and substitutes for them his favourite divinity, Fortuna; i. 128,

'Victrix causa deis placuit, sed victa Catoni';

vii. 445,

'Sunt nobis nulla profecto
numina; cum caeco rapiantur saecula casu,
mentimur regnare Iovem.'

_Rhetorical treatment_ is seen in (1) the vast amount of hyperbole employed; cf. the account of the siege of Massilia, iii. 538-762; (2) the geographical and mythological learning introduced. This is sometimes inaccurate; the best known instance is his confusion of Pharsalus and Philippi; cf. i. 1 and 688.

_Lucan's models._--(1) For diction, chiefly Virgil.[77] Horace and Ovid are also imitated.

(2) For history Lucan is supposed to have used Livy mostly. How far he used other authorities is unknown. His history is sometimes inexact. In ii. 478 _sqq._ the character of L. Domitius Ahenobarbus is falsely portrayed. So the journey of Cato to the shrine of Hammon, ix. 511 _sqq._

(3) Seneca is one of his authorities for science and philosophy. Thus in describing the Nile, x. 194-331, Lucan has used Seneca, _Nat. Quaest._ iv. 1-2. The biographer of the _Codex Vossianus_ ii. attributes (probably wrongly) the first seven verses of Book i. to Seneca.

'Seneca, qui fuit avonculus eius, quia ex abrupto incohabat, hos vii. versus addidit: "Bella per Emathios" usque "et pila minantia pilis."'

_Criticisms of Lucan._--Petronius, in introducing his parody of Lucan, says, § 118, 'Ecce belli civilis ingens opus quisquis attigerit, nisi plenus litteris, sub onere labetur. Non enim res gestae versibus comprehendendae sunt, quod longe melius historici faciunt, sed per ambages deorumque ministeria et fabulosum sententiarum tormentum praecipitandus est liber spiritus.' See p. 275.

Quint. x. 1, 90, 'Lucanus ardens et concitatus et sententiis clarissimus et, ut dicam quod sentio, magis oratoribus quam poetis imitandus.'

PETRONIUS.

The _Satirae_ of Petronius are attributed in the MSS. to Petronius Arbiter. It is practically certain that the author was C. Petronius, once proconsul of Bithynia and afterwards consul, who was long a member of Nero's inner circle, and who, in A.D. 66, when accused by Tigellinus, anticipated execution by suicide.

Tac. _Ann._ xvi. 18, 'Proconsul Bithyniae, et mox consul, vigentem se ac parem negotiis ostendit. Dein revolutus ad vitia, seu vitiorum imitatione, inter paucos familiarium Neroni adsumptus est, elegantiae arbiter, dum nihil amoenum et molle adfluentia putat, nisi quod ei Petronius adprobavisset. Unde invidia Tigellini ... (Ch. 19) Forte ... Campaniam petiverat Caesar, et Cumas usque progressus Petronius illic attinebatur. Nec tulit ultra timoris aut spei moras. Neque tamen praeceps vitam expulit, sed incisas venas, ut libitum, obligatas aperire rursum, et adloqui amicos, non per seria aut quibus gloriam constantiae peteret ... Flagitia principis sub nominibus exoletorum feminarumque et novitatem cuiusque stupri perscripsit, atque obsignata misit Neroni.'

The document mentioned above as sent to Nero has nothing to do with the extant _Satirae_. That C. Petronius is the author of the work is rendered even more certain from the fact that it was obviously written in Nero's time by a man of high culture and knowledge of the world.

The novel contains an account of the adventures of a certain Encolpius, as told by himself. Encolpius comes in contact with Priapus in Massilia, Cumae, and Croton; and probably the wrath of Priapus (a parody of the wrath of Poseidon in the Odyssey) is the leading motive that binds the disjointed parts. Cf. ch. 139,

'Me quoque per terras, per cani Nereos aequor
Hellespontiaci sequitur gravis ira Priapi.'

The work, the extant parts of which are from Books xv. and xvi., is in form a Satira Menippea,[78] alternately prose and verse. The longer episodes, as the supper of Trimalchio and the story of the matron of Ephesus, are exclusively prose. In the _Cena Trimalchionis_, where Encolpius and his company are entertained by a rich freedman, Petronius has given us a correct account of provincial life in South Italy. Mommsen (_Hermes_, xiii. 106) has shown that Cumae was the town where Trimalchio lived. It is a 'Graeca urbs' (ch. 81), and a Roman colony (ch. 44, etc.), so that it cannot be Naples. The chief magistrates are called _praetores_ (ch. 65), which suits Cumae alone of the towns of this district. The only objection to Cumae being the place is the passage in ch. 48, where an event at Cumae is given as something wonderful and unusual:

'Nam Sibyllam quidem Cumis ego ipse oculis meis vidi in ampulla pendere, et cum illi pueri dicerent: +Sibylla, ti theleis?+ respondebat illa: +apothanein thelo+.'

This, however, may simply be given for comic effect. Friedländer thinks _Cumis_ is a wrong reading. The date of Encolpius' adventures cannot be under Tiberius, for the emperor is called 'pater patriae' (ch. 60), a title which Tiberius refused. Mommsen thinks the dramatic date is under Augustus; Friedländer,[79] towards the end of Claudius' or the beginning of Nero's reign. The cognomen of Trimalchio, Maecenatianus (ch. 71), means that he was a freedman of the well-known Maecenas. Trimalchio, therefore, came to Rome as a boy (ch. 29; 75) before Maecenas' death (B.C. 8), and was probably born about B.C. 18. He is represented as 'senex' (ch. 27), _i.e._ at least sixty, but may have been over seventy. A.D. 57 is probably the later limit of date. Mommsen thinks that the words (ch. 57), 'puer capillatus in hanc coloniam veni: adhuc basilica non erat facta,' mean that when Trimalchio came to Cumae it was not a Roman colony. Now, Cumae became a colony between 43 and 27 B.C., and, on this supposition, the supper of Trimalchio would have to be placed between A.D. 7 and A.D. 23, as it is about fifty years since Trimalchio came to Cumae. Friedländer, however, thinks that the basilica would not have been put up immediately the town became a colony.

The language of the narrative is that of the educated classes of the time, and is in close agreement with the style of Seneca the younger. The diction of Trimalchio and his fellow-freedman is the South Italian popular speech of the time, filled with grammatical mistakes and provincialisms, and rich in proverbial expressions. The longest poems in the work are: (1) _Troiae halosis_ (ch. 89), 65 senarii, supposed to be a parody of Nero's poem of the same name; (2) _De bello civili_ (ch. 119-124), 295 hexameters, in which Lucan's style is imitated and sometimes parodied. Cf. ll. 26-7,

'Et laxi crines et tot nova nomina vestis,
quaeque virum quaerunt,'

with Lucan, i. 164-5,

'Cultus gestare decoros
vix nuribus rapuere mares';

and ll. 51-2,

'Praeterea gemino deprensam gurgite plebem
faenoris illuvies ususque exederat aeris,'

with Lucan, i. 181,

'Hinc usura vorax, avidumque in tempora faenus.'

CALPURNIUS SICULUS.

Eleven eclogues used to be attributed to T. Calpurnius Siculus, but only the first seven are his work, the last four being written by M. Aurelius Olympius Nemesianus in the second half of the 3rd century A.D. A MS. now lost gave before _Ecl._ 1, 'Titi Calphurnii Siculi bucolicum carmen ... incipit'; and before _Ecl._ 8, 'Aurelii Nemesiani poetae Carthaginiensis ecloga prima incipit.'

Some information about Calpurnius' life is got from his works. In 4, 17-8, he (as Corydon) mentions a brother; in 4, 155-6, he speaks of his poverty; and in 4, 29 _sqq._, of Meliboeus as having come to his assistance when about to leave for Spain; cf. _Ecl._ 4, 36-42,

Ecce nihil querulum per te, Meliboee, sonamus;
per te secura saturi recubamus in umbra,
et fruimur silvis Amaryllidos, ultima nuper
litora terrarum, nisi tu, Meliboee, fuisses,
ultima visuri, trucibusque obnoxia Mauris
pascua Geryonis.

The old theory was that Calpurnius lived in the time of Carus and his sons (in the second half of the 3rd century A.D.), but the facts fit in best with the view that he lived at the beginning of Nero's reign. (1) Meliboeus in _Ecl._ 4 probably stands for Seneca (others suppose Calpurnius Piso to be meant); 4, 53-7,

Nam tibi non tantum venturos discere nimbos
agricolis qualemque ferat sol aureus ortum,
attribuere dei, sed dulcia carmina saepe
concinis.

These lines agree with the fact of Seneca's being the author of _Naturales Quaestiones_ and of tragedies. (2) _Ecl._ i. 77-83 refers to the comet which appeared at the beginning of Nero's reign. (3) References to Nero's youth and beauty, poetical gifts, the games he gave, and the new era of peace he introduced; 1, 42-5,

Aurea secura cum pace renascitur aetas,
et redit ad terras tandem squalore situque
alma Themis posito, iuvenemque beata secuntur
saecula, maternis causam qui vicit in ulnis

7, 6,

quae patula iuvenis deus edit harena.

Cf. also 1, 84-8; 4, 84-9; 7, 83-4. _Ecl._ 7 used to be taken as referring to the Colosseum, which was not commenced till about A.D. 77; but the games may be those mentioned in Sueton. _Nero_, 11, and the wooden amphitheatre in 7, 23-4, may be that mentioned by Sueton. _Nero_, 12, and Tac. _Ann._ xiii. 31.

The difference of authorship of _Ecl._ 1-7 and of _Ecl._ 8-11 is shown by the following: (1) Final _o_ shows classical usage in 1-7, but in 8-11 we have _expecto_ (9, 26), _coniungo_ (10, 14), _ambo_ (9, 17), and the like; (2) 1-7 show only eight elisions, 7-11 show thirty-nine; (3) no ending like _montivagus Pan_ (10, 17) is found in 1-7; (4) _fateor_ and _memini_ used parenthetically are common in 1-7, and not found in 8-11; (5) there are no allusions to the emperor in 8-11; (6) _Ecl._ 9 shows imitations of _Ecl._ 2 and 3; (7) 8-11 agree in many points with Nemesianus' _Cynegetica_.

The _Eclogues_ are modelled chiefly on Virgil and Theocritus, _e.g._ _Ecl._ 3 on Verg. _Ecl._ 7 and Theocr. 3, 14, and 23.

The poem _de laude Pisonis_ is now generally attributed to Calpurnius Siculus. One point of similarity with Calpurnius' other poems is the rareness of elision, there being only two instances (ll. 24, 259). The description of Piso's liberality and eloquence (ll. 32, 88, 97 _sqq._) and of his skill in draughts (ll. 178-96) corresponds with the information given by Tac. _Ann._ xv. 48 and the Schol. on Iuv. 5, 109, about Calpurnius Piso, who flourished under Claudius.

AETNA.

This poem, in 645 hexameter lines, is attributed to Virgil in the MSS., but is probably by Lucilius Iunior, to whom Seneca addresses his _Epistulae Morales_, _De Providentia_, and _Quaestiones Naturales_. Lucilius was younger than Seneca (Sen. _Ep._ 26, 7, 'iuvenior es'), and was born at Naples or Pompeii.

Sen. _Ep._ 49, 1, 'Ecce Campania et maxime Neapolis ad Pompeiorum tuorum conspectum incredibile est quam recens desiderium tui fecerint.'

Lucilius had held procuratorial offices in Alpes Graiae et Poeninae, Epirus, Creta et Cyrene, and Sicily.

_Ibid._ 44, 2, 'Eques Romanus es et ad hunc ordinem tua te perduxit industria.' _Ibid._ 31, 9, 'Quo modo, inquis, isto pervenitur? Non per Poeninum Graiumve montem, nec per deserta Candaviae, nec Syrtes tibi nec Scylla aut Charybdis adeundae sunt, quae tamen omnia transisti procuratiunculae pretio.'[80]

Sen. _N.Q._ iv. praef. 1, 'Delectat te, Lucili, Sicilia et officium procurationis otiosae.'

For his life cf. also the words put into his mouth by Sen. _N.Q._ iv. praef. 15-17, which show his loyalty to his friends, 'Non mihi in amicitia Gaetulici (died A.D. 39) vel Gaius fidem eripuit, non in aliorum persona infeliciter amatorum Messalla et Narcissus ... propositum meum avertere potuerunt ... videbam apud Gaium tormenta, videbam ignes.'[81]

Seneca speaks of him as a pupil in philosophy in _Ep._ 34, 2, 'Adsero te mihi: meum opus es.'

A literary work of his is spoken of by Seneca, also a poem in which he mentions Alpheus and Arethusa:

_Ep._ 46, 1, 'Librum tuum, quem mihi promiseras, accepi. Levis mihi visus est, cum esset nec mei nec tui corporis, sed qui primo adspectu aut T. Livi aut Epicuri posset videri ... Non tantum delectatus, sed gavisus sum.'

_N.Q._ iii. 26, 6, 'Hoc et a te traditum est ut in poemate, Lucili carissime, et a Vergilio, qui adloquitur Arethusam.'

A poem on Aetna is referred to in _Ep._ 79, 5-7, 'Donec pudor obstet, ne Aetnam describas in tuo carmine et hunc sollemnem omnibus poetis locum adtingas; quem quo minus Ovidius tractaret, nihil obstitit, quod iam Vergilius impleverat ... Aut ego te non novi aut Aetna tibi salivam movet: iam cupis grande aliquid et par prioribus scribere.'

Some authorities think that Lucilius had meant to incorporate this description in a larger poem, but changed his mind, and wrote a poem on Aetna alone.

As regards the date of the poem: (1) It was written at a time when imitation of Ovid was common. Cf. Sen. _N.Q._ iv. 2, 2, 'Quare non cum poeta meo iocor et illi Ovidium suum impingo?' (2) There is no mention of Vesuvius in the list of volcanoes in 1. 425 _sqq._ The poem must therefore have been written before A.D. 79.

The following are the arguments for Lucilius having been the author:

(1) The poem was written by one who knew Aetna and the vicinity. Now Lucilius was long procurator of Sicily.

(2) Military metaphors, as ll. 464-74, would fit in with his having been a soldier.

(3) The author speaks as if he knew the neighbourhood of Naples well.

(4) However, the argument that the writer shows Epicurean views, and that Lucilius was an Epicurean, has little weight. (_a_) There are Stoical doctrines in the poem. Cf. ll. 33-5, 68-70, on the divinity of the stars; ll. 173-4, which maintain that the world would come back to its former state; ll. 536-9, where Heraclitus' doctrine of fire is recommended. (_b_) The _Epistulae Morales_ only show that Lucilius had a leaning to Epicureanism, not that he was an Epicurean. Cf. _Ep._ 23, 9, 'Vocem tibi Epicuri tui reddere,' and other playful references.

(5) The views on natural science given in the poem are sometimes the same as those in Sen. _N.Q._ This would fix the date of the poem between 65 and 79 A.D. Cf. _Aetna_, 123,

'Flumina quin etiam latis currentia rivis
occasus habuere suos: aut illa vorago
derepta in praeceps fatali condidit ore
aut occulta fluunt tectis adoperta cavernis
atque inopinatos referunt procul edita cursus';

and Sen. _N.Q._ iii. 26, 3, 'Quaedam flumina palam in aliquem specum decidunt et sic ex oculis auferuntur, quaedam consumuntur paulatim et intercidunt. Eadem ex intervallo revertuntur recipiuntque et nomen et cursum.' Cf. also _Aetna_, 96,

'Defit namque omnis hiatu,
secta est omnis humus penitusque cavata latebris
exiles suspensa vias agit';

and Sen. _N.Q._ v. 14, 1, 'Non tota solido contextu terra in imum usque fundatur, sed multis partibus cava et caecis suspensa latebris.' So the story of the Catanian brothers (ll. 624-45) is told by Sen. _De Benef._ iii. 37, 2-3.

Imitations of Lucretius abound. Cf. ll. 219 _sqq._,

'Nunc quoniam in promptu est operis natura solique,
unde ipsi venti, quae res incendia pascit,' etc.

For the author's attacks on superstition, cf. ll. 91-3,

'Debita carminibus libertas ista; sed omnis
in vero mihi cura: canam quo fervida motu
aestuet Aetna novosque rapax sibi congerat ignes.'

A version of the _Phaenomena_ of Aratus is extant, the author of which is called in the MSS. 'Claudius Caesar,' or 'Germanicus.' He is generally identified with Germanicus, the adopted son of Tiberius (so Jerome and Lactantius), though in modern times the poem has been ascribed to Domitian, who had the title of 'Germanicus' from A.D. 84. There are also fragments of _Prognostica_, which are independent of Aratus.

PLINY THE ELDER.

(1) LIFE.

There is a very brief life of Pliny by Suetonius, but most of our information about him is derived from his own writings and the letters of his nephew (Plin. _Ep._ iii. 5; v. 8; vi. 16; vi. 20).

C. Plinius Secundus was born A.D. 23 or 24, for at the time of his death in A.D. 79 he was in his fifty-sixth year (Plin. _Ep._ iii. 5, 7, 'decessisse anno sexto et quinquagesimo'). His birthplace was Comum in Cisalpine Gaul, according to Sueton. _vit. Plin._ In an anonymous Life he is styled 'Veronensis,' probably on account of the phrase in _N.H._ praef. 1, 'Catullum conterraneum meum,' where, however, _terra_ means Gallia, the province, not the city.

Pliny was the son of an _eques_, and had a sister married to L. Caecilius of Novum Comum (see p. 139). He came to Rome not later than A.D. 35 (_N.H._ xxxvii. 81, 'Servilii Noniani quem consulem vidimus'), and was trained in poetry and literature, probably by P. Pomponius Secundus[82]; his instructors in rhetoric are not known, but he mentions as rhetoricians Remmius Palaemon (xiv. 49) and Arellius Fuscus (xxxiii. 152). In botany he learned much from Antonius Castor (xxv. 9).

At the beginning of the reign of Claudius, Pliny was an eye-witness of the building operations at the harbour of Ostia, A.D. 42 (ix. 14): in 44 he practised in the law courts. Having decided on a military career, he would begin, according to the regulation of Claudius (Sueton. _Claud._ 25), with the command of a cohort of infantry. He was next _praefectus alae_ (Plin. _Ep._ iii. 5, 3) under Corbulo, who was _legatus_ of Germania Inferior, A.D. 47, in his campaign against the Chauci: cf. _N.H._ xvi. 2, 'Sunt vero in septemtrione visae nobis Chaucorum [gentes]'; and in A.D. 50 fought under Pomponius against the Chatti. His 'castrense contubernium' with Titus (born A.D. 41) was probably in 55 or 56, when he was in the army of Pompeius Paulinus: cf. xxxiii. 143, 'Pompeium Paulinum XII pondo argenti habuisse apud exercitum ferocissimis gentibus oppositum scimus.' Personal knowledge of Germany appears in several passages of the _N.H._, e.g. xii. 98, 'extremo in margine imperii, qua Rhenus adluit, vidi'; xxii. 8, 'quem morem etiam nunc durare apud Germanos scio.'

Pliny was present at the festivities at Lake Fucinus in A.D. 52 (xxxiii. 63). During Nero's reign he spent some time in Campania (ii. 180) and Cisalpine Gaul (xxxv. 20), was a spectator at the Vatican games in A.D. 59, and saw the building of Nero's golden house after the fire of A.D. 64 (xxxvi. iii).

Under Vespasian Pliny was procurator in Italy, and in several of the provinces: Sueton. _vit._, 'Procurationes splendidissimas et continuas summa integritate administravit.' (_a_) Hispania Tarraconensis: Plin. _Ep._ iii. 5, 17, 'cum procuraret in Hispania'; (_b_) Gallia Narbonensis: _N.H._ ii. 150, 'ego vidi in Vocontiorum agro'; (_c_) Gallia Belgica: xviii. 183, 'nec recens subtrahemus exemplum in Treverico agro tertio ante hoc anno compertum'; (_d_) Africa: vii. 36, 'ipse in Africa vidi.' For his intimacy with Vespasian cf. Plin. _Ep._ iii. 5, 9, 'ante lucem ibat ad Vespasianum imperatorem ... inde ad delegatum sibi officium.'

In A.D. 79 Pliny was in command of the fleet at Misenum, when his scientific interest in the eruption of Vesuvius led him to approach too near the volcano, with the result that he was suffocated by the ashes (24th August). For a detailed account of his death, see Plin. _Ep._ vi. 16 (to Tacitus). Cf. Sueton. _vit._, 'Periit clade Campaniae. Cum enim Misenensi classi praeesset, et flagrante Vesuvio ad explorandas propius causas liburnica pertendisset, neque adversantibus ventis remeare posset, vi pulveris ac favillae oppressus est, vel, ut quidam existimant, a servo suo occisus, quem aestu deficiens ut necem sibi maturaret oraverit.'

(2) WORKS.

A chronological list of Pliny's writings is given by his nephew (_Ep._ iii. 5).

1. _De iaculatione equestri_.--'Hunc, cum praefectus alae militaret, pari ingenio curaque composuit.' This manual on the javelin as a cavalry weapon is mentioned by Pliny himself, _N.H._ viii. 162, 'Nos diximus in libro de iaculatione equestri condito.'

2. _De vita Pomponii Secundi_, in two Books, a tribute to the memory of a valued friend, the tragic poet Pomponius. Cf. _N.H._ xiv. 56, 'referentes vitam Pomponii Secundi vatis.'

3. _Bella Germaniae_, in twenty Books, a narrative of the Roman wars in Germany; begun by Pliny when serving in that country, the apparition of Drusus having besought him to rescue his name from oblivion (so Pliny the younger). Cf. Tac. _Ann._ i. 69, 'Tradit C. Plinius, Germanicorum bellorum scriptor.'

4. _Studiosus_, in three Books or six parts, a treatise on rhetoric from the very rudiments. Quintilian, though surprised at some of Pliny's views (xi. 3, 143; 148), numbers him among the more careful exponents of the subject (iii. 1, 21, 'accuratius scripsit'). The book contained models of good style: Gell. ix. 16, 1, 'refert plerasque sententias quas in declamandis controversiis lepide arguteque dictas putat.'

5. _Dubius Sermo_, in eight Books, published A.D. 67, towards the end of Nero's reign, when purely technical subjects alone could be treated without danger to an author. Cf. _N.H._ praef. 28, 'libellos quos de grammatica edidi.'

6. _A fine Aufidii Bassi_, in thirty-one Books. At what point Bassus' history ended and Pliny's began is not known: but the latter certainly dealt with the closing years of Nero's reign (_N.H._ ii. 199, 'anno Neronis principis supremo, sicut in rebus eius exposuimus'), as well as with the times of Vespasian and Titus (_N.H._ praef. 20, 'Vos omnes, patrem te fratremque diximus opere iusto, temporum nostrorum historiam orsi a fine Aufidii Bassi'). The work was completed in A.D. 77, but not published till after the author's death. His nephew says he wrote with scrupulous care: _Ep._ v. 8, 5, 'historias et quidem religiosissime scripsit.' The book was used by Tacitus (_Ann._ xiii. 20; xv. 53; _Hist._ iii. 28).

7. _Naturae Historiae_, in thirty-seven Books, is Pliny's only extant work. As he speaks of Titus as 'sexies consul,' the date of its presentation to him was A.D. 77. Book i. consists of a dedicatory epistle to Titus and a table of contents. The body of the work is arranged as follows: Book ii., the universe and the elements; iii.-vi., geography of Europe, Asia, and Africa; vii., anthropology and human physiology; viii.-xi., zoology; xii.-xix., botany; xx.-xxvii., the use of vegetable substances in medicine; xxviii.-xxxii., the use of animal substances in medicine; xxxiii.-xxxvii., mineralogy applied to medicine and the fine arts.

This work, which was meant not for continuous perusal, but for consultation as a book of reference, contained twenty thousand facts; and its preparation involved the reading of about two thousand volumes by one hundred authors (see _N.H._ praef. 17). The extracts he had made from these sources Pliny bequeathed to his nephew in one hundred and sixty volumes. He makes a point of acknowledging his obligations to other writers (praef. 21, 'in his voluminibus auctorum nomina praetexui, est enim benignum ... et plenum ingenui pudoris fateri per quos profeceris'); cf. the lists of authorities, Roman and foreign, prefixed to the work. Such devotion to natural science was unusual in men of Pliny's class, and not generally appreciated; cf. xxii. 15, 'Plerisque ultro etiam irrisui sumus ista commentantes atque frivoli operis arguimur.' As a scientific writer Pliny fails because he is not an original investigator, and because he lacks the critical faculty. For his method of working see Plin. _Ep._ iii. 5.

Politically, Pliny recognizes the necessity of the empire, but his heroes are old Romans such as Cincinnatus and Cato. His Roman and Italian feeling is intense: cf. xxxvii. 201, 'In toto orbe ... pulcherrima omnium est in rebusque merito principatum naturae obtinet Italia, rectrix parensque mundi altera.'

His view of life is gloomy (_N.H._ ii. 25, 'nec quidquam miserius homine'), and through the _Naturae Historiae_ there runs a monotonous strain of condemnation of the immorality of his day. He is uncertain as to divine providence, but considers the belief in it salutary, and he accepts portents (ii. 92). His tendency is, in the main, Stoic; he was probably acquainted with Paetus Thrasea, who corresponded with Pomponius.

VALERIUS FLACCUS.

His full name is given in the Vatican MS. as C. Valerius Flaccus Setinus Balbus. It is doubtful (even if the last two names really belong to the poet) whether _Setinus_ means from Setia in Italy or from Setia in Spain. The poet's Latinity gives no evidence on the point. Quintilian is the only Roman writer who refers to him; x. 1, 90, 'Multum in Valerio Flacco nuper amisimus'; which shows that he must have died about A.D. 90. In the beginning of the first Book of the _Argonautica_ (written shortly after A.D. 70), Valerius addresses Vespasian, referring to his exploits in Britain, and to the capture of Jerusalem by Titus; i. 7 _sqq._,

'Tuque o, pelagi cui maior aperti
fama, Caledonius postquam tua carbasa vexit
oceanus Phrygios prius indignatus Iulos,
eripe me populis et habenti nubila terrae,
sancte pater, veterumque fave veneranda canenti
facta virum. Versam proles tua pandet Idumen
(namque potest), Solymo nigrantem pulvere fratrem
spargentemque faces et in omni turre furentem.'

i. 5 _sqq._ probably shows that Valerius was a quindecimvir sacris faciundis,

'Phoebe, mone, si Cymaeae mihi conscia vatis
stat casta cortina domo, si laurea digna
fronte viret.'

Cf. the allusion in viii. 239 _sqq._ to Cybele's bath, which was under the management of the xv.viri; and to the rites of lustration, iii. 417 _sqq._

There are several allusions to the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in A.D. 79, _e.g._ iv. 507.

The _Argonautica_ is in eight Books, the last being incomplete, and the story breaking off shortly before the death of Medea's brother, Absyrtus. Valerius probably meant to write twelve Books, but it is not known how much farther he actually proceeded in his work. There is evidence to show that the last Books would have differed considerably from the story as given by Apollonius Rhodius; _e.g._ the visit to Phaeacia was probably omitted, as Jason was married at Peuce (Book viii.).

Apollonius is followed very closely, many passages being translated from him; thus iv. 236 = Apoll. ii. 38; vii. 404 = Apoll. in. 966. Valerius, however, amplifies where Apollonius is brief, and vice versa. Thus Apoll. ii. 948 _sqq._ is dismissed by Valerius v. 110 _sqq._ in a few words. The character painting of Valerius is superior to that of the original, cf. the character of Jason and of Aeetes. So for his artistic work; thus his portraiture of the gradual progress of Medea's love is superior to Apollonius' description, and to Virgil's of Dido.

The obligations to Virgil are paramount.

(1) Verbal; as i. 55,

'Tu, cui iam curaeque vigent animique viriles,'

from _Aen._ ix. 311,

'Ante annos animumque gerens curamque virilem.'

Cf. 'horrentem iaculis, nec credere quivi, heu quid agat, libans carchesia, summa dies, miscere polum, rumpere questus,' in Book i.[83]

(2) In matter. The description of Fame, ii. 116 _sqq._, is from _Aen._ iv. The character of Styrus, the betrothed of Medea, is modelled on that of Turnus.

After Virgil, Homer (esp. in Book vi.), Ovid, and Seneca's tragedies are chiefly imitated. Statius is full of imitations of Valerius.

Valerius often tries to connect his subject with Rome.[84] Cf. ii. 304,

'Iam nemus Egeriae, iam te ciet altus ab Alba
Iuppiter et soli non mitis Aricia regi';

ii 573,

'genus Aeneadum et Troiae melioris honores.'

SILIUS ITALICUS.

The full name of Silius is got from an inscription (_C.I.L._ vi. 1984), and is Ti. Catius Silius Italicus. Our chief information about his life is found in Pliny, _Epist._ iii. 7, where his recent death is mentioned. It was probably written A.D. 101, and as it states that Silius was then 75 years old, the year of his birth was A.D. 25. His birthplace is unknown, but was not Italica in Spain, otherwise Martial would have claimed him as a countryman. Pliny tells us that Silius had risen by acting as a _delator_ under Nero, who made him consul A.D. 68. He had taken the side of Vitellius in the war of the succession A.D. 69[85] and had afterwards, as proconsul, governed Asia with success (under Vespasian). After this he possessed great social influence. Towards the end of his life, he retired to Campania, and gave himself up to study. The account of his learned retirement,[86] his reverence for Virgil,[87] the consulship of his son,[88] the death of his younger son,[89] and other details, are corroborated by his contemporary Martial.

The passage of Pliny is as follows:

'Modo nuntiatus est Silius Italicus in Neapolitano suo inedia finisse vitam. Causa mortis valetudo. Erat illi natus insanabilis clavus, cuius taedio ad mortem inrevocabili constantia decucurrit, usque ad supremum diem beatus et felix, nisi quod minorem ex liberis duobus amisit, sed maiorem melioremque florentem atque etiam consularem reliquit. Laeserat famam suam sub Nerone, credebatur sponte accusasse: sed in Vitelli amicitia sapienter se et comiter gesserat, ex proconsulatu Asiae gloriam reportaverat, maculam veteris industriae laudabili otio abluerat. Fuit inter principes civitatis sine potentia, sine invidia: salutabatur, colebatur, multumque in lectulo iacens cubiculo semper non ex fortuna frequenti doctissimis sermonibus dies transigebat, cum a scribendo vacaret. Scribebat carmina maiore cura quam ingenio, non numquam iudicia hominum recitationibus experiebatur. Novissime ita suadentibus annis ab urbe secessit, seque in Campania tenuit, ac ne adventu quidem novi principis inde commotus est ... Erat +philokalos+ usque ad emacitatis reprehensionem. Plures isdem in locis villas possidebat adamatisque novis priores neglegebat. Multum ubique librorum, multum statuarum, multum imaginum, quas non habebat modo verum etiam venerabatur, Vergilii ante omnes, cuius natalem religiosius quam suum celebrabat, Neapoli maxime, ubi monimentum eius adire ut templum solebat. In hac tranquillitate annum quintum et septuagensimum excessit, delicato magis corpore quam infirmo; utque novissimus a Nerone factus est consul, ita postremus ex omnibus quos Nero consules fecerat decessit.'

Silius' career as an orator is mentioned by Martial vii. 63, 5-8,

'Sacra cothurnati non attigit ante Maronis,
implevit magni quam Ciceronis opus.
Hunc miratur adhuc centum gravis hasta virorum,
hunc loquitur grato plurimus ore cliens.'

The _Punica_ is an Epic in seventeen Books on the Second Punic War, and treats of events down to the battle of Zama, B.C. 202. The historical treatment is founded mainly on Livy, and in point of style Silius has followed Homer and Virgil, imitations of whom are found on every page. For Silius' reverence for Virgil, see above, and cf. viii. 593,

'Mantua Musarum domus, atque ad sidera cantu
evecta Aonio, et Smyrnaeis aemula plectris.'

Silius also follows Homer and Virgil in their mythology, bringing in supernatural motives in a way unsuitable to a historical subject, _e.g._ in xv. 20, where Scipio has, like Hercules, to choose between Voluptas and Virtus.

The example of Hannibal's dream, iii. 163-182, will show these different points. The story of the dream is got from Livy xxi. 22, but, for _iuvenis divina specie_, Silius, like Virg. _Aen._ iv. 222 _sqq._ and 259 _sqq._ substitutes Mercury. Individual imitations in the passage are: l. 172, 'Turpe duci totam somno consumere noctem,' from _Il._ ii. 24, +ou chrê pannychion heudein boulêphoron andra+; l. 168, 'umentem noctis umbram' is from _Aen._ iv. 7, 'umentemque Aurora polo dimoverat umbram'; l. 174, 'iam maria effusas cernes turbare carinas,' from _Aen._ iv. 566, 'iam mare turbari trabibus ... videbis'; l. 182, 'altae moenia Romae' is from _Aen._ i. 7; l. 181, 'respexisse veto' from _Ecl._ 8, 102, 'nec respexeris.'

The Epitome of the Iliad (in 1075 hexameters), which passes under the name of _Homerus Latinus_, has been attributed to Silius. It is a close adaptation from the original.

STATIUS.

(1) LIFE.

P. Papinius Statius was born at Naples (_Silv._ i. 2, 260, 'mea Parthenope'), probably about A.D. 60, for he speaks of himself as on the threshold of life at the time of his father's death, about A.D. 80 ('limine primo fatorum,' _Silv._ v. 3, 72). The apparent discrepancy in _Silv._ iv. 4, 69 (written A.D. 94-5), 'Nos facta aliena canendo vergimur in senium,' may be explained by observing that 'senium' is very often used for premature age induced by study (cf. 'insenuit,' Hor. _Ep._ ii. 2, 82).

The father of Statius came of a distinguished but not wealthy family: _Silv._ v. 3, 116,

'Non tibi deformes obscuri sanguinis ortus
nec sine luce genus, quamquam fortuna parentum
artior expensis.'

He taught first at Naples (_ibid._ l. 146) and then at Rome (l. 176); and died at the age of sixty-five (l. 252) soon after the eruption of Vesuvius, which he had intended to make the subject of a poem (l. 205). It was from his learned father ('genitor perdocte,' l. 3) that Statius derived his first impulse towards poetry, and to his training he acknowledges deep obligations (ll. 209-214).

Statius won two prizes for poetry, at the _Augustalia_ in Naples and at Alba; but was unsuccessful at the Capitoline competition, probably in A.D. 94 (_ibid._ 225-232). In that year he seems to have removed from Rome to Naples, and spent there the remainder of his days: _Silv._ iii. 5, 12,

'Anne quod Euboicos fessus remeare penates
auguror et patria senium componere terra?'

The date of his death is unknown. The latest event mentioned in his poems is the seventeenth consulship of Domitian, A.D. 95 (_Silv._ iv. 1).

Statius was married to a widow named Claudia (_Silv._ iii. 5, 51 _sqq._), but had no children (v. 5, 79).

He enjoyed the favour of Domitian ('indulgentissimus imperator,' _Silv._ i. praef.) who granted him a supply of water for his country house at Alba, and occasionally invited him to his table: _Silv._ iii. 1, 61,

'Ast ego, Dardaniae quamvis sub collibus Albae
rus proprium magnique ducis mihi munere currens
unda domi curas mulcere aestusque levare
sufficerent.'

_Silv._ iv. praef., 'Sacratissimis eius epulis honoratus.'

He more than once promises to write an epic on Domitian's career (e.g. _Theb._ i. 32). The emperor's freedman Earinus (_Silv._ iii. 4) was one of Statius' patrons.

His regard for the poet Lucan produced _Silv._ ii. 7, which is a poem on Lucan's birthday, addressed to his widow (see p. 267). But his chief admiration was reserved for the memory of Virgil: Naples and Alba were endeared to him by their associations with the 'great master' and the story of Aeneas: _Silv._ iv. 4, 53,

'Tenues ignavo pollice chordas
pulso, Maroneique sedens in margine templi
sumo animum et magni tumulis adcanto magistri.'

For Alba cf. _Silv._ v. 3, 37. The _Thebais_ must recognize its inferiority to the _Aeneid_: _Theb._ xii. 816,

'Vive, precor; nec tu divinam Aeneida tempta,
sed longe sequere et vestigia semper adora.'

(2) WORKS.

1. The _Thebais_, an epic poem in twelve Books, occupied Statius for twelve years: xii. 811,

'O mihi bis senos multum vigilata per annos
Thebai.'

Cf. _Silv._ iv. 7, 26,

'Thebais multa cruciata lima.'

The twelve years were probably 79-91 or 80-92 A.D. _Silv._ i. praef. (written 91 or 92), 'Adhuc pro Thebaide mea, quamvis me reliquerit, timeo.' The publication apparently did not take place till A.D. 95 (cf. _Silv._ iv. 4, 87 _sqq._ written in that year).

The subject of the poem is the strife between the brothers Eteocles and Polynices, and the subsequent history of Thebes to the death of Creon. The dedication is to Domitian. For the popularity of the _Thebais_ cf. Juv. _Sat._ 7, 82,

'Curritur ad vocem iucundam et carmen amicae
Thebaidos, laetam cum fecit Statius urbem
promisitque diem. Tanta dulcedine captos
afficit ille animos tantaque libidine volgi
auditur; sed, cum fregit subsellia versu,
esurit, intactam Paridi nisi vendit Agaven.'

2. The _Achilleis_, also dedicated to Domitian, is an incomplete epic, consisting of one Book and part of a second. It was later than the Thebaid, for Statius was working at it in A.D. 95: _Silv._ iv. 4, 93,

'Nunc vacuos crines alio subit infula nexu:
Troia quidem magnusque mihi temptatur Achilles.'

The poem was intended to cover the whole career of Achilles, including his retreat in Scyros before the Trojan War, and his exploits after the death of Hector, which did not enter into the plan of the _Iliad_: cf. l. 3,

'Quamquam acta viri multum inclita cantu
Maeonio, sed plura vacant: nos ire per omnem
(sic amor est) heroa velis.'

3. The _Silvae_, which represent the poet in his less serious mood, are occasional poems on miscellaneous subjects, published in five separate Books. Cf. 1, praef. 'Diu multumque dubitavi ... an hos libellos, ... cum singuli de sinu meo prodierint, congregates ipse dimitterem.' Many of them were thrown off in haste at the command of the Emperor or the request of friends: cf. such expressions as 'stili facilitas' (ii. praef.), 'libellorum temeritas,' 'hanc audaciam stili nostri' (iii. praef.). Of the poems in Book i. he says, 'nullum ex illis biduo longius tractum, quaedam et in singulis diebus effusa' (i. praef.). Each of the Books is introduced by a prose preface.

None of the _Silvae_ appeared before A.D. 92; for Rutilius Gallicus, for whom i. 4 was written, died in that year, and the poem was not published till after his death (i. praef.). Book v. was probably a posthumous work: there is no proper preface, and the third and fifth poems are incomplete.

Hexameter verse is employed for all the _Silvae_ except six. Of these, four are in hendecasyllabics, one in the Alcaic and one in the Sapphic stanza.

4. The only other poem of which there is distinct evidence is the pantomime _Agave_, written not later than A.D. 84, the year in which the player Paris was put to death (Juv. _Sat._ 7, 86, quoted above).

MARTIAL.[90]

(1) LIFE.

M. Valerius Martialis (Coquus is added in the old glossaries) was born at Bilbilis in Hispania Tarraconensis on 1st March in one of the years A.D. 38-41. His tenth Book, written A.D. 95-8, contains a poem (x. 24) written on his fifty-seventh birthday. Cf. ll. 4-5,

'quinquagesima liba septimamque
vestris addimus hanc focis acerram';

ix. 52, 3,

'ut nostras amo Martias Kalendas';

x. 103, 1,

'Municipes, Augusta mihi quos Bilbilis acri
monte creat, rapidis quem Salo cingit aquis.'

His parents' names are given, v. 34, 1, 'Fronto pater, genetrix Flaccilla.' Martial went through the usual education at Bilbilis or at a neighbouring town; ix. 73, 7,

'At me litterulas stulti docuere parentes:
quid cum grammaticis rhetoribusque mihi?'

Martial went to Rome A.D. 64, for in A.D. 98, when he left Rome, he gives the length of his stay as thirty-four years; x. 103, 7,

'Quattuor accessit tricesima messibus aestas,
ut sine me Cereri rustica liba datis,
moenia dum colimus dominae pulcherrima Romae.'

At Rome Martial became the client of the house of the Senecas, and was on intimate terms with L. Calpurnius Piso, Memmius Gemellus, and Vibius Crispus; xii. 36, 8,

'Pisones Senecasque Memmiosque
et Crispos mihi redde sed priores.'

The failure of Piso's conspiracy in A.D. 65 and the consequent downfall of the Senecas must have affected Martial's position. In A.D. 96 Martial addresses as his patroness Argentaria Polla, Lucan's widow, the only surviving member of the family; x. 64, 1,

'Contigeris regina meos si Polla libellos,' etc.

From her he may have got the small vineyard near Nomentum which he possessed by A.D. 84 (xiii. 42 and 119).

Little is known of Martial's life before the reign of Domitian. He may have practised at the bar; cf. ii. 30, 5,

'Is mihi "dives eris, si causas egeris" inquit';

and Quintilian appears to have advised this course (ii. 90). He probably lived as a client of great houses to which he was recommended by his early-developed poetical talents. Cf. i. 113, 1,

'Quaecumque lusi iuvenis et puer quondam.'

In A.D. 80 he commemorated the opening by Titus of the Flavian Amphitheatre by a collection of poems sent to the emperor. Cf. _Spectac._ 32,

'Da veniam subitis: non displicuisse meretur,
festinat, Caesar, qui placuisse tibi.'

Martial received the 'ius trium liberorum' from two of the emperors. This probably means that Titus bestowed it and Domitian ratified it. Cf. ix. 97, 5,

'tribuit quod Caesar uterque
ius mihi natorum.'

Martial became a titular tribune, and consequently an _eques_, an honour probably given him by Titus; iii. 95, 9

'vidit me Roma tribunum';

v. 13, 1,

'Sum, fateor, semperque fui, Callistrate, pauper,
sed non obscurus nec male notus eques.'

Martial is unsparing in his flattery of Domitian and his freedmen. Cf. ix. 79, iv. 45, of Parthenius, the emperor's chamberlain; vii. 99, viii. 48, of Crispinus, the emperor's favourite. In A.D. 86 we find his poems eagerly read by the emperor. Cf. iv. 27,

'Saepe meos laudare soles, Auguste, libellos.'

He obtained citizen rights for several applicants; cf. ix. 95. 11,

'Quot mihi Caesareo facti sunt munere cives';

and was occasionally invited to the emperor's table; cf. ix. 91. Domitian, however, refused to assist him pecuniarily (vi. 10). A description of Martial's life as a client of great houses is found, _e.g._, in v. 20. Among the friends of high rank whom Martial made after A.D. 86 were the poet Silius Italicus (iv. 14), the future emperor Nerva (v. 28), the author S. Iulius Frontinus (x. 58), the younger Pliny (x. 19). Martial also mentions Quintilian (ii. 90) and other literary men from Spain, and Juvenal (vii. 24, etc.). Statius he never mentions, and was probably at enmity with him; cf. his sneers at mythological epics (x. 4, etc.), which hint indirectly at the _Thebais_. Martial also attacks his critics (i. 3; xi. 20, etc.), plagiarists (_e.g._ xi. 94), and those who wrote scurrilous verses in his name (_e.g._ x. 3).

Martial received rewards in return for his poetry, and often begs for gifts, and complains of his poverty and the unproductiveness of his estate at Nomentum (xii. 57); v. 36,

'Laudatus nostro quidam, Faustina, libello
dissimulat, quasi nil debeat: imposuit';

vii. 16,

'Aera domi non sunt, superest hoc, Regule, solum,
ut tua vendamus munera: numquid emis?'

From 86 to 90 A.D. Martial lived in lodgings on the Quirinal, three stairs up; i. 117, 6,

'Longum est, si velit ad Pirum venire,
et scalis habito tribus, sed altis.'

Later he had a house of his own (ix. 18, 2, etc.), and mentions his slaves (i. 101; v. 34, etc.). That he was still poor in A.D. 98 is evident from Pliny, _Ep._ iii. 21, 2, 'Prosecutus eram viatico secedentem: dederam hoc amicitiae, dederam etiam versiculis quos de me composuit.'

Martial was evidently never married (ii. 92). In A.D. 98 he left Rome and went to Spain, where he had liberal friends, as Terentius Priscus (xii. 4), and Marcella (xii. 21), who gave him an estate, described in xii. 18. From xii. praef. we see his longing for Rome:

'In hac provinciali solitudine ... bibliothecas, theatra, convictus ... desideramus quasi destituti. Accedit his municipalium robigo dentium et iudici loco livor,' etc.

Martial died, at latest, about A.D. 104, being from 63 to 66 years old.

Pliny _Ep._ iii. 21 (written not after A.D. 104), 'Audio Valerium Martialem decessisse et moleste fero.'

Martial does not disguise the bad points of his character. Cf. his flattery of Domitian, and his continual begging (_passim_), his cynical reasons for giving panegyrics (v. 36, quoted above); the number of indecent poems he wrote, for which he apologizes (_e.g._ i. praef.). Among his good points are his 'candor,' mentioned by Pliny, _Ep._ iii. 21; his love of unadorned nature, _e.g._ iii. 58; his love for his friends, _e.g._ i. 15.

(2) WORKS.

_Publication of the Poems._--_Liber Spectaculorum_ was published A.D. 80, on the opening of Titus' Amphitheatre. The _Xenia_ and _Apophoreta_ were two collections of inscriptions for presents at the _Saturnalia_ in December 84 or 85 A.D. The numbering of these as Books xiii. and xiv. has no ancient authority. Martial furnished the other Books with numbers (cf. ii. 92, 1, 'primus liber'). Books i., ii., appeared together A.D. 86. Then came Books iii.-xi. at intervals of about a year to December, 96 A.D. Martial prepared a selection from Books x. and xi. for Nerva's use (no longer extant). This was presented along with xii. 5,

'Longior undecimi nobis decimique libelli
artatus labor est, et breve rasit opus.
Plura legant vacui, quibus otia tuta dedisti;
haec lege tu Caesar; forsan et illa leges.'

Book xii. appeared at the beginning of A.D. 102. and shortly afterwards in an enlarged edition. An edition of all the Books probably did not appear till after Martial's death.

For Martial's immediate popularity, cf. vi. 61,

'Laudat, amat, cantat nostros mea Roma libellos,
meque sinus omnis, me manus omnis habet';

xi. 3, 3,

'Sed meus in Geticis ad Martia signa pruinis
a rigido teritur centurione liber,
dicitur et nostros cantare Britannia versus.'

Pliny _Ep._ iii. 21 (written just after Martial's death), 'Erat homo ingeniosus acutus acer, et qui plurimum in scribendo et salis haberet et fellis nec candoris minus.'

_Martial's Models._--His manner is very original, but some of his motives are taken from Greek epigrammatists, especially from Lucillius, who flourished under Nero. Thus iv. 53 = Lucill. 30; v. 53 = L. 93; xii. 23 = L. 34. Many of his pieces are doubtless improvisations, and consequently contain careless expressions and errors as to facts. Thus, vii. 61, 2,

'Inque suo nullum limine limen erat';

x. 2, 1,

'Festinata prior decimi mihi cura libelli
elapsum manibus nunc revocavit opus';

x. 93, 5,

'Ut rosa delectat, metitur quae pollice primo'
(= the rose which has not yet been plucked).

In iv. 55, 3, Arpi is given as Cicero's birthplace; in v. 30, 2, etc., Calabria instead of Apulia is given as Horace's native district. Catullus is Martial's chief model for hendecasyllabics and choliambics. He mentions no other poet so often. Cf. x. 103, 5,

'Nec sua plus debet tenui Verona Catullo
meque velit dici non minus illa suum.'

Ovid, of whom he has more than two hundred reminiscences, is Martial's chief pattern for elegiacs. After these Martial's chief model is Virgil, chiefly the _Priapea_; then Horace to a less extent; Propertius; and Tibullus. Domitius Marsus, Gaetulicus, Calvus, etc., are mentioned frequently, and doubtless imitated.

For Martial's conception of himself as a painter of manners, cf. viii. 3, 19 (ad Musam),

'At tu Romano lepidos sale tinge libellos:
adgnoscat mores vita legatque suos.
Angusta cantare licet videaris avena,
dum tua multorum vincat avena tubas.'

x. 4, 7,

'Quid te vana iuvant miserae ludibria chartae?
hoc lege, quod possit dicere vita "Meum est."
Non hic Centauros, non Gorgonas, Harpyiasque
invenies: hominem pagina nostra sapit.'

Martial satirizes people under manufactured or arbitrarily chosen names.

Cf. i. praef., 'Spero me secutum in libellis meis tale temperamentum, ut de illis queri non possit, quisquis de se bene senserit, cum salva infimarum quoque personarum reverentia ludant.'

Some are tell-tale names, as Vetustilla, 'an old woman,' iii. 93; Dento, 'a gourmand,' v. 45; Eulogus, 'a herald,' vi. 8; but the same names, _e.g._ Zoilus, are often used to denote different types.

The chief forms of verse used are the elegiac distich (most frequent), scazons, and hendecasyllabics. In vi. 65 he apologizes for using the pure hexameter, which is found only four times. Other metres are extremely rare.

QUINTILIAN.

(1) LIFE.

M. Fabius Quintilianus was born at Calagurris in Spain. Auson. _prof._ i. 7, 'Adserat usque licet Fabium Calagurris alumnum.' Cf. Jerome yr. Abr. 2104 (quoted below).

Quintilian came at an early age to Rome, where his father was a rhetorician. Cf. his reminiscences:

x. 1, 86, 'Utar verbis isdem quae ex Afro Domitio (died A.D. 59) iuvenis excepi.'

v. 7, 7, 'a Domitio Afro quem adulescentulus senem colui.'

vi. 1, 14, 'Nobis adulescentibus accusator Cossutiani Capitonis' (A.D. 57), etc.

From the above quotations, Quintilian must have been born somewhere between A.D. 35 and 40. A.D. 35 is usually given as an approximation. For Quintilian's father cf. ix. 3, 73, 'Et cur me prohibeat pudor uti domestico exemplo? Pater meus contra eum qui,' etc. He is possibly the person mentioned by Seneca, _Contr._ x. praef. 2, 'quo modo ... Quintilianus senex declamaverit.'

For Quintilian's teachers of rhetoric, cf. Pliny, _Ep._ ii. 14, 10, 'Narrabat ille [Quintilianus], Adsectabar Domitium Afrum.' Others were Iulius Africanus (Quint. x. 1, 118), Servilius Nonianus (x. 1, 102), Galerius Trachalus (x. 1, 119), Iulius Secundus (x. 1, 120), Vibius Crispus (xii. 10, 11), Remmius Palaemon (Schol. ad Iuv. 6, 452). After his education Quintilian returned to Calagurris, but was brought back to Rome by Galba in A.D. 68.

Jerome yr. Abr. 2084 = A.D. 68, 'M. Fabius Quintilianus Romam a Galba perducitur.'

Quintilian engaged as a pleader at Rome, and makes some references to his cases. Some of his speeches were published without his consent.

vii. 2, 24, 'In causa Naevi Arpiniani ... cuius actionem et quidem solam in hoc tempus emiseram, quod ipsum me fecisse ductum iuvenili cupiditate gloriae fateor. Nam ceterae, quae sub nomine meo feruntur, neglegentia excipientium in quaestum notariorum corruptae minimam partem mei habent.'

iv. 1, 19, 'Ego pro regina Berenice apud ipsam eam causam dixi.'

Cf. also vii. 2, 5; ix. 2, 73-4.

Quintilian was the first person who received an imperial grant as teacher of oratory.

Jerome yr. Abr. 2104 = A.D. 88, 'Quintilianus ex Hispania Calagurritanus primus Romae publicam scholam et salarium e fisco accepit et claruit.' The date given by Jerome is much too late, as it is Quintilian that is alluded to by Sueton. _Vesp._ 18, 'Primus e fisco Latinis Graecisque rhetoribus annua centena constituit.' The appointment must therefore have been made by A.D. 79. The professorship is referred to by Mart. ii. 90, 1,

'Quintiliane, vagae moderator summe iuventae,
gloria Romanae, Quintiliane, togae.'

Cf. Pliny, _Ep._ ii. 14, 10, 'Ita certe ex Quintiliano, praeceptore meo, audisse memini.' Quintilian's career as a teacher lasted for twenty years.

i. prooem. 1, 'Post impetratam studiis meis quietem, quae per viginti annos erudiendis iuvenibus impenderam.'

Teuffel thinks that the _Institutio_ was written A.D. 89-91, in which case Quintilian's career as professor was from A.D. 68 to 88; Peterson[91] thinks that Quintilian dated his educational work as from A.D. 70 to 90, and that the _Institutio_ was begun A.D. 92.

Quintilian grew rich by the practice of his profession, from which he ultimately retired. Iuv. 7, 186,

'Hos inter sumptus sestertia Quintiliano,
ut multum, duo sufficient; res nulla minoris
constabit patri, quam filius. "Unde igitur tot
Quintilianus habet saltus?"'

Quint. ii. 12, 12, 'quando et praecipiendi munus iam pridem deprecati sumus et in foro quoque dicendi, quia honestissimum finem putamus, desinere dum desideraremur.'

After his retirement Quintilian was appointed tutor of Domitian's grandnephews, sons of his niece Flavia Domitilla and his cousin Flavius Clemens.

Quint. iv. prooem. 2, 'Cum mihi Domitianus Augustus sororis suae nepotum delegaverit curam.'

Through the influence of Clemens, he obtained the consulship.

Auson. _grat. act._ p. 23 (Schenkl), 'Quintilianus consularia per Clementem ornamenta sortitus honestamenta potius videtur quam insignia potestatis habuisse.'

Cf. Iuv. 7, 197,

'Si Fortuna volet, fies de rhetore consul;
si volet haec eadem, fies de consule rhetor.'

His gratitude led him into fulsome flattery of Domitian.

x. 1, 91, 'Germanicum Augustum ab institutis studiis deflexit cura terrarum, parumque dis visum est esse eum maximum poetarum' (cf. iv. prooem. 3-5).