THE AUGUSTAN AGE.
VIRGIL.
(1) LIFE.
Our chief authority for the life of Virgil, apart from his own
writings and those of his contemporaries, is Donatus, whose work is
probably based on Suetonius' _De Poetis_. Donatus' work, though not
free from romance, is much more valuable than the Life by Probus[41]
or the metrical account given by Phocas.[42] Some important details
are given in the Life wrongly attributed to Servius, and in an account
preserved in a Berne MS. of the tenth century.
The poet's name is correctly given as P. Vergilius Maro in all the
Lives. The balance of authority is decidedly in favour of the spelling
'Vergilius'; it is always so written in the early MSS. and in
inscriptions of the Republic and of the early centuries A.D. The
traditional form in modern literature, 'Virgil,' is here retained.
Virgil was born 15th October, B.C. 70, at Andes (identified
traditionally with Pietole)[43] near Mantua. Donatus, _vit. Verg._,
'Natus est Cn. Pompeio Magno et M. Licinio Crasso primum coss. iduum
Octobrium die, in pago qui Andes dicitur et abest a Mantua non
procul.'
He was of humble extraction, his father being originally either a
potter or a day-labourer.
Probus, _vit. Verg._, 'Matre Magia Polla, patre rustico.'
Donatus, 'Parentibus modicis fuit ac praecipue patre, quem quidam
opificem figulum, plures Magi cuiusdam viatoris initio mercennarium
mox ob industriam generum tradiderunt egregieque substantiae silvis
coemendis et apibus curandis auxisse reculam.' (Cf. Virgil's treatment
of bees in _Georgic_ iv.)
His early years were spent at Cremona, whence in B.C. 55 he went to
Mediolanum and then to Rome for his higher education. He studied
philosophy, medicine, mathematics, and rhetoric; but his shyness
prevented his being a success at the bar, where, we are told, he
appeared only once.
Donatus, 'Initia aetatis Cremonae egit usque ad virilem togam, quam
xv. anno natali suo accepit isdem illis consulibus iterum duobus
quibus erat natus, evenitque ut eo ipso die Lucretius poeta decederet.
De Cremona Mediolanum et inde paulo post transiit in urbem ... Inter
cetera studia medicinae quoque ac maxime mathematicae[44] operam
dedit. Egit et causam apud iudices unam omnino nec amplius quam semel;
nam et in sermone tardissimum ac paene indocto similem fuisse Melissus
[a freedman of Maecenas] tradidit.'
The Berne MS. above referred to says: 'Ut primum se contulit Romam,
studuit apud Epidium oratorem cum Caesare Augusto.'[45] For his
studies under the Epicurean Siron cf. _Catal._ 7, 8,
'Nos ad beatos vela mittimus portus,
magni petentes docta dicta Sironis,
vitamque ab omni vindicabimus cura.'
Cf. also _Ecl._ 6, 31-40, where a brief sketch is given of the
Epicurean theory of creation.
For a few years we hear nothing of his life, but we may suppose that
he continued his studies in literature and philosophy, probably at his
farm, if we can draw any inference from the language of _Ecl._ 1,
especially l. 19 _sqq._ So far as is known, he took no part in the
civil wars. In B.C. 41, when lands were assigned to the troops of
Antonius, Virgil was dispossessed of his property. On the
recommendation of Asinius Pollio, who was _legatus_ of Gallia
Transpadana, he went to Rome and obtained from Octavian the
restitution of his land. The poet expresses his gratitude in _Ecl._ 1,
42,
'Hic illum vidi iuvenem, Meliboee, quotannis
bis senos cui nostra dies altaria fumant.
Hic mihi responsum primus dedit ille petenti:
"Pascite ut ante boves, pueri, submittite tauros."'
Cf. also ll. 70-3.
Donatus, 'Ad bucolica transiit maxime ut Asinium Pollionem, Alphenum
Varum, et Cornelium Gallum celebraret, quia in distributione agrorum
qui post Philippensem victoriam[46] veteranis triumvirorum iussu trans
Padum dividebantur, indemnem se praestitissent.'
Virgil was evicted a second time in the following year, after the
Bellum Perusinum, by the troops of Octavian. Conflicting accounts are
given by the Lives regarding the persons who seized his land.[47]
Servius, _vit. Verg._, 'Postea ortis bellis civilibus inter Antonium
et Augustum, Augustus victor Cremonensium agros, quia pro Antonio
senserant, dedit militibus suis. Qui cum non sufficerent, his addidit
agros Mantuanos, sublatos non propter civium culpam, sed propter
vicinitatem Cremonensium: unde ipse in Bucolicis (9, 28), "Mantua vae
miserae nimium vicina Cremonae."'
Virgil and his household found refuge on an estate which had once
belonged to his old master Siron: _Catal._ 10,
'Villula, quae Sironis eras, et pauper agelle ...
Tu nunc eris illi [patri]
Mantua quod fuerat quodque Cremona prius.'
Whether he recovered his old farm is uncertain: at all events he spent
most of his time in the south of Italy. Besides a house in Rome, he
seems to have had a country house near Nola, and we know that the
_Georgics_ (cf. iv. 563) were written at Naples.
Donatus, 'Habuit domum Romae Esquiliis iuxta hortos Maecenatis,
quamquam secessu Campaniae Siciliaeque plurimum uteretur.'
Gell. vi. 20, 1, 'Scriptum in quodam commentario repperi ... Vergilium
petivisse a Nolanis, aquam uti duceret in propinquum rus.'
He lived a retired life, seldom visiting Rome, and devoting most of
his time to poetical composition, in which he was regular and
painstaking.
Tac. _Dial._ 13, 'Securum et quietum Vergilii secessum, in quo tamen
neque apud divum Augustum gratia caruit neque apud populum Romanum
notitia: testes Augusti epistulae, testis ipse populus, qui auditis in
theatro Vergilii versibus surrexit universus et forte praesentem
spectantemque Vergilium veneratus est sic quasi Augustum.'
Quint. x. 3, 8, 'Vergilium paucissimos die composuisse versus auctor
est Varius.'
Cf. his own expression, quoted by Gell. xvii. 10, 2, 'parere se versus
more atque ritu ursino' (alluding to the notion that the bear licked
its young into shape).
He was already an influential member of Maecenas' literary circle, to
which, in B.C. 39, he introduced Horace. Cf. Hor. _Sat._ i. 6, 54,
'optimus olim
Vergilius, post hunc Varius dixere quid essem.'
By Maecenas he was introduced to Augustus,[48] who treated him with
liberality. Cf. Hor. _Ep._ ii. 1, 246,
'Munera quae multa dantis cum laude tulerunt
dilecti tibi Vergilius Variusque poetae.'
He was on intimate terms with Horace, who addresses _Od._ i. 3 to him
on the occasion of a proposed visit to Greece. Cf. ll. 5-8,
'Navis, quae tibi creditum
debes Vergilium, finibus Atticis
reddas incolumem, precor,
et serves animae dimidium meae.'
In B.C. 37 he formed one of the party who travelled with Horace to
Brundisium: Hor. _Sat._ i. 5, 40 (see under 'Horace,' p. 167).
For the rest of his life we hear little of Virgil in any public
connexion. In B.C. 19 he started on a voyage to Greece and Asia,
intending to spend three years on the revision of the _Aeneid_, but
returned from Athens in bad health, and died at Brundisium on 21st
September. His remains were buried near Naples. The epitaph quoted by
Donatus is obviously not by Virgil: 'Anno aetatis lii. impositurus
Aeneidi summam manum, statuit in Graeciam et in Asiam secedere
triennioque continuo nihil amplius quam emendare, ut reliqua vita
tantum philosophiae vacaret: sed cum ingressus iter Athenis
occurrisset Augusto ab oriente Romam revertenti destinaretque non
absistere atque etiam una redire, dum Megara vicinum oppidum
ferventissimo sole cognoscit, languorem nactus est eumque non
intermissa navigatione auxit, ita ut gravior aliquanto Brundisium
appelleret, ubi diebus paucis obiit xi. Kal. Octobr. Cn. Sentio Q.
Lucretio coss. (21st September, B.C. 19). Ossa eius Neapolim translata
sunt tumuloque condita ... in quo distichon fecit tale:
"Mantua me genuit, Calabri rapuere, tenet nunc
Parthenope: cecini pascua, rura, duces."'
His personal appearance and character are thus described by Donatus:
'Corpore et statura fuit grandis, aquilo colore, facie rusticana,
valetudine varia: nam plerumque a stomacho et a faucibus ac dolore
capitis laborabat, sanguinem etiam saepe reiecit.' (Cf. Hor. _Sat._ i.
5, 48,
'Lusum it Maecenas, dormitum ego Vergiliusque;
namque pila lippis inimicum et ludere crudis.')
'Cibi vinique minimi, libidinis pronior ... cetera sane vita et ore et
animo tam probum constat, ut Neapoli Parthenias volgo appellatus sit,
ac si quando Romae, quo rarissime commeabat, viseretur in publico,
sectantes demonstrantesque se suffugeret in proximum tectum.'
(2) WORKS.
MINOR POEMS.--According to Donatus, these were: 'In Balistam ... deinde
Catalecton et Priapia et Epigrammata et Diras, item Cirim et Culicem,
cum esset annorum xvi.' Servius omits the boyish production 'in
Balistam,' and adds the 'Copa.' The 'Aetna,' mentioned with doubt by
Donatus, is, of course, not by Virgil. (1) _Catalecta_.-This seems
better than _Catalecton_; either would mean "a collection of poems."
Some give _Catalepton_ (= "trifles," like Aratus' work +ta
kata lepton+). Ribbeck thinks _Catalecta_ originally included the
_Priapea_, _Epigrammata_, and _Dirae_, but came to be restricted to
the fourteen short pieces given in our MSS. under that title. Some of
these, _e.g._ No. 5, are spurious. Quint. viii. 3, 28 vouches for No.
2. Virgil's friends, Tucca and Varius, are addressed in 1 and 9, and
10 (on Siron's villa) refers to an event in Virgil's life. In the vein
of Catullus are 3, 4, and 8, the last being an extremely close parody
of Catullus, c. 4. (2) _Priapea_, three in number. (3) _Dirae_,
spurious. (4) _Ciris_. The writer's reference to himself in l. 2,
'Irritaque expertum fallacis praemia volgi,' shows that Virgil is not
the author. (5) _Culex_. That Virgil wrote a poem with this title is
attested by Suetonius, Statius, and Martial; _e.g._ Mart. viii. 56, 19,
'Protinus Italiam concepit et arma virumque
qui modo vix Culicem fleverat ore rudi.'
The poem in its present form is accepted by Ribbeck, but it does not
correspond exactly to the account given by Donatus of the contents.
(6) The _Copa_ Ribbeck accepts as genuine, but other critics find in
it characteristics rather of Ovid or of Propertius. (7) The _Moretum_,
though found in MSS., is not mentioned by Donatus or Servius, a strong
argument against its being genuine.
BUCOLICA.--These ten poems are called in the MSS. _Eclogae_ ("selected
pieces"), and were composed B.C. 43-39. Probus, 'Scripsit Bucolica
annos natus xxviii., Theocritum secutus.'
Servius, 'Tunc ei proposuit Pollio ut carmen bucolicum scriberet, quod
eum constat triennio[49] scripsisse et emendasse.'
They were doubtless published separately as they were written, and
afterwards collected into a volume with _Ecl._ 1 (Tityrus) coming
first. Cf. _Georg._ iv. 565,
'Carmina qui lusi pastorum, audaxque iuventa,
Tityre, te patulae cecini sub tegmine fagi.'
The present order is certainly not the chronological order.
_Ecl._ 1 was written B.C. 41 as a thanksgiving to Augustus (see p.
150).
_Ecl._ 2 cannot be earlier than the end of 43 when Pollio was made
governor of Gallia Transpadana, and possibly should not be put earlier
than the summer of 42. The poem is written on his favourite slave
Alexis (see Serv. _ad loc._).
_Ecl._ 3 was probably written soon afterwards. Virgil refers in l. 84
to his intimacy with Pollio,
'Pollio amat nostram, quamvis est rustica, Musam.'
_Ecl._ 2 and 3 are earlier than 5. Cf. 5, 86-7,
'Haec nos "Formosum Corydon ardebat Alexim,"
haec eadem docuit "Cuium pecus? an Meliboei?"'
_Ecl._ 4. The date is clear from l. 3,
'Si canimus silvas, silvae sint _consule_ dignae.'
It must have been written in 40, when Pollio was consul. This eclogue,
which in the Middle Age was believed to be a prophecy of the Messiah's
coming, cannot be satisfactorily explained as referring to Pollio's
son Saloninus, or to the expected child of Augustus, Julia.
_Ecl._ 5. Spohn's view is highly probable, that it was written for the
first celebration of Caesar's birthday in July, 42.
_Ecl._ 6, to Varus, probably written B.C. 40 from Siron's villa.
_Ecl._ 7 contains no allusion to contemporary events: the tone is
purely pastoral.
_Ecl._ 8 was written while Pollio was on his way back to Rome from his
victory over the Parthini in Illyricum, for his triumph in B.C. 39.
Cf. ll. 6 and 12.
In _Ecl._ 9, written B.C. 40 at Siron's villa, the poet expresses his
grief at the second expulsion from his farm.
_Ecl._ 10 entitled 'Gallus' was written B.C. 39. For details see under
'Gallus,' p. 182.[50]
_Sources of the Eclogues._--Several of the Eclogues are modelled on
Theocritus (cf. 'Sicelides Musae' 4, 1; 'Syracosius versus' 6, 1),
_e.g._ _Ecl._ 8 on Theocr. 2 and 3; and close imitations are found
throughout. The poet Euphorion of Chalcis (of third century B.C.) is
alluded to in _Ecl._ 10, 50 in connection with Gallus. The names of
the shepherds are mostly from Theocritus, as Tityrus, Mopsus,
Damoetas. They are 'Arcades' (7, 4, etc.), but, like the scenery,
exhibit traits both of Sicily and of North Italy. Thus the scenery
never gives an accurate picture of any one locality: _e.g._ _Ecl._ 9,
ll. 1-10, 26-7, 36, 59-60, present features of the district around
Mantua, while in ll. 39-43 a Sicilian scene is introduced from
Theocritus. The lofty mountains, _e.g._ 1, 84, are Sicilian, and so are
many of the trees, as chestnut and pine, which are said not to be
found near Mantua. For Mantuan scenery cf. _e.g._ 7, 12,
'Hic virides tenera praetexit harundine ripas
Mincius.'
The GEORGICS were written from B.C. 37 to 30 at the suggestion of
Maecenas. Cf. i. 1.
Serv. _vit. Verg._ 'Item proposuit Maecenas Georgica, quae scripsit
emendavitque septem annis.'
The poem was finished by B.C. 29. Cf. Donatus, 'Georgica reverso post
Actiacam victoriam Augusto atque Atellae ... commoranti per continuum
quadriduum legit.' It was written at Naples. Cf. iv. 559,
'Haec super arvorum cultu pecorumque canebam ...
Illo Vergilium me tempore dulcis alebat
Parthenope, studiis florentem ignobilis oti.'
The concluding part of Book iv., originally a dirge on Cornelius
Gallus, was afterwards altered for the myth of Aristaeus, to please
Augustus.
Serv. _ad Ecl._ 10, 1, 'Fuit Cornelius Gallus amicus Vergilii, adeo ut
quartus Georgicorum a medio usque ad finem eius laudes teneret, quas
postea iubente Augusto in Aristaei fabulam commutavit.'
_Sources of the Georgics._--Besides his own observation, Virgil used
the following authorities:
1. Hesiod--mostly in Book i., _e.g._ ll. 276-286 (lucky and unlucky
days). Cf. ii. 176,
'Ascraeumque cano Romana per oppida carmen.'
2. Books of the priests; _e.g._ i. 269 _sqq._ (what is lawful on holy
days), i. 338 _sqq._ (Ambarvalia).
3. For agriculture and natural history--Greek writers like Aristotle,
Theophrastus, Democritus, and Xenophon; and Latin writers like Cato
and Varro.
4. Alexandrian writers for science and mythology; _e.g._ Eratosthenes
for i. 233, 'quinque tenent caelum zonae,' etc.; i. 351-465, signs of
weather, from the +Diosêmeia+ of Aratus; iii. 425 _sqq._, the
Calabrian serpent, from the +Thêriaka+ of Nicander, whose
writings were also used for the subject of bees in Book iv.
5. Lucretius, to whom Virgil is chiefly indebted, ii. 475 _sqq._,
especially 490 _sqq._, 'felix qui potuit,' etc., refers to Lucretius.
The idea of Lucretius, cf. v. 206-217, that man has a perpetual
struggle with nature, is reflected in Virgil, but modified by his
acceptance of the argument from design. Cf. i. 99,
'_Exercet_que frequens tellurem atque _imperat_ arvis,'
and the whole passage i. 118-159. Lucretian science is borrowed in
passages like i. 89,
'Seu pluris calor ille vias et caeca relaxat
spiramenta, novas veniat qua sucus in herbas';
l. 415-423 (of the habits of birds); iii. 242 _sqq._ (on the passion
of love). Notice also, with Munro, Lucretian phrases like _principio_,
_quod superest_, _his animadversis_, _nunc age_, _praeterea_, _nonne
vides_, _contemplator_, _genitalia semina_.
_Political purpose of the Georgics._--The political purpose of the
Georgics is to help the policy of Augustus, which aimed at checking
the depopulation of the country districts. Cf. i. 498-514, and
especially ll. 506-7,
'Non ullus aratro
dignus honos: squalent abductis arva colonis.'
The Emperor is introduced throughout as the object of veneration. Cf.
i. 24-42.
_Natural scenery._--Virgil dwells on Nature in her softer aspects. Cf.
phrases like ii. 470, 'mollesque sub arbore somni,' and the passage
ii. 458-540 in praise of a country life. For the praise of Italy see
the beautiful passage ii. 136-176, where special districts are
mentioned.
AENEID.--Even before the _Eclogues_ were written, Virgil had meditated
the composition of an epic, perhaps, as Servius suggests, on the kings
of Alba. Cf. _Ecl._ 6, 3,
'Cum canerem reges et proelia, Cynthius aurem
vellit et admonuit: "pastorem, Tityre, pingues
pascere oportet oves, deductum dicere carmen."'
The idea of a poem in honour of Augustus was present to his mind when
he wrote _Georg._ iii. 46,
'Mox tamen ardentes accingar dicere pugnas
Caesaris.'
The _Aeneid_ was commenced B.C. 29, and remained unfinished at
Virgil's death.
Servius, _vit. Verg._, 'postea ab Augusto Aeneidem propositam scripsit
annis undecim, sed nec emendavit nec edidit.'
His method of working at the poem is thus described by Donatus,
'Aeneida prosa prius oratione formatam digestamque in xii. libros
particulatim componere instituit, prout liberet quidque et nihil in
ordinem arripiens. Ut ne quid impetum moraretur, quaedam imperfecta
transmisit, alia levissimis verbis veluti fulsit, quae per iocum pro
tibicinibus interponi aiebat ad sustinendum opus donec solidae
columnae advenirent.'
In what order the Books were written it is impossible to decide; but
Book vi. was not read to Augustus till after the death of the young
Marcellus, B.C. 23.
Donatus, 'Cui [Augusto] multo post perfectaque demum materia tres
omnino libros recitavit, secundum quartum sextum, sed hunc notabili
Octaviae adfectione, quae cum recitationi interesset ad illos de filio
suo versus, "Tu Marcellus eris," defecisse fertur atque aegre
focillata est.'
Virgil, writing to the emperor, insists on the magnitude of the task
he had rashly undertaken.
Macrob. _Saturn._ i. 24, 11, 'Tanta incohata res est, ut paene vitio
mentis tantum opus ingressus mihi videar, cum praesertim, ut scis,
alia quoque studia ad id opus multoque potiora impertiar.'
Although in his will Virgil left instructions to Varius (and Tucca) to
destroy all his unpublished manuscripts, Varius was expressly desired
by Augustus to revise and publish the _Aeneid_.
Donatus, 'Egerat cum Vario, priusquam Italia decederet, ut si quid
sibi accidisset Aeneida combureret; sed is facturum se pernegarat ...
Edidit autem auctore Augusto Varius, sed summatim emendata, ut qui
versus etiam imperfectos sicut erant reliquerit.'
This account is corroborated by Pliny the elder, _N.H._ vii. 114,
Gellius, and Macrobius.
The rules laid down to the editors by the Emperor were, according to
Servius, 'ut superflua demerent, nihil adderent tamen.'
It seems probable that the _Aeneid_ was published B.C. 17, for it is
in the _Carmen Saeculare_ of that year that Horace first alludes to
the story of Aeneas (cf. l. 50, 'clarus Anchisae Venerisque sanguis'),
and in the fourth Book of the _Odes_ (four years later) it is more
than once introduced.
The _choice of the subject_ was influenced (1) by the personal desire
of the Emperor; (2) by the connexion of the Caesarian house with
Venus, through Iulus;[51] cf. the invention of Atys (_Aen._ v. 568) by
Virgil to please Augustus, whose mother was Atia; (3) by Virgil's
design to write an epic on the greatness of Rome, in the manner of
Homer.
_The Aeneas Legend._--Stesichorus of Himera, among other writers, made
Aeneas, a Homeric hero (cf. _Il._ xx. 307-8), settle in Italy; and
Naevius is said to have adopted the legend in the form given by
Timaeus, the Sicilian historian of the third century B.C. The legend
probably arose from the worship of Aphrodite on the coasts of Italy,
and was disseminated by the Greeks of Cumae to please the Romans. The
connexion of Rome with Troy had been officially recognized for two
hundred years (cf. Sueton. _Claud._ 25), and, though not a popular
belief, had been accepted in literature from the time of Naevius.
_Sources of the Aeneid._--1. Earlier Roman poets as Naevius, Ennius,
Pacuvius, Accius, Lucilius, Hostius, Varro Atacinus, Lucretius. For
details see under these names.
2. Cato's _Origines_ and Varro's _Antiquitates_, for Italian legends
and peoples.
3. _Ius pontificium_ and _ius augurale_, as found in the books of
sacred colleges (Macrob. i. 24, 16). Cf. the ritual meaning of
_porricio_ (v. 776), _porrigo_ (viii. 274), the habit of praying with
veiled head (iii. 405), prayer to Apollo of Soracte (xi. 785).
4. Greek sources: (_a_) particularly the _Iliad_ and _Odyssey_, but
also the Homeric Hymns and Cyclic Poems. Thus the games in Book v. =
the games in honour of Patroclus in _Il._ xxiii.; the shield of Aeneas
(viii. 626-731) = the shield of Achilles in _Il._ xviii.; (_b_)
Apollonius Rhodius, for the passion of Dido = that of Medea; (_c_)
Greek tragedies, _e.g._ the lost _Laocoon_ of Sophocles for ii. 40
_sqq._
_Religion in the Aeneid._--1. The mythology is mainly from Homer. From
Latin myths come Faunus, Saturnus, Janus, Picus. Euhemerism is shown
by the last three being represented as originally kings of Rome.
2. The power of the gods is denoted by _fatum_ or _fata_; cf. x. 112-3,
'rex Iuppiter omnibus idem:
fata viam invenient.'
3. The description of the lower world in Book vi. is from the descent
into Hades in _Od._ xi., but is modified by Pythagorean ideas (vi.
748-751, metempsychosis), Stoic ideas (vi. 724 _sqq._, pantheism, cf.
_Georg._ iv. 219-227) and Platonic myths (_e.g._ in the _Gorgias_,
_Phaedo_, and _Republic_), and rendered more definite by the
introduction of heroes of the Republic. Note that Virgil emphasizes
its mythical nature by dismissing Aeneas through the ivory gate (of
false dreams).
4. Other beliefs: (_a_) The golden bough (vi. 203-9) compared to the
mistletoe, the symbol of the lower world with many Indo-European
peoples; (_b_) Divinities attached to special places, _e.g._ viii.
349-354 of the _religio_ attaching to the Capitol, ii. 351-2 guardian
deities: cf. Carmentis, pater Tiberinus, etc.; (_c_) Worship of the
dead, and belief in their continued influence on human affairs, iii.
66-8, 301-5.
_Political significance._--1. The pre-eminence of the Julian race and
of Augustus himself. Cf. i. 286,
'Nascetur pulchra Troianus origine Caesar,
imperium Oceano, famam qui terminet astris,
Iulius, a magno demissum nomen Iulo.'
So vi. 789 _sqq._
2. The idea of empire: cf. i. 33,
'Tantae molis erat Romanam condere gentem';
and of Rome as the conqueror and civilizer of the world: vi. 851,
'Tu regere imperio populos, Romane, memento:
hae tibi erunt artes, pacisque imponere morem,
parcere subiectis et debellare superbos.'
3. The unity of Italy with Rome is seen in Aeneas and Turnus,
representing respectively the _pietas_ and the martial courage of a
past age. This is brought out also by the introduction of local names.
Cf. vii. 682-5, 710-7, 797-802.
4. Virgil shows here and there contempt for pure democracy: vi. 815,
'iactantior Ancus
nunc quoque iam nimium gaudens popularibus auris.'
Cf. also i. 148-9.
_Authors influenced by Virgil._--Livy, Tacitus, Ovid, Tibullus,
Propertius, Manilius, Lucan, Silius Italicus, Statius, Valerius
Flaccus, Martial, Juvenal, the author of _Aetna_. See under each.
HORACE.
(1) LIFE.
Our chief source of information about Horace is his own works, and
some important details are added in a life of him by Suetonius.
Horace's full name is Quintus (_Sat._ ii. 6, 37) Horatius (_Od._ iv.
6, 44) Flaccus (_Sat._ ii. 1, 18). He was born 8th December, B.C. 65,
at Venusia in Apulia, on the frontier of Lucania.
Sueton. _vit. Hor._, 'Natus est vi. Id. Decembr. L. Cotta et L.
Torquato coss.'
_Ep._ i. 20, 26-8,
'Forte meum siquis te percontabitur aevum,
me quater undenos sciat inplevisse Decembris
collegam Lepidum quo duxit Lollius anno.'
_Sat._ i. 1, 34,
'Lucanus an Appulus anceps:
nam Venusinus arat finem sub utrumque colonus.'
There are a great many references to Apulia in Horace. So _Od._ iii.
4, 9 _sqq._,
'Me fabulosae Volture in Appulo
nutricis extra limina Pulliae' (his nurse's name), etc.
All Roman virtues are attributed to the Apulians, as in _Od._ i. 22,
13; iii. 5, 9; _Epod._ ii. 39-42.
Horace, though free-born (_Sat._ i. 6, 7) was the son of a freedman,
who was by profession a collector of debts, or, according to others, a
fishmonger. To this last story Horace probably refers with proud
humility in _Ep._ ii. 2, 60,
'Bioneis sermonibus et sale nigro.'
Sueton. _vit. Hor._, 'Patre, ut ipse tradit, libertino et auctionum
coactore, ut vero creditum est, salsamentario.'
_Sat._ i. 6, 6,
'Ut me libertino patre natum';
_ibid._ 85,
'Nec timuit, sibi ne vitio quis verteret olim,
si praeco parvas aut, ut fuit ipse, coactor
mercedes sequerer.'
Stories of his childhood are given, _Od._ iii. 4, 9 _sqq._; _Sat._ i.
9, 29 _sqq._; _Sat._ ii. 2, 112 _sqq._
Horace speaks highly of his father, who took him from the village
school to Rome for his education. After speaking of his own freedom
from vice he says (_Sat._ i. 6, 71 _sqq._),
'Causa fuit pater his, qui macro pauper agello
noluit in Flavi ludum me mittere, ...
sed puerum est ausus Romam portare docendum
artis quas doceat quivis eques atque senator
semet prognatos. Vestem servosque sequentis,
in magno ut populo, si qui vidisset, avita
ex re praeberi sumptus mihi crederet illos.
Ipse mihi custos incorruptissimus omnis
circum doctores aderat.'
He received instruction, both in Latin and Greek, from Orbilius,[52] a
teacher of conservative tendencies. _Ep._ ii. 1, 69,
'Non equidem insector delendave carmina Livi
esse reor, memini quae plagosum mihi parvo
Orbilium dictare.'
_Ep._ ii. 2, 41,
'Romae nutriri mihi contigit atque doceri
iratus Graiis quantum nocuisset Achilles.'
His education was continued at Athens. _Ep._ ii. 2, 43,
'Adiecere bonae paulo plus artis Athenae,
scilicet ut vellem curvo dignoscere rectum
atque inter silvas Academi quaerere verum.'
His studies were interrupted by the civil war; he joined Brutus (who
came to Athens in August, B.C. 44), was by him appointed _tribunus
militum_, and took part in the battle of Philippi, B.C. 42. _Ep._ ii.
2, 46,
'Dura sed emovere loco me tempora grato
civilisque rudem belli tulit aestus in arma
Caesaris Augusti non responsura lacertis.'
_Od._ ii. 7, 9,
'Philippos et celerem fugam
sensi, relicta non bene parmula.'
In _Sat._ i. 7 Horace relates a scene at Clazomenae before Brutus and
his staff; and in _Ep._ i. 11 he speaks, as if with personal
knowledge, of places in Asia Minor and the islands of the Aegean,
which he probably visited then. He refers to the hardships of war in
_Od._ ii. 6, 7; ii. 7, 1; iii. 4, 26.
After the civil war his paternal property was confiscated, probably in
B.C. 41, and his poverty compelled him to seek the post of a clerk in
the quaestor's office, and, as he says, to write verses. (Some satires
and epodes were then written.)
Sueton. _vit. Hor._, 'Victis partibus, venia inpetrata, scriptum
quaestorium comparavit.'
_Sat._ ii. 6, 36,
'De re communi scribae magna atque nova te
orabant hodie meminisses, Quinte, reverti.'
_Ep._ ii. 2, 49,
'Unde simul primum me dimisere Philippi,
decisis humilem pennis inopemque paterni
et laris et fundi paupertas inpulit, audax
ut versus facerem.'
In the spring of B.C. 38 Horace was introduced to Maecenas[53] by
Varius and Virgil, and became intimate with him in the winter of B.C.
38-7.
Sueton. _vit. Hor._, 'Primo Maecenati, mox Augusto insinuatus non
mediocrem in amborum amicitia locum tenuit. Maecenas quanto opere eum
dilexerit satis testatur illo epigrammate:
"Ni te visceribus meis, Horati,
plus iam diligo, tu tuum sodalem
Ninnio videas strigosiorem":
sed multo magis extremis iudiciis tali ad Augustum elogio: "Horati
Flacci ut mei esto memor!"'
_Sat._ i. 6, 54,
'Optimus olim
Vergilius, post hunc Varius dixere quid essem ...
Abeo, et revocas nono post mense iubesque (l. 61)
esse in amicorum numero.'
In _Sat._ ii. 6, 40-58 Horace describes how intimate he was socially
with Maecenas, who, however, did not make him a confidant in political
matters. The most noteworthy event of this period is described in
_Sat._ i. 5, viz. Horace's journey to Brundisium in the train of
Maecenas and Cocceius, who went to arrange some matters between
Augustus and Antony. His companions were Virgil, Varius, Plotius, and
the Greek rhetorician, Heliodorus. Plotius, Virgil, and Varius are
thus referred to (_Sat._ i. 5, 41):
'Animae quales neque candidiores
terra tulit neque quis me sit devinctior alter.'[54]
In B.C. 34 Maecenas gave Horace an estate in the country of the
Sabines. The question of its position was settled last century by the
abbé Capmartin de Chaupy. The only place that suits Horace's
description is east of Tivoli, and in the neighbourhood of Vicovaro,
which is the same as the Varia of Horace (_Ep._ i. 14, 3), the
market-town of his tenants. Near it is the stream Licenza, the
Digentia of Horace, on which stands Bardela (the Mandela of Hor.).
_Ep._ i. 18, 104,
'Me quotiens reficit gelidus Digentia rivus,
quem Mandela bibit, rugosus frigore pagus.'
The site of his villa may be pretty closely determined from _Ep._ i.
10, 49,
'Haec tibi dictabam post fanum putre Vacunae.'
Vacuna is a Sabine goddess, identified with Victoria: near the village
an inscription has been found which was erected by Vespasian, 'Aedem
Victoriae vetustate dilapsam sua impensa restituit,' and the natural
inference is that this is the temple mentioned by Horace.[55] Horace
stayed a great deal at his country-house, and his works contain many
references to it.
Sueton. _vit. Hor._, 'Vixit plurimum in secessu ruris sui Sabini aut
Tiburtini, domusque eius ostenditur circa Tiburni luculum.'
_Sat._ ii. 6, 16,
'Ubi me in mentis et in arcem ex urbe removi.'
Other references are _Ep._ i. 16, 1-14; _Od._ ii. 18, 14.
Augustus having tried unsuccessfully to induce Horace to become his
secretary, was not offended at the poet's refusal, but continued to
bestow his favour upon him.
Sueton. _vit. Hor._, 'Augustus epistularum quoque ei officium obtulit,
ut hoc ad Maecenatem scripto significat: "Ante ipse sufficiebam
scribendis epistulis amicorum, nunc occupatissimus et infirmus
Horatium nostrum a te cupio abducere. Veniet ergo ab ista parasitica
mensa ad hanc regiam et nos in epistulis scribendis adiuvabit." Ac ne
recusanti quidem aut succensuit quicquam aut amicitiam suam ingerere
desiit ... unaque et altera liberalitate locupletavit.'
Horace composed for Augustus the _Carmen Saeculare_; _Od._ iv. 4; iv.
14, celebrating the victories of Augustus' step-sons over the
Rhaetians and the Vindelici; also _Ep._ ii. 1.
Sueton. _vit. Hor._, 'Scripta quidem eius usque adeo probavit
mansuraque perpetuo opinatus est, ut non modo Saeculare carmen
componendum iniunxerit sed et Vindelicam victoriam Tiberii Drusique
privignorum suorum eumque coegerit propter hoc tribus carminum libris
ex longo intervallo quartum addere; post sermones vero quosdam lectos
nullam sui mentionem habitam ita sit questus: "Irasci me tibi scito,
quod non in plerisque eius modi scriptis mecum potissimum loquaris; an
vereris ne apud posteros infame tibi sit, quod videaris familiaris
nobis esse?" expresseritque eclogam ad se, cuius initium est:
"Cum tot sustineas et tanta negotia solus,"' etc. (_Ep._ ii. 1).
Horace died 27th November, B.C. 8, and was buried near Maecenas. He
appointed Augustus his heir.
Sueton. _vit. Hor._, 'Decessit v. Kal. Decembris C. Marcio Censorino
et C. Asinio Gallo coss. lvii. aetatis anno, herede Augusto palam
nuncupato; ... et conditus est extremis Esquiliis iuxta Maecenatis
tumulum.'
In personal appearance Horace was 'brevis atque obesus,' according to
Suetonius, who quotes a joke of Augustus on the subject: 'Vereri autem
mihi videris ne maiores libelli tui sint, quam ipse es; sed tibi
statura deest, corpusculum non deest.' Cf. Hor. _Ep._ i. 20, 24,
'Corporis exigui, praecanum, solibus aptum,
irasci celerem, tamen ut placabilis essem';
_Ep._ i. 4, 15,
'Me pinguem et nitidum bene curata cute vises,
cum ridere voles, Epicuri de grege porcum.'
Cf. also _Ep._ i. 7, 25; _Od._ iii. 14, 25.
(2) WORKS.
_Chronology of the Works._--(1) _Satirae_, in two Books (called
_Sermones_ in all the MSS.).
Book i. It is clear from _Sat._ ii. 6, 40 that Horace was introduced
to Maecenas in the spring of B.C. 38. Now all the references to
Maecenas, with the exception of the prologue in _Sat._ 1 (written
last), are in the second half of the book, there being no mention of
him in _Sat._ 2; 3; and 4. It is therefore probable that these three
Satires were written when Horace knew Varius and Virgil, but not
Maecenas, _i.e._ B.C. 40-38. _Sat._ 2 is probably the oldest we have,
as is shown by other considerations, and by the number of archaisms it
contains. _Sat._ 5 (on the journey to Brundisium) was written shortly
after the spring of B.C. 37, when the events recorded took place. The
date of the publication of the book cannot be exactly fixed, the only
clue we have being the reference in _Sat._ i. 10, 86, to Bibulus, the
political agent of Antony, whose presence in Rome B.C. 35 may be
referred to. It cannot be proved that _Sat._ i. 1, 114 _sqq._, is
imitated from Verg. _Georg._ i. 512 _sqq._, published B.C. 35.
Book ii. and the _Epodes_ were published in B.C. 30 about the same
time. We have references to Actium (B.C. 31), as in _Sat._ ii. 5, 63;
and _Sat._ ii. 1 (written last) speaks of Augustus (ll. 11-15) as the
hero in war, not yet the bringer of peace, and was probably therefore
composed before the temple of Janus was shut in the beginning of B.C.
29.
(2) _Epodon liber_, B.C. 30, as above. _Epod._ 9 was written shortly
after the battle of Actium, 2nd September, B.C. 31, before it was
known whither Antony had fled.
(3) _Carmina_ (Odes) Books i.-iii., published B.C. 23. In _Od._ i. 12,
45,
'Crescit occulto velut arbor aevo
fama Marcellis,'
we have a reference to the marriage in B.C. 25 of Augustus' daughter,
Julia, to his nephew, Marcellus. Marcellus died in the autumn of B.C.
23, and the lines must have been written before his death. _Od._ ii.
10 and iii. 19 contain references to Licinius Murena, brother of
Terentia, Maecenas' wife. Murena was executed for his share in the
conspiracy of Fannius Caepio in the end of B.C. 23, and it is
improbable that Horace could have made these references after that
event.[56]
(4) _Epistles_, Book i., published B.C. 20. The date is fixed by _Ep._
i. 20, 26-8, already quoted, p. 164.
The year referred to is B.C. 21, and the book was therefore composed
in B.C. 20, before December of that year.
(5) _Carmen Saeculare_, composed for the _Ludi Saeculares_ of B.C. 17
(see Sueton. quoted above). An inscription commemorating these games
was discovered in 1890 on the left bank of the Tiber, and in it Horace
is mentioned: 'Sacrificioque perfecto pueri xxvi. quibus denuntiatum
erat patrimi et matrimi et puellae totidem carmen cecinerunt eodemque
modo in Capitolio. Carmen composuit Q. Horatius Flaccus.'[57]
(6) _Odes_, Book iv., published B.C. 13. _Od._ 4 and 14 celebrate the
campaign of Drusus and Tiberius in Rhaetia and Vindelicia B.C. 15.
_Od._ 2 and 5 were written just before Augustus' return, B.C. 13, from
Gaul, where he had been since B.C. 16.
(7) _Epistles_, Book ii. _Ep._ ii. 1, to Augustus, was written B.C. 14
in response (see the quotation from Suetonius above) to the emperor's
request for a poem addressed to himself, after seeing that no mention
was made of him in _Ep._ ii. 2 and the _Epistula ad Pisones_. These
are the _sermones quidam_ (both, like _Ep._ ii. 1, on literary
criticism) referred to by Suetonius, and not Book i. of the Epistles,
where Augustus is frequently mentioned. The date is fixed by l. 15,
'praesenti tibi maturos largimur honores,' etc., referring to the
worship of the _numen Augusti_, which was legalized B.C. 14, and by
the reference in ll. 252 _sqq._ to the victories of Drusus and
Tiberius, and their celebration in _Od._ iv. 4; iv. 14. _Ep._ ii. 2
(to Iulius Florus) was written B.C. 18. Horace hints (l. 25, ll. 84-6)
that he has not yet returned to lyric poetry; the epistle was
therefore written before B.C. 17. The _Epistula ad Pisones_ or _De
Arte Poetica_ was probably written B.C. 17 or 16 after the _Carmen
Saeculare_, but before Horace had entered on the composition of the
fourth Book of the Odes.
The _Satires_ are called _Sermones_ in all the MSS., but as Horace
gave this name both to his Satires (_Sat._ i. 4, 42) and to his
Epistles (_Ep._ ii. 1, 4; 250) it is convenient to call them
_Satirae_, the name which Horace also gives them (_Sat._ ii. 1, 1; 6,
17), and which represent their intended scope. Horace's chief model is
Lucilius, whom he wished to adapt to the Augustan age. _Sat._ i. 4, 56,
'his, ego quae nunc,
olim quae scripsit Lucilius.'
So _Sat._ ii. 1, 28 and 74. Lucilius' influence is seen most in _Sat._
i. 2; 5; 7; 8; ii. 2; 3; 4; 8. Horace, after the reception _Sat._ i. 2
met with, did not, like Lucilius, attack individuals; nor did his
position as a dependent (_Sat._ ii. 1, 60-79) allow him to do so. We
find, therefore, no political satire in Horace, who confines himself to
social and literary topics. He does not attack his contemporaries by
name, but (_a_) takes some names from Lucilius, as Albucius (_Sat._ ii.
1, 48), Opimius (_Sat._ ii. 3, 142); (_b_) invents 'tell-tale-names,' as
Pantolabus (_Sat._ i. 8, 11), Novius (_Sat._ i. 3, 21). In _Sat._ i. 4
and ii. 1 he defines the moral and social aim of his satire. In _Sat._
i. 4, 1-13 he criticizes Lucilius' style; this seems to have given
offence, and in _Sat._ i. 10 he gives reasons for his former criticism.
Horace's Epicureanism is more pronounced in Book i. than in Book ii. In
_Sat._ i. 1 and i. 3 (cf. ll. 99-124) the influence of Lucretius is
seen. In i. 3 he takes up an antagonistic position to Stoicism (cf. ll.
124-142). In ii. 3 he shows less hostility to Stoicism though he still
criticizes it.[58] In _Sat._ ii. 7, where the slave Davus enunciates the
Stoic doctrine, +hoti monos ho sophos eleutheros+, Davus' arguments from
l. 75 onwards have been taken by Horace from Cic. _Parad._ 5.
Horace does not pretend that his Satires (or Epistles) are poetry, and
makes several statements to that effect. _Sat._ ii. 6, 17,
'Quid prius inlustrem satiris musaque pedestri?'
_Ep._ ii. 1, 250,
'Sermones ... repentes per humum.'
So _Sat._ i. 4, 39-44.
The _Epodes_ are called _Epodi_ in the MSS. +Epôdos+ was the
name given to a piece composed of couplets, the first line of which is
longer than the second. Horace calls them _iambi_ (_Epod._ 14, 7;
_Od._ i. 16, 3). Their style is an imitation of that of Archilochus of
Paros. _Ep._ i. 19, 23-5,
'Parios ego primus iambos
ostendi Latio, numeros animosque secutus
Archilochi, non res et agentia verba Lycamben.'
This is seen in the personal attacks made in many of them, as well as
in the +aischrologia+ employed, and also in the versification.
The dates of several can be fixed. _Epod._ 16 was written B.C. 41, and
refers to the Perusian war. Horace takes no part with either side, but
advises his countrymen to leave Rome, like the Phocaeans of old.
_Epod._ 7 was written B.C. 39; and _Epod._ 1, 9, and 14, about B.C.
31. The order is strictly metrical. Epodes 1-10 are simple iambics
(trimeter and dimeter alternately); 11-16 more complicated forms; 17,
the last, in iambic trimeters.
The _Odes_ Horace himself calls _carmina_. The metres are nearly all
taken from Sappho and Alcaeus, the two poets whose works Horace wished
to present to his countrymen in a Roman dress. Cf. _Od._ iii. 30,
13-4,
'Princeps Aeolium carmen ad Italos
deduxisse modos.'
The metrical differences between himself and his originals are due to
the difference in the genius of the two languages and to the fact that
he adopted the views on metre current in his time. Catullus' metre, on
the other hand, was closely modelled on that of the Alexandrian poets.
The odes are largely founded on the best Greek lyric poetry, with
which Horace was thoroughly familiar; cf. his first intention to write
in Greek (_Sat._ i. 10, 31-5). Alexandrian influence is little seen,
and his mythological allusions are seldom obscure. Examples of
imitation (which is commonest in Book i.) are: _Od._ i. 9, the
beginning of which is from Alcaeus (so i. 10; 11; 18); i. 12
(beginning) is from Pindar; i. 27 from Anacreon. Bacchylides is
imitated, _e.g._ in ii. 18.
_Subjects of the Odes._--1. Love and wine form the themes of many.
_Od._ i. 6, 17,
'Nos convivia, nos proelia virginum
sectis in iuvenes unguibus acrium
cantamus.'
Cf. _Od._ ii. 1, 37-40; iii. 3, 69-72.
The love-poems show no trace of personal passion, and the names of the
women whose charms are sung are taken from Greek; thus Pyrrha (a
well-known name from Attic comedy) i. 5; Lydia, i. 13, etc.; Lalage,
i. 22; ii. 5. Cinara (iv. 1; iv. 13) is probably the only one that
represents a real person. Wine is celebrated, _e.g._ in i. 9; 18; 27;
ii. 7; iii. 21. A tone of moderation is observed throughout the
drinking-songs. It is highly probable[59] that in _Od._ i. 27, 1-4 the
unrestrained bacchanalian spirit of Catullus (cf. c. 27) is reproved,
'Natis in usum laetitiae scyphis
pugnare Thracum est. Tollite barbarum
morem verecundumque Bacchum
sanguineis prohibete rixis.'
2. In _Od._ i. 24 we have the beautiful dirge on the death of
Quintilius Varus.
3. _On political subjects._--The chief of these are as follows: i. 2
(towards the end of B.C. 28); i. 12; i. 14; i. 35 (in B.C. 26); i. 37
(in B.C. 30); ii. 1. The most important, however, are _Od._ iii. 1-6,
which form one whole, and are written on the new name of Augustus, and
the ideas therewith connected. They were all written about B.C.
27.[60]
In iii. 1, which is general, the rising generation is addressed by the
prophet of the empire; ll. 3, 4,
'Musarum sacerdos
virginibus puerisque canto.'
The lesson of the ode is 'A moderate life is the best. Lucky is the
man who is spared the trouble of managing the State.'
iii. 2 praises courage and honesty, but with special reference to two
institutions of Augustus: (1) the professional soldier as opposed to
the citizen-soldier of the republic. The officers were taken from the
two privileged classes, and there was no promotion from the ranks.
This is the explanation of ll. 1-4,
'Angustam amice pauperiem pati
robustus acri militia puer
condiscat et Parthos ferocis
vexet eques,'
lines which also refer to the resuscitation by Augustus of the
citizen-cavalry. The soldier is not to trouble about politics (ll.
17-20), and must not fear death (l. 13). (2) The new imperial
administrative officers, employed not only in collecting taxes, but in
administrative business of every kind. Speaking of them, Horace pays a
tribute to loyal silence, and emphasizes the curse that clings to
breach of faith; l. 25,
'Est et fideli tuta silentio
merces';
l. 31,
'Raro antecedentem scelestum
deseruit pede Poena claudo.'
iii. 3 touches intimately the political questions of the day. Pointed
reference is made to Cleopatra; she is the _mulier peregrina_ (l. 20),
the _Lacaena adultera_ (l. 25), who brought Troy low, and would bring
Rome low, if she and her _famosus hospes_ (l. 26) could raise Troy
again. The reference here is to a report current about Antony, that he
intended to make Troy the capital. It is certain that he intended to
restore to Cleopatra her kingdom with extended frontiers, and to make
himself ruler of the Eastern empire. This, which would have meant the
subjection of Rome to the Greeks and half-Greeks, was prevented by the
'iustum et tenacem propositi virum' (l. i), who for his services is
honoured as one of the gods; ll. 11-12,
'Quos inter Augustus recumbens
purpureo bibit ore nectar.'
In iii. 4 the poet's personality comes out strongest. He describes his
protection by the Muses in his early years, and this leads him to
speak of one of the monarch's chief works of peace, his encouragement
of literature; ll. 37-40,
'Vos Caesarem altum, militia simul
fessas cohortes abdidit oppidis,
finire quaerentem labores
Pierio recreatis antro.'
iii. 5 is a defence of Augustus' foreign policy. Publicly he kept up
Caesar's war policy, hence ll. 2-5,
'Praesens divus habebitur
Augustus adiectis Britannis
imperio gravibusque Persis';
but that this concealed his real policy of non-intervention is shown
by his action regarding Parthia. Hence Horace, by a speech put into
the mouth of Regulus (l. 18 _sqq._) warns the Romans against trying to
rescue the survivors of Crassus' army, who, by becoming captives, had
ceased to be citizens. That some of the Senate wished to interfere in
this matter is probably shown by ll. 45-6,
'Donec labantis consilio patres
firmaret auctor numquam alias dato.'
iii. 6 refers (ll. 1-8) to Augustus' policy in restoring the ancient
religion, as is seen by the fact that he rebuilt 82 temples. Lines
21-32 refer to a law of Augustus on adultery, the date of which is
unknown.
In Book iv., Odes 2, 4, 5, 6, 14, 15, are political. They show traces
of adulation, and sing the praises rather of the imperial family than
of the nation. Cf. iv. 2, 37 (of Augustus),
'Quo nihil maius meliusve terris
fata donavere bonique divi,' etc.
The _Epistles_.--_Sermones_ is the name given them by Horace; they are
also called _Epistulae_ in the MSS. Social, ethical, and literary
questions are treated of, and the style is much more careful than that
of the Satires. The motto, one might say, of the book is _Ep._ i. 1,
10.
'Nunc itaque et versus et cetera ludicra pono:
quid verum atque decens, curo et rogo et omnis in hoc sum.'
The dates of _Ep._ ii. 1, 2, have already been mentioned. Both treat
of literary criticism, and the first deals particularly with that of
the drama. Iulius Florus, to whom _Ep._ ii. 2 is addressed, was the
representative of the younger literary school at Rome. The _Epistula
ad Pisones_ or _De Arte Poetica_ is an essay in verse on literary
criticism, specially pointing out how necessary art is to composition.
In it, according to Porphyrion, Horace 'congessit praecepta Neoptolemi
+tou Parianou+[61] de arte poetica, non quidem omnia, sed
eminentissima.' Horace probably was also indebted to Aristotle's
_Poetics_. Porphyrion says that Horace wrote the _Ars Poetica_ 'ad L.
Pisonem qui postea urbis custos fuit eiusque liberos.' This does not
fit in with the probable date, B.C. 17 or 16, as L. Piso was born B.C.
49, and his sons could not have been old enough for the letter to be
addressed to them. It is probable that Porphyrion is wrong, and that
the _A.P._ was addressed to Cn. Piso, who served with Horace under
Brutus, and his two sons.
_Horace and nature._--Besides references to his Sabine villa, Horace
refers to natural scenery in many passages. Such are _Epod._ 2; _Od._
i. 7, 10; ii. 6, 13; iii. 13, 9; _Sat._ ii. 6, 1 _sqq._; _Ep._ i. 10,
6 _sqq._, i. 16, 1 _sqq._[62] Horace is fond of comparing dangers to
the plague of floods,[63] a plague from which Italy has always
suffered. Cf. _Od._ i. 31, 7,
'rura quae Liris quieta
mordet aqua taciturnus amnis.'
So _Od._ iii. 29, 32 _sqq._, and many other passages.
_Popularity of Horace._--Horace's prediction that his works would
become school-books, _Ep._ i. 20, 17,
'Hoc quoque te manet, ut pueros elementa docentem
occupet extremis in vicis balba senectus,'
was early fulfilled. Cf. Iuv. 7, 226,
'Quot stabant pueri, cum totus decolor esset
Flaccus et haereret nigro fuligo Maroni.'
CONTEMPORARY POETS:
The following writers were friends of Horace:
(_a_) _C. Valgius Rufus_, consul suffectus B.C. 12, belonged to the
circle of Maecenas (Hor. _Sat._ i. 10, 82).
Valgius' works, of which only a few lines are extant, included (1)
Elegiae. Cf. Hor. _Od._ ii. 9, 9-12,
'Tu semper urges flebilibus modis
Mysten ademptum, nec tibi Vespero
surgente decedunt amores
nec rapidum fugiente solem.'
(2) Epigrammata, (3) Miscellanies, (4) A translation of Apollodorus'
+technê+. (See Quint. iii. 1, 18.) (5) A book on herbs.
(Pliny, _N.H._ xxv. 4.) An epic was also expected of him, but whether
written is unknown. Tibull. iv. 1, 179,
'Est tibi, qui possit magnis se adcingere rebus,
Valgius; aeterno propior non alter Homero.'
(_b_) _M. Aristius Fuscus_, a poet and grammarian (Porphyr. _ad Sat._
i. 9, 60); _Od._ i. 22, and _Ep._ i. 10, are addressed to him.
(_c_) The _Visci_. Comm. Cruq. _ad Sat._ i. 10, 83, 'Visci duo fratres
fuerunt optimi poetae et iudices critici.'
(_d_) _C. Fundanius_, wrote comedies (Porphyr. _ad Sat._ i. 10, 40).
(_e_) _Servius Sulpicius_, a love poet (Ovid, _Trist._ ii. 441; Hor.
_Sat._ i. 10, 86).
(_f_) _Iulius Florus_ was 'saturarum scriptor' (Porphyr. _ad Hor. Ep._
i. 3, 1). Hor. _Ep._ i. 3 and ii. 2, are addressed to him.
(_g_) _Titius_ wrote Pindaric odes, and tragedies, Hor. _Ep._ i. 3,
9-14.
(_h_) _Albinovanus Celsus_. See Hor. _Ep._ i. 3, 15-7.
(_i_) _C. Iullus Antonius_, B.C. 44-B.C. 2, was a son of the triumvir
M. Antonius. The Schol. on Hor. _Od._ iv. 2, 2, says of him, "Heroico
metro Diomedeam scripsit et nonnulla alia soluta oratione."
(_k_) _Furnius_, an orator; died B.C. 37. He is mentioned by Hor.
_Sat._ i. 10, 86.
Other poets contemporary with Virgil and Horace are:
(_a_) _L. Varius Rufus_ (cf. Verg. _Ecl._ 9, 35). His works were:
(1) Epics (_a_) on the death of Julius Caesar (Macrob. _Saturn._ vi.
1, 39), (_b_) in praise of Augustus. Hor. _Ep._ i. 16, 27-29 is a
quotation from this poem (Acron _ad loc._), and it is probably
referred to in _Od._ i. 6, 1 (to Agrippa),
'Scriberis Vario fortis et hostium
victor Maeonii carminis aliti,
quam rem cumque ferox navibus aut equis
miles te duce gesserit.'
(2) A tragedy, _Thyestes_, praised by Quint. x. 1, 98, 'iam Varii
Thyestes cuilibet Graecarum comparari potest.'
(3) Elegies: Porphyr. ad Hor. _Od._ i. 6, 1, 'fuit L. Varius et ipse
carminis et tragoediarum et elegiorum auctor.'
(_b_) _Aemilius Macer_ was a native of Verona, and died B.C. 16:
Jerome yr. Abr. 2001, 'Aemilius Macer Veronensis poeta in Asia
moritur.' He was a friend of Virgil, and was the 'Mopsus' of _Ecl._ 5,
according to Serv. _ad loc._ Ovid in his youth enjoyed his
acquaintance; cf. _Tr._ iv. 10, 43, where three didactic poems are
referred to: (1) _Ornithogonia_, on birds; (2) _Theriaca_, on venomous
serpents; (3) _De Herbis_, on plants.
For his obligations to Nicander, see under 'Virgil,' p. 158.
Quintilian calls him 'humilis' (x. 1, 87).
(_c_) _C. Cornelius Gallus_ was born at Forum Iulii B.C. 70, and died
by his own hand B.C. 27. Jerome yr. Abr. 1990, 'Cornelius Gallus
Foroiuliensis poeta ... xliii. aetatis suae anno propria se manu
interficit.' Having commanded a division in the war against Antony, he
was appointed by Octavian the first prefect of Egypt, B.C. 30, but
incurred his anger and was banished from Caesar's house and provinces
(Sueton. _Aug._ 66). The cause of his downfall was indiscreet language
about Augustus, according to Ovid, _Tr._ ii. 445,
'Non fuit opprobrio celebrasse Lycorida Gallo,
sed linguam nimio non tenuisse mero';
and _Am._ iii. 9, 63,
'Tu quoque, si falsum est temerati crimen amici,
sanguinis atque animae prodige, Galle, tuae.'
The tenth eclogue of Virgil is a testimony to his friendship for
Gallus, l. 2,
'Pauca meo Gallo, sed quae legat ipsa Lycoris,
carmina sunt dicenda; neget quis carmina Gallo?'
Lines 44-49 are said by Servius, _ad loc._, to be quoted from Gallus
('de ipsius translati carminibus'). For the tribute to Gallus in the
original draft of _Georgic_ iv. see under 'Virgil,' p. 157.
He wrote four Books of love-poems to Cytheris, the _liberta_ who
afterwards deserted him for Antony: Serv. _ad Ecl._ x. 1, 'amorum
suorum de Cytheride scripsit libros iv.' According to Servius he also
translated the poems of Euphorion of Chalcis. Cf. Verg. _Ecl._ x. 50,
'Ibo et Chalcidico quae sunt mihi condita versu
carmina pastoris Siculi modulabor avena.'
Compared with Tibullus and Propertius, he was 'durior' (Quint. x. 1,
93).
(_d_) _Codrus_, mentioned by Virgil, _Ecl._ 7, 22 and 26; 5, 11, was a
contemporary poet (Serv. _ad Ecl._ 7), and was praised by Valgius
(Schol. Veron. _ad loc._), but nothing is known of his writings. The
name is not Roman, and is probably a disguised form of Cordus. He is
sometimes identified with the Iarbitas of Hor. _Ep._ i. 19, 15.
(_e_) _Bavius_ and _Mevius_ were enemies of Virgil and Horace. Verg.
_Ecl._ 3, 90,
'Qui Bavium non odit, amet tua carmina, Mevi.'
Horace, _Epod._ 10, prays for the shipwreck of Mevius. He wrote about
the prodigal son of the actor Aesopus (Porphyr. ad Hor. _Sat._ ii. 3,
239). Bavius died B.C. 35, according to Jerome.
(_f_) _Anser_ wrote a poem in praise of Antony, and was rewarded with
a grant of land (Serv. _ad Ecl._ 9, 36; Cic. _Phil._ xiii. 11). He is
mentioned by Ovid, _Tr._ ii. 435,
'Cinna quoque his comes est, Cinnaque procacior Anser.'
Servius sees an allusion to him in _Ecl._ 9, 36,
'Argutos inter strepere anser olores.'
(_g_) _Domitius Marsus_. His epigram on Tibullus (see p. 186) shows
that he was alive in B.C. 19; he was, however, dead when Ovid was
exiled in A.D. 8.
Ovid, _Ex Pont._ iv. 16, 3,
'Famaque post cineres maior venit; et mihi nomen
tunc quoque, cum vivis adnumerarer, erat,
cum foret et Marsus, magnique Rabirius oris,
Iliacusque Macer sidereusque Pedo.'
He was a member of Augustus' literary circle. Mart. viii. 56, 21,
'Quid Varios Marsosque loquar, ditataque vatum
nomina, magnus erit quos numerare labor?'
His works were:
1. _Cicuta_, a collection of epigrams, often referred to by Martial.
Cf. ii. 71, 3,
'aut Marsi recitas aut scripta Catulli.'
2. _Amazonis_, an epic poem.[64] Mart. iv. 29, 7,
'Saepius in libro memoratur Persius uno
quam levis in tota Marsus Amazonide.'
3. _Amores_ or _Elegiae_. Mart. vii. 29, 7,
'Et Maecenati, Maro cum cantaret Alexin,
nota tamen Marsi fusca Melaenis erat.'
4. _Fabellae_.
5. _De Urbanitate_ (in prose). Quint. vi. 3, 102, 'Domitius Marsus,
qui de urbanitate diligentissime scripsit.'
(_h_) _Pupius_, a tragedian, sneered at by Hor. _Ep._ i. 1, 67,
'lacrimosa poemata Pupi.'
(_i_) _C. Melissus_, a freedman of Maecenas, invented the _trabeata_,
a variety of the _togata_.
Sueton. _Gramm._ 21, 'Fecit et novum genus togatarum inscripsitque
trabeatas.'
TIBULLUS.
(1) LIFE.
Albius Tibullus (his praenomen was perhaps Aulus, which, from the
abbreviation A. being followed by Albius, was lost in the MSS.) seems
to have been born near Pedum in Latium. (1) Horace, in _Ep._ i. 4, 2,
addressed to Tibullus, asks, 'Quid nunc te dicam facere in regione
Pedana?' apparently referring to the 'sedes avitae' of Tibullus
(Tibull. ii. 4, 53). (2) The Life contained in the best MSS., and
probably to be attributed to Suetonius, calls him 'Albius Tibullus,
eques Romanus' (codd. Paris. and Lips. 'regulis'). Bährens
(_Tibullische Blätter_) holds that _Romanus_ is an erroneous
correction of _regulis_, for which he proposes to read _R._ (=
Romanus) _e Gabis_ (= Gabiis). Gabii was within a short distance of
Pedum.
The date of his birth can be fixed only by indirect evidence.
(1) The Life says 'obiit adulescens,' and the epigram of Domitius
Marsus, found in the best MSS., calls Tibullus 'iuvenis' at the time
of his death, which must have occurred about the same time as
Virgil's, in B.C. 19,
'Te quoque Vergilio comitem non aequa, Tibulle,
mors iuvenem campos misit ad Elysios,
ne foret aut elegis molles qui fleret amores
aut caneret forti regia bella pede.'
(2) Ovid (_Tr._ iv. 10, 53) says of Tibullus,
'Successor fuit hic tibi, Galle, Propertius illi.'
Since Gallus was born B.C. 70, and Propertius about B.C. 49, the birth
of Tibullus must have fallen between those years.
(3) Tibullus accompanied Messalla when he left for Aquitania, B.C. 30
or 29, according to the Life: 'Ante alios Corvinum Messallam oratorem
dilexit, cuius etiam contubernalis Aquitanico bello militaribus donis
donatus est.' Cf. Tibull. i. 7, 9,
'Non sine me est tibi partus honos; Tarbella Pyrene
testis et Oceani litora Santonici.'
Putting together these references we may place the date of Tibullus'
birth in B.C. 54. (The statement of the Life in the Codex
Guelferbytanus, 'Natus est Hyrtio et Pansa coss.' is clearly wrong).
He was of equestrian rank, and at one time possessed considerable
wealth, apparently inherited from a long line of ancestors; i. 1, 41,
'Non ego divitias patrum fructusque requiro
quos tulit antiquo condita messis avo.'
Cf. ii. 1, 1; ii. 4, 53; Hor. _Ep._ i. 4, 7,
'Di tibi divitias dederunt.'
His family property, however, had been greatly diminished; i. 1, 19,
'Vos quoque, felicis quondam nunc pauperis agri
custodes, fertis munera vestra, lares:
tunc vitula innumeros lustrabat caesa iuvencos;
nunc agna exigui est hostia parva soli.'
Cf. i. 1, 5 and 37.
It has been supposed that Tibullus suffered these losses in the
agrarian disturbances of B.C. 41, and that his lands, like those of
Virgil and Propertius, were confiscated. No town in Latium, however,
is mentioned by Appian as having its territory thus assigned.
Tibullus' property may possibly have been restored to him through the
influence of Messalla.[65] Cf. Hor. _Ep._ i. 4, 11,
'Et mundus victus non deficiente crumena';
also Tibull. i. 1, 77,
'Ego composito securus acervo
despiciam dites despiciamque famem.'
Of Messalla Tibullus always speaks with the greatest affection. He
refused at first to accompany him to the East after the battle of
Actium, but afterwards followed him, and was forced through illness to
remain at Corcyra: i. 1, 53,
'Te bellare decet terra, Messalla, marique,
ut domus hostiles praeferat exuvias:
me retinent vinctum formosae vincla puellae';
i, 3, 3,
'Me tenet ignotis aegrum Phaeacia terris.'
In the Aquitanian campaign he was Messalla's _contubernalis_, and had
military distinctions conferred on him (see p. 186).
No further particulars of Tibullus are known, save his love for his
mistresses Delia and Nemesis, and the fact mentioned by Ovid, in a
poem on his death, that his mother and sister survived him; _Amor._
iii. 9, 50,
'Mater et in cineres ultima dona tulit.
Hinc soror in partem misera cum matre doloris
venit inornatas dilaniata comas.'
Delia's real name was Plania (+dêlos+ = _planus_): cf.
Apuleius, _Apol._ 10, 'eadem igitur opera accusent ... Tibullum quod
ei sit Plania in animo Delia in versu.' She was a _libertina_, for the
name is not known as a _nomen gentilicium_, and she had had a husband
(i. 2, 41, 'coniunx tuus'), who appears to have been serving with the
army in Cilicia: i. 2, 65,
'Ferreus ille fuit, qui te cum posset habere,
maluerit praedas stultus et arma sequi.
Ille licet Cilicum victas agat ante catervas,' etc.
A divorce had probably taken place, as she was not entitled to wear
the distinctive dress of the Roman matron; i. 6, 67,
'Sit modo casta, doce, quamvis non vitta ligatos
impediat crines nec stola longa pedes.'
Nemesis was a _meretrix_; ii. 4, 14,
'Illa cava pretium flagitat usque manu.'
She appears to be the 'immitis Glycera' of Hor. _Od._ i. 33, 2,
addressed to Albius (so Kiessling _ad loc._). Both Delia and Nemesis
are represented by Ovid as present at the funeral of Tibullus. _Amor._
iii. 9, 53,
'Cumque tuis sua iunxerunt Nemesisque priorque
oscula nec solos destituere rogos.'
Tibullus was on friendly terms with Horace, who addressed to him _Od._
i. 33 and _Ep._ i. 4. Horace was doubtless attracted by the frank
nature of Tibullus (_Ep._ i. 4, 1, 'Albi, nostrorum sermonum candide
iudex'), and by the community of taste which led them both to imitate
the classical Ionic rather than the Alexandrian elegy. Horace
corroborates the statement of Life i. ('insignis forma cultuque
corporis observabilis') that Tibullus had a fine presence; _ibid._ 1.
6,
'Non tu corpus eras sine pectore: di tibi formam,
di tibi divitias dederunt artemque fruendi.'
Ovid had met and admired him, and has numerous imitations of him in
his poems; but the difference of age and the early death of Tibullus
prevented any long acquaintance; Ovid, _Tr._ iv. 10, 51,
'Nec amara Tibullo
tempus amicitiae fata dedere meae.'
Of friendship between Propertius and Tibullus there is no evidence:
they never mention one another.
(2) WORKS.
Four Books of elegiac poems are attributed to Tibullus, who ranks
first among Roman elegists in the view of Quintilian, x. 1, 93,
'Elegia quoque Graecos provocamus, cuius mihi tersus atque elegans
maxime videtur auctor Tibullus.'
Book i., on the poet's love for Delia and Marathus (_El._ 7 is to
Messalla), was published by himself, and was apparently composed in
the years B.C. 31-27. This agrees with Ovid, _Tr._ ii. 463,
'Legiturque Tibullus
et placet, et iam te principe notus erat,'
if we assume that 'principe' refers to the title of Augustus.