596. In 101 A.D. at the age of seventy-five.
597. Epict.diss.iii. 8. 7.
598. Mart. xi. 48:
Silius haec magni celebrat monumenta Maronis, iugera facundi qui Ciceronis habet. heredem dominumque sui tumulive larisve non alium mallet nec Maro nec Cicero.
That it was the Tusculanum and not the Cumanum of Cicero that Silius possessed is an inference fromC.I.L.xix. 2653, found at Tusculum: 'D.M. Crescenti Silius Italicus Collegium salutarem.'
599. Enn.Ann.vii, viii, ix.
600. Sec p. 103.
601. i. 55.
602. iv. 727.
603. viii. 28.
604. x. 349.
605. ix. 484.
606. xvii. 523.
607. iv. 675.
608. xi. 387.
609. ix. 439.
610. ii. 395.
611. xvi. 288.
612. ii. 36.
613. iii. 222 and viii. 356.
614. xiii. 395.
615. e.g. the Funeral Games, the choice of Scipio (xv. 20), the Nekuia.
616. At Nola.
617. Cp. x. 628 'quod … Laomedontiadum non desperaverit urbi'. The tastelessLaomedontiadumas a learned equivalent forRomanorumis characteristic. Silius has theAeneidin his mind when he chooses this word: his literary proclivities lead him astray; where he should be most strong he is most feeble.
618.Vide infrafor his treatment of Paulus' dead body after Cannae.
619. Trebia, iv. 480-703; Trasimene, v. 1-678; Cannae, ix. l78-x. 578.
620. Mart, vii. 90.
621. See p. 123, note.
622. Bk. vi.
623. xii. 212-67, where the death of Cinyps clad in Paulus' armour is described, are pretty enough, but too frankly an imitation of Vergil to be worth quoting. The simile 247-50 is, however, new and quite picturesque.
624. Sights of Naples, xii. 85; Tides at Pillars of Hercules, iii. 46; Legend of Pan, xiii. 313; Sicily, xiv. 1-50; Fabii, vii. 20; Anna Perenna, viii. 50; Bacchus at Falernum, vii. 102; Trasimenus, v. ad init.
625. See note on p. 13.
626. Plin.Ep.i. 13.
627. Mart. vii. 63.
628. On the modern Cerro de Bambola near the Moorish town of El Calatayud.
629. Cp. ix. 52, x. 24, xii. 60.
630. Cp. v. 34.
631. ix. 73. 7.
632. In x. 103. 7, written in 98 A. D., he tells us that it is thirty-four years since he left Spain.
633. iv. 40, xii. 36.
634. He is found rendering poetic homage to Polla, the wife of Lucan, as late as 96 A. D., x. 64, vii. 21-3. For his reverence for the memory of Lucan, cp. i. 61. 7; vii. 21, 22; xiv. 194.
635. Cp. his regrets for the ease of his earlier clienthood and the generosity of the Senecas, xii. 36.
636. ii. 30; cp. 1. 5:
is mihi 'dives eris, si causas egeris' inquit. quod peto da, Gai: non peto consilium.
637. Vide his epigramspassim.
638. xiii. 42, xiii. 119. Perhaps the gift of Seneca, cp. Friedländer on Mart. i. 105.
639. ix. 18, ix. 97. 7, x. 58. 9.
640. Such is the most plausible interpretation of iii. 95. 5, ix. 97. 5:
tribuit quod Caesar uterque ius mihi natorum (uterque, i.e. Titus and Domitian).
641. iii. 95, v. 13, ix. 49, xii. 26.
642. iii. 95. 11, vi. 10. 1.
643. xiii. 4 gives Domitian his title of Germanicus, assumed after war with Chatti in 84; xiv. 34 alludes to peace; no allusion to subsequent wars.
644. I, II. Perhaps published together. This would account for length of preface. II. Largely composed of poems referring to reigns of Vespasian and Titus. Reference to Domitian's censorship shows that I was not published before 85. There is no hint of outbreak of Dacian War, which raged in 86.
III. Since bk. IV contains allusion to outbreak of revolt of Antonius Saturninus towards end of 88 (11) and is published at Rome, whereas III was published atCornelii forum(1), III probably appeared in 87 or 88.
IV. Contains reference to birthday of Domitian, Oct. 24 (1. 7), and seems then to allude toludi saeculares(Sept. 88). Reference to snowfall at Rome (2 and 13) suggests winter. Perhaps therefore published inSaturnaliaof 88.
V. Domitian has returned to Italy (1) from Dacian War, but there is no reference to his triumph (Oct. 1, 89 A. D.). Book therefore probably published in early autumn of 89.
VI. Domitian has held his triumph (4. 2 and 10. 7). Julia (13) is dead (end of 89). Book probably published in 90, perhaps in summer. Friedländer sees allusion to Agon Capitolinus (Summer, 90) in vi. 77.
VII. 5-8 refer to Domitian's return from Sarmatic War. He has not yet arrived. These epigrams are among last in book. He returned in January 93. His return was announced as imminent in Dec. 92.
VIII. 21 describes Domitian's arrival; 26, 30, and others deal with festivities in this connexion. 65 speaks of temple of Fortuna Redux and triumphal arch built in Domitian's honour. They are mentioned as if completed. 66 speaks of consulate of Silius Italicus' son beginning Sept. 1, 93.
IX. 84 is addressed to Appius Norbanus Maximus, who has been six years absent from Rome. He went to Upper Germany to crush Antonius Saturninus in 88. 35 refers to Agon Capitolinus in summer of 94.
X. Two editions published. We possess later and larger. Cp. x. 2. 70. 1 suggests a year's interval between IX and X. X, ed. 1 was therefore perhaps published in Dec. 95. X, ed. 2 has references to accession of Trajan, Jan. 25, 98 A. D. (6, 7 and 34). Martial's departure for Spain is imminent.
XI. 1 is addressed to Parthenius, executed in middle of 97 A. D. xii. 5 refers to a selection made from X and XI, perhaps from presentation to Nerva; cp. xii. 11.
XII. In preface Martial apologizes for three years' silence (1. 9) from publication of X. ed. 2. xii. 3. 10 refers to Stella's consulship, Oct. 101 or 102. Three years' interval points to 101. It was published late in the year; cp. 1 and 62. Some epigrams in this book were written at Rome. But M. says that it was writtenpaucissimis diebus. This must refer only to Spanish epigrams, or the book must have been enlarged after M.'s death.
For the whole question see Friedländer Introd., pp. 50 sqq.
645. iii. 1 and 4.
646. Cp. xi. 3.
647. xii. 21, xii. 31. There is no reason to suppose with some critics that she was his wife.
648. xii. praef. 'civitatis aures quibus adsueveram quaero.'
649. Ib. 'accedit his municipalium robigo dentium.'
650. See p. 271. It is hard to avoid the conclusion that this silence was due to dislike or jealousy.
651. Mackail,Greek Anthol., Introd., p. 5.
652. Domitius Marsus was famous for his epigrams, as also Calvus, Gaetulicus, Pedo, and others.
653. See p. 36.
654. See p. 134.
655. The best of his erotic poems is the pretty vi. 34, but it is far from original; cp. the last couplet:
nolo quot (sc. basia) arguto dedit exorata CatulloLesbia; pauca cupit qui numerare potest.
656. Cp. Cat. 5 and 7; Mart. vi. 34; Cat. 2 and 3; Mart. i. 7 and 109 (it is noteworthy that this last poem has itself been exquisitely imitated by du Bellay in his poem on his little dog Peloton).
657. Cp. Ov.Tr.ii. 166; Mart. vi. 3. 4; Ov.F.iii. 192; Mart, vi. 16. 2; Ov.A.i. 1. 20; Mart. vi. 16. 4; Ov.Tr.i. 5. 1, iv. 13. 1; Mart, i. 15. 1. His imitations of other poets are not nearly so marked. There are a good many trifling echoes of Vergil, but little wholesale borrowing. A very large proportion of the parallel passages cited by Friedländer are unjust to Martial. No poet could be original judged by such a test.
658. There is little of any importance to be said about Martial's metre. The metres most often employed are elegiac, hendecasyllabic, and the scazon. In the elegiac he is, on the whole, Ovidian, though he is naturally freer, especially in the matter of endings both of hexameter and pentameter. He makes his points as well, but is less sustainedly pointed. His verse, moreover, has greater variety and less formal symmetry than that of Ovid. On the other hand his effects are less sparkling, owing to his more sparing use of rhetoric. In the hendecasyllabic he is smoother and more polished. It invariably opens with a spondee.
659. Cp. vii. 72. 12, x. 3.
660. Cp. vii. 12. 9, iii. 99. 3.
661. Catull. xvi. 5; Ov.Tr.ii. 354; Apul.Apol.11; Auson. 28,cento nup.; Plin.Ep.vii. 8.
662. We might also quote the beautiful
extra fortunam est quidquid donatur amicis: quas dederis solas semper habebis opes (v. 42).
What thou hast given to friends, and that alone,Defies misfortune, and is still thine own.PROFESSOR GOLDWIN SMITH.
But the needy poet may have had somearrière-pensée. We do not know to whom the poem is addressed.
663. Cp. the description of the villa of Faustinus, iii. 58.
664. Their only rival is the famous Sirmio poem of Catullus.
665. Even Tennyson's remarkable poem addressed to F. D. Maurice fails to reach greater perfection.
666. e.g. Arruntius Stella and Atedius Melior. Cp. p. 205.
667. Cp. the poems on the subject of Earinus, Mart. ix. 11, 12, 13, and esp. 16; Stat.Silv.iii. 4.
668. Mart. vi. 28 and 29.
669. The remaining lines of the poem are tasteless and unworthy of the portion quoted, and raise a doubt as to the poet's sincerity in the particular case. But this does not affect his general sympathy for childhood.
670. 101 provides an instance of Martial's sympathy for his own slaves. Cp. 1. 5:—
ne tamen ad Stygias famulus descenderet umbras,ureret implicitum cum scelerata lues,cavimus et domini ius omne remisimus aegro;munere dignus erat convaluisse meo.sensit deficiens mea praemia meque patronumdixit ad infernas liber iturus aquas.
671. i. 13.
672. i. 42.
673. i. 21. He is perhaps at his best on the death of Otho (vi. 32):
cum dubitaret adhuc belli civilis Enyoforsitan et posset vincere mollis Otho,damnavit multo staturum sanguine Martemet fodit certa pectora tota manu.sit Cato, dum vivit, sane vel Caesare maior:dum moritur, numquid maior Othone fuit?
When doubtful was the chance of civil war,And victory for Otho might declare;That no more Roman blood for him might flow,He gave his breast the great decisive blow.Caesar's superior you may Cato call:Was he so great as Otho in his fall?HAY.
674. It is to be noted that even in the most worthless of his epigrams he never loses his sense of style. If childish epigrams are to be given to the world, they cannot be better written.
675. Cp. Juv. 5; Mart. iii. 60, vi. 11, x. 49; Plin.Ep. ii. 6.
676. v. 18. 6.
677. This is doubly offensive if addressed to the poor Cinna of viii. 19. Cp. the similar vii. 53, or the yet more offensive viii. 33 and v. 36.
678. More excusable are poems such as x. 57, where he attacks one Gaius, an old friend (cp. ii. 30), for failing to fulfil his promise, or the exceedingly pointed poem (iv. 40) where he reproaches Postumus, an old friend, for forgetting him. Cp. also v. 52.
679. See p. 252.
680. Cp. the elaborate and long-winded poem of Statius on a statuette of Hercules (Silv.iv. 6) with Martial on the same subject, ix. 43 and 44.
681. Cp. viii. 3 and 56.
682. Bridge and Lake, Introd.,Select Epigrams of Martial.
683. The ancient biographies of the poet all descend from the same source: their variations spring largely from questionable or absurd interpretations of passages in the satires themselves. The best of them, if not their actual source, is the life found at the end of the codex Pithoeanus, the best of the MSS. of Juvenal. It was in all probability written by the author of the scholia Pithoeana—to whom Valla, on the authority of a MS. now lost, gave the name of Probus—and dates from the fourth or fifth century.
684. L. 41. Cp. Plin.Ep.ii. 11.
685. xiii. 17 'sexaginta annos Fonteio consule natus'. xv. 27 'nuper consule Iunco'.
686.Vita1 (O. Jahn ed.): 1 a (Dürr,Das Leben Juvenals). A life contained in Cod. Barberin. viii. 18 (fifteenth century), saysIunius Iuvenalis Aquinas Iunio Iuvenale patre, matre vero Septumuleia ex Aquinati municipio, Claudio Nerone et L. Antistio consulibus(55 A. D.)natus est; sororem habuit Septumuleiam, quae Fuscino nupsit.This may be mere invention on the part of a humanist of the fifteenth century. The life contains many improbabilities and the MS. is of suspiciously late date. But see Dürr, p. 28.
687.Vitae2 and 3 'oriundus temporis Neronis Claudii imperatoris'.Vit.4 'decessit sub Antonino Pio'.
688. So Cod. Paris. 9345; Vossian. 18 and 64; Bodl. (Canon Lat. 41); Schol. Pith, advit.1.
689. So all ancient biographies except 1. InSat.iii, Umbricius, addressing Juvenal, speaks oftuum Aquinum: cp. also the inscription found near Aquinum and quoted later.
690. This is only conjecture, but the son of a rich citizen of Aquinum would naturally be sent to Rome for his education. For his rhetorical education cp. i. 15-17.
691.Vita1.
692. Cp. especially the whole of xvi; also i. 58, ii. 165, iii. 132, vii. 92, xiv. 193-7.
693.C.I.L.x. 5382.
694.C.I.L.vii, p. 85; Hübner,Rhein. Mus.xi (1857), p. 30;Hermes, xvi (1881), p. 566.
695. Satt. 3, 11, 12, 13. Trebius in 5 is perhaps an imaginary character.
696. vi. 75, 280, vii. 186.
697. vii, 82.
698. Mart. vii. 24, 91, xii. 18.
699. vi. 57.
700. xi. 65.
701. xi. 190, xii. 87.
702.Vita1.
703. There are, however, allusions to Domitian as dead in ii. 29-33, iv. 153.
704. Ap. Sid. ix. 269.
705. Joh. Mal.Chron.x, p. 341,Chilm.
706.Vita7. Schol. ad vii. 92.
707.Vita6.
708.Vitae1, 2, 4, 7. Perhaps an inference fromSat.xv. 45.
709. See 708.
710.Vitae5 and 6. If the inscription (see p. 288) refers to the poet, this view has further support.
711. Joh. Mal., loc. cit.
712. Trajan had, however, a favourite in thepantomimusPylades. Dio. Cass. Ixviii. 10.
713. The simplest suggestion is that Juvenal was at some time banished, that the reason for his banishment was forgotten and supplied by conjecture. Cp. Friedländer's ed., p. 44. There is no real evidence to prove that Juvenal was ever in Egypt or Britain. His topography inSat.xv is faulty, and allusion to the oysters of Richborough (ostrea Rutupina, iv. 141) would be possible even in a poet who had never visited Britain.
714. i. 1-3, 17, 18 (Dryden's translation).
715. i. 79.
716. Ib. 85.
717. Ib. 147-50.
718. i. 165-71.
719. x. 356-66 (Dryden's translation).
720. There is nothing in this satire to suggest that Juvenal had or had not visited Egypt. The legend of his banishment to Egypt may be true, but it is quite as likely that this satire caused the scholiast to localize his traditional exile in Egypt. The theme of cannibalism was sometimes dealt with by the rhetoricians. Cp. Quintilian,Decl.12.
721. e.g. Claudius Etruscus, who held the imperial secretaryship of finance under Nero and Vespasian, and Abascantus, the secretaryab epistulisto Domitian. Stat.Silv.iii. 3, v. 1.
722. For a fine picture of the exclusive Roman spirit, cp.Le procurateur de Judée, by Anatole France inL'Étui de nacre.
723. iii. 60-125.
724. xiv. 96 sqq.
725. i. 130 sqq, and the whole of xv. Above all, he hates the Egyptian Crispinus, cp. iv. 2.
726. i. 102 sqq.
727. For the tradition of coarseness see chapter on Martial, p. 263.
728. It has been pointed out that the epigrams of Martial addressed to Juvenal are disfigured by gross obscenities. It is, however, a little unfair to make Juvenal responsible for his friend's observations.
729. The sixth satire abounds throughout its great length with sketches of the most appalling clearness and power, though they tend to crudeness of colour and are few of them suitable for quotation.
730. xiii. 120 sqq.
731. x. 346 sqq.
732. xiii. 180.
733. ix. 32, xii. 63.
734. vii. 194 sqq., ix. 33.
735. xiii. 192-249.
736. xii. 3-6, 89 sqq.
737. Such obscurity as he presents is due almost entirely to the fact that we have lost the key to his topical allusions. He has a strong affection for ingenious periphrases (e.g. v. 139, vi. 159, x. 112, xii. 70), but they are as a rule effective and amusing.