STATIUS.

P. Papinius Statius was born at Naples (Silv.i. 2, 260, ‘mea Parthenope’), probably aboutA.D.60, for he speaks of himself as on the threshold of life at the time of his father’s death, aboutA.D.80 (‘limine primo fatorum,’Silv.v. 3, 72). The apparent discrepancy inSilv.iv. 4, 69 (writtenA.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 ortusnec sine luce genus, quamquam fortuna parentumartior 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 theAugustaliain Naples and at Alba; but was unsuccessful at the Capitoline competition, probably inA.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 penatesauguror 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, 51sqq.), 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 Albaerus proprium magnique ducis mihi munere currensunda domi curas mulcere aestusque levaresufficerent.’

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 producedSilv.ii. 7, which is a poem on Lucan’s birthday, addressed to his widow (seep. 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 chordaspulso, Maroneique sedens in margine templisumo animum et magni tumulis adcanto magistri.’

For Alba cf.Silv.v. 3, 37. TheThebaismust recognize its inferiority to theAeneid:Theb.xii. 816,

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

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

‘O mihi bis senos multum vigilata per annosThebai.’

Cf.Silv.iv. 7, 26,

‘Thebais multa cruciata lima.’

The twelve years were probably 79-91 or 80-92A.D.Silv.i. praef. (written 91 or 92), ‘Adhuc pro Thebaide mea, quamvis me reliquerit, timeo.’ The publication apparently did not take place tillA.D.95 (cf.Silv.iv. 4, 87sqq.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 theThebaiscf. Juv.Sat.7, 82,

‘Curritur ad vocem iucundam et carmen amicaeThebaidos, laetam cum fecit Statius urbempromisitque diem. Tanta dulcedine captosafficit ille animos tantaque libidine volgiauditur; sed, cum fregit subsellia versu,esurit, intactam Paridi nisi vendit Agaven.’

2. TheAchilleis, 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 inA.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 theIliad: cf. l. 3,

‘Quamquam acta viri multum inclita cantuMaeonio, sed plura vacant: nos ire per omnem(sic amor est) heroa velis.’

3. TheSilvae, 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 theSilvaeappeared beforeA.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 theSilvaeexcept 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 pantomimeAgave, written not later thanA.D.84, the year in which the player Paris was put to death (Juv.Sat.7, 86, quoted above).

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

‘quinquagesima liba septimamquevestris addimus hanc focis acerram’;

ix. 52, 3,

‘ut nostras amo Martias Kalendas’;

x. 103, 1,

‘Municipes, Augusta mihi quos Bilbilis acrimonte 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 RomeA.D.64, for inA.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 Memmiosqueet Crispos mihi redde sed priores.’

The failure of Piso’s conspiracy inA.D.65 and the consequent downfall of the Senecas must have affected Martial’s position. InA.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 byA.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.’

InA.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 uterqueius mihi natorum.’

Martial became a titular tribune, and consequently aneques, 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. InA.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 afterA.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 theThebais. 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, libellodissimulat, quasi nil debeat: imposuit’;

vii. 16,

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

From 86 to 90A.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 inA.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). InA.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, aboutA.D.104, being from 63 to 66 years old.

PlinyEp.iii. 21 (written not afterA.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.

Publication of the Poems.—Liber Spectaculorumwas publishedA.D.80, on the opening of Titus’ Amphitheatre. TheXeniaandApophoretawere two collections of inscriptions for presents at theSaturnaliain December 84 or 85A.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 togetherA.D.86. Then came Books iii.-xi. at intervals of about a year to December, 96A.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 libelliartatus 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 ofA.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 pruinisa rigido teritur centurione liber,dicitur et nostros cantare Britannia versus.’

PlinyEp.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 libellielapsum 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 Catullomeque 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 thePriapea; 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, Harpyiasqueinvenies: 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.

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 (diedA.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 betweenA.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 inA.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 byA.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 theInstitutiowas writtenA.D.89-91, in which case Quintilian’s career as professor was fromA.D.68 to 88; Peterson[91]thinks that Quintilian dated his educational work as fromA.D.70 to 90, and that theInstitutiowas begunA.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 minorisconstabit patri, quam filius. “Unde igitur totQuintilianus 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).

Quintilian married late in life. His wife died at the age of eighteen, his younger son soon afterwards at the age of five, the elder one subsequently at the age of nine.

vi. prooem. § 2, ‘Illum, de quo summa conceperam et in quo spem unicam senectutis reponebam, repetito volnere orbitatis amisi’; § 9, ‘Non flosculos, sicut prior, sed iam decimum aetatis ingressus annum, certos ac deformatos fructus ostenderat’; § 4, ‘erepta prius mihi matre eorumdem, quae nondum expleto aetatis undevicesimo anno duos enixa filios ...’; § 5, ‘cum omni virtute, quae in feminas cadit, functa insanabilem adtulit marito dolorem, tum aetate tam puellari, praesertim meae comparata, potest et ipsa numerari inter volnera orbitatis’; § 6, ‘Mihi filius minor quintum egressus annum prior alterum ex duobus eruit lumen.’

The date of Quintilian’s death is unknown. If he outlived Domitian it was not for long, as Pliny in the letters quoted above (the earlier written aboutA.D.100) does not speak of Quintilian as alive.

Earlier works.—Quintilian refers to a workde causis corruptae eloquentiae, and to anars rhetoricain two Books. For speeches of his taken down and published, see vii. 2, 24, quotedp. 303.

vi. prooem. 3, ‘eum librum, quem de causis corruptae eloquentiae emisi.’

i. prooem. 7, ‘Duo iam sub nomine meo libri ferebantur artis rhetoricae neque editi a me neque in hoc comparati. Namque alterum, sermone per biduum habito, pueri, quibus id praestabatur, exceperant; alterum pluribus sane diebus, quantum notando consequi potuerant, interceptum, boni iuvenes sed nimium amantes mei, temerario editionis honore volgaverant.’

TheInstitutio Oratoria.—For the date of publication seep. 304. The circumstances of publication are given by Quintilian in the preface addressed to his bookseller Trypho.

‘Efflagitasti cottidiano convicio, ut libros, quos ad Marcellum meum de Institutione oratoria scripseram, iam emittere inciperem. Nam ipse eos nondum opinabar satis maturuisse, quibus componendis, ut scis, paulo plus quam biennium tot alioqui negotiis districtus impendi ... Sed si tanto opere efflagitantur quam tu affirmas, permittamus vela ventis et oram solventibus bene precemur.’

The work is dedicated to Vitorius Marcellus (to whom Statius’Silvae, Book iv., is addressed), and was originally written in view of the education of his son Geta.

i. prooem. 6, ‘Quod opus, Marcelle Vitori, tibi dicamus ... quod erudiendo Getae tuo ... non inutiles fore libri videbantur.’

Book iv. prooem. was written when Quintilian had been appointed tutor to the young princes, who are mentioned along with Geta and Quintilian’s elder son; Book vi. prooem. was written not long afterwards, and refers to his bereavements; in Book xii. prooem. no names are mentioned.

The work deals with the whole education of the future orator.

i. prooem. 5, ‘Nec aliter, quam si mihi tradatur educandus orator, studia eius formare ab infantia incipiam.’

Quintilian himself gives a sketch of the contents:

i. prooem. 21-2, ‘Liber primus ea quae sunt ante officium rhetoris continebit [including grammar and philology]. Secundo prima apud rhetorem elementa et quae de ipsa rhetorices substantia quaeruntur tractabimus. Quinque deinceps (iii.-vii.) inventioni, nam huic et dispositio subiungitur, quattuor (viii.-xi.) elocutioni, in cuius partem memoria ac pronuntiatio veniunt, dabuntur. Unus (xii.) accedet, in quo nobis orator ipse informandus est, ut qui mores eius, quae in suscipiendis, discendis, agendis causis ratio, quod eloquentiae genus, quis agendi debeat esse finis, quae post finem studia ... disseramus.’

The ordinary handbooks of rhetoric are attacked.

i. prooem. 24-5, ‘Nam plerumque nudae illae artes nimia subtilitatis affectatione frangunt atque concidunt quidquid est in oratione generosius, et omnem sucum ingeni bibunt et ossa detegunt, quae ut esse et adstringi nervis suis debent, sic corpore operienda sunt. Ideoque nos non particulam illam, sicut plerique, sed quidquid utile ad instituendum oratorem putabamus, in hos duodecim libros contulimus breviter omnia demonstraturi.’

Quintilian uses his own experience and the best views of different authorities.

vi. 2, 25, ‘Quod si tradita mihi sequi praecepta sufficeret, satisfeceram huic parti, nihil eorum, quae legi vel didici, quod modo probabile fuit, omittendo; sed eruere in animo est, quae latent, et penitus ipsa huius loci aperire penetralia, quae quidem non aliquo tradente sed experimento meo ac natura ipsa duce accepi.’

Quintilian insists that the orator must be a good man (cf. the importance he attaches to early education, i. 1, etc.).

xii. 1, 1, ‘Sit ergo nobis orator, quem constituimus, is qui a M. Catone finitur, vir bonus dicendi peritus; verum, id quod et ille posuit prius, et ipsa natura potius ac maius est, utique vir bonus.’

Cf. i. prooem. 9-10; ii. 2 (the whole chapter); ii. 15, 1.

Quintilian’s exposition is founded mainly on Cicero, from whom he seldom differs. Cf. vii. 3, 8, ‘Quamquam dissentire vix audeo a Cicerone.’

Quintilian’s illustrations are mainly drawn from classical writers. Upwards of four hundred and fifty passages of Cicero and about one hundred and forty of Virgil are referred to. Quintilian not only attacks the modern style, but warns his pupils against the early writers.

ii. 5, 21-2, ‘Duo autem genera maxime cavenda pueris puto: unum, ne quis eos antiquitatis nimius admirator in Graccorum Catonisque et aliorum similium lectione durescere velit ... Alterum, quod huic diversum est, ne recentis huius lasciviae flosculis capti voluptate prava deleniantur, ut praedulce illud genus et puerilibus ingeniis hoc gratius, quo propius est, adament.’

For Quintilian’s high appreciation of Cicero see x. 1, 105-112; and for his antagonism to Seneca, x. 1, 125-131, and to philosophers in general, i. prooem. 10.

For Quintilian’s authorities see iii. 1, ‘Prooemium de scriptoribus artis rhetoricae.’ They include Dionysius of Halicarnassus; Caecilius; Chrysippus (for education; cf. i. 1, 16, etc.); Cicero;Auctor ad Herenn.; Celsus, cf. iii. 1, 21, etc.; Rutilius, cf. ix. 3, 89; Remmius Palaemon.

Literary criticism is treated of in Book X. as regards the Greek and Latin authors useful to the orator. The principal authority used was theπερὶ μιμήσεωςof Dionysius Halicarnassius. Much of Quintilian’s criticism is traditional, and the lists of great writers came ultimately from the critics of Alexandria. Roman literary critics referred to were Cicero (e.g.on the Attic orators, x. 1, 76-80) and Horace (x. 1, 24; 56, etc.).

Spurious works.—These include two collections ofdeclamationes.

1. Nineteen long pieces, ascribed to Quintilian by Jerome and others, but much later than Quintilian’s time.

2. One hundred and forty-five shorter pieces out of an original collection of three hundred and eighty-eight, the first half being lost. Some suppose they are the ‘libri artis rhetoricae’ (i. prooem. 7, quoted above), but this is not likely.

Iulius Frontinus (as he is called by Tacitus: inscriptions and someMSS.give thepraenomenSextus) was born at latestA.D.41, for he waspraetor urbanusA.D.70.

Tac.Hist.iv. 39, ‘in senatu quem Iulius Frontinus praetor urbanus vocaverat ... Mox eiurante Frontino Caesar Domitianus praeturam cepit.’

He served in Gaul during the revolt of Civilis, and received the submission of the Lingones (Front.Strat.iv. 3, 14[92]). Under Vespasian he held the consulship, and preceded Agricola in the command in Britain, where he conquered the Silures, probablyA.D.76-78.

Tac.Agr.17, ‘Et Cerealis quidem alterius successoris curam famamque obruisset: sustinuit molem Iulius Frontinus, vir magnus, quantum licebat, validamque et pugnacem Silurum gentem armis subegit, super virtutem hostium locorum quoque difficultates eluctatus.’

His knowledge of the tactics of Domitian (Strat.i. 1, 8; i. 3, 10; ii. 3, 23; ii. 11, 7) makes it probable that he took part in the war with the Chatti,A.D.83. In 97 he becamecurator aquarum(Aq.102), and at the beginning of the following year was consul for the second time (C.I.L.iii., p. 862); cf. Martial x. 48, 20, ‘bis Frontino consule.’ In 100 he was once more consul (C.I.L.viii. 7066). He also held the office of augur, in which,A.D.103 or 104, he was succeeded by the younger Pliny; Plin.Ep.iv. 8, ‘gratularis mihi quod acceperim auguratum ... Successi Iulio Frontino, principi viro.’ His death then may be placed inA.D.103.

Frontinus was a friend of Martial, who addresses to himEpig.x. 58.

We get a glimpse of his character from Pliny’s words,Ep.ix. 19, 6, ‘Vetuit exstrui monumentum: sed quibus verbis? “Impensa monumenti supervacua est: memoria nostri durabit si vita meruimus.”’

During the reign of Domitian (A.D.81-96) Frontinus composed two works. One of these, of which only fragments survive, dealt with the art of land-surveying and the laws relating to land. The other, written afterA.D.84, when Domitian received the title of Germanicus (Strat.ii. II, 7, ‘eo bello quo victis hostibus cognomen Germanici meruit’), is a manual of strategy, in three Books, entitledStrategemata. It is a sequel to a previous work (now lost) on the theory of the art of war, and illustrates its rules by historical examples derived chiefly from Sallust, Caesar, and Livy. The purpose of the book did not require the citation of authorities, and the mention of Livy in ii. 5, 31 and 34, is probably spurious. Frontinus gives either a paraphrase retaining some of the expressions of the original (cf.Strat.i. 5, 16, with Liv. xxxv. 11, 2-13), or a bald summary (cf.Strat.ii. 5, 1, with Liv. i. 14, 6-11). See G. Gundermann,Jahrb. f. class. Philol., suppl. xvi., p. 315sqq.(1888). Some later hand has added a fourth Book, which not only presents marked differences in style and tone from the original three, but deals with an entirely different subject—the maintenance of discipline, and other duties of a commander.

Under Nerva and Trajan (A.D.97-98) Frontinus wrote his treatise on the Roman water-supply,De Aquis Urbis Romae. Having been appointedcurator aquarum, he considered it his first duty to acquaint himself with the details of his department, and published the result of his inquiries in the hope that they might be useful to his successors (cf. the preface). The book was begun under Nerva (praef. ‘cum ... sit nunc mihi ab Nerva Augusto ... aquarum iniunctum officium’), but Nerva had been succeeded by Trajan before it was completed (118, ‘divus Nerva’; 93, ‘Traianum Augustum’).

The sources for Juvenal’s life are (1) his works; (2) an inscription found at Aquinum; (3) thirteen extantvitae; (4) information of the scholiasts; (5) references in Martial and other writers.

The inscription at Aquinum has been much debated; but it is safe to follow the opinion of Mommsen, whose experience in identifying people mentioned in inscriptions with historical characters depends upon a width of knowledge that no other person possesses. Thevitaeare all early mediaeval works, probably founded on a brief account of the poet’s life composed by some unknown ancient writer, and existing at the early Renaissance. The extantvitaecontain a very few facts which appear to be derived from this source, together with a number of inferences gathered, often incorrectly, from Juvenal’s works. The most important statement is that regarding Juvenal’s birth, which is contained in thevitain the Codex Barberinus, 8, 18, discovered by J. Dürr. The date is given in such precise and accurate terms, and is in itself so probable as solving so many of the questions connected with the poet’s works, that to invent it requires an amount of knowledge with which we cannot credit the writer of this otherwise very poor account. The statements of thevitaemust be carefully weighed, and accepted only when rendered probable by other considerations.[93]

Juvenal’s name is given in some of theMSS.as Decimus Iunius Iuvenalis. He was bornA.D.55.

Codex Barberinus, ‘Iunius Iuvenalis Aquinas Iunio Iuvenale patre, matre vero Septumuleia ex Aquinati municipio Claudio Nerone et L. Antistio consulibus natus est. Sororem habuit Septumuleiam, quae Fuscino nupsit.’

The statement about his sister and mother is very doubtful; that about Fuscinus is a bad inference from the fact thatSat.14 (on the education of children) is addressed to him. The nameSeptumuleiamay be invented from 14, 105,septima lux. Juvenal’s sister must have been called Iunia after her father; the naming of a girl after her mother was a mediaeval idea.

Juvenal was born at Aquinum, a town of the Volscians. Twelve of thevitaeagree in this, and they are confirmed by the poet’s own words supposed to be addressed to him by his friend Umbricius: 3, 318-21,

‘Quotiens teRoma tuo refici properantem reddet Aquino,me quoque ad Helvinam Cererem vestramque Dianamconverte a Cumis.’

Cf. 6, 57,

‘agello cedo paterno.’

This is corroborated by the inscription found at Aquinum (C.I.L.x. 5382), which gives us other information about the poet:

cereRI · SACRVMd . iuNIVS · IVVENALIStribCOH·i·DELMATARVMII · VIR · QVINQ · FLAMENDIVI · VESPASIANIVOVIT · DEDICAVitqVESVA PEC

This inscription appears to have stood near the temple of Ceres Helvina or Elvina, dedicated by a member of the gens Elvia, references to which are found on inscriptions of the district.

Thevitaesay that Juvenal was the son of a freedman.[94]Cf.Vitaei.a, i.b, ii.c(Dürr): ‘libertini locupletis incertum filius an alumnus.’Vitav. (Dürr), ‘ordinis ut fertur libertinorum.’ This story is due to a misapprehension of some of Juvenal’s references. 1, 99-102,

‘Iubet a praecone vocariipsos Troiugenas (nam vexant limen et ipsinobiscum): “da praetori, da deinde tribuno.”Sed libertinus prior est.’

Libertinushere is not to be taken to mean that the entire set are freedmen.

As to 4, 98,

‘unde fit ut malim fraterculus esse gigantis,’

it gives no evidence whatever of Juvenal’s position. If it meant anything, it would rather imply that Juvenal was the son of a poor Italian and not of a foreign slave. So for 11, 145-6. His family was respectable, his means were fair, and he could afford to look down on upstarts in virtue both of his birth and of his property, although it is clear from his own works that he had in Rome the position of a rather humble dependent, who would be exposed to insult at the tables of the rich and powerful. Cf. 3, 318; 6, 57 (above); 12, 89, ‘laribus paternis’; 1, 24,

‘patricios omnes opibus cum provocet unus,quo tondente gravis iuveni mihi barba sonabat.’

So 10, 225.

Invitaiv. he is said to have attained equestrian rank. (Tribunician rank implied equestrian). This, on the whole, is confirmed by the inscription, and may be founded on the originalvita.

Juvenal had a full course of education, first under thelitteratorand thegrammaticus, then under therhetor.[95]Cf. 1, 15,

‘Et nos ergo manum ferulae subduximus, et nosconsilium dedimus Sullae, privatus ut altumdormiret.’

This would imply a good position, and a certain command of money. Suchpatres libertinias Horace’s were very rare.

The inscription above quoted (divi Vespasianishows that its date is afterA.D.79, and probably not long after) informs us that Juvenal was (1) ‘tribunus cohortis I. Delmatarum’[96]; (2) ‘duumvir quinquennalis’[97]and ‘flamen divi Vespasiani’ at Aquinum. The dates when Juvenal held these posts cannot be determined exactly; but we can infer certain points.

(1) There was acertus ordo honorumin municipal life, and Juvenal must have held the quaestorship and the aedileship before theduumviratus quinquennalis. The lower limit of entering on a municipal career was twenty-five, according to an order of Augustus, and people did not usually begin it much later; we may therefore conclude that these municipal posts were held by Juvenal somewhere betweenA.D.80 and 90. The last year is approximately fixed by the way in which Martial in two of his epigrams (vii. 24 and 91) belonging toA.D.91 or 92 speaks of Juvenal; the words show that the latter must have been established in Rome for some time.

(2) In ordinary course Juvenal would enter the army after the completion of his seventeenth year. The short time he took to arrive at the position of tribune, and the statement ofvitaiv. ‘cum ... ad dignitatem equestris ordinis pervenire sua virtute meruisset,’ make it probable that he entered the army aspetitor militiae equestris, as a preliminary step towards entering on a political career.

The cohors Delmatarum I., which Juvenal commanded as tribune, was in Britain inA.D.106, and inA.D.124.[98]Probably it had been stationed there for a period of years, and it is likely that Juvenal filled his tribuneship there. Now, all thevitaeinform us that Juvenal was banished under the pretext of a military command. While the othervitaegive Egypt as the place of his banishment,vitaiv. gives Scotland; and it seems highly probable thatvitaiv. has confused Juvenal’s regular military command in Britain, and his banishment, late in life, to Egypt. The words are:

‘[Tyrannus] sub honoris praetextu fecit eum praefectum militis contra Scotos, qui bellum contra Romanos moverant.’

This is supported by Juvenal’s references to Britain. Some of these, like his references to Egypt, seem, in contradistinction to most of his references to foreign parts, to imply personal knowledge and observation. They are as follows:

(1) 2, 159-161,

‘Arma quidem ultralitora Iuvernae promovimus et modo captasOrcadas ac minima contentos nocte Britannos.’

Here ‘Iuverna’ is the old name of Ireland, which is not mentioned even in Tacitus’Agricola[99]; for the Orcades cf. Tac.Agr.10; and the excessive shortness of the summer nights mentioned in the last clause is especially true of the north of Scotland.

(2) 10, 14,

‘Quanto delphinis balaena Britannica maior.’

This is also particularly applicable to the north of Scotland, whales being frequently seen off the Orkney and Shetland Islands.

(3) 4, 141,

‘Rutupinove edita fundoostrea.’

(4) 14, 196,

‘Castella Brigantum.’

(5) 15, 111,

‘Gallia causidicos docuit facunda Britannos,de conducendo loquitur iam rhetore Thule.’

Cf. Tac.Agr.21.

(6) 15, 124, ‘Brittones.’ This form is rarely found except in military inscriptions,[100]and could scarcely have been used except by one familiar with the camp in Britain.[101]

That Juvenal came to Rome aboutA.D.90 has been shown above. This step he may have taken to forward his promotion in the army and afterwards in the procuratorial service. His failure in this direction may have led to his pessimism. His friendship with Martial (whom, however, he does not mention) is shown by Mart. vii. 24 (cf. vii. 91),

‘Cum Iuvenale meo quae me committere temptas,quid non audebis, perfida lingua, loqui?’ etc.

That he was still in Rome inB.C.101, and had the entrée of the atria of rich nobles is shown by Mart. xii. 18, written in that year.

‘Dum tu forsitan inquietus errasclamosa, Iuvenalis, in Suburaaut collem dominae teris Dianae,dura per limina te potentiorumsudatrix toga ventilat vagumquemaior Caelius et minor fatigant,me multos repetita post Decembresaccepit mea rusticumque fecitauro Bilbilis et superba ferro.’

From this we see that he lived in the Subura, the plebeian quarter. Cf. 3, 5,

‘ego vel Prochytam praepono Suburae.’

While in Rome he still possessed his land at Aquinum and also a property at Tibur; 11, 65,

‘de Tiburtino veniet pinguissimus agrohaedulus.’

The statement of thevitaethat Juvenal studied rhetoric till middle life is, as already stated, improbable, as being inconsistent with his military and municipal career; ‘facundus,’ applied to him by Mart. vii. 91, 1, does not mean ‘declaiming,’ but ‘poetical’ or ‘oratorical.’

Vitaei.aandb(and other seven) say, ‘ad mediam fere aetatem declamavit animi magis causa quam quod scholae se aut foro praepararet.’

Juvenal’s literary life.—In theMSS.the satires are divided into Books, and the division seems ancient. Book i. includesSat.1-5; Book ii. =Sat.6; Book iii. =Sat.7-9; Book iv. =Sat.10-12; Book v. =Sat.13-16.

Book i. was written under Trajan; certainly afterA.D.100, the date of the trial of Marius Priscus[102]; 1, 49,

‘exul ab octava Marius bibit et fruitur disiratis.’

Book ii. not earlier thanA.D.116. It is highly probable that 6, 407, ‘instantem regi Armenio Parthoque cometen,’ refers to a comet seen at Rome in NovemberA.D.115; and 6, 411, ‘nutare urbes, subsidere terras,’ to the earthquake at Antioch, 13th December,A.D.115.

Book iii., probably aboutA.D.120, was written under Hadrian, who is eulogized in 7, 1-35. Dürr thinks it probable that 7, 36-243, was written under Trajan, and that the introduction, in praise of Hadrian, was written afterwards. This is also Friedländer’s view; cf. l. 1, ‘Et spes et ratio studiorum in Caesare tantum,’ with Spart.vit. Hadr.14, 8, ‘poematum studiosissimus.’ This also supports the view that the introduction was written not long after Hadrian’s accession, when a new era for poets was supposed to be beginning.

Book iv. was probably written aboutA.D.125.

Book v. A clue to the date is found in 13, 16-7,

‘Stupet haec, qui iam post terga reliquitsexaginta annos, Fonteio consule natus.’

Fonteius Capito and C. Iulius Rufus were consulsA.D.67, in which year the sexagenarian friend whom Juvenal addresses was born. The date of writing will therefore beA.D.127.[103]

Cf. also 15, 27, ‘nuper consule Iunco.’ Iuncus was consulA.D.127, so that this satire could not have been written beforeA.D.128. So 15, 44,

‘Horrida saneAegyptos, sed luxuria, quantum ipse notavi,barbara famoso non cedit turba Canopo.’

Juvenal must have added these lines to the satire while he was an exile in Egypt, if he did not write the whole of it there. This is in accordance with whatvitav. says, ‘in exilio ampliavit satyras.’ Supposing this passage to be an addition, we may conclude that Book v. was written aboutA.D.128, but not before that year.

Juvenal’s banishment.—As before stated, all thevitaebut one give Egypt as the place of Juvenal’s exile. The exact place, according to the scholiast on 1, 1 and 4, 38, was the Great Oasis (Hoasa: Hoasis). Threevitae(i.a,b, iii.c) state that he was at that timeoctogenarius. This would make the dateA.D.135 or 136. Most of thevitaegive as the reason of his exile the fact that he wrote the lines,[104]7, 90-2,

‘Quod non dant proceres dabit histrio. Tu Camerinoset Baream, tu nobilium magna atria curas?Praefectos Pelopea facit, Philomela tribunos.’

Now these lines, the first he ever wrote (vitaiii.c) were composed in his youth as an epigram on Paris, Domitian’s favourite, probably aboutA.D.81-3. The true story then is that, when Juvenal inA.D.135 or 136 published a new edition ofSat.7, he added these lines (vitaei.a,b, ‘ut ea quoque quae prima fecerat inferciret novis scriptis’).[105]Now it has been inferred from Spart.vit. Hadr.23sqq.that at this time an actor had great influence over Hadrian, and the lines were taken as referring to him. The emperor in a rage banished Juvenal to Egyptper honorem militiae, writing maliciously on his commission ‘Et te Philomela promovit’ (vitaiv.). The banishment is assigned to the influence of Paris by Iohannes Malalas, p. 262sqq.(Dindorf), and by Suidas. Cf. alsoSat.15, 44sqq., already quoted, and Sidonius Apollinaris 9, 267sqq.,

‘Non qui tempore Caesaris secundiaeterno incoluit Tomos reatu:non qui consimili deinde casuad volgi tenuem strepentis auramirati fuit histrionis exul.’

Vitaiii.b, ‘Tristitia et angore periit anno aetatis suae altero et octuagesimo.’

Vitav., ‘Decessit longo senio confectus exul Antonino Pio imperatore.’

If this last statement is correct, Juvenal died after reaching the age of eighty-two, as Antoninus came to the throne on 10th July,A.D.138. It follows from this also that he must have been born in the second half ofA.D.55.

The Satires.—The following are the more important points regarding these:

(1) Juvenal’s reasons for writing satire are given inSat.1, ll. 1-14. He is wearied with tragedies and epics on mythological subjects, ‘Semper ego auditor tantum?’

He is resolved to follow in the footsteps of Lucilius; ll. 19-21,

‘Cur tamen hoc potius libeat decurrere campo,per quem magnus equos Auruncae flexit alumnus,si vacat ac placidi rationem admittitis, edam.’

His satire is due to indignation at the moral decay of the Roman world.

l. 30, ‘Difficile est satiram non scribere’ (cf. ll. 63, 79).

However, he does not intend to satirize the living, at least under their own names; and in fact he has in his mind particularly the times of Domitian, while most of his names are those of persons living under Claudius or Nero; l. 170,

‘Experiar quid concedatur in illos,quorum Flaminia tegitur cinis atque Latina.’

In the first nine Satires Juvenal’s bitterness is directed mainly against the senatorial class, possibly because they had given him no support in his office-seeking. Even his violent attack on women inSat.6 is launched chiefly against the women of the highest class. Note also the unjust way in which he speaks of the government of the provinces (Sat.8, 87-139). Juvenal is very bitter against Greeks and Orientals, most of all against Egyptians (cf.Sat.15, and his attacks on the Egyptian Crispinus in 4, 1-33, etc.). Cf. 3, 119-125, for his attacks on foreigners.

(2) He claims a wide scope for his subject; 1, 85,

‘Quidquid agunt homines, votum timor ira voluptasgaudia discursus nostri farrago libelli est.’

(3) His pessimism is very marked; cf. 1, 147,

‘Nil erit ulterius, quod nostris moribus addatposteritas; eadem facient cupientque minores,omne in praecipiti vitium stetit. Utere velis,totos pande sinus.’

So 12, 48-9. His pessimism leads to extravagant language like 6, 29sqq.He is as hard on trifling foibles as on the most heinous offences. Cf. 6, 166sqq., 185sqq., 398sqq., 434-56 (on learned ladies).

(4) His rhetorical learning and style (found in all the Satires, but particularly in the later ones) are shown by

(a) His metre and language. Thus we find rhetorical uses ofergo(3, 104; 281, etc.);nunc(3, 268; 10, 210);porro(3, 126; 11, 9); and of other particles.

(b) The way in which he chooses themes for his Satires, and subdivides them. Several of the Satires, as 5, 8, 10, 14, aretheses,i.e.problems of a general character worked out in the manner of the rhetorical schools. ThusSat.5 discusses the question, ‘Is the position of a client worth having?’Sat.8, ‘Has high birth a value in itself?’ He sometimes uses the commonplaces of the schools, as 8, 56,

‘Animalia mutaquis generosa putet nisi fortia?’

So 8, 215-6. In the manner of a rhetorician he sometimes gives superabundant details. The best example of this is 10, 190-250, on the troubles of old age.

(c) His knowledge of mythology, history, law, and philosophy. This is found mostly in the later Books. In the earlier Satires he dealt more with life as he had known it. In the later Satires he has recourse to republican times and to foreign history. His historical examples Friedländer thinks he took mostly from Valerius Maximus. Juvenal’s knowledge of philosophy was very superficial, and was probably got from his rhetorical training. Errors occur; thus in 13, 121-2, Stoics and Cynics are looked upon as identical.[106]

(d) His high-flown language referred to above.

(e) His references to previous literature. Thus Horace is often referred to (cf. 7, 62 and 227); Virgil with great frequency (cf. 1, 162; 6, 434sqq.; 7, 66 and 227; 7, 233sqq.). Mayor mentions Homer, Herodotus, Plato, Lucilius, Cicero, Ovid, Manilius, Valerius Maximus, Seneca, Lucan, and Martial among the authors imitated by Juvenal.

Pliny’s full name on the inscriptions of the later period of his life reads ‘C. Plinius L. f. Ouf. Caecilius Secundus.’ This name he partly got from his mother’s brother C. Plinius Secundus (Pliny the elder), who adopted him by will: cf.Ep.v. 8, 5, ‘Avunculus meus idemque per adoptionem pater.’ Pliny’s name before his adoption inA.D.79 (see below) was P. Caecilius L. f. Ouf. Secundus. His birthplace was Comum, and he belonged to the Oufentina, the tribe of the people of Comum, as well on the side of his natural as on that of his adoptive father. In an inscription preserved at Como (C.I.L.v. 5279) Pliny’s father, Cilo, is mentioned, and two men who are undoubtedly Cilo’s sons, the second mentioned being Pliny the younger, who had always been called Secundus.

‘L. Caecilius L. f. Cilo iiii.vir a(edilicia) p(otestate), qui testamento suo (sestertium) n(ummum) xxxx. (milia) municipibus Comensibus legavit, ex quorum reditu quotannis per Neptunalia oleum in campo et in thermis et in balineis omnibus, quae sunt Comi, praeberentur, t(estamento) f(ieri) iussit et L. Caecilio L. f. Valenti et P. Caecilio L. f. Secundo et Lutullae Picti f. contubernali.’[107]

For Cilo’s bequests here mentioned cf. Pliny,Ep.i, 8, 5; Comum is referred to as ‘patria mea’ inEp.iv. 30, 1. The Caecilii were a family of station at Comum even in Caesar’s time. Cf. Catull. 35,

‘Poetae tenero meo sodalivelim Caecilio, papyre, dicas,Veronam veniat Novi relinquensComi moenia Lariumque litus.’

Pliny inherited landed property there from his father and mother.

Ep.vii. 11, 5, ‘Indicavit mihi cupere se aliquid circa Larium nostrum possidere: ego illi ex praediis meis quod vellet ... optuli, exceptis maternis paternisque.’

The above inscription shows that Pliny’s father belonged to the municipal nobility, and possibly had ‘equestris nobilitas.’

Pliny was in his eighteenth year (Ep.vi. 20, 5, ‘agebam duodevicensimum annum’) on 24th August,A.D.79, when his uncle perished in the eruption of Vesuvius, and he was therefore born in the second half of 61 or in the first half of 62A.D.Cilo died young, before holding the chief municipal post, and before Pliny was of age; and Verginius Rufus became Pliny’s guardian.

Ep.ii. 1, 8, ‘Ille mihi tutor relictus adfectum parentis exhibuit.’ Pliny was removed to Rome with his uncle, probably at the end ofA.D.72. While at school he wrote poetry (Ep.vii. 4, 2, quoted below), and studied philosophy and rhetoric.

Ep.vi. 6, 3, ‘Quos tunc ego frequentabam, Quintilianum, Niceten Sacerdotem.’ Cf. also ii. 14, 10; i. 20, 4; vii. 4, etc. For literary studies with his uncle cf.Ep.vi. 20, 5, ‘Posco librum Titi Livi et quasi per otium lego, atque etiam, ut coeperam, excerpo.’

His uncle, as above stated, died on 24th August,A.D.79, and by his will adopted Pliny, whose name thereafter was C. Plinius L. f. Ouf. Caecilius Secundus. He therefore changed his praenomen to that of his adoptive father, and put his former nomen among his cognomina. By his contemporaries he is called Plinius (cf. Martial, x. 19), or Secundus, as by Trajan. The name Caecilius was confined to formal inscriptions.

InA.D.80 or 81 Pliny first appeared as an advocate. Cf.Ep.v. 8, 8, ‘Undevicensimo aetatis anno dicere in foro coepi.’ Before entering the Senate, he held (as stated in the chief inscription, given below) the decemviratelitibus iudicandis, the military tribunate in the third Gallic legion, and the title of Sevir in the Roman knighthood. Pliny probably held his military tribunate under Domitian (i.e., after 13th September,A.D.81) in Syria.

Cf.Ep.i. 10, 2, ‘Hunc [Euphraten philosophum] ego in Syria, cum adulescentulus militarem, penitus et domi inspexi.’

The date of Pliny’s praetorship asA.D.93 is settled byEp.iii. 11, 2, the events recorded in which passage are known from Tac.Agr.45 to have taken place shortly after Agricola’s death in August,A.D.93.

‘Fui praetor ... cum ... occisis Senecione Rustico Helvidio, relegatis Maurico Gratilla Arria Fannia ... mihi quoque impendere idem exitium certis quibusdam notis augurarer.’

The words inEp.vii. 16 (of Calestrius Tiro), ‘Simul quaestores Caesaris fuimus: ille me in tribunatu liberorum iure praecessit, ego illum in praetura sum consecutus, cum mihi Caesar annum remisisset,’ refer to the fact that the emperor did not insist on the year of absence from office between the tribunate and the quaestorship. Pliny was quaestor from 1st June, 89 to 31st May, 90A.D., being nominated by the emperor, as shown by the above passage. He wastrib. pleb.from 10th December, 90 to 9th December, 91A.D., and during his year of office undertook no cases. Cf.Ep.i. 23, 2, ‘Ipse cum tribunus essem ... abstinui causis agendis.’ By special favour he was allowed to take office as praetor on 1st January,A.D.93. In this year he appeared before the Senate for the people of Baetica against the procurator Baebius Massa.

Ep.vii. 33, esp. § 4, ‘Dederat me senatus cum Herennio Senecione advocatum provinciae Baeticae contra Baebium Massam.’

The inscriptions of Pliny show that he waspraefectus aerarii militarisbetween his praetorship in 93 and hispraefectura aerarii Saturni(from 98 onwards), and this office he held either from 94 to 96 or from 95 to 97A.D.Pliny tells us that he and Cornutus Tertullus were designated consuls, when they had held thepraefectura aerarii Saturnifor less than two years.

Paneg.91, ‘Nondum biennium compleveramus in officio laboriosissimo et maximo, cum tu nobis ... consulatum obtulisti.’

Thisdesignatiotook place on 9th January,A.D.100, whence thepraefecturamust have been entered on shortly after 9th January,A.D.98. Pliny was probably nominated to it by Nerva and Trajan.

Cf.ad Trai.3, ‘Ut primum me, domine, indulgentiavestrapromovit ad praefecturam aerarii Saturni.’

Mommsen[108]believes that this praefectura was held at the same time as the consulship, and on to December,A.D.101, an unusual length of tenure. H. F. Stobbe, however, makes the trial of Classicus, on which the last date depends, extend from September 99 to July 100A.D.(Philologus, xxx. 347sqq.).

Paneg.92, ‘Nobis praefectis aerarii consulatum ante quam successorem dedisti.’

Pliny, along with Cornutus Tertullus, his colleague in thepraefectura, was made consulA.D.100. He held the office in September of that year, and the tenure was either from July 1 to September 30, or from September 1 to October 31.

Paneg.92, ‘Ei nos potissimum mensi attribuisti quem tuus natalis exornat.’

ThePanegyricusis a speech of thanks to Trajan spoken on this occasion. InA.D.99 Pliny, along with Tacitus, appeared for the Africans against the proconsul Marius Priscus (seeEp.ii. 11 quotedp. 338); and inA.D.101, while stillpraefectus aerarii, he appeared for the people of Baetica against the proconsul Caecilius Classicus.

Ep.iii. 4, 2, ‘Legati provinciae Baeticae questuri de proconsulatu Caecili Classici advocatum me a senatu petierunt.’

Pliny obtained the augurship, probably in 103 or 104, in succession to Sex. Iulius Frontinus, who probably died in 102 or 103A.D.Cf.Ep.iv. 8, 3, ‘Successi Iulio Frontino.’ In 103 or 104A.D.he appeared against the Bithynians for the proconsul Iulius Bassus (Ep.iv. 9 etc.). He held thecura alvei Tiberis et riparum et cloacarum urbisprobably from 105 to 107A.D.See Pliny’s chief inscription (below), and cf.Ep.v. 14, 1-2, ‘Mihi nuntiatum est Cornutum Tertullum accepisse Aemiliae viae curam ... aliquanto magis me delectat mandatum mihi officium, postquam par Cornuto datum video.’

AboutA.D.106 Pliny appeared against the Bithynians for the proconsul Varenus Rufus (Ep.vi. 29, 11).

From 111-2 or 112-3A.D.Pliny was governor of Pontus and Bithynia, being sent out for a special purpose by the emperor aslegatus pro praetore consulari potestate. Cf. the chief inscription (below) and the words of Trajan.

Trai.32, ‘Meminerimus idcirco te in istam provinciam missum, quoniam multa in ea emendanda apparuerint.’

The date of Pliny’s governorship is fixed by the mention of Calpurnius Macer in the letters (ad Trai.42; 61; 62) as the governor of the nearest province. Mommsen has identified him with P. Calpurnius Macer Caulius Rufus, who is shown by an inscription (C.I.L.iii. 7 and 17) to have been governor of Lower Moesia in 112A.D.This is corroborated by the fact that no mention is made of Bithynia in the chief collection of letters, which was not completed tillA.D.108 at least. Therefore the governorship falls after that time. On the other hand, Pliny must have been sent out not later thanA.D.113, as in the chief inscriptionOptimusdoes not appear in Trajan’s name, and this cognomen he assumed inA.D.114. Finally, the fact that Trajan was at Rome during Pliny’s governorship points to a time between the end of the second Dacian War inA.D.107 and the outbreak of the Parthian War inA.D.113.

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