The Epigrams of Martial (Classic Reprint)

Excerpt from The Epigrams of Martial The literature of imperial Rome has powerfully influenced the civilization of the Western world; and, amid the vast changes of our social system, still continues to maintain its high place in the republic of letters. This is due partly to the grandeur of the people by whom the language was spoken, but more so to the illustrious writers who wedded it to intellectual creations that must ever be models for study and admiration. Among these writers, Martial stands as the first Epigrammatist, not only of his own, but of every succeeding age. The bent of his genius seems to have lain entirely in this direction. Everything he penned, whether begging a favour, satirizing a fault, writing an inscription, or paying a compliment, was an epigram. The word epigram originally signified, as its etymology implies, nothing more than an inscription. But in the development which it received in the progress of literature, and especially at the hands of Martial, it assumed an entirely new character, and may be de fined as the concentration of satire and pointed invective in a short poem. One idea is selected, and to this all the powers of the poet's mind are directed, and made to converge as to a point. To the gracefulness of the Greek epigram the Romans super added shrewdness and an acute observation of human nature: the shafts of Martial are pointed by the same sarcastic feeling which inspired the Epodes of Horace, and the Satires of Juvenal. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.