not in the patronage of Maecenas. While writing the Georgics he is; and the Georgics, instigated or at least encouraged by
Maecenas, show that Maecenas was not immediately concerned to elicit material that directly or crudely served Octavian. But
the poem is to a great degree a moral didactic, hence of potential if rather indefinite use to a ruler; and it shows Virgil's
strengthening sense of his committed poetic role.
It also demonstrates an attitude towards country life, an attitude which can be paralleled. Unlike Catullus and, say, Propertius,
Virgil loves and esteems rustic life. But whereas the dominating reality of contemporary agriculture was large slave-run
estates, Virgil esteems the small independent farmer-and exploits his way of life as a metaphor for morality. The simple point
I want to stress is that in spite of the prevalence of great ranches, such small farmers were still around. Evidence testifies to
their minority existence; and the policy of settling soldiers on confiscated property might, if it was successful (as it probably
was not), have increased their numbers. So Virgil's affectionate view of the country is we might say old-fashioned, blinkered,
even slightly romantic; but it is not a mere fiction or poetic convention.
I said above that no immediate pressure was being exerted by Maecenas for a poem directly to serve Octavian. But both he
and Virgil would know that the great man would want his exploits celebrated in epic, and that is what Virgil seems to
promise at the beginning of Georgics III. In fact, in the sophisticated atmosphere of the first Augustan period, he developed
an indirect, mythical mode whose fruit was the Aeneid-and the Emperor was, perhaps rather surprisingly, well pleased.
Horace
In the triumviral period Horace writes his Epodes, in Archilochian iambi, and his Satires, his development of Lucilius' genre.
We can still discern vestiges of republican libertarianism and non-alignment in them. Epodes 7 and 16 consider with neutral
despair the imminence of civil war. Other Epodes are vicious attacks, in Archilochian vein. Some Satires too attack
personages, but in general Horace's Satires are more general and genial than those of Lucilius, and neither Epodes nor Satires
assail men of eminence. Horace had not the protection of rank; and besides, the triumviral period was a despotic one, with the
added complication that one could not be sure which despot would come out on top.
This is, however, also the period in which Maecenas gathers Horace into his circle, and Horace is induced to commit himself
enthusiastically to Octavian. Epode 9 is a celebration of the victory of Actium, and Epode 1, addressed to Maecenas, is the
effusive poem of a man who definitely sees himself in a patronized position; it reminds one of Tibullus talking to Messalla.
Satire 2.6 records with gratitude the gift of the famous Sabine estate, and Satire 1.1 is also addressed to Maecenas.