Western Civilization

Another prominent Augustan poet was Horace

(HOR-uss) (65–8B.C.E.), a friend of Virgil’s. Horace was

a sophisticated writer whose overriding concern was to

point out to his contemporaries the “follies and vices

of his age.” In theSatires, a medley of poems on a vari-

ety of subjects, Horace is revealed as a detached ob-

server of human weaknesses. He directed his attacks

against movements, not living people, and took on

such subjects as sexual immorality, greed, and job dis-

satisfaction (“How does it happen, Maecenas, that no

man alone is content with his lot?”). Horace mostly

laughs at the weaknesses of humankind and calls for

forbearance: “Supposing my friend has got liquored

and wetted my couch,... is he for such a lapse to be

deemed less dear as a friend, or because when hungry

he snatched up before me a chicken from my side of

the dish?”^7

Ovid (OH-vid) (43B.C.E.–18C.E.) was the last of the

great poets of the golden age. He belonged to a youth-

ful, privileged social group in Rome that liked to ridi-

cule old Roman values. In keeping with the spirit of

this group, Ovid wrote a frivolous series of love poems

known as theAmores. Intended to entertain and shock,

they achieved their goal. Another of Ovid’s works was

The Daily Life of an Upper-Class Roman

There was an enormous gulf between rich and poor in

Roman society. The upper classes lived lives of great

leisure and luxury in their villas and on their vast estates.

Pliny the Younger (ca. 62–ca. 113) was an upper-class

Roman who rose to the position of governor of Bithynia

in Asia Minor. In this excerpt from one of his letters, Pliny

describes a typical day vacationing at one of his Italian

villas. Although Pliny owned four villas in Italy, he did not

belong to the ranks of the really rich in Roman society.

Pliny,Letter to Fuscus Salinator

You want to know how I plan the summer days I spend

in Tuscany. I wake when I like, usually about sunrise,

often earlier but rarely later. My shutters stay closed,

for in the stillness and darkness I feel myself

surprisingly detached from any distractions and left to

myself in freedom.... If I have anything on hand I

work it out in my head, choosing and correcting the

wording, and the amount I achieve depends on the

ease or difficulty with which my thoughts can be

marshaled and kept in my head. Then I call my

secretary, the shutters are opened, and I dictate what I

have put into shape; he goes out, is recalled, and again

dismissed. Three or four hours after I first wake (but I

don’t keep to fixed times) I betake myself according to

the weather either to the terrace or the covered arcade,

work out the rest of my subject, and dictate it. I go for

a drive, and spend the time in the same way as when

walking or lying down; my powers of concentration do

not flag and are in fact refreshed by the change. After a

short sleep and another walk I read a Greek or Latin

speech aloud and with emphasis, not so much for the

sake of my voice as my digestion, though of course

both are strengthened by this. Then I have another

walk, am oiled, take exercise, and have a bath. If I am

dining alone with my wife or with a few friends, a book

is read aloud during the meal and afterward we listen

to a comedy or some music; then I walk again with the

members of my household, some of whom are

educated. Thus, the evening is prolonged with varied

conversations, and even when the days are at their

longest, comes to a satisfying end.

Part of the day is given up to friends who visit me

from neighboring towns and sometimes come to my

aid with a welcome interruption when I am tired.

Occasionally I go hunting, but not without my

notebooks so that I shall have something to bring

home even if I catch nothing. I also give some time to

my tenants (they think it should be more) and the

boorishness of their complaints gives fresh zest to our

literary interests and the more civilized pursuits of

town.

Q What does Pliny’s letter tell you about the lifestyle

of upper-class Romans? Could this lifestyle be

related to the decline of the Roman Empire? Why

or why not?

Source: FromThe Letters of the Younger Pliny, translated with an introduction by Betty Radice (Penguin Classics 1963, Reprinted 1969). CopyrightªBetty Radice, 1963, 1969. Reproduced by

permission of Penguin Books Ltd.

130 Chapter 6The Roman Empire

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