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'''Persius''', in full '''Aulus Persius Flaccus''' (AD [[34]]-[[62]]), was a [[Ancient Rome|Roman]] [[poet]] and [[satirist]] of [[Etruscan civilization|Etruscan]] origin. In his works, poems and [[Satire|satires]], he shows a [[Stoicism|stoic]] wisdom and a strong criticism for the abuses of his contemporaries. His works, which became very popular in the middle ages, were published after his death by his friend and mentor the stoic philosopher [[Lucius Annaeus Cornutus]].
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'''Persius''', in full '''Aulus Persius Flaccus''' (34-62 c.e.), was an [[Ancient Rome|ancient Roman]] poet and satirist of [[Etrusca|Etruscan]] origin. His six short [[satires]], published after his death by his friend and mentor, the [[Stoicism|Stoic]] philosopher [[Lucius Annaeus Cornutus]] , were greeted with  delight and appreciation and became an instant success in Rome.  Considered to be one of the best of the Roman satirists, Persius used humor and exaggeration to expose and criticize the degradation of Roman society, and, in the process, to uphold the high moral ideals of Stoicism.  His works were widely read by scholars during the [[Middle Ages]].
  
==Life==
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== Life ==
According to the ''Life'' contained in the manuscripts, Persius was a native of [[Volterra]] (Volaterrae, in Latin), a small etruscan city in the province of [[Pisa]], of good stock on both parents' side. When six years old he lost his father, and his step-father died in a few years. At the age of twelve Persius came to Rome, where he was taught by [[Quintus Remmius Palaemon|Remmius Palaemon]] and the [[rhetor]] [[Verginius Flavus]]. Four years later began a close friendship with the [[stoicism|Stoic]] [[Lucius Annaeus Cornutus]]. One of the philosopher's pupils, [[Lucan (poet)|Lucan]], became a generous admirer of all Persius wrote. While still a youth, he became the friend of the lyric poet [[Caesius Bassus]], whilst with [[Publius Clodius Thrasea Paetus|Thrasea Paetus]] (whose wife [[Arria]] was a relative) he had a close friendship of ten years' duration and shared travels. Later, he met [[Seneca the Younger|Seneca]], but was not impressed by his genius.
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A detailed biography attached to the manuscripts of Persius’ satires is attributed either to [[Suetonius]], or to Valerius Probus, possibly a grammarian who lived during the time of [[Nero]]. Many details of the biography coincide with events mentioned in the Satires, and the biography is thought to have been compiled shortly after the death of Persius, so that the details are considered to be reasonably accurate.
  
In his boyhood, Persius wrote a [[tragedy]] dealing with an episode in [[Roman history]], and another work, probably on travel; the excursions with Thrasea could not yet have taken place. Reading [[Lucilius]] made Persius want to write like him, and be set to work on a book of satires. But he wrote seldom and slowly; a premature death (''uitio stomachi'') prevented the completion of his task. He has been described as having "a gentle disposition, girlish modesty and personal beauty", and is said to have lived a life of exemplary devotion towards his mother Fulvia Sisenna, his sister and his aunt. To his mother and sister he left his considerable fortune. Cornutus suppressed all his work except the satires, to which he made some slight alterations before handing it over to Bassus for editing. It proved an immediate success.  
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Aulus Persius Flaccus was born at the small Etruscan city of Volaterrae on December 4, 34 C.E.., into a noble family. He was a Roman Eques (knight) and heir to a considerable fortune. His father, Flaccus, died when Persius was six, and his mother, Fulvia Sisenna, married a second husband, Fusius, who also died while Persius was still a youth.  His mother arranged for him to receive a typical Roman education; after beginning his studies at Volaterrae, in his twelfth year he was taken to Rome where he attended the lectures of the grammarian Remmius Palaemon and the rhetorician Verginius Flaccus. When he was sixteen, the Stoic philosopher L. Annaeus Cornutus became his teacher, guide and friend.  A passage in his Satires attests to the gratitude and affection he felt towards Cornutus.  
  
===Doubts over his biography===
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Persius lived for most of his life in a small household with his mother, sister and aunt, but he seems to have been acquainted with literary society and with several well-known Stoics. An early friend was the lyric poet Caesius Bassus and he enjoyed the friendship of the poet [[Lucan]].  He studied under Cornutus with two learned friends, a physician named Claudius Agaternus, and Petronius Aristocrates.  He was a relative of the heroic [[Arria]] and a close friend of her husband Paetus Thrasea for ten years, during which they often traveled together.  He was also acquainted with [[Seneca]] but was said not to admire his character. Persius was said to be a handsome youth with gentle manners, who lived a life of purity and temperance and showed exemplary filial piety.
The ''scholia'' add a few details—on what authority is, as generally with such sources, very doubtful. The ''Life'' itself, though not free from the suspicion of interpolation and undoubtedly corrupt and disordered in places, is probably trustworthy'. The manuscripts say it came from the commentary of [[Marcus Valerius Probus|Valerius Probus]], no doubt a learned edition of Persius like those of [[Virgil]] and [[Horace]] by this same famous "grammarian" of [[Berytus]], the poet's contemporary. The only case in which it seems to conflict with the ''Satires'' themselves is in its statement as to the death of Persius's father. The declaiming of a ''suasoria'' in his presence (Sat. 3. 4 sqq.) implies a more mature age than that of six in the performer. But ''pater'' might here mean "step-father," or Persius may have forgotten his own autobiography, may be simply reproducing one of his models. The mere fact that the Life and the Satires agree so closely does not of course prove the authenticity of the former. One of the points of harmony is, however, too subtle for us to believe that a forger evolved it from the works of Persius.
 
  
The Life gives an impression it gives of a "bookish" youth, who has never strayed far from home and family. This is also the picture drawn by the Satires. So much better does Persius know his books than the world that he draws the names of his characters from Horace. A keen observer of what occurs within his narrow horizon, he cannot but discern the seamy side of life (cf. e.g. such hints as ''Sat.'' iii. 110); he shows, however, none of Juvenal's undue stress on unsavoury detail or Horace's easy-going acceptance of human weaknesses. The sensitive, homebred nature of Persius shows itself perhaps also in his frequent references to ridicule, whether of great men by street gamins or of the cultured by [[Philistines]].
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Persius died of a stomach ailment on November 24, 62 C.E., at his estate at the eighth milestone on the [[Appian Way]].  He was twenty-nine years old.  He bequeathed a sum of money and his library, containing his Satires, to his friend Cornutus.  Cornutus made a few changes to the manuscript and, at the request of Caesius Bassus, handed it over to him to be edited. The Satires became an immediate success among his Roman intellectual contemporaries; the poet Lucan is said to have shouted with delight upon  them read aloud.  The Satires continued to be admired and referenced by scholars from the time they were published through the [[Middle Ages]], until the revival of Classical literature which heralded the [[Renaissance]].  Three [[Erly Christianity|early Christians]], [[St. Augustine]], Lactantius and [[Jerome]], frequently quoted phrases from Persius.
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== Works ==
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Persius wrote six short Satires, amounting to 650 lines. A tragedy and some verse written during his youth which were destroyed by Persius’ mother on the advice of Cornutus.  The Satires criticized the degradation of Roman society while expounding Stoic values. The first satire mocks the literature of the day, deriding the false taste in poetry, exposing the follies of fashionable writers, and parodying many popular works.  Each of the other five is devoted to the exposition of one of the Stoic doctrines: (2) the question as to what we may justly ask of the gods (cf. [[Plato]]'s second Alcibiades); (3) the importance of having a definite aim in life; (4) the necessity of self-knowledge for public men (cf. Plato's first Alcibiades); (5) the Stoic doctrine of liberty (introduced by generous allusions to Cornutus' teaching); and (6) the proper use of money.  Some outstanding passages in the fifth satire (on the subject of human freedom) describe how Persius’ own moral faculties were first awakened and expanded. Many scholars have attempted to show that Persius was making critical allusions to Nero, who was Emperor at the time of his death, but there is no evidence that this is true.
  
==Work==
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Both his Satires and the attached biography give the impression that Persius lived a sheltered life close to his family, and experienced the world mostly through literature and through his cultured acquaintances.  Nevertheless he observed everything around him very keenly. After reading the tenth book of [[Gaius Lucilius]],  Persius was inspired to write satire of his own, using the beginning of that book as his model. He wrote slowly and seldom.  Many of his characters’ names, as well as certain thoughts and situations, were drawn from the works of [[Horace]].  His peculiar literary phrases, intended to evoke certain impressions, and his use of popular words and expressions make his verses interesting but difficult to read.  Persius's satires are composed in hexameters, except for the scazens of the short prologue to the third satire, in which he half ironically asserts that he writes to earn his bread, not because he is inspired.
The chief interest of Persius's work lies in its relation to Roman satire, in its interpretation of Roman Stoicism, and in its use of the Roman tongue. The influence of Horace on Persius can, in spite of the silence of the Life, hardly have been less than that of Lucilius. Not only characters, as noted above, but whole phrases, thoughts and situations come direct from him. The resemblance only emphasizes the difference between the caricaturist of Stoicism and its preacher. Persius strikes the highest note that Roman satire reached; in earnestness and moral purpose rising far superior to the political rancour or good natured persiflage of his predecessors and the rhetorical indignation of [[Juvenal]], he seems a forerunner of the great [[Christian]] Apologists. From him we learn how that philosophy could work on minds that still preserved the depth and purity of the old Roman gravitas. Some of the parallel passages in the works of Persius and Seneca are very close, and cannot be explained by assuming the use of a common source. Like Seneca, Persius censures the style of the day, and imitates it. Indeed in some of its worst failings, straining of expression, excess of detail, exaggeration, he outbids Seneca, whilst the obscurity, which makes his little book of not seven hundred lines so difficult to read and is in no way due to great depth of thought, compares poorly with the terse clearness of the ''Epistolae morales''. A curious contrast to this tendency is presented by his free use of "popular" words. As of [[Plato]], so of Persius we hear that he emulated [[Sophron]]; the authority is a late one ([[Lydus]], ''De mag.'' I. 41), but we can at least recognize in the scene that opens Sat. 3. kinship with such work as [[Theocritus]]' ''Adoniazusae'' and the ''Mimes'' of [[Herodas]].
 
  
Persius's satires are composed in [[hexameter]]s, except for the scazens of the short prologue above referred to, in which he half ironically asserts that he writes to earn his bread, not because he is inspired. The first satire censures the literary tastes of the day as a reflection of the decadence of the national morals. The theme of Seneca's 114th letter is similar. The description of the recitcUor and the literary twaddlers after dinner is vividly natural, but an interesting passage which cites specimens of smooth versification and the languishing style is greatly spoiled by the difficulty of appreciating the points involved and indeed of distributing the dialogue (a not uncommon crux in Persius). The remaining satires handle in order (2) the question as to what we may jusfly ask of the gods (cf. Plato's second [[Alcibiades]]), (3) the importance of having a definite aim in life, (4) the necessity of self-knowledge for public men (cf. Plato's first Alcibiades), (5) the Stoic doctrine of liberty (introduced by generous allusions to Cornutus' teaching), and (6) the proper use of money.
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Persius lived through the reigns of [[Caligula]] and [[Claudius]] and the first eight years of Nero, under the authoritarian government of Augustan Rome.  In his Satires, Persius attributes the decline of Roman literature to moral decay, but governmental restriction of literary freedom also contributed to the lack of inspiration and substantial subject matter.  Persius never mentions politics in his works, nor did he participate in public life like many of his Stoic contemporaries. He may never have intended his work to be read publicly.
  
The ''Life'' tells us that the ''Satires'' were not left complete; some lines were taken (presumably by Cornutus or Bassus) from the end of the work so that it might be quasi finitus. This perhaps means that a sentence in which Persius had left a line imperfect, or a paragraph which he had not completed, had to be omitted. The same authority says that Cornutus definitely blacked out an offensive allusion to the emperor's literary taste, and that we owe to him the reading of the manuscripts in Sat. i. 121,—"''auriculas asini quis non Mida rex habet!''" Traces of lack of revision are, however, still visible; cf. e.g. v. 176 (sudden transition from ambition to superstition) and vi. 37 (where criticism of Greek ''doctores'' has nothing to do with the context). The parallels to passages of Horace and Seneca are recorded in the commentaries: in view of what the Life says about Lucan, the verbal resemblance of Sat. iii. 3 to Phars. x. 163 is interesting. Examples of bold language or metaphor: i. 25, rupto iecore exierit caprificus, 60, linguae quantum sitiat canis; iii. 42, intus palleat, 81, silentia rodunt; v. 92, ueteres auiae de pulmone reuello. Passages like iii. 87, 100 sqq. show elaboration carried beyond the rules of good taste. "Popular" words: ''baro'', ''cido'', ''ebullire'', ''gluto'', ''lallare'', ''mamma'', ''muhire'', ''obba'', ''palpo'', ''stioppus''. Fine lines, etc., in i. 1i6 sqq., ii. 6 sqq., 61 sqq., 73 sqq., iii. 39 sqq.
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Persius strikes the highest note reached by Roman satire; his earnestness and moral purpose rises far superior to the political rancour or good natured persiflage of his predecessors, Horace and [[Juvenal]]. From him we learn how philosophy could work on minds that still preserved the depth and purity of the old Roman gravitas. Some parallel passages in the works of Persius and Seneca are very close, and cannot be explained by assuming the use of a common source. Like Seneca, Persius censures the style of the day, and imitates it.  
  
===Authorities===
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The Life tells us that the ''Satires'' were not left complete; some lines were taken (presumably by Cornutus or Bassus) from the end of the work so that it might be quasi finitus. This perhaps means that a sentence in which Persius had left a line imperfect, or a paragraph which he had not completed, had to be omitted.
  
The manuscripts of Persius fall into two groups, one represented by two of the best of them, the other by that of [[Petrus Pithoeus]], so important for the text of [[Juvenal]]. Since the publication of [[J. Bieger]]'s ''de Persii cod. pith. recte aestimando'' (Berlin, 1890) the tendency has been to prefer the tradition of the latter.
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== Authorities ==
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The manuscripts of Persius fall into two groups, one represented by two of the best of them, the other by that of Petrus Pithoeus, so important for the text of Juvenal. Since the publication of J. Bieger's de Persii cod. pith. recte aestimando (Berlin, 1890) the tendency has been to prefer the tradition of the latter.
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The first important editions were: (1) with explanatory notes: Isaac Casaubon (Paris, 1605, enlarged edition by Johann Friedrich Dübner, Leipzig, 1833); Otto Jahn (with the scholia and valuable prolegomena, Leipzig, 1843); John Conington (with translation; 3rd ed., Oxford, 1893), etc; but there are several modern editions.  
  
The first important editions were: (1) with explanatory notes: [[Isaac Casaubon]] (Paris, 1605, enlarged edition by [[Johann Friedrich Dübner]], Leipzig, 1833); [[Otto Jahn]] (with the ''scholia'' and valuable prolegomena, Leipzig, 1843); [[John Conington]] (with translation; 3rd ed., Oxford, 1893), etc; but there are several modern editions.
 
  
  
  
{{1911}}
 
 
[[Category:Roman era poets|Persius Flaccus, Aulus]]
 
[[Category:Roman era poets|Persius Flaccus, Aulus]]
 
[[Category:satirist]]
 
[[Category:satirist]]

Revision as of 20:31, 13 June 2006

Persius, in full Aulus Persius Flaccus (34-62 C.E.), was an ancient Roman poet and satirist of Etruscan origin. His six short satires, published after his death by his friend and mentor, the Stoic philosopher Lucius Annaeus Cornutus , were greeted with delight and appreciation and became an instant success in Rome. Considered to be one of the best of the Roman satirists, Persius used humor and exaggeration to expose and criticize the degradation of Roman society, and, in the process, to uphold the high moral ideals of Stoicism. His works were widely read by scholars during the Middle Ages.

Life

A detailed biography attached to the manuscripts of Persius’ satires is attributed either to Suetonius, or to Valerius Probus, possibly a grammarian who lived during the time of Nero. Many details of the biography coincide with events mentioned in the Satires, and the biography is thought to have been compiled shortly after the death of Persius, so that the details are considered to be reasonably accurate.

Aulus Persius Flaccus was born at the small Etruscan city of Volaterrae on December 4, 34 C.E., into a noble family. He was a Roman Eques (knight) and heir to a considerable fortune. His father, Flaccus, died when Persius was six, and his mother, Fulvia Sisenna, married a second husband, Fusius, who also died while Persius was still a youth. His mother arranged for him to receive a typical Roman education; after beginning his studies at Volaterrae, in his twelfth year he was taken to Rome where he attended the lectures of the grammarian Remmius Palaemon and the rhetorician Verginius Flaccus. When he was sixteen, the Stoic philosopher L. Annaeus Cornutus became his teacher, guide and friend. A passage in his Satires attests to the gratitude and affection he felt towards Cornutus.

Persius lived for most of his life in a small household with his mother, sister and aunt, but he seems to have been acquainted with literary society and with several well-known Stoics. An early friend was the lyric poet Caesius Bassus and he enjoyed the friendship of the poet Lucan. He studied under Cornutus with two learned friends, a physician named Claudius Agaternus, and Petronius Aristocrates. He was a relative of the heroic Arria and a close friend of her husband Paetus Thrasea for ten years, during which they often traveled together. He was also acquainted with Seneca but was said not to admire his character. Persius was said to be a handsome youth with gentle manners, who lived a life of purity and temperance and showed exemplary filial piety.

Persius died of a stomach ailment on November 24, 62 C.E., at his estate at the eighth milestone on the Appian Way. He was twenty-nine years old. He bequeathed a sum of money and his library, containing his Satires, to his friend Cornutus. Cornutus made a few changes to the manuscript and, at the request of Caesius Bassus, handed it over to him to be edited. The Satires became an immediate success among his Roman intellectual contemporaries; the poet Lucan is said to have shouted with delight upon them read aloud. The Satires continued to be admired and referenced by scholars from the time they were published through the Middle Ages, until the revival of Classical literature which heralded the Renaissance. Three early Christians, St. Augustine, Lactantius and Jerome, frequently quoted phrases from Persius.

Works

Persius wrote six short Satires, amounting to 650 lines. A tragedy and some verse written during his youth which were destroyed by Persius’ mother on the advice of Cornutus. The Satires criticized the degradation of Roman society while expounding Stoic values. The first satire mocks the literature of the day, deriding the false taste in poetry, exposing the follies of fashionable writers, and parodying many popular works. Each of the other five is devoted to the exposition of one of the Stoic doctrines: (2) the question as to what we may justly ask of the gods (cf. Plato's second Alcibiades); (3) the importance of having a definite aim in life; (4) the necessity of self-knowledge for public men (cf. Plato's first Alcibiades); (5) the Stoic doctrine of liberty (introduced by generous allusions to Cornutus' teaching); and (6) the proper use of money. Some outstanding passages in the fifth satire (on the subject of human freedom) describe how Persius’ own moral faculties were first awakened and expanded. Many scholars have attempted to show that Persius was making critical allusions to Nero, who was Emperor at the time of his death, but there is no evidence that this is true.

Both his Satires and the attached biography give the impression that Persius lived a sheltered life close to his family, and experienced the world mostly through literature and through his cultured acquaintances. Nevertheless he observed everything around him very keenly. After reading the tenth book of Gaius Lucilius, Persius was inspired to write satire of his own, using the beginning of that book as his model. He wrote slowly and seldom. Many of his characters’ names, as well as certain thoughts and situations, were drawn from the works of Horace. His peculiar literary phrases, intended to evoke certain impressions, and his use of popular words and expressions make his verses interesting but difficult to read. Persius's satires are composed in hexameters, except for the scazens of the short prologue to the third satire, in which he half ironically asserts that he writes to earn his bread, not because he is inspired.

Persius lived through the reigns of Caligula and Claudius and the first eight years of Nero, under the authoritarian government of Augustan Rome. In his Satires, Persius attributes the decline of Roman literature to moral decay, but governmental restriction of literary freedom also contributed to the lack of inspiration and substantial subject matter. Persius never mentions politics in his works, nor did he participate in public life like many of his Stoic contemporaries. He may never have intended his work to be read publicly.

Persius strikes the highest note reached by Roman satire; his earnestness and moral purpose rises far superior to the political rancour or good natured persiflage of his predecessors, Horace and Juvenal. From him we learn how philosophy could work on minds that still preserved the depth and purity of the old Roman gravitas. Some parallel passages in the works of Persius and Seneca are very close, and cannot be explained by assuming the use of a common source. Like Seneca, Persius censures the style of the day, and imitates it.

The Life tells us that the Satires were not left complete; some lines were taken (presumably by Cornutus or Bassus) from the end of the work so that it might be quasi finitus. This perhaps means that a sentence in which Persius had left a line imperfect, or a paragraph which he had not completed, had to be omitted.

Authorities

The manuscripts of Persius fall into two groups, one represented by two of the best of them, the other by that of Petrus Pithoeus, so important for the text of Juvenal. Since the publication of J. Bieger's de Persii cod. pith. recte aestimando (Berlin, 1890) the tendency has been to prefer the tradition of the latter. The first important editions were: (1) with explanatory notes: Isaac Casaubon (Paris, 1605, enlarged edition by Johann Friedrich Dübner, Leipzig, 1833); Otto Jahn (with the scholia and valuable prolegomena, Leipzig, 1843); John Conington (with translation; 3rd ed., Oxford, 1893), etc; but there are several modern editions.

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