Satires of Juvenal

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Satires, satirical poem by the Latin poet Juvenal.

This, his only surviving work, consists of sixteen satires in hexameter. Through them Juvenal portrays an anger and contempt towards his contemporaries, which gives us an insight into Roman values and morality rather than real life. His satire is frequently lewd, although in the tradition of Roman satire, he prefers euphemism to outright obscenity.

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[edit] Contents

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[edit] Satire I

This satire is referred to as the "Programmatic Satire", as it introduces the reader to why Juvenal is writing satire, and the issues he will be dealing with.

[edit] Satire II

[edit] Satire III

On Rome, is the third satire in Juvenal's Book 1. It is an invective on foreigners and foreign influence in Rome.

Samuel Johnson based his "London: A Poem in Imitation of the Third Satire of Juvenal" (1738) on this satire.

[edit] Satire IV

Jean-Jacques Rousseau's motto, vitam impendere vero "to devote life to truth" is taken from Juvenal's satire 4, verse 91.

[edit] Satire V

This is based around a fictional patron, Virro, and his client Trebius. Trebius has been invited to dinner by his client Virro. However Juvenal, Trebius' friend, reminds Trebius that he has only been invited because the bottom seat at the dinner party needs to be filled. The satire deals with the mockery that will be dealt to Trebius, should he go to the dinner party, going through all the courses and highlighting the difference between the good food for the rich guests, and the scraps of old food for Trebius. This ends with Juvenal's remark that Trebius is no worse than Virro if he is willing to put up with such humiliation for some food.

[edit] Satire VI

Main article: Satire VI

The rhetorical question "Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?", "Who shall guard the guards themselves?" comes from his satire On Women, and arises in a discussion concerning the usefulness of having eunuchs guard your women.

[edit] Satire VIII

[edit] Satire IX

[edit] Satire X

This satire seeks to answer the question "What should one pray for?". It goes through examples of what happens when people got the things that people often prayed for (eg. eloquence, money, beauty) and arrives at the conclusion that if you must pray for something then it should be "mens sana in corpore sano" - a healthy mind in a healthy body. This phrase is often used as a motto, notably by the Carlton Football Club. It is also and probably best known for coining the phrase "panem et circenses" ("bread and circuses") to describe the primary pursuits of the Roman populace.