Author: R. T. Bridge

Publisher:

Published: 2015-07-21

Total Pages: 328

ISBN-13: 9781331919995

Excerpt from Select Epigrams of Martial: Spectaculorum Liber and Books I-Vi This edition of selected epigrams from the first six books of Martial is intended for the use of upper forms in schools. There are two reasons why Martial should be read in these forms. In the first place, his epigrams belong to a distinct species of literature, characteristically Roman both in form and matter. Secondly, Martial throws a valuable and instructive light on the social life of Rome in the first century of our era. If these are the two reasons why boys still at school should read Martial, yet it is probably true that they should read him rapidly and without the rigid attention to detail which is necessary in studying the best classical writers. It has been our aim, therefore, to keep our notes concise, and not to fill the place of the dictionary and the atlas, but, as far as possible, to make clear the thought and point of each epigram. With this end in view a short abstract of the meaning is prefixed to the notes on each poem, but few attempts have been made to supply ready-made translation. In the Introduction has been added a connected account of certain features of Roman life which are constantly referred to in the epigrams; this seemed better than writing short and scattered notes on the passages concerned. We have also given a biographical index of some of the proper names occurring in the text, and we hope that our general index may be of use in finding references in the poet to the many features of Roman life on which he touches. 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.