Martial in Roman Biography

Martial, mar'she^l, [Fr. Martial, mtR'se'tl' ; Lat. Martia'lis ; It. Marziale, maRt-se-a'la,] or, more fully, Mar'cus Vale'rius Martia'lis, a famous Latin epigrammatic poet, born at Bilbilis, in Spain, about 40 a.d., went to Rome at the age of twenty-two, and resided there thirty-five years. The events of his life are very imperfectly known ; but it appears that he devoted his atten tion chiefly to poetry. Some epigrams which he wrote on the occasion of the public spectacles given by Titus about the year 80, procured him the favour of that prince. He was also patronized by Domitian, who made him a tribune and a Roman knight. He was intimate with Juvenal, Quintilian, and Plniy the Younger. About 98 a.d. he returned to his native place, where he died a few years later. Fourteen books of his " Epigrams" are still extant, and are much admired by some eminent critics, such as Scaliger, Lipsius, and Malte-Brun. The latter thinks his writings are among the most interesting monuments of Roman literature, though many of them offend against good taste and pure morality. Probably no poet ever estimated his works more justly than he did in the following line : "Sunt bona, sunt quxdam mediocria, sunt plura mala." (" Some are good, some indifferent, and more are bad.") See Crush's, " Life of Martial," in " Lives of the Roman Poets," J726: Lrssing, "Vermischte Schriften;" A. Pbricaud. " Essai sur Mutial," 1^16; Fabricics, " Uibliotheca Latina:" " M. V. Mar- ! ; s Men-ch und Dichter," Berlin, 1S43: "Martial and his Times," in the "Westminster Review" for April, 1853.

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