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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 January 2009
In his Sather Lectures on Roman Satire, J. Wight Duff writes (pp. 160–1): ‘Indignatio facit versum, says Juvenal: “Wrath is the maker of my verse”. The author ought to know whence his main inspiration comes; and the thunder of explosive anger is abundantly audible in the earlier books. Yet there is a sense in which this familiar quotation tells only part of the truth. People can be immeasurably angry without achieving the satiric; for anger, to rise above mere invective into satire, must be artistically directed; and this is where Juvenal's own talents are necessary for the complete recipe.’
page 61 note 1 I do not wish to imply that Juvenal had no modesty. In Sat. vii. 52–71, where he asserts that his age has produced no poet of genius, he shows modesty as well as sound judgement. But it is one thing to place oneself below Virgil and Horace, and another to deny oneself any talent whatsoever.
page 63 note 1 This appears to be the assumption made by Professor Gilbert Highet in his recent study, Juvenal the Satirist (Oxford 1954), which was published after this paper had been drafted. On p. 73 Professor Highet writes: ‘Umbricius, or Juvenal through him, has given three reasons why he cannot make a living at Rome.’ Juvenal himself, however, has offered a hint which should deter us from making this identification. Umbricius' complaints, as Professor Highet points out (op. cit., p. 254), fall under two headings, (a) his poverty and his inability to make a living, and (b) the dangers and discomforts of life in the city. The second of these Juvenal endorses for himself: the mille perioda saevae/urbis make him, no less than Umbricius, eager to leave Rome (iii. 5–9), although, when he includes as an afterthought Augusto rentantes mense poetas, he is warning us not to take him too seriously. But the first, poverty, he passes over in silence. His situation is not that of Umbricius. This point is emphasized at the end of the satire, where Umbricius is to leave Rome for ever, while Juvenal will leave it only for a vacation (318–21). Seeing how little is known of Juvenal's life, it is dangerous to interpret his work as autobiographical. It is also unnecessary, if we can credit him with the power to observe other people's lives with insight and imagination.
page 63 note 2 Editors sometimes call it ‘The Vanity of Human Wishes’ after Johnson's imitation, but the title is misleading.
page 64 note 1 ProfessorHighet, Gilbert, ‘The Life of Juvenal’, Transactions of the American Philological Association, lxviii (1937), 498Google Scholar, writes: ‘Juvenal's Satire 10, which has been called “The Vanity of Human Wishes”, should rather be named “The Dangers of Ambition”, for its main theme is: “wish for no distinction and you will be safe”.’ This, of course, is one conclusion that can be drawn from the satire, but it is not the main theme, which is rather ‘pray for no distinction, material, political, military, or physical, if you want to be happy’. In Juvenal the Satirist Professor Highet again states (p. 129) that the title of the Satire should be ‘The Dangers of Ambition’.
page 64 note 2 Friedlaender, Ludwig, D. lunii luvenalis Saturarum Libri V (Leipzig, 1895), ii. 452–3.Google Scholar
page 65 note 1 I do not agree with Friedlaender that this phrase stands for rigida censura cachinni (see his note ad loc.). Rigida would be otiose, whereas the adjective is needed for defining cachinni. A cachinnus could be pleasant, as in Catullus xxxi. 14, or unpleasant, as it must be here.
page 65 note 2 It is hardly necessary to point out that Juvenal's Democritus is a conventional figment, a convenient symbol, bearing little resemblance to the historical Democritus.
page 68 note 1 See, for example, Duff, J. Wight, Roman Satire, pp. 155–6.Google Scholar
page 69 note 1 For Johnson's treatment of Juvenal's theme see ‘The Vanity of Human Wishes’ by Gifford, Henry, The Review of English Studies, N.S. vi (1955), 159–165.Google Scholar
