About 55-138 A.D.
Facunde Iuvenalis.—Martial, 7. 91. 1.
Irati histrionis exsul.—Sidouius Apollinaris, Carmen 9. 273.
Quidquid agunt homines, votum, timor, ira, voluptas, gaudia, discursus, nostri est farrago libelli.—Satira 1. 85-86.
Facit indignatio versum.—Satira 1. 79.
Satire appears to have originated in impromptu dramatic performances. It was looked upon by the Romans as a purely native product. Quintilian says of it (10. 1. 93) satura quidem tota nostra eat. The word seems to be connected with the adjective satur, the distinctive mark of the earlier satire being fulness and variety. As lanx satura is a dish filled with various kinds of fruit, so satire in this earlier sense is a poem which may deal with any subject and employ several measures and languages. With Lucilius, satire, while retaining its dramatic and discursive character, became didactic as well, and thus the word assumed its modern signification.
The principal names in the history of Roman satire are Ennius (239-160
B.C.), Lucilius (148-103 B.C.), Varro (116-27 B.C.), Horace (65-8 B.C.),
Persius (34-62 A.D.), Seneca the Younger (3 B.C.-65 A.D.), Petronius
(flourished about 60 A.D.), and Juvenal.
Juvenal was born at Aquinum in Latium and was the son or foster son of a wealthy freedman. He practised declamation till middle life, was tribune of the first Dalmatian cohort, was for some reason banished (the story says for verses offensive to an actor who had influence at court), and died while in exile. He was a friend of the poet Martial.
We possess sixteen of his satires divided into five books. 'Those which are most characteristic portray the vices of Roman society with passionate, unsparing ferocity' and in an extremely highly colored style. In some passages the most prominent quality is wit, which consists chiefly in the exaggerated and strongly contrasted situations. Other passages reach a lofty height of moral earnestness and dignity.
For Reference: Wright, Juvenal (Boston, 1901); Mayor, Juvenal
(London, 1886).