Some information about Calpurnius’ life is got from his works. In 4, 17-8, he (as Corydon) mentions a brother; in 4, 155-6, he speaks of his poverty; and in 4, 29 sqq., of Meliboeus as having come to his assistance when about to leave for Spain; cf. Ecl. 4, 36-42,
Ecce nihil querulum per te, Meliboee, sonamus;
per te secura saturi recubamus in umbra,
et fruimur silvis Amaryllidos, ultima nuper
litora terrarum, nisi tu, Meliboee, fuisses,
ultima visuri, trucibusque obnoxia Mauris pascua Geryonis.
The old theory was that Calpurnius lived in the time of Carus and his sons (in the second half of the 3rd century A.D.), but the facts fit in best with the view that he lived at the beginning of Nero’s reign. (1) Meliboeus in Ecl. 4 probably stands for Seneca (others suppose Calpurnius Piso to be meant); 4, 53-7,
Nam tibi non tantum venturos discere nimbos
agricolis qualemque ferat sol aureus ortum,
attribuere dei, sed dulcia carmina saepe
concinis.
These lines agree with the fact of Seneca’s being the author of Naturales Quaestiones and of tragedies. (2) Ecl. i. 77-83 refers to the comet which appeared at the beginning of Nero’s reign. (3) References to Nero’s youth and beauty, poetical gifts, the games he gave, and the new era of peace he introduced; 1, 42-5,
Aurea secura cum pace renascitur aetas,
et redit ad terras tandem squalore situque
alma Themis posito, iuvenemque beata secuntur
saecula, maternis causam qui vicit in ulnis
7, 6,
quae patula iuvenis deus edit harena.
Cf. also 1, 84-8; 4, 84-9; 7, 83-4. Ecl. 7 used to be taken as referring to the Colosseum, which was not commenced till about A.D. 77; but the games may be those mentioned in Sueton. Nero, 11, and the wooden amphitheatre in 7, 23-4, may be that mentioned by Sueton. Nero, 12, and Tac. Ann. xiii. 31.
The difference of authorship of Ecl. 1-7 and of Ecl. 8-11 is shown by the following: (1) Final ŏ shows classical usage in 1-7, but in 8-11 we have expectŏ (9, 26), coniungŏ (10, 14), ambŏ (9, 17), and the like; (2) 1-7 show only eight elisions, 7-11 show thirty-nine; (3) no ending like montivagus Pan (10, 17) is found in 1-7; (4) fateor and memini used parenthetically are common in 1-7, and not found in 8-11; (5) there are no allusions to the emperor in 8-11; (6) Ecl. 9 shows imitations of Ecl. 2 and 3; (7) 8-11 agree in many points with Nemesianus’ Cynegetica.