PUBLIUS PAPINIUS See also:

• PUBLIUS PAPINIUS STATIUS (c. A.D. 45-96)

STATIUS (c. A.D. 45-96)  , Latin poet, was See also:

• BORN, IGNAZ, EDLER VON (1742–1791)

born at See also:

• NAPLES
• NAPLES (Ital. Napoli, and Lat. Neapolis)
• NAPLES, KINGDOM OF

Naples . He was, to a See also:

• GREAT

great extent, devoted by See also:

• BIRTH (a word common in various forms to Teutonic languages from the root of the verb " to bear ")

birth and training to the profession of a poet . The Statii were of Graeco-Campanian origin, and were of See also:

• GENTLE (through the Fr. gentil, from Lat. gentilis, belonging to the same gens, or family)

gentle extraction, though impoverished, and the See also:

• FAMILY

family records were not without See also:

• POLITICAL

political distinctions . The poet's See also:

• FATHER

father taught with marked success at Naples and See also:

• ROME
• ROME (Roma)

Rome, and from boyhood to See also:

• AGE (Fr. age, through late Lat. aetaticum, from aetas)

age he proved himself a See also:

• CHAMPION (Fr. champion, Late Lat. campio from campus; a field or open space, i.e. one " who takes the field " or fights; cf. Ger. Kampf, battle, and Kampfer, fighter)

champion in the poetic tournaments which formed an important See also:

• PART

part of the amusements of the See also:

• EARLY
• EARLY, JUBAL ANDERSON (1816-1894)

early See also:

• EMPIRE

empire . The younger See also:

• STATIUS, PUBLIUS PAPINIUS (c. A.D. 45-96)

Statius declares that his father was in his See also:

• TIME (0. Eng. Lima, cf. Icel. timi, Swed. timme, hour, Dan. time; from the root also seen in " tide," properly the time of between the flow and ebb of the sea, cf. O. Eng. getidan, to happen, " even-tide," &c.; it is not directly related to Lat. tempus)
• TIME, MEASUREMENT OF
• TIME, STANDARD

time equal to any See also:

• LITERARY

literary task, whether in See also:

• PROSE

prose or See also:

• VERSE (from Lat. versus, literally a line or furrow drawn by turning the plough, from vertere, and afterwards signifying an arrangement of syllables into feet)

verse . Probably the poet inherited a modest competence and was not under the See also:

• NECESSITY (Lat. necessitas)

necessity of begging his See also:

• BREAD

bread from wealthy patrons . He certainly wrote poems to See also:

• ORDER
• ORDER (through Fr. ordre, for earlier ordene, from Lat. ordo, ordinis, rank, service, arrangement; the ultimate source is generally taken to be the root seen in Lat. oriri, rise, arise, begin; cf. " origin ")
• ORDER, HOLY

order (as Silvae, i . 1, 2, U . 7, and iii . 4), but there is no indication that the material return for them was important to him, in spite of an allusion in See also:

• JUVENAL (DECIMUS JUNIUS JUVENALIS) (c. 60-140)

Juvenal's seventh See also:

• SATIRE (Lat. satira, satura; see below)

satire . Of events in the See also:

• LIFE

life of Statius we know little . From his boyhood he was victorious in poetic contests—many times at his native See also:

• CITY (through Fr. cite, from Lat. civitas)

city Naples, thrice at See also:

• ALBA

Alba, where he received the See also:

• GOLDEN

golden See also:

• CROWN

crown from the See also:

• HAND
• HAND (a word common to Teutonic languages; cf. Ger. Hand, Goth. handus)
• HAND, FERDINAND GOTTHELF (1786-185r)

hand of the See also:

• EMPEROR (Fr. empereur, from the Lat. imperator)

emperor See also:

• DOMITIAN (Thus FLAVIUS DOMITIANUS)

Domitian .

But at the great Capitoline competition (probably on its third celebration in 94 A.D.) Statius failed to win the coveted chaplet of See also:

• OAK (O. Eng., (lc)

oak leaves . No doubt the extraordinary popularity of his Thebais had led him to regard himself as the supreme poet of the age, and when he could not sustain this reputation in the See also:

• FACE (from Lat. fades, derived either from facere, to make, or from a root fa-, meaning " appear "; cf. Gr. cbatvstv)

face of rivals from all parts of the empire he accepted the See also:

• JUDGES, THE BOOK OF

judges' See also:

• VERDICT (O. Fr. verdit, Lat. vere dictum, truly said, used in Late Latin in one word with its present significance)

verdict as a sign that his See also:

• DAY (O. Eng. dreg, Ger. Tag; according to the New English Dictionary, " in no way related to the Lat. dies")
• DAY, JOHN (1574-1640?)
• DAY, THOMAS (1748-1789)

day was past, and retired to Naples, the See also:

• HOME
• HOME, DANIEL DUNGLAS (1833-1886)
• HOME, EARLS OF

home of his ancestors and of his own See also:

• YOUNG
• YOUNG, A
• YOUNG, ARTHUR (1741-1820)
• YOUNG, BRIGHAM (1801-1877)
• YOUNG, CHARLES MAYNE (1777–1856)
• YOUNG, EDWARD (1683–1765)
• YOUNG, JAMES (1811-1883)
• YOUNG, THOMAS (1773-1829)

young years . We still possess the poem he addressed to his wife on this occasion (Silv. iii . 5) . There are hints in this poem which naturally See also:

• LEAD
• LEAD (pronounced iced)

lead to the surmise that Statius was suffering from a loss of the emperor's favour; he may have See also:

• FELT (cognate with Ger. Filz, Du. vilt, Swed. and Dan. fill; the root is unknown; the word has given Med. Lat. filtrum, " filter ")

felt that a word from Domitian would have won for him the envied See also:

• GARLAND, JOHN (fl. 1202—1252)

garland, and that the word ought to have been given . In the See also:

• PREFACE (Med. Lat. prefatia, for classical praefatio, praefari, to speak beforehand)

preface to See also:

• BOOK

book iv. of the Silvae there is mention of detractors who hated our poet's See also:

• STYLE
• STYLE (from Gr. a-6'1ms, a column; a different word from that used in literature, see below)

style, and these may have succeeded in inducing a new See also:

• FASHION (adapted from Fr. facon, agon, Lat. factio, making, facere, to do or make)

fashion in See also:

• POETRY

poetry at See also:

• COURT
• COURT (from the O. Fr. court, Late Lat. cortis, curtis, a popular form of class. Lat. cohors, gen. cohortis; the mod. Fr. form tour is due to the influence of the Lat. curia, the word used in medieval documents to translate " court " in the feudal sense)
• COURT, ANTOINE (1696-176o)

court . Such an See also:

• ECLIPSE (Gr. €uheo,tis, falling out of place, failing)

eclipse, if it happened, must have cut Statius to the See also:

• HEART
• HEART, LUNG

heart . He appears to have relished thoroughly the role of court-poet . The statement sometimes made that the See also:

• ELDER (0. Eng. ellarn; Ger. Holunder; Fr. sureau)
• ELDER (Gr. 1rpev(3iTepos)

elder Statius had been the emperor's teacher, and had received manyfavours from him, so that the son inherited a See also:

• DEBT (Lat. debitum, a thing owed)

debt of gratitude, seems to have no solid See also:

• FOUNDATION (Lat. fundatio, from fundare, to found)

foundation . Statius lauds the emperor, not to See also:

• DISCHARGE (adapted from the O. Fr. discharge, modern decharge, from a med. Lat. discargare, to unload, dis- and earn care, to load, cf. " charge ")

discharge a debt, but rather to create an See also:

• OBLIGATION

obligation . His flattery is as far removed from the gentle propitiatory See also:

• TONE, THEOBALD WOLFE (1763-1798)

tone of See also:

• QUINTILIAN [MARCUS FABIUS QUINTILIANUS] (C. A.D. 35-95)

Quintilian as it is from the coarse and crawling humiliation of See also:

• MARTIAL (MARCUS VALERIUS MARTIALIS)

Martial . It is in the large extravagant style of a nature in itself healthy and generous, which has accepted the theme and See also:

• LEFT

left scruples behind .

In one of his prefatory epistles Statius declares that he never allowed any See also:

• WORK

work of his to go forth without invoking the godhead of the divine emperor . Statius had taken the full measure of Domitian's See also:

• GROSS

gross See also:

• TASTE (from Lat. taxare, to touch sharply; tangere, to touch)

taste, and, presenting him with the See also:

• RODOMONTADE, or RHODOMONTADE

rodomontade which he loved, puts See also:

• CONSCIENCE (Lat. con-scientia, literally " knowledge of a thing shared with another person " or " complete knowledge," and derivatively " consciousness in general)
• CONSCIENCE, HENDRIK (1812-1883)

conscience and sincerity out of view, lest some uneasy twinge should See also:

• MAR, EARLDOM OF
• MAR, JOHN ERSKINE, 1ST OR 6TH EARL OF (d. 1572)
• MAR, JOHN ERSKINE, 2ND OR 7TH EARL
• MAR, JOHN ERSKINE, 6TH OR 11TH EARL OF (1675-1732)

mar his See also:

• MASTER (Lat. magister, related to tnagis, more, as the corresponding minister is to minus, less; the English form is due partly to the O. Eng. maegister, and partly to O. Fr. maistre, mod. maitre; cf. Du. meester, Ger. Meister, Ital. maestro)

master's enjoyment . But in one poem, that in which the poet pays his due for an invitation to the Imperial table, we have sincerity enough . Statius clearly feels all the raptures he expresses . He longs for the See also:

• POWER [WILLIAM GRATTAN] TYRONE (1797-1841)

power of him who told the See also:

• TALE (O.Eng. talu, number, account, story; the word is common to many Teutonic languages; cf. Ger. Zahl, number, Erzahlung, narrative, Du. taal, speech, language)

tale of See also:

• DIDO, or ELISSA

Dido's banquet, and for the See also:

• VOICE (Fr. voix, from Lat. vox)

voice of him who sang the, feast of See also:

• ALCINOUS
• ALCINOUS (ALKINoos)

Alcinous, that he may give forth utterance worthy of the lofty theme . The poet seemed, he says, to dine with great Jove himself and to receive See also:

• NECTAR

nectar from See also:

• GANYMEDE

Ganymede the See also:

• CUP (in O.E. cuppe; generally taken to be from Late Lat. cuppa, a variant of Lat. cupa, a cask, cf. Gr. KuaeXXov)

cup-See also:

• BEARER

bearer (an odious reference to the imperial favourite Earinus) . All his life hitherto has been barren and profitless . Now only has he begun to live in truth . The See also:

• PALACE (Lat. Palatium, the name given by Augustus to his residence on the Palatine Hill)

palace struck on the poet's See also:

• FANCY (a shortened form, dating from the 15th century, of " fantasy," which is derived through the O. Fr. fantasie, modern fantaisie. from the Latinized form of the Gr. cbavraoia, Oavrai'ecv, Oat Pais, to show)

fancy like the very See also:

• HALL
• HALL (generally known as SCHWABISCH-HALL, tc distinguish it from the small town of Hall in Tirol and Bad-Hall, a health resort in Upper Austria)
• HALL (O.E. heall, a common Teutonic word, cf. Ger. Halle)
• HALL, BASIL (1788-1844)
• HALL, CARL CHRISTIAN (1812–1888)
• HALL, CHARLES FRANCIS (1821-1871)
• HALL, CHRISTOPHER NEWMAN (1816—19oz)
• HALL, EDWARD (c. 1498-1547)
• HALL, FITZEDWARD (1825-1901)
• HALL, ISAAC HOLLISTER (1837-1896)
• HALL, JAMES (1793–1868)
• HALL, JAMES (1811–1898)
• HALL, JOSEPH (1574-1656)
• HALL, MARSHALL (1790-1857)
• HALL, ROBERT (1764-1831)
• HALL, SAMUEL CARTER (5800-5889)
• HALL, SIR JAMES (1761-1832)
• HALL, WILLIAM EDWARD (1835-1894)

hall of See also:

• HEAVEN (0. Eng. hefen, heofon, heofone; this word appears in O.S. hevan; the High. Ger. word appears in Ger. Himmel, Dutch hemel; there does not seem to be any connexion between the two words, and the ultimate derivation of the word is unknown; the sugges

heaven; See also:

• NAY, or NEY

nay, Jove himself marvels at its beauty, but is glad that the emperor should possess such an earthly habitation; he will thus feel less See also:

• DESIRE

desire to seek his destined See also:

• ABODE (from " abide," to dwell, properly " to wait for ," to bide)

abode among the immortals in the skies . Yet even so gorgeous a palace is all too mean for his greatness and too small for his vast presence . " But it is himself, himself, that my eager See also:

• EYE
• EYE (O. Eng. edge, Ger. Auge; derived from an Indo-European root also seen in Lat. oc-ulus, the organ of vision (q.v.)

eye has alone time to scan . He is like a resting See also:

• MARS
• MARS (MAYORS, MARMAR, MARSPITER GA MASPITER)
• MARS, MLLE [ANNE FRANCOISE HYPPOLYTE BOUTET] (1779-1847)

Mars or Bacchus or Alcides." Martial too swore that, were Jove and Domitian both to invite him to See also:

• DINNER

dinner for the same day, he would prefer to dine with the greater potentate on the See also:

• EARTH
• EARTH (a word common to Teutonic languages, cf. Ger. Erde, Dutch aarde, Swed. and Dan. jord; outside Teutonic it appears only in the Gr. 'pq'e, on the ground; it has been connected by some etymologists with the Aryan root ar-, to plough, which is seen in
• EARTH, FIGURE OF
• EARTH, FIGURE OF THE

earth .

Martial and Statius were no doubt supreme among the imperial flatterers . Each was the other's only serious See also:

• RIVAL

rival . It is therefore not surprising that neither should breathe the other's name . Even if we could by any stretch excuse the bearing of Statius towards Domitian, he could never be forgiven the poem entitled " The See also:

• HAIR (a word common to Teutonic languages)

Hair of Flavius Earinus," Domitian's Ganymede (Silo. iii . 4), a poem than which it would be hard to find a more repulsive example of real poetical See also:

• TALENT (Lat. talentum, adaptation of Gr. TaXavrov, balance, ! Recollections of a First Visit to the Alps (1841); Vacation Rambles weight, from root raX-, to lift, as in rXi vac, to bear, 1-aXas, and Thoughts, comprising recollections of three Continental

talent defiled for See also:

• PERSONAL

personal ends . Every-thing points to the conclusion that Statius did not survive his emperor—that he died, in fact, a See also:

• SHORT, FRANCIS JOB (1857– )

short time after leaving Rome to See also:

• SETTLE
• SETTLE, ELKANAH (1648–1724)

settle in Naples . Apart from the emperor and his minions, the friendships of Statius with men of high station seem to have been maintained on fairly equal terms . He was clearly the poet of society in his day as well as the poet of the court . As poet, Statius unquestionably shines in many respects when compared with most other See also:

• POST

post-Augustans . He was born with exceptional talent, and his poetic expression is, with all its faults, richer on the whole and less forced, more buoyant and more felicitous, than is to be found generally in the See also:

• SILVER

Silver Age of Latin poetry . Statius is at his best in his occasional verses, the Silvae, which have a See also:

• CHARACTER (Gr. xapareri7p, from xap&crew, to scratch)

character of their own, and in their best parts a See also:

• CHARM (through the Fr. from the Lat. carmen, a song)

charm of their own . The See also:

• TITLE (0. Fr. title, mod. titre, from Lat. titulus)

title was proper to verses of rapid workmanship, on everyday themes .

Statius prided himself on his See also:

• POWERS, HIRAM (1805-1873)

powers of improvisation, and he seems to have been quite equal to the feat, which See also:

• HORACE [QuINTus HORATIUS FLACCUS] (65-8 B.C.)

Horace describes, of dictating two See also:

• HUNDRED

hundred lines in an See also:

• HOUR

hour while See also:

• STANDING

standing on one See also:

• LEG
• LEG (a word of Scandinavian origin, from the Old Norwegian leggr, cf. Swed. lagg, Dan. laeg; the O. Eng. word was sceanca, shank)

leg . The See also:

• IMPROVISATORE

improvisatore was in high See also:

• HONOUR (Lat. honos or lwnor, honoris; in English the word was spelled with or without the u indifferently until the 17th century, but during the 18th century it became fashion-able to spell the word " honor "; Johnson's and Webster's Dictionaries stereoty

honour among the later Greeks, as See also:

• CICERO

Cicero's speech for the poet See also:

• ARCHIAS, AULUS LICINJUS

Archias indicates; and the poetic contests See also:

• COMMON

common in the early empire did much to stimulate ability of the See also:

• KIND (O. E. ge-cynde, from the same root as is seen in " kin," supra)

kind . It is to their velocity that the poems owe their See also:

• COMPARATIVE

comparative freshness and freedom, along with their loose texture and their inequality . There are See also:

• THIRTY

thirty-two poems, divided into five books, each with a dedicatory See also:

• EPISTLE

epistle . Of nearly four thousand lines which the books contain, more than five-sixths are hexameters . Four of the pieces (containing about 450 lines) are written in the hendecasyllabic See also:

• METRE ((terpuc?, sc. rFxvf, from Gr. Or poi', measure)

metre, the " tiny metre of See also:

• CATULLUS, GAIUS VALERIUS (?84-J4 B.C.)

Catullus," and there is one Alcaic and one Sapphic See also:

• ODE (Gr. uiSri, from aei&ew, to sing)

ode . The subjects of the Silvae are very various . Five poems are devoted to flattery of the emperor and his favourites; but of these enough has already been said . Six are See also:

• LAMENTATIONS (Lamentations of Jeremiah)

lamentations for deaths, or consolations to survivors . Statius seems to have felt a See also:

• SPECIAL

special See also:

• PRIDE, THOMAS (d. 1658)

pride in this class of his productions; and certainly, notwithstanding the excessive and conventional employment of See also:

• PRETTY

pretty mythological pictures, with other affectations, he sounds notes of pathos such as only come from the true poet . There are oftentimes traits of an almost See also:

• MODERN

modern domesticity in these verses, and Statius, the See also:

• CHILD
• CHILD, FRANCIS JAMES (1825-1896)
• CHILD, L
• CHILD, LYDIA MARIA (1802-1880)
• CHILD, SIR FRANCIS (1642-1713)
• CHILD, SIR JOHN (d. 1690)
• CHILD, SIR JOSIAH (163o - 1699)

child-less, has here and there touched on the charm of childhood in lines for a parallel to which, among the ancients, we must go, See also:

• STRANGE, SIR ROBERT (1721-1792)

strange to say, to his rival Martial . One of the epicedia, that on Priscilla the wife of Abascantus, Domitian's freedman (SiIv. v .

I), is full of See also:

• INTEREST

interest for the picture it presents of the See also:

• OFFICIAL (Late Lat. QJicialis, for class. Lat. apparitor, from officium, office, duty)

official activity of a high officer of See also:

• STATE
• STATE, GREAT OFFICERS OF

state . Another See also:

• GROUP

group of the Silvae give picturesque descriptions of the villas and gardens of the poet s See also:

• FRIENDS, SOCIETY
• FRIENDS, SOCIETY OF

friends . In these we have a more vivid See also:

• REPRESENTATION

representation than elsewhere of the surroundings amid which the grandees of the early empire lived when they took up their abode in the See also:

• COUNTRY (from the Mid. Eng. contre or contrie, and O. Fr. cuntree; Late Lat. contrata, showing the derivation from contra, opposite, over against, thus the tract of land which fronts the sight, cf. Ger. Gegend, neighbourhood)

country . It was of these pieces that See also:

• NIEBUHR, BARTHOLD GEORG (1776–1831)
• NIEBUHR, KARSTEN (1733-1815)

Niebuhr thought when he said that 'the poems of Statius are charming to read in See also:

• ITALY
• ITALY (Italia)

Italy . They exhibit, better even than See also:

• PLINY, THE ELDER
• PLINY, THE YOUNGER

Pliny's well-known letters, the See also:

• PASSION (post-classical Lat. passio, formed from pati, passus, to suffer, endure)

passion of the See also:

• RICH, BARNABE (c. 1540-1617)
• RICH, CLAUDIUS JAMES (1787-1821)
• RICH, JOHN (1692-1761)
• RICH, PENELOPE, LADY (c. 1562–1607)
• RICH, RICHARD, 1ST BARON RICH (1490?-1567)

rich See also:

• ROMAN

Roman for so constructing his country See also:

• HOUSE
• HOUSE (O. Eng. hiss, a word common to Teutonic languages, cf. Dut. huis, Ger. Haus; in Gothic it is only found in gudhiss, a temple; it may be ultimately connected with the root of " hide," conceal)

house that See also:

• LIGHT

light, See also:

• AIR (from an Indo-European root meaning " breathe," " blow ")
• AIR, or ASBEN

air, See also:

• SUN
• SUN (0. Eng. sonne, Ger. sonne. Fr. soleil, Lat. sol, Gr. ijXior, from which comes helio- in various English compounds)

sun and leafage should subserve his luxury to the utmost, while See also:

• SCOPE (through Ital. scopo, aim, purpose, intent, from Gr. o'KOaos, mark to shoot at, aim, o ic07reiv, to see, whence the termination in telescope, microscope, &c.)

scope was left for displaying all the resources of See also:

• ART

art which his See also:

• WEALTH

wealth enabled him to command . As to the See also:

• REST (O. Eng. rest, reste, bed, cognate with other Teutonic forms, e.g. Ger. Rast, Riiste, rest, and probably Gothic Rasta, league, i.e. resting or stopping place)

rest of the Silvae, the congratulatory addresses to friends are graceful but See also:

• COMMONPLACE

commonplace, nor do the jocose pieces See also:

• CALL (from Anglo-Saxon ceallian, a common Teutonic word, cf. Dutch kallen, to talk or chatter)

call for special mention here . In the Kalendae decembres " we have a striking description of the gifts and amusements provided by the emperor for the Roman See also:

• POPULATION (Lat. populus, people; populare, to populate)

population on the occasion of the Saturnalia . In his See also:

• ATTEMPT (Lat. adtemptare, attentare, to try)

attempt at an See also:

• EPITHALAMIUM (Gr. hirl, at or upon, and BhXayos, a nuptial chamber)

epithalamium (Silo. i . 2) Statius is forced and unhappy . But his birthday ode in See also:

• LUCAN

Lucan's honour (Silo. ii . 7) has, along with the accustomed exaggeration, many powerful lines, and shows high appreciation of preceding Latin poets . Some phrases, such as " the untaught muse of high-souled See also:

• ENNIUS, QUINTUS (239-170 B.c.)

Ennius " and " the lofty passion of See also:

• SAGE, RUSSELL (1816-1906)

sage See also:

• LUCRETIUS (TITUS LUCRETIUS CARUS) (c. 98–55 B.C.)

Lucretius, " are See also:

• FAMILIAR (through the Fr. familier, from Lat. familiaris, of or belonging to the familia, family)

familiar words with all scholars .

The ode ends with a great picture of Lucan's spirit rising after See also:

• DEATH

death on wings of fame to regions whither only powerful souls can ascend, scornfully See also:

• SURVEYING

surveying earth and smiling at the See also:

• TOMB (Gr. Tuµ/3a, Tuµ(3os, probably allied to Lat. tumulus, literally a swelling, tumere, to swell)

tomb, or reclining in See also:

• ELYSIUM

Elysium and singing a See also:

• NOBLE, SIR ANDREW (1832- )

noble See also:

• STRAIN (through O. Fr. straindre, estraindre, mod. i treindre, from Lat. stringere, to draw tight, related to stress, stretch, string, &c.)

strain to the Pompeys and the Catos and all the " Pharsalian See also:

• HOST

host, " or with proud tread exploring See also:

• TARTARUS

Tartarus and listening to the wailings of the guilty, and gazing at See also:

• NERO (37-68)

Nero, See also:

• PALE (through Fr. pal, from Lat. palms, a stake, for paglus, from the stem pag- of pangere, to fix; " pole " is from the same original source)

pale with agony as his See also:

• MOTHER

mother's avenging See also:

• TORCH (O. Fr. torche, from Med. Lat. tortia, derived from tortus, twisted, torquere, to twist)

torch glitters before his eyes . It is singular to observe how thoroughly Nero had been struck out of the imperial See also:

• SUCCESSION (Lat. successio, from succedere, to follow after)

succession as recognized at court, so that the " bald Nero " took no umbrage when his flatterer-in-See also:

• CHIEF (from Fr. chef, head, Lat. caput)

chief profanely dealt with his predecessor's name . The epic poems of Statius are less interesting because See also:

• CAST (from the verb meaning " to throw "; the word is Scand. in origin, cf. Dan. kaste, and Swed. kasta; " cast " in Middle Eng. took the place of the A.S. weor pan, cf. Ger. werf en)

cast in a coumuoner See also:

• MOULD

mould, but they deserve study in many respects . They are the product of See also:

• LONG, GEORGE (1800-1879)
• LONG, JOHN DAVIS (1838– )

long elaboration . The Thebais, which the poet says took twelve years to compose, is in twelve books, and has for its theme the-old " tale-of See also:

• THEBES (anciently &Oat, Thebae, or in poetry sometimes Oif3a, in modern Greek Phiva, or, according to the corrected pronunciation, Thivae)
• THEBES (e 3a1)
• THEBES, ROMANCE OF

Thebes "—the deadly strife of the Theban See also:

• BROTHERS, RICHARD (1757-1824)

brothers . There is also preserved a fragment of an Achilleis, consisting of one book and part of another . In the weary length of these epics there are many See also:

• FLOWERS, ARTIFICIAL

flowers of pathos and many little finished See also:

• GEM (Lat. gemma, a bud,—from the root gen, meaning " to produce,"—or precious stone; in the latter sense the Greek term is > d>os)
• GEM, ARTIFICIAL

gem-pictures, but the trammels of tradition, the fashionable taste and the narrow bars of See also:

• EDUCATION

education check continually the poet's See also:

• FLIGHT

flight . Not merely were the materials for his epics prescribed to him by rigid See also:

• CUSTOM (from O. Fr. costume, costume or coustume; Low Lat. costuma, a shortened form of consuetudo)

custom, but also to a great extent the method by which they were to be treated . All he could do was to See also:

• SOUND
• SOUND, THE (Danish Oresund)

sound the old notes with a distinctive timbre of his own . The gods must needs wage their wonted epic strife, and the men, their puppet's, must See also:

• DANCE
• DANCE (Fr. danse; of obscure origin, connected with Old High Ger. danson, to stretch)

dance at their nod; there must needs be heavenly messengers, portents, dreams, miracles, single combats, similes, Homeric and Virgilian echoes, and all the other See also:

• PARAPHERNALIA (Lat. paraphernalia, sc. bona, from Gr. aapaq5epva; impel, beside, and (*vii, dower)

paraphernalia.of the conventional epic . But Statius treats his subjects with a boldness and freedom which contrast pleasingly with the timid traditionalism of Silius Italicus and the stiff See also:

• SCHOLASTICISM

scholasticism of See also:

• VALERIUS, PUBLIUS

Valerius See also:

• FLACCUS

Flaccus . The vocabulary of Statius is conspicuously rich, and he shows audacity, often successful, in the use of words and metaphors .

At the same time he carried certain literary tricks to an aggravating See also:

• PITCH
• PITCH, MUSICAL

pitch, in particular the excessive use of See also:

• ALLITERATION (from Lat. ad, to, and littera, letter)

alliteration, and the misuse of mythological allusion . The most well-known persons and places are described by epithets or periphrases derived from some very remote connexion with See also:

• MYTHOLOGY

mythology, so that many passages are as dark as Heraclitus . The Thebais is badly constructed . The See also:

• ACTION

action of the epic is hindered and stopped by enormous episodes, one of which fills one-See also:

• SIXTH

sixth of the poem . Nor had Statius a See also:

• FIRM

firm grasp or clear See also:

• IMAGINATION

imagination of character . So trying are the See also:

• LATE

late See also:

• ANCIENT
• ANCIENT (also spelt ANTIENT; derived, through the Fr. ancien, old, from the late Lat. antianum, from ante, before)

ancient epics to a modern reader that he who has read any one of the three—Statius, Silius and Valerius Flaccus (Lucan stands apart)—will with difficulty be persuaded to enter on, the other two . Yet, if he honestly reads them all, he can hardly fail to See also:

• RANK (O.Fr. rant or rent, mod. rang, generally connected with the O.E. and O.H.G. bring, a ring)

rank Statius the highest of the three by a whole See also:

• SPHERE (Gr. vclsa?pa, a ball or globe)

sphere . The editio princeps of the epics is dated 1470, of the Silvae 1472 . Notable See also:

• EDITIONS

editions since have been those of Bernartius (See also:

• ANTWERP
• ANTWERP (Fr. Anvers)

Antwerp, 1595), See also:

• GRONOVIUS (the latinized form of GROrrov), JOHANN FRIEDRICH (1611—1671)

Gronovius (1653) and See also:

• BARTH
• BARTH, HEINRICH (1821–1865)
• BARTH, KASPAR VON (1587-1658)

Barth (1664) . See also:

• RECENT

Recent texts are the Teubner (the Achilleis and Thebais by Kohlmann, the Silvae by Baehrens) and that contained in the new edition of the Corpus poetarum latinorum; and of the Silvae only, texts by See also:

• KLOTZ, REINHOLD (1807-1870)

Klotz (1899), and Vollmer (1898), the last with an explanatory commentary . Among editions of portions of Statius's See also:

• WORKS

works, that of the Silvae by See also:

• JEREMIAH

Jeremiah See also:

• MARKLAND, JEREMIAH (1693–1776)

Markland, See also:

• FELLOW

fellow of Peterhouse in See also:

• CAMBRIDGE
• CAMBRIDGE, EARLS AND DUKES OF
• CAMBRIDGE, RICHARD OWEN (1717-1802)

Cambridge (1728), deserves special See also:

• ATTENTION (from Lat. ad-tendo, await, expect; the condition of being " stretched " or " tense ")

attention . A See also:

• TRANSLATION

translation of the Silvae with introduction and notes was published by D .

A . See also:

• SLATER, JOHN FOX (1815-1884)
• SLATER, SAMUEL (1768-1835)

Slater in 1908 (See also:

• OXFORD
• OXFORD, EARLS OF
• OXFORD, EDWARD DE VERE, 17TH EARL
• OXFORD, JOHN DE VERE, 13TH EARL OF (1443-1513)
• OXFORD, PROVISIONS OF
• OXFORD, ROBERT DE VERE, 9TH EARL OF (1362-1392)
• OXFORD, ROBERT HARLEY, 1ST

Oxford Library of See also:

• TRANSLATIONS

Translations) . A See also:

• CRITICAL (in alphabetical order of authors)

critical edition of the Thebais and Achilleis was begun by O . See also:

• MULLER, FERDINAND VON, BARON (1825–1896)
• MULLER, FRIEDRICH (1749-1825)
• MULLER, GEORGE (1805-1898)
• MULLER, JOHANNES PETER (18o1-1858)
• MULLER, JOHANNES VON (1752-1809)
• MULLER, JULIUS (18oi-1878)
• MULLER, KARL OTFRIED (1797-1840)
• MULLER, LUCIAN (1836-1898)
• MULLER, WILHELM (1794-1827)
• MULLER, WILLIAM JAMES (1812-1845)

Muller (1870) but not completed . The See also:

• CONDITION (Lat. condicio, from condicere, to agree upon, arrange; not connected with conditio, from condere, conditum, to put together)

condition of the See also:

• TEXT (Lat. textum, woven fabric, from texere, to weave)

text of the Silvae is one of the most curious facts in the See also:

• HISTORY

history of ancient literature . See also:

• POGGIO (1380-1459)

Poggio discovered a MS. at St Gallen and brought it into Italy . This MS. has disappeared, but from it are derived all our existing See also:

• MSS

MSS., except one of the birth-day ode to Lucan, now at See also:

• FLORENCE
• FLORENCE (Ital. Firenze, Lat. Florentia)

Florence, and of the loth See also:

• CENTURY (from Lat. centuria, a division of a hundred men)

century . See also:

• POLITIAN (1454–1494)

Politian collated Poggio's MS. with the editio princeps, and the See also:

• COLLATION (Lat. collatio, from conferre, to bring together or compare)

collation has come down to us, and is the See also:

• PRINCIPAL

principal basis of the text . The MSS. of the epics are numerous, as was to be expected from their great popularity in the See also:

• MIDDLE

middle ages, to which See also:

• DANTE

Dante is See also:

• WITNESS
• WITNESS (from O. Eng. witan, to know)

witness (see Purg. xxi., where an interview with the shade of Statius is described at some length) . (J . S .