Greek Comedy, out of which, by divesting it of its dramatic form and measure, Lucilius formed his Satire, abounded in broad humour and coarse personalities. It was to be expected therefore, that the free and licentious spirit of the model should be found also in the copy. Neither must we forget that the public taste had not yet acquired that delicacy and chasteness which distinguished the Augustan age. The vestigia ruris were not yet worn out. Add to this, that the bold pride of invention, and the want of preceding models to be surpassed, usually cause first efforts to be imperfect. Hence it is not surprising that, though witty and severe, he was often vulgar, rugged, and uncouth; that he threw out his compositions with a careless fluency, and easily satisfied himself, knowing that he could easily satisfy his readers. Horace was in many respects the reverse. He was the son of a Freedman, and was the object of his father's most affectionate solicitude, He was brought to Rome at an early period of his life, and there received a liberal education under his father's watchful eye. See the sixth Satire of his first Book, where, with the deepest gratitude, he acknowledges his obligations to his father for the care and expence he had bestowed upon his education. After this, he served in the army, where he rose to the rank of military Tribune (a post, it should seem from the above-mentioned Satire, seldom bestowed upon the sons of enfranchised slaves.) In this situation. he distinguished himself as a man of taste and lively talents, became accustomed to polite society, and formed an acquaintance with the world. interest of Mæcenas, he was After this, through the introduced to the ac quaintance of the Emperor, by whom he was not only pardoned for having joined the republican party, but was even admitted to his favor and familiarity. From this time he lived caressed by the great, and indebted to their patronage for a comfortable and (comparatively speaking) splendid subsistence. Thus did every circumstance of his life tend to make him so far a courtier as to be rather cautious of offending the supreme powers; while, on the other hand, his own good sense, unambitious temper, and liberal spirit, preserved him from becoming their slave. We must not consider Horace as a corrupt time-server, merely because he acquiesced in the imperial constitution established by Augustus. It is true that under this crafty prince the stern spirit of the old republic was fled. Patriotic magnanimity had fallen with Cato, and made way for what Tacitus calls the blandishing vices. Yet it must be remembered that the government, however unsound within, wore a smiling exterior. Salutary laws were enacted; the provinces were established and tranquillized; arts and sciences were fostered, and every inducement was thrown out to invite the efforts of wit and genius. The state, wearied with civil wars and turbulent proscriptions, gladly reposed though beneath a sceptre; and the people scarcely felt those fetters which were decorated with wreaths of olive and of ivy. In such circumstances even stouter patriots than Horace might be excused for temporizing. Such were the circumstances in which Horace entered upon the composition of satire, with a taste refined by the study of the Grecian poets, and a pen practised in that species of poetical composition which above all |