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Juvenal's satires contain many references to life in Rome however we must remember not to take all his suggestions as the complete and absolute truth. Juvenal was a satirist so evidently much of the content in his satires will be made as humorous as possible in order to become more popular. Nevertheless we can use the satires to provide us with a certain amount of knowledge regarding life in Rome at the time of Juvenal.
We have to remember that the copies of Juvenal's satires, which are usually available to us, are most probably translations, which will affect certain aspects of the satire.
Juvenal wrote satire for his own time, however when this is translated some features of the satire will change to suit the certain period of time and present slightly different ideas and opinions to that of Juvenal. This would mean that the satire is no longer a useful piece of evidence as it has been adapted to the taste of the translator.
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Often in his satires, Juvenal seems to drift away from the subject and deal with matters, which are irrelevant. This may mean that we do not get an entirely full interpretation of specific issues. Juvenal tends to emphasize points, which he feels strongly about which is expected, however these details may not be entirely significant to society as a whole.
Juvenal is a realist. In his satires he deals with events in everyday life and derives all his inspiration from the activities of the men and women of his own day.
Juvenal lived in a society, which had suffered from the horror of Caligula, Claudius and Nero; his childhood probably witnessed the last and worst stages of the reign of Nero, and he lived through the whole of the depressing tyranny of Domitian. This would mean that Juvenal would obviously be quite negative in his satires, as he had to deal with a lot difficulties in his life.
The images, which Juvenal creates in his satires, are undoubtedly exaggerated; this is what makes them humorous. He strongly argues for his belief in the benefits of primitive times; his loathing of the foreigner, especially one coming from Greece and the East; his outbursts against wealth and the wealthy, and his suggestion that wealth is always acquired by unworthy means. In the first satire it says:
Whatever passions have the soul possessed,
Whatever wild desires inflamed the breast,
Joy, Sorrow, Fear, Love, Hatred, Transport, Rage,
Shall form the motley subject of my page.
In this he describes that among the reasons, which, impelled him to write satire he puts first of all his disgust at the popular poetry of the day. Juvenal reveals that he believes that poetry should contain more realistic aspects instead of mythological subjects.
When discussing the reliability of Juvenal's as evidence of Rome in his day, his sincerity cannot be questioned. It is difficult to read through his satires and not feel that he speaks what he consciously believes as the truth, and judges everything and everybody in accordance with the standard of morality, which he has accepted as his guide in life. His pictures of Rome, and of life in Rome, are so vivid, and full of characteristic detail that they provide us with a very realistic comprehension.
In conclusion, it is without doubt that Juvenal's satires provide us with some information about life in Rome and they certainly give us a distinct explanation of Juvenal's judgments and attitudes. On the other hand, we must not forget that we are reading satire and many of the points which are included will be extremely exaggerated in order to be more entertaining.
How reliable are Juvenal's satires as evidence?. (2020, Jun 02). Retrieved from https://studymoose.com/reliable-juvenals-satires-evidence-new-essay
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