Description
Book SynopsisIn his epigrams, Martial is a keen, sharp-tongued observer of Roman scenes and events, including the new Colosseum, country life, a debauchee’s banquet, and the eruption of Vesuvius. His poems are sometimes obscene, in the tradition of the genre, sometimes affectionate or amusing, and always pointed.
Trade ReviewThe publication of a new edition in the Loeb Classical Library of the poems of Martial—Latin verse and English prose
face à face…offers an occasion for thinking about the way Martial’s presence shows itself in English poetry and about the poet in person… A reliable English version is always good to possess and here we have one that gives us access to many a dark and difficult corner of the original Latin. -- Charles Tomlinson * New Criterion *
Shackleton Bailey’s is a remarkable achievement, and from now on his ‘Loebs’ will be the best means by which anyone can get to know Martial, as well as the essential first work of reference for scholars. -- P. Howell * Classical Review *
