[Sidenote: Martial.] Marcus Valerius Martialis was born at Bilbilis, in the northeastern part of Spain, on the first of March, about 40 A. D. His parents, Fronto and Flacilla, gave him the usual grammatical and rhetorical education at Bilbilis, or some neighboring town, and in 64 A. D. he went to Rome, where he became a client or hanger-on of the family of Seneca, and some other important families. He may have practised law for a time, but lived chiefly from the bounty of his patrons. The _ius trium liberorum_ granted him by Titus, was ratified by Domitian. He received the title of tribune, which carried with it equestrian rank. He owned a small country estate near Nomemtum, perhaps a gift from Argentaria Polla, Lucan’s widow; and at one time he had a house of his own at Rome and kept some slaves. Still he can never have been rich, for he complains constantly of poverty. In 98 A. D. he returned to Spain, and died in his native place not later than 104 A. D., for the younger Pliny, in a letter written about that date, speaks of his recent death. Martial’s poems comprise fourteen books of epigrams, the last two books of which, consisting of lines intended to accompany _xenia_ and _apophoreta_, gifts which it was customary to present to friends at the _Saturnalia_, were not published as books by their author. One book of _Spectacula_ celebrates the theatrical performances and other shows in which the Romans delighted; the remaining books are _Epigrammata_, each book revised and published with an introduction by the author. The longest poem contains fifty-one lines, the shortest consists of one hexameter. Most of the poems are in elegiac verse, but many are in hendecasyllables, and a few other metres occur. Martial is the master of epigram. His verses are sententious and to the point, often bitter, not infrequently indecent, but never stilted, dull, or unnatural. In an age of many imitative poets, Martial was original. This does not mean that no traces of imitation are to be found in his poems, for his obligations to Catullus are evident and frankly acknowledged, while the influence of Virgil, Ovid, and Juvenal is plainly to be seen; but his pointed wit, his candor, and his sententious brevity are his own. He has no lofty poetic inspiration, and exhibits no greater height of character than what is needed to let him see and acknowledge his own limitations. In spite of the bitterness of many of his verses, he seems to have been a man of genial nature. He was a friend of Silius Italicus, Quintilian, the younger Pliny, and Juvenal, but does not mention Statius by name, though his sneers at epic poets are probably directed against him. The younger Pliny says of him: “He was a talented, acute, and spirited man, whose writings are full of wit and gall, and not less candor.”[97]