THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL

Martial, translated by James Michie

ISBN 10: 0394461444 / ISBN 13: 9780394461441

Published by Random House, New York, 1972

About this Item

1st edition. A Very Good + copy. 8vo., 215 pp. Bound in publishers burgundy cloth with title on spine in sliver gilt. Grey dust jacket with illustration on front cover. Titles in black. Dust jacket is lightly sunned on the spine, but other wise clean and unclipped. Interior of book is clean and unmarked. Dust jacket now protected in mylar sleeve. Martial stands as the first Epigrammatist, not only of his own, but of every succeeding age. The bent of his genius seems to have lain entirely in this direction. Everything he penned, whether begging a favor, satirizing a fault, writing an inscription, or paying a compliment, was an epigram. The word epigram originally signified, as its etymology implies, nothing more than an inscription. But in the development which it received in the progress of literature, and especially at the hands of Martial, it assumed an entirely new character, and may be de fined as the concentration of satire and pointed invective in a short poem.

Seller Inventory # 24397

Bibliographic Details

• Title: THE EPIGRAMS OF MARTIAL
• Publisher: Random House, New York
• Publication Date: 1972
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0394461444
• ISBN 13: 9780394461441
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: Owen Wood
• Edition: 1st edition.
• Condition: Near Fine
• Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good
• Seller catalogs:
  • Poetry

About this title

Synopsis

English, Latin (translation)Original Latin

From the Inside Flap

Martial, the father of the epigram, was one of the brilliant provincial poets who made their literary mark on first-century Rome. His Epigrams can be affectionate or cruel, elegiac or playful; they target every element of Roman society, from slaves to schoolmasters to, above all, the aristocratic elite. With wit and wisdom, Martial evokes not "the grandeur that was Rome," but rather the timeless themes of urban life and society.