Silvas

by Publius Papinius Statius, Francisco Torrent Rodríguez (Translator)

Publio Papinio Estacio (c.45- c.96 d.C) fue un poeta heredero de Ovidio, Virgilio y sobre todo, de Catulo. Nació en Nápoles, pero tuvo que trasladarse a Roma donde, bajo el reinado de Domiciano, ejerció como poeta profesional poniéndose al servicio de los hombres poderosos que le patrocinaban. Autor versátil y con facilidad para componer versos, Estacio recoge en sus Silvas poemas de naturaleza muy diversa, escritos en su atapa de madurez. De hecho, el propio nombre de la colección, Silvas, escogido por el autor, denota su carácter temática y estilísticamente heterogéneo. Los poemas van desde cantos fúnebres o celebraciones de nacimientos hasta composiciones dedicadas a mascotas. Sin olvidar que la mayor parte de ellos fueron escritos por encargo, la frescura y fluidez con que Estacio escribe hacen de sus piezas auténticas joyas literarias, que además son ventanas abiertas al selecto mundo de las clases altas romanas de su tiempo.

“Sin negar su extraordinaria brillantez versificadora ni, sobre todo, su facilidad asombrosa para improvisar, Estacio se muestra, principalmente, como un erudito, dotado de una notable cultura literaria y mitológica”.
Francisco Torrent

Genres: Poetry, Classics, Ancient History

270 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1844

About the author

Publius Papinius Statius (Greek: Πόπλιος Παπίνιος Στάτιος; /ˈsteɪʃiəs/, Latin: [ˈstaːtiʊs];[a] c. 45 – c. 96) was a Latin poet of the 1st century CE. His surviving poetry includes an epic in twelve books, the Thebaid; a collection of occasional poetry, the Silvae; and an unfinished epic, the Achilleid. He is also known for his appearance as a guide in the Purgatory section of Dante's epic poem, the Divine Comedy.

Reviews

[Markus · Rating 5 out of 5]

STATIUS (Rome AD50 – 96)
Sylvae
Poems composed from around AD 89 to 96.
I just recently read JUVENAL’s satires and unintentionally came to read Statius just afterward. Interesting to note that the two were contemporaries, with Juvenal a little younger.
While JUVENAL’s Satires are of a very aggressive, almost vulgar, extremely critical style,
STATIUS’s poems are quite the contrary, he did not criticize the ruling upper class but glorified them instead.
His odes and poems for occasions like weddings or admiration or congratulations, compliments or consolations, or laments etc. are all of an exquisite educated elegance and style.
Quoting all the Gods and Heroes of history and mythology and ceremonies of Ancient Greece, he is showing off his Hellenic background.
To my surprise, when reading “THE VILLA OF POLLIUS FELIX AT SURRENTUM” I had a growing feeling that I had seen the place, and indeed in my younger years, I had visited Pompey near Naples, and at the same time had visited the Villa POLLIUS at Sorrento.
So I looked it up on Google and to my delight, it was there: many pictures and drawings and descriptions, the place is still famous.
I even found a web-site of a University Professor who teaches Architecture and takes this very poem by STATIUS as background material.
What a wonderful world. Just shows what reading can lead to.

[Illiterate · Rating 3 out of 5]

Elegant set pieces praising and consoling patrons and friends. Top tips: 1.2, 4.6, 5.4.

[شمس · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is not wealth per se which Statius praises, to be sure, but the lifestyle it enables its possessors to lead (sometimes, paradoxically, characterized by Epicurean simplicity) and the taste with which they make use of their wealth . . . As Hubert Cancik observes, "For Statius, splendor is one of the most important aesthetic categories." —Betty Rose Nagle, Introduction
__________
Should I express wonder at gilded beams,
or Moorish citrus wood for all the doorposts,
or shining marble shot with coloured veins,
or water piped to flow through all the bedrooms? (1.3.52-54)

Will you endure a shoddy house, the yoke
of common servitude? (3.4.51-52)

__________
Statius is one of the final Latin poets I had yet to read. The five books of the Silvae comprise a collection of occasional poems. There is some nice poetry within, but I only wish more of the poems were concentrated on Ekphrasis, or the description of works of art, as the few which are centred around this (descriptions of sculptures, villas, etc.) I really enjoyed, and thought were some of the standouts of the collection. Otherwise, the rest are mostly devoted to laments, praises, consolations, etc., of various people.
__________
Quotations forthcoming . . .

[Evan Leach · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Silvae is a collection of occasional poetry, i.e., a series of poems composed to commemorate specific occasions. The traditional career path for a Roman poet (as exemplified by Virgil and Ovid) was to start one’s career with this sort of lighter fare. Then, after making a name for yourself, you could graduate to epic and compose your magnum opus. Statius went the opposite way, releasing the Silvae after he completed The Thebaid: Seven against Thebes.

The collection is divided into five books, containing a total of 32 poems. They cover a wide range of topics: the unveiling of statues, weddings, funerals, and even the death of a parrot. Overall I thought they were mostly good, but not great. Highlights include a look at the Saturnalia celebration, a poem commemorating the anniversary of Lucan’s birth, and moving lamentations for Statius’ late father and adopted son:

”Whatever man has plunged in ash a youngster
bearing the traces still of tender bloom,
and who has seen flames cruelly snake around
the dead man’s down beard, let him be here
and grow exhausted, trading cries with me:
his tears will be outdone by mine and, Nature,
you will be put to shame, so fierce, so crazed
is this, my grief for my adopted son.”
- Silvae 5.5.

Some of the other poems are less aesthetically pleasing, and mostly interesting as an inside look at the Flavian dynasty. Many of the poems are marred by incessant fawning over the Emperor Domitian, one of the “bad” emperors who would be murdered shortly after these poems were completed. This butt-kissing can get tedious, and has hurt the reputation of Statius over the years. However, scholarly interest in Statius is on the rise, and these passages can be understood and accepted (if not loved) as a sign of the times Statius was living in.

Statius was not a first-tier Roman poet, but he definitely has his moments, and I would recommend this collection to readers interested in Silver Age Roman literature. It’s a relatively light & easy read, and a couple of the poems are very strong. The Betty Rose Nagle translation provides the first complete English translation into verse, and contains a great introduction to Statius and his time. 3 stars.

[Aleksandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Statius is weird. Learned to the point of being unintelligible, demanding from his reader both erudition and will to solve his literary mysteries and to follow him into the labyrinth of literary and mythological allusions, he is often difficult to read, and his flattery directed towards the addressees (and especially the emperor Domitian) will at some point certainly seem tiresome and insincere to the modern audience. Still, there is much to be found in this collection for a careful reader: when he is not tiresome, he can be intriguingly poetic and some of his metaphors seem inspired, his own erudition is impressive and the fact that he is, to make a long story short, a Greek (as far as education, intellectual formation and style are concerned) poet writing in Latin makes him interesting for the students of cultural interactions in the early imperial Roman world. Also, there is much to be learned from those poems for the students of historical and cultural phenomena: the epitaphs for beloved boys of his aristocratic friends can be of interest for the students of Greek and Roman society, as will the descriptions of villas and monuments be for those interested in art and architecture.
As a reader, I definitely prefer "Achilleis", which I really do like a lot. Still, "Silvae" are an interesting read and an equally interesting source of information. I only wish the Polish edition had a Latin text added.

[Drew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Don't let me 3 star review darken the quality of the volume. It only applies to the works of Statius in it, not the wonderfully put together translation, apparatus and introduction that Betty Rose Nagle has produced. I was drawn to Statius through his unfinished Achilleid, which I really enjoyed (4 stars). It's a story that starts with Achilles upbringing and his being hidden by his mother and fetched by Odysseus and others before the Trojan War. From there I read his Thebaid, which when I reviewed it I said that "Virgil pales in comparison to Homer and Statius pales in comparison to Virgil."

I turned next to the Silvae, contained in this volume. These varied pieces are interesting and useful for a look at everyday Roman cultural goings on and how people acted & reacted to common events. Sadly, throughout, it has ridiculous sychophantic passages praising the Roman emperor Domitian, who was emperor while Statius wrote these pieces. It's just embarrassing.

I did like some of the pieces, e.g. Silvae 1.3 (pp. 50-4) for its beautiful description of a villa in Tivoli, particularly lines 1-82. A short sample suffices: "O day that must be long recalled! Delights / that come to mind once more, and eyesight wearied / from seeing so many wonderful things! / How gentle is the land's inherent temper! / What beauty found in places richly blessed / before man's artful touch! Nowhere has Nature / indulged herself so lavishly. Tall groves / bend over swiftly moving streams; deceptive / reflections answer leafy boughs; along / the river's length the same dark image flits" (lines 20-29).

I also liked Silvae 2.1 (pp. 66-74) for its sorrowful beauty describing the lament of the death of the foster son of one of Statius's friends. The opening lines "This consolation for your foster son, / taken too early, Melior, is thoughtless. / How can I start here where his ashes still / show sparks of life?" (lines 1-4).

Finally, Silvae 2.4 (pp. 82-3). is good, a lament over the death of a friend's pet parrot. It reminded me of Thomas Gray's ode over the death of his friend Horace Walpole's cat. One excerpt: "Just yesterday / you came with us to dinner, piteous thing, / so soon to perish; we were there to see / as you went picking treats from favorite dishes, / as you went hopping, way past midnight, couch / to couch. You even greeted us, repeated / your practiced phrases. But, great songster, now / you dwell in Lethe's never-ending silence" (lines 4-11).

So, if you are into Statius, this is an excellent volume to use as your entrée to his Silvae. If not, feel free to move along to another classical author's works.