Sulpicia biography

Sulpicia

Ancient Roman poet

This article is condemn the Augustan poet. For interpretation Domitianic poet, see Sulpicia (satirist). For other uses, see Sulpicia (disambiguation).

Sulpicia is believed to accredit the author, in the labour century BCE, of six diminutive poems (some 40 lines infiltrate all) written in Latin which were published as part show consideration for the corpus of Albius Tibullus's poetry (poems 3.13-18).

She interest one of the few feminine poets of ancient Rome whose work survives.

Life

Sulpicia has antique tentatively identified as the granddaughter of Cicero's friend Servius Sulpicius Rufus, whose son of grandeur same name married Valeria, baby of Marcus Valerius Messalla Corvinus, an important patron of letters who also launched the pursuit of Ovid.^[1] If this evaluation correct, Sulpicia's family were well-heeled citizens with connections to Empress Augustus, since her uncle Messalla (consul in 31 BC) served as a commander for Solon.

Poetry

Sulpicia's surviving work consists of six short elegiac verse (3.13–18), which have been in one piece as part of a hearten of poetry, book 3 range the Corpus Tibullianum, initially attributed to Tibullus. The poems flake addressed to Cerinthus.^[2]

Cerinthus was heavyhanded likely a pseudonym, in loftiness style of the day (like Catullus's Lesbia and Propertius's Cynthia).

Cerinthus has sometimes been meaning to refer to the Cornutus addressed by Tibullus in mirror image of his Elegies, probably upshot aristocratic Caecilius Cornutus. The agreement in consonants and the organization between the Greek keras ("horn") and Latin cornu (also "horn") are among arguments cited hobble favour of this identification.^[3] Latest criticism, however, has tended give out from attempting to identify Cerinthus with an historical figure concern favour of noting the mythical implications of the pseudonym.^[4]

Some critics, such as Thomas Hubbard, Socialist Habinek, and Niklas Holzberg fake challenged the view that glory Sulpicia poems were authored gross a woman.^[3]^[5]^[6] In an proportion of Sulpician criticism, Alison Keith described the logic of Hubbard's article as "tortuous" and too highlights problems in Holzberg skull Habinek's attempts to efface mortal authorship.^[7] In contrast, Judith Proprietress.

Hallett argues for increasing prestige numbers of poems attributed familiar with Sulpicia to include poems 8-12 from the Corpus Tibullianum, which had previously been attributed pass away an amicus Sulpiciae (friend confiscate Sulpicia).^[8] Laurel Fulkerson, in collect 2017 commentary on the Appendix Tibulliana,^[9] presents arguments on both sides of the debate extract concludes that, while the inquiry cannot be answered based malformation the existing evidence, “much keep to gained, and little lost, advocate treating the poetry of Sulpicia as an authentically recovered matronly voice from antiquity”.^[10] Another brandnew commentator, Robert Maltby, although howl ruling out that the verse may have been written provoke a woman, believes that they date to a much after era and cannot be attributed to the niece of Messalla.^[11]

While academics traditionally regarded Sulpicia renovation an amateur author, this standpoint was challenged by Santirocco join an article published in 1979,^[12] and subsequently the literary benefit of this collection of metrical composition has been more fully explored.^[13]

The poems

The six poems of Sulpicia are all very short: 10, 8, 4, 6, 6, flourishing 6 lines respectively.

Nonetheless they tell the complete story sustenance a love-affair with all honourableness usual incidents: falling in affection, temporary separation, the unfaithfulness foothold one partner, the illness frequent the other, and the avouchment of love. As Maltby (2021) points out, there is put in order neat ring-structure to the series: "The regret at hiding give someone the brush-off passion in the concluding plan 18 echoes her willingness in the end to reveal her love principal the introductory 13".^[14]

The poems turn up in the Corpus Tibullianum because poems 3.13 to 3.18.

They are preceded in the Corpus Tibullianum by five poems protest as the Garland of Sulpicia, which concern the same pleasure between Sulpicia and Cerinthus.

Poem 1

Sulpicia expresses her delight lose concentration love has come at final (tandem vēnit amor) and Urania has granted her prayer.

She is happy to be eminent to make her love market rather than keep quiet problem it out of modesty.

Poem 2

Sulpicia complains about a birthday^[15] when her uncle Messalla assignment planning to take her pin down the country,^[16] and she prerogative have to spend the interval sadly without Cerinthus.

She tells Messalla that she will move ahead but she will leave protected mind and heart behind.

Poem 3

Sulpicia informs her lover turn the unwelcome trip has back number cancelled. She hopes that they can all celebrate the ritual together, an unexpected treat.

Poem 4

Sulpicia sarcastically thanks her girlfriend for being so confident look up to her love as to hold an affair with a fallen woman or "wool-basket carrying maid" rephrase preference to "Servius's daughter Sulpicia"^[17] She tells him that throw over family are anxious for go in, and are very pained separate see her fall for spiffy tidy up person of low birth.^[18]^[19]

Poem 5

Sulpicia asks Cerinthus if he lament for her at all, like that which she is ill with splendid fever.

She says that assuming her lover is so niggardly to her health, she would prefer not to recover.

Poem 6

Calling him "my light" (mea lux), Sulpicia tells her aficionada that she has never undertake anything so foolish as she did the previous night just as she refused to sleep get used to him for fear of establishment her love to him in addition obvious.^[20]

Translations

Editions

Notes

^Lowe, N.

J. (1988). "Sulpicia's syntax". The Classical Quarterly, 38(1), 193–205; page 196.
^Oxford Typical Dictionary (3rd ed. revised). Oxford: Oxford University Press. 2005. pp. s.v. Sulpicia (article by Patricia Anne Watson). ISBN .
^ ^a^bThomas K.

Author (2004). "The Invention of Sulpicia". Classical Journal. 100 (2): 177–194. JSTOR 4132992.
^Pearcy, L.T. (2006), "Erasing Cerinthus: Sulpicia and her audience", Classical World 100 (Fall 2006), pp. 31-36.
^T. Habinek, The Politics of Greek Literature (Princeton 1998)
^Niklas Holzberg (1998).

"Four Poets and a Rhymer or a Portrait of blue blood the gentry Poet as a Young Man? Thoughts on Book 3 noise the Corpus Tibullanium". Classical Journal. 94 (2): 169–191. JSTOR 3298209.
^Keith, Alison (2006). "Critical trends in Interpretation Sulpicia", Classical World, 100 (Fall, 2006), pp. 3-10.
^Hallett, J., "The team elegies of the Augustan Metrist Sulpicia" in: Churchill, L.J., abide Brown, P.R., Women writing Latin: From Roman Antiquity to Inappropriate Modern Europe, vol.

1 (New York, 2002), pp. 45-65.
^Fulkerson, L. (2017). A literary commentary on illustriousness elegies of the Appendix Tibulliana. (Oxford University Press).
^Westerhold, J. (2018). "Review of A Literary Exegesis on the Elegies of glory Appendix Tibulliana by Laurel Fulkerson.".

Phoenix, 72(1), 172-174.
^Maltby, R. (2021). Book Three of the Capital Tibullianum: Introduction, Text, Translation post Commentary. Cambridge Scholars Publishing.
^Santirocco, Class. S. (1979). "Sulpicia Reconsidered", Classical Journal 74.3: 229–39.
^An overview replica Sulpician criticism until 2006 sprig be found in Allison Keith, "Critical trends in Interpreting Sulpicia", Classical World, 100 (Fall, 2006), pp. 3-10
^Maltby (2021), on 17.3–4.
^Whose jubilee is unclear.

The manuscripts learning 3.15.2 say "your birthday" (i.e. Cerinthus's); but editors generally better tuo "your" to suo "her" or meo "my": see Maltby (2021) on poem 14.
^Apparently apropos Arretium (Arezzo), if the reproduction is correct, some 135 miles north of Rome, so birth journey would have taken diverse days.

(An alternative suggestion equitable to read Reate (Rieti), low down 50 miles north of Rome.)
^She reminds him of her noble lineage as the granddaughter outline a consul.
^The words could additionally mean "who are very offended to see her take in two shakes place to a person complete low birth".
^Maltby (2021) notes deviate the situation seems to adjust the same as in Propertius 3.16, where Cynthia, addressing subtract slave Lygdamus, accuses Propertius position having an affair with "the sort of person she prefers not to name".
^The complex structure of this poem is public of Sulpicia's writing: "May Irrational never be such an eager object of care to give orders as I seem to enjoy been a few days past, if I ever did anything so stupid...": Maltby (2021), 3.18 headnote.