Place in Horace: An examination of social hierarchies in 'Epistles I'

This thesis presents a close reading of several poems in Horace's first book of Epistles which demonstrate that the poet's ethical focus is intimately bound to an acute social awareness; the tone and content of his letters varies with the place of his addressees in Roman society and with their relationship to the poet. Cicero's de Officiis and de Amicitia help to provide a social backdrop for social and ethical attitudes in the late first century B.C. Part One examines three letters in which Horace, who portrays himself as physically removed from Rome, also assumes a stance of intellectual distance and analysis. Epistle 1.16 illustrates that Quinctius' elevated status in the community does not necessarily accord him greater autonomy; rather he is restricted by social expectations which are associated with his status (Chapter One). Because of his social status, Scaeva (Epistle 1.17) must play the role of passive dependent if he is to get a share of the resources which he does not currently enjoy (Chapter Two). In Epistle 1.18, Horace warns Lollius that as a protege to a more established patron, he must forgo exercising the autonomy of his class (Chapter Three). The third chapter also demonstrates that Horace's analytical view of Roman social relations does not entail a rejection of his society.;Part Two considers three letters which show Horace engaged in Roman social dynamics. By portraying his friendship with Maecenas (Epistle 1.7) as one which approaches the ideal of status-unequal friendship, Horace asks Maecenas to live up to that ideal by granting him the autonomy he seeks (Chapter Four). Horace's self-absorbed stance and imposition of his will on the vilicus (Epistle 1.14), combined with his admission of his own inability to find equanimity, suggests that Horace is making fun of himself in his ability to impose, by virtue of his social power, contentment on another (Chapter Five). The final chapter shows how Horace gives advice to an old friend of equal status, Aristius Fuscus, while avoiding the superior stance which advice-giving presupposes (Epistle 1.10)...