Satire VI is the most famous of the sixteen ''

Satires Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming or ...

'' by the

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

author

Juvenal Decimus Junius Juvenalis (), known in English as Juvenal ( ), was a Roman poet active in the late first and early second century CE. He is the author of the collection of satirical poems known as the ''Satires''. The details of Juvenal's life ...

written in the late 1st or early 2nd century. In English translation, this satire is often titled something in the vein of ''Against Women'' due to the most obvious reading of its content. It enjoyed significant

social currency Social currency refers to the actual and potential resources from presence in social networks and communities, including both digital and offline. It is, in essence, an action made by a company or stance of being, to which consumers feel a sense ...

from

late antiquity Late antiquity is the time of transition from classical antiquity to the Middle Ages, generally spanning the 3rd–7th century in Europe and adjacent areas bordering the Mediterranean Basin. The popularization of this periodization in English ha ...

to the early modern period, being read as a proof-text for a wide array of

misogynistic Misogyny () is hatred of, contempt for, or prejudice against women. It is a form of sexism that is used to keep women at a lower social status than men, thus maintaining the societal roles of patriarchy. Misogyny has been widely practiced fo ...

beliefs. Its current significance rests in its role as a crucial body of evidence on Roman conceptions of gender and sexuality. The overarching theme of the poem is a dissuasion of the addressee Postumus from

marriage Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...

; the narrator uses a series of acidic vignettes on the degraded state of (predominantly female) morality to bolster his argument. At c. 695 lines of

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

hexameter Hexameter is a metrical line of verses consisting of six feet (a "foot" here is the pulse, or major accent, of words in an English line of poetry; in Greek and Latin a "foot" is not an accent, but describes various combinations of syllables). It w ...

, this satire is nearly twice the length of the next largest of the author's sixteen known satires; ''Satire VI'' alone composes Book II of Juvenal's five books of satire. ''Satire VI'' also contains the famous phrase '' "Sed quis custodiet ipsos custodes?"'' (but who will guard the guards themselves?), which is variously translated as "But who will guard the guards?", "But who will watch the watchmen?", or similar. In context, it refers to the impossibility of enforcing moral behavior when the enforcers (''custodes'') are corruptible: : ... I am aware : of whatever councils you old friends warn, : i.e. "throw the bolt and lock her in.” But who is going to guard the : guards themselves, who now keep silent the lapses of the loose : girl - paid off in the same coin? The common crime keeps its silence. : A prudent wife looks ahead and starts (her infidelities) with them. : ''... noui'' : ''consilia et ueteres quaecumque monetis amici,'' : pone seram, cohibe'. sed quis custodiet ipsos'' : ''custodes, qui nunc lasciuae furta puellae'' : ''hac mercede silent? crimen commune tacetur.'' : ''prospicit hoc prudens et ab illis incipit uxor.'' : (6.O29-34) The text of the poem is not quite certain. In particular, E.O. Winstedt in 1899 discovered in the

Bodleian Library The Bodleian Library () is the main research library of the University of Oxford, and is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. It derives its name from its founder, Sir Thomas Bodley. With over 13 million printed items, it is the second- ...

in Oxford in an eleventh-century or early 12th-century manuscript an additional 36 lines (34 placed after line 366 of the satire, and two more after line 373). The authenticity of these lines (which contain the famous ''quis custodiet'' passage above) has been debated, although in the opinion of one scholar, they are "fully worthy of Juvenal". In most modern texts the 34 lines are usually printed after line 345. There is a partial duplication between O30-O34 and 346–348.

The themes of the poem

The author commences ''Satire VI'' by contrasting woman of the distant past with the kind of modern Roman women seen in the poems of

Catullus Gaius Valerius Catullus (; 84 - 54 BCE), often referred to simply as Catullus (, ), was a Latin poet of the late Roman Republic who wrote chiefly in the neoteric style of poetry, focusing on personal life rather than classical heroes. His s ...

and

Propertius Sextus Propertius was a Latin elegiac poet of the Augustan age. He was born around 50–45 BC in Assisium and died shortly after 15 BC. Propertius' surviving work comprises four books of ''Elegies'' ('). He was a friend of the poets Gallus a ...

: : I believe that, when Saturn was king, Chastity lingered : on the earth and was seen for a time - when a cold cave : provided little homes, and enclosed fire, household gods, cattle, : and the masters of the household in common darkness. : A mountain wife spread out her woodsy bed : with leaves, straw, and skins of local wild animals, : - hardly similar to you, Cynthia, nor to you : whose wet eye the dead sparrow stirred up - : but offering breasts that needed sucking to huge babies, : and often hairier than her acorn-burping husband. : ''Credo Pudicitiam Saturno rege moratam'' : ''in terris uisamque diu, cum frigida paruas'' : ''praeberet spelunca domos ignemque laremque'' : ''et pecus et dominos communi clauderet umbra,'' : ''siluestrem montana torum cum sterneret uxor'' : ''frondibus et culmo uicinarumque ferarum'' : ''pellibus, haut similis tibi, Cynthia, nec tibi, cuius'' : ''turbauit nitidos extinctus passer ocellos,'' : ''sed potanda ferens infantibus ubera magnis'' : ''et saepe horridior glandem ructante marito.'' : (6.1-10) Peter Green explains: "'Cynthia' was the pseudonym which

used to indicate his mistress Hostia in his poems; the girl who wept for her sparrow was 'Lesbia,' the mistress of

, whose real name was Clodia." While the equation of these pseudonyms with historical women is debatable, the reference within ''Satire VI'' to Propertius and Catullus is clear. In opposition to the sophisticated, urban woman of the elegiac ideal, the woman of the mythical

golden age The term Golden Age comes from Greek mythology, particularly the ''Works and Days'' of Hesiod, and is part of the description of temporal decline of the state of peoples through five Ages of Man, Ages, Gold being the first and the one during ...

was a simple rustic. The constant touchstone of the remainder of the poem is the deviance of contemporary Roman women from an amorphous ideal located in the unspecified past. Though it is frequently decried as a

rant,

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

scholar Jamie Corson has pointed out: The author sets the frame for his satire with a hyperbolic presentation of the options available to the Roman male – marriage, suicide, or a boy lover: : Are you even in this day and age preparing both a prenup : and an engagement, and getting a trim from a master : barber, and you have even perchance given the pledge to her finger? : You certainly used to be sane. Postumus, are you getting married? : Tell me by what Fury and by what vipers you are goaded. : Can you endure any Master-ess when there are so many good strong ropes, : When high, vertiginous windows are wide open, : when the Aemilian bridge offers itself to you – just right next door? : Or if from so many options no mode of death strikes your fancy, : Surely you think it better that a supple boy sleep with you? : A boy, who does not conduct a nocturnal lawsuit at you, who wheedles : no little gifts from you as he lies there, and neither complains because : you are going easy on him, nor because you don’t gasp as much as he demands. : ''conuentum tamen et pactum et sponsalia nostra'' : ''tempestate paras iamque a tonsore magistro'' : ''pecteris et digito pignus fortasse dedisti?'' : ''certe sanus eras. uxorem, Postume, ducis?'' : ''dic qua Tisiphone, quibus exagitere colubris.'' : ''ferre potes dominam saluis tot restibus ullam,'' : ''cum pateant altae caligantesque fenestrae,'' : ''cum tibi uicinum se praebeat Aemilius pons?'' : ''aut si de multis nullus placet exitus, illud'' : ''nonne putas melius, quod tecum pusio dormit?'' : ''pusio, qui noctu non litigat, exigit a te'' : ''nulla iacens illic munuscula, nec queritur quod'' : ''et lateri parcas nec quantum iussit anheles.'' : (6.25-37) Juvenal was concerned with the morality and actions of the Roman elite; ''Satire VI'' can equally be read as an invective against the men who have permitted this pervasive degradation of the Roman world. The author harshly criticizes avaricious husbands who marry not for love but for the dowry and subsequently allow their rich wives to do whatever they wish (6.136-141). Similarly, men who care only for the fleeting beauty of their wives, and then divorce them as it fades, merit condemnation (6.142-48). While women are prone to temptation, Juvenal casts men as agents and enablers of the feminine proclivity toward vice. In the written ''Roma'' of the ''Satires'', men will even impersonate eunuchs to get unmonitored access to corrupt a woman (6.O-20-30). The literary trope of luxury imported into ''Roma'' along with the spoils of conquest and the goods (and banes) of the world is employed by Juvenal to explain the source of degradation: : Even so, do you ask from what spring these prodigies? : Humble fortune defended the chaste Latin women then, : nor did their labor, short slumbers, hard hands irritated : by Tuscan wool, Hannibal close to the city, : and husbands standing guard at the Colline tower : allow their little shelters to be stained with vices. : Now we suffer the evils of a long peace, luxury more savage than arms : presses its attack and takes vengeance for the conquered world. : No crime or act of lust is absent from where : Roman poverty has perished. To here, to these hills, : Sybaris, and Rhodes, and Miletus – flowed here - : and Tarentum too crowned and with drunken impudence. : First tainted money carried in foreign : ways, and effeminate riches shattered the ages with : foul luxury. … : ''unde haec monstra tamen uel quo de fonte requiris?'' : ''praestabat castas humilis fortuna Latinas'' : ''quondam, nec uitiis contingi parua sinebant'' : ''tecta labor somnique breues et uellere Tusco'' : ''uexatae duraeque manus ac proximus urbi'' : ''Hannibal et stantes Collina turre mariti.'' : ''nunc patimur longae pacis mala, saeuior armis'' : ''luxuria incubuit uictumque ulciscitur orbem.'' : ''nullum crimen abest facinusque libidinis ex quo'' : ''paupertas Romana perit. hinc fluxit ad istos'' : ''et Sybaris colles, hinc et Rhodos et Miletos'' : ''atque coronatum et petulans madidumque Tarentum.'' : ''prima peregrinos obscena pecunia mores'' : ''intulit, et turpi fregerunt saecula luxu'' : ''diuitiae molles. …'' : (6.286-300)

Synopsis of the Poem by Section

Proem

*lines 6.1-24 – Parody of the

myth as dirty cave people. The ages of man: in the golden age no one feared a thief, the silver age had the first adulterers, and the remaining crimes in the Iron Age. The goddesses Pudicitia (Chastity) and Astraea (Justice) withdrew from the earth in disgust. *lines 6.25-37 – Are you preparing to get married, Postumus, in this day and age, when you could just commit suicide or sleep with a boy?

Lust

*lines 6.38-59 – The notorious adulterer Ursidius wants a wife and children. He wants a wife of old-fashioned virtue, but he is insane to think he will get one. *lines 6.60-81 – Marry a woman and an actor will become a father instead of you. *lines 6.82-113 – Eppia, a senator's wife, ran off to Egypt with a gladiator. *lines 6.114-141 –

Messalina Valeria Messalina (; ) was the third wife of Roman emperor Claudius. She was a paternal cousin of Emperor Nero, a second cousin of Emperor Caligula, and a great-grandniece of Emperor Augustus. A powerful and influential woman with a reputation ...

, wife of

Claudius Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (; 1 August 10 BC – 13 October AD 54) was the fourth Roman emperor, ruling from AD 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, Claudius was born to Nero Claudius Drusus, Drusu ...

, sneaked out of the palace to work at a brothel. Lust is the least of their sins, but greedy husbands allow it for the dowry. *lines 6.142-160 – Men love a pretty face, not the woman. When she gets old, they kick her out.

Pretentiousness

*lines 6.161-183 – The narrator would prefer a prostitute for a wife over Cornelia, since virtuous women are often arrogant. A good wife is a rara avis, like a

black swan The black swan (''Cygnus atratus'') is a large waterbird, a species of swan which breeds mainly in the southeast and southwest regions of Australia. Within Australia, the black swan is nomadic, with erratic migration patterns dependent upon c ...

. *lines 6.184-199 – Dressing and speaking Greek is not attractive, especially for old women.

Quarrelsomeness

*lines 6.200-230 – Women torment even men they love and want to rule the home, then they just move on to another man – one with eight husbands in five years. *lines 6.231-245 – A man will never be happy while his mother-in-law lives; she teaches her daughter evil habits. *lines 6.246-267 – Women cause lawsuits and love to wrangle. Some elite women practice at gladiatorial exercises, perhaps with the idea of actually entering the arena. *lines 6.268-285 – Women cover their own transgressions with accusations of their husband's. If the husband catches them, they are even more indignant.

Lack of Restraint

*lines 6.286-313 – Poverty and constant work kept women chaste previously. It was the excessive wealth that came with conquest that destroyed Roman morality with luxury. *lines 6.314-345 – Two women profane the shrine of

Pudicitia Pudicitia ("modesty" or "sexual virtue") was a central concept in ancient Roman sexual ethics. The word is derived from the more general ''pudor'', the sense of shame that regulated an individual's behavior as socially acceptable. ''Pudicitia' ...

(Chastity). Description of the now perverted rites of the

Bona Dea Bona Dea (; 'Good Goddess') was a List of Roman deities, goddess in Religion in ancient Rome, ancient Roman religion. She was associated with chastity and fertility in Women in ancient Rome, Roman women, healing, and the protection of the SPQR, st ...

(Good Goddess). *lines 6.O1-O34 – the Oxford Fragment – '' Cinaedi'' (pathic males) are a moral contamination; women listen to their advice. Cups should be shattered if they drink from them. Be sure the eunuchs guarding your wife are really eunuchs. Who will guard the guards themselves?There is significant disturbance of the text in the area from which the Oxford fragment originated. Various attempts have been made to reorder the lines so that the sense would be more clear. *lines 6.346-378 – Women both high and low are the same. Women are fiscally profligate and lack foresight and self-restraint. *lines 6.379-397 – Some women are so enthralled by musicians that they will perform sacrifices to the gods for their victory in a contest, no less than if their own husband or child were sick.

Unsociability

*lines 6.398-412 – Some women intrude into matters that pertain to men and are constantly blathering gossip and rumors. *lines 6.413-433 – Some self-centred wealthy women are cruel to their neighbors and are horrible hostesses, keeping their guests waiting then drinking and vomiting like a snake that has fallen into a vat of wine. *lines 6.434-456 – Women who are educated and fancy themselves orators and grammarians, disputing literary points and noting every grammatical slip of their husbands, are repulsive. *lines 6.457-473 – Rich women are utterly out of control. They only try to look presentable for their lovers. At home for their husbands they are covered in beauty concoctions. *lines 6.474-511 – If a woman's husband sleeps turned away, she tortures everyone at hand. Women rule their households like bloody tyrants. An army of maids is in attendance to get her ready for the public. She lives with the husband as if he were a stranger.

Superstitions

*lines 6.511-541 – The eunuch priest of

Bellona Bellona may refer to: Places *Bellona, Campania, a ''comune'' in the Province of Caserta, Italy *Bellona Reef, a reef in New Caledonia *Bellona Island, an island in Rennell and Bellona Province, Solomon Islands Ships * HMS ''Bellona'' (1760), a 74 ...

and the mother of the gods is given complete credence by some women. Others are fanatic adherents of the cult of Isis and its charlatan priests. *lines 6.542-591 – Still others listen to Jewish or Armenian soothsayers, or believe in the prophetic abilities of Chaldaean astrologers. Even worse is a woman who is so skilled at astrology that others seek her out for advice. Poor women get their fortunes told down by the

Circus Maximus The Circus Maximus (Latin for "largest circus"; Italian: ''Circo Massimo'') is an ancient Roman chariot-racing stadium and mass entertainment venue in Rome, Italy. In the valley between the Aventine and Palatine hills, it was the first and lar ...

Drugs and Poisons

*lines 6.592-609 – At least poor women will have children. Rich women instead receive abortions to avoid the bother. But husbands should be glad since they would just become the father of a half-Ethiopian anyway. Women also get abandoned children to pass off as those of their husbands; these become the Roman elite – as

Fortuna Fortuna ( la, Fortūna, equivalent to the Greek goddess Tyche) is the goddess of fortune and the personification of luck in Roman religion who, largely thanks to the Late Antique author Boethius, remained popular through the Middle Ages until at ...

laughs. *lines 6.610-626 – Women love to drug and poison their husbands to get their way. The wife of

Caligula Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (31 August 12 – 24 January 41), better known by his nickname Caligula (), was the third Roman emperor, ruling from 37 until his assassination in 41. He was the son of the popular Roman general Germanicu ...

drove him insane with a potion, and

Agrippina the Younger Julia Agrippina (6 November AD 15 – 23 March AD 59), also referred to as Agrippina the Younger, was Roman empress from 49 to 54 AD, the fourth wife and niece of Emperor Claudius. Agrippina was one of the most prominent women in the Julio-Claud ...

poisoned

. *lines 6.627-633 – The evil stepmother would like to poison rich stepchildren.

Epilogue

*lines 6.634-43 – The narrator asks if his listener thinks he has slipped into the hyperbole of tragedy. But Pontia admits to murdering her two children and would have killed seven if there had been seven. We should believe what the poets tell us about

Medea In Greek mythology, Medea (; grc, Μήδεια, ''Mēdeia'', perhaps implying "planner / schemer") is the daughter of King Aeëtes of Colchis, a niece of Circe and the granddaughter of the sun god Helios. Medea figures in the myth of Jason an ...

and

Procne Procne (; grc, Πρόκνη, ''Próknē'' ) is a minor figure in Greek mythology. She was an Athens, Athenian princess as the elder daughter of a king of Athens named Pandion I, Pandion. Family Procne's mother was the naiad Zeuxippe and he ...

, yet they were less evil than women now, because they did what they did due to rage, not money. There is a

Clytemnestra Clytemnestra (; grc-gre, Κλυταιμνήστρα, ''Klytaimnḗstrā'', ), in Greek mythology, was the wife of Agamemnon, king of Mycenae, and the twin sister of Helen of Troy. In Aeschylus' ''Oresteia'', she murders Agamemnon – said by Eu ...

on every street.

Notes

External links

Satire VI in Latin
at

The Latin Library The Latin Library is a website that collects public domain Latin texts. It is run by William L. Carey, adjunct professor of Latin and Roman Law at George Mason University. The texts have been drawn from different sources, are not intended for rese ...

Satire VI in English
(translation by G.G. Ramsay) at the Internet Ancient History Sourcebook * Wikiquotes of Juvenal includes "who guards the guards" {{DEFAULTSORT:Satire Vi Works by Juvenal Satirical poems Works about women Works about marriage