Paul Allen Miller, professor of classics and comparative literature at the University of South Carolina presented the Department of Classics Winslow Lecture on March 4. Miller discussed how and why "Satire is Wholly Roman." Miller is a familiar face at Hamilton, having taught classics here in the spring of 1996.
Miller began his lecture by explaining that satire is peculiarly Roman, and is unlike other forms of writing in that it has no Greek origin. The famous quote "Satura quidem tota nostra est," meaning "satire is indeed wholly ours," (Quintilian 10.1.93) shaped Miller's lecture, as he discussed what the genre of satire is and what about this genre makes it unique to Romans.
Delving into the history of "satura," Miller explained that the term formally describes a "long poem in hexameter verse" that offered a moral or political criticism. "Satura" was very much unlike our common understanding of satire. The genre also mixed prose and verse, and oftentimes used colloquialisms that would be equivalent to slang terms today. The focus of satires revolved around "food, sexuality, the body and Roman street life."According to Miller, satire had two outstanding qualities: the first was that satire was "poetry of criticism or 'blame.'" Secondly, satire perused many topics; the genre of satire was not characterized by a single idea or sentiment, and lyres were considered associated with love.
Miller shifted from formal description of the term to the history of the term and the ideology behind it. Explaining the history of Roman authors, from Lucilius, Horace, and Persius, Miller explained how Romans believe that "satura nos est" (or, satire is in us). He explained that as the idea of being Roman evolved over time, so did definition of satire. Exploring the quote "satura est nostra libertas," which means "satire is our liberty," Miller discussed the Roman's ideas of liberty, and how the ideas of liberty (such as free speech) were exercised by a social or political elite. He explored the Roman's ideas of liberty and what it meant to the initial poor, lower class Roman poets. Through this, and the idea that satire is "the form whose subject is libertas," Miller concluded that satire is the most Roman of genres.
The Winslow Lecture Fund, which was established through a bequest from William Copley Winslow, Class of 1862, to support lectures on classics and archaeology, funded Miller's lecture.
-- by Emily Lemanczyk '05
