Roman Satire and Roman Society, Part II: the Imperial Knife Walkers

Every age, we are told, selects from the past those historical problems most relevant to its own existence. The political and psychological pressures exerted on Roman writers—particularly satirists—from Augustus onwards do not figure very largely in our literary histories. This is hardly surprising. In England the true atmosphere of totalitarianism has never been fully appreciated. We are only beginning, as a result of our own experiences, to discern the skill of the Roman propaganda-machine in Imperial times, or estimate the force of official sanctions that could—then as now—be discreetly exercised against a recalcitrant or indiscreet individualist.