Juvenal
(born
c. AD 55 — died 130) Roman poet. He is believed to have been born into a wealthy family, to have become an army officer, and to have grown embittered by his failure to receive a promotion. He is chiefly known for his 16
Satires, indignant attacks on human brutality and folly, particularly the corruption of Roman society under
Domitian and his more humane successors
Nerva,
Trajan, and
Hadrian. Juvenal's verses are technically fine, vivid, and often ruthless, and they have been admired and imitated since the 5th century. Many of his phrases and epigrams ("bread and circuses," "who will guard the guards themselves?" etc.) have entered common parlance.
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