Looking Behind the Curtain

A Sassy Depiction of our Flaws and Idiosyncrasies

Being a true master of the quill – or stylus to be precise – the renowned author Marcus Valerius Martialis, or Martial for short, gained his status by critiquing Roman society in his writings, his epigrams. These short satirical statements were an authentic and humorous portrayal of the ignominious, idiosyncratic, and frivolous behaviour of the people around him. However, he did not want to harm individuals, which is why he used fictitious names. His aim was to shed light on human weaknesses in general. Martial’s work offers valuable insight into the darker and more scandalous side of ancient Roman society. His work is a prime example of my argument: human behaviour remains consistent over time.  The idiosyncrasies that our ancestors displayed can still be seen today. Let us begin with a behaviour, that is probably familiar to all of us: irrationally disliking someone without a good reason for it. Martial put it this way:

Non amo te, Sabidi, nec possum dicere quare: hoc tantum possum dicere, non amo te. [Book I, 32]

I do not like you, Sabidi, but I cannot say why. I can say only this: I do not like you.

Here we see antipathy in action in ancient Rome. Nowadays, most people try to find flimsy reasons to justify disliking someone. Martial decided to choose a direct approach. Feeling unexplained apathy towards somebody and acting on it seems to be an all-time human favourite. It is most definitely linked to our nastier side. We simply like to complain about things. Very often, it is “someone” rather than “something” we complain about. Martial captured this in the following epigram.

Quid recitaturus circumdas vellera collo? Conveniunt nostris auribus ista magis. [Book IV, 41]

Why put a woollen scarf around your neck when you recite? It would be more appropriate for our ears.

Modern-day equivalent, you ask? An unnecessarily snarky book review or a diss track insulting another rapper’s skills. Warranted or not, such negativity towards the work of others is not foreign to us. It certainly was not unfamiliar to Martial and his targets back then. Criticism, however, is not necessarily a bad thing. It is vital for improvement. If there were no critiques, progress would stall. What matters is whether the critique is intended to be helpful or hurtful.