Epistles

…encouraged Horace to write his Epistles. Book I may have been published in 20 bc, and Book II probably appeared in 14 bc. These two books are very different in theme and content. Although similar to the Satires in style and content, the Epistles lack the earlier poems’ aggressiveness and…

Horace’s largely autobiographical Epistles I was sealed with a miniature self-portrait. Ovid, in exile and afraid of fading from Rome’s memory, gave an invaluable account of his life in Tristia IV.