REV. H. M. STEPHENSON, M.A. HEAD MASTER OF ST PETER'S SCHOOL, YORK; Dicitur et nostros cantare Britannia versus. London: MACMILLAN AND CO. 1880 [The Right of Translation is reserved.] INTRODUCTION. THE Romanising of Gaul and Spain was followed among Life of other results by a large influx into Rome from Martial, those provinces, of literary talent, and, in some cases, genius. Spain in particular during the latter half of the first century after Christ, was represented at Rome by a number of literary men of various excellence. Of some of these the works remain, those of others have perished. Some of them, like Martial's friend Canius', sported in light effusions not intended to live, others, such as Seneca, Lucan, Quintilian, produced work which the world uses still. Some of them were mere amateurs, or at least, imitators who followed in the wake of other writers, while others made themselves acknowledged as masters in the branches of literature to which they devoted themselves. To the latter class belongs M. Valerius Martialis. Of the early years of this poet's life, before he came to Rome, we know next to nothing-only his birth-place, and (probably) the names of his parents. The birth-place was Bilbilis, a Roman colony in |