Choice Review

Despite what readers might infer from the title, this is not a socioeconomic study but a book of very good literary criticism informed by recent researches in cultural anthropology, particularly those directed toward "primitive" (i.e., premodern) gift (as opposed to commercial) economies. Concentrating on the period after Horace received the Sabine farm from Maecenas (31 BCE), Bowditch (Univ. of Oregon) argues that in book 1 of the Epistles, the poet's imagery of his own role in the Augustan regime is that of "priest of the Muses" (sacerdos Musarum), whose poetry provides the "gift" of purification to the Roman people (via Odes, bks. 1-3, and especially via the "Roman Odes") in requital for his subsidization by that regime. Thus, Horace is not a "client" in the usual Roman sense, but more nearly the equal friend (amicus) of his elite patrons. Done with an excellent review of recent Horatian scholarship, a minimum of literary Marxism, and practically no "deconstruction(ism)," the book includes extensive (and useful) footnotes, a full bibliography, and indexes of subjects and places. Bowditch also provides English translations of all Latin citations. A sensitive and important work that will engage and challenge the most advanced undergraduates, graduate students, and scholars, whether in the classics or comparative literature. C. J. Zabrowski Gettysburg College