Silius Italicus - Silius' Influence

Silius' Influence

The only ancient authors to refer to Silius are Martial, Pliny, and Sidonius Apollinaris. Pliny's judgment that Silius wrote poetry maiore cura quam ingenio, "with more eagerness than genius" has encouraged the view that Silius is a talented but mediocre and uninspired poet. The poem seems to have been mostly unknown in the Middle Ages. Petrarch's Africa was composed independently of the Punica, as the manuscript was discovered by Poggio Bracciolini in 1417 at St. Gall during the Council of Constance. Julius Caesar Scaliger's harsh opinion of Silius damaged his reputation. Many authors were familiar with Silius' work, such as Montaigne, Milton, Dryden (who considered him better than Lucan), Gibbon, and Alexander Pope. Joseph Addison particularly includes many quotations of Silius in his Dialogue on Medals as does Thomas Macaulay in his works. Interest in Silius mostly vanished in the 19th century. As for visual arts, Raphael's Vision of the Knight is a treatment of Silius' choice of Scipio. Despite Silius' poor reputation, classical scholars with their renewed interest in later Imperial epic seem to be finally turning their attentions to Silius' poetry.