Bavius and Maevius (or Mevius) were two poets in the age of

Augustus Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian (), was the founder of the Roman Empire, who reigned as the first Roman emperor from 27 BC until his death in A ...

, whose names became synonymous with bad verse and malicious criticism of superior writers. Both are named together in

Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (; 15 October 70 BC21 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Rome, ancient Roman poet of the Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Augustan period. He composed three of the most fa ...

Eclogues The ''Eclogues'' (; , ), also called the ''Bucolics'', is the first of the three major works of the Latin poet Virgil. Background Taking as his generic model the Greek bucolic poetry of Theocritus, Virgil created a Roman version partly by o ...

(3.90). Maevius is also the object of

Horace Quintus Horatius Flaccus (; 8 December 65 BC – 27 November 8 BC), Suetonius, Life of Horace commonly known in the English-speaking world as Horace (), was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus (also known as Octavian). Th ...

's tenth

Epode According to one meaning of the word, an epode is the third part of an ancient Greek choral ode that follows the strophe and the antistrophe and completes the movement. The word epode is also used to refer to the second (shorter) line of a two-l ...

, which invites the gods to drown him as he embarks on a sea voyage. The name M(a)evius is attested of several historical individuals, but whether Virgil's Bavius and Maevius are real writers or literary inventions is unclear.

Alexander Pope Alexander Pope (21 May 1688 Old Style and New Style dates, O.S. – 30 May 1744) was an English poet, translator, and satirist of the Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment era who is considered one of the most prominent English poets of the early ...

mentions Bavius in his 1729 '' Dunciad Variorum'' and explains, in a note, that he drew the reference from Virgil. Pope draws a parallel between these two critics and his own dunces by quoting John Dennis who thought it likely that Bavius "and Maevius had (even in ''Augustus's'' days) a very formidable Party at ''Rome'', who thought them much superior to ''Virgil'' and ''Horace:'' For (saith he) I cannot believe they would have fix'd that eternal brand upon them, if they had not been coxcombs in more than ordinary credit" (''Dunciad Variorum''). Bavius and Maevius are also like the "dunces" in Pope's own ''Dunciad'' in that little is remembered of them except for their bad reputations. In the ''Dunciad,'' Book III, Pope has Bavius dip the transmigrating souls of poetasters in

Lethe In Greek mythology, Lethe (; Ancient Greek: ''Lḗthē''; , ) was one of the rivers of the underworld of Hades. In Classical Greek, the word '' lethe'' ( λήθη) literally means "forgetting", "forgetfulness". The river is also known as Amel ...

, making them doubly stupid before being born as hack writers. In his "An Essay on Criticism," Pope writes of Maevius: :Some are bewilder'd in the Maze of Schools, :And some made Coxcombs Nature meant but Fools. :In search of Wit these lose their common Sense, :And then turn Criticks in their own Defence. :Each burns alike, who can, or cannot write, :Or with a Rival's or a Eunuch's spite. :All Fools have still an Itching to deride, :And fain wou'd be upon the Laughing Side; :If Maevius Scribble in Apollo's spight, :There are, who judge still worse than he can write... Maevius also features in the

Earl of Roscommon Earl of Roscommon was a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created on 5 August 1622 for James Dillon, 1st Baron Dillon. He had already been created Baron Dillon on 24 January 1619, also in the Peerage of Ireland. The fourth Earl was a court ...

's "An Essay on Translated Verse" as a symbol of poetic failure: :"Whoever vainly on his strength depends, :Begins like Virgil, but like Maevius ends." :(in J.E. Spingarn, ed., Critical Essays of the Seventeenth Century, II, p.299)

References

''N.b. material in this article is taken from the public domain 1828 edition of'' Lempriere's Dictionary. 1st-century BC Roman poets {{AncientRome-poet-stub