Albius Tibullus
The gentlest of the Roman elegists
c. 55 BC – c. 19 BC
Albius Tibullus was born around 55 BC into an equestrian family that, like many, lost property in the civil war confiscations. He was a member of the literary circle of Messalla Corvinus and served on Messalla's military campaigns, though he wrote about soldiering with conspicuous lack of enthusiasm.
Two books of elegies survive under his name. They celebrate a quiet life of love, the countryside, and religious piety — a deliberate rejection of the martial and political values of Augustan Rome. His lovers are Delia (in Book 1) and Nemesis (in Book 2), and his verse is the most melodious and transparently beautiful in Latin elegy. Quintilian called his style 'polished and elegant,' which is accurate but understates the achievement: Tibullus makes difficulty look effortless.
He died young, around 19 BC — the same year as Virgil. Ovid mourned him in a tender elegy.
Elegies attributed to Sulpicia, a female poet in Tibullus' circle. Six short poems — the only surviving love poetry by a Roman woman.