Silvae

Books

• 1
  Book 1

  Occasional poems addressed to Domitian and prominent Romans. The great statue of Domitian in the Forum, a consolation for Rutilius Gallicus, and the baths of Claudius Etruscus.

  792 lines
• 2
  Book 2

  The villa of Pollius Felix at Sorrento, the marriage of Arruntius Stella, and consolations for bereaved friends. Statius at his most polished and ornamental.

  773 lines
• 3
  Book 3

  The Temple of Hercules, the Appian Way, and further consolations. Statius reflects on his wife Claudia and their life together.

  763 lines
• 4
  Book 4

  Poems to friends and patrons, including an ode to sleep — 'Crimine quo merui' — one of the most imitated poems in European literature.

  724 lines
• 5
  Book 5

  The final book, including a poem to his wife about their planned return to Naples and a moving address to the Thebaid, his epic, now complete.

  846 lines