Przegląd Zachodniopomorski

The article presents the academic interest in the Roman ancient poetry, which Eilhard Lubinus revealed when he obtained the title of Master and edited (in 1595) a collection of commentaries to the Satires written by (Aulus) Persius (Flaccus), whose poetry was considered to be so unclear and sophisticated that obsuritas or aenigmata Persiana hadbecome proverbial. Later Lubinus analysed other authors from ancient Rome, Horaceand Juvenal. That choice of names was not accidental: all the three (Horace, Juvenal andPersius) had been satirists, and satire had been invented in ancient Rome. In one place Lubinus wrote explicitly that he most highly valued satirists of all the ancient poets; andhe called them ‘teachers of virtues and upholders of the customs’. Lubinus left not only editions of and commentaries on the Roman ancient poetry, but he also tried his hand atwriting Latin poetry. As an author he wrote what was popular at his time; it was, first of all, occasional poetry, which he wrote because of his professional functions and his positionin the society; we know the poems he wrote to commemorate the funerals of rulers and his friends, school ceremonies, weddings and promotions of his colleagues, etc. Itwas a custom of the time to place poems in the editorial frame of publications; Lubinus added poetic dedications to his own books and to the books written by the people he was somehow related to. Yet, Lubinus wrote occasional poems and dedications only sporadically and his achievements in that area are not impressive.