Editing Tibullus (section)

== Life ==
Tibullus's chief friend and patron was [[Marcus Valerius Messalla Corvinus]], himself an orator and poet as well as a statesman and a commander. Messalla, like [[Gaius Maecenas]], was at the centre of a literary circle in [[Rome]]. This circle had no relationship with the court, and the name of Augustus is found nowhere in the writings of Tibullus. About 30 BC Messalla was dispatched by Augustus to [[Gaul]] to quell a rising in [[Aquitania]] and restore order in the country, and Tibullus may have been in his retinue. On a later occasion, probably in 28, he would have accompanied his friend who had been sent on a mission to the East, but he fell sick and had to stay behind in [[Corcyra]]. Tibullus had no liking for war, and though his life seems to have been divided between Rome and his country estate, his own preferences were wholly for the country life.{{sfnp|Postgate|1911|p=930}}

The loss of Tibullus's landed property is attested by himself (i.1, 19), as a farmer {{Lang|la|felicis quondam, nunc pauperis agri}} ("of a once fruitful, now impoverished field"; cf. 41, 42). Its cause is only an inference, though a very probable one. That he was allowed to retain a portion of his estate with the family mansion is clear from ii.4, 53. Tibullus may have been Messalla's {{Lang|la|contubernalis}} in the [[Aquitanian War]] (''Vita Tib.'' and Tib. i.7, 9 seq., a poem composed for Messalla's triumph), and may have received ''[[dona militaria]]'' (''Vita Tib.'').{{sfnp|Postgate|1911|p=930}}

Tibullus died prematurely, probably in 19, around the same time as Virgil or not long afterwards.<ref>{{cite journal|last=McGann|first=M. J.|title=The Date of Tibullus' Death|journal=Latomus|year=1970|volume=29|issue=3|pages=774–780|jstor=41527744}}</ref><ref>Avery, W. T. (1960). [https://www.jstor.org/stable/3294385 "The year of Tibullus' death"]. ''The Classical Journal'', 55(5), 205–209, argues that Tibullus died a little later than Virgil, some time between 17 and 12 BC; Levin, D. N. (1967). [https://www.jstor.org/stable/3295497 "The Alleged Date of Tibullus' Death"]. ''The Classical Journal'', 62(7), 311–314 disagrees with Avery.</ref> His death made a deep impression in Rome, as is clear from his contemporary, [[Domitius Marsus]], and from the elegy in which [[Ovid]]<ref>[[Ovid]], ''[[Amores (Ovid)|Amores]]'', iii.9.</ref> enshrined the memory of his predecessor.{{sfnp|Postgate|1911|p=930}}