Editing Ausonius (section)

==Characteristics of works==
Although admired by his contemporaries, the writings of Ausonius have not since been ranked among [[Latin literature]]'s finest. His style is easy and fluent, and his ''Mosella'' is appreciated for its evocation of the life and the country along the River [[Moselle]], but he is considered derivative and unoriginal.  [[Edward Gibbon]] pronounced in his ''[[Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire]]'' that "the poetical fame of Ausonius condemns the taste of his age".<ref>Note 1 to chapter XXVII</ref> However, Ausonius's works have several points of interest:

* His references to [[winemaking]] are frequently cited by historians as early evidence of large-scale [[viticulture]] in the now-famous wine country around his native [[Bordeaux]].
* His contribution to the ''[[carpe diem]]'' topic (if the following poem is indeed his):
{{Verse translation|
{{lang|la|Collige, virgo, rosas, dum flos novus et nova pubes
et memor esto aevum sic properare tuum.}}
|attr1=Epigrammata: «Rosae» 2:49|
Gather, girl, roses while the flower is fresh and fresh is youth,
remembering that your own time is hurrying on.}}

* His somewhat unique ''Cento Nuptialis'',<ref>translated as ''A Nuptial Cento'' by H.G. Evelyn-White for [[Loeb Classical Library]]</ref> in which he fulfils an imperial commission to compose an [[epithalamium]] using the "love is war" trope<ref>See, for example, the discussion in ''[https://www.purplemotes.net/2019/01/13/ausonius-proba/ Ausonius and Proba on “love is war” and brutalizing men’s sexuality]'' (retrieved, 1 July 2020).</ref> by writing it in the form of a [[cento (poetry)|cento]] (in other words, a [[wiktionary:mashup|mashup]]) lifting lines from [[Vergil]]:
{{Verse translation|
{{lang|la|Itque reditque viam totiens {{!}} uteroque recusso
transadigit costas {{!}} et pectine pulsat eburno.
Iamque fere spatio extremo fessique sub ipsam
finem adventabant: {{!}} tum creber anhelitus artus
aridaque ora quatit, sudor fluit undique rivis,
labitur exsanguis, {{!}} destillat ab inguine virus.}}
|
Back and forth he plies his path and, the cavity reverberating,
thrusts between the bones, and strikes with ivory quill.
And now, their journey covered, wearily they neared
their very goal: then rapid breathing shakes his limbs
and parched mouth, his sweat in rivers flows;
down he slumps bloodless; the fluid drips from his groin.}}