A stroll with Lucilius: Horace, Satires 1.9 reconsidered

This article argues that the "bore" who pursues Horace in Satires 1.9 should be read as Lucilius, the inventor of Roman verse Satire. This reconsideration of the interlocutor allows certain previously puzzling aspects of the poem, in particular Horace's failure to escape from his companion, to be understood in programmatic terms. The poem literally enacts the complex and timeless dance between successor and model: as long as he is writing satire, Horace cannot be free of Lucilius' presence, and yet to succeed as a satirist he must struggle for a certain measure of independence from his predecessor.