A. M. Juster presents a faithful, poetic translation of the elegies of Maximianus, "last of the Roman poets." This comprehensive volume includes an introduction by renowned classicist Michael Roberts, the first English translation of an additional six poems attributed to Maximianus, and the first commentary in English on the elegies since 1900.

This book is the first study to focus on a metaliterary interpretation of Maximianus’ Elegies, and aims to fill a major gap in international literature concerning the thoughts of the last love elegist on the evolution and renovation of the genre of love elegy during Late Antiquity. The book includes all known subjects of Maximianus’ poetry (e.g., the division of his work into six elegies, its attribution to Cornelius Gallus by Pomponius Gauricus in 1502, its reception in recent years, the intellectual milieu of the Ostrogothic Italy, the historical contextualization of his poetry, the Appendix Maximiani, the impact of the Augustan love elegy (and especially Ovid’s) upon it, etc.), in order to offer a more complete picture of it. However, the content of the book is predominantly prototype, as it examines subjects that have not previously been discussed in the past. These include: a) The generic interaction between the ‘host’ genre of love elegy, and several ‘guest’ genres (e.g., Roman comedy, epic, pastoral); b) The hidden metapoetic discourse regarding the genre of love elegy itself. The book is intended for scholars or students working on or interested in Roman love elegy and its generic evolution in Late Antiquity.

Gabriele Zerbi (1445-1505), born in Verona of an old patrician family, was a remarkable medical man & anatomists of his time. He probably studied at the University at Padua, where he began to teach medicine in 1467, having obtained the doctorate at the age of 22. He then taught medicine & logic at the University of Bologna, lived & worked in Rome, & finally returned to Padua. Maximianus the Etruscan, as he calls himself, lived in Rome in the age of Justinian, the 6th century. Only a few biographical facts about him can be gleaned from his 6 poems. Chapters: Introduction to Zerbi & His Works; text of The "Gerontocomia": On the Care of the Aged; Intro. to Maximianus's Elegies on Old Age & Love; & The Elegies. Bibliography.