ABSTRACT
The talent of Fortunatus lay especially in his facility: he triumphed in poetic improvisation. But his insufficient education (although he knew Horace, Virgil and some of the Christian poets) was a poor safeguard against grammatical irregularities and faults in quantity. 4 He was well aware of this, in which connection he has made very humble confessions whose sincerity might be believed more easily if their form had been less affected. 5 His own shortcomings in no way discouraged his output, which brought him honour and profit, and, however mediocre, caused once more a last reflection of Latin cUlwre to gleam forth among the barbarians whom he portrays with " their goblet of maple wood in their hands, drinking health after health, and uttering a thousand follies calculated to arouse their God Bacchus" (Carm., Praef, § v).
