ABSTRACT
A discussion concerning Ausonius’ career and its place within the emergence and formation of a provincial aristocracy needs, in the first place, to define aristocracy. One well-known study of the late Roman aristocracy has presented a broad canvass of aristocratic activities as important components of class definition.1 It shows that the ways in which a nobleman beguiled his leisure (otium) were just as significant as his time spent in office. Each occupation and pursuit was intrinsic to the accumulation of unparalleled power, wealth and authority. Through correspondence, dinner parties, arranged matches and journeys, a busy and power-minded nobleman could build up an impressive network of friends, contacts, clients and relatives. The cream of the aristocracy (according to another modern study) based their claim to exclusive nobility on the acquisition of the two top offices in the administration-the praetorian prefecture and the consulship.2
