Abstract

This article argues that Persius' claim to truth is inseparable from the stylistic complexity of his poetry. Irony becomes a method of truth-telling, not simply as a means of demystification but also as a way of pointing beyond the corruption of contemporary language. Part I of the article examines Persius' general discussion of poetic style throughout the corpus in light of Stoic conceptions of truth and the "sayable." Part II focuses on the opening of the Prologue and its relation to Satire 1.