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INTRODUCTION

THE AUTHOR AND HIS WRITINGS

All that is known for certain about Macrobius is that he had a son, Eustachius, to whom he dedicated two of the works attributed to him, and that he was not a native of Italy but had been “born under an alien sky.”Original Latin: "advena sub coelo" — Saturnalia, preface, 11. Stahl (pp. 4-5) summarizes the conjectures regarding Macrobius' birthplace. The many references to Egypt in his Saturnalia suggest that he may have been a native of that country.

In most manuscripts, he is titled Macrobius Ambrosius Theodosius (the order of the names varies), vir clarissimus et illustrisOriginal Latin: "most distinguished and illustrious man", and these official titles make it likely that he is the same Macrobius mentioned in the Theodosian Code as Vicar of Spain (399 A.D.), Proconsul of Africa (410 A.D.), and Grand Chamberlain (praepositus sacri cubiculi, 422 A.D.).The Code also mentions a Macrobius fined in 400 A.D. for unauthorized use of the public postal service; the Macrobius of 399 A.D. was required to check such abuses. It is not unlikely that he is the scholar Theodosius to whom the fabulist Avianus dedicated his work.

Although the works of Macrobius contain no reference to Christianity, he may have been a Christian. A holder of the office of Grand Chamberlain would have been officially required to accept the new State religion. However, such official acceptance of Christianity by Macrobius would not necessarily be inconsistent with a genuine sympathy for the old religion, which his apparent connection with staunch supporters of paganism implies.

Three works attributed to Macrobius survive: