Macrobius' Saturnalia Book One

[modernized text]

He expressly disclaims any literary merit for the work, since it is intended to be nothing more than a collection of things he considers worth knowing. It appears to consist of extracts from notebooks containing excerpts from authors he had read.Compare the elder Pliny, who "read nothing without making excerpts." It is clear from his preface that Macrobius was not concerned with providing specific citations for his borrowings. Like the Noctes Atticae, the Saturnalia has preserved much anonymous and other material that would otherwise have been lost. Beyond this, there is the intrinsic interest of the Vergilian criticism and the varied antiquarian lore the book contains.

THE CHARACTERS IN THE DIALOGUE

Of the twelve chief characters, most are real people, and—though there is no compelling evidence—quite possibly all of them are. Macrobius admits that, given their respective ages, it is doubtful the participants could actually have met. However, he claims that by bringing them together for his dialogue, he is following the example of Plato. He also seems to have taken care to make the speakers fit their parts and to suggest individual characteristics; but there are times when he forgets he is writing a dialogue and appears to be merely transcribing notes.