Satire can be a very effective style of writing. It combines irony and sarcasm to draw attention to many important issues. It is often used to point out problems with the status quo. Today, television programs such as The Daily Show and The Colbert Report put a satirical spin on current news stories. In his Sixteen Satires, Juvenal gives a satirical account of life in Ancient Rome. Broken up into sixteen poems, he works to critique the social and political aspects of the society. Among his complaints, he questions the legitimacy of the wealthy class, expresses his disgust for hypocrites, and remarks upon the decline of female values. But it would seem as if his last poem is the most significant. In the sixteenth satire, Juvenal discusses the social status of the soldier class. According to Juvenal, the Roman soldiers acted as if they were above the law. It is easy to see that he disapproved of this type of behavior. Upon a closer examination, there is little room for doubt.
Juvenal uses the sixteenth poem to expose the inequality between the soldiers and the working class. First, he says that no one would ever dare to strike a soldier. In the case that a soldier hurts a civilian, the civilian would be too scared to report it.1 This is a serious flaw within the society. No civilian should ever be scared to report a crime if they are wronged by a soldier. According to Juvenal, if a soldier happens to be found guilty of a crime committed against a civilian, the consequences are severe and harsh. He says, ‘the whole regiment is against you, every company unites, as one man, to ensure that the “redress” you get shall be something requiring a doctor, and worse than the first assault.’2 Clearly, the soldiers have complete dominance over the civilian population. As Juvenal notes, it is nearly impossible to find a witness to testify against soldiers. Who would want to testify if they knew it would lead to bodily harm? Under this system, the soldiers have very little...