Aetna is a 644-line poem on the origin of
volcanic activity, which has been variously attributed to
Virgil,
Cornelius Severus, and
Manilius. Its composition has been placed as far back as 44 BC, on the ground that certain works of art, known to have been removed to Rome about that date, are referred to as being at a distance from the city. But as the author appears to have known and made use of the
Quaestiones Naturales of Seneca (written c. 65 AD), and no mention is made of the great eruption of
Vesuvius (AD 79), the time of its composition seems to lie between these two dates. In favor of the authorship of Lucilius are the facts that he was a friend of Seneca and acquainted with his writings; that he had for some time held the office of imperial procurator of
Sicily, and was thus familiar with the locality; and that he was the author of a poem on Sicilian subjects. It is objected that in the 79th
letter of Seneca, which is the chief authority on the question, he apparently asks that Lucilius should introduce the hackneyed theme of
Aetna merely as an episode in his contemplated poem, not make it the subject of separate treatment. The sources of the
Aetna are
Posidonius of Apamea, and perhaps the pseudo-Aristotelian
De Mundo, while there are many reminiscences of
Lucretius. It has come down in a very corrupt state, and its difficulties are increased by the unpoetical nature of the subject, the straining after conciseness, and the obtrusive use of
metaphor. ==Notes==