Vespae iudicium coci et pistoris iudice Volcano
- J. H. D. Scourfield
Extract
Poem in 99 hexameters by Vespa, an itinerant rhetorician, in which baker and cook argue their respective merits before Vulcan. Metrical and other considerations suggest a late 3rd- or 4th-cent. date. Full of mythological learning, the poem, which parodies bucolic competition, is most notable for its humour, particularly its puns.
