King Alfred: Juvenal

While hiding in the marshes, the king was allegedly inspired by Juvenal’s Satires. Especially the tenth Satire.

Juvenal was a Roman pagan who wrote around 100AD. These were his reflections on Roman life, lessons derived from myth and history and his general rants. The work begins with,

It is hard not to write satire. For who is so tolerant of the unjust city, so steeled, that he can restrain himself

Juvenal brings accusations against the failures of the citizenship and the hypocrisy of the Roman aristocracy.

The most popular Satires are III, which is about the dangers of living in Rome and X, the one mentioned in connection with King Alfred. Juvenal’s Satire X is where we get the phrases, ‘a healthy mind in a healthy body’ and ‘bread and circuses’.

It seems strange that a Christian king would rely on or even read a text written by a pagan. The pre-Modern Christian world had no problem with reading these texts, as long it held useful wisdom which helped the reader to draw near to God.

Plato and Aristotle were both pagans and yet the Medieval church embraced their writings. They saw these philosophers showed a path to the one true God. In Christian theology, they come under the concept of the ‘virtuous pagan’. This is discussed by St Paul in Romans.

Romans 2 v 14-15

Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law.

They show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts sometimes accusing them and at other times even defending them.

An early writer, Justin Martyr, proposed that Plato and Socrates were effectively Christians, even before Christ incarnated. In his Divine Comedy, Dante included people like Homer, Ovid and even the Muslim leader Saladin in the first circle of Hell as noble pagans.

It should be noted, that when Christianity arrives in a culture, it doesn’t seek to wipe it out. But instead looks to redeem parts which are good, while discouraging the worst parts of the pagan culture. For example, some ancient churches in England are built over sacred pagan sites. The Christians redeemed them, while other elements of pagan worship, like animal sacrifice and magic were discouraged. But they kept the old Anglo-Saxon names for the days of the week, based upon their ancient gods.

Pre-Modern Christianity recognised the importance of a local culture, and simply shone the light of Christ through it. Making the good parts shine more brightly and have the poorer parts burnt away.

Juvenal’s Satire X was a helpful support to King Alfred. It discusses the role of fortune in someone’s life and the unwise things we pray for. It talked about the vain glory of military achievements, as even Alexander the Great ended up in a coffin.

It finishes by saying that the best thing to pray for is a healthy mind in a healthy body. Everything else flows from this request.

The key part of the text for the king, highlighted by a later biographer, was this section,

Juvenal, Satire 10: 52-53

He used to laugh at the cares and also the joys of the common herd; sometimes even at their tears: while be himself would bid Fortune, when she frowned, "Go hang!" and point at her his finger in scorn!

I feel all this sobered Alfred up. Even though he had lost almost everything, he knew he needed to taken the failures in his stride. After all, every great general succumbed to death in the end. All their victories, were lost in time.

So maybe, he held things lightly and not became overwhelmed by his situation. Maybe, he had moments where he laughed at the hand fortune dealt him.

I think in our lives we have a tendency to hold onto things too tightly. The lighter we hold something, and the more we give it to God, the more we will see Him change our perspectives and change our circumstances.

Like King Alfred, we need to be prepared to laugh at our misfortunes, the courage to hold our life lightly and submit it all to God and His will.