or abuse, is capable of reaching the very highest level of literature.
The writings of a satirist of this type, and to some extent of every
satirist who touches on the social aspects of life, present a picture
more or less vivid, though not of course complete and impartial, of the
age to which he belongs, of the men, their manners, fashions, tastes,
and prevalent opinions. Thus they have a historical as well as a
literary and an ethical value. And Thackeray, in speaking of the office
of the humorist or satirist, for to him they were one, says, "He
professes to awaken and direct your love, your pity, your kindness,
your scorn for untruth, pretension, imposture, your tenderness for the
weak, the poor, the oppressed, the unhappy. To the best of his means
and ability he comments on all the ordinary actions and passions of
life almost."[1]

Satire has, in consequence, always ranked as one of the cardinal
divisions of literature. Its position as such, however, is due rather
to the fact of it having been so regarded among the Romans, than from
its own intrinsic importance among us to-day. Until the closing decades
of the eighteenth century--so long, in fact, as the classics were
esteemed of paramount authority as models--satire proper was accorded a
definite place in letters, and was distinctively cultivated by men of
genius as a branch of literature. But with the rise of the true
_national_ spirit in the various literatures of Europe, and notably in
that of England, satire has gradually given place to other types of
composition. Slowly but surely it has been edged out of its prominent
position as a separate department, and has been relegated to the
position of a _quality of style_, important, beyond doubt, yet no
longer to be considered as a prime division of letters.[2]

Rome rather than Greece must be esteemed the home of ancient satire.