Ausonius’ Cento Nvptialis and the Date of the Pervigilivm Veneris

Abstract This note argues that imitation of Ausonius’ Cento nuptialis in the Peruigilium Veneris establishes 374 c.e. as the terminus post quem for the Peruigilium Veneris. The note enlarges on the argument of Danuta Shanzer, who identified debts to Ausonius in the Peruigilium Veneris and dated the latter poem accordingly: the approach is to locate evidence for Ausonian imitation that Shanzer missed, and thus to reinforce and confirm her position. While the note does not propose a poet for the Peruigilium Veneris , it shows that certain figures to whom the work is commonly attributed, notably Florus and Tiberianus, cannot be its author.