 At best, it offered future prospects through contacts with other poets and their patrons among the rich.Meanwhile, he obtained the sinecure of "scriba quaestorius", a civil service position at the "aerarium" or Treasury, profitable enough to be purchased even by members of the "ordo equester" and not very demanding in its work-load, since tasks could be delegated to "scribae" or permanent clerks.It was about this time that he began writing his "Satires" and "Epodes".