Octavian offered an early amnesty to his opponents and Horace quickly accepted it. On returning to Italy, he was confronted with yet another loss: his father's estate in Venusia was one of many throughout Italy to be confiscated for the settlement of veterans (Virgil lost his estate in the north about the same time). Horace later claimed that he was reduced to poverty and this led him to try his hand at poetry. In reality, there was no money to be had from versifying. 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".