الرعاية الأدبية هي نظام متبادل من الحقوق والواجبات بين الراعي والتابع، وهذه الحقوق والواجبات من أبرز مظاهر الرعاية الأدبية عند مارتياليس Martialis، ويتضح جيدًا من قصائده أنه کان على دراية تامة بما عليه من واجبات تجاه رعاته الأدبيين وماله من حقوق، وتناول ذلک فى عدد کبير من إبجراماته فى شکل نقد ساخر من خلال شرح شکواه ومعاناته المتکررة، سواء من تقصير رعاته وبٌخل دعمهم وتقصيرهم فى حقوق تابعيهم، أو من مشقة أداء هذه الواجبات.
ومن أبرز واجبات التابع تجاه راعيه، أداء تحية الصباح salutation""  وفيها يتحمل مشقة الذهاب والإياب يوميًا لتحيته وملازمته وخدمته طوال اليوم مرتديًا الزى الرسمى للتابع التوجا "toga". ومن واجبات التابع المهمة أيضًا حضوره لدعوات العشاء المناسب "cena recta" عند راعيه والتي کانت من أکثر السمات المهمة والمميزة في المجتمع الرومانى.
وتعد قصائد مارتياليس مسرحًا لعرض کافة حقوق وواجبات الرعاية الأدبية وتضمنت ما يحمله في داخله من شکوى التابع ومعاناته، فقد عاش کافة تقلبات الظروف التي يمر بها التابع مع رعاته، حيث کان تابعًا لعدد کبير جدًا من الرعاة.
 
Literary patronage is a reciprocal system of rights and duties between the patron and the client. These rights and duties are one of the most prominent manifestations of literary patronage in relation to Martial. His poems make highly clear that he was fully aware of his duties in relation to his literary patrons and of his rights as well. He them in a great number of his epigrams in a form of sarcastic criticism through explaining his complaints and his recurrent suffering whether from his patrons' negligence as well as their very little support and their failing of the rights of their clients or the discomfort of doing such duties.
Some of the most prominent duties of client in relation to his patron are the saluting in the morning salutation "salutatio" for which he incurs the discomfort of going and coming every day to salute and accompany the patron as well as serving him all the day wearing the formal uniform of the client "toga". Moreover, one of the important duties of the client is to attend the patron's invitations "cena recta" by his patron and this was one of the most significant and distinctive features of the Roman society.
The poems of Martial are deemed to be a theatre for showing all the rights and duties of literary patronage and they included his internal complaints and suffering as a client. He had witnessed all fluctuating circumstances experienced by the client with his patron where he was a client to a big number of patrons.