MASTER NEGA TIVE NO. 91-80257 MICROFILMED 1991 COLUMBIA LWVERSrrY LIBRARffiS/NEW YORK as part of the 'Toundations of Western Civilization Presci vaf lui Project" Funded bv the NATIONAL ENDOWTMENT FOR THE HIUVIANITIES Reproductions may not be made without permission from Columbia University Library COPYRIGHT STATEMENT The copyright law of the United States - Title 17, United States Code -- concerns the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material . . . Columbia University Library reserves the right to refuse to accept a copy order if, in its judgement, fulfillment of the order would involve violation of the copyright law. AUTHOR: SCHMITZ, LEONHARD TITLE: HISTORY OF LATIN LITERATURE ... 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' -: -*»^-' " -*— " - , .- -f^I. - '-I - "'*•'> . tt ►f.ftM#M^**^*-^ It. .V.r„=.,5.' m^/^^'^ 'I m »■. na^ Sch 5 ©olttmBia 'Stnlxuerstttj in tfcje ©its of gijewr V^ovh tii COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES 'f I' This book is due on the date Indicated below, or at the %s^j expiration of a definite period after the date of borrowing, as provided by the library rules or by special arrangement with the Librarian in charge. t|Ci X* 1' ■^ **f s^ DATE BORROWED ,i£C-l^ "1S!« OATK DUE 3CT 2 9 '48 ■•:''J, I'S,- T DATE BORROWED C2e (747; MlOO DATE DUE M, *Si4$K^ i-p<^ t!Bg%iifm»,'iimftsa^egaiegffe^ C Au-^Ss/^^i'Ay cMi, A HISTORY op LATIN LITERATURE. ] BY LEONHABD SCHMITZ, LL.D, CLASSICAL EXAMINER IN THE UKIVERSIXY OF i.ONI,'o«. 1^ 1 G. NEW YORK: P. PUTNAM'S SONS, 182 FIFTH AVENUE. I; 11 I W a PEEFACE. a. ^ u i i! It seems strange that in this country, where Latin is taught in all the public and even in most of the middle-class schools, there does not exist, as far as I know, a concise general his- tory of Latin Literature that might be put into the hands of young students, and give them a succinct history of its treasures, of its gradual development, and ultimate decay. I have endeavoured to supply this want in a manner which, I hope, may be acceptable not only to the student of Latin' but to educated readers in general, who cannot fail to take an interest in the literature of a people that has exercised, and is still exercising, so great an influence upon the civilised world. I might have confined myself to those pai-ts of Latin Literature which are still extant, or even to those writers whose works really deserve the name of classical, and are commonly read in schools and universities; but in eithei case I should have conveyed a most inadequate and partial idea of what Latin Literature really was, or rather has been. I have, therefore, thought it preferable to give a complete, though very brief, survey of the whole domain of literature, from its rudest beginnings down to the time when the Latin language in Italy and the Latinised pro^dnces of Gaul, Spain, and Africa was losing its original character,' and, under the influence of the conquerors, entered upon an entirely new development, which in the end produced the modem languages of Italy, France, Spain, and Portugal.^ The languages thus gradually formed out of Latin were at first scarcely suited to be employed for literary purposes, and hence ancient Latin still continued for centuries to be used' by both the conquered and the conquerors as the language of literature. In many cases the men who wrote Latin had learned it, as a new or foreign language, in addition to their own mother tongue; and until that time, about the II 8011 /m,j PREFACE, beginning of the seventh century, the Latin language and literature cannot be said to have really died out, and down to that time, accordingly, I have carried its history. No kind of literary production has been excluded ; even gram- mars and school-books and other technical worki? have received their share of attention. The specific Christian or theological writers of the third, fourth, and following centuries have been left unnoticed in some continental works on Latin Literature ; but, as they spoke and wrote in Latin, and as, during the later centuries, it was more especially the great Christian writers who, in their apologetical and polemi- cal works, kept up a vigorous literary life in Italy and other parts of the empire, their principal writings, and especially those that are of interest to scholars, have been briefly noticed. Their theological views could not, of course, be discussed in a work like the present. The study of Latin Literature has for many a year been one of my favourite pursuits, and I have gone through nearly all that remains of it ; but in composing the present manual I have also availed myself of the labours of those who have preceded me in this department of learning. The works to v/hich I am chiefly indebted are — J. A. Fabricius, Bihliotheca Latina, edited by Ernesti : Leipzig, 1823, in 3 vols. ; Bahr's Geschichte der Romischen Literatur : Carlsruhe, 1844, in 2 vols. ; Bernhardy, Grundriss der R'&niischen Literatur^ Dritte Bearheitung : Braunschweig, 1857; and more especially to W. S. Teuflel's Geschichte der Romischen Literatur : Leipzig, 1870. This last work, of which an English translation by Dr. W. Wagner has recently been published, is of the highest value to scholars by its ample quotations of authorities, which enable the student to form his own opinion on every quesr tion. I have, on the whole, adopted Teuflel's arrangement of the subject, giving an account of all the writers who flourished during the same period, so as to present to the reader a brief synoptical view of each period. It is hoped that the mention of one or two good editions of every author, in footnotes, will be a useful addition, espe- cially to younger students, L. SCHMITZ. London, June 1877, CONTENTS. TliC numbers refer to the pages of the book. Introduction, . FIRST PERIOD. From b.c. 753 to b.c. 240. A. Metrical Remains, 12.— Carmen Saliorum . 12; Th e Fratres A rvales, ]3; Carmina Vatum, K^; JNemae, 13; Songs sung at banquets, 13; Fescennini versus, 14; Atellanse, 14; Saturae, 15. B. Remains in Prose, 15. — Annales Maximi, 16; Commentarii Ma- gistratuum, 17; Privata Monumenta, 17; Foedera, 18; Leges, 18; L aws of the Twelve Tab les, 19; Oratory, 19. SECOND PERIOD. From b.c. 240 to about b.c. 150. A. Poets of the Second Period, 23. — Cn. Marcius, 23; Livius Androni- cus, 23; Cn. Naevius, 24; T. Maccius_£lailtJis, 25; Q. Ennius, 28; M. Pacuvius, 30; Csecilius Statius, 31; Trabea, Atilius, Licinius Imbrex, Luscius Lavinius, 31; Publlus Terentius, 32; Titinius, Turpilius, L. Attius or Accius, 34; Juventius, Valerius, A. Ful- vius Labeo, Popillius Lsenas, 36. B. Prose Writers of the Second Period, 36. — G. Fabius Pictor, 36; Clncius Alimentus, 36; P. Cornelius Scipio, C. Acilius Glabrio, 37; M. Porcius Cato, 37; C. Acilius, 40; A. Postumius Albinus, P. Scipio Nasica, 41. THIRD PERIOD. From about b.c. 150 to about b.c. 80. A. Poets of the Third Period, 43.— T. Quinctius Atta, 43; L. Afranius, 43; C. LucilUis, 44; Pompilius, Valerius -^dituus, Porcius Li- cinius, "QT^utatius Catulus, C. Valerius Soranus, C. Julius Caesar Strabo, L. Pomponius, Novius, 45. B. Prose Writers of the Third Period, 45.— Scipio Africanus, 45; Fabius ^Emilianus, Sulpicius Galba, M. Lepidus, Furius Philus, Q. Metellus Macedonicus, 46; Cassius Hemina, L. Calpurnius Piso Frugi, Q. Fabius Maximus Servilianus, Cn. Gellius, 46; M'. Manilius, M. Junius Brutus, P. Mucins Scoevola, P. Licinius CONTENTS. Crassus, C. Fannius, L. CsbUus Antipater, 47; P. Sempronius Asellio, C. Sempronius Tuditanos, Junius Gracclianus, P. Ruti- 1ms Rufus, Q. Lutatius Catulus, 48; .^Elius Praeconinus Stilo, Cn. Matius, Hostius, Q. Furius, 49; Cn. Aufidius, Q. Claudius Qua- drigarius, Valerius Antias, L. Cornelius Sisenna, 50; C. Liclniua Macer, 51; L. Cornelius Sulla, L. Licinius Lucullus, 51; C. Piso, L. Voltacilius Pilutus, 62; the Rhetorica ad Herennium (Corni- ncius), 52. FOURTH PERIOD. From about b.c. 80 to a.d. 14. A. From the Dictatorship of Sulla to tJie Consulship of Cicero, 56.— M. TerentiusVarro, 57; his Writings on History and Antiquities, 58; works on Literature and Literary History, 59. Q. Horten- sius, 61; T. Pomponius Atticus, 61; M. TuUius Cicero, 62; his Orations, 65; his Rhetorical Works, 71; his Philosophical Works, 73; his Works on Jurisprudence and History, 78- his Correspondence, 79; his Poetical Works, 80. Q. TuUius Cicero, 81; M. TuUius Tiro, 81; Decimus Laberius, 82; M. Furius Biha- culus, 82; P. Syrus, 82. B. From Cicero's Consulship to his Death, 83.— C. Julius Casar, 83; His Commentarii, 85. Cornelius Nepos, 86; P. Nigldlus Flgulus' 87; Valerius Cato, 88; OrbiUus PupiUus, 88; Lucretius Cams, 88- C Sallustius Crispus. 90; Q. .Elius Tubero. 92; P. Alfenus Varus' 93; C. Matius, 93; C Seribonius Curio, 93; Q. Comificiuss, 93; M. Antony, 93; L. Balbus, 93; Ateius Prsetextatus, 93; P, Teren- tins Varro Attacinus, 93; Tanusius, 94; M. Junius Brutus, Deci- mus Brutus, C. Cassius, Cassius of Parma, C. Trebonius, Ti Ampius Balbus, M. Antonius Naso, Ticidas, C. Helvius Cinna, 94; C. Licinius Calvus, 95; C. Valerius Catullus, 95; the Acta Uiuma, 97. C. The Augustan Age, 97.— Augustus, 99; C. Cilnius Maecenas, 100- M. Vipsanius Agrippa, 100; C. Asinius PoUio, 101; M. Valerius Messala Corvinus, 102; L. Varius Rufus, 102; JEmiUus Macer 103; P. Vergilius Maro, 103; Q. Horatius Flaccus, 109; C. Val- gius Rufus, Aristius Fuscus, Fundanius, Servius Sulpicius, 113- Domitius Marsus, 113; Albius TibuUus, 114; Sextus Propertius' llo; P Ovldius Naso, 116; Ponticus, Tuticanus, Macer, SabiiMis,' Comehus Severus, Pedo Albinovanus, 120; Gratius FaUscus, 121- M. Manilius, 121; Titus Livius, 122; Pompeius Trogus, 124- lenesteUa, L. Arruntius, Annius Fetialis, 125; M. Verrius Flac- cus, 125; C. Julius HyginuB, 126; Santra, Sinnius Capito, 127- Vitruvius PolUo^S; C. .Elius GaUus, M. Antistius LabeJ, 128- C. Ateius CapitoTT: Labienus, Cassius Severus, 129; M. Ann»us Seneca, 130; P. Eutilius Lupus, 131. CONTENTS. FIFTH PERIOD. The Period from the Death of Augustus to the End of THE Empire. A. Laim Literature during the First Christian Century, 133. -Tiberius 134; A. Cremutius Cordus, 134; Aufidius BassusVl35- M VeUeiua Is '.' P^«dris'\.'^'''^^r''^^ ^- ^oment'^'e'l:li^^^ 138.' CKn^!' li^ /^^«*"^.g^i«\ed Jurists and Grammarians ifn! n P«ir' l^f' ^Snw^^, Nero, 139; L. Ann»us Seneca 140; Q. Curtius Rufus, 143; L. Junius Moderatus ColumeUa 144- Q. Asconius Ped^us, 145; Pomponius Mela, 145; Orators ^d Philosophers, 146; M. Valerius Probus, 147; A. Persius Hacc^ irwt^' t?n *S^ n^i^^""^^' ^t^' C^si^s Bassus, ]50; Petronius P^em Jpfn^' T. Ca Ipuniius Siculus, Aurdius NemeWanus, the ^oem ^tna, and the Latin Abridgment of the lUad, 152- C PUnius Secundus, 153; M. Licinius Crassus Mucian^ 155. c Martiais ^ t' a^' ^;- ^^Si^?' t*^**^^' ^^7; M. Valerius Martialls, 158; L. Arruntius SteUa, Turnus, Virginius Rufus Vestricius Spurimia, 159; Sulpicia, M. Fabius Quinlilianus, 160 ^* ■^Tnvl.^/f^'f^r i'''"'^. ^^^ '^''^"^ ^^^^"^2/, 163.-D. Junius Juvenalis, 165; Cornelius Tacitus, 166; C. Plinius Cfficillna secundus, 170; P Annius Florus, Flavins Caper^^uL Lon^^^^^ Hyginus, Balbus, Siculus Flaccus, 173; Hadriii 173- c Sue tonius TranquiUus. 174; JuUus riorus; 176fs"Wus 'juUanS:; 176 ; Aburnms Valens, Sextus Pomponius, Antonius Julianus T. Castncius Calpumius Flaccus, Q. Terentius Scaurus, cSs Aurehanus, 177; M. ComeUus Pronto, 178- L Amnellus lio^ Granius Licinianus, 181; Pervigilium Veneris, IstTcSu^^^^^ Apo^lmaris 182; A GeUius, 182? Sex. Julius AfrLanus,TereSs Clemens, Junius Mauricianus, L. Volusius Marcian^s, Ulp us MarceUus, 183; Gains, 183; M. Aurelius. 184; L. Apuleius [S P«n?nTJ±'''i«S''n^n' -^P^""' '^^^^^^^ Paternus, 189; JP.^uut Papinianus, 189; CaUistratus, A. Claudius Trvphonius ArriiTs Menander, Tertullian, 190; M. Minucius FeU^?^ Treptoius Florens TertuUianus 191; Helenius Acro^ i^mpoS^or phynon, Dositheus, Serenus Sammonicus, Festus, 192. C. Latin Literature during the Third Century, 192. -Domitius UIdI- anus. 193; Julius Paulus, 193; ^lius Ma^ianus, Mus AlLer, Herenmus Modestmus, Gregorianus, 194; Julius Romanus Censormus Atilms Fortunatianus, 194; Marius MaximifnuS Cordus, 195; Tlia^cius CsecUius Cyprianus, 195; NovatianusS Alfius Avitus, Marianus, Septimius Serenus, Q. Serenus Sam' momcus, 196 ; M. Antonius Gordianus, Comnlodlanus, M. Aur^- i^QT. ir^'^i' ^.'"""'^^T', ^^.^> Scriptores Historic August®. 197; .Ehus fepartiauus, Vulcatms GaUicanus, TrebeUius PoUio, 8 CONfEi^fS. Flavins Vopiscus, iElius Lampridius, Julius Capitolinus, WS; Aquila Romanus, Juba, Marius Plotius Sacerdos, C. Julius Solinus, Nonius MarceUus, 199; Terentianus, 200; ArnoMus, 200; Lac- tantius Firmianus, 201; Eumenius, 203. D. Latin Literature during the Fourth Century after Christ, 203. — The Emperor Constantine, 204; Nazarius, Publilius Porphyrius Optatianus, C. Julius Victor, 204; C. Vettius Aquilius Juveucus, Aurelius Arcadius Charisius, Hermogenianus, Fragmenta Vati- cana, 205; nrmlcus Maternus, 206; C. Marius Victorinus, 207; JElius Donatus, PaUadius Rutilius Taurus JEmilianus, 208; Itineraria, 209; Sex. AureUus Victor, Eutropias, 210; Rufus Festus, Flavlus Sosipater Charisius, 211; Diomedes, Rufius Festus Avienus, 212; D. Magnus Ausonius, 213; Dictys Cretensis, Dares Phrygius, 216; Translations from the Greek, 216; Damasus, 217; Q. Aurelius Symmachus, 217; Drepanius Pacatus, Messius Arnisianiis, Chirius Fortunatianus, 219; Ammianus Marcellinus, 219; Servius Honoratus, 220; Tl. Claudius Donatus, 221; navius Vegetius Renatus, 221; P. Vegetius, 221; MarceUus, 221; Amhrosius, 222; Hieronymus, 223; Turannius Rufinus, 223; AureUus Prudentius Clemens, 224; Proba Faltonia, 225; Mero- pius Pontius Anicius PauUnus, 225; the Lex Dei, 225; Claudius Claudianus, 226; AureUus Augustinus, 228; Sulpicius Severus, 230; Q. Julius Hilario, Tichonius, Flavius Mallius Theodorus, Pelagius, Coelestius, Anianus, Julianus, 231; Macrohius Am brosius Theodosius, 231; Vibius Sequester, 231; Exuperantius, 233; Grillius, Severus Sanctus Endelechius, Licentius, 233, Symphonius, Avianus, Martianus CapeUa, 234. E. Latin Literature during the Fifth Century after Christ, 235.— RutiUus Numatianus, 236; Merobaudes, 236; Claudius Marius Victor, Orientius, 237; Orosius, 237; Marius Mercator, Aurelius, Joannes Carrianus, Victorinus, Philippus, Eucherius, Vincentius, Prosper, 238; Leo I., 239; The Codex Theodosianus and the Consultatio, 239; C. SolUus ApolUnaris Sidonius, 240; Rusticius Elpidius Donmulus, Mamertus Claudianus, Faustus, 240; SeduUus, 241; Auspicius, Amoenus, Paulinus, Dracontius, 241; Avitus, Flavius Felix, Coronatus, Luxorius, Florentinus, Gen- nadius, Victor Vitensis, 242; Idacius, 243; Fabius Planciades Fulgentius, 243; Cledonius, Pompeius, Consentius, Phocas. Kutinus, 244. F. Latin Literature during the Sixth Century after Christ, 244.— ManUus Torquatus Severinus Boetius, 245; Magnus Felix Ennodius, 247; Priscianus, 247; Eutyches, Asper, Audax, Ver- gilius, 249; Magnus AureUus Cassiodorus, 249; Marcellinus, 250; Victor, Joannes, 251; Jordanis or Jornandes, 251; Gregorius of Tours, 252; Gildas, Arator, 252; Venantius Fortanatus, 253; navius Cresconius Corippus, 253; Gregory I., 254; Leander, Eugippius, Martinus, 254; Isidoms, 255; the Corpus Juris. HISTORY OF LATIN LITERATURE.* introductio:n". The literature of a nation, in the widest sense of the tei-m, comprises everything that has been written or published at any period of its history. In this sense it includes not only the poetical, historical, and philosphical productions, but also its laws, statutes, decrees, set forms of prayers, proclamations, etc., so far as these latter are preserved in inscriptions on stone or brass or otherwise. Now, inasmuch as the progress and development of the language is indissolubly connected with the progress and development of literature, such documents are of no small importance and interest. The growth of literature always goes hand in hand with that of the lan- guage, and the character of the former is greatly dependent on that of the latter : for an uncouth and uncultivated language can scarcely produce a literature of any pretensions to beauty or elegance, for language is far more than the mere garment of literature. But in a narrower sense such documents can scarcely be regarded as constituting a pai-t of a nation's literature, which is generally and properly limited to the poetical, his- torical, oratorical, philosophical, and scientific productions ; all of which are more or less subject to certain artistic rules of composition, and are designed to amuse, delight, instruct, and guide the minds of readers. It is to literature in this sense We prefer the name Latin to Roman in connection with litera- ture, partly because t he Romans .themsel ves always employed that Sg£gLL^i^^grg-^Ji^;_ they nev er spoke of litterce Rom anced, and partly because we have to deal with a literature written in the Latin Ian guage, which was not confined to the city of Kome. 10 HISTORY OP LATIN LITERATURE. that we propose, in the present manual, mainly to direct our attention ; but as in the most ancient times of the Roman State we possess very little beyond a few fragmentary docu- ments, prayers, laws, etc., they cannot be entirely overlooked, formmg, as they do, the germs of literature in its proper sense. "^ ^ . I:ii^ra^iirei._more^ than anythingjelse, clearly reflects the ^llectual, social, j^olitical, Midjreligfous conditTon^or a nation; and, if the complete literature of any ancient "people were preserved, we should be enabled to form as clear and distmct an idea of its whole life, and its mode of acting and thmking, as of any modem nation with which we •are in constant intercourse. But as literature is the reflex and the natural outcome of a nation's life, a knowledge of Its poHtical and social history is of the utmost importance tf we wish fully to understand and appreciate its Hterature. We may indeed form some idea of a man from the manner in which he speaks or writes, but our judgment and estimate of him by this means alone cannot be as correct and just as it will be if we are acquainted with the history and circum- stances of his life. In like manner the histoiy of a nation affords the best help to understand and appreciate its litera- ture. Nay, even the geographical position and the climate of a country exercises_an undeniable influence on its lan- guage and literature. Literature is above all dependent upon the art of writing ; and before the invention of that art literature is an impossi- bility. Some kind of poetry, it is true, is found among the rudest tribes wholly unacquainted with the art of writing, but such poetry does not become part of literature until the time when it is fixed in a written form. On the other hand, we know that in Greece and in Italy the art of writing was known long before it was employed for literary purposes; for much depends upon the facility for obtaining writing materials. So long as people had no other materials to wri^ upon than stone, brass, the hides of animals, or linen, litera- ture had little chance of being developed. g'heR omans, we may say at the yejxoujfisjtjjwere not a peogeJtven;g;;^e£ultivation ofTTteiature or the artsTthey "^ did not possess that"fiexibility and versatility of mind, nor INTRODUCTION. 11 1 that imaginative power which distinguished the Greeks; their virtues consisted more in manly sobriety, practical energy, and perseverance — qualities which enabled them to become great as statesmen, legislators, and warriors. Art and literature possess ed no ch arms for them, until a closer acquam tance with the Greeks awaken^ in them a spirit^of emulatron"and quicken ed their zeal . Their re li gion was~^~a~simple and primitive n atur e, little calculated _to~fill the im^natTon with^ejbeautiful jnyths and Jegends whiclb. constitute the l^EiL^4_soul^5>f^_C>Teek poetry : the E,omans^ in fet^^ad no mythology until they adopted that of the_ Greeks, fee only branches of knowledge that had any value in the eyes of the early Romans were the knowledge of law, the traditions of their own legendary history, and the power of speaking in public. Hence the first Latin authors were for the most part foreigners and freedmen struggling with poverty, and the forms of their productions were such as might be expected to satisfy the untutored tastes of their hearers or readers. Whatever was produced during the first 500 years after the building of the city was thoroughly of a national character, and imaffected by any foreign influence. In what condition the language of the Romans was at the time usually assigned to the foundation of the city (b.c. 753), we have no means of judging. We possess, indeed, a few prayers or litanies of a very early date, and in a form of lan- guage which it is difficult to understand, but it is impossible to say what changes may have been introduced in them by later transcribers. It is only about 513 years after the building of the city (B.C. 240) that we meet with the real beg^innings of a steadily progressive literature in the proper"'sense of the term, and this was the time when Greek litera ture ha d already pass^ Its best^ penoO^^ and Jiiad almost losTtlie power of origina *prbductioii. lii liiii FIRST PERIOD. From the Earliest Times (b.c. 753) to the Age of Livius • Andronicus* (B.C. 240). 1. There are very few remains of this period, and even what there is can scarcely be regarded as belonging to litera- ture in its proper sense. They are partly in verae and partly in prose, and are interesting chiefly in a philological point of view. A. Metrical Remains. These are all composed in what is called the Saturnian, that is, the ancient Italian metre, a species of verse which remained in popular use among the Romans, even long after they had become familiar with the metres of the Greeks. A Saturnian line is divided into two halves, each with a different rhythm. Scholars are not yet agreed as to the laws regulat- ing the Saturnian verse, of which the following line is gene- rally quoted as a specimen : — DaMint malum MeUUi j Na6vio po^tce. 2. The most ancient remains are a kind of religious poetry, prayers, or litanies, addressed to some divinity. The follow- ing are those known to us : — a. The song of the Salii (carmen Saliorum), who formed a college of priests of the god Mars, and in the beginning of spring used to chant a song or hymn invoking the god to bless the fields : for Mars was the sun-god as well as the god of war. That the chanting of the hymns was accompanied by dancing is clear from the name Salii, i.e., the dancers. In the days of Cicero the language of those songs had become unintelligible to the Romans. A few fragments are still extant. * All the literary remains of this period have been collected by Egger, Latini Sermonis vet. Reliquice: Paris, 1843; and the poetical remains by W. Corssen, Origines Poesis Romance : Berlin, 1846. B.C. 753-240.] METRICAL REMAINS. 13 h. The song of the Fratres Arvales. These Ai-vales formed a brotherhood or college, and every year, shortly before the harvest time, at the festival of the Amharvalia, went in pro- cession round the fields, chanting a hymn in honour of the goddess Ceres. One of these hymns, which continued to be sung at the Ambarvalia down to a late period of the empire, was discovered in 1777 at Rome, and has been repeatedly published and commented upon. Its language is such that the later Romans can scarcely have understood it. Its be- ginning runs as follows : — Ennos, Lases, iuvate! Neve luerem^ Mars, aim Incurrere in pleoris ! Satur furere, Mannar Limen salts sta berber! i.e., En, nos. Lares, juvate f Neve luem, Mars, sinas Incurrere in plures ! Satur furere, Mars I Limen salt, sta verbere. There can be no doubt that other priestly colleges likewise had their ancient songs or hymns, which were sung at their festivals, but no traces of them have come down to us. 3. Other productions not of a religious character were : a. The Carmina vatum, songs of soothsayers or prophfets, in the Saturnian metre. Carmina of this kind existed in gi-eat numbers, and were thought to contain the utterances of ancient prophets, such as Cn. Marcius was believed to have been. Popular belief assigned some of them to the goddess Carmentis, or the rustic Fauns. b. NenisB, lamentations or dirges, sung or chanted at funerals, to the accompaniment of a flute, in pmise of the deceased. This custom was observed to a late period, though it degenerated, inasmuch as latterly they were sung by women hired for the purpose {prceficce), in consequence of which it fell into contempt. c. Songs sung at banquets, celebrating the exploits of the great men of the past, to the accompaniment of the flute. Cato, who lived towards the end of the sixth century after the building of the city, is reported by Cicero to have stated in his work entitled OHgines, that long before his time this custom had existed, but that it had died out. No remnants of these poems, or of the Nenias, have come down to us, unless, as some have supposed, the most ancient inscriptions if Ir I'i us 14 HISTORY OP LATIN LITERATURE. [PERIOD I. ou the tombs of the Scipios are regarded as Nenioe. But the absence of all poetical turns or expressions in these sepulchral inscriptions render such a supposition highly improbable.* Rules about the weather, incantations, and the like, were also handed down in Saturnian metre. 4. The remaining poetical efforts of the early Romans par- took of the nature of scenic or dramatic representations. a, rescennini versus, so called from the town of Fesoen- nium, in Southern Etruria, were sung originally, by the country people after the harvest, and on other festive occa- sions, with dances, but were in later times confined to mamage festivities. They appear to have been extemporised productions in which the country people, disguised and masked, assailed one another in somewhat rude and coarse jokes and railleries. So far as they were metrical they were Saturnian verses. After the end of the republic the Fescen- nines became part of the poetical litemture, and several poets of the imperial period, in their nuptial poems, imitated the character of the ancient Fescennines. b. AtellansB, or AtellansB FabulsB, so called after the little Oscan town of Atella, in Campania, were comical represen- tations of the odd doings in small country towns. They were improvised plays, and became very popular at Rome, where freebom youths with masks amused themselves with such extempore plays. They were an artless and natural kind of drama, of which only the general plan seems to have been previously arranged among the players. The whole consisted simply of dialogues with songs interspersed; the jokes were coai-se, and often of an obscene kind. The Atellanae are sometimes called Osci ludi, Oscan plays, from the district where they had originated, and the language em- ployed in them was provincial or common rustic. In the time of Sulla the atellanae became regular burlesques or farces, written out and performed by regular actors as after -plays {exo4ia ) to more serious performances, and this ' * Niebuhr's theory, which is now generally abandoned, was that the songs sung at banquets were a kind of ballad or epic poetry, and formed one of the principal sources of the early traditional history of Rome. Lord Macaulay's beautiful Lays of A ncietU Borne are some- tliing like what Niebuhr supposed those ancient songs to have been. B.C. 753-240.] REMAINS IN PROSE. 15 practice continued under the empire; but their extreme licentiousness had sometimes to be restrained by legal en- actments. c. Saturae somewhat resembled the Atellanae, and consisted at fii-st of merry performances of the rustic youths of Latium, in which they recited songs or comic tales, with much ges- ticulation and dancing, to the accompaniment of a flute. When, in B.C. 364, regular scenic representations were intro- duced into Rome, the Saturse were performed in temporary wooden theatres by strolling players. When subsequently the artistic drama, in imitation of that of the Greeks, became fashionable in Rome, the Saturae, like the Atellanae and Mimes (mimi), became after-plays (exodia). The Mimes, originally dumb shows, became in the days of Cicero a dis- tinct branch of dramatic literature. Such were the beginnings of a national poetical literature among the Romans. All, or most of them, whether they were written or only spoken extempore, were composed in the Saturnian metre. The fragments which have come down to us can scarcely be supposed to have reached us in their original form, as they were handed down by oiul tradition. > B. Remains in Prose. 5. Prose was developed among the Romans, as among other nations, later than poetry, and we hear of no published work in prose till towards the end of this period. All that we are told of during the previous centuries consisted of the barest chronicles, lists of magistrates and priests, treaties with neighbouring states, and laws. All these, with the exception of the laws, which were in reality nothing but ancient customs, must have been written down at the time, and the question naturally presents itself, from whom did the Romans learn the art of writing, and at what time was it introduced among them ? It is universally admitted that the Romans learned the art of writing from the Greeks settled in southern Italy and Sicily; the alphabets of the Latins and Greeks are almost identical, but about the time of the intro- duction of writing among the Romans opinions are divided. Some relate th».t it was brought into Italy by the mythical* i i I \m Hii 16 HISTORY OF LATIN LITERATURE. [pERIOD I. Evander from Arcadia, and written documents are mentioned as old as the time of Romulus. But such statements are as mythical as the stories of Evander and Romulus themselves ; they can prove nothing. One thing is certain, that the census in the reign of Servius could not possibly have been carried out "without the art of writing, and it may therefore be fairly assumed that writing was known and practised at Rome long before the establishment of the republic. It is equally certain that at first, and for a long time afterwards, it was not employed for literary purposes, but only in the aftairs of ordinary life, to keep brief records of important events, to draw up treaties with neighbouring states, and the like. Such things can scarcely be regarded as literary pro- ductions, yet they cannot be passed over in a history of literature, of which, in fact, they form the first rude begin- nings. The first published literary composition in prose we hear of was a speech of Appius Claudius the Blind, which, in B.C. 280, he delivered in the senate against Pyrrhus. But let us see what was done before that time to preserve the memory of the past. We hear, 6. a. Of Annales Maximi, so called because they were kept by the pontifex maximus, whence they are also termed simply anrudes pontijicum. The pontifex maximus recorded every year, on a white tablet publicly exhibited in his own house, the most memorable events of the year, together with any prodigies that had occurred. These events were drawn up in the briefest possible manner, and any one who wished might read or copy them. The custom of making such records was very ancient, and was continued until about B.C. 115, when they were found to be no longer necessary, as the writing of regular historical works super- seded the drawing up of such simple and meagre records. A collection of them was then made in eighty books, com- mencing with the origin of the Roman state. But, even if we could grant that such annals had been kept ever since the days of Romulus, those portions referring to the time previous to the Gallic conflagration could not be relied upon, since during that calamity, and several times afterwards, the house of the pontifex had been destroyed by fire, and the annals had to be restored and made up from memory. We B.C. 753-240.] REMAINS IN PROSE. 17 iiXay even assert that the annals relating to the very earliest times were in all probability pure inventions, or made up out of the mythical legends. Like the pontiff's, other priestly colleges also kept records of the persons who had been invested with the priestly office, and of their doings. Hence we hear of Uhri auguraleSy Ubri Saliorum, commentarii quindecim virorum, and the like. Such chronological lists are sometimes called Fasti. h. Commentarii Magistratuum were lists of the magis- trates of each year, which had probably been kept ever sinco the establishment of the republic. The earliest of them — some of which had been saved during the burning of the city by the Gauls — were written on linen, whence they are called Uhri lintei. They were kept on the Capitoline hill, in the temple of Moneta, the goddess of memory, and are often mentioned by Livy as his authorities. These, like other similar records, were kept by the priests, who made very extensive use of the art of writing, for they seem to have drawn up treatises partly referring to the forms of worship (the ritual), partly to what may be termed ecclesiastical law, and partly to occurrences in the church and state. The pontiffs in particular had under theii- control the calendar, the fixing of the dies fasti and 7ie/asti, and everything connected with the arrangements of time. They also kept lists of the annual chief magistrates (fasti con- sulares) and of the triumphs that Avere celebrated (fasti triumphales). Important remnants of such fasti have come down to us, and the most celebrated among them are frag- ments of the Fasti Capitolini, which were dug out in the Roman Forum, and contain lists of the consuls, censors, and dictators, with their masters of the horse, from the earliest times of the republic. c. Privata Monumenta were chronicles kept by private families, recording events which had occurred within the family, and also occurrences in the city. They appear to have been kept more especially by the great patrician families, such as that of the Fabii, whose pride and vanity often led them to misrepresent and falsify the events in which they were con- cerned. Such families also kept pedigrees and lists of their ancestors, whose images adorned the atrium of their houses. 18 HISTORY OF LATIN LITERATURE. [PERIOD I. Underneath these images there were generally inscriptions {elocjia, indices) recording the deeds of the persons repre- sented. Here, also, truth was not imfrequently sacrificed to family vanity. Of a similar character were the laudationeSf or 07'ationes funehres^ which were delivered by relatives or friends at the burial of a deceased person. d. As regards treaties {foedera) said to have been concluded with other communities or states during the kingly period, we may dismiss as fabulous the treaty which Romulus is reported to have concluded with Yeii for 100 years; but a treaty concluded by Tullus Hostilius with the Sabines, which was engraved on a brass pillar ; a second, concluded by Servius Tiillius with the Latins, likewise engraved on a brass i)illar ; and a third, a treaty of peace between king Tarquin and the town of Gabii, which was written on the hide of the ox sacrificed on the occasion — all these may have been historical. In the veiy first year of the republic ( B.C. 509) the Romans concluded a commercial treaty with Carthage, of which Polybius gives a translation, and obsei-ves that the language was so difierent from that spoken in his time that even the most learned were puzzled to explain some of the expressions occurring in the original. Other treaties are mentioned as having been concluded with the Etruscan king Porsena, with the Latins, and with the town of Ardea, but their texts have not come down to us. e. Leges. — The most ancient laws were not written, but vrere handed down as ancient customs or usages from genera- tion to generation. There existed, indeed, in later times a collection of laws, called leges re^zo?, professing to be ordinances and decisions of the Roman kings ; but the compilation was made at a late period by one Sextus Papirius, about whom nothing is known, but from whom the collection was called jiLS Papirianum, We also hear of commentarii regum, said to have been drawn up by the Roman kings; their substance may have been ancient, but their collection likewise belongs to a late period. Livy tells us that in the year B.C. 181 certain books of King Numa Pompilius were dug out of the gi-ound, but that B.C. 753-240.] ORATORY. 19 they were destroyed by order of the senate, probably because the senate was convinced that they were merely a priestly fabrication or mystification. The laws of the twelve tables are really historical, and of the highest importance in the history of Rome. They were drawn up by the legislative commission of the decem- virs, and published in the year b,c. 450. They are really the first written laws we know of in Roman history. They not only established for ever the principles of the civil law, together with the rules of proceeding in civil cases, but also embraced the criminal and ecclesiastical law, together with what we may term police regulations. The laws of the twelve tables remained ever after tbe basis of all Roman legislation, and down to the time of Cicero boys at school used to learn them by heart. The publication of these laws, which were " engraved on brazen tables accessible to all citizens, were a great benefit to the plebeians, who in all legal matters had until then been entirely at the mercy of the patricians. But the latter even now claimed the exclusive right of interpreting and adminis- tering the law, as well as the exclusive knowledge of the modes of proceeding (legis actiones), and of the days on which it was lawful to transact legal business (dies fasti). These pretensions of the haughty patricians were silenced, in B.C. 304, by the scribe Cn. Flavins, who, with the sanction and support of his master, Appius Claudius, published the legis actiones, together with a list of the dies fasti. After this time we hear of several eminent jurists, who wrote and pub- lished their comments on the laws of the twelve tables. Many fragments are still extant.* f. Oratory. — Eloquence must have been cultivated to a certain extent from the very beginning of the republic, for in a free state, with its popular assemblies, it is a most powerful instrument in the hands of ambitious men aspiring to honours and distinction in the state. We have already mentioned the funeral orations, and there can be no doubt that, after the establishment of the republic, the voice of many a rude orator was heard in the comitia, in the senate, * They have been collected by Egger, I.e., and by Gneist in his InstitxUiomim et Regtdanim juris Romani Syntagma, p. xii. fol. 20 niSTORY OF LATIN LITERATURE. [PERIOD I. ' and in the courts of law. But none of these oratorical attempts were ever published, for the speeches we read in the early books of Livy are entirely his own compositions. In the year B.C. 280, Appius Claudius the Blind delivered in the senate a speech against king Pyrrhus, which he afterwards published, and which was still extant in the time of Cicero. Appius Claudius must therefore be regarded as the first Latin writer of prose. He also composed poems (carmina) which seem to have been rich in moral precepts, and to have exhibited symptoms of an imitation of Greek models. SECOND PERIOD. From Livius Andronicus to the End of the Sixth Century AFTER THE BuiLDING OF THE CiTY. (From b.c. 240 to about b.c. 150 ) 7. We are now entering upon the period when the Romans began to have a real literature, but i t was from the begin- ing and continued always to be under the i nfluence of Iha ToTlTreecer whic h prevented t li e development of a trul y national literature. TEeTCmans had been acquainted with the language and in^itutions of Greece at a very early period, as is evident from a variety of circumstances. They learned the art of writing from the Greeks; the constitution ascribed to Servius Tullius bears unmistakable signs of having been influenced to some extent by the constitution of Solon ; the innovations introduced by the Tarquins in matters of religion, and the story about the Sibylline books show that consider- able attention was paid to Greek customs. That in the drawing up of the laws of the twelve tables the Romans ^ere assisted by the study oT the laws ot Ath ens and other ^Greek states, is well atteste dj^ana it is well known that soon after a special place wadset apart in the Roman Forum for the Greeks who happened to be staying at Rom e (grceco- stasis). Many Roman families, further, adopted Greek names, ^such as'Sophus, Philo, Philippus, etc., and Roman ambassa- dors sent to cities in southern Italy were able to address their audiences in Greek. Merchants and sailors were no doubt equally familiar with Greek, and the numbers of Greek slaves had difiiised a knowledge of their language even among the lower classes of Roman citizens. This familiarity with the language and customs of the Greeks must have immensely increased during the first Punic war (b.c. 264- 241), when Roman armies, during their prolonged stay in / ^2 HISTORY OF LATIN LITERATURE. [pERIOD II. SicOy, had opportunities of becoming acquainted with the state of Greek civilization. What was thus begun was afterwards continued and increased by the wars with Macedonia, Antiochus, and the Greeks, to such an extent that men, cherishing the old national spirit, and seeing it gi-adually give way to foreign influence, felt and expressed alarm at the growing taste for everything foreign. However, the current which had once set m went on irresistibly: the old Roman simplicity and frugality disappeared more and more, and foreign vices were introduced with the foreign civilization, which after all did not penetrate to the heart and souls of the Romans, but remained in most cases a mere outward varnish. After the subjugation of the Greeks in Italy, and still more after the conquest of Greece itself, the old and simple religion of the Romans was supplanted by the more attractive mythology of the Greeks, and fell into oblivion. The Greek divinities were identified with those of the Romans, and the myths of the former were transfeiTed to the latter. It may have been . about the same time that the numbers of Greeks who flocked to Rome from all parts flattered' their conquerors by im- pressing upon them the belief that they were sprung from one of the heroes of the Iliad, and thus invented the story about ^neas and his colony in Italy, a story which ever after remained an article of the national creed among the Romans. All educated Romans of this period wrote and spoke Greek ; the earliest Roman historians wrote the history of their country in Greek, either because they found their own language too rude and uncouth, or because they were ambi- ^ tious to exhibit the gi-eatness of their own nation to the Greeks. ( If we bear these things in mind we cannot be surprised to * find that, in the very first year after the termination of the first Punic war, translations or adaptations of Greek dramas were exhibited on the Roman stage, and were received with great applause. The influence of Greek literature thus commenced continued down to the latest times, and the Romans were never able entirely to pmn.n(^ipiif.A thcmjolTrog from it. The Latin language and its orthography, however, were fixed once for all during this period, after various attempts B.C. 240-150.] LIVIUS ANDRONICUS. 23 to introduce system and uniformity. Every writer at first followed his own method of bringing the written language into harmony with the spoken one. Thus, Enmus is said to have been the first to use double consonants, and L. Attius indicated the length of vowels by doubling them, a practice which is still found in some ancient inscriptions. The most important monument of this period, from a philological point of view, is the Senatus consuUum de Bacanahhus of the year BC. 186, which was discovered in 1640 in the territory of Naples, and is now preserved in the library at Vienna; some of the insciiptions on the tombs of the Scipios, which were discovered in the vicinity of Rome in 1616 and 1780, like- wise belong to this period. A. Poets of the Second Period. 8. Whether the soothsayer or prophet {vates),(jn. Mar- cius, of whom prcecepta and carmina are mentioned, and of whom Livy quotes a prophecy predicting the defeat of Cannae, B.C. 216, belongs to this period, is not quite certam; but as he appears to have possessed a good knowledge of Greek myths, it seems more probable that he belonged to this than to the preceding period/7^>w^i.A''»iKf^€-<-t-c •>*'t.^«-^ . 9 Livius Andr onicu s is certmi>yjhe, fir&Umportant poet J, ^■^ninrpfrlod. HewasTy birth a Greek who^ when quite a young man, waslSireinwisonerstrtfm'^apFure of Tarentum, in B c. 272. He seems to have been carried to Rome as a slave of Livius Salinator, who, on discovering his talent, entrusted to him the education of his children, and gave him his freedom. He then supported himself by teaching Greek and Latin, and for the use of his pupils he translated the Odyssey into Latin in the Saturnian metre. This transla- tion remained for a long time one of the common school books, though, so far as we can judge from the few fragments which have come down to us, the translation was awkward, clumsy, and inaccumte. Among his Saturnian lines there also occurred a few hexameters, showing that he tried occasionally to imitate the oricrinal. He also ti-anslated plays from the Greek, and published them, and he himself appeared as an actor on the sta^^e. His plays, fourteen of which are known to us by their titles, seem to have been chiefly taken from Euripides : ^^ / ^ ^-/^ tf^C^^^ / 2^ SISTORt OP UtIN LITERATURE. [pERIOD II. Le retained the lighter metres of the originals, but. seems to have been fond of alliteration. The first performance of such a play belongs to the year B.C. 240 ; and more than thn-ty years after this, in B.C. 2()Triir waS^ commissioned to write a poem on the victory over Hasdnibal, which was ciianted by maidens. In recognition of his merits as a poet and actor a special place was assigned to poets (scribes) and actors m the temple of Minerva on the Aventine. The ancients, Cicero, Horace, and others, judge very disparagingly of the productions of Livius Andronicus; but the few frag- ments we possess do not enable us to form an independent ,iudgment.'"- ^ T l^' ??• ^f V^^S was a native of Campania, but probably a Latin, though not a Roman citizen, as in this case he could hardly have been treated by his enemies with the severity he had to submit to. He produced his first plays on the Koman stage m B.C. 235. He had served as a soldier in the first Punic war As a poet he followed, on the whole, the example of Livius Andronicus, but preferred comedy to tragedy; and as a Campanian he seems to have been of a somewhat fiery and independent disposition, and unconcerned as to whom he might offend by the sallies of his wit. He thiis drew upon himself the enmity of the proud Roman th^l^e^'' especially of the Metelli, whom he offended by "Fato Metelli Bomaljiunt consiiles." In consequence of this he was thrown into prison and after- wards sent into exile. He died at Utica, in Africa, about B.C. Ijy, or, according to Cicero, somewhat earlier. ^ .JZ'Z ^''^^ ^ .""? animated by a truly national spirit, ^ and introduced into dramatic literature the kind of comedy ^ inXhThp'vT'i ^'''''i'^^''^^ ^^Uml^.ihat is, comedies mwh^he chief characters were Romans, in short national jharactersA a^ opposed tojalliaicB, i.e., comedies of which the -^ai^ctei. were Greek, alfpiTcK were either translations or adaptations from the Greek. This national spirit of the poet gained for his works a popularity which lasted several cen- turies, and which, if we may judge from the few fragments B.C. 240-150] t. MACCItJS PLAUTtJg. 25 that have reached our time, was well desei'ved. We know the titles of about seven tragedies and of about thiiiiy-six comedies that are ascribed to him. In his later years, Nsevius wrote an epic poem on the first Punic war, in the old Saturnian metre, which was subse- quently divided by grammarians into seven books ; the fii-st two contained the early history of Rome, and the remaining five gave an account of the Punic war. The style of the work was plain and simple, somewhat resembling that of our rhyming chronicles.* 11. T. Maccius Plautus was born at Sassina, a small town in Umbria, about B.C. 254, of free parents, but in humble circumstances. He afterwards went to Rome where he became connected with the stage, but embarking in commer- cial speculation he lost all he had saved, and worked for a time in a flour mill. Even during this period he is said to have wi'itten several comedies, an occupation to which he subsequently devoted himself exclusively, and with the greatest success. He chiefly adapted Greek plays (palliatce) to the Roman stage, especially those of what is called the new comedy, including such productions as those of Diphilos, Philemon, and Menander. He died at Rome in B.C. 184. Plautus was exclusively a writer of comedies, and is said by some to have composed no less than 1 30 plays, of which twenty are still preserved, though some are not quite complete. "We know the titles of a great many more, but even in antiquity many of them were regarded as spurious. Owing to Plautus' popularity some of them may have been written by imitators of the style of Plautus, or he may have revised and corrected the plays of others who lived at the time, for we know that comedy was then very popular, and that many tried to win laurels in this department of literature. The twenty comedies of Plautus still extant are : — 1. Amphitrito, the only one of his comedies which treats of a mythological subject. 2. Asinaria, a farcical play, full of excellent comic effect and lively characterization. 3. Aulvlaria represents the character of a miser in the ♦ The fragments have been collected by 0. Eibbeck, Tragkorum Zat. Reliquim, p. 5, foil.: and also by E. KluBsmann: Jena, 1843. 26 HISTORY OF LATIIT LITERATURE. [PERIOD It. I most varied circumstances and in the most eflfective manner. The last part of the play is unfortunately lost. 4. Captiviy nether a sentimental play, with beautiful scenes, and enlivened by the character of a parasite. 5. Curculioy so called from the name of the parasite who is the chief figure of the play. 6. Casinaf a somewhat coarse comedy, of which the con- clusion is wanting. An old amorous man is excellently portrayed. 7. Cistellaria, one half of which is lost; its character is very like that of the 8. EpidicuSj which, however, is richer in humour and more complicate in its plot. 9. Bacchides, one of Plautus* best plays, both in its plot and in the delineation of character ; the first scenes of it are lost. 10. Mostellariaj a ghost story abounding in well-drawn characters. 11. Mencechmij perhaps the most successful among all his plays, shows the amusing mistakes arising from the close resemblance of twin brothers. 12. Miles GloriosuSy a somewhat caricatured picture of a bragging soldier. 13. MercatoT represents scenes similar to those of the Castna. 14. PseudohiSy an amusing play, tolembly correct in tone and fomi. 15. PcenuluSj not without great defects, but celebrated on account of the introduction of a Carthaginian who speaks his own, that is, the Phoenician language. 1 6. Fersa, an interesting play, in which the chief charac- ters are slaves. 17. Rudens is more attractive by meny and witty scenes than by its design as a whole. 18. StichuSy a very close imitation of a play of Menander. 19. Trinummus describes ftimily scenes, but without female characters ; it is very temperate in its plan and colouring. 20. Truculentus is full of extravagant humour; a cour- tesan plays the principal part. So far as we know these plays were first performed at B.C. 240-150.] T. MACCIUS PLAUTUS. 27 Rome between the years B.C. 200 and 189, but of some the time is unknown, and they may have been performed either before or after that period.* 12. Plautus has all the excellencies and faults that may be expected from a popular poet of his time and country. He took, indeed, his subjects from the new comedy of the Greeks, but he makes his characters speak and act as true Romans. Thus Alcumena in the Amphitruo is a beautiful picture of a Roman matron, drawn simply and from nature, and Amphi- truo himself is a true Roman warrior. He further introduced his own wit and humour wherever he could, independently of his originals, because he knew well that everything reflecting Roman nationality would have a more powerful effect than anything foreign. His wit is often coarse, but in keeping with the prevailing taste of his age ; the characters, it must be remembered, belong for the most part to the lower orders, and the poet had to make them use the lan- guage of their class. Plautus himself is said to have preferred the Epidicus, the PseudSlus, and the Truculentus. But there is scarcely one of his plays which, compared with the others, does not present novel and striking features. His main strength lies in the liveliness and animation of his dialogues ; he makes no allusions to the personal affairs of any individual among his contempoi'aries, but often criticises very sharply the prevailing tastes and tendencies of his age. In regard to his style and language, we can still discern the influence of the old Satumian verse, for he is fond of alliteration, neglects the length of syllables by position, and is careless about the hiatus. But with all this, his language had the gi'eatest charms for the ancients themselves, who likened it to the language of the Muses, though in the time of Augustus its old-fashioned character ceased to be relished by men of more refined culture. In ready wit and play- fulness Plautus has never been sui-passed, and his plays maintained their place on the Roman stage long after his death; most of the prologues we now have were composed for performances during the last century of the Rei)ublic. Ancient grammarians and critics vied with each other in ex- * The best editions of the comedies of Plautus are those by F. Ritschl and Fleckeisen, both published at Leipzig. 28 HISTORY OF LATIIf LITERATURE. [PERIOD II. plainiDg and commenting on the plays of Plautus no less than has been the case in modem times, for his comedies are of the highest importance in the history of the Latin language. 13. Q. Ennius was bom in b.c. 239, one year after Livius Andronicus had brought out his first play, at Rudi^e, in the country of the Peucetii, in Calabria, where both Greek and Oscan were spoken. During the second Punic war, when M. Porcius Cato was prgetor in Sardinia, Ennius served under him as a soldier; when Cato retumed to Rome, in B.C. 204, he took Ennius with him, who thenceforth appears to have lived in a small house on the Aventine, attended by a single maid-servant, and supporting himself by teaching Greek and translating Greek plays for the Roman stage. By this means he gained the friendship of some of the Roman nobility, and especially of the elder Scipio Africanus. In B.C. 189 he accompanied the consul, M. Fulvius Nobilior, on his campaign against the ^tolians, and afterwards celebrated his victory over them in a poem. A few years later the son of Fulvius Nobilior, having been appointed triumvir colonicB deducendce, procured for Ennius the rights of a Roman citizen, and assigned to him a piece of land at Potentia, in Picenum. Ennius suffered much from gout, and died in B.C. 169. He was buried in the tomb of the Scipios, where he was represented in a marble statue. - Ennius spoke three languages, Greek, Oscan, and Latin, whence he nsed to say that he had tria corda (three minds), and notwithstanding his suffering from gout, he used to drink a good deal of wine to help his poetical inspiration. He was, more than any of his predecessors, the real founder of Latin literature, and may in more than one respect be com- pared with Dante : both displayed the same vigour and energy of language and had the same power of imagination. Ennius stirred up the spirit of the Romans in many ways by intro- ducing among them whatever of Greek art and taste he had himself acquired. The introduction of the hexameter into Latin poetry is his work, and no ancient poet has displayed his powers in such a variety of ways as Ennius, and in most cases with perfect success. He enjoyed the admiration of his countrymen during his lifetime, and down to the latest times of the empire all recognised his extraordinary powers, B.C. 240-150.] Q. ENNIUS. 29 and looked upon him as the Roman Homer. The refined gentlemen of the age of Augustus, it is true, did not quite relish his poetry, but such defects as they censured occur even more in the subsequent writers of comedy and tragedy, and they after all refer rather to mere matters of form than to the substance and spirit of his works. Even Horace admits his great merits ; and, at a later period, when people had become tii-ed of the polished but empty productions of the time, as in the days of Hadrian, they gladly returned to the invigorating and genuine intellectual food provided by Ennius, through whom Latin literature had entered upon an entirely new life. 14. All his works were either original compositions or imitations and translations of Greek authors ', but his great mind shone more in the former than in the latter. His works were : — 1. AmialeSf his greatest and probably his latest produc- tion, an epic poem in eighteen books, in which he re- lated, in hexameter verse, the traditional history of Rome in chronological order, from the arrival of ^neas in Italy down to his own time. Ennius himself meant this work to be for the Romans what Homer was for the Greeks, and the Romans really did look upon it in that light. Even the fragments we have of it (about 600 verses or parts of verses) contain passages of the highest poetical merit. These Annales were read, both in private and in public, down to a very late period of the empire. 2. Tragedies^ chiefly free translations of the tragedies of Euripides, whose philosophical reasoning and rhetorical manner seem to have had greater attraction for him than -^schylus or Sophocles. We know the titles of about twenty-six; they were still read and admired in the time of Cicero, but we now possess only a few fragments. He also wrote one or two prsetextatse; but in comedy he seems to have been less successful, and we have only a veiy few fragments of two or three. 3. Saturce, a collection of various poems in different metres, apparently divided into six books. One of these poems was entitled Scipio. The saturse of Ennius must have been very different fronj those which we have mentioned 30 HISTORY OP LATIN LITERATURE. [PERIOD II. before, and which were of a scenic character. Ennius is alluded to by Horace as the inventor of saturse or satires, so that they must have been something like those of Lucilius and Horace himself. Besides these works, epigi'ams also are mentioned, and a ti-anslation of the prose work of Euemeros, the precursor of modem rationalists, who attempted to explain the myths of the Greek gods as misunderstood natural occurrences.* 16. M. Pacuvius, a son of Ennius' sister, was born in b.c. 220 at Tarentum, but afterwards accompanied his uncle to Eome, where he acquired great reputation as a painter, and still more as a writer of tragedies. One of his paintings in the temple of Hercules, in the Foiaim Boarium, was highly esteemed as late as the time of Plinv. In Rome he became the friend of Laelius and Scipio, and occupied himself chiefly, like his predecessors, with translating Greek plays, an occu- pation which he continued up to a very advanced period of life, for at the age of eighty he competed with Attius, who was fifty years yoimger than himself. After this his declining health induced him to return to his native city, where he died at the age of nearly ninety. Pacuvius, both in his lifetime and for centuries after- wards, enjoyed the reputation of one of the gi'eatest tragic writei-s. He translated Greek tragedies, chiefly those of Sophocles, with more or less freedom. Only one of them, the Antiopa^ was an adaptation of a play of Euripides. We know the titles of twelve of his tragedies, a few of which seem to have been original compositions, and only one, entitled PauluSj dealt with a Eoman subject. It was formerly believed that Pacuvius also wrote comedies, but there is no evidence to support this opinion. As regards his style, the ancients pmise his ubertas, probably alluding to his rich and well rounded sentences, for Cicero calls his verses ornati and elaborati. From the fragments which have been preserved we can still perceive that he had to contend with the hai-shness and inflexibility of the language, and had recouree to bold compounds and archaic" forms to give tragic pathos to his vei-ses. This, of coui-se, * The best collection and arrangement of the fragments of Ennius is that by J. Vahlen, Ennianon Poesis Jidifiiiice: Leipzig', 1S54. B.C. 240-150.] CiECILIUS STATIUS. 31 displeased not only the critics of the Augustan age, but is blamed even by Cicero and Quintilian.* 16. CsBCilius Statius, a contemporary of Pacuvius, was bom about B.C. 219, in the country of the Insubres, a Keltic tribe in the north of Italy. He came to Rome, probably as a prisoner of war and a slave, about B.C. 200. After his emancipation he became the friend of Ennius, whom he survived only by a few years, for he died in B.C. 166. How he got his education and his knowledge of Greek is un- known, but he must have been well acquainted with Greek litemture, as he translated many pieces of the new Attic comedy, especially of Menander, adopting at first the style and manner of Plautus ; but later on he followed the hel- enising tendency, and became more regular, without, how- ever, sacrificing his own innate force and vigour. His productions met with great applause, and Cicero, who often quotes his verses, says that he was perhaps the greatest of all comic poets. Unfortunately, no complete play of his has come down to us; but from the fragments we have it is clear that his language, though still harsh, was less archaic than that of Pacuvius. Cicero, who otherwise valued him veiy highly, calls him malus auctor Latinitatis; and his language may indeed not have been quite correct, as by his birth he was neither a Greek nor a Roman. His fragments are rather numerous, and we know the titles of at least forty of his comedies, most of which were palliatce. They have been collected in O. Ribbeck's Comicorum Latinorum Be- UquicBj p. 29, foil. 17. There are a few other writers of 2yciUiatce belonging to this period, but very little is known about them. One of them is called Trabea. of whom we have only two small fragments quoted by Cicero; another is Atilius, who acquired the nickname of Misogynos, and whose language is called hai'd ; a thii-d, Licinius Imbrex, of whom a comedy entitled Necera is mentioned ; and lastly, Luscius Lavinius, who is vehemently attacked in nearly all the prologues to the -comedies of Terence- His comedies are described as such faithful tmnslations of the Greek that he retained even such * The fragments of Pacuvius are collected in A. Eibbock's Tragi- CQriini Jjat. Hdiijuice, p. 62, foil. : Leipzig, 1S52, 32 HISTORY OP LATIN LITERATURE. [PERIOD II, fi passages as were likely to give offence to the Romans (see O. Ribbeck, as above, p. 71). 18. P. Terentius was born at Carthage (whence he is called Afer^ i.e., an African), and was brought to Rome at an early age as a slave, having either been bought or cap- tured. His master, a senator Terentius Lucanus, had him educated as a free-born youth, and afterwards gave him his freedom. It was perhaps owing to his African origin that he became acquainted with the younger Scipio Africanus, Lselius, and other illustrious Romans. This connection and friendship gave rise to the gossiping report, got up by jealous rivals, that Scipio or Lselius was the real author of the comedies bearing the name of Terence. After having brought out six plays, the last of which was the Adelphi, he went to Greece, apparently for the purpose of study, and on his way back he died, B.C. 159, having scarcely completed his twenty-fifth year. The place of his death is uncertain, for according to some he perished at sea, where his ship was wrecked; while, according to others, he died on land in Arcadia, of a disease aggravated by vexation at the loss by shipwreck of a large number of translations of Greek comedies. 19. The six comedies which Terence composed and brought out upon the Roman stage are still extant, as well as their most important ancient commentators, Donatus and Eugra- phius. We also possess the didascalia of the six plays, that is, the official accounts of the time and the circumstances under which they were performed at Rome. The six plays are : — 1. Andria, first performed at the ludi Megalenses in B.C. 166 ; it is an adaptation of a comedy of Menander, with ad- ditions from another of the same author. The sedile who had the superintendence of the games, when Terence offered his Andriaj desired him to read it to Csecilius Statins and obtain his opinion upon it. Csecilius expressed great admiration of the work, and it was performed. The conclusion of the play exists in two different redactions. 2. Eunuchus, likewise made up of two plays of Menan- der, was first performed at the Megalensian games in B.C. 161 ; it is one gf Terence's best plays, and met with great applause. B.C. 240-150.] P. TERENTIUS. 33 3. HautwitimoTumenos, i.e., the self-torturer, is an imi- tation of a play of Menander of the same name. It represehts an intrigue of a somewhat eccentric kind, and is rather tame- It was first performed at the ludi Momani in B.C. 161. ' 4. Fhormioj an imitation of a Greek play by Apollodorus of Karystos. Its title is the name of the parasite who acts a chief part in it. The action is exciting, the characters varied and well drawn, and the whole is very lively and amusing. It was performed in the same year as the Eunuchus at the ludi Romani. 5. Hecym, i.e., the mother-in-law, an imitation of a comedy of Apollodorus, was performed in B.C. 165. This play con- tains scarcely any action, but consists entirely of clever delineations of character. It was the most unsuccessful of Terence's comedies, for its performance was twice interrupted, and it was only during a third attempt that the audience allowed it to be gone through. 6. Adelphi, or the Brothers, was an imitation of a play of the same name by Menander, but in it he introduced a scene from Diphilos. It was performed in B.C. 160 for the second time, and is no doubt the most successful of all Terence's comedies : its plot is simple but well devised, the characters are finely sustained, and the whole is spirited and animated.* 20. All the comedies of Terence are palliatse, and the fact that he often combined two plays into one, or introduced in the one scenes from another, seems to show that he was wanting in inventive power : if he had possessed more genius he would have made additions, where wanted, from his own resources. Still, he combined the parts of his originals so skilfully that, without the aid of Donatus, we should be unable to discover them. Terence makes use of his prologues chiefly to defend himself against the attacks of others. The manner in which he used his originals shows that he pos- sessed but small independence of mind, and that he followed them almost slavishly. This is probably the reason why, in the canon of the authors of palliatae, only the sixth place was * The best editions of Terence are those of R. Bentley: Cambridge and London, 1726; and of Westerhovius, Hag. Comit., 1726, con- taining the commentaries of Donatus and Eugraphius. The best text IS that of A. Fleckeisen : Leipzig, 1857. 34 HISTORY OP LATIN LITERATURE. [PERIOD 11. assigned to him. What distinguishes his works is their correctness and elegance; his characters have neither the freshness nor the strength and animation of those of Plautus, but at the same time have none of the coarseness of Plautus. In short, Terence composed his comedies in a state of perfect dependence on his originals, and according to the strict rules of art which he found to be observed in them ; and his object appears to have been to please the higher class of Roman society, rather than the great body of the people. His language is everywhere smooth and elegant, and such as we may suppose to have been employed in ordinary life by the better class of Romans. His versification is more correct and regular than that of Plautus, but less varied and spirited. 21. Titinius is the first who confined himself to the com- position of togatse. He belonged to a respectable plebeian family, and was a contemporary of Terence, whom he seems to have survived. We know the titles of fifteen of his comedies, and from the fragments, collected by O. Ribbeck (p. 115, foil.), we see that their character was somewhat coarse, such as would please a popular audience of the time. His fresh- ness and animation remind us of Plautus, but his delinea- tion of character is more regular and methodical, resembling that of Terence. 22. Turpilius was likewise a contemporary of Terence, but long survived him. He wrote only palliatse, and pre- pared Greek comedies of the middle and new schools for the Roman stage. So far as we can judge from the fragments of his plays, his tone was more animated than that of either Csecilius or Terence, whom he resembles in his versification; but his language is richer in the popular element. We know the titles of thirteen of his comedies, the majority of which seem to have been imitations of Menander. It is not improbable that Turpilius ceased writing comedies at an early period, as in his time palliatae appear to have lost their popularity with Roman audiences. (See Ribbeck, as above, p. 73, foil.) 23. Lucius Attius, also written Accius, was bom in B.C. 170 at Pisaurum, where, in B.C. 184, a Roman colony had been established; his parents were freedmen (libertini). There is a stoiy that when Pacuvius had withdrawn to B.C. 240-150.1 LUCIUS ATTIUS. 35 Tarentum, Attius, who was a little younger, undertook a journey to Asia. On passing through Tarentum he was invited by the older poet, and while staying with him for several days read to him his tragedy of Atreus. Pacuvius, on having heard it, remarked that what he had written was indeed sonorous and grand, but that it nevertheless appeared to him a little too hard and severe. "You are right," replied Attius, " and I do not regret it ; for I hope that my future productions will be better." He lived on intimate terms with D. Junius Brutus (consul in B.C. 138), who adorned the entrances to temples and monuments with verses of his Attius. We still know the titles of at least thirty-seven tragedies, most of which were modifications of Greek originals, but two of them seem to have been original and indepen- dent works, based upon scenes from the Iliad. His selection of subjects shows that he well understood the nature of tragedy, and he may without hesitation be regarded as the most talented among the Roman tragic writers. He took for his models especially -^schylus and Sophocles. The tone perceptible in the remains of his works shows that the high estimation of the ancients was well deserved, for they con- tain evidence of gi-eat animation and pathos. He did not confine himself to imitating Greek originals, but also wrote original dramas on Roman subjects (prcetextce)^ such as the self-sacrifice of the younger P. Decius Mus and the story of Brutus the tyrannicide. Attius also composed other works in verse — 1. Didascalica, a sort of history of Greek and Roman poetry, especially of the drama, in trochaic tetrameters. ^ 2. Pragmaticon libri, in the same metre, referred to the history of art. 3. Farergaj treating probably of agricultural subjects, and, 4. AmialeSy in at least three books and in the tragic metre. Of their nature we know nothing, except that some mytho- logical subjects were treated of in them. He appears to have bestowed gi-eat attention upon the forms of the language, for he used frequent alliteration, spelt aggelus instead of angelus, rejected the use of y and Zy indicated the length of vowels by doubling them, 36 HISTORY OP LATIN LITERATURE. [PERIOD II. and preferred Greek inflectional terminations to Latin ones.* II- 24. There are a few other writers of palliatse belonging to this period, such as Juventius, Valerius, A. Fulvius Labeo, and Popillius Lsenas, but very little is known of them. The few fragments of their works which have come down to us are collected in 0. Ribbeck's Comicorum Latin- oruju Beliquice. B. Prose Writers of the Second Period. It has already been remarked that the earliest Roman historians composed their works in Greek. The most im- poi-tant among them are G. Fabius Pictor and L. Cincius Alimentus. 25. G. Fabius Pictor flourished about the time of the second Punic war. During the inroad of the Gauls into Italy, in B.C. 22o, he is said to have taken part in the war against them. After the battle of Cannae, in b.c. 216, he was sent as ambassador to Delphi, to consult the oracle. This is almost all we know of the circumstances of his life. His great work was a history of Home from the time of ^neas down to his own day ; as it contained the history of the whole of the second Punic war, the work must have been written after its termination in B.C. 201. It is frequently refen-ed to as an authority by Polybius, Dionysius, Livy, and others ; his veracity is not doubted, except that he is censured for having allowed himself occasionally to be led astray by his patriotism. As passages of the work are frequently quoted in Latin, it is probable that a Latin translation of it was made at a later time ; but it is doubtful whether this translation was made by the author himself, or by some other member of the Fabia gens; perhaps by Fabius Maximus Servilianus, who was consul in B.C. 142. t 26. Cincius Alimentus, a younger contemporary of Fabius ♦ The fragments of Attius are collected in 0. Ribbeck's Tragico- rum Latinorum ReUqui(B, p. 114, foil. „ ^ , . * rr > t The fragments, both Greek and Latin, are collected in A. Krause s Vitce et Fragmenta Veterum Historicorum Eomanorum, p. 38, folL: Berlin, 1833. t.c. 240-150.] ii. poticius CATd. sr Pictor, was prsetor in B.C. 210, when he restored peace in Sicily after the withdrawal of the Carthaginians. He him- self stated in his work that he had been taken prisoner by Hannibal, perhaps in B.C. 208. He, like Fabius, wrote the annals of Rome in Greek, which are often referred to by later writers, and of which a second book is mentioned. He treated the early period very briefly, but in dealing with the history of his own time he was more minute. Much confusion and uncertainty have been caused by the fact that there was another person of the same name, who lived at a much later time ; for under the name of Cincius Alimentus are mentioned works De Fastis^ De Comitiis, Be Consulum Fotestate, Be Officio Jurisconsult^ Mystagogica^ Be Re Militari, and Be Verbis Priscis ; but all these works are manifestly the productions of a learned jurist who lived at a much later period, perhaps a contemporary of Cicero, who bore the same name as the annalist. (See Krause, as above, p. 63, foil.) 27. Besides these two there are a few others who wrote historical works in Greek, such as — 1. P. Cornelius Scipio, a son of the elder Africanus, whom Cicero mentions as the author of some Greek history, most agreeably written. 2. C. Acilius Glabrio, a Roman senator of high rank, wrote in Greek the annals of Rome, from its foundation down to his own time, i.e., about B.C. 194. These annals were afterwards translated into Latin by one Claudius. Of both the Greek and the Latin only a few fragments are preserved. (See Krause, p. 84, foil.) 28. M. Porcius Cato. — Amid the hellenising tendencies which threatened to stifle all attempts to create a national literature, there arose M. Porcius Cato, the most determined champion of all that was national in the life and literature of the Romans. He is generally called Cato the Censor or Cato Censorius, to distinguish him from Cato Uticensis, the contemporary of Caesar. He belonged tO:ihe plebeian gens Porcia, and was bom at Tusculum in B.C. 23'4; he obtained the qusestorship in B.C. 204, the sedileship in B.C. 199, the prae- torship in the following year, the consulship in B.C. 195, and the censorship, for which he is most celebi-ated, in B.C. 184. 38 HISTORY OP LATIN LITERATURE. [PERIOD It, He lived to a great old age, and died in his ninetieth year, B.C. 149.^ Cato was a most able and uncompromising adversary of the .proud aristocracy; he clearly saw what he wanted, and pursued his objects sometimes with resolute straightforward- ness and sometimes with cunning ; he was of a combative nature and full of natural wit : in short, he was the true type of an ancient Roman. With all this he was exceed- ingly vain, liking to put his own acts in the most favourable light, and not free from mean selfishness. In politics he was less far-sighted than his patrician opponents, but no one possessed more genuine patriotism than he. Although in his earlier years he professed little respect for writers of any kind, yet he became himself in the end a more volumin- ous writer than any of his contemporaries, and the real creator of Latin prose. He was, as Quintilian says, at once a great general, a philosopher, an orator, a historian, a lawyer, and well versed in husbandry. He was the first Koman who composed and published works in prose, and those not a few. It is singular that he, the ardent upholder of all that was national, brought to Rome Ennius, the very man who established the taste for Greek literature among the Romans. 29. Cato took a lively interest in all public affairs down to the latest period of his life ; and being indefatigable in his opposition to the hellenising tendencies of the time, he had ample opportunities of displaying his talent as an orator. The following is a list of his litei'ary productions : — 1. Orations. — If we except the one famous speech of Appius Claudius against Pyrrhus, and a few fimeral lauda- tions, Cato's were the first speeches that were written out and published. Cicero knew upwards of 150 of his speeches, and we still know of about eighty, partly from fragments still extant and partly from the mention of the occasions on which they were delivered. These eighty were partly judi- cial speeches and partly political, being delivered either in the senate or before the assembled people. They were read and studied down to the fourth century of the Christian era. What remains of them shows a great natural eloquence, always suited to the occasion and abounding in playful t.c. 240-150;1 M. PORCIUS CATO. 30 mirth, mingled with profound earnestness, self-laudation, and biting sarcasm.* 2. Origines.—Th\s. is the title of Cato's most important work, in seven books ; the first contained the history of the Roman kings, the second and third an account of the origin of the towns and cities of Italy, the fourth the first Punic war, the fifth the second Punic war, and the remaining books were devoted to the subsequent wars down to the year B.C. 149. In his account of the wars (probably those described in the later books) he did not name the generals engaged in them, but only related the occurrences. The tit?e Origines probably applied only to the first three books, which may have been published first, and the title was re- tained when the other books were added at a later time. The work, which is sometimes referred to under the title Historice or Annates, also contained some of the author's speeches. The fragments have been collected by Krause in the work already referred to, p. 98, foil. 3. Proecepta ad Filium was the title of a work which Cato wrote for the instruction of his son. His rich and varied experiences enabled him to advise and instruct his son in such matters as agriculture, the laws of health (in which he was opposed to the doctrines of Greek physicians), oratory, military and legal affairs. The work was intended to be a guide to a young Roman in the various relations of life. It IS, however, not quite certain whether all the subjects men- tioned were treated of in the Frcecepta, or whether some of them were not discussed in separate treatises. With a similar object he addressed. to his son various letters and a work in verse (carmen). 4. Facete Dicta was a collection of witty and pointed say- ings of others. Soon after his death a similar collection of his own witty and wise sayings was made, partly from his writings and partly from the recollection of contemporaries. This collection retained its popularity for many centuries. 5. Be Be Fustica, i.e., on agriculture, but mainly on the cultivation of the vine and the olive. This is the only one of Cato's works that has come down to us in a com- * The fragments of his speeches are collected in H. Meyer's Orato- rum Bomanorujn Fragmenta, p. 11, folL 40 HISTORY Oe* Latin literature, [period ih plete form. It is properly a manual of instruction about the management of an estate near Casinum and Venafi-um, belonging to one L. Manlius. The first part contains sys- tematic instruction on vines and olive plantations, but this is followed by an irregular mass of rules about the manage- ment of domestic affaii-s, some of which are very amusing, about making purchases, about rents, sacrifices, and the cure of diseases. The style of the book is brief and aphoristic, but the language has scarcely the archaic character which we should expect in a work of Cato's, whence it is generally believed that its present form is a more recent or modernised edition of the original.* 30. As the example of publishing speeches had been set by Cato, it was followed by others. The most distinguished orators among his contempcrai-ies, some of whom published their speeches, are — Fabius MaximiLS Cunctator, whose fune- ral oration on hia son was greatly admired by Cicero; Q, Ccecilius MeteUuSj who published a funeral oration on his father; M. Cornelius Cethegus ; P. Licmius Crasms; the elder Scipio Jfricanus; the father of the celebrated Gracchi; L. Papirius, L. Paulus, G. Sxdpkius GaUus, and C Tihius; but no specimens of their oratory are now extant. Along with oratory the study of the law also began to be zealously cultivated during this period. Among the eminent jurists we may mention — 1. Adius Sextus, the fii-st author of a book on law, entitled Tripertitay which, among other matters, contained a commentaiy on the laws of the Twelve Tables. 2. ill. Porcius Cato, a son of Cato Censorius, who wrote a work, De Juris DiscijMua, in at least fifteen books. 3. M. Fulvius Nobiliory the aristocratic oi)ponent of the elder Cato, published Fasti which wcro set up in tho templo of Hercules. 31. History continued to be written in Greek by some down to the time of Sulla, who himself is said to have written memoii-s of his life in Greek. Among tho historians of this class we have to mention :— 1. C. Acilius, who wi'ote a history of Rome in Greek, apparently from the foundation of the city, down at least to the year B.C. 194. The work was afterwaids translated * The work ia printed in M. Gesner's Scriptores Bd JRusticcs, VoL L fi.C.' ^40-150.1 P. SCI PIG NASIOA* 41 into Latin and continued by Claudius Quadngcmus down to the tmie of the civil wars. 2. A Postumius Albinus likewise wrote a history of Home, beginning apparently with the earHest times. 6. P. Scipio Nasica appears to have written in Greek mSTccW ""^''''''^"'"'^ *^^^^ *^® ^*^ ^i<^^ K"ig Perseus of It may be mentioned here that the freedman, Sp. Car- vihus, was one of the first who established a pubUc school at Rome, about b.c. 230. He is said to have intro- diiced the letter ^^ and to have rejected the letter z. The alphabet he thus arranged contained twenty-one letters. Mi i '^^ THIRD PERIOD. Seventh Century after the Foundation of the City (from about B.C. 150 to about B.C. 80.) 32. During this period Latin literature reached its full development; what the sixth century had prepared the seventh matured and completed, ^arthage wa s destroyed^ and Greecfi_subdllfid; -crowds of Greeks flocked to Home and "Helped to bring about the final victory of Greek manners and modes of thinking over the ancient national life of the Romans: Grcecia captaferum victorem cepit, as Horace says. Unfortunately, the Romans were not in a condition to judge what was really deserving to be imitated in Greek life and literature, and oftener preferredthe bad to the g oQ;^ The family of the Scipios, where men li"ke Panaetius and J?olybius were always welcome guests, gathered round it the noblest spirits of the time, who were uncontaminated by the avarice and the other vices which were then beginning to draw all classes into their vortex. But this very separation of intellec- tual and cultivated society from the rest of the people gave it the character of aristocratic exclusiveness, and prevented its exercising any great influence on the great body of contem- poraries. Demoralization accordingly went on increasing, and showed its baneful results in the wars against Numantia and Jugurtha. The rude Marius could make it a boast that he did not understand Greek, which in his time was so gene- rally known that Greek plays were frequently performed at Rome. Roman writers, acknowledging the superiority of Greek literature, endeavoured to imitate its correctness and elegance, and only very few, such as Lucilius, disdained to compote with the Greeks in the smoothness and elegance of their compositions. Ever since the year B.C. 145 complete Greek theatres were annually erected at Rome of wood, which, when the season was over, could be taken down. The first permanent stone 15.C. 150-80.] U AfEANIUS. 4S theatre was built by Pompey in B.C. 55. In poetical litera- ture the composition of dramas still predominated; but as the palliatge were rapidly supplanted by togatse, attellange, and mimes, it is clear that popular amusements assumed more and more the character of low and vulgar farces. All other branches of poetry nearly died out ; but prose literature, in the form of history, oratory, and jurisprudence, made extra- ordinary progress. The Latin language, on the whole, retained the character impressed upon it by Ennius, at least so far as literature and the speech of the educated classes were concerned : for the language of common life continued its own ancient ways, and the Saturnian verse kept its ground in the popular amusements intended for the masses of the people. A. Poets op the Third Period 33. The few poets of this period are : — 1. T. Quinctius Atta, of whose life nothing is known, except that he died in B.C. 78, and was buried on the road to Prseneste, near the second milestone. Atta and Afranius are the most important writers of togatse ; and the subjects of Atta's plays, of which we know the titles of eleven, were all distinctly Roman. The few remaining fragments are marked by a strong national colouring. The ancients praise him for the consistency with which he drew his characters, especially those of females. His plays continued to be per- formed as late as the time of Augustus. Atta is also men- tioned as the author of epigrams in dactylic metre.* 2. L. Afranius, a more important writer of togatae even than Atta, was born about b.c. 144, so that the most active period of his life must have been about B.C. 100. He is remarkable not only on account of the number of his productions, but also on account of their aii/Lstic merit. We know upwards of forty titles of his comedies; they maintained their place on the Roman stage as late as the time of Nero, and were read even down to a much later period. His enthusiastic admirers regarded him as equal to Menander. * The few fragments of his comedies are collected in 0. Ribbeck's Comkorum Lat. Reliqidce, p. 137, foil. 44 HISTORY OF LATIN LiTfeRATURE. [PERIOD lit AfmniiTS was deeply imbued with Greek culture, but apparently also with its depraved morality. He did indeed take Menander for his model and wrote in his spirit, but confined himself to Roman subjects, chiefly representing the life of the middle classes : his comedies were, in fact, pictures of the family life of the Roman middle classes. His language, as we see from his numerous fragments, combined the vigour and freshness of Plautus with the correctness and elegance of Terence.* 3. C. Lucilius was bom, in b.c. 148, at Suessa Aurunca in Campania, and belonged to a family of equestrian rank; a sister of his was grandmother of Pompey. While yet very young he accompanied the younger Scipio Africanus in the war against Numantia, and afterwards lived with him and Laelius on terms of intimacy. Such society must have had great influence upon the intellectual development of Lucilius. He lived at Rome in the house built for the son of King Antiochus, who was kept there as a hostage. He was well versed in the literatures of both Rome and Greece, and took a lively interest in everything that was going on around him. That he had many enemies as well as friends is clear from the fragments of his poems which have come down to us; but he maintained his independent spirit amid the busy turmoil and selfishness of his time. He died at Naples in B.C. 103, at the age of forty-six, and was honoured with a funeral at the public expense. The only work which Lucilius appears to have written was a collection of SaturcB or Satirce, in thirty books, most of which were composed in hexameters, but some also in iambic and trochaic metres. In these satires he expressed with great freedom his thoughts upon everything he saw, heard, or read, exercising his criticism upon politics, manners, and literature. He did this with a boldness which neither before nor after him any satirist has ventured to imitate, for he assailed many of his contemporaries by name, and did not scruple to attack the whole city. We know that Ennius had written saturre before him, but as Lucilius is called the inventor of satire, there can be no doubt that his satires * For the fragments of his plays, see 0. Ribbeck's Comic. Lat. Jieliquice, p. 140, foil. B.C. 150-80.] PROSE WRITERS. 45 were of an entirely different character from those of Ennius. The fragments we have of the satires of Lucilius show a highly cultivated mind, a keen intellect, moral earnestness, a cheerful disposition, and ready wit ; but great indifierence as to style and versification, defects which are more than once referred to by Horace, who otherwise recognises in him a great master. Lucilius seems to have composed his satires very hurriedly and in an offhand manner; but notwithstand- ing their formal defects they were read and enjoyed by many even in the time of Augustus ; and at a later period some preferred him to Horace, whom he certainly surpassed in force and originality.* 34. The remaining poets of this period are few, and chiefly authors of erotic epigrams of little value, in imitation of the Alexandrian Greeks. The most noteworthy are Pompilius, Valerius ^dituus (of whom two epigrams are still extant), Porcius Licinius (some of whose epigrams have been pre- served by A. Gellius and Suetonius), and Q. Lutatius Catulus (who was consul in B.C. 102). Their remains are collected in Weichert's Poetarum Lat. Eeliquice, p. 348, foil. The poets, C. Valerius, of Sora, hence called Soranus, and C. Julius CSBSar Strabo, who died in b.c. 87, wrote tragedies. Towards the end of this period two poets acquired reputation by transforming the ancient atellanae into a regular branch of comic literature. These were L. Pomponius of Bononia and Novius. The former, who seems to have been the more original and certainly the more productive, lived about B.C. 90; we have fragments of sixty-five of his atellanse, while of those of Novius we have only forty-three. The remains of both show that they often indulged in coarse and even obscene language to gratify the popular taste of the times.! B. Prose Writers of the Third Period. 35. During the first twenty years of this period there was no lack of good orators, the most distinguished among whom were the younger Scipio Africanus and his brother Fabius * His numerous fragments have been collected by 0. D. Gerlach : Zurich, 1845. t Their remains are collected in 0. Ribbeck's Comic. Lat. Eeliquice, p. 191, foil. 46 HISTORY OP LATIN LITERATURE. [PERIOD III. ^milianus, Sulpicius Galba, M. Lepidus, Furius Philus, and Q. Metellus Macedonicus. Orations of some of them were read and admired by Cicero, and one by Q. Metellus was recited by Augustus in the senate. During the period of the Gracchi, from b.c. 133 to B.C. 119, oratory had the most splendid opportunities of display- ing its powers in the violent party struggles, but no one distinguished himself more than the younger Gracchus, the few specimens of whose eloquence still extant fully justify the admii-ation they excited at the time. But he was not the only orator; both among his friends and among his foes there were men of unusual powers who made their voices heard.* 36. The historians of the first twenty years of this period still followed the example of the earlier annalists, but they wrote in Latin, as Cato had done. It is astonishing to find that at the very time when a Polybius wrote, Rome had only her annalists or dry chroniclers. The earliest among them were — 1. Cassius Hemina, who wrote a work in at least five books, sometimes called Historke and sometimes Annates. He seems to have given a minute account of the early history of Rome. The fourth book treated of the second Punic war. The fragments of this, as well as of the other historians, are collected in the work of Krause, already referred to. 2. L. Calpurnius Piso Prugi was a more important writer than Hemina, but, like him, he began with the earliest times and continued the history in seven books down to his own day. He was censor in B.C. 120, and one of the opponents of the Gracchi. His work is pi-aised for its trustworthiness, and the frequent quotations from it by Livy and Dionysius show its author to have been a simple-minded and honest character. His style, however, is not favourably judged of by Cicero. He also appeai-s to have published orations. 3. Q. Pabius Maximus Servilianus, an eminent jurist, and consul in B.C. 142, is also mentioned as a writer of annals, of which the first book is quoted. 4. Cn. Gellius wrote annales, of which a fifteenth book * Whatever fragments of the orators of those times remain have been collected by Meyer, Oratorum Bom. Fragmenta : Zurich, B.C. 150-80.] L. C^LIUS ANTIPATER. 47 is mentioned, and which seems to have been a rather volu- minous work. 37. While the writing of history was thus still in its infancy, the study of the law and its exposition were making vast progress, no doubt the result of the many legal questions which arose at the time. The most eminent jurists of the time were M'. Manilius, M. Junius Brutus, and especially P. Mucius Scaevola, who is supposed to have done away with the ancient custom, according to which the pontifex maximus kept the public annals, because the practice of private per- sons writing history had rendered that part of the pontifl's duty superfluous. But in order to preserve those ancient records, he is said to have collected them in the form of a book. It may be noticed that Scsevola and P. Licinius Crassus, who is praised as the greatest lawyer of his day, sided with the Gracchi. 38. The rapid progress which every branch of practical knowledge made at the time could not fail to have its efiects also on the writing of history, and there now appear several men of learning who composed works on the history of their own times. Such men were — 1. Cajus Pannius, a disciple of the Greek philosopher Pansetius. He accompanied Tib. Gracchus in the third Punic war, and was qusestor in B.C. 139. He composed an historical work, which, as Cicero says, was not wiitten without elegance, and which is praised for its truthfulness. It consisted of at least eight books, and seems to have treated only of contemporary events, for which reason its loss is to be regretted all the more. On the advice of Cicero, M. Brutus made an abridgement of it. 2. L. Caelius Antipater, a contemporary of the Gracchi, was no doubt the ablest historian of his time. His work consisted of at least seven books, and must have been pub- lished after the death of the younger Gracchus. Its main subject seems to have been the second Punic war, and he appears to have touched upon many constitutional questions. He is said to have paid more attention to rhetoric than to law, a charge which is borne out by the remnants of the work we still possess. Livy seems to have made great use of it in his account of the second Punic war. 48 HISTORY OP LATIN LITERATURE. [PERIOD IIL 3. P. Sempronius Asellio served as a tribune of the sol- diers under Scipio in the war against Numantia. He wrote a work on the history of his own time which consisted of at least fourteen books, the fifth of which contained an account of the death of Tib. Gracchus. From an opinion of his quoted by A. Gellius it appeai-s that he had a far more correct view of what history ought to be than any of his predecessors. 4. C. Sempronius Tuditanus, consul in b.c. 129, was a man of a highly cultivated mind, and an elegant writer. His historical work seems to have embraced the early history as well as that of his own time. He is also mentioned as the author oi Lihri Magistratuum and other works. 5. Junius Gracchanus, an intimate friend of C. Gracchus, whence he obtained the name of Gracchanus. He was an antiquarian rather than an historian, inasmuch as he directed his attention chiefly to constitutional questions. He wrote a work, De Magistratibus, addressed to his friend Pomponius, the father of Cicero's friend Atticus. The fragments of this work show that he endeavoured to combine historical in- vestigations with the explanation of words. Other inquirers about the same time devoted themselves to the elucidation of the early literature of their country. Thus Lampadio wrote a commentary on N»vius' poem on the Punic war, and Q. Vargunteius one on the annals of Ennius. Grammatical studies had a representative in Z. Actitis. Greek philosophy, especially that of the Stoics* found warm supporters among men of the highest i-ank, such as Q. Tubero, the augur Q. Scaevola, and C. Blossiua of Cumae, the faithful friend of Tib. Gracchus. 39. The period from the violent suppression of the Gracchi and their party till about b.c. 100, is the time during which C. Lucilius and L. Afi-anius displayed their greatest literary activity. Other contemporaiy writers were P. Rutilius Rufus, consul in b.c. 105, and Q. Lutatius Catulus, consul in B.C. 102. The former, besides works on law, wrote an account of his own life while he was living in exile at Smyrna. A fifth book is mentioned; and it would seem that the work, originally composed in Latin, was afterwards also published in Greek. Lutatius Catulus, besides the ei-otic epigrams already mentioned, likewise wrote his auto- B.a 150-80.] I*. iSLIUS PRJICONINUS STILO. 49 biography, and a work entitled Communis Historia^ in at least four books, which, to judge from the fragments we still possess, seems to have had a Euhemeristic tendency. Grammatical studies had a most able representative in L. .ffilius Praeconinus Stilo, of Lanuvium, a man of equestrian rank, who may be regarded as the first Roman philologist. He is often called simply JEMxxs^ and lived on intimate terms with some of the most influential optimates. He was a fol- lower of the Stoic philosophy, and the first who lectured to a circle of friends on Latin literature and oratory, and laid the foundation of a regular study of the Latin language by com- menting on its most ancient monuments. Varro, who was one of his pupils, afterwards followed in his footsteps. Among the works he wrote we may notice commentaries on the Carmina Saliorum and on the laws of the Twelve Tables. He was an ardent admirer of Plautus. 40. The twenty years from B.C. 100 to B.C. 80, a period full of political excitement, produced men of the greatest eminence both in oratory and jurisprudence, two branches which always went hand in hand among the Romans. His- torical composition inclined towards a rhetorical character, and was sometimes employed for party purposes. As regards poetry, it has been already remarked that the old atellanse were i*aised to the rank of dramatic compositions for the amusement of the people. Cn. Matius translated the Iliad into Latin and composed mimiamhi^ that is, farces in iambics. Hostius and Q. Furius are mentioned as epic poets, and LaBvius made a collection of erotic poems called Erolo- paignioii Libri, written apparently in a somewhat lascivious tone, and in the melic metres of the Greeks. The higher kind of poetry was not cultivated, and the only one who is reporied to have written tragedies is L. Julius Ccesar. Orntory and jurisprudence continued to be cultivated by men of the highest ability, and are represented by J/. Antonius and L. Licinius CrassuSy the former of whom charmed his hearei'S by his natural vivacity, lively imagina- tion, and biilliant delivery ; while C^'ossus, though a man of fine intellect, extensive knowledge ot the law, ready wit, and elegant language, did not aflTect his audiences as powerfully as M. Antonius. But besides these two, a host of distin- 50 HISTORY OF LATIN LITERATUHE. [PERIOD III. guished orators and jurists are mentioned whom we need not enumerate, as no complete production of any one of them has come down to us. 41. Among historians the following claim our attention : 1. Cn. Aufidius, who flourished at a period coincident with the boyhood of Cicero. He wrote an historical work in Greek, of which only two fragments are extant, but which seems to have been a history of Rome down to his own time. 2. Q. Claudius Quadrigarius, who must have been born about B^c. 150, and seems to have survived the death of Sulla in B.C. 78. Of his life nothing is known, but his history, re- ferred to as Annales, Historice, or Rerum Romanarum Lihri, consisted of at least twenty-three books, beginning with the capture of Rome by the Gauls and coming down to his own time. In the earlier portion he seems to have been very brief, but he gave more detailed accounts as he approached his own time. He is frequently quoted by Livy, and it ap- pears that he often exaggerated the number of enemies slain in battle. His style and language must in many respects have been old fashioned (Fragments in Krause, p. 243, foil.). 3. Valerius Antias, the most voluminous predecessor of Livy, for his history consisted of at least seventy-five books, beginning with the earliest times, of which he treated very minutely, and carrying the history down to the age of Sulla. We know his work chiefly from the numerous references made to it by Livy, who seems, in his earliest books, to have adopted his statements without any misgivings ; but in his later books Livy is evidently conscious of his defects, and almost calls him a liar. Valerius was anything but a con- scientious or critical historian; his numbers are monstrously exaggerated, and are probably nothing but his own foolish inventions. 4. L. Cornelius Sisenna, born about b.c. 119, was praetor in B.C. 78, and died in Crete, in b,c. 67, as legate of Pompey during the war against the pirates. He was both a philosopher and an orator, but distinguished himself most as an historian, and in that capacity he was thought to have surpassed all his predecessors, though his style of writing did not satisfy Cicero. His work, in twelve books, bearing B.C. 150-80.] L. LICINIUS LUCULLUS. 61 the title Historice, gave an account of the Marsic or Social war, and of the civil war between Sulla and Marius ; the latter he is said to have added when already advanced in years, but not to have used suflicient freedom in the expres- sion of his opinions. Speeches and letters were introduced in the work. As to his style, he used many archaic and unusual expressions, for which he is frequently quoted by the later grammarians. He also wrote a commentary on Plautus, explaining difiicult words and expressions, but what remains of it does not give us a high opinion of him as a grammarian. Lastly, he translated the lascivious tales (Milesiaca) of Aristides, which he seems to have divided into fifteen books. 5. C. Licinius Macer, the father of the poet and orator, Licinius Calvus, was a contemporary and friend of Sisenna. He was quaestor in B.C. 89 and afterwards praetor. He was accused by Cicero of extortion during the administration of his province, and being found guilty, he put an end to his own life. His historical work, called Amiales, Rerum Romanarum Librif or Eistoricey is blamed by Cicero for verbosity and quibbling, while others thought that he had not been sufii- ciently careful in his inquiries ; but it is quite evident, from the manner in which he is referred to by Livy, tl^at he con- sulted at least the historical documents of Rome, such as the Lihri Lintei. His work began with the earliest times, but we do not know of how many books it consisted, nor how far it carried the history. Livy's last mention of him re- fers to the year B.C. 299, but from this it does not follow that Macer stopped there. 6. L. Cornelius Sulla, the dictator, wrote in Latin (some say in Greek) an account of his own life in twenty-two books, dedicated to Lucullus, but shortly after he had com- menced the last book he died. The work was, however, completed by his freedman, Epicadus. We now possess only a few fragments of it, but Plutarch, in his life of Sulla, seems to have made extensive use of it. 7. L. Licinius Lucullus, who was consul in b.c. 74, and a man famous for his wealth and his intellectual tastes, wrote a history of the Marsic war m Greek, of which no fragments 84*6 extant >■■ ! 52 HISTORY OF LATIN LITERATURE. [PERIOD III. 8. C. Piso is mentioned as the author of a Greek work on the civil war between Sulla and Marius, but no frag- ments of it are extant, nor do we know which of the Piso family is meant. 9. L. Voltacilius Pilutus is said to have been a slave, and to have been set free on account of his talent and his fondness of literature. He afterwards established himself at Rome as a teacher of rhetoric, and became the instructor of Cn. Pompeius Strabo, the father of Pompey. He is men- tioned as the author of a history of Pompey and his father, and, if so, he was the first freedman who undertook to write on a subject of Koman history. No fragments of his work are known. 42. It is about the beginning of the first century B.C. that we hear of several schools, both at Rome and in other parts of Italy, being established for the purpose of teaching gmm- mar, rhetoric, and philosophy. Most of the men who estab- lished such schools, and whose names are preserved in Suetonius' work, De Grammaticia et RhetoribiLSy were freed- men and foreignei-s. Some of them also published books, as, for example, Aureluis OpiliuSy who wrote grammatical works that were much used by Varro in his De Lingua Latina, and by Festus. The same period produced works on agriculture, on the management of domestic affairs, and even on cookery, which are spoken of by later writers on the same subjects, such as Varro and Columella .\v Philosophy does not appear to have been much cultivated, though it would seem that oratora generally adopted the views of the new Academy and the Peripatetics, while the great lawyers generally professed the doctrines of the Stoa. Men who did not take part in public affairs found more satisfaction in the teaching of the Epicureans. 43. There is a work on rhetoric which, from some allu- sions occurring in it, must have been written during the dictatorship of Sulla or shortly after his death. It bears the title of Rhetorica ad C. Ilerennium, and consists of four books. It used to be printed together with the rhetorical works of Cicero, but a passage in Quintilian leaves very little doubt of its being the work of Cornificius, though it is uncertain B.C. 150-80.] L. VOLTACILIUS PILUTUS. 53 which of the Comificii mentioned about this time is meant. The work contains a complete system of rhetoric, based upon Greek authorities, but its author, as a practical Roman, dis- cards all the useless technicalities abounding in Greek works. The subject is treated with great clearness and independence of judgment. Cicero, in his work De Inventione, has almost literally copied several passages, and altogether adopted the system and method of Cornificius. During the middle ages the work was much read and often copied.* * The best modem edition is that of C. L. Kayser: Leipzig, 1854. FOURTH PERIOD. The Age of Cicero and Augustus (from about b.c. 80 to ABOUT A.D. 14). 44. This may be calle d the ffolden age of Latin literatur e, in regard to its form as well as to its substance. During the first half of the period, that is, the ag e of Cicero, p rose reached _its highest perfectio n^^^whilejioetry produced rEsjioblest blos- so ms in the tim e o T^Auyistiis ^^ The time from the dictator- "shlp oi Sulla Jown to the battle of Actium, was as full of political excitement as any that preceded it. Consequently, oratory and political literature continued to predominate, but oratory in particular assumed a more artistic form under the influence of Greek culture. The number of men who, like VaiTo, still tried to preserve the national character in life and literature, was reduced to a very small minority ; the curre nt of Greek influence was irresistible. Greeks were found in all the houses ot' the great and wealthy as teachei*s, readers, secretaries, or companions, and many of these were mean flatterers, bent upon gratifying their masters and securing to themselves an easy and luxurious life, whence the very name Greek (Grceculus) was used as a term of contempt. It became more and more the custom with young Romans of rank and means to spend some time at Athens, Rhodes, , or Mytilene. for the purpose of studying rnetonc and philosophy. Great masses of Greek literature and works of Greek art had been brought into Italy since the subjugation of Greece ; and when Athens was taken by Sulla, in B.C. 86, the valuable library of Apellico, containing a complete set of Aristotle's works, was carried to Rome. But the Romans now, as before, did not choose the great classical authors of Hellas for their models, but were more fascinated by the demoralising productions of more recent times. Thus the orators did not take Demosthenes for their guide, but the florid rhetoricians of Asia Minor ; and the B.C. 80-A.D. 14.] AGE OF CICERO AND AUGUSTUS. 55 poets followed the A lexandrian poetastei's rather than the grand old masters, simply because they were charmed by their polished langniage and style. 45. But notwithstanding all this, the better spirits of the Romans soon discovered wherein the great excellence of the Greeks lay, and were thus enabled to produce w^orks that may be compared with the master works of Greek genius. Such works cannot indeed conceal their Roman origin, which is visible partly in their practical tendency and partly in the absence of refinement in style and diction. But still the form of literature, which until then had been regarded as of little or no importance, provided its matter was practically useful, now began to display a richness and variety which could not fail to make it popular and valued for its own sake, and indeed so much so, that at one time refined forms and elegance of language were thought more valuable even than the thoughts expressed. 46. The branch of literature which flourished most through- out the time of Cicero wns ornto^y, in w hich the practical and energetic spirit of the Romans was tempered by artistic principles developed by Greek rhetoricians. Hortensius was a striking example of what Roman talent alone could do, but what talent combined with careful training and the study of principles could efiect, no one has shown more clearly than Cicero, and he it was who established once for all the highest standard and most perfect form of Latin prose. This change in the form of oratory was brought about by the careful study of the principles laid down by Greek rhetoricians, and by applying them to the wants and necessities of the Romans. Political discussions and historical and antiquarian re- searches, of which Varro furnished the most splendid examples, also engaged the pens of many men of eminence. E ducation was now felt to be a matter of necessity in every part of Italy, b ut t he teachers, the pioneer s ot civiliz atioiiT' still were for t he most p art freedmen of Greek origin. The "same men also diilused a taste lor philosophical discussion ; but speculation was at no time a favourite pursuit among the Romans, and very few entered deeply into philosophical questions. The only philosophical works produced during this period are those of the poet Lucretiua^andof Cicero. V ^i *'t,t..aZ<e haruspi- cum responsiSj belonging to B.C. 56, was occasioned by the declaration of the haruspices that what was sacred had been disregarded, a remark which Clodius had referred to the rebuilding of Cicero's house, but which Cicero now applied to Clodius. 32. Pro P. SestiOf delivered in B.C. 56, is a splendid defence of Sestius against the charge of violence (vis); Cicero dwells more upon himself and the party of the optimates than upon the case of his client. 33. 1)1 P. Vatinium. This speech, which was delivered in the same year as that for Sestius, was also closely con- nected with it, for Vatinius had come forward as a witness against Sestius., ^ * A good edition of this speech, with a very full commentary, was pubhshed by A W. Zumpt: Berlin, 1859. fi.c. 80-A.u 14. J M. TULLIUS CICERO. 69 34. Pro M. Ccelio, also delivered in B.C. 56, is a speech of great interest as regards the state of morality at Rome ; it is full of cutting wit, especially directed against the notorious Clodius, who was the accuser of Cselius. 35. J)e Provincils ConsularibuSf delivered towards the end of May, B.C. 56 ; the object was to induce the senate to pro- long to Julius Csesar the administration of Gaul. 36. Pro L. Balbo belongs to the same year, and is a defence of Balbus, an intimate friend of Csesar, against the charge of having illegally assumed the rights of a Roman citizen. • 37. In L. Pisonem belongs to the year B.C. 55, and was delivered in the senate. This speech has come down to us in a mutilated form, the beginning being wanting. The descriptions it contains are sometimes disgusting. 38. Pro Cn, Plancioy delivered in B.C. 54, is a defence of Plancius against the charge of bribery. ' 39. Pro C, Rabirio Postumo belongs to the same year, and is a defence of Rabirius against the charge of extortion, which was in all probability only too well founded. 40. Pro T. Annio Miloiie, a defence of Milo, who had killed Clodius. • The speaker tries to show that the killing of Clodius was justifiable as an act of self-defence. The event took place in B.C. 52, but the speech which we now have is not the one that was actually delivered and failed in its object, but one which was afterwards carefully composed and written. It is one of the finest of Cicero's speeches. . 41. Pro M. Marcello delivered, in B.C. 46, in the senate, and addressed to Julius Csesar, begging him to allow his old opponent, Marcellus, to return to Rome. 42. Pro Q, Ligarioj delivered in the same year and with the same object, for Ligarius too was living in exile, and Cicero implores Csesar to permit him to return to Rome. 43. Pro Rege BeiotarOj delivered, in B.C. 45, in the house of Julius Csesar, in defence of the Galatian king, Deiotarus, who was charged with having made an attempt on the life of Csesar when he was in Asia Minor. 44-57. Fourteen Orationes Philippiccef deliyered in the years B.C. 44 and 43. They are speeches against M. Antony, and are called Philippicse because of their resemblance to the ^^ HISTORY OP LATIN LITERATURE. [PERIOD IV. speeches which Demosthenes had delivered at Athens against King Philip of Macedonia. The first was delivered in the senate on the 2nd of Sep^ tember, and in it Cicero excuses himself for having kept aloof for so long a time from public affaii-s, but complains of an attack having been made upon him by M. Antony. When the latter, ofiended at this remark, made a speech on the 19th, in which he reviewed the whole political career of Cicero, who was absent from the senate on the occasion, ?-T^^ Prepared a reply, which, however, he did not publish tiU M. Antony had left Eome, though it is composed as if it had been deUvered immediately after the speech of Antony in the senate. This is the second Philippic. The third, delivered on the 20th of December, proposes that the senate should praise and thank D. Brutus and Octavianus for having opposed the consul M. Antony. This was done, and Cicero on the same dav addressed the people (the fourth Philippic), explaining to them what had been decreed by the senate. The fifth, delivered on the 1st of January, b.c. 43, proposes to the senate to confer honours upon the opponents of M. Antony, and to declare him a pubhc enemy. The first of these proposals was adopted, but, instead of the second, it was resolved that an attempt should be made to efiect a peaceful reconciliation. Cicero on the same day (the 4th of January) communicated the resolution to the people in his sixth Philippic. In the seventh, delivered about the end of January, Cicero again urges the necessity of declaring war against Antony. The advice was taken ; but as the measures adopted seemed insufficient to Cicero, he dehvered in the beginning of February his eighth Philippic, blammg the measures taken and proposing more effective and definite steps. The ninth contains fresh attacks upon Antony, and proposes honourable distinctions for Ser. Sulpicius, The tenth proposes to the senate to sanction the proceedmgs of M. Brutus in Macedonia and Greece. The eleventh, delivered in March, proposes, though ineffectually, that the punishment of Dolabella, who had put to death C. Trebomus, one of the murderers of Caesar, should be intrusted to C. Cassius, likewise one of the murderera of Csesar. It had been resolved to send a deputation to Antony, of which fi.c. 80-A.i). 14] M. TtJLLitlS ClCERd. n Cicero was to be a member ; but in the twelfth Philippic Cicero opposes the sending of a deputation, and tries to get out of it himself. In the thirteenth speech, delivered on the 20th of March, Cicero defends his warlike policy against M. Lepidus and Munatius Plancus, who still were in favour of peace. Lastly, in the fourteenth Philippic, delivered on the 22nd of April, Cicero proposes a great public thanksgiving for the victory over Antony at Fortim Gallorum, and honorary distinctions for the victorious generals.* B. RHETORICAL WORKS. 61. Cicero's own experience and success as an orator quali- fied him, above all others, to expound the nature and prin- ciples of oratoiy. He did not indeed neglect the study of Greek rhetoricians, and in early youth he even compiled a manual of the art from Greek works; but in his la|ier years he composed independent treatises on rhetoric, not io much with the object of expounding new views, as of putting before the world his own opinions as to what was required of an orator, and of defending the style of his own oratoiy against the censure of opponents. By this means he illustrated and popularised in an attractive form the chief principles of rhetoric, without encumbering them with the subtle techni- calities of his Greek predecessors. The following is a list of his extant rhetorical works in the order of time in which they were composed : — 1. Rhetorica, commonly called De Invmtione, because the only two books which Cicero wrote treat merely on the matter or subjects of oratory; he seems himself to have been dis- satisfied with the work, and to have stopped before he had finished it. The performance is, in fact, an unripe produc- tion of his youth compiled from various sources, and where he tries to correct or improve them, he generally anakes things woree. ^ . 2. Be Oratorey in three books, was written in B.C. 55, in the form of dialogues among the most illustrious orators of former days, supposed to have taken place in B.c. 9L The * There are many editions of the collected speeches of Cicero; tha best published in this country, with an excellent commentary, is that by G, Long, in 4 vols. : London, 1862. !l 7^ SlSTO^r OF LATIN tftfiRATURE. [pERIOf) IV/ first book discusses the education of an orator; the second the treatment of the various subjects; and the thii-d the form and delivery of speeches. This treatise is one of Cicero's best and most perfect. The form of dialogues imparts to it an ea^e, livelmess, and variety which a continuous exposi- tion of rules and principles never could have. It is clear, however, that the different speakers only express Cicero's own views.* 3 Brutus or Be Claris Orafonbus, written in B.C. 46, ia a valuable histoiy of Roman oratory; it is rich in historical matenaJs and delineations of historical characters, at the same time showing the course of training through which Cicero himself had parsed. It is likewise composed in the form of a dialogue. 4 Orat(^ ad M. Brutum, describes what Cicero considered tne beau ideal of an orator ; but the work is remarkable less lor its completeness than for the value of many discussions and observations. Its composition also belongs to the year T> ^' Aa'"''^^^/^^ Oratories, or Be Partitione Oratoria, written B.C 4b or 45, IS a brief summary of the whole domain of oratory in the form of questions and answers; it is, in fact, a sort of dry catechism, of which the questions are put by Cicero s son, Marcus. ^ ^ 6. To^zca, written, in B.C. 44, on board ship, while Cicero was sailing towards Greece. It is an explanation of the lopica of Anstotle, i.e., the invention of arguments, written at the request of C. Trebatius, who had often told Cicero that he did not understand the Topica of Aristotle. Boethius wrote a commentary on Cicero's Topica, of which six books aie stili extant. iJ' P^PP^'f^ aenere Oralorum, is properly a preface or introduction to a translation of the speeches of Demosthenes f^»lf • ^?^ ^^? ^S^^^* Ctesiphon. The translation iteelf IS lost The introduction explaining the object of Ciceros undertaking also discusses the Attic and Asiatic style of oratory. It was written in b.c. 44. ».C. 8t>-A.D. 14.] M. TtJLLIUS CICERO. 73 C. PHILOSOPHICAL WORKS. 62. Cicero himself in his work Be Bivinatione enumerates his philosophical treatises. The following is a list of those still extant in the chronological order of their publica- tion: — 1. Be Be Publica, was commenced in B.C. 54, and published three years later, just before his departure, for Cilicia. The whole work consisted of six books, of which scarcely one- third has been preserved, and even that in a very mutilated form. It was composed in the form of dialogues supposed to have taken place in B.c. 129, between the younger Africanus, Lselius, and others. In composing this work, Cicero made use of Plato, Aristotle, Poly bins, Theophrastus, and others, but also introduced his own political experiences. A portion of the sixth book, the Somnium ScipioniSy had been preserved by Macrobius, but the rest was not discovered and published till 1822 by Angelo Mai, from a Vatican palimpsest."'^ 2. Be LegibuSy in six books, was probably commenced in B.C. 52, immediately after the publication of Be Be Bublica, to which it forms a natural sequel. It was, however, not completed at once, but was resumed in b.c. 46, nor was it finished even then. Cicero himself does not appear to have published the work, because he does not mention it anywhere, and also because the fii-st book contains no introduction, which the author would certainly have added, if he himself had published it. Of the original six books, we have only the first thi-ee, and some fragments of the rest; but even the first three are not without gaps. The first book, which is written with great care, but is nevertheless somewhat super- ficial and wanting in clearness, treats of natural law; the second treats of the making of laws and of the jus sacrum, and successfully imitates the language of the ancient laws. The third treats de magistratibus ; the fourth was to have dealt with the rights of magistrates; the fifth perhaps de jure publico ; and the sixth de jure civili. The work, like his other philosophical treatises, is composed in the form * The best editions of what remains of this work are those of C. F. Hemrich: Bonn, 1823; and of F. Osann: Gdttingen, 1847. n flISTORY OP tATIlT LITERATURE. [pERIOD IV. of dialogues, and seems to have been based on Plato and Chrysippus.* 3. Paradoxa was composed in April, B.C. 46, before the news of Cato's death had reached Kome. This little treatise is a rhetorical explanation of six favourite paradoxes of the Stoics, interspersed with examples from contemporary history and covert attacks upon Crassus, Hortensius, and LucuUus, and vehement declamation against Clodius. 4. ConsohtiOy or De Luctu Minuendo, was composed in B.C. 45, soon after the death of his beloved daughter, Tullia, as a consolation to himself. He is said to have closely fol- lowed in its composition the work of the Academician Grantor, entitled ttc/jJ ney^ovt. A few fragments are all that we possess of it. 5. Hortensius, or De Philosophiay was a dialogue in praise of philosophy, which Hortensius was represented as disparaging in comparison with eloquence. The work was evidently written with the intention of recommending philosophical studies to the Eomans. Only a few fragments of this work, which is inordinately praised by St. Augustin, are now extant. 6. De Finibus Bonorum et Malorumy in five books, was com- posed during the first half of the year b.c. 45, and dedicated to Brutus. It is preserved entire, and the care with which it has been composed entitles it to be regarded as the best of Cicero's philosophical works. It contains a comparison of the different Greek schools in regard to their views as to the greatest good and the greatest evil. It thus treats of the principal points of practical philosophy, as the Academica which he wrote afterwards treats of theoretical philosophy. The whole work is divided into three dialogues, in which Cicero himself takes the principal part. The other inter- locutors are men recently deceased. In the first dialogue, forming the first and second books, L. Manlius Torquatus expounds the views of the Epicureans, which Cicero in the second endeavours to confute. In the second dialogue, which occupies the third and fourth books, M. Porcius Cato explains the views of the Stoics, to which Cicero, in the ♦ The best editions are those of Goerenz; Leipzig, 1803; and of Feldhugel: Zeiz, 1852, in 2 vols. t.C. 80-A.D. 14.] M. TtJLLIUS CICERO. 75 fourth book, replies, showing that it differs in no essential point from the doctrine of Antiochus of Ascalon. In the third dialogue, M. Pupius Piso explains the theories of the Academics and Peripatetics. In composing this treatise, Cicero does not seem to have consulted the works of Aris- totle and Epicurus themselves, but only those of their more recent followers.* 7. Academica. — The right understanding of this work requires some knowledge of the circumstances imder which it was composed in B.C. 45. Cicero at first wrote it in two books, entitled Catulus and Lwcullus, between whom, together with Cicero and Hortensius, the dialogue was carried on. Atticus, who knew of this an-angement, wrote to Cicero that Varro felt hurt that none of Cicero's works had ever been dedicated to him. Upon this Cicero remodelled the whole, and divided it into four books, which he dedicated to Varro. In this second edition the author introduced Varro expound- ing the views of Antiochus of Ascalon, a follower of the Old Academy, while he himself tried to prove the superiority of the New Academy as represented by Pliilo. The second book of the first edition (the LucuUus), of which Atticus had obtained a copy before Cicero had made up his mind to remodel it, is still extant; of the second edition, called Academica Pos- teriora, we possess the first part of the first book and some fmgments. The Lucullas contains the theories of Antiochus and Philo, while the Catulus probably gave those, of Carneades, together with a general statement of the differences between the Old and the New Academy. The beginning of the second edition gives a general survey of the history of philosophy from Socrates to Arcesilas, the predecessor of Carneades and Philo. Cicero himself preferred the system of the Academics, and his Academica are to us the chief source of information about that school of philosophy.! 8. Tuscularuje Bisputationes, in five books, were composed during the years B.C. 45 and 44, and derive their name from the fact that the discussions are represented as having taken 6> * The best editions of De Finlhus are those of Goerenz: Leipzig, 1813; and of Madvig: Copenhagen, 1839. f The best editions are those of Goerenz, 1810; and Orelli, Zurich, 1827. 1 .1 I'lv! w pi 1 ''-i . 'i 76 HISTORY OP LATIN LITERATURE. [PERIOD IV. place in Cicero's villa, near Tiisciilum, where they were also written down. Cicero himself gives iis an axjcount of the contents of the five books; the first treats de contemnenda morte; the second de tolerando dolore; the third de (Bgritvdine /ewten^a; the fourth de reliquis animi perturhationibus ; and the fifth tries to show that virtue itself suffices to insure happiness.* ■ 9. TimcBus, a free translation of Plato's dialogue of the same name; it was made after the completion of the Aca- demica. Only one considerable fragment, which is printed in the fourth volume of Orelli's edition of Cicero's works, IS extant, and shows how careless the translator was in ren- dering the thoughts of the original. • ^^' '^aI ^^^'^'^^ Deorum, in three books, was commenced m B.C. 45, and completed in the following year. The work IS dedicated to M. Brutus, and the dialogue is supposed to hai^e^^ken place during the Feri^ Latinse, about the year ?;%'"•,. ^' "^elleius represents the views of the Epicureans, Q. Lucdius Balbus those of the Stoics, and C. Aurelius Cotta those of the Academics. We have here the speculations of the principal philosophical schools on the existence and attributes of the gods in beautiful Latin. But, unfortunately, Cicero, in exhibiting the views of the various schools, did not consult the works of the founders themselves, but only those of their late followers, a circumstance which diminishes the value of the work.t 11. Cato Major, or De Seoiectute, addressed to Atticus, was written in B.C. 44. It is meant to be a dialogue, supposed to have taken place in b.c. 150, but is in reality rather a lecture m praise of old age. The materials Cicero derived from Greek authors, but the delineation of Cato's character IS original and made with great care. J ^!\^^^^1?''^^'^^' ^ ^^^ ^^^^^' ^s properly the comple- ment to De Natura Deorum, treating of the revelations made Kl^l^;%:f^^':' ^^^ *^^^^ ^^ ^- ^^^^-^ J--> ^^^a; and K. thL^'ellilf ^riin^^^^^^ ^.^*-' '^ *^-* ^y G- F- Schumann, J "so^^XhrL^^lK^^???" ""^^^'f ^**^« ^°«k' *h« best are those of J. bommerbrodt, fifth edition: Berlin; and of G. Long, London. B.C. 80-A.D. 14] M. TULLIUS CICERO. 77 by the gods and their apprehension by man. It was pub- lished, in B.C. 44, after the murder of Caesar. • It is written in the form of a dialogue, carried on between Cicero and his brother, Quintus, at the villa near Tusculum. The first book contains the doctrines of the Stoics regarding divina- tion, and the second those of the Academics. In dealing with this subject, Cicero, who was himself free from super- stition, treats the popular superstitions and the jwlitical institutions connected with them with the utmost delicacy and caution.* ^ - }> 13. De Faio, in a single book, forms the conclusion ot Cicero's works on theological subjects, and was likewise written in B.C. 44. In it Cicero combats the views of the Stoics about fate or predestination. The book has come down to us in a very mutilated form. • The style is some- what careless, and it is not impossible that Cicero may not have finally revised it for publication. • • • 14. Loilius or Be ^mici^ia,' dedicated to Atticus, was written in B.C. 44, after the Cato Major. The dialogue is carried on between the younger Lselius and his two sons-in- law, C. Fannius and Q. Mucins Scsevola, soon after the death (b.c. 129) of the younger Africanus, the friend of Lselius. Many of the ideas are taken from Greek authors, but the style is animated, and the sentiments expressed are sound and practical.! 15. De Gloria^ in two books, was finished about the end of July, B.C. 44. As we have scarcely any fragments of this work, nothing can be said of its character. 16. i>e Officiis, in three books, is addressed to Cicero's son, Marcus, who was at that time studying at Athens. This work too was written in B.C. 44, and, like all the other pro- ductions of this period, was composed in great haste. . As this work was intended for instruction alone, he did not write it in the form of a dialogue, but directly enunciates the views which he thinks to be the correct ones. The authorities he follows are chiefly the Stoics. His teaching is enlivened by ♦ The best editions are those of J. J. Hottinger: Leipzig, 1793; and L. Giese: Leipzig, 1829. ^' ^ ^ i, ^ t • • iqok t The best editions are those of A. G. Gemhard: Leipzig, lb25j and C. W. Nauck, with a German commentary: Berlin, 1867. Ri Mil M n :.'* 75 HISTORY OP LATIN LITERATURE. [PERIOD IV. the introduction of numerous examples from Roman history. The point of view from which Cicero wrote this work is that of a practical politician, in consequence of which he rises little above the conventional ideas of a Roman.* 17. i>e Virtutibm.—This book, if it ever existed as an independent work, must have been a kind of supplement to the De Officiis, and must have been composed shortly before or after it. The date of the following works on philosophical subjects cannot be detei-mined, and only fragments of them have come down to us. 18. A translation of Xenophon's CEconomicics, in three books, which Cicero seems to have made when a youn^^ man of about twenty. ^ 19. A translation of Plato's Protagoras, which likewise seems to have been a youthful production. 20. De Auguriis.—OHhis work the gi-ammarian, Charisius quotes three words. This is all we know about it, but it may be conjectured that Cicero wrote it after B.C. 51 when he was elected augur. ' D. WORKS ON JURISPRUDENCE AND HISTORY. 63. We know that Cicero devoted much attention to the study of the law, but as a means to an end rather than as a distmct profession, whence his knowledge, though extensive cannot be compared to that of men like Aquilius Gallus or Ser. Sulpicius Rufus. He seems to have lacked the power of givmg sharp and accurate definitions so indispensable to a lawyer. Nevertheless, however, he tried his hand in this department also, and wrote a work De Jure Civili in Artem Eedigendo, which may originally have been intended to form part of De Legibus, but was published separately, and is now lost. Cicero also attempted to write history, and seems to have thought that, if he persevered, he might become an eminent his- torian. He possessed, indeed, an immense amount of histori- cal knowledge, but his oratorical powers, and his inabiUty to * The bestmodem editions are those of C. Beier: Leipzig, 1820 Sil ik'? ^- 7^Ai^- ^' ^^"^rd: Leipzig, 1811; and 0. Heine: lierlm, looy, third edition. E.C. 80-A.D. 14.] CICERO's CORRESPONDENCE. 79 look at things objectively, would have proved a gi*eat hin- drance. It is possible, however, that, if he had lived longer, he might have become a successful historian. As it is he wrote historical works only on his own consulship. One was a Comm&iitarius Consulatus JSuiy which was written in B.C. 60, in Greek; we know that about the same time he was engaged upon a Latin work on the same subject. Another historical work, entitled Anecdota was begun in B.C. 59, but not published till after his death. It seems to have been an apology for or defence of the policy he had pursued through life. Lastly, there is mention of a work called Miranda.* E. CICERO's CORRESPONDENCE.; 64. During the most important period of his life, Cicero kept up an active correspondence with Atticus and a large circle of literary and political friends; including ninety letters which were addressed to Cicero, we still possess 864, the earliest belonging to the year B.C. 68, and the latest to the last year of his life. Unfortunately, there is among them not one written during his consulship. These letters are to us an inexhaustible mine of information about the history of the time, and as such, perhaps, more valuable than all his speeches. Many of them were written to his most intimate friends, and in them he opened his heart most un- reservedly, probably never dreaming that they would be published. Cicero himself never collected them, and still less did he intend to make them public, although some of his friends seem to have suggested the desirability of it. But after his deat^h, when his authority was ever increasing in the schools of the rhetoricians, his letters were eagerly col- lected, and it appears that, in the year b.c. 24, Cornelius Nepos already knew of the 16 volurnina (books) of letters to Atticus. There existed besides this other large collec- tions, of which only one, commonly called Ad FamUiares, has come down to our time. The collection of letters Ad Familiares consists of sixteen books, and extends over the period from b.c. 63 until the * The few fragments of these works are collected by Orelli in the last volume of his edition of Cicero. 80 HISTORY OP LATIN LITERATURE. [PERIOD IV. year of Cicero's death. They are arranged according to the persons to whom they are addressed, with the exception of book 13; but even where a series of letters addressed to the same person is given they are not arranged in chi'ono- logical order. This collection seems to have been made by Cicero's freedman, Tii'o, immediately after his death, and before other more voluminous collections which are now lost were made.* The collection of letters Ad Atticum, in sixteen books, extends over the period from B.C. 68 till a few months before Cicero's death. In them Cicero speaks as frankly and openly as if he were talking to himself, and as we do not possess the letters of Atticus to which Cicero refers, it is not always easy to understand what is alluded to. The order in wltich the letters are printed is not altogether chronologically correct. Atticus had no doubt sanctioned their publication, thouf^h they did not appear till after his death. '^ There is a third collection of letters. Ad Quintum Fratrem, m three books, extending over six years, from B.C. 60 to B.C. 54. A fourth collection, lastly, consists of a cm-respondence between Cicero and M. Brutus, in two books. The first con- tains eighteen lettei-s; eleven of them were written by Cicero to Brutus, six by. Brutus to Cicero, and one by Brutus to Atticus. The second book, first discovered and published in Germany, by Cratander, contains eight letters, five from Cicero to Brutus, and three from Bnitus to Cicero. All of them were written after the murder of C^sar. Their genuine- ness has been doubted by some scholars, but without suffi- cient reasons. F. POETICAL WORKS OF CICERO. 65. Cicero seems to have acquired a taste for poetry when he studied under the poet Archias. But his attempts in this direction were little more than youthful exercises, which beyond their versification, in which Cicero must have had * This collection of letters has often been published; the commen- tary of P. Manutius, repubhshed by C. G. Richter: Leipzig, in two vols 13 still very useful Manutius also published a commentary on the letters to Atticus: Venice, 1567. B.C. 80-A.D. 14.] CICERO S POETICAL WORKS. 81 great facility, were of little value, and certainly did not increase his reputation. The following poetical productions are mentioned, but we possess only fragments of them: (1) A translation of about forty-four lines of Homer in hexameters; (2) a translation of Aratus Phcenomena and Biosemeia ; (3) AlcyoneSj a poem, of which scarcely two lines remain, quoted by Nonius; (4) a poem, called Linion, four lines of which, in hexameter, are quoted by Suetonius; (5) Marius, an epic poem in hexameters, which was written in B.C. 82. A spirited fragment of it is quoted in the Be Divinatione, con- sisting of thirteen hexameter lines; (6) I)e meo Consulatu, in three books, composed in B.C. 60, in hexameter lines. A rather long fragment of it is quoted in the De Divinatione; (7) JDe 7neis Temporihus, in three books, written about B.C. 55, which contained an account of his exile, his sufierings, and his recall. Four lines of it are all that remain of this poem; (8) in B.C. 43 Cicero wrote a eulogistic poem on Julius Ciesar {Foema ad Ccesarem). The extant fragments of these and other works are collected in the last volume of Orelli'a edition of Cicero. 66. In connection with Cicero we may here mention his younger brother, Quintus, and his freedman, Tiro, both of whom were men of some literary talent. 1. Q. Tullius Cicero, was born in B.C. 102, served as legate under Pompey in Sardinia, under Caesar in Gaul and Britain, and under his brother in Cilicia. He was killed during the proscription, in B.C. 43. He took great interest in history and poetry, and seems to have had the same facility in com- position as his brother. He wrote an historical work, called Annales, and a number of tragedies which, however, may have been mere translations from the Greek. 2. M. Tullius Tiro, Cicero's freedman and friend, survived his patron for a long time, and showed his attachment to him by writing his biography in at least four books, and by publishing his letters and witty sayings (joci). But he also wrote independent works of an encyclopaedic and gram- matical character, and even seems to have composed poetiy ; but he gained particular reputation by his invention of a kind of stenography, which was celebrated under the name of I^^otce Tironiance. 82 HISTORY OP LATIN LITERATURE. [PERIOD IV. 67. Simultaneously with the men already mentioned who, besides their compositions in prose, also wrote poetry, there appeared three men, the first of whom introduced into litera- ture a new species of poetry, viz. — 1. Decimus Laberius, a Roman eques, bom in b.c. 105, at Rome. He made the mimes a regular branch of comic literature, and in them combined all the older forms of comedy— the Greek palliatse, the Roman togatse, and the licentiousness of the atellanae. We still know the titles, and possess fragments of a great many of his mimes, from which we see that their subjects were taken from common life, and that the language was frequently that of the lowest populace, although Laberius was himself well acquainted with Greek culture and refinement. Csesar demanded of him that he should appear on the stage as an actor in one of his own mimes. As by complying with this demand he forfeited his rights not only of an eques, but even of a Roman citizen, he bitterly complains of it in the interesting prolocrue preserved by Macrobius. Laberius died at Puteoli, in the tenth month after the murder of Caesar, i.e., towards the end of B.C. 43. He seems to have been unsparing in his attacks upon men and manners, for which Csesar disliked him.* ^ 2. M. Furius Bibaculus, of Cremona, bom in b.c. 103, wrote invective jwems in iambics, especially against those who were in favour of a monarchical government. It may be that the Aljnnus, whom Horace ridicules for his high-flown and bom- bastic style, is no other than Bibaculus. He is further mentioned as the author of Lucuhrationes, and was perhaps the author of an epic poem on the Gallic war.f 3. P. Syrus, a freedman of Syrian origin, distinjruished himself as a writer of mimes, and, in B.C. 45, gained a victory by his mimes over all his competitors, even over Laberius. On one occasion Cicero witnessed one of his per- formances. His mimes were celebrated for their richness in moral maxims (sententice). His mimes themselves are lost, but a collection of sententice made from them is still extant! 7- J"/ ^« ^^g^ients of Laberius are collected in 0. Ribbeck's Comic. •Lat. Reliquice, p. 237, foil. 335 ^U ^""^^^^^ ^^ collected in Weicherfs Poet. lat. Reli^i., p. B.C. 80-A.D. 14.] C. JULIUS CiESAR. 83 This collection, made for educational purposes, afte^-wai-ds became a very popular school-book; it consists of about 800 sententice, but it is very doubtful whether they are all genuine productions of Syrus.* B. The Period from Cicero*s Consulship to His Death. (From b.c 63 to b.c 43.) 68. The most prominent figure during this period is, next to Cicero, C. Julius Caesar. But, brief as it is, this period brings before us two distinct generations of writers, the earlier one embracing, besides Caesar, such men as Cor- nelius Nepos, Hirtius, Oppius, Lucretius, and others; while the later generation consists of those whose lives fell upon the stormy times of the civil war between Ctesafr and Pompey. We shall first consider the state of literature during the earlier generation. 1. C. Julius CaBSar, bom on the 12th of July, B.C. 100, was the son of C. Caesar and the excellent Aurelia. He lost his father at the age of 16, and being connected with Marius, the great opponent of Sulla, his life was in danger. He made his first campaign in B.C. 80, and distinguished himself in the taking of Mitylene. He began his career as an orator and politician by accusations against members of the nobility for extortion in the provinces. In B.C. 75 he proceeded to Rhodes to make himself more perfect as an orator by study- ing under ApoUonius Molo. In B.C. 67 he obtained the office of quaestor in Further Spain, two years later the sedileship, and, in B.C. 63, he became pontifex maximus. He was elected consul, b.c. 59, for having the year before formed the first triumvirate with Pompey and Crassus, and exerted all his powers to put himself at the head of the popular party. During the period from b.c. 58 to b.c. 50 he had as pro-consul the administration of Gaul, during which he subdued the whole of that country, and secured to himself the attachment of his army, for he knew only too well what machinations were going on at Rome. With this ai-my he raised himself to the supreme power in the republic, and * The fragments of Syrus, together with the Sententice, are col- lected in 0. Ribbeck's Com. Lat. Reliquice, p. 258, foil., whfer^ he ig VJalled P, P\iblilius Lochius Syrus. 84 HISTORY OP LATIN LITERATURE. [PERIOD IV. with the title of dictator became the sovereign of the state; but a formidable conspiracy was formed against him, and he was killed in the senate house on the 15th of March, b.c. 44. 69. Julius Caesar was one of the greatest men that history- knows of. He was not more distinguished as a general than he was as an orator and statesman. Nature had destined him to be the ruler of a great state by the clearness of his intellect, the energy of his will, and the perseverance with which he pursued the object he had set before himself. As an orator he was inferior only to Cicero, yet he valued that power only so far as it was to him a means of accomplishing certain political objects. Amid all his vast undertakings he found time even to think and write on gi-ammatical subjects and on astronomy. The poetical productions ascribed to him were probably not of much value, and belonged chiefly to his earlier years. Of his speeches, some of which were published, only frag- ments remain.* The same is the case of his grammatical work, De Analogia, in two books, which he wrote during his pro-consulship of Gaul and dedicated to Cicero. He is said to have composed it while crossing the Alps from Cis- alpine to Transalpine Gaul.f As to his astronomical work, De Astris, which is often refeiTed to, it was probably written in connection with his reform of the calendar, perhaps not by himself, but by some one whom he had commissioned to compose it, and who afterwards published it under Caesar's name. After the death of Cato at Utica, Cicero published an eulogy on him, which irritated Caesar so much that he replied to it in a work of two books entitled Anticato or Anticatones, in which he flattered Cicero, but treated Cato, who was looked upon by his partisans as a martyr for his republican opinions, as a rash and ridiculous person. Caesar had no doubt a very active correspondence with the leading men of his time, and many of his lettera were collected after his death and published, but they are now lost. | * For the remains of his oratory, see Meyer's Orat. Bom. Franm.^ p. 408, foil. t The remains of this work have been collected by Nipperdey in his edition of Caesar, p. 753, foil. X Caesar's epistolary remains have been collected by Nipperdey, Lc. p. 7G6, foil. t.t. fiO-A.n. 14] tf. JULIUS C^SAR. 89 70. The only works of Csesar which have come do\vn to ns in a state of completeness are — l.Co7?iwienmariaa was uroilius Pupillus of Beneventum, well known from Horace's allusion to him. He also lived to an advanced agfrnTIn complained of the wrongs done to teachers by the negli-ence and ambition of parents. He seems to have been as severe with his pupils as Valerius Cato was gentle. chieflv bv'>?*'^t/°^*^' law was promoted during this period ctuelly by A. Ofihus, Trebahus, A . CasceUius, and othere- and It may be mentioned here that C»sar had fonned th^'pkn of collecting, with the assistance of A. Ofilius, all the ex st^ o"uf irCZ^-"'- ^"* ^^ -- P--^ frJ'Jrr^i^^ Among the orators of this time the following deserve to be mentioned, although we have nothing to attestTheir Mmrrnus, C. Mamhus, and P. SesHus. his life si''tW .^"'"«-J''« °»ly account we have of BIS me states that he was bom in b.c. 95, that bv a love K soLr^r"? ^"*° " ^*^*^ °f '"^"«^«' *hat he com! l^TiuTt '''• °^ ^"^ S""^*' P^eo' during lucid intervals "e ?f Jr M^'h' v"'t^ ^''^ f"^^*"^"^ year of his Rome b„t % /; ?^ '"■"''l^ '*^*"' ^''^t ^'> ^"^^ hom at and whall- ??'^»°^.n^^here he received his education, phUoIonW nfT"? ^'"^ "',* *^ P''°''°""« afterwards became the LZe from „ \^ ^°"^- ^! '*^*^""^''* *^** he became insane trom a love potion, and that he committed suicide sounds rather apocryphal, and may be a mere iTveiZn of B.C. 80-A.D. 14.] T. LtrCRETlUS CARUS. 89 those who thought an Epicurean and an atheist could not end otherwise. It is further said that Cicero corrected his poem; but, if this were true, Cicero would surely have alluded to it somewhere ; he mentions Lucretius only very rarely, and not in very complimentary terms, allowing him to be a man of talent, but stating that he is deficient in artistic culture. Lucretius' only work is a didactic poem, in six books, en- titled Be Rerum Natura; it has come down to us entire, with the exception of a few gaps, and is addressed to C. Memmius Gemellus. It gives the views of Epicurus on nature, psycho- logy, and ethics, more con-ectly perhaps than any other writer. The object of the poem is to convince his readers of the truth of the Epicurean doctrines, and thereby to free them from the absurd fear of the gods and of death. He himself is so thoroughly convinced of the truth of the Epicurean system, that he looks with profound pity upon those who do not acknowledge it, and is ready to endure obliquy and poverty for the honour of expounding the system to his countrymen. The substance of Ms poem is thus taken from Epicurus ; in the treatment of it he followed Empedocles, and in form the annals of Ennius. His style and language, like his thoughts, went back to a bygone age ; the polished style of his contemporaries seems to have appeared to him little suited to the subject he was writing about, hence the many archaic forms of his language. Lucretius probably chose the poetical form as the vehicle of his teaching, because he thought it would thereby find a more ready access to the minds and hearts of his readers. And notwithstanding the dryness of his subject, Lucretius' poetic genius has imparted to his work a freshness and a charm which only a true poet could give to it. In his own time the poem seems to have made no great impression, but on the poets of the next generation it exercised a decided influence \ thus Vergil is said to have boiTowed from him not only words, but almost entire verses ; and Horace shows in many ways an intimate acquaintance with the work of Lucretius. Later on those men who had a liking for archaic forms even preferred him to Yergil. Some imperfections are ^^ HISTORY OP LATIN LITERATURE. [PERIOD IV. explained by the fact that the author did not Hve to ^ve his work a final revision.* ® 76. The period from b.c. 53 to 43 embraces the civil wars between Caesar and Pompey with their foUowers; it was a time of the greatest excitement, not only in social and political life but aJso in literature, which, especially in history and oratory, sided either with one party or the other. The mfluence of Greek culture had reached that point where the Romans began to feel that now they might rival their masters both m poetry and in oi-atory. In poetry, however, instead ot fo lowing the classical models, they took for their guides, m substance as well a^ in form, the Alexandrians, whose lax morals were more in accordance with those of the Romans at tins time, whence almost every poet wrote erotic poems. Ihe freedom which orators were still enjoying found itself more and more reduced and restrained as the republic died away to make room for monarchy. 77. C. Sallustius Crispus, bom at Amiternum in b.c. 87, was tribune of the plebs in b.c. 52, but two years later he was ejected from the senate, probably through factious intngues. Caesar, however, to whose party Sallust belonged, contrived to restore him by causing him to be elected qu^stor. Afterwards he obtained the prsetorship, and through Cesar's influence the pro^onsulship of Africa, where he appears to have amassed great wealth. His extortions in his provmce were enormous, but when he wa^ accused C^sar procured his acquittal. Sallust then bought a villa near Ilbur, and laid out splendid gardens on the Quirinal (Jtorti kvUustmm), After the murder of C^sar, Sallust Hved in retirement, devoting himself entirely to literary pursuits, especially to history, and died in b.c. 35. All ancient writer^ who speak of Sallust are unanimous in condemning him for his dissolute conduct in early life, and draw attention to the contract between his teaching in his writings and his practice, ballust's wntmgs are — o 1. CatUina, or Bellum CatiUnarium, probably the first work he ever wrote. It appears to have been published after BerlS'^^* nn^^'? l^f"""^ of Lucretius are those of C. Lachmann: ^rim, 1850; and of A. J. H. Munro, 2ud edition: Cambridge 1866 With notes and an Enghsh transIatioiL vamoriage, I8t,b, 6.0. 60-A.D. 14.] e. SALLUTltS CRISttJS. 01 the death of Caesar, and is based upon the author's own recol- lections, on Cicero's work, De Consulatu JSuo, and on the Acta Senatus; but other sources seem to have been neglected, whence many corrections and additions to the history of Catiline must still be made from other authorities. Sallust evidently tries to be impartial, but cannot conceal his sym- pathy with Caesar, and towards Cicero he is scarcely fair. The treatment of his subject is psychological and rhetorical, rather than historical, and the style rugged and sententious. 2. JugurtJia, or Bellum Jugurthinum. Sallust took up 'his subject probably because he was well acquainted with the localities of the war, but more especially because it afibrded him an opportunity of exhibiting the misconduct of the optimates, who, after the death of the Gracchi, had reached the climax of their insolence and arrogance. This tendency is manifest throughout the work, especially in the speeches of Memmius and Marius, and in the manner in which Marius, the. champion of the democratic party, is spoken of. But, notwithstanding this, Sallust is neither blind to the faults of his favourite, nor does he underrate the character of Sulla. The Jugurtlm, is altogether an admirable and impartial monogram, which he seems to have composed with great care, for the history is as complete as it can be, and the style is much more smooth and elegant than in the Catiline ; and although the subject is only the mono- tonous history of wars, yet he has succeeded in imparting to it a variety and animation which make the Jugurtlui one of the most charming productions of Latin literature. 3. Historice. They commenced with the year B.C. 78, in which Sulla died, and were continued down to the year b.c. 67, though it was probably intended to carry the history down to the Catilinarian conspiracy. This work, which seems to have consisted of at least five books, was thus a kind of continuation of the history of Sisenna.* We now possess only fragments of it, the most important among which are four speeches of Lepidus, L. Philippus, C. Cotta, and * Good editions of Sallust, which also contain the fragments of the HistoricBf are those of Gerlach: Baale, 1823-1831, in 3 vols.; and of C. Kritz: Leipzig, 1828-1853, in 3 vols. A good school edition is that of T. Keightley: London, 1848. 92 HISTORY OP LATIN LITERATURE. [PERIOD If. Licinius Macer, and two letters, one of Pompej and the other of Mithradates. There are two letters addressed to Csesar, De Ordinanda Eepublica, which were formerly attributed to Sallust, and the style of which bears indeed some resemblance to that of Sallust, but their contents are of such a nature that it is impossible to consider them as works of Sallust. The same is the case with the two declamationes of Sallust against Cicero, and of Cicero against Sallust ; for though they contain much valuable infonnation, still it is inconceivable that two men, already advanced in years, men who had never been per- sonally connected with each other, should thus publicly assail each other. They are probably rhetorical exercises of some one who thought the enmity between Cicero and Sallust was a fair subject for rhetorical display. Sallust, as an historian, seems to have taken Thucydides for his model; and, like him, he undertook to write about times through which he himself had passed, or about which he could consult eye-witnesses. In treating of such times the temptation was of course great to give way to personal views and feelings; but it must be acknowledged that Sallust on the whole has kept himself free from undue partiality. The murder of Caesar may have somewhat softened down his democratic passion, and convinced him of the weaknesses of his time and of the folly of trying to swim against the cur- rent. Sallust is really the first artistic historian among the Romans. He bestowed great care upon his compositions, and imitated the best Greek models ; he did not adopt the style most popular in his own time, but formed one peculiar to him- self, following the manner of the elder Cato rather than that of his contemporaries. Hence the archaic colouring which characterises his works. 78. Q. ^lius Tubero tried at first the career of an orator, and, partly from personal motives and partly to please C^sar, he came forward as an accuser of Ligarius in a speech (e.a 46) which Quintilian still read; but being opposed by Cicero, he had little chance of success. He gained more fame by his legal and historical writings. Among the former his work, De Officio Judicis, in at least nine books, is often referred to! As to his historical work, Uistorice, consisting of at least B.C. 80-A.D. 14.] p. TERENTIUS VARRO. &3 fourteen books, we know that it began with the earliest times and ended with the civil war between Caesar and Pompey. His style is said to have been archaic, and was, therefore, not very popular.* „ ^ ji- In the matter of style Tubero was surpassed by P. Aljenus Varus, of Cremona, who was a shoemaker's son, but went to Home, and by his talent and industry rose even to the consulship in B.C. 39. His work called Digesta, m f oj-^y books, and consisting of a collection of Responsa, was highly valued by the jurists of later times. C. Matius, born about B.C. 84, was a faithful friend of Caesar, and a man of a gentle disposition, who, without involving himself in the political feuds of the day. exerted himself as a mediator between the contendino' parties. He transferred his afiection for Caesar to Octavi^nus, and died about B.C. 4. He wote a gastrono- raical work in three books, entitled Cocus, Cetanus, and Salgamarius, which shows that he attached much importance to the pleasures of the table. Other contemporaries and followers of Caesar, who are known as orators, or as authors of letters still extant among those of Cicero, are C. SeHbonius Curio, Q. Cornijicius, M. Antony, L. Balbus, and several othei-s, among whom we even hear of a lady orator, Hortensia, a daughter of Q. Hortensius, whose speech, delivered in B.C. 43, was read as late as the time of Quintilian. , . The most eminent scholars and teachers of this time, some of whom also distinguished themselves as writers, were the Greek Ateius PrcEtextatus, who assumed the title of Philologus ; Lenoius, a freedman of Pompey ; Epidius, and Sextus Clodius, 79. The poets of this time seem to have kept aloof from the strife of the political parties, at least we have no traces of any partisanship in any of their remains. The following are those best known : — 1. P. Terentius Varro, surnamed Atacinus, from a place called Atax in southern Gaul, was born in B.C. 82, and died probably about B.C. 36. He is said to have studied Greek literature when he was already thirty-five years old. He was the author of an epic poem, De Bello Sequanico, of * The few fragments of his history have been collected by Krause, p. 325, foil., and by Hoth, Hist, Vet. Rom. Beliiuke, p. 437, foil. 04: HISTORY OP LATIN LITERATURE. [PERIOD IV. which a second book is mentioned. Another work was a tree tmnslation of the Argo7iautica of Apollonius Rhodius, in lour books, in which he does not seem to hav^ displayed much command of language. Besides these books he com- posed ^aturce which, according to Horace, were not very successful. He further wrote a work entitled Chorogra p/iia, which contained, in verse, a description of the world so tar as it was then known, and appears to have been based upon a Greek work by Alexander of Ephesus, entitled Li/c/mos; also elegies of an erotic character are mentioned but not one of his works has come down to us * ' 2. Tanusius, probably a native of Padua, whose versified Annales Catullus speaks of with the greatest contempt. 3. P. Syrus (see p. 82). ^ 80. Among the opponents of Csesar there were few men ot literary eminence. The most distinguished among them, perhaps, was i¥. Junius Brutus, one of Cesar's murderers who gained great reputation for the earnestness of his' speeches, some of which were published. He was the author ot several philosophical works, as De Virtute and De Fallen- ha. His style may still be seen in his letters addressed te Ucero. t Other conspirators against Caesar, such as R Brutus, t. Casstus, Cassncs of Parma, and C. Trebonius, are likewise known froni their correspondence with Cicero. Cassius of ±;arma and Trebonius also wrote poetry; and the former, an J^picurean, is said to have written many tragedies, ele, who seems to have been much delighted with It. There is also mention of two historians, Ti. Ampins Balbus, a zealous partisan of Pompey, and M. Antonius Naso, who wrote a work on Cjesar and the time of the civil war • but no particulars of their nature or value are recorded rp 1 *I'i^ ^^^"^ P^""*^'' ^^ ^^^^d seem, belonged one ^;c.^rt5, author of erotic poems, and C. Helvius Cinna, a tnend of Catullus, who seems to have died between B.C. 44 P * -^!.!,ff-^ r"' ^^"^^ ^f-"" counted by F. Wullner, Commentatio de P. lerentu Varronis VUa et Scriptis: MUnster, 1829; and by A Riese, Varronis Sat. Menippece. » » ^ , . 14.1 ^- VERGltltS MARO. 107 to be complete, for the last book ends with the victory over Tumus, and does not contain the final settlement of -^neas in Latium or his death, which evidently formed part of the plan which the poet had proposed to himself. The hero of the poem is the Trojan ^neas, who, in his flight from Troy, after many wanderings and adventures, lands in Latium, where his descendants founded in Rome a second Ilium. The writers of the Augustan age, from flattery towards Augustus, did their best to inculcate the belief that the Romans were the descendants of the Trojans, as thereby they connected the Julian gens with lulus, the son of ^neas and grandson of Venus, and thus established a kind of divine right in the person of Augustus. Vergil therefore, no doubt, was complying with the wish of the emperor when he under- took the task. The subject had jbeen treated before by Nsevius and Ennius, but never in such a connected and complete form, so that Vergil had to draw upon his own resources; and, in order to make up for the want of creative power, he made most extensive studies on the ancient history and institutions of Italy, without a knowledge of which the jEneid cannot be rightly understood.* Out of these legen- dary materials and a vast deal of antiquarian learning, Vergil, by his mastery over everything connected with the form of poetry, has produced a work which surpasses all epic poems that were produced either before or after him; and has acquired a popularity which even the severe criticisms of modem times have not been able to destroy. Still, however, even from an artistic point of view, the poem has great de- fects; but in speaking of them we must not forget that the poet himself was conscious of them, and wished the work to be burned. The first great defect is the want of originality: Homer's Odyssey, the Cyclic poets, Apollonius Rbodius, Nsevius, and Ennius have all been laid under contribution to make up the jEneid, The second defect is that the poet continually mixes what is purely mythical with the ideas and institutions of a later age, and mingles Greek with Roman ideas. The consequence of this is that the poem lacks life, and truth, and reality. * For this reason alone it is an utter mistake to place the ^neid in the hands of beginners. 108 HISTORY OF Latin literature. [period IV. 96. Smaller Poems. — Vergil's commentator, Servius,f enumerates eight smaller poems which were attributed to him : — a. CuleXy dedicated to Octavius, in 412 hexameter lines, contains the history of a gnat, which stings and thereby rouses a sleeping shepherd and saves his life ; but the gnat is killed by the shepherd, whereupon its ghost appears to the shepherd in a dream, and demands and obtains an honourable burial. The whole of this playful story is overladen with mythological and rhetorical embellishments, in the style of the Alexandrians. The work is probably the first that Yergil ever published; its genuineness is established beyond a doubt. 6. Giris describes, in 540 hexameter lines, the story of the change of the Megarian princess, Scylla, into the bird, Ciris, because she had betrayed her father, Nisus. It is addressed to Messala; but both internal evidence, and the fact that it is not mentioned by any contemporary writer, render it probable that we have here not a work of Vergil, but a clever composition of some one of the Augustan age who had read the j£!neid. d. Moretum^ a pleasing idyll, in 123 hexameter lines, describing how a peasant rises at early dawn, bakes his bread, prepares his porridge, and then proceeds to his work. The subject is one which Vergil might have chosen ; but the author surpasses everything that Vergil has written in fresh- ness and in the sharp delineation of character. It may have been written by a contemporary of Vergil, but possibly by Vergil himself at a later period. The language and versi- fication are masterly. e. Copa^ a little elegy, in form and style entirely Vergilian, but the merry tone of the poem is hardly what we should expect from Vergil ; the poem, however, is one of the best of the Augustan age. f. Catalectttf a collection of fourteen poems, in elegiac and iambic metres, on various subjects. Some of them are ascribed to Vergil on good authority, and the others are not unworthy of him ; in fact, all seem to have been written in the time of Vergil, if not by him. Other works which are ascribed to Vergil, such as Pria- B.C. 80-A.D. 14.] Q. HORATIUS FLACCUS, 109 peia and DirWf cannot possibly be regarded as having pro- ceeded from his pen. No prose work of Vergil is mentioned except his correspon- dence with Augustus, which seems to have been published.* 97. Q. Horatius Tlaccus, born at Venusia on the 8th of December, b.c. 65, was the son of a freedman who possessed a small property at Venusia, where Horace received his first education. But as the school at Venusia did not appear good enough to the father, he took his son to Rome and there had him educated by the best teachers, as if he had been the son of an eques or senator, always watching his son and guarding him against evil influences. Horace had learned Greek in his native place, and, about b.c. 45, he, like many other young Romans, proceeded to Athens to complete his education under the philosophers Theomnestus and Cratippus. In b.c. 44, Brutus, after the murder of Caesar, arrived at Athens, where he won over to his cause all the young Romans who were studying there, and among them Horace, who accom- panied Brutus to the war, and was at once made trihunus militum. In B.C. 42, the republican party being defeated at Philippi, Horace with the rest took to flight, but did not join the Pompeian party. Availing himself of the amnesty, he returned to Rome; but as, through the distribution of lands among the veterans, he was deprived of his patrimony, he sought and obtained the office of a quaestor's clerk. The poor remunemtion for this employment, as he himself says, caused him to come forward as a poet, having already gained some reputation by satires and epodes. Vergil and Varius introduced him to Maecenas, who, about the beginning of B.C. 38, admitted him to the circle of his friends, and was accompanied by him on his journey to Brundisium in b.c. 37. A few years later Maecenas gave him a small estate in the country of the Sabines, north of Tibur. Through the mediation of Maecenas and Asinius Pollio, Horace became acquainted with Augustus, who wished to make him his * There are innumerable editions of the works of Vergil, the best of which are those of G. Ph. E. Wagner, 1830-1832, in 4 vols. • of O Kibbeck: Leipzig, 1859, in 3 vols.; and of J. Connington: London, 1858, 3 vols. A good school edition is that of Th. Ladewis. 4th edition: Berlin, 1865. 110 HISTORY OP LATIN LITERATURE. [pERIOD IV. B.C. 80-A.D. 14.] Q. HORATIUS FLACCUS. Ill private secretary. Horace declined the offer, that he might not lose his personal independence. The emperor appears not to have resented this refusal, but afterwards only complained that Horace never mentioned his name in his poems. In the coui-se of time, however, his connection with Augustus became more intimate, as is abundantly shown in his later productions. His friendship with Maecenas also continued to the end of his life, and even on his deathbed Maecenas is sai(' to have implored Augustus not to forget his friend Horace The poet died sooij after his patron, on the 27th of Novera ber, B.C. 8, so suddenly that he had no time to make a will but only declared, in the presence of witnesses, that h< wished to leave all he possessed to Augustus. He was buriec; on the Esquiline, near the tomb of Maecenas. 98. Horace was short and stout, and his hair and eye-. were dark ; during the last twelve years of his life he wa,i often ill, and at times hypochondriacal. He was never mar- ried, and in one of his satires he himself describes how he usually spent his time. As regards his character we may briefly describe him as a man of the world who knew his own nature well, and earnestly strove to get rid of qualities which he knew to be bad. He never allowed himself to be overcome by a feeling, but always preserved that equal tem- perament which he describes as nil admirari. He loved his in- dependence; hence he was ill at ease in the bustle of the city, where so many things had to be considered ; hence he avoided any official position which might interfere with his freedom, and hence, lastly, he never married. He had always suffi- cient resources within himself; but his kindly nature pre- served him from falling into selfishness and disregard of the feelings of others. The charge of immorality which is often brought against him does not apply to him alone, but to the age in which he lived. He was neither a hero nor a great man ; but he did not claim to be either the one or the other. All he aimed at was to be an interesting and amiable man of the world, such as the world then was, and that object he certainly did attain. In his earlier years he embraced the philosophy of Epicurus, because it seemed to justify his own doings ; but at a later period he inclined more towards the Stoics, who had before afforded him only subjects for laugh- ■\ ■ ter and merriment, but he never gave himself up either to one system or the other, and never went beyond a certain dilettantism. 99. Horace began his literary career as a writer of satires, which, like Lucilius, he uses as the vehicle for setting forth his own personal affairs and his views on a variety of sub- jects. The recent political events, and the pai-t he had taken in them, rendered it necessary to abstain from political dis- cussion in his satires, which accordingly treat exclusively of social and literary questions. He therefore criticises and ridi- cules perversities and absurdities as they occur in ordinary life; but does not touch the actual vices of his time, which would have required a different treatment. He sometimes discusses in one satire different matters, which apparently have no con- nection ; but a closer examination shows that, after all, they were not composed without a definite plan. Most of the satires in the second book were written in the form of dia- logues, and show a higher degree of artistic skill than those of the first. He wrote them in hexameter verse, after the example of Lucilius ; but called both the satires and epistles SevTiiones, because the language is simply that of ordinary conversation, without any attempt at poetical embellishment. ^ The Epodes appear to have been written about the same time as the satires, which they resemble in their somewhat petulant and youthful vehemence and aggressiveness, but with this difference, that the epodes are directed against individual persons, while the satires criticise whole classes and conditions of men. In the epodes Horace adopted the lyric metres, and shows himself as an independent follower of the Greek Archilochus. The later epodes show a more dispassionate and mature mind, and resemble his odes {car- mina) so much that they might be classed among them. When Horace had reached the age of about thirty-five, and had acquii-ed the technical skill in managing the lyric metres which he had already tried in his epodes, he resolved to introduce among his countrymen the poetry of AIcjeus and Sappho in his Carmina or Odes. This resolution he carried out during a period of at least seven years, the result of which were the first three books of odes. Some of them are close imitations of his Greek originals, while the later ones 112 HISTORY OF LATIN LITERATURE. [PERIOD IV, are freer and more independent, and are sometimes com- posed with such masterly skill that the reader is tempted to regard them as originals. In the odes we perceive the same spirit as in the satires, reflection and criticism, and a mind in many ways censuring the avarice, extravagance, and unbridled licentiousness of the times; on the other hand we see the poet himself enjoying with moderation the pleasures of life. The skill displayed in these composi- tions was not acquired without great labour, for Horace, like Vergil, lacked the true poetical genius and enthusiasm, and art had to supply what nature had denied him. To the first three books of odes he afterwards added a fourth, the poems of which are, as far as their form is concerned, the most perfect of all his compositions, and display his lyrical talent in the most brilliant manner. Wherever he describes his own feelings he rises to the sublime. In his lyric poetry we can clearly discern three stages ; that of the exercises after Greek models, imitations of Greek models, and lastly, the independent treatment of subjects of the life that surrounded him, or of his own thoughts and feelings. The form is every- where Greek. His language is of exquisite beauty, harmony, and euphony, and he everywhere hits upon the right word to express that which he wishes to express. The EpistleSf which, like the satires, Horace calls SermoneSy resemble them also in their character and form ; but they are the productions of a riper age : they show greater calmness and earnestness, and gi-eater care is taken of the style and versification. They are indeed addressed to definite persons, but most of them go beyond, and discuss the most difierent relations of life in a style rich, though not overladen, with appropriate rules and maxims. They contain the results of a long experience, stated with calmness and a clear view of human life. Of special interest are those treating of the poet's relation to Maecenas; others explain his own position in literature, recommending the imitation of the perfection of the Greeks in matters of form, as opposed to the capricious fancy of imitating the older Roman poets. The longest and most important of the epistles is that to the brothers Piso, which Quintilian calls Liber de arte poetica, and in which Horace, without pretending to give a complete theory of B.C. 80- A. D. 14.] DOMITIUS MARSUS. 113 poetical composition, discusses a number of literary questions, especially in regard to the drama. His remarks are very appropriate, and show much independence of judgment, though here, as elsewhere, he was building upon the works of Greeks. , The works of Horace soon became extremely popular, and were much read in schools. Scholars and grammarians wrote commentaries upon them, one of which, the commentary of Porphp'io, is still extant.* 100. The literary friends and contemporaries of Horace were C. Valgius Eufus, Aristius Fuscus, Fundanius, Titius, and Servius Sulpicius, all of whom distinguished themselves more or less either as poets, or as writers on rhetorical or grammatical subjects. 1. C. Valgius Bufus, consul in b,c. 12, is spoken of as a man specially qualified to rival Homer in epic poetry. That he was the author of elegies and epigrams is well attested. He further wrote grammatical treatises in the form of letters, and a Latin work on rhetoric, based upon a Greek treatise on the same subject by Apollodorus of Pergamum; but none of his works have reached our time. 2. Aristius Fuscus is said to have composed dramas, either comedies or tragedies; but is known to have written a book on grammar, which was dedicated to Asinius Pollio 3. Fundanius seems to have written comedies, of which, however, not a fragment now remains. 4. Titius is spoken of as a lyric poet of a high order, and as a tragic writer; but it is not known whether he ever published anything. 6. Servius Sulpicius is mentioned as the author of erotic poetry; otherwise nothing is known about him, except that Horace mentions him among his learned friends. 101. Domitius Marsus, a younger contemporary of Hor- ace, who, however, never mentions him, survived Vergil and Tibullus, but died long before the banishment of Ovid, * The discussions on the life of Horace, on the time when the diflFer- ent poems were written, and the editions of his works, are countless. The best modem editions of his collected works are those of Orelli . 3rd edition, 1850, in 2 vols.; and the school editions of Macleane! Dilleuburger, Duntzer, and a host of others. 114 HISTORY OP LATIN LITERATURE. fpERIOD IV. B.C. 80-A.D. 14] SEXTUS PROPERTIUS. 115 ) I which took place in a.d. 9. He was a friend of Maecenas, and the forerunner of Martial, as the author of sharp and cutting epigrams, a collection of which seems to have been entitled Cicuta. He also wrote erotic poems, one of which was called Melcenis; an epic poem entitled Amazonis Fahellce; and a rhetorical work, De Urbanitate.* Other poets of this period were Anser^ author of erotic songs; Codrus, a friend of Vergil's, and apparently the author of elegies; Bavius and MceviuSy opponents of Vergil; Pupius, author of sentimental tragedies; and C. Melissus, a freedman of Msecenas, and a native of Spoletium, who was appointed by Augustus superintendent of the library in the portico of Octavia, and wrote books of Irieptice or Joel. He further introduced a new kind of comedies which he called TraheatCG. ' 102. Albius Tibullus wa/the most distinguislied among the wrifers of elegies during iKe time of Augustuy He was a man of equestrian rank, and born at Rome; but the year of his birth is uncertain, and all we know is that he died, as a young man, soon after Vergil. The assignment of lands to the veterans, after the battle of Philippi, appears to have caused some loss to his father, but still to have left enough to the son to live contentedly and comfortably. He was an intimate friend of Valerius Messala, whom he seems to have accompanied in the war of Actium; afterwards, when Mes- sala accompanied Octavianus to Egypt, Tibullus, who was with him, being taken ill remained in Corcyra. At a later period, however, he again accompanied Messala in the war against the Aquitanians. After B.C. 27, Tibullus does not seem to have left Italy. He is described by Horace as a handsome and amiable man, and as possessed of ample means. (in his elegies he followed the Alexandrian poets, inas- much as he treated almost exclusively of erotic subjects; but instead of tl^ir dry learning, his poems breathe deep and warm feeling^. His (language is natural and simple, yet he describes with consummate skill the various moods of a longing soul.) I His love of quiet country life J and his deep longing for loving sympathy, impart to his poems a * The remains of his works are collected in Weichert's Poetarun^ Jjat. VitcBf etc., p. 264, foil. T tone of gentle sadness^ The best elegies are those addressed to his beloved Delia; others have evidently not received the author's final revision, which was prevented by his sudden death. The person who first published the elegies of Tibullus added some others which had been composed by friends of Messala, viz., those of Sulpicia, and those of one Lygdamus which form the third book. This book, which contains six poems, is the production of younger contemporaries and imitators of Tibullus, but without his talent.* 103. SextUS Propertius likewise wrote elegies about the same time. He was born, about B.C. 50, in Umbria. per- haps in the town of Asisium. There is no allusion in his poems to any event after the year B.C. 16, but this does not enable us to fix the year of his death. He lost his father and a large portion of his patrimony at an early period, and was left to the care of his mother, who indulged him in every way, so that instead of preparing himself for any serious pursuit, he was allowed, even as a youth, to plunge into the pleasures and frivolities of the capital, where he attracted some notice among certain classes as a poetical genius. He therefore devoted himself entirely to the service of the muses, of friends, and to his love for Cynthia and others. After having published some of his poems, he be- came acquainted with Maecenas, and lived near him on the Esquiline, but being much younger than Maecenas, he could not form as intimate a connection with him as did Vergil and Horace. He was urged by his influential friend \o write epic poetry on the events of the time; but had good sense enough to see that such an undertaking was beyond his ppwers. He not only took no part in public life, but even(^n his private relatipns he was more effeminate and luxurious than most mon^ {Amorousness is the fundamental feature of his character! he indulges in sentimentality even where his love is not requited; he is jealous and submissive, and wishes to die in the arms of his beloved. He often speaks of his ill health and sleeplessness, which may have been the * The best critical edition of Tibullus is that of C. Lachmann (to- gether with the poems of CatuUus and Propertius): Berlin, 1829: and that of L. Dissen: Gottin^en, 1835, in 2 vols. 116 HISTORY OP LATIN LITERATURE. [PERIOD IV. cause of his sentimentality, as well as the resnlt of his mode of life. OSis poems, being imitations of the Alexandrians, are full of mythological learning, and often difficult to under- stand; but he often surpasses his models in freshness and passionateness^ His sty le i\nd versification are correct and vigorous . . The chronological arrangement of his poems, and their division into books, have exercised the ingenuity of scholai-s, and while some distribute them into four books, others have arranged them into five. They are often piinted together with the works of Catulhis and Tibullus.* 104. Publius Ovidius Naso was born on the 20th of March B.C. 43, at Sulmo in the country of the Pelignians. He was the second son of a wealthy father. Together with his brother, who, however, died in his twentieth year, he studied at Rome imder the most eminent teachers, such as Porcius Latro, and Arellius Fuscus. At the request of his father he pursued rhetorical studies, though he found greater attractions in poetry. He did, indeed, for some time devote himself to public business, for he held the offices of triumvir capitalis and centumvir, but he had little taste for business, and pre- ferred the society and conversation of the poets of his time, among whom he mentions -^milius Macer, Propertius, Ponticus, Bassus, and Horace. At Rome he made himself known even at an early age by erotic poems, and gave him- self up to the voluptuous pleasures of the time. He himself states that he went to Athens and Asia to complete his education. He had already reached the age of fifty, when he was sent by Augustus into banishment to Tomi, a town on the north-west coast of the Black Sea. It was a relegatio not exiliu7ii, and he retained the possession of his property. Ovid mentions the cause of this banishment only in a general way as carmen et error. The carmen was no doubt his poem entitled Ars Amandin which Augustus considered dangerous to morals; Ovid himself often alludes to it, and endeavours to justify himself. The second cause, the error y he does not explain, but from various allusions to it in his ♦ The best editions of Propertius are that of C. Lachmaim: Berlin, 1829; and more especially that of W. A. B. Hertzberg, in 2 vols. ; HaUe, 1843-45. B.C. 80-A.D. 14.] ttJBLIUS OVimUS NASO. 117 i poems, we must infer that Ovid had seen something or assisted in something which was painful or disgraceful to the imperial family, and it is commonly supposed that Ovid had been an accomplice in the adultery of Julia, the grand- daughter of Augustus, with D. Silanus. In the autumn of A.D. 9, Ovid left Rome, and went to his place of exile. His whole life had been spent at Rome in the society of his friends, and the removal from it to a semi-barbarous country was more than his efieminate nature could bear, and he wrote the most pitiful, humiliating letters to Rome, begging to be allowed to return, or at least to go to another place of banishment. At last the emperor, either moved or wearied by the incessant entreaties, made up his mind to recall him, but was prevented by death, in a.d. 14, from carrying out his plan. His successor, Tiberius, turned a deaf ear to the petitions and flatteries of the poet, who accordingly died at Tomi, in a.d. 17, the same year in which Livy breathed his last. Ovid had been married three times, and his third wife, who remained true to him during his exile, survived him; his father and mother had died long before. 105j(t)vid was one of the most prolific poets of his time, and possessed the most extraordinaiy facility in composing verses^? he himself says that whatever he tried to say turned out to be verses. He calls himself the fourth Roman writer of elegies, and this is really his chief characteristic; for it is in elegy, especially the erotic elegy, that his peculiar character is most clearly set forth, (jle is susceptible to all sensual im- pressions and dependent on them; his character has no true moral foundation, and hence its weakness J\any feeling, whether of joy or of .pain, completely oveq)Owers him. Notwithstanding this, ttus feelings are never deep, he only plays, without earnestness and without concern, with the great problems of lifer)^ence his poems are not the product of artistic labour and diligent study, but the spontaneous outpourings of a too fertile imagination^ We find in him no trace of the sadness of those writers who had witnessed the last struggles of the republic and the rising power of absolutism. He had been bom with the monarchy, and knew no other Rome than the monarchical, where peace had pro- duced stagnation. 118 HISTORY OP LATIN LITERATURE. [PERIOD iV. i The following is a list of his poems in the probable chrono- logical order of their composition and publication : — 1. AmoreSy in three books, consists of a series of erotic pic- tures, full of sensuality, connected with the name of Corinna. They probably contain, for the most part, the poet's own experiences. He had at first published an edition in five books, which he afterwards reduced to three. 2. Epistolce, sometimes called Heroides, a series of fictitious love letters, supposed to have been written by ancient heroines to their absent lovers. This kind of poetical epistle was first devised by Ovid; their number is twenty-one; but the genuineness of some is very doubtful. 3. Medicamina Faciei j a fragment of 100 lines, on the arts of a lady's toilet. 4. Ars Amatoriaj or Ars Amandi, in three books, contains instructions for lovers of both sexes, how to form and keep up such connections. The females, of whom the poet speaks, seem to be mainly lihertince. He took up this subject with evident gusto, and displays in a pleasing manner extensive knowledge of the world, and especially of the female sex. It has already been mentioned that Augustus, though himself anything but a moral man, thought such a work dangerous to his schemes of reform and of encouraging matrimony. 5. Eemedia Ammisy in one book, contains instructions about the means of getting rid of the troublesome passion of love. It is more diSuse than the Ars Amatoria; but composed with the same technical skill. These erotic works, all of which are written in the elegiac metre, were published before the author's banishment. He also wrote a tragedy, Medea, which is much praised by ancient critics, but of which nothing has come down to our time. The following work, which belongs to a later period of the poet's life, is the only one written in hexameters : — 6. Metamorphoses, in fifteen books, are a collection of those myths, which contain accounts of changes from one form into another, from chaos down to the metamorphosis of Julius Csesar into a star. The subjects are of course taken from Greek sources, but treated with great freedom. They form a series of bright and dark pictures from a world big with wonders and miracles. Ovid himself relates that on tX. 80-A.D. 14.] PUBLIUS OVIDIUS NASO. 119 his departure for Tomi, he burnt his manuscript; but re- stored it during his exHe, and published it without any care- ful revision. , . • . /? i i.i. 7. Tristia, in five books, and m elegiacs, consist of lettei-s which he wrote on his journey to and at Tomi; they are tail of touching descriptions of his wretched situation, of his regrets, and urgent requests for pardon. One letter to Augustus, and those to his wife, are most touching and beautiful. ^ , ^ . , 8. UpistoIcB ex Ponto, in four books, are of the same char- acter as the Tristia, but differ from them by the circumstance that the persons to whom they are addressed are named at the head of each letter, whHe in those of the Tristia the names are discreetly omitted. As the subject is ever the same, we cannot help admiring the poet's inexhaustible re- sources of language, and the variety of forms m which he expresses his thoughts and feelings, although the composition is not free from all kinds of carelessness, which can only be excused by the depressed and desponding state of the author s "^9 'ihis, in one book, is in form an elegy, but its subject is a passionate attack upon some enemy at Rome, in which various mythological subjects are introduced. Durincr his exile, Ovid wrote several smaller poems which are now'' lost, one on the triumph of Tiberius; another in the language of the Get«, among whom he lived m honour of Augustus; and a third on the death of Augustus. Lastly, he wrote a book entitled Halieutica, of which a con- siderable fragment in hexameters still exists. It was lett by the poet in an incomplete state, and was not published till after his death. The fragment treats of the kinds of fishes found in the Euxine, but is of no particular value. The most important work of Ovid, from an historical and antiquarian point of view is — , ^ i • x i 10 The Fasti, which was to have been completed in twelve books, each treating of one month; but its completion was prevented by the author's banishment, as at the place of his exile he had no means of consulting the authorities on which the work had to be founded. Only the first half of it was left by Ovid in a tolerably finished state, and was published 120 SlSTOIlt OP LATIN LlTERATtJRE. [PERIOD IV. B.C. 80-A.D. 14.] M. MANILIUS. 121 after his death. The work is a kind of calendar, in which the different sidereal phenomena of each month, and the various festivals occurring in it are described, with their origin and their mode of celebration. The astronomical part shows that Ovid was not well acquainted with that branch of his subject; but the historical and archaeological part is worked out with greater care, and is based upon the ancient annals, the public Fasti, and on the works of Varro and others. Some information may have been derived from popular traditions cuiTent among the people of Rome. Although Ovid has treated the subject with poetical freedom, still the work is to us a mine of antiquarian information.* 106. Among the friends of Ovid who likewise wrote poetry, are — 1. Fonticus, who composed an epic poem, Thebais. 2. TuticanuSf who translated Homer's Odyssey. 3. Macer^ who wrote epic poetry on subjects preceding the anger of Achilles, and the events subsequent to those of the Iliad, that is, Antehomerica and Posthomerica. This Macer may possibly be the Pompeius Macer to whom Augustus en- trusted the arrangement of the libraries. 4. SahinuSy who wrote epistles in reply to the Heroides of Ovid, and a work which seems to have resembled the Fasti of Ovid, but was never finished in consequence of the death of Sabinus. 5. Cornelius Severus, the author of an epic poem on the Sicilian war against Sextus Pompeius. A few fragments of his are collected in Wernsdorfs Foetce Lat. Minor es, p. 217, foil. 6. Fedo Alhinovanus, who wrote an epic poem, Theseis, and another on the maritime expedition of Germanicus, of which a considerable fragment of twenty-four hexameter lines is still extant. Besides these, several others tried their skill in composing epic poetry on mythical subjects, or on events of their own * The collected works of Ovid have often been published; a good text of all of them is that edited by R. Merkel: Leipzig, 1851, in 3 vols. The same scholar has edited the Fasti with a valuable intro- duction: BerUn, 1851. An excellent school edition of the Fasti is that by A. F. Paley. The Metamorphoses have been edited innumer- able times for school use. i 4 I I time in the style of the Alexandrians; but little or nothing is known of them, except that their names are mentioned by Ovid or by the grammarians. Most of them did not rise above mediocrity. 107. During this period we meet with two didactic poets : 1. Gratius Faliscus, who wrote a didactic poem on the art of hunting (Cynegetica), of which a large portion is still extant; it is generally printed together with Ovid's Ilali- eutica. The style is dry and heavy, and rarely rises to any- thing like genuine poetry.* 2. M. Manilius wrote a work entitled Astronomica in five books. Of his personal history nothing is known, but from the awkwardness of his style, especially in the first books, it has been inferred that he was a foreigner. He possesses ex- tensive geographical knowledge, and is acquainted with Greek literature. His work must have been written between a.d. 9 and 14, i.e., before the death of Augustus. The author has a superstitious belief in astrology, otherwise his style is serious and thoughtful, and much resembles that of Lucretius, though his versification is" more technically correct. Parts of the work approach the sublime, especially where he speaks of man and man's reason and discontent.! In other departments of poetry, also, the later period of Augustus' reign is very barren, and those who did attempt to write poetry would scarcely be known even by name, if they were not mentioned by Ovid in his letters from Tomi, such as Proculus, Bassus, Rufus, Turranius, and Gracchus. 108. Among the prose writers of the Augustan age the historians occupy the foremost rank. We have already seen how Augustus himself, and seveml of the most eminent men of his court, wrote either autobiographies or the lives of others, or histories of recent times ; and we know that Asinius Pollio undertook to write an extensive work on the civil ware, but gave it up, because it was dangerous to give a faithful and * A good edition is that of M. Haupt, together with Ovid's Halieu- tica and other similar works: Leipzig, 1838. t The best editions of Manilius are those of Jos. Scaliger: Leyden, 1600, with an extensive commentary; of R. Bentley: London, 1739; and Fr. Jacob: Berlin, 1846. 122 HISTORY OP LATIN LITEEATCEE. [PEBIOD iV. impaitial account. Others, like Sulpicius Galba ?nd Octa- vius Musa, seem to have written Boman histories m the cJd fashion, and Cincius probably wrote a «i^?^\^f ^^^ 7!*; the vieV of flattering the family of the Julu; but by far the most important prose writer of the time is Titus Livius, of Patavium (Padua), in the fertile plain of the Lower Po ; he was bom in B.C. 59, when Patavium already possessed the Boman franchise, and Livy was accordmgly by Ch a Boman citizen. He died, a.d. 17, m the fourth year of the reign of Tiberius. His youth was thus passed during the last civil wars, whUe his best years belong to the reign of Augustus. During the wars between Caesar and Pompey ?he Patavinians sid° d with the latter, and Livy thus formed in his youth the political opinions ^l^^^^^e after- wards did not hesitate to avow in his history At /d/iei/a of Aratus in hexameter verae, which shows that he was not without poetical talent, and that he was well acquainted with the subject.* Of the literary tastes of the emperors Claudius and JSTero, we shall have to speak here- after. Suetonius, Quintilian, and Tacitus mention several orators who distinguished themselves by their forensic speeches; but we possess no specimens of their oratory. 119. Among the historians who flourished in the reign of Tiberius, we have to notice : — 1. A. Cremutius Cordus. He had written, under the * There is a good edition of it and its ancient commentators bv A. Breysig: BerlJh, 1867. \ A.r. 14-600.] M. VELLEItJS PATERCULUS. 135 title of Annales, a work on Koman history, and during the reign of Augustus he had not been molested about it; but under Tiberius, in a.d. 25, he was accused by two clients of Seianus of the offence of having called Cassius the last of the Romans. Foreseeing that his doom was certain, he antici- pated the verdict by voluntary starvation. The senate ordered his work to be publicly burnt; but a copy was secretly saved by his daughter Marcia, and afterwards pub- lished again, the objectionable parts having been expunged. The work is now lost. 2. Aufidius Bassus, bom about b.c. 14, was the author of an historical work, the whole or at least a portion of which was already before the public at the time when the elder Seneca published his Suasorice, about a.d. 37. The work seems to have commenced with the beginning of the civil wars. Whether the account of the war with the Germans (Lihri belli Germanici) was a separate work, or only a por- tion of the history, we have no means of determining. The work seems to have brought down the history to the year A.D. 47; the elder Pliny contiiiued it down to his own day, which proves that the work must have been popular and highly esteemed. The few fragments preserved in Seneca show a somewhat artificial and affected style. 3. M. Velleius Paterculus. Nothing is known about his life except what can be gathered from his own work, and from this we learn that, in a.d. 1, he was invested with the tribuneships of the soldiers, whence it follows that he must have been born about B.C. 20. In the capacity of tribune, he served in Thrace, Macedonia, Achaia, and Asia; and three years later he accompanied Tiberius as prsefectus equitum into Germany, and for eight years he was almost constantly about Tiberius on his expeditions into Germany, Pannonia, and Dalmatia. On his return to Rome, a.d. 15, he ob- tained the prsetorship, and after its expiration he seems to have retired into private life, and to have devoted himself to study and to the composition of his work called Historice Romance ad M. Vinicium libri II., which has come down to us in a somewhat mutilated condition. The firet book, of which the beginning is lost, and which besides contains several im- portant gaps, gives a brief sketch of general history, and 13G HISTORY OP tATlN LITERATURE. [PERIOD V. carries that of Rome down to the destruction of Carthage. The second book, which is more especially devoted to Roman history, is complete, and, as he approaches his own time, the work becomes fuller and enters more into detail. The his- tory is carried down to the year a.d. 30, and the whole has evidently been composed hastily and carelessly, though the descriptions of character are generally very interesting and life-like. ^ When Velleius speaks of Augustus, and especially of Tiberius and his family, his praise is unmeasured, and approaches to servile adulation. This, however, ought to be less offensive if we bear in mind that he spent many years with Tiberius who certainly was distinguished as a general, and that he wrote before the time when Tiberius became the odious tyrant. Velleius, moreover, is always fond of strong expressions, which, in speaking of his friend and patron, he could hardly be expected to modify. Velleius Paterculus is not mentioned by any ancient writer, except the grammarian Priscian and the scholiast on Lucan; and no manuscript of his work was known before 1515, when Beatus Rhenanus found one in the abbey of Murbach in Alsace.* 4. Valerius Maximus was a contemporary of Velleius Paterculus, whom he even surpasses in flattery towards Tiberius, though he is much inferior to him in talent. He seems to have belonged to the patrician Valeria gens; but was not possessed of any great fortune. In a.d. 14 he served under Sex. Pompeius in Asia; afterwards he appears to have lived at Rome, and during the last years of the reign of Tiberius he wrote a collection of anecdotes, still extant, and bearing the title Factorum Lictorumque Memomhilium lih'i /X, dedicated to Tiberius. To these is generally added a treatise De Nominibusy which some have regarded as a tenth book, but which certainly is not the production of Valerius Maximus. The conclusion of the ninth book seems to be wanting. This collection of anecdotes, no doubt intended for the use of orators and rhetorical schools, shows that the author did not possess any accurate knowledge of his- tory. He is, further, very superstitious, and wanting in * A good edition of Velleius Paterculus is that of Fr. Kritz: Leipzig, 1840. A.1). 14-600.] A. CORNELIUS CELSUS. 137 taste and critical power; but notwithstanding this, the work contains information on some matters which is not to be obtained elsewhere. Each chapter is divided. into two parts, the first containing anecdotes gathered from Roman history, and the second anecdotes from the history of other countries. Tiberius and the members of his family are always spoken of with the most abject flattery, and without the excuse which may be urged in the case of Velleius Paterculus. The style and language are throughout arti- ficial and tasteless, and nothing is simple or natural.* 120. One of the most distinguished writers on a variety of subjects is A. Cornelius Celsus. He is now known to us chiefly through his work on medicine; but it is well attested that he also wrote on rhetoric, law, philosophy, and agriculture. His great work, in which he treated of all these subjects, appears to have been a kind of encyclopaedia, in twenty books, in which some subjects were treated more fully than others. The title of the whole was Artes or De Artibus. The first five books treated of agriculture {De Re Bustica) and veterinary surgery; the eight following of medicine (De Medicina), and this is the only part of the work that has come down to our time, and is in fact the only work on medicine we have belonging to the better age of Latin litera- ture. It is written in a simple and natural style worthy of the age of Cicero, and is mainly based on the works of Hippocrates and Asclepiades. The first four books treat of internal diseases; the fifth and sixth of external diseases; and the last two, which treat of surgery, are considered the most valuable part of the whole work. The remaining books must have treated of philosophy and rhetoric. Quintilian does not speak very favourably of the rhetorical part; but this may have arisen to some extent from a kind of professional jealousy. Towards the end of his life, in the reign of Nero, Celsus published a treatise on military tactics, which, like most of his other works, is now lost.f * A good critical edition of Valerius Maximus is that of C. Kempf : Berlin, 1854. ^ t The best edition of the text of Celsus' work on medicine is that of C. Daremberg: Leipzig, 1859. 138 HISTOHY 01* LATIN LITERATURE. [PERIOD V. 121. The only poet during the reign of Tiberius is Phaedrus, a freedman, and a native of Macedonia, who published five books of ^sopian fables in neat iambic senai-ii. Among the fables there are also interspersed some anecdotes of occurrences in Phsednis' own time, or the age preceding it. He must have been brought to Rome in eai-ly youth. In the reign of Tiberius he sufiered pei*secution through Seianus, whom he had offended by some allusion in his fables. How he was made to sufier we do not know; but certain it is that Phiedrus survived the downfall of his persecutor. * 122. The most distinguished jurists under Tiberius were MasuHus SabinuSj whose principal work consisted of three books on the civil law; M. Cocceius Nerva (grandfather of the emperor Nerva), Froctilus and G. Cassius Longinus. Among grammarians we may mention Julius Modestus, a freedman and pupil of Hyginus, who wrote a commentary on Horace; M. Pomponius MarceUus; Q. Eennnius Palceinon of Vicenza, who composed a Latin grammar which seems to have been much used at Rome, and is frequently quoted by later gram- marians; and Gavius Bassus, who wrote a work De Origine Verborum et Vocahuloi^iriy in at least seven books. Antonius Castor wrote a work on botany, which seems to have been looked upon as an authority in its day. The celebrated gourmet Apicius wrote a book on cookery, and there still exists a work on this subject in ten books which ])ears his name, but is no doubt the production of a writer of the third century of our era, though parts of it may have been taken from the work of the real Apicius which is now lost. 123. Some of the membei-s of the Julian imperial family cannot be passed over in a history of Latin literature. Augustus and Tiberius have already been mentioned as authors, but the Emperor Claudius and Nero, and his mother, Agrippina, also have some claims to our attention. 1. Claudius J who was boni in B.C. 10 and reigned from A.D. 41 to A.D. 54, was a very industrious and voluminous writer, both before and after his accession, especially on his- torical subjects. In these pursuits he was encouraged by * Editions of Phaedrus to be recommended are those of J. C. Orelli: Zurich, 1831; and F. E. Raschig: Berlin, 1861. A.l>. 14-600.] KERO. 139 Livy and assisted by Sulpicius Flavins. Claudius wrote a . history of his own time, beginning with the murder of Ctesar, in forty-three books; a history of his own life, and a defence of Cicero against Asinius Gallus. In Greek he wrote a his- tory of Etruria, in twenty books, and a history of Carthage, in eight books. All these works, which are now lost, may not have been of great literary value : for we know that he was a man of an extremely weak character and of no great intellect; but still, if we possessed them, they would un- doubtedly throw light upon subjects of which we now know little or nothing. All we now possess of Claudius is a por- tion of a speech which, in a.d. 48, he delivered in the senate, recommending the admission of the Gallic nobility to the high offices of the empire. This remarkable document was discovered at Lyons in 1524, engraved on two bronze tables. The substance of it is quoted by Tacitus in his annals, and the document, so far as it is preserved, is generally printed as an appendix to the works of Tacitus. Claudius also occupied himself with grammatical studies, and invented three new letters, viz., j, to mark v when used as a consonant; 0> as a substitute for bs and ^js; and I, to mark the sound intermediate between i and ?/. But as this inci-ease of the alphabet was found neither very necessary nor useful, it soon fell into disuse. 2. Agrippina, the mother of the Emperor Nero, wrote Commentarii, in which she described her own life and the misfortunes of her relatives. They were probably published before the accession of her son. Her own life belongs to the period from a.d. 16 to a.d. 59. 3. Nero, when ascending the throne, a.d. 54, was a young man of considerable talent and promise. His mother, and his tutor Seneca, prevented his turning his attention to philosophy and oratory, in consequence of which he gave himself up with much enthusiasm to the cultivation of poetry. He recited his poetical productions not only to his friends and admirers at the court, but in the public theatre, Avhere, of course, they were so enthusiastically admired that, by a decree of the senate, some of them were ordered to be en- graved in letters of gold, and to be exhibited in the temple of Jupiter Capitolinus. He also composed an epic poem 140 HISTORY OF LATIN LITERATURE. [PERIOD V. on the story of Troy, a few lines of which have come down to us. Other poems were written to be recited with the accompaniment of the lyre, and some of them are said to have been very lascivious. 124. The most eminent among the writers of the Julian period was L. Annaeus Seneca, the son of the rhetorician, M. Annseus Seneca, who was born about B.c. 4, and died a.d. 65, so that the period of his literary activity belongs to the reigns of Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, and Nero. He must have accompanied his father from Corduba to Rome at an early period. He devoted himself from the first chiefly to the study of oratory and philosophy. Afterwards he took part in public life, and in the reign of Caligula he became a member of the senate. In the beginning of the reign of Claudius, a.d. 41, when Julia Livilla, the sister of Caligula, was banished, at the instigation of Messalina, to the island of Coi-sica, Seneca, her paramour, had to share her fate. He remained in Corsica eight years, and, in a.d. 49, was recalled by the desire of Agrippina, and intrusted with the education of her son Nero. At the same time he was raised to the prsetorship. Under Nero, Seneca for a time was the virtual ruler of the empire, and obtained the consulship in a.d. 57. But in a.d. 65 he was accused of participation in the conspiracy of Piso, in consequence of which he was condemned to death ; but as the mode of the execution was left to his choice, he had his veins opened, and bled to death in his bath with a truly philosophic calmness and resignation. Seneca is the brightest literary phenomenon of the first Christian century, and at the same time its most character- istic representative. He had the same facility in composition as Ovid, and a very lively feeling of his own merits. Although he did not often make a bad use of his powers, still it cannot be denied that he did not always resist the temptations which were put in his way. He was sometimes guilty of inordinate ambition and vanity, of flattery and sei-vility, faults which form a strong contrast to the teachings contained in his writings. Some excuse, however, must be made, if we remember the times and circumstances in which he lived; and the calm composure with which he met his death A.D. 14-600.] L. ANN^US SENECA. 141 ., shows at all events he could act up to his philosophical principles. As an author, Seneca valued brilliancy higher than thoroughness. He wrote on a great variety of subjects, both in prose and in verse, and always with a marked tendency to contemplation and to reflection on nature and the life of man, an inclination to which, in his later years, he yielded entirely. The basis of his philosophy is the system of the Stoics, but greatly modified by additions from other systems, by softening down its harshness, by avoiding its quibblings, and by relaxing the sternness of its ethical principles. His philosophy is therefore more of a popular character, and cal- culated to charm the reader by the extent and nicety of his observations, by the wide range of his knowledge, by the easy and sparkling style, and by the noble spirit which per- vades his writings; but it is nevertheless somewhat wearisome to observe a certain rhetorical sameness, and the obvious striv- ing to please his readers which appears in all his productions. The first place among his prose works is generally assigned to his treatise — 1. De /m, on self-control, in three books, dedicated to his brother, Novatus, which was evidently composed after the death of Caligula. 2. An epistle, De Consolatione ad Ilehiam niatrem, which was written in Corsica during his exile, to comfort his mother about his banishment ; with an intimation to exert herself to effect his recall. 3. De CoTisolatione ad Polyhium was likewise written in Corsica, to Polybius, an influential freedman of the Emperor Claudius, to console him for the loss of a brother. 4. De Coyisolatione ad Marciam, an epistle addressed to IVtarcia, the daughter of Cremutius Cordus, to comfort her for the loss of a son who had died three years before. This epistle was written after his return from exile. 5. Quare bonis viris mala accidant, cum sit providentia, is a work addressed to his friend Lucilius, procurator of Sicily, in which Seneca answers the question in the spirit of the Stoics ; and, as a last resource, recommends suicide as an escape from evils. This work seems to have been written after Seneca's exile. 142 HISTORY OP LATIN LITERATURE. [PERIOD V. 6. De Animi Tranquillitate ad Severum, to which 7. De Constantia Sapientis is a kind of sequel. 8. De dementia, addressed to Nero in the second year of his reign. Of this treatise only the first book and the beginning of the second are extant. 9. De Brevitate Vitce, addressed to Paulinus. 10. DeVita Beata, addressed to Gallio, is perhaps the best ot feenecas philosophical treatises, and was written in his later years, partly with a view of defending his own life and actions. The last portion of the work is lost. U. De Otio et Secessu Sapientis, of which the bednnin<> is wanting. ® ® T-u^' 1^^ ^ewe/?cm, in seven books, addressed to ^biicius L.iberahs, is a production of the later years of Seneca's life. 1 3. Epistolce ad Lucilium is a collection of 1 24 letters which are sometimes arranged in twenty and sometimes twentv- two books. This collection gives us the most complete picture of the peculiar character of Seneca, and is iustly regarded as one of his best works. The letters were written during the last six or seven yeara of his life. 14. Ludus de morte Ccesans is a bitter and unworthy satire on the deceased Emperor Claudius ; but remarkable as a specimen of the Menippean satire. 15 Qucestiojium Naturalium libri VII., addressed to his friend Lucilius, was written during the last three years of beneca s life, and treats of a variety of natural phenomena, such as fire, thunder, lightning, water, hail, snow, ice, winds earthquakes comets, etc. The author, on the whole, adopts the views of the Stoics ; but also makes use of Aristotle and Iheophrastus. The work is written in plain and simple language, and was very popular throughout the middle a^es as the standard book on physics. Several other prose works of Seneca are lost, with the exception of a few fragments, as, for example, De terrce motu, De superstitione, De qfficiis, MoraUum libri, Exlwrtaticmum hbri, Deimmatura morte, De India, De ritu et sacris ^ayp- tiorum, De matHmonio, and De remediis fortuitorum. Owbff v^^^!^^ popularity of his works, several treatises were pub ished during the middle ages under Seneca's name. A work entitled ^enec(B ProverUa consists for the most part A.D. 14- GOO.] Q. CURTIUS RUFUS. 14, only of extracts made at a late period from his known works. There also exists a collection of six letters, purporting to belong to a correspondence between Seneca and the Apostle Paul, which seem to have been popular as early as the fourth century; but they are evidently a forgery. Quintilian speaks of orations of Seneca, and it is well known that some of the speeches delivered by Nero were composed by Seneca, but no specimens are now extant. In verse we possess several epigrams refening to Seneca's exile, but the authorship of some of them is very doubtful. His most important poetical productions are eight tragedies, viz., Hercules Furens, Thijestes, Phcedra, (Edipits, Troades (or Hecuba), Medea, Agamemnon, Hercules (Etceus, and two scenes from a Thebais. It was doubted at one time whether these dramas were the works of the philosopher Seneca, and whether they ought not to be ascribed to the rhetorician, his father; but recent criticism has shown that there is nothing in the tragedies, either in regard to style or thought, that is incompatible with what we know of the philosopher. We find in them the same verboseness, the same rhetorical figures, sentences, and sayings, as in his prose works, except that in the tra- gedies, and in accordance with their very nature, everything is more exaggerated. Their language is often mere verbiage, in which it is difficult to discover any thought. The versifica- tion is correct, though somewhat monotonous. There is a drama entitled Octavia, the subject of which belongs to recent history, and which beara the name of Seneca ; but it is now generally believed to be the production of a much later age.* 125. Q. Curtius Rufus, the author of a history of Alexan- der the Great. According to the evidence furnished by his own work, he must have lived and written in the reign of Claudius. We have no information about his life and circumstances, whence a wide field of speculation is left open as to the time when his work was composed; and while some have maintained that it was written in the reign of Augustus, * A good edition of the prose works of Seneca is that of C. R. Fickert: Leipzig, 1842-1845, in 3 vols. A good text of the poetical works was edited by R. Peiper and G. JRichter: Leipzig, 1867, in Teubner's collection. lU HISTORY OP LATIN LITERATURE. [PERIOD V. others have believed the author to have been a contemporary of Vespasian, or even of Septimus Severus ; but a careful consideration of several passages of the work leaves no doubt that it was written soon after the murder of Caligula. The author himself informs us that in writing his work he made use of the histories of Alexander by Clitarchus, Timagenes, and Ptolemseus ; but he does not pretend critically to have sifted his authorities. On the contrary, he frankly states that he simply transcribed what he found recorded, even where he could not believe the statements he read. His work, bearing the title of Ilistoria Alexarulri Magni, ori- ginally consisted of ten books, but the firet two are lost. Its style and lan guage have still the classical charaoterj^jid ^e formed on the model of Livy ; but the work is nevei-theless thoroughly rhetorical, and more like a romance than a his- tory. It is full of speeches and descriptions, and the descrip- tions he gives of battles show that the author was but little acquainted with military affairs.* 126. L. Junius Moderatus Columella, a contemporary and countryman of the philosopher Seneca, was born at Gades, in Spain. Beyond this fact, which is mentioned by himself, we know nothing of his life, except that for a time he served in the ai-my in Syria, and that he possessed several estates in Italy. His work on agriculture {De Re jRustica), in twelve books, must have been written before the death of Seneca, probably in A.D. 62, and is dedicated to P. Silvinus. He seems first to have wiitten a smaller work on the same sub- ject, of which the part jDe arboribus is still extant, and helps to explain the fifth book of I)e Re Rustica, which has come down to us in a very mutilated form. Columella entertained the highest idea of the importance of agi-iculture, and laments the neglect of it in his time. He himself liestowed the greatest attention upon it, and tried to treat of it in a manner worthy of its importance. The tenth book, on horticulture, is written in excellent hexameters, in imitation of the Geo7'- gica of Vergil, whom he venerated and admired, but whom he was unable to equal as a poet. Otherwise his work is * The best modern editions of Curtius are those of J. Mutzell: Berlin, 1842, in 2 vols., with a critical and exegetical commentary; and of C. G. Zumpt : Brunswick, 1849. A.D. 14-600.] rOMPONIUS MELA. 145 written in simple, pure, and flowing language, and treats of everything connected with agi'iculture, the cultivation of the vine, arboriculture, domestic animals, etc. It contains much valuable information, derived from sources that are now lost.* 127. Q. Asconius Pedianus, a very distinguished commen- tator of Cicero, who flourished during the reigns of Claudius and Nero. He seems to have been born about a.d. 1, and to have been a native of Patavium. In his seventy-third year he lost his eyesight; but lived twelve years longer, honoured and esteemed by all. Suetonius calls him scrip- tor histoncus^ because his writings were all more or less of an historical character, for he wrote a life of Sallust, and apparently also one of Persius; he further published a treatise against the detractors of Vergil. These writings are unfortunately lost, but we still possess a portion of his valu- able historical commentaries on Cicero's orations. The author no doubt wrote commentaries on all the speeches, but we now possess only those on the orations against Piso, for Scaurus, for Milo, for C. Cornelius, and the speech in toga Candida; even these, however, have come down to us in a very mutilated condition. They are written in good classi- cal Latin, and are of great historical value. They are printed in the fifth volume of Orelli's edition of Cicero's works. There exists, under the name of Asconius Pedianus, a commentary on Cicero's speeches against Verres; but the language is unclassical, the historical explanations are of a trivial kind, and the other explanations are mostly grammati- cal. In short this commentary contains little or nothing that could remind us of Asconius Pedianus, and seems to be the production of some grammarian of the fourth century of our era. 128. Pomponius Mela, a contemporary of Asconius Pedi- anus and a native of Tingentera in Spain, wrote, either under Caligula or under Claudius, a description of the ancient world in three books. This is the first work of the kind we meet with in Latin litem fcure; it bears the title De Situ orbis, and forms a concise manual of geography, which is preserved entire. The author follows the course of the coast-line, be- * It is printed in the collections of the Scriptores Rei Rusticce, by J. M. Gesner and F. G. Schneider. liQ HISTORY OF LATIN LITERATURE. [PERIOD V. A.D. 14-600]. M. VALERIUS PROBUS. #li I ginning with Africa, proceeding to Egypt, Arabia, Syria, Asia Minor, etc. , till he comes back to the point from which he has stai"ted. Mela compiled his work from the best authorities accessible to him; but exercised his own judgment, and omitted what appeared to him fabulous or mythical. He further does not confine himself to mere geographical details, but enlivens his statements by descriptions of the manners and customs of the various countries. His style is somewhat rhetorical, reminding us of that of Seneca. It is surprising that the Romans, with all their foreign conquests, had till then not produced any work on geography, and, even if we take later works into account, Mela is their best and ablest geographer.* 129. Among the orators of this period, some of whom acted the base part of informers, there is none of whom literary remains are now extant, and very few composed any work deserving special mention here. Among tliejuiists who also wrote on legal subjects we may mention Cocceius Nervaj the father of the Emperor Nerva, who wi'ote De Usucapionibtts, and jSex. Fedius, who wrote a work in several books, De Stipulationibu^, and a larger work in at least twenty-five books, entitled Ad Edictum. The philosophers of this period, so far as, like Seneca, they wrote in Latin, genei-ally adopted the system of the Stoics, for the best men of the time were convinced that the Stoic philosophy alone could teach men how to live honourably and to die courageously. Among men of this class we may mention Thrasea Psetus, Helvidius Priscus, and the poets Persius and Lucan. These and many others, disdaining to flatter or humble themselves before their despotic rulers, often had to pay with their lives for their love of freedom. Things went so far that a man professing to be a Stoic was for this very reason sus2)ected of harbouring republican ideas, and brought upon himself banishment or death ; but Stoicism among the Romans, at this as well as at other times, was i-arely maintained in its purity : for while one class of men, like Seneca, softened do^vn its sternness and harshness, and * The best editions of Pomponius Mela are those of T. H. Tzschucke: Leipzig, 1806, in 6 vols., -with a large critical and ex^- getical commentary; and of G. Parthey: Berlin, ISGjf. 147 thereby reduced it to a kind of practical wisdom, others mixed up mth it additions of Pythagorean asceticism and cynical practices. Most of the philosophers confined themselves to lecturmg and teaching ; but Thrasea Foetus m-ote a life of the younger Cato, of whom he was an enthusiastic admirer The work itself is lost, but Plutarch's life of Cato probably contains the substance of it. 130. The most erudite among the grammarians of this time was M. Valerius Probus, of Berytus, whose life seems to have extended into the reign of Domitian. He lectured on the language of the earlier Roman poets, especially Vergil tor whom he did what the Alexandrian poets had done for Homer his mam object being to establish a correct text. We still possess under his name ancient scholia on Vergil's Bucohca and Georgica, the best parts of which may indeed have been taken from works of Probus, but much useless matter is mixed up with them. He also published revised texts, with commentaries, of Horace, Lucretius, and Terence. Indepen- dently of such critical editions of earlier poets, he wrote a number of gi-ammatical treatises, most of which are now lost • but there still exist under his name— 1. A work called Latholica, which treats of nouns and verbs, and is printed in Keil s collection of Latin grammarians ; 2. A work entitled Ars, or Instituta artium, i.e., a Latin grammar, which in the coui^e of time seems to have undergone great alterations at the hands of later editors or copyists, which are not always improvements. This also is printed in KeU's collection. 1^. There is an anonymous epic poem in praise of a con- sul Piso ; but we neither know who the poet nor who the consul Piso was, though the style of the poem clearly points to the time of Claudius or Nero. The author of the poem describes himself as a youth who was prompted to sing the praises of Piso, not for gain, but only for glory. The author was evidently well acquainted with the poetry of the Augus- tan age, and possessed considerable skill and facility in com- posing his somewhat rhetorical poem.* 132. A. Persius Flaccus was born at Volaterrse, in Etru- ria, on the 4th of December, a.d. 34, and belonged to a wealthy equestrian family. He lost his father at the age of * It is printed in Wemsdorf's Foetce Latini minores, Vol. IV. 148 •HISTORY OF LATIN LITERATURE. [PERIOD V. ^1 six ; and six years later his mother, with him and his sister, removed to Rome, where Persius received instruction in grammar from Remmins Palsemon, and in rhetoric from Vir- ginius Flavus; but the Stoic Cornutus made the deepest impression upon the youth, and from the age of sixteen to the end of his life Persius was attached to him as to a father. His poetical and philosophical pursuits, as well as his family connections, brought him into contact with Lucan, Claudius Agathemerus, Thrasea Psetus, Servius Nonianus, and other eminent men; but before he had completed his twenty-eighth year he died of some disease of the stomach, on the 24th of November, a.d. G2. He left a considerable fortune and a large library, which he bequeathed to Cornutus, who under- took to look after Persius' literary remains. Persius is de- scribed as very handsome, of most gentle manners, of almost maidenly modesty, and of great affection towards his mother and sister. His literary remains consisted of a prcetextttf en- titled Vescio or ResciOy written in his boyhood; a book of travel, some verses on the elder Arria; and six satires, which last are the only productions of Persius that have come down to us, as, at the request of Cornutus, his mother destroyed all the rest. This collection of six satires appears to have been left unfinished, that is, if Persius had lived longer he would have added others ; the sixth, also, had no proper conclusion, whence Cornutus, by deleting a few lines, pro- duced a kind of suitable termination to it. Cornutus himself did not publish the satires, but left the editing of them to C^sius Bassus. On their appearance they are said to have filled the public with great admiration. The only one of the six poems that can be called a real satire is the first, which is directed against the bad taste of the poets and the public of his time ; the remaining five are poetical declamations on points of the Stoic philosophy, which he tries to recommend to his readers as leading to a happy life. They bear all the characteristics of a young man who knows little of life; they abound in dramatic scenes, which are often almost burlesque. The characters, images, and expressions are to a large extent borrowed from Horace, but often spoiled by Peraius' own additions. His language is unnatural, forced, and obscure. Persius was evidently not a poet born; but tried to make A.D. 14-GOO.] M. AJfN^tJS LtJCANtS. 149 himself one by hai-d and slow toil. His character as a man deserves great admiration and esteem on account of his earnestness, his gentleness, and his moral purity, in the midst of so much corruption and vice. The commentary on the satires of Persius, which has come down to us under the name of Cornutus, is the production of a very late gram- marian,* 133. M. Annaeus Lucanus, a nephew of the philosopher Seneca (whose brother, Annseus Mela, was the father of Lucan), was bom in a.d. 39, at Corduba, in Spain. At an early age he was brought to Rome, where he was instructed by Cornutus, and became the friend of Persius. His uncle, Seneca, recommended him to the Emperor Nero, who raised him to the ofiices of quaestor and augur; but as Lucan was attracting much public attention by his poetical productions, which, according to the custom of the time, he recited in public, Nero, influenced by jealousy, forbade him to continue such recitals. Afterwards Lucan, because it was alleged that he had taken part in the conspiracy of Piso, was con- demned to death. Lucan then ordered his veins to be opened by a surgeon, and died, a.d. 65, at the early age of twenty-seven. He was manied to PoUa Argentaria, a lady of a highly cultivated mind. Next to Vergil, Lucan is the most eminent epic poet in Latin literature. His productive power must have been immense, if we consider the number of works which he com- posed during his short life. Of most of them we know little more than their titles, as, e.g.^ Hectoris Lytra ; Orpheus, in three books; Iliacon and Catachthonion libri, Catalogus Hero- idum, Saturnalia, Silvce, Medea, and others. Most of these poems treated of subjects connected with Greek mythology, and some of them were perhaps youthful and unripe produc- tions, or even mere improvizations ; but all of them are lost, and we possess of his works only one epigram and a great epic poem entitled Pharsalia, in ten books, which, however, was left in an incomplete state by the poet, for the tenth book is evidently not finished. Its subject is the civil war * The best critical edition of the satires of Persius is that of 0. Jahn : Leipzig, 1843 ; which also contains the ancient commentary. A good school edition is that of A Pretor : London, 1869. 150 HISTORIC OF LATIN LITERATURE. [pERIOD t. between Csesar and Pompey, and the poet describes in chrono- logical order, and with historical fidelity, the events of the struggle from its outbreak down to the siege of Alexan- dria. As many of the works referring to that war are lost, Lucan's poem is of great historical impoi'tance to us. The poetical and oratorical powers of the author appear most strikingly in his descriptions of exciting or pathetic scenes, and in the delineations of the principal characters. Poetical invention was scarcely required in such a poem; but, as a true disciple of the Stoa, the poet throughout shows a mind far above everyiihing low or vulgar, and he seems to have chosen the subject of the civil war just because it offered him oppor- tunities of expressing his feelings of grief and sorrow at the loss of freedom among his countrymen. The strong mind and the genuine Roman sentiments of the young poet cannot fail to win our esteem and admiration. His style is vigor- ous and full of force, though not without a strong rhetorical colouring ; but it lacks the polish of Vergil : the same may be said of his versification. Quintilian justly remarks that the Pharsalia is a history rather than a poem. It seems, however, to have been very popular, and to have induced some of the later grammarians to write commentaries upon it, some of which we still possess.* 134. CaBsius Bassus, a friend of Persius and editor of his satires, is said to have perished in the eruption of Vesuvius, A.D. 79. He is mentioned by QuintUian as the only lyric poet worthy of the name after Horace. The same is inti- mated in Persius' sixth satire, which is addressed to him. He is probably the same Csesius Bassus who wrote a didactic poem on metres. In the third century this work was made the basis of a prose manual on metres, with many alterations ; but the part treating of the metres of Hoi'ace is perhaps a faithful transcript of a portion of Bassius' work. "We hear of a few other men who wrote poetry during the reign of Nero, such as Vagellius, Curtius Nomentanus, and Serroniusj but nothing is known of them except their names* 135. Petronius Arbiter. — Under this name we have a kind of comic romance, entitled Satirce or Satiricon (libri), which ^ * The best modem edition of Lucan is that of C. F. Weber: Leip- zig, 1821, ia 3 vols., which also contains the ancient scholia. A.D. 14 600.1 PETRONIUS ARBITER. 151 seems originally to have formed a voluminous work of about twenty books, describing all sorts of adventures; but we now possess only a number of fragments, the longest of which contains a description of the supper of Trimalchio (Cena Trimalchionis), a wealthy but uneducated upstart, who affects to be a gentleman. It is written in prose, but largely inter- spei*sed with poetry, in the manner of the ancient Menippean satire. It is full of coarse and obscene passages, but very instructive in regard to the manners, morals, and the lan- guage of the time. The author is a man of great ability, full of wit and humour, and displays a very minute and accurate knowledge of human life and human characters. The metri- cal parts are mostly parodies of the poets of the time. The principal speaker is a freedman, Encolpius, who describes the adventures he has met with during a journey in company with another freedman, Ascyltus, and a boy. The scene is laid in Southern Italy, and the time is the reign of Tiberius ; but there are also allusions to persons who lived under Caligula and Nero. The author has great skill in the delineation of characters, which he allows to develop them- selves in their own words and speeches. Thus Encolpius uses the language of a gentleman of the Augustan age, while most of the other speakers, especially Trimalchio, speak the language of vulgar uneducated people, full of all manner of irregularities. The poetical pieces are generally put into the mouth of the vain and absurd Eumolpus, as is the case in Chapter XCIV., where he describes the taking of Troy (Troice halosis), and in Chapters CXIV.-CXXIV., where he parodies the poetry on the civil war (beUum civile). Who the author was, and at what time he lived, has been the subject of much speculation and conjecture; some critics have regarded him as a contemporary of Augustus, while others have been inclined to place him as late as the third Christian century, in the reign of Alexander Sevenis. It is. now, however, pretty generally admitted that the author must have lived in the time of Nero. In the reign of this emperor, Tacitus speaks of a notorious courtier, C. Petronius, who was the most intimate friend of Nero, and the great panderer to his pleasures and fancies, and all that the his- torian relates of him seems to point him out as the most 152 HISTORY OP LATIN LITERATURE. [pERIOD V. 'likely man to write such a work ; but it must be owned that Tacitus does not intimate that C. Petronius composed any- work at all. The cause or origin of the surname Arbiter is likewise unknown.* 136. There are a few other poets of less importance belong- ing, in all probability, to the period of the Julian emperors. 1. T^ Calpumius Siculus is known to us only as the author of seven eclogues, in which, with great exaggeration, he imitates Theocritus and Yergil. He shows but little taste, and indulges in abject flattery to Nero. 2. AurelitLS Nemesianus^ a native of Carthage ; by him we have four eclogues, which are much inferior to those of Cal- pumius, though they have sometimes been treated as pro- ductions of the same author, f 3. To the same period belongs the anonymous didactic ipoem. JEtna, consisting of 645 well constructed hexameter lines. It is written in a dry didactic style, but the author vigorously combats the current superstitious notions about the nature of the volcano. The language, which at times rises to the height of real poetry, is a pretty successful imitation of Vergil. It is now generally believed that the JEtna is the work of Lucilius, the youthful friend of Seneca, who speaks of uEtna as a poem of Lucilius. The poem, which has several gaps, used to be printed together with the works of Vergil. I 4. A Latin abridgment of Homers Iliady for the use of schools. It consists of 1075 hexameter lines, and the first part is almost a translation, but further on it becomes a meagre abridgment. Vergil and Ov4d are also laid under con- siderable contribution ; the versification is careful and correct. That the author lived under Claudius or Nero is rendered probable by several expressions and allusions occurring in the poem; but who he was is quite unknown. || * The first really critical edition of Petronius is that of Fr. BUchler: Berlin, 1862. t The best edition of these writers of eclogues is that of E. C. Glseser: Gottingen, 1842. t The best separate edition is that of H. A. J. Munro: Cambridge, 1867. II This abridgement is printed in the fourth volume of Wemsdorf 't Poetce Lat. Minor es. I t A.n. 14-600.] C. PLiNItTS SECtJNDtTS. 153 / 137. By the death of Nero (a.d. 68) the Julian dynasty became extinct, and the few troubled years under Galba, Otho, and Vitellius are of no importance in the history of literature. The reign of Vespasian (a.d. 69-79), and of his son Titus (a.d. 79, 80), promised, in some respects, better times; but Domitian (a.d. 81-96) threw everything back again, and the end of the first century became much worse than its beginning had been. Vespasian, himself not unskilled as an orator, both in Latin and Greek, promoted certain branches of literature by giving fixed annual salaries to Latin and Greek teachers of rhetoric, and by liberally rewarding poetical effbi*ts ; but he expelled the philosophers from Rome, because he believed them to be republicans, and dangerous to the internal peace of the empire. The following are the most distinguished writers during the reign of Vespasian and Titus : — 138. C. Plinius Secundus, commonly called the elder Pliny. There is no trustworthy account of his life, and we are dependent for our information upon the letters of his nephew, the younger Pliny, and upon any chance remarks that occur in his own work. As at the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in a.d. 79, when he perished, he was fifty-six years old, he must have been born in a.d. 23. He was a native of Northern Italy, being born either at Verona or at Como, where his family owned considerable estates. About his education we know nothing ; but he seems to have been at Home before he had reached his twentieth year, and at the age of twenty-two he commanded a detachment of Roman cavalry in Germany. In A.D. 52, after quitting the army, he spent his time partly at Rome and partly at Como, ap- parently devoting himself to reading and study. In a.d. 57 we find him in the position of procurator of Spain. That he also visited Africa is clear from his own work ; but it is uncertain when this took place. He must have been per- sonally acquainted with the Emperor Vespasian, as he is said to have paid him visits early in the morning, before the emperor attended to his own business. Shortly before his death he is mentioned as commander of the fleet stationed at Misenum ; and it was during his stay there that the eruption of Vesuvius took place, during which he ,154 HISTORY OP LATIN LITERATURE. [PERIOD V. fell a victim to his curiosity in watching the terrible catas- trophe. Pliny is called by the ancients the most learned man of his age, and his extraordinary activity is well described by his nephew, from whom we also receive information about many works which he wrote, but which are now lost. AmoDg them we may mention: — 1. De Jaculaiione Equesti\ in one book, which he wrote while commanding a body of cavalry in Germany. 2. De Vita Pomponii iSecumlij in two books. 3. A work on the wai-s between the Komans and Gonnans, in twenty books, which he commenced while servinsr in Germany. 4. A history of Eome, in thirty-one books, commencing at the point where the history of Aufidius Bassus ended. 6. Studiosif in three books, on the tmining of an omtor. G. Dubii Semwnisy in eight books, was a grammatical work written during the last year of the reign of Nero; it was extensively used by later gi-ammarians, though it also met with much opposition. To these must be added 160 commentarii electoruni, a collection of extracts from various works, which were found after his death. The only work of Pliny that has come down to us is his Naturalls Ilisiona, in thirty-seven books, tlio first of which, however, only gives the contents of the whole work and the authorities, together with a dedication to Titus, which must have been written in a.d. 77. This work is a gigantic com- pilation made from upwards of 2000 volumes; it is, in fact, a kind of encyclopredia, in which the compiler has collected for purposes of instruction everything which ho thought worth knowing. Some books treat of physics and astronomy, others of geography, natuml history, medicines, and of the history of art. In many of these departments Pliny himself was only an amateur, and without any thorough knowledge of what he was writing about, whence it is not difficult to dis- cover mistakes of every kind, whose number is further in- creased by the haste and carelessness with which the authoi* seems to have made his extracts from books. Pliny's own nephew calls the work an ojms dij'usum, cruditum nee minus it A.I.. 14-600.] C. VALERICS FLACCtJS, 1&5 varium qrmm ipsa natura; but notwitl.3tanding ^^l^^^t^l natural history of Pliny is to us a real mine of f^°'°'^}'°^ nSewwVinabi; ^ most of «^« XJ^f-^jS he made his extracts are now lost. Plmy s style isneituer eiv nor attmctivc. but often concise and forcible. He does XtUch himself' to any special school o pl'^-^^Jy^'J views are of a pantheistic nature: for God is to him identical IT^ dre, to whose action all phenomena are trace^We^* 139 M Licinius Crassus Mucianus, known in histoiy „« tho man who was most active in Bccuri..« tho imperial . Thrt toVeitaT B-ing^hat emperor's rcjgn he see.s to have withdrawn from public life, "^^ \ *^ ''^^^^Xma- himself to coUecting historical memoirs ai^. 68, he ^as raised by Nero to the consulship afterThicT Asir H"t-'^ ^".''^ '^', administi^tion of th*^ p^^vir<^'5 Asia. After his return ho withdrew from publ c life ami pS iursdtf ' # r^ "",'' '''■^"^^' 1-oCg hii.Jelf^'tJ Of his poetical production, we stHl Lave an epos, entitled a coItZ^&'^^^^ '\lt ^/^cus by K R Lemaire. with , Halle, 1863. ' ^^^' ^ '''^- ^ fi^«^ text is that of G. Thilo; A.D. 14-600.] p. PAPINIUS BTATIUS. 157 ■ fi- 5 ■' t Funica, in eighteen books, which gives a poetical account of the second Punic war, mainly based on the histoiy of Livy. In accordance with the prevailing taste of the age it is written in a rhetoncal and declamatory style; but in the main' the author adopted the language and versification of Vergil, whom he veneitited almost like a god. Though the subject is historical, tlio poem abounds in mythological allusions, and in learning of every kind. Martial who, of course, is lavish in his praise of the wealthy Silius Italicus, states that the Punicay on its first api)earance, was received with great applause. Whether this is true or not, we cannot say, but certain it is that the poem soon fell into oblivion; in fact, every ti'ace of it was lost until a.d. 1417, when a MS. of it was discovered by Poggio, in Switzerland.* 143. P. Papinius Statius was the son of a distinguished Neapolitan gi-ammarian of the same naftie, by whom he was most carefully educated. Even before the death of his father, in A.D. 80, he had acquired considerable reputation by the beauty of his extempomneous pixkluctions, and by the recitation at Rome of a portion of his epic poem TJiehais. Afterwards he withdrew to Naples, either because he had been defeated in a poetical contest at Rome, or for some other reason unknown to us. He must have been bom about A.D. 47, and does not appear to have survived the Emperor Domitian. There is no reason for believing that the Statius mentioned by Juvenal as a poet living in poverty, is the same as Papinius Statius, who throughout appears to have lived in easy circumstances. Whenever he alludes to Domitian, or any one connected with the coui-t, he speaks of them with the most fulsome adulation. He wrote many poems to pixler for peraons of rank and influence. He appears to have been a man of a weak and timid character, and certainly did not write as he felt, for while he freely censured the dead Caligula and Nero, he flatters Domitian in a disgusting manner. In language, and in the construc- tion of his verses, ho scrupulously follows Vergil. Ilia works are: — 1. Thebais, an epic poem in twelve books, on which the * The principal editions are those of Drakenborch; Utrecht, 1717^ and Euperti: Qottingen, 1795, in 2 vols. - ; 158 HISTORY OP LATIN LITERATURE. [PERIOD V. author was engaged during twelve years. It describes the feuds between the brothei-s Eteocles and Polynices. The first ten books are most diffuse, full of long speeches, and descrip- tions of preparations for the contest, while the last two, as if the poet had become tired of his work, describe the final contest in a very summary manner. The poem has few merits, for its language is sometimes bombastic and some- times obscure by its artificial brevity; the delineations of the charactei^, their motives of action, and the arrangements of the detail also leave much to be desired. 2.^ Achilleis, in two books, is an unfinished epic. The poet's intention was to give the complete story of Achilles from his birth to his death; but he did not finish it, and the fragment closes with the scene where Achilles is found out by Ulysses, and obliged to join the expedition against Troy. The style of the poem is less bombastic and forced than that of the Thehais, but equally diffuse. 3. Silvce, in five books, is a collection of thirty-two poems written on various occasions, and some of them to order. The several books appear to have been published successively* and in chronological order, with an address in prose to the pei-son to whom the book was dedicated. The fii-st book cannot have been written before a.d. 90, whence the last may be assigned to A.D. 95. Most of these poems are written in hexameter verse, and are valuable as pictures of Roman life at the time, showing the poet to have been a man of honourable but weak character.* 144. M. Valerius Martialis was bom at Bilbilis, in Spain, about A.D. 43. At the age of 22 he went to Rome, where he lived for many years, and survived the Emperor Domitian. Considering his brilliant talents, he might have secured an honourable and independent existence, but he prefen-ed, as he hmiself says, casu vivere, that is, to live as a retainer and flatterer of wealthy friends, to write poems to order, and to soUcit gifts from the powerful. He often alludes to his poverty, and craves the assistance of friends, though he him- self occasionally speaks with contempt of those who followed a similar coui-se. From Domitian, who, according to him, T> *'^^itii^^- ^^®™ editions of Statius are those of Pr. Dubner- rana^ 1830, m 2 vols.; and of G, Queck: Leipzig, 1854, ia 2 vols. *#•'■' A.D. 14- 600.] VESTRICIUS SPURINNA. 159 was the very pattern of a good and wise ruler, he received honours and titles, and apparently, also, a small estate near Momentum. That he did not praise the tyrant because he really believed him to deserve it, but because he hoped to benefit himself thereby, is clear from the fact that, like Statius, he blamed Nero, and spoke in high praise of such men as Arria and Thrasea Psetus. We cannot, therefore speak of Martial's personal character without a feelin<^ of disgust and contempt. His works consist of a collectioS of epigrams, in fifteen books, the subject of which is the social life of the Romans of his day, with all its immoralities and servility. He seems to gloat over what is frivolous and licentious, and to be totally devoid of the sense of mor- ality and manly honour. As a poet, however, he ranks very high, and his epigrams are distinguished for their ease and elegance. They are mostly composed in the elegiac metre. '^ ° 145. Tlie number of persons who wrote poetry in the reign of Domitian was immense; it was a fashion, or rather mania to make verses and recite them at private meetings of friends' or m public; few of them, however, seem to have been pub- lished. We shall name only a few of the more prominent poets of this class : — Z. Arruntius Stella, of Naples, was consul in a.d. 101 and a friend of Statius who, as well as Martial, often mentions 1 1. -^^,7^'^*^ ^^'o*ic elegies, addressed to the beautiful and wealthy Violentilla, whom he afterwards married. Tiirnus, a freedman, who rose to high honours under the lUavian emperors, wrote satires, while his brother Sccevius Memor composed ti-agedies. Verginius mi/us was consul three times, and died, a.d. 93, during his third consulship. He was a friend of the younger Plmy, who mentions him among writers of erotic poetry. Vestricius Spurinna is described as a fresh and cheerful old man, in a.d. 101, and as engaged in writing lyric poetry, wm Gnmma 1842; and the text m Teubner's collection. A good Tor 1875 ' ''"*"' ^"^ ^' '"^ '^*"^ ^^ ^- ^- ^"^^r- ^^^' ^«0 --0-0.™,,,,^,,,^, ^^^^^^^^_ both m Latin and in Grppt t ..• distinguislied himself in the w»r , • ^f "f y^*"^ ''e Lad Germany; i„ ^.i>. 59 h^had foZht f T *¥ ^'■"«*«". « under Domitian he wJ^Zl7.^.^ *^^ ''''° "^ Otlio, and Stapicia, the wifpT,Tp . ^,-f'^ consulship. We st^l Possi'^tirJht'r^'etSA^^ P-*".. a satire, expressing noble and^ n„H^?- ^J'T'"®'^'" ''"es of extremely doubtfurwheLSera™hV'''r^'. *"'' '* « erotic poetess. Thev seem mfh? f u , P™d"ction of the -ode p^t of thelfShtnLy *^ '''^ ^^"^"^ °f --« at all eve^ts"^ Q'Man Ts eSaSl" ^p'^"- °^ ••''«*°™' bad ample opportunities of hLt' i^- *' ^'""«' and there rhetoricians.^' In" D 6, he o?^ distinguished omtore and and returned with^L 1 1 sT aT'^ ^^'^^ ^^*^ Spain, to have adopted the pr'ofeSion of / f '^^' ^'""^ ^' ''^^^ law and also to have del vered decf.^ .'' '"^ '^' "=°"'t« °f subjects. Some few specimens of 1,;^''*'°"' on imaginary and he complains thaHme of h^r*">7"f ^'"' «^tant,+ down by his hearers and publish r-"',^-'"'^ ^'^'' *^ken gained his greatest reput^t on ^f TT^ '"' ^"'^ but he was the fi-^t^rhetoriciar^horecd^efa r f °'^*°'-^' ^^'^ from the fiscus. He had verv mt? ., v^''.'"' *"»"«' salary snch as theyounger S- aTT('"v'^'*'°«"'^''«''P"l'il«. the education of the Sdsons o^T "''. ^''^'''^'^ to him conferred upon him tlT dSt "of aT*'^ ^°"!^""^' '''"<» conld not but feel gmteful fii. ° ,, ,'^°n.«"lar. Quintilian further bear in mind the usua5 T '"'^^rtions, and if we emperor at the time, we caZot h« '''' °^ 'P*''''''"^ ^^ the manner in which he menUr, t T^""^ "P°° the flattering to have acquired a coSraUe?„'f''°°- , ^"^"tilian seem? been engaged in teaThinT *• ''t' '^'^'ch. after havin.. enabled fi^ to retire ^t T. IJ^'t. 1 '""'Tj ^--• 13 unknown, though it mnJ t. ^® *™® °^ ^^^ death His own work, as we ] ^ tt w' """'"''r' ^''^""^ *•"• 106. : See Wemsd rf ^1^!'^'*""°"^^ ''^ "*''«-' ^I^-- that t See Meyer, Ora/C^C-^'n^'^"'- '"- P' «'> ^'U- A.D. 14-600.] SEX. JULIUS FKONTINUS. 161 QuintUian was a man of a mild and humane disposition, that he enjoyed his high position without pride or aLgan^' and was always ready to acknowledge the merits of othei" thZT ^ ^^** r'^ ^^'''^ ^^ ^till possess, we know that he also wrote others which are lost, sich as i)« CauZ m^T f^^r:''^- His most important work beai^The title De Imhtutwne Oratoria, in twelve books. It was trL° '•.f"'.^ withdmwal from the profession oiZ teacher within the space of two years, and comprises the matured results of a long experience. The workf wSch is trontdd'^ to Victorius Marcelh.s, begins with an'intrlc! slvs fhlrr w ^^ •P""^'?''^ '^JP^°- Tl^^ »^thor himself says that the work is not intended for boys, but for good and studious young men. It contains a complete system of instruction for a future orator, illustrating the various pri^ ciples by examples^and giving most valuable hints on XI of tl,r.f °- "^f ?^ especially recommends a careful study to the nT. . '"^f r ? ^f". ^«"^S^^' ^°<» this leads him to give in the tenth book a brief critical survey of the history of Greek and Latin literature. In establishing his tWy of oratory, he mainly follows Cicero; but taking him as his basis he constructs an independent system, enr&hed by his own experience. Qumtiliaai knew the corrupt taste of his age and endeavoured to counteract the prevailing vicious style of oratory, but was himself unable entirely to emanci' pate himself from its influence. His style is indeed free from bombast and the usual rhetorical embellishments; but the influence of the times shows itself occasionallv ii the harshne^ of his expressions, and in the compleity and awkwardness in the construction of his periods * There were sevei-al contemporaries of Quintilian who dis- tinguished themselves as orators, but some of them abused their powera by acting as informers. nfltL^^t /""''' Prontinus, bom about a.d. 40, was one tL M„^ . honourable characters of this period, and rose to the highest honours by his own merits. In a.d. 70 he was o *, J*"® best critical edition of Quintilian is that bemn W P T SpaJding m 1798, and completed by C. G. Zumpt aifE &nneU' ^8H m 6 vols. A good text w« edited by Bol^^l^^^Tm, ■4*"' 162 HISTORY OF LATIN LITERATURE. [PERIOD V. praetor urbanus; in a.d. 74 he was sent as proconsul into Britain, to succeed Petilius Cerealis, and subdued the power- ful and warlike tribe of the Silures. He also appears to have taken part in the war against the Chatti, in Germany. After his return to Rome he lived quietly on an estate on the coast of Campania, devoting himself to scientific and literary pursuits. Nerva, on his accession, a.d. 97, called him back into active life, raised him to the consulship, and at the same time appointed him to the office of curator aquaruiriy that is, the superintendence of the aqueducts supplying the city of Rome with water. He seems to have died about a.d. 103. Frontinus was an able commander in war, and an excellent man of business. All we know of him shows that he was a man of honour, free from pretension and arrogance. He never flattered Domitian. His authorship is limited to technical or professional sub- jects, about which he had acquired much practical experience during his active life. He wrote : — 1. De Agrorum Qualitate, De Controversiis, De LitnitibuSf etc., a work which consisted of at least two books, and treated of the measurement, the division, etc., of lands. It now exists only in a very mutilated form.* 2. Be Be Milltari Romarwrum^ in which he explained the principles of military tactics and military afiairs in general. The work is now lost, but we may regard the treatise of Vegetius De Re Militari as a kind of epitome of it. 3. Strategematicon lihri IV., is a collection of various military stratagems. The stories are not always quite correct; but they are nevei-theless valuable, on account of much in- teresting information not to be found elsewhere. This work also has come down to us with many interpolations made by others, whence some critics have been led to doubt the genuineness of the whole. The fourth book is properly only an appendix, containing acts and expressions referring to military affliirs. This book, with its boastful rhetorical beginning, is very unlike the simple style of Frontinus; and, as it contains nothing that had not already been stated in the three preceding books, or is not to be found in other * The most correct edition is that in C. Lachmann's Gromatici, Vol L, p. 1, foil. / A.D. 14-600.] .SMILIUS ASPER. 16; >< extant works, it is generally considered to be an addition m^e by some compiler of the fourth or fifth century " . •;. • ^?'"* f '•^^ ^o„ia!, in one book-, was probably ■ ^-''•Zvr'?-YK^^' '^"*,''°' P"''"*^^ «» after the&Tf ^ -l^^rva, which happened a.d. 1 1 7. This work treats of everv - thin^ connected with the planning, building, and ketpS s„tiLhit:ctr"^"''' """"'■'''"'^^ ''^ *"" ^'^*-/°f 148. Among the many grammarians of the age of Domitian we may mention ^milius A sper, ^ho wrotS an excellent commentary on Vergil, which is often mentioned, and ako commentaries on Terence and Sallust. It has already been remarked that history was almost hadlf^vT V^"r/'^?'^*^°'^' hence J«fe», H^Ucue had to lay down his life, because he had written laudatory b ographies of Thrasea P^tus and Helyidius Priscus. OtheS^ P^SdZslotphil^iT^'^"^'^ *" '^^'' '^^^"" '''' Si I^TiN Literature dcring thb Sr^nvpCEy TURY. (From the Accession op Nerva, a.d. 96, to ti^^A^^SI^ OF Caracalia, a.d. 211). 149. A new life began with the accession of Nerva, in a d 96, and men whose mouths had been sealed during the reim of Domitian now gave vent to their feelings of anger aid indignation. Nerya himself, whose father Ld grandfather had been distinguished jurists, had some literar/tasterbut . his reign was too short to produce any marked effect and hi^ successor Trajan (a.d. 98-117) was too much c^upS tTre Tt r*^ t*'/™* any great influence upon liteni- ture Under him and his successors we cannot but be struck by the unfortunate consequences of the despotic proceedings of the rulei-s ot the first centuiy. The age seems to hale doro^Levd'H™" oltheStrategematica is still that of F. Ouden- 164 HISTORY OP LATIN LITERATURE. [PERIOD V. I A.t). 14-600.] D. JtJNltrS JUVENALIS. 165 lost the power of producing anything independent or original, and most writers showed their want of taste by adopting a style which consisted of a jumbling together of all kinds of styles, and by hunting after what was rare, archaic, and far fetched. Such was the case, especially under Hadrian, when a pedant like Fronto became the leading spirit in litemture. Although most writers looked to the past for models, they were unable to comprehond or grasp its spirit, and to make the right use of it. Learning and erudition became as com- mon and as fashionable as verse-making had been under Domitian; and to make the acquisition of this superficial kind of learning easy, abridgements and ejHtomes of the earlier works were drawn up for those who had no time or inclination for the study of the great works of their ancestors. Oratory degenerated more and more into declamatory dis- plays or show speeches, which were the fashion in all parts of the empire, and were delivered and published both in Greek and in Latin. The practical sciences of medicine and law alone continued to be cultivated with earnestness and brilliant success, and the writings in these departments are free from the stylistic faults of the times. Poetry died out almost entirely. The ancient religion had indeed sunk more and more in popular estimation; but superstition and the love of the marvellous were nevertheless on the increase, and offered temptation to swindlers and miracle-mongei^ of every description. Such circumstances paved the way for the in- troduction of Christianity, which had already taken root in the Greek-speaking parts of the empire, and now also began to attract attention in the Latin or western portions. Its doctrines of divine mercy and of a future life of bliss and happiness were particularly comforting to the poor and the oppressed, and filled them with an enthusiasm that feared neither death nor torture. The same spirit soon also seized the educated classes, and the grand idea of one God, the creator of heaven and earth, could not fail to exercise upon them a most powerful influence, as they had already renounced the ideas of polytheism as imsatisfactory. A fresh stimulus was thus given to intellectual life : for those still clinging to their ancient religion either opposed the new one with all their might, or endeavoured to show that it taught nothing which was not already thought or implied in the religion of their ancestors, while the advocates of Christianity made every effort and every sacrifice to ensure its propagation. The Latin language also underwent considerable changes, especially in the province of Africa, where what is called the "African Latinity" is represented by several important writers. ^ 150. By far the most distinguished among the poets of the time of Trajan is the satirist D. Junius Juvenalis. There are no fewer than seven brief biographies of Juvenal which are assigned to as many ancient grammarians, and yet we know very little of his life beyond what can be gleaned from his own satires. He must have been born about a.d. 54, probably at Arpinum, in Latium, and was the son of a liber- tinus, who seems to have owned considerable property. He received the ordinary education of a Roman boy, and having devoted himself to rhetoric as a youth he practised it as a man for his own amusement till about a.d. 94, about which time he seems to have offended Domitian, and to have been sent into Egypt to undertake some military command. Soon after the murder of Domitian he appears to have been allowed to return to Rome, being then about 40 years of age. He did not write, or at least recite, any of his satires, till after the death of Domitian. This occupation he con- tinued under Trajan and Hadrian. The time of his death is unknown, though it seems probable that he survived the accession of Antoninus Pius (a.d. 138), and that he died at the advanced age of about 80. From his own poems we learn that he was a friend of the poet Statins, and knew Quintilian. The number of Juvenal's satires is sixteen, distributed among five books. The order in which they are usually printed seems to be the same as that in which they were written. The last two are of a moralising character. They do not possess the vigour and freshness of the others, and make the impression of being the productions of an old man. The effects of his rhetorical occupations during the first half of his life are visible in his poetry. What induced him to write satii-es was, as he himself intimates, his indignation at the vices and atrocities he had witnessed in the time of 166 HISTORY OP LATIN LITERATURE. [PERIOD V. Domitian, which had filled his mind, while he wa« obliged to be silent, with anger and scorn. To these feelings he gives vent under more favourable circumstances, and he does so with a sense of pleasure and satisfaction, being evidently without faith in man and without hope for him. The sub- jects of his satires belong to the time in which he wrote, but prudence told him to speak at the present generation by speaking of the past, that is, he writes under Trajan as if he lived under Nero and Domitian. He intentionally selected subjects which presented the darkest side of the social and political life of the time, which he exposes and lashes without mercy. He shows a most extensive know- ledge of the world and of human nature, or rather of the worst side of it. He is not a man of refined taste, his mmd IS powerful, but not pure. Occasionally we meet, indeed, with a charming picture of private life, but on the whole he gives us only the coarse reality without an aton- ing antidote. He knows the faults and vices of his time, and seems almost to revel in painting them. In regard to the form and stnicture of his poetry, Juvenal is cer- tainly not an artistic poet of a high order. His views and thoughts, as they are accidentally called forth, so they are accidentally stnmg together, without internal or natural connection. The numerous allusions to occurrences of the time often render it difficult to understand the meaning and drift of his satires, or of passages in them; hence commen- taries or scholia were written upon them by grammarians at an early time, and some of them are still extant.* The mania of writing verses continued during the reign of Trajan, as we must infer from the number of persons mentioned by the younger Pliny as having written and published poems. Some attempted epic and othei-s ele^nac poetry, while others again tried their skill in comedy, but none of their productions has survived to our time. 151. The foremost place among the prose writers of the time of Nerva and Trajan is due to Cornelius Tacitus, born ■D * "^^lo.^^^* modern editions of Juvenal are those of C. F. Heinrich: Bonn, 1839, m 2 vols.; of 0. Jahn: Berlin, 1851, both of which edi- tions contain the ancient scholia; and of A. J. Macleane (together With the satires of Persius): London, 1857 A.n. 14-600.1 CORNELIUS TACITUS. 167 4*,- about A.D. 54 (whether at Interamna or at Rome is uncertain) ; he was probably the son of Cornelius Tacitus, a Roman eques, who was entrusted with the financial afiairs of Belgium. Tacitus, like Juvenal, had to spend the best part of his life, under Domitian, in forced silence. In a.d. 78 he married the daughter of Agricola; and as in the same year the latter proceeded to Britain, it is not unlikely that Tacitus may have accompanied him, for in some parts of the life of Agricola he shows a knowledge of the country, which could scarcely have been acquired without seeing it. Some dignity was conferred upon him by Yespasian, which was increased by Titus; this must have been about a.d. 80, but in what this increase con- sisted can only be conjectured, and may have been the sedile- ship or the tribunate of the plebs. In a.d. 88, when the secular games were celebrated at Rome, Tacitus was prretor, and invested with the priestly office of quindecimvir, and in the year after this he and his wife seem to have left Rome, perhaps to ^et out of the way of the jealous despot Domitian. After the death of Agricola, in a.d. 93, he seems to have returned to Rome, as he blames himself for being, to some extent, responsible for the death of the younger Helvidius. In A.D. 97, the first year of Nerva's reign, Tacitu^ was raised to the consulship, in the place of Yerginius Rufus who had died, and on whom he delivered a most eloquent funeral oration. The only other event of his life we know of is that, in A.D. 100, he and Pliny conducted the accusation against ]Marius Priscus. The time of his death is uncertain, but his life seems to have extended into the reign of Hadrian, so that his death must have taken place about a.d. 120. Ho had intended, after the completion of his Annates, to write the histoiy of Augustus and his time, but the plan Avas probably frustrated by his death. There can be no doubt that Tacitus, like many others, had become embittered by the necessity of suppressing his indig- nation at the proceedings he had witnessed during the reign of Domitian. Like other thoughtful men he was, indeed, convinced that the monarchy was the only possible form of government for the Romans at the time; but in theory and in his heart he was attached to an aristocratic republic, and he resigned himself to what could not be avoided, differing 168 HISTORY OP LATIN LITERATURE. [l>fiRlOD V, in this respect from some philosophers who loudly deplored the loss of liberty, and paid for their presumption with their lives. As an historian, his first object always is to ascertain the facts from the best authorities, exercising his critical judgment in their selection, and whatever the result is he expresses without reserv^e, though not without occasionally giving a hint as to his own subjective opinion. His mode of writing history may be described as pragmatical, that is, he conscientiously traces events to their causes, whether they lie in the circumstances of the time or in the character of men, and it is especially in the psychological analysis of the latter that Tacitus is unequalled. The tone which pervades his historical compositions is serious, sad, and sometimes bitter; but he always avoids rhetorical and passionate exag- geration as unbecoming the dignity of an historian. During the first period of his authorship he appears to have been desirous to follow the style of his classical predecessora ; but after a time he made up his mind to adopt that of his own age with its tinge of poetical colouring and its antithetical pomtedness, but in such a manner that its epigrammatical conciseness, novelty, and boldness, goes even beyond the general character of the style common in his day, and by its brevity and difficulties he compels his readers to think and to ponder. The chief cause of the difiiculties of Tacitus lies in his brevity: for he never uses more words than are abso- lutely necessary, and he thus forms a strong contrast to the copious style of Livy and Cicero. As to his religious views, tlie hoiTors which he had witnessed, and the impunity with which the wicked trampled on the good and innocent, often throws him into a state of despondency, and into a belief that the gods are either indifl'erent to the affairs of men, or are angiy with them, and that therefore the worid is left to fate, or to chance. He does not appear to have embraced any particular system of philosophy, but in his ethical views he shows most sympathy with the Stoics. The following is a list of the writings of Tacitus, in the order in which they were written : — 1. Dialogus de Oratoribns.—Thk work was composed in the reign of Titus, or in the beginning of that of Domitian, and IS the first-fruit of his historical studies. In it Tacitus i A.1). 14-600.] CORNELIUS TACITUS. 169 compares the state of oratory in his own time with that of earlier days, and points out the causes of its decline since the establishment of the empire. The dialogue is constructed in such a manner that the speakers, without interruption, explain their views in long speeches; the speakers are literary celebrities of the time of Vespasian. The work contains a va^t deal of information and excellent criticisms of men and things. Tacitus is throughout an admirer of the good old times, and of such men as Gracchus and Cato, though he is well aware that not everything ancient is also good. The style of the dialogue is more easy and fluent than in his later writings ; nor is there, as yet, any trace of the bitterness which we find in his gi'eat historical works.* 2. De vita et moribus Agricolce liber was written in the lifetime of JSTerya, after his adoption of Trajan, which occurred in A.D. 97. Tacitus himself describes this biography as the pre- cursor of larger historical works, which were to contain the records of former servitude and a testimony of present blessings. The somewhat rhetorical character of the work reminds us of the laiidationes funebres. The author's later style is not yet completely developed; but the whole is written in a kindly spirit and with warm affection, f 3. De origine, situ, moribus ac j)02mlis Germanorum, sometimes called simply Germania, is an ethnographical treatise on Germany and the Germans, which Tacitus was induced to compose on account of the great interest which at that time Germany had for the Romans. He had pro- bably seen parts of Germany at the time when his father was officially engaged in Belgium. He contrasts the rude and simple manners of the Germans with the luxury and rotten social condition of the Romans; but although he knows the latter in all its hideousness he is at heart a Roman, and neither blind to the good qualities of his country- men nor to the failings of the Germans. The whole is written, like the Agricola, in a kindly spirit, sometimes verg- ing on sentimentality. Among his written authorities he * Good separate editions of this dialogue are those of Fr. Ritter: Bonn,^ 1836; and of E. Dronke: Coblenz, 1828. t The best separate editions of the Agricola are those of C. F. Wex: Braunschweig, 1858; and of Fr. Kritz: Berlin, 1865. / 170 HISTORY OP LATIN LITERATURE. [PERIOD V. mentions only Caesar, though he must have used others also.* 4. Ilistorice. — This work comprised, in fourteen books, the history of the reigns of Galba, Otho, Vitellius, Vespasian, Titus, and Domitian, i.e., the histoiy of Rome from A.D. 69 to 96, or the history of Tacitus' own time. At an advanced age he intended to add the history of Nerva, but was prevented by death. Of the original fourteen books we now possess only the first four and a portion of the fifth, and these parts com- prise only the history of the years 69 and 70. The work must have been published after the death of Nerva. f 5. Annales, ov Ab excessu divi Augnsti. — After finishing the Ilistorice, Tacitus went back and undertook to write the history of Rome from the death of Augustus till he reached the beginning of the Ilistorice, i.e., it comprised the history of Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, and Nero, so that the two works together formed a continuous history from the death of Augustus to that of Domitian. This work was written in the reign of Trajan, and must have been published between A.D. 115 and 117. It consisted of sixteen books, but a con- siderable part of it is lost. We now possess only the first four books, with parts of the fifth and sixth, and the last books from the eleventh to the sixteenth; but of the eleventh the beginning is wanting, and of the sixteenth the end. The whole of the reign of Caligula, and the beginning of that of Claudius, and the last two years of Nero, are thus lost. The title Annales probably intimates that the author adheres more strictly to the chronological order of events than he did in the HistoHce.X 152. Next to Tacitus the most important writer of the time of Trajan is C. Plinius CsBCilius Secundus, commonly called Pliny the younger; he was the son of L. Cseeilius, who had married a sister of the elder Pliny, and was born at Como in a.d. 62. He lost his father at an early age, but * Good separat.e editions of this treatise are those of Ft. Kritz: Berlin, 1869; and R. G. Latham: London, 1851. t A good separate edition is that of Th. Kiessling: Leipzig, 1840. X The Annales have been edited separately by Th. Kiessling: Leip- zig, 1829; and byNipperdey: Berlin, 1864. The best modern editions of all the works of Tacitus are those of I. Bekker: Leipzig, 1831, in 2 vols. ; and by Fr. Bitter: Cambridge, 1848, 4 vols. i fe A.D. 14-600.] C. PLINItJS C^CILIUS SECtJNDUS. 171 was taken care of^by his uncle, Pliny, and his guardian, Verginius Rufus, and was carefully educated at Rome, where, among others, he received instruction from Quintilian. In his nineteenth year he began his active career as a pleader in the law courts ; and he himself tells us of many speeches which he delivered there, and which he afterwards revised and published. At a later time we find him serving as a military tribune in Syria, where he became acquainted with the philosophers Euphrates and Artemidorus. On his return to Rome he obtained successively the offices of quses- tor Csesaris, tribune of the plebs, and pr^tor; the last of which he held when he was only thirty years old. In order to avoid coming into conflict with the despotic Domitian he withdrew into private life, from which he did not emerge until after the accession of Nerva, under whom he obtained the prsefectura gerarii, and, in a.d. 100, the rank of a consular. On the occasion of obtaining this last distinction he delivered the speech known by the name of the " Panegyricus." Ten or eleven years later he was entrusted with the administra- tion of the province of Bithynia ; and, during the time of his stay in Asia, he kept up an active correspondence with the Emperor Trajan. The time of his death is unknown ; but considering that he was a man of a feeble constitution, he is not likely to have lived to an advanced age. Whether he died in his province or soon after his return cannot be decided, though his death must have occurred about a.d. 113. Pliny was connected by friendship with the most eminent men of his time, such as Quintilian, Tacitus, Silius Italicus, Martial, and many others. He was a man of a most gener- ous and kind-hearted disposition, which he showed especially toward his native town of Como, where he founded a library and public baths. His great weakness was vanity, although it never shows itself in an offensive manner, or in deprecia- tion of others. Taking him all in all it has been justly said that he was really great in nothing, but small in many things, though he always aimed at what was good and noble. In his eariier years Pliny, like most other young Romans, tried his hands at poetical composition. At the ago of four- teen he wrote a tragedy, and oii his return from Syria, when detained in the island of Icaria, he wrote an elegy upon the 172 HISTORY OP LATIN LITERATURE. [PERIOD T. I island; in fact, he never seems to have given up poetical composition altogether. He published sixteen speeches be- longing to the time of his acting as a pleader, but only a few fragments of them have come down to us, which are collected in Meyer's Oral. Eom. Fragm.j p. 598, foil. Only one speech, the Panegyricvs, has reached our time ; it was addressed to Trajan, whom he thanked for the honour of the consulship. In it he gives a description of the emperor's government, which is of considerable historical importance, but very wearisome on account of the bombastic style and the extravagant praise he lavishes upon the sovereign. After the accession of Nerva, Pliny wrote a series of letters with the avowed intention of their being published. These letters have come down to us in nine books, which seem to have been published separately as they were written, from A. D. 97 to 109. To this collection was afterwards added a tenth book, containing his coiTespondence with the Emperor Trajan during his governorship of Bithynia. All these letters treat of a multitude of subjects, and place their author before us in every variety of circumstances. He is quite frank and open, but is always trying to place himself in the most favourable light, a weakness which may easily be forgiven, as he is always aiming at what is really good and honourable. The style of his letters, in which he endeavoured to imitate Cicero, is smooth and polished ; but they want the intellect and genius of Cicero. At one time Pliny seems to have contemplated writing historical works ; but we do not know that he composed anything else than two rhetorical bio- graphies of Helvidius Prise us and Vestricius Cottius, which are now lost. It may be that the brilliant success of Tacitus as an historian deterred him from entering into competition with him.* 153. The letters of Pliny make us acquainted with the names of a great many men who distinguished themselves at the time as orators, both in the senate and in the courts of * A good edition of Pliny's Panegyricus was published by J. M. Gesner : Gottingen, 1749. Good editions of the letters are those of Veenhusius: Leyden, 1669; and of J, Cortius and P. D. Longolius: Amsterdam, 1734. The best edition of all the extant works of Pliny is that of H. Keil: Leipzig, 1870. A.D. 14-600.] HADRIAN. 17S law, and some of whom also published their speeches. The increased activity in this department, and the decrease of mere declamatory or show speeches, is a sign that freedom was raising her head again. One of the most eminent rheto- rical orators was P. Annius FloruSy of whose speech Vergilius, orator an poetay an interesting fragment still exists. He also wrote poetry in the time of Hadrian, and may be the same Florus under whose name we have twenty-six trochaic tetrameters and five hexameter lines on roses (see A. Riese, Anthol. Lat., p. 168, foil.). Jurisprudence is represented in Trajan's time by a great number of eminent men who enlarged the science of law by works on a variety of legal questions, which became standard books, and are often referred to in the Digest. Among the grammarians of the time we must mention Flavins Caper, two of whose treatises, De orthographia and De verbis duhiis, are still extant, though they are apparently only meagre abridgments of the original works. Velius LonguSy who also wrote a work, De orthographia, which is still extant, and a commentary on Vergil. These grammatical treatises are printed in the collections of ancient gram- marians. There remain, lastly, some technical writers belonging to the same time, as — 1. Hyginus, who wrote a comprehensive work on land surveying, of which we still possess some remains, viz., De munitionibus, de limitibus constitvsndisy of which the work of Frontinus seems to have formed the basis. 2. BalbuSy who wrote an exposition of geometrical forms (Expositio et ratio omnium formarum). This was a manual for practical land surveyors, mainly based on Euclid and Heron. 3. Siculus Flaccus, who wrote a work, De conditionibm agrorum, which is still extant in a good and complete condi- tion. The writer limits himself to the consideration of the lands in Italy, and seems to have written his work after the death of Domitian. The remains of this and other writers on land surveying are collected in C. Lachmann's Gromatici. 164. The Emperor Hadrian, who reigned from A. d. 117 to 138, was himself foud of every kind of literature. He was a I 174 HISTORY OP LATIN LITERATURE. [PERIOD V. ready speaker, and even wrote poetry, both in Latin and in Greek ; but, \7ith the capriciousness peculiar to his character, he on the one hand honoured and enriched men of letters, while on the other he laughed at them and despised them] thinking himself superior to them all. His tastes were in favour of the literature of the classical period. He seems to have published some of his speeches, or at least to have allowed them to be published by some of his freedmen ; and his funeral oration on his mother-in-law is still preserved in an inscription. His reign, therefore, was not without some influence upon literature, though it would be difficult to say whether it was more beneficial or more injurious. During the whole of his reign we do not hear of a single poet of eminence. Annianus is mentioned as the author^f a poem called Falisca, on the pleasures of country life, and of Fescennines. A few men, such as Annius Florus, L. j^hus Venis, Yoconius, and many others, like the emperor himself, wrote verses, but more as a playful amusement, without any higher aim, and none of their productions have come down to our time. 155. The most important prose Avriter in the reicm of Hadrian was C. Suetonius Tranquillus, of whose life we know very little, but who must have been bom shortly before AD. 75. He came forward as a pleader and an author in the reign of Trajan, and seems to have been a friend of the younger Pliny, in whose letters he is repeatedly mentioned. In a letter, written about a.d. 105, Pliny urges him at length to publish his books, and some years later he obtained lor him the ju8 irium liberorum and the trtbuneship. Hadrian afterwards made him his private secretary; but in conse- quence of some supposed misconduct towards the empress during her husband's travels he was dismissed. After this time he appears to have devoted himself exclusively to lite- ra^ pursuits, especially to the history of the Latin literature and language : for his taste was thoroughly national, and he ^ed to follow in the footsteps of Varro, Santra, Nepos, and Hyginus. He was the author of many works, one of which only has come down to us complete, while most of them are known to us only by abridgments and extracts. 1. Deviria iUmtrilms, a large collection of lives of Roman A.D. 14 600.1 C. SUETONIUS TRANQUILLUS. 175 poets, orators, historians, philosophers, grammarians, and rhetoricians, from the earliest times to the end of the reign of Domitian. Of the first portion of this extensive literary history we possess only abridgments which were made by Diomedes and Hieronymus ; but of the part devoted to the poets we still have the lives of Terence, Horace, and portions of those of Vergil, Persius, and Lucan. There is also a frag- ment of the life of the elder Pliny. The part treating of grammarians and rhetoricians is more complete, though still more defective, than any of the others. What great loss we have sustained in this work may be seen by a glance at the lists of names prefixed to the seveml sections. 2. Prata, in eight books. The first treated de anno Boman- orum and all its sub-divisions, another treated de natiira rerum, a third de genere vestium, and others de vitiis corporum, verbornm differentiae, etc. Some parts were written in hexa- meter verse. Of this work also we possess only fragments. 3. De regibuSy in three books, of which only a few frag- ments are extant. 4. Ludicra historia, partly in Latin and partly in Greek ; some portions of it were likewise written in verse. 5. De rebus variis. — The extant fragments of all these works have been collected by A. Eeifierscheid, in his work entitled C. Suetonii Tranquilli prceter Ccesarum libros reli- quice: Leipzig, 1860. 6. Vitm Ccesarum, in eight books, one of the principal works of Suetonius, is the only one that has come down to us entire. It is dedicated to C. Septicius Clarus, the prsefectus prsetorio (which office he held from A. D. 119 to 121), so that the work must have been published about a.d. 120. The lives of the first six emperors, from J. Caesar to Nero, are described in as many books; Otho, Galba, and Vitellius, occupy the seventh book ; and the three Flavian emperors, Vespasian, Titus, and Domitian, the eighth. The beginning of the life of Caesar is wanting. In drawing up this work, Suetonius availed himself of the best authorities, and used them with care and judgment ; but he has neglected the chronology of events, and shows little insight into human nature and into political matters. The lives are full of anecdotes, in the selection of which he does not always show a refined taste; 176 HISTORY OP LATIN LITERATURE. [PERIOD V. but he nowhere perverts or suppresses the truth, neither does he flatter Domitian or any other of the contemptible tyrants. Commodus ordered any one that had read Suetonius' life of Caligula to be thrown to the wild beasts. Valuable as the lives are in an historical point of view, they are not works of art, and cannot be compared to Tacitus' life of Agricola.* 156. Julius Florus, is the author of a brief history of Rome, in two books, from the earliest times down to the peace with the Parthians in the reign of Augustus. Of his personal history nothing is known ; and while some have regarded him as a contemporary of Augustus, others, with far more probability, place him in the time of Trajan and Hadrian. The work is, on the whole, an epitome of Livy ; but the author has also consulted Csesar, Sallust, and Lucan. The character of the work may be described as a panegyric on the Roman people, the object of the author being not so much to relate the wars of the Romans as to extol their virtues. Such a scheme could not be carried out without misrepresenting history; and, besides this, the work is full of errors and misunderstandings. The style is full of rhetorical artifices of every kind, and in his rhetorical fashion he laments the increasing degeneracy of the Romans, and attributes almost all their misfortunes to the pernicious influence of the tribunes of the plebs — a proof how little he understood the history of his own country, f ^ 157. The most distinguished among the jurists of Hadrian's time was Salvius Julianus, who, by command of the em- peror, collected and arranged the edicts of the praetors of the republican period. He was a native of Adrumetum in Africa, and was entrusted with several high offices of state. He wrote an edictum perpetuum and Digesta in ninety books, many parts of which were afterwards incorporated in the Digesta of Justinian. Besides these he composed several other legal works, which are often referred to by later jurists. ♦ A good edition of Suetonius is that of I. A. Ernesti, re-edited by F. A. Wolf: Leipzig, 1802, in 4 vols. A good text is that edited by C. L. Roth, in Teubner's collection, 1858. t The best critical edition is that of O. Jahn: Leipzig, 1856; and a good text is that edited by C. Halm in Teubner's collection. .n. 14-600.] CiELIUS AURELIANUS. 177 Other distinguished lawyers of the same period are Ahurnius Valens, who wrote Actiones, in at least seven books, and libH Jideicommissorum, likewise in at least seven books. Sextus Pomponius published epistles, a history of the Roman law, and many other legal treatises of great value, which are often quoted in the Digesta. 158. Most of the rhetoricians of Hadrian's time wrote in Greek; among those who wrote in Latin we may mention the Spaniard Antonius Julianus, who, like T. Castricius, is mentioned among the teachers of Gellius, and Calpurnius Flaccus, of whom fifty-one declamations are still extant, but of whom nothing further is known. These declamations are published in P. Burmann's Metores Minores : Levden 1720. ^ ' The most celebrated grammarian of this time is Q, Terentius Scaurus, who wrote a Latin grammar, a treatise on poetry (poetica), and commentaries on Plautus and Vergil. These works are now lost, but are frequently referred to by the later grammarians, Charisius and Diomedes. Flaccus was an advocate of the style and language of Cicero. The little work De Orthographia, which is still extant, and bears his name, is at best only an abridgment of a real work of Scaurus. The philosophers of the time of Hadrian, when they wrote at all, wrote in Greek. A physician of the name of Ccelius Aurelianus, a native of Sicca, in ISTumidia, wrote in Latin two treatises, one on acute diseases, m three books, and the other on chronic diseases, in five books. Both works are still extant, and are printed in the different collections of the Medici Veteres. Other works by the same author are lost. The style of his works IS simple, but in the description of diseases it becomes lively and animated, though the language has the peculiarities of the African Latinity. 159. The reign of Antoninus Pius, from a.d. 138 to 161 was eminently favourable to literature, but the Romans seeni to have lost all creative power. Their taste had so much de- generated that the pedantic affectations of a man like Fronto for a long time became the oracle of what true oratory should be and that he even became the founder of a school which called Itself after him the school of Fronto {Frontoniani). 178 HISTORY OP LATIN LITERATURE. [PERIOD V. Jurisprudence and gi^ammatical literature alone continued to flourish. M. Cornelius Fronto, generally described by writera of the next centuries as the orator, and regarded by his con- temporaries as second only to Cicero, was a native of Cirta, in Africa, and born about a.d. 90. After having received his education there, or perhaps at Alexandria, he went to Rome, where he soon created a great sensation as a pleader in the courts of justice, as early as the time of Hadrian, who had a very high opinion of his abilities. Antoninus Pius entertained the same respect for him, and not only raised him to the consulship, in a.d. 143, but entrusted to him the education of M. Aurelius and L. Verus, for he had in the meantime gained the highest reputation as a teacher of oratory. The affection and attachment whicli was thus formed between Fronto and his princely pupils lasted to the end of their lives. After he had held the consulship it was intended that he should undertake the administration of the province of Asia; but he declined the honour on the plea of infirm health, for he suffered much from gout, of which he very often complains in his letters. He appears to have become possessed of considerable property, for he owned the gardens of Mtecenas and several villas, and expended large sums upon the building of splendid baths. He seems to have died in a.d. 168, in the reign of M. Aurelius, for there are no letters of a later date than that yeai'. He left behind him only one daughter, his wife and five children having died before him. The affectionate friendship subsisting be- tween him and the Emperor M. Aurelius is the best evidence of the kind and amiable charactei-s of both men. Fronto's admiration of his patron sometimes degenerates into flattery, though at other times he does not hesitate to tell him dis- agreeable truths. When the emperor had made up his mind to devote himself to the study of philosophy, Fronto left no means untried to dissuade him from it, and to win him back to oratory, which, in his estimation, was the only pursuit worthy of a great mind. Fronto's favourite authors, whose study he also recom- mended to his pupils as models worthy of imitation, were Jainius, Plautus, Cato, Gracchus, Lucretius, Laberius^ and A.D. 14-600.] M. CORNELIUS FRONTO. ' 179 Sallust. Cicero is sometimes praised by him, more especially when he needs the support of his authority in setting forth the advantages of oratory, otherwise he seems to speak of him with a kind of secret contempt, and certainly professes to prefer his letters to his speeches. What he misses in Cicero are the very things through which his own style becomes pedantic and tasteless, viz., the aiming at what is rare, old- lashioned, unusual, and novel. Against the philosopher feeneca he has a very strong prejudice. Till very recent times the only work of Fronto known to ^''^«^T^^ ^^""^^ treatise i>e i>ty6mij5m Vocahulorum; but in 1«14, A. Mai discovered a palimpsest, containing a con- siderable portion of the correspondence between Fronto Antoninus Pius, M. Aurelius, L. Verus, and several other triends. Subsequently another portion of letters was found in the Vatican library, at Rome, where the whole collection was published, in 1823. These discoveries brought to light not only a considerable part of the correspondence of Fronto but fragments of essays on various subjects; the contents however are so trivial, and the style is so vapid, that scholars were not a little disappomted in their expectations. The correspond- ence between Fronto and his imperial pupils is indeed pleasin li 188 HISTORY OF LATIN LITERATURE. [PERIOD V, A.D. 14-600.] iEMILIUS PAPINIANUS. 189 5. De MundOy in one book, addressed to Faiistinus, is based, according to the introduction, on a Greek work of Theophrastus, but also contains much that is specifically Roman. 6. Metamorphoseon lihri XI. — This is Apulems* most celebrated work. It is a satirical novel, containing the his- tory of a young Greek, Lucius of Patrae, whose curiosity to learn something of the magic arts leads him to visit Thessaly, where, by some mistake, he is metamorphosed into an ass, but retains his consciousness as a man. He relates with great humour his experiences as an ass, until the time when he recovered his human form. The subject is taken entirely from Lucian's Lucius, with the exception of the conclusion, which is Apuleius' own. The whole tale is interspersed with stories of ghosts, robbers, and the like, and the well known history of Amor and Psyche forms a most delightful episode. The numerous descriptions of men and manners render the story particularly interesting to us. The style, which has a great deal of the African Latinity, is often strained and rhetorical, but often also clear and animated. This novel enjoyed great celebrity in later times, and seems to have been popularly known by the name of the Golden Ass (Asimia Aureus). Lastly, we possess, under the name of Apuleius, a work entitled uEsculapius sive dialogus Ilermetis Trismegisti. This dialogue between ^sculapius and Hermes Trismegistus treats of God, the world, and man; it is a new Platonic production of no value, containing traces of a considerable influence of Christianity, and can scarcely be regarded as a work of Apuleius. All his genuine works show that he was a man of great talent and extensive knowledge ; but at the same time that he was extremely vain, and under the influence of the faulty taste of his age and country. His thirst for knowledge in every department seems to have been insatiable ; but the same thii-st also led him to pui*sue the marvellous and mys- terious, whence, with an unusually clear understanding, we find combined in him an amount of superstition which is scarcely credible. He is fond of making a show of his reli- gious feelings ; and although he regards the deities of the \ different nations only as different names of one and the same god, he is nevertheless hostile to Christianity. His real faith is that of Platonism, mixed up with Pythagorean and other mystic elements. He had a great command of lan- guage, but still Latin is to him evidently an acquired tongue, which he uses without any feeling for its beauties and niceties, when, e.g.y he employs words and phrases from Plautus in his serious discourses. His style is, moreover, very diff*use, and overladen with all manner of rhetorical artifices.* 167. Jurisprudence continued its brilliant career under M. Aurelius, under whom flourished the illustrious Q. Cervidius Sccevolay the teacher of Papinian and the author of Digesta, in forty books, which were of great use to the compilers of the Pandects under Justinian. A contemporary of his, Papirius Justus ^ made a collection of imperial constitutions ; and another, PatemuSy who was Latin secretary to M. Aure- lius, wrote a work De Re Militariy in four books, which is now lost, but is often referred to by Vegetius, a later writer on the same subject. 168. Commodus, the unworthy son of M. Aurelius, who reigned from a.d. 180 to 192, had no taste for anything good, noble, or intellectual, and the brief reigns of Pertinax and Didius Julianus (a.d. 193) could exercise no influence upon literature ; but the active and able Septimius Severus (from A.D. 193 to 211) at least appreciated its value, and himself wrote a history of his own public and private life, in which, among other things, he defended himself against the charge of cruelty. Under him poetry still remained mute, but jurisprudence continued its brilliant career, and Chris- tianity had its fii*st public defenders. The great jurist, JImilius Papinianus, was a friend of Septimius Severus, and under him held the office of prsefectus prsetorio ; he was not only an honourable and faithful servant of his sovereign, but a man of real genius in his own depart- ment, and by his writings gained and maintained the admira- tion of many generations of jurists. The most important * The chief edition of Apuleius is that of Oudendorp : Leyden, 1786-1823, in 3 vols. A more recent edition, which also contains the remaining fragments of the lost works, ia that of G. F. H, Hildebrand: Leipzig, 1842, in 2 vols. A 190 HISTORY OP LATIN LITERATURE. [PERIOD V. among his works were Qucestiones, in thu-fcj-seven books, and Responsa, in nineteen books, works which were much used in the compilations made imder Justinian. Severus recommended to his care his two sons, Geta and Caracalla; but soon after his accession Caracalla ordered the friend of his father to be murdered, because he preserved his loyalty to Geta. Among other jurists of the time, Callistratus, a native of Greece, wrote Be Jure Fisci, in four books, Qucestiones, in two books, and several other legal works; A. Claudius Try- phonius wrote notes on Scsevola's Digesta, and Disputationes, in twenty-one books; Ai-rius Menander.o. Greek,and amember of the imperial council, wi-ote on military law. in four books. It may be remarked here that Tertullian, the great Christian apologist, before his conversion, wrote several works on law, such as Qumtiones, in eight books, and a Liber de castrensi pecuho; and even in his polemical works on theology his cleverness as a laAvyer is conspicuous everywhere. 169. The earliest Christian work in Latin that has come down to our time is a dialogue of M. Minucius Felix, entitled Octavius. Felix was a distinguished Roman advocate, and composed his work in the reign of Septimius Severus. The dialogue, resembling in form the dialogues of Cicero, is carried on by Felix himself (under the name of Marcus), Csecilius Natalis, and Octavius Januarius. The scene is on the sea-coast, near Ostia, and the time apparently the reirk of Arnobius is printed in some of the collections of the Fathers ; but there are also good separate editions by J. C. OreUi: Leipzig, ISIG; and G. F. Hildebrand: Halle, 1844. A.I). 14-600.] LACTANTIUS FIRMIANUS. 201 181. Lactantius Firmianus, probably a native of Italy, was instructed in rhetoric by Arnobius. Having gained some reputation as a rhetorician he was invited to go to Nicomedia, where the Emperor Diocletian was then residing; but what he earned there as a teacher of Latin and rhetoric was so httle that he was often in want of the barest neces- saries of life. In his later years he became a convert to Christianity, and about a.d. 312 we meet him again in Gaul as instructor of Crispus, the son of Constantine. He seems to have died m the same country at an advanced age. Lactantius is distinguished above all other Christian writers m Latin for the purity and smoothness of his style, which is formed after the best models of the classical a<^-ln the part treating of metres he follows the Greek Hephsestion, Varro, and Csesius Bassus.t 2. There are three trivial treatises which have come down ^o us under his name, and are in a very corrupt state, viz., / De re Granwiatica, De Carmine Heroico^ and De-1^atione metrorum (printed in Putschius* Gram. Lat., p. 1937, foil.). They seem to be the productions of three difierent writers, and to have been assigned to Marius Victorinus without sufficient reason. * The best edition of this work is that of C. Bursian: Leipzig, 1856; it is also printed in C. Halm's edition of Minucius Fehx. t The best edition of this treatise is that in Gaisford's Scriptores Jiei Metiicce Latini, c> 208 HISTORY OF LATIN LITERATURE [PERIOD V. 3. A very diffuse and almost useless commentary- on Cicero's Rhetorica; it may be the work of a Victorinus, but certainly not of the one we are here speaking of. (It is printed in Orelli's edition of Cicero, Vol. V., p. 1, foil.) His theological writings are to some extent lost, but we still possess his work, De Trinitate Contra Arium libri IV, Some other works also bear his name, such as De Generatione Verbi Divini Opusculum, Contra duo Principia Manichceorum, et de Vera Came Christie but whether they are really his we cannot determine. (They are printed in the collections of the Fathers.) There are, lastly, some Christian poems which bear his name, but their authorship is equally uncertain. (They are printed in G. Fabricius, Poetce Christani, and in A. Rivinus, Sanctce Beliqicice Victorinorum : Gotha, 1652.) 191. -Villus Donatus.— Of his life nothing is known be- yond the fact that Hieronymus was one of his pupils; he was a learned rhetorician and grammarian, and lived about the middle of the fourth century. He is the author of: — 1. Ars Grammatical which has come down to us in two forms, a shorter one {Ars Minor) ^ which treats only of the parts of speech, and a larger one, in three books, both of which are printed in Putschius and Keil's collections of Latin grammarians. In later times the grammar of Donatus appears to have been very popular, although in some respects it is inferior to those of Charisius and Diomedes, for it was repeatedly commented upon and epitomised, as e.g., by Servius, Pompeius, and Julianus. 2. A valuable commentary on Terence's comedies; unfortu- nately that on the Ileautontimorumenos is now lost. These commentaries, however, are not preserved in their original form, they appear rather to be a compilation from three different commentaries, the best part of which is no doubt the production of Donatus. 3. A commentary on Vergil, which is lost. 192. To the same period seems to belong Palladius Ruti- lius Taurus ^milianus, who is known to us only as the author of a work, De Re Rustica, in fourteen books, in which, without any |/ii.LuiiAiuu LU sL^'le, he briefly repeats the teach- ings of his predecessors and of his own experience. The fii-st book contains a general introduction, the next twelve are a A.D. 14-600.] DURING THE FOURTH CENTURY. 209 kind of agricultural calendar, giving rules for every month of the year, and the fourteenth book, dedicated to one Pasi- philus, is composed in elegiacs. The work is printed in J. M. Gesner's collection of the Scriptores Rei Rustical. 193. To this century also belong the different Itineraries, which have come down to us, and are collected in Wesseling'a Vetera Romamrum Itiiieraria: Amsterdam, 1735. They are : — 1. Two Itineraria Antonini, giving the routes by land and by sea through the provinces of the empire. The first foundation seems to have been laid in the time of Caracalla; but additions were constantly made, until they assumed the form in which we now have them, and which was probably published in the time of Diocletian. >. 2. Itinerarium Burdigaleme or HierJsolymitanuin^ which belongs to a.d. 333, ^nd describes the ifeute from Burdigala (Bordeaux), to Jeru^lem; it was apparently drawn up for pilgrims to Jerusalem, x 3. Itinerarium Alexahdri. — In a.d. 340, when Constantius was preparing his campaign against Persia, some one drew up the route taken by Alexander the Great in his eastern expedition for the guidance of the emperor. It is mainly based upon the account given by Arrian in his Anabasis; but the last part is lost. There are also two topographical works belonging to this period, viz., two lists of the Regiones urhis Romce, into which Augustus had divided the city. One of these probably be- longs to A.D. 334, and the other to a.d. 357. The former generally beai^ the title of Notitia Regionu7n, the latter that of Curiosum. Both have come down to us in a greatly inter- polated condition, and have been assigned, without any ostensible reason, to two different authors, P. Victor and Sex. Rufus. Lastly, we have to notice a work of the very greatest historical importance, viz., a description of the city of Rome, with historical and antiquarian notes, forming a sort of chronicle from the earliest times down to about the middle of the fourth century. Parts of this work were known before, but valuable additions have recently been made from manu- scripts found at Vienna and Brussels, and the whole, as far 210 it . HISTORY OP LATIN LITERATURE. [PERIOD V. J as it is now known, has been edited by Th. Mommsen, in 1850. '^ 194. History continued to be written in the form of short biographies, or such brief epitomes as satisfied men in an age that had neither time nor inclination to read the great works of former times, which, in consequenca,^ere more and more dispensed with and forgotten. Historical writers of this kind were — 1. Sex. Aurelius Victor, who wrote brief biographies of the emperors {Ccesares), from Augustus to Constantius. At a later period a sort of biogi'aphical history of the republic, from the earliest times to the reign of Augustus, was added, under the title of De viris illustribits. In order to make the work still more complete, somebody added at the begin- ning twenty-three chapters, entitled Origo populi Romania which, however, are of no historical value whatever. The part De CcesaribuSf brief as it is, was again epitomised by some later writer, and continued to the death of Theodosius. All these writings are still extant. Aurelius Victor himself, in his Ccesares, evidently availed himself of the best autho- rities; and his biographies become more minute as he approaches his own time. That he was a pagan is clear from the fact that he attaches much impoi-tance to prodigies. The part De viris illustrihus does not limit itself to Roman history, but includes Pyrrhus, Hannibal, and even Cleopatra; it is mainly based on Cornelius Nepos, Florus, and Suetonius, and is composed in plain and simple language. In the epi- tome of the lives of the emperors some additions are made from other sources than Aurelius Victor, and the style is very poor. The Origo populi Roinani is a miserable pre- tentious production of some sciolist of the fifth century.* 2. Eutropius, a contemporary of the Emperor Valens (a.d. 364-378), compiled a brief history of Rome, from the earliest times to a.d. 364, under the title BreviariumHistorice Romance^ dedicated to the Emperor Valens. This little work is composed with great judgment and impartiality, and wi'itten in very simple language ; in consequence of which it soon became a * The beat edition of these works, which all go by the name of Aurelius Victor, is thj^t of Fr. Schroter: Leipzig, 1829-1831, in 2 volg. A.D. 14-GOO.] JULIUS OBSEQUENS. 211 popular school-book, and was even translated into Greek A considerable portion of this translation, which is not free from misunderstandings, stUl exists, and is printed in some ot the earlier editions of Eutropius.* 3. Rufus Festus composed a similar epitome of Roman histmy, which is still extant, and is likewise dedicated to the Emperor Valens. Its title is Breviarium rerum gestarum popuh Romani; but it is much poorer than the work of Eutropius, together with which it is often printed.! 4. Julius Obsequens, probably belonging to the latter half ot the fourth century, is known to us only as the author of a collection of prodigies {De Prodigiis), recorded in Livy, from the year B.C. 249 to 12. These extracts, however, do not seem to have been taken from the original work, but from some epitome of Livy. The author is of course a pagan, attachmg much importance to prodigies. It is often printed together with the work of Valerius Maximus.+ 195. Rhetoric continued to flourish, especially in Gaul, and we know the names of several eminent orators or rhetoricians but the only speech of the time that ha^ come down to us is one delivered on the 1st of January, a.d. 362, by Cluudius Mariiertmus, who therein thanks the Emperor Julian for having raised him to the consulshi]). The speech is interest- ing because the author gives us a pretty correct description ot the character of Julian, both as a man and as a ruler It IS printed m the collections of the panegyrists. The Emperor Julian himself was distinguished as an orator and an author; but all his works are written in Greek and cannot be discussed here. ' 196. The two best known grammarians of this period are Charisius and Diomedes, who, although they wrote indepen- dently of each other, yet present such striking resemblances as might lead to the belief that they had copied each other • but a closer examination shows that they both copied the same authorities. i « 1. Plavius Sosipater Charisius, probably a native of 1869. The best edition of Eutropius is that of Fr. Eissenhardt: Berlin, t A good separate edition is that of R. Mecenate: Rome, 1829 H. Ihere is a good separate edition of it by 0. Jahn: Leipzig, 1853. 212 HISTORY OF LATIN LITERATURE. [PERIOD V. A.D. 14-600.] D. MAGNtJS AtJSOJfltJS. 213 ,tr 1 Africa, lived as a teacher at Rome, and wrote an Ars gram- matica, in five books, for the use of his son. The greater pai-t of it is still extant, and from it we see that he made exten- sive use of the works of Julius Romanus, Oominianus, and Palsemon, and often copios them verbatim. Where his authorities disagree he rarely ventures to express his own opinion. The chief value, therefore, of his grammar consists in those parts which are borrowed from earlier grammarians whose works are lost. What remains of Charisius' gmmmar is printed in Putschius and in H. Keil's Gram. Lat, Vol. I. Extracts from the work were made in the seventh or eighth century, which likewise still exist, and by means of which some of the gaps in the original may be fiUed up. They are also contained in the collection of Keil. 2. Diomedes' work is likewise called Ars grammatua, m three books, and is dedicated to one Athanasius. Diomedes followed other authorities besides those which Charisius used, e.g., Valerius Probus and Terentianus. Otherwise he stands very much on a line with Charisius, the chief interest con- sisting in what he, often very carelessly, copied from othei-s (see Keil, I.e.). 197. After a long interval we at last, during the latter half of the fourth centuiy, meet with a poet of decided talent, Bufius Festus Avienus; he was proconsul of Africa m A.D. 366, and of Achaia in a.d. 372. His native plaxje was Volsinii, in Etruria; but, when not abroad, he seems to have lived at Rome, where he became the father of a numerous family. He evidently aimed at, and was capable of great things ; but the influence of the times was too powerful, and he had to yield to it. His poems are chiefly of a didactic character; but he always relieves the dryness of his subjects by flashes of real genius. His works are — 1. A translation of Ai-atus' Phcenomefiia, in hexameters, in which he tries to surpass his predecessors, partly by gi-eater fidelity to his original, and partly by the insertion of interest- ing passages from other philosophers and astronomers. The work is printed in the collection of Aratea. 2. Orhis t&rrce, or Descriptio orbis terrcB, in 1494 hexa- meters, in imitation of the Greek nepi-nyrjoig of Dionysius, whom, however, he does not name. He has made some learned additions, and surpasses the original by the liveli- ness of his descriptions. It is printed in Wernsdorf's 'oet. Lat. Min. V., p. 527, foil. ^^-Qra Maritima, in iambic trimeters, of which only a fragment of 703 lines is now extant. In it he describes the coast of the Mediterranean, from the Straits of Gibraltar to Massilia. Even this fragment is disfigured by gaps and many corrupt readings. In the complete work Avienus had described the coasts of the Mediterranean, the Euxine, and the Caspian. The poem was dedicated to one Probus, and many authorities are referred to in it. The style is fluent, but the language is not free from archaisms and strange innovations. It is printed in Wemsdorf, V., p. 1165, foil. 4. Avienus is said to have transcribed the whole of Livy and Vergil in iambics ; but not a trace of this stupendous work now exists. 5. A number of small original poems in hexameters, among which there is one addressed to Flavianus Myrmecius, a playful composition, in which he asks his friend to send him some pomegranates (printed in H. Meyer's Anthol. Lat., p. 108). 198. Another poet of considerable merit, who flourished about the same time, is D. Magnus Ausonius. He was the eldest son of an eminent physician at Burdigala (Bordeaux); he must have been bom soon after the beginning of the fourth century, and lived until about a.d. 390. At the age of thirty he established himself as a teacher of grammar in his native city; but afterwards devoted himself more to rhetoric. About a.d. 365 the Emperor Valentinian invited him to become the instructor of his son Gratian, whom he afterwards accompanied on his expedition into Germany. Valentinian further raised him to the rank of a comes (count), and made him quaestor sacri palatii; Gratian further con- ferred upon him other honours, and, in a.d. 378, gave him the praefectura Galliarum, to which, in the year following, the honour of the consulship was added. At this time he was residing at Treves, where he delivered an oration thanking the emperor for the distinction conferred upon him. This speech, which is still extant, is full of the usual rhetorical flatteries towards Gratian, who was then staying at Sirmium. 214 HISTORY 05" LAtm LITERATURE. [pERIOD V. Ausonius also enjoyed the esteem of the Emperor Theodosius; but his political career seems to have come to an end with the death of Gratian (a.d. 383), after which he returned to Burdigala, and devoted himself with great zeal to the cultivation of literature. Ausonius was a convert to Chris- tianity j but whether he took this step at the time when he was summoned to the court as tutor to Gratian, or earlier, is unknown. But at all events Christianity does not appear to have taken deep root in him, for he is evidently more at home in the ancient Roman classics than in the Bible, and had not got rid of many of his pagan ideas. Some of his many writings are lost, such as his Fasti ah urhe condita usque ad siium coTisulatum, but four epigrams, which he wrote as introductions to the several parts of this work, still exist; as also his Ajyologi jEsopi. The only prose composition that has come down to us is the above-mentioned oration, delivered at Treves ; all his other productions are in verse, which, although their poetical merits are small, are excellent in point of form, and contain much valuable information, for Ausonius possessed very extensive knowledge and a powerful memory. He contrives to make his productions attractive, however dry his' subject may be. Kia versifi- cation, though on the whole correct, is not free from some serious faults. His extant works are — 1. A collection of 146 epigrams, mostly in the elegiac metre ; but some are in hexameters or iambics. A few of them are written in Greek, and others are only translations from the Greek. To these are added the four epigrams which he wrote as introductions to his Fasti, 2. Ephemer i s, a poe m on the divisions of the day, in vari- ous metres"; There is a considerable gap in the middle. 3. Parentalia, consisting of thirty poems, mostly in elegiacs, on the deaths of relations ; most of them were written after his consulship, and some of them are remarkable for their warmth of feeling. 4. Commemoratio professorum BurdigalensiuTrif consists of thirty-six poems on professors who had taught at Burdigala, nineteen of whom were natives of the place, the remaining seventeen only resided and taught there. 5. Fpitaphia, twenty-six epitaphs on heroes distinguished /.t). 14-600.] D. MAGNUS AUSONIUS. ^15 in the Trojan war, to which are added eleven on other per- sons, partly mythical and partly historical. 6. Ccesares, addressed to his son, Hesperius, consists of four lines on each of the first twelve emperors, to be com- mitted to memoiy; then follow similar Versus Memonales on the subsequent emperors, down to Ausonius' own time, but we possess the verses only down to Elagabalus. 7. Ordo nohilium urbiunif in fourteen pieces, on seventeen cities, in hexameters, must have been written after the death of Maximus, a.d. 388. 8. Ludus SeptecB Sapientu^, a kind of puppet-show, in which, after a brief prologue and a " ludius," the seven wise men come forward and say what they have to say. At the end a call is made for applause, as in a comedy. Solon is the most talkative among them. After these scenes there follow — 9. Sententice of the same seven wise men, each occupying seven lines in different metres. It is, however, now com- monly believed that these Sententice are not the work of Ausonius. 10. Idylliaj a number of twenty poems, mostly in hexa- meters or elegiacs, and sometimes with an introduction in prose. They are mostly somewhat pedantic fancies, as on the number three, on the twelve labours of Hercules, on the nine Muses and their functions, etc. The most celebrated of these poems is No. 10, entitled Mosella, describing a journey up the Moselle as far as Treves. It consists of 403 hexa- meters, and was written at Treves in a.d. 370. It is in many respects the most interesting of all the productions of Ausonius : it shows great appreciation of the beauties of nature, and contains several episodes, as on the fishes of the Moselle, on fishing, on architects and their works.* 11. Eclogariumj verses on all kinds of astronomical sub- jects, on the names of the stars, the days of the week, Roiiian festivals, Greek games, etc. 12. Epistolce, twenty-five in number, are mostly playful letters written after Ansonius' consulship; one of them is written in prose, others are entirely in verse, and others * A good separate edition of this poem was published by Ei Booking: Bonn, 1845. 216 HISTORY OF LATIN LITERATURE. [PERIOD V. again only partly so. A few among them belong to an earlier period of the poet's life.* 199. To this period we must probably assign the Latin translation of the strange work of the so-called Dictys Cre- tensiSf who was believed to have lived in the time of the Trojan war, and to have kept a diary of the principal events of the war. The Latin translation of this extraordinary pro- duction, no doubt a forgery of some Alexandrian gi*ammarian, is ascribed to one Q. Septimius, and contains the history of the Trojan war, from the birth of Paris down to the death of Ulysses. There existed a similar work under the name of Dares Fhrygius, which was likewise translated into Latin, and purporting to be rendered into Latin by Cornelius Nepos. Both of these works must be regarded as forgeries, but they nevertheless became extremely popular both in the east and in the west, and have furnished to the middle ages the sub- jects for the legends about the Trojan knights. The two Latin translations are generally printed together.! Another translation from the Greek likewise belongs to this time, viz., a Latin translation of Josephus' history of the Jewish war, which for a long time was regarded as the production of Hegesippus, but is probably the work of AmhrosiuSy to whom in some MSS. it is actually ascribed. Several passages show that the translation must have been made towards the end of the fourth century. The translator, who was a Christian, has not contented himself with simply rendering the Greek into Latin, but has sometimes omitted passages, sometimes made additions from Latin authors, and has given to the whole the character of a Christian work. It is printed in Bolandi, Blbl. Pair. Vol. VIL There are some other translations from the Greek belong- ing to this time, but none is of more interest than a Latin version of the Bible made before that of Hieronymus, and in the vulgar dialect of Italy. Portions of it were published in London, in 1868, from an Ashbumham MS. Other frag- ments, perhaps of the same translation, likewise in the * The BIpont edition of Ausonius contains all his extant works in 1 vol. t The best edition of these works is that of A. Dederich : Bonn, 1832 and 1837. A.D. 14-GOO]. Q. AURELIUS SYMMACHUS. 217 lingua vulgaris, have been edited by E. Ranke : Marburg, 1856. 200. We cannot here discuss the many theological and controversial writings which were called forth about this time by t he Arian h eresy^ but, o.c^r\^^y^, nn,» r.or^or^Va f^ ^^^^ productions" of CHWSIilan poetiy. The singing of hymns of praise and thanksgiving had been customary in the church from early times, but the most ancient lyric poetry of this kind is that of DamasuSy who became Bishop of Home a.d. 366, and died a.d. 384, at the age of nearly 80. Most of hia poems are in hexameter, and in them we already see a strong partiality for rhyme; but prosody is little attended to. It is remarkable that in thirty-seven poems Amasus mentions his own name no less than twenty-seven times. In prose we possess by him only a collection of epistles, which, together with his poetical works, are printed in Gallandi, Biblioth. PatruMf Vol. VI.; see also Maittaire, Ojiera Veterum Poet, Lat.: London, 1713, in 2 vols. 201. During the last twenty years of the fourth century the empire had to defend itself on all sides against foreign enemies, and in the interior against usui-pers. Theodosius (from A.D. 379 to 395), in his internal administration made every effort on the one hand to suppress paganism and the Arian heresy; and on the other to establish the orthodoxy defined by the Nicsean council. In these efforts he was, on the whole, successful, and polytheism became extinct, except in a few families of rank, which still clung to the ancient literature, and through it to the ancient religion. Literature, therefore, with the exception of two or three illustrious names, is henceforth represented by Christians. One of the few pagan writers whom we have still to notice is Q. Aurelius Symmachus, son of L. Aurelius Symmachus (of whom five epigrams are still extant, printed in Meyer's Anthology, p. 106, foil.). He must have been bom about a.d. 350, and certainly did not die before a.d. 420. He occupied a very prominent position in the empire, and notwithstand- ing his attachment to the pagan religion rose to the highest honours, even to the consulship in a.d. 391. His family was very wealthy, and he himself was a most honourable cha- racter, who enjoyed the esteem even of his Christian oppo- 216 HISTORY OF LATIN LITERATURE. [PERIOD V. again only partly so. A few among them belong to an earlier period of the poet's life.* 199. To this period we must probably assign the Latin translation of the strange work of the so-called Diciys Ore- tends, who was believed to have lived in the time of the Trojan war, and to have kept a diary of the principal events of the war. The Latin translation of this extraordinary pro- duction, no doubt a forgery of some Alexandrian gi'ammarian, is ascribed to one Q. Septimius, and contains the history of the Trojan war, from the birth of Paris down to the death of Ulysses. There existed a similar work under the name of Dares Phrygius, which was likewise translated into Latin, and purporting to be rendered into Latin by Cornelius Nepos. Both of these works must be regarded as forgeries, but they nevertheless became extremely popular both in the east and in the west, and have furnished to the middle ages the sub- jects for the legends about the Trojan knights. The two Latin translations are generally printed together.! Another translation from the Greek likewise belongs to this time, viz., a Latin translation of Josephus* history of the Jewish war, which for a long time was regarded as the production of Hegesippus, but is probably the work of Ambrositis, to whom in some MSS. it is actually ascribed. Several passages show that the translation must have been made towards the end of the fourth century. The translator, who was a Christian, has not contented himself with simply rendering the Greek into Latin, but has sometimes omitted passages, sometimes made additions from Latin authors, and has given to the whole the character of a Christian work. It is printed in Bolandi, Bibl. Patr. Vol. VIL There are some other translations from the Greek belong- ing to this time, but none is of more interest than a Latin version of the Bible made before that of Hieronymus, and in the vulgar dialect of Italy. Portions of it were published in London, in 1868, from an Ashbumham MS. Other frag- ments, perhaps of the same translation, likewise in the * The BIpont edition of Ausonius contains all his extant works in 1vol. t The best edition of these works is that of A. Dederich : Bonn, 1832 and 1837. A.D. 14-GOO]. Q. AURELIUS SYMMACHUS. 217 lingua vulgaris, have been edited by E. Ranke: Marburg, 1856. 200. We cannot here discuss the many theological and controversial writings which were called forth about this g ^T but^ productions' of ChWSttan poetry. The singing of hymns of praise and thanksgiving had been customary in the church from early times, but the most ancient lyric poetry of this kind is that of Damasus, who became Bishop of Rome a.d. 366, and died a.d. 384, at the age of nearly 80. Most of his poems are in hexameter, and in them we already see a strong partiality for rhyme; but prosody is little attended to. It is remarkable that in thirty-seven poems Amasus mentions his own name no less than twenty-seven times. In prose we possess by him only a collection of epistles, which, together with his poetical works, are printed in Gallandi, Biblioth, Patrum, Vol. VI.; see also Maittaire, Oiyera Veterum Poet, Lat.: London, 1713, in 2 vols. 201. During the last twenty years of the fourth century the empire had to defend itself on all sides against foreign enemies, and in the interior against usui-pers. Theodosius (from A.D. 379 to 395), in his internal administration made every effort on the one hand to suppress paganism and the Arian heresy; and on the other to establish the orthodoxy defined by the Nicaean council. In these efforts he was, on the whole, successful, and polytheism became extinct, except in a few families of rank, which still clung to the ancient literature, and through it to the ancient religion. Literature, therefore, with the exception of two or three illustrious names, is henceforth represented by Christians. One of the few pagan wiiters whom we have still to notice is Q. Aurelius Symmachus, son of L. Aurelius Symmachus (of whom five epigrams are still extant, printed in Meyer's Anthology, p. 106, foil.). He must have been bom about a.d. 350, and certainly did not die before a.d. 420. He occupied a very prominent position in the empire, and notwithstand- ing his attachment to the pagan religion rose to the highest honours, even to the consulship in a.d. 391, His family was very wealthy, and he himself was a most honourable cha- racter, who enjoyed the esteem even of his Christian oppo- 218 HISTORY OF LATIN LITERATURE. [pERIOD V. nents; but lie was deficient in energy, and not free from the prejudices of a Roman aristocrat, for he looked upon the senate as the best and noblest portion of mankind. He was one of the most eloquent men of his time, and the ease and elegance of his compositions, formed after the best classical models, were acknowledged by all. "VVe still possess some specimens of his oratory, which were discovered by A. Mai, and published at Milan, in 1815. They consist of parts of nine speeches, three of which belong to his earlier years, and are, in the usual Gallic style, somewhat bombastic pane- gyrics on Valentinian I. and his son Gratian; the other frag- ments are parts of speeches delivered in the Roman senate, either to recommend certain persons for public offices, or ex- pressing his gratitude to the emperor for favours conferred, etc.* The epistles of Symmachus which had been long known are of much greater importance. They were probably collected by his son, and published after his father's death, in ten books. They had, no doubt, like the letters of Pliny, been written with a view to their future publication. These letters reveal to us the amiable and kindly character of Symmachus, who was ever ready to afford help wherever he could; but interesting as they are by their exhibiting to us the private Hfe and relations of their author, they afford us but little information about the public affairs of the time. In his letters he maintains with manly spirit his freedom and independence, though he scrupulously observes the courtly style which was then customary, not only in letters to the sovereign, but to other men in high positions. In his conduct towards Christians he was tolerant, and demanded for himself and his friends nothing more than toleration. Once he made an eloquent appeal to the emperor to order the restoration of the altar of Victoria, which had been destroyed in deference to the Christians. This was met by counter appeals of St. Ambrose and Prudentius, and failed in its object. t * The fragments of his speeches were published by Niebuhr as an appendix to his edition of Fronto. See also H. Meyer, Franm. Oral. R(m., p. 627, foil. t The epistles of Symmachus have often been published; a good edition is that of J. Ph. Pareus, last printed at Frankfurt, in 1651. A.D. 14-600.] AMMIANUS MARCELLINUS. 219 202. Among the many orators and rhetoricians mentioned by Symmachus and others, we must notice — 1 . Drepanius Poca^t^, a countryman and friend of Ausonius ; we still possess a speech delivered by him, in a.d. 398, in the Roman senate, which is distinguished for its great liveliness, and for the knowledge which the author displays of the ancient Latin literature. It further contains on the whole a true description of the state of affairs under the usurper Maximus, and of the victory of Theodosius over him. The speech is printed in the collection of the Panegyrists. 2. Messius Arrusianus, an orator, who flourished at the same time, is known to us by a work, called Fxempla Fxecu- tionum, which is dedicated to Olybrius and Probinus. It is an alphabetical collection of substantives, adjectives, preposi- tions, and especially of verbs admitting of diiSerent construc- tions, with one illustrative example in every case. It is printed in A. Mai's edition of Fronto. 3. Ghirius Forturmiianiis, the author of a rhetorical school- book, in three books, in the form of a catechism, in which the^ examples are taken from the best authorities, Cicero and Quintilian; but the questions and answers are not always put in a skilful way. 203. History was studied and written by some of the membera of the family of Nicomachus, but none of their productions have come down to us. The only great historical work which has reached our time, at least partially, is the JRerum Gestarum lihri XXXI., by Ammianus Marcelliijus, a pagan, who was born about a.d. 330, at Antioch, in Syria, and belonged to a distinguished Greek family there. After having received a careful education, he entered the Roman army in the east, where, in a.d. 353, we find him in the suite of Ursicinus, whom, in the year following, he accompanied to Italy and Gaul. He there fought imder the Emperor Julian against the Alemanni, a.d. 356; he then again followed Ursi- cinus to the east, where he distinguished himself, partly as a soldier and partly as a diplomatist, by his prudence and presence of mind. In a.d. 359 he returned to Antioch, and some years later he again served under Julian against the Persians. He finally settled at Rome, where he devoted his remaining years to historical pursuits. The great work which he produced was 220 HISTORY OF LATIN LITERATURE. [pERIOD V» a continuation of Tacitus, in thirty-one books, from the reign of Nerva down to the death of Valens, a.d. 378. The first thirteen books, in which the work came down to A. D. 353, seem to have been very brief, and are now lost. The remain- ing eighteen books refer to the author's own time, for which he is a very valuable and trustworthy authority, for in his active career he had himself taken part in the affairs of the time, and evidently wished to tell the truth. His character as it appears in his work, is that of an honest and straight- forward soldier. He shows his devotion to pagan superstition, but is tolerant towards Christians, and likes to show off his learning. His language is often scarcely intelligible, being a medley of archaisms, newly-formed words and phrases, and full of unusual constructions. In the editions of this work there are generally added some small anonymous treatises, called Excerpta Vetera de Constantino Chloro^ Constantino Magno et aliis Imperatoribics, which are written in a bar- barous language, and Excerpta de lihris Chronicorum de Odoacre et Theodorico, regibus Italice.* 204. Philosophy was cultivated at this time, as before, espe- cially by men who fancied they saw in it a powerful weapon against the overwhelming influence of Christianity; but among them there is no one who has left a mark in literature. There are two grammarians whose works are still extant, and who are of great importance in more than one respect, viz. — 1. Servius Honoratus, a younger contemporary of Sym- machus, who had a school at Rome, but is known to us chiefly through his excellent commentary on the poems of Vergil. This commentary has, indeed, come down to our time, but not without considerable interpolations and curtail- ments. It is full of antiquarian, historical and mythological lore, and of quotations from earlier writers, whence it is to us a mine of information on Roman and Italian affairs, which is not to be obtained elsewhere.! * The best editions of Ammianus MarceUinus are those of Valesius and Lindenbrogius: Paris, 1681; and of C, G. A. Erfurdt: Leipzig, 1808, in 3 vols. t It is printed in some of the earlier editions of Vergil, as in that of P. Burmann: Amsterdam, 1746, in 4 vols. A separate edition has been published by H. A. Lion, Gottingen, 1826, in 2 vols. A.D. 14-600.] P. VEGETIUS. 221 Some other grammatical works ascribed to Servius are printed in Putschius' and Keil's collections of Latin gram- marians and elsewhere. They are: — L In Secwndam Donati Artem Interpretatio; 2. De Batione UUimarum Syllabarum liber ad Aquilinum; 3. Ars de Pedibus Versuum sive Centum Metris; 4. De Metris Iloratii; 5. De Accentibus; but whether all or any of them are really works of Servius is very doubtful. 2. Ti. Claudius Donatus, who likewise wrote a commentary on Vergil addressed to his son Donatianus. This commentary also is extant, but shows less taste and judgment than that of Servius, and contains less historical and antiquarian infor- mation. It is preceded by a life of Vergil, which seems to be mainly based on the life of the poet by Suetonius. 205. There remain a few technical writers on special sub- jects, belonging to the latter part of the fourth centuiy : — 1. Flavius Vegetius Renatus, the author of an Epitome Institutionum Rei Militarise in five books, which is dedicated to the Emperor Valentinian, and seems to have been com- posed about A.D. 390. Vegetius was probably a Christian, who extracted the information conveyed in his book from earlier writers on military affairs of the Romans, and intro- duced historical notices of regulations made by Augustus, Trajan, and Hadrian. The work is simply a compilation from other books, and the author does not aim at any beauty or excellence ot style, but his facts are valuable.* 2. P. Vegetius, sometimes surnamed Veterinarius, seems to have lived about the beginning of the fifth century, and is the author of a work called Mulomedicinay or De Arte Veterinarian in six books. It treats of diseases of horses and oxen, and is founded on Greek works treating of the same subject (hippiatrica). The style and language are so barbarous that some critics suppose it to be a translation of some Greek work made in the middle ages. It is printed in J. M. Gesner's Scriptores rei Busticce. 3. Marcellus, sumamed EmpiricuSy is said to have held some official position in the reign of Theodosius II. Under his name there exists a work, De Medicamentisy which cannot * A good text of the work has been edited by C. Lang: Leipzig, in Teubner's collection. 222 HISTORY OP LATIN LITERATURE. [PERIOD V. ^ J have been writien^efore a.d. 408. As the author calls Aiisonius his felltf^-citizen, he must have belonged to Burdi- gala. His wflrt^which is mainly based upon ScriboniusLargus, consists ofnEfrty-six chapters, giving remedies, even magical ones, agaij^ all kinds of diseases. Its chief value consists in raakiij^^ us acquainted with botanical names, some of which are als^r given in Keltic. Appended to the book are seventy- eigh^exameters on the same subject, but their prosody is vvew filcorrect. * The^fol lowing are the most important theological •it$j?rl5fthis period, but as they belong to the history of (nstianity and of the Church rather than to a history of literature, we shall not discuss their theological writings, but confine our remarks to those which are of interest to s^hojara : — >\imbrosius or ^SL ^mbPooc ^ishop of Milan, flourished ,% from about a.d. 340 to 397. He is the grandest Christian character of the time; he was clever, energetic, and bold, but at the same time unselfish and humane. In promoting and- establishing the power and glory of the church he was indefatigable; in fact he has been described as at once the general and the statesman of the church militant, for which he did more than any one else. Among his numerous writings, the most important to us are his epistles and his funeral orations on Valentinian and Theodosius; but he also acquired great reputation by his sacred hymns, in which he adhered more closely to the classical forms than Amasus. He was probably a native of Gaul, and began his career as a pleader in courts of law, but in his position as bishop of Milan, he com- menced his polemics against the Arians, and showed his bold- ness and energy, particularly in his conduct towards Valen- tinian. His learning, however, was neither very profound nor very extensive, and his greatness lay simply in his I)ersonal character. We still possess ninety-one of his epistles, some of which are real treatises, as, e.g., that against Symmachus' proposal to restore the altar of Victory. His twelve hymns are composed in iambic dimeters, and the lines are often rhyming. These hymns became so popular that after- * The little work is sometimes printed together with the works of veisu3. ... I A.D. 14-600.] HIERONYMUS. 223 wards all similar compositions, such as the famous *'Te Deum Laudamus," were called Ambrosian hymns. His other works are of a strictly theological and polemical character. Like those of most other Christian writers, they are printed in the collections of the ecclesiastical fathei*s. 20 7. Hieronymus, commonly^^ca^lftd RtJ^roniA^ wa s a much iTfiore leariied cfeiender of Uhristianity, and at the same time a much more acute thinker and dialectician. He was born, a.d. 331, at Stridon, on the frontier of Dalmatia and Pannonia, and received instruction from Marius Victorinus, Donatus, and at Constantinople from Gregorius of Nazianzus. He was equally versed in Greek and Hebrew as in Latin. He is the author of an immense number of works, of which he himself gives us a list, from which it is evident that he must have been a man of most extraordinary mental activity. Most of his works seem to have been written at a monastery near Bethlehem, whither he retired in a,d. 381, and where he died, A.D. 420. Among his works we must here notice: — 1. His Translation of the Old ayul New Testament, a real master-work of the kind, which completely eclipsed the earlier translation, and still forms the foundation of the Vulgate. 2. His Translation of the Chronicle of Emebim, with inter- polations and a continuation; it is dedicated to Valentius and Gallienus. The original chronicle came down to a.d. 325, and Hieronymus continued it to a.d. 378, and at the same time made additions in other parts ; these additions or inter- polations can now be easily discovered by comparing the Armenian tmnslation, which is a simple version of the Greek, and was discovered in 1816. The chronicle of Hiero- nymus was afterwards continued by Prosper and Cassiodorus. 3. De Viris Illustrihus, is a history of all the Christian writers down to his own time, and thus forms a complete history of Christian literature. It was written in A.D. 392. 4. Epistolce, which extend over the long period from a.d. 370 to the end of his life, in 420.* 208. Turannius Rufinus, a contemporary and friend of * The works of Hieronymus were edited by Erasmus: Basle, 1665, in 9 vols., foil. They are also contained in Migne's PairologicB C!wr6U9 Completus: Paris^ 1849, vols, 22-30^ 224 HISTORY OF LATIN LITERATURE. [PERIOD V. / Hieronymus, was a native of Aquileia, and occupied himself chiefly with translating theological works from the Greek into Latin. Thus, he translated works of Origen and Euse- bius ; but he does not seem to have been much concerned about literal fidelity. In one of his works Rufinus, having spoken in praise of Origen, whose opinions were looked upon as heretical, Hieronymus, who himself had previously been an admirer of Origen, made a fierce attack upon his friend, to which the latter replied in a work consisting of two volumina, which is still extant. Rufinus also published an edition of the Sententke of Sextius, which he altered and modified so as to give them a Christian appearance. The works of Rufinus are collected in Migne's Patrol y Vol. XXI. Another Christian writer of this time was Faustinus, two of whose works have come down to us, one against the Arians and Macedonians, in seven books, and another, in defence of his own party; it was presented to Valentinian, Theodosius, and Arcadius. They are printed in Migne's Patrol, Vol. XIII. 209. Aurelius Prudentius Clemens is the most distin- guished Christian poet of the time. He was a native of Spain, bom about A.D. 348. He began his career as a pleader in courts of law, and afterwards filled several poli- tical oflSces ; but when he had reached the age of fifty-seven he published his poems and withdrew into a monastery. The time of his death is unknown. His poetry bears strong marks of his original pursuits as a rhetorician. He possesses a great command of language, and manages his subjects with such skill that even abstruse subjects become lively and interesting in his hands. His principal works are — 1. Liber Cathemerinon, a collection of religious hymns for daily use, in lyrical metres, partly in imitation of those of Horace. 2. Liber Peristephanouj poems in praise of Christian mar- tyrs, in various metres ; some of them show great warmth of feeling. 3. Ilamartigmeiay on the doctrine of the Trinity; he there combats the heresies of the different Christian sects; it is chiefly written in hexameters. 4. Psychomachiaj an allegorical poem in hexameters, in A.D. 14-600.] MEROPIUS PONTIUS ANICIUS PAULINUS. 225 which the virtues and the vices contend for the possession of the soul of man. 5. Contra Symmachum, in two books, likewise in hexa- meters. In the first book he combats polytheism in general, and in the second the special assertions of Symmachus, who had petitioned the emperor to restore the altar of Victory. 6. Diptychon, or Uncheiridlon, consists of forty-nine epi- grams, of four hexameter lines each, on Biblical subjects. In matters of form, and in versification, Prudentius follows the best models of the classical times, but his prosody is not always quite correct.* We must also mention a poetess, Proha Faltonia, the wife of the proconsul Adelphus, who composed in Vergilian verses portions of the Old Testament and the history of Christ from his birth to his ascension. These compositions are still extant, and have often been printed (see Mi^ne, Patrol, Vol. XIX). \ ^ > 210. Meropius Pontius Anicius Paulinus, a distinguished writer both in prose and in verse, was a relative and pupil of Ausonius, and a native of Burdigala. He flourished between a.d. 353 and 431. Having received a careful rhetorical education, he composed a panegyric on the Em- peror Theodosius after his victory over Eugenius. We still possess fifty-seven letters written by him, and a number of poems in different metres. In a.d. 389 he became a convert to Christianity, and ultimately, in a.d. 409, Bishop of Nola, in Campania, after having given all his property to the poor. After his conversion he devoted all his energies to the pro- motion of Christianity and the glorification of the martyrs, especially of Felix, who was greatly venerated at Nola. All his productions show that he was intimately acquainted with the pagan literature of Rome (see his works in JVIigne's Patrol, Vol. LXI. 211. There exists a work. Lex Dei, probably written in the reign of Theodosius by some unknown Christian lawyer who was well acquainted with the Roman criminal law. The work contains a comparison of the Mosaic laws with the laws of the Romans, in which the author tries to show that * A good separate edition of Prudentius is that of Th. Obbarius : Tubmgen, 1845. See also the collections of the Fathers. P 226 HISTORY OF LATIN LITERATURE. [PERIOD V. / the laws of Moses form the real foundation of those of Rome. The whole is divided into sLxteen titles. The latest Roman law quoted is one promulgated by Theodosius in a.d. 390. The work is printed in Huschke's Jurisprudentice Antejus- tinianm Beliquice, pp. 528-590. 212. The end of the fourth century produced one pagan poet, who was so familiar with the forms and metres of the best period of Latin literature as to apply them with the greatest ease and freedom, though in other respects, in his rhetorical phrases and in his flattery of the great, he was by no means above his age. That poet was Claudius Claudi- anus, a native of Alexandi-ia, in Egypt. About his family and the time of his bii-th nothing is known; but from his works it is evident that he had received a careful education, and acquired extensive knowledge of a variety of subjects. He seems to have been at Rome, a.d. 395, and there to have become acquainted with the Vandal, Stilicho, afterwards his great friend and patron, whose fall in a.d. 408 Claudius did not live to see, as the latest event alluded to in his poems belongs to a.d. 404. Although his native language was Greek, he wrote nearly all his poems in Latin; and although he was a pagan, he nowhere shows any hostility towards the Christians. His poems are for the most part on con- temporaries or contemporary events, either praising his great and powerful friends, such as Stilicho and Honorius, or attacking his enemies, such as Rufinus and Eutropius. For this reason his poems are also of historical importance; but we must remember that he avails himself of the poetical licence of embellishing and exaggerating the virtues of his heroes, and is not free from passionate vehemence in the attacks of his enemies. His poetry has gi-eater force, dis- plays greater resources and a more powerful imagination, than that of Silius Italicus, or that of any other of the later poets. We shall enumerate the works in the order in which they are printed in the edition of J. M. Gesner: Leipzig, 1759:— 1. In Gonsulatum Prohini et Olyh'iif refers to a.d. 395, and is a panegyric, in 279 hexameters, on the two consuls. 2. In Rujinumy in two books, likewise in hexameters, each book having an introduction in elegiacs. He is most bitter A.1). 14-600.] CLAUDIUS C5LAUDIANUS. 227 ) against Rufinus, though he is not supposed to be too severe upon him. 3. De tertio Consuhtu Honorii Augusti, a panegyric in hexametei-s referring to a.d. 396. 4. De quarto Coiisvlatu Ilo^wrii Augustiy a similar pane- gyric referring to a.d. 398. 5. De Nuptiis Honorii et MaricB, a.d. 398. 6. Fescennina in Nuptias Honorii et JIance, a number of smaller poems, in difterent metres, all referring to the mar- riage of Honorius. 7. De Bello Gildonico, in hexameters, describes the pre- parations for the war against the Mauretanian chief, Gildo, in A.D. 398. 8. De Fl. Mallii Theodori ConsulatUj with a prologue in elegiacs, belongs to a.d. 399. 9. In Futropium, in two books, is full of contempt of Eutropius, and belongs to a.d. 400. 10. De laudihus StUichoniSj in two books, ic a most lively panegyric on that captain. 11. De Consulatv, Stiliclionis, with a preface in elegiacs, belongs to a.d. 400. 12. De Bello Getico describes Stilicho's wars against the Getse, or Goths, during the years from a.d. 400 to 403. 13. In sextum Gonsulatum Honorii Augustiy a panegyric belonging to a.d. 400. 14. Laus SerenoB Regince, a panegyric on that lady, the adopted daughter ot Theodosius and wife of Stilicho. This poem is unfinished. 15. Fpithalamium, a marriage song addressed to Palladius and Celerina. All these poems refer to persons or events of the poet's own time; but the following treat of mythological subjects : — 1. De Baptu Froserpince, in three books, seems to be un- finished. 2. Gigantomachia is likewise unfinished. He seems to have treated the same subject in a Greek poem, of which seventy-seven lines are still extant. 3. Fpistolasy five in number, and all in elegiacs. They are real letters, and are written in plain and simple lan- guage. 228 HISTORY OF LATIN LITERATURE. [PERIOD V, 4. Idyllia, seven in number, are studies of a descriptive and narrative kind in hexameters and elegiacs. 5. Epigrams, forty-four in number : some of them are written in Greek; all of them are certainly not by Claudian; some of them are clearly the works of Christians, perhaps of Amasus. To these works Gesner, in his edition of Claudian, has added a poem called Landed Ilercidis, the author of which is unknown. ^\S^. Auj-fi liu ^ Augiifif-^'niia (St. Ausrustin) was born at Sagaste, in Numidia. His father is described as a very pas- sionate man, and he grew up chiefly under the influence of his pious mother, Monica. He received his literary and rhetorical education at Madaura, and afterwards continued his studies at Carthage, where he led rather a reckless life, and became connected with the sect of the Manichgeans. Subsequently we find him engaged as a teacher of rhetoric at Tagaste, Carthage, and Rome. From the last city he was sent to teach at Slilan, of which ^. Am brose was bishop. Through his infl uence, unite d with that nfTEisjnQtherf he was won ove r to ine urthudu fcnurch^ and baptised a.d. 387. He~ tfeen returned to Africa^ became a presbyter in A.D. 386, and, in 395, Bisho p '^^ ^Tprtj, which office he held until his death, in A.D. 430, during tlio siege of the town by the Vandals. Augustin was the greatest and most influential among the ecclesiastical writers of the time : in his character he com- bined the lively imagination of a poet with the acute intel- lect of a philosopher ; the grand pathos of an orator with the pettiness of a quibbling grammarian ; and large-heartedness with fanatical zealotism. In his earlier years he had indulged his passions ; but afterwards he gave himself up to the con- templation of his inmost self, and of human nature in general, whereby he gave to theology a more practical direction, while with inexorable severity he combated the heresies then prevailing. Towards the end of his life, in A.D. 427, he wrote a work called RetractationeSy in two books, in which he gives a com- plete account of the works he had until then published, and in which he intended to correct sundry errors of which he had since become convinced; but some of those earlier A.D. 14-600.] AtJRELiUg AtJGUSTINUS. 229 works had become so scarce that he was unable to obtain a copy, while others are still extant, such as — 1. Lihri tres contra Academicos, written in a.d. 386, and edited separately by Orelli, with Cicero's Academica. 2. De pulchro et apto, written at Carthage about a.d. 380, in two or three books. The book was very early lost, and Augustin himself was unable afterwards to obtain a copy of it. 3. De Vita Beata, dedicated to Manlius Theodorus ; of this book also Augustin was unable to procure a complete copy when he wanted to correct his errors. , 4. De Ordine. — In this treatise he discusses the question whether good and evil are both contemplated by Providence in the government of the world. 5. Soliloqiiia, in two books, are communings with himself on a variety of subjects. 6. De Immcyrtalitate AnlmcB was written, as Augustin him- self admits, in a style so obscure that afterwards he himself could scarcely understand it. 7. Disciplince, that is, the elements of the so-called sep- tem artes liherales (the seven liberal arts), was a kind of encyclopaedia, embracing grammar, music, dialectics, rhetoric, geometry, arithmetic, and philosophy. Of this work we still possess the part treating on rhythm and music {De Ilusica, in six books). It is composed in the form of a dialogue between a master and his pupil, and seems to be based for the most part on a similar work of Varro. An abridgment of it has been discovered by A. Mai, and is printed in his Collectio Scriptor. Vet, Yol. III., p. 116, foil. Of the part treating on rhetoric, a portion only has come down to us, which is printed in C. Halm's Rhetores Lat. Minores: Leipzig, 1863. Of the part De grammatica, only an abridgment is extant, which has been published separately by C. Fr. Weber: Marburg, 1861; the Principia Dialecticoi has been published separately by Crecelius: Elberfeldt, 1857. Among Augustin's later works those of most general interest are : — 1. CwifessioneSy in thirteen books, in the fii'st ten of which he speaks of himself, and in the remaining tliree of the Scrip- tures. This work throws a vast deal of light on the manners 230 HISTORY OP LATIN LITERATURE. [PERIOD V and morals of the period. Good editions of the work are those of Dr. Pusey, in the Bihlioth. Pair. Eccles. Cathol.y Vol. 1, Oxford; and of K. von Raumer: Stuttgard, 1856. Augustin's most celebrated work is, 2. De Civitate Deiy in twenty-two books. The composition of it occupied several years, and it was not completed till a.d. 426. The author was induced to write it, he says, for the purpose of refuting the assertions of many pagans that the calamities which befell Kome, during the invasion of the Groths in ad. 410, were the consequences of the introduction of Chris- tianity. There is a useful edition of the text published by Tauchnitz : Leipzig, 1825. "We further possess 270 epistles of St. Augustin, many of which are long dissertations, and which extend ovor the period from a.d. 386 to the last year of his life, a.d. 430. His other works are purely theological, and consist of dog- matic and polemical treatises and sermons.* 214. Sulpicius Severus, a presbyter and contemporary of St. Augustin, was a native of Aquitania, in Gaul, and must have been bom about a.d. 365. He seems to have spent the principal part of his life in a monastery, and is known to us as the author tf a brief chronicle entitled, A Mundi Exordio libri II. It begins with the creation and carries the history down to his own time, a,d. 403, As he did not know Hebrew he iised the Septuagint version for the Old Testa- ment history. In his language he imitates Sallust and Tacitus, the latter of whom he also used as an authority in his history of the Jewish war. He did not intend to wnte a critical his- tory, but has produced a good book, which it is pleasant to read.t Sulpicius Severus also wrote a life of St. Martin of Tours, which gives us a very vivid picture of the religious excitement of those times. The saint is described as having had frequent contests with the devil, as having had visions of Christ and the angels, as having performed sundry miracles and predicted the near approach of the end of all things. Two dialogues continue the subject of the life of St. Martin, and are written in imitation of the dialogues of Cicero. * An edition of all St. Augustin's works has been edited by Migne: Paris, 1835-1839, in 11 vols, t It has been edited by J. Drusius: Aniheim, 1607. A.D. 14-600.] MACROBIUS AMBROSIUS THEODOSIUS. 231 Lastly, we have by him three epistles to Eusebius. Aurelius, and Bassula, which are intended as introductions to the dialogues. The language of all the productions of this author is comparatively pure and simple.* 215. There are some other Christian writers of this period who deserve to be noticed : — 1. Q. Jidius miario, a countryman and contemporary of Sulpicius Severus, who in A.D, 397 wrote a little work, De Buratione JIundi, which still exists. Its style and language are very barbarous ; but its author is evidently a man of an independent mind.- The work is printed in Migne's Patrol, Vol. Vn., p. 277, foil. 2. Tichonius, a Donatist, born in Africa, wrote among other things a work, De Bello Intestino, in three books. 3. Flavins Mallius Theodorus, who was consul in a.d. 399, and wrote a little work, De Metris, in a form which shows great independence of the prevailing style. It is dedicated to his son, and is printed in Gaisford's Scriptores Lat. llei Metricce: Oxford, 1837. 4. Pelagius, a Briton, the founder of the sect of the Pelagians, wrote several works, some of which are known only from the writings of St. Augustin against them. His principal work, which we still possess, is a well-written con- fession of his faith addressed to Pope Innocent. 5. CcelestiuSy likeXv^ise a Briton, and a friend of Pelagius. His writings are known only from their being mentioned or quoted by St. Augustin. 6. Anianus, translated homilies of St. Chrysostom, which are printed with the works of the latter. 7.. JuUanuSy Bishop of ^clanum, was deposed, a.d. 418, because he had adopted the doctrines of Pelagius. He wrote several books against St. Augustin. Other ecclesiastical writers of this time are enumerated by Gennadius, De Viris Illustnhus. 216. Macrobius Ambrosius Theodosius. — Nothing positive is known about his personal history, except that he belonged to an illustrious family, and that, as he himself intimates, he was not a native of Italy. It is, however, not impossible that he may be the Macrobius, who, a.d. 399, was prsefectus * A good edition was published by C. Halm: Wien, 1866. 232 HISTORY OF LATIN LITERATURE. [PERIOD V. praetorio Hispaniarum, in a.d. 410, proconsul of Africa, and m A.D. 422, prsepositiis sacri cubiculi. If this be correct, he must have been a Christian at the last-mentioned date, as none but a Christian could hold that office; but as in his writings Macrobius is a thorough pagan, it would follow that his works were written before a.d. 422; but, however this may be, we know Macrobius only as the author of three works still extant : — 1. Commentarius in Somnium ScipioniSj in two books, addressed to his son Eustachius. By way of introduction Macrobius gives some account of the relation subsisting be- tween Cicero's work, De Re Puhlica (of which the dream of Scipio forms a part), and Plato's Politica, and of the general import of dreams. Throughout the commentary Macrobius reasons from the point of view of the New Platonists, to whose school he belonged. 2. Satumalium Conviviorum lihri Septem, composed in the form of dialogues, supposed to be carried on during the three days of the Saturnalia, and the day preceding the festival, partly before and partly during dinner. The sub- jects of discussion are of the most different kind, and remind us of the Nodes Atticce of Gellius; but the merits of Vergil form the main topic. In form, the dialogues are imitations of those of Plato. The work has not come down to us entire, for there are wanting the end of the second book, the begmning of the third, the second half of the fourth, and the end of the seventh; but it nevertheless contains much infor- mation which the author culled from books which are now lost. The style and language are above the average of con- temporary wi'iters, especially when we remember that Mac- robius wrote in a language which was not his native tongue. 3. De Differ entiis et Sodetatihus Grceci Latinique verhi. Of this work we possess only excerpts which were made in . the middle ages, and are of little value.* ^ 217. Other grammarians belonging to about the same time are: — 1. Vibius Sequester, to whom is ascribed a dictionary of ♦ The works of Macrobius have been collected by L. Jan: Qued- hnburg and Leipzig, 1848 52, in 2 vols. A good text is that edited by J?r. Eissenhardt, in Teubner's collection. a.d. 14-600.] SEVERUS SANCTUS EJfDELECHIUS. 233 geographical names occurring in the poets most commonly read in schools. The author is evidently a pagan, the work not containing a trace of Christianity. The language is barbarous, and the remarks of the author show traces of carelessness or ignorance.* ^ 2. Exuperantius, the author of a little work on the first civil war at Rome, which seems to be only a poor compila- tion from the works of Sallust, whose histories were then very popular. The name Exuperantius was so common during the fourth and fifth centuries that it is impossible to identify him. t 3. Grillius wrote a commentary on Cicero, De Tnventione, from which some extracts are still extant; they are printed in C. Halm's Rhetores Lat. Min., p. 596, foil. We may here also notice Theodorus Friscianus, who is styled Archiater, and wrote a medical work in Greek, which is lost, but of which a Latin translation is still extant, under the title of Medicina Prcesentanea, in five books. The author owns that he is a follower of the old religion. Other works by the same author, such as Antidotarium and De Simrylici Medicina, are entirely lost.| 218. The following writers, all of whom belong to the end of the fourth or the beginning of the fifth century, composed all, or at least some of their works in verse 1. Severus Sanctus Endelechius, a rhetorician, is the author of a pleasing idyll on a cattle plague, written in ascle- piadean and glyconic meters. The author, probably a native of Gaul, has written his poem in the form of a dialogue between two shepherds who lament over the disease which IS ruining their flocks. They are met by another shepherd who has saved his flock by the sign of the cross. The two others thereupon resolve to become Christians. The poem is printed in Wemsdorf's Poetm Lat. J/m., Vol. II., p. 218, foil. 2. Licentius, a countryman and pupil of St. Augustin, was studying at Rome at the time when Augustin returned to * The best edition is that of C. Bursian: Zurich, 1867 t Edited by C. Bursian: Zurich, 1868. Biiri532^*''' ^^"^^^ ^*'^ ^'^*^*' ^^ published by S. Gelenius : 1838^* ^^ ^^"^ ^^^^ published separately, by J. A. Giles: London, 234 filSTORt Of LATIN LltERAtURfi [pERIOD V. Africa. From Eome lie sent his master a somewhat flippant poem of 154 hexameter lines, in which he asked for his advice, and the loan of his work, De Musica. As he also hinted in his poem that he intended to marry, Augustm did all he could to prevent it, and seems to have succeeded m pei-suading him to enter a monastery. The poem is prmted in Wemsdorfs Poet(B Lat Miru, Vol. IV., p. 516, foil. 3. Symphosius is the author of 100 riddles (semgmata), each of which consists of three hexameter lines. The riddles are preceded by a prologue of seventeen hexameters. The author clearly still clings to the pagan faith, and no influence of Christianity is >dsible. His language and versification are correct, and he has evidently imitated Ausonius. ihe best text of the riddles is that in Riese's Antholog. Lat, /., p. 187, foil. ^ . ri.1 • 4. Avianus is the author of forty-two ^sopian fables, m elegiacs, dedicated to one Theodosius; he probably lived at Rome, and cei-tainly was not a Christian. His style and language, though not always simple, are generally P^^e, and his verses are correct, and often even elegant. The book was much used as a school-book, whence some of the fables are much interpolated, and others have been added which did not belong to Avianus.* 5. Martianus Capella, a native of Carthage or Madaura, lived shortly before Africa was conquered by the Vandals. He was a pleader, but what became of him after the Vandals established themselves in his native country, is unknown. He is the author of a singular kind of encyclopaedia, m nine books, called Satna or Satiricon, consisting partly of prose and partly of verse, and treating of the seven artes hberales. It thus resembles, in some respects, the Disdplirm of St. Au^^ustin. The central subject is the marriage of Mercury with the maiden Philologia, at the celebration of which the seven arts appear, forming, as it were, the court of Mercury. The first two books describe the courtship of Mercury, and the final yielding of Philologia, who is raised to the rank of a ^roddess. The several arts are then introduced : Book 111. introduces Grammar, Book IV. Dialectics, Book V. Rhetoric, ♦ The best edition is that of C. Lachmann: Berhn, 1845. There is also a good text, by W. Frohner, in Teubner's collection. A.©. 14-600.] DtRlNG THfi FIFTH CfeNftRY. 235 Book VI. Geometry and Geography, Book VII. Arithmetic, Book VIII. Astronomy, and Book IX. Music. Some parts, and more especially the beginning and end of each book, are in verse, and in various metres, whereby the whole becomes a tasteless and ridiculous medley. Varro seems to have been the writer's chief authority. In the book on rhetoric he mainly follows Aquila Romanus; in that on geometry his chief authorities are Solinus and Pliny; and on music he follows Aristides Quintilianus. Martianus Capella often simply copies his authorities, and frequently misunderstands them. In the middle ages the work was much used as a school-book.* E. Latin Literature during the Fifth Century AFTER Christ. 219. The fifth century witnessed , thft ^M\\^\ brpalrinorjT^ of the Western ^Em^ire; one province after another fell into the hands ot Ihe barEanaSs, and not only Italy, but Rome itself was devastated by invading hordes, until at last, a.d. 476, Odoacer, a Teutonic chief, gave the death-blow to the western portion of the empire, and was proclaimed King of Italy. Ten years later the Frank, Clovis, also put an end to the Roman dominion in Gaul, the last province in which a Roman governor had maintained himself. The ancient civilization was stamped out so far as it was not adopted by the conquerors, and they certainly did not always adopt the best part of it. The Latin language, however, continued to be spoken, though, under the influence of the ruling foreigners, it became more and more deteriorated; but literature still continued to be cultivated to some extent, for there were men who still cherished the recollection of the past, whose minds drew nourishment from the literature of former days, and who preserved in their writings a purer taste; but the power of literary production itself gradually died away. Intellectual culture became the exclusive domain of the priesthood and of the monks, who made use[of it for their own purposes, so that aU literary productions assumed a theological colouring, even where secular matters were treated of. The laity sank * The best text is that edited by Fr. Eissenhardt, in Teubner's collection. See also C. Halm's, Rhetores Lat. Min., p. 449, foil. 236 HISTORY OF LATIN LiTERATlTRt:. [PERIOD V. deeper and deeper into barbarism. Some of the Teutonic courts, such as that of the Visigoths and Burgundians, and afterwards that of the Franks, became places of refuge for what still remained of the spirit and literature of ancient Rome. The only branch of learning which had a kind of revival during this period was jurispi-udence, for the neces- sity of devising an organization for the states formed out of the fragments of the empire gave a fresh impulse to it, which was manifested partly in collecting the old laws, and partly in adapting them to the new state of things. 220. During the first part of the fifth century we still meet with several men who cultivated poetry more or less successfully. Foremost among these stands Rutilius Numa- tianus, a native of Gaul, where Latin literature continued to be cultivated at a time when everywhere else it had nearly died out. Numatianus, about a.d. '414, held several high offices at Rome. We possess, by him, a poem, sometimes called Itinerarium and sometimes De Reditu 8uo in Patriam. It was written, a.d. 416, in elegiacs; in it the poet describes his return from Rome to his native place in a very pleasing and attractive manner. The journey was probably imdertaken because his estates in Gaul were suflfer- ing much from the devastations of the Goths The poet travelled by sea, starting from Ostia. The narrative is inter- spersed with many digressions on a variety of subjects and rhetorical eulogies on friends. The author was a pagan, and very bitter against the Christians and their asceticism, and in this respect his poem is also of historical value, as it gives us a picture of the feelings and thoughts entertained by the class to which the author belonged Otherwise the poem is pervaded by great warmth and depth of feeling. Unfortun- ately, the greater part of the second book and the beginning of the first are lost.* 221. Other poets of the same period are : — 1. Merobaudes, a brave soldier, and an able rhetorician of Spain. Until recently we knew of him only as the author of a poem, called Laus Christie in thirty hexameters, which is printed in J. M. Qesner's edition of Claudian, p. 710; but, * There is a good edition of Rutilius Numatianus, by A. W. Zumpt: Berlin, 1840; and a good text, by L. Muller, in Teubner's collection. A.D. 14-600.] OROSIUS. 237 in 1823, Niebuhr discovered, in a palimpsest at St. Gallen, fragments of poems which he found to belong to works of Merobaudes, and which he published at Bonn, in 1824. These fragments contain high-flown and rhetorical eulogies of the imperial family of Valentinian III., and of Aetius; but their form is correct, and an elegant imitation of Claudian. 2. Claudius Marius Victor turned into verse the book of Genesis, from the creation to the destruction of Sodom, which he seems to have written mainly to show his orthodoxy. A more interesting production of his is a letter to the abbot Salomon, in which he describes, in 105 hexameters, the man- ners and conduct of men and women in his own time; the subject is treated satirically, and the writer gives us a vivid picture of the morals of the age. His works are printed in Migne, Patrol, Yol. LXI., p. 937, foil. Orientiusy who perhaps belongs to the same period, is the author of a work called Commonitorium, in two books, written in elegiacs. In it he admonishes his readers to lead a Christian life.* 222. The presbyter Orosius, born at Taraco, in Spain, likewise belongs to the early part of the fifth century. Dis- putes among the Christian sects induced him to go to Africa to consult St. Augustin, and he afterwards became one of the most zealous admirers of the great bishop. On the advice of St. Augustin he also visited Hieronymus, who was living in Palestine. On his return he saw St. Augustin again, and it seems that on his suggestion Orosius undertook to write a general history from the creation down to a.d. 410, entitled Historiarum libri VII. , Adversus Paganos, This history is of course only a brief summary, and its object is to refute the assertion of the pagans that the calamities which came upon the empire were the consequences of the neglect of the old religion and of the introduction of Chris- tianity. He points out that calamities have occurred at all times, and seems, in fact, to delight in relating them. Oro- sius had not devoted himself particularly to the study of history; he drew his information chiefly from Livy and from * It has been edited separately by H. L. Schurtzfleisch: Wittem- berg, 1706; and is also contained in Migue's Patrol, Vol. LXI., p. "74, * 238 HISTORY OF LATIN LITERATURE. [PERIOD V. the chronicle of Hieronymus, and appears to have composed his work in great haste; at least there is no lack of such errors as are the natural result of haste or carelessness. Sometimes he does little more than transcribe his authorities; but where he himself speaks he is rhetorical, and delivers his opinions with a sort of priestly unction. In the middle ages his work was extremely popular, and was looked upon as an authority ; Alfred the Great is reported even to have translated it into Anglo-Saxon. Besides this history there exists a treatise, De Arhitrii Lihertate^ which is ascribed to Orosius (he is said to have written it whilst staying in Palestine), against the followers of Pelagius.* Among the numerous other followers of St. Augustin, in his contest with the Pelagians, several distinguished them- selves by their writings, such as Marius Mercator, AureliuSj bishop of Carthage, and others. The Pelagian doctrines and monasticism, however, had likewise able defenders in men like Joannes Cassianus, the rhetorician VictorinuSj the presbyter Philippus^ EucheriaSy and others. In A.D. 434 Vincentius of Lerinum, in Gaul, wrote, under the name of Peregrinus, a work called Commonitoriunij t.e., an admonition to hold fast by the Catholic faith, as based upon the Scriptures and tradition, and a warning against all heresies. The work is composed in simple and almost clas- sical language. The author, who is himself half a Pelagian, considers St. Augustin to be too harsh and severe against the Pelagians. Another zealous partisan of St. Augustin was Prosper, an Aquitanian ; besides polemical works against the Pelagians, we have by him 106 epigrams, embodying dogmatic sentences from the works of St. Augustin, and a chronicle, which is partly an abridgment and partly a continuation of that of Hieronymus, from a.d. 379 to 455. Prosper further wrote in A.D. 430, a didactic poem, J)e Ingratis, in four parts, in hexameters, against Pelagius. The language and versification of Prosper, though not free from faults, show that he was well acquainted with the pagan poets. (See Wernsdorf's, FoetcB Lat. Min,, Vol. III., p. 413, foil.). * The best edition of Orosius is that of Havercamp: Ley den, 1738 and 1767. A.D. 14-600.] LEO I. 239 223. One of the best, if not the best, writers of the time was the Roman bishop Leo I., commonly called the Great. He was the real founder of the Roman hierarchy. In his sermons no less than in his epistles, we find in him an acute thinker, an able statesman, man of business, and a writer of almost classic purity. As a champion of orthodoxy he was inexorable ; but in matters of daily life he was anything but a rigorist or a pedant. There are extant ninety-six sermons and 173 epistles, which extend over the period from a.d. 442 to 460. His works, like those of other ecclesiastical writers, are contained in the collections of Gallandi, and the more recent one of Migne. To the same period belongs the presbyter Salvianus of Massilia, who, among other things, wrote a work in four books against avarice; another, De Gubernatione Dei, in eight books, in which he endeavours to show that the mis- fortunes of the time are well-deserved divine punishments. Besides these works there are extant nine epistles. All his works are not only of great interest in regard to the history of the time, but are well wi-itten, though, according to the general character of the age, not free from difi'useness and rhetorical exaggeration. 224. The year a.d. 438 is memorable in the history of jurisprudence, for in it was published at Constantinople,'and sanctioned by Valentinian, the Codex Theodosianus. A commission of learned jurists had been engaged upon it for eight years. It consists of sixteen books, and contains the official collection of imperial constitutions from the time of Constantino, in chronological order. In the eastern empire this code remained in force until it was incorporated with and supplemented by that of Justinian. In the west it was 80on abridged, and of the fii-st third we now possess only that abridgment.* After the publication of this code, and perhaps before the death of Theodosius, in a.d. 450, there was drawn up in Gaul what is called the Consultation i.e., opinions ex- pressed by jurists on being consulted. In these opinions the laws referred to are quoted verbatim from the Codex * The best edition of what remains of the Codex Theodosianus is that of G. Haenel: Bonn, 1837. 240 HISTORY OF LATIN LITERATURE. [PERIOD V. GregorianuSf the Codex HermogenianuSf and the Codex Theodosianus. 225. Rhetoric still continued to be cultivated in Gaul more than anywhere else ; but its productions were poor in thought, and remarkable only for their elaborate and artifi- cial style, their pompous panegyi-ics and flatteries. The most gifted representative of this Gallic literature was C. Sollius Apollinaris Sidonius, bom about a.d. 430. He belonged to an illustrious Gallic family, and during the latter part of his life he was Bishop of Claremont, in which capacity he w^as the leader of the expedition against the Goths. He died about A.D. 487, leaving behind him several works, of which we still possess a collection of twenty-four poems, and nine books of epistles containing 147 letters, some of which are in verse. In one of these letters he gives an account of his own life and literary pursuits. The longest of his poems are of an epic character, and are written in praise of his father- in-law, of Majorian, and Anthemius. All his writings are overloaded with a display of learning and conventional phrases. His poetical productions are composed partly in hexameters and partly in elegiacs, or in hendecasyllables, which was then becoming a favourite metre. The epistles, which are written on the model of those of Pliny and Sym- machus, bring very vividly before us the mild, good-natured, but exceedingly vain character of the author; and many of them are real panegyrics on those to whom they are addressed. It is evident that Apollinaris Sidonius was well acquainted with the classical literature of Rome. His works are printed in the collections of ecclesiastical writers by Gallandi and Migne. Among the friends of Apollinaris Sidonius who tried their powers in literature, we have to notice — 1. Rusticius ElpiditLS Domnulus, the author of some Chris- tian poems in hexameters which are still extant and are printed in G. Fabricius's Corpus Poetarum Christy p. 754, foil. 2. Mamertus Claudianus^ a presbyter of Vienne, who, about A.D. 470, wrote a work, Le Statu AnimcBy dedicated to Apollinaris Sidonius, hymns, and other poems. 3. FaustuSy bishop of Reii, is the author of a work, Bq Bd A.D. 14-600.] PAULINUS. 241 Gratiay in two books, of letters, sermons, etc. His writings, like those of many of his contemporaries, were occupied with the question about man's free will (liberum arbitrium), about divine grace, and about the person of Christ. Other ecclesi- astics published commentaries on the Scriptures, sermons, and the like, 226. Towards the end of the fifth century we meet with a poet of considerable merit of the name of Sedulius, who wrote, in hexameters, the history of the New Testament, under the title of Paschale Carmen^ in four, or, according to^ another division, in five books. The first describes the miracles of the Old Testament as an introduction to the his- tory of Christ ; the second and following books contain the history of Christ from his birth to his ascension. The whole is written in the usual rhetorical style, and evidently in imi- tation of Vergil. Sedulius afterwards wrote on the same subject in prose, which is more rhetorical and less natural than the narrative in verse. There further exists under his name an elegy on the Old and New Testament, and a hymn on Christ in iambic dimeters.* Other poets of the same period are : — 1. Auspidus, bishop of Toul about a.d. 470, is the author of a metrical epistle to Arbogastes, in which quantity is alto- gether neglected and no care is taken to avoid the hiatus; it is composed entirely according to the common pronunciation and accent. Of a similar kind are the productions of 2. AmoenuSy who drew up a manual of the Old and New Testament history in hexameters, wrote an epic poem on St. Martin of Tours, and other poems, of which fragments ai^e still extant. 3. PaulinuSy of Perigueux, lived about a.d. 470, and wrote an epic poem on the life of St. Martin, in six books, which, in matters of form, is pretty correct ; but the author has recourse to certain artificial devices, which are not im- provements. As to the subject of the poem, he follows Sulpicius Severus, but expands the legends about the saint. 4. Bracontius is the author of a didactic poem, in three books, on subjects taken from the Old Testament ; the first describes the creation, the second the flood ; the third is of * The best edition of Sedulius is that of F. Arevali: Rome, 1794. / 242 HISTORY OF LATIN LITERATURE. [PERIOD V. a dogmatic character, with proofs derived partly from Bibli- cal and partly from Roman history.* There is another poem of Dracontius, called Satisfaction in elegiacs, in which he humbly pi-ays a Yandal king to forgive his having written in praise of one who is that king's enemy. Dracontius appears to have been well versed in classical as well as in Biblical literature. 5. Avitus, bishop of Vienne, who died in A.D. 523, com- posed in hexameters a work, in five books, on the creation, original sin, God's curse, the flood, and th»^ passage of the Israelites through the Bed Sea. 6. Flavins Felix, an African who lived in the reign of the Vandal king, Thrasamund (a.d. 496-523), is the author of a number of epigrams which are printed in Biese's Anthol. Latina. 7. Coroiiatus, author of a few poems printed in the same Anthology. 8. LuxoriuSj author of several lascivious epigrams in imi- tation of Martial. The author must have been a pagan (see Biese's Anthology). 9. Florentinus, of whom we have a fragment of thii-ty-nine hexameters in praise of King Pharamund, which is likewise printed in Biese's Anthology. 227. While most ecclesiastical writers confined themselves to Biblical, dogmatical, and controversial writings, or to legends about saints, few only turned their attention to history. One of these few was Gennadius, a presbyter of Massilia, who, besides many theological works, wrote a con- tinuation of Hieronymus' work, De Viris IllustribuSy and brought it down to A.D. 495. It treats, of course, only of ecclesiastical writei-s ; but is nevertheless of great value in regard to the history of the time. The same work was afterwards continued by Isidorus. Other writers on historical subjects were — 1. Victor Vitensis, probably a native of Africa, wrote, about A.D. 488, a history of the persecutions sufiered by the orthodox church at the hands of the Vandals, who were Arians. The author evidently writes, with deep feeling and * There is a separate edition of this work by C. E. Glseser: Bre3- lau, 18i7 and 1848. A.B. 14-600.] FABIUS PLANCIADES FULGENTIUS. 248 animation, of scenes which he himself had witnessed, but hia language is barbarous. 2. Idaciiis, a Spaniard, wrote a chronicle beginning with A.D. 379, the first year of the reign of Theodosius, and ending in A.D. 469, the third year of Valentinian. The author bestows special care on the history of Spain, and evidently tells the truth where he is not blinded by superstition. To him is also ascribed a list of the Boman consuls from the beginning of the republic down to A.D. 468, interspersed with historical remarks chiefly taken from Livy ; but it is very doubtful whether it is the work of Idacius. 228. Among the grammarians of this period the most remarkable is the vain Fabius Planciades Fulgentius, pro- bably a native of Africa, who flourished about a.d. 500. He wrote several controversial works, but the three works which are of interest to us here are — 1 . Mythologicon lihri III., which is full of the most absurd and arbitrary explana- tions of the ancient myths. 2. Vergiliana Continentia, an allegorical explanation of Vergil's ^neid, in which Vergil himself is made to expound the views of Fulgentius. 3. De Ahstrusis Sermonihus, contains explanations of sixty-three obsolete and rare words, which are arranged without any order or system ; and the author refers to authorities, many of which never existed, to make his readers believe that he was a man of most extensive reading. The style of Fulgen- tius is modelled on that of Apuleius and Martianus Capella; but the language is so bombastic that it is often difficult to arrive at its real meaning.* There is an ecclesiastical writer of the name of Fulgentius, who, in A.D. 508, was Bishop of Buspe, in Africa, and is the author of numerous theological works* that are still extant, and are written in a very dry and unattractive style. Under his name we also have an historical work, De jEtatilms Mundi, which seems to have consisted of twenty-three books, but of which only the first fourteen are extant. The work is of but little historical value; the greater part of it is devoted to Biblical history, then follows that of Alexander the Great, the history of Borne, the substance of the four The three works of Fulgentius are printed in A van Staveren's Auctores Mythographi Latini : Leyden, 174 J, / 244 HISTORY OF LATIN LITERATURE. [PERIOD V. Gospels, the history of the Apostles, and last, that of the Roman emperors. The style of the work is very like that of the grammarian Fulgentius, and it has been supposed by some to be a work of the latter.* 229. Other grammarians who flourished about the same time, and whose extant works are published in the collections of Putschius and Keil, are — 1. Cledcmius, a Roman senator and teacher of grammar at Constantinople, wrote a commentary on theirs (Grammatica) of Donatus. 2. Pompeiics, a Mauretanian, is likewise the author of a Commentum Artis Bonati, and a smaller one on Donatus' work, De Barharismis et Metaplasmis. 3. CoTisentiuSj a Gaul, author of a grammatical work, of which two parts. Be Nomine et Verbo and Be Barbarismis et 3Ietaplasmis, are still extant. They seem to have originally been only parts of a complete work on grammar. 4. Fhocas, called Grammaticus XJrbis Romge, is the author of an Ars (Grammatica), written partly in prose and partly in verse, and of a life of Vergil, mainly derived from that of Donatus. Under his name we also liave a work, Be Aspiratione, which, however, is probably the production of a much later writer. 5. RufinuLS of Antioch, the author of a Commentarius in Metra Terentiana and a treatise on the metres of orators ; both of them are written partly in verse and partly in prose. They are printed in Gaisford's Scriptores Rei Metrics, p. 388, foU.j see also Halm's Rhet.res Lat.^ p. 575, foil. F. Latin Literature during the Sixth Century AFTER Christ. 230. The kingdom established in Italy by Odoacer did not last long, for, in a.d. 489, Theodoric, king of the Ostrogoths, in- vaded Italy; in A. D. 493 he put to death Odoacer at Ravenna, and, with the consent of Zeno, emperor of the East, founded a new kingdom of Italy. Under him the country enjoyed the blessings of peace for about thirty years, from A.D. 493 to 526, during which we meet with some distinguished repre- sentatives of Latin literature, such as Boetius and Cassio- * There is a separate edition of it by J. Hommey: Paris, 1C96. A.D. 14-600.] BOETIUS. 245 dorus. But under Theodoric's feeble successors the country was again exposed to perpetual ravages, and the last traces of intellectual activity disappeared, not only in Italy, but also in those countries of the west which had been provinces of the empire, though in Gaul a certain taste for literature lingered on longest. In oratory we have only hollow decla- mation ; history, where it was cultivated, produced nothing but compilations and abridgments of earlier works; juris- prudence, also, could do little more than collect and modify the works of former times. The many attempts to frame codes of laws at last, in the reign of Justinian (a.d. 527-565), led to the formation of the famous " Corpus Juris " for the whole empire. Otherwise literature was now entirely in the hands of priests, who, with very few exceptions, neglected the ancient literature, and confined themselves to theological or ecclesiastical questions. 231. One of the few eminent men during the first part of the sixth century was Boetius, with his full name, Anicius Manlius Torquatus Severinus Boetius, or Boethius. He belonged to an illustrious family of Rome, where he was born between a.d. 475 and 480. Being of a noble family and a man of high intellectual culture, he was at an early age raised to high honours, and obtained the consulship in A.D. 510. Theodoric often availed himself of his great talents; but when, a.d. 520, the Eastern emperor Justin issued his edict against the Arians, Theodoric, who was himself an Arian, like all the Goths, began to distrust the Romans, who were Catholics. When, therefore, Boetius, who was then magister officionim, undertook the defence of the senator Albinus, who was accused of keeping up a trea- sonable correspondence with the Emperor of the East, the enemies of Boetius took the opportunity of exciting the sus- picion of Theodoric against him. They accused him of having connections with evil spirits, of sorcery, and of har- bouring republican sentiments, which last point they proved by forged letters. The accusation seemed to be confirmed, in the eyes of the suspicious king, by the fact that, throughout his life, Boetius had shown great patriotism and independence of mind. Theodoric, in order to make an example and to frighten the senators whom he suspected, ^46 HISTORY OF LATIK LITERATUHE. [pERIOD V. ordered Boetius to be arrested and imprisoned at Pavia, and the senate, in its servility, condemned him to death without a trial. His property was confiscated, and he was executed A.D. 525. All his contemporaries speak highly of his learn- ing, and of his noble and unselfish character. His death, by the order of an heretical king, soon threw round him the halo of a Christian martyr. Boetius was indeed a Christian; but with him, as with other patriotic men of the time, there remained a considerable residue of paganism, which was kept alive by the study of the classical literature of their fore- fathers, an I by their enthusiasm for the past greatness of their country. The most celebrated among the works of Boetius is the De Consolatione Philosophice, in five books, written during his confinement in prison. Philosophy is supposed to appear to the prisoner, and to console him in his misfortune. The reasons which she brings forward are purely philosophical, and none are derived from the Christian religion, nor does he allude to it in any way ; but we every- where see evidence of a noble mind striving after what is highest HI humanity, and sometimes even the expression of a truly religious spiiit. He never quotes any of the Chris- tian writers, but frequently refera to Plato, Aristotle, Cicero, and Seneca. The work is composed in the form of a dialogue, and poetry in difierent metres is interspersed in various parts; the metres are not always quite correct, but the verses show the author's skill and talent. The language is not free from the rhetorical mannerism of the time, but is tempered by tlic author's correct reasoning. The popularity of the work, during the middle ages, is attested by its translation into Anglo-Saxon, ascribed to Alfred the Great.* The other works of Boetius are on rhetoric, philosophy, and mathematics. They are : — 1. Dialogi Duo hi Porphyrium a Victorino Translatum, 2. Commentariorum in Porphyrium a se Translatum libri quinque. 3. Translations and com- mentaries on Aristotle's Categorice, in four books ; also, on other works of Aristotle. 4. A commentary on Cicero's Topica. 5. De Syllogismo Categorico, in two books 6. De Syllogismo Ilypothetico, in two books. 7. De Divisione, de DeJlnitio7iefde Differ entiis Topicis fin four hooks. 8. DeMuMca, * The best edition of the original is that of Obbarius : Jena, 1843. A.D. 14-600.] MAGNUS FELIX ENNODIUS. 247 in five books ; De Arithmetical in two books ; and lastly, a translation of Euclid's geometry, in two books. Formerly certain theological works were also ascribed to Boetius, but they are now generally admitted to be the jn-o- ductions of a much later time.* 232. Magnus Felix Ennodius, a contemporary of Boetius, was a native of Gaul and bishop of Pavia. He was born about A.D. 473, and was early left as a poor orphan, who owed everything to the kindness of an aunt ; but he mar- ried a rich lady, and after having squandered her property he became a priest, and his wife withdrew into a convent. In A.D. 511 he became bishop of Pavia, and was employed on sundry important missions by the bishop of Borne. He died A.D. 521. Ennodius is the author of numerous works both in prose and in verse. 1. Vita Beati Epiphanii, a biography of Epiphanius, his predecessor in the see of Pavia. 2. A Panegyric on Theodoricy full of the most abject flat- tery, in an intolerably bombastic style; it was composed about A.D. 507. 3. Epistolcdy in nine books, containing 297 letters, some of which are addressed to persons in high positions; but public afiairs are never discussed in them, and their style is full of rhetorical afiectation. 4. Poems, in two books, without any poetical value ; they are mostly mere hollow phrases, without substance. Some of the longer pieces contain accounts of journeys and an epi- thalamium ; the divinities of pagan mythology are frequently mentioned, but only as a matter of form, just as a modern poet may invoke the muses. The poems are written in all kinds of metres, and some of them are scarcely worth pre- serving. It should be stated that Ennodius also wrote letters and sermons for other priests, even for bishops, which is a curious sign of the times.! 233. Priscianus, the most celebrated of ancient grani- * The best edition of all Boetius' works is still that of Glareanus: Basle, 1570. The commentary on Cicero's Topica is printed in Orelli's edition of Cicero, Vol. V. t The works of Ennodius have been edited by J. Sirmond: Paris, 1611; and are also contained in Migne'a Patrol, Vol. LXIIL, p. 13, foU. / 248 HISTORY OP LATIN LITERATURE. [PERIOD V« mai-ians, was a native of Caesarea, in Mauretania, but lived as a teacher at Constantinople in the reign of Anastasius (a.d. 491-518). Though he lived and taught in the Greek capital of the east, his works are devoted to the elucidation of the Latin language and literature. His Latin grammar, called Institutiones GrammaticcBf in eighteen books, is the most complete system of Latin grammar that has come down to us from antiquity, and has exercised an influence upon the construction of Latin grammars which is still felt. His work is valuable to us, more especially on account of the numerous quotations from the earlier Latin literature. It is based in the main on the best Greek grammarians, particularly Apol- lonius Dyscolus, in consequence of which his arrangement differs in several points from the works of his predecessors, whose labours, however, he has not neglected. His style is very diffuse, and of the classical arrangement of words in a sentence he seems to have scarcely any idea. During the middle ages the grammar of Priscian was the standard book, whence it was very frequently copied and epitomised.* Other grammatical works of Priscian are : — 1. Be Duodecim Versihus jEneidos Principalibus, a metrical and grammatical analysis of the verses of Vergil, in the form of questions and answers. 2. De Accentibus is commonly ascribed to Priscian, but is probably the production of a much later time. 3. De Figuris Numerorum et de Numis vel Poiiderihus is a short treatise on the figures used by the Greeks and Romans to express numbers, on coins, and weights. 4. De Metris Terentii Aliorumque Gomicorum. 5. De Frceexercitamentis Eketoricce is a Latin translation of the Progymnasmata of the Greek rhetorician Hermogenes. 6. A Latin translation of Diony sins' Periegesis, under the title of De Orbis Situ, in 1086 hexameters. All these works were intended as school-books, by means of which Priscian tried to keep alive the study of the classical writers. They are all printed in Krehl's edition of Priscian, and also in Keil's collection of Latin Grammarians. 7. A panegyric on the Emperor Anastasius, in hexameters, * A good edition of it is that by A. Krehl: Leipzig, 1819, in 2 vols. ; it is also contained in Keil's Collect, of Lat. Gram, A.D. 14-600.] M. AUrELIUS CASSIOBORUS. 249 with an iambic introduction. This work, which is very tame and dry, has been discovered during the present century, and been published by Endlicher ; Vienna, 1828. Eutyches, one of Priscian's pupils, is the author of several grammatical works, which he wrote even during the lifetime of his master. One, entitled Ars de Verbo, in two books, has come down to us. In composing it Eutyches made use of the works of Priscian, as well as of earlier authorities. His work, and those of some other grammarians, such as Asper, Audax, and Vergilius, who are much inferior to any- thing that Priscian or his school had produced, are printed in Keil's collection. 234. Magnus Aurelius Cassiodorus and Boetius are the two most eminent men in literature during this century. Cassiodorus, belonging to an illustrious and wealthy family of Bruttium, was born about a.d. 480, and was as distin- guished by his own worth and learning as by the high oflaces with which he was entrusted by successive sove- reigns; the consulship, the highest of all, he obtained under Theodoric in a.d. 514. As the king's private secre- tary he had, in fact, for a time, the management of all the affairs of the kingdom. After the fall of Vitiges, A.D. 540, Cassiodorus withdrew from public life into the monastery of Vivarium, in Bruttium, which he himself had founded, and died there, a.d. 575, at a very advanced age. His lite- rary productions, like his life, are naturally divided into two parts, viz., those which belong to the period of his political activity, and those which he wrote during his retirement, where he devoted himself to theological and gi-ammatical pursuits. To the first period belong several speeches, but more especially the following works : — 1. Chronica, containing the histoiy of the world from Adam to A.D. 519. By far the greater part is a compilation from earlier works of the same kind; but from a.d. 496 the chronicle is his own. But this last part is poor, and written in a sort of official court style. The whole compilation also contains many serious errora. It has been edited by Th. Mommsen : Leipzig, 1861. 2. Historia Gothorum would be of much gi-eater interest if we possessed it in its original form; but, unfortunately, 250 HISTORY Of LATIN LITERATURE. [pERIOD V. / we have only an epitome of it, made by Jordanis, which epitome has probably caused the loss of the original. 3. Variorum libA XII., is by far the most important of his works. The first five books contain ordinances, decrees, and other ofiicial documents, which Cassiodorus drew up and issued in the name of King Theodoric ; the following books contain those issued in the names of Theodoric's suc- cessors; but the last two contain the correspondence of Cassiodorus, and the decrees which he published in his own name as prsefectus praetorio. The latest of these documents refers to the year A.D. 538. They are of the greatest im- portance to those who wish to study the history of Italy under the dominion of the Goths. They are written in a conventional official style, but not without a cei-tain degi-ee of elegance..,.^^ .-» After his a^ption'of the monastic life he wrote a series of theological and grammatical works, evidently with the view of promoting the study of the ancient classics, as well as of the sacred Scriptures. The more interesting of this class of works are — 1. Lectiones Divince, in two books; in them he points out to his brotter monks the books, both religious and secular, which he recommends them to read and study. 2. A brief explanation of the seven liberal arts, under the title of Institutiones Divinarum et scecularium litterarum. We do not possess this work complete; rhetoric is treated in it more fully than the other subjects (this part is printed in Halm's lihetores Lat. Min.y p. 495). 3. Several treatises on grammar and orthography. All these works he composed from a desii-e to preserve a taste for learning and mental culture, which he saw was disappearing more and more. His own style has all the faults of the age. All his works are collected in Migne's Patrol, Vols. LXIX. and LXX. 235. To draw up chronicles, to continue them, or to make epitomes of them, and to write lives of the saints seems to have been the only kind of historical writing that was popu- lar during this period. Among writers of this class we have to mention: — 1. Marcellinus, who wrote a chronicle of the eastern empire, A.D. 14-600.] JORDANIS. 251 from A.D. 379 to 534, in four books, which was continued by subsequent editors down to a.d. 566. It is in this extended form that the chronicle of Marcellinus has come down to us. It is printed in Migne's Patrol., Vol. LI., p. 917, foil. 2. Victor, bishop of Tunnuna, in Africa, compiled a chro- nicle from the beginning of the world down to the first year of the Emperor Justin's reign, a.d. 566. Of this work only the last part, from a.d. 444, is now extant, and from that date it is a continuation of the chronicle of Prosper. In recording the ecclesiastical history of Africa, Victor is very minute, and apparently very accurate and truthful. It is printed in JVIigne's Patrol, Vol. LXVIII., p. 937, foil. The chronicle ot Prosper was also continued by Marius, bishop of Avrenches, in Gaul, for the period from A.D. 455 to 581. 3. The Gothic bishop, Joannes, wrote a chronicle of his own time from a.d. 565 to 590. He had learned Latin and Greek at Constantinople, and afterwards founded a monas- tery called Biclaro, whence he is sometimes designated as Joannes Biclarensis. About the middle of the sixth century the Goth Jordanis, also called Jordanus or Jornandes, wrote two historical works : — 1. De Pehus Geticis, or De Getarum sive Gothorum Origins et Pehus Gestis, which in reality is a mere abridgment of the work of Cassiodorus on the same subject. Jordanis only made a few additions from the works of Mela and Orosius. The many errors which occur in this epitome are probably owing to the haste and carelessness with which Jordanis put together the materials he found in his authorities. The whole is a rudis indigestaque moles, and yet we ought to be grateful for its preservation, as the original of Cassiodorus is lost. There is a separate edition of it by C. A. Closs; Stuttgart, 1861. 2. De Origine Mmidi, or De Breviatione Chronicorum, which is a brief summaiy of universal history, compiled from the most common sources, and extending from the creation to A. D. 551. A separate edition of it was published by F. Lindenbrog: Hamburg, 1611. 236. A few writers following the example set by Cassio- dorus in his history of the Goths composed special histories* 252 HISTORY OF LATIN LITERATURE. [PERIOD V. M Foremost among them stands Gregorius of Tours with his history of the Franks. His proper name was Gregorius Florentius. He belonged to a noble family of Auvergne, and was bom about a.d. 540. In a.d. 573 he became bishop of Tours, and died there a.d. 594. In his history of the Franks, which consists of ten books, he makes no claims either to literary merit or to any extensive knowledge of profane history; but he appears to have been engaged upon it, with various interruptions, from a.d. 577 to 590. The author is very anxious not to be thought heretical in his opinions, the church is to him everything; and any miracle that is reported finds in him a ready believer, but he is nevertheless very desirous to tell the truth, and frankly censures the vices of the clergy. Besides this work, which is to us of great historical importance, Gregorius wrote treatises on various theological and ecclesiastical siibjects, as on the miracles of our Lord, of the Apostles, and other martyrs, in eight books; on the virtues of St. Martin of Tours; on the virtues of St. Julian the martyr; on the lives of several other saints, etc. All these works are printed in Migne's Pairol, Yol. LXXI. The Briton GildaSj who flourished during the later half of the sixth century, wrote a work on the sufferings of the Christian Church in Britain since the arrival of the Saxons, entitled Liber Querulus de Calamitatej Excidioy et Conquestu Britannm. The first part of the work is historical, the second consists of reproaches against the British kings and clergy. Gildas wi-ites with gi*eat animation and earnest- ness, but his language is clumsy and often difficult to under- stand. It is printed in Monumenta Historica Britannica'. London, 1848, Vol. L 237. About the middle of the sixth century we also meet with ecclesiastics who tried their hands at poetry on sacred and other subjects, e.g. \, AratoTf a younger friend of Ennodius, who is spoken of as a distinguished rhetorician, published an epic poem, De Actihus Apoetolorum, in two books, with two dedications in elegiacs. The poem is written with care and elegance; though, as in all the metrical productions of this century, there are plenty of mistakes against prosody. It is printed A.D. 14-600.] FLAVIUS CRESCONIUS CORIPPUS. 258 in G. Fabricius' Corpus Poet Christ., p. 569, foil.; also in Migne's Patrol, Yol. LXYIII 2. Venantius Fortunatus, a native of Northern Italy, studied rhetoric and law; and then, about a.d. 564, went to Gaul ostensibly to see the mii'acles of St. Martin of Tours. He was kindly received and assisted by Gregorius, the Frankish historian. He there became attached to a Thuringian princess, Radegund, and, after her death in A.D. 587, wrote her biography, and became a priest ; in the end he even rose to an episcopal see. He is known as the author of several works in verse and in prose. a. Miscellanea, in eleven books, a collection of poems, many of which are addressed to Gregorius, Radegund, and other persons of high rank, whom he eulogises and flatters in a very abject manner, not always adhering to truth. Some of these poems are hymns, and are mostly rhymed. He appears to have had great facility in versification. h. An epic poem, in four books, on St. Mai-tin of Tours, which is evidently written without much thought, diffuse and trivial. c. The lives of several saints in prose, the style of which is forced, heavy, and bombastic. His works are printed in Migne's Patrol, Yol. LXXXYIII. 3. Plavius Cresconius Corippus, an African grammarian, wrote epic poems, which are remarkable for their formal correctness, but also for their bombastic style, and their author's abject servility. His subjects are historical, but he treats them in the manner of a panegyrist. His works are: — a. Johannis sive de Bellis Libycis, in seven books. The subject of the poem is the war which Johannes Patricius, about A.D. 550, carried on against the Mauretanians in Africa. This poem was published for the first time at Milan, in 1820, by Mazzuchelli. b. De Laudibus Justini Augusti. This work is written in a manner so diffuse that the first four books do not extend beyond the first eight days of Justin's reign, and seems never to have been finished. The whole is so overloaded with praise and flattery that scarcely a trace of truth or fact is discoverable in it. The versification, however, is fluent, and 254 HISTORY OP LATIN LITERATURE. [PERIOD V, / is modelled on Vergil and Claudian. It has been edited by I. Bekker in the Bonn edition of the Byzantine writers, together with the works of Merobaudes. There exists further an anonymous epic called Orestis Tragcediay in 971 hexameters, which seems to belong to this period, and is full of vulgarisms in language, and of mistakes against prosody.* 238. By far the most influential theological writer of the sixth century was Pope Gregory I. (a.d. 590-604). He had no taste for the classical litemture of Rome, but enthusiastically favoured monastic institutions, and shared the superstitions and the credulity of the times. His greatness lies in his manly character, his firmness, and his great talents. We can- not enter here upon a discussion of his numerous theological works, such as his homilies, commentaries on portions of the Old Testament, on the duties of the clergy, etc. His productions most important to us in an historical point of view are his letters written during the time that he occupied the papal see. He did much to improve the singing of hymns in churches, and we still possess nine hymns written by him. In all his writings Gregory appears as a man of a powerful imagination, which generally obscures his reason. His style of writing is generally difiuse, but at the same time contains many brief pithy sentences showing his prac- tical wisdom. All his works are printed in Migne's Patrol, Vols. LXXV.-LXXIX. There are a few other theological writers of whom works still exist, which are printed in Migne's great collection, such as : — 1. Leander, a Carthaginian, bishop of Sevilla, in Spain, and a contemporary and friend of Pope Gregory I. He is the author of numerous theological works. 2. Ungipjnus, the author of a life of the monk Severinus, the apostle of Noricum, which is written in the simple popular language of the timet 3. MartinuSy a Pannonian abbot, and afterwards arch- bishop of Braga, wrote several works both in prose and in verse. * Has been edited by C. Schenkl: Prague, 1867. t There is a separate edition of this work by A, KefSchbaurnQr; gqhaffhausen, 1862. A.T). 14-600.] ISIDORUS. 255 239. The last author we have to mention as belonging to Latin literature is Isidorus, bishop of Sevilla, where he died in A.D. 640. Though he did not possess any very extensive knowledge or correct judgment, still he did much for the preservation of the ancient literature and its diffusion. Among his numerous writings on history, grammar, and theology, the most important and largest bears the title Origines, in twenty books. The first four treat of the seven libei-al arts; books six to eight refer to religious and historical questions, and the rest is mainly devoted to grammar and language, and is chiefly based upon the Prata of Suetonius, whose words are often simply copied. The Origines are a kind of encyclopaedia, in which the author treats of a great variety of subjects, and often supplies us with the substance of works that are lost. Another work of Isidorus, the object of which was likewise educational, beai^ the title De Natura Eerurriy and is a kind of manual of physical geogi-aphy compiled partly from the Prata of Suetonius and partly from Christian writers.* 240. With Isidorus we must close our survey of Latin literature. The Latin language, the deterioration of which had begun long before the invasion of Italy and the provinces by barbarians, underwent still greater and more sudden changes through the settlement of the conquerors among the Latin speaking populations. It may indeed be assumed that the higher classes of society at first continued to speak and write Latin with some degree of purity, until in the end, through the mingling of the Teutonic with the Latin elements, there were formed those modern languages of which Latin is still the basis, or rather which are further developments of Latin under foreign influences. Latin literature naturally ceases when the language spoken differs from the written tongue. During the fifth, sixth, and seventh centuries the spoken language was in a state of transition, and new idioms were in the process of formation, but as yet unsuited for literary purposes; those who wrote in Latin did not employ it as their native tongue, but as a language acquired, in addition to the native dialect, as was 1857. There is a separate edition of this work by G. Becker: Berlin; 256 HISTORY OF LATIN LITERATURE. [PERIOD V, the case with the Goth JordaniS; the Briton Gildas, the Anglo-Saxon Aldhelm, and afterwards with Boniface and the venerable Bede; and they wrote in Latin because it was the only available literary language, and because it was understood by all who had received what was then called a liberal education. They had acquired it by study as much as a pei-son bom in a distant province of a modern kingdom has to acquire the litemry language. 241. It now only remains to cast a glance at the state of jurisprudence, once the glory of the Romans, and at the final codification of the laws under Justinian. In the eastern as well as in the western empire the neces- sity had long been felt of collecting the laws into one code or body, in which they might be consulted with ease not only by professional lawyers, but by any one who had occasion to acquaint himself with them. In the western empire, where jurisprudence had well nigh ceased to be cultivated, this necessity was felt to be more pressing, because the relation between the conquerors and the conquered had to be defined, and and a modus vivendi had to be established between them. The first attempt was made in a.d. 500 by the edict of Theodoric, which contained 154 articles for the guidance of judges in military and civil cases. Among the Visigoths in Spain and Gaul King Euric had before this published the Lex Visigothorunij or Breviarium Alarici^ and his son Alaric, in a.d. 506, appointed a commission which drew up the Lex Boma^ia Visigothoitvin to regulate the relations between the old Roman provincials and the Visigoths. Into this code were admitted numerous consti- tutions and novelise from the Theodosian, Gregorian, and Hermogenian codes, and it continued for centuries to be the law in a great part of western Europe. In a.d. 472 the king of the Burgundians established the Lex Burgwiidionunif which was altered in a.d. 517, and is sometimes called the Gundohada. Its laws were likewise drawn from the three above mentioned codes, as well as from the national Bur- gundian institutions. In the eastern empire, law schools had continued to flourish after Constantinople had become its capital, and the study of law and its history was pursued there with great zeal. In a,d. A.D. 14-600.] isidorus. 257 528 the Emperor J ustinian appointed a commission of eminent lawyers to draw up what is now called Justinian's Corpus Juris. It consists of two parts, the Jws vetus, as established by Ihe great jurists of former times, and the jus principahy or the laws and constitutions of the emperors. The latter was compiled and published first, but six years later, a.d. 534, a new and revised edition was made by a commission headed by Tribonian. This commission again selected and sifted the imperial constitutions from the earlier codes, abridged and put them together in the Codex Justiniaueus^ in twelve books. This is the form in which we now have the work. The selections from the jus vetus were made between a.d. 530 and 533, in fifty books, called Digesta. As the laws were thus fixed once for all, it was thought desirable to have a standard book as an introduction to the study of the law, and its composition was intrusted to Tribonian and two other eminent jurists. In performing their task they availed them- selves chiefly of the institutes of Gains, and the result was the work known by the name of Justiniani Institutioiies, in four books. Additions and supplements, under the name of Novellce, mostly in Greek, continued to be made to the code of Justinian down to the end of the sixth century. All these parts combined form the Corpus Juris of Justinian, and by its means that emperor has saved for posterity the treasures of Roman law, and, by the Digesta in particular, he has enabled us to study and investigate the history of the Roman law. The emperor himself, however, had no such lofty ideas when he ordered the work to be undertaken. His object was to immortalise his name, to establish despotic uniformity throughout the empire, to put an end to controversies among jurists, and to render it impossible for judges to act according to their own conscience and discretion. Later despots were not slow to discover these advantages, and tried with more or less success to introduce the* Roman laws of Justinian into their own dominions. The Corpus Juris has often been edited with and without commentaries. A good edition of the text is that of J. L. G. Beck: Leipzig, 1829, in 2 vols. The best edition of the Digesta alone is that of Th. Mommsen and P. Kruger: Berlin, 1866-70, in 2 vols.; and of the Institutiones that of J. E. Kuntze: Leipzig, 1869, in 2 vols. R INDEX. Aburnius Valens, 177. Accius, L., 34. Acilius, C, 40. Acilius Glabrio, C, 37. Acron, Heleuius, 192. Acta Senatus, 97. Acta Diurna, 97. Actius, L., 48. .ffilius Gallus, C, 128. JElina Praeconinus Stilo, 49. iElius Sextus, 40. iElius Spartianus, 198. iElius Marcianus, 194. .^lius Lampridius, 198. ^lius Tubero, 92. Amilius Asper, 163. iEmilius Macer, 103, 194. ^tna, 152. Afranius, 43. Agrippa, M. Vipsanius, lOQ, Agrippina, 139. Alfenus Varus, P., 93. Alfius Avitus, 196. Amafiuios, 62. Ambrosius, 216, 222. Ammianus Marcellinus, 219. Amoenus, 241. Ampelius, L., 180. Ampius Balbus, Ti., 94. Andronicus, Livius, 23. Aniauus, 231. Annales Maximi, 16. Annianus, 174. Annius Fetialis, 125. Anniua Floras, P., 173. Autistius Labeo, M., 128. Aatonius Castor, 138. Antoniufl, M., 49. Antonius Naso, M., 94. Antonius Julianus, 177. Antonius Gordianus, M., 197. Apicius, 138. Apollinaris Sidoniua, 240. Apuleius, L., 185. Aquila Romanus, 199. Aquilius Gallus, C, 62. Arator, 252. Aristius Fnscus, 113. Aruobius. 200. Arriufl Menander, 190. Arruntiua, L., 125. Arruntius StelJa, L., 159. Arulenus Rusticus, 163. Asconius Pedianus, Q., 145. Asinius Pollio, C. 101. Ateius Capito, C., 129. Ateius Praetaxtatus, 93. AtelJanse, 14. Atilius, 31. Atilius Fortunatianus, 194. Atticus, Ti. Pomponius, 61. Attius, L., 34. Aufidius Bassus, 135. Augustus, Emperor, 99. Augustinus, AureUus, 228 Aurelius, 238. Aurelius, M., Emperor, 184. Aurelius Nemesianus, 152. AureUos Olynipius Nemesianus, M., 197» Aurelius Prudentius Clemens, 224 Ausonius, D. Magnus, 213. Auspicius, 241. Avian us, 2.34. Avienus, Rufius Festus, 212. Avitus, 242. Balbus, 173. Balbus, L., 93. Bible, Ti-anslations of, 216. Boetius, or Boethius, 245. Brutus, D., 94. Brutus, M., 94. Caecilius Metellus, 40. Caelius Antipater, L., 47. Cselius Aurelianus, 177. Caesjus Bassus, 150. Calidius, M., 88. CaUistratus, 190. Calpurnius Piso Fvugi, L., 46. Calpurnius Siculus, T., 142. Calpurnius Flaccus, 177, Carmina Vatum, 13. Carvilius, Sp., 41. Cascellius, A., 88. Cassiodorous, Magnus Aurelius, 249. Cassius, C, 94. Cassius Parmensis, 94. Cassius Hemina, 46. Cassius Longinus, 138. Cassius Severus, 129. Castricius, T., 177. Cato, M. Porcius, 37. Cato, M. Porcius (the son), 40. Celsus, A. Cornelius, 137. Censorious, 194. Cetliegus, M. Cornelius, 40. Cervidius Scaevola, Q., 189. Charisius, Aurelius Arcadius, 205. Charisius, Flavius Sosipater, 211. Chirius Fortunatianus, 219. Cicero, M. Tullius, 62. 260 HISTORY OF LATIN LITERATURE. Cicero, Q. TuUius, 81. Cincius Aliiaentus, 36. Claud ianus, Claudius, 226. Claudius, Emperor, 138. Claudius Mamertinus, 211. Claudius Mariiis Vii^tor, 237. Claudius Tryphonius, A., 190. Claudius Quadrigarius, Q., 50. Clef ' ' -* •> > /^ ■»• ••^-»r tfK"/J . As* '»' . A' .\^«i:4. # / -■ * * < ._: ,>-v " " "■ r^^^ i'?-* -, ^*sc..r-'-^ BtJ*-~